So many Chrises...

So in my latest release Plus One my male lead is named Chris, which is not an uncommon name. It also happens to be a very popular name for some of my favorite leading male actors right now. As I was visualizing and creating this character, I tried to pull together some of my favorite features from some of the Chrises (is that even a word?) out there. Ladies, may I present to you the inspiration for one of my favorite male characters:



Chris Pine- Look at those eyes! Look at them!!!! How can you not get lost in them? Am I right ladies? You'll notice that in Plus One Chris's eyes are basically another character as I refer to them so frequently. Go ahead girls, stare at them for a few more minutes. 

Chris Evans-That smile...I mean, come on! What wouldn't you do for that smile? Like the eyes, the smile is just as important to the story. My character inherited his smile from his dad, and as his mom said "That damn smile got me into so much trouble!" Oh, I see why, Cindy. I see why...



Chris Hemsworth- I'm just going to leave that picture of his body right there and let you ladies enjoy it. You're welcome!

Chris Pratt- There is something about this guy's sense of humor that just does it for me. In the book, Chris has a way of making Mia feel comfortable and makes her laugh all the time. This guy is hilarious! He can be inappropriate, yet incredibly innocent and endearing, just like another Chris I know. Also, have you ever heard or seen him talk about his wife and son? Come on! Really? *swoon*

So there you have it, ladies. Those four men were my inspiration for the Chris that I created in Plus One. I can't get enough of him. I have to tell you, I keep going back and reading it over and over again because I find myself missing Mia and Chris. They were a lot of fun to write and I sincerely hope that you have fun reading about them.
Oh and Chris, if you're reading this...You are my favorite Chris! 😉

Does self-publishing matter?

This week I released my eighth self-published title on Amazon.com and it's got me thinking. See, back in 2012 self-publishing was pretty spectacularly profitable for me. I made a whole year's teacher salary in one month and followed it up with a few more months of amazing royalty checks.
But in 2017 the market has changed. There are millions of self-published books out there. The secret is out. Thanks to Amazon and various other sites, anyone can write a book and publish it. That's amazing and I am so grateful that this is happening. But what does that mean for me now?
First, let me just say that I do not write to sell books and make money. I write because I like to tell stories. I have characters and stories running through my mind all the time and I enjoy writing them down. It's a huge thrill to watch the story unfold and see characters come to life as I write their stories down. That's why I do it.
Now that self-publishing is so readily accessible and frequently used, I'm sure there are people out there who are wondering if it matters. My answer to that is yes. Self-publishing matters just like garage bands, amateur DJs, and local artists all matter. We're human and some of us need a creative outlet to help us feel connected to the world around us. No, most of us do not actually think we're going to make it famous doing what we love, but we do it anyway! What if we only did what we loved if there was a guarantee attached to it? How many things in life would we miss out on? How many relationships would we have passed over? How many experiences would we have missed if all we did was go for what was guaranteed to be successful?
Besides who gets to say what success is? Maybe for me, today, success is just being able to write again. Perhaps tomorrow success will be defined differently. As long as I'm the one writing the definition then success will always mean more to me than whatever set goal someone else has in mind for me.
Self-publishing my books is probably not going to lead to a career in writing. I'm probably not going to get one of my books made into a movie on the Hallmark Movie Channel (but seriously, can someone make this happen?). But no matter what, I'm going to keep writing because I like it. I like being able to create characters that I can connect to and maybe you can too. Writing my silly, frivolous love stories makes me happy. If it doesn't make me money, so what? Money doesn't make you happy. Doing what you love makes you happy. Today, I'm feeling happy. 😁

Why buy the milk?

So...I'm giving away my latest book from now until 6/8.

"Why are you giving away your hard work for free?"

Great question!

Free promotions aren't really the same as giving away your hard work for free.
Well, not really.
See, Kindle Direct Publishing does this amazing thing where if you agree to publish solely through them, then you can do promotions and giveaways with little to no effort on your part. 

