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Getting Organized in 2020 with Kitty Bucholtz

November 9, 2019 by Kitty Bucholtz in category It's Worth It by Kitty Bucholtz tagged as Kitty Bucholtz, organization, Planning, time management

I’m a planner and an organizer. I like to know what to expect, how much time it will take, how much it will cost or earn me, and what I’ll need in order to get it done. I’m also big on reminders – remember to water the plants, take my vitamins, leave for the meeting on time.

In the past, I’ve juggled all sorts of ways to keep track of all the aspects of my life, and it usually involved several different methods at once. But last year I heard about author Susan May Warren‘s My Brilliant Writing Planner, so I ordered one. I love this planner! I can put everything from my whole life in one place – writing, appointments, To Do’s (including remembering when to water my plants 😂), tracking money spent and earned in writing, and personal stuff like a place to jot down weekly menus and track my weight and water consumption. Plus the 2020 one has STICKERS!! Need I say more?!

The 2020 planner is $20 off through this weekend as a NaNoWriMo special. If you’re reading this later, check it out anyway. There is so much more to the planner I haven’t mentioned. You may find it’s just about perfect for you.

I interviewed Susie May about planning and organizing for the new year on my podcast a few weeks ago. Look for the October 17, 2019 episode, #159, on your favorite podcast app, or listen to it on my website, or watch the video interview on YouTube. Good luck with your planning! 😀

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Featuring Linda O Johnston Author of the Month

November 7, 2019 by A Slice of Orange in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as Barkery & Biscuits Mystery, Berkley Prime Crime, Harlequin Nocturne, Linda O Johnston, Pet Rescue Mysteries, Pet-Sitter Mysteries, Superstition Mysteries

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.!

Books by Linda O. Johnston

UNDERCOVER COWBOY DEFENDER

SHIELDING COLTON’S WITNESS

HOUNDS ABOUND

THE MORE THE TERRIER

BEAGLEMANIA

GUARDIAN K-9 ON CALL

BEAR WITNESS

UNDERCOVERING COLTON’S FAMILY SECRETS

HER UNDERCOVER REFUGE

COLTON FIRST RESPONDER (The Coltons of Mustang Valley)

THE SOLDIER’S K-9 MISSION

COLTON 911: CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE

FOR A GOOD PAWS

VISIONARY WOLF (Alpha Force)

TRAINED TO PROTECT

PROTECTOR WOLF

BAD TO THE BONE

COVERT ALLIANCE

TO CATCH A TREAT

PICK AND CHEWS

UNLUCKY CHARMS

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New Harlequin Romantic Suspense Book! by Linda O. Johnston

November 6, 2019 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as Dogs!, Harlequin Romantic Suspense, Linda O Johnston, new releases

I’m excited to say that this November is the month for release of my latest Harlequin Romantic Suspense book. I love them all, of course, but this one has a special twist to it.

It’s my first in the long-running Colton series for HRS.

What’s that? Well, the Colton family has been around for many years as part of HRS. It’s large and has branches all over the country, and it seems that many of its members get involved as either heroes or heroines of romantic suspense stories, usually one a month.

My book is Colton 911: Caught in the Crossfire. In it, the hero, Casey Colton, is the family member. He’s also a Deputy Sheriff in Sur County, Arizona, the story’s setting. Casey is told to go help find some cattle rustlers who have stolen some very valuable black angus cows from the town selectman.

And who’s going to help him? The story’s heroine, Melody Hayworth, a ranch hand who works on the ranch from which the cattle were stolen.

You can guess how the two of them have to get along together during many days—and nights—alone on the cattle’s trail. And… well, it is a romance, after all, despite there being suspense in the story. They need to stay careful and professional and… well, help to take care of each other.

I’m also particularly excited this month to be the Author of the Month on A Slice of Orange.

Gee, this November is one fun month!

Linda’s Newest Harlequin Romantic Suspense Novel

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First Launch in a Year Results

November 5, 2019 by Tracy Reed in category Writing

Happy November.

