How to promote your book

A friend asked me this the other day and I sent him some ideas that he turned into a blog post. I'm sharing the link with you. There might be ideas in here you haven't tried yet.

Please share your ideas for book promotion in comments. Let's help each other!

BanterByBuffy Shop opens

I have three collections in my BanterByBuffy shop. You will find these graphics on everything from clothing to household items to glassware. I hope you enjoy shopping!

Make Me Care collection



Climax collection

Grammar Rules collection 

 WIP collection

Cliffhanger collection

Writing difficult scenes

Available on Amazon

In “The Yearbook Series: Gina and Mike” there’s a brutal rape scene. After reading the scene, a reader contacted me, wanting to make sure that what she was reading was fiction. I assured her that it was.

But it got me thinking about that scene. Was it too raw? Should I tone it down? To be honest, after I wrote it I was shocked that something so horrible came out of my mind. I was also a bit embarrassed. And yet, writing it was easier than writing the romantic scenes. To me, it seems like it should have been the opposite, but it wasn’t.

In the end, I felt the rape scene needed to be what it was. It was the moment that changed Gina’s life – her relationship with Mike, her career path, etc.

I’ve always been amazed by how one moment can change a person’s life forever. They stop instead of go, turn right instead of left, say yes instead of no. 

And it’s how we react to these moments that determine the future. In this case, Gina’s silence affects not only her life but also the lives of others.

One reader told me that after reading the scene, she had to take a deep breath and pause before reading on. After I wrote it, I had to pause, too. 

Check out book on Amazon

Read reviews

NewHive expression 

Yearbook series Pinterest board 

A sign from God and another book contract

Funny thing happened yesterday. I'd been praying that "The Lion Awakens" find the right home. I signed the contract with Prism Book Group and sent it on Saturday, hoping that I had made the right decision for the work. Other publishers were interested and I pulled it, feeling as though God was leading me in this direction.

Anyway, I went to church on Sunday and there was special music. A soloist sang Brad Paisely's song, "When I Get Where I'm Going." And when I heard the lyrics, I knew it was God telling me I had made the right choice: "I'm gonna land beside a lion and run my fingers through his mane."

It gave me chill bumps because I had been praying that God send me a sign that I had made the right choice with this book. It's a YA and full of religious imagery. When I heard the song and those words it honestly brought tears to my eyes. Wow.

God is great.

As of now, it looks like "The Yearbook Series Book 1" (Limitless Publishing) will be out in September, "The Moment Keeper" (UK Carina) on Nov. 1 and "The Christmas Violin" (UK Carina) on Dec. 2. I will keep you up to date if these dates change.

Here's the skinny on "The Lion Awakens"

The Lion Awakens 

Two 17-year-olds find information hidden in anonymous gifts that leads them to a parallel universe and an enemy hell-bent on taking over their world.

Also, read about the other two contracts I signed for "The Yearbook Series," "The Moment Keeper" and "The Christmas Violin."

Just signed two-book contract with Carina UK

More great news! I've just finalized the contract with Carina UK for a two-book deal for "The Moment Keeper" and "The Christmas Violin."

 I'm super excited that I will be sharing these two books, along with "The Yearbook Series" being published my Limitless Publishing, with you.

 If you missed my earlier news about the Limitless contract, read it now. Here's the post from Limitless about "The Yearbook Series." I'm currently writing book 2 of this series. What fun!

I have some other books that I am trying to place as well and I'll let you know if/when that happens. Here are the deets on these two Carina books and here is the other work I'm trying to place. 

"The Moment Keeper"
As a Moment Keeper records the moments of her charge's life, she comes to see how life is a intricate tapestry of which we are threads woven together in ways we have never anticipated or imagined. The charge learns that a second can change a life forever and that it's what we do with the moments that count.


"The Christmas Violin"
Written like a violin concerto in three movements, this novella tells the story of three people who have one thing in common -- the cemetery. It is a beautiful story about love and loss and the enormous power of the human spirit.

