![]() Tell us a bit about yourself. Ever since her first kiss, Sadira’s been spinning steamy tales in her head. But it wasn’t until her 50s that she tried her hand at writing one. Now she’s a happy citizen of Romancelandia, penning contemporary romance and cozy mysteries from her home in Washington State. When not writing, which is seldom, she explores the U.S. Pacific Northwest with her charming husband, enjoys the local music scene, plays guitar badly, and gobbles all the books. Visit Sadira at www.sadirastone.com. How do you find time to write? Writing is my full-time gig ever since I left my teaching job in 2014. I make a mug of strong coffee and stand at my desk all morning, usually in my pajamas or yoga pants, until the words on the screen start to blur. On a good day, one with minimal errands to run, I'm back at it in the afternoon after a break for some exercise. Life is good! What’s your publishing tips? Well, I'm a newbie, having just released my first book. Networking was key to my finding a publisher. I joined my local RWA chapter, joined every applicable social media group I could find, entered Twitter pitch contests, and attended workshops and conferences. It was a member of my RWA chapter in Olympia, Washington who recommended I submit to her publisher. I'm so grateful to the authors who've helped me along the way to publication, and I do what I can to lend a hand to others by promoting their books and hosting them on my blog. Any promotional and marketing tips? Social media is time-consuming but free. I've connected with readers on Facebook and Twitter. Tell us about your recent book. Through the Red Door, is a contemporary erotic romance set in a bookshop in Eugene, Oregon. Clara Martelli clings to Book Nirvana, the Oregon bookshop she and her late husband Jared built together. When rising rents and corporate competition threaten its survival, her best hope is their extensive erotica collection, locked behind a red door. In dreams and signs, her dead husband tells her it's time to open that door and move on. When a dark and handsome stranger's powerful magnetism jolts her back to life and he wants a look at the treasures of that secret room, she can't help but want to show him more. Professor Nick Papadopoulos is looking for historical erotica. Book Nirvana's collection surpasses his wildest dreams, and so does its lovely owner. A widower, he understands Clara's battle with guilt, but their searing chemistry is too strong to resist. Besides, he will only be in town for two weeks, not long enough for her to see beyond the scandal that haunts his past. Why set the series in a bookshop? Ever since I was a wee lass, I dreamed of owning one. Add to that my fascination with historical erotic art and literature, and you’ve got the Book Nirvana series. I enjoyed the chance to feature an older couple—though at 39 and 41, Clara and Nick are hardly seniors. Late-in-life love, second chances at happiness, and reinvention are themes that pop up in my stories again and again. As pioneering female writer George Eliot said, “It’s never too late to be what you might have been.” Nick and Clara’s sizzling chemistry proves that love can burn just as hot past that first flush of youth. Short Excerpt: Probably just one of those guys who flirt with everyone. Thinking of him that way made it easier to face the prospect of seeing him again when he came for the rest of the books on his list. She knew in her bones she was not ready for a— what, a fling? A flirtation? A hot tumble among the naughty books? Her body’s fevered response to Nick felt like a betrayal to Jared. But the thought of running her hands along Nick’s tawny skin warmed her in places that had been too cold for too long. Here are buy links, in case you allow those: https://www.amazon.com/Through-Red-Door-Book-Nirvana-ebook/dp/B07J5BCTSG/ https://wildcatalog.thewildrosepress.com/all-erotic/6283-through-the-red-door.html https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/through-the-red-door-sadira-stone/1129705434?ean=2940161713808
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![]() Tell us a bit about yourself : I am university administer at the University of Cincinnati. I’ve been married for 32 years, have two children, and one precious grandchild. I’ve co-written several textbooks but recently started writing fiction and love it. I am a huge animal lover and have a Maltipoo and an Amazon parrot. In my free time I crochet, read, and binge watch all kinds of shows on Netflix. How do you find time to write? I write mainly on the weekends, and I do some editing and social media in the evenings. I also write any day I have vacation or am off from work. What’s your publishing tips? The best advice I can give is write a great book. Polish your novel and have it read by several beta readers, then query. Do your homework about publishing companies and don’t jump at the first offer to publish without first doing a thorough check on the company. Never, ever give up. Any promotional and marketing tips? Marketing and promotion is not something many authors like. Most of us just want to write. Unfortunately, just writing without promotion and marketing means no one will read your book. Social media must be your friend, and you will have to promote your brand far and wide and continuously. Tell us about your recent book. Six Months is a mainstream, contemporary romance novel written from the point of view of the heroine and the hero. The story centers around the loss of a child, and the devastating effect it has on a family. Mikala, the mother, is devastated and for a while she is not sure she wants to survive. The human spirit is resilient, and the story is told in Six Month increments