Publishing

MYSTERY MONDAYS: Are you interested in Guest Blogging

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

What is Mystery Mondays about?

Mystery Mondays began in July 2015 and every week a different author posts about their favourite writing or publishing topic. It’s a chance to showcase your latest novel, engage with new readers and share your knowledge.

Mystery Monday Authors

Are you interested in guest blogging?

January spots are already full, but I’m taking requests from February 8th onward.

If you’d like to participate, here’s what you need to qualify:

  • your novels contain a hint of mystery (I’m very lose on what mystery means),
  • you are a published author – traditional or Indie or any other way that I don’t know about,
  • you are about to publish and have a launch date within a week of blog post,
  • you want to promote other authors and spread success,
  • you write novels with a hint of mystery,
  • you are willing to engage in the comments section when readers comment on your post.

All I ask from you is that you follow my blog, comment on author’s posts and help share via Twitter and Facebook.  If you’re interested send me a message via my contact page.

The guidelines:

You’ll have to send me your bio, back text of your novel, author photo and book cover. I’d like you to write something about yourself, your novel, your research, a writing tip or a publishing tip. Please keep in mind I am a family friendly blog. I do reserve the right to edit anything I think might be inappropriate for my audience, which I will discuss with you first. I think anything under 700 words is great, but it’s your book so up to you.

I’m looking forward to hearing from you and sharing your novel with the Internet world.

Thanks for reading…

DESCENT Now Available at Books On Beechwood in Ottawa

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Books on Beechwood is an independent, locally owned, bookstore in Ottawa, Canada. And I owe them a great big thank you for placing DESCENT on their shelves.

Descent On the Shelves at Books On Beechwood
Descent On the Shelves at Books On Beechwood

Being born in Ottawa and spending many years there, I consider the city one of my homes, and having DESCENT selling in one of my towns is exciting.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Inside Books On Beechwood
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
How to Find Books On Beechwood

BLAZE will make its debut on the shelves within the next couple of weeks.

If you’re thinking of gifts to buy for Christmas presents, why not a book from an independent bookstore? DESCENT and BLAZE will be waiting to meet you.

DESCENT: When Kalin Thompson is promoted to Director of Security at Stone Mountain Resort, she soon becomes entangled in the high-profile murder investigation of an up-and-coming Olympic-caliber skier. There are more suspects with motives than there are gates on the super-G course, and danger mounts with every turn.

BLAZE: Instead of exchanging vows, Kalin Thompson spends her wedding day running from a forest fire near Stone Mountain Resort, and the pregnant friend trapped with her has just gone into labor. Meanwhile, Kalin’s fiancé, Ben Timlin, hangs from the rafters of a burning building, fighting for his life. Can the situation get any hotter?

Please share this post with your friends in Ottawa.

Thanks for reading…

BLAZE is Published, and Thanks Are in Order

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 10 Comments

Amazing people. That’s who helped me with BLAZE. Every time I read this list, I smile. I think of all the questions I asked, all the discussion we had, all the critiquing on the manuscript and am truly thankful.

The myth about writing being lonely is just a myth. How could I be lonely with all these friends to assist me? Near the beginning of BLAZE you can find the acknowledgements.

***

Mathew, the love of my life, is the person I need to thank first.

 A heartfelt thanks goes to my friends for life who read, reread, commented and commented again: Liliana Conn, Michael Conn, Adrienne Cristelli-Stewart, Janice Janczyn, Sue Kreiling, Debi Sarandrea and Libby Simon.

A burning thank you to Calgary firefighters extraordinaire, Chris Ganzewinkel, Billy Stewart.

For expert advice in their fields, thank you to Dr. Rama Behki, Jeff Dodge, George Duncan, Derrick Francis, and Tony Trimble.

I would like to thank Humber School for Writers through which I received feedback from Joan Barfoot and Mary Gaitskill, and Garry Ryan for his support and mentorship through Crime Writers of Canada.

And of course, thank you to Cheryl Kaye Tardif and Imajin Books for believing in me.