Agents, editors use #MSWL to broadcast wish lists

I recently came across the hashtag #MSWL on Twitter. It stands for Manuscript Wish List. It turns out that literary agents and editors use this hashtag to convey what's on their wish lists. If you're an author, search for this hashtag on Twitter and comb the posts. It might be you have something they are looking for. And here's more on #MSWL.

Poll: When do you write?

poll by twiigs.com

Writer's Digest competition has $3,000 prize

The deadline for Writer's Digest's 82nd Annual Writing Competition is June 14. The grand-prize winner gets  $3,000 first prize and a trip to New York City to meet with agents and editors.

Here are the categories:

• Inspirational Writing (Spiritual/Religious)
• Memoirs/Personal Essay
• Magazine Feature Article
• Genre Short Story (Mystery, Romance, etc.)
• Mainstream/Literary Short Story
• Rhyming Poetry
• Non-rhyming Poetry
• Stage Play
• Television/Movie Script
• Children’s/Young Adult Fiction

From Will, Middle Name Trouble

I love Will Moran from my middle grade, Will, Middle Name Trouble. Here is a snippet.

...

And I was the  only eight-year-old who didn’t have an adult at the bus stop.

The first time I had to go to the bus stop in the rain, I got soaked. After that, whenever it rained I’d wait on my front porch. I could see the bus stop from there and when the bus pulled up, I’d run as fast as I could to catch it. I missed it once. I stumbled and fell and tore a hole in my jeans and cut my knee. That day, Mom found an umbrella at Goodwill.

“Got you an umbrella good as new,” Mom told me when I stumbled in the door. She pointed to the kitchen counter.

I gulped. “But it’s pink. No way am I carrying a pink umbrella. Everyone will make fun of me.”

“Listen here, Will,” said Mom, shaking her finger. “It was the only one they had. A pink umbrella is better than no umbrella.”

I knew better than to argue. Later, in my room, I took a permanent black marker and drew designs all over it. I figured if I disguised it, maybe no one would notice. I was wrong.

“Hey Moron,” gorilla Nate from the next street over said the next day on the bus.

I clenched my teeth. “My name’s Moran.”

“Well, you’re a moron for carrying a girl’s umbrella.” Everyone on the bus laughed.

That was the only time I used that umbrella. I decided that getting wet was better than getting laughed at.

Revising a completed work is fun, fun, fun!

I love revising. And I'm amazed at what I find when I return to a completed work. Such was the case with "The Lion Awakens." 

The YA is about two 17-year-olds who find information hidden in anonymous gifts that leads them to a parallel universe with an enemy hell-bent on taking over the world. 

I realized that the story didn't start in the right place. It didn't grab me and entice me to read on. So I chucked it and wrote something new. And, I condensed the first four chapters into two, trashing a bunch of stuff that I didn't need. It wasn't as painful as I thought it would be, and the book is so much better because I wasn't afraid to take the ax to it. 

So here's the new opening. Does it make you want to read  more? Yes or no? If no, what would make it better? 

'The Christmas Violin' structured like a concerto in three movements

I finished my WIP, “The Christmas Violin.” The story is told in three movements, like a violin concerto. In Movement 1, we meet a young woman, a young man and an old woman. None of the characters are named in Movement 1. It begins in the cemetery with the young woman playing, and the old woman and the young man listening.

In Movement 2, we learn that the young woman is Willow Channing, the young man is Peter James St. John. But we never learn the name of the old woman. 

The story unfolds via passages, starting with Peter, then Willow and finally the old woman. It alternates in this order throughout Movement 2, incorporating the characters’ back stories and building an understanding of and empathy for their individual journeys and the obstacles they must overcome.   

Movement 3 contains two characters, Willow and Peter, and they are no longer separate vignettes but have become one.

Lunchtime observations

I went for a walk over my lunch break. I never stop being a reporter or writer. I notice details others might miss and I wonder why -- a lot.

Sometimes when I walk, I see something and then I try to describe it in my mind. For example, today this is what I saw and how I described it in my mind.

Saw: White buds falling from trees

Described: White silky blossoms fluttered from the tree, carried away by the sweet spring breeze.  

Saw: Tiny green buds on trees

Described: The tiny leaves, snuggled together, reminded me of a butterfly’s wings, waiting to burst open and welcome the world.  

