Here Come the Sharks!!

THE ONLY SHARK IN THE SEA IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!!!

NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!

THE ONLY SHARK IN THE SEA by DelSheree Gladden

– SYNOPSIS –

Vance Sullivan has always been the rock everyone turns to for help…

His work with patients recovering from traumatic events makes him the perfect person to help his friend, Guy Saint Laurent, with one of his Date Shark appointments. When Vance meets hesitant, frightened Natalie Price, he suspects she’s hiding the truth behind her fears, and he’s drawn in by a need to help her.

Haunted by a terrible event from her past, Natalie can’t even endure being touched without suffering a crippling panic attack…

She doesn’t know why, but Natalie feels Vance might be the only one who can help her put the pieces of her life back together. Despite the tension their arrangement causes with his girlfriend, their bi-weekly sessions seem to be helping…as long as he keeps his promise not to push her to reveal more than she’s ready to share.

Suddenly the tables have turned…

When Vance suffers his own unspeakable tragedy, asking for help is the last thing he wants to do. Drowning in grief and guilt, crushed by betrayal and lies, Vance needs a lifeline.

Natalie has no idea why anyone thinks she can help him, given her own deep-rooted fears—but she knows she has to try.

A twisted notion of justice makes the danger all too real,

and Vance and Natalie realize it might take one broken soul to mend another…

Available for pre-order on Amazon!

Read it for free with KINDLE UNLIMITED!

Kindle ⇉ http://amzn.to/1KpKAsv

– DELSHEREE GLADDEN –

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.

DelSheree has several bestselling young adult urban fantasy series, and her first contemporary romance, Date Shark, will be released with Limitless Publishing in 2014.

LIMITLESS PUBLISHING: http://www.limitlesspublishing.net/authors/delsheree-gladden/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDelShereeGladden

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/DelSheree

WEBSITE: http://delshereegladden.com/

GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4305414.DelSheree_Gladden

Book Trailer: The Ghost Host

Want to know a little more about Echo Simmons and why the FBI has taken an interest in her?

Check out the new book trailer for THE GHOST HOST.

//studio.stupeflix.com/embed/rXtwD2vs5JI7/

The Ghost Host

is available now for pre-order on Kindle and available for purchase in paperback

KINDLE

PAPERBACK

http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Host-Episode-DelSheree-Gladden/dp/1517268389/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&qid=1441816008&sr=8-20&keywords=delsheree+gladden

Creating a Marketing Plan: Part 1

Creating a marketing plan that’s doable is tough.

Where do you start?

Time

How much time per day/week are you willing to put into marketing? Be realistic. If you only have an hour per week, build your plan around that. A lot can be accomplished in a small amount of time.

If you have more time, keeping a list or schedule can help you use it more efficiently. Using whatever amount of time you have in the most effective way is important.

Money

Set a firm budget for your marketing efforts and be realistic about what you can afford.

There are a lot of free marketing options, so don’t feel like you have to have a big budget. If you have a small budget, there are many author friendly marketing options that are as little as $5 and can have a good impact.

Effort

What can you do on your own and what do you need help with? No one can do everything on their own, so admit what your strengths and weaknesses are and go from there. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice or help when you need. Authors are great about helping each other.

Now let’s take the next step…

Who is your audience?

Who do you want to target in your marketing efforts? You need to be as specific as possible so you can narrow down your marketing pool. Targeted marketing is more effective than blanket tactics.

What avenues do you most want to pursue?

In-person, online, blogs/reviewers, social media, etc. What are you comfortable with and what types social interactions do you enjoy participating in?

If in-person events aren’t your style, focus on online marketing like Facebook parties, Twitter chats, etc. If you enjoy meeting readers face to face, school talks or bookstore book signings might be where you want to focus.

What is your goal?

Aside from hitting the NYT bestseller list 😉

Study your competition. What’s working for them? What’s not working? Look especially at creative ways other authors are marketing their books. Finding unique tactics will make your book stand out.