Sounds like a great idea to me!
And...when you give your books away, what you hope happens is someone grabs the book while it's free, reads it, likes it *squee*, and then either a)writes a review to inspire other readers to buy and read the book OR b)buys one of your other books OR c)both a and b!
So when I give my books away, I'm really hoping to generate more business for me and Amazon. It's worked in the past, but back then I had a little more momentum going with my books and therefore there was more buzz about what was coming out. But, I'm hoping that this quick promotional offer will help to generate some new buzz and get things going again.
However, dear reader wherever you are and whoever you are, don't be disappointed in me. I don't write these silly stories just to make money. I write because I love to bring characters to life and share them with you. I know I make mistakes. I know I overuse phrases or character actions (rolling of the eyes), but I love being about to create something out of nothing. Creating characters are stories is so much fun, and I love being able to share it with you.
So I guess my other reason for giving my books away is because I just want you to read them and enjoy them.
Happy Reading!
VaJewel

 

I'm back!

Oh, it's good to be back! After five LONG years, and a whole lot of life, I'm back to share with you that I've finally finished another book!
Set Sail to Single will be released this week on Amazon.com  Just because I love you and because some of you seem to like me, here's a sneak peek at what Set Sail to Single has to offer:

1.

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.” I looked around suspiciously. “I swear everyone is staring at me.”

            “Oh! Good grief! Would you relax? No one is staring at you,” Jess, my best friend, huffed angrily over the phone.
            I smiled nervously at the couple who walked past me as I lounged on a deck chair by the pool.
            “Lots of people go on cruises by themselves.”
            “You’re such a liar, Jess. No one goes on cruises by themselves. This is literally my worst nightmare.” I ducked down in my chair as another couple walked past me. The woman, clinging to her man’s arm was smiling and beaming with joy. I groaned. “I am trapped on this boat with a bunch of happy people.”
            Jess groaned back at me. “Give it a few days, and there will be more people miserable. Trust me. I’ve been on a cruise before.”
            “Yes, but their misery is remedied by a pill or one of those patches. My misery is permanent.”
            The sound of a bag crinkling filled my ears. It was so loud I had to move the phone away.
            “What are you eating?” I said when I knew it was safe to return the phone to my ear.
            There was a pause. “Whaf makes you fink I’m eating?” Jess said with a muffled voice.
            I shook my head and smiled slightly. Jess was eight and a half months pregnant with her first child. For the past few months she’d been doing nothing but eating.
            Jess sighed loudly, “Lizzie, I know that this isn’t what you thought it was going to be like. I’m sorry that Jake is such an ass. I’m sorry that I let my husband knock me up with this stupid baby. I wish I could be there beside you right now.”
            I felt my eyes welling up with tears. I choked them back. I’d done enough crying in the past two weeks.
            “I know that all you want to do is lock yourself in your room and listen to Adele, but maybe you could move the moping to the pool deck just for the next week.” Jess sounded genuinely concerned. “Please just try to relax and enjoy yourself, Lizzie.”
            I took a deep breath. I knew she was right. The last two weeks had been a flurry of tearful phone calls, sobbing sessions, and weak attempts at appearing normal. Yesterday had been the worst of it. My eyes were still aching from it. I promised Jess I would do my best to have a good time. I told her I loved her and wished she was with me. I also made her promise not to have her baby while I was cruising.

I set my phone down in my lap. I knew that it would be a few days before I heard a familiar voice again. A part of me felt relieved that I would get a break from the relentless questions that had been thrown at me since Jake decided to throw me away. I ran through the disaster that was my life as I sat with my head back and my eyes closed.

With just two weeks to go before our wedding, Jake had come home from work one day and announced that he couldn’t go through with it. He said that, after much thought and consideration, he just didn’t think he was ready to be married.

“It’s nothing personal, Lizzie. I don’t want to be married to anyone, it’s not just you.” He shrugged his shoulders as he spoke nonchalantly about calling off our wedding. I was so shocked it was at least ten minutes after he took his suitcase and left that I actually spoke. At first I thought it was just a heartless joke, but when I called his cell, he repeated the same statement he’d made the first time. It was over. The wedding was off.

