Authors in the Spotlight 1/12

In today's Authors in the Spotlight, we have Renee Harless, Jesse Frankel, and Kelly D. Smith!

----------------------------------------------------------------

Name: Renee Harless

How long have you been published? Since 2015

What's the worst part about being published? The worst part about being published is having to overcome the fear of rejection.

What's the best part about being published? Meeting so many different authors and readers. The network is amazing!

Are you self published or did you go through a publishing company? *What are the highs, if any? *What are the lows, if any?  I am self-published. The difficulty being self-published is truthfully how much it costs. Editors, formatters, cover designers, it all has fees. But with that comes the ability to have complete control over the process. 

What is the name of your book(s)? My first series is titled The Stone Series. It features Stone Shattered, Stone Unhinged, and Stone Mended. My second Series is titled Welcome to Carson. It features Coming Alive, at this point, but it will be a very long series.

Was it/were they an easy write for you? They were. I wrote each of the books in a 30 day period, the plot and characters came quickly.

What's the hardest part about writing a book? Managing time, work, and family with the need to write. It can get very overwhelming.

What's the easiest part about writing a book? Letting the characters speak through you. Once they have a story I simply become the middle man between them and the computer.

Where can interested readers purchase their copy of your book(s)? All the available links can be found on my website www.reneeharless.com. They are available at all major retailers in e-book and paperback.

Do you have any future projects in the works? *Is there a tentative release date? I am currently getting ready to release Coming Alive on Jan 17. Coming Together, Coming Consumed, and Coming Altered will all release in 2017.

Do you have any social media sites that you would like to share with my readers? 

Facebook: /authorreneeharless

Instagram: Renee_Harless

Twitter: Renee_Harless

Goodreads: /reneeharless

 ----------------------------------------------------------------

Name: Jesse Frankel, pen name, J.S. Frankel

How long have you been published? I started out writing in 2011 and have been at it seriously for the last three years.

Best and worst parts about being published?

Best part is being noticed--a little.

Worst part is not getting any sales, but that's how it goes.

Self published or traditionally published? I'm traditionally published, through small to mid-size publishers.

Highs and lows of being traditionally published:

Highs? Seeing my books on Amazon and hearing from satisfied readers!

Lows? having a company go under and not tell me.

What are the names of your books? Some of my best known books are the Catnip series, Twisted, The Menagerie, Picture (Im)perfect, and Mr. Taxi.

Were they an easy write for you? Yes, once I got the idea, I was fine, but it took time.

Hardest and easiest part of writing a book?

Hardest part is getting started as well as editing.

Easiest is when the beginning is done and it flows from there.

Where can your books be found? You can find my novels on Amazon.

Anything in the works? Future releases will be The Titans of Ardana and its sequel, and perhaps two more, but no release dates as of yet. I'm hoping the first Titans novel will be out by the end of January, but I'll have to wait.

Social media sites? I'm on facebook under my real name of Jesse Frankel, and also on twitter @JessSFrankel

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------

Name: Kelly D. Smith

How long have you been published? Four years

What's the worst part about being published? That depends on the day. If there is something I regret publishing, that might be it, if I don't feel like networking that could be it as well.

What's the best part about being published? I think the best part is seeing someone with your book or who has read your book and enjoyed it. Seeing a book in print is also always awesome.

Are you self published or did you go through a publishing company? I'm with a publisher. I have self published but I don't like it very much. I work with Siren Bokstrand and I love working with them. The editors are amazing and the cover art is always gorgeous!

What is the name of your book(s)? Well, I don't want to list them all since that would take a long time! Instead, I'll just leave a link to where you can find some: www.bookstrand.com/book/rock-stars-arent-for-country-girls

Was it/were they an easy write for you? It was, yes! I love writing, honestly.

What's the hardest part about writing a book? I think the hardest part is knowing when to finish it and not rushing yourself. What's the easiest part about writing a book? Letting the words flow!

Where can interested readers purchase their copy of your book(s)? Here: www.bookstrand.com/book/rock-stars-arent-for-country-girls, as well as most book sellers.

Do you have any future projects in the works? I'm working on a few stuff right now. Mainly, though, the fourth book in this series.

*Is there a tentative release date? Nothing for sure right now, but I'm hoping early 2017!

Do you have any social media sites that you would like to share with my readers? I love hearing from readers! Twitter and Facebook are the best ways to get a hold of me.  

----------------------------------------------------------------

Join me next week as I bring you more authors! 
 

Authors in the Spotlight 1/10

In today's Authors in the Spotlight, we have Heather Lyn, Tee Love, Jeffrey S. Trosin, and Tracey Reddick!

----------------------------------------------------------------

Name: Heather Lyn

How long have you been published? Since July 2016

What's the worst part about being published?  The worst part is knowing that there are people out there possibly picking apart your hard work. But that is the risk you take, and with the bad definitely comes the good.

