Monday Musings: The importance of interacting with readers

Posted on December 3, 2018 Written by
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By DelSheree Gladden

Interacting with readers is one of my favorites things about being an author. Frankly, it’s one of the things I’ve missed most over the last year. Last December, I went back to work full-time, which left little time for writing or staying up to date on social media. Recently, I left that full time job and am focusing on writing while I look for a new job. I’m also trying to catch up on everything I let slide for the last year.

Thankfully, one particular reader I’ve know for several years now, has been staying more on top of things than I have. A few weeks back, Stacey messaged me out of the blue and said she’d just been to her local library to tell the librarian about my books. As it happens, there were a few teens standing nearby and commented that the books actually sounded like something they might read. The librarian was apparently intrigued and agreed to look me up online. Fast forward a week or two and Stacey got back in contact saying the librarian was interested in “Trouble Magnet” and “Invisible,” and would I be willing to donate copies? Of course I was, so after figuring out how to order copies from the KDP print platform I just switched all my books over to, copies were on their way.

Now, I’m not telling you this just to brag about having an awesome reader like Stacey, even though it’s true and I’m super grateful for her enthusiasm and willingness to share my work. I bring this up because I’ve been so far from having any interest or motivation to write lately that I wasn’t even trying to keep up with readers or do any kind of real marketing. Stacey’s message was a reminder that I needed to get busy. It was motivation that just because my head was not in a writing space at all, my readers were still interested and wanted to engage.

Stacey’s message got me back to thinking about books and my readers and what projects I had left languishing on my computer for so long. Authors often joke about the readers who constantly want updates or want to message all day when they’re trying to get some writing done, but the truth is that these are the exact things that keep us going and remind us that the challenges of writing are worth it and what we do really does mean something to others. I’m so grateful I still have readers who are interested in my books after basically disappearing for a year. They haven’t given up on me, and I’m not going to give up on them either. It may take a little while for me to get back into the swing of writing and have something new for them to read, but the motivation is back.

DelSheree Gladden

was one of those shy, quiet kids who spent more time reading than talking. Literally. She didn’t speak a single word for the first three months of preschool, but she had already taught herself to read. Her fascination with reading led to many hours spent in the library and bookstores, and eventually to writing. She wrote her first novel when she was sixteen years old, but spent ten years rewriting and perfecting it before having it published.Native to New Mexico, DelSheree and her husband spent several years in Colorado for college and work before moving back home to be near family again. Their two children love having their seventeen cousins close by. When not writing, you can find DelSheree reading, painting, sewing and trying not to get bitten by small children in her work as a dental hygienist.
Check out her latest books, get updates and sneak peeks of new projects at
And find her on social media

 

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Thursday teaser: The Crazy Girl’s Handbook

Posted on October 18, 2018 Written by
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This week’s romance teaser is from the bestseller

By DelSheree Gladden

I could have sunk down through the bleachers in that moment, gum and all. The last thing I wanted to do was talk to this guy now, but he was trying to get gum out of my hair and I felt like I owed him some sort of explanation for that. “You’re that guy, aren’t you? The one Lydia tried to set me up with?”

Roman laughed. At me, I was sure. “Unsuccessfully, but yes. That would be me.”

Of course it was. “She never even asked me before setting that up with you,” I said defensively. “I already had something going on.” Actually, I had nothing at all going on, as usual, but that hadn’t stopped me from spurning Lydia’s pity blind date.

Roman tugged on my hair. It didn’t hurt, but it yanked my head back enough that I almost lost my balance and fell on him. Awesome. Just what I needed right now. Hooking my fingers under the bleacher seat, I held on for dear life.

“I got the impression Lydia expects people to do what she says within the first five minutes of meeting her and she didn’t disappoint,” Roman said as he tugged my hair again. “I figured that’s what had happened. It’s not a big deal.”

He said that, but I was still mortified. Right now he was probably thinking he was lucky I’d refused to keep the date Lydia set up. Whatever. This would be just another part of a story you tell your friends and have a good laugh about. Him, not me. I was not telling this story to anyone. Ever.