I apologize in advance for the long post.

Last month I shared about my first release in over a year. I was very nervous. So much so, I thought I’d broken out with a case of hives on release day. Only to discover it was an infection. The medical drama is a couple of posts on its own. Bottom line, I just finished my second round of meds. Thank God, it wasn’t anything serious, but could have been.

So how was my release for A Southern Gentleman Vol 2? AMAZING! Did I hit the numbers I wanted? No. But that was okay, because I got something better. But first let me explain the slight glitch I encountered.

I rarely do pre-order on Amazon. Committing to a date without the option of last minute changes, isn’t something I like. However, I thought I’d try it this time. After all the book had been on pre-order on all of the other platforms, so I thought. Turns out when I loaded the book to Kobo, it was as a pre-order. At least looking at the dashboard, it wasn’t. I’m pretty sure, there was a glitch because every time I made a change, it kept indicating that it was a live book.

Back over at KDP and the pre-order, I loaded a placeholder file…my ARC. However, I wasn’t familiar with the countdown clock. I received an email that said “Thank You for the file” or something to that effect. I misread the email. I thought it was reminding me, when in fact it was telling me the file was set and no changes could be made until after it was live. Insert panicked face here. I freaked out and started praying and searching the blogs for an answer. I found a post in one of my Facebook groups, that mentioned a window to make changes. Apparently, there’s a small window before pre-orders are delivered when you might, be able to go in and make changes before the file is delivered.

I was prepping for release day and this little voice said to check the locked file. I did and it was open. The pre-orders hadn’t been delivered yet. I hurried about and got the correct file loaded. Hallelujah! I also had a problem with how I loaded the file to Apple Books. The opposite was happening at Apple Books. I had put the incorrect date in, which meant the file probably never would have dropped.

On to the results. The Saturday before release[book launch date 10.08.19], my Sweet & Sexy romance was #8 on Amazon.co.uk in African American Fiction. I was over the moon. Then on release day in the US, ASGV2 spent it in the top 100 African American Christian Fiction. Both are very good. What really had me bouncing off the walls, was where A Southern Gentleman Vol 2 was it’s first weekend…#21 in African American Christian Fiction [Kindle Store] and #22 African American Christian Fiction [Books] in the US. YEAH!!! I almost passed out. The book stayed in these spots for a few days.

You may be wondering about the category placement. I did a little research and found some more books similar to mine and noticed they were positioned in that category. I have never wanted my books to be pigeon holed as Christian Fiction or Romance. However, there are enough of those elements to put them in that category. Last week, I moved ASGV1 to that same category and have notice a big shift. I also put another couple books in that category as well. I’m experimenting with category placement, but that’s the subject for a different post.

So what did I do differently this time?

I hired a publicist – It was time to get help. I used Honey Magnolia PR. Tia Kelly is amazing. She helped me formulate a plan that was right for me and this book. We did a Book Blitz, Blog Tour and Social Media Blast. I was very hesitant to do a blog tour, because the first and last couple of times I did, I didn’t get very good results. This time, I saw social media results as well as a bump in my BookBub followers. I also got an amazing review.

ARC Team – This is an area where I am still having a challenge. I get people to signup yet they won’t post reviews. If anyone has tips on how to get your ARC Team to cooperate I’d appreciate it. However, the reviews I have are great, but I really want to get in the double digits.

Facebook Ads – I did three test ads and eventually nailed it down to one. It is so true about FB Ads. For me, as long as I’m running an ad, I see sales. I started the ads late [a few days before release day and as of the post, I’m still running it. From the looks of it, the ad is beginning to pay for itself.

BookBub Ads – I can’t say for sure, but I think these are responsible for my amazing sales with Draft Two Digital.

Newsletter Ad – I’m not quite sure of the results and that’s my fault because I should have done a better job of tracking.

