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#Romance Lives Forever Top Bloggers @JackieWeger @eNovelAuthors #RLFblog
RLF Gem Award The Top Blogger for this month is Jackie Weger. She wins a month of free advertising on the blog. Our
Top Blogger of the Year in 2015 was Sabrina York, who won a year of free advertising
for 2016.About Jackie Weger
Website http://jackieweger.com/Twitter https://twitter.com/JackieWegerAlso Twitter https://twitter.com/eNovelAuthorsTop Five Bloggers for the Month
Each month, the RLF Gems post ranks in the top ten, but is not
counted, in order to focus on guests. The winners are judged by page views. Congratulations
to each one! There is a tie for third place.1 Jackie Weger2 MQ Barber3 Alanna Lucas4 Kate Moore5 Anna DurandHonorable mention: Cecilia
Tan, Tess DelacourTop Chatters for the Month
Top Chatter Award Because the person who gets the most comments in a month is not always the
person who gets the most page views per month, I instituted the Top Chatter Award.
This is the award for the person who receives the most comments. To win, a guest
must have five or more comments (not counting the guest author’s).This month’s winners are:1 Jackie Weger2 Alanna Lucas3 PT MaciasRomance Lives Forever features authors and new books. It has
a blogger’s FAQ page with a downloadable guide and six optional interviews. Readers
can follow via Google+, Networked Blogs, Linky Followers, email, an RSS feed, and
there’s a blog button readers and authors can grab. Authors can share previous books.
The blog uses author or publisher names as tags on posts, and author Twitter handles
in the titles. The site is broadcast over Triberr with a potential reach of over
3.5M readers via its Twitter-linked network. Twitter mentions are also gathered
in several Paper.li ezines, giving the author additional opportunities for promotion.
The Romance Lives
Forever Paper.li ezine features only guest authors, and the day’s guest is on
its front page every day.Each post is featured on the Romance Lives Forever Pinterest
board within a few days after it goes live. http://www.pinterest.com/kayelleallen/romance-lives-forever-rlfblog/Share your book cover on Romance Lives Forever
Limited spots to share book covers are available. Cost is $5
per month, with a 20% discount for one quarter and up to one year. Covers can be
changed monthly.RLFblog Admin – Nicole Morgan
Author Nicole Morgan assists me with scheduling for Romance Lives
Forever. She is the blog admin. Look for emails from her. Nicole and I want to ensure
everyone who requests a spot on the blog gets a personal response. Please use this
email if you have questions or need help: rlfblog-owner@yahoogroups.com We
both receive email sent here. You don’t have to join a group or do anything special.
This group simply provides a joint email for us and streamlines things for you.
The email address is included in all downloadable interviews on the FAQ page.Sign Up for a Future Post
Sign up form http://goo.gl/forms/QvxzDtc53lGuest calendar http://bit.ly/rlf_datesMy thanks to all who took part this month. You made Romance Lives
Forever a great place to discover new books and authors.Other participants this month
in alphabetical order by first name are:Alison Stuart, Barbara White Daille, Beverly Ovalle, Brita Addams, Ciara
Gold, Collette Cameron, Collette Cameron, DP Denman, Houston Havens, Iris Blobel,
Kayelle Allen, Kristina Knight, Livia Quinn, Nhys Glover, Nicole Morgan, NJ Walters,
Olivia Night, Ruth Kaufman, Tina Donahue, Toni Noel -
Where Book Buyers Live @JackieWeger #Amazon #RLFblog
The Reluctant Hero Blogs about Amazon abound… Amazon is an 800 lb. Gorilla. Amazon
is a monopoly. One author reported in a Facebook page, he was only earning two cents
per book in Amazon’s new royalty structure on borrows (KENP). He is not a happy
camper. As indie authors, we don’t need to get caught up in the rhetoric on the
Web. There is always a hidden agenda and facts not shared. Here is a F.A.C.T. Most
indie authors have not explored Amazon. Some have never read Amazon Terms of Service.
Here is one of the terms. If you put your books in Select, they may not be published
on any other sales venues, i.e. iTunes, Google Play, Barnes and Noble and Kobo.
One author ignored those terms and raised a ruckus because Amazon pulled all of
the author’s books and banned the author from publishing on Amazon for a year. The
author did not mention in the rant that Amazon gives the author a five day notice
to get books removed from other venues. The author ignored those notices. Oops.What can an indie author do to master Amazon?
Amazon provides a raft of tools and guides for indie authors.
