Welcome to my small corner of the world, Rolynn - hope you enjoy your time here. I don't think we've spoken much on the WRP online groups so I'm looking forward to talking with you.
First things first, everyone knows how much of a book cover addict I am and I LOVE yours - who was the artist? I think the WRP have some of the very best :)
Okay, the floor is yours!
WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM CHICKEN FEET
You know the term ‘gobsmacked,’ don’t you? Gob=mouth. Smacked=hit. The whole thing about chicken feet has me gobsmacked. Did you know that without the ongoing and grand scale sale of chicken feet to China, U.S. farmers would have a hard time making a living? I’m not kidding you. Chicken feet are a delicacy in some cultures, and our chicken farmers are banking on the fact. Literally.
What I’ve learned about readerships across the world has some parallels to the chicken feet story. Now, my target audience for light suspense, sparked with romance, is out there. I know it. You know it. My problem is how to find them. I depend on those readers to buy my books, much like those chicken farmers pray every night for a new culinary concept for yumming up chicken feet.
As I’ve learned about fiction genres, I’ve become aware that each group is on the hunt for readers of their particular story line. I’ve heard about a Regency author who has enormous sales numbers in Indonesia and she’s invested in figuring out why that is true. All of us know that readers across the world line up behind specific category romances: Paranormal, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Historical, Western, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Suspense, Mystery, etc. Readers divide themselves further by choosing unique romantic premises: M/F, M/M, M/M/F and so on.
Back to the chicken feet. It behooves the U.S. chicken farmer and me, to find out everything we can about our customers. If not, we’ll never sell our stories (or our lip-smacking chicken feet).
SUSPENSE SPIKED WITH ROMANCE
Corporate fixer Rena Gordon needs to wrench a Canadian resort out of the red in time for the Canadian-American Winter Games-but employees bent on sabotage are blocking her every move. When her loose-cannon sister arrives after being kicked out of yet another school, Rena must face the past she's worked so hard to hide, while fighting her attraction to a local fishing guide.
CIA agent Neal Jackson is undercover as a fishing guide to find terrorists at Big Bay. He needs Rena's confidence to access her employee files without exposing his identity, but despite his vow to keep a professional distance, his feelings for her are anything but businesslike.
Caught between vengeful employees, a sister who likes to party, and a hot CIA agent-Rena's corporate training didn't prepare her for this. Can she trust her instincts to save the people and resort she's grown to love?
Exerpt from LAST RESORT by Rolynn Anderson
Something was wrong.
Her eyes snapped open, startling him. "So let me get this right. You look into the fraud thing with an eye open to my sabotage problems. I don't interact with you, even though you have access to all my documents and computer programs. You do all this work in secret while we show the world we can't get along. I'm not allowed to tell a soul about our arrangement." She took a breath. "Have I got it right?"
"Well said." Neal trailed his fingers down her neck to the bathrobe collar, wishing he could see her in silks again. Better: in the bikini. Best: in nothing.
"I hate it."
"Yeah. But it's my way to keep you safe and your reputation intact."
She took his hands and gazed at them, seeming to search for answers by the feel of her hands in his. "I hardly know you, Neal. The risk...the trust."
"Uh-huh."
"I have trouble thinking straight when you're around." She raised her eyes to his. "I think more clearly when you're gone," she said, placing her hands on his chest. "But I feel...I'm more alive when you're here, especially when I can touch you." She shook her head and gently thumbed his lips. "I have this crazy need to make you smile."
"Right now I'd settle for undoing the knot on your bathrobe."
She laughed.
God, he wished he didn't have to get serious. "Rena."
"Hmm?"
"Something's very wrong here at Big Bay. I can feel it, but I can't find it."
Web: http://www.rolynnanderson.com
Blog: http://blog.rolynnanderson.com/
FB: http://tinyurl.com/63vsnmt
SUSPENSE SPIKED WITH ROMANCE
LAST RESORT on sale now, print & download
Wild Rose Press: http://tinyurl.com/682vwgv
Web: http://www.rolynnanderson.com
Blog: http://blog.rolynnanderson.com/
FB: http://tinyurl.com/63vsnmt
Thanks for being her Roylnn - your post opens the age-old questions of how we reach the people who we know would love our books! Ideas? I'm all out most of the time but I know blogging and interviews definitely help! Right, well, it's over to you guys for comments and questions.... :)
Thanks for having me as a guest, Rachel. You and I (and all our author friends) are always on the hunt for our reader audience. It's a lot like singles trying to find each other...novelharmony.com, I call it. Goodreads tries to do the job, I think. Any other sites you've found? Rolynn
ReplyDeleteThanks for your compliment on my book cover, Rachel. My artist is the incomparable Kim Mendoza. Can't wait to see the cover for my next book coming out in the summer...excruciating to wait! Rolynn
ReplyDeleteGreat excerpt and congratulations on the release. Besides, FB, Twitter, loops and GoodReads, I'm not sure how to get the word out. Do you have a fan page on Facebook? Belong to loops? I belong to several and that's how I find out about new authors.
ReplyDeleteMarika
maw1725@gmail.com
Yes, Marika, I have a fan page, but it seems all my traffic is on my regular FB page. Somehow, I can't get the right people on my fan page. I agree with you that loops matter, especially for getting promo ideas. Good luck to you, Marika!
ReplyDelete