It’s been a fun few days already. We’re gotten a number of good reviews. Here is just a taste of a few of them:

“AMAZON HEAT is an exciting novella…” ~ 4 Stars from The Jeep Diva

“Exciting and fun and a great plot.” ~ 4 Stars from the Book Babe.

“Whoa! What an adventure in just 20,000 words.” ~Smitten with Reading

Melinda and I will also be doing a blog tour.  Here is a list of  dates and location:

A few months later after battering, this story into shape and polishing it to a shine, we sold it to Carina Press. Now, I’m thrilled to share the cover for our novella scheduled to release on January 9, 2012

2 years ago…
Driven by grief to find a cure for cancer, Elizabeth DeMarco left Logan Spencer to accept a position on a research expedition to the Amazon rainforest. Kidnapped by guerrillas, she was saved by a secret all-female civilization, the last of the ancient Amazons. But Elizabeth discovers she’s traded one form of captivity for another.
Today…
Logan never stopped searching for Elizabeth. While consulting in the remote Brazilian interior near where she was kidnapped, Logan suffers what should be a fatal fall. Near death, he’s collected by the Amazons and magically healed. Elizabeth is the first person he sees as he wakes.
But there’s no time for a joyful reunion. The Amazons’ mystical medicine is rapidly changing Logan. They want his DNA and plan to take it—and then kill him. Logan and Elizabeth must escape before dawn or Logan—and their second chance at happiness—is doomed.

You can find out more about me here and more about Melinda at melindaleighauthor.com.

We’ll be doing a whirlwind blog tour during the month of January. I hope you’ll stop in and say hello and definitely check out Amazon Heat. It’s currently available for pre-order on Amazon.com | Barnes & Noble | All Romance eBooks.

~Rayna

With all of the responsibilities and distractions of day to day life it’s nice to have some time to recharge the creative batteries with other writers. Conferences are a terrific way to do this, but conferences can be exhausting. However, this weekend Kiersten Krum, Caridad Pineiro, Nisha Sharma gave each other a creative boost in a relaxing environment. It was a lovely change of pace. Who else could you lounge around having conversations about demons eating entrails and ways to increase the gore factor without getting looked at as though you were insane? We also had some great brainstorming sessions It’s fun playing what if with other creative people and seeing what kind of story ideas come up. I know I got some nice feedback which helped me plug some holes in my plot for the third story in my series. I appreciated getting the prospective of people who weren’t as familiar with my stories they can come up with something better then you’d come up with alone or that wouldn’t have even occurred to you. In between writing sessions we took breaks to walk along the boardwalk, to get dinner at a wonderful Cuban restaurant in Asbury Park, and stop for dessert.

It was a wonderful weekend with great friends. We critiqued, we laughed, we got all manner of writing /writing related projects accomplished. Thanks for a lovely weekend, ladies! I had a great time.

~Rayna

Mystery Author Rhys Bowen

ON FACEBOOK

8:30 pm East Coast — 5:30 pm West Coast

Join Best Selling Author Rhys Bowen on her FaceBook Page where she will be discussing how she approaches writing a Mystery Novel and creating a strong Heroine in a Series. Come and leave your questions on her wall and she will respond live to all questions, or as many as she can.

If you can not make the Chat and Giveaway live make sure to drop in afterward and check out the discussion anytime. One lucky commenter between now and Sunday will win a copy of Royal Blood, A Royal Spyness Mystery. Fan Rhys’s FaceBook Page between now and November 15th and be entered to win the newest book in the Royal Spyness Series, Naughty in Nice.

