Jo Michaels Blog

Monday, December 7, 2015

12 Days of Review Requests 2015 - Day 3

Happy Monday, 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 iPad Mini. 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 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)

Marla Bradeen - The Amicable Divorce: A Chick-Lit Novel 3.99
Laila Raimes - Tiny Tragedies - The Sundry Files: An Alt World Book 3.99
***Sahara Foley - The Secret of Excalibur 2.99***
Andi O'Connor - The Lost Heir (The Dragonath Chronicles Book 1) 4.99
Julia Harney Stamps - Rest, My Love: Triple R Series 2.99
Colleen O'Felein - Eerie 2.99 (preorder Dec 15)
Heidi Angell - Angel's Dance (Clear Angel Chronicles) (Volume 2) 10.99 (paperback)
Kirsten Blacketer - An Irresistible Shadow (Shadow Guardians Book 1) 2.99
Morgan Reeves - Free to Fly (Never Ever After Book 1) 2.99
Jen Bradlee - The Prince of Whispers (Wicked Whispers Trilogy Book 1) 2.99
Mary J. Williams - If I Loved You (Harper Falls Book 1) 0.99
M. H. Soars - Wonderwall 2.99
***Suzanna Lynn - The Bed Wife Chronicles - Collector's Edition 4.99***
Casey L. Bond - Reap (The Harvest Saga Book 1) FREE
Christina Benjamin - The Geneva Project - Truth FREE
Corrissa James - So Wills the Heart: Book 4 in the Great Plains Romance Series 2.99
Angel L. Woodz - Bed of Thornes (Bed of Thornes Trilogy Book 1) 0.99
Intisar Khanani - Sunbolt (The Sunbolt Chronicles Book 1) 1.99
Laila Raimes - Shifter Fates: Elle's Claim 1.00
Shawn McGuire - Break My Bones (The Wish Makers Book 2) 3.99
Andi E. O'Connor - Awakening (The Dragonath Chronicles Book 2) 5.99
Nanette Day - Skeleton Dance 0.99
Brea Behn - Wolves in the Woods (Wolves Series, Book #1) 1.99
Heidi Angell - Elements of a Broken Mind (The Clear Angel Chronicles Book 1) 4.99
Sylvia Stein - Chasing Clarity 2.99
Terri Bruce - Hereafter (Afterlife #1) 0.99
Casey Hays - Breeder: Arrow's Flight Book #1 FREE
Bonnie Phelps - My Rodeo Man (The Texas Kincaids Book 1) 3.99
Christina Benjamin - The Geneva Project: Prequels - The Christmas Gift (Short Story) 0.99
Sahara Foley - It Lives in the Basement 2.99
RJ Blain - The Dawn of Dae (Dae Portals Book 1) FREE
Angel L. Woodz - Holiday's Presence FREE
Aaron-Michael Hall - The Rise of Nazil: Secret of the Seven 3.99

Congratulations to Suzanna Lynn! 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.

**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

Today, we have a prize pack from Tara Benham and Mindy Ruiz! Be sure to thank them for their donations 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

Friday, December 4, 2015

12 Days of Review Requests 2015 - Day 2

Happy Friday, 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 iPad Mini. 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!

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.

**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 Tricia Copeland! Be sure to thank her 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

Thursday, December 3, 2015

12 Days of Review Requests 2015 - Day 1

Happy Thursday, 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 iPad Mini. 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.

**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

Today's prizes are provided by Karen Hooper and Christina Benjamin. Be sure and shoot them a tweet to say thanks!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Well, that's all for today, folks! I look forward to reading all the samples and seeing your best pitches!

Jo

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

12 Days of Review Requests 2015 Starts Tomorrow

Happy Wednesday, everyone! It's that time of year again, and I'm gearing up to take you all on a wild ride for a chance to win a book review and some great prizes. This is a long post. But you need to read it all. I know what you're thinking: Why would I compete for a review when I can just send my book here, there, or yonder and get one? Well, let me tell you why a book review by me is different (and totally worth it).

Why a Book Review by Jo Totally Rocks

I always buy the book I'm reviewing. It's just good manners. I've had many Indies offer to give me copies for review, but then I feel like a louse if I can't finish them for one reason or another (usually bad writing or formatting is the issue). So, I buy them myself. Booyah! Sale for you.

There's one thing you don't get from a lot of reviewers, eh? Most I've seen want you to send them a copy of the book for review. But what does that get you? Well, when they post that review to Amazon, it gets you nothing but words and stars (and a disclaimer saying the book was gifted). If your reviewer buys your book, it's shown as an Amazon verified purchase. Score!

