12 Days of Review Requests - Day Eight

Happy Monday, everyone! Crazy weekend, huh? Welcome back to the 12 Days of Review Requests event! If you missed the opening post, be SURE and check it out here. It has the Rafflecopter entry form for the Kindle HD6. Each day, I'll post links to all the books pitched the previous days and a short recap of what I'm looking for you to put in the comments. Then, I'll have the Rafflecopter winner from the previous day, and the entry form for the current one along with the prizes. Let's get going!

Books marked with an astrisks and in BOLD are winners.
(That doesn't mean your book wasn't chosen, only that it wasn't chosen today)

***Bound by Duty - Stormy Smith - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Shadows on Snow (A Flipped Fairy Tale) - Starla Hutchon - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Dry Stories - Kate Baggot - Amazon Kindle $3.56
From the Wreckage - Michelle G. Miller - Amazon Kindle FREE
An Unlikely Goddess - Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The House at Zaronza - Vanessa Couchman - Amazon Kindle $2.99
***8 Weeks - Bethany Lopez - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Click. Date. Repeat. - K. J. Farnham - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Kinetic: Book One of the Kinetic Trilogy - C. M. Zimmer - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Six Months to Get a Life - Ben Adams - Grab a sample on Drive here!
Family Planning (Choices Book 3) - Beth Carpenter - Amazon Kindle $0.99
***The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge - Christine Nolfi - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The Release Club 1 - Misty Provencher - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Moonlight - David Rose - Amazon Kindle $1.69
View from the Sixth Floor: An Oswald Tale - Elizabeth Horton-Newton - Amazon Kindle $2.99
***Facade: A Vampire Love Story - R. M. Webb - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The ABCs of Dinkology: Life - A. E. Stueve - Amazon Paperback $8.91
Of Mice and Money - Winifred Morris - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The Cure - Stephanie Erickson - Amazon Kindle $2.51
***Siren - Jennifer Melzer - Amazon Kindle (Pre-order) $3.99 Grab a sample on Drive!
Ataxia and the Ravine of Lost Dreams - Rachel Barnard - Amazon Kindle $0.99
***Queen of Someday - Sherry Ficklin - Amazon Kindle $5.99
***Fragile Creatures - Kristina Circelli - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Pariah - Casey L. Bond - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Destiny Finds Her - Miranda Lynn - Amazon Kindle $2.99
In Dreams - Heather Mullins - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Indelible - Bethany Lopez - Amazon Kindle $3.99
They Called It Moosicide: A Denali Hawthorne Alaska Mystery - Lisa Hall Deckert - Amazon Kindle $2.99
At One's Beast - Rachel Barnard - Amazon Kindle $2.99
To Get Me to You - Kait Nolan - Amazon Kindle $2.99
The Rabbit Ate My Homework - Rachel Elizabeth Cole - Amazon Kindle $3.99
***Unseen - Stephanie Erickson - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Sticks and Stones - Shawn McGuire - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Sir Lyle's Dig - Sheldon Lefkowitz - Amazon Kindle $6.99
Warrior Lore: Scandinavian Ballads - Ian Cumpstey - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Good Luck With That Thing You're Doing: One Woman's Adventures in Dating, Plumbing and Other Full Contact Sports - Karen Yankosky - Amazon Kindle $2.99
***The Heart Thief - S. Lee Benedict - Amazon Kindle $4.99
Damsel Not - Kristina Circelli - Amazon Kindle $2.95
Tempted - Brenda Tetreault - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Christmas Come Early - Bethany Lopez - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The Crime of Seduction - Nadine LaForet - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Be Careful, It's My Heart - Kait Nolan - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Roots Entwine - Victoria Bastedo - Amazon Kindle $5.99
The Sextape: A Dedication to the Ladies - Peprah Boasiako - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Living on the Knife's Edge - David Rose - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Nissa: a contemporary fairy tale - Bethany Lopez - Amazon Kindle $2.99
The Unknown Sun - Cheryl Mackey - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Refuge - Violet Haze - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Angels Dawn - Komali DaSilva - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Recalculating Route - Beth Carpenter - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Desprite Measures-The Caledonian Sprite - Deborah Jay - Amazon Kindle $2.99
The Watcher's Keep - Timothy Bond - Amazon Kindle $7.99
Fearsome Creatures - David B. Ross - Amazon Kindle $1.99
Aftermath - Sandy Goldsworthy - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Kindling Flames-Gathering Tinder - Julie Wetzel - Amazon Kindle FREE
When Love Comes - J. H. Croix - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Sugar Baby Lies - C. S. Janey - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Dawn of Steam: First Light - Jeffrey Cook - Amazon Kindle $2.99

Congratulations to Stephanie! Your book has been tweeted, shared on Pinterest, added to my Goodreads TBR for the event, and shared on Facebook.

PITCH your book in the comments. Put the LINK to your book in the Rafflecopter form. Tell me why you think I'll like it, why I should check it out, and a little about the story. DO NOT give me a synopsis. I can get that from Amazon. Make it personal or make it funny. I care not. I'll be grabbing a sample of every book pitched and go from there.

AUTHOR ONLY entries will be removed from Rafflecopter before a winner is chosen. If you want a shot at winning the prizes, put BOTH in the box asking how you're entering.

I strongly encourage you to check out the works of your fellow Indie authors. Chat in the comments, talk each other up, make friends!
Book reviewers! You're welcome to play along, too! Meet and greet authors. Get new books to read and review. It only works if we all work together.

If you haven't joined my 2015 Review Team, do that here. 

**Kindly remember, there's no guarantee your book will be reviewed by me. You will get a purchase if your sample interests me, and I'll try my best to read it. But if I find I can't give it more than 2 stars, I won't write the review. I've had a few I couldn't finish and it led to me not giving a review.**

Now it's time to announce the winners from yesterday's giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Prizes donated for today's giveaway are from B. Kristin McMichael and me.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pitch 'em hard!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

12 Days of Review Requests - Day Seven

Happy Sunday, everyone! Ready to do more book pitching? Welcome back to the 12 Days of Review Requests event! If you missed the opening post, be SURE and check it out here. It has the Rafflecopter entry form for the Kindle HD6. Each day, I'll post links to all the books pitched the previous days and a short recap of what I'm looking for you to put in the comments. Then, I'll have the Rafflecopter winner from the previous day, and the entry form for the current one along with the prizes. Let's get going!