Facebook Party – This was a first for me. I never hosted a FB party. I have a small reader group, but not enough for a party. So I asked a friend A M Roak to help me. She was awesome and connected me with The New Romance Cafe. This was so much fun. I put a call out and Christina Alexander, A M Roak, Saharra Sandhu, Kelly Violet, Cass Ford, Naomi Springthorp, and Dee J Holmes, all jumped in and helped me.

There were a few ads I wanted to run, but I let time get away from me. And I really wanted to give Facebook another shot. I have spent a lot of money on courses and now need to make them work for me.

On to phase two of the release. More Facebook ads and there are a couple of newsletter ads I’d like to try. I also would love to apply for a BookBub on book one in the duet. The other thing I’m going to do is a special giveaway for my list. I did two giveaways at the beginning, one for the Blitz and one for the tour.

So am I excited about this release? Yes. I’m also a little sad, because that means I have to put Jeremiah to the side while I give another book boyfriend my attention. Next up on my computer is Ty from Unexpected Love. I was inspired during a holiday and re-read my book Unexpected Love. When I finished I decided it was time to tell the next part of this story. And to make sure I do, it’s my NANO project. So far I’m behind, but I’m sure I’ll get my writing wings any day. As of writing, I’m 3872 words in. We’ll see what happens.

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy NANO to all.

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Story Ideas by Kat Martin

November 4, 2019 by A Slice of Orange in category Guest Posts tagged as Kat Martin, Maximum Security Series, romantic suspense

Photo by Juan Carlo, Ventura Country Star

Bestselling author Kat Martin, a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara, currently resides in Missoula, Montana with Western-author husband, L. J. Martin. More than seventeen million copies of Kat’s books are in print, and she has been published in twenty foreign countries. Fifteen of her recent novels have taken top-ten spots on the New York Times Bestseller List, and her novel, BEYOND REASON, was recently optioned for a feature film. Kat’s hardcover, THE DECEPTION, a Romantic Thriller, was released on September 10th.

Story Ideas

I’ve always loved a good plot. People ask me how I come up with ideas for my novels, but the truth is, I really don’t know.

Sometimes the kernel of an idea grows out of a newspaper article or something I see on Facebook or just some old movie. Most of the time, it’s so long ago I don’t actually remember, but my mind does.

The novella, SHADOWS AT DAWN, blossomed the way most of my stories do, basically out of nowhere. Jaxon Ryker first appeared in THE CONSPIRACY, a former Navy SEAL, now a detective working for Chase Garrett, the wealthy owner of Maximum Security, an extremely successful private security firm in Dallas.

I liked Jax right away. He was definitely hero material, but at the same time, Jax was different, kind of soft-spoken, not arrogant, just a really nice guy. Unless you pissed him off.

Turns out Jax had a protective streak a mile wide and the sweet little receptionist at The Max was his weakness.

When Jax happens upon three men attacking her in the parking lot after work, his hero instincts kick in—big time.

Jax is convinced the attack isn’t random and that even after the fight that saved Mindy and drove the men away, she might not be safe. And no way is Jax letting anything happen to her.

I liked the two of them together from the start. These days, readers want kick-ass women, but there are other ways a woman can be strong. What Jax sees is a sweet girl he believes would never be able to handle a tough guy like him. But Mindy proves him wrong.

As the danger unfolds, Mindy and Jax are forced to work together to find the men who want her dead and figure out why.

I hope you’ll give this fun read a try and that you like Jax and Mindy as much as I did. If you do, you can also find them in THE DECEPTION, book #2 of my Maximum Security Series after THE CONSPIRACY.

Till next time, happy reading and all best, Kat

SHADOWS AT DAWN

EXCERPT
Kat Martin

Finally satisfied with her progress for the day, Mindy shoved her round tortoiseshell glasses up on her nose, slung the strap of her purse over her shoulder, and headed for the door to the parking lot behind the office. She managed not to glance at Jax, but it wasn’t easy.

The early April weather was humid, warm but not hot, the last of a pinky gold sky fading to darkness. She spotted her little red Volkswagen Beetle, one of the few vehicles left in the lot, and started in that direction.

