Quanie Miller's It Ain't Easy Being Jazzy

Hey all! Today I'm blog swopping with Quanie. We're sharing excerpts of our books, check mine out here. :-)

Excerpt:

Finally, my curiosity got the best of me. I went outside because the conference room had a window. I squeezed my behind through two bushes and squatted. Yes! The blinds weren’t down all the way, so if I turned my head to the right angle, I could see…Blondie’s ass? That was no good. Wait—why was she standing? Didn’t people normally sit down at meetings? Her goons stood too, and then so did Lynnette, Rudy, and Jack. I wondered if Lynnette could take this woman. Lynnette was small, but I’ve seen her beat the shit out of a vending machine that gave her a Kit-Kat instead of the Snickers Bar she wanted. Blondie had the height advantage. And Rudy - he looked like one of those guys who always got beat up by girls in school. And Jack…he wore Bill Cosby sweaters. I knew good and well he couldn’t whup no ass. What should I do? I ran back inside and went to the kitchen. Lynnette said to give her an hour before I called for her nun-chucks. Maybe if I saved the day, she would give me a raise.

The iron. Blondie and her goons were in for a surprise because I would take that iron and…what? Crease their clothes? Or worse, make them grilled cheese sandwiches? What if they had a gun? Then I would look silly, bringing an iron to a gun fight. I would never live that down. But the anticipation made me antsy. What in the world was going on in that room? Suddenly, the conference door opened. I knew that if I wanted to eavesdrop I would have to be discrete. Too bad I tripped on my own foot and went sprawling head first into the hallway, landing right near Blondie’s stiletto. I looked up. I swear she seemed thirteen feet tall.

She said, in her deep, gurgling, sexy chicken voice, “Thanks for the Pellegrinos.” She stepped over me and so did The Slick Back Kids. Inside the conference room, Lynnette, Rudy, and Jack were all scribbling feverishly on those notepads. When Lynnette sensed she was being watched, she hopped up and shut the door. I felt like they were Desi and I was Lucy Ricardo; why couldn’t I be in the show? I ran back to my office and peeped out the window, but Blondie and her entourage were gone. I sat at my desk for the rest of the day, wondering if they were doing something illegal, and if so, why didn’t they ask me to participate?

Blurb:

Jazzy secretly wants to get back together with her ex-boyfriend, Curtis, so when he calls and reveals that he’s got something important to tell her, she’s got no idea that he’s about to propose—to her first cousin and bitter rival, Mercedes.

The annual family dinner is coming up, and fearing that she will spend the evening seething while Mercedes flaunts her four carat engagement ring in her face, Jazzy asks Reggie, an Adonis she met at the mall, to accompany her. As fate would have it, not only did Reggie and Mercedes used to date; that backstabbing, leopard print wearing cow is still carrying a torch for him! Revenge. It’s never been so sweet.

But falling for Reggie? Holy crap! That wasn’t part of the plan! She’s got enough on her plate as it is; restaurant shootouts, a neurotic boss, a mother who spies on the neighbors, and a sister and best friend with man problems that could land them on Jerry Springer. Who has time to fall in love? So when Curtis comes sniffing around again—this time, with an accusation that sends her blood pressure shooting through the roof—the one good nerve that Jazzy’s got left has just about run its course.

Bio:

Quanie Miller grew up in New Iberia, Louisiana. She fell in love with reading at an early age and spent most of her time at the Iberia Parish Library discovering new authors like R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike (she was often found walking back home from the library with a stack of books that went up to her chin). She holds degrees from Louisiana State University and San Jose State University. She has been the recipient of the James Phelan Literary Award, the Louis King Thore Scholarship, the BEA Student Scriptwriting Award, and the Vicki Hudson Emerging Writing Prize. She loves writing humorous stories about strong willed, sassy women who can’t keep themselves out of trouble. She lives in Charleston, South Carolina with her husband and is currently, as always, working on another novel. To find out more about Quanie and her works in progress visit quanietalkswriting.com.

Buy Link:

http://www.amazon.com/It-Aint-Easy-Being-Jazzy-ebook/dp/B00FVAFA4A

Social Media Links:

quaniemiller.com

 
http://www.amazon.com/Quanie-Miller

https://www.facebook.com/QuanieMillerAuthor

https://twitter.com/QuanieMiller

http://www.goodreads.com/QuanieMiller

http://www.quanietalkswriting.com

I'm not doing a post today, but luckily you can find me here. Plus a haiku on pie.