Books marked with an astrisks and in BOLD are winners.
(That doesn't mean your book wasn't chosen, only that it wasn't chosen today)

***Bound by Duty - Stormy Smith - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Shadows on Snow (A Flipped Fairy Tale) - Starla Hutchon - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Dry Stories - Kate Baggot - Amazon Kindle $3.56
From the Wreckage - Michelle G. Miller - Amazon Kindle FREE
An Unlikely Goddess - Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The House at Zaronza - Vanessa Couchman - Amazon Kindle $2.99
***8 Weeks - Bethany Lopez - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Click. Date. Repeat. - K. J. Farnham - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Kinetic: Book One of the Kinetic Trilogy - C. M. Zimmer - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Six Months to Get a Life - Ben Adams - Grab a sample on Drive here!
Family Planning (Choices Book 3) - Beth Carpenter - Amazon Kindle $0.99
***The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge - Christine Nolfi - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The Release Club 1 - Misty Provencher - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Moonlight - David Rose - Amazon Kindle $1.69
View from the Sixth Floor: An Oswald Tale - Elizabeth Horton-Newton - Amazon Kindle $2.99
***Facade: A Vampire Love Story - R. M. Webb - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The ABCs of Dinkology: Life - A. E. Stueve - Amazon Paperback $8.91
Of Mice and Money - Winifred Morris - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The Cure - Stephanie Erickson - Amazon Kindle $2.51
***Siren - Jennifer Melzer - Amazon Kindle (Pre-order) $3.99 Grab a sample on Drive!
Ataxia and the Ravine of Lost Dreams - Rachel Barnard - Amazon Kindle $0.99
***Queen of Someday - Sherry Ficklin - Amazon Kindle $5.99
***Fragile Creatures - Kristina Circelli - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Pariah - Casey L. Bond - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Destiny Finds Her - Miranda Lynn - Amazon Kindle $2.99
In Dreams - Heather Mullins - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Indelible - Bethany Lopez - Amazon Kindle $3.99
They Called It Moosicide: A Denali Hawthorne Alaska Mystery - Lisa Hall Deckert - Amazon Kindle $2.99
At One's Beast - Rachel Barnard - Amazon Kindle $2.99
To Get Me to You - Kait Nolan - Amazon Kindle $2.99
The Rabbit Ate My Homework - Rachel Elizabeth Cole - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Unseen - Stephanie Erickson - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Sticks and Stones - Shawn McGuire - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Sir Lyle's Dig - Sheldon Lefkowitz - Amazon Kindle $6.99
Warrior Lore: Scandinavian Ballads - Ian Cumpstey - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Good Luck With That Thing You're Doing: One Woman's Adventures in Dating, Plumbing and Other Full Contact Sports - Karen Yankosky - Amazon Kindle $2.99
***The Heart Thief - S. Lee Benedict - Amazon Kindle $4.99
Damsel Not - Kristina Circelli - Amazon Kindle $2.95
Tempted - Brenda Tetreault - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Christmas Come Early - Bethany Lopez - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The Crime of Seduction - Nadine LaForet - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Be Careful, It's My Heart - Kait Nolan - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Roots Entwine - Victoria Bastedo - Amazon Kindle $5.99
The Sextape: A Dedication to the Ladies - Peprah Boasiako - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Living on the Knife's Edge - David Rose - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Nissa: a contemporary fairy tale - Bethany Lopez - Amazon Kindle $2.99
The Unknown Sun - Cheryl Mackey - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Refuge - Violet Haze - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Angels Dawn - Komali DaSilva - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Recalculating Route - Beth Carpenter - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Desprite Measures-The Caledonian Sprite - Deborah Jay - Amazon Kindle $2.99
The Watcher's Keep - Timothy Bond - Amazon Kindle $7.99
Fearsome Creatures - David B. Ross - Amazon Kindle $1.99
Aftermath - Sandy Goldsworthy - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Kindling Flames-Gathering Tinder - Julie Wetzel - Amazon Kindle FREE
When Love Comes - J. H. Croix - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Sugar Baby Lies - C. S. Janey - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Dawn of Steam: First Light - Jeffrey Cook - Amazon Kindle $2.99

Congratulations to Kristina! Your book has been tweeted, shared on Pinterest, added to my Goodreads TBR for the event, and shared on Facebook.

Congratulations also to Jennifer! Your book has been tweeted, shared on Pinterest, added to my Goodreads TBR for the event, and shared on Facebook.

PITCH your book in the comments. Put the LINK to your book in the Rafflecopter form. Tell me why you think I'll like it, why I should check it out, and a little about the story. DO NOT give me a synopsis. I can get that from Amazon. Make it personal or make it funny. I care not. I'll be grabbing a sample of every book pitched and go from there.

AUTHOR ONLY entries will be removed from Rafflecopter before a winner is chosen. If you want a shot at winning the prizes, put BOTH in the box asking how you're entering.

I strongly encourage you to check out the works of your fellow Indie authors. Chat in the comments, talk each other up, make friends!
Book reviewers! You're welcome to play along, too! Meet and greet authors. Get new books to read and review. It only works if we all work together.

If you haven't joined my 2015 Review Team, do that here. 

**Kindly remember, there's no guarantee your book will be reviewed by me. You will get a purchase if your sample interests me, and I'll try my best to read it. But if I find I can't give it more than 2 stars, I won't write the review. I've had a few I couldn't finish and it led to me not giving a review.**

Now it's time to announce the winners from yesterday's giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


EEP! Today, you have the chance to win stuff donated by Susan Burdorf and Aspen Drake!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy pitching!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

12 Days of Review Requests - Day Six

Happy Saturday, everyone! What a crazy week it's been. Are you all having fun yet? Welcome back to the 12 Days of Review Requests event! If you missed the opening post, be SURE and check it out here. It has the Rafflecopter entry form for the Kindle HD6. Each day, I'll post links to all the books pitched the previous days and a short recap of what I'm looking for you to put in the comments. Then, I'll have the Rafflecopter winner from the previous day, and the entry form for the current one along with the prizes. Let's get going!

