Angela Booth's Writing Blog

Are you a novelist? A blog can help you to write

Did you know that your blog can help you to write your books?

Here’s how:

• You have readers now. Writing is a lonely business. In the months and years it takes you to write a novel, you have no idea what’s working, and what isn’t. Blog excerpts from your novels, and your readers will tell you what works for them — and this knowledge will subtly improve your writing;
• It gives readers a chance to get to know your characters, and they become invested in them. And they buy your book;
• You become familiar. When a blog reader is browsing the virtual shelves, and he has a choice between an unfamiliar title, and a familiar one, which do you think he will choose?

Other ideas.

Book marketing with a tiny (or zero) budget

“Free” marketing on social media: focus on engagement, and then promotion

I love free marketing on social media because I enjoy blogging, and I enjoy Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook.

Considering free social media marketing?

Here’s what’s important:

1. Engagement: social media is social, so you need to spend time on your chosen platform engaging and making friends;
2. Promotion: you need to ensure that you have a message for your marketing, and you stick to that message. (This can be a real challenge.)

More book marketing ideas.

 

If you're looking for a book idea, why not write a memoir?

Want to write from your life? Write a memoir

A memoir is a slice of your life; an incident, an experience, something which has a beginning and an end, as well as conflict, climax and resolution…

And if that’s not enough, ideally, your memoir covers an experience which changed your life in some way. You learned something, and you pass that lesson (takeaway) on to your readers.

You may be wondering about the difference between a memoir, a biography, and an autobiography.

Here they are, in brief:

• Memoir: a meaningful story from someone’s life, usually your own. Alternatively, a client’s life if they’ve hired you as a ghostwriter;
• Biography: someone’s life from go to whoa. It will be “unauthorized” if you’re writing a biography of a living person: as you might do, should a publisher commission you, for example;
• Autobiography: your life, from go to whoa, written by you. However, as with a memoir, if you’re ghostwriting the project, it’s your client’s life.

Read the article.

Pretty Pictures Make Sales: Tutorial For Book Marketers

This post is meant for beginner and intermediate users and bloggers looking for a quick fix for taking pictures of their eReaders and digital books.

The techniques here work for other types of bloggers too.  Just know that there are always multiple ways to play around on Photoshop and edit. This free post is not meant to be the Photoshop Bible. I’m merely sharing my less than 10-minute edits to superimpose a book cover over an eReader, which for me is an iPad.  This process works well for me, and I hope you find a few takeaways.

via theuncorkedlibrarian.com

Have you discovered the power of images on social media? Savvy authors use Instagram to raise awareness of their books.

You may not be a book blogger, but if you're a book marker read the article -- it will inspire you. (And you'll make more sales.)

Check out Social Media For Writers to learn more about the power of images.

Nonfiction Sells, So Sell What You Learn

In this article, I said:

You’re a writer. Each and every day, you’re learning. Why not sell what you learn and write nonfiction? As Mae West said: “Keep a diary, and someday it’ll keep you.”

Here's a summary of the process.

Have fun writing nonfiction -- avoid leaving money on the table. :-)

Book Review: Love Overdue

Title: Love Overdue
Author: Pamela Morsi
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher/ pub date: Harlequin MIRA; August 27, 2013
ISBN-10: 0778315371

Love Overdue is sweet, romantic, and hilarious. The main characters, DJ and Scott, are wonderful. You'll adore both of them as you learn more about them.

DJ's a librarian. She's finally living her dream: her own library to run in tiny Verdant, Kansas. In a sense, DJ's everything you'd expect a librarian to be: introverted, and solitary. However, she's also hugely professional. She's determined to give the people of Verdant the library that they deserve. She's excited and can't wait to get started.

Accompanying DJ to Verdant is her little terrier Dew. Dew steals the show. He's adorable, and helps the characters to find themselves.

Viv Sanderson's the head of the library board. She's also DJ's landlady. Although DJ doesn't know it, Viv's brought DJ to Verdant for her son Scott, who's the local pharmacist. Scott's been married, but his marriage was a disaster.

DJ's horrified when she meets Scott. He's her one and only fling. It happened years ago, on spring break. She's never forgotten him, and although he doesn't seem to recognize her, she does her best to stay away from him. In one way she's pleased he doesn't remember her, yet in another way she's peeved that she was less than memorable.

Scott has no idea why the new librarian's taken an instant dislike to him. She seems familiar, but he can't recall having met her before.

Love Overdue is one of those books you inhabit, as you read it. Every character is special in some way. Before she knows it, DJ fits right in. She even has a dream which tells her what's wrong with the cold and gloomy library. Then the whole town gets together to help her to make her vision of what the library could be a reality.

