Q&A with Donna Ball discussion

Hi everyone!
I'll be here for the next month talking about all sorts of things and answering any questions you have about my books,my writing process, or-- well, anything. Introduce yourself and let me know what you'd like to talk about, and check in daily to see what's new. I'll be posting several times a week, or as often as I can think of something interesting to say:).

Hi Donna! Was glad to get your newsletter to hear about this. I'm a librarian from S.D. I love all your books, but I am especially partial to the Raine Stockton series. Can't think of any questions right now, but will check back in to see what's going on!

I have a question!! Why do you write under pseudonyms? I was surprised at how many of your "other" books I'd read and I wondered in this day and age of "branding and marketing" ones-self - why you would choose to write under so many different names?

Great question about psuedonyms. Actually, I didn't originally choose to write under different names-- my publishers did. They feel that readers won't generally follow you from one genre to another; for example, the Rebecca Flanders romance readers might be disappointed if they picked up one of the Taylor Brady western adventures. Also, if a writer's last book did not sell as well as it should have, bookstores will often order fewer copies of her next book. So publishers will sometimes change the author name to take away the stigma. Boy, do you have it right about branding though! So for the books that I am now re-publishing in digital editions I will keep my real name on all of them. I think readers are a lot smarter than publishers seem to believe, and if you like an author's work, you'll follow her across genres.

I'm glad to hear people are finding me here from the newsletter! I'm really amazed at how many readers know me from the Raine Stockton series, when it's actually the Ladybug Farm series that is the most recent. But it's precisely because so many people are still asking about Raine and Cisco that I've decided to pick up their story again.

>I think readers are a lot smarter than publishers seem >to believe, and if you like an author's work, you'll >follow her across genres.
You are so right. I started with the Raine Stockton books, moved along to Ladybug Farm and am catching up on your digital releases. I love all of them but can't wait for more Raine Stockton.

Barb,you are the ideal reader:) But I do the same thing-- I remember when Dean Koontz was writing woman-in-jeopardy type suspense back in the 80s under a psuedonym; I tracked him down and bought every one of those books. I liked some of them better than the ones he wrote under his own name. Same with Stephen King/Richard Bachman. Michael Chrichton is a perfect example of someone who wrote all over the place, from non-fiction to time travel to, well, E.R.! And I read everything he wrote; loved most of it. And what about Ken Follet? Pillars of the Earth was a HUGE departure from, say, The Key to Rebecca, but readers didn't seem to mind. Of course, there was this little thing called the Oprah Book Club...:)

I think a lot of readers really enjoy the writer. I'm sure there are some genres I wouldn't read, but I might even give it a try depending.
And I don't think Colleen McCullough ever wrote two books that were similar!
Publishers seem to be sort of silly, don't they?

I think publishing houses today are suffering from a corporate mentality, which is why they suffering in every other way. Sometimes they have a point though...I remember one fellow who was a HUGE fan of my Devoncroix werewolf series under the name Donna Boyd (and I did try rather hard to keep that identity secret). He dug around until he discovered my real name, and then went back and found a book I had written in a different genre 10 years earlier. He was terribly disappointed that it was so different from the Donna Boyd books, and proceeded to trash it (and me) on Amazon.com. After going to all that trouble to find another book by his favorite author, I can see why he would be upset that it wasn't what he expected. But that is a good case for why writers write under different names.

Carol, keep trying to download Adobe. You'll enjoy the newsletter! (especially the pix of my cute pooches) But here's the scoop on the Raine Stockton book: BONE YARD is a short e-book novella that takes place after GUN SHY and before SILENT NIGHT (a full length novel that will be out for Christmas-- the one I was SUPPOSED to have out last Christmas!). Cisco digs up a bone in Raine's back yard and mayhem ensues when the remains are shown to be human. I'm planning to have it ready in May, and if anyone would like to write a product review for Amazon.com, he/she can contact me by replying to the address on the newsletter (or going to www.donnaball.net and clicking "contact me") for a free copy. Remember that BONE YARD will only be available in digital format, but you can easily read it on your computer with a free Kindle app from Amazon.com.

Carol, unless you have a firewall on your computer that prevents you from downloaing anything, you should have no trouble with the Kindle app. That makes me sound like I know something about computers, doesn't it:)

Donna, fess up now . . . since you've let your "Boyd" personality out of the bag, when are you going to add to the Devoncroix series? I can't be the only one who is dying for more Devoncroix WW!

PS - I also enjoyed The Alchemist and The Awakening too!