What's the best part about being published? Knowing that people out there can read your books. That people connect emotionally with them and know how you feel about your characters. It’s been a joy being a published author.

Are you self published or did you go through a publishing company? I am self-published. 

*What are the highs, if any? For me the biggest high was my second novel breaking into the Amazon Top 100 Hot New Releases in Erotica. Burning Love hit #35 on release day!

*What are the lows, if any? There aren’t any real lows.

What is the name of your book(s)? Hearts Ablaze, Book 1 Hearts on Fire Series Burning Love, Book 2 Hearts on Fire Series

Was it/were they an easy write for you? For Hearts Ablaze, in terms of writing it, it was easy for me. But certain parts were hard, as some of the storyline was in a certain way happening in my real life, so the emotions and feelings the characters went through were very real for me. And I wanted to make sure that the emotions were conveyed to the reader. Burning Love was also easy for me to write. It was a little bit out of my comfort zone, as this book had a storyline that I had zero experience with.

What's the hardest part about writing a book?  For me, it’s making the time to actually WRITE the book. I have a husband, a seven-year-old son, a job, and my life at home. I have a hard time balancing all three, but it’s gotten easier the more books I publish. I have gotten better at managing. 

What's the easiest part about writing a book? Coming up with the storyline and characters. I have been writing and reading for as long as I can read. In school, if we were required to write a 500-word story, mine would be 3,000. If I was asked to read 4 chapters, I would finish the book. Coming up with the story isn’t my issue. And I actually find that I have the most fun while writing the outline. 

Where can interested readers purchase their copy of your book(s)? Both of my books are available on Amazon, B&N, iBooks, and Kobo.

Do you have any future projects in the works? I do! I have the next book in the Hearts on Fire Series, Heart’s Desire, and then the final book, Unexpected Flames. It will also have a spinoff series, The Taphouse Blues Series. There will also be a novella to the HOF Series. 

*Is there a tentative release date? Heart’s Desire is my next scheduled released, which has a VERY tentative release of March 2017.

Do you have any social media sites that you would like to share with my readers?  I am on Facebook and Instagram!  

----------------------------------------------------------------

Name: Tee Love/Tamika Smith

How long have you been published? I self-published my first book of poetry in January of 2016 and my first novel under Allure Me Publications in December of 2016. 

What's the worst part about being published? I have not had any issues with being published. To me, it is a wonderful starting point to get your foot in the door. 

What's the best part about being published? The best part about me being published is having a wonderful team of supporters. 

Are you self published or did you go through a publishing company? I am currently an author under Allure Me Publications. 

What is the name of your book(s)? Poetically Incorrect, Pain Before Pleasure, The Plug's Princess,
The Plug's Princess 2, I Remember Why My Heart Broke, My Outlining On The Go Workbook

Was it/were they an easy write for you? My poetry was easy to write because it was just self expression. Writing my first novel was hard because I had a story to tell and I just didn't know how to tell it.

What's the hardest part about writing a book? The hardest part of writing, for me, was word count, proper scene change, and punctuation marks.
 

What's the easiest part about writing a book? The easiest part was writing my story. I have so many thoughts constantly running through my head.

Where can interested readers purchase their copy of your book(s)? All of my books are available on Amazon

Do you have any social media sites that you would like to share with my readers? FB: Teelove, IG: Tee_love617, Twitter: Teelove617, Periscope: Teelove617

----------------------------------------------------------------

Name: Jeffrey S. Trosin

How long have you been published? Since 12/03/16

What's the worst part about being published? What's the best part about being published? There are many things that I could say about that, but I can't say that any one of them is the best. The sense of accomplishment would rate in the top. knowing that you were able to get your message or story out for others to read rates up there as well.

Are you self published or did you go through a publishing company? For my first novel, I decided to self publish. For the second and third books in my series, I plan on trying to find a publisher.

*What are the highs, if any? The sense of accomplishment and knowing you have the ability to complete it and see it to fruition. I mean, so many people start to write a book that never finish and/or never publish it.

*What are the lows, if any? I honestly didn't see any lows. I enjoyed every step of the writing process as challenging as some stages were, such as editing.

What is the name of your book(s)? The series title is The Other Side of the Table. The editions are Break-In, Fate Lingers and the Third Side. Break-In is published and Fate Lingers is in progress.

Was it/were they an easy write for you? The writing was a challenge, but I found that when I was writing, I was able to get my mind in the story. I was there in sight, sound and smell.

What's the hardest part about writing a book? The discipline to sit down and write, even though I didn't have that problem and the editing.

What's the easiest part about writing a book? For me, it was being able to lose myself in the story as I was writing.

Where can interested readers purchase their copy of your book(s)? They can get it on Amazon, both in 6X9 paperback and Kindle formats. There is a link to my book from my website as well.