I loved everything about the book. However, I'd hoped for a scene in which Scott finally recognizes DJ -- that would have made the book perfect. With luck, Ms Morsi will write more books about Verdant. This book is a definite keeper on my shelves, and I'll be reading it again.

Rating: 4 (out of 5 stars)

(A review copy was provided.)

Book Review: Fully Engaged

Title: Fully Engaged

Author: Eve Gaddy

Genre: Contemporary Romance/ Romantic Suspense

Publisher/ pub date: Bell Bridge Books, May 1, 2013

ISBN: 9781611943061

I'm a fan of "second chance" books, as well as firefighter books, so I enjoyed Fully Engaged because it combines both. Not only was the romance hot (pardon the pun), but so was the suspense.

Rick Montana dropped out of Callie Kilpatrick's life nine years previously, when he broke off their engagement over the phone. He was unaware that she was pregnant, and that she subsequently lost the baby. When she finally got over Rick, Callie's new fiance, Johnny, was killed in a fire, which was believed to be arson. However, no real investigation ever took place.

Callie can't believe that Rick's back in her life, and that he's a firefigher now. The last she heard, he was a journalist. Not only is he on her firefighting crew, but he's also her partner.

Fully Engaged truly engages readers. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough, and learned a lot about wildfires, and the dangerous life of firefighters. However, the suspense didn't overshadow the romance.

Rick's a wonderful hero. He left Callie because his father lied. As soon as Rick learns that it was a lie, he sets out to get Callie back because he loves her. Callie can't fight her attraction to Rick, however she can't forget Johnny either.

All the characters in this novel are wonderful, the leads, as well as the secondary characters. The book pulls you in; I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. It's action-packed, sensual, and a fast read. And there are animals -- who can resist wild life and their carers? I rarely reread books, but I'll be rereading this one because I enjoyed every moment of it.

Rating: 4.5 (out of 5 stars)

(A review copy was provided.)

Book Review: Lady Anne's Lover

Title: Lady Anne's Lover

Author: Maggie Robinson

Genre: Historical Romance

Publisher/ pub date: Kensington Books Brava, July 30, 2013

ISBN: 0758289146 (ISBN13: 9780758289148)

It's 1820. Earl's daughter Lady Imaculata Anne Egremont has a mad father who makes sexual demands on her. She responds with outrageous behavior. She's shunned by the ton when she constantly appears in "The List", a London tabloid of the day. Anne, as she prefers to be known, is 19 years old. She needs to hide from her father for two years, until she receives her inheritance. She disguises herself as housekeeper Mrs. Anne Mont, and takes herself off to Wales, where she's hired by Major Gareth Ripton-Jones.

Gareth drinks to excess, and is months away from losing his run-down Welsh estate. He can barely afford to pay Anne. Anne comes up with a solution. She receives her inheritance upon her marriage, so she decides that she and Gareth will enter into a marriage of convenience. Hot-blooded Gareth has other ideas. He seduces Anne.

An excellent book, but...

It's several days since I read this novel, and I can't get the characters out of my mind. This should be the sign of a good book. It is, however the book has serious problems, the biggest one being the way the author handles the hero's alcoholism.

Gareth makes promises, and then fails to keep them. He accuses Anne of being forgetful and clumsy, when in reality, someone is trying to kill her. He harps on about Bronwen, his lost love for too much of the book. Anne's right when she calls Bronwen a "beautiful back-of-beyond femme fatale". He's almost 40, double the age of the heroine. Yes, he has reasons for drinking. He's lost an arm, and the woman he thought he loved.

Although Anne makes excuses for him, Gareth is weak. Anne deserved better.

Despite this, Lady Anne's Lover is a well-written Regency. I read it in one sitting, and enjoyed it. Gareth's character annoyed me so much that I was tempted to mark the book low. However, if you can forget his shortcomings, the book has much for you to enjoy.

Rating: 4 (out of 5 stars)

(A review copy was provided.)

Book Review: To Sin with a Viking

Title: To Sin with a Viking
Author: Michelle Willingham
Genre: Historical
Publisher: Harlequin Historical
Pub Date: July 23, 2013
ISBN-13: 978-0373297504
Available from Harlequin.


This wonderful story takes place in Ireland, in 875 AD.

Caragh O Bannon's tribe live on the Irish coast. The land's stricken with drought and the harvest has failed. Many people have died of starvation, and Caragh's so weak that she knows that she will die soon too. Her parents are dead, and her older brothers have left to find food. Caragh's youngest brother, Brendan, stays to look after her. He's only 17.