Well, actually....:)
I don't know if you've visited "Theater Devoncroix" on my web site (you have to click 'paranormal' on wwww.donnaball.net, then click "Theater Devoncroix" in tiny print on the landing page-- it's not easy to see), but I am putting together a collection of adventures told in the voice of this mysterious narrator called "Memoirs of a Werewolf" that will give some insight into a different part of the Devoncroix world. I'm hoping to bring it out as an e-book novella this year. More to the point though-- and this would be top-secret if I weren't now telling the internet!-- the sequel to THE PROMISE, RENEGADE, is about 150 pages away from completion. I won't give a release date yet because there are some factors I can't control, but the good news is that YES, it does exist! So there will be another story after lo these many years..
Now my question is-- how in the world did you find me here? I didn't think anyone remembered me as Donna Boyd anymore!

Donna, after I read The Passion and The Promise, I 'went to ground' to find out if you'd written anything else. I think I was subscribed to Bookstore Junkies at that time, and they helped me find some of your early WW books. I'm sure those are collector's items by now, and I own them!

Then I found out that you live in the North GA mountains not far from where I spent my childhood summers (Suches and Blairsville). I love those mountains but haven't been back there since my PawPaw died in the early '80s. (Some day I hope to go back, although all my relations there are now gone, unless there are still some third or fourth cousins I don't know.) It's still such a special place for me, and the mountains are so beautiful. I e-mailed you and you were nice enough to respond about living on your own Ladybug Farm. I am an enthusiastic fan, now enjoying your Ladybug series. Thank you! Keep writing!

Yes,Pat, I do remember you now that you mentioned the N. Ga. connection! It's so unusual to find someone who went from loving werewolves to loving Ladybugs:). I wonder if there are any others out there? I do try to sort my mailing lists according to which books the readers are interested in, but some of the addresses or so old I am losing touch with them.

Donna, I have very eclectic tastes in reading . . . as long as it's a good story and entertains, I'm there. Diana Gabaldon is one of my favorites along with Harlan Coben and Dean Koontz, so I'm all over the place. I come from a family of readers, so some of my very first memories were visiting the local library and looking for Harold and the Purple Crayon! LOL . . . so many stories, so little time. Anyone have any suggestions for an "unputdownable" book?

It's been a long time since I read an unputdownable book so I'll have to think about that one... However, at the risk of being immodest, if you like good old fashioned Dean Koontz type suspense, I recommend my new e-book, SANCTUARY. This was originally written under a different title many years ago, and when I went back to re-read it I had forgotten so much of it that it was like reading someone else's book. It kept me up all night! Here's the link to my blog with the info:
http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...

Donna, I just purchased Sanctuary for my Kindle. Love how you think it was like reading someone else's book!

Donna, I just purchased Sanctuary for my Kindle. Love how you think it was like reading someone else's book!

Barb, you know what they say... the memory is the first to go:)

I hope you like SANCTUARY.

Hi Donna~ I've just recently learned of you and your books. I read the first in the Ladybug series and loved it. Then, I was on Smashwords and purchased (for free) your book "A Man Around the House" and LOVED it and left a review. I will be reading more of your books in the future. I too, read a wide range of authors and genres...I will read anything as long as it is good and keeps my interest. Thank you for entertaining me!

I just started SANCTUARY and think I will read it straight thru tonight (even tho I have my alarm set for 6 AM tomorrow). Post-its are a great help when the memory goes but you'd need a lot for an entire book!

Hi Theresa and welcome to the thread! How much fun it was to read your review and know someone enjoyed A MAN AROUND THE HOUSE as much as I did. I really loved writing all of those short romances; they made me laugh and transported me to a world where life was easy and endings were always happy. A MAN AROUND THE HOUSE is also in print now.

Just finished SANCTUARY. It was longer than I thought so I didn't finish it last night, even though I didn't want to put it down. What an incredible book! It gave me goose bumps, but good goose bumps and I don't get them often. Donna, if you weren't already one of my favorite authors, this book would put you on my list! Do you have any others in a similar genre that you could pull out and make into an e-book?

Oh my goodness Barb, you can't imagine what that means to me! Here's the link to a blog post I wrote about SANCTUARY if you're interested; it really is one of my favorite books: http://awriterreads.blogspot.com/2011...

I did not write anything else with that paranormal/horror element, but I am bringing out three more suspense thriller-type books: NIGHT FLIGHT, which is out now, EXPOSURE and JUST BEFORE DAWN, which will be coming in late May and June.

I am beyond thrilled that you liked SANCTUARY!

Happy Easter, everyone!

I will be hosting the Great Dog Biscuit Hunt for my four canine kids, and serving Ida Mae's Easter ham for some friends. I'll be back Monday with a new discussion topic, so be sure to check in.

Have a great weekend!

Donna, I beyond liked SANCTUARY!!! I am going to start reading NIGHT FLIGHT tonight. We just got back from a flyball event and my ears are too numb to do anything but read!