Yeah lucky thing I arranged these visits ages ago, because today I barely have the energy to type. So if you're at all interested in getting your Misha fix today:

1) I'm hanging out with Darrion and Gawain from The Vanished Knight at the A to Z Challenge blog.
2) I did an interview with Laura on writing on whether I prefer cake or pie. Answer is cake. Probably forever. See below for the reason.
3) Michael wrote a cool intro to The Vanished Knight. 
4) I'm visiting Robin, talking about how I first started writing.

I hope to spot you at any or all of these. Probably later. Right now, I'm going back to sleep. Before that, though, you deserve an explanation, both about why I lack energy and why I now hate pie.

My haiku on pie.

There once was a pie, 
I devoured without thought of
it poisoning me. 

On that lovely thought, I leave you today. Anyone else wanted to die from food poisoning before?

I'm out and about again.

Hey all! Sadly, another quick post from me today. You'd think that having time off would give me more time to write... :-/

Anyway, today I'm at Father Dragon's Cave talking about how goals helped me get The Vanished Knight Published.

Hope to see you there!

The Art of Self Publishing

Hey all! Today I'm over at Sheena's talking about the good and bad about living in South Africa. Hope to see you there! In the meantime, I want to welcome Jamie to The Five Year Project. He's recently self-published a book that promises to be awesome, and has generously offered to share what he's learned about self-publishing. 
Take it away, Jamie!

The art of self publishing, and by art I mean what you get after giving a hundred five-year olds finger paints.

So you’ve written a book, and you’ve decided to publish it yourself. You poor, misguided soul. Don’t worry, I’m just as poor and misguided as you. Luckily I’ve put myself through the wringer and am prepared to share what I’ve learned to help you in your current and/or future projects. For the purpose of this post, I’m going to assume you’re already at the final stage of your project. You’ve already gotten an editor, and your cover design is finalized (or on your way to it) and now you’re unsure about what to do in regards to self publishing. Allow me to help!

Let’s start with the obvious.

It goes without saying that Amazon is the top ebook retailer, and for good reason. With ebooks now outselling physical books for the first time ever, Amazon sits atop the heap for all things relating to the medium. They have a program called KDP Select (Kindle Direct Publishing) that’s set up to help authors promote their books and garner sales. Through the system, Amazon assists with promotion of your book through email suggestions to Kindle members and it also allows you to set up to 5 days during each 90 day period to give away your book for free. The hitch? While part of the KDP Select program, you can’t be listed through any other ebook retailer.

Now, I opted to sign up for the KDP select program and remain exclusive to them. My book far exceeded my expectation. I would have been happy just selling a couple dozen copies to people that weren’t my friends or family. Instead, the few hundred copies I sold during my 90 day exclusivity period, and the 500 copies given away for free have helped to validate the feeling that I should be writing a heck of a lot more.

Which leads me to the next point: self promotion. Do you use Twitter? Well, now you should. Facebook? Don’t be afraid to pimp out your work to your friends and family. You may be surprised how many people would be willing to shell out a few books just to support, and you may just turn some of the people you already know into your biggest fans. I’m also a big advocate of Google Plus. Contrary to popular belief, that site is NOT a ghost town, and in fact has more active users than Twitter. If you make all of your posts public, it’s effectively a blog. I’ve made many business contacts through Google Plus, and I’m garnering new followers every day. Don’t forget to join Goodreads while you’re at it.

You opted to start with Amazon, but now your sales are dropping and your KDP select
exclusivity is up. What now?

You’ve got options. Lots and lots of options. Start by reviewing Smashwords.com to see if that’s something you’d like to consider. Their purpose is to help indie authors publish across many platform and to promote them. I haven’t personally done anything with them, but I’m still considering it. I went with four additional carriers aside from Amazon, and it’s been a...process.

What are the pro’s and cons of each?

Nook

I’ve heard that Nook isn’t terribly popular, though it seems to be a decent format. Their process was relatively painless, except when I had to go in and label each of my chapters, one by one. Their self publishing process is supposed to pick out the number of chapters you have and automatically label them, buuuuut it told me I had two chapter. Yep, twenty five chapters distilled into two. I spent the next thirty minutes labelling each chapter. Fun times. Then the book got hung up in “pending” hell for four days until I contacted customer support for them to fix that.

Kobo

Kobo was even simpler than Amazon for self publishing. I’m not totally sure what Kobo is, but they have their own line of ereaders and I liked their site. However, the book has been available for a week, and I haven’t had a single sale. I have no clue how much traffic books on their site get.

