Michelle M. Pillow's Blog, page 81
September 6, 2012
Vlog: Michelle Pillow: Mistakes in Books
Michelle Pillow: Mistakes in Books
Very informal micro chat about my experiences as a published author.
Answering the question: What should a reader do if they find a mistake in a book?
Update: The “Benjamin Mistake” was not my book. I can’t remember which/whose book it was.
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September 5, 2012
Vlog: Pillow: If I Wasn’t A Writer
Michelle Pillow: If I Wasn’t A Writer
Very informal micro chat about my experiences as a published author.
Answering the question: If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?
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GUI-Opera, Free online serial by JRA
The GUIOPERA, a free, online, serial starts today through December by John Reyer Afamasaga (I’ll admit, I have a really fun time typing out that name, lol). Pretty cool set up, if I do say so myself (I am scheduled to make an appearance this year as a bar wench –shhhh).
CLICK HERE: http://www.etfiction.com/GUIOPERA/index_GUIOPERA_5.html
It’s pronounced Gooey-Opera or GUI-Opera (GUI – Graphic User Interface for those who are tech challenged – *Raising Hand*) but written by the author as GUIOPERA.
Think of the story set up as…
Part 1: The Movie
Part 2: The people who make the movie
Part 3: The writer who’s writing the whole thing. (GUI-Opera)
September 4, 2012
Vlog: Michelle Pillow: How Readers can help Authors
Michelle Pillow: How Readers can help Authors
Very informal micro chat about my experiences as a published author.
Answering the question: What can readers do to help their favorite authors, should they be so inclined?
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JL Oiler, Interview by Michelle M. Pillow
JL Oiler, Interview
by Michelle M. Pillow, www.michellepillow.com
Since first being published in 2010, Paranormal Romance Author JL Oiler has published over a dozen books. She resides in the mountains of West Virginia where sometimes what seems paranormal is actually normal. An avid reader, it is not unusual for her to devour 1-2 good books in an evening. Her book, Dead Force Rising, releases in ebook and can be found at All Romance eBooks, Bookstrand, and Amazon.
* * * * *
Q: In your book, Dead Force Rising you delve into the world of vampires, werewolves, zombies, and ghouls. What inspired you?
JL: I have always had a love for all things paranormal and it is my preferred genre but the idea for this story is actually credited to my five year old son who while watching the SyFy channel with me said that he would never worry about the monsters because he was going to be an army vampire.
Q: When world building, did you base your story off of known myths throughout history?
JL: I like to find the mystery in the everyday world so most my stories are based off real life places. However, I love to find little details of the explained in history and play upon them so you never know when a detail about people or places that simply vanished or died mysteriously will pop up.
Q: What myths or legends inspired you?
JL: I adore all the ancient Greek, Roman, Norse, Sumerian gods/goddesses as well as all the critters that pop up under them. I am also currently working on a piece, which involved the 4 horseman and a play off the whole heaven/hell at war theme.
Q: Why do you think readers, and society in general, are fascinated by the paranormal?
JL: We are creatures of habit and this habit is not being able to resist a great mystery and delve into the unknown. After all that’s how we ended up on the moon and in the farther reaches of our planet. We just can’t help but want to know what’s hiding in the dark.
Q: Do you have any paranormal pet projects?
JL: I currently do some blogging on my author site (www.joiler.weebly.com) and send out a quarterly newsletter (sign up at my site). However, in reality I enjoy letting others put together all the blog hops, radio shows, and groups. I then like to hop about the net and visit them all. This lets me concentrate on my writing more.
Q: What are your favorite paranormal shows, movies and books?
JL: TV-Ghost Hunter
Movie – Underworld (all of them) and the Fifth Element
Books – Other than my own, I love Kelsey Coles Immortals After Dark Series
Q: Do you believe in the supernatural? Or are you a skeptic?
JL: I believe there is a lot of things in this world that cannot be explained and never will be!
Q: Have you ever had a paranormal experience?
JL: I was a paramedic for several years before returning to school to study education. One night while working midnight shift, I went looking in the kitchen fridge for something to snack on and felt someone shove me (two hands) hard head first into the fridge. I reared back madder then heck. Stomped to the dayroom and proceeded to chew my partner out (we were the only ones in building). He stared at me confused and then asked what I was talking about because he’d been sitting right there the entire time.
