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Meeting Scarlett

1/30/2015

1 Comment

 

This is a winter rerun about one of literature's most colorful chracters. 

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I was on my own site recently and it has a pull down menu of keywords. Book titles, genres, and authors who have visited Wrter Wonderland fill the side box. I was commenting on a recent tour when I noticed a familiar name in the menu, Teresa Gallagher.

Where had I heard that name before? Was it from a tour in the past? Maybe I met her at a conference. Then it hit me. She’s the heroine from Incognito, one of my favorite novels. It took some time to create the passionate redhead who hid behind business frump attire.

My first thought was how could I forget her? My second thought was I thought she was a real person. Technically, she is. Book characters can sometimes be more real to readers than co-workers can.

I was working on interviews for an upcoming tour when I stalled at the favorite book question. That is the equivalent of asking a mother, which child is her favorite.  If you have more than one child, there is no way you can answer this. There is something special and remarkable about each child. The same goes for books.

The book that changed me the most was Gone with the Wind. As an eighth grader, I felt a bit intimidated by the oversized novel I checked out of the school library. I opened the book one Friday evening. Scarlet O’Hara captured me as she allowed men to battle for the honor of waiting on her. It didn’t take long to discover that this protagonist was petty, mean, vain, and ambitious.  Her marriage decisions tended to be on the impulsive side too.

Here was a heroine who didn’t exemplify all that was good. In fact, she could have been a template for a mean girl of her time. I’m betting she may have been top mean girl. Her flaws kept me turning pages. Her obsession with Ashley, an archetype of the noble Southern gentleman, made her somewhat sympathetic. Even at the young age of thirteen, I’d already had a few Ashleys in my life. Usually, they were celebrities who didn’t know I existed. All the same, they were not for me just as Ashley wasn’t a good fit for the fiery Scarlett.

Gone with the Wind was the first book I’d read with realistic characters. Middle grade authors wrote books with perfect kids who had great manners as they solved mysteries. Parents didn’t want books about out of control children. These stories always felt false because I didn’t know any kids like them. There may have been different types of books, but my mother made sure they never reached my hands.

The villains weren’t simply bad or a wrong choice. They were evil from the start to make sure the reader never mistook them for an ordinary person. That was the difference with Gone with the Wind. There were no bad people. There were bad decisions and the consequences of those decisions.

It was an adult view I’d never had the privilege of seeing until Margaret Mitchell pulled the curtain back. Suddenly, I saw a world where decent people made wrong decisions that resulted in hurry up marriages, abandonment, death, and even war.

On some level, I knew I should despise the gutsy Scarlett who grabbed for whatever she wanted, but on the other hand, I admired her courage. At times, I wanted to slap her upside the head because she didn’t understand that Rhett was twice the man Ashley was.

In the end, Margaret Mitchell made Scarlett pay for her headstrong ways.  Most viewed the ending as unhappy and demanded a new one. Margaret Mitchell never complied. Years later, a new book named Scarlett appeared.

It was a response to the lingering question about what happened to Scarlett.  In the original book, she returned to Tara to start again when her daughter dies and Rhett leaves her. The ending actually showed some growth for Scarlett as a character. Alone back at Tara, she grabs a handful of clay soil and echoes her father’s words about the land mattering. She’s very aware of her mistakes, but is willing to work with what she has.

People brought up with the belief system that everything should be tied up with a nice bow could not accept this ending. Scarlett didn’t self-destruct. All she did was reap the consequences of her actions. The majority of marriages do break up or at least crack over the death of a child, especially when one parent blames the other as Scarlett did.

  The follow up novel felt wrong. It was rather like hearing your parents indulge in salacious gossip, but when they realized you overheard, a hasty tale is born to cover the original, more interesting one.

Considering Scarlett’s impact, it isn’t that strange that I thought Teresa Gallagher was someone I met once. 






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So You Think You Know Historical Trivia?

1/28/2015

1 Comment

 
I'm rerunning the blog about the trivia regarding our colonial forefathers. Hope you enjoy these tidbits.
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HISTORICAL TRIVIA
   This infamous picture was painted to commemorate Washington's visit to Charleston, South Carolina. A famous painter was hired to paint the founding father. It turns out when presented with the portrait that the General was not pleased. In fact, he insisted it be painted two more times detailing what he wanted changed. The final portrait was completed after Washington had returned home. The aggravated painter showed our founding father with the back end of the horse. I wonder why.

