Blog Archives - Susan Ward Books

I've made some daring stylist choices on the second Half Shell Book. What will readers think? #amwriting #amreading #blog #author #kindle #kindleunlimited #newadult #99cents

2/23/2015

I believe we are born as we are. Flawed and wonderful. I don't think of people growing in a way such as our flaws change until we no longer have them. I know that's what lots of romance writers do; however, I believe the flaws remain constant, we learn to live with them, survive them,manage them, and they are revealed differently with who we love. That's been true with me. A truly flawed woman. I have loved well. I have loved badly. I have loved when the flaw are less painful. And I have loved when the flaws have ripped us apart.

So, what will my readers think of my poor girl on the shell as she steps both feet into womanhood. She will love. She will love well. She will love badly. Her flaws remain constant. And how she loves will be revealed in the context of the man she is loving at different times in the same book. A difficult stylist challenge. A very flawed woman. Loving 2 men in the same book. Written uniquely, woven together, her as a reflection of who she is loving. Her always being her and Chrissie still growing up the hard way and making mistakes.

What will my readers think? Good choice or bad? We will see. I know among the dozens of emails I get each day, you will let this very flawed woman know.

And as ever, flaws and all, I wish you Peace.

The Girl on the Half Shell 99cents today!

Should happily ever after only happen to women who live hallmark moments...#amreading #romance #kindle #kindleunlimited #author #blogging #amwriting

2/21/2015

Sometimes I read a romance novel and the characters are so perfect and everything happens too perfectly in their lives, and when I finish the book I say to myself yeah, but what about the rest of us? The question is do readers want happily ever after only for people who live only hallmark moments? I guess I'm about to find out.

My poor girl on the shell definitely does not live a life of hallmark moments. She is a product of her time and generation, and to tell her story well, for happily ever after to have bang I'm letting Chrissie grow up with quite a few NOT hallmark moments. I think it's hopeful for all the rest of us, us women out there who sometimes have messy lives, when we do dumb things and we know we shouldn't, when we make our mistakes and are the ones who occasionally mess up our forever, to read a character who does just that and somehow ends in happily ever after. If you haven't screwed your life over love, done something stupid over love; you're a woman I haven't met yet so drop me a line.

Women go through complex and often times difficult moments. In my circle of friends, it seems we've shared a lot of the same NON hallmark moments. Somehow we're all doing pretty OK. I think it's a combination of my age and just knowing so many shared experiences of my gal pals that's made me want to write a series this way: messy, complex, very not perfect moments, and humans who actually make mistakes. Humans we actually sometimes don't like. Having been married forever I assure you there are times I love my husband but I don't like my husband. There are times he doesn't like me. But that's OK. I don't want a perfect man. Clearly he doesn't want a perfect woman--he married me-- It's enough we're perfect for each other. Somehow we've been happily ever after for a pretty long time.

I consider the second half shell book the book of mistakes. I've always thought you've got have mistakes, some pretty big mess ups, if you really want happily ever after to have a substance. I could be wrong. It just might be it only has substance for all us women who do not live hallmark moments 24/7. The women who live greeting card moments might just end up throwing my book at me. But we will see.

The first book was an intense emotional read. The second book is more like that nervous, anxious feeling you having waiting in line for a giant roller coaster. And then I let loose in the 3rd book, an intense journey of blind turns and rushing emotions, all questions answered, all mistakes thrown on the table, a roller derby of passion and true love where we get to happily ever after my way. Or do we? What would be the fun of me telling you that.

As ever, I wish you Peace.
PRE-RELEASE SALE The Girl on the Half Shell 99cents through 2/27

I'm breaking all the romance rules in the next 2 books of the Half Shell Series. Will I do it well? #amreading #amwriting #author #blogging #chicklit #romance

2/15/2015

There is a widely believed list of rules among romance writers they don't break because they fear that readers don't want them to. I don't know who "they" are who created the list. The list is pretty simple. But is it true: don't break the rules or readers will reject you. Or have the times changed, has loved changed, have men and women changed that in order to tell an intense contemporary love story authors can step out of the box of the romance genre. We are all faithful to the happily ever after, but I would say EL James definitely broke the rules and her books were a smash.

