Monday, August 12, 2013

Free eBook Week! The Next Best Thing To Shark Week (kind of...)

Missing shark week? I know, me too. But free book week is almost here, and that's just about as exciting... right?

The Kindle edition of The Buggy List will be free from Monday, August 19th through Friday, August 23rd. Grab it for free, tell your friends, and enjoy!

Monday, July 8, 2013

Congratulations, Giveaway Winners!

Congratulations to the Goodreads giveaway winners: Sara Lee, Darcee, and Julie! These three ladies will each be receiving a paperback copy of The Buggy List. Their books are all packaged up and ready to be mailed out today... right after story time at the library, of course. :)

Congrats again, and a big thank you to all 646 entries!

Monday, June 10, 2013

We Have a Winner!

Congratulations to entry #440, Carol C, for winning the 2013 Chick Lit Author Blog Hop!

Carol will be busy this summer reading 25 books from participating authors on her new Kindle. Happy summer reading to you, Carol, and a big thank you to all of our 682 blog hop contestants!

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Goodreads Giveaway, Free Promo Recap, Blog Hop, and Cocoa Oatmeal Cookies

The Buggy List gained over 25,000 new readers and made it all the way up to number 6 on the Amazon free charts during the May promo!  

If you missed the latest freebie, you can like The Buggy List on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, or follow this blog to be alerted of the next free promo. Of course, you can also enter the goodreads giveaway to win a paperback copy! (Now through June 30th.) Enter here: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/53457-the-buggy-list

Just a quick reminder that the Blog Hop is still on through May 27th. Don't miss your chance to win a FREE Kindle Keyboard 3G, with free 3G and Wi-Fi, and 6" E Ink Display, plus a chick lit starter library!

And last, but oh-so-certainly not least, I made these cocoa oatmeal cookies this week and I highly recommend them. (I omitted the raisins. Never trust a cookie with raisins!)

Monday, May 20, 2013

What's On Page 25 of The Buggy List? (2013 Chick Lit Author Blog Hop)

FINALChickLitBlogHopButton2013 Learn "How to Hop & Win!" New to blog hops? Want to learn how to win the grand prize? Find complete information here. 

Welcome blog hoppers, and thanks for stopping by!

Let's get right to it. You've just opened The Buggy List to page 25. Here's what you find:

Drew and Libby Sullivan are in the middle of making a "baby bucket list" of things they want to do before starting a family. Earlier, the couple split up to write down five items each, and now they have reunited to share and consolidate their lists. Once the list is finalized, they will embark on their final adventure before plunging headfirst into parenthood.

Page 25 reveals items four and five on The Buggy List. Item number four is from Libby's list - finally go on a honeymoon. Item number five is from Drew's - get in shape.

Spoiler alert from page 26 (I know, I know, but I can't resist): In order to get a head start on getting in shape, Drew has already signed them both up for a boot camp. And oh yeah, it starts tomorrow. At six in the morning.

Libby, who likes to sleep in and generally avoids working out, is not at all pleased with this. Luckily, item number six is a real zinger that will give Drew a taste of his own medicine.

Item number six is - oh wait. I'm not telling! :)

If you hopped to this blog entry in time, The Buggy List is free for Kindle through May 22nd. If you missed the freebie, you can like The Buggy List on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, or follow this blog to be alerted of the next free promo.

(Win the grand prize! The 25th secret word in the 25-word sentence is: along!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Keep hopping!

Friday, May 17, 2013

Chick Lit Author Blog Hop: May 20-27th 2013

I'm thrilled to be participating in the 2013 Chick Lit Author Blog Hop, during which I will be joining some of my fellow indie chick lit authors in writing a blog post in response to the following:

If a reader opened your book to page 25, what would she find? What's happening in the story?

Check back next week to read my answer, and to hear from other indie chick lit authors, too!


I Love Freebies, Yes I Do, I Love Freebies How 'Bout You?

The Buggy List (Kindle edition) is going free tomorrow! This free promo will last for five days (May 18th - 22nd). Tell your friends, and happy summer reading!

Get it here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Buggy-List-ebook/dp/B00BG4S916

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

When Readers Throw Tomatoes, Make Tomato-Flavored Lemonade (or something like that...)