( This tidbit came from the Charleston tours, but all the rest is courtesy of Larriane. Knowing her research methods, I'd say they stand more of a chance of being accurate than the evening news.)
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  In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was either sculpted or painted.  Some paintings of George Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms.  Prices charged by painters were not based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted.  Arms and legs are 'limbs,' therefore painting them would cost the buyer more.  Hence the expression, 'Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg.'   (Artists know hands and arms are more difficult to paint)
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  As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year (May and October) Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved their heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs.   Wealthy men could afford good wigs made from wool. They couldn't wash the wigs, so to clean them they would carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the shell, and bake it for 30 minutes.   The heat would make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term 'big wig... ' Today we often use the term 'here comes the Big Wig' because someone appears to be or is powerful and wealthy.
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In the late 1700's, many houses consisted of a large room with only one chair. Commonly, a long wide board folded down from the wall, and was used for dining. The 'head of the household' always sat in the chair while everyone else ate sitting on the floor.   Occasionally a guest, who was usually a man, would be invited to sit in this chair during a meal.. To sit in the chair meant you were important and in charge.  They called the one sitting in the chair the 'chair man.' Today in business, we use the expression or title 'Chairman' or 'Chairman of the Board.'
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Personal hygiene left much room for improvement.. As a result, many women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The women would spread bee's wax over their facial skin to smooth out their complexions.  When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at another woman's face she was told, 'mind your own bee's wax.'  Should the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term 'crack a smile'.  In addition, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt . .. . Therefore, the expression 'losing face.'
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Ladies wore corsets, which would lace up in the front. A proper and dignified woman, as in 'straight laced' wore a tightly tied lace..
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  Common entertainment included playing cards. However, there was a tax levied when purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the 'Ace of Spades...'  To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards instead.  Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these people were thought to be stupid or dumb because they weren't 'playing with a full deck..'
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  Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what the people considered important. Since there were no telephones, TV's or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs, and bars.  They were told to 'go sip some Ale and listen to people's conversations and political concerns. Many assistants were dispatched at different times.  'You go sip here' and 'You go sip there.' The two words 'go sip' were eventually combined when referring to the local opinion and, thus we have the term 'gossip.'
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  At local taverns, pubs, and bars, people drank from pint and quart-sized containers. A bar maid's job was to keep an eye on the customers and keep the drinks coming.  She had to pay close attention and remember who was drinking in 'pints' and who was drinking in 'quarts,' hence the phrase 'minding your 'P's and Q's'.
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Did you know the saying "God willing and the Creek don't rise" was in reference to the Creek Indians and not a body of water?  It was written by Benjamin Hawkins in the late 18th century.  He was a politician and Indian diplomat.  While in the south, Hawkins was requested by the President of the U.S. to return to Washington .  In his response, he was said to write, "God willing and the Creek don't rise."  Because he capitalized the word "Creek" it is deduced that he was referring to the Creek Indian tribe and not a body of water.
      
One more: bet you didn't know this!
In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters carried iron cannons. Those cannons fired round iron cannon balls.  It was necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon. However, how to prevent them from rolling about the deck?   The best storage method devised was a square-based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on four resting on nine, which rested on sixteen.  Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in a small area right next to the cannon.  There was only one problem....how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding or rolling from under the others. The solution was a metal plate called a 'Monkey' with 16 round indentations.  However, if this plate were made of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make 'Brass Monkeys.' Few  landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and much faster than iron when chilled.. Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannonballs would come right off the monkey; Thus, it was quite literally, 'Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.' (All this time, you thought that was an improper expression, didn't you.)



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Working Your Free Book

1/24/2015

2 Comments

 
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This is an updated version of my original October post. I finished a free book giveaway at Christmas and I forgot a few basic things! Holidays are not a good time for giveaways because those you depend on for promotions have  plans too. Often, potential readers are too busy engaged in family and festive gatherings to search for free books. Amazon analytics show the most downloads occur from Wednesday to Sunday.

