I recently finished reading A Promise for Ellie by Lauraine Snelling. It is an older book by this author, and is the first book in her “Daughters of Blessing” series. It is the first book I have ever read by Ms. Snelling, and I read it because someone lent it to me and because someone who reviewed my book suggested that if readers like books Lauraine Snelling, they will most likely like my book. Therefore, I wanted to know if my writing is similar, in any way, to Ms. Snelling’s.
So, what did I find? Well, I think this book is too old for me to really use for comparison. This book was copyrighted in 2006.
Ms. Snelling began her writing career in 1982, which interesting enough was the year I graduated from high school. Lauraine Snelling’s first book was written for young adult readers. If you go to her website and click on the “Meet Lauraine” tab, you will find that she then continued to write more horse books for young girls, but has also added historical and contemporary fiction and nonfiction for adults and young readers. Over the years, she has published more than 80 books to date.
So, back to my thoughts on A Promise for Ellie by Lauraine Snelling. I did find some similarity of style between this book and what I write. However, I would like to read a more recent book by Ms. Snelling at some point to have a better idea of any possible similarities between her writing and mine. I do know that Ms. Snelling writes historical fiction, and many of her books are set in the historical west.
I have read books by other authors, who also write historical fiction set in the historical west, and I suspect my books could be similar to more authors who write about this time period and setting simply because of the time period and setting, as well as the things we discover in our research and include in our books.
I am honored to have a reviewer suggest that readers of Lauraine Snelling, who has been a successful author for many years, would also enjoy my current book, and quite possibly my upcoming books.
Today, I want to share an interview that Author, Jodie Wolfe did with me to help promote Love by Pony Express. I hope you learn something you didn’t know, about Love by Pony Express, the upcoming books that will be part of the “Stars Into Horses” series, or about me.
Simply click hereto go to Jodie’s interview post. Then, come back here and leave a comment or question for me in the comments section.
Just two days until Convincing Lou releases tomorrow, August 16th! Here’s the back cover blurb:
Ellie Lou Williams will do just about anything to save her ranch, even going undercover as a man to round up a fella who is late to his own wedding. The reward will more than cover the money she owes the bank and solve all her problems.
Caleb Dawson agrees to one final job as a deputy US Marshal before he starts his new life away from the trail and tracking criminials. What he isn’t counting on is a mysterious bounty hunter who’s determined to undermine his every step.
Will one reach their goal first? Or will they learn to lean on God and work together?
In honor of its upcoming release, here are new questions I asked for a fresh new interview with the author, Jodie Wolfe:
Q. What was your favorite chapter book as an elementary age child?
A. Definitely the Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Q. What was your favorite book as a teenager?
A. It’s too hard to narrow it down to a particular book, but probably the Trixie Beldon series.
Q. What is your current favorite book?
A. That’s difficult to say. Two favorites that come to mind are: If the Boot Fits by Karen Witemeyer and A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure by Angela Bell.
Q. When did you first know you wanted to be an author?
A. When I was in grade school and started writing stories about my dog.
Q. What does a typical day look like for you?
A. It depends on which stage of the writing/marketing process I’m working on. Recently, I’ve been working on finishing the rough draft of a new book while also marketing for a book release. I try to juggle all that, plus social media posts and taking care of our home too. A lot of times, the home suffers if I’m in the midst of deadlines.
Q. Has your writing been influenced by any other author? If so, which author, and how did that author influence your writing?
A. The two biggest ones would have been Janette Oke and Lori Wick. Their writing style spoke to me and probably influenced the way I write too.
Q. So far, all of your books have been set in the Old West. Are you planning more books set in the Old West, or will you move to a different setting?
A. I actually have a book I wrote that’s set in a lighthouse on the east coast. At some point, I’ll go back and edit it and see about getting it published and write two more in that series. For now, I’ll be taking a detour for a while and will be writing about southcentral PA. Eventually, I plan to write a series set in Texas too.
Q. What’s your favorite thing about writing Historical Fiction?
A. I love the time period — particularly the 19th century. I love researching and learning new things that I can include in stories.
Q. Do you think you’ll ever write another genre? If so, what genre would you like to try?
A. I have dabbled in children’s books — but those have only been for my six grandchildren. I also have written Bible studies, but as of now, they aren’t published.
Q. Now that the Burrton Springs Brides Series is finished, what’s next for you?
A. This isn’t finalized yet, but here’s the working copy of the back cover blurb to Abigail’s Pursuit, which is the book I just finished writing. It still needs to go through the editing process, but I’m excited about my ‘Time to Come Home’ Series that will be set in Shippensburg, PA.