Google Play

Another fairly simple process here, though not as simple as Amazon or Kobo. Aside from Amazon, I think Google Play has the best potential for sales. The Play store keeps showing up on more and more devices, especially as Android continues to expand and tablets continue to fly off the shelves. Though I have no idea how it’s doing, since the site refuses to actually give me my sales numbers, after putting me through a three day ordeal where it kept telling me the book “needed action” on some unknown payment issue. Wrote to them, and still had to figure it out on my own after a vague issue.

iBooks

Here’s the thing. I’ve never had any love for Apple. I have a thing about my products being worth the price of admission. Prior to a week ago, I hadn’t signed up for an itunes account. Not only was that a process (why the hell should I give them my credit card just to start an account?), but then I had to get approved as a vendor. So a few days pass by, and I get my approval email. I just need to log in and work with the book to publish it. Simple right? So I go to log in. Invalid password. I try a few different variations of my password, until it boots me out and prompts me to reset. Did I mention that this is the SECOND TIME it’s happened in as many days? I threw my arms up in disgust and decided the few meager sales I might get weren’t worth the hassle, because I had no idea what awaited me once I was able to log in.

The conclusion?

I honestly don’t know if going off of the KDP Select program is worth it. Only time will be able to tell there. I don’t have a bright outlook on that. Amazon isn’t helping with promotion anymore, but the sales are still regular on Kindle. I’m hopeful that my own experiences here in self publishing will help you in deciding which way is best for you. Maybe you’ll decide to stick with KDP Select, or maybe you’ll just publish everywhere you possibly can from the get go. Find what works for you, and experiment!

It’s so easy to hate super heroes. They’re arrogant, they’re destructive, and they’re everywhere. Then there’s the spandex. My God…the spandex. Some want to be famous, some want to get rich, and some just want to dispense their own vision of vigilante justice.

Then there’s Dennis. Married forty something father of three who puts in long hours as a bank executive in Philadelphia. He observes these Supers (general term used for humans with exceptional abilities) daily, cursing as they trash the city, demolish landmarks, and wreak havoc on his insurance premiums.

Dennis’ biggest problem though, is that he’s one of them. He’s spent his entire life just trying to be normal. Getting married, raising a family, and having a good job are all he’s ever wanted. Is it really too much to ask to just live, love, and retire in peace?

Of course it is! Supers are easily monetized. Comic books, movie deals, television shows, public appearances, and well paid security gigs draw people with any kind of powers to join the limelight with the rest. Dennis comes to find that no matter how much you deny who you are, the world will never stop spinning, and you will eventually be dragged right along with it. Unfortunately for him, that dragging is bloody, painful, and unrelenting.

Superpowered is a first person fiction narrative from the eyes of a reluctant, power-wielding human being. Focusing not on super heroes or super villains, but instead on people with extraordinary abilities, this book will take you along for Dennis’ tense, thrilling, and gruesome journey through the highs and heartbreaking lows.

Amazon 
Nook
Google Play (where it’s discounted right now)
Kobo

Guess I'm my own worst critic...

Hey all! Today I'm at Tossing It Out, having tossed out some serious opinion on YA writing. Hope to see you there and read what you had to say!

In the meantime, I thought I'd do a short post about a dream I had:

I woke up and read my e-mails first thing as I always do. In it were two e-mails from agents. I clicked on the one I've been waiting for with bated breath, and this was the message. 

Dear Ms. Gericke, 

Wow, I have to say this. At the beginning of the query, I was quite keen on your story, but by the end of it, I'd lost all interest in ever meeting any of your characters.

Sincerely, 
(Agent name forgotten) 

I woke up smiling, quite grateful that I got either form rejections or nice let downs.

Any of you ever dream about queries you didn't send yet?

Where I am today...

Hi all! Sorry for being such an absentee blogger lately! Had to leave town yesterday and the destination had zero connections. No phones. No internet... zip.

Anyway, today I'm at two blogs. First, I'm at Scribbleweed to talk about setting big writing goals. By the way, if you're not familiar with Scribbleweed, do go check it out while you're there. Awesome place for fun writing exercises etc.

Then, I'm also visiting long time blogging friend Terry for an interview, discussing reading and more of my wacked out approaches to writing. ;-)

Hope to see you there! And I really will put up something more substantial tomorrow. Was planning to do so today, but I've spent about 28 of the past 48 hours traveling, so I can barely think straight. Besides which, I still owe some awesome people guest posts....

I'm Out Yet Again

Hey all! Today, I'm visiting Aimee at http://aimeebeatricejodoin.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-vanished-knight-war-of-six-crowns.html. She reviewed TVK and interviewed me based on what she read. Hope to see you there!

P.S. Sorry for the untidy Iink. Am away from my computer and my tablet refuses to play along...

Alex J. Cavanaugh's Publishing Story

Hey all! Today I welcome Alex J. Cavanaugh to my blog to talk about his journey to publication. 

The Journey to Publication

Most writers start with a goal of publication. I just wanted to see if I could rewrite my old manuscript into a decent story. It wasn’t until I’d polished it and let a few friends read it that I decided to take the next step.