Do you have any future projects in the works? I am currently working on Fate Lingers and to this day am almost half way finished with the first draft.

*Is there a tentative release date? None yet, but I update my website with my progress.

Do you have any social media sites that you would like to share with my readers? I have an author page on Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads and LinkedIn. I also have a website at www.dlrstories.com

----------------------------------------------------------------

Name: Tracey Reddick

How long have you been published? 2 years

What's the worst part about being published? Not knowing what I was doing in the beginning... 

What's the best part about being published? Finally understanding what to do and how to do it.. 

Are you self published or did you go through a publishing company? I started out self-publishing, then I recently signed with a publishing company to get the experience of how it feels to be with a company/family of writers.. It didn't work out for me, because I guess I just like to do things on my time.. 

What is the name of your book(s)?  A Cry for Help 1, 2, & 3 (Short story), Why won't she love me? 1 & 2, The Breaking Point (Jendiyah's Story).

Was it/were they an easy write for you? All of the books were easy for me to write because I dreamt the whole stories on each book, except for Why won't she love me? Part 2, those characters wrote the story.. Lol.. 

What's the hardest part about writing a book? The hardest part about writing a book for me would have to be completing it.. I have so many stories and characters talking in my head, and I tend to stop one book and go on to the next.. I guess that would explain the 20+ unfinished books on my laptop.. 

What's the easiest part about writing a book? The easiest part about writing a book for me would have to be that I already have the full stories saved in my internal memory bank, so when I start writing, it flows from beginning to end.. 

Where can interested readers purchase their copy of your book(s)? My books are on Amazon and Createspace.. 
 
*Is there a tentative release date? Yes, I have many future projects coming soon.. I will say the next release will be in February 2017.. It may be sooner, but we will stick with February just to be on the safe side.. Lol.. 

Do you have any social media sites that you would like to share with my readers? Facebook Like Page: Author Tracey Reddick.. Twitter: Tracey Reddick71... 
Blog: pinkgoddesswriter.wordpress.com... Google+: Author Tracey Reddick... 

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share me as a writer with you and your readers..

----------------------------------------------------------------

Join me on Thursday as I bring to you authors Renee Harless, Jesse Frankel, and Kelly D. Smith!

Authors In The Spotlight 1/5

Name: La Kata E.K.

How long have you been published?
I have been published for about 11 years now.

What's the worst part about being published?
The worst part about being published is that you purposely subject yourself to the scrutiny of strangers. Some who don't understand how hard it is to put yourself out there like that.

What's the best part about being published?
The best part about being published is when someone tells you how much they enjoyed your work. When they want your autograph or a picture with you. It's moments like those that make you feel like "This was worth it."

Are you self published or did you go through a publishing company?
I am currently self published. I was originally published through a publishing company for my first book.

*What are the highs, if any?
Highs of self publishing: being in complete control of your royalties. 
Highs of a publishing company: they have access to channels that help with marketing.

*What are the lows, if any?
Lows of self publishing: having to do everything yourself. If you don't know what direction to go in, then self publishing and everything that comes with it can be very confusing.
Lows of a publishing company: they have complete control over everything, including your royalties.

What is the name of your book(s) and their genre?
"The Growth of a Writer" - Poetry
"A Deeper Me" - Poetry
"Treasure Chest" - Poetry
"Teach Me Colors" - Children's Poetry
"Teach Me Time" - Children's Poetry
"Secrets" - Dark Romance

Was it/were they an easy write for you?
All of the poetry books were easy to write, it was the novella that proved the most challenging for me.

What's the hardest part about writing a book?
The hardest part about writing a book is trying to keep a straight thought for more than a couple of pages. Also, trying to make sure your story flows completely all while making total sense to someone that isn't the writer.

What's the easiest part about writing a book?
The easiest part about writing a book is coming up with an idea for a book, lol. 

Where can interested readers purchase their copy of your book(s)?
On my Amazon Author Page.

Do you have any future projects in the works?
Yes, I am actually working on a second Dark Romance novella.

*Is there a tentative release date?
No. Hopefully, it won't take me six years to write this one, too.

Do you have any social media sites that you would like to share with my readers?
Yes! They are: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads

-----------------------------------------------

Join me on Tuesday as I bring you authors Heather Lyn, Tee Love, Jeffrey S. Trosin, and Tracey Reddick!

The Purpose Of Networking...

Is to make valuable connections with others...

At least, that's what I think that means.

Recently, I decided to host author interviews in my blog. Why, you might ask? Because, this allows authors to be seen by possible readers. There is such an expanse of writers out there that a lot of readers have never heard anything about them. And those that have been heard about, some readers may have never even considered reading them. I feel like these interviews will help to pique the interest of readers and fellow authors alike.

One never knows, an author may see another author that they would be interested in reading. Maybe even doing a collaboration with. It's one of those things that you never really know where it will go, but you know it can only go forward.