Marketing is tough, but making a plan that fits into your life, budget, and schedule will make it more manageable.

To listen to the full podcast on Creating A Marketing Plan That’s Actually Doable, check out the Write. Publish. Repeat. Podcast Part 1 and Part 2.

The Only Shark in the Sea Cover Reveal

Thanks so much for sharing the cover reveal for The Only Shark In The Sea, Amber!!

It’s a Journey…Sometimes a long sucky one @Mystereah

Yes, that is borrowed from The Croods for anyone who watches as many kids movies as we do 😉

What can be a long sucky journey? Pretty much anything that requires developing a talent!

My sister and I were chatting the other day and talking about where we both started out with what were at the time “hobbies.” Me with writing, Kass with photography. I started writing as a teen and my sister is one of the few people on the planet who read part of the first novel I ever wrote. My sister got into photography, I believe, in her early 20s-ish. Don’t hold me to that. She was also doing modeling at the time, which was more her focus.

Kate 1 — Kassondra Sturtevant @ Mystereah Photography

What brought up how dreadfully painful it can be to try to develop a talent and turn it into something more?

My sister has gotten back into photography recently and was awesome enough to find some models who were willing to pose for several book covers I was having a difficult time finding stock art for. I haven’t had time to figure out what to do with Memory’s Edge yet, so while that cover is done, it’s not up for anyone to see it anywhere yet.

I am getting ready to publish The Ghost Host though and the pics Kassondra took for me turned out awesome! This is what spawned the conversation.

(PS, this is the lovely model who will be on the cover of The Ghost Host)

That first book I wrote that I let me sister read part of was…horrible. I still have a paper copy of it somewhere in a box, and that’s where it will stay. I seriously gag thinking about it now because it just sucked. Bleh.

Now, I won’t say my sister’s pictures sucked when she started out, because they didn’t, but the more she’s been out there clicking away with her camera, the more awesome she’s gotten! I’m really blown away by what she can do. She says the same thing about me, because she’s my sister 😉 but we got into a discussion about how much both of us have improved and how much we’ve accomplished since first starting out.

Both of us started and stopped working on our favorite hobbies multiple times over the years. Family, work, marriages, etc. It’s not always the right time. Sometimes you’re too drained or stressed out to even think about picking up a keyboard or camera. Sometimes you do everything you can and it’s still not working out. Sometimes you think everything you do is crap and it will never get better. Sometimes people tell you you’re stuff is awful! It happens to all of us, but instead of giving up we take in what criticism is helpful, improve, and go back to work.

Sometimes your stuff really isn’t very good. And that’s okay. It will get better.

More from Mystereah Photography. These two will be on the Memory's Edge cover next year! — More from Mystereah Photography. These two will be on the Memory’s Edge cover next year!

For me, starting out at sixteen years old writing about stuff I had no clue about and mostly just venting, it’s a small wonder I now have 16 published books with a few more in the lineup for this year and 2016. I look back at my first writing attempts and cringe, but that’s what it took to get me to where I am now. It’s been years of comments from critique partners, my husband going over books with me, and lots of work with editors to develop my writing skills. I’ve learned a ton over the last almost fifteen years and I think it shows in my writing.

I’m super proud of the fact that over the next few months my sister is having something like 18 of her photos published in different arts and photography magazines, too!

No matter where your are on your possibly long, sucky journey, keep going. The journey doesn’t really ever end, but that’s kinda how it’s supposed to work. Keep learning and growing.

And just in case you want to see some of the awesome photos my sis has been taking lately, check her out on Facebook. And look for her skills being put to use on the cover art for Memory’s Edge and The Ghost Host!

Mystereah Photography

First look at The Ghost Host…Finally!

I’ve been dying to share this for forever! So finally, here it is…the cover for THE GHOST HOST!

I had a heck of a time finding a redhead on stock photos sties, but I’m lucky enough to have a fabulous photographer for a sister and she got the lovely Kate Bordeaux to pose as Echo Simmons for the front cover and I think it turned out awesome!!

