Spotlighting Inspirational Author Pamela K. Tracy

Pamela Tracy

by Connie Flynn

My March Spotlight author is inspirational author, Pam Tracy, who also happens to be my good friend and one of my critique partners.  

Welcome to Much Cheaper Than Therapy, Pam, and can I ask you to tell readers what makes you unique?

Let’s see.  I’m married (ten years) I have one son (age eight).  We live in Arizona where I teach college English and my husband is a plumber.  My son’s job is making sure the living room is filled Legoes.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

Free time?  What is that?  Outside of family and church stuff, I love to read.  I just purchased a book called The Haunting of Maddy Clare.  It was a RITA finalist for best first book.  It looked good; it is good.  I’m just over halfway through.  I also crochet and truly miss doing it since I don’t have much time anymore.  Oh, and lunch and a movie with friends is a high point in the year.

Of the books you’ve written, which is your favorite and why?

My favorite is my March 2007 release Pursuit of Justice.  Why?  From the moment I started it, it felt different – like I’d finally found my voice.  Then, it sold to Harlequin.  Selling to Harlequin had always been my goal.  Then, it finaled in both the RWA’s RITA contest and the ACFW’s Book of the Year contest.  I felt like a princess.

Tell us a little about your next book . . .

The idea for Katie’s Rescue,  the book out in August from Harlequin Heartwarming, came to me at the zoo.  I was looking at the black panther that was resting on netting just above my head and an idea formed.  By the time I got home, I had my heroine, a daughter of an animal trainer who’d been hurt by an animal and who must come back and save this animal.  If not, the zookeeper, who she was falling in love with, would love everything.  But, it might be Katie who loses, to fear.

Of all the characters you’ve created, which one do you identify with the most and why?

They say, write what you know.  I’m a teacher, so I really identify with Lisa in my book Fugitive Family.  Years ago, a decade really, I had a novella out called Letters to Timothy.  I identified with the teacher in that one too.  Many of my h and h’s are either being chased or are the cops.  I don’t identify with them but even better, I’m fascinated by them.

How did you get involved in writing?

I’ve always loved to read.  I started writing while in junior high and high school.  Then, all my stories had to do with either David Cassidy or the boys at Skateland.  In college, I wrote Sci Fi.  Then, I took a creative writing course at a community college and persevered.

What do you enjoy most and least about the writing process?

• Most:  The first 100 pages and the last 50.
• Least:  Pages 101 – 249.

What advice would you offer an aspiring author?

Get involved in the writing community.  Make friends.

What story ideas would you like to explore in the future?

I’m toying with an artist and a cop, I told you I love cops.

What has God been teaching you lately?

That he should be, and is, more important than a writing career.  Put him first.

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Click Here to Buy

Pam has been writing for many years and the lovely anthology below that includes Pam is from Barbour, one of her early publishers.

Treasure this keepsake collection of nine historical romances. Faced with finding the right fit in life and love, nine young women seek the courage to stitch together romance. But when unexpected obstacles abound, will love unravel before their eyes?

Check out Pam's most recent Harlequin Love Inspired and look from Katie’s Rescue, from Harlequin Heartwarming later in 2013.

Click Here to Buy

Raising three sons and running his ranch keeps single dad Jared McCreedy busy from sunup to sundown. Becoming involved with feisty single mom Maggie Tate is not on his to-do list. But he needs her help dealing with his youngest son's learning problem. Like Jared, Maggie doesn't want any romantic complications in her life…especially with a man whose take-charge attitude makes her temper flare—and her pulse race. But the risk of opening her heart is great and she has her daughter to think about. Then again, it is the season for faith and miracles….

April Writer U classes

MASTER CLASS: From Plot To Finish
by Laurie Schnebly Campbell
April 1-12, 2013
$65 ($60 by check) at www.WriterUniv.com

Prerequisite: Must have completed Plotting Via Motivation class worksheets at some point

A continuation of the Plotting-Via-Motivation process, this limited-enrollment group gets every member plotting a brand new book (with the 14-point worksheets already on hand) from start to finish. No need to prepare a story idea, character bios or anything else, because you’ll learn how to plot an entire book -- and actually have it ready to type -- by the end of this hands-on workshop. The two-week session will include:

    * Defining the motivation of each main character
    * Recapping your original 14-point worksheet
    * Completing the new Plot Chart from beginning to end
    * Distributing the highlight scenes through each segment
    * Choosing an outline or a free-flowing format
    * Setting up your book’s unique structure for completion

Laurie Schnebly Campbell (www.booklaurie.com) always finishes a Plotting Via Motivation class wishing for the chance to see what happens to the wonderful stories begun there — and wondering how long it’ll take to see the finished books for sale. So she’s excited about speeding the process along, and getting to watch while the plots and characters take on their full shape.

