Kindle Scout Campaign – The Porn Detective | Stevie Turner, Indie Author.

Thanks OIKOS for all the shares!

Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung - Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!

DONT FORGET YOUR VOTE @amazon

My thanks go to Amazon, who have now accepted that the second edition of my novel The Porn Detective is totally different to the original.  As the new version has never before been published, they …

Quelle: Kindle Scout Campaign – The Porn Detective | Stevie Turner, Indie Author.

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Authors for Grenfell Tower

I spent my teenage years living in an 8th floor flat on a council estate in South East London, which was razed to the ground a few years back and is now instead full of million pound ‘des res’ properties!
Anybody want to place a bid?

jessicanorrie

I’ve never liked tower blocks. I had a friend who lived on the 13th floor of what used to be called a “hard to let” block in east London. She loved the view from her balcony, and kept flowerpots tethered in five unblowoffable ways to the railings, but even stepping on to it made me feel weak at the knees. Perhaps my knees were already weak when I arrived, because I always used to walk up the stairs. The lift was creaky and claustrophobic. Supposing it got stuck? Supposing someone scary got in it with you?

Cuttings from the “I”, “The Guardian” and the “Evening Standard”‘ June 17th & 19th 2017

Even posh tower blocks – skyscrapers, rather, penthouses, high rise living and the other more affluent synonyms – worry me. The only time I visited New York, I was less scared sleeping on the 34th floor than I’d anticipated…

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Friday Roundup – 23rd June

I’m off to the Island for the weekend, so I’ll leave you with these 11 links to check out.  See you all again on Monday!

1.  Jessica Bakkers reminds us not to judge a book by its cover:

Don’t judge me

2.  Have a read of these winning stories from the Bloggers Bash writing competition. Well done to all!

http://sachablack.co.uk/2017/06/17/winners-of-the-2017-bloggers-bash-writing-competition/

3.  Julianne Q. Johnson on a Writer’s Path confirms what I was told by an agent- don’t start your novel with a back story:

Starting Your Story With Backstory? Don’t

4.  Thanks to Nicholas C. Rossis for this blog on the new Amazon KDP Reports tool:

https://nicholasrossis.wordpress.com/2017/06/17/amazon-is-changing-its-kdp-reports-tool/

5.  Author Marketing Experts give advice on using Amazon keywords:

https://www.amarketingexpert.com/amazon-keywords-more-buyers/

6.  D.A Bale on Book Daily gives 8 ways to convince bloggers to review your book:

http://www.bookdaily.com/authorresource/blog/post/1966703

7.  Janice Wald gives us 25 ways to avoid writer’s block when blogging:

http://www.mostlyblogging.com/avoid-writers-block/

8. Thanks to Wendy Janes for these 5 proofreading checks:

https://85k90.com/five-final-proofreading-checks-help-writing-shine-wendy-janes/

9.  Meg Dowell at A Writer’s Path gives 22 ways to impress a first time blog reader:

22 Ways to Impress a First-Time Blog Reader With Any Post

10.  Guest author Gloria Kopp on Chris, the Story Reading Ape’s blog gives 7 tips for promoting your first self-published book:

7 Tips to Help Promote Your First Self-Published Book – by Gloria Kopp…

11.  Thanks to Hugh W. Roberts and Suzanne Bowditch for this info on backing up your WordPress blog:

https://suzannebowditch.wordpress.com/2017/06/16/backing-up-your-blog-content/

 

Thanks to Chris, the Story Reading Ape, Nikki McDonagh, OIKOS – Redaktion, BlondieAKA, How To eBook, A Writer’s Path, Don Massenzio, and Olga Nunez Miret for the re-blogs.

 

 

 

Bargain Book – Ein Haus Ohne Fenster

For all German readers, my romantic suspense novel ‘Ein Haus Ohne Fenster’ is just $0.99 / £0.99 from today 22nd June until Thursday 29th June.

http://bookShow.me/B01FR7DK70

Der Roman “Ein Haus Ohne Fenster” kostet vom 22. bis 29. Juni 2017 nur 0,99 $ und wird danach auf allen Amazon-Seiten zum ermäßigten Preis angeboten.  “Ein Haus Ohne Fenster” ist ein preisgekrönter Roman der britischen Autorin Stevie Turner, der von Jutta Schmitt-Teiwes ins Deutsche übersetzt wurde.  Er erzählt die Geschichte von Dr. Beth Nichols, die, am Anfang ihrer Schwangerschaft und verlobt mit Dr. Liam Darrah, entführt wird und gegen ihren Willen von ihrem verwirrten Ex-Patienten Edwin Evans gefangen gehalten wird.  In der Gefangenschaft bringt sie ihre Tochter zur Welt, Amy, die 10 Jahre später ein intelligentes, neugieriges Kind ist, das nie die Außenwelt kennen gelernt hat.