Q: What kind of paranormal creatures do you wish you could meet?
JL: I’d love to meet them all, as long as I was not on the menu for dinner. I think it would be exciting to see how each compares to what we envision or expect.
Q: If given the chance, would you become a shapeshifter?
JL: Though I feel any of them would be cool, a shifter would be the one that allowed you the rawest experiences. I could perhaps fly as a bird one moment, swim as a fish the next.
Q: How would you react if you came face to face with a ghost?
JL: I would like to think I would keep my wits about me enough to further explore the entity a bit more. However I would probably go running like a girl.
Q: What does the future hold for the characters of Dead Force Rising?
JL: I’m currently working on a sequel for the story which picks up where the first ended and focuses on one of secondary characters.
Q: Have you ever been to a psychic and/or a past life regression? What did they predict for you?
JL: I went to a tarot reader in the Tea Room while visiting New Orleans and she predicted that I would find a man who made me feel complete and move toward great success in my life in an area I had not expected but always dreamed of entering into. (I think she was right. Shortly after I met my husband and my first book was published.)
Q: Have you ever been abducted by aliens?
JL: No, they would probably become annoyed with all my questions.
You can learn more about JL Oiler and her books at www.joiler.weebly.com. Interview by Michelle M. Pillow, www.michellepillow.com
September 3, 2012
Good With His Hands by Michelle M. Pillow
Good With His Hands by Michelle M. Pillow
Erotic contemporary romance with paranormal elements
Photographer Teresa Kelley is on assignment to shoot old ghost towns and desert scenery. What she doesn’t anticipate is that scenery including the delicious Max Draper. The sizzling desert sun isn’t the only thing heating up the abandoned mining town when the hot, muscled and oh-so-sexy mechanic offers to give her a hand. Dusty floorboards and ghost tales aside, Teresa finds herself on the other end of the lens when she and Max are caught in flagrante delicto by an unexpected assistant.
Rating: Contains graphic sex, adult situations, and a naughty ghost voyeur.
BUY: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/produ...
This book was previously published with Ellora’s Cave.
September 2, 2012
Vlog: Michelle Pillow: Word Count
Michelle Pillow: Word Count
Very informal micro chat about my experiences as a published author.
Answering the question: How much do you write every day in order to publish as many books as you do?
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August 31, 2012
Raven’s Recession Gift Card Giveaway!
Raven’s Recession Gift Card Giveaway!
We know times are tight. We’re feeling the pinch too. We also know that the first things to be cut from most household budgets are the luxuries like book buying. Often we have contests that features free downloads or paperbacks (yes, we’re including those in this too) but we thought it would be nice to do more—to help ease the pinch as best we could. Our solution, a massive gift card giveaway contest. We’re giving away thousands of dollars worth of prizes! (We’ve given away thousands and are STILL doing it!)
How does it work?
Glad you asked! Once a month we’ll randomly select winners from those who have entered. They’ll be notified via email.
What are you entering to win?
You’re full of awesome questions! We have lots and lots and lots (can’t really stress this enough) of gift cards to nationwide retailers to give away, plus free book downloads, free paperbacks, and pretty much whatever else we can think to toss at folks come winner selection days. Examples of just some of the ones we’ll be giving away—Wal-mart, Meijer food, Gordon Foods, Kroger, Visa pre-paid cards, Borders, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Outback, Chilis, Red Lobster, Old Navy, Macy’s, Sears, Hot Topic, JcPenny, prepaid gas cards, starbucks, and many, many more. Also, we’ll be tossing in free downloads of our books and paperbacks as they’re available to us to giveaway. UPDATE to prizes: DSI Lites, kindle ereaders, video games, moives, tv box sets and much, much more!
How often are we selecting winners?
Monthly! Again winners will be notified by email and if it’s a gift card (rather than an e-gift card) that you won, we’ll need your snail mail addy to send it to you. Don’t worry, we’ll ask you for it if you’re a winner.
Can I pick which gift cards or prizes I get?
No, sorry. We’re randomly selecting winners and pairing them equally as random with prizes.
How do I enter for a chance to win?
