Diane Nelson's Blog

An April Giveaway from Julies Book Reviews To help celebrate the upcoming launch of FLANKMAN, the newest edition to the Crow Creek Series, I'm joining with Julie Ramsey and Julies Book Reviews for a huge giveaway.

You can enter the raffle to win an eBook copy of The Crow Creek Collection containing the first three books in the series: Ash & Oak, Pulling Leather and Strapping Ash.

And for the ultimate spring fever promotion: 
the Grand Prize is a Kindle! 

So enter often to win! a Rafflecopter giveaway The Crow Creek Collection Crow Creek Ranch nestles in the foothills of the Absaroka Range in Wyoming, bordering a wilderness that challenges brave men, testing their mettle … and their hearts.

ASH & OAK brings together two men separated by a continent, united by a mutual love for horses. Oak Richards is shy & reclusive, Ash MacBryde is domineering & territorial. When they meet sparks fly, igniting a firestorm of passion. But that passion requires gentling before two men, so alike, yet so different, can learn when to submit and when to take control.

PULLING LEATHER returns to Crow Creek Ranch where Jess Carpenter, an ex-rodeo champion who’s given up on love meets Lucas Santiago, a young wrangler with some anger management issues. The attraction is intense and mutual. But there’s a complication. Jess has a history with Ash MacBryde. Their reunion ignites a firestorm of passion that threatens Jess’ feelings for Luc and Ash’s bond with his married partner, Oak. Four men vie to hold onto the things they hold dear. Riding for the time. Riding for the glory. And it takes only one misstep to disqualify any one of them from the competition … and from love.

STRAPPING ASH brings the Ash MacBryde-Oak Richards saga to a stunning climax. Three men set out on a perilous journey through traps set not just by their enemies but by their own tangled emotions. And the only way the domineering possessive man and the gentle reclusive soul can find their way back to Crow Creek Ranch means learning that…

Sometimes it takes two wrongs to make it right.
Kindle
OmniLit
B&N Kindle
OmniLit
B&N Kindle
OmniLit
B&N Kindle
OmniLit
B&N Cover Reveal for FLANKMAN The bronc in the arena can kill, 
but it takes a man to destroy... Look for Flankman mid-April at all fine eBookstores.

On a Face Book Group that I help admin (Page Turners), we spent the day talking about book trailers. Sessha Batto conducted the seminar which included how to produce them, how to choose music, handling text, copyright issues, etc. It was fun and informative.

And we were fortunate to have several examples that really ramped up the excitement. 

So with the permission of the generous authors who shared their creative efforts, here's a selection of book trailers for your edification and enjoyment. Sessha Batto: Shadow Wolf Bill Kirton: The Darkness Bill's audio and video collection can be found HERE Heikki Hietala: Tulagi Hotel

Tulagi Hotel - the book's trailer video from Tulagi Hotel on Vimeo.

L. Anne Carrington's Upcoming: Billy Kidman: The Shooting Star Anne's The Cruiserweight video can be found HERE Nya Rawlyns: Acid Jazz Singer Scarlet Darkwood: Pleasure House Elaine Raco Chase: Beach Reads Elaine's collection of videos can be found HERE Elaina J. Davidson: The Tinsal Deck Gray Dixon: Master Marshall Gray's collection can be found HERE Diane Nelson: Dragon Academy Rebecca Poole produced this for Kory M. Shrum Aaron Speca's Role Play Videos HERE

Today proved to be one of those bonanza days for gathering information about the publishing industry, writing and assorted, related blog posts. Including a nifty rant. There's been a lot of discussion regarding securing reliable data when it comes to sales and royalty income for traditionally published vs independent authors.

This blog has made the rounds, but it's not a bad idea to take another look to determine for yourself what it all means. It's important to note these data are for Amazon only, and they include only the top 7000 bestselling titles.

The Report: Author Earnings

Next Konrath and friends deep drill the Author Earnings report (with some tongue-in-cheek):  

Me, Hugh Howey, and Legacy John on AuthorEarnings.com

If your mind blanks at all those pie charts, and the odds of ever making it to the top anything, let alone 7000th place, Kristen Lamb has some words of wisdom about when it goes wrong and what you can do about it.

