Marketing with Mandy~Linden Bay Romance Publisher Spotlight Part IV
Q: Tell us a little about your experience with Linden Bay Romance, LLC.
A: I’m actually one of the owners of Linden Bay Romance so my perspective might be a bit different from that of an author that isn’t involved in the business side of things. As an author, there are three things that stand out for me though.
First, publishing a high quality novel is very important to Linden Bay and so they invest time and resources in the editorial process. The editing that I’ve received there has consistently been first rate.
Second, the cover art is spectacular. As an author, my ideas are solicited and most often incorporated to some degree into the final look. Often the cover artist is able to improve on a germ of an idea that I have. Sometimes they come back with something totally different. But I can honestly say that I’ve never been disappointed with the outcome.
Third is that it’s obvious to me that Linden Bay Romance is a well-run professional business. If I send my editor a question, it’s responded to quickly. My royalty checks are delivered on-time without fail. And, commitments are kept.
Q: What tips/tricks do you use for marketing or promoting your own titles?
A: Stay open to new ideas. Don’t be afraid to try new things. Networking has been very important for me. It’s not the easiest thing for me to do, but it’s very effective and so I push myself to do it That means going to meetings and conventions, spending time writing blogs and conducting interviews, creating a presence on MySpace, conducting signings, and speaking in public. I don’t really think that there’s a trick to it. You just need to set aside the time and realize that promotion is part of being an author.
Q: What is one thing you’d want to tell a newer author, just coming into the game?
A: Promotion is part of being an author, a big part. When I started writing I thought that I’d be able to sit at home in my wood-paneled office, write fabulous prose, and occasionally deposit a royalty check. Now I think of finishing the book and getting that release date as the beginning of the process.
Q: Could you tell us a bit about your latest release?
A: That would be Forbidden: The Awakening, the second novel in my Forbidden vampire series. The premise for the series came to be about a year and a half ago when I was taking a long flight back from London. In most vampire stories the vamp is the seducer. I wanted to turn the table, so to speak.
So this is a non-traditional vampire series. The hero, Byron Renfield, spent years climbing the social ladder, and is successful, handsome, independently wealthy and a vampire. But in order to ensure his redemption, Byron isolated himself on a small private island, away from all temptation. He’s basically trying to be a good little vamp and it was working until Violet Deeds became stranded on his island and turned his life upside down.
Violet is beautiful, sexy, outspoken, and a human, which makes her completely off limits and completely irresistible. Byron’s societys canon may forbid relationships between vampires and humans, but will that stop them? No way! It’s a romance after all!
Forbidden: The Claim is the beginning of Byron and Violet’s story. Forbidden: The Awakening is the continuation of their story. It’s very steamy…with a kidnapping, an underground world of rebel vampires, an elaborate network of elite clansman led by an ageless prophet, and a rescue mission that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Am I tempting you? Good. To quote Byron, “Sometimes giving in to temptation can be a good thing.”
Q: Can you tell us a little about your current WIP’s?
A: I’m currently working on the third novel in my Forbidden series. Its title is Forbidden: The Revolution. The story is shaping up quite nicely. I’ve introduced some new characters and have brought back some of the characters from the previous books in the series. For those of you wondering what happened to the baby, Sophie, who was kidnapped and Rita, Byron’s former consort…you’ll find out!
Q: How do balance family and writing?
A: It’s not always easy. I can get lost in my work. When I’m writing the rest of the world disappears, so I need to be careful. Sometimes it’s hard to turn it off. But I have people in my life that I enjoy being with and that I want to be there for. That means turning the computer off, saying goodbye to the characters that are living in my head, and spending time with real folks. My favorite time of the day is right before dinner. I love to cook and my husband is the best sous chef in the world. When he comes home from work we pour ourselves a glass of wine and just hang out in the kitchen while dinner is cooking.
Q: Why do you like writing romance/erotica?
A: I tell people that I write steamy romance. It’s not erotica but it is erotic. The sex is definitely written for an adult audience and the language used to describe the sex is explicit and direct. I remember reading romance novels as a young adult where in the end the hero would take the heroine in his arms and “make her a woman”. I always wanted to know exactly how he did that.
Sex is such an important part of adult relationships—I can’t imagine writing a romance between two adults and not sharing with the reader that part of the relationship fully and honestly. That actually brings me to a funny story.
The Forbidden series is written in first person point of view from the perspective of the main character, Byron Renfield. After I wrote the first sex scene I sent it to friend and fellow author S.L. Carpenter. Scott’s a great guy. He was working on something of his own at the time, but he set it aside to read vampire sex. I received an instant message from him a couple hours after I sent him the manuscript:
Scott: You have to call it her pussy. Byrons a guy. He’s thinking pussy.