As an author, I thought if you offered your book free, thousands of downloads would naturally happen. It does happen if you're one of the best selling authors, but even those people do their prep work or someone else does it for them. This where a virtual assistant comes in handy.

Today, there are over 62,822 free books available on Amazon. This is low compared to previous days I’ve been on the site. How will people even know your book exists?

Titles are important.

Include a keyword to make your story searchable.

Ex: Ghost stories- use ghost

Ex: Westerns- old west, western, cowboy

Ex: wolf shifters- Wolf, wolves, pack, alpha, and shifter

Subtitles also help people search.

Your story might be Helena’s Promise, which tells the searcher nothing, but could be subtitled a paranormal Druid romance. People who are looking for paranormal, Druids, and romance will be directed to your book.

Timing is also important.

Some people decide to offer their book free for a month or longer. What this does is convey that your book isn’t special and there is no rush to get it.  Kindle Direct offer you a five-day giveaway. Start on a Wednesday and end on a Sunday. Amazon analytics shows this as your prime time. If downloads are extremely high, you might stop at day three. Beware if you advertised it would be free for five days and you stop early some people will feel tricked.

Some authors leave one books free for weeks, even months in hopes of getting more recognition. This might work better with a short story you'd probably have  a harder time selling. There's no real revenue loss. This also works better  if you have several books out already too. Keep in mind, the idea is to wet the reader's palate for most of your tales. Hard to do, if you only have one book out and no new book in sight.


The Reviews

Reviews matter. I received my list from Digital Books Today, which includes the top 100 free books for the week. Sometime, I don't even look at it because I have too much to do, but today I did.  I chose immediately my favorite authors, genres I wanted to get know better, and a couple unknow authors.

The reviews did influence me. Someone who only had five star reviews meant she traded reviews. Face it; James Patterson, Nora Roberts and Stephen King get bad reviews. Those who had about the same five star and one star reviews I passed on too. Often I read the one star reviews to see what the problem was. If it started with I wanted to like this book, or this was the worst book I've ever read, I disregareded because it was a troll review.  Sometimes, I click on the reviewer to see if she ever liked anything in her life. If I discover we actually like similar books, then it validates her review.

A nice mix of reviews is good too. With over 100 free books to pick from, I chose twelve, four from fav authors, three from genre preference, and and five more from unknown to me authors.  Obviously, they were all free books, but some genres I don't read. Others had overused title names often hoping to link to a more popular author. Bland burbs and uninteresting covers are another turn-off, but in the end, the reviews mattered most when I didn't know an author.

Promotions

You have to tell people you’re going to offer your book free. I picked up some of these tips and part of the list from Arthur Crandon’s book, Giveaways the Ultimate ‘How to’ Guide.  This short book is well worth reading.

Here are some places you could list your books. Most of these are blogs, so don’t expect to contact the owner the day before to place your book. Make sure your book fits too. Some do charge small fees for listing your book. At the time of this blog 1/24/15 all these pages/sites were live.

  1. http://bargainebookhunter.com/feature-your-book/
  2. http://ereadernewstoday.com/category/free-kindle-books
  3. http://authormarketingclub.com/members/submit-your-book/ 
  4. http://blog.booksontheknob.org/p/about-this-blog-and-contact-info.html
  5. http://www.freebooksy.com/editorial-submissions
  6. http://snickslist.com/books/place-ad/ 
  7. http://addictedtoebooks.com/submission
  8. http://www.kindleboards.com/free-book-promo/
  9. http://indiebookoftheday.com/authors/free-on-kindle-listing/
  10. http://www.ebooklister.net/submit.php
  11. http://thedigitalinkspot.blogspot.com.es/p/contact-us.html
  12. http://freekindlefiction.blogspot.co.uk/p/tell-us-about-free-books.html
  13. http://www.freeebooksdaily.com/
  14. http://www.freebookshub.com/authors/
  15. http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,97167.0/
  16. http://www.frugal-freebies.com/
  17. http://www.ereaderiq.com/about/
  18. http://www.mobileread.com/forums/ (membership required)
  19. http://flurriesofwords.blogspot.co.uk/
  20. http://askdavid.com/free-book-promotion
  21. http://ebookshabit.com/about-us/
  22. http://www.ereaderperks.com/about/
  23. http://thefrugalereader.wufoo.com/forms/frugal-freebie-submissions/
  24. http://www.goodkindles.net/p/why-should-i-submit-my-book-here.html
  25. http://www.blackcaviar-bookclub.com/free-book-promotion.html#.UXFB27XYeOc
  26. http://www.totallyfreestuff.com/
  27. http://www.icravefreebies.com/contact/
  28. http://uk.hundredzeros.com/
  29. http://freedigitalreads.com/
  30. . http://digitalbooktoday.com/12-top-100-submit-your-free-book-to-be-included-on-this-list/
34.     www.Sweetiespicks.com (I used this one. There's a small fee.)
35.     www.Thefrugalereader.com
36.     www.Yourdailyebooks.com
37.     www.Ereadernewstoday.com
38.    www.Freebooksy.cowww.Fkbooksandtips.com
39.    www.Kindlenationdaily.com
40.     www.Dailyfreebooks.com
41.     www.Hundredzeros.com