TOP TIPS FOR A BOOK READING EVENT

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 10 Comments

In the modern world of publishing, whether you choose the traditional route or self-publishing, much is expected from an author. Writing a great novel is only the beginning of the journey if you want your work to have a public audience.

BLAZE will be released on Sunday, October 25th, but that doesn’t mean I’m ignoring DESCENT. It’s just as exciting to talk about DESCENT as it is BLAZE, and to be asked to do a reading is an honor I appreciate.

DESCENT is on sale ($0.99 USD) until the end of today, and then it’s back to regular price. You can find it on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

Last week I did a reading at a senior residence in Vancouver, Canada.

Vancouver Event (2)

Farley came with me and did his bit to warm up the audience. The big brown eyes and wagging tail did a lot to make people smile. He was pretty happy about the number of cookies he ate.

Vancouver Event (1)

Now to the tips for delivering a great reading:

The advice is split into  4 sections.

Practice before the event:

  • Don’t leave practicing to the last-minute. Practice every day even for short periods of time. If you can, read to an audience.
  • Practice pausing for commas, periods, paragraph breaks, and starting new scenes.
  • Practice until you can take your eyes away from the words and make eye contact with the audience. This will engage them in your reading. Reading to a mirror will allow you to see if you’re looking up.

Technical preparation:

  • Don’t staple the pages. Stapled pages are noisy when turned and are awkward to hold in place.
  • Number your free pages in case you drop them.
  • Ask how many minutes you have to read. Then prepare for a few minutes less, the exact amount of time and a few minutes more. If other readers don’t show up, you  might be given more time. If the proceedings are running long, you might be given less time, Be ready so you can end with a cliff hanger or a dramatic spot that will leave people wanting more.
  • If you’re reading from printed pages, print in a font large enough to read. Remember the lighting could be dark or there could be glare from other lights. If the font in your printed books is small, you can always print the pages you want to read and place your book in front of you while you’re reading.
  • Ask what the setup will be. Is there a podium where you can set your pages? Will you be holding a mic? Will you be standing or sitting?

At the event, before you read:

  • If you’re not first, watch the other readers for what works and doesn’t work. Standing with the mic too close to the sound system can cause feedback, having the mic too far or too close to you mic can make understanding your words difficult.
  • Have your material ready. Don’t start looking for the section you want to read after you’re at the podium. This distracts the audience.

During your reading:

  • Once you are on stage, thank the hosts of the event. This will make you look professional and give you time to let your voice and your nerves settle before you start reading your story.
  • Breathe. This sounds obvious, but breathing will make your speech clear. During the reading, I was so nervous at first, I couldn’t bring air into my lungs. At the end of the first page, when I had to flip to the next page, I moved the mic away from my mouth and took a deep breath. This helped me calm down.
  • Don’t explain your work in the middle of reading. Let your words speak for themselves.
  • Only brief the audience about the story if you’re not starting at the beginning.
  • Speak slowly.

Remember: the audience came to hear you and they want you to succeed, so smile and have fun.

If you have any tips on reading aloud, please share 🙂 I’m always looking for ways to improve.

Thanks for reading . . .

Facebook Launch Party Tips and Party Invitation

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

Four more days until BLAZE is released by Imajin Books, and I can hardly wait. My stomach is in knots. I don’t know why the launch party makes me nervous, but it does.

The post below was one of my most popular, so it seems appropriate to share it again as I lead up to my next launch party. I’ll be hosting on October 25th from 4 to 6 PM EST. (Click here to sign up)

BLAZE is being released on the 3 month anniversary of DESCENT. What a great excuse to have a party!

You may notice I shortened the party this time. The first party was 3 hours, and I found that a bit long. This time, I’ll try two.

If you’re interested, you can buy or download a sample of DESCENT at:  myBook.to/Descent. It’s still on SALE until midnight at Amazon.co.uk and  Amazon.com  for $0.99 USD.

This is a two-way street, as they say in cliché land, so please invite me to your Facebook launch party if you plan to have one. It’s a great way to make new connections.