Liam sucht nach Beth, der Liebe seines Lebens und kommt schließlich zur Schlussfolgerung, dass seine Verlobte tot ist.  Nach zehn Jahren gibt er auf und gründet ein Zuhause mit Patti, die ihm einen Sohn schenkt, Toby. Kann Beth aus dem Haus ohne Fenster entkommen? Werden Liam und Beth wieder vereint? Dieser Roman wird aus verschiedenen Perspektiven erzählt: zunächst von Beth, die in Gefangenschaft erwacht und von Amy, die kein anderes Leben außerhalb des Haus ohne Fenster kennt.  Die Geschichte wird auch aus Liams Sicht geschildert und nicht zuletzt auch von Edwins Standpunkt aus.  Sechzehn Jahre später wird die Geschichte von Joss, Beth und Edwins Sohn erzählt.

Auf Amazon.com gibt es 60 Rezensionen. Nachfolgend eine der 5-Sterne-Rezensionen:

“Verheerend, gruselig und tief berührend, Stevie Turners “Haus ohne Fenster” ist vieles: unter anderem eine verwirrende Liebesgeschichte, die Erzählung einer Entführung, Gefangenschaft und Bedrohung, die Erzählung einer Frau, die sich im Angesicht von blanker Verzweiflung an die Hoffnung klammert sowie die Schilderung der klaustrophobischen Welt eines traumatisierten kindlichen Opfers und der gequälten Erwachsenen, zu der sie wird.  Die vielschichtigen und wechselnden Erzählebenen schildern die verwirrende Verrücktheit des Edwin Evans und seiner psychotischen Handlungen, die jeden, der zum Opfer seiner Geisteskrankheit wird, verschlingen. Das Buch ist ganz sicher nicht für Kinder geeignet, jedoch wirklich sehr empfehlenswert.”

#TheBrokenLifeblogtour @jaydawes2 #excerpt #thriller #mystery

I shall also be promoting Jaye Marie’s new book in my next newsletter, which will be published on 1st July http://www.stevie-turner-author.co.uk

suzanne rogerson fantasy author

I’m really pleased to take a break from my own blog tour to introduce Jaye Marie and her book The Broken Life. Both Jaye and Anita have been very supportive taking part in both my blog tours, so it’s a real pleasure to return the favour by being their host on the blog tour today.

I  have a very exciting excerpt to share, but first here’s a little about the book.

Book Description of The Broken Life

DI David Snow has a serial killer to catch, a killer as mysterious as the crimes he commits.

Snow is due to retire, but not before he discovers why someone killed his sergeant and is now coming after him.

The killer seems to have a personal vendetta against Snow, but he is determined that no one else should die because of him. His efforts are hampered by the arrival of a new sergeant, ‘ruthless’ Ruth Winton…

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Thursday Cite & Insight Invite – 22nd June

Here’s a good one from American writer Ralph Marston:

‘Rest when you’re weary. Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit. Then get back to work.’

I’ve had a lovely three years off work, writing when I want to and self-publishing many books, as well as trying to keep fit and undergoing any necessary treatment for thyroid cancer.  However, I’ve come to the conclusion that I want to earn more money than my pension and Amazon royalties are giving me.  Sam doesn’t want me to go back to work, but …. needs must.

On Monday I drove back to the hospital for a meeting with my old manager to enquire about returning as a bank secretary to cover staff holidays and sickness and other times when there is just too much work.  We were soon chatting like I’d never been away, with the end result that I was given a bank contract and I can now work whenever I like, as usually one department or the other is more often than not short-staffed.   At the moment I’ve chosen to work on  Tuesdays and Thursdays only, which should augment my pension a little bit!

I learned a lot from working as a medical secretary.  Bank work will take me into departments I’ve never worked in at all, and so it will keep the old brain active.  I can still write on days when I’m not working (there might be a few less blogs though), so as my youngest son often says… it’s all gravy, baby.

 

 

Guest Blog by Katrina Mountfort

 

Hi all, today fellow author and blogger Katrina Mountfort is writing about what she has learned from running a Kindle Scout campaign for her new book ‘The Lost Corner’.

Running a Kindle Scout campaign – what I’ve learned:

At the beginning of June I decided to have a shot at getting my latest novel published via Kindle Scout. From what I’ve heard, of other people’s experience with Kindle Press, they can sell a lot more of my books than I could manage on my own. I was delighted but shocked when my application was accepted within 12 hours of submission and so, a little unprepared, I started a 30 day campaign to gain as many nominations as possible. It’s been a huge learning curve but a useful one, so I’d like to share some of what I’ve learned so far:

