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Linda O. Johnston Featured Author

September 7, 2023 by marianne h donley in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as cozy mysteries, Dogs!, Harlequin Romantic Suspense, Linda O Johnston, mysteries, romance'

Linda O. Johnston enjoys writing, romance, puzzles, and dogs.

A former lawyer, Linda is now a full-time writer and has published 57 books so far, including mysteries and romantic novels. She has written several cozy 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. She also writes romances for Harlequin, including Harlequin Romantic Suspense. Writing as Lark O. Jensen, her latest release is Bear Witness from Crooked Lane Books. No matter what name she uses, nearly all Linda’s current stories involve dogs!

In addition to blogging for A Slice of Orange on the 6^th of every month, Linda blogs at Killer Hobbies, Killer Characters, and Writerspace. Linda was interviewed by Jann Ryan, you can read all about it in Linda O. Johnston—Mysteries, Romantic Suspense and So Much More!

Linda enjoys hearing from readers. Visit her website at www.LindaOJohnston.com or friend her on Facebook.

A Few of Linda’s Many Books

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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CONFERENCE PREP Part One

September 5, 2023 by Tracy Reed in category Writing

Happy September. It really feels like time is zipping by on a bullet train. It seems like August was jam packed for me. I was blessed with a mini holiday. In the midst of prepping for my trip, I forgot to post on my scheduled day. Have you ever tried to send an email or post something in that brief pre-flight window before they kill the wi-fi? Trust me, that’s not a good move.

I don’t know what happened to my original post. During all the chaos of prepping for a much needed break, I had written a couple of posts. I wanted to share my thoughts on something I was prepping for, but I ended up posting about something else. Which turns out to be okay, because my schedule has been a little sidetracked due to some emergency dental work.

So here’s the first part of a series on prepping for a mega book conference and signing. Excuse the tense. This was written in future and now it’s the past.
____________________________________________________________

In case I hadn’t mentioned it, I’m excited to be signing at the inaugural Steamy Lit Con later this month (August). This is my first mega signing and I was surprised at the amount of prep it required.

I had a lot of questions. At the top of the list,how many books to take? Followed by what kind of swag to take and how much?…What titles to take so I could set up a preorder?…Table decor…what to wear?…Can I bring an assistant?

It seemed like the list of questions was endless. Then I started noticing in the author group there was a lot of conversation about exclusives. My mind was buzzing. I didn’t have an exclusive book or product.

I was growing overwhelmed with each post I read. I finally reached out to couple of veteran mega book signing authors for clarity because the answers I was getting were all over the place.

Check out some of the questions and answers.
How many books to take?
50 – 100 copies per title
200 per title
Don’t take every title, but take about 20 – 40 per of the ones you bring
If it’s a series, bring 20+/- of book one

What Swag to bring?
Postcards
Buttons
Bookmarks for sure
Pens, Stickers and bag clips
Magnets

Signage…
You definitely need a sign
I only do table top signs
I hate those retractable banners
I use a custom table cloth or drape

Forms of payment…do you charge tax?
PayPal
Cash
Venmo
CashApp
Square
Get a QR code
My website
Bring a lot of change
Yes, charge tax
Figure tax into the price

Do you discount your books?
Yes
No

I’m not exaggerating when I say it took me about a month to come up with a plan. Originally, based on some early information, I thought I was going to need A LOT of books. I was basing this on what I’d seen on various social media posts. If I’d stuck with that plan, I was going to order a few books every month so I wouldn’t have to do large orders. Well that never happened.

So here’s what I did.

Created a show inventory
I have a few titles and knew I didn’t want to bring everything. I knew I wanted to take my most popular series, The Good Girl and The Alex Chronicles. I also wanted to take my duet, A Southern Gentleman. I hadn’t intended to take my other series Generational Curse, but it’s going…I’ll explain why later. Plus I wanted to take my stand-alone.

Let me explain. If this weren’t a local event and if it weren’t the first time I’d be meeting these readers, I’d have take fewer titles. My two main series have five books each. When you add in the duet and stand-alones, it begins to look like a book store.

I did a preorder.
I did this because it would help with figuring out what to order. I was hoping for a lot of preorders. I received three…technically it was four. My mom/show assistant was generous to place a preorder. This was two more than the last time I did an event with a preorder. I understand the low number is because I’m a relative unknown…I’m working to change that.

Two of the preorders came from books I was on the fence about taking. I figured if I got preorders on them, I’d take them. That’s how I ended up taking the Generational Curse series and the anthology I was in earlier this year. For the record, I always intended to purchase a few copies of the anthology. I just hadn’t gotten around to doing so. The other reason I wasn’t too eager to bring Generational Curse, is because I’m working on a series update.