The cruise, however, was already paid for. My aunt had given it to us as a wedding gift. We were going to honeymoon on the cruise that left the day after our wedding. My gut reaction was to skip the cruise. I had nothing to celebrate anyway. However, my aunt insisted that I take the trip and just drag a friend along with me.

“Better yet, go alone, Elizabeth. You’d be surprised how relaxing vacationing alone can be,” Aunt Faye had said over the phone. The consummate travel agent, I knew she was selling me a line of bullshit. Of course, the rest of my friends and family jumped on board with her. In all honesty, I was getting a little sick of all the sympathetic smiles and pats on the back. Work had been just awful. Nobody knew exactly what to say, but for some reason no one thought to just shut up.

So, I’d grabbed my bags, and what was left of my dignity, and boarded the cruise ship alone. I stood in the check-in line alone. I went through the port check alone.

Sitting alone in the deck chair beside the pool, I watched as people wandered around gawking at the grandeur of the cruise ship. I wanted to disappear. I wanted to be one in a sea of thousands of faces.

A group of middle school kids walked past me, pushing and shoving each other through giggles and screams.

“Let’s go see if we can get some drinks at the bar,” one of the boys announced to his group of followers.

“Stupid kids,” I mumbled under my breath. But as ridiculous as their plan was, it did get me thinking. A pretty, fruity drink might make the misery a little less miserable. I was sure that the deck chair would be there when I came back.

Despite the fact that we hadn’t even started moving, the bar on the pool deck was already packed with cruisers looking to get the fun started.

“Excuse me,” I said quietly as I pushed my way through the crowd. The bartenders were working double time to take orders, scan cards, and make the drinks. I waved, pointed, and gestured trying to get the attention of one of the bartenders, but to no avail.

“Beer me, bro!” a male voice boomed from behind me.

The bartender turned, smiled, and spoke in a heavy accent, “What would you like my man?”

“You’re the expert. What’s good?”

The man with the voice cozied up to the bar right next to me. He was tall, brunette, and grinning from ear to ear.

The bartender shook his head and laughed at him. “Everything I serve is good, but I can look at you and tell that you are a top shelf man. You come to me, my man, and I will keep you happy with your drinks.”

“You take care of me and I’ll take care of you,” the brunette grinned in response.

            The bartender, whose nametag identified him as Raj, laughed louder and poured a drink for his best customer.

            “What are you drinking?” the brunette asked me when his new bestie was busy making his drink.

            “Nothing yet,” I said with a shrug. “I can’t get anyone to take my order.”

            “Take care of my girl here,” he said as Raj handed him his drink and his card.

            “Are you with big spender?” Raj said with a wink and a point in the brunette’s direction.

            “No. I’ve been standing here waiting politely until I could get your attention.” It came out a lot sassier than I had intended it to.

            Raj’s eyes, and smile, lit up. “I better keep an eye on you! The feisty ones need special care!”

            I blushed and handed him my card. “I’d like a strawberry daiquiri?”

            “Seriously?” the brunette questioned my order with a raised eyebrow. “With that attitude I would have expected you to go for something a little harder than that!”

            I shrugged and smiled shyly.

            “For you, ma’am,” Raj handed me my card and my drink. “You remember now, come find me for special deals. I hook you up.”

            He spun around and started filling orders for the rest of the crowd at the bar. I watched him for a minute or two. He was clearly in his element. He kept the crowd entertained with his smile and personality.

            “How’s the girly drink?”

            I turned back to see the brunette grinning at me.

            “It’s delicious,” I answered quickly and walked away from the bar. I found my deck chair and got comfortable again. People were starting to fill the area. A few bold cruisers even jumped into the pool. I watched as crowds of people wandered past me. Most of them walked on, completely ignorant to my presence. It was the first time in two weeks that I didn’t feel like there was someone watching me. Just to be sure, I looked left then right. There was no one in either direction paying the least bit of attention to me.
           I was invisible and it felt amazing.

Well...what did you think? Want more? I hope so...

Hello

It's me.
I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet.

Thanks Adele.