Find out more about Rhys Bowen Online

Author Website – Twitter – Facebook

GIVEAWAY

Royal Blood

by Rhys Bowen

(A Royal Spyness Mystery #4)Penniless and thirty-fourth in line to the throne, Lady Georgiana Rannoch finds herself in a truly draining state of affairs. To escape her hateful brother, Georgie accepts an invitation from the Queen to represent the royals at a wedding in Transylvania. But at the macabre-looking castle, Georgie finds the bride with blood running down her chin, and a wedding guest is poisoned. Now it’s up to Georgie to save the nuptial festivities before the couple’s vows become “to love and to cherish, till ‘undeath’ do them part…”

Amazon Kindle* Paperback * Audio

Barnes & Noble Hardcover * Paperback * Nookbook

About Rhys Bowen

Rhys Bowen is the Bestselling Author of the Royal Spyness Series, Molly Murphy Mysteries, and Constable Evans. Awarded the Agatha Best Novel Award and nominated for the Edgar Best Novel Rhys’s titles have received rave reviews around the globe.Rhys Bowen is a transplanted Brit who now divides her time between California and Arizona. She currently writes two mystery series, the Molly Murphy novels, about an Irish immigrant in 1900s New York City and the lighter Royal Spyness mysteries about a penniless minor royal in 1930s Britain. Her books made bestseller lists, garnered many awards, nominations, and starred reviews.

Author Website – Twitter – Facebook

Boonsboro isn’t in the most highly populated of areas so as we got close I got a little nervous because we were driving along a mountain, in the dark, in deer crossing territory. I was constantly on the watch for Bambi to dart out in the street. Despite my worries, we got there safe and sound, the last guests to arrive. The minute we stepped into the inn all we could do was ooo and ahhh!.The place was gorgeous, homey, warm, and welcoming. We were giving a tour of the first floor which held most of the guest gathering areas and we were enthralled by everything. Then we were shown upstairs the Nick and Nora room. Nick and Nora Charles, if you aren’t familiar, are from the book by Dashiel Hammet and the movie series that began in 1934 entitled The Thin Man.

We entered the room and the gasping and amazement ramped up even more. The scent of diffuses green tea and ginger filled the room, so calming and relaxing. Fabulous retro decor filled the room, and then there was the bathroom. Bathrooms are a big thing with me. especially in hotels. If the bathroom is not good I just can’t deal, but this bathroom rocked. It held a glass enclosed multi-head shower, a tub that I regret not having the time to use, heated floor tiles, and other furniture pieces that fit the retro theme perfectly. Oh and let’s not foget the towel warmer. However, the best part for me though was the toilet. How much better can it get then to have a toilet that was controlled by a wall mounted remote and had a heated seat, amongst other cool features. However, as much as we wanted to keep turning in circle to take in all the sights like tourists in Time Square, it was late and we had a big day ahead of us.

The next morning we were up bright and early enjoying the fabulous shower and partaking of a delicious breakfast in the inn dining room. Then off to get our tickets for the signing. They have a ticketing system in place so that things stay orderly and keep moving forward without having to contend with a huge crush of people. We eagerly purchased our copies of New York to Dallas then went back to the inn to relax until the signing began. The signing was so much fun. Everyone was so excited to be meeting Nora and the other authors that were signing with her. Nora was too cool. Her and Charity talked Buffy as she signed the collection of books and t-shirts that we place in front of her. From there we went to Vesta, the pizza parlor owned by Nora’s son, where we had a terrific pizza and chatted with other signing attendees one of whom made the coolest lamp from copies of three of Nora’s books. After lunch we explored some of the other shops on Main St. Boonsboro. We ended our day with tea and desserts at a lovely little bakery across from the book store.

We had a terrific time and can’t wait to make our next trip down there which, yes, we’ve already book. This time around we’ll have the Eve and Roarke Room. I know I’m looking forward to going to another signing as well as going to explore Antietam battlefield.

Here’s a few more photos from my pilgrimage to Turn the Page.

Has anyone else been down to Boonsboro? Stayed at the inn?

So far The Demon He Knows has been getting some really nice reviews. Thank you very much to everyone who has taken the time to review the story. I’m currently in the home stretch of writing the follow up to this with possibly a third story in the works. I do want to share this review from top2bottom reviews because it was so great I was ready to go out a buy my own book. LOL! Thank you very much Michelle!

More fun and adventures will be coming up in the future so be sure to stop back by. I’m going to try and get posts up on Tuesdays and Sundays.

