Mila Gray's Blog, page 5

WIN £50 in vouchers & signed books

To celebrate the launch of COME BACK TO ME – WHICH YOU CAN BUY HERE!  I’m running a giveaway. You can WIN:

- £50 in vouchers of your choice

- Amazon Vouchers

- A signed copy of OUT OF CONTROL

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

 

Drive, Terminator, Human Trafficking & Ryan Gosling

I’m at a kids birthday party when a woman I barely know grabs me by the arm and declares: ‘I have an idea that you should write about.’

I glance over her shoulder for the exits, my smile fixing into place, wondering if I should tell her it’s not ideas I’m lacking just hours in the day. ’Human trafficking,’ she announces, ‘you need to write about it.’

I tell her with an apologetic shrug that I write young adult fiction; ‘lots of car chases, hot boys and kissing. That sort of thing.’ Even as I say it, I can feel myself shrinking in her estimation, and, it must be admitted, my own. She’s talking about human trafficking and how it affects over thirty million people worldwide and I’m talking about girls with mind powers and shape-shifting demons.

I left the party with a niggling feeling, which was compounded when I got home by the sight of a post-it stuck over my desk with ‘make your words count’ scrawled on it.

With my first four books, all published by Simon & Schuster, I had established a name as a writer of fast-paced thrillers. When asked about my inspiration I frequently cited Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Sarah Conor from Terminator (Yes, I am that highbrow).

While I’d always prided myself on the fact my female protagonists were kickass and intelligent, now I was confronted by the fact I could be writing something with real power, something that could have impact, something that could potentially help change lives.

‘No,’ my agent sagely advised. ‘A book about human trafficking is very hard to sell.’

She was right of course and there was also the fact that I had no real authority or knowledge of the subject. True, I had no knowledge about telekinesis or secret military units either and this had never stopped me writing about them (Wikipedia, Google and my imagination are my best friends) but human trafficking was something else entirely.

So I sat down to write my next novel – inspired by a combination of Ryan Gosling in Drive, the police station scene in Terminator and a trip to New York – and had an epiphany. I could write about human trafficking after all. I would slide it sneakily into the book. It would still be a young adult thriller, with all the chases, action and kissing required, but at the heart of it would be a human trafficking conspiracy. Immediately I started researching and chatting with friends who worked for the UN, discovering that more people today are enslaved that at any other point in history and that human trafficking has fast become the third largest criminal industry in the world.

Instead of writing about a victim, something I didn’t feel confident enough to do, my protagonist became the teenage daughter of a man who runs a government task force tackling gang-related trafficking and I set her in the midst of a conspiracy involving her father and the New York gangs he’s up against.

The book was eagerly received by my publisher in the UK and snapped up by Simon & Schuster in New York too, making me realise that just because I write young adult fiction doesn’t mean I have to write about sparkly vampires and love triangles. But neither do I have to sacrifice thrills and action in order to make a serious point.

As an author I’ve learned that empowering teenagers isn’t just about giving them strong role models, it’s also about using the medium of storytelling to open their eyes to issues that we all need to take a stand on.

Out of Control by Sarah Alderson (published by Simon & Schuster) is OUT NOW.

http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/

http://www.antislavery.org/english/

http://www.stopthetraffik.org/

This feature originally appeared in The Big Issue (may ’14)

Out of Control is out NOW!

My latest novel Out of Control has been released in the UK and it’s getting awesome reviews!

Here’s the blurb:

When 17 year old Liva witnesses a brutal murder she’s taken into police custody for her own protection. But when the police station is attacked and bullets start flying it becomes clear that Liva is not just a witness, she’s a target.

Together with a car thief called Jay, Liva manages to escape the massacre but now the two of them are alone in New York, trying to outrun and outwit two killers who will stop at nothing to find them.

When you live on the edge, there’s a long way to fall.

Add it to your bookshelf on Goodreads now! and don’t forget to leave a review and recommend it to all your friends as these things make all the difference. I’m always so grateful for reviews.

 

Book Birthday!

The Sound is out today in the US.