Books marked with an astrisks and in BOLD are winners.
(That doesn't mean your book wasn't chosen, only that it wasn't chosen today)

***Bound by Duty - Stormy Smith - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Shadows on Snow (A Flipped Fairy Tale) - Starla Hutchon - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Dry Stories - Kate Baggot - Amazon Kindle $3.56
From the Wreckage - Michelle G. Miller - Amazon Kindle FREE
An Unlikely Goddess - Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The House at Zaronza - Vanessa Couchman - Amazon Kindle $2.99
***8 Weeks - Bethany Lopez - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Click. Date. Repeat. - K. J. Farnham - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Kinetic: Book One of the Kinetic Trilogy - C. M. Zimmer - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Six Months to Get a Life - Ben Adams - Grab a sample on Drive here!
Family Planning (Choices Book 3) - Beth Carpenter - Amazon Kindle $0.99
***The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge - Christine Nolfi - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The Release Club 1 - Misty Provencher - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Moonlight - David Rose - Amazon Kindle $1.69
View from the Sixth Floor: An Oswald Tale - Elizabeth Horton-Newton - Amazon Kindle $2.99
***Facade: A Vampire Love Story - R. M. Webb - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The ABCs of Dinkology: Life - A. E. Stueve - Amazon Paperback $8.91
Of Mice and Money - Winifred Morris - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The Cure - Stephanie Erickson - Amazon Kindle $2.51
Siren - Jennifer Melzer - Amazon Kindle (Pre-order) $3.99 Grab a sample on Drive!
Ataxia and the Ravine of Lost Dreams - Rachel Barnard - Amazon Kindle $0.99
***Queen of Someday - Sherry Ficklin - Amazon Kindle $5.99
Fragile Creatures - Kristina Circelli - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Pariah - Casey L. Bond - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Destiny Finds Her - Miranda Lynn - Amazon Kindle $2.99
In Dreams - Heather Mullins - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Indelible - Bethany Lopez - Amazon Kindle $3.99
They Called It Moosicide: A Denali Hawthorne Alaska Mystery - Lisa Hall Deckert - Amazon Kindle $2.99
At One's Beast - Rachel Barnard - Amazon Kindle $2.99
To Get Me to You - Kait Nolan - Amazon Kindle $2.99
The Rabbit Ate My Homework - Rachel Elizabeth Cole - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Unseen - Stephanie Erickson - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Sticks and Stones - Shawn McGuire - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Sir Lyle's Dig - Sheldon Lefkowitz - Amazon Kindle $6.99
Warrior Lore: Scandinavian Ballads - Ian Cumpstey - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Good Luck With That Thing You're Doing: One Woman's Adventures in Dating, Plumbing and Other Full Contact Sports - Karen Yankosky - Amazon Kindle $2.99
***The Heart Thief - S. Lee Benedict - Amazon Kindle $4.99
Damsel Not - Kristina Circelli - Amazon Kindle $2.95
Tempted - Brenda Tetreault - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Christmas Come Early - Bethany Lopez - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The Crime of Seduction - Nadine LaForet - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Be Careful, It's My Heart - Kait Nolan - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Roots Entwine - Victoria Bastedo - Amazon Kindle $5.99
The Sextape: A Dedication to the Ladies - Peprah Boasiako - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Living on the Knife's Edge - David Rose - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Nissa: a contemporary fairy tale - Bethany Lopez - Amazon Kindle $2.99
The Unknown Sun - Cheryl Mackey - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Refuge - Violet Haze - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Angels Dawn - Komali DaSilva - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Recalculating Route - Beth Carpenter - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Desprite Measures-The Caledonian Sprite - Deborah Jay - Amazon Kindle $2.99
The Watcher's Keep - Timothy Bond - Amazon Kindle $7.99
Fearsome Creatures - David B. Ross - Amazon Kindle $1.99

Congratulations to R. M.! Your book has been tweeted, shared on Pinterest, added to my Goodreads TBR for the event, and shared on Facebook.

Congratulations also to S. Lee! Your book has been tweeted, shared on Pinterest, added to my Goodreads TBR for the event, and shared on Facebook.

PITCH your book in the comments. Put the LINK to your book in the Rafflecopter form. Tell me why you think I'll like it, why I should check it out, and a little about the story. DO NOT give me a synopsis. I can get that from Amazon. Make it personal or make it funny. I care not. I'll be grabbing a sample of every book pitched and go from there.

AUTHOR ONLY entries will be removed from Rafflecopter before a winner is chosen. If you want a shot at winning the prizes, put BOTH in the box asking how you're entering.

I strongly encourage you to check out the works of your fellow Indie authors. Chat in the comments, talk each other up, make friends!

Book reviewers! You're welcome to play along, too! Meet and greet authors. Get new books to read and review. It only works if we all work together.
If you haven't joined my 2015 Review Team, do that here. 

**Kindly remember, there's no guarantee your book will be reviewed by me. You will get a purchase if your sample interests me, and I'll try my best to read it. But if I find I can't give it more than 2 stars, I won't write the review. I've had a few I couldn't finish and it led to me not giving a review.**

Now it's time to announce the winners from Friday's giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Up for grabs today are prizes from Tia Silverthorne Bach and IBGW.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Let's get back into the pitching! Throw me a fast ball. I'm totally ready.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

12 Days of Review Requests - Day Five

Happy Friday! Welcome back to the 12 Days of Review Requests fun here on the Jo Michaels blog! If you missed the opening post, be SURE and check it out here. It has the Rafflecopter entry form for the Kindle HD6. Each day, I'll post links to all the books pitched the previous day and a short recap of what I'm looking for you to put in the comments. Then, I'll have the Rafflecopter winner from the previous day, and the entry form for the current one along with the prizes. Let's get going!

Today, I invite you all to join the Facebook party for the upcoming release of Fractured Glass. We're giving away a $100.00 Amazon Gift Card to one lucky person and lots of books, swag, and other goodies the day of the event. Join in the fun here. Feel free to invite your friends.