We’ll be drawing out winners from a few different places this time around. From our Raven Books newsletter mailing list members, from Raven Books Twitter Followers and from Raven Books’ owners Michelle Pillow & Mandy Roth’s personal mailing lists, facebook followers and twitter followers. If you’re already on all the mailing lists and follow each twitter/facebook, yay, you’re already entered to win! If not, here are the direct links for each.
The Raven Books Email Newsletter
Mandy M Roth Email Newsletter
Michelle M Pillow Email Newsletter
Michelle M Pillow Twitter
Mandy M Roth Facebook
Why aren’t you posting winners name publicly?
We got dinged for doing this and are taking a small break. Apparently, not all people who enter contests want their name out that they entered and won. (Frankly, I find this odd but that’s me… Ouch, Michelle just slapped me for saying that publicly. I feel someone had to.)
When should I start?
Now! The sooner the better. We’ll repost this contest page in its entirety at the start of each month of the contest as a refresher for any who might have missed it and a reminder to any who might want to enter more than once.
Can I get a bonus entry if I also promote this contest in addition to promoting Raven Books?
You sure can! Just be sure you’re promoting Raven Books first and foremost. Then, if you spread the word about the contest too, you’ll be entered multiple times.
Any stipulations?
Yes, you must be 18yrs old or older to enter. Contest is void where prohibited. No, we will not send you cash equivalent and all the other normal disclaimer stuff inserted here_____. Yadda yada yadda yada….
August 30, 2012
VIDEO What’s The Point of Publishers in a Digital Age: Response to the Response
Very Informal Micro Chat
About my experiences as a published author. Special guest vocal appearance by my cat.
Answering the question: Since you’ve been a NY multi-published author, why would you now self publish some of your books as an Indie (independent) author?
Mentioned in this Vlog
http://www.MichellePillow.com
http://www.MandyRoth.com
http://www.TheRavenBooks.com
What’s The Point of Publishers in a Digital Age: Response to the Response
This conversation exploded on twitter today after I RTed an article by Bob Mayer,
What’s The Point of Publishers in a Digital Age: Response. I’m posting my part of the twitter conversation here. Or you can go did through my twitter feed to see the other author posts, etc, who responded. I RTed quite a bit, but not nearly all.
Anyway, here’s my response as provoked by Mayer’s blog post. Basically, reposted so everyone can see my points in one place. It’s a little twitter-ated but I’ll try to edit out the excessive twitter shorthand.
I see validity to my NY published titles and to my Indie. Both have positives and what I choose is always a biz decision. But, to be honest, Indie pays my bills soooo much better. The Raven Books, which I started with Mandy M. Roth, is the BEST $ business decision ever. That said, NY pub networking/distribution/etc has advantages not directly translated by monthly check. It really does come down to best business decision. I’ll date if I need my ego stroked, lol. My career is a business (albeit fun one).
Both Mandy & I are BIG into marketing & promo. If a publisher can’t see that and take advantage of our hard work and dedication to our careers, they don’t need to make more money off of our hard work (books). Simple. One of the biggest pluses, as an author, is that publishing as an Indie you can track sales in real time, know your pay, and test effectiveness of marketing.
The point is, I’ll go where it makes sense to me– NY, Small Press, Indie–and what’s best for my readers and the book. I currently have “contracts” & “open offers” for all three — Indie, NY, Small Press– on the table and I’m considering each one.
One of my biggest deciding factors in going Indie was when my 50+ book backlist came out of contract. The publishers who wanted it all also said it was going to take about 15-20 years to get back out on their release schedules. I did not want my readers to wait that long, or have books 1-4 of a series tied up for 10 yrs while I’m working on more (dragon lords). I think my readers would agree that not having to wait 10 years to get Dragon Lords 5-8 is a good thing. Yay, The Raven Books!
Yes. There were about 50 books that I pulled as they came out of contract. At normal rate of 2-4 books a year. (plus new ones) that ended up being a “normal” publishing house schedule of 15-20 years out. Most wanted new books, and then to release the old ones as an “aside” so my publishing schedule for the next two decades would be blend of both… but a long wait for readers. Indie has been PERFECT for me and my situation. Even hired editors, etc,and have more control.
Sometimes an author outgrows a publisher, too, or has changing needs as career grows that pub can’t accommodate.
