The Rafflecopter giveaway to celebrate 2,000 likes on my Facebook page is underway! Starting today, 6/6, you have a chance to enter to win some great books and prizes until 6/27. Up for grabs is a signed paperback copy of Vampire Next Door.
There is an option to tweet about the giveaway, and you can do that once a day to gain points.
The authors participating in the Rafflecopter are:
Deirdre Riordan Hall – To the Sea
Morgan K Wyatt – Escaping West and Perfect Stranger
Loren Weaver – Havoc’s Cry
Katharine Sadler – The Reaping
Jen Minkman – Island series (The Island, The Waves, and The Deep)
Lane Hart – Wild About You and Wild & Out
Mary Bernsen – Healing The Bayou
N. R. Champagne – Prodigal Angel
C.E. Black – Cursed Desires
Emma McCoy – Not Your Choice (Releasing in June)
Jordan Locke – The Only Boy
Setta Jay – Ecstasy Claimed
You can find all of these books on Amazon.com and other book retailers. Support an indie author. Buy a book and tell your friends. Word of mouth is one of the best things you can do for an author.
Update: This giveaway is now closed. Thanks for everyone who participated!!
To celebrate 2,000 likes for my Facebook page, I am hosting a Rafflecopter giveaway. I have a dozen of very talented authors who donated books to the giveaway. There are signed paperback books, e-books and more. Up for grabs is a signed paperback copy of my book, Vampire Next Door.
The giveaway starts on Friday, June 6 and ends on Friday, June 27. Don’t miss out on these great books!
Léatitia over at My Bookshelf Is Yours reviewed Vampire Next Door. I am very honored to say she gave it a five-star rating!
Here is a little preview of her review:
Vampire Next Door is the story of a woman left for dead who wakes up from a coma. She has no memory of her past and is called « Jane Doe » since no one came for her. Scared and broken, she quickly understands she never was alone thanks to her doctor, Jack Walker. At the beginning of the book, Jane Doe is lucky and loved, and after months of being in a hospital, she finally is happy. She had found her balance. But unfortunately, tragedy strikes again and she is once again lost and broken. But something or should I say someone arrives and gives her something to smile for. Here he is : Sebastian Alexander, her mysterious and handsome neighbor, living next door, who seems to have some secrets of his own. Jane is falling for him but at the same time, she is confused by how this new man in her life is capable of getting her so quickly, always here when she needs someone so bad. She also starts to wonder if he is really a stranger or someone she could rely on to find out who she was before the « accident » and above all, who wants her dead.
First I have to say, I love vampire stories and movies so I was really excited to read Vampire Next Door. But maybe I should warn you, this is not a novel 100% about vampires. I mean, the way I understand and love the plot makes me think this novel is more than just about a sexy and dangerous vampire. I loved the pace of this novel, which I found was different from what I usually read, and loved the characters. This is the kind of books I’m beginning to love more and more each time I read one like Vampire Next Door. There are actions, romance ( oh yeah!), humor and suspense. It is a really an efficient writing that made my reading active and amazing. Sure, it’s a slow process to get to know the main character. And I also wanted to know more about this mysterious visitor. But then characters like Jack Walker are here and we get to know Jane through his eyes. And it’s something I really appreciated. Something else I enjoyed is how easy I felt close to Jane. Who wouldn’t feel sad about her ? But who wouldn’t want to take her place at some point too ?
Léatitia then goes on to break down the characters in the book, their traits and what she liked about each one. What a review! And don’t worry, Léatitia, I am planning a sequel some day! 😉
Please visit her blog for many more book reviews, and make sure you check out the post on Vampire Next Door.
Sherry over at Run & Read That posted a review of Vampire Next Door yesterday. I thought I would share it with all of you and link over to her site, so that you can check out her other reviews and the rest of her blog.
You can find the review here and also read it down below. A big thank you to Sherry for writing a review on Vampire Next Door. I’m glad you enjoyed it! 😉
Vampire Next Door by Angela Snyder
(Review from Run & Read That)
“What can I say about this novel by Angela Snyder besides it was pretty darn good?!?! I was pleasantly surprised at how this novel grabbed my attention and held on to it until the very last page. I have had case of book hangover after reading about the life and loves of Jane Doe, the heroine of the story. The novel begins with a hunter finding an unconscious woman in the woods with no identification and once she awakens after being in a coma for three weeks, she doesn’t have a single memory of the life she lived before her mysterious accident.
Fortunately for her, she is cared for by a very compassionate man Dr. Jack Walker whom she begins to rely on to get her through her recovery as her only friend. However, she cannot shake the occasional feeling that being watched. But luckily for her and us the readers, she is being watched by the sexily mysterious Sebastian Alexander, who only wants her happy.
Nevertheless, the relationship between Jane Doe & Dr. Walker grows, they get married and it appears a happily ever after is on the horizon until tragedy strikes again. Dr. Walker is mugged and killed on or around their anniversary. As Jane is slowly recovering from her loss, the mysterious Sebastian moves into the house next door. She feels a pull in his direction however; she is being dragging in another direction by her deceased husband’s twin brother. Now, I just thought that was a bit creepy and fortunately for me, I wasn’t the only one because the thought never quite sat right with Jane.