as she learns to forgive the person responsible for her child’s death, rebuilds her life, and falls in love with an old friend. The story is a tear jerker with a deep emotional tug, but it does have a happy ending and leaves the reader hopeful and rooting for Mikala and Jake. Mona Sedrak lives in Cincinnati, Ohio and works as a university administrator and professor. Although she has co-published two academic books, she is now writing mainstream fiction and women's fiction. She is an avid reader and is probably Audible's best customer. Writing and reading fiction is her escape from reality. Mona lives with her husband of 31 years, a geriatric maltipoo, and an Amazon Parrot named Pretzel. She binge watches too many shows to count and she loves fine brandy. Website: https://www.monasedrak.com/ Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mona-Sedrak/e/B003VGUOZQ Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorMSedrak Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/MonaSedrakAuthor/ Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4563964.Mona_Sedrak Email: [email protected] Newsletter: https://www.subscribepage.com/h1a1s0 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormonasedrak/ Facebook Readers Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MonasReaderGroup/ Goodreads: Six Months https://goo.gl/6RybA1 Amazon: https://goo.gl/gRmsMr The Wild Rose Press: https://goo.gl/1emrMC B&N: https://goo.gl/bQfNL1 Ibooks: https://goo.gl/yD7qfX For twenty years, Mikala Jacobson had it all: loyal friends, a precious little girl, and a man who adores her. Then double tragedy strikes and her perfect world shatters. Good friends, Rena and Jake are instantly by her side, protecting her from her husband David’s sordid secret life and his final drunken confession. With their help, Mikala finds strength to rebuild and redefine her life. As her spirit and heart heal, she not only finds closure, but the beauty of a new love built upon an old friendship. ![]() Tell us a bit about yourself I was born and raised in southern Maryland. When I was thirteen, I moved Summerville, South Caroline where I fell in love with the Lowcountry culture and history. South Caroline was my inspiration for my book Heart Healer. Recently I moved to central Va and now I am enjoying the beauty and history of this area. The rolling hills and pastoral views will surely inspire ideas for future stories How do you find time to write? I try to write a few hours every day. What’s your publishing tips? Never give up even when a publisher said no there is one out there that is right for you and your book. Tell us about your recent book. Heart Healer is about Catherine Andrews is an English woman living in the 1800s. Her father sells her to Blake Von-Clyer to be his wife to pay off debts owed to Mr. Von-Clyer. Catherine soon finds out Blake is a cruel and horrible man. On their wedding night, to escape his cruelty, she throws herself into the river. Death is better than marriage to a beast. Christopher King is living in 2014 doing his best to raise his young son Ryan after his wife left him. One night, Christopher finds a woman in the river unconscious and barely breathing. She is also wearing old fashioned clothes. Christopher does everything in his power to help the young women. When Catherine regains consciousness, she finds herself in a strange and unbelievable situation. Terrified, she does her best to keep her guard up against Christopher. But as she gets to know him, she can't help but fall for the man who saved her life. When Catherine's dangerous past comes back to haunt her, it has Catherine and Christopher fighting for each other and their love. ![]() Tell us a bit about yourself Hello everyone and thank you for having me here. I am an indie published author, under my own name – M L Tompsett. Married to my childhood sweetheart. Also, we have two adult sons, who come in handy when I am creating my book covers! I live in Victoria, Australia, down on Westernport Bay, so each day I can look out my front windows and enjoy the water view, and see if the tide is in or out. My background is in office admin, sales and a few other areas in business. Most days you will find me busy working away on one of my WIP’s. How do you find time to write? This is nearly a laughable question. If I do not take the time to write, it does not happen. Plus I am also a night owl, which means I write a lot of a night time. What’s your publishing tips? I would recommend for anyone who is contemplating self-publishing, try out some courses. Learn as much as you can. Because it does pay to know what everyone else is speaking of. What the process is, how to create and turn your manuscript into a word doc – file and turn it into a pdf for print books. Or one of the many programs out on the market, to turn your word doc into a digital format eBook and or a print book – pdf. You will also need to know how to create a cover, or you will have to pay for someone to create one for you. I originally turned my word doc into my digital eBook formats and print book. It was a lot of hard work, with different word styles and set outs, each digital platform had different settings. Now I use a program to turn each word doc into my next digital book (mobi, epub, etc.) and tweak it, to how I would like it. Learn how to make an ebook cover and a print book cover – warning, you will require software to do this and a computer. If you know your way around a computer, you will be fine. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Speak with other authors who have self-published or traditionally published and listen and learn. We have all made mistakes, and will most likely continue to make more. You will also make mistakes, but do not allow this to prevent you from finishing your book. Learn from it and keep going. Tomorrow is always a new day and will allow for new thoughts and adjustments. Never give up! Any promotional and marketing tips? Again, follow up on some courses, speak to different people and learn as much as you can. On social media, join many different groups, to help gain a bigger audience. And for new people to see your work. Get to know your local newspaper reporters. When you are about to release the next printed book, phone or email your contact and discuss if it is possible to obtain a small interview and for you to provide a photo or two. Tell us about your recent book. My recent book or my last book I released to the world is the third book in my, Sex, Lies And Family Secrets, series - You Never Know. This series comes under paranormal fantasy with romance elements. (For readers, 18 years and over.) The book is about the life of a young woman, trying to break away from her family traditions and learn about life in the human realm. The protagonist is a Dark One, otherwise known as a vampire in the human world. The only difference is Dark Ones are born, as vampires are made/turned. So here is the protagonist named Alex, a strong independent young woman with magical abilities, have I mentioned, Alex is also a Princess? Well, she is, and Alex is also the second born daughter, allowing her more freedom. So this gives Alex the perfect opportunity to live amongst the humans and hopefully meet her soul mate, fall in love and live happily ever after. - And of course, nothing is never that straightforward. So here is the blurb for, You Never Know:- Leaving her family behind, and escaping her future, Alex Smithlyn attempts to live amongst the humans and away from Dark Ones and her destiny. Recruited by The Corporation, Alex and Branx Rayden work as partners capturing and eliminating the evils of this world, until someone close to our young couple decided Alex is next on the list for extermination. As a mysterious man appears, who is he, but more importantly why did he want to capture, Alex? Secrets are revealed, shattering one family’s lives forever. Alex must survive if she is to become the next Queen of Darshia. Who said the life of a Princess, is ever easy? My next book due to be released very soon is another paranormal fantasy romance book, this one is a paranormal shifter series – Kept in the Dark of Love and Lust. Blurb: In an attempt to save her job, Misty Statesly travels to a coastal town in Victoria, to hopefully win over her new clients. The feeling of déjà vu fills Misty when she meets her sexy new client for the first time. In a compromising position with her sexy client - Braven O’Geary, is memorised by the mark on the inside of her thigh. The same mark he had given to the love of his life, his childhood soul mate. Whom he was lead to believe had died in a car accident with her parents, some sixteen years earlier. Trying to protect his mate, Braven is not about to fail Misty, now they are reunited. The only hitch is his ex-fiancé has other ideas, and so does the alpha of their clan. Will they succeed in their evil plans? Will Misty regain her lost memories, and fight for the man she loves, embracing her new shifter world or will she die this time for real? My website is www.mltompsett.com I can be found on most social media, under M. L. Tompsett Author, FB, Instagram, Twitter, Bookbub, amazon, Goodreads and many other places. Thanks for having me and enjoy reading and writing. About me: I was born a small town in N.S.W. Australia, to English parents from Yorkshire. I am the youngest of five children. As a child I loved reading and listening to music, my favourite being ABBA, though I grew up liking a great variety of music. My love of reading fiction started at an early age with Enid Blyton’s novels, before moving on into more adult stories such as Catherine Cookson’s novels as a teenager. Living in England, during the 1980s I discovered a love of history by visiting the many and varied places of historical interest. The road to publication was long and winding with a few false starts, but I finally became published in 2006. Since that time, many novels and several short stories published. My contemporary romance, Hooked on You, written under the pen name, Anne Whitfield, was a 2011 finalist for the international EPIC award. However, currently, I'm writing only historical novels, mainly set in Yorkshire and/or Australia in the eras covering from Victorian to WWII. My books are available in ebook and paperback from bookstores, especially online bookstores such as Amazon. Watching movies is a favourite past time and I enjoy reading and gardening. Spending time visiting old country estates and castles is something I enjoy doing, too, and it helps me to gain ideas for my books. I am interested in genealogy and researched my family trees. I love chocolate (who doesn't?) and I enjoy travelling, cooking and surfing the web (research purposes, obviously, not wasting time on Facebook!) Mostly, I prefer spending time with my husband and being with family and friends. What was the idea/inspiration for your novel? I had an idea of two sisters walking the roads without family or money and what might happen to them. From that small idea the story grew. Charlotte became a loved character straight away. She has everything I admire, strength of character, loyalty, is fiercely protective, loving and determined. So when she meets Harry I needed him to see all those qualities and how she was the one for him, even if Charlotte didn’t know it at the time. After being strong for so long, Charlotte finds it tough to let go and rely on someone else. Then