Marketing- Don’t Let Your Head Explode!

Easy reading is damn hard writing.  ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

 

Help!

I’m choking on the amount of material out there about our industry, all the different ways to market our work, and the changing face of the market itself. After spending many hours trolling the internet, I hope to give you bite size portions to think about and for you to not get overwhelmed by the avalanche of, sometimes very conflicting, information.

The number one item repeated time and again was that it doesn’t matter what route you take to being a published author, you must become savvy to marketing techniques to boost sales. The days of a publishing house taking over and making you a best seller are gone. The houses expect you to have an online presence and that you are willing to put much effort into promoting yourself. Brick and mortar publishing models will have you in stores for a finite amount of time and then you are done. E publishers will promote you on their website, offer you a chance to blog  to the readers who frequent their site, but after a certain amount of time, you are done. If you want to continue to have your books sell, then you MUST have some kind of strategy. Right, wrong, or indifferent this is today’s reality and every author needs to get on board for long term survival.

A good friend of mine, author Suzan Harden, directed me to http://victorinewrites.blogspot.com/2011/03/sales-growth-over-time in order for me to see several indie authors post their numbers of sales over a period of time. I strongly suggest you hop over there to study the numbers yourselves, but here are my general impressions of the data.

- Most authors start off with small numbers, but with time grew. This makes sense because growing is due to word of mouth which is now done in an IT sort of way.

-Sales generally increased around the holidays which led to continued higher sales for many of the authors.

- Based on their anecdotal information, sales spiked consistently with each new release. Some chose to publish short stories, some novellas, some full length novels. It didn’t seem to matter- new material equaled new sales.

-Authors also had spikes when they changed their covers or tweaked the descriptions of their books. I found this very telling because it confirms my belief that unless you are a cover artist/marketing guru, you should spend some money and hire a professional designer for your cover. We are a society of instant gratification and if the picture on the front doesn’t grab us within the first 5 to 10 seconds, you’ve lost a potential buyer.

- As a whole, those authors that had more than one item for sale had better sales. (Although there were exceptions to this.)

Every author should consider establishing a Facebook personal page, a Facebook fan page, a Twitter account, a You Tube account and a blog. Even as I write this, I need to warn you not to take on all of these things at one time and not every single one will be right for every person. The next couple of weeks, I will give you a breakdown of each of these, mistakes that many authors make, and more data from published authors that I’m collecting. This is such a huge topic with many layers, but I believe we must explore and commit to being an active part in the business side of  creativity.

 

The Power Of Knowledge- Turn It Into Money

Have something to say, and say it as clearly as you can. That is the only secret.- Matthew Arnold

 

Do you want to make money?

I’m not sure, but I would guess every person reading this article will answer with a resounding YES! I know I do. I also know that it’s not enough to simply write a good book. This brave new world we’ve entered with the advent of self publishing and e-readers has changed our industry forever. We are now responsible for the business as well as the creative side of making books. (This is true no matter which avenue you take to publishing.) Most sectors of business change over the course of years, we’ve seen huge upheavals in the course of a few months.

Because of the shifting landscape, it is our responsibility to stay current with market research and business strategies for our careers. This takes a bit of time and effort, but doesn’t have to be overwhelming. A writer can educate themselves by reading blogs, like Muse Tracks, and researching the internet. I decided to take my own advice and have been studying trends and tricks of selling books.

This is me doing the research!

We know e-book consumers are increasing their buying power, both in print and e formats. More people are buying more books online to the detriment of the traditional brick and mortar book stores. Obviously, the ease and number of e-readers on the market has influenced this trend immensely, but a sky rocketing segment of this is found in-app purchasing. According to the Book Industry Study Group- www.bisg.com   which publishes Consumer Attitudes Toward E-Book Reading shows that more than half of e-book readers increased their use of using apps to buy books and more than one third of them increased their buying at sites like Amazon. A huge percentage of them said that they’ve significantly decreased their spending at book stores.

Their findings show that dedicated e-readers are still the most used platform for reading books, but even that has changed over the last few months. Take a look at these numbers:

-17% said they are now using tablets, which is up from 13%.

-Smartphones used as readers has gone from 5.3 to 9.2%

- Dedicated e-readers has dropped from 71.6% to 60.9%. Even so, sales for the Kindle jumped 175% between Black Friday and Christmas of this past year.