I've always taken the romance genre and for the sake of love bent the romance writing rules a bit. Even in my very tradition historical romance series, The Deverell Series, I did some naughties ignoring the list that THEY say I can't break. I think it makes the story more fun and real and relevant. The characters don't have to be formula one dimensional. Powerful man rescues girls struggling. Girl with life together rescues guy not together. Sweet girl heals broken-hearted man. Etc. Etc. Etc. I love that I see now such an amazing variety of heroes and heroines in romance today. Characters flawed and real like we are. And they are rising up from Indie World.

Part of what I love about Indie Romance Authors is they are not forced to perform within traditional publishing format as they create their stories. Love doesn't always have to look the same, and I do so love a surprise. Whatever your opinion of 50 shades, Ana and Christian are not your every- day- book couple. One of my favorite Indies, Rachel Blaufeld, proved they don't even have to have the every-day-book couple jobs. In her best selling Electric Tunnel Series, her heroines are girls with pasts who work as strippers and find happily every after. And her books are marvelous.

So as I finalize the next two books of the Half Shell Series, knowing I've broken some rules, my only question isn't whether I've done something wrong breaking all the rules. It is: Did I do it well? You will let me know. I don't doubt that. But granny is breaking bad as she finishes this series...well at least They, the people who make the rules, will think so. I don't care about them. I want to know what you think.

As ever, I wish you Peace.

The Girl on the Half Shell Available Amazon and Free on Kindle Unlimited
The Girl of Tokens and Tears Releasing February 28th

From the reader question bag: Susan, why are releasing so many books so quickly...#amreading #amwriting #author #blogging #romance #kindle

2/14/2015

Because next year I don't know where I'll be. Literally. There is just enough age difference between my husband and me that we are slightly out of sync in life. This year he retires and I've gone through an endless series of what we will do then with him. We are a couple who live in a house too large since our children are grown. More because I really love our view of the ocean and we're both too lazy to move. And thankfully, my husband didn't retire young, he's retiring old and so he's been too busy to pack so I've gotten to have my sunrise on the mountain longer than I hoped I would. But he's retiring. It's official. And I officially don't know where I'm going to be next year.

In his fifties(and I was considerably younger than that) started the Let's sail around the world. And because my husband is a planner and does everything well, that has meant endless sailing classes and endless sailing in preparation. I'm a ASA Certified Captain. Which means I can navigate with charts, radar, the stars, name all the parts of the boat, talk in that official sailor lingo, (I definitely look spiffy in the clothes since I'm lean and tan year round) and can rent a boat pretty much anywhere in world. Regrettably I couldn't sail a boat to save my life, I could never save my husband if he fell over board, but I do have a pretty little certificate and a sticker in my sailing log that says I can. And it did come in useful when I wrote the Deverell Series. I've had lots of readers compliment me on how well I describe and know boats.

And there is a certain irony, if one cares to note it, that during my decade of Let's sail around the world I just happen to write a historical romance series with a heroine kept captive on a boat. I'm not saying that's how I feel about the sailing the world thing. We can leave it at I wasn't thrilled with the idea. My husband is 6"4' and built like a linebacker which means anything on a boat requiring agility I do and sailing is hard work. Thankfully we went about two years ago on a mini-long sail with a group and the weather was bad and I wasn't strong enough to do all the hard work and my husband had to do it. Let's just say that killed sailing around the world idea.

So sailing around the world has now been replaced with traveling the US in a motor home. We've both been in every state. I traveled back and forth across country with my mother as a little girl in the 60s over and over again since we were west coast and our family was east coast. Being in a car for weeks on end with my four brothers pretty much has left me PTSD when I think about driving across country. My husband went across country, too, in the 60s after college with a buddy in a Porsche. So philosophically inconsistent. I don't know what's up with the motor home idea. It's not the age of Aquarius, there is no Woodstock, and I'm pretty sure we're not going to find it in a Winnebago. Oh well, my only hope is we will never find one to purchase because he can't find one where he fits comfortably in the bed. There is hope.