When composing our bios inside Amazon Central, it offers ehow examples. Most don’t
tick that and compose a resume–as if looking for job…instead of creating a bio
that will interest a reader. Top 1000 Amazon Reviewer, Julie Whiteley reminds
authors that readers don’t take an author ego out of her purse while waiting in
dentist office. Readers take out their Kindles. Inside Author Central an author
can add up to five RSS feeds…your blogs stream live across your Amazon Author
page, as well as your Tweets.On your author page you will see this beneath your photo:
That Follow button is powerful. Encourage your fans and readers
to follow you on Amazon. When you have a new release, Amazon sends out a dedicated
email announcing the new book to the follower. Every author can do this. We are
told time and again to build a platform. I’m not certain what that is…but Amazon
has given us a way to gather followers…yes it has…scroll down to the bottom
of your print edition book page, below the first page of reviews and you will see
this:
Wow! Amazon does all of the work. You can give away a single
print book or five. Up to the author’s budget. You can have entrants follow you
on Amazon, follow you on Twitter or watch a video on YouTube. But by far, following
you on Amazon is more useful. Amazon is where book buyers live and driving a reader
to Amazon is smart.Inside Your KDP Account you may also tick Promote and Advertise
next to any of your ebook titles and this will come up:
Amazon is getting better at showing those sponsored ads on book
pages where it often shows “Also Bought.” These ads are great for exposure.
I don’t look for sales—yet.Amazon has sites in thirteen countries. Have you checked your
book on all thirteen sites? Bet not. Ten amazon venues offer Kindle Unlimited subscriptions.
Go HERE for a list. Guess what you can do? Visit all ten Amazon
venues, navigate to your book page…just put in your author name or the title to
your book and the book page comes up…You can Tweet/Facebook and Pin your book
on Pinterest. On the far right and down a bit you will see the icons below. Use
them. See the little envelop. Click it. Up comes a nice short link to your book
to copy & paste on Facebook. You can also edit the Tweet that comes up. I do.
I add #KindleFic and perhaps another hashtag. If the book is FREE or 99c, I add
that. For non-English language sites, I also use Google to translate Read FREE w/Kindle
Unlimited or Special Sale or discounted. You will have to remove some text…I take
out my name. Or if the book is the first in a series…take out the title of the
series. Do the same with your print editions. German and India natives prefer print
editions. Pump your book in those languages. Play with Amazon. You can’t kill it.
And how nice is it to have a readymade tweet from each country?
Every author can build an author page inside Author Central, revise
bios, book descriptions, claim and add books and see the total number of reviews
on your books on amazon.com. Amazon lists all of your reviews inside Author Central…so
easy to grab quotes from reviews for blogs and Tweets. You can also check your author
rank. You want to do that during and after a book promotion. During one book promotion
my author rank was 37. That told me only 37 other authors were out selling my book
in Literary Fiction–which is the category I placed one of my books.All of the above is just a short list of what I have explored
and used on Amazon. There is much more on the sidebar inside Amazon KDP. When you
want to know how Amazon works, ASK AMAZON, not your colleagues who may give you
misinformation picked up elsewhere. Want to talk to a live person? Say so in ‘contact’.
Amazon will call you within five minutes.Finally. Yes, there are many indie authors unhappy with Amazon.
I am NOT one of them. My best advice to authors is: Think for Yourself. Make the
best decision you can for your book. We are not entitled to sales and we are not
entitled to reviews. We must work for those. I never like to sign off a blog without
telling you the easiest path to reviews. Put this gentle gem of a plea right after
THE END in your book.Thank you for taking the
time to read [title]. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends or
posting a short review. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend and much appreciated.
Thank you. [author name].Does it work? Yes it does. In my two years as an indie author
readers have posted above 1700 organic reviews on my titles. Good luck with your
books in 2016.For more good advice from Jackie WegerAbout the Book
The Reluctant HeroThere are a few things Parnell Stillman is dead certain he will
never do:
He’d never fall in love.
He’d never have kids.