BlogPaws the Conference for Pet Bloggers, Pet Brands, and Pet Health Care Professionals is only a day away now and in honor of the occasion Pedigree has decided to launch a Write a Post, Help a Dog Campaign. For those of you who missed the event last year in September 391 bloggers wrote about the program and with each post, Pedigree donated 20 pounds of its Healthy Longevity dog food to shelter animals. In all, 7,820 pounds of food was donated to two shelters known across the country for their dedication to the care and re-homing of senior dogs: Muttville Senior Dog Rescue in San Francisco andCastaway Critters in Harrisburg, Pa.

How you can help in 2011

Simply spread the word about Write a Post, Help a Dog 2011 and once again Pedigree will donate 20 pounds of food for each blog post.  If you don’t have a blog feel free to tweet about the campaign or share on Facebook so your friends who do blog can participate. All bloggers are welcome even if you do not generally talk about pets on your blog. Its all about using Social Media for Social Good.
Here’s how it works:

• The Write a Post, Help a Dog program is aimed at raising awareness of the more then 4 million dogs that wind up in shelters and breed rescues each year. As well as to help get them all food (our goal is 10,000 lbs of food in the next two weeks) for the more than four million dogs that wind up in shelters and breed rescues each year.
• For each blog post mentioning the Pedigree Foundation from now until midnight ET on September 3, Pedigree will donate 20 pounds of its new dry Pedigree recipe food for dogs — its best recipe ever — to a shelter, because every dog deserves leading nutrition.
• Feel free to make your post more visually appealing by using either or both of the two images seen in this post.
• The Pedigree Foundation — a 501 (C)(3) nonprofit organization is committed to helping dogs by providing grants to shelters and rescues and encouraging dog adoption. This year the Foundation has already raised more than $376,570 against its goal of $1.5 million to carry out its work to fund grants that not only help shelters operate, but to further shelter innovations.

• Donate online at http://pedigreefoundation.org/donate.aspx
• Apply for a shelter grant from the Pedigree Foundation by completing a form at www.pedigreefoundation.org
• Purchase Dogs Rule Gear at www.dogsrulegear.com where the proceeds go to the Pedigree Foundation to help loving dogs find a home. SPECIAL OFFER: Get 10 percent off Dogs Rule Gear by using the promo code BlogPaws10 from August 22 – September 30.

Once you get your post up and ready please feel free to grab the link code to include it in your post and add your link to the list so it is easier to keep track of all the posts plus it makes it so easy for your friends to learn about the event and see the progress we are making towards our goal of 10,000 lbs of food.

You go through the editing process, then dive into promotion and marketing in the hopes of making people aware of upcoming release, all the while climbing up that hill of anticipation. Sure your mom, your cp and your editor all loved your book, but what about the general public? Once release day comes, off you go. It can be quite an emotional ride. Flying high when you get positive reviews, crashing back down if you get a negative review. It’s an exciting yet scary experience putting your work out for public critique.

I must say I’ve been very, very fortunate with The Demon He Knows. My reviews have all been very positive so far and that’s thrilling. Thank you to the reviewers who took the time to read my book and for enjoying it enough to share your thoughts. I know not everyone is going to love my writing. That’s an eventuality I’ve tried prepare myself for, but it’s never easy. I have learned a few tings in riding this particular roller coaster, though, and I thought I’d share a few of the tidbits I’ve picked up.

First, just as you would follow submission guidelines when sending your book to an editor or agent, the same holds true for reviewers. Make sure the review site accepts the genre of book you’ve written, that you’re sending the correct format, and submitting it to the correct person.

Second, just because you send your book to a reviewer doesn’t guarantee that you will get reviewed. Review sites have a huge influx of books coming their way and they aren’t going to get to them all.The last thing you want to do is make a pest of yourself.

Third, regardless of whether the review is good or bad thank the reviewer for their time. Even a negative review can be good publicity for your book and may have one gem of a pull quote that you can use on your website, bookmarks, etc.

Finally, even if the review is scathing never, ever go on the defensive or on the attack. It’s always bound to come back and bite you. Don’t make yourself the poster person for what not to do. Always stay professional. If you absolutely can’t say thank you, it’s best to say nothing at all.

