Kristi’s Comments (group member since Jul 05, 2013)

Kristi’s comments from the The Suspense of It All! group.

Ah! Finally got some of my own writing done. 958 words! Don't know if it is any good or not. We'll have to see. I'm at the point right now that just getting words keyed in to the file is a major victory. I'm sure it counts in the long run.

You're welcome. I bought it, but it will be a while before I get to it, I think. Plus I haven't read the first one, so I may have to rectify that first. :-)

Thanks, Tamsen. I'll check them out.
For the curious, here are the links.

These Sorrows We See


http://www.amazon.com/These-Sorrows-S...

Danielle wrote: "It sounds difficult to commit to a novel if your heart isn't in it. I wouldn't be able to do it justice.

The weather where I live is mid 60's (Southern CA). It's been very windy over the past co..."

It's not that the story doesn't speak to me, it is the thought of pegging it into a genre that I don't know much about. I think what I need to do is stop worrying about genre and just write it! I mean, that is part of why I self-publish, so I don't have to put it in a particular box.

60 degrees sounds downright tropical! I hear you about the wind, though. I used to live in Portland, Oregon, and we would get the 'East Wind' out of the Columbia River Gorge - 10-15mph sustained winds 30-50mph gusts, and arctic temps (well, temps in the 30s feels arctic when you add wind chill!) Our whole house would shake on the stronger gusts. It was actually kind of thrilling at times.

Yeah, I'm most likely to look at star ratings than to read all the reviews on an item that I am interested in, so even a star rating help.

I do take in account that people are more likely to give a poor rating than a favorable one, and so I often take a sampling of reviews to find out what they don't like about something, be it a book or something else.

I've also had to adjust my thinking a bit. I got a two star rating on one of my books, with no review, and I was bummed, but then I remembered that here on GR, 2 stars means "It's okay." And I thought, I can live with that.

Promoting is my biggest challenge. I'm trying to up my online presence, but I find it hard to just natter away if I don't have anything to say. So I only post when it is something that matters.

Think I'm going to try handing out samples of my book at the Holiday Market in town. You know, teasers of the first couple chapters of each, and then my eStore's URL. I have a few paperbacks I will bring in case someone wants to buy on site, but I can even walk them through the ordering and download process for an eBook copy. Being that forward will be a big challenge for me. I'm really an introvert. But as long as there is no long term commitment, I think I can handle it.

What do you all do to promote?

Glad to hear from you Danielle. I've been squeezing in a little bit of pleasure reading, too, though not as much as I might.

I've been busy proofing a book for a customer. It's a sexy menage erotica book, which is a little spicier than my normal choice of pleasure read. Just sent it back today. It was a pretty good story, with lots of sex wrapped around it. The proofing was a challenge, though, because the author had been led astray about commas. I think we got her straightened out.

I need to get back to work on one of my two projects. The one I 'should' be working on is a murder mystery I'm writing with my hubby, and I'm kind of out of my depth. Now that I'm home I need to research plot arcs for that genre, so that I get it right - it's a cozy, with truck drivers as the amateur sleuths. But my heart isn't in it, so I keep finding anything and everything else to do BUT work on it. I keep thinking 'tomorrow', but here I am.... Heh.

If I can't get into it, I'll go to my other project, a Romantic Suspense that needs a bit of research, too. One character is a veterinarian, the other is a hand on a cattle ranch, so I need to find out as much as I can about the care of cows. Doesn't that sound fun? (Actually, it does to me.)

My holiday season tends to be pretty mellow, so I'm having a good time. Hope you are, too. As for temperatures, we are finally 'warming up' into the 30s and low 40s, after sub-freezing and even sub-zero temps for the last 2-3 weeks. In the Pacific NW, if you can believe it!

I like it. We should all stay warm and read, write AND enjoy! Cheers.

H.d. wrote: "I have found it difficult to get reviews even with free books. Not sure if that's a review in itself.... I somewhat believe it takes a certain type of person to leave a review. I think for some it ..."

I'm starting to change my ways, seeing how I appreciate reviews myself. I always figured 'someone else will leave one' and left it at that. But I'm trying to leave more reviews, now, even when it isn't a book. I mean, my eye doctor asked me to leave a review, so I did. :-)

For a non-book item or service, I'm not as likely to leave one, unless asked, but I'm trying to write book reviews on everything I read. Except, you know, menus and TV guides. ;-)

You're welcome. I wish I had 'gotten it' a little better, to give you a bit higher star rating, but I gotta go with how I feel.
Just realized I only starred it here, and didn't review it. Would you like me to transfer the review?

Danielle wrote: "I just like to read and I explore other books in order to find something new. I'm about to be a new self-published author myself and I'd like to think readers would give me the same chance. ..."

Where's the 'like' button when you need one?

Danielle wrote: "Thank you, Kristi! I'm loving this site! I love the conversations going on. I will definitely let everyone know when the book is released."

We don't seem to be a gregarious bunch, but we have our moments. Membership is slowly climbing, so I keep hoping more folks will have good stuff to say.

Danielle wrote: "If the ebook is written by someone I hadn't read before I'd spend up to $4.99, unless I'm very intrigued by the cover and blurb. If it's a new release by JD Robb or John Sandford I'd spend the $11.99."

You are a star! How encouraging for new authors.

Man, I am so far behind on my reading! I guess that's what I get for taking almost a decade off from reading fiction. I have heard of JA Konrath, but haven't read anything, yet. This series sounds good. Thanks for sharing.

Danielle wrote: "Hi, everyone. I'm Danielle and I read suspense and thrillers. I'm nearly finished with my first novel of suspense. I'm hoping to release it in January...."

Welcome, Danielle! Happy to see you here. I hope you enjoy the group and find lots of things to talk about. Be sure to keep us up to date on the release of your book!

Thanks for that insight, Hd. So the free first book of the series, theoretically, would hook you so that you might pay $3 for each of the other books in the same series? Of course, if you weren't hooked, you wouldn't buy in on the rest of them. Sounds fair enough to me. :-)

H.d. wrote: "Glad you made it home safely."

Thanks! I'm still waiting for my hubby to go back out on the road. That sounds awful, doesn't it? But his inability to abide in a quiet house means I have the constant distraction of the TV. Not good for working. But he will be back on the road Friday, and I will have the house to myself at last!

I am one happy gal tonight! I am home for the winter - at least until the end of March. Excited at the prospect of getting some writing and reading done. I've been looking forward to it for a while, and now here I am. Yay!

Thanks! I'll keep an eye out for it.

That sounds like a good deal, Michael. I'll have to check it out. In general I tend to stay away from what I call an 'anti-hero', but I know that is a popular trend these days.

If you are interested, maybe you can share the results of your promotion in the writer's folder. I'm always curious to know what marketing techniques work.

Welcome to the group, Michael. Be sure to check out the other threads and see if anything grabs your attention. I know that member Calvin Dean writes a kind of paranormal horror. You two may find something to talk about.

If you or any other member of the group needs to add a new thread for your particular niche, feel free to post it in the appropriate folder, or ask me to do it. I'm happy to oblige.

I'm behind (haven't read any, yet) but I will be home with more time to read soon. I'll keep you posted, Martyn.