Want to be an ARC Reader and/or Reviewer?

If you're interested in becoming an Advanced Reader and/or Reviewer, I've opened up the sign up form for new participants. Do you enjoy urban & low fantasy with a touch of naughtiness (some are more naughty than others)? Then my books my be for you! Use the link below to sign up to become a reviewer and/or ARC reader. :)

Google Form Sign Up link: https://forms.gle/yJ5Xd26kDMP1zzja9

Review Request (I might be begging!)

Good morning, lovely readers! I hope the week is treating you kindly, and that everyone close to you is staying safe and healthy. 

This week I have a request from all of you that have read my books, and I hate to ask it, but reviews are the bread and butter of an author's life. We need them to sell more books, rank higher on book selling sites like Amazon, and even to gain a little "Hmm" from higher ups in the publishing world who may be interested in doing more with our books.

It's a necessity in the book world, and even I'm bad about not rushing over to leave reviews right after finishing a book, but I'm determined to do better. It was actually one of my goals for 2020. :) 

I know I have a lot of readers just from the comments, emails, PMs, texts, phone calls, and every day life, so please consider taking a few minutes of your time and leaving a quick review on any/all of the books you've read. It means the world to me when someone does.

While you're over on the Amazon Author page, take a second and hit that "+Follow" button to make sure you get up-to-date info from Amazon. :)

Click to go to Amazon

Thanks, everyone! Know that I appreciate every one of you. <3

Showing Your Favorite Author(s) Some Love

It's that time of year again... Time to shop 'til you drop! LOL. Well, you know what I mean. There will be lots of gift-giving over the next few weeks and some of the big gifts will be new tablets, iPads, Kindles, Nooks, and many more electronics that can be used to read books. Soon those eReaders will need to be filled with many, many new reads, so why not show your favorite authors some love this holiday season?

It's really easy to give your favorite author a little holiday joy. A simple review is a big one. Reviews help us gain new readers. They help us sell more books, pull in potential fans, and even give us a better standing in the book selling marketplaces. There are even deals and discounts newsletters that require a certain amount of reviews before we can list our books with them.

So please, during this holiday season, take a moment to leave a few words on a book you enjoyed. It can be as simple or as detailed as you like. Even a short, "I liked it," is enough to make a beloved author happy.

Happy Holidays!

Love Hurts

CMSeter on SXC

Authors love their books, almost as much as they love their children. Our books are our babies, in a sense. But sometimes the love we hold for our stories, characters, books can hurt when other people don't love our work as much as we do.

Reviews are a part of being a writer. You're going to have people who love your work and happily tell the world about it. And then you'll have the people who for some odd reason think your work belongs in the recycle bin.

Reviews are opinions, plain and simple.  Everyone has an opinion and we're not always going to agree. Opposing opinions are what makes the world go 'round. What do you do when someone disagrees with you in the real world? Do you scream and holler and cry? Or do you try your hardest to respect their opinion, yet hold true to your own beliefs?

I would hope that you'd understand that others have opinions they feel as strongly about as you do.  The goal as a writer is to take the good with the bad, while staying true to yourself and your characters.  Keep writing, moving forward, taking on the world with your unique style and gusto. And always remember that the world would be a very boring place if we were all the same.

How do I handle bad reviews?
I bitch and moan to one author friend and my sister. I might even tell my husband if it's really, really bad.  And after a day or two of being pissed and talking it out with my peeps, I move on. I jump back into whatever it was I was working on when the notion to check my books' reviews hit me and ruined my mood. I talk to my characters, especially Liz Baker (she has great insights), and then I get back to work.

So what if Sue Pissy Pants hates my writing and thinks anything I would ever write will be utter trash.  "Hey, you, don't read it if you don't like it!" Even the bests of the bests have haters.  It's up to us, as authors, to let the haters be haters without allowing them to distract us for too long.

Sure, it's hard to look past someone telling the world they hate you and everything you stand for, even though they know nothing about you personally.  But stand tall, be brave, pull those thorns from you heart, and get back to work.  You must be doing something right, after all, to garner that much attention from a complete stranger.

Have a great day & keep writing!

Blog Tour Schedule

Starting June 1st, I'll be on a 21-day blog tour to promote the Liz Baker series, with main focus on Time for Death (book 1).  There will be several reviews, several interviews, and a few guest posts.  And at the end I'll be giving away a 3-book print set of the series and two e-book copies of Time for Death.