You can add it to your Goodreads TBR list…

Join the Facebook Release Party…

Pre-Order the book right now!

If you want to know more about the photographer or cover model, check them out here!

Cover Model Photography Provided by:

Kassondra Sturtevant with Mystereah Photography (Facebook)

Twitter: @Mystereah

Website

Cover Model

Kate Bordeaux

The Myth That Is Writers Block

Yes, I called writers block a myth. Why? It doesn’t exist. Not in the sense of it being some magical, unstoppable force that keeps writers from being productive.

What IS going on then when a writer sits down to write and can’t seem to get a single word down on paper? It’s usually one of several things we all experience at one time or another.

FEAR

This happens to me every time I start a new series or have to end a series. Doubts of “will it be good enough?” or “what if this fails miserably?” stall out my desire to write. I’ve gotten a little better about this over the years, but it’s still a tough thing for me.

How do I combat this? Deadlines. I don’t have time for self-doubt if I’ve already set up blog tours or paid for promotions on a certain date, or even just publicly announced the release date. Deadlines get me moving like nothing else.

BURN OUT

Does the well of inspiration feel like it’s dried up? It probably has, but not in the form of writers block. Creative work isn’t easy. You need a break every once in a while. If you’ve been pushing and pushing, yeah it will definitely tax your mind until it simply refuses to produce anything of quality.

Best way to combat this one? TAKE A BREAK! Go read a book or watch a movie. Get out of the house and go for a walk. Get some fro-yo. Do anything BUT write for a while. A day. A week. A month. Whatever it takes to get your head space cleared out and ready to be creative again.

OVERLOADED

Most writers have more than writing to worry about. They’ve got bills, family, day jobs, health issues, etc. Stress is not conducive to creativity. It’s draining. I only work part time right now, but my husband also loves writing but has been super stressed out at work lately and he can attest to the fact that a lot of days he just doesn’t have the mental energy to write in the evenings. It happens.

While it’s impossible to completely clear away all your stress, taking some time for yourself can help. Yoga, meditation, horseback riding, whatever it is that relaxes you. Give yourself time to get away from everything. Maybe this just isn’t a time of your life where writing fits in. While we were selling our house and buying our new one, I didn’t write for six months. There wasn’t any time and my head just wasn’t in it. That’s okay.

OUT OF PRACTICE

Writing is a skill, but so is creativity. You have to exercise that part of your mind by doing it regularly. There have been studies about how your brain can be trained to be creative at certain times based on routine.

What does that mean? Write often and if possible, write on a routine basis so your brain power is ready to be focused toward creating at a certain time. If that’s not feasible for your life, try a pre-writing routine to get yourself ready, like deep breathing exercises and stretches prior to a yoga class.

While I don’t believe in writers block, there are certainly factors of life that can make writing difficult. It IS possible to work around these problems and get back to creating.

A Flash Interview with New Lighthouse Instructor Angie Hodapp

I met Angie Hodapp at Denver Comic Con this past May and she really knows her stuff! Great advice and great reading picks 😉

The Lighthouse Writers Top-Secret Blog

I first met Angie Hodapp at her Query Letter Bootcamp workshop at Lighthouse last spring. I learned that she works at Nelson Literary Agency—and that I knew far less about the publication side of novel writing than I ever could have dreamed. Notice the past tense, knew, because after taking her enlightening, hearty, and well-organized workshop, I know far more. I know the formula for a successful query letter, the importance of preparing your elevator pitch, where to find pub tips, the difference between genres from a publishing perspective, and where to submit my novel (when it’s finished) for publication. All from a four-week workshop. Every serious writer should know these things! Which is why we’re happy to bring back Angie Hodapp this September for two workshops: Query Letter Bootcamp, and Writing for the Web—Crafting Content that Sells. Learn more about Angie in the interview that…

View original post 699 more words

Write. Publish. Repeat. Podcast is Back! Query Letters and Social Media with @SeriouslyGina

I was finally able to sit down with the lovely Gina Larsen aka SeriouslyGina and talk some shop. Query Letters and Social Media particularly!