So how do these numbers translate into dollars and cents? The book trade as a whole has grown and profited over the last year, but the e-book trade has led the way jumping from 73.2 to 128.8 million dollars. That’s a 76% increase in just one year!

This is huge!

So what do you do with this information? E buying, whether print or e-book, is still fueled by the traditional method of “word of mouth”. We all want to read a good book so we listen to our friends. The trick is to take that time honored method and apply it to our digital age. “Word of mouth” now has the ability to extend far beyond a writer’s immediate little world. It’s called social media.

Indie/self published authors have blazed a path of marketing through this outlet pushing their sales to new heights. I was very interested to learn that traditional publishing houses are taking note of this grassroots effort and are using it as well. An anthology will soon be released through a major publishing house and they have each of their authors creating street teams to help market the book. Each author sends out a request to their friends asking them to sign up for a specific week to Facebook, Twitter, blog etc. about the upcoming book. It has the potential to reach hundreds of thousands of people, if not more. (Interesting twist that traditional publishing is taking a cue from the lowly writers who have made their own path.)

Let me be clear- I am not a business type person. I have trouble keeping my check book balanced, however I am NOT stupid. If I want to steer my writing career, I have to have the knowledge. Knowledge is power, knowledge translates into making money and as we’ve already decided, we all want to do that!

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Fans

I wish to be cremated. One tenth of my ashes shall be given to my agent, as written in our contract. Groucho Marx

 

By: Stacey Purcell

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. As authors, we hope that our picture might be worth attracting a thousand fans. In days past, authors like Plato, Charles Dickens, and Jane Austen would never have had to worry about people seeing their image. Those days are gone. Readers want to read the books, but they also want to know about the author. Modern technology fulfills that wish.

One of the first things I noticed when I jumped into this crazy writer’s life is that EVERYONE had a picture of themselves. The pictures are on web sites, blogs, Facebook, My Space etc. So what did I do? I perused through our family albums until I found one of myself that I liked. Copy, paste and voila! I had my picture up too.

Stacey Purcell- Casual shot, not close up and definitely not a good example of an author's marketing shot!

That is not the way you should do it.

I’m a prime example of how to do that bit incorrectly.

This is our front line of marketing and I’m surprised to see that I’m not the only one doing it wrong. I’ve looked through a ton of author photos and have discovered my vacation shot seems pretty darn awesome compared to some of the images out there. I’ve looked at shots where the writer looks disheveled, the background is a messy house and the eyes look stoned… or terrified. (I’m still trying to work that one out.) Come on people, we can do better than that!

It doesn’t matter what route you take with publishing or even if you are published- You need a good picture of yourself to fling about the internet. How do you do that?

 

1. Use a professional photographer- If you can afford it, this would be the best route. If not, try to find a friend that takes good pictures and has some basic idea of light, color and posing. This will greatly improve the quality of your shot.
2. Focus on a head shot- People want to be able to look into your eyes. I know it sounds corny, but it’s true. You might also want to have some full body poses and use them for different things,
3. Dress normally(professional)- The internet is forever so if you decide to appear in costume or look like you’re dressed for a rainy Saturday at home alone, your readers will form instant opinions of you…and your life. It’s been said to dress like you would if you were going to an interview because this is a type of visual interview. I think that can be taken to an extreme as well. Nice, casual, formal- whatever represents you as a person and how you would like to be in a reader’s memory.
   

   Melissa Ohnoutka- Her head shot is open, pretty and very approachable. I'm a fan!

4. Be creative- A picture does speak volumes and can convey many things. You might want to incorporate items from your genre. I’ve seen some very interesting steam punk authors’ photos and they are very cool. Don’t go overboard because you are a professional writer and this is your corporate image.
5. Are You Approachable- Readers will react emotionally to your photo. Are you approachable? Can people connect with this shot? What do you want to convey? These are all questions you should think about when presenting yourself to the world.
   

   Jennifer Bray Weber- this is a great head shot and readers can look directly into her eyes.

 

It looks like I’ve got to look for a photographer…just as soon as I get back from a getaway trip with my two best friends from high school to Mexico. Since I write thrillers set in exotic locations and travel has been such a huge part of my life, maybe I should try taking some head shots there. Hmmmmm the work never stops!

 

 

Go Ahead- Pinterest Me!!!

