Finding People to Review Your Book and Tips

One month until the release of, Deadly Kisses! The countdown has started, and many things are happening behind the scenes. Right now, I'm at the stage where I need to send my story off to reviewers. It has me feeling nervous, and questions keep filling my head, making me doubt myself. It's important to believe in your story, and push those inner demons down, and just enjoy the publishing experience. It's to late to say "Don't publish my book!" So the only thing left to do is go with the flow, riding the waves of ups and downs. You need to remind yourself that everyone's tastes in books are different. Not everyone will like your story, but  others will love it.

As I reflect on the journey to publication, I'll tell you that I'm going to miss editing (I know, I'm weird). I enjoyed the process, and WiDo Publishing has been so wonderful to work with. Btw-I highly recommend them if you're considering a smaller press. Alas, my editing time has passed though. It's time to launch my book into the world. Off to reviewers it goes. *waves goodbye*

To find reviewers I recommend the website stepbystepselfpublishing.net. They have a fantastic list of reviewers listed with genres. You can also do a Google search on review lists. There are many.

How do you know a reviewer is right for you?

Research. Don't ask a reviewer to read your paranormal romance if they like to only read Thrillers. Time is precious and why waste it--for you and the person reading your e-mail.

Look for blogs that have a review policy. It will outline what to expect, and where they will post their review.  Many will want to join your book launch blog tour, and that will be included in their policy.

Personalize your e-mail instead of sending a mass e-mail. Reviewers do this for us authors out of their love for reading, and they don't get paid.

Don't be offended if a reviewer passes on your story. They're busy too, or maybe it just doesn't interest them. Move on to someone else.

Which leads me to...

What would I do different the next time I needed to send a book to a reviewer? I would start to find reviewers at least four months before I even get the ARC. Blog spaces fill up quickly (like super speed fast), and reviewers need time to read your book.

If this task seems daunting, another option would be to hire someone to organize a review tour for you. I'm using Xpresso Book Tours to help me out. CLICK HERE if you would like to be a part of the Deadly Kisses tour scheduled for April.

So as I wait for reviews to trickle in, I'm going to concentrate on others tasks-- like a launch party. Let the planning begin.

If anyone would like to add tips about finding reviewers, feel free to comment.

Cover Reveal for Moonlit by Jadie Jones and Interview

I'm so happy, and excited to be a part of the cover reveal for Jadie Jones, and her book Moonlit. Before I show you her cover though, Jadie was kind enough to answer some questions that I had for her.

1. What was your inspiration for Moonlit? I am kind of a nerd when it comes to being inspired. I love the way it feels to be moved by something, especially when it jumpstarts a scene/character idea. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a huge inspiration for me – both in high school and in Moonlit. I love a self-sufficient, resourceful leading lady. Images from “The Last Unicorn” wouldn't leave me alone until I let them show me where they fit into the story. I’m also tremendously inspired by music. So if a song starts playing in the proverbial background of a scene, I know I’m on to something. J

2. Your cover is absolutely gorgeous. Who designed it? The team at WiDo Publishing stunned me with this cover. I’m told that cover artist Steven Novak designed the cover, and that Allie, the submissions editor who I worked with during the submissions process, gave a ton of creative input. I am thrilled and humbled by their enthusiasm!

3. I know you go to horse shows. Can you tell us more about your experience with them?Growing up, I competed in a few local shows here and there, but showing is expensive. I worked to pay for a lot of my horse-related expenses, and showing was simply over-budget. Once I was in college, I rode/competed for two of the school’s traveling teams. I’m not a competitive person at heart though, and really enjoy working behind-the-scenes at shows. I prepped horses for shows on the “A” circuit, and have worked for several competitive farms in multiple capacities. Coaching is a fantastic fit, and being paid to ride is a nice bonus. I currently coach a high school team that competes in a league called the IEA. I think part of what sets this book apart is that it isn’t just a girl who loves horses, it’s a girl who is very involved in the industry. So the horse world is explored a bit more thoroughly than most YA books involving horses.

4. What was your journey to publication like? In a word: long. I started querying agents in March of 2012 and wasn't getting any bites. I got frustrated, so I put my manuscript and thoughts of publishing aside for a solid month. Then I took it back out and read it all in one sitting, and realized I had some serious work to do. Once the story was in the right place, I decided to query small publishers directly. That time, nearly all of them responded positively. WiDo has been awesome to work with. I feel like I have a whole team of people in my corner, rallying on my book. My editor and I developed a fantastic working relationship, and she helped me take my story to a whole new level.

5. Will there be a sequel to Moonlit? Yes! I am working on it right now. The journey takes a bit of a darker turn. Tanzy has to pay the piper for some decisions she made in Moonlit. And there are more fantastical elements at play, which has been a lot of fun to write.

6. What would you like us to know about your main character, Tanzy? I think something that comes across early on is that although Tanzy keeps her cards close, once you matter to her, you MATTER, and she’ll walk through fire for you.

7. Can you share a little snippet of Moonlit to give everyone a tease? Happy to! Here is the prologue for Moonlit (WiDo Publishing, 2013.)

                                                        Prologue

The first anniversary of my father’s death was even harder on my mother. Back then, I thought she was haunted most by what she didn’t know. I refused to blame her when she raged above me on our staircase that night, drunk and sad and angry. When she made me promise I’d never ride again. When she hurled a half-full bottle of vodka at my face and it exploded on the wooden stairs at my feet. I hadn’t tried to get out of the way. She had just missed.

I wanted to tell her that knowledge was no solace, that what you know can burn inside you until there’s nothing left but guilt and ash. I also wanted to protect her from losing the only piece of him she had left. So I didn't say a word.

Great little snippet! I can't wait to read this.

Here are the links for pre-order
WiDo Publishing
Amazon
Goodreads

And now what you've been waiting for, the beautiful cover of Moonlit.

Eighteen-year-old Tanzy Hightower knows horses, has grown up with them on Wildwood Farm. She also knows not to venture beyond the trees that line the pasture. Things happen out there that can’t be explained. Or undone. Worse, no one but she and the horses can see what lurks in the shadows of the woods.

When a moonlit ride turns into a terrifying chase, Tanzy is left to question everything, from the freak accident that killed her father to the very blood in her veins. Broken and confused, she turns to Lucas, a scarred, beautiful stranger, and to Vanessa, a charming new friend who has everything Tanzy doesn’t.

But why do they seem to know more about her than she knows herself?

Author links:
Twitter
Facebook
Pintrest
Blog

Good luck Jadie, and thanks for stopping by today!

A-Z Challenge

Okay you guys, I'm going for it! One month of blogging from A - Z = total blog pandemonium. Every year I say I want to do it, but as you can see from my once a week blog posts that, blogging every day scares the baajeez out of me. I figured the best way to tackle this, is to pick a theme. It was a no brainer for me. I've been wanting to do a blog series on spooky and interesting places (Like for four years). The series was inspired by one of my very first blog posts, "spooky settings" (and it has became my most popular post).

I'm really excited about this challenge. I hope someone will be inspired to use one of the locations I'll be blogging about, in their story.

Go visit Alex J. Cavanaugh and sign up. Don't forget to add the code after your name to label what kind of blog you have *slams head on desk* Yeah, I forgot.

Who is doing the A-Z challenge? Come on, don't be shy. Let me know so I can follow along. If you are, what tips can you give us.

Cover Reveal for The Dragon Empire by Heather McCorkle

It's a pleasure to get to reveal the cover of Heather McCorkle's epic fantasy novel,  The Dragon Empire (February 2013, Compass Press)

So without further adieu, here it is!

On Yacrana, dragons stand at the top of the evolutionary ladder instead of humans. Such an advanced species is not without its issues though.

There's trouble in the Dragon Empire, the kind that could start a war between dragons and the races of people. Hidden factions of dragons believe they should rule the lesser races, not simply stand aside and allow them to develop as they will. Having lived so long in peace, the Emperors turn a blind eye, many oblivious that such attitudes even exist.

Despite being only an architect class, emerald dragon, Grendar is willing to risk banishment and death to stop that which his rulers refuse to see. The hope of peace lies not within the scaled breast of a dragon however, but within the hands of a group of people. But if the hidden factions have their way, these people won’t live to fulfill such a destiny. With a reluctant seer at his side, Grendar must leave his precious Empire for the outside world to save those that will one day save his kind. 

Goodreads: Click here

Author Links

Website: Click here

Facebook: Click here

Twitter: Click here

AUTHOR BIO

Heather McCorkle

I am an author of fantasy, in all its many sub-genres. Living green, saving endangered species, helping other writers, and supporting fabulous authors are a few of my passions. I am also a volunteer for the IS Foundation which works to make the world a greener place. When I'm not volunteering, writing, or surfing my social networking sites, I can be found on the slopes, the hiking trails, or on horseback. As a native Oregonian, I enjoy the outdoors almost as much as the worlds I create on the pages. No need to travel to the Great Northwest though, you can find me here, on my blog, and Monday night's on Twitter where I co-moderate the #WritersRoad chat.

Cover designed by CP Design

Great cover Heather! Good luck to you.

It's a Launch Party for The Mist On Bronte Moor

I'm very excited for my fellow WiDo author Aviva Orr, and her book The Mist On Bronte Moor. Let's send her book into the world with style today. I'm passing around the hors d' oeuvres and some sparkling soda.

When fifteen-year-old Heather Jane Bell is diagnosed with alopecia and her hair starts falling out in clumps, she wants nothing more than to escape her home in London and disappear off the face of the earth.

Heather gets her wish when her concerned parents send her to stay with a great-aunt in West Yorkshire. But shortly after she arrives, Heather becomes lost on the moors and is swept through the mist back to the year 1833. There she encounters fifteen-year-old Emily Bronte and is given refuge in the Bronte Parsonage.

Unaware of her host family’s genius and future fame, Heather struggles to cope with alopecia amongst strangers in a world foreign to her. While Heather finds comfort and strength in her growing friendship with Emily and in the embrace of the close-knit Bronte family, her emotions are stretched to the limit when she falls for Emily’s brilliant but troubled brother, Branwell.

Will Heather find her way back to the comforts and conveniences of the twenty-first century? Or will destiny keep her in the harsh world of nineteenth-century Haworth?

    
Aviva's website Click here.
Buy it on Amazon Click here
Add it to Goodreads Click here

ARC Giveaway of Deadly Kisses

If you are interested in an ARC of Deadly Kisses head on over to my good friend Crystal Collier's blog to sign up. The Giveaway will run for two weeks. 

Crystal's Blog Click Here

And if you haven't seen the cover. Here it is. I hope you like it as much as I do.

Owning the New Year!

Happy New Year, friends!

Every January first I write a post—usually how I detest resolutions. I’m a believer that we make our own destiny instead of making resolutions that most likely won’t be fulfilled. So, no resolutions. Only reflections.

2012 was an interesting year for me. I spent the majority of my time writing book two of the Deadly Kisses series, while doing edits on book one. I had no clue how hard it would be to an author. It’s more than just sunshine and rainbows. It’s a lot of time, sweat, and sometimes tears. Since most of my followers are other writers, I’m sure you can relate. As to my family, well, I have to laugh. When I first told them my book was being published, they wanted to go to the bookstore that day to buy it. So I explained the publishing process, and that it took about a year, if not more before they could buy it. Every month, after that first time I explained it, they asked, “why is it taking so long. I want to buy it.” So again I explained the process. Yeah, after the millionth time, I gave up and stopped talking about my book.

Suffice to say at the family Christmas party last month, I had a horde of Italians tackling me at the door asking when they could buy Deadly Kisses, but this time I could tell them. Yes, you can pre-order it and it will be released on March 5^th! I even gave my grandma a picture of the cover so she could remember the name of it. Bless their hearts. My family rocks!

More 2012 reflections.

What I was doing last year for time management wasn't working, and I had a hard time multi-tasking which ended up with me hardly blogging. This year I’m going to multi-task more efficiently, so I don’t lose touch with my blogger friends. 2012 was a toss up—feed the kids or blog. I couldn't starve the kids.

2012 was also the year my farm fell apart. I lost most of my herd of goats, and decided I couldn't breed them anymore due to my broken heart. I’m still in the process of selling off my herd. It takes some rough skin to be a farmer, and I don’t have it in me anymore. Everyone support your local farm, they deserve the profits more than the supermarket.

 But a new year is upon us, and a chance for another beginning because the Mayans were wrong and the world did not end in a fiery doom, a zombie apocalypse, or meatballs raining from the sky.

My motto for 2013 is I’m going to own the year!

Yup, sure am. 

Who wants to own 2013 with me? I’ll raise my glass to that.