Books marked with an astrisks and in BOLD are winners.
(That doesn't mean your book wasn't chosen, only that it wasn't chosen today)

***Bound by Duty - Stormy Smith - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Shadows on Snow (A Flipped Fairy Tale) - Starla Hutchon - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Dry Stories - Kate Baggot - Amazon Kindle $3.56
From the Wreckage - Michelle G. Miller - Amazon Kindle FREE
An Unlikely Goddess - Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The House at Zaronza - Vanessa Couchman - Amazon Kindle $2.99
***8 Weeks - Bethany Lopez - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Click. Date. Repeat. - K. J. Farnham - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Kinetic: Book One of the Kinetic Trilogy - C. M. Zimmer - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Six Months to Get a Life - Ben Adams - Grab a sample on Drive here!
Family Planning (Choices Book 3) - Beth Carpenter - Amazon Kindle $0.99
***The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge - Christine Nolfi - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The Release Club 1 - Misty Provencher - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Moonlight - David Rose - Amazon Kindle $1.69
View from the Sixth Floor: An Oswald Tale - Elizabeth Horton-Newton - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Facade: A Vampire Love Story - R. M. Webb - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The ABCs of Dinkology: Life - A. E. Stueve - Amazon Paperback $8.91
Of Mice and Money - Winifred Morris - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The Cure - Stephanie Erickson - Amazon Kindle $2.51
Siren - Jennifer Melzer - Amazon Kindle (Pre-order) $3.99 Grab a sample on Drive!
Ataxia and the Ravine of Lost Dreams - Rachel Barnard - Amazon Kindle $0.99
***Queen of Someday - Sherry Ficklin - Amazon Kindle $5.99
Fragile Creatures - Kristina Circelli - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Pariah - Casey L. Bond - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Destiny Finds Her - Miranda Lynn - Amazon Kindle $2.99
In Dreams - Heather Mullins - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Indelible - Bethany Lopez - Amazon Kindle $3.99
They Called It Moosicide: A Denali Hawthorne Alaska Mystery - Lisa Hall Deckert - Amazon Kindle $2.99
At One's Beast - Rachel Barnard - Amazon Kindle $2.99
To Get Me to You - Kait Nolan - Amazon Kindle $2.99
The Rabbit Ate My Homework - Rachel Elizabeth Cole - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Unseen - Stephanie Erickson - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Sticks and Stones - Shawn McGuire - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Sir Lyle's Dig - Sheldon Lefkowitz - Amazon Kindle $6.99
Warrior Lore: Scandinavian Ballads - Ian Cumpstey - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Good Luck With That Thing You're Doing: One Woman's Adventures in Dating, Plumbing and Other Full Contact Sports - Karen Yankosky - Amazon Kindle $2.99
The Heart Thief - S. Lee Benedict - Amazon Kindle $4.99
Damsel Not - Kristina Circelli - Amazon Kindle $2.95
Tempted - Brenda Tetreault - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Christmas Come Early - Bethany Lopez - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The Crime of Seduction - Nadine LaForet - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Be Careful, It's My Heart - Kait Nolan - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Roots Entwine - Victoria Bastedo - Amazon Kindle $5.99
The Sextape: A Dedication to the Ladies - Peprah Boasiako - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Living on the Knife's Edge - David Rose - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Nissa: a contemporary fairy tale - Bethany Lopez - Amazon Kindle $2.99
The Unknown Sun - Cheryl Mackey - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Refuge - Violet Haze - Amazon Kindle $0.99

Congratulations to Bethany! Your book has been tweeted, shared on Pinterest, added to my Goodreads TBR for the event, and shared on Facebook.

If you pitched and your book isn't in the list, you didn't put the link in the Rafflecopter form. Ergo, it wasn't added.

PITCH your book in the comments. Put the LINK to your book in the Rafflecopter form. Tell me why you think I'll like it, why I should check it out, and a little about the story. DO NOT give me a synopsis. I can get that from Amazon. Make it personal or make it funny. I care not. I'll be grabbing a sample of every book pitched and go from there.

AUTHOR ONLY entries will be removed from Rafflecopter before a winner is chosen. If you want a shot at winning the prizes, put BOTH in the box asking how you're entering.

I strongly encourage you to check out the works of your fellow Indie authors. Chat in the comments, talk each other up, make friends!

Book reviewers! You're welcome to play along, too! Meet and greet authors. Get new books to read and review. It only works if we all work together.

If you haven't joined my 2015 Review Team, do that here. 

**Kindly remember, there's no guarantee your book will be reviewed by me. You will get a purchase if your sample interests me, and I'll try my best to read it. But if I find I can't give it more than 2 stars, I won't write the review. I've had a few I couldn't finish and it led to me not giving a review.**

Now it's time to announce the winners from yesterday's giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Today, prizes from the fabulous Elizabeth Sharp and myself!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!


Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

12 Days of Review Requests - Day Four

Happy Thursday, everyone! Welcome back to the 12 Days of Review Requests fun here on the Jo Michaels blog! If you missed the opening post, be SURE and check it out here. It has the Rafflecopter entry form for the Kindle HD6. Each day, I'll post links to all the books pitched the previous day and a short recap of what I'm looking for you to put in the comments. Then, I'll have the Rafflecopter winner from the previous day, and the entry form for the current one along with the prizes. Let's get going!

 Before we get to the pitch list today, I'm gonna give you all a look at my 5 and 4 star reads from last year:

5 STARS
The Bestiarum Vocabulum
Chasing Shadows
Crewel
Falling for Autumn
happenstance
Iron Pendulum
Sanctuary
Sir Edric's Temple
Tbinkerknese 101
Unhinged

Not only were these phenomenal reads, they were also eligible for my giveaways during the year (these are random) for receiving 5 stars.

4 STARS
The Druid's Doorway
The Fly House
Illusions Begin
Magic Unfolds
Keepers of Arden
The Last Keeper's Daughter
Masked Encounters
Reap
Resist
Surrender to You
The Memory Witch
The Five Elements

Please, by all means, check them out. You won't be sorry! Let's get on to the pitch list, shall we?

