Farewell 2017

Wow, it's hard to believe it's nearly time to say goodbye to 2017. It really was a year full of exciting events for me as a writer.  From working with first-time authors to get their book ready for readers to enjoy, to branching out into new and exciting ventures, 2017 has been an interesting year indeed.

I wasn't able to finish any new books of my own this year, but I was thrilled when my Christmas Novella, Saying Goodbye won GOLD for its beautiful cover. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend you get the FREE download on Amazon. I promise you won't be disappointed.

As the last hours of 2017 tick away, my heart fills with hope for the coming new year. I have several books waiting for me to finish writing them. The second installment of Dragon's Blood Key, Return to Walandra has been patiently waiting, as well as my paranormal thriller, 4.  I had started working on a new series titled Malora Danning which is the story of a woman from a secret real with magical powers. I must admit it's going to be a lot of fun writing this one. Then as the Christmas Spirit took hold of me, the idea for another Christmas Novella popped into my mind.  It's a shame I just can't plug my brain into a laptop and have it write the stories swimming around in there. LOL

So, as we enter the new year, I wish you all nothing but health, happiness, and success in everything you do. I also pray you have a wondrous 2018, and may all your dreams come true.

Surviving the Dreaded 1-Star Review

Book reviews.  Just the mention can make a writer break out into a sweat.  Will the readers love my book, or will they hate it?  Getting a positive review fills your heart with joy, and yes, pride.  It lets you know all the long and lonely hours of plugging away on your computer have paid off.  Your faith in yourself as a writer is vindicated.  All the naysayers for your foolish idea of writing a book are silenced.  Life is good.  You are now ready to begin writing your second book... and then the unthinkable happens.

Nothing can cause a writer to question their storytelling skills quicker than a negative review.  When I received my first 1-Star review and then several more, I was convinced my career as a writer was over.  I fell into a deep depression and refused to write anything again.  I mean, why should I?  I believed I could tell a good story by my positive reviews, but now I'm told my writing is crap.  How can the same story be seen so differently?

When I was about to give up, my husband told me to go to Amazon and read the negative reviews left for some famous authors.  I remember thinking, famous authors surely don't get the nasty 1-Star reviews like I did.  Heck, they're famous.  People love their work. That's why they're famous, right?  Boy, was I wrong.

After reading some mean and downright nasty 1-Star reviews left for such greats as Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and others, I came to realize that you just cannot please everyone.  I also realized to use those bad reviews as a growing tool and a way to improve my writing.  I had several on my debut book that tore me up over editing issues.  Yes, I take the blame for that.  I did a stupid thing at the time I published the book on Amazon.  But others complained about certain things in the story itself.  I took their complaints and tried to use them to improve my future writing.
So, basically, my advice to the new writer is not to panic when, not if, but when you get a negative review.  Don't think your career as a writer is over.  Use it as a growing tool and realize even the greats get their fair share of them.

Being a writer is a growing experience.  Your skills grow every time you put your words on paper or your computer.  Also, you will find over time that your belief in yourself will grow.  You'll be more willing to take chances, and you'll soon realize you were meant to be a writer.

So, are reviews important?  You, dang right, they are.  Now, I'm not saying they're important to feed our egos.  No, they're important to help get our books seen by more readers.  You see, once your book hits 50 reviews on Amazon, they will start promoting it to their readers.  Now, I'm not saying it has to be 50 good reviews.  I'm saying a total of 50 reviews of a combination of any star rating. So, don't worry about a handful of bad reviews hurting you with readers.  In fact, I've had readers tell me how they don't trust a book that has nothing but 5-Star reviews.  They say the reviews are probably just by family and friends of the author.  I've even had readers tell me they decided to download my debut book because they wanted to see if it was as bad as some reviewers stated.  I guess if that works, then good for me. LOL

Getting readers to leave a review is difficult, but when they do, it's a gift that keeps on giving.  Thank your readers, and then do your best to provide them with more books for them to enjoy.
I hope this post helps clear any questions about how to handle a bad review.  So, get busy writing your next EXCITING book!