Setbacks, Success, Excuses, Oh MY! The Truth About Publishing & Myths About Muses

Then again, maybe you've had it. You are close to burn-out. You scream inside your head: Enough's enough! Here's Heidi Cullinan with a message you definitely need to read:

Death By Promotion: Getting Real About the Costs to Authors and Readers in the Current Marketing Environment Not discouraged? Girding loins (or whatever floats your boat)? Here's some marketing advice from The Creative Penn that might just help:

How to Sell More Books

Content Marketing

TEXAS HEAT [Western Erotic Romance] Sizzles! Chase Jordan is a man with half his life missing since his return from the war in Iraq. He arrives back in Texas, a drifter looking for home. When he arrives at the Double D ranch, the owners know him, even if he can’t remember them. Cheyenne’s been infatuated with Chase since her high school days, but Deke MacKenzie’s already made it clear to Chase that his kid sister is off limits  My Review:

Cheyenne MacKenzie is a bold-as-brass heroine who drinks and has no problem going after what she wants. Chase Jordan is the new ranch hire with a history, but it's one he can't remember. When Cheyene makes a move on Chase, it's not exactly a done deal that she'll get what she's after. But when she won't give up or give in, it becomes clear she might have bitten off a little more than she expected.
For a short story Texas heat had all the elements of a full length novel: a beginning, a middle and an end. Cheyenne's motivations and her abrupt decision to pursue Chase were a hair quick, as was Chase's solution to the second near assault.
But beyond that, the story is a good, solid read, hotter 'n heck, with the promise of the characters working out a relationship in a real future.
KINDLE

Instead of Me-Me-Me, I'd like to Pay It Forward and spread the word about a unique piece of erotica for the boomer generation. 

The Middlethorpe Chronicles by Roz Lee, best known for her fabulous Mustangs Baseball series (romance with a sports theme) and The Lust Boat Series. The Chronicles will charm your socks off and heat those toes to white hot.



Blurb: 
The Middlethorpes are an average middle-class American couple. Now that their kids are grown and out of the house, they set out to resurrect their once robust sex life. They call the plan Friday Night Sex. The rules are simple, no talking, no limits, and no interruptions.

Available from Amazon for .99 cents
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I18V0B6 My REVIEW on Amazon:

The Middlethorpe Chronicles is hot and sexy to be sure but it's told in a charmingly formal style that suits this couple past that first (and even second) bloom of youth. After I read it, grinning ear-to-ear, I thought "finally, a story for the rest of us, something I can really relate to." So brava, Roz Lee for enchanting me ... and making me run to the freezer for some ice cubes to cool my fevered brow.
Now it's your turn. Spread the love. Spread the word.

When we started the trek, we’d already laughed and joked and shopped, peering into window displays of ordinary goods servicing royalty. Sausages. In links and great pudgy circles of seasoned goodness. I remarked at the variety. Marvelling.

There was venison, of course, and images of herds of red deer with vast, upright racks bounding across open moorland, ignited flashes of a landscape imagined. But beef and pork featured strongly, as well, and my mouth watered.

Gray granite abounded. Tall spires. A neatness, nay a tidiness of pride and understanding of place and time skinned edifices with more than simple elegance. There was permanence here.

The American in me wanted to shout, “Shiny,” at every turn, but awe tangles the tongue, rendering it silent. Reverent.

The spoils were a jar of jam and one of a brown mustard with strange, wondrous seasonings and I could see it thick with bits and bobs pinpricking the surface. When you fancy mustard, the fancier the better.

The trailhead beckoned, along with gorse and a meandering stream, a contribution to the River Dee, brush-stroked in slated-gray. The air was thick, the rain held aloft in mist that settled of its own weight, lowering the horizon. We walked, elbow-to-elbow, my friend and I, rubbing sleeves and opening to companionship as the small and insignificant took on the hue of wonder and we talked of nothing and everything.

I’ve entered the lonely age, beyond usefulness, irrelevant to any but the few who tribe around me, the numbers lessening more quickly now as is the way of things. We talked about that, becoming the one and leaving this earth alone. Knowing there are others out there eases solitary to the side. Keeping it at bay, though, that’s the challenge.

Our adventure is over, far too soon. Being the gentleman, he opens the car door, eases me out with a firm grip, knowing I’m unsteady at best. We make plans for the evening. Dinner with his spouse, a place they enjoyed and visited often. I smile at the prospect and worry I have nothing suitable to wear.

I don’t know why, it’s not in my nature, being aloof and self-contained and far too assertive, but people hug me. Women and men, as if I’m some rather overlarge teddy bear. A slap on the back, often two, a squeeze. My space and aura groan, but I’ve learned to accept the offering with humor. Even gratitude now. That curb? That solitary? It’s not so far away and I’d be best served not to forget that.