Books marked with an astrisks and in BOLD are winners.
(That doesn't mean your book wasn't chosen, only that it wasn't chosen today)

***Bound by Duty - Stormy Smith - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Shadows on Snow (A Flipped Fairy Tale) - Starla Hutchon - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Dry Stories - Kate Baggot - Amazon Kindle $3.56
From the Wreckage - Michelle G. Miller - Amazon Kindle FREE
An Unlikely Goddess - Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The House at Zaronza - Vanessa Couchman - Amazon Kindle $2.99
8 Weeks - Bethany Lopez - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Click. Date. Repeat. - K. J. Farnham - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Kinetic: Book One of the Kinetic Trilogy - C. M. Zimmer - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Six Months to Get a Life - Ben Adams - Grab a sample on Drive here!
Family Planning (Choices Book 3) - Beth Carpenter - Amazon Kindle $0.99
***The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge - Christine Nolfi - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The Release Club 1 - Misty Provencher - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Moonlight - David Rose - Amazon Kindle $1.69
View from the Sixth Floor: An Oswald Tale - Elizabeth Horton-Newton - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Facade: A Vampire Love Story - R. M. Webb - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The ABCs of Dinkology: Life - A. E. Stueve - Amazon Paperback $8.91
Of Mice and Money - Winifred Morris - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The Cure - Stephanie Erickson - Amazon Kindle $2.51
Siren - Jennifer Melzer - Amazon Kindle (Pre-order) $3.99 Grab a sample on Drive!
Ataxia and the Ravine of Lost Dreams - Rachel Barnard - Amazon Kindle $0.99
***Queen of Someday - Sherry Ficklin - Amazon Kindle $5.99
Fragile Creatures - Kristina Circelli - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Pariah - Casey L. Bond - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Destiny Finds Her - Miranda Lynn - Amazon Kindle $2.99In Dreams - Heather Mullins - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Indelible - Bethany Lopez - Amazon Kindle $3.99
They Called It Moosicide: A Denali Hawthorne Alaska Mystery - Lisa Hall Deckert - Amazon Kindle $2.99
At One's Beast - Rachel Barnard - Amazon Kindle $2.99
To Get Me to You - Kait Nolan - Amazon Kindle $2.99
The Rabbit Ate My Homework - Rachel Elizabeth Cole - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Unseen - Stephanie Erickson - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Sticks and Stones - Shawn McGuire - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Sir Lyle's Dig - Sheldon Lefkowitz - Amazon Kindle $6.99
Warrior Lore: Scandinavian Ballads - Ian Cumpstey - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Good Luck With That Thing You're Doing: One Woman's Adventures in Dating, Plumbing and Other Full Contact Sports - Karen Yankosky - Amazon Kindle $2.99
The Heart Thief - S. Lee Benedict - Amazon Kindle $4.99Damsel Not - Kristina Circelli - Amazon Kindle $2.95
Tempted - Brenda Tetreault - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Christmas Come Early - Bethany Lopez - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The Crime of Seduction - Nadine LaForet - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Be Careful, It's My Heart - Kait Nolan - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Roots Entwine - Victoria Bastedo - Amazon Kindle $5.99
The Sextape: A Dedication to the Ladies - Peprah Boasiako - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Living on the Knife's Edge - David Rose - Amazon Kindle $0.99

Congratulations to Stormy! Your book has been tweeted, shared on Pinterest, added to my Goodreads TBR for the event, and shared on Facebook. 

PITCH your book in the comments. Put the LINK to your book in the Rafflecopter form. Tell me why you think I'll like it, why I should check it out, and a little about the story. DO NOT give me a synopsis. I can get that from Amazon. Make it personal or make it funny. I care not. I'll be grabbing a sample of every book pitched and go from there.

AUTHOR ONLY entries will be removed from Rafflecopter before a winner is chosen. If you want a shot at winning the prizes, put BOTH in the box asking how you're entering.

I strongly encourage you to check out the works of your fellow Indie authors. Chat in the comments, talk each other up, make friends!

Book reviewers! You're welcome to play along, too! Meet and greet authors. Get new books to read and review. It only works if we all work together.

If you haven't joined my 2015 Review Team, do that here. 

**Kindly remember, there's no guarantee your book will be reviewed by me. You will get a purchase if your sample interests me, and I'll try my best to read it. But if I find I can't give it more than 2 stars, I won't write the review. I've had a few I couldn't finish and it led to me not giving a review.**

Now it's time to announce the winners from yesterday's giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Today, you have the chance to win prizes donated by Mindy Ruiz and Starla Huchton!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck! I'm looking forward to more pitches today. Hope you're all having fun!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

12 Days of Review Requests - Day Three

Happy Wednesday, good people of the blogosphere! Welcome to the 12 Days of Review Requests fun here on the Jo Michaels blog! If you missed the opening post, be SURE and check it out here. It has the Rafflecopter entry form for the Kindle HD7 (yeah, we got upgraded!). Each day, I'll post links to all the books pitched the previous day and a short recap of what I'm looking for you to put in the comments. Then, I'll have the Rafflecopter winner from the previous day, and the entry form for the current one along with the prizes. Let's get going!

I'm going to take a moment to remind everyone of my RULES (this is the last warning):

1. There's a place on each Rafflecopter entry form where you need to put the link to your book on Amazon. Do it. I export them as excel documents and go to the links from there.
2. Your pitch goes in the comments. Moderation will be turned off during this event. No ugly captchas, either. If you aren't nice, I reserve the right to delete your stuff. DO NOT put your link in with your pitch. I'll remove the entire thing.
3. **NO affiliate links and do not shorten your links.** I understand the need to make a buck, but really? I'll remove them.
4. I announce one review winner per day. You may pitch more than one book to me.
5. DO NOT review my books. Please. Feel free to read and love them, but if I'm reviewing yours, don't review mine. I'm not a swapper *grin*
6. Comments will be closed at 8am for the previous day's post. This is when a new post will go up. If you can't comment, you're on the wrong post.
7. BE NICE. Don't goad, harass, or annoy the other authors pitching their books (or myself).
8. DO feel free to buy some of the books and read/review them. We're all in this together. It's a party, guys!