Hey there, indie writer, I'm talking to you: You have it bookmarked don't you? Oh come on, you know what I'm talking about. It's ok, we're all friends here. You can admit it. You check your Amazon reviews just a little too often, don't you?

I know. I totally, totally know. And I know that intense feeling of anticipation that comes each time you see that little number next to the stars go up. Another review! How many stars? What will it say? Do I dare to read it? Do I have the willpower not to?

The good ones are just that; good. But the bad ones. Oh, the bad ones. No matter how much you prepare yourself for them, they can still sting. And once they're there, they're there for everyone to see. Ouch.

Today I came up with a little exercise for coping with these reviews, and I thought I would share with you, my fellow indie. No, I'm not talking about picturing the not-so-nice reviewer getting gum stuck in their hair, or finding themselves standing in the checkout line behind the lady who has the coupon that doesn't work, or something else equally harmless yet aggravating. But that works, too. (Kidding.) (Mostly.)

Here's the exercise: Think of a book you loved. Any old book will do, but it's more fun if it's a really successful one. Got it? Ok, good. Now find it on Amazon. And read the one star reviews. Yep, if the book has been out long enough, they're there. Even for that book. And if it's a really, really successful book, there might even be thousands of them.

You know what the difference is between those bad reviews and your book's bad reviews?  That author isn't reading the bad reviews. That author is busy writing more books!

Shouldn't you be, too?

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Because Let's Face It, Books Smell Good

If you're the type of person who likes to hold a good-old-fashioned hunk of paper in your hands, then I'm happy to report to you that The Buggy List is now available in paperback!

See? The Buggy List - Paperback Edition

Thursday, February 28, 2013

The Buggy List: eBook Launch Reflections and Confessions

The Buggy List


The Kindle version of The Buggy List launched on Valentine's Day, and it has been an amazing couple of weeks coming out of the starting gate!

Confession: I didn't technically mean to launch this book. I wrote it, sent it out to a ton of agents, had many bites but no takers, and finally just threw it up on Amazon so my mom could read it. (Yes, I still get excited about showing my writing to my mom. And if she could figure out a way to hang my eBooks on her fridge, she totally would.)

Anyway, I ended up enrolling it in Amazon's KDP select program and made it free for the first five days. At the end of the five days, The Buggy List had a readership of about 10,000 and counting!

Another confession: This was both exhilarating and terrifying to me. I mean, on the one hand, awesome! But on the other hand, I didn't realize it would become a thing. I didn't even have an editor. I did my own editing, sure, but how meticulous can you really be on two hours of sleep a night as a first-time mom who is (very slowly) learning to care for a newborn? Exactly.

But I'm here now, and I'm thankful for each and every reader. Now that the launch craziness is over, I thought I would take a minute and share a few quick tidbits about the story:

1. The Inspiration: This story was inspired by a conversation I had with a good friend, who took the advice of her sister and made a "baby bucket list" of things to do before having a baby. I remember this conversation very distinctly. It was November of 2010 and I had called my friend while on a long drive (using my hands-free earpiece, of course). We were just chatting about this and that. She mentioned the baby bucket list and I said, "I'm going to write a book about this." For a long time, I had really wanted to try my hand at writing fiction. I had been looking for a good premise for my first go at it, and this seemed like the perfect fit. As a Creative Writing Minor in college, I remember registering for classes during Senior Year. My mouse wavered between Poetry and Fiction. Which one to choose? Fiction would be so cool. Think of what I would learn! Think of the stories I could write. But, oh, think of the long papers. Did I mention it was Senior Year? Clearly, I couldn't be bothered with lengthy assignments. So I chose poetry. I've always regretted that choice. Nothing against poetry, but writing fiction is just so much FUN. I wish I knew more about the intricacies of this genre. Now, I'm learning by doing, and I'm more than a little green. Which leads me to my next tidbit:

2. What this book IS NOT: The Buggy List is not a change-your-life, intricately-woven, "let's-mull-this-over-at-book-club-and-segue-into-a-lenghty-conversation-about-the-meaning-of-life" kind of book. You heard it here first, folks! But for all it's not...

3. What this book IS: It's fun. It's lighthearted. It's sweet. It's entertaining. It's a perfect little escape if you're looking for a vacation read. And most importantly, it will always hold a special place in my heart as my first official work of fiction.

So those are my tidbits. And if you choose to give it a try, I hope you like it. :)