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INDIE TRACK: Building Your Blog
by Ginger Calem
April 1-26, 2013
$40 ($35 by check) at www.WriterUniv.com

So you want to start a blog but you don’t know the difference between a widget and a gravatar. That’s okay! Ginger Calem is living proof that if she can do it, so can you. You will go from “no blog” to “blogger” in 30 days. Through lectures, homework, class discussion, and step-by-step instructions for using WordPress -- the system this class is designed for -- you’ll build  your own blog, customize it, launch it and firmly splash into the blogging waters. (Goggles and floaties are optional.) During the month you’ll learn about:

    * Considering why to blog and whom you want to reach
    * Researching what the “blogs that work” are doing right
    * Choosing your blog’s name and theme so it’s YOU
    * Adding widgets and fun personalization to customize your WordPress blog
    * Management: creating posts, adding images & videos, handling comments
    * Launch: publishing your first blogs, sharing on Facebook & Twitter
    * Tools for moving forward: topics, followers, creating “blog buzz”

Ginger Calem is in hot pursuit of her writing career and has been a presenter at the Surrey International Writers’ Conference. When she’s not cavorting with her fictional characters, she’s hanging out with a plethora of awesome people in the Social Media arena. Ginger discovered blogging was a fun way to keep her writing muscle pumped, her creativity unchecked and the best way to interact with readers and writers. She loves it (really) when people visit her blog atwww.gingercalem.wordpress.com and hang out with her on twitter @GingerCalem.

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MASTER CLASS: Body Language
by Mary Buckham
April 15-26, 2013
$65 ($60 by check) at www.WriterUniv.com

Prerequisite: Must have a manuscript that you are actively working on.

If you think you have a good handle on the intentional body language your characters use on the page but want to create more depth, greater subtext, clearer messages for your readers, then consider EMOTIONAL BODY LANGUAGE. Along with fascinating material like non-verbal greetings and some of the subtle (but oh so fun) differences between the body language of men and that of women, you’ll also learn:

    * The differences between aggressive and defensive body language
    * Dominant and Submissive body signals
    * Negative and positive body messages
    * Open, closed or relaxed positions
    * Power body language and leadership body messages
    * Reading deception through body language

Mary Buckham is the author of WRITING ACTIVE SETTING: Book 1; the best selling book in a three-book series on the craft  of writing and an award-winning romantic suspense author. Currently she presents writing workshops online and nationwide. Mary encourages you to visit her website at www.MaryBuckham.com for more information about her and her current writing projects including her newest releases!

Win a copy of DOUBLE ENCHANTMENT by Kathryne Kennedy

That's right! I'm over at Dark Faerie Tales giving away a copy of Double Enchantment with it's fabulous new cover! Stop on by before April 4th to get in your entry at http://darkfaerietales.com/fantastic-fables-giveaway-double-enchantment-kathryne-kennedygi.html
Good luck!
Kathryne

Bella Media Management Can Help You Self Pub

This month we have been discussing Indie Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing. As I have mentioned before, traditional publishers will do the hard work, other than writing, for you. They select covers, approve titles, create a blurb for the back of your book, publish your book in print and most likely digital formats. If you self pub (Indie) then you will need to do all of this yourself or get help.

If I ever decide to go the self pub route, I will turn to Carol Webb at Bella Media Management. The book cover above is an example of her work. She also updates our blog and my website at BooksbyTina. Not only is she creative, she is intelligent, reliable, and easy to work with.

You can check out more of her covers at http://www.BellaMediaManagement.com.

Until next week,
happy writing and reading.
Tina Swayzee McCright

Spotlight on author K.T. Roberts

Elusive Justice
Book Two in the Gerard-Kensington Detective Series

Two detectives, two cases . . . seemingly unrelated until a baffling discovery entwines them forever . . .

Tate Kensington thought she was out of homicide for good. Missing Persons is hard on the heart, but it gives her the resources and spare time she needs to help a young girl desperately searching for her beloved brother.

Meanwhile, with a murder case that has him stumped, Zachary Gerard is beginning to resent all the time Tate's been devoting to her pet project instead of him. Zachary's murder victim is turning out to be way more than anyone ever suspected, and the red tape isn't making this case any easier.

When it suddenly becomes clear that the two cases are not as independent as Kensington or Gerard thought, secrets long buried will be revealed, and the pair will team up once again on the hunt for . . . Elusive Justice.

http://www.amazon.com/Elusive-Justice-Gerard-Kensington-Detective-ebook/dp/B00BEIKPES

Indie Published and Happy About It!

