The First Annual Valentiny Contest FINALISTS!!!

Well I didn't make the list of finalists again. But I had fun trying. =) Congratulations to the finalists. Please click on the following link and vote for your favorite story: http://susannahill.com/2016/02/22/the-first-annual-valentiny-contest-finalists/

Susanna Leonard Hills 1st Annual Valentiny Writing Contest

Hello everyone,

Below is my entry for Susanna Leonard Hills 1st Annual Valentiny Writing Contest. The story can be up to 214 words and someone needs to be grumpy.

When my son gets angry he says, "I'm grumpys!" and storms off. So this is loosely based on him. It came in at a whopping 109 words.

And now for your consideration, "I'm Grumpys!"

I’m Grumpys!

Sally woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

She rolled over quickly and bonked her head.

“I’m grumpys!”

She sprang out of bed and landed on a toy.

So far this Valentine’s Day was not full of joy.

“I’m grumpys!”

She walked to the kitchen and the table was bare.

She searched for her mother but found her nowhere.

“I’m grumpys!”

Her mother came in with a big white box.

Inside was her favorite breakfast, heart shaped bagels with cream cheese and no lox.

“I’m not so grupmys.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day!” her mom said with a smile.

Sally had the best day she’d had in a while.

 

New book - This Little President: A Presidential Primer by Joan Holub and Daniel Roode.

Mother Daughter Book Reviews is pleased to be coordinating a Book Blast for the newly-released board book, "This Little President: A Presidential Primer" by Joan Holub and Daniel Roode.

About the Book

Title: This Little President: A Presidential Primer | Author: Joan Holub | Illustrator: Daniel Roode | Publication Date: January 12, 2016 | Publisher: Little Simon | Pages: 26 | Recommended Ages: 2 to 6

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million

Goodreads | Indiebound | iBook | Kobo

Book Description: A board book primer on presidents Learn about the US presidents with this bright and playful board book! Highlighting ten of the most memorable presidents—and featuring all forty-four on the last page—parents and little leaders-in-training alike will love sharing this fun primer full of age-appropriate facts, leadership skills, and White House history.

Leading our country. Helping you and me. Keeping all fifty states safe, happy, and free. Little presidents have a great big job.

See more at Little Simon  

Sneak Peek

 

About the Author: Joan Holub

Joan Holub is the author of 140+ books for children including the Mini Myths series of 8 board books: Be Careful, Icarus!, Brush Your Hair, Medusa!, Make A Wish Midas! Joan also authored the acclaimed picture books Little Red Writing, The Knights Before Christmas, and Mighty Dads, a New York Times bestseller. Joan also co-authors (with Suzanne Williams) three series: Goddess Girls (ages 8-12, Greek mythology with a middle school twist), Grimmtastic Girls (for ages 8-12, fairy tale adventure with a middle school twist), and Heroes in Training (ages 6-11, Greek mythology adventure chapter books).

Author Blog | Twitter | Pinterest

Goodreads | Facebook

 

** Book Blast Giveaway **

Prize: One winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card or $25 PayPal cash prize, winner's choice Giveaway ends: January 26, 11:59 pm, 2016 Open to: Internationally How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by Joan Holub and is hosted and managed by Renee from Mother Daughter Book Reviews. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send an email to Renee(at)MotherDaughterBookReviews(dot)com. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Amazon Kindle Ad Campaign Results

I've seen a few posts about people getting pretty good results from a Kindle Ad Campaign. I unfortunately didn't have good results. Here's what I did for others to learn from.

I ran my campaign from 11/27/15 to 12/24/15 for my book Meowy Christmas.

The minimum amount for a budget is $100. So I stuck with that.

I read several articles and almost all suggested targeting specific products for your ad. So I targeted every Christmas book I could find.

I started with the default cost per click, which was I believe was 33 cents. I left that rate for a week and a half and raised it to 40 cents. After another week and a half, I raised it for a final amount of 45 cents.

The stats were as follows:

Impressions: 299,910
Clicks: 227
Click Through Rate: .076%
Detail Page Views: 249
Spent: $74.26
Average Cost Per Click: $.33
Estimated Orders: $0
Estimated Sales: $0

I am not sure who saw my ad. I had several people search for it under the products I targeted and no one saw it, myself included.

While I didn't sell any books via the ad, I did sell 11 paperback versions and 23 kindle copies during that time. Not great but better than nothing.

Would I do it again? Probably not. If they lowered the minimum to $20, I may think about it.

I hope this helps anyone thinking of running an Amazon ad. Feel free to ask any questions and I'll do my best to answer them.

New book "All Roads Lead to Terror" by Richard Shiver

Richard Shiver may not be a name familiar to children's authors. But if it does sound somewhat familiar, it's because he interviewed me a while back. His latest novel, All Roads Lead to Terror came out last week.

I was intrigued on how he came up with the cover. Here's what he had to say:

As an independent author with limited resources, what I’m able to save to put into my writing is used to have my work edited before it is released. As such I’m unable to afford the covers I would like to see on my work so for the past couple of years I’ve been designing my own, while teaching myself how to use Photoshop to create covers. I’m pretty damned proud of what I came up with for All Roads Lead to Terror. I wanted to touch the potential reader on an emotional level while at the same time showing that the story within the covers was about leaving your childhood behind as one stepped into adulthood. Of course what better way of showing innocence lost than with an abandoned teddy bear. I tried several different routes, all with little success, until I staged the photo myself.