when she does do that with Harry, he goes off to war! I wanted to show the push and pull of a relationship when outside influences change the way the characters think and feel and how they adapt and cope. I love how harry thinks he has it all worked out and then suddenly everything changes when war is declared. Also the secondary characters are just wonderful. Harry’s difficult sister Petra was brilliant to write. How did you first become interested in writing? I’ve always had a very good imagination and read a lot as a child. When I was a teenager, I dabbled in writing romance stories based on Mills & Boons books, and I did an essay at high school which received top marks, which was about re-creating a different ending for a film we’d watched in class. I think that was my first proper taste of writing something that other people thought was good. As I grew older, I always had characters in my head which were more like the historical books I read as a teenager. One day when I was home looking after my young children, I started to write my first book, which became, To Gain What’s Lost. The Promise of Tomorrow excerpt: ‘I arrived home yesterday.’ Harry stared around the warm, neat shop. He moved to the fire and put his hands out to the flames, not wanting to think about the disastrous visit to London. ‘How’s everything in the village?’ ‘All is well, as far as I know, anyway.’ Wheeler held up one of the tall glass jars of boiled sweets. ‘For the children?’ ‘Yes, thank you. A quarter of each that you have, please.’ ‘Those pit children are fortunate to have such a generous employer as you.’ As Wheeler started weighing out the brightly coloured sweets, a young woman walked out from the rear doorway and paused beside him. Harry stared at her, never having seen her before. His heart gave a jolt, surprising him. A tingle of physical awareness gripped his whole body. ‘Master Harry?’ Realising that Stan Wheeler had been speaking to him, Harry gave a little cough and tried to recapture his reeling senses. The young woman before him was a delicate beauty. ‘You-you have a new assistant, Mr Wheeler?’ ‘Indeed, Master Harry, for nearly six weeks now.’ Wheeler grinned, his whole demeanour showing his happiness. ‘Charlotte, this is Mr Harry Belmont, of Belmont Hall. Master Harry, may I present Miss Charlotte Brookes.’ Harry held out his hand and she tentatively took it for a second before slipping her hands behind her slender back. She wore a huge white apron over a simple black dress. Her hair, the colour of deep chestnut mixed with copper was wound in a tight bun at the back of her head, but a few stray tendrils had escaped and hung over her small ears. Her eyes were a blend of green and dark gold. Colour heightened the unblemished skin on her cheeks. It took him but a moment to notice all these things and wonder at his own astonishment to her appearance. She was attractive, certainly, but he’d seen beautiful women before. So why did this one, a shop girl, rob him of both breath and sensible thought? ‘Charlotte and her younger sister, Hannah, are staying with us, you see. They are now without family.’ Wheeler gave her a pat on the shoulder in sympathy before regaining his sunny nature once more. ‘But they have settled in so well here. Bessie and myself can’t think of how it once was without them. Such help they are to us.’ Harry watched Miss Brookes as she smiled softly at Wheeler, the affection between them was mutual it seemed. He wanted to speak to her but didn’t know what to say. A first for him. Wheeler continued to fill up the small brown paper bags of sweets. ‘See here now, Charlotte. Master Harry comes in every now and then and buys sweets for the children of the pit rows belonging to his mine. They are the children of the men he employs.’ He opened a new jar of humbugs. ‘A quarter of each kind from the boiled sweets and a dozen strips of liquorice cut again into smaller pieces. It goes on the Belmont Hall’s account.’ ‘I see, yes.’ She watched him intently as he used tongs to separate the black liquorice lengths. ‘Are you staying in the village long, Miss Brookes?’ Harry finally managed to say, absorbing the way she absently tucked her hair behind her ear. She looked up at him, startled, her eyes wide as though speaking to him was alarming. ‘I hope so, sir.’ He cringed at the ‘sir’. He didn’t want her to cower before him like a servant. For some reason he sensed she wasn’t made that way. He didn’t know why he thought so, or what proof he had, but he instinctively believed she was strong, determined and in no way ordinary. The manner in how she stood straight-backed and watched Wheeler; the pert thrust of her chin as she helped him to weigh and bag the sweets. Her movements were neat and precise and Harry knew at that instant that he could watch her for the rest of his life. ![]() Tell us a bit about yourself? Hey everyone, and thanks to Liv for having me. I’m a recovering employment lawyer from the suburbs of Sydney, Australia who now works for a university in employee relations. I’ve been reading since before I could walk, starting with the magical world of elves and pixies and fairies, before graduating to more grown up fairy-tales 😉 I used to write a lot as a child, but that tapered off as I got further into my education and academic writing. I came back to creative writing a few years ago. Many of my story ideas come from my work – there’s a lot of ‘I wonder what his wife will say when he goes home and says he’s been fired for X’ or ‘oh, I wonder what would happen if that guy she met Friday turns up to work on Monday?’ There’s also some random inspiration – I’m dabbling with a short at the moment that has a Conor McGregor character which came to me while watching him box… yummy. Another one was inspired by my fangirling over Fifty Shades when I was in Seattle recently (and roaming up and down the street outside the actual Escala hoping to catch my own Christian Grey…). How do you find time to write? I try to write 3-4 nights a week as well as weekends but it’s not easy! I work full time in a role that involves a lot of influencing and emotional work (I do lots of investigations, and disciplinary matters, and giving people advice on how to manage people issues). It’s sometimes hard to come home and sit down at the laptop to write because I’m exhausted (I also hate answering the phone at home… because I do a lot of talking at work!) I’m also a CHAMPION procrastinator so, often, I’ll sit at the computer and get sucked into the social media vortex (or start reorganising my files, or looking for other distractions or… you get my drift!). On top of that I like to have a life, and I have family, and commitments to older parents that take priority, so it’s very much a juggling act. I am trying to be more disciplined about writing long-ish outlines or synopses at the outset so I know where I’m going. My current WIP has been written from beginning, then from end and now I’m battling with the middle – something I would definitely NOT recommend! I also have a great friend who is also my writing angel. I can often hear her perched on my shoulder yelling at me to put the fingers on the keys…! She has awesome writing discipline, so I do try and adopt some of her practices – but I’m still working on it. What are your publishing tips? Firstly, don’t work with blinkers on. Find yourself a few (just a few – you don’t need a football team) trusted readers to give you constructive feedback. If you’re traditionally published, listen to your editor. If you’re self-publishing, engage a good editor, and listen to them. Ultimately, you don’t have to do everything the editor suggests, and sometimes their ideas may have you wondering if they’ve been smoking crack, but you should have a good reason for not doing whatever it is they suggest. Remember you can be too close to your work. Secondly, don’t be afraid to ask questions – of your editor, publisher, agent, lawyer, whoever! This is your business and you are entitled to ask as many questions as you need to ask in order to understand the deal. If someone is discouraging you from asking questions, maybe you should be asking if they’re the right person to be working with. Trust your gut. Finally, run your own race. Not everyone will make millions from selling a book, not everyone can publish multiple books in a year, not everyone can win awards (although, as an aside, if you don’t enter, you can’t win…). You need to set your own goals, and work to meet them. Don’t try and be the next someone else, just be you! Any promotional and marketing tips? Like I just said, be you! But, seriously… give some thought to what that means. What is your brand? What do you offer to readers that makes you different? What’s the promise you’re going to deliver on every time (even if the setting, and nature of the stories change)? When you’ve sorted that out, set yourself up a website that has at least your bio and your books, and that suits your brand (that is, if you’re writing rural romance, you don’t want a dark, mysterious looking webpage. If you’re writing fun, urban contemporaries, don’t go with hay…). Pick the social media that works for you, whether that’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or whatever. You should make sure you have your name ‘reserved’ on each of the sites – but you need to focus on the ones that work best for you. And, when you do, engage with people. Don’t just bang on about ‘buy my book’ because, eventually, your audience will stop listening. Engage in a positive way, talk about things that interest you (and try not to get into too many fights). Don’t sign people up for groups or lists that they’ve not agreed to be on. Tell us about your recent book. Love Sabre is a seven-story anthology published by Boroughs Publishing Group in February 2018. The stories range from sweet to spicy and each can be devoured in a lunch-break, or over a coffee or glass of wine. The idea for Love Sabre came when seven slightly crazy and very exhausted women who’d only just met were sitting at the same table at the Romance Writers of Australia AGM. Instead of concentrating on proceedings, we started daring each other to come up with the silliest purple prose we could think of and someone came up with ‘sheathing your love sabre.’ After that – because what else would you do? – we dared each other to use the phrase in a short story – and Love Sabre was born. The Love Sabrists are now busily working on the next instalment, which should be available sometime in 2019. As for me, I’m working on finishing a category romance along Dare lines that I’m hoping will be picked up buy a publisher soon (well, when I finish it #procrastination). It’s a twist on the boss/employee relationship trope with my main character Charlotte finding her Friday night hook up is Monday’s new employee… You can keep up with all of my caffeinated comings and goings at www.wordsbykristinecharles.com or on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. You can also buy Love Sabre from your preferred seller here. ![]() Interview with Emily Hussey Most Recent Book I am about to release Trust Your Heart, the second in the Red Centre Series. The first was The Red Heart, and this series is set in Alice Springs in the centre of Australia. This book will be launched in mid-November, and like the first, has a strong aviation theme. The Centralian region is a strong setting for the series. Tell us about