Abigail’s Pursuit working back cover blurb:
Abigail Stewart is on the verge of losing everything she holds dear to her heart. When the man who is responsible for the death of her brother offers to help, she, at first, refuses. How can she work with her enemy? What’s to stop him from betraying her?
Wounded during the Civil War, Daniel Thompson must come to grips with making amends and fulfilling his friend’s dying request. He longs to find the family who told him to return, with hopes of seeking forgiveness. Can two wounded hearts find their way back home?
Jodie Wolfe’s Bio:
Jodie Wolfe creates novels where hope and quirky meet. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), and Faith, Hope, and Love Christian Writers (FHLCW). She’s been a semifinalist and finalist in various writing contests. A former columnist for Home School Enrichment magazine, her articles can be found online at: Crosswalk, Christian Devotions, and Heirloom Audio. When not writing, she enjoys spending time with her husband in Pennsylvania, reading, knitting, and walking. Learn more at http://www.jodiewolfe.com.
I am so blessed to live in an area where so many of the surrounding towns have a rich history. Last Friday evening, a friend of mine and I planned to go to one of these towns and have dinner at a coffee shop and then visit a book shop that opened not too long ago.
Unfortunately, the coffee shop was closed. Apparently, they changed their hours and didn’t update the changes on their website. When my friend checked the website, it said the coffee shop was open until 7. We got their around 4:30 and they were closed. I simply pulled out my phone and did a search and found a very nice restaurant that is open to the public, but is part of a very pretty retirement community. We had a delightful dinner there.
Afterward, we went to The Curious Quill Book Shoppe — see the sign in the above photo.
Below is a photo of the nice patio furniture the book shoppe has out front. I can envision myself sitting there on a nice early autumn day with a drink and a good book.
Above is the entry to the book shoppe, and below is the display for their “Christmas in July” theme, which is in the main room — the first room you enter after walking through the door.
Above is a lovely tree, made by the owner’s daughter, decorating a corner of the children’s room. The cute little stools beneath the tree remind me of mushrooms or toadstools, and they sit upon a green rug, giving an outdoor feel to the corner.
Below is a bookshelf with a nice variety of children’s books. Also in that room, there is a book shelf holding some very interesting games for sale.
Above is the book I purchased at The Curious Quill Book Shoppe. It is a hardcover book by an author, whose books I enjoy reading ever since seeing the movie, “Tuesdays with Morrie”. By the way, I own that Mitch Albom book and several others as well.
Below is the bookmark I purchased. I could not resist because the words on it fit me to a tee.
I look forward to returning to this bookstore soon. You can follow The Curious Quill Book Shoppe on Facebook.
In today’s world, whether you publish through a publisher or you self-publish, you will still need to do your own marketing. Now that my first book has been published, I am trying to figure out what marketing strategies work best.
So, what have I done so far?
I have set up an author’s page on Amazon and Goodreads.
I do my best to post here on my blog five days a week, but because I also take my aging mother to medical appointments and have responsibilites in my own household, I don’t always accomplish this goal.
I have a personal page and a professional page on Facebook. If you don’t follow me, please do: my Facebook professional page and my Personal Facebook page. I try to post something on these pages at least once a day, and I try to read and respond to friends’ posts, and to the group posts on the groups I’m a part of. Facebook also has ways to promote posts and I think they have ads available too, but I haven’t tried any of that. I’m just trying to get to know people and connect with readers.
Amazon also has ads, but I haven’t done any of these yet either. There is a cost for ads no matter what website or social media page you’re on. I’ve heard some of the ads are reasonable and worth it, but I’m not ready to try that yet.
I also answer two questions a week on Goodreads and am trying to connect with readers on there as well. Goodreads has some suggestions for authors to do to engage with readers, and they have some marketing tools and suggestions as well. Again, I have not done any of these yet or looked into them in detail.
I’ve been told “word of mouth” is still very effective in selling books, and in the beginning, I have seen that working. I sold a decent amount of books because of that. However, my sales have slowed down, so I need to start looking into and trying some other things. It’s all a process of learning and trial and error.
I have not found much on Barnes & Noble’s website in the way of promoting books, and, honestly, I don’t know if many people buy books from their website. My books been on their website for several weeks now and hasn’t made a single sale. I know Amazon is the place many people go to, not just for books, but for lots of other things. I see their vans all over my town and neighborhood almost on a daily basis, and definitely on a daily basis from October through January.
So, what about you other authors who visit here? What have you done and found effective in selling your books? Please leave a comment in the comments section. I love when we writers/authors can help each other. That’s why I share the posts I share here.
