Posts

Showing posts from 2012

What Not To Do To Self-Promote on Amazon

Recently I returned to a reader's list I was a member of on amazon some time back. I went there as a reader, not as an author.  I always enjoy trolling the lists and seeing what books readers are discussing.  There was even one list that I checked in on to make certain no one was trashing my book as they were doing several other---much better known authors. I cringe every time I think of that. But I did learn the habits writers get into that set readers off and thus learned what not to do in my own writing. I've actually laughed out loud at some of the things posted and thanked God I'd never put them in my books. I wasn't laughing when I suddenly became the object of a reader's hostility. Self promotion is not permitted by Amazon, except in the Meet Our Authors forum. Link to the rules on Amazon These are what they are. What should I post? Please share thoughts that you think will add to the discussion and help other customers interested in the pr

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

Image
I was challenged by Robyn Peterman   and Jennifer Madden to participate in this blog hop. And of course I had to do it because I love to blog. Robyn's Book   How Hard Can It Be? is due out January 17, 2013. But it's already available for preorder if you'd like to check it out. And Jennifer's newest The Embattled Road just hit Amazon and other stores a couple of weeks ago.   The Next Big Thing 1. What is the working title of your book? Breaking Away.    2.Where did the idea come for the book? I love military guys and the idea for the series first hit me three years ago. Since my Dad was in the Marines I knew how military guys behaved and had some idea how they thought and hid how they felt. I wanted other people to understand what their families went through when they were deployed home, injured, doing training---the works. I wrote the first book, Breaking free   and started submitting it to editors while I finished another book (not a

I'm Breaking Free, Breaking Through, Breaking Away and getting back into Writing

Image
In one week I will have finished teaching my last college class and I am so excited!! Teaching can be rewarding and challenging, but my writing is where my heart is. And I'm really looking forward to devoting my time completely to my next book, Breaking Away. When I'm writing I'm neck deep in my character's world and at this moment my character is learning to drop out of sight and survive off the radar, something I had to do a ton of research for him to do. I feel as though I've done that myself for the three last months because of the classes. As soon as they end, and I post my grades, I'll be jumping feet first into the story and writing 10 hours a day. Butt on chair--fingers on keyboard. That's the only way to make headway. Here's my blurb for Breaking Away: --> When Navy SEAL Harold "Flash" Carney agrees to act as an undercover operative for the FBI in an international smuggling sting, he revisits a past he hoped to leave

Timeless- Writing cross genre books

Image
  Writing Timeless my Cross Genre-Paranormal- Science Fiction book Timeless I’m quickly learning that writing things out of the norm makes it difficult to sell books. My book Timeless sold 442 copies in the month of October.   And I’m proud of that. It’s a book that took me three years and a trip to Scotland to write. And I think it’s one of the best things I’ve ever written. But it hasn’t sold as well as my Navy SEAL romances. I know that military romance is BIG. And I love my Navy SEALs. They’re all alpha, macho, tough hot, and OMG handsome ---well you get the gist.   But Quinn Douglas is all those things and then some. He works in a specialized, very dangerous field of deep salvage diving. He plays the flute in his off weeks, because when you are saturated to a specific depth you usually work up to a month living inside the pot and going down as deep as you’re saturated. In my minds eye he’s Gerard Butler mixed with a little Adrian Paul. OMG. Are

Willy C. Sparks: The Dragon Who Lost His Fire

Image
On November 28th my children's book, Willy C. Sparks: The Dragon Who Lost His Fire, was released in ebook and print at Amazon. Willy C. Sparks   Willy C. Sparks is a grumpy dragon and when he unexpectedly loses his fire, he rushes to the dragon doctor. The doctor's explosive cure teaches Willy that a grumpy attitude may have some serious consequences and that laughter is often the best medicine. I hope to have it available at Smashwords and Barnes and Noble next week.  This has been a month long project. Getting the color just right in the print edition was  a learning experience. The color of a JPG image prints differently in each process. So it took some time, but I'm very thrilled with the images.   Here's a few I've shared on Amazon. It took me three months to draw the illustrations and get them just as I wanted them. Also to release the book in ebook format took some manipulating, thanks to my formatter, Lee, fr

Abigail Keam's Death By a Honey Bee is Free

Image
Death By a Honey Bee Abigail Keam’s award-winning mystery novel, “Death By A HoneyBee” will be free on Kindle from Tuesday, November 13 to November 15th. Maybe you will like it so well, you’ll check out her other three novels – “Death By Drowning”, “Death By Bridle” and “Death By Bourbon”. “Death By A HoneyBee” was on USA BOOK NEWS – Best Book List of 2011. See what all the buzz is about! I love Abigail's series. It's like Mu rder She Wrote with an edge.    Death By A Honey Bee Check it out!! Teresa J. R easor 