How many books did I order?
I took the advice of the veteran authors and focused on the first book in the series. No matter how much I want people who have never read me to buy the entire series, I couldn’t order based on that. Instead, I ordered 20 of the first two books in each series and the first in the duet. Then five of everything else. This was a game changer. I write big books and if I’d gone with the other advice, it would have cost me a few thousand dollars.

I’ll stop here, otherwise this post will begin to resemble a novella. I hope this helps as you prepare for your next book signing.

Tracy

Tracy’s Books

THE GOOD GIRL PART FOUR

THE GOOD GIRL PART FIVE

THE GOOD GIRL Part Trois

THE FIX UP

A SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN

MISS MATCH

THE GOOD GIRL PART DEUX

WHAT MY FRIENDS NEED TO KNOW

WHAT MY FRIENDS DON’T KNOW

GIRLFRIENDS & SECRETS

DESPERATE DESIRE

INTENTIONAL CURSE

GENERATIONAL CURSE

UNEXPECTED LOVE

GOD’S BOMBSHELL: LIVING A BEAUTIFUL SINGLE LIFE

LOVE NOTES

FIRST ENCOUNTERS OF LOVE

THE GOOD GIRL PART ONE

THE NIGHT I FELL IN LOVE

THE FLING

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★★Don’t Miss Out!★★

September 4, 2023 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Spotlight tagged as College Romance, Elements of Chemistry, free book alert, opposites attract, Penny Reid

Elements of Chemistry, a steamy opposites attract college romance from New York Times bestselling author Penny Reid, is ZERO PENNIES for just a short while on Amazon. Have you checked out Penny’s new adult series? Now is the perfect time.

★★⁣⁣Grab your copy TODAY!★★⁣⁣

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3XfkSoi
Amazon UK: https://bit.ly/3Wcupvg
Amazon CA: https://bit.ly/3XeYzz0
Amazon AU: https://bit.ly/3COLGUl

★★⁣⁣Blurb★★⁣⁣

One week.
Private beach.
Invisible girl.
Jerk-faced bully.
What’s the worst that could happen?

Kaitlyn Parker has no problem being the invisible girl, which is why she finds herself hiding in various cabinets and closets all over her college campus. Despite her best efforts, she can’t escape the notice of Martin Sandeke—bad boy, jerkface bully, and the universe’s hottest, wealthiest, and most unobtainable bachelor—who also happens to be Kaitlyn’s chemistry lab partner.

Kaitlyn might be the only girl who isn’t interested in exploiting his stunning rower’s build, chiseled features, and family’s billionaire fortune. Kaitlyn wants Martin for his brain, specifically to tabulate findings of trace elements in surface water.

When Kaitlyn saves Martin from a nefarious plot, Martin uses the opportunity to push Kaitlyn out of her comfort zone: spring break, one week, house parties, bathing suits, and suntan lotion. Can she overcome her aversion to being noticed? Will he be able to grow beyond his self-centered nature? Or, despite their obvious chemistry, will Martin be the one to drive Kaitlyn into the science cabinet of obscurity for good?

This is the bundled version of the ‘Elements of Chemistry’ trilogy and includes parts 1-3 (ATTRACTION, HEAT, and CAPTURE)

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Scandals: NATALIE WOOD & ROBERT REDFORD

September 3, 2023 by marianne h donley in category Partners in Crime by Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger tagged as hollywood scandals, Natalie Wood, Robert Redford

Robert Redford told Success Magazine in an interview in 1980, “I was a failure at everything I tried.” He even got in trouble with the law.

He couldn’t hold down a job. Redford even said he used to work at a supermarket as a box boy and got fired. And then his dad found him a job at Standard Oil, and he got fired from that too!

In 1965, Redford got his first spicy role for acting opposite Natalie Wood in Inside Daisy Clover, for which he won a Best New Star Golden Globe.

The two teamed up again in 1966’s This Property Is Condemned. Wood also appeared with him in the 1972 political drama The Candidate, when Redford asked her to do a cameo. Wood and Redford lost touch shortly after that.

Doors opened for Redford movie roles. Hollywood insiders began whispering that Redford and Wood were having an affair, especially when they teamed again in This Property is Condemned, where he played Wood’s lover.

Later, when he reflected on working with the lovely actress, Redford never admitted to having the serious romance that others claimed; only admitting they’d, “…enjoyed a closeness beyond friendship.”