The next group is Facebook groups. Keep in mind,  some you have to join to promote. It may take days for you to be accepted. The tricky part is you can promote in all of them in one day or you'll be spamming. Check out who has the biggest audience to pick your three per day. 

FACEBOOK FREE BOOK GROUPS

Free Today on Amazon
https://www.facebook.com/groups/FreeTodayOnAmazon/

Free Books
https://www.facebook.com/groups/270558336379692/

Kindle Freebies, New Authors, and other eBook info
https://www.facebook.com/groups/370900356880/

 Freebooks R US
https://www.facebook.com/groups/freebkrus/

Awesome Amazon Free Books
https://www.facebook.com/groups/294455560643884/

 
Free Kindle Books
https://www.facebook.com/groups/426282137432533/

Free Book Club

https://www.facebook.com/FreeBookClub.org?fref=ts


Free Kindle Book
https://www.facebook.com/freekindlebook

FKB
https://www.facebook.com/fkbme

Kindle (Free) Book Club
https://www.facebook.com/KindleFreeBookClub

Free Books for Kindle UK
https://www.facebook.com/KindleFreeBookClub

Today's Free Kindle Books

https://www.facebook.com/eReadingBooks

Fantasy & Sci-Fi

Free Fantasy and Sci-Fi Books

www.facebook.com/groups/478776812163595/

Romance

Free Romance i-books
https://www.facebook.com/groups/FreeRomanceiBooksAuthors/

Pagan
https://www.facebook.com/PaganeBooksforfree

There are Facebook groups devoted to simple promotion. Use bigger groups and genre specific groups. Here are my Favs. You will have to join these groups too.

Straight Promotion

https://www.facebook.com/groups/bookjunkiepromotions/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/BookPromotion/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/538585186188448/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/online.book.publicity/

Tweeting

Join a Tweet Tribe. This is a group that retweets your tweets. You'll have to retweet theirs too. The benefit is a larger geographic reach and time zones. (Most want you to have at least 500-1000 followers and be recommended. Many want you to only tweet book related material. I'm in ASMSG, Author Tweeting Authors, Twitter Marketing. You can look up these groups on Facebook.)

Ask any group, you're already a part of to retweet your tweet. Make sure to do the same for members. It takes me about 30-45 minutes daily to retweet other members tweets.

Don’t underestimate the power of the tweet, but be careful not to say buy my book. It is best to write in the third person.

Example: Revelation, a riveting paranormal romance, is now free on Smashwords. Always include live links.

Hashtags help the reader find your book. The book above could use the tags #paranormal #free #romance #freekindle  #giveaway

Change up your tweets too. People tend to ignore the same tweets and sometime Twitter identifies it as spam and deletes it.

Always include a photo this makes people stop and look. Make sure you own the photo. This prevents nasty legal issues. Your book cover, stock photos you bought, free images, or photos you took all work.

Pinterest
Pinterest gives you the best rate of your promo to be seen. Pin your blogs, your book cover. Don’t have a Pinterest site. It is time to get one. Make sure you start following people.  Follow those with similar interests to your book. There are several freebies sites on Pinterest too.