Why Do I Write?

Why do I write, you ask?  I've often asked myself that very same question.  The other day when I was scrolling down my Facebook newsfeed, I came across a post by a fellow author.  She had announced that she was no longer going to write because she felt as though her career was going nowhere.  I cannot begin to tell you how sad that made me feel,  However, I must confess, I've felt that same sense of utter failure before myself.

Writing is one of the most difficult things I've ever done.  You spend long hours sitting at your computer, creating what you hope will be the next great masterpiece. You then spend endless hours of rewriting, editing and rewriting some more before you feel it's ready for the REAL editor.  Of course, while the Editor has your manuscript, the story haunts your mind with questions of the plot twists you should have added or deleted before handing it over to someone else.  No, writing is not for the weak of heart.

I know that each Author has their own stories of mistakes they've made.  We just need to realize that anything stupid we may have done will not be the death-nail for our writing careers unless we allow it.  When I had my meltdown over a huge mistake I made early in my writing career, my husband gave me to best advice.  He said to go on the reviews of a few famous authors and read their 1-star reviews.  He said if they can survive their mistakes, then so can I.  You know something, he was right.

I now live by the motto... My writing career is going to have highs and lows.  I will learn from the lows and enjoy the highs.  So, whenever I feel like the publishing world has kicked me in the teeth, just brush it off and soldier on! 

I now write for my MY enjoyment, and should others discover my books and enjoy them as well then that's just the icing on the cake.  If the day ever comes where my books are read by millions I'll enjoy the ride.  However, if my books are only read by a few I'll still enjoy the ride.  You see writing is my personal enjoyment.  I love developing characters that come to life on the pages.  I also love to invoke a wide range of emotions on the pages of my books.  I guess you can say that writing is my drug of choice.

So, back to where I started this post.  Several people commented on the Author's Facebook post, trying to convince her not to give up.  I, for one, wish she just takes a little time off to recoup and try to remember what she LOVES about writing.  If her only goal was to be picked up by a publishing company and become a famous author then maybe her decision was the correct one.  However, if she started writing for the LOVE of writing then her decision should be easy.  Just write and not worry about anything else.

If you want to know more of what I do, I invite you to go to my website.

To write or not to write

Just keep writing... only if it were that easy.  I have spoken to other writers who claim they face this same issue from time to time.  We come up with a wonderful idea for a story, we begin working on the plotline, creating a new world for the characters, and may even get a good distance into the story, and then something unthinkable happens... we run into a hundred foot wall.  No matter how many times we go over our notes, reread what we've written so far, NOTHING seems to come to mind on how to continue.  So we do the one thing that drives us all crazy.  We set our wonderful new story aside and wait for something to flood into our minds so we can continue.

The only problem with doing this is most of us have far too many unfinished books waiting for us to open the file, continue writing, and eventually publish.  I am trapped in this quandary at this time.  I was working on my paranormal thriller, 4 and going along at a good pace.  Then it happened.  My mind went blank and the characters stopped talking.  I had started this story a couple of years ago, but for some reason, I can't seem to get it finished.  I love the story and those who have read parts of it say it's great, so why can't I seem to stay focused on it?  I was finally able to finish Heart Tires and get it published.  I was so pleased with how it turned out.  I made it a perma-free novella, so I invite you to go grab a copy if you haven't already.

Here is where I stand at this moment.  I have my paranormal thriller, 4 and the second installment of the Dragon's Blood Key waiting to be finished and published.  Both are great stories and deserve my best effort.  However, I can't seem to focus on them and give them the love they deserve. I know it will happen. I just hope it's sooner than later.

I'm sure those who spend their days stressing over their masterpiece know where I'm coming from.  I'm sure readers just want us to finish our stories so they can enjoy them.  However, sometimes writers find themselves stuck and unable to continue until their inner voices guide them.  Yeah, I know, it sounds crazy, but that's how it goes in the mind of a writer. LOL

I want to thank you for reading my ramblings and I hope you will follow me on here and my other social media.  Wishing you a wonderful day, and happy writing and reading.