Well, it has a been a few years since I wrote anything on this blog. So, what happened? Life, that's what happened. Between the loss of my father and the collapse of my marriage, I basically lost my sense of happily ever after. As a reader, I don't always want to read a book that is too much like real life- boring or depressing. Chick lit is an escape. We want to curl up with a book and make believe that we are curling up with the hunk, the romantic, or the charming man between the pages of that book. So what do you do when you lose the idea of Prince Charming? Well, if you are a normal adult woman, you simply move on with your life and find a great guy to settle down with. But if you're a writer, you sit and stare in excruciating sadness because you just can't seem to get back what you've lost.
I have ideas and I have hope. What I am lacking is the words. Nothing I write seems to capture what's in my head. I am now full of doubt. I go back through each sentence and critique it. I over analyze every move I make for my characters. I worry about more negative reviews. (Yes, I read the reviews. Yes, I stress out about the negative reviews. Yes, I know I shouldn't do that.)
I wish that I could submit this blog entry to announce that I have a new book being published soon. I wish that I was writing to tell you that my new book is coming along well. Unfortunately, I am only writing to tell you that I want to write, I hope to write, and I will write...just not yet.

That old familiar feeling

So, I started working on a book. It has been a long time since I wrote and lots of things in my life have changed since then. I've hit the wall more times than I've missed it, to be honest. I want to write. I have the story in my head. Unfortunately, there seems to be some kind of block between what's in my head and what magically appears on the screen when my fingers strike the keys!
Feeling frustrated, I talked it out with a few people. The best piece of advice I got was from my mom. It seemed so simple a solution that I hardly believed it would work. In the past, my pattern has been this; I read a book (often a Jill Mansell book) and then I write a book! Well, that pattern doesn't seem to be working for me.
My mom's solution to my block was this...read your book again. See, I'm trying to write a sequel to one of my books. I know what I want my characters to experience. Taking my mom's advice, I sat down with my kindle and began to read my book. Guess what I found?
I may know where I want my characters to go, but I had forgotten where they came from! Can you believe it? I created those characters and their story, but I had forgotten a lot about them.
So, as I sit back this summer and read my book again, I am hoping that my characters will remind me who they are, how they fell in love, and what they went through in order to help me write their next adventure!

Oh yeah, and thanks mom!

It's just that simple!

"You should write another book!"
That's all I've heard since I got even a tiny taste of success with my books.
"Sure," I say with a smile.
Like it's that simple!
It's not as if I haven't tried! I have ideas. I have even sat down at the computer with every intention of writing, but when my fingers hit the keys...nothing!
I have ideas. I have a bunch if them. On paper. On my iPad. On my phone. Everywhere there are ideas.
What isn't everywhere? The actual drive to write another book!
So, here's what it breaks down to. What happens when what used to be your escape from life's stresses becomes one of life's stresses?
The pressure associated with writing another book gets in my head and keeps me from writing. I have no idea how real authors manage to live to tell another tale. Seriously, how does James Patterson keep cranking them out? I swear he's got like a million books on the shelf. He even has time to make TV commercials telling us he's going to kill a character if we don't read his books! Where does he find the time and how does he deal with the pressure?
Perhaps the real authors like James Patterson don't feel pressure. Who knows? What I do know is that I really want to write another book for everyone (though no one as much as for my dad). I will keep trying, even if I have to sit down in front of the computer for hours just to get the inspiration!

Coming soon...

So, I've decided that I need to branch out and reach a wider audience. My first thought was to try and publish for the Nook. In order to do that I would have to give up my KDP select membership. Unfortunately, that presents me with two problems. First, I just renewed so it wouldn't be until May or June that I could do anything. Second, if I give it up then Amazon Prime members would no longer be allowed to borrow my book. Believe it or not, that is my biggest money maker right now. Obviously I needed to find another option.
Many of the people that I know have expressed interest in having a copy of my book, but they are not a Kindle owner. Some of them do not use or own iPods or iPads either. (I know, right? There are still people like that out there?) Thinking of those old school peeps, I decided to take advantage of CreateSpace.com! Coming soon you will be able to purchase a paperback copy of A Week at the Beach from Amazon.com!
I will be honest, I am not happy with the price. In order to make a decent profit I had to price each book as $9.99. I wish it could be less, but I've got bills to pay, you know?!?!?!
How exciting though!
More details to follow!