Books marked with an astrisks and in BOLD are winners.
(That doesn't mean your book wasn't chosen, only that it wasn't chosen today)

Bound by Duty - Stormy Smith - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Shadows on Snow (A Flipped Fairy Tale) - Starla Hutchon - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Dry Stories - Kate Baggot - Amazon Kindle $3.56
From the Wreckage - Michelle G. Miller - Amazon Kindle FREE
An Unlikely Goddess - Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The House at Zaronza - Vanessa Couchman - Amazon Kindle $2.99
8 Weeks - Bethany Lopez - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Click. Date. Repeat. - K. J. Farnham - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Kinetic: Book One of the Kinetic Trilogy - C. M. Zimmer - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Six Months to Get a Life - Ben Adams - Grab a sample on Drive here!
Family Planning (Choices Book 3) - Beth Carpenter - Amazon Kindle $0.99
***The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge - Christine Nolfi - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The Release Club 1 - Misty Provencher - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Moonlight - David Rose - Amazon Kindle $1.69
View from the Sixth Floor: An Oswald Tale - Elizabeth Horton-Newton - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Facade: A Vampire Love Story - R. M. Webb - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The ABCs of Dinkology: Life - A. E. Stueve - Amazon Paperback $8.91
Of Mice and Money - Winifred Morris - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The Cure - Stephanie Erickson - Amazon Kindle $2.51
Siren - Jennifer Melzer - Amazon Kindle (Pre-order) $3.99 Grab a sample on Drive!
Ataxia and the Ravine of Lost Dreams - Rachel Barnard - Amazon Kindle $0.99
***Queen of Someday - Sherry Ficklin - Amazon Kindle $5.99
Fragile Creatures - Kristina Circelli - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Pariah - Casey L. Bond - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Destiny Finds Her - Miranda Lynn - Amazon Kindle $2.99In Dreams - Heather Mullins - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Indelible - Bethany Lopez - Amazon Kindle $3.99
They Called It Moosicide: A Denali Hawthorne Alaska Mystery - Lisa Hall Deckert - Amazon Kindle $2.99
At One's Beast - Rachel Barnard - Amazon Kindle $2.99
To Get Me to You - Kait Nolan - Amazon Kindle $2.99
The Rabbit Ate My Homework - Rachel Elizabeth Cole - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Unseen - Stephanie Erickson - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Sticks and Stones - Shawn McGuire - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Sir Lyle's Dig - Sheldon Lefkowitz - Amazon Kindle $6.99
Warrior Lore: Scandinavian Ballads - Ian Cumpstey - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Good Luck With That Thing You're Doing: One Woman's Adventures in Dating, Plumbing and Other Full Contact Sports - Karen Yankosky - Amazon Kindle $2.99
The Heart Thief - S. Lee Benedict - Amazon Kindle $4.99


Congratulations to Sherry! Your book has been tweeted, shared on Pinterest, added to my Goodreads TBR for the event, and shared on Facebook.

Today, I'm giving you my 2014 Review Video as a bonus! Great music *grin*

PITCH your book in the comments. Put the LINK to your book in the Rafflecopter form. Tell me why you think I'll like it, why I should check it out, and a little about the story. DO NOT give me a synopsis. I can get that from Amazon. Make it personal or make it funny. I care not. I'll be grabbing a sample of every book pitched and go from there.

AUTHOR ONLY entries will be removed from Rafflecopter before a winner is chosen. If you want a shot at winning the prizes, put BOTH in the box asking how you're entering.

I strongly encourage you to check out the works of your fellow Indie authors. Chat in the comments, talk each other up, make friends!

Book reviewers! You're welcome to play along, too! Meet and greet authors. Get new books to read and review. It only works if we all work together.

If you haven't joined my 2015 Review Team, do that here. 

**Kindly remember, there's no guarantee your book will be reviewed by me. You will get a purchase if your sample interests me, and I'll try my best to read it. But if I find I can't give it more than 2 stars, I won't write the review. I've had a few I couldn't finish and it led to me not giving a review.**

Now it's time to announce the winners from yesterday's giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Your prizes for today are from the fabulous N. L. Greene and me.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Throw me a pitch!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

12 Days of Review Requests - Day Two

Happy Tuesday and welcome to the 12 Days of Review Requests fun here on the Jo Michaels blog! If you missed the opening post, be SURE and check it out here. It has the Rafflecopter entry form for the Kindle HD6. Each day, I'll post links to all the books pitched the previous day and a short recap of what I'm looking for you to put in the comments. Then, I'll have the Rafflecopter winner from the previous day, and the entry form for the current one along with the prizes. Let's get going!

I had a little snafu with Rafflecotper (wouldn't export the excel) so if you put a link to a sample yesterday, please send to me via PM either on Facebook or Goodreads. SORRY!

 Books marked with an astrisks and in BOLD are winners.
(That doesn't mean your book wasn't chosen, only that it wasn't chosen today)

Bound by Duty - Stormy Smith - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Shadows on Snow (A Flipped Fairy Tale) - Starla Hutchon - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Dry Stories - Kate Baggot - Amazon Kindle $3.56
From the Wreckage - Michelle G. Miller - Amazon Kindle FREE
An Unlikely Goddess - Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The House at Zaronza - Vanessa Couchman - Amazon Kindle $2.99
8 Weeks - Bethany Lopez - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Click. Date. Repeat. - K. J. Farnham - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Kinetic: Book One of the Kinetic Trilogy - C. M. Zimmer - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Six Months to Get a Life - Ben Adams - Grab a sample on Drive here!
Family Planning (Choices Book 3) - Beth Carpenter - Amazon Kindle $0.99
***The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge - Christine Nolfi - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The Release Club 1 - Misty Provencher - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Moonlight - David Rose - Amazon Kindle $1.69
View from the Sixth Floor: An Oswald Tale - Elizabeth Horton-Newton - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Facade: A Vampire Love Story - R. M. Webb - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The ABCs of Dinkology: Life - A. E. Stueve - Amazon Paperback $8.91
Of Mice and Money - Winifred Morris - Amazon Kindle $0.99
The Cure - Stephanie Erickson - Amazon Kindle $2.51
Siren - Jennifer Melzer - Amazon Kindle (Pre-order) $3.99 Grab a sample on Drive!
Ataxia and the Ravine of Lost Dreams - Rachel Barnard - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Queen of Someday - Sherry Ficklin - Amazon Kindle $5.99
Fragile Creatures - Kristina Circelli - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Pariah - Casey L. Bond - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Destiny Finds Her - Miranda Lynn - Amazon Kindle $2.99

Congratulations to Christine Nolfi! Your book has been tweeted, shared on Pinterest, added to my Goodreads TBR for the event, and shared on Facebook.