“Just as a good rain clears the air, a good writing day clears the psyche.”  Julia Cameron
By: Stacey Purcell

It seems the world won’t wait for me.

Twitter, Facebook, and blogging are social media tools that I’ve gotten fairly proficient at using. In fact, I have been congratulating myself on how I jumped into the cyber swirl with both feet and am holding my own. This coming from a girl who figured out how to make group emails about 2 years ago, is quite the feat! I’m very proud of myself although, if you compare me to Jennifer, I’m an antique relic- at best.

So what does the world do? It creates the next big social media push…are you kidding me? Insert big heavy sigh.

But wait! This one is fun. This one is easy. This one can be used sparingly or all the time. This one is called Pinterest.

The basic idea of this site is that you create online bulletin boards with pictures of items that interest you. You pin them onto your boards to create a visual picture of your thoughts, likes, dislikes, moods etc. The site is brimming with possibilities for writers!

This is wonderful way to include your readers into the process behind the scenes of a writer. Many authors I know build story boards to help them while they are creating their novel. Why not do it to also engage readers in the book as well? Pinterest creates a platform for you to add photos, music, video clips, and articles to create an interactive wall that can be used to illustrate your book. In an instant your characters, setting, historical research, and mood of the book come alive. For instance, my two books take place in Malaysia and Costa Rica. I could design a board for each destination. Jennifer writes pirate novels, she could include a board about the history and legends surrounding lost treasure. The possibilities are endless. Tantalize your reader, offer glimpses into your next novel or provide a multi-media way for them to connect to your current book already for sale!

Pinterest also has a “Pin It” widget that you can add to your web site and blog. This gizmo allows readers and visitors to share something they particularly liked from your boards with their own networks. This is especially true for book covers! I’ve looked around Pinterest for a few days now and have discovered many people have a “Favorite Books” or a “What I’m Reading” board. Wouldn’t it be great if your cover was on their board? This widget makes it very easy for readers and potential readers to share your book and take a look into what goes into the making of a novel.

What if you turned it into a contest? What if you had your readers create boards that had to do something with your book? Theme, setting, characters would provide terrific launching points for this. What if you had a “Create The Main Character” contest. For instance, Jennifer’s books are available on Amazon and a number of other spots. Her pirate guys are to die for- no really, I’m not kidding. Maybe her readers could create boards to illustrate what they think these dashing fellows are all about. The best ones could be shared and posted all over the place. The connection to Facebook and Twitter could make it go viral in the blink of an eye. By the way, the contests or invites to the story boards could also be listed in the author profiles on Amazon to instantly give a readers another way to connect to you.

I’ve come a long way in this techno world we live in and finally they’ve created something that’s right up my alley. I’m not only a writer, but I decorate, love art and music, paint, cook, sketch, and am a history and travel buff. This site allows me to indulge all of my passions as well as provide a way for my potential readers to get to know me and my books. You can spend 5 minutes a day or get lost and come up for air 5 hours later with Pinterest. I believe it has the potential to take marketing books to a whole new level- one that I’m totally on “board” with.

Ha! Couldn’t resist the bad joke.

P.S. See Jenn’s article below here to find out about her book and soon to be released novella! When you do, think about the possibilities with Pinterest…….

Cover me! I’m going in!

Song of the day: The Way You Move by Since October

I’m a woman. I’m a writer. So it stands to reason that I am fickle and never quite satisfied. Shocking, I know.

Something has been burrowing in the back of my mind for some time now. It wasn’t until recently I decided to confront the gnawing little critter. My debut pirate romance Blood and Treasure has a couple of flaws. *gasp* The longer I tried to ignore it, the louder the flaws scratched, chattered, and hollered at me to fix them. I became obsessed by those damned errors. Now we authors know that no matter how polished and shiny our masterpieces are, we will find something we want desperately to change or improve. It’s the nature of the beast.

I could stand the incessant badgering no longer. The past couple of weeks, I poured over Blood and Treasure correcting wayward punctuation and banishing anachronistic words that somehow, either by oversight or blind eye, made it into the novel. The result? A breath of relief reviewers and readers didn’t find my faux pas—or found them serious enough to string me up by my toenails. Over dramatic and paranoid? Perhaps.