Writing and publishing books is much different than it was when I first began dreaming of becoming an author. Like many writers of my generation, I dreamed of writing a fantastic story and submitting it to a publisher, who would love it so much, they’d publish it. I also dreamed that they would arrange book signings for me and get the word out about my book, and get it into bookstores. Yes, I dreamed of seeing a beautiful book cover with my book’s title and my name on the cover on a bookshelf in a cozy bookstore like Barnes & Noble.
My, how times have changed. Now, in the age where technology seems to rule–I mean, the vast majority of the population carries a phone with a computer everywhere they go. They can write or read on their phone. They can purchase books on their phone.
Enter the world of self-publishing. Yes, that is the road I have chosen to travel. “Why?” You might ask. There are several reasons:
I did, at first, at the encouragement of a bestselling author friend, submit a query to an agent. I had high hopes that this agent would be thrilled to represent me and help me get my first novel published. After all, my bestselling author friend was thrilled with the first three chapters she read, and so was her husband, who said I painted the scenes in his mind with the words I used. However, the agent wasn’t as thrilled. Oh, she didn’t turn me down, exactly, but she wanted me to make a lot of changes. You see, I don’t like to read, what is referred to as “formulaic” romance, but that’s what agents and publishers want because that is what they believe sells best because that’s what they’ve seen happen. Now, you may be asking, “what is ‘formulaic’ romance? That simply means that the woman is the main character and the man and woman have to meet within the first few pages. That wasn’t the way my story was written, and still isn’t. However, if I would’ve agreed to make the changes, this agent was willing to work with me because she did like my writing. I was not willing to make those changes.
Traditional publishing takes a long time. After submitting and having your manuscript accepted, it takes a year to eighteen months, sometimes longer, until your book is actually published.
Of course, there are smaller publishing companies as well. I also submitted to one of these. However, they wanted to make lots of changes, beginning with the title I had been using for my book. They also would’ve chosen my cover, and I already had an idea of what I wanted my cover to look like back then, as well.
Finally, my bestselling author friend contacted me after she wrote a book and submitted it to her publisher (a big name publisher). She told me that they had refused to accept her book because her prior book didn’t have the number of sales they had expected. So, she independently published that book and has decided that is the way she will go with future books. She said publishers are getting too picky and, if they are dropping bestselling authors, a new author would really have a battle trying to convince them to take a chance on her.
Now, I will admit, it took me a long time to publish my first book — a little over six years! Why? Because when I started writing my book, I was still homeschooling my sons. I was also still learning what publishers and agents look for, because even though I knew I was going to publish independently, I wanted my book written well. In addition to learning what publishers and agents look for, I studied the writing craft. I also had to do research because I write Historical Christian Romance, and I need to get the history right. In addition to research, learning, and writing, I met consistently with my critique partners and did a lot of editing, as well as a rather large rewrite.
Finally, after a little over six years, I believed my book was ready, and I was ready to release it to the world. Then I hit technology road blocks. I knew absolutely nothing about how to format my book for a paperback book or for an ebook.
Well, praise the Lord, who has a plan for this book! First, he brought a new friend into my life in church. She studied art and computer stuff, and she volunteered to create my cover. Then, God brought another writer into my life — someone who spent her life doing lots of technical and nonfiction writing, and had just been called by God, to write fiction. (She has retired from technical and nonfiction writing, for the most part.) She had already published a fiction book, so she had already figured out how to do the formatting, and how to get it up on Amazon.
Therefore, with my book cover downloaded onto my computer, and with the help of my friend, who knew how to format a book for paperback and ebook, my book was properly formatted, and I was able to publish it through Amazon KDP, which is actually very easy to walk through step by step.
So, my book is available on Amazon, and after it was on Amazon for nearly a month, I figured out how to get it up on Barnes & Noble as well.
Since I now know how to write a good quality story — one that holds the reader’s interest and has them asking if I’m already working on my next book, I don’t anticipate my next book taking nearly as long as this first one did. I am already working on my next book, and though, it might take a year, I’m hoping it won’t, but, ultimately, it’s in God’s hands and it will be published in His time. I just plan to devote as much time as possible working on it because I am building a fan base who are looking forward to it. I hope you’ll be interested in becoming one of them.
No, my first book is not on bookshelves in any bookstore(s), yet. I say “yet” because I haven’t given up that dream, and there are still a couple local bookstores in my area that I plan to approach. That’s part of marketing. I’ll talk about that next week.