The lovely publishers sent me a hardback copy. It’s so delicious I almost kicked the husband out of bed so I could snuggle up with it (it smells so good.)

Here’s a little video of me talking about my inspiration for the book (I nannied in Nantucket when I was 17) and reading from a section.

Spread the word! Tell your friends. If you loved the book please take a few seconds to leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads.

:)

Advice for aspiring writers

This is the second post in a series about traditional publishing vs indie publishing and on how to promote your books.

I have three books coming out in the next six weeks: Out of Control, The Sound (in the US) and Come Back To Me (my first new adult novel being published by Pan Macmillan in June). My friend and fellow author Becky Wicks (who I write with under the pen name Lola Salt)  is also publishing her first new adult novel Before He Was Famous, but after writing three books for Harper Collins this time she is going the indie route.

We thought it would be really interesting to document how we are both going about promoting our books and the differences between the traditional publishing and indie routes.

The first post can be read over on Becky’s website here.

So, Sarah, you have three books coming out in the next six weeks, all with big publishers, what are you doing to promote them?

I think the key part of that question is what are YOU doing to promote them. It’s true, I’m in the very lucky position of having three books (young adult and new adult) coming out in the space of two months with two major publishers: Simon & Schuster and Pan Macmillan.

It’s rather crazy to be honest. Usually it is timed so that I just have one book coming out every six to nine months and that is much easier to handle, allowing breathing space. It’s always very stressful trying to promote a book, not only as you are on tenterhooks waiting for those first reviews to filter through via Goodreads and Twitter, but also because a lot of the responsibility lies with the author to promote their books.

So I feel like I have three times the pressure at the moment and am pretty much working full time on it. I don’t have a winning solution yet as to what is worth investing time in and what isn’t but I am getting there I think.

Here are my top marketing and PR suggestions for authors.

1. Twitter

I have two Twitter accounts (one for my new adult pen name Mila Gray and the other in my own name Sarah Alderson). I tweet as much as I can from both accounts and cross market to my YA fans, many of whom are adults anyway.

I have a fairly good fan base for my YA so I’m having to start all over again for Mila Gray and building it from scratch. I use Tweetdeck to manage and schedule tweets (necessary as I live in Bali and many of my fans are in the UK and asleep during the time I’m tweeting). It’s starting to work, with many fans hearing about my new book Come Back To Me this way.

Being active on Twitter means three things for me:

- Providing good content by retweeting interesting articles (no spam) and amusing anecdotes about my life

- Connecting one-on-one with fans

- Only when I’ve provided the other two do I tweet to market my books.

Using hashtags also helps to get word out, so long as you know the right hashtags to use.

2. Requesting reviews

This week I’ve been asking on Twitter for any new adult bloggers who want to review the book. Although the publisher will put the book on netgalley and although they will also send out review copies to bloggers I’m also doing my part to spread the word.

I can’t stress how important it is for traditionally published authors to act like indie authors in this respect. That’s been very successful and I’ve probably sent out a dozen e-copies of Come Back To Me and about thirty copies of my young adult novel to bloggers who are all going to post reviews on Goodreads and on their blogs. Now you just have to hope the reviews are good…

Developing great relationships with bloggers is absolutely vital especially for Young Adult and New Adult authors but don’t forget your friends too. Email all your friends, don’t be shy, and ask them if they wouldn’t mind reviewing your book on Amazon or Goodreads and promoting it on their FB page or Twitter.

3. FaceBook

I have separate FaceBook pages for all my books. I also set up a profile for myself as an author. The upside to this is that you can directly message your ‘friends’, which you can’t do on a page. On the downside you can only have 5000 friends max so once you get super famous you’ll have to add or convert your profile to a page.

This week I have set up a page for Mila Gray and I’m posting there every one or two days.

These are the things I have found get the most attention on Facebook:

- Photographs. Make your posts visual. I’ve been using Canva a brilliant new online tool for creating posters, flyers, FB cover pics and more. A hot picture of a couple kissing and a choice quote acts as a good teaser.

- Fantasy Cast pictures are a great way of engaging fans in your book.

- Short quotes from the book.