So I am releasing, releasing, releasing books right up to the point when my husband figures out where we go next in life. For all I know I could be living in a tent in Alaska without Wi-Fi. He loves the outdoors and simple pleasures. I love that man. I would do it...well, so long as there was a Hyatt around the corner I could occasionally escape too.

As ever, I wish you Peace.

Finishing up the last chapters of the 2nd Half Shell book. Will my readers leave me? #amreading #romance #amwriting #author #indieauthor #kindle #kindleunlimited

2/13/2015

My little girl on the shell, my first book that I launched so badly because I didn't know anything, has had wonderful reader response, especially in the last few months of this year. It makes me excited to release the 2nd book, The Girls of Tokens and Tears, February 28th. And as ever, I wonder if my readers will follow on the journey I take them on, if the promise of true love will be enough to keep them with me.

I love romance, but more than that I love an epic love story. I relish couples who struggle and fight for love, who make mistakes, wrong turns, painful decision and are ever captive by a true love inescapable. I've wanted to write a romance novel that would an epic love story since I read Gone with the Wind in 6th grade. The definition of an epic love story for me. I don't know if I'm doing that. Scarlett was a product of her times. Messy. Complicated, but the issues relevant for her era I think were less emotionally gut wrenching even though emotionally captivating--enough to get a reader to stick with Scarlett for over a thousand pages and still love her at the end.

I hated that they wrote a sequel. I liked the story as it was. The possibility of happily ever after created for Rhett and Scarlett in my own mind, instead of the invention of writer who couldn't possibly really know what happened because Margaret Mitchell was dead. I read Scarlett. This is no indictment of the book. I just think it was better Margaret Mitchell's way.

The Half Shell Series is romance, so my series won't end without a clear happily ever after. But will my readers love Chrissie and Alan in all their imperfection, wrong turns, enduring love as I did Rhett and Scarlett for a story of true, imperfect, painful, passionate, and romantic love. I don't know, but I enjoy having the possibility of that.

I wish you Peace.

From the reader question bag: Will there be more Deverell books...#amreading #amwriting #author #blogging #historicalnovel #kindle

2/10/2015

Reviews are great. Don't get me wrong. But nothing blows my mind like an email from a reader. I've been getting a lot lately and it is a touch overwhelming. This time last year I was writing The Girl on the Half Shell, rushing to get it finished so I could enter it on February 15, 2014 in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest. I didn't have a plan for my books beyond that. I entered a contest and I don't even know why. 26 years of writing and I never had a thought of letting someone read my work. Writing was just something I did a few hours every night after my husband went to sleep. A way to unwind from the real world and raising kids. My own private universe.

That readers are so kind, let me know that they enjoy my work and ask me questions never fails to humble and touch me. I am especially overwhelmed by the response to The Deverell Series. You see, I released those books because I wanted to. I didn't think anyone would read them. I remember when my editor of Face to Face shot me a direct message. This is hard to edit. I'm in love with Varian Deverell. All I want to do is read. I need to do a second edit.

I've learned some things about myself releasing my books. Readers love my men and pretty much want to slap my women. They are frustrating. After a little self-reflection, I realized, well that makes sense. I'm a frustrating woman married to a wonderful man. We've made it so long together because my husband in so many is Varian Deverell. Didn't see it when I wrote it. Definitely see it now.

The number one question I get on this series is: Will there be more Deverell Books? Will Indy get his own story? A long time ago I wrote Kat's story. There are 3 books for the Merricks. I didn't really plan to write a book for Indy. A story rattled around in my head. I wrote the first page and the last, and then thought, No, I'm not sure I want to share Indy's story. Of course, I know what it is. But the overwhelming number of reader emails about Indy, will he have a story, made me decide to put his tale on paper. I'm working on it in between releasing the last books in my contemporary fictional universe.