PITCH your book in the comments. Put your LINK in the Rafflecopter entry form. Tell me why you think I'll like it, why I should check it out, and a little about the story. DO NOT give me a synopsis. I can get that from Amazon. Make it personal or make it funny. I care not. I'll be grabbing a sample of every book pitched and go from there.

Please specify if you're entering as an author, a reader, or both. Author only entries will be removed before a winner is chosen.

IF you have a pre-order, please upload a SAMPLE to Google Drive and give people with the link permission to view. Put that link in the Rafflecopter form.

I strongly encourage you to check out the works of your fellow Indie authors. Chat in the comments, talk each other up, make friends!

Book reviewers! You're welcome to play along, too! Meet and greet authors. Get new books to read and review. It only works if we all work together.

If you haven't joined my 2015 Review Team, do that here. 

**Kindly remember, there's no guarantee your book will be reviewed by me. You will get a purchase if your sample interests me, and I'll try my best to read it. But if I find I can't give it more than 2 stars, I won't write the review. I've had a few I couldn't finish and it led to me not giving a review.**

Now it's time to announce the winners from yesterday's giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Today, we have a prize pack from Kristie Cook and a book from me! Be sure to thank Kristie for her donation to this event!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I look forward to your pitches today!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

12 Days of Review Requests - Day One

Happy Monday, and welcome to the 12 Days of Review Requests fun here on the Jo Michaels blog! We're gonna kick off this event in style. If you missed the opening post from yesterday, be SURE and check it out here. It has the Rafflecopter entry form for the Kindle HD6. Each day, I'll post links to all the books pitched the previous day and a short recap of what I'm looking for you to put in the comments. Then, I'll have the Rafflecopter winner from the previous day, and the entry form for the current one along with the prizes. Let's get going!

BOOKS PITCHED WILL GO HERE.

For your comment (in the comments below NOT in the rafflecopter), pitch your book. Tell me why you think I'll like it, why I should check it out, and a little about the story. DO NOT give me a synopsis. I can get that from Amazon. Make it personal or make it funny. I care not. I'll be grabbing a sample of every book pitched and go from there.

I strongly encourage you to check out the works of your fellow Indie authors. Chat in the comments, talk each other up, make friends!

Book reviewers! You're welcome to play along, too! Meet and greet authors. Get new books to read and review. It only works if we all work together.

If you haven't joined my 2015 Review Team, do that here. 

**Kindly remember, there's no guarantee your book will be reviewed by me. You will get a purchase if your sample interests me, and I'll try my best to read it. But if I find I can't give it more than 2 stars, I won't write the review. I've had a few I couldn't finish and it led to me not giving a review.**

RAFFLECOPTER FROM PREVIOUS DAY WILL APPEAR HERE WITH WINNERS

Now, up for grabs on day one is a HUGE prize pack of books from author Liz C. Long, and Toni Lesatz. Be sure and thank these generous ladies!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Becoming a Book Blogger - All About the Benjamins

Happy Friday, everyone! Today's post will conclude the series. I bet you're all excited, huh? You have your new book review blog, and you're off to the races! Well, you have one more thing to consider, and that's money. Yes, I said money. You know, the cash flow from your blog. Beware, there are some things you must keep in mind, but I'm gonna walk you through all that. Ready? Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

Here are the posts in this series (in case you're late to the game):

• Choosing a Name and Review Policy
• Branding Yourself With Imagery
• Picking a Platform for Publishing
• Design Considerations
• Structuring Your Rating System
• Building an Audience - Social Media Crazy
• Writing Reviews
• Money, You Say? (you're there now)

Okay, I kinda lied! Today isn't only about the money, though we'll go into that in a few minutes. I'm also going to discuss where you need to post those reviews you've written (besides your blog), and we'll talk for a moment about ethics.

Yes, ethics. It's a hot button for me.

Where to post your reviews:

• Amazon.com
• Barnesandnoble.com
• Goodreads.com

You can copy and paste your reviews from your blog to those sites.

Ethics:
Don't ever accept money for writing a review. It's frowned upon, because a lot of people (myself included) believe the exchange of money taints the reviewer's opinion. You'd be more inclined to give five stars to an author's book if they paid you $250, right? Yeah. So, just don't do it.

Don't create more than one account and leave a bunch of reviews on the same book. This also is frowned upon (and can get you banned from a lot of the review sites out there). Plus, it's just wrong on so many levels.

*steps off the soapbox*

Now, down to money matters! Yeah, I know you've been waiting for this one. Since you're not accepting payment for writing reviews, how do you make money with your new found love?

There are two easy ways I know of:
Become an Amazon Affiliate - When you post the review, add your affiliate code to the link (Amazon will show you how to do this).
Monetize Your Blog with AdWords - This is set up through Google. They'll display ads on your blog, and they'll be more than happy to pay you when someone clicks on a link.

IF you choose to become an Amazon affiliate, be sure you put on your blog the following disclaimer: Purchase links help to support this blog.

So people will know you're using affiliate links.

Again, you run into ethical things when you use those kinds of links, but most people don't care as long as you're honest in your reviews (if you aren't, they'll come back and blast you for it). Why would it be a problem? Because, if you give a book that deserves two stars five stars, throw an affiliate link in there, and the person buys it only to find out the book is terrible, you've just made money on your lie. Bad practice.

Well, that concludes my little series on becoming a book blogger. I hope you all enjoyed it, and you end up with fabulous, healthy, popular review blogs that get a ton of traffic.

Did you follow along? Create a book blog? Share your links below!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Becoming a Book Blogger - Building an Audience

Happy freaking Friday, good people of the blogosphere! It's been a long haul, but we're on the final three posts. You'll get one today, one on Tuesday, and one on Friday. I have some awesome stuff coming your way next week: An author interview on Monday with B. J. Sheldon, a book review of Off Target on Wednesday, and a cover reveal for A Reaper Made on Thursday. So, it's gonna be an exciting week! By this time, if you've been following along, you should have a name, policy, look and feel with imagery, a posting platform, a well designed blog, and a rating system. Today, we focus on building your social media presence. Okay, enough of my jawing, grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

 Here are the past posts and what's coming:

• Choosing a Name and Review Policy
• Branding Yourself With Imagery
• Picking a Platform for Publishing
• Design Considerations
• Structuring Your Rating System
• Building an Audience - Social Media Crazy (you're there now)
• Writing Reviews
• Money, You Say?