This book had its fair share of suspense, drama, and swoon worthy moments without reading like the cliché paranormal vampire novel. Not that I have read all that many, it was not overdone; just enough for you to know that a vampire was in the storyline. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who loves a good and well developed story that moves over time as in years and months instead of days and weeks. Well done Ms. Snyder!”
Sherry’s reviews are honest and funny, so definitely check out her blog!
I just wanted to give you all an update on what I have been working on. I’m very excited to say that I am writing a new adult romance novel. New adult romance is a relatively new genre that I would characterize as being like a young adult book with a more adult (and sexy) theme! The characters are usually college age, and the setting can even be in a college.
I don’t want to give too much away, but I will give you a little hint of what you can expect from my next book. The main characters are Chase and Ella. Ella is a complicated girl with a troubled past. Chase is a tattooed bad boy millionaire. I know I’ve got your attention now! 😉
The story will center around Chase and Ella’s relationship/friendship along with several other characters. There were will be a lot of R-rated scenes (of course!), but I don’t want there to be sex on every page. I am really focusing on the characters and the complexity of their relationship and history together.
There is no title as of yet. I am kicking around two working titles right now, but I am not sure which one to choose. I’ll probably decide when I have the cover design in front of me with the title on it.
Well, those are the only details I can give you right now, but please stay tuned for more information about this upcoming book and many more to follow.
Vampire Next Door‘s cover was reVAMPed! 😉 I now have a great cover thanks to Cheryl Ramirez over at www.ccrbookcoverdesign.com.
The Kindle edition should be updated today. The paperback version on Amazon will feature the new cover in about a week or so. Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iBooks and everywhere else will follow suit soon enough.
Let me know what you think of the new cover in the comments.
I recently published my first novel, “Vampire Next Door”, on August 29th, 2013. On that day, I remember having such a surreal feeling. My lifelong dream had been to publish a book. And I had just done it.
My passion for writing came at an early age. I can remember writing songs and poetry when I was in second and third grade. I remember writing entire plays by fifth grade. I started my first novel when I was fifteen. That novel is still a work in progress, and I believe it will be my masterpiece, so to speak. And, of course, it is about vampires. My obsession with vampires started in the year 1994. Interview with a Vampire and “The Last Vampire” series by Christopher Pike were at the top of my list of things to obsess about. The more I watched and the more I read, the more I wanted to write about vampires.
“Vampire Next Door” was initially two separate stories. The first story was about a battered woman who was married to a rich, powerful and evil man. There was a vampire living next door who was in love with this woman and saved her life after her husband had gone too far. The woman reminded him of a long lost love from his past. It was really a fairytale kind of story. At the same time I was developing that story, I had another story in my head. The other one was about a woman who had amnesia. While trying to adjust to a new life without a past, she fell in love with her doctor, who had an evil twin brother. Now, the plots for these books were not complete in any sense. I honestly would have never finished each one individually. They were missing something…a lot actually, and I was too busy working on several other books to pay them any mind. They were just ideas. And that was that.
I often hear from authors about their characters speaking to them, almost as if they’re begging for their story to be told. Well, Sebastian wouldn’t get out of my head. I thought about him. I dreamed about him. He was everywhere. One day while I was looking through my many, many, many (did I say many?) documents with all my stories on my computer, something just clicked. Combine the two stories that were going nowhere and come up with a brand new story. And so Sebastian Alexander became the main character for “Vampire Next Door”, and he became my obsession for the few months while I wrote the book. Sebastian had finally found his home in “Vampire Next Door”.
My method of writing is not methodical, to say the least. I tend to think of my method as a jigsaw puzzle. I get ideas for chapters, and I write them down at a feverish pace while the idea is still in my head. Now, I could be working on the beginning, the middle or the end at any given time. And, hell, I work on several different books at the same time as well. How all of those chapters come together at the end into one big story is a mystery. I like to think I have the entire story in my head and that I planned the whole thing from the beginning, but I don’t know if I honestly believe that sometimes. But I also give a lot of credit to my “jigsaw puzzle” method, because I think that’s how my stories get so much action. I’m writing each chapter individually and giving it everything I have, and it makes for a great story in the end!
The characters were easy to come up with. I never have a hard time with the characters actually, and I usually create them before I even come up with a good plot. Sebastian Alexander is based on real-life actor Colin Egglesfield.
Colin Egglesfield
And the ladies out there can see why I didn’t mind having that image stuck in my head for months. 😉 Whenever I have a book idea, I create a folder and keep the character’s pictures in it. It helps me when I’m trying to imagine a certain way they would act or look in different situations. I even keep pictures of houses, cars, etc., just to help with bringing the characters, places and things into reality while I write about them.