I'm indie published and I have been previously published with small presses. For years I've tried knocking on New York's door. Either my books were too paranormal or not paranormal enough. Well, last year I decided the heck with it and to go the indie route. So far I haven't regretted a moment. It gives me control and if I fail at it, it will be because of me and only me. I plan on getting my rights back on 5 other books I have.

I can publish what ever length I want. I recently published the first in a short story series. I was in charge of the formatting, cover design, editing, marketing and more. It can be super time-consuming, but it is also very rewarding. It also helps that I have a company, Bella Media Management, that specializes in indie publishing.

Here is a short blurb of the first in my Shades Series, Shades of Gray. (Yes, I know it's the same title of the hugely popular erotic novel, but I couldn't for the life of me think of one that was equally appropriate.)

Kennedy Sinclair is given a pair of simple sunglasses. Or so she thinks. Within twenty-four hours, she discovers they are far from simple or normal. The lenses open a door to the dark side of her personality and a serial killer, who turns his focus on her. Can she outwit, outrun a murderer? And if she survives the night, does she have the strength to become the person destiny has created for her

Amazon
Barnes & Noble

As an indie author, I can decide when my book will be published. I don't have to wait a year. I know a number of New York published authors who have only the one book coming out this year.

There are a couple of downsides to indie. I believe there is still a stigma out there about the quality of indie published authors. I'm hoping that will change. There is also another downside, and it's major. Distribition. New York buys placement on Amazon and on other online bookstores along with storefront bookstores across the country. I don't have that ability. Not yet. Rumor is that Amazon is planning to offer advertising for indie authors. We will wait and see.

I have heard alot of traditional publishing houses picking up indie authors once they've gotten their platform together and have gotten a readership. Hugh Howey and his Wool series is a case in point. He has a huge best-seller series on his hands and New York came knocking. My understanding is that he sold his print rights and kept his electronic. I think that was a very smart move on his move.

With Barnes & Noble closing one third of their stores, times are a changing. It's going to get harder and harder for readers to get print books unless they order online and that's really going to hamper mid-list authors.

But there is one thing I know whether it be traditional or indie, sales for a author in today's market comes down two major factors: visibility and a good product. At least this is my opinion...and I'm sticking to it right now. ;)

H.D. Thomson

Indie vs Traditional Publishing

The Valley of the Sun Romance Authors gave out these tote bags when readers bought our books at the Glendale Chocolate Affaire. Every name on the tote is a published author. Some writers went the traditional route and sold their books to a big publisher like Harlequin, Random House, St. Thomas Press, etc. These authors received advances and will eventually receive royalty checks. They have editors and deadlines. They have the added pressure of keeping their sales up in order to receive future contracts. The added bonus with traditional publishers is they send out thousands of copies of your book to bookstores and perhaps supermarkets.

Some of these writers sold to small digital presses like The Wild Rose Press. Authors who haven't been able to sell their books to the big publishers because they don't have an agent, their book is different than the books these editors are looking for, or they don't want the pressure of dealing with a big house, will often choose a smaller press. These publishers have editors and will send out copies for reviews. They do some promotion for you, but not a lot. The downside is some offer print copies and some don't. The Wild Rose Press does. Also, they often don't send out mass quantities to bookstores. If you choose this route you must make sure you are dealing with a reputable company. Ask other writers about their experiences. I believe every writer should join a professional organization like Romance Writers of America to help you guide your career.

Last, but not least, some of the writers listed on the tote are self-published or "Indie" writers. They usually hire someone to create a cover, then they format the manuscript and download it onto sites like Smashwords and Amazon. They basically cut out the middle man. The upside is the author will receive most of the profit for the book. The downside, besides paying hundreds of dollars to prepare your book for publishing, is the author is in charge of marketing the book. Some authors have found great success, but they also spend hours a day on promotion, and there is no guarantee readers will be interested in your book. Also, you must make sure your book is edited. I suggest getting a critique partner, but there are professional editors out there.
I know a few New York Time's authors who have decided to give up their big contracts in order to self-publish. These authors already have a following and are finding they make more money now.

How do you decide which route to go? There are many writers asking themselves that question daily. It depends on your goals and how much time you want to spend on promotion. Can you handle deadlines or do you want to set your own deadlines? Is your dream to make The New York Times list or do you simply want to see your book in print? Where do you see your writing career ten years from now? Once you answer these questions, you may be able to start down one of these paths.

Until next week,
happy reading and writing.
Tina Swayzee McCright