Sam: Just because he’s a guy I HAVE to say pussy? My husband’s a guy. I’ve never heard him say pussy.
Scott: He’s thinking pussy even if he’s not saying it. Ask him.
I did. Then I changed it to pussy.
LINKS:
Samantha Sommersby’s Website:
MySpace:
Blog:
Yahoo Group:
Publisher:
Browse Samantha Sommersby eBooks:
Browse Samantha Sommersby Books in Print:
Q: Tell us a little about your experience with Linden Bay Romance
A: I can’t say enough about Linden Bay Romance and the gals that run it. I definitely found a great group when I stumbled upon them. They are so helpful and understanding and I’m sure I’ve tried their patience on more than one occasion. The support I receive from the editors and publishers are phenomenal.
Q: What tips/tricks do you use for marketing or promoting your own titles?
A: I’m still learning the tips and tricks of promoting. I do find that having promotional material as giveaways are helpful to bring in the readers. Everyone loves free stuff. Having a Newsletter is also great and having your book covers and banners on other sites is also helpful.
Q: What is one thing you’d want to tell a newer author, just coming into the game?
A: Know your market and learn learn learn how to promote yourself. There is so much more to being an author than just putting a story to paper. And be prepared to dish out some money to promote yourself. You will not get rich overnight
Q: Could you tell us a bit about your latest release?
A: Secrets of the Dead is a Paranormal Romance centered in a haunted house with a man who can communicate with the dead, and a woman determined to prove them a hoax.
Jessica Coltrane is a die-hard skeptic who believes that ghosts and paranormal activity are nothing more than a figment of some poor fool’s over active imagination—until she finds herself locked inside a house with the enigmatic paranormal investigator C.J. Dowling, that is.
C.J., born with the ability to see and speak to the dead, thought this would be a job like many others. Calm and self-assured, he knows his business. After all, he’s been listening to the Secrets of the Dead since he was three. He’s prepared for anything—except the smart and sexy Jessica.
Working together in close quarters, C.J. and Jessica find it’s all too easy to get under one another’s skin during the day. As darkness falls and the tension between them mounts, a spark is ignited. Fueled by passion they give into their desires…only C.J. and Jessica aren’t alone.
As the light dawns the couple discovers they’re trapped. Trapped with the ghost of a child long forgotten, an amorous entity that is threatening Jessica, and a powder keg of a spine-tingling mystery that might just be better left buried.
Q: Can you tell us a little about your current WIP’s?
A: I am currently working on the third installment of the Passion Series due to be released possibly this fall. Discovery in Passion is a Paranormal Romance. Thomas and Cassie find love amongst a haunting and a deep dark secret that could take their lives.
Escape in Passion is a Suspense Romance. Lust and Love run rampant when Vic and Julia come together. But a secret from the past might just put an end to it all.
Mercy in Passion is a Contemporary Romance. Begging for mercy might be Justin’s only recourse when setting his sights on Beth. But will the town be as forgiving?
Nothing is ordinary in small town Passion, especially the love
Q: How did you get into writing?
A: I was born into it. There isn’t a time in my life that I can remember not writing, or telling stories. Even as a child I had a vivid imagination and loved regaling my friend and family with tales I would make up on the fly. Writing, to me, is as much a part of me as my arms or legs.
Q: How do you come up with your ideas?
A: Mostly they just pop into my head, and those that don’t have come from my dreams. There is always a pad and pen at my bedside for those times when I’m awoken with a story begging to be put to paper. There is the rare occasion I use a part of my life in my stories, which I did in both, Secrets of the Dead and Discovery in Passion. I lived in a haunted house as a child which was the catalyst to my love of all things Paranormal.
LINKS:
Website:
Newsletter: shielasbooks@shaw.ca
Publisher:
To be eligible to win one of the many prizes Linden Bay Romance Authors are offering, comment THIS WEEK on their Marketing with Mandy blog spots. Winners will be announced on Sunday!
Here are some of the prizes they’ll be giving away:
Samantha Sommersby will give away a signed print copy of Forbidden: The Awakening .
Nancy Henderson will give away a note/stationary set.
Shiela Stewart will give away a signed print of her book ‘Secrets of the Dead’
Cat Johnson will give away a signed print copy of Trilogy No. 102: Opposites Attract
Peter Brandt is giving away an ebook download of his romantic comedy novel “The Secret Life of Harden Long”
Jane Beckenham is giving away an Ebook download of her book “Hiring Cupid”