Fight For Me by Hayden Braeburn

Image
Hayden Braeburns second book of her series Fight For Me will be out November 6th !!!  Come join me in congratulating her.  I've already started reading the book. I got an arch of it a couple of days ago. NA-NA-NANA-NA!!  And I can tell you Cassidy and Dylan put off more heat than the sun.   FIGHT FOR ME FIGHT FOR ME, The Everetts of Tyler, Book 2 Cassidy Everett planned on nursing her brother’s protector back to health and moving on, but when an old foe resurfaces, her plans change. Quickly. Dylan Black may have been shot saving Mason Everett’s life, but that doesn’t mean he can’t protect his own–and Cassidy is his whether or not she wants to admit it. His injuries don’t matter; all that matters is keeping his Cassie safe. When the threats towards Cassidy turn lethal, will the fight to survive bring Cassidy and Dylan together or tear them apart? FIGHT FOR ME  Fight For me is a continuation of a situation that was resolved in Hayden's f

The Stress of Writing a Series

Image
I'm writing a series. The SEAL TEAM Heartbreakers series. I'm working on the third book of the series now. BREAKING AWAY.  I wrote the first book BREAKING FREE three years ago while working two jobs and writing on the weekends. I submitted the book to several editors and moved on to  a book that had been tumbling through my mind for several years TIMELESS .  I grew as a writer with my Timeless story because it was so different than anything I'd ever tried to write before and my imagination had free rein.  It's a cross between a paranormal romantic suspense and a science fiction romantic suspense. Maybe I've created my own genre.  I've not run across anything similar to it. But I digress and that's a subject for another blog. There are joys to writing a series. You get to revisit the characters you've created over and over again. Or at least you do the way I'm writing mine. There's something comforting knowing your characters and what their liv

Breaking Through and Reviews

Image
Breaking Through and Reviews  BREAKING THROUGH I've gotten some wonderful reviews for my current new release, but I'd love to have more----if anyone is so inclined. Reviews are wonderful feedback about the characters and how readers feel about the story. They help writers weed out the things they're doing wrong and encourage things we do right. So feel free to review the book on any site you purchased it from.  I thought I'd share a few snippets from the reviews I've gotten on Amazon. Cindy O said--- "This book packs a punch. There are so many emotional moments I cried at a few of them.' DeeJ said --- "Brett Weaver, is as alpha as they come. The heroine, Tess, is both spirited and tender, and the two together are perfect together." Ann said--- "Excellent story! 4.5 stars. This is why I love a good military-romance. Breaking Through was a very worthwhile read and a great way to spend my time lost i

BREAKING AWAY my Work In Progress

Image
My friend Taryn Raye and I were playing tag  and I ended up being IT so the challenge is to do a short interview about my WIP (Work in Progress). Since everything you do while writing a new book helps you flesh out your characters, I accepted her challenge.  What is the working title of your book? BREAKING AWAY Where did the idea come from for the book? BREAKING AWAY is the third book of my SEAL TEAM Heartbreaker series. It’s Flash’s story. He’s missing in action at the end of the first story and throughout the second one. It’s time Flash’s story is told. What genre does your book fall under? My book is romantic suspense. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? Steven Amell. He’s a Canadian Actor and has done some really strong stuff thus far on HBO. He’s rugged, masculine, built and a fine actor. I just saw him last night on his new show Arrow. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?      Navy SEAL is

The Look Writing Challenge-- Breaking Away

Image
Earlier this week, I was challenged by my friend and fellow-author Dara Ames to participate in the "LOOK Challenge".  I'm always up for a writing challenge and I loved reading hers so I'm posting mine and challenging three of my fellow authors to do the same. Here's how it works: Find the LOOKs in your current work-in-progress. Choose your favorite 3 and post the paragraphs that contain them. Pick some of your favorite author-buddies to "tag" and invite them to participate, too! These three paragraphs are from the first chapter of the Third book of my SEAL TEAM Heartbreaker series. This book will be titled BREAKING AWAY.   1. Lieutenant Harold “Flash” Carney looked through the thermal scope of the MK-11 sniper rifle and sighted, one-by-one, the four tangos on the adjoining roof. Each sentry guarded a corner of the building making it damn hard for his guys to slip inside. With the suppressor on his rifle, he could take out two, may