So starting Summer 2015, I'm going back to my roots, the historical romance. It's what I started writing. It seems right that I should hit release on my historical universe. So July, my birthday month, I will be releasing Indy's story Love me Forever. And as ever, I don't think my readers will expect where I will take them. Love me Forever is a stand-alone novel. You don't need to read the Deverell Series to follow Indy's tale, but as always with me, the journey will be different and it will be the richer if you do read the Deverell Series. Why should my historical fictional universe be different than my contemporary world?

As always, I wish you Peace.

I'm am crawling through the last 10K words of this book...#amreading #chicklit #author #indieauthor #amwriting #kindle #kindleunlimited

2/9/2015

My anxiety over what I have to do to tell Chrissie and Alan's story is making me a touch ill. I don't want to let my readers down. It's OK if they are really pissed at me, but I don't want to let them down so I have a knot in my stomach that won't go away. I have a heroine who goes from young adulthood into womanhood. She lives in interesting times. She's a complex girl... and yes, I read my mail...she's a bit messed up and many of you want to slap her. I don't know anyone who makes the right decisions always. I don't know anyone who doesn't screw up sometimes. I've never known anyone where I haven't cringed a time or time and thought Oh don't do that, please, don't do that. So why should Chrissie be different?

She is the character I connect most easily with. She is the character I write the easiest. She is the character I get really mad at. And she is the character I have the hardest time letting her make her mistakes. It is sort of like watching my 29 yo daughter. She's going to make her wrong decisions whether I say Don't do it or not. And she'll learn from them. Eventually. And life will end for her as it is supposed to. But I won't tell you how. What would be the fun in that?

10K words to go. I'm going to sleep a week when I'm through with this and this final chunk is off to edit. Then I get to wake up and start all over again because I've got about 25K words left on the third book. I love how it ends. I wrote the line a year ago when I started the series. It just seemed so very right.

As ever, I wish you Peace.

I'm releasing again February 28th and I've gotten myself into a pickle... #amreading #amwriting #author #indieauthor #kindleunlimited #kindle

2/8/2015

I wrapping up the 2nd Half Shell book and it's slow going. The last 20K words of any book is always the toughest for me. But this book is proving especially tough. See I know the story line. I know what has to happen to get to my happily ever after. That should make it easier to put my book couple through their sadder moments so they can reach happy. Right? And it is romance, right? There has to be a happily ever after.

The pressure comes from the amazing number of comments, DM, and emails I get from readers about Chrissie and Alan. Everyone wants to know if they end up together. You've got to wait. You have to read the books. What would be the fun in telling you that. But it's romance, right, and that's all I'll say about that. But it's me, so its pretty much a sure thing the journey to happily ever after land won't be the one you expect and there may perhaps be a twist here and there as to what happily ever after looks like. Chrissie and Alan are the center of my fictional universe. Their story is larger because they are where all roads meet for all the series: Affair without End, Sand and Fog(Releasing late 2015), and The Half Shell Series.

I've had to write two really gut wrenching scenes this past week. One for The Girl of Tokens and Tears(2nd Half Shell) and one for The Girl of Diamonds and Rust( 3rd Half Shell). It's taken a bit out of me. So much so that I vegged out yesterday and did nothing but watch Clint Eastwood Movies.

But I'm back at work today. And for my readers, who might worry a touch about where I'm taking you, I want to leave you with two of Jack Parker's favorite axioms:

"The journey will end as it should no matter the turns we take."~~The Girl on the Half Shell
"Life is about the journey. Not the destination" ~~The Girl of Tokens and Tears.

See Jack's little sayings are all through the Half Shell Series and the Affair without End Series for a reason. And Jackson Parker is always right. At least in my fictional universe and in how I tell a tale.

I wish you Peace.