When a Viking longship appears, Brendan makes a mistake. He and some other youths capture a woman. He holds her with a knife at her throat.

A Viking lunges at Brendan, so Caragh knocks him unconscious. With help, she drags him into her hut, and chains him up.

Styr Hardrata, Caragh's Viking captive, is married to Elena, the woman Brendan threatened and took captive. Styr's desperate to break free, and find his wife. He vows vengeance on the Irish if she's harmed. He's enraged at Caragh. However, he soon softens towards her. Although he escapes his chains, rather than harming Caragh, he takes her fishing and feeds her and the villagers.

Several days later, Caragh's brothers return. They agree to join forces with Styr to find Elena, Brendan, and Styr's men. They need to sail to Áth Cliath. (Modern-day Dublin.) It's a Viking settlement.

On the journey, Caragh and Styr fall in love.

What I Liked About the Book

Michelle Willingham does a wonderful job in evoking the era. You feel Caragh's desperation that there's no food. The romance was tender, and was the focus of the book, which I read in one sitting.

What I Didn't Like

Perhaps "didn't like" is too strong. I enjoyed the book on the whole. However, an early scene in which the Vikings allow themselves to be captured by starving Irish tribesmen seemed convenient, rather than possible. (The justification was that the Vikings had been through a bad storm, and hadn't slept for days.)

A scene late in the book was disquieting too. Styr's been holding onto his honor as a married man who won't admit his love for Caragh, then something happens between them. (I won't spoil it. You'll need to read it yourself.)

On the whole, I liked the book a lot. What's not to like about hot Vikings? :-)

Apparently Styr's wife Elena is getting her own book, so we have that to look forward to. This book is for you if you enjoy Viking romances.

Rating: 4 (out of 5 stars)

(A review copy was provided.)

Book Review: Lying in Bed (Romance)

Title: Lying in Bed
Author: Jo Leigh
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Harlequin Blaze, January 2013
ISBN: 9780373797349

Lying in Bed is perfect if you're looking for something light and fun. The basic story's simple: FBI agents Ryan Vail and Angie Wolf are undercover at a "couples" getaway, which is led by marriage guidance counsellors. Their aim is to snare a blackmailer. To do this, their cover is that of Mr. and Mrs. Ebsen: a wealthy woman, and her leaching, cheating spouse.

The setup sparked my interest at once, especially since the getaway is taking place at a luxury resort and spa, with treats like "Tantric Massage In-Room Tutorials."

Ryan and Angie and Ryan are attracted to each other, but have been fighting it. Ryan's a well-known womanizer, he gets close to no one. Angie is aware of this.

When Angie is told that she'll have to step into the assignment at the last minute to take the place of Ryan's FBI partner who's caught up in a case, Angie accepts, but panics. Similarly, Ryan panics when he wakes up in their bedroom at the resort and finds Angie lying in bed next to him.

Although he has no idea how he'll do it, Ryan is determined that the assignment will be a success, no matter what kind of temptation Angie presents. He's also determined that he'll get a promotion as a result of that success.

Inevitably, whenever Ryan's close to Angie, he reacts physically. The first time this is a real problem is when they're cuddling in large bean bag as part of an exercise. Delilah, one of the counsellors, calls this position: "home base... It's where you go when you need to feel safe." Needless to say, neither Ryan nor Angie feels particularly safe in this position.

The novel's sex scenes were fine. However, I had trouble believing in both Ryan and Angie as undercover FBI agents, and couldn't warm up to either of them. That said, the book held my interest, and was an enjoyable read.

Rating: 3 (out of 5 stars)

(A review copy was provided.)

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Book Review: The Wicked Wedding of Miss Ellie Vyne

Title: The Wicked Wedding of Miss Ellie Vyne
Author: Jayne Fresina
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca, January 2013
ISBN-10: 1402266006

If you adore books which make you laugh out loud, you'll love The Wicked Wedding of Miss Ellie Vyne. I expected a straightforward historical, but this book was much more than that; it was a delight.

Mariella (Ellie) Vyne and James Hartley have carried forward the long-running feud between the Vyne and the Hartley families since they were children. Neither has anything good to say about the other. Ellie thinks that James is a useless rakehell, James thinks that Ellie's an outrageous woman who needs a husband who can keep her under control, preferably by spanking her regularly.

Generous beyond belief, Ellie supports her entire family, which consists of her married sisters, and her step-father. According to them, money magically appears. They may know that Ellie provides the money, but they ask no questions. They also bully Ellie unmercifully.

Ellie's found the solution to her money problem by disguising herself as a man, the "Count de Bonneville". As the Count, she visits gaming hells and wins, sometimes cheating at the cards. She's thought about marriage, but although she's been engaged, she's never been able to bring herself to go through with it. She won't allow a man to take control of her life.