He’d never be a hero.Rebecca Hollis is about to change his mind.Buy This Book
Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FJFV6AY/
Available FREE on Kindle UnlimitedAbout the Author
Jackie Weger is a traveler of the good earth by foot, boat, bus,
train, plane and pickup. After family and writing, destination travel is always
on her wish list. She hoards her friends and fans and is often humbled by their
kindness. If you asked her what she wants most in life, she says: “A writing
cave, a candle and a good book.”Website http://jackieweger.com/
Blog http://enovelauthorsatwork.com/
Twitter https://twitter.com/JackieWeger
Also Twitter https://twitter.com/eNovelAuthors -
Contemporary: Beyond Fate | Interview @JackieWeger #RLFblog
Beyond Fate Jackie Weger, Welcome to Romance Lives Forever. Let’s talk about
your book, Beyond Fate.Genre: Contemporary RomancePublisher: Liquid Silver BooksCover artist: Amanda KelseyLength: 232 pagesHeat rating: SweetTagline: Heartwarming, emotional, funnyBlurb:Raised by her grandmother, Cleo has lived her life in
the shadow of her mother’s sin. When she falls in love with a fellow camper in the
tumbled-down fish camp in the Okefenokee Swamp
she struggles to cast off the shadow and comes to terms with her past–and her future.Buy links:Liquid Silver Books http://lsbooks.com/beyond-fate-p727.phpAmazon http://amazon.com/dp/B00AIEPBMUBarnes and Noble http://barnesandnoble.com/w/beyond-fate-jackie-weger/1004346765?ean=9781595789884What are your main characters’ names, ages, and occupations?Fletcher Fremont Maitland, mid-thirties. Attorney.Cleo Anderson, thirty, children’s book writer.Big Mamma Freeman, camp owner. Ageless, but in her seventies.Interview
Tell us about your story’s world. What is it like in this
period or place?The Okefenokee is a fragile,
magical place full of alligators, bears, snakes, mosquitos, wild orchids, thousand
year-old Calusa Indian mounds, mangrove swamps and mystery.The area was settled
in the 1700’s by runaway indentured servants and slaves and just plain independent,
ornery folks who wanted to live outside society and government. For two-hundred
and fifty years the swamp fed, clothed and sheltered the inhabitants–until the Forties
when the Federal government moved them out onto the edges of modern society–but
the old people held onto their habits, their myths and their language–Old English.What inspired you to write this book?I once found an elderly woman sitting on a bench outside a bus
station in Midland, Texas. She knew where she was from, but not where
she was going. I took her home with me until I could locate her family. She was
from the Okefenokee and entertained my kids with stories of her early life. Her
stories hung in my mind, but not her name. Ten years later I was camping on the
Suwanee River in the Okefenokee and thought: What
if?Which character in your current book do you think readers
will like the most?In Beyond Fate I think
readers will adore Big Momma Freeman who is based on the elderly woman I found on
that bench outside a bus station. But, there is also eleven-year-old Katie, and
between the two they almost stole the book out from under me.Why?Big Momma Freeman is the epitome of those early settlers. She
was born deep in the Okefenokee, speaks old English and is an independent woman.
She wouldn’t know a feminist if one climbed into her apron pocket, yet she asserted
herself, owned her own business and brooked no nonsense from anyone. Big Momma is
a writer’s dream. I never had to scratch around for dialogue or action when she
was in the scene.Why do you write?Same reason I breathe.Who has helped you the most in your career as an author?Actually, I never had
a mentor. I didn’t know one could have a career as a writer. I participated in a
small writer’s group. Most of us wrote non-fiction for trade or travel magazines.
Someone snidely challenged me to write a romance novel. So I did.When you write, what things do you want close at hand? (Coffee,
water, chocolate… pictures of gorgeous hunks for inspiration…?)Coffee, pots of it. If it’s late at night, chocolate wine is
nice. I don’t have pictures of hunks hanging on my walls. The men in my books are
man to the bone with lived in faces, lived-in bodies and they own a good sense of
self. They have good jobs, stamina, know about women and when they drop their drawers,
their tinker toys don’t have to take a back seat to any muscle-bound, gym-built
boy-toy.When you’re not writing, what would we find you doing?Reading.
If I’m stumped or need a break, I head down to a little fishing camp, Indianola—which
is all that’s left of a town after a hurricane washed the rest of the city into
the bay. Other times I might camp out on the beach in Matagorda. I love Friday night
Bingo. More than anything, I adore destination travel. My passport is always up
to date. One of my granddaughters graduated from Temple
University in Philadelphia
in May and e-mailed me with her travel plans—which included Paris
and Stockholm. Last
line was: You coming? I had just signed a five book contract with Liquid Silver.
Broke my heart to decline her invitation.Are you a plotter, or do you prefer to make it up on the spur
of the moment?I’m not a plotter as in creating story boards or anything like
that, but I know the gist of a story before I sit down to write. I usually know
my characters strengths and weaknesses before I start. I know the setting, a few
bits of dialogue, what annoys a character and what doesn’t.Looking back at your first book, what do you wish you had
done differently?I still like that story.