 Blogging
Prepare to blog on all your free days. It is another way to get the news out. Make sure to have an easy button on your site to reach the free book. Contact associates to feature your blogs.


FIVERR
 I used  Fiverr on my last free book.  It helped me reach a much wider audience for about $15. I reccomend doing this a week in advance.


FACEBOOK
Facebook offers you the option to boost your post. I've tried this on different occasions and saw a very minimal increase in downloads for the price I paid. Would not recommend.  You're better off sharing on genre sites.


Book Tours
Plan your free book offer while you're on a tour. Your hosts and touring company will help drive traffic to your free book. 
  
Holiday & Seasonal Linking
Books about Christmas, Thanksgiving, Summer works best before the holiday or season. Not too much interest in the swimsuit diet in the middle of the summer.


Book Signings
The great thing about book signings is meeting people. Not everyone is ready to buy your book, but they will try it out if you have a coupon for a free book, short story, or free chapters.


The Waiting Game
Lucky you, 2000+ people downloaded your free book, but only six reviews and two were lousy.People who 'buy' free books, tend to pick up dozens and it takes them a while to read them, some never do.



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Grab Your Free Copy of Lyrical Historical Tale

1/13/2015

1 Comment

 

Not often to you get a chance to grab a great book free. Here's yours. I read it. Read it. It will change you for the better.

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The Luck of the Weissensteiners (Three Nations Trilogy Book 1)

In the sleepy town of Bratislava in 1933 a romantic girl falls for a bookseller from Berlin. Greta Weissensteiner, daughter of a Jewish weaver, slowly settles in with the Winkelmeier clan just as the developments in Germany start to make waves in Europe and re-draws the visible and invisible borders. The political climate in the multifaceted cultural jigsaw puzzle of disintegrating Czechoslovakia becomes more complex and affects relations between the couple and the families. The story follows them through the war with its predictable and also its unexpected turns and events and the equally hard times after.

But this is no ordinary romance; in fact it is not a romance at all, but a powerful, often sad, Holocaust story. What makes The Luck of the Weissensteiners so extraordinary is the chance to consider the many different people who were never in concentration camps, never in the military, yet who nonetheless had their own indelible Holocaust experiences. This is a wide-ranging, historically accurate exploration of the connections between social location, personal integrity and, as the title says, luck.


On Amazon:  http://smarturl.it/Weissensteiners

On Goodreads: http://bit.ly/12Rnup8

On Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1bua395

Trailer: http://studio.stupeflix.com/v/OtmyZh4Dmc/?autoplay=1

B&N  http://ow.ly/Btvas
 

Sebastian (Three Nations Trilogy Book 2)

Sebastian is the story of a young man who has his leg amputated before World War I. When his father is drafted to the war it falls on to him to run the family grocery store in Vienna, to grow into his responsibilities, bear loss and uncertainty and hopefully find love.
Sebastian Schreiber, his extended family, their friends and the store employees experience the ‘golden days’ of pre-war Vienna and the timed of the war and the end of the Monarchy while trying to make a living and to preserve what they hold dear.
Fischer convincingly describes life in Vienna during the war, how it affected the people in an otherwise safe and prosperous location, the beginning of the end for the Monarchy, the arrival of modern thoughts and trends, the Viennese class system and the end of an era.
As in the first part of the trilogy, “The Luck of The Weissensteiners” we are confronted again with themes of identity, Nationality and borders. The step back in time made from Book 1 and the change of location from Slovakia to Austria enables the reader to see the parallels and the differences deliberately out of the sequential order. This helps to see one not as the consequence of the other, but to experience them as the momentary reality as it must have felt for the people at the time.


On Amazon: http://smarturl.it/TNTSeb


On Goodreads: http://ow.ly/pthHZ

On Facebook: http://ow.ly/pthNy

Trailer: http://studio.stupeflix.com/v/95jvSpHf5a/

B&N http://ow.ly/Btvbw



The Black Eagle Inn (Three Nations Trilogy Book 3)

The Black Eagle Inn is an old established Restaurant and Farm business in the sleepy Bavarian countryside outside of Heimkirchen.  Childless Anna Hinterberger has fought hard to make it her own and keep it running through WWII. Religion and rivalry divide her family as one of her nephews, Markus has got her heart and another nephew, Lukas got her ear. Her husband Herbert is still missing and for the wider family life in post-war Germany also has some unexpected challenges in store.

