Strange Inspirations
March 6, 2022 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as ideas, inspiration, writing
I’m writing. I’m always writing, and I’m committed to write several more books that I’m working on, both mystery and romantic suspense, which is a good thing.
So what are some of my oddest inspirations these days? Well, for one thing, someone was attacked on my very nice residential street recently. I learned a little of what it was about, thanks to neighbors and others, and looked it up on the internet. The information wasn’t complete, but it did get my mind considering what I could do to fix that in a fictional story. But not yet.
Then there’s a neighbor who has an affiliation with the Ukraine. No, though I feel highly sympathetic and concerned about the Ukranian people, I don’t think I want to write about that. But still—I’m a writer, so my mind churns about that too.
I’ve already mentioned how I’ve wondered about writing something including the pandemic—or not. Yes, in a way that could also be an inspiration.
Inspirations that are fun instead? Well, we’re awaiting a new puppy to be a companion to our dog Cari. We lost her former companion Mystie last year. Not sure how Cari will feel about not being an only dog again when the time comes—and my mind churns about writing something in anticipation.
Then there was the fact that we were babysitting our grandsons recently in Indiana, in the snow—leaving warm California behind. Delightful to be with them, and even dealing with the snow. Is there a story in that?
How about you? What in your life or neighborhood inspires you to write? Anything? Everything?
Linda O. Johnston
A Few of Linda’s Books
Linda O. Johnston, a former lawyer who is now a full-time writer, has published 52 books so far, including mysteries and romantic novels. More than twenty-five of them are romances for Harlequin, including Harlequin Romantic Suspense and Harlequin Nocturne. Her latest release is Colton 911: Caught in the Crossfire, for Harlequin Romantic Suspense.
She has also written several mystery series including the Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries and Superstition Mysteries for Midnight Ink, and the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter Mysteries and Pet Rescue Mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime. Nearly all Linda’s current stories involve dogs!
Linda enjoys hearing from readers. Visit her website at www.LindaOJohnston.com and friend her on Facebook.
March Check-In
March 5, 2022 by Tracy Reed in category Writing
Happy March. I’ll keep this brief because I know everyone is focused on the turmoil that’s going on in the world right now. As a writer you are probably feeling a little guilty about writing romance. But we must remember, it’s our job to make people smile. I challenge you to write something that will make people smile and forget the crazy in the world and give readers an escape.
I’m coming off release month for The Good Girl Part Four. It didn’t pan out like I planned, but I’m pleased with the results. I didn’t meet my sales goal, but I exceeded my monthly sales goal by 3.7%. I missed out on money because this book and the next book in the series weren’t part of the price increase. I set these preorders up a while back and I didn’t feel good about raising the price when there were people who purchased at the lower price. This decision cost me money, but I know I’ll get the lost money back.
The Good Girl Part One and Girlfriends & Secrets were gifted some free advertising which pushed sales and preorders. I also did an author newsletter promo which generated sales and preorders. These ads put eyes on both series. I also ran a BookBub New Release For Less Ad. I hoped high for the day the ad ran, but fell a little short that day. But the ad had tails. Honestly, I think the tails are still growing. I love this BookBub new release tool and hope to use it with every release.
However, I over-estimated my writing schedule for my next release, the Good Girl Part Five. I thought I’d be finished with it by now, but I’m not. I’m pushing to complete the rough draft by March 19th. I’m hoping to end the series with book five, but it feels like there might be one more book. It also feels like the series might spin off.
As of this post, I’ve made some progress, but not as much as I would have liked for the month. I also added a couple of goals: release 3 books and increase BookBub US followers.
Here’s my updated goals list:
Get my letters
Triple my income
Triple my mailing list
Master Facebook ads – I made a change last month to how much I spend and it’s paying off. Last month, I scaled back to one ad and it’s paid off. This one ad for a first in series free has led to sales of the books in two of my other series. I’m going to ride this strategy for a little while before scaling up.
Update covers – 13 covers in total to update. 8 completed.
Learn how to write a sellable blurb
Use Ingram Spark
Direct distribution
Increase BookBub US Followers to 1000 – 1000 US are needed to qualify for a new release promotion alert
Increase my prices
Release 3 Books – One down, two to go.
How are you doing with your goals so far?
See you next month.
Tracy
Some Books by Tracy Reed
A California native, novelist Tracy Reed pushes the boundaries of her Christian foundation with her sometimes racy and often fiery tales.
After years of living in the Big Apple, this self proclaimed New Yorker draws from the city’s imagination, intrigue, and inspiration to cultivate characters and plot lines who breathe life to the words on every page.
Tracy’s passion for beautiful fashion and beautiful men direct her vivid creative power towards not only novels, but short stories, poetry, and podcasts. With something for every attention span.
Tracy Reed’s ability to capture an audience is unmatched. Her body of work has been described as a host of stimulating adventures and invigorating expression.
https://www.facebook.com/readtracyreed
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tracy-reed
https://www.instagram.com/readtracyreed/
Editing Your Novel Together: Reading Out Loud #2 by E. J. Williams
March 3, 2022 by Janet Elizabeth Lynn and Will Zeilinger in category Partners in Crime by Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger, Starting a Novel Series with a Partner by E. J. Williams
Editing Your Novel Together
Reading Out loud #2
by E.J. Williams
(Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger)
Writing together as E. J. Williams, husband and wife, Will Zeilinger and Janet Elizabeth Lynn author the INTERNATIONAL CRIME FILES, a hardboiled/thriller detective series that takes the reader to 1960s Southern California, then on to international locales.
Even after you’ve written the best book in the world, the pesky task of editing rears its ugly head! To those of you who love editing . . . our hats are off to you. We have come up with several suggestions that may help ease the editing process, whether you are editing your book for your editor, publisher, agent, or yourself.
We have found that reading the manuscript out loud to each other works beautifully with detailing. We each read two chapters at a time, totaling four chapters each day. After the reading, we make changes. We are always amazed at the details that are missing or wrong. On good days, we may get to six chapters a day, but the important thing is to immediately put the changes in the manuscript…do not wait! Some chicken scratches you may make are usually unintelligible the next day!
Though this mind-numbing task is necessary, it can bring about a great deal of pride when the process is complete. As a couple who write together, we have found these tips work well whether you are working alone or with someone.
And yes . . . we are still married!
Website: Janet Elizabeth Lynn www.janetlynnauthor.com
Website: Will Zeilinger www.willzeilingerauthor.com
Alina K. Field February Featured Author
February 28, 2022 by Alina K. Field in category Featured Author, Featured Author of the Month tagged as Alina K. Field, Featured Author of the Month, Regency Romances
Award winning author Alina K. Field earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German literature, but her true passion is the much happier world of romance fiction. Though her roots are in the Midwestern U.S., after six very, very, very cold years in Chicago, she moved to Southern California and hasn’t looked back. She shares a midcentury home with her husband, her spunky, blonde, rescued terrier, and the blue-eyed cat who conned his way in for dinner one day and decided the food was too good to leave.
She is the author of several Regency romances, including the 2014 Book Buyer’s Best winner, Rosalyn’s Ring. She is hard at work on her next series of Regency romances, but loves to hear from readers!
Books by Alina K. Field
Love by Neetu
February 26, 2022 by Neetu Malik in category Poet's Day by Neetu Malik tagged as couples, Family, love, Neetu
Love
why love?
no one knows but
everyone does
why hurt?
no one knows yet
everyone does
love hurts
but it’s the only thing
that heals the hurt
that comes from loving
and giving your all even
when it hurts to love
because without love
there would be no
us
© Neetu Malik
Some of Neetu’s Books
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