yourself I never expected to find myself moving to Melbourne to take up a new job so late in my working career. Adelaide is my home base, but my work in the property industry has taken me to employment on Sydney Airport, and all-around South Australia. Currently, I am land adviser to the Level Crossing Removal Authority with the Victorian Government. I am fortunate to have very affordable accommodation in the Melbourne CBD and have enjoyed getting to know the city over the two years I have been here. My morning walks help with that. Moving to a new city can be a lonely experience but joining writing groups has made all the difference to both my writing career and my sanity. In particular, joining the Melbourne Romance Writers Group has introduced me to a supportive group of women. How do you find the time to write? The major turning point for me was moving to Melbourne, because I am now living in an apartment, instead of a large house with garden as I did in Adelaide. I miss the amenity I had in my house, but I don’t miss the work that is entailed in looking after and managing it all. I’m an early riser, so now I can just roll out of bed and turn on the computer. I will usually do a bit of work before leaving for the day job. My 9-5 office is only a 5-minute walk away, so time that might otherwise be used by the commute is used for writing. The only distraction I have here is my little black cat. She seems to think I should be providing a lap for her or should at least be petting her. I now pull up a chair with a comfy cushion alongside me while I write, and she can be close but not on my lap. I don’t always write at home. I always have a notebook with me and may take advantage of a local café or library for a change in environment. Writing freehand is a great way for dealing with writer’s block or for brain-storming. What are your publishing tips?
The writing is the easy part, or that’s how it seems. Marketing can seem overwhelming, and it helps to break it down into small chunks and to deal with those. There are many online courses available, and some of those will cost an arm and a leg. As writers starting out, it is difficult to justify that cost. Alexandra Torre offers a course that is practical and affordable and that helped me to get my head around the steps to take. There are two aspects to marketing. Your individual marketing program revolves around your social media campaign; developing your website, your mailing list and newsletter, and your promotional materials. The other is developing a combined program with writers in your genre. You can cross-post on newsletters, organise joint presentations at libraries or book groups, and provide mutual support. Knowing your target market is so important. Different audiences will be found on different platforms and that will help make the decision whether to publish your work wide (on all online platforms) or narrow (only on Kindle Unlimited). I have found for instance that readers of my recent work are in an older age group, and they tend not to be Amazon customers. They buy from iBooks or Kobo. For me, going wide makes sense. Experiment though and see what works for you. Tell us about your recent book When I first wrote The Red Heart, I intended it to be a standalone. In that book, Sarah was the best friend of the protagonist. She was a likeable character and I decided she deserved the opportunity to find her own HEA and so, Trust Your Heart evolved. Living and working in Alice Springs, Sarah is still grieving the death of her fiancé who had leukaemia. She has a vivacious personality, but in part that is a barrier against the world, hiding her pain and hurt. When Joel, a new manager for the local radio station arrives in town, Sarah is cautiously interested, but is not ready to lay her heart on the line. She senses that Joel has secrets in his life, and that makes her wary of involvement. Sarah takes steps to create a new path in her life, but when the normally dry river bed floods after days of rain, the consequences cause everyone to re-think their actions and relationships. There is still the third book in this series to come, and that will be released early in 2019. ![]() Tell us a bit about yourself I’m an Australian author telling Australian stories about women making choices about how they want to live, who they want to be and what it really means to love and be loved. It’s not smooth sailing for my ladies though, they’ll take you on a journey, for sure. I live in South Australia, watch far too much television, am fuelled by Doritos and chocolate sultanas and am of course a bit of a book addict. I like to bake but don’t because I tend to eat it all and I don’t want to run it off. I like a little hiking and of course, we have a bevvy of wonderful restaurants and festivals here and then there’s the Barossa, we’re very good friends!! How do you find time to write? If I don’t write, I go bit a bit loopy and my brain doesn’t function well and I have the strangest, most vivid dreams so I make sure to schedule some in as often as possible. I’d like to say I do it every day, but I don’t and that’s okay, that’s life and it depends on my schedule as to how much I can do each day/ week. So I’ll look at my week ahead on a Sunday night and plan out my week with all the other things that need doing. What’s your publishing tips? Treat it like the business it is. Schedule your time and your tasks as you would in any other business. Which isn’t always fun but it’s necessary. Hire a good editor (if one has not been provided for you! But still, a professional edit before submitting will make a massive difference if that’s the path you’re choosing) who understands your work and your style and a good cover