I'm coming to appreciate all of the associations that I have been making since creating my author FB page in November. There are genres that I either knew nothing about or hadn't considered reading before that are now of interest to me. There are authors that I am connecting with that I would've never connected with had I not stepped out of my comfort zone and become one with my writer side.

For the most part, I am pleased to see the bonding and camaraderie within the writing community. I mean, there are people who are rude, nasty, and selfish. And there is one genre that I've noticed has a crazy amount of drama within it among their writers, but other than that, everyone seems to pretty much get along. We need to because we are all doing the same thing, if you think about it. We are all bringing stories to our readers with our words. Expanding our reader's imaginations with each  turn of the page, or swipe of the screen, or click of an arrow; you get the point I'm making.

Anyway, be on the ready because starting Thursday, I will be bringing "Authors In The Spotlight" to my blog every Tuesdays and Thursdays.

A Book Worth Reading...

Is a book worth promoting...

So much has been going on since my last blog post. For one, I was part of a Cover Reveal, and the experience was absolutely amazing! Since then, I've made quite a few more connections and I have a couple of important dates set of for January. Most importantly, the release of my novella!

I am beyond excited to talk about the fact that "Secrets" is officially done. To the point that I have ARCs set to send out on the 1st! I'm not going to lie to you, I am rather nervous about the feedback. Total strangers are going to be reading my book and giving me their feedback on the day that the book is released, which is January 17th. This is a completely different experience than when I released my poetry books. Like, I'm more open about promoting "Secrets" than any other book I've ever written; it could be that this book is strictly based on my imagination, whereas, my poetry books are based on my emotions.

I've been busting buns in the last few months with this book. Working on getting it finished, cleaning it up, and making sure to market it to the point that it catches a reader's eye. To say that I've mastered everything would be a far fetched lie, but I can say that I have learned quite a bit along the way to better prepare for the release of my second novella. Second novella? Who would've thunk it, lol.

The interest has been overwhelming and the support has been amazing. To say that I find myself left speechless on a regular basis is an understatement. I am so blessed and I can't wait to see where this journey takes me.

So before I continue rambling on, let me show you one of the marketing tactics that I am currently using to promote "Secrets".

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Coming January 17th!!

"Secrets"

Emotionally abused and broken, young Mykale wanted a life that left her current situation in the past. Having come from a poverty-stricken household with dreams that expand bigger than the financial reach of what any of the “traditional” jobs were paying, Mykale decided to make her money in a “nontraditional” way. Along with her close friend and confidante, she ventures on a path that only leads to a road that shouldn’t be traveled.

After a traumatic experience causes Mykale to abruptly leave her life behind, she embarks on a journey to start a new life. Thinking she has successfully left her past behind her, she doesn’t think twice about what used to be. It’s not until she is approached at a party that she realizes that no matter how far you run, your past will always catch up with you.

"Secrets" is the breakout novella from Author La Kata E.K.

**Special Note: This book contains violent and graphic content that some readers may find offensive.**

Kindle version now available for pre-order!
https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Kata-E-K-ebook/dp/B01N6IC1W3

If Stationary Objects Can Network...

Then I can too...

As many of you know, and for those of you who don't, a couple weeks ago, I created an another FB page (Author La Kata EK). I created this page to network with other authors and to make myself more accessible to my fans. Needless to say, the idea was a great one! Since then, I have made multiple connections and these connections are all helping to mold my writing career into a successful one.

First, there was, Allysa Hart. She is a fellow author and the creator of Allycat Creations, as well as  the designer of the new cover to my upcoming book. I am beyond pleased with her work and excited to reveal the cover to the public!

Speaking of revealing the cover...

Second, there was, Renee Harless. She is a fellow author as well. She has an upcoming novel to be released soon and decided to create an event on FB to debut her cover. She posted a status asking if any other authors would be interested and I mentioned that I would, so she contacted me and now I will be debuting my cover as well during her FB event! My cover reveal time is 9PM to 930PM on November 22nd!

I am excited and nervous all at the same time. To me, this is something beyond major for me. I have spent the last few days purchasing various "author swag" to give out during the event. Now, I am tasked with trying to think of multiple games and conversation pieces just to ensure that those attending all have a good time. Part of me wants to flake out, but the larger part of me knows that I have wanted this more than anything that I can currently think of and I'm going to claim what is mine.

I have also developed a connection with another fellow author named, Christa Lynn. These three individuals (aside from my close friend and fellow author, Raven St. Pierre) have been extremely patient and supportive when I've had various questions for them at random hours. If they are not aware of how much I appreciate their patience and their kindness, I hope they are now.

Creating my more "public" FB profile was probably the best decision I could've made for my writing career. Hopefully, I develop more lasting connections like the ones that I have recently made.

"Secrets" coming 2017.