I love to drink tea, especially loose leaf tea. There are so many tasty kinds. In the photo above is one of my favorite mugs to drink my tea from. There are three reasons I love this mug: 1) it was handmade by a potter; 2) it holds 15 oz. of tea; and 3) the rabbit holding the sword, in the oval on the mug, is Picket Longtreader, a character from the Green Ember book series by S. D. Smith, which I am currently reading. Picket is one of my favorite characters in the series.
Reason #2 — it holds 15 oz. of tea is important because when I want to enjoy a good cup … uh, mug of tea, I like something that holds a lot of tea. Hence, why I often prefer a mug as opposed to a pretty, dainty teacup. I save my pretty, dainty teacups for tea parties and special occasions, or for when I just want to enjoy a pretty cup.
This particular mug also has a very nice, wide, easty-to-hold handle with plenty of room to get four fingers through.
But, remember, this is only one of my favorite teacups or mugs. I’ll share others in future posts.
Do you have a favorite teacup or mug? If so, what do you like about it? Feel free to share in the comments.
Marilyn K Blair is a new author and this is her first book. Watch this video to see more about it.
Then keep visiting here at my blog because I will post a review of Iris and Mo, as well as an author interview with Marilyn K Blair in the near future.
My Winter Edition of Clean Fiction Magazine finally arrived last week! Keep reading to find out why you should read this magazine.
If you look at the photo in the top left corner of the above photo of a page from the Winter Edition of Clean Fiction Magazine, you’ll notice that Harper has made it into this issue! Also, I am the Romance Reviewer for Clean Fiction Magazine, so if you’ve enjoyed reading my Romance Reviews here on the blog in the past, if you want to read more, be sure to get your copy of the latest edition (Winter 2023 Edition) of the magazine, available on Amazon. I have 10 reviews in the latest edition, and though I am the Romance Reviewer, I do, occasionally review a mystery, suspense, or fantasy book as well. The other fun thing in this edition is that since it was the end of the year edition, I was asked to choose my Top 3 Favorite Reads of 2023! You can read those in the photo above.
In addition, this magazine is filled with Book Reviews of the following genres: Fantasy and Fairy Tale; Sci-fi, Superheroes, and Steampunk; Audio Dramas; Epic; Romance and Real Life; Mystery; Historicaland Illustrative Fiction.
In addition there are poems, the winning entries of the last Windows Into the Multiverse Flash Fiction Story Contest, advertisements of more great books and authors; the last installment of a short story by Clean Fiction Publisher, Amy Lynn McConahy, as well as some other ongoing stories.
There are also some great articles, some fun cartoons, lists of different award winning books, the winners of the last Cover Art Contest, a list of upcoming contests in upcoming issues as well as other dates for great events that involve books. There’s the winner of the last Bookstagram Contest, and the photo for the current Windows into the Multiverse Contest with instructions on how to enter, but there are ONLY 2 Days Left to get your entries in!
So, whether you looking for your next great read or a new favorite author, or just want to read some great Flash Fiction stories, short stories, poetry, or articles, there’s something in Clean Fiction Magazine for every reader who likes their fiction clean. You can purchase your copy — ebook or paperback at Amazon.com.
Bentonsport: A New Chapter is the second book of Lisa Schnedler’s duology. The first book is Bentonsport: A Christmas Story, which I read and reviewed for Clean Fiction Magazine. After reading the first book, I had to read this one to find out how things worked out or didn’t work out for Thomas Barton and Sarah Peterson.
Both books are time travel novels. In Bentonsport: A New Chapter, Sarah has gone 150 years back in time to join Thomas Barton in his world. Sarah is also from Bentonsport, but in a very different time period. This book is a fun read as Sarah, who is used to many of the modern conveniences that you and I live with in today’s world, must now do without such things as electric stoves and ovens, electricity in the house, cell phones, and many other things. In addition, she has to dress differently and live a different lifestyle than she is used to. She also has to be careful what she says to avoid appearing crazy.
This novel is a delightful read as Sarah struggles and, eventually, accepts her new world. Readers will also be delighted with some surprises in the story. You will also fall in love with some of the characters. This book will also make you laugh out loud on occasion.
An easy to read, clean fiction story, with a bit of the Christian religion mixed in, as well as adventure and fun is all to be had in Bentonsport: A New Chapter. I highly recommend this book, but strongly suggest you read Bentonsport: A Christmas Story first to fully understand and follow this sequel. However, I will mention that the first novel is a bit more serious, and sometimes intense and suspenseful. It seems to set things up for this book, but both are definitely worth the read!
I give Bentonsport: A New Chapter by Lisa Schnedler a 5 star rating.
Kelly F Barr 