Here's the tour schedule:

1st: Jennifer Malone Wright www.jenniferwrightauthor.com
2nd:  Paranormal Reads http://paranormalreadsreviews.blogspot.com/
3rd:  Mad Sheep Reading http://madsheepno1.blogspot.co.uk/
4th:  Tsk Tsk What To Read www.tsktskwhattoread2.blogspot.com 
5th:  Angel Haze http://www.angelhaze.com/
6th:  Jenn’s Book Review’s http://addicted2bookreviews.blogspot.com/
7th:  All Things Books www.allthingsaboutbooks.com
8th:  Lovetiggi’s Blog http://lovetiggisblog.blogspot.com/
9th:  Ponderings, Politics and Prose http://ponderings.lucindagunnin.com/
10th:  Books, Reviews, Movies, Oh My! http://writesthoughts.blogspot.com/
11th:  Starry Night Book Reviews http://starrynightbookreviews.blogspot.com/
12th:  Book Mews and Tattle Tails http://tattlet.blogspot.com/
13th:  Andie’s Book Reviews http://andisbookreviews.blogspot.com/
14th:  Storytime Book Reviews  http://storytimebookreviews.blogspot.com/
15th:  The Book Hoard http://www.thebookhoard.com/
16th:  Delphina Reads Too Much http://www.delphinareadstoomuch.com/
17th:  The Cover and Everything in Between http://thecoverbybrittany.blogspot.com/
18th:  A Little Bit of R&R http://www.alittlebitofrnrreviews.com/
19th: Robin Renee Ray http://www.robinreneeray.blogspot.com/
20th:  Phenomenal Paranormal Reads http://jennswiger.blogspot.com/
21st:  The Bunny’s Review http://bunnysreview.com/

There will be a RaffleCopter at the bottom of each blog post for you to enter into the book giveaway.  I've never used one, but I hear it's a great way to handle blog giveaways.  :)

I hope to see you there!

New review for the Liz Baker series.

Good reviews always make an author happy, but usually they are reviews for single books.  This time I received a review for the entire Liz Baker series, thus far.  Check out what Author Robin Renee Ray has to say about her enjoyment of Liz's life and the people around her.  :)

"I have been a Fan of the Liz Baker series and her walk from being the non-caring bar owner to being the owner of a large estate that she inherited when a dear family friend passed. When she went from a normal state of life where hanging with friends and having flings with the same long time bud with benefits was what completed her existence. Then, of course, he came in the mist of the quake that had fallen on her world, the one who walked the night and sought more than just the blood in her veins.

Liz took the life of the one who allured her into the darkness, and saved a man that later took her heart. In this book, you see where the two have traveled and how much Liz’s journey into the world of the unknown has taken them. The things she finds out are nothing compared to finding out that she herself was half vampire, child of the one who sent the night walker to allure her to the dark side in books one and two. Even her deceased mother, who came to her aid when needed, was not as shocking as what she discovers in, Killer Intentions.

I can’t just recommend this book, without saying read them all. It is a complete tale of intrigue, deceit, paranormal in both the vampire world as well as the mystical, and the pivotal growth of romance is insurmountable. Liz not only develops as a woman, but her powers in the field of magic, that she is only on the very edge of learning, is developing faster than any can explain. Christie Silvers is taking her characters on a rapid running river of excitement in every area. If I could give this series more than a 5Star, I would be the first to do it!"

Who do I write for?

One of the hardest things for an author to realize is that not everyone will enjoy your writings. Why would anyone not like my stuff, you wonder. I worked so hard on it. It's a great story. I don't understand.

It may take a while, but there comes a point in a writer's life where you finally, ultimately, shrug your shoulders and declare that your story isn't for everyone. Just as most people have a preferred genre they enjoy reading, many people have a preferred author, writing style, age limit, etc. Your story might fit a genre, but not fit the writing style. It's a dice game. You roll the dice and see what happens.

Out of dozens, hundreds, or more positive reviews across the world, there will always be that one who downrates a book/author with rants and nitpicking. You want to shout, comment back about why the rater is ignorant, etc. But what's the best thing to do?

Ignore it!

That's right, ignore the downrater, the hater of your book. If you have numerous people who enjoy your book, and this one person hates it, then ignore them. Your story just isn't for them. You don't like everything you read, and you can't expect everyone in the world to enjoy your story.

I write for the people who enjoy my stories. My time and writing energy is spent hoping to entertain those who like my work. The people who don't like it aren't worth the time I already don't have enough of. I write for the fans who take time out of their own busy schedules to let me know how much they enjoy my books. I write for the readers who don't have time to say hello, but still manage to snag my next new release.

I love my readers and I'm always working to set up the next fun thing, the next new release, the next goodie giveaway. . . anything that will make my fans happy and let them know I appreciate each and every one of them.

If you're reading this, most likely I write for you. :)

With all that being said, I'm still working on Killer Intentions (Liz Baker, book 3) and on the ball for a December release. The cover artist is hard at work on the new cover and we're hoping to release it for all to see on December 1st. Also, my editor is on stand-by as soon as I'm ready for her. I'm thinking (hoping) I'll have the file in her hands by Thanksgiving. There will be several rounds of edits and rewrites, and then the big release day will be here!

In the meantime, be on the look out for a Black Friday sale on the first two Liz Baker books, in preparation for the big release.

Thank you to all who read and enjoy my books. I'll keep writing the just for you. :)





*Image from: nkzs on Sxc.hu*

Where to post reviews.

I recently received an e-mail from one of my "#1 fans" asking where I'd like her to leave a review for Dark Promises, so I thought it would be a good time to blog about it. :)

I have three favorite places for book reviews/ratings. I always read the reviews left on these three sites, as I frequent them often for my personal reading list.

• Amazon.com


• B & N


• GoodReads


• Shelfari -- I like this site, but not there often.
  

Now, these aren't the only places for readers to share what they thought of a book, but they are my faves. :)