To sequel or not to sequel, that is the question!

Normally when I finish a book, I finish with the character's stories. I like it that way. It keeps things neat and simple. For the most part that works for me. I can honestly say that when I wrap up their story, I wrap it up nice and neat so that there is no wondering what happens next. Does that sometimes leave me a little sad? Yes. Do I miss my characters? Yes. Do I want to dive back into their world and make something else happen? Not really! If I miss one of my characters, I just read it again and enjoy it like a reader.
However, there is one couple who have been on my mind. When I wrapped them up I didn't really feel like they were done. So now that I am feeling the itch to write again, I am debating whether I should make some new friends or bring a few old ones back for a visit. What do you think?
If you could choose which couple gets a little more of my time, who would it be? Let me know!
As for me, I am not telling who has been on my mind lately! You'll just have to wait and see what I decide to do!

Where have you been, young lady?

So, it's been awhile.

Friends of mine can attest to the fact that I tend to drop off the face of the earth every now and then, but that eventually I will pop up and let them know I am still around.  This past year and a half has been one of those times.  I did not disappear. I did not get into a horrible accident and get amnesia and forget that I am Virginia Jewel, Chick lit writer on the brink of success.  I did not give up.  Here's what really happened...

• I got freaked out by my own sales
• I got complacent with my books and book success
• My dad got sick
• I got a boyfriend
• My dad got sicker
• I got a live-in boyfriend
• My dad died

So, there you have it! Those are all the reasons I have been absent.  Admittedly, some of those reasons are pretty lame when it comes to reasons why I have been absent.  However, the big one there seemed to overshadow it all and then when you add them all in, it just made for a big break in my productivity and visibility.

I'm not going to address the dad thing.  It was, and still is, the hardest thing I have ever had to deal with and live through.  I wake up every morning hoping that it was all a sick joke, but quickly realize that it is not.  My dad is gone.

The getting freaked out and then complacent thing...let's talk about that.  Prior to December 2011, the biggest month of sales I had was probably about 10 books.  In December 2011, I signed up to do a free promo via Kindle Select.  In 5 days I gave away over 10,000 copies of Nuptials for Sale.  The next month my sales jumped tremendously.  In January of 2012, I published A Week at the Beach and There's a New Sheriff in Town.  In March of that year, I did a free promo and gave away over 80,000 electronic copies of A Week at the Beach.  The next month my book sales skyrocketed to the point that I made the equivalent of a year's teacher salary. In one month, I made the same amount that normally takes me an entire year of blood, sweat, and tears to earn! Wow, was I excited!  Oh my gosh, was I scared! After that my sales fell, but I was still bringing in enough money every month that I was now a two income household.

The money was is nice, I'm not going to lie.  It has helped me in so many ways and I have been able to do things for my friends and family that I never would have been able to do without it. But, that money actually translated into fear.  The success of the books was great, but as the money rolled in, so did the reviews.  I have mentioned on here before how I feel about reviews, but it can be hard to set those cruel (and honest?) words aside when I sit down to write again.  What I didn't realize is that I was scared.  My dad is actually the one who pointed that out for me.  He said that the reason I had not written anything since December 2011 is because I was scared that people weren't going to like it.  He said I was scared that what if all those people who read and liked my other books didn't like my new books?

He was right.

Unfortunately, what he didn't know was that having to watch him fight Lymphoma, struggle with surviving chemo, and then eventually sit with him as he took his last breath was a lot scarier than even the nastiest review.  I know now that if I can survive all that and come out a much stronger person, then I can get over it if someone doesn't like my books!

So, needless to say, I am back! I'm not writing yet, but I've got some ideas written down and there are things stirring in my head that need to come out.  I am ready to write again.  I know that my dad would want me to keep this up and I want to make him proud!

Oh yeah...the boyfriend thing.  Love him to pieces but sometimes I think to myself, "Fictional men are so much easier to manage!"

:-)

Raise your hand if...

Raise your hand if you are attempting to write the next great American novel?