Moving on...

In addition to the review showing shoppers I've actually spent money on your book, I start by telling the customer why I picked up the book, where I got it, and sometimes say a little word about the cover art, and then break the review into three parts:

1. From a Reader's Perspective - This is where I break down my review into plot, character, pacing, structure, and consistency in the first section. Those items are given a total of four stars to be awarded or redacted. Part two includes a look at grammar, punctuation, redundancy, and niggling things like that. My reviews are thorough.
2. From an Editor's Perspective - In this section, I outline where the book could use a little work if it needs it and what I liked and disliked about the structure, grammar, and punctuation. Books I've worked on have won awards. Yes, really.
3. Rating - I break the star rating down so potential buyers can see I'm not blowing smoke. I then go on to say who might like the book. I do NOT go on and on with filler about the plot, they can get that from the description. I never post spoilers.

See some of my reviews here.

My tastes:
I've read books in every single genre on the planet. Yes, really. I enjoy most of them. So don't be shy no matter what you write. I get into books that are well written. Next week, I'll be listing some of my favorite reads of 2014; you'll see the wide range of stuff I've read and liked.

Where I post reviews:
Everywhere I can find your book. Goodreads, B&N, and Amazon are my top three. But wait! It gets better! I also curate a review magazine on Flipboard with over 2,000 regular readers, and has enjoyed over 87,000 shares of articles I include. My review also goes in there. Keep reading, there's more! Yes, really! I post to two blogs. This one and one over on Tumblr. Each has at least 200 followers (this one has more) and I have a huge list of people who subscribe by e-mail. Add to that, I'll be pinning your book covers with a link to the Amazon page over on Pinterest. At the end of the year, I'll be making a YouTube video (with awesome music) highlighting my favorite reads, as well as recapping here on the blog. I also have a large number of people on Goodreads who follow my reviews. So, you get plenty of bang.

Why does this matter?
Because I market your review to the people who read books. I make it really easy for them to buy your book by linking things. That market is those who are hungry for something new and exciting. People looking to snag the next great unknown author. I've spent a lot of time building trust with my readers and most of them love me. You should see the fan mail. :) The keyword is: Trust.

So, now that you know how all this is going to help you, I bet you're asking what's in it for me, right? I would be. If you aren't, you might want to think about why...

I'm getting to know new authors, building relationships, and becoming a recognized authority on what's good and what sucks in the literary world. So, yes, there's something in it for me. Hey, at least I'm honest!

What I don't do is use affiliate links or make money off your book in any way. I don't want someone thinking I gave your book five stars so I could make a buck off their purchase of a crappy book. Got it?

I do expect you all to give my page a like on Facebook, a follow on Twitter, an add on Google+, a follow of my YouTube Channel, and an entering of my fan-dom on Goodreads (or a friend request). Why does this matter? Because if you don't see the review, you can't share. Those who share their own review and the reviews of others will get preferential treatment during the next round of selections. I pay close attention.

Now for the rules and requirements!

I told you this was going to be long.

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.
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.
NO affiliate links and do not shorten your links. I understand the need to make a buck, but really? I'll remove them/ignore them. Please only give me the basic link with the ASIN.
I announce one review winner per day. You may pitch more than one book to me.
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*
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.
BE NICE. Don't goad, harass, or annoy the other authors pitching their books (or myself).
DO feel free to buy some of the books and read/review them. We're all in this together. It's a party, guys!

I reserve the right to block you if you don't follow my rules. They aren't hard.

AUTHORS, go to the corresponding day on the rule page to find where to pitch your book. Updated with which day we're currently on each morning. Thank you!

DAILY LINKS and RULES PAGE
can be found HERE

This is for you, not me. I update that page so you can get to the entry form and post for the corresponding day.

**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.**

Here's the Rafflecopter that'll run for the duration of the event (there will also be a daily one, so be sure and go to that day's page to pitch your book):

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck! See you all tomorrow.

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

Jo

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Announcement Post is TOMORROW - 12 Days of Review Requests

You guys. I'm SOSO excited about tomorrow I can't sit still.

The announcement post for the grand prize giveaway, the process outline, and the rules to play the game goes live tomorrow morning!

SQUEAL!

All the posts are linked up here, along with a short rundown of the rules for playing along. Bookmark it!

I'm gonna be inviting all the book reviewers I know, so get those pitches ready!