Although the characters were not hard to come up with, the blurb was. The blurb for “Vampire Next Door” was not a simple task. In fact, I think it was harder than writing the entire book. I made about a hundred drafts of a blurb and edited and edited and edited until I thought it was near perfect. “Vampire Next Door” has such a complicated plot (most of my books do) that it was difficult for me to pinpoint the real drama that would catch the reader’s attention and not give away any spoilers. Here is the blurb:
After being left for dead in the woods, a woman wakes up from a coma. With no memory of her past, she is given the name Jane Doe. While trying to adjust to her new life, tragedy strikes again. However, this time a mysterious and handsome next-door neighbor is there to help her pick up the pieces. But is he really a stranger, or does he hold the key to unlocking her past and finding out who wants her dead?
Not bad, eh? It only took me two days and about a hundred revisions and the advice from a few friends. All that work for just a blurb! I’m thinking for future novels that I’ll write the blurbs first and then the book! 😉
Publishing a book is both exciting and terrifying at the same time if you are an indie author. The following is my take on being an indie author through my eyes.
I recently published my first novel “Vampire Next Door”. You can find it here on Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EV69622 To say I am a total noob at the whole indie author/publishing thing would be the understatement of the year. I did some research before publishing, and I will stress the word some. I have had several people ask me for advice, and my number one piece of advice is always do your research. You need to know what you are in for.
Your novel should be about 50,000 words and over. Just remember when you self-publish a book — the more words and the bigger your book is, the more money it will cost to manufacture it. The more it costs to manufacture it, the less royalties you will have. So in a sense, a shorter story will make you more money in the long run. So you want your book to have a great story, but keep it on the short side, if you can. If you can’t shorten it, think about writing a series of books. A lot of readers will gravitate towards a series more than a single book. A lot of publishers are in the market for book series right now as well. Young adult, dystopian and series are three things you will hear that are in high demand as of right now. That is always subject to change, however, as people’s tastes change and the next new “big thing” hits the market.
If anyone tells you that writing the book is the hard part, they’d be lying. Writing the book is absolutely the easiest part of the process. With millions upon millions of books out there and a big percentage of them being independently published (and relatively easily I might add), the entire process of publishing your own book can be quite a daunting task. I came to realize that firsthand.
The most important thing to remember is that you are publishing independently. Don’t expect results overnight, and don’t quit your day job…even if you hate it. Helpful Tip — Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) waits 60 days to pay you. That’s for e-book sales only. So if you sell in August, you are not getting paid your royalties until the end of October. Patience is something else you’ll need to learn all too quickly. CreateSpace, on the other hand, pays monthly. That is only for paperback sales, however, and I personally have been selling four times as many e-books than paperback. If you are publishing your e-book with Smashwords, they pay quarterly. The bottom line is don’t expect money right away. It will take a few months to see any real profit.
If you think are you ready to publish your first novel, think again. Go back and read your book, edit it and then edit it again. Your grammar and formatting should be flawless or close to it. Why? Because if you have too many grammar mistakes or your book is hard to read or understand, your reviews are going to be horrible. How many times have you read reviews on Amazon that read “I loved the story, but just couldn’t get past the poor grammar”? Can’t afford an editor? Have some friends or family members (that you can trust) read over your book for free. If you are afraid of putting your life’s work in someone’s hands, then don’t do it. Edit the book yourself or find a more trustworthy friend. The formatting and grammar of a book can mean the difference between a two or three-star review and a five-star review.
Speaking of reviews, getting them will be difficult, to say the least. It is definitely not an easy task for most authors. Unless you have a strong and large fan base, you will quickly learn why people are paying other people to review their books. Let’s face it — The more reviews you have, the better your book looks to possible customers. The easiest way to get your first review is to ask a friend or family member who has read your book to leave a review. Even if you only get one, one review is better than none. The most important thing to remember is don’t put too much pressure on someone to leave a review. Most of the time I ask nicely. Either they leave one or they don’t. It’s out of your hands at that point. You don’t want to nag someone to leave a review, because they could, A, not leave a review at all or, B, leave a negative review.
Why don’t people leave reviews? The most popular answer to that question is they don’t know what to say. They feel like anything they write would be inadequate or dumb. But in reality, even a review that says “I loved it” or “I liked it” would be more helpful than they could ever know. The best thing you can do for an independent author is LEAVE A REVIEW. If you are thinking of doing a book giveaway, do a giveaway for the people that leave reviews. That should give you a jump start on getting reviews.
If you are gearing up for your first book release, you should already be building a Twitter and Facebook following. It’s a quick and free way to get a lot of potential readers and communicate with fellow authors who will be more than happy to help promote you in return for promoting them. You can search for authors on Twitter by the #author hashtag. Another trick to find new readers is search for keywords such as “love to read (insert your book’s genre)”. I often search for romance/paranormal or just plain old “love to read”.
So you joined Twitter, but you need help connecting to other authors. A great group on Facebook is Authors Tweeting Authors. It’s a private group that allows authors to tweet each other. Here is the link to the group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/142128792643893/ Another way for authors to tweet authors is to join the World Lit Cafe at http://www.worldliterarycafe.com There you can joint tweet teams, post your Facebook page links, Twitter usernames and more. It’s a great way to connect to fellow authors and, once again, gain exposure. And the best part is it’s free.
Author Angela Snyder 