The real story begins when Ellie goes too far. As the Count de Bonneville, she accepts an expensive diamond necklace as payment for a gambling debt. The debtor is James Hartley's mistress. The mistress tells James that the Count stole the necklace.

James learns that the Count is in a room at an inn. James breaks into the room, and finds Ellie in bed, in the Count's shirt, and nothing else. Of course, James thinks that Ellie is the Count's mistress. Ellie refuses to tell James where the Count is. She says the Count heard James' arriving, and escaped out the window.

The fun starts when someone else claims to be the "Count de Bonneville", and asks James for a thousand pounds. Ellie's request for "servicing" from James is beyond humorous.

This book is a farce, but in the best way. It's genuinely funny, and you'll enjoy all the characters. You'll especially like James' man, Grieves. He's wonderful; an early version of Wooster's Jeeves.

Rating: 4 (out of 5 stars)

(A review copy was provided.)

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Book Review: The Importance of Being Wicked

Title: The Importance of Being Wicked
Author: Victoria Alexander
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.; January 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4201-1707-3


The story begins in 1887, when Fairborough Hall suffers a fire. The wings of the home suffered little damage, while the main part of the house, including the ballroom, was burned out. The ballroom becomes important later in the story.

The Hall's the country home of Winfield (Win) Elliott, Viscount Stillwell, our hero. The architectural firm Tempest and Garret is recommended to him, to restore the Hall to its former glory.

Our heroine, Miranda, Lady Garrett, is refreshing because she's a woman doing a man's job -- she's an architect. Unfortunately, she has to hide the fact that she's running Tempest and Garret from her family, particularly her brothers.

Miranda's been running the company since her husband's death, because she wants her employees to keep their jobs.

Win isn't comfortable hiring Tempest and Garret. He distrusts Miranda, and believes that she's hiding something. However, Tempest and Garret are the only firm which can start on the job quickly. He decides that he'll hire the company. At the same time, he'll hire someone to investigate Tempest and Garret -- and Miranda.

The two are immediately at odds with each other. She manages to talk him into modernizing the Hall, by installing electricity, and she makes friends with his mother. This annoys him.

Miranda's been busy since her husband's death, so although she's out of mourning, she hasn't bought any new clothes. When she gets a new wardrobe, Win starts looking at her differently. They slowly fall in love.

What I liked about the story

I loved the flashes of humor, the banter between Win and Miranda, and Win's three engagements which didn't take. I also enjoyed the fact that Miranda was working; she was running a business. She was a different heroine: capable, and concerned with more than her wardrobe and getting a husband.

What I didn't like

Although I liked Miranda, I couldn't believe that she kept the fact that she was an architect from her family. Nor did I believe that she had no idea that her late husband was hopeless with money, and that someone was investing in the firm. This entire aspect of the story line made no real sense.

In general however, the story was light, and lots of fun. It kept me turning the pages, and I read it in a couple of sessions.

Rating: 4 (out of 5 stars)

(A review copy was provided.)

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Book Review: Highlander Most Wanted (Historical Romance)

Title: Highlander Most Wanted
Author: Maya Banks
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Ballantine Books (March, 2013)
ISBN-13: 978-0345533241

The legions of Maya Banks' fans will be thrilled with Highlander Most Wanted, the second book in her Montgomerys and Armstrongs series. The heroine of this book, Genevieve McInnes, is the hooded woman who helped to save Eveline Montgomery in the previous book.

(If you haven't read the previous book, Never Seduce a Scot, you can read this book as a standalone. However, reading Never Seduce a Scot will give you a better understanding of the characters, and you should read it anyway, because it's wonderful.)

There's a good reason Genevieve's hooded. Although one side of her face is perfect, the other is hideously scarred. Ian McHugh slashed her with a knife to ruin her beauty. However, the scars on her body mean less to her than the scars on her soul. Although she's still alive, she believes that the woman she once was is dead.

Genevieve's misery began when Ian McHugh saw her at court and became obsessed with her. When she was on the way to her betrothed, he slaughtered her escort and stole her. He's kept her a prisoner and tortured her over many months. Her family believes that she is dead, and she feels it's better that they never know what happened. Her rape and dishonor would kill her father.

Now that the monster Ian McHugh is dead, and his father Patrick has run away, the McHugh clan are left to face the wrath of the Montgomerys.

Although the McHugh clan have shunned and ill-treated her, Genevieve's deeply compassionate. With the Montgomery clan on the way to the McHughs to destroy them, Genevieve commits herself to speaking up, and to trying to save McHugh lives. She wants nothing for herself, other than to be allowed to leave, and if she's very lucky, to be delivered to a nunnery.