That’s not all. As much as I love my cover, I realized something very crucial. The cover need to be revamped. This became glaringly obvious once I saw the new cover for my latest pirate tale Beneath the Water’s Edge (forthcoming – I promise). These covers needed to match in tone, mood, setting, font, and heat level. Especially since they belong to the same series. As much as it hurt to let go of the current cover, it was imperative to move on. (I’ll miss you, Jimmy! Please don’t forget me. I’ll write every day! ) It’s marketing. And it makes sense.

The downside – all those print copies and trading cards sitting in my closet. I feel a sale coming on!

So what do you think? If you want to know who created the cover, check back for my next Link of the Week.

 

Link of the Week

Looking for great read from an Indie Writer?

Indie Reader has book reviews on independently published authors of fiction, non-fiction, young adult, and even children’s books. What a diversified selection.

They offer features such as The Book That Changed My Life, Hot Off The Press,  Can’t Bleiewve It’s Not Vanity, Trad Pubbed Book F**k Up, among others.

This venue has an interesting take on the Independent Market.

http://indiereader.com/

Link of the Week

Hey kiddos~

Want to know what impression your book’s cover gives readers? Check out this blog hosted by author Jude Hardin. Honest and constructive feedback is given on what commenters like and dislike about a cover.

Check it out.

http://coverartreview.blogspot.com/

Jenn!

Dressing the Part – Corsets, Torture, & Voyeuristic Pirates

Song of the Day: Pain by Three Days Grace

The woman, a complete stranger, left me winded, dizzy. Like a thief, she stole my breath away and along with it, my good sense. Reining me into her designs armed with nothing more than a scrap of leather.

What’s this all about?

Since my passion is writing fun, steamy, adventuresome pirate romances, I’ve been toying with the idea of dressing the part – for appearances and book signings, of course. Last week, I visited a boutique, The Spotted Pony, in historic Old Town Spring. The shop specializes in Renaissance and pirate paraphernalia, including authentic clothing. Its proprietor is a saucy sort, old enough to be my grandmother and sharp of tongue. She was eager to help me once I explained why I was shopping in her unique store. In hindsight, she might have been too eager.

She produced a leather corset from behind the counter. An investment, she insisted. Now, I recently lost 40 pounds, but when she said the corset was a size 30 in the waist, I laughed. She suggested it was too big. I disagreed considering I couldn’t get the damned thing to latch around my ribcage. I wondered if I might have peeved the woman for chuckling as she slapped down on the counter a corset the next size smaller. She was either a witchy woman ready to deliver spite upon me or a tarot card short of a complete deck.

She had me unlace the corset while she rang out another customer. When I misunderstood and removed the laces instead, she chastised me with a wag of her finger and the shake of her head. Hey, in my defense, I write about taking these things off, not putting them on.

I followed her to the not-so-private dressing room. Ironically, I shared the space with a life-size cutout of Will Turner from the Pirates of the Caribbean. Not that I minded. After finally attaching the first button (I swear it took five whole minutes!), I was drenched in sweat. Oh, but we had only just begun.

The crazy proprietor tells me to turn around so she can lace me up. Tugging away, she tells me she has arthritis and may not be able to tighten the corset completely. Really? Imagine, if you will, the scene in Gone With The Wind with Mammy lacing Scarlett’s corset. All that yanking and cringing … I’m holding onto the door jam, giggling like a crazed fool, as the lunatic conducts torture with her arthritic hands. I half expected her to brace her foot against the wall for leverage as hard as she pulled. It’s all fun and games until someone cracks a rib.

All blood flow had been cut off to my brain, my vision blurred with the spinning of the room. Breathing had become a luxury and came only in short gasps. Good grief, by the time she was done, my boobs, which is one of my better assets, were eye level. I needed mirrors and a guide dog to walk across the room. No doubt the contraption was created by a man. Speaking of which, this is when I noticed the twenty-something man lingering by the same racks he’d been browsing before we started this cruel and unusual punishment. Hmm…

Perfect! the delightfully batty shopkeeper claimed. The lack of oxygen must have caused a momentary lapse in reasoning because I agreed. I bought the “investment”.

The things we do for our craft.

Have you ever dressed the part for your stories or bought something to help inspire you? Let me hear from you, but speak up. I can’t hear you over this heavy breathing.

Take some responsibility! by Candi Wall

So I hit the purchase button the other night SEVEN times. Yeah, you heard me right. Seven times. For a grand total of $21. and some change.