designer if you’re going the indie route. No matter which path, traditional or indie, learn the business. Learn who is who and what they’re doing and what the industry is doing. So many agents and editors share their wisdom in many places, read it. I used to spend hours every morning reading a whole swag of their blogs. I ended up going the indie route but by then I knew things and I feel it was a huge benefit. Any promotional and marketing tips? Be brave. Believe in yourself and your product. Understand your target market. Your book is not for everyone and that is okay, work out who it is for and find them, understand them, connect with them, write blogs and social media posts with them in mind. Set your promo budget, if you’re doing Facebook ads or Amazon ads or a Bookbub ad etc., work out your plan, your expectation and budget before you start and stick to it. You can increase if something is successful but if you can’t afford to then so be it, run your own race, follow what works for you each day. It may change tomorrow and that’s okay. Tell us about your recent book. Running From Me is the story of Jilly, she’s been living a double life, running from who she was and what she did, never letting anyone get close to her, break through her walls. She leaves her boyfriend when he’s about to propose, she has no ID, she can’t get married so she leaves and then she meets Sienna and Mel, her new housemates who she can’t help but love. And then there’s, MD, Sienna’s brother and he’ll have her wanting things a person like her can never have. When Jilly’s past comes to town, she’ll have to decide if she runs or if she can risk everything for her new life, her new friends and the love she doesn’t want to give up. But they’ll all be in danger if she stays, if they don’t hate her for what she did. Can she risk the rejection? Can she risk her heart? Will they catch her if she falls? I love this story so much. It was a total surprise though. I hadn’t planned to write it. I’d just finished the first draft of another book, a dystopian love story called Almost Perfect, and then I had the opening line of this one fall into my head so I typed it out hoping to quiet the muse and 21 days later I had the first draft of Running From Me and I was like whoa, where did you come from. I usually sit with a story for a while as it does its thing in my head but this one just burst through. Gotta love a little miracle like that, right?! Thank you for the opportunity to share a little bit about myself.
I live in Adelaide with my husband Paul of 35 years and my two grown children and their appendages. I recently became a full-time manager of an Autograph store, and now I struggle to juggle my two careers. I find my creativity is at its peak very early in the morning when I am fresh and uninterrupted. I’ve just invested in a laptop and am doing more work in the outdoors or at work in my back room. Three years ago, I spat out 9 long (approx. 120k each) contemporary novels and have spent pretty much the last few years working on editing them. I managed to release two last year and one this year. My love for Italy is the reason I like to focus my stories there. I have a lot of fond memories of Palermo in Sicily where I was born, and my colourfuI relatives still live in Villa Nave, the hotspot for my series. Bella Notte is the second in the series, following The Sicilian List which was a finalist in this years’ RuBY. It’s steamy, and fast paced and packed with food, dancing and amore! It also lets you enjoy the original character’s continuing love story, while introducing you to a new one. Of course, there’s a little mayhem, mystery and murderous intentions just to keep you on your toes. I have had some success with eBooks, through Amazon, but my fanbase are all about the hard copy novels. I run a cottage industry from home each time I have a new release, and it’s a fun way to catch up with people. Their enthusiasm and praise keep me going when I lose heart or feel insignificant in a giant pond of talent. It’s hard to spend time selling myself in such a way that I am recognised by the masses. It’s a fulltime job in itself, which is why I don’t feel I have really given it the time and effort required. Different people have told me varying outcomes of their journey from pure luck to emails, bookbubs and blogs. It’s like everything else, there are many talented people out there that are being overlooked, but it takes opportunity knocking, and a little luck as well as sweat and tears to have a measure of success. I look at it this way. There are people out there who are reading my stories, and then passing those books on to others. It’s what I’ve always wanted. It doesn’t matter if it’s 50 books or 50,000, I loved writing every word and hope that those who discover them will enjoy reading them too. So that’s a big tick for me, and as my BFF reminds me when I’m feeling down, I’m doing what I always dreamt of doing. That’s success to me. ![]() Tell us a bit about yourself I love romance novels, horse racing, and I'm turning into a cricket tragic. I love summer, long days in the park under a gum tree with a book while the kids play cricket. I'm also the Secretary of Romance Writers Australia, because I want to volunteer and give back to the organisation which has given me so many opportunities with my writing. My official bio: Renée Dahlia is an unabashed romance reader who loves feisty women and strong, clever men. Her books reflect this, with a side-note of dark humour. Renée has a science degree in physics. When not distracted by the characters fighting for attention in her brain, she works in the horse racing industry doing data analysis. She writes for two racing publications, churning