I’ve found that giveaways, excerpts and links to Goodreads don’t get much attention. But I’m not Abbi Glines. I’m sure she probably does very well when she posts a giveaway!

Don’t forget to check our blogs over the coming weeks for more posts about indie vs traditional publishing and how to get your book out into the world.

Becky’s book ‘Before He Was Famous’ will be launching May 29th on Amazon. Add it to read on Goodreads now.

Sarah’s book ‘Come Back To Me’ will be released June 26th on Amazon. Add it to Goodreads now.

The SOUND TRAILER

Check out The Sound Trailer (click the link)

So happy to be able to show you the trailer we’ve been working on for The Sound, to celebrate its release in the US in May. We managed to pull the entire thing together from Bali including finding a cast who not only looked exactly like my characters but who could also act (and how gorgeous are they??? Jesse was even better than the one in my imagination and Ren was just beyond perfect for the role). It was insane how it all came together.

We shot over three days on the beach in Bali, up in the botanical gardens (the night scene in the woods) and at various friends’ houses. I couldn’t believe how long it took to shoot 90 seconds. I could have written a book in that time. But it was so worth it, I hope you agree!

To celebrate I’m giving away lots of goodies, including signed books, a leather bracelet from Hunting Lila and Amazon/Book Depo vouchers. To enter GO HERE.

Please tweet, blog, FB the heck out of it. I would love it to go far and wide.

x

 

NEW ADULT BOOK DEAL

Hot boy in uniform? Check. Super sexy summertime romance? Check. Heartbreak and loss? Check. Kissing and more? Check Check Check.

If you love Alex and Jack then guaranteed you’ll love Kit and Riley – the guys from Sarah’s soon to be released New Adult book COME BACK TO ME (Pan Macmillan) penned under the name MILA GRAY.

Not only is it set in Oceanside just like Hunting Lila but Kit and Riley are also Marines based at Pendleton. That’s where the similarities end however… there are no psys. But there’s way more steam…

Follow Sarah’s alter-ego Mila Gray and find out more about the book which will be released in June.

Here’s the press release

Get a FREE copy of the Lila & Alex X-rated chapter

Exciting news for Lila fans – the super steamy X-rated chapter is now available for FREE!

All you need to do to bag a copy is post the Amazon link to Hunting Lila on your FACEBOOK or TWITTER with a sentence explaining why you love the book.

Don’t forget to tag me in the post or tweet ( @sarahalderson on Twitter).

Then a copy will wing it’s way to you.

The Lila Collection is out now!

Very excitingly Simon & Schuster have issued an ebook bind up of both Hunting Lila & Losing Lila with an extra steamy hitherto unpublished chapter.

If you’ve ever wanted to know what Alex is like behind the bedroom door and just how hot things get between these two then here’s your chance.

Although it’s only available as part of the ebook bind up I’m talking to Simon & Schuster to see if they can issue it as a separate story available for download. Will keep you posted.

For the moment though the book is available via Amazon.

Enjoy!

Hot boys in my inbox and other juicy news

Today in my inbox: The US cover for The Sound PLUS the cover they didn’t end up using with the three models they hired to play Jesse, Ren and Jeremy. And holy mother of HOTNESS (as Megan would say) the guy playing Jesse is supremely yummy he ALMOST lives up to the one in my imagination. Quite a feat. What do you think? Jeremy, Ren & Jesse…







This is the cover they are actually using:



I also got the cover through for OUT OF CONTROL (out next year) and it’s brilliant! Can’t wait to share.

But even so nothing is quite as hot as the fourth thing in my inbox.. the uncut, copy-edited LILA X-RATED SCENE (over 18s only) that is coming in January. Here’s a little taster to, um, wet your appetites…

” ‘I want to be able to give you one hundred percent of my attention. Right now, with the Unit on our tail, I’m going to be giving you less than fifty percent. I got one eye on the door and one on you, not to mention a gun under the pillow. Not exactly the accessory I imagined.’

I wanted to yell at him that I didn’t care, but my brain was still processing the fact that if this was him giving me less than fifty percent then holy fricking GOD bring on the time when the Unit was not on our tail. Also . . . accessory?”