YouTube channel is up and running

My YouTube Channel is back. Here's where you'll find the audio of the beginnings of all of my work. From "The Moment Keeper" to "Freaky Frank" to "Ella's Rain." Enjoy!

When an ending is a beginning

My WIP, "The Christmas Violin," is constructed like a violin concerto.

The first movement is titled Despair, the second movement is titled Journey and third movement is titled Hope. The second movement is the longest, followed by the first and third movements.

It’s coming in at around 26,000 words, so it’s more novella-length. I included one paragraph after the last movement, titled Encore, that I hope nails the ending. When I wrote it, I cried. Not because it was the end, but because it was the beginning.

Sometimes sleep helps writing

Weird how sometimes when I’m struggling with my novel I go to sleep and when I wake up, I have the solution. Somehow it works out in my head when I’m not actively trying to work it out. It's pretty cool that sleep somehow helps us process information and work out solutions. 

Does this happen to you? 

Excerpt: Don’t forget to listen to your little voices

Excerpt from Smart magazine column
 

Don’t forget to listen to your little voices

I hear it. I know you can’t. I wish you could.

It’s that little voice inside of me that tells me I’m doing exactly what I’m meant to do. Funny how something so quiet can speak so loudly. But it does.

I even hear it when I’m sleeping. It comes to me in the quiet of the night, slipping into my dreams, nudging me on. I feel it with every part of my being. It’s how I know that I’m doing exactly what I’m meant to do.

When I was a teen, I thought I had life all figured out. But the older I get, the more I realize how little I knew. Decades later, I’m still learning and growing and figuring life out.

There is one thing I have figured out, though, one thing I’m certain of. Each of us has a gift, a talent. You just have to find yours.

Read the rest

Confessions of a writer

I’m nearing a very important turning point in my WIP. A part of me can’t wait to see how it unfolds, and a part of me is scared that I won’t do it justice. I want to get the scene just right, and I’m afraid that I won’t. And I’m doubly afraid that because I’m afraid I’ll procrastinate writing it.

I’ve been thinking about this moment from the time the story popped into my head, which, by the way, was while showering.

I feel like I’m coming to the edge of a cliff. I know that I must step off the cliff. I can’t stay where it’s safe forever.  But still....

Do you ever feel like this? Do you ever procrastinate because you’re afraid you won’t write something well enough?

Writing can make me sad

Sometimes, what I write makes me so sad. My current novel includes a character who is homeless. She has made the cemetery her home. Dead people aren't mean and they don't make fun of her. And they don't call her crazy. Here's a paragraph I just wrote to give you an example.

EXCERPT
When she was younger, she had dreams. But she stopped dreaming long ago. They never came true anyway. At least not for her. And she figured when she did dare to dream, she always heard the voices, telling her she was no good, worthless, a whore, scum. And she figured the voices knew better than she did. After all, they made her do things, even when she didn’t want to. They were in control, not her. No, dreams were for other people. Regular people. Not people with demons in their heads.

Does your writing ever make you sad? How do you deal with this? I've tried to explain it to people, but if they aren't writers they don't seem to get it.

Characters are like tributaries

They came to me in the shower – Willow, Peter and the Old Woman. I saw them at the cemetery: the Old Woman watching from the bushes, Peter staring from a few graves away and Willow playing the violin to her child who was dead. And thus began my writing journey of "The Christmas Violin."

It’s a wonderful yet difficult journey, and it’s far from over. It’s challenging bringing together three characters that are fighting very different demons.

The characters are like tributaries that flow into a river and eventually empty into an ocean where they twist and turn, rumble and tumble before crashing to the shore. There is enormous power when the wave crashes, but then the water recedes and its force is much weaker than that of the incoming wave.

The challenge is to have the tributaries flow naturally into the river and the river to flow naturally into the ocean.

Water always seemed to find a way. I hope I do, too.   

BlaBlaMeter checks your writing for, um, crap

Here's a tool I stumbled across. It's BlaBlaMeter and it checks how much "bullshit" is in your writing. It's simple to use. You copy your text into the white field. It recommends a minimum of five sentences.

Let me know what you think of it.