6 Jan 2016

Can you write a review for The E Series Boxed Set?

by | posted in: reviews | 0

I just wanted to put a request out there to all you E fans.  Can you write an Amazon review for the boxed set of books 1-3?  I’ve just recently put the boxed set together, and I’m trying to promote it.  However, there are only a few reviews on it so far, which I think discourages people from picking it up.  So, if you’ve read the first three books, it would be great if you could write a review for the boxed set.

If you’ve already reviewed any of the other books, you can simply copy and paste your review over.  If you haven’t written a review yet, please remember that reviews don’t need to be long or complicated.  You can simply write your opinion however you want to put it.

The boxed set can be found here.

Thanks so much to all of you for your help!  Reviews can make such a difference. It’s a way that you all can take part in my writing journey and help the series grow.

31 Aug 2014

The Home Stretch

by | posted in: progress updates, reviews | 1

Progress:

Editing is moving along swiftly, and I’m feeling pretty good about the changes I’m making.  Meanwhile, I realized I have about fifty million more things to do to get ready for launch!  I thought I had finally settled on my title, but turns out I was wrong.  I am toying with a few ideas and hopefully will make a commitment soon.  That will be really helpful as I start working on the book cover!  My darling editor has come up with a great idea for the cover art, so it is really just seeing if we can pull it off.  We’ll find out soon.

As soon as all that’s in order, I plan to put book 2 on Amazon on pre-order, and, of course, I will tell you all my official release date.  I’m starting to get really excited about seeing it all coming together.

Meanwhile… I am planning to run a special promo on E later this month, so yes, it will be going on sale.  If you have friends who are wanting to read it but haven’t gotten it yet, you can let them know to look out for a 99 cent sale coming up soon.

A couple of new reviews are also up:

Check out Justine’s review on YA Lit Chick.

Jane Dougherty reviewed my book!  Jane is seriously one of my favorite authors ever, and I feel lucky to call her a friend as well.  But yeah, Jane reviewing my book is like… I can’t even think of anything to compare it to.  I’m totally honored.

And SandyReadsALot reviewed my book on Youtube as part of an Indie Book Haul coordinated by Mark Shaw of #IndieBooksBeSeen.  Thanks a ton to both Mark and Sandy!

 

Hope you are all having a fantastic Labor Day weekend.  I am celebrating Labor Day by laboring away on my book!  :p

 

 

2 Aug 2014

A couple more awesome 5-star reviews

by | posted in: reviews, Uncategorized | 0

I’m a little behind, but I have received a couple more 5-star reviews. Here are links to these amazing book bloggers:

Reviews With A Twist – Anka has done a beautiful, detailed review of E.  I love the creativity on this one!

Where Books Lead Us – Robin’s review is short and sweet, but awesome none-the-less!

 

Many, many thanks to both of these lovely ladies for taking the time to read and review E!

21 Jul 2014

A few little updates… progress, blurbs, reading, scrapbook

by | posted in: progress updates, random, reviews | 0

Hey everyone!  It’s been a while since I’ve posted about anything other than reviews and interviews, so I thought it would be a good idea to check in and tell you all what I’ve been up to.  It’s just been crazily busy as always.

Progress on TMT

Firstly, I’m still working on editing TMT.  I’m about to start a rewrite of a chapter that I feel really needs to be fleshed out.  I also want to have another look at a new character, because I feel like he got a bit lost in the book, and that just won’t do.  So that’s big on my edit to-do list.

Blurb Hell

The other thing I’ve been working on is my blurb.  I have had all these amazing reviews pouring in, with lots of love for E.  However, a lot of people are saying “I didn’t think I was going to like this book.”  That tells me that I am not making a good first impression with potential readers.  I’ve had a lot of compliments on the cover, so that leads me to the blurb.  My blurb is just not telling people how awesome my story is.

Well, let’s face it:  blurb writing is hard!  Let’s take 100,000 words and boil it down to… oh… maybe 300, tops.  Sound like fun?  Hell no!  On top of that, add the fact that I am one of those people that thinks that stories should be read “blind”.  I think an author should reveal a story artistically, and part of the fun is in the careful, measured revelation of details.  At least, this is my favorite way of reading.  I read Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief  knowing absolutely nothing about it, and it was perfect.  Would knowing something have spoiled the story for me, at least a little bit?  Yeah, I think it would have.  Maybe that’s just me, but I find it hard to get my head out of this way of thinking.  And as far as blurbs go, that translates into difficulty.

So when I’m writing a blurb, everything feels like a spoiler.  When I wrote my first blurb, I was trying really hard not to give away too much, but perhaps that translated to inaccessible.  Ideally, I would have people read the first few paragraphs of my story.  I am almost tempted to just put the first scene as my blurb.  But lo and behold, I am still working on an alternative (much thanks and lots of love to my fellow Rock the Book chicks for all the excellent advice and feedback, and to my other half, for putting up with 500 crappy blurbs).  Hopefully, I will have something soon, and we’ll see how it goes.