You're gonna just die when you see the grand prize!

Here's a list of author giveaways running each day of the event:

Karen Hooper	Signed book winner's choice
Tricia Copeland	tank top, book and book mark, necklace with swallow charm
Tara Benham	Free Ebook or signed print copy of At Night's End
Tia Bach	ebook of 1st four books in Tala Prophecy series
Kelly Risser	Signed copy of Always Remembered
Casey L. Bond	Ebook of Harvest Saga omnibus
Rachael Brownell	paperback copy of Holding On
M. H. Soars	ebook copy of Wonderwall
Elizabeth Kirke	Book Magnets or ebooks
Cadence Rae	Ebook of In Her Eyes Novella
Katie M John	swag packs
Suzanna Lynn	A set of all three of my books, signed (Bedwife series)
Christina Benjamin	ebooks, swag, giftcards (Geneva Project)
Mindy Ruiz	Enchanted Heart & Lying, Cheating Heart books, Vegas swag pack, and $25 Amazon gift card
Sharon Rose Mayes	1 each paperback copies of Blood Pact and The Broken Pact.
Casey Anderson	1 Signed copy of my book, $10.00 Amazon gift card, necklace with symbol from my book
Jo Michaels	$50 Amazon GC and Two of my books - winner's choice
K. J. Farnham,	One signed copy of Click Date Repeat, One signed copy of Don't Call Me Kit Kat (All Countries)

WOW, right?

How amazing will this party be?

Get ready, because it's COMING!

What are you most excited about?

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

Monday, November 30, 2015

Writing Prompts for Kids - 24 Writing Prompts to Spark Ideas for a Year

Happy Monday, everyone! I'm soooo excited today. I have been since last week, but I unplugged for the holiday so this is my first chance to share with you all. *squeal*

It's official! Writing Prompts for Kids is alive and kicking on Amazon. Here's the info:

Title: Writing Prompts for Kids: 24 Writing Prompts to Spark Ideas for a Year - A Child's Writing Journal (Writing for Kids Volume I)
Author: Jo Michaels
Genre: Juvenile Non-Fiction / Language Arts / Writing and Composition
Buy Link: Amazon Paperback $19.99

Blurb:
If your child wants to write, but needs a little help (or just wants something to write IN), this book is the answer.

With 24 solid writing prompts and a guided setup, your little one will be pumping out words before you know it. From author Jo Michaels comes a fun and interactive journal style book that will spark your child’s imagination and get them creating amazing things in no time.

Your child will be asked questions like:
What is my character’s name?
How old?
Is he/she human?
If no, what is he/she?
What is he or she going to try to do?
What are Mom and Dad’s names?
Where do they live?

Prompt #1:
Think of a time you were scared. What were you scared of? How could you be braver? What power would you like to have to help?

With pages for drawing book covers and scenes, this journal will keep your child engaged for hours.

I bet you're wondering why the heck I created this book. Well, because I wanted something for my own daughter, and nothing I found fit the bill. She loves to write, but she has a difficult time with the nitty-gritty creation details. Then, she mixes up her writing journals or loses them.

I wanted something I could keep, too. Yeah, I know it's selfish, but it is what it is.

There are pages in there for drawing, too, because I thought about those kids who hate to write and figured a little art might go a long way in keeping their attention on the story. Plus, I get pages upon pages of her ten-year-old artistic self.

This book is for kids age 7-12. After that, they're too old for these kinds of writing prompts. A teen version will be coming sometime soon, so keep your eyes open for that!

My fingers are crossed your kids will enjoy it. I kept it as gender neutral as I could.

Check out the look inside option, and tell me what you think in the comments below.

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

Jo

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope you have some awesome planned for the day, and my fingers are crossed all goes smoothly.

I have a little announcement to make (if you're still reading).

This week, a new kind of book I've written will go on sale. It's non-fiction, and it's for your kids (kind of).

Here's the dealio:

Your kids get a nice sized book to write, color, and draw in. But! What they'll be learning as they do these things is how a story is crafted on the most basic level.

What's in it for you?

You get a priceless keepsake, a record of your child's imagination at work at their current age.

Take a look at the cover:

Inside, there's space for your child to write 24 stories based on prompts provided. They get to draw their own book covers, doodle scenes, and flesh out their worlds with simple questions before writing.

If you think it's something you might like, keep an eye on the blog. I'll post here when it's ready to buy.

Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions?

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

Jo

Links and Books by Jo Michaels