Advice to New Authors Tip #3: There is no such thing as a bad review... #amwriting #author #indieauthors #blogging #books

2/4/2015

One of the first thing you're going to find out now that you are an Indie is that everyone is obsessed with reviews. I get it. They want validation that their work is good. Some big name authors have told me the number of reviews gets you into the Amazon promotional machine. I don't know if that's true. I do know, I don't obsess about reviews and I don't freak out when I get a bad review. Getting any review is an amazing and difficult thing. Good or bad review, that you got one means you stirred enough reaction in a reader for them TO review, and that is a rare event.

I'm a true Indie. I don't chase reviews. I've sold a lot of books, and my highest number of reviews on a single book is 33 and that book has been out since May 2014. My highest selling book after 4 months has only 30 reviews and I've sold for a little Indie a shit load of that book. I got a tad bummed about the slow review thing in the beginning until I looked at a few author pages. Lets start with my favorite historical gal Christi Caldwell. Now she sells a boat load of books. She rules my historical romance space. I would love to sell in a year what that author sells in RELEASE WEEK. The number of reviews on her books~and she is loved by her readers~ averages between 20-90 reviews. To really bring home the point. Look at EL James. She's sold hundreds of millions of books, and on her amazon page for 50 shades she has 28817 reviews. That's only a fraction of a percent. Getting a review is rare. It doesn't mean the work isn't good. It doesn't mean the work won't sell. It's just how readers are.

Run, do not walk from authors who obsess about reviews. 3 things will happen. You'll find that they do unethical things to get reviews, that they whine incessantly about their reviews, and your focus will get sucked out of you listening to their constant complaints about their reviews. There is someone I know so hyper-focused on reviews that she writes her own reviews and posts them. It so obvious. The reviews are so similarly worded and when you check the reviewer they joined Amazon or Goodreads like within the last month and they've only reviewed her books. DON'T do that! First, it is obvious. Second, it will keep the Indies you want to know away from you. Third, it puts a taint on all of us when you behave badly in market.

Also, there is no such things as a bad review. Even a bad review is winning. You've stirred enough reaction to get a reader to write about your book. An Amazing thing! And in the real world the people who don't like you are more likely to review than the people who love you. My highest selling book has the lowest rating. Proof of that truism. And if you doubt this look at EL James. She has as many negative reviews almost as positive reviews. Hasn't hurt her selling, now has it?

I know someone who freaks out over every bad review...."she called my character whiny. She called my character whiny".... Shut up already. You got a review. Be happy! Stop sending people out there to post comments back at the reviewer. Those are her readers. Treat them with respect. Build relationships with your readers. That's what you need to do to grow as an Indie.

I got a 2 star review on half shell last week. It was thought out. They took time, So I wrote her a thank you note. I thank anyone(not abusive though) good or bad who reviews my books on Goodreads. You can do it privately with an email there, which I think is the way to do it. It's an amazing thing to get a review. So I thanked my 2 STAR. We emailed all last week. Here is how it went.

My Email:I liked your review even though the rating...probably not what an author wants, but you reviewed it honestly from your perspective and you got from this read as I intended a reader to see the story. So thank you. It's a nice thing to let an author know. This is not an easy journey. I admit that! But thank you for reading. The Katy Perry song thing made me smile.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for reviewing. Sorry I made you want to slap them, hopefully not me, but you did keep reading. So thank you.

Regards,

Susan Ward

Her Response: Hi!
I'm actually on cloud nine here, amazed at the fact that you took time to read my review !!
I appreciate the effort and actually envy the talent and gift you authors have that allows us readers to live and enjoy for a moment your characters lifes.
I have so many book boyfriends my husband is beginning to get worry.
I know my rating sucks! I wish I could have give it a higher star, it's really hard to put a rating in a book such as yours, since I liked the story plot, the setting, the conflict, but I had issues with Alan and Chrissie.
I know book #2 and # 3 are coming out... and don't worry I'll be checking out if Chrissie finally grows a spine and Alan becomes an actual human being so that he can make my BBF list....