Once again Fischer tells a family saga with war in the far background and weaves the political and religious into the personal. Being the third in the Three Nations Trilogy this book offers another perspective on war, its impact on people and the themes of nations and identity.

On Facebook: http://ow.ly/pAX3y

On Goodreads: http://ow.ly/pAX8G

On Amazon: http://smarturl.it/TBEI


Trailer: http://studio.stupeflix.com/v/mB2JZUuBaI/


Time To Let Go:

Time to Let Go is a contemporary family drama set in Britain.
Following a traumatic incident at work Stewardess Hanna Korhonen decides to take time off work and leaves her home in London to spend quality time with her elderly parents in rural England. There she finds that neither can she run away from her problems, nor does her family provide the easy getaway place that she has hoped for. Her mother suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and, while being confronted with the consequences of her issues at work, she and her entire family are forced to reassess their lives.
The book takes a close look at family dynamics and at human nature in a time of a crisis. Their challenges, individual and shared, take the Korhonens on a journey of self-discovery and redemption.


On Facebook: http://ow.ly/BtKtQ

On Goodreads:  http://ow.ly/BtKs7

On Amazon: http://smarturl.it/TTLG

Conditions

When Charles and Tony's mother dies the estranged brothers must struggle to pick up the pieces, particularly so given that one of them is mentally challenged and the other bitter about his place within the family. 
The conflict is drawn out over materialistic issues, but there are other underlying problems which go to the heart of what it means to be part of a family which, in one way or another. has cast one aside.
Prejudice, misconceptions and the human condition in all forms feature in this contemporary drama revolving around a group of people who attend the subsequent funeral at the British South Coast. 
Meet flamboyant gardener Charles, loner Simon, selfless psychic Elaine, narcissistic body-builder Edgar, Martha and her version of unconditional love and many others as they try to deal with the event and its aftermath.


On Facebook: http://ow.ly/C0ZqX

On Amazon: http://smarturl.it/CONDITIONSCFF

On Goodreads: http://ow.ly/C0Ziw

The Healer


When advertising executive Erica Whittaker is diagnosed with terminal cancer, western medicine fails her. The only hope left for her to survive is controversial healer Arpan. She locates the man whose touch could heal her but finds he has retired from the limelight and refuses to treat her.  Erica, consumed by stage four pancreatic cancer, is desperate and desperate people are no longer logical nor are they willing to take no for an answer. Arpan has retired for good reasons, casting more than the shadow of a doubt over his abilities. So begins a journey that will challenge them both as the past threatens to catch up with him as much as with her.  Can he really heal her? Can she trust him with her life? And will they both achieve what they set out to do before running out of time?

Amazon:
http://smarturl.it/thehealerthriller

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheHealerNovelbyChristophFischer?ref=hl

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23662030-the-healer

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Christoph Fischer was born in Germany, near the Austrian border, as the son of a Sudeten-German father and a Bavarian mother. Not a full local in the eyes and ears of his peers he developed an ambiguous sense of belonging and home in Bavaria. He moved to Hamburg in pursuit of his studies and to lead a life of literary indulgence. After a few years he moved on to the UK where he now lives in a small hamlet, not far from Bath.  He and his partner have three Labradoodles to complete their family.

Christoph worked for the British Film Institute, in Libraries, Museums and for an airline. ‘The Luck of The Weissensteiners’ was published in November 2012; 'Sebastian' in May 2013 and The Black Eagle Inn in October 2013. "Time To Let Go" , his first contemporary work was published in May 2014, and “Conditions” in October 2014. He has written several other novels which are in the later stages of editing and finalisation.


Website: http://www.christophfischerbooks.com/

Blog: http://writerchristophfischer.wordpress.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6590171.Christoph_Fischer

Amazon: http://ow.ly/BtveY

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CFFBooks

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/christophffisch/

Google +: https://plus.google.com/u/0/106213860775307052243

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=241333846

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WriterChristophFischer?ref=hl

All Facebook links:

http://www.facebook.com/WriterChristophFischer?ref=hl

http://www.facebook.com/TheLuckOfTheWeissensteiners?ref=hl

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sebastian/489427467776001?ref=hl

http://www.facebook.com/TheBlackEagleInn?ref=hl

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Time-To-Let-Go/257989361049799?ref=hl

 

1 Comment

Bad Reviews Can be Good!