Awesome Book

I also just wanted to share with you… I am reading this really awesome book called “The Dark Citadel” by Jane Dougherty.  I don’t have time to be reading, but I am snatching bits of this book whenever I can.  It’s a super-dark dystopian story.  I’m not going to say anything else, except it’s really good, and if you liked my book, you will probably like this one.  I am seriously loving it.  Go check it out on Goodreads.  I’ll be reviewing this book on Rock the Book soon.

Scrapbook Page

Last thing for today….  I have added a “Scrapbook” page to my site.  I thought it would be fun to keep an online scrapbook of my editorial reviews, artist spotlights, and things like that.  I have already posted a number of reviews on the page:  My Scrapbook.  As more reviews, articles, and so on come in, I’ll be asking my fabulous reviewers and authors for permission to include them, and I’ll post as many as I can to the page.  Links to the reviewer sites are built in, so you can go visit them and see what they’re up to.

OK, I think that’s it for today.  I have a ton to do, and never enough time to do it in, so off I go!

Read the first 2 1/2 chapters of E below:

 

18 Jul 2014

My latest review… 5 typewriters from Books With Leti Del Mar

by | posted in: reviews | 0

Check out what the fabulous Leti Del Mar has said about E on her book blog, Books With Leti Del Mar.

 

This one is short and sweet, but wow, I like it!  I think this is my favorite part:  “If you are looking for a strong and smart heroine in a kick butt dystopian world, this is the book for you.”

 

Leti blogs about books, writing, and Indie author and readers.  She is also the author of four books, including How To Self-Publish: A Do-It-Yourself Approach, The Inadvertent Thief , Land of the Unaltered (Confederation, #1), and Secrets of the Unaltered (Confederation #2).  Read her full review of E here.

 

17 Jul 2014

5 Cupcakes for E (and you know I like cupcakes)!

by | posted in: reviews, Uncategorized | 2

This morning, another review for E went up.  Check out this blog, Booklover 2.0, run by a very talented young lady who is also an aspiring writer.  Laquesha writes about all kinds of fun stuff on her blog, with a focus on books, fashion, and love.

Reading this review made me, yet again, a happy writer.  Laquesha really connected with my story, and I just love that.  I’m super-excited that I get to do an interview with her soon!  She has already sent me the questions, and let me tell you, they are awesome.  It’s the coolest thing when someone ‘gets’ your work, and then you get to talk shop with them!

Tons of love and thanks to Laquesha for taking the time to read and review E for me.

12 Jul 2014

A great review from an amazing reviewer

by | posted in: reviews, Uncategorized | 0

There are reviewers, and then there are reviewers.  When I asked Rae Slater to review my novel, it was not without trepidation.  Why?  Because she is an amazing, thoughtful, intelligent reviewer.  She doesn’t miss much, and she doesn’t hold back.  And while, yes, these are the perfect qualities that any reader would want in a reviewer, for an author it can be scary.

Well, I really believe in my work, so, cringing just a little, I handed my baby over.

…Then there was the waiting.  Would she like it?  Would she hate it?  Would she find problems that I was not even aware of as a writer?  I mean, let’s face it.  This is the girl who gave The Fault In Our Stars a 4 out of 5.  That’s just plain intimidating.

OK, so the verdict is in.  Rae has give E  4.5 out of 5 stars (yes!), and the missing points were taken off because of my cover.  I can so live with that!  (Guess who I’ll be asking for advice on my next cover, by the way!)  You can read all of Rae’s comments on her blog What Happened to the Wallflower?  where she details everything and awards points by category for cover, narrative, plot, and characters.

This one really made my day.  I feel like I have passed a test or something.  Many thanks to Rae for taking the time to read and review E!

 

 

 

2 Jul 2014

Reviews and Reviewers

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A couple of things:

First, I wanted to share these two new reviews that just came in on Amazon.

4 star review

5 star review

Every single time I read a review from one of my readers, I am filled with gratitude that someone took the time to let me know what they thought of my book.  A big thank you to all of you who have taken the time to review, or drop me an email, or both.  You are the ones who remind me that I am not just shouting into the void.  That I’m not just writing for myself.  That people are out there, connecting with what I do, and that E has become more than just my story.  It belongs to all of us.

So far, every single piece of feedback I have received about E has been positive. If there are people out there who have read and not liked E, they have not bothered to let me know.  Now, I know that I can’t expect everyone to love my book.  That’s not realistic.  Eventually, someone will just hate it, for whatever reason.  (I suspect it will have something to do with rats or discount sausage.)  But right now, my track record is looking pretty good.  The only thing is… as a new author… as a new Indie author, especially… not many people know about my book.

So the thing, of course, is to work on getting it out there.  I am considering doing a little paid advertising, for the first time.  I hear from other Indie authors that this can yield mixed results.  Everything I put into this comes out of my own pocket, and let’s just say I have bills to pay and mouths to feed, like the rest of you.  Before I invest in advertising, I would like to have as many reviews up as possible.  So this is where I ask:  If you have read E, and you haven’t yet reviewed it, would you please take the time to do so?  It would be greatly appreciated.

And if you would like to do more beyond that, check out this page:  Help Kate Out!  I’m just going to go ahead and say thank you now.  Thank you, all of you, who have done so much to help E find its place in the world.  🙂

 

And if you haven’t read it yet, you can read a preview below.