Kindle Scout A New Experience for Author L.A. Kelley
Today we have something new. Welcome, L.A. Kelley in a quest to get a contract for her book, Rimrider, through Kindle Scout. I love the cover! Now I have no idea how this works so, L.A. won’t you tell us a little about yourself first, then about Kindle Scout?
I’m a fantasy/science fiction indy writer with five published books with a small press and a book now a Kindle Scout nominee. I live in Florida, slathered in sunscreen, and prefer air-conditioned comfort to heat and humidity. On the plus side, my skin will never look like badly laid roofing shingles. Here are my lurking spots if you care to lurk with me:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/l.a.kelley.author
http://lakelleythenaughtylist.blogspot.com
Now, what the heck is Kindle Scout?
A few short years ago, Amazon launched a venture for new, never-before-published books where readers help
decide a contract. Selected novels are published by Kindle Press and receive 5-year renewable terms, a $1,500 advance, 50% eBook royalty rate, rights reversions and featured Amazon marketing. The marketing part is a huge appeal. It’s the curse of most authors’ existence (I spit on you, hateful marketing gods!) Having Amazon shoulder the burden is a major plus.
If a book is approved, the author receives a preview link to check the data submitted along with the Kindle Scout campaign launch date. All campaigns last 30 days. The more nominations a book receives the more likely it will get the attention of the Kindle Scout team and be selected for publication.
Will the requirements make my head hurt?
Nope. Submissions are taken all year long and eligibility standards are simple. The manuscript must be submitted in English and be 50,000 words or more. Authors must be 18 years of age or older, have a valid Amazon account, and reside in a Kindle Scout–eligible country. Five categories are available: Romance, Mystery & Thriller, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Teen & Young Adult, and general Literature & Fiction.
Any downside with Kindle Scout for the author?
Isn’t there always? The author is responsible for the book’s cover art. It must look professional, be ready to go when the manuscript is submitted, and satisfy Amazon’s specifications. Unless you’re a professional graphic designer, you’ll have to shell out money for an artist. The manuscript should also be professionally edited, free of typos and grammar errors. Paying for a good editor is a must. Kindle Scout doesn’t offer hardcovers or paperbacks, so if an author wants something to hold in his or her hot little hand, the printing cost are shouldered alone. For some, the lack of marketing decisions can be irksome. Amazon has total control. An author can’t run a 99 cent sale or post the first book in a series for free to drum up interest in the rest. Finally, the terms of the contract state that the book will only be available on Amazon, so bye-bye Barnes and Noble, any other site, and all ereaders who can’t open a MOBI file.
What’s the benefit to the reader?
You’re allowed to vote for three nominations. If your choice is a winner, Amazon will send a free copy of the ebook upon publication. No muss. No fuss. The only cost was a few minutes of your time to check out the book. You also get to proudly strut around the room and brag to others about supporting indy writers.
Be honest. Do you think you really have a shot?
Let’s put it this way…Amazon labels the popular Kindle Scout nominations in the smoking hot category. Even as a teenager I was only found in the dorky and peculiar category. The odds aren’t great, but if you don’t try, you can’t succeed. That being said I would great appreciate a vote for Rimrider by L. A. Kelley. It’s a science fiction space opera about a teenage girl who becomes a space pirate. Imagine the American Revolution with Earth as the redcoats and the colony planets as Yankee rebels and you get the idea. Intrigued? Click on the link and heartfelt thanks for taking a peek.
Kindle Scout link: https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/1135KKAY4C6QF
Thanks for stopping by L.A. I wish you the best of luck with the Kindle Scout Program!
Views: 0
Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Paranormal, Science Fiction, Space Pirate by Tena Stetler with 3 comments.
Welcome Author – Charlotte Copper!
Give a warm welcome to Charlotte, author of CALIFORNIA BLUE!
Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Charlotte.
Who is your favorite character of all of the books you’ve written and Why?
There is a demon hunter in my first book, SILVER BLADE, and his name is Oscar (Oz) McAvoy….I’d have to say he is my favorite. I think the way you always remember your first boyfriend, he is my first hero. He’s big and bald and gruff, and I love him. (So much so that he makes a couple of brief appearances in my current WIP.)
Did you tell friends and family that you were writing a book? Or did it take a while to come out and tell friends and family you were a writer?