out feature articles, interviews and advertorials. When she isn’t reading or writing, Renée wrangles a husband, four children, and volunteers on the local cricket club committee. Social Media Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reneedahliawriter/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/dekabat Website: www.reneedahlia.com How do you find time to write? I'm lucky enough to write full time (while the kids are at school). I try to spend my mornings writing novels, and my afternoons writing horse racing magazine articles and doing all the other stuff that comes with running a freelance business, such as sending out invoices. What’s your publishing tips? Read. Write. More specifically for romance, read a lot of books by the publisher or category line you are targeting. If you want to indie publish, the advice is the same. Understand your market by reading the popular books in the sub-genre you are aiming at. There is a lot of waiting in traditional publishing, and I'd advice writers to use that waiting time by doing more writing. It's all great practice. I was fortunate enough to get my first series picked up by Escape (Harlequin Australia), however, it's no guarantee of success. They have recently contracted another series with me, a contemporary rural romance called Merindah Park. These books are the 8th, 9th, and 10th books I've written. My first rejection came last month with my seventh book rejected, while my fourth, fifth, and sixth books are still on submission. Publishing is a fascinating business, and there are many reasons why a publisher will reject a book (and most of those reasons have nothing to do with the author). I'm going to do some edits on the traditionally rejected seventh book and indie publish it next year, because I believe hybrid publishing is the best long term career plan for an author in today's market. Any promotional and marketing tips? Network on social media, join chats like #RWChat on Twitter to talk to other authors, follow as many book bloggers on social media as you can find, and be as genuinely you as possible. Whatever you love, whatever your beliefs are will come through in your books, so the easiest way to let people know what to expect from your books is to be truthful. You don't have to share everything, of course, but don't fake your posts just because you think it will help. In the long run, readers will connect to you if you are real. Cross promote other writers, and make sure you claim your author pages on sites like Amazon, Goodreads, and Bookbub. Tell us about your recent book. When an uncommon lawyer meets an unusual doctor, their story must be extraordinary... Buy Links https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9781489264626/ https://books2read.com/u/3yD16v Review Contact Details Netgallery Blurb September 1888: Dr Claire Carlingford owns the bluestocking label. Her tycoon father encouraged her to study, and with the support of her two best friends, she took it further than anyone could imagine, graduating as a doctor and running her own medical practice. But it's not enough for her father. He wants her to take over the business, so he can retire. Then his sudden arrest throws the family into chaos and his business into peril. Mr James Ravi Howick, second son of Lord Dalhinge, wants to use his position as a lawyer to improve conditions for his mother's family in India. When an opportunity arises to work for Carlingford Enterprises, one of the richest companies in the world, Ravi leaps at the chance to open his own legal practise. But his employment becomes personal as he spends more time with Claire and she learns the secret that could destroy his family. Both Ravi and Claire are used to being outsiders and alone. But as they work together to save their respective families from disaster, it becomes clear that these two misfits might just fit together perfectly. Excerpt ‘Dr Carlingford,’ she said. She slid the book back on the shelf, concentrating on that task so she couldn’t see the clerk’s reaction. With a nod to Higgins to remain in the foyer, she followed the clerk, who led her through an oak door and along a corridor. With each step, she hoped that she was getting closer to the biggest office. Woodleyville certainly had the seniority to deal with her father’s problem. She grinned to herself. It wasn’t every day that a tycoon was arrested. Hopefully, she could present the case as a puzzle to appeal to the elderly lawyer, enough to overcome his snobbery. The clerk opened a door and gestured for her to enter. She nodded her thanks and walked inside. Behind a large desk with neat piles of paperwork stood a tall man of Indian descent. His dark brown eyes were framed by thick-rimmed glasses. The summer sunshine streamed in a large window and bounced off the glass on his face. Claire blinked. The room smelled of furniture polish, with a heady hint of hops about to be harvested. ‘Welcome,’ he said. His voice rumbled through the space between them, sending a shock wave inside her. She swallowed. ‘I was expecting Woodleyville Senior,’ she said. This man had to be around her age, and wasn’t at all like the senior partner she had expected to see. A tiny flutter began in her stomach and she pressed her hands softly against it. ‘Perhaps you could outline the issue to me,’ he said, calmly. There was such music in his voice, a masculine music causing the small flutter to grow. Josephine’s note crinkled in her palm as she clasped her hands together, dragging her attention back to her task. ‘And you are?’ |
AuthorGroot the puppy, my faithful companion, sits by my side while I write my stories. Archives
October 2020
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