If she hadn’t been working for a security firm, listening to crime stories on a daily basis, she might not have noticed the white Chevy van whose motor sparked to life and began idling in the shadows not far from her car.

When her steps unconsciously slowed, she told herself she was being ridiculous, a paranoid response to the guys’ sometimes gruesome, often frightening tales.

Pausing to dig her car keys out of her purse, she took a deep breath and tried to calm her racing heart. When the effort failed, she forced her feet to move, closing the distance between her and her vehicle. She had almost reached her destination when the van doors slid open and three men dressed head-to-foot in black wearing black ski masks jumped out and started running toward her.

Terror struck. Mindy let out a high-pitched scream, dropped her purse, whirled, and started running.

Jax’s long day wasn’t over yet. Before he picked up a pizza and headed home for a couple of beers, he had a meeting with a client on the other side of Dallas, a cold case he had been working where the mother of a murder victim had discovered new evidence she believed would help find her daughter’s killer. The police weren’t convinced, but Mrs. Donahue had hired Jax to prove it. Or at least find out the truth.

He checked his heavy black wristwatch. If he wanted to make his appointment on time, he needed to get on the road. Grabbing his laptop off the desk, he headed for his dark blue Dodge Ram pickup, parked in the lot behind the office, his mind on the case he figured would earn him a nice fat fee—and maybe help bring a killer to justice.

He had just stepped out the backdoor when a blood-curling scream cut through the sticky night air. A petite young woman with long dark hair and glasses struggled with three masked men.

Adrenaline shot into his blood. Mindy! Even as he bolted into a run, Jax registered their appearance: one tall and lean, one average height and weight, one big and beefy, thick-shouldered and muscular. He was flat out running by the time Mindy spotted him and started screaming his name.

“Jax, help me! Jax!” Kicking and biting, she fought like a wild thing, but she was no match for the men. As they hauled her toward the open van doors, Jax grabbed the tall man and pulled him off her, pounded a fist into his face and slammed another into his stomach, doubling him over. A hard right sent the guy careening backward, hitting the ground on his back and sliding across the asphalt.

The second man, Mr. Average, stepped in and swung a punch Jax ducked. He shot out a kick, knocking the assailant into the side of the van, then heard the sound of a switchblade snapping open behind him.

“Jax, watch out!”

Whirling toward the threat, he dodged the flashing blade and shoved Mindy toward safety, then went back in for the kill. Rage burned through his usual calm. She worked with him, as far as he was concerned, was under his protection. More than that, she was kind and sweet and he cared about her far more than he should. Jax wanted to end the bastards who were trying to hurt her.

“Run!” he shouted. “Go back to the office and lock the door! Call 9-1-1!” The knife flashed. Jax dodged the sweep of gleaming silver wielded by a big, thick-fingered, extremely capable hand, jumped back from out of the way of another slashing attack as he and the big man crouched and circled each other. From the corner of his eye, he saw the tall, thin man back on his feet and rushing toward him.

Jax looked up to see Mindy swinging her purse like a ball and chain, smashing the bag into the side of the tall man’s head, sending him staggering, grunting as he landed on his hands and knees.

“Bitch! he screamed, shaking his head to clear it, providing the distraction Jax needed. He kicked the knife out of the beefy man’s hand and threw a punch that sent him reeling. Mr. Average had already climbed into the van and shoved the vehicle into gear.

“Come on!” the man shouted through the open passenger window. “Let’s go!”

The tall man turned and ran, leaping through the open van doors, and the big, muscular man shot in behind him. Tires burned and smoke rolled up from the wheels as the vehicle screeched away.

Shadows at Dawn

Reviews

“It’s a quick, easy to read, entertaining, action packed read and is just as amazing as the other books in the series!”

“Mystery, suspense, thrills and chills with a whole lot of action!”

“This story is a cute, sweet and steamy romance full of suspense, excitement and unexpected twists that keep readers hanging on to the edge of their seat.”

SOCIAL MEDIA