Below is the story of how I created and hosted my first launch party. We’ll see how I do with my second…

Preparation for the event.

  • Create a banner to announce your event. I used Canva.com. It’s free. You can see both banners I created. Click the BLAZE banner to sign up for the upcoming party.

Facebook Launch Party-4

Release  Day Party

  • Set up event on Facebook. Remember to make the event public or only your friends can see it.
  • Put the back description of your novel at the top of the page with a link to where your book is sold. You can use booklinker.net to create a link that will take the person to the amazon site of their home country.
  • Invite all your friends and ask them to share your post.
  • Send a reminder the day before and the morning of the event.
  • Have something to give away. I had 14 books donated by other authors. My publisher recommended not to give away DESCENT as it is a new release. I limited each winner to two books. During the first party, I didn’t have time to give away all of the donated books. This time around, I only asked for 6 contributions. Again, my publisher recommended not to give away BLAZE.
  • Create trivia questions. My questions were all related to the books being given away by other authors, but you ask anything really. I created questions  from the Amazon site for the books donated so people could look up the answers and there would be no confusion about the correct answer.
  • Have winners direct message you with their email address. I only gave away eBooks to make the process easy and less costly for donating authors. People could attend your event from different countries and mailing a paperback could get expensive.
  • If books are being given away, take a screen shot of the book cover from Amazon and post it with the trivia question. Don’t add the link to Amazon as the answer to your question might show up too.
  • Keep the trivia questions and answers in a word document so you can cut and paste them instead of having to type them as you go. Things move fast in a launch.
  • Create a list of pre-posts in word in case things get slow. I only used a couple of the ones I created. This could be a question about reading, your books or anything your guests might be interested in.
Here are a couple of sample threads you can post about 10 minutes before the event starts.
Pin the first thread to the top, otherwise people won’t be able to follows what’s going on.
Welcome Guests (other than authors giving away books): Please check in here. Tell us your name, where you’re from and how you know me ☺ This is our main chat thread.
Have a thread where authors can sign in.
Authors check in: Can donating authors please check in here. Tell us your name, location and the name of the title you are donating. Thank you.
After the launch:
  • send an email to donating authors with email of person who won their book. The donating author will send their book directly to the winner.
  • Watch the site in the days following the launch. Sometimes people come on later just to comment or ask a question.
  • Update your Facebook banner to remove the banner announcing the launch and replace with new banner.

FB Cover

  • Once you add the updated banner, remember to add the shop now button. Again I used the Booklinker.net link so the reader could be taken to their relevant amazon site.
You can sign up of my event (to be held October 25th, 2015) at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1630121803934943/ 
Feel free to copy any of the threads to use for your event.
Let me know in the comments below if you have any questions or suggestions to improve a Facebook launch party.
Thanks for reading…

Paperback Distribution

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

Every day, I learn something new in this publishing business. I’ve been telling people DESCENT is available on Amazon only.

Seriously, I should know this stuff by now. It turns out the eBook version of DESCENT is available on Amazon exclusively.

But the trade paperback is a different story.

For those of you who don’t know, Bookfinder will list everywhere a print version of your book is sold.  DESCENT is even available from Barnes & Noble. That’s kinda cool.

The first page of stores at Bookfinder looks like this for DESCENT:

Screen Shot 2015-10-09 at 2.28.43 PM

Wasn’t that an awesome surprise for me!

If you’re looking for something to read and you haven’t read DESCENT yet, now is your chance before BLAZE comes out. Find it at: myBook.to/Descent And now I can add checkout Bookfinder for anywhere that sells the trade paperback.

And if you have read DESCENT, I’d be very excited if you pre-ordered BLAZE.  BLAZE will be released October 25th, 2015. That is so soon and I can hardly wait.

Thanks for reading…

BLAZE Available for Pre-order (Stone Mountain Mystery #2)

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 7 Comments

Working with a modern publisher such as Imajin Books has advantages.

I counted on the Imajin Books website, and the company currently has 26 authors including me. This means each author gets individual attention and a fast track to publication.

So let me define fast. DESCENT was released July 25th, 2015.