1. A large proportion of my votes have come from direct traffic to the Kindle Scout site. So my first piece of advice is to polish your submission as much as possible. Make your one line description catchy. Invest in a professional cover. Proofread it again and again.
2. It’s a marathon not a sprint. My biggest mistake was to use all my big guns at the start of the campaign. Several friends shared it on Facebook all at once. This helped me make a splash and find myself in the ‘hot and trending’ section, but it’s hard to keep up that momentum. If I had the chance to start again, I’d have asked my friends to spread out their shares.
3. Book bloggers are the nicest people. My work schedule doesn’t allow me to blog regularly so I asked several people whose blogs I follow if they’d feature my campaign. They all said yes and each post has given me some votes. I’ve tried to spread them out so I’m featured in one blog per week of the campaign.
4. I’ve had mixed success with social media. Facebook has been far and away the best. Twitter has only given me a few page views. Some people have found Bing Bing and Headstarter useful but I haven’t got very far with them yet.
5. Although I find it excruciating to do so, you have to contact EVERYONE you know.
6. It’s not just a popularity contest. The point of getting a lot of votes is to get the judges to consider your work at the end. They’re not going to publish a seemingly popular book that will then get a lot of bad reviews so if other books seem to be ‘hot and trending’ more than yours, don’t despair.

If you’ve found this useful I’d be grateful if you could check out my campaign:

https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/2KB0W6JT2O5KA

If you like what you see, please nominate me. If it’s accepted, you’ll all get a free electronic copy.

Finally I’d like to thank Stevie for her generosity in letting me post on this blog and wish her luck in her own Kindle Scout campaign for ‘The Porn Detective’! https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/3IQ62RDNCFI3F

About me:

I am a UK-based author, living in York. My philosophy of life is that we only regret the things we don’t try.  When I hit forty, I decided it was time to fulfil my childhood dream of writing a novel. My first three novels, Future Perfect, Forbidden Alliance and Freedom’s Prisoners formed the speculative fiction Blueprint trilogy, and were published by Elsewhen Press. I love music, walking with my two Labradors, travel, wine, daffodils and Parma violets.

Find Katrina on the following web links:

Blog: https://herstoryblogspot.wordpress.com/

Website: http://www.katrinamountfort.com/

Publisher website: http://elsewhen.alnpetepress.co.uk/index.php/catalogue/author/katrina-mountfort/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KatrinaMountfortAuthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/curlykats

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Katrina-Mountfort/e/B00MU1AEA8

Sometimes, You Need to Learn how to RUN Before You Can Walk.

I think I’ll be checking this one out!

Roundabout Forty

When I turned 40, it wasn’t a big deal. I felt good, younger than my calendar age. Sure I had some arthritis in my knee. Yes, I had problems with swelling in my wrists, the start of carpal tunnel syndrome, but I learned to adapt to the changes in my body. I got some wrist braces, wore them at night, and ate Ibuprofen like it was candy.

Wellgate for Women PerfectFit Wrist Support from Amazon.    (I still wear the right and left wrist braces every night.)

Fast forward a few years and now I’m IN my forties.  I had some changes in my career.  I slowed down.  I gained weight.  I started to feel old, really OLD.  Older than I’ve ever felt. I’ve struggled with depression on and off for most of my life, but it was getting worse.  I just didn’t feel like ME anymore.  It’s like…

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Meet Jaye Marie!

Good luck to Jaye Marie with her blog tour!

Lizzie Chantree

Today it’s my pleasure to introduce you to The Broken Life Blog Tour

by Jaye Marie @jaydawes2

I really enjoy discovering a new book to read and finding authors who work together and support other writers is always a pleasure. Today I am showcasing the work of one half of sibling writing team, as part of her blog tour. Jaye Marie’s new book Broken Life  is now available to buy and download on Amazon. Don’t forget to stop off at the other blogs on the tour to find out even more about her work. Details are at the end of this post.

About Jaye Marie

My name is Jaye Marie, the ‘oily rag’ of the partnership Anita Dawes and Jaye Marie and usually, I prefer to stay in the background. Since my sister and I decided to publish our books ourselves, most of my other interests have had to take a…

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Tuesday Newsday – 20th June

Thanks to Michelle Roberts, the BBC’s Health Editor, I’ve discovered that researchers at Southampton University are offering up to £3,526 to each of 35 healthy volunteers between the ages of 18 – 45 who agree to be infected with pertussis (whooping cough) bacteria.  The scientists want to make a better vaccine.

Volunteers would have pertussis bacteria inserted into their noses, and would have to live in isolation (in their own rooms, not together) for 17 days.  Researchers will be interested in those that do not get sick as they would be naturally immune, and understanding this immunity could lead to the design of a more improved vaccine.

All 35 volunteers would undergo daily throat and nose swabs, and would have to sit in a ‘cough’ box in order to make droplets of saliva in the air for researchers to sample.  They would be given antibiotics at the end of the 17 days.

If I was in the right age group (thankfully I’m not), I don’t think ‘up’ to £3,526 would be enough.  Put a couple of noughts on the end, and now you’re talking!  What do you think?