I don’t part easily with my money, except when it comes to books. I could spend THOUSANDS. (Checking to make sure hubby didn’t read that.) Below is what my house will probably look like some day.

I usually don’t complain. But here’s the thing. I read the first book – LOVED IT – and went on to the next. It was a .99 cent purchase from an author I didn’t know, self-pubbed and I liked the premise. Hey I’ll give anyone a chance. ONCE.

I hadn’t reached the end of the first chapter when I realized I’d given my money away for nothing. I groaned, archived the sucker and went on to the next one. The next wasn’t as bad, but there was a plot hole the size of Jupiter about midway through and by this point I was losing interest in the hero. Too bad, because it started off as a good read. Darn.

I’ve twittered several times about this as well, venting my frustration for the self-pubbed authors who are making other self-pubbed author look bad. Every reader who has a bad experience with a self-pubbed book makes it harder for other authors to sell! Argh, the frustration! And I’m not even self-pubbed.

At this point, hubby was starting to get sick of my ‘waspish’ attitude. After three more days, my results were:

Seven purchases

1- Loved

2- Liked

4- Couldn’t finish

I know – it’s a crap shoot right?!?

NO! It isn’t.

And here’s where dear hubby had all he was going to take.

In his words…

“What did you expect, hon?” Raising a quizzical brow. “If you go to Wal-Mart and buy a vacuum for twenty bucks, you get what you pay for. It’s like buying toilet paper at the dollar store. It ain’t gonna hold up.” (Yep, I’m married to a thinner version of Larry the Cable Guy.)

Well how dare he. I have friends who self publish. That’s not fair! (Insert indignant foot-stomping) “There are tons of authors out there with brilliant books!”

“Really?” says hubby. “Then you would think you’d do your homework before you buy.”

GADS! He’s SO right. And I’m so not going to tell him that. Sheesh.

What was I thinking?!?

We’ve been spoiled peeps. Let’s face it. The publishers we’ve come to trust have given us so many great books, we may have forgotten how to check the products first. Don’t get me wrong, one person’s crap is another’s gold. I hate what you love at times and visa-versa. But we came to rely on what they put out there.

Now if we, the consumer, are going to gripe about prices and go elsewhere to read at super cheap prices, we’ll have to start doing our own research. We’re spoiled again however, because there is this ingenious little thing called the World Wide Web. Search engines abound, and at any time, we can sluice through the crap to ferret out the truth, or at least get a sense of what we’re getting into.

Here’s my new list of things I check BEFORE I purchase:

• Google the author
• Do they have blogs?
• Reviews? (Other than where I’m purchasing from and checking the author’s responses to reviews)
• Any other books out?
• Website?
• And of course – I ask my writing/reading pals

Seems like a lot of work, but hey, there are some amazing authors out there getting lost in the shuffle of self-pubbing. I want to find, support and enjoy them. If that means I have to do a few minutes of research, so be it. I’m a big girl, I can handle the responsibility of checking out my purchase’s history beforehand. After all, who wants a $20 vacuum that doesn’t work, when you can get the fantastic $5 super sweeper that might just be the next big thing?

So take some responsibility as readers! Check it out first.

Welcome Saranna DeWylde and THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF MOUNT OLYMPUS

Hello All,

I’m super excited to have this writer here today. I was lucky enough to find and befriend Saranna DeWylde during the Next Best Celler contest at Textnovel, and I’m extremely lucky we’ve stayed pals since. I could list her qualities (one of which happens to be a ridiculously fast and super efficient crit partner who puts me to SHAME) but I’ll let you get to know her through her writing, which is what drew me to her in the first place.

Saranna recently released her uber sexy THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF MOUNT OLYMPUS and she’ll be giving away one PDF copy to one lucky comment EVERY TEN COMMENTS! Sweet!

I loved this book in its earliest draft and now – awesome.

Love the cover!

Welcome Saranna!

Let’s start out easy! What do you write and is there one genre you wish you could write but don’t?

I write paranormal romance, urban fantasy, contemporary and erotica. I also write a bit of true crime. I used to be a horror author but after my employment as a corrections officer, it sort of changed what I wanted out of my career and what I wanted to put out into the world. I’ve even got a romantic suspense that’s been poking at me to give it some attention.