BLAZE is now available for pre-order on Amazon and will be released October 25th, 2015.

Screen Shot 2015-09-15 at 7.31.28 AMDoes this mean I wrote two books in one year?

No. I wrote four novels during the five years I lived on a sailboat. I’m currently working on the 5th. I think I needed to write four books to learn how to write a book. When I finished the fourth, I went back to the beginning of the series and rewrote all four novels. Only then, did I feel ready to submit to the first two.

It takes time to create fiction, but now that The Stone Mountain Mystery series is underway, I’m glad to be with Imajin Books and get the novels published quickly and professionally.

Forest fires are a hot topic this year in North America, and I’ve brought it close to home for Kalin Thompson…

Instead of exchanging vows, Kalin Thompson spends her wedding day running from a forest fire near Stone Mountain Resort, and the pregnant friend trapped with her has just gone into labor. Meanwhile, Kalin’s fiancé, Ben Timlin, hangs from the rafters of a burning building, fighting for his life. Can the situation get any hotter?

When the fire is declared as arson, finding the firebug responsible becomes Kalin’s personal mission. In the course of her investigation as Director of Security, she discovers that some people will go to extreme measures to keep her from exposing their secrets.

If you haven’t read DESCENT yet, now is your chance before BLAZE comes out. Find it at: myBook.to/Descent

And if you have read DESCENT, I’d be very excited if you pre-ordered BLAZE.

Thanks for reading…

Announcing BLAZE: A Stone Mountain Mystery #2

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000040_00071]New Release: October 25th, 2015 by Imajin Books.

QUESTION: What’s more exciting than announcing the release of your first book?

ANSWER: Announcing the release of your second book.

I wrote DESCENT and BLAZE while I was sailing in the Bahamas, and my lovely publisher (Imajin Books) decided to release both novels this year. These are the first two novels in the Stone Mountain Mystery series…with more to come of course.

BLAZE: shortlisted for the 2014 Crime Writers’ Association

Debut Dagger.

Instead of exchanging vows, Kalin Thompson spends her wedding day running from a forest fire near Stone Mountain Resort, and the pregnant friend trapped with her has just gone into labor. Meanwhile, Kalin’s fiancé, Ben Timlin, hangs from the rafters of a burning building, fighting for his life. Can the situation get any hotter?

When the fire is declared as arson, finding the firebug responsible becomes Kalin’s personal mission. In the course of her investigation as Director of Security, she discovers that some people will go to extreme measures to keep her from exposing their secrets.

Early Praise for BLAZE

“Filled with entertaining characters and as fast-paced as the conflagration that gives Blaze its title.” —Joan Barfoot, Scotia Giller Prize and Trillium Book Award shortlisted author

“Evil in a beautiful landscape—Blaze is an inferno of action and tension. ‪Its sizzling plot will keep you guessing until the end.” —Phyllis Smallman, award-winning author of the Sherri Travis murder mysteries

“Kristina Stanley’s latest novel, Blaze, is a fast-paced, hang-on-to-your-seat kind of mystery that will keep you reading until the wee hours of the morning.” —R. J. Harlick, author of the Meg Harris Mysteries

“Gripping action scenes and an engaging heroine make BLAZE a terrific read. Great insight into the risks and dangers of outdoor life by an author who’s been there. The forest fire fighting scenes are especially vivid. Don’t miss this!” —M. H. Callway, Arthur Ellis Finalist, Best First Novel

“Stanley captures the unrelenting brutality of a fire’s ruthless nature. The action and suspense doesn’t end with the blaze.” −Billy Stewart, Professional Firefighter.

If you haven’t read DESCENT yet, now is your chance before BLAZE comes out. Find it at: myBook.to/Descent

Thanks for reading…

How to get FREE Advertising for your Novel

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 7 Comments

Besides the obvious guest blogging, tweeting, Facebook etc. there are ways to get exposure for your novel without having to spend cash. We all know it’s hard to make money in this business – okay not all of us – but maybe the newbies, so here is a list of places and methods that worked for me.