“Well, I got most of it out,” Roman said. “You might want to try peanut butter when you get home for what’s left.”

“Peanut butter?” I wrinkled my nose at the thought of putting peanut butter in my hair, on purpose. “How many times have you had to do this?”

Laughing, Roman said, “You’d be surprised.” He tossed the napkin into the nacho tray and I reached back to feel my hair. There was still some stickiness, but he’d actually managed to remove most of the gum wad.

I turned to thank him despite my embarrassment after realizing who he was, but my words and pride stuck in my throat when I saw him. Expecting some balding, nice-personality, let-himself-go single dad like Lydia usually tried to set me up with, I wanted to die right there on the bleachers when I looked at Roman. He looked to be in his early thirties, had dark thick hair that demanded to have fingers run through it, a casual weekend kind of stubble on his face, and bright green eyes I knew were laughing at me. His smile was the worst. Holding a hint of amusement, his lips curled up at what he saw.

Sweaty, possibly sunburned by that point, covered in gum and slobber and watered down soda, I was sure I looked like every guy’s definition of a bullet dodged. Heat was creeping up my neck and I knew I was half a second from breaking out in a full body blush. I wasn’t cute when I blushed. I looked like I had some sort of spotted fever when I blushed like that. Could this encounter get any worse?

About the Crazy Girl’s Handbook

Watching her two nephews and a puppy named Thor for the weekend was supposed to be fun for Greenly Kendrick. Sweating to death at a never-ending baseball game while getting gum in her hair, soda down her shirt, and an ice cream pedicure wasn’t part of the deal. Neither is finding out the best blind date she’s ever stood up is there to witness it all.

Longest. Weekend. Ever.

Except it doesn’t stop at one crazy weekend. Embarrassment turns into mortification, a head wound, and being patch up by her amused knight in shining armor.

Roman Carpenter can’t help laughing at Greenly’s mishaps, but for some reason, he sticks with her through it all. At least, until his ex-wife shows up and starts causing trouble. What started off as a strange, yet promising relationship, might be able to survive spiteful exes, but adding in a stalker that puts everyone on edge and pulls the police into the mix, might push everyone past their breaking point.

Buy the full novel

DelSheree Gladden

was one of those shy, quiet kids who spent more time reading than talking. Literally. She didn’t speak a single word for the first three months of preschool, but she had already taught herself to read. Her fascination with reading led to many hours spent in the library and bookstores, and eventually to writing. She wrote her first novel when she was sixteen years old, but spent ten years rewriting and perfecting it before having it published.Native to New Mexico, DelSheree and her husband spent several years in Colorado for college and work before moving back home to be near family again. Their two children love having their seventeen cousins close by. When not writing, you can find DelSheree reading, painting, sewing and trying not to get bitten by small children in her work as a dental hygienist.
Check out her latest books, get updates and sneak peeks of new projects at
And find her on social media

 

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Monday musings: When you didn’t realize art mimicked reality …

Posted on September 10, 2018 Written by
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By DelSheree Gladden

I started writing “Invisible” based off one of those random questions that gets stuck in your head. “What if a child’s imaginary friend wasn’t imaginary, but invisible? How would they ever convince others that person was real? How would the invisible friend carry on when only one other person in the whole world could actually see them? Okay, so that’s a series of questions, but they stuck with me until I started putting those thoughts down on paper, so to speak.

I didn’t plan out Mason and Olivia’s story. I had little more than a vague idea of where their lives might go: a normal human girl and the invisible boy who was in love with her but knew she saw him as little more than a brother. I rarely write with a plan and prefer to let a story go where it may, but with this one I had that experience where I felt like the characters wrote the story themselves and I was simply along for the ride.

It wasn’t until much later, when the book was published, maybe all three books in the series (I can’t remember at this point), and I was asked to do an interview with a blogger (I also can’t remember which blogger, which I’m so sorry to admit!). One of the questions asked which character I identified with most. I had to think about that for a while, mostly because the characters had taken on a life of their own and seemed like their own people at that point and not so much a part of me anymore.