Thank You and please keep on writting !!! :)

There is a lesson in this. There is no such thing as a bad review. She bought my book. She spent time reading my book. She finished reading my book. My book caused enough reaction in her to write a review. Winning. Build relationships with your readers. She spent last weekend reading a different book by me. I can't wait to hear what she thinks of that.

So tip number #3 to New Authors: Don't obsess about reviews, there are no bad reviews, and RUN, DO NOT WALK, from those obsessed with reviews. They will almost always start behaving badly in market because the truth is reviews are a rare event.

I wish you Peace.

Tip # 2 for New Authors: There is no conspiracy, run, do not walk from authors who see conspiracy everywhere... #amwriting #author #Indieauthor #blogging

2/3/2015

Amazon is a business. It has one goal: Make money. It doesn't even know you exist. It focuses on authors who generate revenue and the rest of us jump up and down, and try to organize ways to get into the Amazon promo machine, but for most of us Amazon will never know we exist. Harsh truth, blunt truth, but truth. In every author group there is always one author who believes their problem not selling is an Amazon conspiracy. It never ends. They never shut up. They take your focus away from your business plan and they suck the creativity out of the air. Run, do not walk, from these authors. They will drain the creative out of you will their nonsense and implant in your mind the notion of succeeding is impossible because life and Amazon is not fair! Bullshit. No one ever told me life would be fair. What does fair have to do with anything?

I'm old enough that I can remember a time when bringing my work to readers was structurally and financially an impossibility. Do I like everything Amazon does? Nope. Do I like everything any business does? Nope. But I sure as hell admire what Amazon offers authors~a zero cost way to have a book store and deliver my work to readers. Shit, you can open up shop paying Amazon nothing until you sell something~and I'm more inclined to analyze their business programs, select what works for me even if I'm not always thrilled with the offering, and at the end of the day to send Bezos a Thank you note because when I started writing this possibility was an impossibility. Definitely a better use of my time than listening to the wankers who think all their problems are Amazon's fault.

There is a lot Amazon keeps secret. That is not conspiracy. That's smart business. By analyzing your own data, you can learn quite a bit. You can tell what sales volume you have to have for your book rank, how time plays into how much you have to sell, if number of reviews really calculates into the Amazon promo machine to get into their promotional machine, and what it means to be in an Amazon promo machine. I release every month because I was told that would get me into the Amazon promo machine faster. I don't know if that's true, but my 5th release went out in an Amazon promo mailer and it was fantastic. It happened to another author after her second release. She woke up, and her sales were through the roof and she wonder WTF happened, and I told her I got an Amazon mailer on your book this morning. A real promotional mailer. It was an unbelievable ride for her. They haven't done a promo for me since, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop working at trying to get into the promotional machine. Having been there briefly showed me enough to know that's where I want to be. Don't know how. Don't know when. But it doesn't mean I won't work toward it.

Work what Amazon offers you. Figure out how to leverage it for your own success. I'm not saying love it,( I sure as hell didn't love when they cut my KU royalty by 30% any more than non-exclusive Amazon authors loved when KU was introduced) but they want to make money and so should you, so run from the chatter. For a brief time in my Indie existence there was an author I let into my universe who was so consumed with Amazon conspiracy theories. It was funny in the beginning, but it soon made it impossible to write each day, because the delusional direct messages just kept coming over and over again. So I ran, I did not walk, from this person and I've been writing 10K words a day again. Negativity has no place in success. Life has taught me that the second you let someone into your head enough that they make you believe you cannot succeed, you will never succeed.

You have to have clear focus and clear mind to write or succeed in business. Don't let the conspiracy theorists knock you off course. Is there a conspiracy at Amazon against Indie authors. Don't know. Don't care. Is everything fair? I never expected it to be. Is there opportunity: hell yes! It's up to me to make the most of it. There are Indies out there doing amazing things. I marvel at them. I would rather be like them than those who believe you cannot succeed because everything is a conspiracy. Maybe I'll never succeed. But life is about the journey not the destination, and I do love believing in the possibility of succeeding.

As ever, I wish you Peace.

Tomorrow: There is no such thing as a bad review.