Try online magazines that cover your genre. The following showcased DESCENT in the mystery genre.

The Readers Gazette

OMNIMYSTERY News

Crime Fiction Lover 

If you belong to a writing organization such as Crime Writers of Canada, ask for placement on their advertising. This type of organization exists to help you.

Screen Shot 2015-08-19 at 8.00.14 AM

Share your screen shots from Amazon or other sites. Let the big companies do the work for you. For example on July 26, 2015 DESCENT made #8 and one behind Lee Child in Amazon’s hot new releases in Mystery. Use these moments to be excited about your novel.

Screen Shot 2015-08-19 at 7.49.38 AM

Share your success with your friends and thank them for buying your novel. The post below was shared throughout Facebook helping me with visibility in a crowded marketplace. Friends are amazing people who love to help you. Just let them know you need their support to spread the word.

Screen Shot 2015-08-19 at 7.58.43 AM

Another author told me, “If you’re not excited about your book release, why would anyone else be?” So don’t be shy about sharing your news. We all want to hear about it and be happy for you.

Please let me know in the comments below if you have other ideas for free advertising. There have to other places…

If you’re interested, you can buy or download a sample of DESCENT at:  myBook.to/Descent

Thanks for reading…

Tips For Hosting A Facebook Launch Party

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 49 Comments

Exhausted, that’s how I felt when my Facebook launch party ended. Three hours of  chatting online, asking trivia questions, keeping track of winners, and answering questions.

This is the story of how I created and hosted my first launch party.

Preparation for the event.

  • Create a banner to announce your event. I used Canva.com. It’s free.

Release  Day Party

  • Set up event on Facebook. Remember to make the event public or only your friends can see it.
  • Put the back description of your novel at the top of the page with a link to where your book is sold. You can use booklinker.net to create a link that will take the person to the amazon site of their home country.
  • Invite all your friends and ask them to share your post.
  • Send a reminder the day before and the morning of the event.
  • Have something to give away. I had 14 books donated by other authors. My publisher recommended not to give away DESCENT as it is a new release. I limited each winner to two books.
  • Create trivia questions. My questions were all related to the books being given away by other authors, but you ask anything really. I created questions  from the Amazon site for the books donated so people could look up the answers and there would be no confusion about the correct answer.
  • Have winners direct message you with their email address. I only gave away eBooks to make the process easy and less costly for donating authors. People could attend your event from different countries and mailing a paperback could get expensive.
  • If books are being given away, take a screen shot of the book cover from Amazon and post it with the trivia question. Don’t add the link to Amazon as the answer to your question might show up too.
  • Keep the trivia questions and answers in a word document so you can cut and paste them instead of having to type them as you go. Things move fast in a launch.
  • Create a list of pre-posts in word in case things get slow. I only used a couple of the ones I created. This could be a question about reading, your books or anything your guests might be interested in.
Here are a couple of sample threads you can post about 10 minutes before the event starts.
Pin the first thread to the top, otherwise people won’t be able to follows what’s going on.
Welcome Guests (other than authors giving away books): Please check in here. Tell us your name, where you’re from and how you know me ☺ This is our main chat thread.
Have a thread where authors can sign in.
Authors check in: Can donating authors please check in here. Tell us your name, location and the name of the title you are donating. Thank you.
After the launch:
  • send an email to donating authors with email of person who won their book. The donating author will send their book directly to the winner.
  • Watch the site in the days following the launch. Sometimes people come on later just to comment or ask a question.
  • Update your Facebook banner to remove the banner announcing the launch and replace with new banner.

FB Cover

  • Once you add the updated banner, remember to add the shop now button. Again I used the Booklinker.net link so the reader could be taken to their relevant amazon site.
You can see an example of my event (held July 25th, 2015) at: https://www.facebook.com/events/459737280862514/ Feel free to copy any of the threads to use for your event.
If you’re interested, you can buy or download a sample of DESCENT at:  myBook.to/Descent
Let me know in the comments below if you have any questions or suggestions to improve a Facebook launch party.
Thanks for reading…