He’s considerably taller, his arms wrapped my shoulders in lingering warmth, pressing against reserve and hesitation until I yielded, still safe within. Safe until I felt his lips brush the top of my head and affection finally won out.

I’ve suffered passion, paid the price. Flesh bloated, torn and raging against possession and denial, gone in a flash. Vague memories that fail to stir.

But this… This I’ve carried in my heart and soul lo these many years.

The cage around the forty watt light cast weak shadows on the walls. They’d retreated as far as the scourge that had become their fates allowed. Too little, far too late.

“Is that them, Sammy?”

“Might be.” It definitely was but Benny didn’t need to know that.

“But they’ll come, won’t they?”

Yes, yes they’ll come. They had righteousness and a purpose now. And proof. He should have known better, but sometimes you just didn’t think. That was on him because he knew things Benny didn’t.

They called him a little slow, him and Benny both, but they didn’t know nuthing about nuthing. They’d been lookin’ for reasons, they found them, and him and Bennie was too far gone in each other’s skin to care.

“Sammy, I’m not one, am I? A perv?”

“No. Why do you think—”

“God doesn’t love a perv.”

“God loves you, Benny.” He tucked Benny’s head into his shoulder and watched, waiting. They were close.

“Not as much as you, Sammy.” He was getting sleepy. It wouldn’t be much longer. “Will you be here when I wake up?”

“Yeah, Benny, you ’n me, together.”

“Forever? You promise?”

“I promise, Benny, I pro—”

Lisa Worrall went into rant mode over Amazon's eBook return policy and the increasing problem of readers purchasing a book, reading it, then returning it ... and boasting via reviews that they did so!

Lisa kindly agreed to have her timely rant reposted here. It is a growing problem and Amazon has turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to complaints from authors.

HOW TO LEGITIMATELY STEAL A BOOK - BUY IT FROM AMAZON!

There has been a great hoohah in the press lately about the type of self-published books Amazon are allowing to be sold on their website. This has resulted in some online stores removing self-published titles with what they consider inappropriate covers, or content as suggested by the blurb. Basically censorship and denying the reader the ability to have the brains enough to read what they want.

Now.... I'm not related to Stephen Hawking or anything, but to me this seems a bit of a hasty move. There are categories that you can list your book under, plainly stating what it's about. Therefore, the adult is responsible for making the decision whether or not to buy.

If they're worried about children seeing these titles.... where are the parental controls? You get them on your pc, your laptop, your TV for God's sake. So surely the answer is to categorize the titles correctly and make sure the ones you don't want your kiddies wandering across are locked down tight and they can't get into them! The answer is not to remove the author's right to sell and the reader's right to buy!

There is, however, another issue with Amazon that seems to slip through the cracks and, as the author, we have to just bite our tongues and put up with it. What is that issue? The legitimate theft of an e-book.

There is a 30 day returns policy on everything on Amazon, including e-books. Although there are some things they won't accept the return of....

Amazon.com doesn't accept returns of the following items:
Items that are classified as hazardous materials or use flammable liquids or gases (contact the manufacturer directly for service, warranty, return, and refund information) Computer laptops, desktops, and Kindles more than 30 days after delivery Any product missing the serial number or UPC Downloadable software products Online subscriptions after they have been accessed Gift cards (except as required by law) Pay As You Go (or prepaid) phone cards (contact a local authorized dealer or the carrier directly) Prepaid game cards (World of Warcraft, Xbox 360 Live, Wii Points, etc.) Items purchased from sellers other than Amazon.com (but the seller may accept the return) Some jewelry orders Some health and personal care items Grocery products Open software Items with special shipping restrictions imposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation (as indicated on the product detail page) Live insects Wine
So, you can steal a book, but you can't return live insects, because books aren't important, right?
I may have a little problem with that. 

As a self-published author I can keep track of my returns. I can't however keep a track of returns of titles published by Silver or Dreamspinner. There are, however, a group of people out there who purposely buy titles, read them, then return them - and are quite blatant about it. You can't go into Waterstone or Barnes & Noble, or any other book store and say, sorry I didn't like it, can I have my money back. Oh, I get it, it's not a REAL book is it? It's only an e-book, so what does it matter? 

I'll tell you when it matters. It matters when my kids ask me for something and I can't give it to them because I've had 20% returns on a title. That's when it matters, when you're messing with my kids. Writing is my passion, that's true, but it's also my business and the way I put food on the table, just like any other working single mother. So if any of you thieves out there are working single mothers... shame on you.

But what has sparked this post today? The release of New York Cowboy today - and the return of 1 copy. It's only 1 copy you say, what the hell is she on her soapbox for?