Anyone else have any tips to offer in dealing with book reviews?

~Rayna

WRONG!

Writing and editing the book is just the first step in the process. Next comes the publicity and promotion stage. While writing a fabulous book is the biggest most important part of any writer’s job, making the world aware of your awesome book is also a key to success. How to do this, though, is always a quandary.

Obviously it starts with the publicity your publisher does for you, which differs from house to house. Attractive cover art, an intriguing book blurb, and, for traditional publishers, key placement within the store are also important. Let’s face it many people do judge a book by it’s cover or at least the back cover copy. as to placement, the easier it is for readers to find your book the better. Working closely with you publisher’s marketing department is always a smart plan.

However, the burden is also on us as authors to promote ourselves. So what can we do to help build our brand and our presence? Authors try many different methods. We love our goodies and giveaway items. I’ll admit I like them myself, but I don’t know that pens, note pads, and buttons really sell books. Paper items and food items are disposable. One of the big rules of marketing is if you’re going to give something away make sure it’s something that will last and be a constant reminder of you and your books. Sure people always pick up candy, but within seconds the wrapped is in the trash and who it came from isn’t even a memory. At least with a pen or bookmark, readers are more apt to use them and have a constant reminder of your name. Does that generate sales? It’s hard to tell.

Other promo items authors use are book videos. Again, they are fun, but I don’t know that they actually sell any books. In fact, I think some readers find them annoying. However, they make a nice and interactive item to load on your website and various social media sites.

Personally, I think some of the most effect means of promoting your work is through interactive methods. Networking with booksellers, guest blogging on active blogs that are pertinent to what you write, interviews, chats, and especially book reviews. All aid in introducing you and your books to the world. Building a mailing list is always a good plan. It is a tool you can use again and again.

I’ve shared a few of my thoughts. I’d like to hear from you now. What do you think? Writers, what promotional methods have you found effective? Readers, what entices you to buy a book? Have book videos, giveaway items, etc. ever lead you to purchase a book?

~Rayna

Many writers have critique partners. We often try out many potential partners before finding the right fit. Sooner or later we find that person or people with complementary skill sets, who encourage us, but also let us know when we’ve gone in the wrong direction with a story. Still, at the end of the day the story we write is our own original creation.

My coming release from Carina Press, Amazon Heat, is actually a product of a partnership between Melinda Leigh and I. It started as a whim, a random brainstorming during the ride to our writing group’s monthly meeting. We had so much fun plotting out the story that we decided to put the idea to paper.  Still, neither of us had ever written with a partner. We had no idea if we could successfully blend our styles and voices so that the final product would be a seamless conglomerate of the two. I’d always wondered how writing teams did it? Do the partners trade off scenes? Does one partner write from the hero’s point of the view the other the heroines? Every team has their own unique writing process. When people learn that I write as part of a team, I’m often asked how we do it. So, I thought I’d share a little bit of collaborative process.

We start by creating a detailed outline jotting down all of the scenes that we think will be needed. Once we have that we dive in, writing tag team so to speak, alternating scenes as we go. We’re both fairly laid back people. Neither one of us is married to the words on the page, which is a good thing. You’re never going to get anywhere if you’re so in love with every word you write that you won’t let anyone change it. If the story starts to diverge from the path that we’ve set up, we’ll discuss it. In the end we usually come up with something even stronger.

Once we make a bit of progress, we’ll go back and make some editorial passes even as we continue to progress forward. Stylistically, Melinda and I are very different writers. However, those differences complement each other. It’s very cool to reread a scene I’ve written after she’s taken a pass at it. I’m a layer writer. My first drafts are very skeletal, so I enjoy seeing what meat she’s added. Conversely, when I go through I’ll focus on punching up the paranormal or romantic elements of the story.  We’ll tweak until we both agree that it’s finished. Then out the door it goes.

It’s been a great experience having another writer as immersed in a story as I am. We’ve learned from each other and had a lot of fun in the process.

That’s just a brief glimpse into our writing world. Now tell, me have you ever tried writing with a partner? If so what was your process? If not have you ever considered it?

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Memorial Day!