I know you can't see me, but if you could you would see that my hand is NOT up. Actually, I'm glad you can't see me because my house is filthy and I didn't wash my hair today.
I hope it doesn't make me seem shallow to admit it, but I am not trying to change the world with my books. There is no hidden message in my stories. My characters are not metaphors. The plots of my books are in no way a commentary on what life is like today.
My books are for fun. I write them because I think its fun, and I want people to read them because they are looking for some entertainment.
Isn't that what most books in the genre of chick lit are supposed to be about? I'm not saying that Women's Fiction can't be meaningful or make an impact on the world around us. All I am trying to say is that when a reader picks up, or downloads, a book that is in the chick lit genre, they are not expecting to read a piece of work that will forever be in the canons of literary history. That being said, it cracks me up when I read reviews that say "it's not great literature", or "not a literary masterpiece" about a book that is in this genre.
Maybe I'm missing the point, but I thought that chick lit was supposed to be an escape. I spent several years in high school and college reading "great literature", and while I enjoyed some of them, I don't really want to read them again as an escape from the hustle and bustle of my everyday modern life! When I take the time to sit down with a book, I want to be transported to a place where I don't have to worry about bills that need to be paid, dishes that need to be washed, or a house that needs to be cleaned. I certainly don't want to have to think about how the story I'm reading is a metaphor for some aspect of our culture today, or try to decipher the message behind the story. I just want to melt into the story and live vicariously through the characters.
Am I missing the point? Am I a shallow reader?
I don't think so. I think that some people just don't relax when it comes to what they read. Perhaps they read everything with the same critical eye and fervor that they use when they read "the greats". To each his own, I guess. For me, though, I don't have Great Expectations for my chick lit, except that I expect my next great escape!
;-)

Can I see your ID?

Let me start this post by saying that I am by no means a prude.  Do I sometimes err on the side of caution?  Yes!  But in my opinion, that's the best side to be on.  Regardless, I am curious to know what other chick lit fans think about how old you should be before you start reading contemporary women's fiction.
It's not as if there isn't a huge market of teen chick lit out there to satisfy the squishy-butterfly-in-your-tummy feeling that you get from a great male lead.  But at what point should a girl step into the shoes of an older woman's romance.  Whoa!  Hold on there!  Don't get ahead of me!  I'm not talking about bare chest book cover books.  Smut is not the topic here.  I'm talking about romance stories that involve characters in their 20's and beyond.  Let's face it, a young girl already has enough confusing information about men, love, and relationships.  Do we really want them to get lost in the dreamy existence of a book character? 
Many of us got into this romance game early on.  For me it was the Sweet Valley series, though I never really realized it was "romance".  The first real romance book I read was Pride and Prejudice by the Godmother herself, Jane Austen.  How was I supposed to not fall in love with Mr. Darcy?  How many others had fallen before, and after, me?  In fact, go to Amazon.com right now and type "Darcy" into the search tab and look at all the books women have written about that man.  Talk about a dreamboat!
My worry is that if young girls start reading romance books written about women in their 20's, 30's, and 40's experiencing love, what is going to happen to their relationships?  I am not naive enough to believe that all teenage girls are chaste and angelic.  However, I wonder if reading books about women who fight, and lose, the battle between what they know they should do and what they actually end up doing is what is best for them?  Are we letting them mature too fast in their reading?  It seems silly to question it, after all it's just fiction, but I wonder about these things a lot.  Kids are growing up too fast.  They're taking on responsibilities at an earlier age than they should.  I teach ten year olds who know things that I didn't know when I was eighteen!  Is it better for them to learn about these things in a book or in real life?
I bring this up because several reviewers have mentioned that 'A Week at the Beach' would be appropriate for a teenage girl to read.  I disagree.  I'm the author and I disagree.  I don't want teenage girls reading the book and making the same choice that Cami makes.  Is that wrong of me to not want a group of readers to read my book?  I certainly don't think my writing is so amazing that it's going to inspire girls everywhere to go out and hook up.  (Oops, should I have said *Spoiler Alert*?)  I write stories to entertain women.  I like to escape into the fantasy of a cheesy romance because I am aware that real life, and real men, are not like what I read in a book.  If the world was littered with Nicks, or any other chick lit male character, then we wouldn't need silly romance books to escape into. 
Should teenage girls be escaping into that world?  Have they lived, loved, and lost enough to earn that escape?  Look what happened when Stephenie Meyer gave them a mash up of several great male characters.  The teenage girls came out in droves to chase Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner down the street.  Of course, their moms weren't far behind, but frankly being the mom to a teenager automatically gives you the credit you need to escape from reality for a few hours! 
So, to those of you who read this blog regularly and to those of you who have just stopped by, what do you think?  Should there be an age restriction on chick lit?  Let me know what you think!