I picked up the stuffed bear from Goodwill for a couple of bucks. When I carried him out of the store he was in pretty good shape. Once I got him home it got a little interesting, even though I look like a grumpy old man, I can be rather emotional at times. I believe a writer has to be very much in touch with their emotions in order to properly convey the feelings of their characters on the page. It was this familiarity with my own emotions that stopped me at first from doing what I knew I had to do. It’s just a stuffed bear, I kept telling myself. That might have been but before he went to live at the Goodwill it was obvious a child had taken good care of him.

In the end I quickly removed his left leg and ear. A bit of black paint and some hard rubbing gave me the look I wanted for with his fur, a matted, unwashed appearance. Adding the sling was a final touch to show that though he had been abandoned at one time he’d been cherished by a child that shared its sorrow for a world turned upside down.

He has no name, yet. But his sacrifice has earned him a place of honor in my office, he sits on the top shelf of my bookcase, watching over my shoulder as I work, occasionally he will sit in my lap as I write, to help me connect with the emotions that I strive to bring to the page. He will also appear on every subsequent cover in the series.

He serves as a constant reminder of what I hope to achieve with The Dreadland Chronicles that will focus not on the brutality of the world in which they live, but the undying hope of the young as they struggle to rebuild a shattered world that has been left to them, and make a better place for those who will follow.

All Roads Lead to Terror can be purchased at the following online retailers:

Amazon US

Amazon UK  

Barnes & Noble

Itunes

Kobo 

Smashwords

A little more about Richard and how to contact\follow him below:

Richard was born in Frostburg, Maryland, in the winter of '58' and currently lives eight miles away. A five-year stint with the military allowed him to see what he wanted of the world. Married with four grown children and eight grandchildren, he and his wife provide a home to four pets that are spoiled beyond rotten.

In addition to writing daily he works a full time job in retail, and piddles around in his wood-shop making one mess after another when time permits.

Facebook 

Follow Richard on Twitter: @RichardSchiver

Written in Blood is Richard's personal blog where he shares his thoughts on writing, and whatever else might strike his fancy. 

He can be contacted directly at rschiver@gmail.com and would be delighted to hear from you.

Sign up to be notified of publishing updates and new releases as they become available. He promises to never share your contact info, nor will he swamp your inbox with unnecessary junk. He’ll also toss in a free copy of White Walker when you sign up.

Susanna Leonard Hill's The 5th Annual Holiday Contest!!!!

I'm at it again, trying to write a short story for Susanna Leonard Hill's 5th Annual Holiday Contest. The rules this time are 350 words max and the story must begin with a line in the vein of, "Rocking around the Christmas tree at the Christmas party hop." Without further adieu, I present for your consideration, "Last Minute at the Mall"

Gregory E Bray

Last Minute at the Mall (133 words)

Walking around the mall
at five thirty
on a chilly Christmas Eve.

Looking for the perfect gift
For my mommy
On a budget of three.

The store shelves are bare
Items strewn everywhere
I fear mommy will get no gift from me.

But what do I see
The perfect gift for her from me
And exactly three.

I go up to pay
The cashier says, “That’ll be three twenty three”
A feeling of dread comes over me.

I forgot about tax.
My perfect gift gone in a flash,
As I stand slackjawed feeling glumly.

“Your tax is on me.”
The clerk said with much glee
And handed the gift to a smiling me.

As I turned to walk away
The cashier and I said in harmony,
“Merry Christmas to you and your family!”

23rd Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards

I entered Meowy Christmas in the 23rd Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards. I didn't win. But I really appreciate the judges commentary. =)

Entry Title: Meowy Christmas
Author: Gregory E Bray
Judge Number: 5
Entry Category: Children's Picture books

Books are evaluated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 meaning “needs improvement” and 5 meaning “outstanding”. This scale is strictly to provide a point of reference, it is not a cumulative score and does not reflect ranking. Our system only recognizes numerals during this portion of logging evaluations. As a result, a “0” is used in place of “N/A” when the particular portion of the evaluation simply does not apply to the particular entry, based on the entry genre. For example, a book of poetry or a how to manual, would not necessarily have a “Plot and Story Appeal and may therefore receive a “0”.

*If you wish to reference this review on your website, we ask that you cite it as such: “Judge, 23rd Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards.” You may cite portions of your review, if you wish, but please make sure that the passage you select is appropriate, and reflective of the review as a whole.

Structure, Organization, and Pacing: 5
Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar: 4
Production Quality and Cover Design:  4
Plot and Story Appeal: 5
Character Appeal and Development: 5
Voice and Writing Style: 5

Judge’s Commentary*:

Cute illustrations. Provide some background color and detail for the illustrations throughout, to give them a setting and texture, and to make the action in the images stand out. That would add a more polished look to the book.

Author writes with a light, happy voice and a nice rhythm. Sentences are nicely patterned, in kid-friendly lengths, using kid-friendly wording. Watch out for some minor typos like "one and another." It looks like an edit pass miss and is not a major problem, but in a small book, these tiny errors stand out.

We get a good spelling lesson in this book for the educational aspect, and it’s such a fun concept to think about what a pet would give as a gift if he or she could select gifts for the family. It’s a look at generosity and reciprocity, as well as an eye-opener about what is of value between loved ones.

The kiss as the return present was expected, but we’re fine with it, since it’s the symbol of the greater gift being time spent together with family. Well done here.

The voices of Charley and Franklin are nicely differentiated. The author has done a good job of personalizing them, so that the reader knows who is talking. Well done. A lovely holiday book and a unique handling of the lesson on what is of highest value during gift-giving holidays.