Check out the second episode of Write. Publish. Repeat. Podcast to hear about Gina’s experience with writing her query, cutting down her manuscript, and using Twitter as an avenue to connect with agents and pitch her work.

Listen Now!

(Click on the WPR button below to start the podcast!)

Get a peak at Gina’s experience on her blog: http://seriouslygina.com/2015/08/10/how-twitter-led-to-my-best-rejection-letter-to-date/

You can also find Gina on Facebook and Twitter at:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Seriously-Gina/129454477147580

https://twitter.com/seriouslygina

Deadlines, Summer, and Catching Up

I like having a routine, a schedule. I don’t get things done without one.

Summer usually decreases my productivity significantly. Not just writing, but cleaning, weeding, organizing, etc. The kids are home, projects around the house and yard on going on, trips are taken, a million random things need done and distract you from your original tasks, and on and on.

I need deadlines.

Some people don’t work well under pressure. For me, it’s the only way I get anything done sometimes. Those deadlines might be more vague like, the kids get home by 3 o’clock. I need to finish this chapter by then and get the dishes in the dishwasher. Or they might be more concrete, like when my publisher wants edits back by a certain date.

The first half of this year we were selling and buying a house and moving. That pretty much takes up all your time. I didn’t get much writing done and release dates I had a vague imagining of drifted past unnoticed. Then summer hit. We’ve been out of town more then we’ve been in town it feels like. I had extra classes I was teaching and the kids had activities and my husband was super busy at work.

The writing I did was sandwiched in between other things and done late at night when my husband was out of town and I was too chicken to go to bed by myself. I worked on half-finished projects from last year that had been abandoned or never started, but I was scattered and distracted easily.

One of the projects I wanted to get back to was The Ghost Host, but I was having a hard time focusing on it. When my good friend Apryl Baker put out the call for her annual YA/NA Blogfest this August/September (GOING ON NOW!!) my first thought was to feature something already finished. Less stress on me, right? Sure, but also a heck of a lot less projects getting wrapped up.

Even though I still had about 25% of The Ghost Host to write, not to mention revisions and editing, I signed up the Ghost Host as my featured story and told myself that whatever day Apryl gave me, that would be the pre-order release date. With as hectic as things have been lately, I knew I was taking a risk, but guess what? IT WORKED.

After getting the date of Sept 2nd from Apryl, I got to work and finished the last quarter of the book in about two weeks. It’s off to beta readers now and it looks like I’ll make my pre-order date of Sept 2nd and release date of October 6th, 2015. Thanks to my awesomely talented photographer sister Kassondra Sturtevant (Mystereah Photogrpahy), I also have a new cover model and was able to finish the cover art. You can get a sneak peek of THE GHOST HOST on the YA/NA Blogfest Sept 2nd.

I’ve always known that I work better under deadlines, but I guess I’ve just been lazy about actually setting them and making myself stick to them. I have a lot to catch up on, so that’s going to change. In the hopes of being more productive, I’m going to push myself a little harder. Readers have been asking me when on earth I’m planning to release Wicked Revenge and even though I’m not going to make an October release because I already have two other books releasing that month (The Ghost Host and The Only Shark In The Sea), I am now determined to have Wicked Revenge out before Christmas.

The third Escaping Fate (Oracle Lost) has also been requested and I’m setting a firm time to have it ready by March 2016.

Somewhere in there the fourth Date Shark book (Shark In Troubled Waters) will also come out, but that one’s up to my publisher.

Since Torino Dreams is a standalone and I only need to make a few small revisions to that one, I’m going to start prepping for an early February 2016 release.

Memory’s Edge needs a sequel and I want to release them close together, so my plan is to set a deadline of having the first draft of the sequel to beta readers by the beginning of March and to release these two in April and May 2016.

Clearly, I have a lot of work to do, but setting deadlines is going to force me to stop wasting time on Facebook and get some writing done. Wish me luck!