Oh...wait!  I just realized that if they put an age restriction on chick lit what is to stop them from putting an age limit on children's books and YA books?!?!  No more Harry Potter?  No Hunger Games?  No...I can't live in that world.

What I've learned in the past two weeks

A lot has happened over the last two weeks, and I'd like to take a moment to reflect on the lessons that I've learned.

1.  People can be mean- I've spent several hours over the past two weeks reading the 1-Star reviews of some of the most popular pieces of fiction.  Wow! People can be very mean. I suppose it is possible that I am just too nice, but I've never disliked a book so much that I felt the need to write a mean review.  In my opinion, if a book is horrible then I really don't want to spend my time writing about how bad it is.  Despite that, Amazon.com, and I suspect all the other online bookstores as well, are littered with the contemptuous ramblings of dissatisfied readers. 

2.  People can be funny- As much as I hate to admit it, some of the reviews that I read were quite humorous.  I can even be gracious enough to say that a few of the comments made about my books were a little witty.  Not everyone who dislikes a book chose to completely trash it.  Some people were able to find the humor in bad writing, lackluster plots, and unlikeable characters. 

3.  Character quirks don't always translate to the page-  If you are a fan of Grey's Anatomy then you will probably recall how the word "seriously" was pretty much a member of the cast the first two seasons.  Watching 'Ocean's Eleven', you can't help but be amused by the fact that Brad Pitt's character is eating in every scene.  Both of those quirky things came across well on the screen.  Cami's frequent eye rolling from 'A Week at the Beach' didn't quite translate well onto the page. Several people commented on the overuse of the eye rolling.  I don't know about you, but when I was in my twenties, I rolled my eyes at everything!  I work with girls in their twenties and an eye roll is a genuine response to every statement.  Often times, an eye roll is the punctuation that ends their own statements.  Quirks like these tend to be contagious, so the people around start to pick up on it and unwittingly add it to their own repertoire.  Unfortunately, that didn't come across on the page in 'A Week at the Beach'.  Don't worry, I don't blame anyone but myself.  Obviously my writing did not make this clear to the reader and therefore started to become an annoying habit of bad writing.  Sorry!

4.  Nothing makes people happier than cake pops.  I know that this has nothing to do with writing, but I did learn this over the past two weeks.  I'd also like to point out how sitting around eating cake pops with a bunch of women quickly turns into a giggle session about balls!  ;-)

5.  Lastly...It feels weird and almost uncomfortable to use this word, but I can't think of any other way to say this and I feel it is important to make this known. 

I have the best fans in the world!

Whether it is people leaving comments on Amazon.com, Goodreads.com, following me on Twitter, friending me on Facebook, or even those of you who have stopped by this blog to read my ramblings and leave a comment, my "fans" are amazing!  When I read the wonderful things that you have said about my books, I can't help but be humbled and pleased that I have made you smile, laugh, and even cry.  Thank you!  You make me believe in this crazy idea of publishing my little books. 

Riding the review roller coaster

I hate roller coasters. I can't even stand near one without feeling anxious and frightened. The whole concept of a roller coaster confounds me. Why would I want to strap myself into a seat and then be propelled at high speeds as I loop, drop, and soar through the sky? I'm getting a nervous chill just writing about it!

Reading reviews of your own work is a lot like strapping yourself into one of those giant projectiles. The excitement builds as you see the number of reviews climb. The joy and adrenaline rush through you as you read the positive reviews. A smile spreads across your face when you see all the stars lighting up. Screams of pure elation escape! Giggles erupt! Your heart pounds!