When I really considered what had been the impetus behind writing a story about an invisible boy, I realized it was because Mason was me, in many ways, as a young child and even as a teen. I often felt invisible growing up. Partly that was because I was painfully shy and had a hard time making friends. Another part of that was a very strained and complicated relationship with my mother and siblings that made me feel isolated and unimportant.

There were many times I felt as Mason did, frustrated that no one seemed to notice me or care about what I could do in life. I wanted to wanted to get people’s attention, show them who I was, but I didn’t know how. It wasn’t until a few friends took me under their wings and helped me realize I wasn’t invisible and definitely was worthwhile that I felt that cloak of invisibility begin to slip away.

My own story isn’t nearly as exciting or world altering as Mason’s but, to a person who feels invisible, that friend who truly sees them does change their world and how they see themselves.

DelSheree Gladden

is a USA Today bestselling author who loves books—reading them and writing them.

Writing is her escape, and she has escaped to Aztec temples in the Escaping Fate Series, into Native American myths in the Twin Souls Saga, to a dystopian reality in The Destroyer Trilogy, into invisibility in The Aerling Series, into wicked desires in the Someone Wicked This Way Comes Series, into wacky mysteries in the Eliza Carlisle Mystery Series, and into sweet romances in The Date Shark Series and the Handbook Series.

The Southwest is a big influence in her writing because of its culture, beauty, and mythology. Local folk lore is strongly rooted in her writing, particularly ideas of prophecy, destiny, and talents born from natural abilities.

DelSheree lives in New Mexico with her husband and two children. When she is not writing, DelSheree is usually reading, painting, sewing, or working as a Dental Hygienist.

Visit:

And follow her on Twitter @Delsheree.

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Ghostly Thursday #excerpt: The Ghost Host

Posted on June 21, 2018 Written by
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This week’s excerpt is from book 1 in the Ghost Host series. Read on to find out how you could win a free copy!

By DelSheree Gladden

Somehow, I always knew the people I saw hovering around looking aimless were ghosts, and it never really bothered me. Sometimes I talked to them when I was little. They never talked back. Sometimes they would play with me, though. My mom used to tell people what a good baby I was, how I never cried or fussed. She thought she had just lucked out with an easy first kid. Really, I always had someone standing over my crib smiling at me or making silly faces. Ghosts really seem to like being around babies for some reason.

It wasn’t until I got a little older that I realized some of my ghostly friends were hanging around for a reason. A few of them were just lonely and either weren’t ready to move on or didn’t know how. I haven’t got a clue about how to send them on their way, so I figure the least I can do is keep them company.

Others, they had messages they wanted to pass on. At first, I didn’t know how to do that without getting into trouble. My mom refused to make phone calls or send my letters to who she deemed were random strangers. I found ways to get the letters in the mail, at least, without her knowing, but it wasn’t easy and they occasionally got sent back to us when the address proved inaccurate. Mom wasn’t happy when she found one and realized what I’d been doing.

Holden was the one who came up with the idea for the webshow. It made things a lot easier since my parents think it’s just a funny hoax we like to pull, and it gives us a hobby and keeps me out of trouble for the most part. That’s the biggest reason they let me do it. As I got older and more capable, more able to help the ghosts, they became more insistent. That’s when things got really bad.

Up until that point, I didn’t know the ghosts could affect my dreams, and not in a good way. The nightmares got progressively worse, morphing into full on night terrors. The headaches followed, though I’m still not sure if the ghosts were trying to talk to me, or just doing whatever they could to get my attention. Sometimes, their presence would become so oppressive as they tried to communicate that I would completely zone out… which sent my grades into the toilet and my behavior into the realm of unmanageable. The worst by far is when they try to touch me.

What’s The Ghost Host about?

Everyone thinks Echo Simmons is crazy, but being The Ghost Host isn’t just a YouTube hoax like people think. It’s the only way to control the ghosts haunting her…at least until the FBI shows up asking questions.