No one writes historical romance better than Maya Banks. The warrior Bowen Montgomery is instantly attracted to Genevieve, but he's suspicious, and doesn't trust her. Although she's saved McHugh lives, the McHughs hate her. They call her her Ian McHugh's whore. She doesn't deny it.

Reading the book is a real effort at times, because just when you think that things couldn't possibly get any worse for Genevieve, they do. If any other author had written this book, it would descend into  melodrama. Maya Banks never allows that to happen. The book's engrossing, and you'll love both Genevieve and the hero, Bowen.

It seems impossible that Genevieve will ever find any happiness. Little by little however, Bowen begins to see the woman underneath the walls Genevieve's built around herself. He comes to respect her more and more, and eventually to love her.

I couldn't tear myself away from this book. I read it in one sitting, staying awake long into the night. If you love Highland romances, you'll adore this book. I've read every one of Maya Banks' highland books, and this is the best yet.

Rating: 5 (out of 5 stars)

(A review copy was provided.)

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Book Review: Relentless Seduction (Passion)

Title: Relentless Seduction
Author: Jillian Burns
Genre: Romantic Suspense (Passion)
Publisher: Harlequin Blaze
ISBN: 9780373797370 (#733)

Relentless Seduction is a fun romp through New Orleans during Mardi Gras with two people who are complete opposites.

Nerdy Claire Brooks is a microbiologist; handsome Rafe Moreau owns a "vampire" bar called Once Bitten. Don't get excited: the bar attracts individuals with plastic teeth, tattoos and piercings rather than bloodthirsty supernatural beings. The bar's smoky with incense; a naked woman with a snake wanders around.                                                                                           

Claire feels hopelessly out of place. However, she's determined to find her best friend, Julia, who's missing. Some 24 hours earlier, Julia sent Claire a picture of herself outside Once Bitten, and that's the last anyone has heard of her.

Rafe's tending the bar, and he doesn't like Claire questioning his customers. However, he steps in when she's almost attacked. He puts her in a cab, but she won't leave until he promises to call her if he discovers anything.

Although Rafe doesn't want to help Claire to find and save Julia, he does. He helps her investigation; she ends up staying with him, and falling in love with him.

What I liked

Rafe. He was gorgeous. I also liked the setting; Ms Burns made New Orleans both exotic and real. The suspense was good too; there was plenty happening, so it was easy to turn the pages.

What I didn't like

There's steamy passion between Claire and Rafe. However, although I liked both characters, Rafe felt real, whereas Claire strained belief. She acted totally out of character. For example, Claire dresses like a tramp to go into a seedy, dangerous bar alone -- one that even Rafe's nervous about entering. She's an academic, and initially is described as frumpy. While I can imagine a friend helping her with her costume, I couldn't believe that she'd organize the clothes and makeup herself, and then brave the bar alone.

Claire acts foolishly and out of character several more times. Each time she did it, it dragged me out of the story, and spoiled my enjoyment.

On balance however, Relentless Seduction was an enjoyable read.

Rating: 3.5 (out of 5 stars)

(A review copy was provided.)

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Book Review: The Reluctant Countess (Historical Romance)

Title: The Reluctant Countess
Author: Wendy Vella
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Loveswept, January 2013
ISBN: 978-0-345-54007-2

If you're a Regency romance fan, you'll enjoy The Reluctant Countess. It's a sweet Regency, hewing to the genre. There's nothing here to cause angst, just a pleasant read.

Although he has no real evidence, Patrick, Earl of Coulter, decides that there's something not quite right about Sophie, Countess of Monmouth. He was with her husband just before he died: there was no mention of a countess.

Nevertheless, the Earl of Montmouth's sister, Lady Letitia Carstairs, is introducing Sophie to the ton, and she'd hardly do that if the countess were an impostor.

Despite his suspicions Coulter is attracted to Sophie, and before too long he's on her side. He saves her from manhandling by her odious cousin, Viscount Dumbly. Then he catches her doing hand stands in the park, and realizes that her "son" may not be her son at all.

A couple of subplots add to the fun. There's the doll collector Amelia Pette, whose mother is a horror, although the mother has reasons for acting as she does. Additionally, Coulter's friend Viscount Sumner, has problems when his mother and sisters arrive in town.

All the characters are standard Regency staples. Sophie's stutter was a pleasant change to the usual Regency heroine, as was her shyness, which the ton ladies and gentlemen took for arrogance and coldness.

Rating: 3.5 (out of 5 stars)

(A review copy was provided.)

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