No. They thought I was spending time playing computer games on my laptop…which is strange since I’m the only person in the house that does NOT do that. I think I was writing for about six months before I finally confessed.
What do you want your readers to take away from your books?
In my YA books, CALIFORNIA BLUE and STRAWBERRY SUMMER, I want young girls to feel confident in themselves. I have a daughter and two step-daughters, so girl power is very important to me.
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I love to read and craft, and admittedly have far too many hobbies. Right now, I’m knitting a scarf and a blanket, working on a crewel pillow and a cross-stitch, and sewing a bag for summer. I usually have one or two books that I’m reading, and often have a number of photos waiting for the scrapbook.
Tell us a little about California Blue.
High-school junior, Halen Stone is starting a new school in sunny California. When her twin brother, Floyd, brings home his new friend Austin, Halen only has one word: wow!
School, running, babysitting and barbeques bring them together, but one thing keeps them apart, Austin’s gorgeous girlfriend.
A timely break-up and the school’s Halloween dance finally give Halen and Austin a chance to be together…as more than friends
Do you have an Excerpt for us?
“Halen,” a voice called from within the group. Definitely not Floyd’s. She took a deep breath and turned as Austin emerged from the crowd. A leggy blonde in a short skirt and high heels watched them with narrowed eyes.
“Hey,” he said. “I spoke to the coach this morning. He said it was too late to join the team. Something about paperwork and all that. Sorry, I should’ve asked him before I mentioned it.”
“No problem.” It’s not like she wanted to join in the first place. She’d hardly thought about it on her run this morning. Well, perhaps a little. Cross country, of course, not Austin.
“Maybe you and I could run together some time,” he said. “We’re supposed to practice on our own twice a week, but to be honest, I don’t have much willpower when I’m expected to do it myself.”
He wanted to run with her? Really? “Sure. Anytime. You know where I live,” she said with a chuckle. Ha-ha. That was funny, right?
Austin laughed, and from behind him a pair of eyes, heavy with blue eye shadow and dark eyeliner, aimed invisible beams of dislike at Halen’s chest.
You can find California Blue at the retailers below:
I love stories set around Halloween, my very favorite holiday! Now let’s see what keeps Charlotte busy.
As mother to one daughter and two stepdaughters, Charlotte Copper has been reading young adult books for years. The girls have moved out and moved on, but Charlotte’s love of books about young, strong women continues.
Charlotte lives in Stouffville, Ontario, Canada where she works fulltime and likes to craft, go to the movies, read, and of course, write. Charlotte loves to hear from readers. You can find her at:
Email: charlottecopper.author@gmail.com
Website: http://charlottecopperauthor.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/charlotte.copper.52
Twitter:: @charlottecopper https://twitter.com/CharlotteCopper
It was wonderful having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime!
Views: 1
Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Contemporary, Romance, YA by Tena Stetler with 20 comments.
Welcome Author Anna Durand!
Give a warm welcome to Anna, author of Tempted By A Kiss!
Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Anna.
Who is your favorite character of all of the books you’ve written and Why?
I adore all my heroes and heroines, but I especially love Adam Caras from my short story Tempted by a Kiss and the upcoming novel version, Fired Up. He’s very different from the heroes I’ve written before, in that he’s a womanizer. Underneath the lady-killer façade, though, he longs for a deeper connection and real love. His painful past, which we learn a lot about in Fired Up, has influenced his lifestyle choices and reveals who he really is–a good man in love with his best friend, Mel, who’s totally clueless. Adam’s devotion to her is what I love most about him.
Do you see yourself in your characters?
It’s only natural that a little bit of the writer bleeds through in the characters, but I find my heroines are a little bit me and a little bit what I’d like to be. Even my villains have a teeny bit of me in them. We all have flaws and things we think about that we wouldn’t want anyone to know. For most of us, those thoughts are fleeting and never acted on, but villains pounce on their darker impulses.
What do you want your readers to take away from your books?
A smile! Always. I write romances because I love the happy ending. If I can make the reader smile at the end of the story, and feel the fantasy has been totally fulfilled, then I’ve done my job.
Why do you write what you write? Contemporary, paranormal, suspense, etc.