The first eighteen years of Echo Simmons’ life have been less than ideal. On more than one occasion her parents have considered committing her. They don’t believe she sees ghosts or that they harass her on a daily basis. So when a rogue ghost begins tormenting her, they’re the last people she’s going to tell. Her best friends Holden and Zara are doing their best to help, but ghost attacks are only the beginning of Echo’s problems.

Handling the ghosts by giving them a voice on YouTube through her webshow has been her saving grace—even if her parents think it’s all a hoax—but that gets a little complicated when the ghost of Madeline Crew reveals a little too much about her previous life and the FBI shows up at her door wanting to know how she gained access to long-buried government secrets.

It just keeps getting worse from there. Madeline’s message to her great grandson sparks a strange connection between Echo and Malachi, which leads to Georgia, secrets, mistakes, love, lies, and life changing revelations.

Get The Ghost Host on:

Win a free copy

You could win a free e-copy of The Ghost Host from the author. All you have to do is leave a comment below, answering this question:

What’s the name of the first ghost to be interviewed on Echo’s webcast in The Ghost Host?

Answer in the Comments below. The author will choose one of the correct answers to send a copy.

DelSheree Gladden

was one of those shy, quiet kids who spent more time reading than talking. Literally. She didn’t speak a single word for the first three months of preschool, but she had already taught herself to read. Her fascination with reading led to many hours spent in the library and bookstores, and eventually to writing. She wrote her first novel when she was sixteen years old, but spent ten years rewriting and perfecting it before having it published.Native to New Mexico, DelSheree and her husband spent several years in Colorado for college and work before moving back home to be near family again. Their two children love having their seventeen cousins close by. When not writing, you can find DelSheree reading, painting, sewing and trying not to get bitten by small children in her work as a dental hygienist.
Check out her latest books, get updates and sneak peeks of new projects at
And find her on social media
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Monday musings: Amazon cancels the Kindle World program

Posted on June 18, 2018 Written by
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Kindle Worlds cancelled Many readers have heard that Amazon has canceled the Kindle Worlds program. Since May, Amazon has not been accepting new Kindle World titles, and all the books in all Kindle Worlds will no longer be available for sale after July 15. And then, all rights revert back to the authors of the books—except for some.

Wait—what’s a Kindle World again?

Kindle Worlds are—or were—managed, policed fan fiction. Amazon selected successful series where readers wanted more titles than the author could write in a timely way. The program allowed other authors to write short works based on the situations, settings and characters of those bestselling series. For instance, I wrote four books based on the characters and setting of Toby Neal’s Lei Crime series.

This program benefitted everyone involved. Readers got more stories in the series they loved. The original authors of those series got more connections to their audiences, and a shared of the sales of the new books. And the authors who wrote in other writers’ series got exposure to new audiences, as well as established audiences for the books they wrote in the Kindle Worlds.

It was a win-win-win-win situation. The fourth win is for Amazon, which got 15% of every sale.

Goodbye, new audiences

Half Moon Girls: A Lei Crime Kindle World novellaThis affects a number of BestSelling Reads authors. Both Toby Neal and former member Emily Kimelman have prominent Kindle Worlds based on their bestselling series, Lei Crime and Sydney Rye respectively. And several members have published Kindle Worlds titles:

  • Toby Neal and Emily Kimelman themselves both published books in each other’s Kindle World. Toby published Rough Road, bringing her Lei Texeira into Emily’s Sydney Rye world, and Emily published Warrior Dog about Toby’s Keiki the Rottweiler. Toby also wrote a book in Russell Blake’s JET Kindle World.
  • DelSheree Gladden wrote The Catalyst, bringing her Eliza Carlisle from The Instigator into the Sydney Rye Kindle World
  • J.L. Oakley has published four books in the Lei Crime Kindle World: Saddle Road, Coconut Island, Volcano House and Hilina Pali.
  • Corinne O’Flynn wrote a trilogy in the Lei Crime Kindle World: Half Moon Girls, Tell the Truth and Pay the Price.
  • Caleb Pirtle III puVolcano House: A Lei Crime Kindle World novellablished Lovely Night to Die in the Special Forces: Operation Alpha Kindle World.
  • Scott Bury published in three Kindle World he was invited to: Jet: Stealth in Russell Blake’s JET Kindle World; The Wife Line and The Three-Way in the Sydney Rye Kindle World; and four books in the Lei Crime Kindle World: Torn Roots, Palm Trees & Snowflakes, Dead Man Lying and Echoes.