I did some research online, as I had no idea where to begin. I already knew science fiction would be a tough sell, as most of what I’d read said it was dead. It seemed a lot of writers seeking publication had been writing for a long time as well. Outside of writing as a teen and some technical writing, I didn’t have that much experience. I certainly didn’t have any credits to my name.

Once I figured out how to compose a query letter, I made a list of those who published science fiction. I didn’t even bother looking at agents, as that felt way out of my league. There weren’t a lot of science fiction publishers who took submissions either. I sent out my queries and it didn’t take long to run through the list. What now?

I broadened my search and looked at smaller publishers. I tried anyone who remotely accepted speculative fiction, and even tried other genres. Most people would say that wasn’t a smart move, but a publisher who was looking for young adult requested a full. (CassaStar is sort of a coming of age story, which is what had led me to them.) They offered a contract, stating they would publish it as an adult science fiction story, and I signed with Dancing Lemur Press.

From start to finish, the whole process of finding a publisher took about eight months. It was another year and a half before the book came out, but that gave me time to establish myself online and prepare. Not that I think anything could’ve prepared me for what has happened in the past few years!

What’s the journey been like? Life-changing to say the least. I never anticipated writing more books. I certainly never thought they would sell so well. I didn’t envision the Insecure Writer’s Support Group or website. Nor did I expect to meet so many amazing people along the way. That last thing has been the greatest blessing in my life.

Everyone’s journey is different. Your journey will be different. My best advice is just to enjoy it!

CassaStorm

By Alex J Cavanaugh

From the Amazon Best Selling Series!

A storm gathers across the galaxy…

Commanding the Cassan base on Tgren, Byron thought he’d put the days of battle behind him. As a galaxy-wide war encroaches upon the desert planet, Byron’s ideal life is threatened and he’s caught between the Tgrens and the Cassans.

After enemy ships attack the desert planet, Byron discovers another battle within his own family. The declaration of war between all ten races triggers nightmares in his son, threatening to destroy the boy’s mind.

Meanwhile the ancient alien ship is transmitting a code that might signal the end of all life in the galaxy. And the mysterious probe that almost destroyed Tgren twenty years ago could return. As his world begins to crumble, Byron suspects a connection. The storm is about to break, and Byron is caught in the middle…

“CassaStorM is a touching and mesmerizing space opera full of action and emotion with strong characters and a cosmic mystery.”  – Edi’s Book Lighhouse

 “With a talent for worldbuilding and a compelling cast of characters, Alex J. Cavanaugh combines high powered space battles and the challenges of family dynamics to provide readers a space opera with heart.”  - Elizabeth S. Craig, author of the Southern Quilting and Myrtle Clover mysteries

"Cavanaugh makes world building on the galactic scale look easy. The stakes affect the entire known universe and yet Cavanaugh makes it intensely personal for our hero. The final installment of this series will break your heart and put it back together." - Charity Bradford, science fantasy author of The Magic Wakes

$16.95 USA, 6x9 Trade paperback, 268 pages, Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C.

Science fiction/adventure and science fiction/space opera

Print ISBN 9781939844002 eBook ISBN 9781939844019

$4.99 EBook available in all formats

Find CassaStorm:

Barnes and Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1116848619?ean=9781939844002

Amazon -

http://www.amazon.com/CassaStorm-Alex-J-Cavanaugh/dp/1939844002/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1378484337&sr=1-1&keywords=cassastorm

Amazon Kindle - http://www.amazon.com/CassaStorm-ebook/dp/B00F2O9QMC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1378811366&sr=1-1&keywords=cassastorm

Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17670532-cassastorm

Book trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Umm2l0XdHc&feature=youtu.be

Alex J. Cavanaugh has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and works in web design and graphics. He is experienced in technical editing and worked with an adult literacy program for several years. A fan of all things science fiction, his interests range from books and movies to music and games. Online he is the Ninja Captain and founder of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. The author of the Amazon bestsellers, CassaStar and CassaFire, he lives in the Carolinas with his wife.

Website – http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/

Twitter – http://twitter.com/AlexJCavanaugh  

Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4287922.Alex_J_Cavanaugh

Thanks for telling us your publishing story, Alex!

BTW, I'm at Crystal's today with one of the funniest things about English, and at Brandon's with an interview. Have a great day!

I'm visiting Mel Chesley today

Hey all!

First of all, I just want to let you know I'm at Mel's today, talking about TVK's rather inauspicious beginnings. I hope to see you there!

But before you go, I just want to say thanks. Quite a few of you have put up the cover, or did reviews or even mentioned my book without telling me. And I think you're AWESOME! Thank you!!!