Yes, it may well be only one copy, but this book is very special to me because it is dedicated to my friend Keith who lost his fight with cancer at the beginning of September, and 20% of the royalties from each copy sold is being donated to the hospice, Roxburgh House, who cared for Keith during his last weeks and continues to care for the countless others who are still waging their war against this awful disease.

So now you're not only willing to steal from me, but from a hospice, too? Yes, today it's 1 copy, but how many are there to follow? Well I can promise you now, I will take into account every return and I will take money out of my own pocket to make sure 20% of my royalties go to Roxburgh House. 

Amazon has been so quick to rip the titles from their shelves but, as my friend Tina said, they should be paying more attention to the other policies that slip through the cracks.

So... I hope you enjoyed the book Mr/Ms/Mrs Returner number 1... and I hope you choke on it.

Thank you for listening.

Original post may be found HERE.

It is my pleasure to share Suzana Wylie's valuable look at the difference between STORY and BOOK when it comes to reviewing, whether you be a casual reader or a professional blogger or reviewer.


I’m writing this because a dear friend and superb writer (and I knew she was a superb writer before we became friends, not the other way around) has gotten a scathing review on Amazon. Bad reviews? Low ratings? Gonna happen. We know that when we put our stuff out there. HOWEVER, there are some things that reviewers should consider before writing a bad review (good ones, too). Forget thinking about the author’s feelings. I’m not going to go to the ‘human being behind the screen’ place. I’m talking about the difference between STORY and BOOK.

To simplify to the point of almost nonsense, the STORY is the candy bar; the BOOK is the wrapper. Say what? OK, let’s complicate this a bit. STORY is what happens, who it happens to, where and when it happens, how it happens, and why it happens. (That will sound familiar if you’ve ever taken a journalism class.) STORY is Cinderella’s father makes a poor second marriage choice and then dies, leaving stepmother and stepsisters to abuse Cinderella emotionally until her Fairy Godmother shows up (and I’m sure Cinderella asked her where the hell she’d been earlier) poofs pumpkins, mice, frogs, and thin air into coach, horses, footmen, and evening attire to die for, then boy meets girl, Cindy screws it up by losing a shoe, Prince goes on a quest to find her, her stepmother and sisters attempt in a variety of ways to prevent the meeting of Cindy’s foot with glass slipper, Cindy wins out anyway, marries Prince, HEA (Happily Ever After), THE END. That’s story.

BOOK is how STORY is told. In this instance that could be either the bippity-boppity-boo Disney version with talking mice and bumbling stepsisters, or the original Grimm’s tale in which one stepsister cuts off her big toe and the other carves chunks off her heel in an attempt to … well, shoehorn … into the slipper. (If you’ve never read the original and you think I’m making that up, go find the book and read it.) The BOOK (for Disney, the film, but it’s the same idea) is very different in those cases. The Disney version is nice enough, but it lacks depth and grit, a recognition of the reality of how people sometimes treat each other, how self-centered and greedy humans often are, and what abuse can do to people. The Grimm brothers version is dark, brooding (even though since it’s a fairy tale, we know there’s HEA coming, but HEA doesn’t always mean what we think it’s going to mean), unsuitable for today’s children (though for my generation and earlier, it was just how life is), and lacks the daubs of comic relief that Disney offers to keep it kid-friendly and pad the story to major motion picture length. Those are BOOK, and are very different from STORY as well as from each other.

A person may love the STORY and hate the BOOK, and vice versa. I wouldn’t like the STORY of most horror novels/movies (just not my thing), but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t appreciate the BOOK for excellent telling; I may love the STORY of swashbuckling pirates with male lovers, but loathe the BOOK that’s trite and thinly-veiled porn. There is a difference, people.

THERE IS A DIFFERENCE!

When you’re writing a review, don’t give the BOOK a bad review because you hated the STORY. There are BOOKs out there which have told a STORY that has broken my heart, that I would give two small fortunes (I’ll never have a big one) and several remaining body parts to be able to alter the STORY, so my favorite character didn’t die, or lose his lover, or have to eat brussels sprouts; BOOKs that are so well-written I will read them again and again for the exquisite shudder of a well-turned phrase, an idea that jumps up and down in my head and waves frantically for my attention (hurts, that head-inside-jumping thing). I disliked the STORY, loved the BOOK. The other way, loving the STORY, disliking the BOOK, happens less frequently, probably because I tend very often not to finish books that aren’t well-written. I do it — one must study one’s craft, after all — but not often and not without a handy bottle of bleach for my eyes, and sutures for my soul. (The trite, it burns! The error, it eviscerates!)