The second part of the question is harder to answer. I don’t really write in genre, (contrary to labels I slapped on myself in the previous paragraph. *laughs*) I write the story that wants to be told. The one living in my head. So, if I have a hard-boiled cop story in my head, that’s what I write. If I have a historical in my head, I’ll write it. I think anyone can do the same as long as you’re true to the characters and the story that needs/wants to be told.

Um, the correction’s officer part is true and Saranna just sold her memoir about that time in her life. WOOT! Okay, back on subject. Are you a plotter or pantser?

Mostly a pantser. I usually have a general idea of what I want to happen, major plot points in my head when I start. I don’t write it down though, or make a story arc or an *shudders* outline. I do, every so often, write down some GMC statements where I can see them. Goal, Motivation, and Conflict. Just to remind myself what drives my characters and that really helps me keep them in character so I don’t have to go back and delete 20K of material because it’s not working.

Can you tell us what made you decide to self-publish Housewives?

It was a tough decision, but everyone who read it as far as agents and editors were concerned told me they thought it was too snarky. But my critique partner and other beta readers loved it. More importantly, *I* loved it. I believe in it. There is so much more to it than the snark and it’s using the gods as they were meant to be used. As an allegory for ourselves and what I like best about romance–in that it shows us redemption and happily ever afters are possible for all of us.

Further, publishing is changing so fast now. It’s shifting with new technology, new ways to get stories to readers and new ways to connect with each other. Platforms, markets, and even product are all in a spin. I wanted to dip my toe in the water and check it out. So far, it’s been great. I got exactly what I wanted for this book as far as character, content, even my cover is exactly what I imagined.

Regardless of whether I’m with a traditional publisher, an epublisher, and indie publisher or publishing myself building a backlist is important.

I had requests for something after I did some promo for my Kensington books that won’t be out until 2012.

So, you add all of that together in a big blender and get the self-publish smoothie.

Smoothies, yum. Okay, even a publishing smoothie is yummy considering so many of my fav authors are putting out titles on their own. So is there one pro and one con you’ve found from your experience self-pubbing?

They’re the same thing. Being responsible for everything myself. It was cool because like I mentioned earlier, I got to produce this product exactly to my specifications and my visions.

But wow, the pressure. There were some things I had trouble with and luckily I have awesome friends who were right there to jump in the fire with me and help me out.

Any advice for those considering the self-pub path?

I’ve only done it with one book so far, but I’ve learned that people do expect more from a self-pub book because of the stigma of being self-pubbed. It’s not as bad as it used to be, there are a lot of good books out there self-pubbed. But don’t let it get to you. Accept it and prove them wrong. Put out the best product you can. Engage an editor, take time with your cover and remember a book isn’t just your creative expression, it’s a product. If you want people to buy it, you have to treat it like a product and you are the brand.

Okay, now some fun stuff:

Who’s your favorite character in Housewives and why?

Thanatos. He’s so modern, kind of cyberpunk. He’s like Death living in The Matrix. He’s one of the most powerful gods, but he wears it so casually. He accepts what he is, a little dark and brooding, (I mean, come on. He’s Death.) but he still has a sense of humor, he’s witty. Hades was the one I thought I’d fall for, but I ended up being stuck on him just a little bit.

Where did the idea for HOUSEWIVES come from?

I was talking shop in chat with a few friends of mine and we were talking about cool titles. I threw that one out there and one of my friends demanded I log off and write it. So I did.

HA! I know that friend. She’s a slave driver. Thank goodness! Tell us a secret about Housewives. Were there any deleted scenes you’d put in the extras category if this were a dvd?

There were not any deleted scenes. Usually, there is something I delete but the words flew hot and fast with this one. I would just sit down in the morning and crank out sometimes three chapters a day and it was surprisingly very clean. Although, I had trouble with Demeter’s chapters. I didn’t like her much and living in her head was hard for me until she learns her lesson.

As I’m a card carrying metal head, it may surprise those of you who know me that this book had its own CD. Lady Gaga’s Fame Monster. Each couple has a song. I don’t write to music anymore, I used to, but I weaned myself away from it. Although, I could hear these songs in my head when I wrote them.

Hera/Hades-Dancing in the Dark

Demeter/Eros- Bad Romance

Nyx/Apollo-Alejandro

Abstinence/Zeus-Monster

Persephone/Thanatos-Teeth

And if this were a DVD, I’d have an interactive section where you could dress them up like live-action Barbie dolls.

