Avalanche Explodes Again: More Praise…

April 14, 2016April 11, 2016 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Screen Shot 2016-04-03 at 7.24.14 AM The weeks and months before a novel is published is an exciting time. It’s the time when early praise starts to roll in. I’m so thrilled to share an endorsement from James M. Jackson. James is the author of Ant Farm, Cabin Fever, and Bad Policy.

THANK YOU, JAMES 🙂

Avalanche is the third in the Stone Mountain Mystery series and is scheduled for publication by Imajin Books this spring.

Avalanche smashes and uproots relationships in Stone Mountain Resort, leaving devastation in its wake. With as many layers as winter’s snow, this whodunit will keep you turning pages and guessing to the end. ~ James M. Jackson, author of the Seamus McCree Series

***

On a cold winter morning, deep in the Purcell Mountains, the safe at Stone Mountain Resort is robbed hours before Kalin Thompson’s brother, Roy, disappears in an avalanche.

Under normal circumstances, as the director of security, Kalin would lead the investigation into the theft, but Roy is the prime suspect. The police and the president of the resort turn their sights on Kalin. She’s told to stay clear of the investigation and risks her job to covertly attempt to clear Roy’s name.

Threats against Kalin escalate as she gets closer to the truth. Is her faith in her brother justified? Was the avalanche an accident or did something more sinister happen? And is the truth worth destroying her life for?

Help Me Choose My Novel’s Back Text

April 12, 2016April 11, 2016 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 23 Comments

My latest mystery novel, LOOK THE OTHER WAY, is written. My trustworthy beta readers have sent me their comments, and I’ve updated the novel. Each beta reader provided different input on the story, and each person helped me make it better.

So why not ask my beta readers for help with the book description? They’ve read the book and will know if the description is accurate. So ask, I did. After receiving feedback from 5 people, my two favorite versions are below.

Please vote on your favorite. Which description would entice you to read LOOK THE OTHER WAY?

OPTION A:

Bobby Hall’s body washes up in the surf on a remote Bahamian island. His death is declared accidental. His grieving wife, Debi, hires Captain Jake Hunter, a former cop fleeing personal trauma, to sail with her on A Dog’s Cat and retrace Bobby’s final weeks at sea.

Shannon Payne is fired from the job she loves. Her engagement ends in disaster, and she no longer trusts her judgment of men. Giving up the life she knows as a reporter, she joins her aunt on A Dog’s Cat. The tranquility of life on a sailboat is what she needs. A tumultuous journey with the handsome captain is what she gets.

As tensions heighten on board, so does the attraction growing between Jake and Shannon. When Shannon learns a shocking truth about her childhood, a truth that might mean Bobby was murdered, the only thing clearer than the crystalline waters of the Bahamian archipelago is that someone is not telling the whole truth and hasn’t for a long time.

OPTION B:

A year after her uncle is lost at sea, Shannon Payne joins her grieving aunt on a journey through the idyllic Bahamian islands. She needs to recover from a devastating breakup with her fiancé. And sailing the turquoise waters, tracing her uncle’s route as a tribute to him, may just repair her heart. But instead of tranquility, she uncovers dark secrets from her past that may destroy any chance she has at happiness.

Captain Jake Hunter joins the duo on the thirty-eight-foot catamaran, A Dog’s Cat. He’s running away from painful memories. He dreams of escaping his life as a cop but finds himself embroiled in an investigation. He’s sworn off women, and now he’s living in close quarters with his boss’s niece, a blue-eyed beauty he can’t resist but should. Could his life get any more turbulent?

Shannon and Jake suppress the attraction they feel for each other, Bobby’s mysterious death hangs over them, and someone out there doesn’t want the truth uncovered.

I sailed on Mattina, a 38-foot catamaran, for five years in the Bahamas. She’s the sailing vessel used in LOOK THE OTHER WAY, and this is her, one beautiful day in the Exuma Islands.

Mattina sailing

Thanks for voting! Comments are most welcome.

THE AUTHOR’S GUIDE TO SELLING BOOKS TO NON-BOOKSTORES

March 27, 2016March 28, 2016 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 7 Comments

What do Jodie Renner, Dan Alatorre and Elinor Florence have in common, besides being awesome writers of course? Each has a generous spirit. All three have read an advanced reader copy of THE AUTHOR’S GUIDE TO SELLING BOOKS TO NON-BOOKSTORES.

I am honored to share their words with you today.

efficient ways to get around the city

You can check out the work of the fabulous three by clicking on their names above.

Writers are truly generous people. I thank Jodie, Dan and Elinor with all my heart.

The Author’s Guide To Selling Books To Non-Bookstores will be released this spring by Imajin Books.

Thanks for reading…

Early Praise for The Author’s Guide To Selling Books To Non-Bookstores

March 24, 2016March 24, 2016 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 9 Comments

Publishing my first non-fiction book is just as stressful as publishing a novel. The great part is now I’ve been through the process a few times, and I know what Imajin Books expects from me.