You can find Heart Ties on:

Amazon & iTunes  (This link works for ALL Amazon & iTunes stores.)

Barnes & Noble  

I also invite you to follow me on Facebook and Twitter 

  

I did it!

I can't believe I FINALLY finished writing Heart Ties.  This book has sat on the sidelines for far too long, while other projects took its place.  Last night as I typed the final paragraph, I not only felt a sense of pride for completing another book, but also excitement.  When I had first sat at my desk and typed the opening words of this wonderful story all those years ago, I knew this would be a book that would touch the hearts of those who read it.  So, realizing it was far overdue to clean out my 'Books to be Finished' folder, I chose Heart Ties first.  I must admit that I'm glad I did.

It's now in the editing process, getting its polish and shine.  I look forward to offering this wonderful story of Eternal Love to readers everywhere and I hope they will enjoy reading it as I did writing it.

Here's a little tease from the unedited copy - 

“Mommy, I didn’t mean to do it! I didn’t want to die!” Six-year-old Shane bolted upright in his bed, tears flowing down his cheeks and soaked with sweat.

“You’re alright, baby. Mommy’s here,” Patricia sat next to Shane who was trembling with fear. “Did you have the bad dream again?”

“Yes; I was flying in the airplane, and it crashed into the water. I tried to stop it, but I couldn’t,” Shane whimpered, hugging his pillow. “Mommy, why did I have to die? I wanted to go home, but I died in the water. She was waiting for me to come home, but I couldn't do it.”

Patricia was at a loss for words. Shane seemed to have this same dream at least twice a month, and she had no idea how to stop them. Patricia clearly remembered the first time he had the dream. He was three years old and had awakened screaming, NO over and over. Once she had calmed him down, he told her of how the water was cold and dark. He told her how he had tried to escape, but the water was all around him.

"I was mad, Mommy. I died. She would be sad because I broke my promise."

Made Me Smile

As authors, we often wonder what kind of reach we've accomplished with all the different social media we have at our fingertips today.  In the pursuit of reaching readers, we've all started our Facebook Pages, Twitter accounts, Instagram, Pinterest, and several others.  We then get a website and/or blog.  When I think of all the different options we have to reach readers today, it's quite overwhelming.

When I sat down all those years ago and began writing my debut novel, I never realized how there was more to being an author than just writing stories.  I had the foolish idea that I would write the next Bestselling Novel and publishing companies would fall all over themselves to sign me as their next STAR...boy, was I wrong.  After receiving a few letters stating that my book didn't follow the "rules" of its genre, I decided to go the Independent Author route.  I'd never heard of Indie Authors. Heck, I had no idea one could publish their own work on sites such as Amazon and Smashwords.

So, after hiring an editor, a formatter, and having a great cover made; I was ready to jump into the cold waters of publishing.  I must admit at first I was completely lost.  However, over time I met some of the nicest people on Facebook who had already published their books and figured out how to avoid most of the landmines of being self-published.  It's a wonderful community of Independent Authors.  They go out of their way to help each other and are willing to share ideas that have worked for them.

Now, what brings me to this post today?  I've never been much of a blogger.  I have high ambitions to keep it active and full of entertaining posts, but I seem to always find myself busy with other projects.  When I came on here today, I had plans to write a post on a different subject.  However, after checking the blog's stats, I knew what I wanted to say.....THANK YOU.

Seeing the number of views and all the different countries everyone is from has brought a huge smile to my face.  Here is the list of countries where people are from who have read my little blog - United States, Slovakia, Germany, France, Isreal, Canada, Japan, and Portugal.  Isn't that amazing?  I cannot begin to say how humbled I feel.

Now, I'm not going to promise to post daily or even weekly.  I am, though, going to try to do better.  Who knows, maybe over time, I'll get the hang of this blogging stuff and have posts that will be worth the time you've given me.

Thank you again!

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