This is always hard, but can you tell us a secret about you?

I, the all powerful Amazon Goddess of Doom, am afraid of cows. I hate them. The neighbor’s bull broke through the electric fence to chase me a 1/2 mile UP-friggin-HILL home. And ever since then, the cows across the street watch me with their big soulful eyes, but inside, I know they’re laughing.

Or they could just be looking for my mini Amazons. They like to feed them Hershey’s kisses. (When my youngest was smaller, she thought if she gave them Hershey’s, she’d get chocolate milk so she’d sneak over and give them some.)

LOL! COWS?!? Hey I can’t say much since I freeze up like Medusa glared at me whenever a spider makes an appearance. Thanks for being a good sport.

Here’s an excerpt of HOUSEWIVES:

NYX

     “Thanatos!” she cried when she saw her oldest son lounging on her temple steps.

     “Hey, Ma.” He stood and endured her hug.

     “I thought you were working all week. Wasn’t there a natural disaster in South America?”

     “Wouldn’t you know it, it’s so cool. Red Cross showed up and the volunteers saved a bunch of people.”

     Nyx hadn’t seen him in what felt like a century. In fact, she almost started counting on her fingers to see if it had been that long. “I suppose you’re hungry. Fig cakes with cream cheese frosting?”

     Thanatos patted his flat stomach. “You know me so well.”

     “Why are you outside? You could have gone in, you know.” Nyx pushed the door open.

     “I didn’t want to startle you. Might fall and break a hip and I’d feel bad.” He shrugged.

     “You little shit,” she laughed. He was always teasing her about her age. She was a Titan after all and older than all of the gods. She was one of the last of the old guard; one Zeus was sure wouldn’t try to overthrow his power. He was mistaken about that one, only she didn’t want the power herself. She wanted him to stop treating Hera like crap. Or divorce her. That at least, would be honest.

     He smirked back at her. Of her two sons, Thanatos was most like her. She loved her children the same, but she had a special kinship with Thanatos.

     “So uh, what’s the deal with Persephone and Hades?” he asked as he followed her inside.

     Tartarus on cracker! What was with that girl that these dark types were so stuck on her? Was it because she was blond? Nyx just didn’t get it. Not that she had anything against the girl, but it wasn’t like she was as pretty as Hera. Or as smart as Athena.

     “You have been out of the gossip loop for awhile, yeah? They broke up, so to speak.”

     “He let her go? Dumbass.” Thanatos shook his head.

     “What would you have him do? Sacrifice the world for her?”

     “Well, yeah,” Thanatos answered as if that were the only reasonable response.

     Nyx couldn’t argue with that, but she tried anyway. “Hades released her from the curse too. He didn’t want her to be unhappy.”

     At that, her son was silent for a moment. “So how hard do you think Demeter would smite me if I asked Persephone out?”

     “She better not smite you, or I’ll kick her ass up over her shoulders. She has winter, but I’ll drench the world in eternal night if she tries.” Nyx was thoughtful for a moment. “Unless of course you were unreasonably handsy or demanding. Or acted like Zeus. Or—,”

     “I get the picture, Ma. By the way, you look great.”

     “You’re just saying that because my hair looks like yours now.” She scowled.

    “Moonlight and stardust. No one can resist.” He smirked as if it was just his trial to bear, being that attractive.

   “Nice deflection. I mean what I said. If you want Persephone, do what you will, but don’t be a dick. Got it?”

     “Yeah, Ma. Don’t be a dick. Got it,” he recited dutifully.

     “So I have to ask. What’s with you dark and tortured types and this girl?”

     “I dunno. She’s hot. It’s not like I want to marry her or anything. It would just be a date. Maybe a kiss.” He considered for a moment. “Maybe something else.”

     “That girl is a virgin, Thanatos.” Yes, he was her son and she loved him dearly, but he was one-hundred percent male—thinking with his parts. She had to struggle not to sigh.

     “She’s probably got a family of bats living in there after all this time. Don’t you think it would be okay if she—,”

            “You know, we so don’t need to have this conversation.” She threw her hands up in defeat. Nyx loved that her boys talked to her, confided in her, but there were some things a mother just didn’t need to know.

Thanks so much for coming by hon. Okay everyone, Saranna’s an open book so if you have questions, ask away. And make sure you leave a comment to get a chance at a free copy!

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