As promised on my home page, I’m sharing what I learn during the publishing process. It’s still hard to ask for endorsements, but I did, and they are making their way into my inbox, and I just have to share the first one. My strategy is to find endorsements from traditionally published authors, Indie published authors and editors with the idea that a well rounded list will help promote the book.

The first in is from Elinor Florence, author of BIRD’S EYE VIEW (Dundurn Press).

Bird’s Eye View is a historical novel, the unforgettable story of an idealistic young Canadian woman who joins the air force in the Second World War and becomes an aerial photographic interpreter.

Working with hundreds of other intelligence officers at a converted mansion in England, Rose Jolliffe spies on the enemy from the sky.

What she sees through her magnifying glass will change the course of history — and her own life — in ways she never imagined.

“Thinking outside the box (i.e. bookstores) is a great way for authors to increase their sales. Like Kristina Stanley, I’ve had success selling my Second World War novel Bird’s Eye View in non-bookstores, but I still learned a lot from reading her step-by-step comprehensive guidebook. I especially appreciated her advice regarding checklists and spreadsheets – something every author should embrace!” – Elinor Florence.

Non-Fiction Announcement 2

The success in selling and distributing DESCENT and BLAZE came from implementing what I learned by trial-and-error, by talking with other authors and store owners about the process, and from guidance from my publisher. I’ve taken everything I’ve learned and put it into a book.

In THE AUTHOR’S GUIDE TO SELLING BOOKS TO NON-BOOKSTORES I explain how an author should plan, prepare and execute getting books into stores and actually making money from it. It doesn’t matter whether you’re an Indie author or traditionally published, all that matters is you have a printed edition of your fiction or nonfiction book and you want to get that book out into the world.

Thanks for reading…

Write Better Fiction: When A POV Doesn’t Reach A Goal

March 23, 2016March 22, 2016 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

Today on Write Better Fiction we’ll cover What happens if the POV doesn’t achieve her scene goal. Write Better Fiction is a process to help you critique your own manuscript and give yourself feedback. This will help you improve your novel, so you’re ready to submit it to an editor.

If you’ve been reading this series, you know I’m describing a spreadsheet I created to evaluate each scene of a novel. I use this spreadsheet after a solid draft to evaluate each scene and revise it as needed.

This week I’ll over POV goal failure.

To shorten the heading in the spreadsheet, I’ve called the column “Outcome if POV Fails.” I know this means what happens if POV doesn’t achieve his goal.

This question is sometimes hard to answer. If the question is hard to answer, the goal may not relate to the overall plot. If nothing happens because the character fails to achieve the goal, then what’s the point of the goal.

The answer doesn’t have to be earth shattering.

In DESCENT, Kalin’s internal goal is to be good at her job. If she fails, she might get fired, be reprimanded or lose her confidence at work.

In the opening scene, her external goal is to go skiing. This has a more subtle relationship to the plot. The goal is there to show Kalin is adventurous and athletic. When Ben tells he she can’t go skiing because the conditions are too dangerous, her trait of not listening to others is revealed. This goal is about character development.

For an obvious example, say a character’s scene goal is to reveal to the police she’s discovered fraud at work. She fails to reach the police in time, and she becomes a suspect in the fraud. You can easily tell what happens when she fails to reach her goal.

The answer strength should vary throughout the novel. The will help with pacing and keep the reader engaged.

If every scene has an obvious goal and and obvious failure, the reader will get bored with the repetition.

Sometime the character will achieve their goal. This is okay too. The idea is to create tension in the scene with the possibility the character might fail. They don’t have to fail, for the tension to be effective.

Your challenge this week is to use the columns for internal and external character goal that you set in POV GOAL AND PLOT and ask yourself what happens if the character doesn’t achieve that goal.

I critiqued DESCENT and BLAZE using the techniques I’m sharing in Write Better Fiction, and I believe this helped me sign with a publisher.

Please me know in the comments below if you found this exercise challenging. Did it help you write a tenser scene?

Thanks for reading…

Descent & Blaze

AVALANCHE: First Early Praise

March 22, 2016 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 12 Comments

I can hardly believe I’ve received the first early praise for AVALANCHE, A Stone Mountain Mystery #3. AVALANCHE will be released by Imajin Books this spring.

It set my nerves on fire to send out the ARC (Advance Reader Copy) to well established authors asking for an endorsement if they like the book. The ARC has not been through the full editing process or proofreading, so it’s hard to let the work out into the world.

Imajin Books taught me with the DESCENT and BLAZE that this was part of the publishing process, so I should take a deep breath and hit the send button.

The first endorsement I’ve received is from thriller writer Jeff Buick.

Layer upon layer, like snow building for an avalanche, Stanley weaves a story that keeps you guessing. You can’t turn the pages fast enough.