How many social media networks are there?

A ton. I'm not gonna list them all.

Here's the thing: You don't have to be on all of them, you just need to be on the right ones. I'm referring to the places your target audience hangs out, which outlets you feel most comfortable with, and which ones will do what you need them to (drive traffic to your blog).

So, here's the link list of social media sites I encourage you to sign up with, and a little bit about how to build your audience once you're there:

Twitter - This is a place where people with short attention spans can gather a lot of news without being bogged down by huge chunks of text. It's easy to share tweets and simple to follow someone. Build your audience here by following at least thirteen new people every day. Do a search for this: #amreading Then, follow about thirteen people who use it. Why? Because they're readers! Alternate with a search for this: #amwriting Give those folks a follow, too. Why? Because they're the writers who'll want you to review their books. Alternate by days and give a follow back to anyone who adds you organically. Once you have a couple, go at least three times a week and retweet some content. You'll find your follower base grow by leaps and bounds.

Facebook - Create a page if you haven't already. Here's a trick you must know to succeed on Facebook: It hates auto-posts and buries them beneath muck. You'll be lucky if fifteen people see an auto-post. Seriously. You'll be better off posting to your Facebook page organically, with no links in the main message (put all links in the comments). Invite all your friends to like your page. Interact at least three times a week with folks. Join a reader group on Facebook. Go to your search and type in: readers. When the box drops down, click on groups. Get to know people. Once in a while, ask them to share your blog with any writers who may want a review. Now, go do the same thing with writer groups. Be sure you're sharing if you expect others to share in return.

Goodreads - Yeah. Just do it. Go poke through the groups and join a couple there, too. Goodreads has a ton of review groups. There are always authors there asking for reviews. But wait! Join reader groups, too! This is a place where you'll be led to wonderful works of fiction, and it's a place where you can discuss books with others. Wow. Plus, you'll need a Goodreads account when you start writing reviews. More on that Tuesday!

Google+ - When you set up a gmail account (you did that, right?), you automatically got a Google+ page. Go to it, add your stuff, and set your custom URL. Then start adding people you already know. Yeah, I bet a lot of them read, too! Readers attract readers as friends.

YouTube - If you think you may ever want to do video reviews, go ahead and set up a YouTube channel. It can't hurt. Share videos by other book reviewers.

Here's another tidbit for thought: Go to one of the major book review sites (like Reader's Favorite or KBR) and apply to be one of their reviewers on staff. All they can say is no, right? You won't know if you don't try.

Two more places to put in your name:  Netgalley  and  Edelweiss
Both of those companies work with major publishers and will send you physical copies of books to read and review before the release dates. Just make sure you do it, or they'll drop you from the list.

Of course, it you want to stick strictly with Indie authors, we'll all love you forever and spread your name like wildfire through our ranks *grin*

I think I've given you all quite enough to do over the weekend. So get to it!

Any of you other book reviewers, where do you connect with readers and writers?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Becoming a Book Blogger - Design Considerations

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Today, we're going into design considerations for your blog. Step four in becoming a book blogger. I do hope you're getting excited as you follow along and create your blog. By now, you've chosen a name, have a URL, and have picked a publishing platform. More than that, you have your review policies (what you will and won't review and how to submit)! You should also be a little bit familiar with your hosting service. This post is going into your blog design (layout) and content. So, grab your pens and notebooks and let's get going!

First, a recap of the past posts and what's coming:

• Choosing a Name and Review Policy
• Branding Yourself With Imagery
• Picking a Platform for Publishing
• Design Considerations (you're there now)
• Structuring Your Rating System
• Building an Audience - Social Media Crazy
• Writing Reviews
• Money, You Say?

Now, take a close look at my blog. You'll see there's a background that encompasses my logo and color/design scheme. On the sidebar, I don't have a ton of clutter for folks to wade through. One thing I have going on right now is my UtopYA con author interview posts. Because of that, I have two additional images on the right hand side. But, as you can see, my subscribe box is above the fold (this is referencing the part of your blog that's visible before the scroll).

Moving on down, you'll see another couple of ways to follow me and my posts (you do want your blog to be read, right?), then it goes right into my archive. Not having an archive where people can browse your past posts isn't a good idea. You want them to stay and look around a while.

Let's go back to the top!

You see my banner telling you what my blog is about, then a set of links I think are pertinent for everyone on social media to make as easy to find as possible. Note they're above the fold.

Because I'm OCD, and my blog is my haven for all the information I impart to my fellow Indie authors, I have a categorized link list. This is a whole separate page on my blog I use to sort posts into categories (with a little snap of what the post is about) so people don't have to wade through my archive to find specific information.

But my blog loads fast on a browser. Six seconds. Ideally, you want five or less, but I'm okay with six. I've visited blogs that took over a minute to load because there was all this extra "stuff" all over them. I waited, but only to take a look at the mess, click away, and never return.

You have about fifteen seconds to catch someone's attention. They won't wait much longer than that (if they wait at all). So, keep the clutter down and increase your load times.

Black text on a white background in an easy to read font is the next thing you need to consider for your design. If you make it hard to read your posts, people will be turned off and not come back.

You want them to come back. That's why you're blogging.

Make sure all your stuff is harmonious. Not that everything has to be identical, but when someone clicks on the link to your Twitter page, make sure it at least resembles your blog, website (if you choose to have one), and Facebook page. Don't let them doubt they've found the person they're looking for.

The Chicken Coop can have one chicken image on their blog, a different one on Facebook and Twitter, and still another on their website, and (as long as the look and feel is the same) they'll connect the dots.

Remember your name! If you've chosen The Chicken Coop for your blog, be @TheChickenCoop on Twitter as well. Be facebook.com/TheChickenCoop or facebook.com/ChickenCoop. Sign up for TheChickenCoop [at] gmail!

Be consistent and keep it simple.

If you want a couple more tips and tricks on making your public appearance gel, grab my free PDF on branding here. Feel free to download, study, read, print, and redistribute at your leisure. As long as you don't charge for it, I'm good.

What do you think? Have you built up your blog yet? Got any subscribers?

Go on and get those signup boxes going! I'll be back later in the week with advice on structuring your rating system.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo