Rubicon is Live!!

Rubicon is here! If you like to read about teenage angst mixed with paranormal and a splash of coming of age, Rubicon will be on sale for $0.99 all week at Amazon!

Alright, enough of the sales pitch. Rubicon started out originally as a short story, turned into a feature length screenplay, and now is a novel. What once took place over a period of three days now takes place over an entire school year.

This was the picture for the original cover:

The screenplay was the first thing I ever self-published on Amazon. I sold zero copies and gave away between twenty and thirty. It received a five-star review in jolly old England:

Wow this book was awesome read it in a day so good would read it again ,i will soon. :) - Tamzin Mcowan

I wasn't too hurt about the lack of sales because I don't think I would ever sit down and read a screenplay if I didn't have to.

Originally, the title was Option C. The main character, Brigid James, lives her life knowing that she has the power to end her life at any time. Option C is her third and final option to any difficult situation, it is the option to take her own life.

Here is the original opening from Option C: The Screenplay. It is in screenplay format so it may look a little funny. I decided I no longer wanted any of my high school characters to be armed and there is never any mention of Option C in the novel:

EXT. – SCHOOL PARKING LOT - DAY

BRIGID (V.O.)

You could say I’ve been under a lot of stress lately.

FADE IN:

BRIGID (18) skinny, unconfident, and beautiful, opens her eyes. Her hair is messy, forehead sweaty, and dark circles indicate a lack of sleep. She is breathing heavily.

BRIGID (V.O.)

(Continuing)

But high school is supposed to be rough.

Brigid is standing, holding a gun. She is right in front of a high school building.

BRIGID (V.O.)

(Continuing)

I graduate tomorrow, that is, if I live that long.

People are beginning to come out of the school. A few students peek out. A frightened Mrs. Niceworthy is being held by Mr. ---. Brigid looks in their direction and then in the direction the gun is pointing.

BRIGID (V.O.)

(Continuing)

What would Jesus do? What would Brigid do? I’ve been trying to figure that out for years.

DAN

Brigid! Don’t do it.

BRIGID

(V.O.)

Who is that you ask? He’s just a dead man.

MRS. NICEWORTHY

Brigid?

Mrs. Niceworthy glances over Mr. ---‘s shoulder, giving Brigid a reassuring smile.

BRIGID

(V.O.)

What to do? What to do? A) pull the trigger, B) don’t pull the trigger, C)…Let’s go with option C.

Brigid closes her eyes.

FADE OUT:

(F.X.) Gunshot.

FADE IN:

EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT – DAY

“Three Days Earlier”

BRIGID

(V.O.)

I bet you’re wondering how my situation got so complicated. I’ll have to take you back a few days, to the day I met my first boyfriend.

Just thought I would share those tidbits. Happy reading and writing!

Marketing for Dummies by Dummies

I wanted a catchy title for this post about marketing from a self-published author who has not yet “gone viral”. Whenever I find a book about self-publishing or marketing I always check to see how the author’s book is doing. If they can’t sell their own book on how to sell books, then I won’t buy it. With that said, I have not figured out the magic formula to sell a bunch of books, but I will share my experiences here as they come. Marketing is not one of my passions, but writing is. The self-published author has got to be their own promoter, so whether you like marketing or not, it is necessary, or your book can easily become lost among the millions of other books on Amazon. Here are some things I’ve done to help promote my book and some things I’ve learned along the way:

• One of my strategies is to remember that this is all about the long haul. I didn’t start reading the Harry Potter series until the fourth book was out in stores. There are many authors and series I didn’t discover until they already had numerous books out. I started the Divergent series when books one and two were already out and I have not rushed out to buy book #3. I loved the first two books, but I just haven’t been in the right mood to read the third. When was I in the right mood? Immediately after I read book #2. So, with that said, one of my strategies will be that I won’t spend very much money promoting my books until I have one or two completed series.
• I joined Twitter and Facebook and did not see any sales directly related to this. Is this a waste of time? I don’t think so. Because this is all about the long haul, I can see how these platforms will help authors who have gained a following. In the meantime, I have met some amazing authors and beta readers. This is a great place to see what other authors are doing and what seems to be working for them. Personally, I brush over posts saying “buy my book, buy my book”, but I pay attention to the things that do catch my eye throughout the social media overload and try to figure out what caught my eye in the first place. There is something in these posts that is able to stand out among the flood of promotions so pay attention and figure out what your thing is so you can stand out too.
• I really enjoyed this article and this article about free and cheap book advertising. I tried a $10 Awesomegang.com ad and did not see any sales. I also tried a free ReadCheaply ad and saw four sales the same day the ad ran. Read the guidelines carefully. Some places only let you run an ad if your book is below a certain price.
• Paying it forward. While I can’t directly link this to any sales, I firmly believe that if you want other people to do things for you, you have to be willing to do the same for other people. Beta read for someone. You can learn so much by being on the other end of things. Do you support other authors? If you like another authors work, let other people know about it. Treat fellow authors how you would like to be treated.
• I’m currently reading How to Market a Book by Joanna Penn. I haven’t gotten very far into the book, but I would already recommend it for strategies from an actual expert. On top of all of the other things we writers have to do (blogging, social media, marketing, and fitting in time to actually write) we have to keep reading and learning. I try to read about marketing and writing because we can always improve.