AVALANCHE: On a cold winter morning, deep in the Purcell Mountains, the safe at Stone Mountain Resort is robbed hours before Kalin Thompson’s brother, Roy, disappears in an avalanche.

Jeff Buick, a Canadian fiction writer, is a top selling author of thriller novels including:

Bloodline

The world thinks Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar was killed in 1993. The world is wrong. Escobar went deep into hiding, taking with him the access code to a Swiss bank account containing hundreds of millions of dollars. His enemies want that code, and they ll do anything to get it…. Escobar s enemies know that even in hiding he is still a very dangerous man, and that simply looking for him would cost them their lives. Instead they turn to Escobar s cousin, an innocent pawn who has no idea where to begin the search. But his wife and daughter are being held as security, and the clock is ticking. He has two weeks to find Pablo Escobar and get that access code or they die.

Lethal Dos

When Gordon Buchanan’s brother, Billy, dies from an injury in a logging accident because his blood failed to coagulate properly, Gordon seeks an outside cause for Billy’s blood disorder, given no family history of hemophilia. Gordon learns that his brother was taking Triaxcion, a new drug manufactured by Veritas Pharmaceuticals, whose ruthless CEO will stop at nothing to maintain his company’s profits. As Gordon begins to dig into the inner workings of the drug company, he’s joined by Jennifer Pearce, a recent Veritas hire who has her own reasons for investigating her employer. Together they uncover a twisted path of corporate conspiracy, greed and murder that reaches into the very heart of American fears. Buick (Bloodline) offers two appealing protagonists plus plenty of fast-paced action and narrow escapes, with a minimum of tech-speak. While several convenient coincidences and overly helpful strangers speed along Gordon and Jennifer’s quest, the final product is a quick, enjoyable biotech thriller.

African Ice

A diamond formation worth untold millions, hidden deep in the jungles of Africa. Many have tried to find it. All have failed. Can Samantha Carlson do the impossible? The president of Gem-Star thinks so when he hires the geologist to lead a team into the Democratic Republic of Congo and return with the diamonds’ location. Gem-Star has sent other teams in to find the formation. None made it out alive.

Samantha was aware the odds were against her when she accepted the mission. She’s taken hazardous jobs before, and she knows what she’s doing. Plus, Gem-Star has provided an escort team to protect her. But Samantha’s expedition is about to turn into an all-out battle for survival. There’s another team on a mission in the jungle. Their goal: kill Samantha.

Shell Game

When NewPro Stock collapses, Taylor and her husband Alan lose millions, forcing them to sell their home and business. But they re not going down without a fight. They re determined to track down the elusive Edward Brand, the mastermind behind the enormous fraud…

Taylor and Alan are about to learn two hard facts: A man who doesn t want to be found can be extremely dangerous – and in the world of high-level scams absolutely nothing is what it seems. If they re going to pin Brand down and recover their money, they re going to need an ingenious – and very risky – plan of their own.

Delicate Chaos

Leona Hewitt, a successful Washington banker, finds her life on the line when she takes on a new client. A poweful company is set to lose millions if she doesn’t approve a transaction . . . and they’ve hired a killer to make sure she doesn’t present a problem.

EASTER EGG HUNT for 3 Free Novellas

March 17, 2016March 17, 2016 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 1 Comment

Would you like three free novellas for the price of one book?

Imajin Books has a gift for you.

If you read DESCENT and receive your free novellas, let me know. I’d be thrilled to find out which ones you win. Imajin Books loves a mystery, and even I don’t know which novellas are hidden in DESCENT.

Enjoy.

Announcing The Author’s Guide To Selling Books To Non-Bookstores

March 12, 2016March 10, 2016 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments

Are you a published author and looking for ways to expand the distribution of your book? Well, I’ve written a book just for you.

Non-Fiction Announcement 2

Publication is set for this spring. For now, the book goes to the editor and then the proofreader. The cover has to be designed. All major milestones, but all part of the journey.

Thanks for reading…

Thank You Awesome People

March 6, 2016 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Last week DESCENT was on sale for five days. Thank you to all of who shared my posts, commented, downloaded DESCENT and then went on to buy BLAZE.

I sincerely appreciate the kind and wonderful support.

Kristina

Reblog: Love mystery, romance & thrillers? Get 4 great books for free!

March 5, 2016March 5, 2016 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

TODAY IS THE FINAL DAY OF IMAJIN BOOKS SALE:

Reblogged from Donna Galanti:

This week my publisher, Imajin Books, has put four great books up for free on Kindle, including A HUMAN ELEMENT! Like mystery, romance and thrills? Then check them all out and load up on reading! ENDS TODAY.

PLUS, for a limited time somewhere in each of these books is a hidden “Easter Egg,” a link to 3 FREE novellas by 3 bestselling authors. Happy reading and hunting!