I write both paranormal and contemporary romances (and soon historical) because I love the unique challenges each genre presents. When I wrote Tempted by a Kiss, my first contemporary romance and my first erotic romance, I felt like I was taking a big risk because my previous books had been paranormal. In paranormal romance, I get to make up the rules of the world; my characters can have psychic abilities or wield power over the weather. In contemporary stories, I have to realistically depict the modern world and populate the story with characters who can’t read each other’s minds or cast spells to resurrect the dead. As a writer, I enjoy the restrictions. They push me to be more creative.
Tell us a little about Tempted By A Kiss.
Mel Thompson just dumped her cheating ex after two years together. Now she’s determined to understand the allure of casual sex by having a steamy fling of her own at a notoriously raunchy underground club. When her best friend, Adam Caras, catches on to her plan, he makes a surprising offer to derail her. If she wants a hot fling, he’ll give it to her.
Who better than Adam, renowned lady-killer, to demonstrate the erotic pleasures of a one night stand? Sex could ruin their friendship, but after a soul-searing kiss, Mel fears one night may never be enough.
Do you have an excerpt for us?
This time, he offered me his hand, palm up. I stared at it. My stomach fluttered, though I had no clue why. I’d danced with Adam a number of times, at weddings and parties.
A strange warmth rushed through me, but evaporated in an instant. The hand, the one attached to the arm of my best friend, waited patiently. I settled my palm in his. He curled his fingers around my hand. I hopped off the stool and let him guide me toward the dance floor. The music had segued from an up-tempo number to a slow, seductive beat with an enticing melody, played on exotic instruments. The song conjured visions of a Middle Eastern palace, belly dancers, and hot, dark men with lascivious intentions.
We sidled between the other dancers, wending our way across the dance floor on the hunt for a vacant slot. At last, we broke out of the masses into a cramped space just wide enough for the two of us, forcing me to move closer to Adam. He pivoted on his heels to face me and, keeping my hand in his, lifted it in a ballroom dancing position. His other hand lightly rested on my hip. This was what I expected from a dance with Adam. Then he dragged me into him, my body suddenly crushed against his heat. My heart skipped. The strobes had given way to soft, pulsing golden lights. In the twilight of the floor, I couldn’t make out his expression. Entwined with Adam, aware of every hard line of his muscles, I was paralyzed.
You can find Tempted By A Kiss at the retailers listed below:
http://amazon.com/dp/B017TO8SSA
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1122930086?ean=2940156677351
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/tempted-by-a-kiss
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/tempted-by-a-kiss/id1061465692?mt=11
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-temptedbyakiss-1935885-149.html
Wow!
Anna Durand is an award-winning writer, a freelance librarian, and an audiobook addict. She specializes in steamy romances featuring spunky heroines and hunky heroes, in settings as diverse as modern Chicago and the fairy realm. In her previous life as a librarian, she haunted the stacks of public libraries but never met any hot vampires hunting for magical books.
https://twitter.com/TheAnnaDurand
https://www.goodreads.com/annadurand
https://www.facebook.com/AnnaDurandFiction
https://plus.google.com/+AnnaDurandFiction/
https://www.pinterest.com/Anna_Durand/
http://amazon.com/author/annadurand
It was wonderful having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime!
Views: 2
Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged erotica, Romance by Tena Stetler with 12 comments.
Welcome Author Jana Richards!
Give a warm welcome to Jana, author of The Girl Most Likely! And guess what, it’s on sale for 99 cents from 5-13-16 – 5-27-16. Hurry get your copy today!
Now, lets pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip cookie from the plate, and learn a little about Jana.
When Jana Richards read her first romance novel, she immediately knew two things: she had to commit the stories running through her head to paper, and they had to end with a happily ever after. She also knew she’d found what she was meant to do. Since then she’s never met a romance genre she didn’t like. She writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and historical romance set in World War Two, in lengths ranging from short story to full length novel. Just for fun, she throws in generous helpings of humor, and the occasional dash of the paranormal. Her paranormal romantic suspense “Seeing Things” was a 2008 EPPIE finalist.
In her life away from writing, Jana is an accountant/admin assistant, a mother to two grown daughters, and a wife to her husband Warren. She enjoys golf, yoga, movies, concerts, travel and reading, not necessarily in that order. She and her husband live in Winnipeg, Canada with their Pug/Terrier cross Lou and several unnamed goldfish. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached through her website at www.janarichards.com
What inspired this particular story?
The Wild Rose Press sent out a call for submissions for the “Class of ‘85”. It was to be a multi-author series about the 25th high school reunion for Summerville High, a small town in western New York State. The idea of a high school reunion story appealed to me, but instead of a story about a girl who was unpopular in high school and found success as an adult, I decided to turn that idea on its head. What if Cara had been one of the most popular girls in high school? What if everyone expected her to have an amazing life and an amazing marriage? But the reality is that her life has fallen apart. She’s a divorced single mother working at an entry level job. Her former trim figure has gone south along with her confidence. And now she has to face her former classmates at her high school reunion, including her ex-husband. I wanted to see what Cara was made of.
What secret do you use to blast through writer’s block?
I give up! It may seem counter-intuitive, but sometimes the best thing to do when a writing project just isn’t working is to walk away. Sometimes I’ll work on another project, maybe something less taxing like a blog post, or a new piece of writing that I’m excited about. Or maybe I’ll go for a walk or to the gym and turn my mind away from writing. Stepping away often gives my brain time to work out a solution to whatever point I’m stuck on. And if that doesn’t happen, it often means I need to go back and rethink my plot. The trick is to not abandon the project permanently. I’ll admit this has happened to me in the past, but I’m convinced it was because the story had fatal flaws.
Did you tell friends and family that you were writing a book? Or did it take a while to come out and tell friends and family you were a writer?
My writing stayed in the closet, so to speak, a long time. I didn’t even tell my husband for ages. I used to bring out my notebook and write after he went to work. It seems silly now, but at the time I thought he’d think my desire to write was foolish, but in reality he’s always been supportive. As far as other relatives and friends, it took me a long time to talk to them about my writing. Even after all these years, the only people I really talk writing to are my writing friends.
Do you see yourself in your characters?
Absolutely. I believe there’s a little bit of me in all of my characters. In THE GIRL MOST LIKELY, Cara McLeod is trying to lose weight so she can feel confident attending her high school reunion. I’ve been battling my weight all my life and I know what it’s like when your dress feels a little too tight and you feel that everyone is talking about how much weight you’ve gained. But I think I’m also a strong person who picks herself up and pushes forward, just like Cara.
Tell us a little about The Girl Most Likely.
Cara McLeod, the girl most likely to have the perfect marriage, is now divorced and, in her own words, “fat, frumpy, and over forty.” The thought of facing former classmates—and the ex-husband who dumped her—at her high school reunion terrifies her. Cajoled into attending by her kids and her best friend, Cara enlists help at the gym to lose weight and look great for the reunion. Personal Trainer Finn Cooper is more than willing to help—but does he have to be so to-die-for gorgeous?
Finn thinks Cara is perfect just the way she is. She’s everything he wants in a woman, except for one thing—she can’t get past the fact that he’s eight years younger. To Finn, age and weight are just numbers. But can he convince Cara the numbers she worries about add up to only one thing for him—love?
Do you have an excerpt for us?
He chuckled. “Jessica better watch her back. You could give her a run for her money.”
He heard Cara’s throaty laugh, and various parts of his anatomy tingled in response. “Yes, that’s my evil plan. Take over Rochester Noon, then the world.”
“If you set your mind to it, I’m sure you could do it.”
“Thanks Finn.”
“For what?”
“For believing in me.”
“Are you going to be okay now?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Thanks to you.”
He wanted so badly to tell her he loved her, adored her, thought she was the most amazing woman in the world. But fear stopped him. Was she truly over her ex-husband? Why else would losing weight for the reunion be so important to her if not to impress Peter?
“I’ve got to run. Thanks again. I’ll talk to you later at my condo, right?”
“Absolutely. I can hardly wait to hear about your big TV debut. Break a leg. Isn’t that what they say in show biz?”
She laughed. “Yeah, that’s what they say. Bye.”
Finn replaced the receiver and closed his eyes. He hoped everything went well with this interview. Cara deserved to realize how amazing she was.
If she did come to that realization, would there still be room in her life for him?
You can find The Girl Most Likely at :
Ibooks –
You can find Jana at:
Website: http://www.janarichards.com
Blog: http://janarichards.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JanaRichardsAuthor
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JanaRichards_
Newsletter Signup: http://www.eepurl.com/m3UnT
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2892274Jana_Richards
It was wonderful having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime.
Views: 0
Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Contemporary, Romance by Tena Stetler with 12 comments.