It’s a bit over-written—which back in the day was acceptable and now falls under
Retro. I’d clean up some dialogue tags.What’s your writing schedule like?It depends. If I’m in an emotional scene I may stay at my keyboard
twelve or fourteen hours. Other times I spend five or six hours at my desk.Any advice for new authors?I don’t. New authors
today have far more sense about the publishing industry today and how it works than
I do.What aspect of your life do you write into your books?Family–with quirky characters,
subtle humor. Foremost is my love of nature, water and simple living. When I think
back on it, I somehow manage to plot a way to get my characters on a pond, a lake,
a creek, a swamp, a river, an ocean, an island or a beach.Even a ditch with tadpoles
blooming will do. I think I was water sprite in a past life.When an idea hits you, what do you do to capture it?Nothing at first, but
if the idea or character keeps showing up, I make a note, write down what I’ve discovered
or what the character is telling me. I don’t keep diaries, but I have notebooks
filled with tidbits of info that interested me at the time. And still do.If you knew it would be a bestseller, what book would you
write that you might not write otherwise?I have one book that
I think would be received nicely. I’ve done pounds of research, the characters are
well-defined, the setting is in place, the plot thickened, but the story intimidated
me. After a couple of months, I knew I had to better my craft before I told the
story.What’s keeping you from writing that book?Other books right this minute. I recently contracted with Liquid
Silver to bring out five novels on backlist in digital format. I’m learning indie
publishing and have just brought out another of my backlist. But the backstory is
I thought all of my research and notes were lost in Katrina. I had stored it with
a friend while I was living abroad and her house was destroyed. They showed up in
a plastic tub last November when she and I were sorting through some debris in a
storage shed which had somehow survived.What other jobs have you held besides writing?I was a department manager in large hotels. I worked as manager
and Food and Beverage director for hotels and restaurants.Which of your books was the hardest to write and why?The most difficult book for me to write is always the one I’m
currently working on. I’ve slogged through two hundred pages–know I have story–but
really won’t know the final structure or who in the cast of characters might get
cut until I finish the first draft. Usually after that, it’s smooth sailing. But
the characters in this book are eccentric, mouthy and misbehave. Each wants to be
front and center. They are driving me mad.What are you currently reading for fun? I’m re-reading Randy Wayne White’s The Man Who Invented Florida. Naturally,
the main character lives in a stilt house in Dinkin’s Bay on the East Florida
Coast. It’s all about water.What’s the best gift you ever received?I really can’t name the
best, but I can tell you one that changed the direction of my life. I was packing
to return to the tiny jungle village I called home in Central
America when my daughter gave me a Kindle, which introduced me to e-books
and renewed my writing career. I unpacked.Do you believe in luck?I do believe in luck–good,
bad and indifferent. Good luck when I’m winning at Bingo. Bad, when I’m not.What’s your favorite movie?My all-time favorite movie is the African Queen. I’ve watched
it dozens of times and it never fails to thrill or chill–especially the scene in
which Charlie Allnutt is covered inleeches. “Arhh! The beasts!”Are you the eldest, middle, baby, or only child?I’m the oldest and only
daughter–which played havoc with my life.What’s the strangest job you ever had?Oh, boy. I once was briefly
a single mother. I held down two jobs. The evening job was cleaning dressing rooms
for headliners in a night club. I was getting a dressing room prepped for
Jayne Mansfield when my boss stepped in and said, “Jayne’s not coming for ten
days. Her son was mauled by a lion. You’re going to take her place.” Jayne
was a famous pinup during the War and after–very shapely. She could sing and dance.
I could clean and change diapers and was so thin I’d have to borrow a mop handle
to show up next to a toothpick. My boss ordered costumes from New Orleans–padded front and back with lots of
shimmery threads. The pay was wonderful. So I shook my false bosoms and booty for
ten nights. The audience thought I was comedy act.Fill in the Blanks
I’m always ready for a game of Scrabble or a trip to the beach.When I’m alone, I read, daydream, and read some more.You’d never be able to tell, but I’m profoundly deaf.If I had a halo it would be hung
around my neck.If I could hook rugs I’d
recycle plastic bags into scatter rugs for my kitchen.I can never sing because
I can’t carry a tune.Find Me Here
Website: http://jackieweger.comFacebook: https://facebook.com/jackie.weger.7Twitter: https://twitter.com/JackieWegerCover Reveals: http://coverreveals.blogspot.com/search/label/Beyond%20Fate