I don’t, don’t, don’t DO NOT give a BOOK a bad review because I don’t like the STORY, or an undeserved good review because I do. I will state how I feel about the STORY, but as a reviewer, it’s my job to review the BOOK, to look at the language, the flow, the depth, the guts of the thing, not the pretty face it shows the world. My job as a reviewer is to let others know what the BOOK is like primarily, though as I said, I do mention the STORY. Other readers want to know if the BOOK is worth their time, because even the best STORY can be told poorly; even the worst STORY can be told well. I need to let the potential reader know if the BOOK is worth spending, not their $$ but their time, their very life involved with. They’re going to give an author a precious gift — hours of the very stuff of their lives. It’s my job to make sure they know whether or not (I think) it’s worth it.

STORY can be daydreamed about while driving down the thruway; BOOK requires attention. STORY can be um-ed and oh-ed and well-you-know-ed and still be a good STORY; BOOK requires polished syntax and grammar. STORY can fail to capture a reader’s heart; BOOK must grab and hold.

It is a wondrous thing when STORY and BOOK share the same quality. Of such are made the works of art that grace my “pride of place” bookshelf, that merit a print purchase to hold and caress and gaze upon, rather than simply an e-book quickie in the dark. I love e-books, but they do not have the same solidity, the same permanence print does. I buy print when I love BOOK and STORY both.

PLEASE, if you are reviewing a BOOK, review the damned BOOK and not the STORY. Don’t savage an author because you didn’t get the HEA you thought you should. A bit presumptuous, don’t you think, of a reader to think the author should give them a particular outcome? Want a predetermined ending? Write it yourself. Fanfic is alive and well on the Internet. If you didn’t like the ending, say you didn’t in your review, that’s fine. But don’t trash a stellar BOOK over your own unfulfilled expectations of STORY.

Suzana Writes

Suzana Wylie is a stunningly imaginative poet, a wordsmith of the first rank. Her work can be found HERE and on the 
EW&R Facebook page.

A photo prompt inspired her to write a narrative poem built around a character, Jefrumael, from The Strigoi Chronicles. Though Jef is the Demon Lord's right-hand-man and go-to assassin, few know his origins and the secrets he keeps. The one who does is the hapless monk Dreu with his mixed blood heritage and penchant for getting it wrong. 

Su wrote this amazing piece, an origin story for Jefrumael.

I am honored beyond words... 

For Jefrumael

And as he fell, he knew the truth
The truth of kingdom come
That in that place, if ‘all for one’
Lacked ‘one for all’ refrain
Then heaven couldn’t, wouldn’t be
His home. Or theirs, the ones
They’d watched live out their lives
Their swift and painful lives.
He’d not believed the fears were true
The fears he should not have
That whispered ‘something’s just not right’
When standing at the Throne.
He’d shushed them, brushed them from his mind
The One could not be wrong
But there could be no doubt not now
As shattered, wingless still he fell
Flung from his sheltering home
Towards earth and them, the piteous ones
The One had fashioned there
Cast out, cast out, he was cast out
And yet he’d ask again
He’d stand before the One and shout
“It’s not fair or right, old man!
You say you love them, they’re your own,
And yet you give them that?
A few brief years, with pain and strife
And war and flood and storm
And when it’s over, their little lives,
Eternity awaits
In heaven here to sing your praise
Or hell to curse your name?
Where is the love, old man, in that,
Where is that father’s love
That you and they sing fondly of?
And yet I see it not.
You lied to them, old man, you lied!
You love them not at all.
It’s you, you love, and only you
And so must all of us
And even all those little ones
Must bow to you, you say,
Or suffer through the fires of hell.
How is that love?” he asked.
And then answer he’d been told
The words that sealed his fate
“They’re mine, I’ll treat them as I please,”
From heart as cold as death.
He’d leapt, his choice, he would not stay
And then the thundering doom
The curse that mocked his deed
“Be gone from here,” it said,
“They’ll see you’ve fallen from my grace,
Now hell’s your twice-damned home.”
He plummeted from heaven’s throne
And shattered boundary line.
Glad tidings once again rang out:
He’d opened heaven’s gate.
He’d take the the roaring fires of hell
And tenderly he’d care
For all the hapless hell-bound souls
The truth would bring his way
For even soul-blind see the light
When darkness shelters all.
Freedom sweet and freedom pure
Soaks parched and withering souls.
His dive from stagnant throne did break
Glass ceiling from above.