But wait! There’s more!

With the cancellation of the Kindle Worlds program, the rights for all the content of the books revert back to the authors of the individual titles. But there’s a complication. The works in the Kindle Worlds were based on the books published by bestselling authors. Which means the rights to their characters, situations, stories, and other elements revert to them.Lovely Night to Die: : A Special Forces: Operation Alpha Kindle World novella

This causes some issues between the original authors and those who wrote Kindle World novellas. While the authors of the individual Kindle World books now have the rights to what they created, the original authors of the series at the core of the Kindle Worlds retain the rights to their characters and other elements.

Which raises a conflict: where exactly is the line between the respective authors’ rights in a (former) Kindle Word novella?

Why they dunnit

The concept of Kindle Worlds appeared to be a sure thing. Take existing, successful series and release new books for proven audiences. Minimal risk, more sales.

So apparently the sales were not good enough to sustain the program. The complications around copyright were probably also discouraging. Maybe that’s why Amazon never let Kindle World books be purchased beyond its U.S.-based .com site. And never allowed any formats other than .mobi-format for Kindles.

Dead Man Lying: A Lei Crime Kindle World novellaThat’s right: no paperbacks, no audiobooks. Readers in Canada, the U.K. or anywhere outside the U.S.—or, more precisely, anyone who had an Amazon account that did not end in .com—could not buy any of my Kindle World books.

The literary world evolves

With the cancellation of the Kindle Worlds, some authors actually have new opportunities. Those who republish their books, meeting the requirements of copyright, can bring these words to global audiences in any format they wish. For many, it’s an opportunity to open up new worlds to new audiences.

What it means overall is that the world of the written word continues to evolve. And for readers, that’s all good.

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Feed your need for great reads: New books from your favourite Bestselling authors

Posted on March 1, 2018 Written by
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Your favorite BestSelling authors have been working hard to feed your hunger for great new books in every genre. Here are some of the latest releases over just the past two months to feed your need for great reading.

Non-fiction

Barb Drozdowich has updated her Complete Mailing List Toolkit for 2018, with a free video course on using MailChimp and Mailerlite. This bundle of four books provides strategies for list building and step-by-step guidelines for creating content that turns readers into lifelong fans.

Available from

Mystery, thriller and suspense

Toby Neal’s sixth Paradise Crime book, Wired Justice, hit the stands two days ago. Sophia Ang, her lovable dog Ginger and her dynamic partner Jake Dunn plunge into a new investigation to find a missing young woman—the latest in a string of disappearances.

Toby has also re-published the previous five Paradise Crime books with all new covers.

Available from

J.L. Oakley‘s Hilina Pali, her third Lei Crime Kindle World novella, brings back Auntie Bee Watanabe and her niece, ace crime reporter Wendy Watanabee. Auntie Bee receives mysterious clues pointing to an old injustice. Bee and Wendy team up with a local historian in a race against time to prevent another tragedy from happening at Hilina Pali.

Available from

Cozy mystery

In DelSheree Gladden’s third Eliza Carlisle Mystery, Instigator, Eliza finds herself in a series of embarrassing, injurious and rat-filled situations, and a murder investigation.

Available from

Fantasy

In A New Goddess, Autumn Birt ends the epic fantasy Games of Fire series with a struggle for power over the elements of magic, and over life and death on Earth.

Available from

Poetry

D.G. Torrens’ Abyss is a collection of thought-provoking poetry and prose. The words are like sutures, healing from the inside-out. Abyss takes the reader on a journey through loss, grief and rejection to healing.

Available on Amazon.

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