1/12/2015

2 Comments

 
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Why a Bad Review Can be Good News

It’s not usual to see on my personal Facebook page a fellow writer bemoaning a bad review. Often the writer will even post the link to a bad review so friends can take a few swipes at the review too. Did you ever think a bad review could actually work in your favor?  I didn’t until recently.

1.       Makes it real. Check Amazon reviews for New York Times Best Selling Authors. I did with Stephen King’s Mr. Mercedes. The book earned every star imaginable with 123 one-star scathing reviews. About half of 4,860 reviews were 5-stars, which confirmed fans didn’t automatically grant the award-winning writer 5-stars for simply publishing a book.

2.       Amazon tends to yank reviews as bogus if a book only has five stars reviews. Often it is hard to believe an unknown author who self publishes a book automatically has 50 perfect 5-star reviews off the bat, especially if they aren’t verified purchases and tend to be vague with statements including best book I’ve ever read in my life and couldn’t put it down. Now, I’ve heard other writers complain Amazon took down legitimate reviews because there was none under five stars in the group.

3.       Bad reviews often tell what the person thought the book needed. I’m actually appreciative of a Goodreads review that specified I didn’t include enough backstory about the hero.   If you allow it, a less than glowing, but insightful review can make you a better writer.

4.       If a person actually read the book, the review should reflect what they didn’t like about it. A friend who writes steamy romances received a one-star review with comments that the book was full of sex  in every chapter, hot, steamy, kinky sex, and the woman had to finish the entire book to see if got any less sexy. It didn’t. Ironically, that bad review shot up her sales.

5.       After your anger dissipates, re-read the review and see what the reviewer really stated. I received a one-star review from a reviewer who received my book free because she thought it was too expensive. I actually passed this info onto my publisher who lowered the price some. Once I stumbled past the one star, the reviewer actually liked the book.

6.       Reviews are opinions and not everyone will like your book. Ever. It helps other people who may have similar tastes to pick out the book that best suits them. Bad reviews come from bad fits more often than truly awful books.

7.        What about the bogus bad reviews? Sure, there are trolls out there who often download free books, never read them, and give concise reviews with insightful tidbits such as: this book sucks, could have been written by a second-grader, and I wanted to like this book, but…  Most serious readers (people who buy books) are looking for more detail than that.

8.       Consider the source. When reading Amazon reviews, you can click on the reviewer to see previous reviews. You may discover the reviewer gave almost everything one or two stars. The ability to rate something gives the common person power.

9.       Review magazine, newspapers, and even review companies like Kirkus Reviews hold more weight than Lois in Des Moines who referred to your book as self-indulgent, myopic pseudo literature.

10.   There are people who never read reviews. Never. They judge a book on the previous book. Keep writing.

11.   Many famous authors never read reviews. I rubbed elbows at a Monte Carlo night with a favorite author who admitted she didn’t read reviews because it would influence what she was writing. Obviously, you can’t change your writing style to please an unhappy reviewer.


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Courtesy of Dilbert By Scott Adams
In retrospect, let’s consider everyday life here. Do you discontinue going to your favorite restaurant because it received a bad review? Probably not. In the end, we would like the good reviews to outnumber the bad ones. The real question is what motivates a person to buy a book.

Often I buy a book because

·         I heard the author speak in a public forum.

·         It’s about a subject that interests me.

·         It’s in my genre.

·         Recommended by an author I liked.

·         Liked the cover.

·         It was free.

·         It was a gift.

·         We sat next to each other at a book signing.

·         I wanted to explore the genre.

·         Heard an author interview on the radio.

·         Amazon recommendation

·         Blog hops

·         Tweets

Today, I was checking a book order on Amazon. I noticed I have bought 39 books in less than six months. I think that makes me a decent customer, but not once did I buy a book due to a review, good or bad. Something to consider when faced with a bad review.
Picture
Courtesy of Futurama
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