Oh my, that felt like a lot. Like I said before, I don’t have any magic formulas, but I hope there is something in here that another writer can gain from. I would love to hear from fellow authors. Is there something I left out? Something that has worked for you that you'd like to share?

Thanks for reading and happy writing!

Three Months, Three Weeks, and Three Days

Years ago I traveled to New York City with my mom. I was probably in my late teens or early twenties, but I was going through one of those times where I was single and trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life.

Walking the down the bustling city streets, I was distracted by a voice, “Hey, you.”

I turned and saw an old woman sitting at a small (think t.v. tray size) table with an extra chair. She was a psychic. I am a very open-minded person and thought it would be a bit of an adventure so I sat down (and paid the woman, of course).

I don’t remember much of what she said, but when she got to the end of my reading she told me that I would find true love in three months, three weeks, and three days.

Luckily, this was an easy span of time to remember so when I got back home the next day I figured out which day to mark on my calendar. This was back when cell phones had little more than an alarm clock as an app, so yes, I waited until I got home. When I finished calculating, I was surprised to see that the date was none other than my birthday.

This made sense because I was sure to go out and celebrate with my friends. My birthday rolled around, I went out with my friends, and nothing amazing happened. My heart was not stolen, I did not feel the telltale electric vibes from anyone, and I didn’t see staring eyes across from the room, the beautiful eyes that only noticed me.

Perhaps my psychic friend delivers this same divine time period to any person who happens to sit at her tiny table, changing the words “true love” to “money”, or “a new job”, or whatever situation she feels her paying customer wants to hear. Or, perhaps, this woman does know how to communicate with the divine. And, if this truly is the case, perhaps my message is that my first true love should be myself. Once I love myself, then everything else will fall into place. This is the scenario I choose to believe.

Coolest Biker Gang EVER!!!!

I had to do some research on child abuse for my latest novel Rubicon and I stumbled across this website for The Bikers Against Child Abuse.
Basically, they're the coolest group of biker gangs in the world! (Sorry other biker gangs, but this one brought tears to my eyes) This group has different chapters around the world and they band together to support victims of child abuse. In the article I read, they will stand guard outside of a child's house so the child will feel safe, especially if they are scheduled to go to trial against their abuser. They'll show up to your court appearances for support. The child immediately becomes a part of this family and finds comfort and safety in their gang.
When a child is abused physically, verbally, sexually, or any other way, the child loses a part of themselves. They lose their confidence, that feeling of safety that every child should have, and they can grow up living in fear. This group helps give back to these children what was taken from them and this is not an easy thing to do. Thank you B.A.C.A. for doing your part to help make the world a better place!

The Runner is $0.99 all Week

The Runner will be $0.99 all week long!

My Main Character Did Not 'Just Say No'

That's right, the main character of my novel Rubicon smokes marijuana, at least, she does in the beginning of the story. Yes, this is a book for young adults, and no, I am not supporting teenage drug use. Instead, I wanted to create a character that begins the story a little bruised and broken.

I’m not sure I’ve read a book for teenagers with a protagonist who has done drugs since I read Go Ask Alice in the ‘90’s, so I’m not sure how my book will be received.

Marijuana has been all over the news lately, with more and more states considering medical marijuana and talk of legalizing the drug. I do worry that by the time my kids are teenagers they will find it more difficult to say ‘no’. Studies are showing that roughly 45% of today’s high school seniors are admitting to smoking pot. That’s nearly half and experts are predicting that this number would go up if the drug were legalized.

So, what does this mean for authors and what does this mean for readers? Nothing, unless we want our characters to face realistic issues. My main character does also face some paranormal elements that are not very realistic, but that’s what makes fiction so fun.

I hope my readers will not be too hard on my main character for the choices she makes in the beginning of the book and instead revel in the woman she becomes through her journey.