After that exciting climb, you reach the peak and the ride pauses. As you sit on the top of that peak all you can think about is the plummet. You know that the floor is about to drop out from beneath you and the ground is soon going to be rushing towards you. It’s inevitable, you have to go. You can’t stay on the top of that mountain forever. So, you take a deep breath and start to fall. The air gushes out of you and the elation you felt earlier has transformed into fear. The stars aren’t nearly as bright as you watch the ground rising up to meet you. Screams escape, only this time it’s not elation but danger that’s behind them. Giggles are gone, but your heart still pounds.

I hate roller coasters.

That’s what I was thinking as I sat back and watched my reviews roll in this week. Giving away ‘A Week at the Beach’ has certainly felt like a roller coaster. I’m completely blown away by how quickly the book jumped to the Top 100 Free list and I’m even more astonished by exactly how many books have been downloaded. Obviously gaining more readers is the goal of a free promo and gaining more reviews is an expected by-product of that. I definitely got both.

I've made no secret of the fact that I take things personal. Even slightly negative statements set my mind reeling. So, despite the fact that I received many positive reviews, all I can think about are the stinkers.

That is until I did a little research.

I spent an hour or so reading the "stinker" reviews for some of the most popular books on Amazon.com right now. I even stopped by to check out the stinkers for some of my personal favorite books. Wow. I don't feel quite so bad about my own stinkers any more. Reading other people's stinkers helps me to enjoy the view a little as I race towards the ground. Instead of focusing on the sight of the floor rising up to meet me, I'm going to turn my attention to the inevitable turn that will come when I hit the bottom.

I am truly humbled by all the positive reviews that people have left for my books. It makes me unbelievably happy to know that others found them enjoyable. I have never asked someone to write a review for me. I have not created false identities and written positive reviews for my books, and I do not know any of the people who have left reviews for 'A Week at the Beach'. I'd also like to point out that the only comments that I have ever made on reviews, I did so in my name. (There is a particular review that has a very small comment discussion happening. I am not a part of this discussion and only just found out about it. While I do not enjoy reading an unflattering review, I do respect a reader's opinion and support the right to express that opinion!)

I have read discussion in some forums where the idea that many self-published authors create fake accounts and write positive reviews for their own work is debated. They also claim that some self-published authors ask their friends to submit reviews to help boost their ratings. I have not done that. I don't even review my own books on my goodreads account. If a review is not a genuine reflection of how a reader reacted to a book then its value is deflated.

To wrap it all up, I hate roller coasters but I'm determined to just shut up and enjoy the ride!

A Punch in the Gut--Revisited

So, remember this...'A Punch in the Gut' ?  If you don't, or you don't have the time or inclination to follow the link, I'll recap it for you.  Someone in the UK gave my book 'A Week at the Beach' a very scathing 1 star review.  It was after a free book giveaway and in the middle of a great month of sales.  I took it personal.  How could I not?  But eventually I got over it and have just learned to accept that not everyone is going to love everything that I do or write.  After that initial blog post about it, I received many notes of encouragement on here and on goodreads.com, all of which truly helped me to feel better about the situation.  Like I said before, I got over it.
Or did I?
See, that feeling of dread, that awkward feeling of knowing that someone doesn't like you, and the weird butterflies in your stomach when you think about the mean and nasty things someone said about you, all that has been replaced with something new. 
Anger!
I'm quite pissed, actually.  I can accept that everyone is entitled to their own opinion about my books.  I'm okay with that.  I'm even okay with the idea of someone disliking my book so much that they feel compelled to leave a bad review.  What is really pissing me off about the whole situation is the way it's destroying my book sales in the UK.  You see, here in the US, 'A Week at the Beach' is by far my most popular book.  It has 13 reviews, only 2 of which are not 5 stars and both of those reviews give it 4 stars.  When that book pops up on someone's Amazon.com screen, it's likely that the reader will give it a chance, right?  Well, not on the other side of the Atlantic!  When 'A Week at the Beach' pops up on the Amazon.co.uk site, they see 2 reviews.  That's it, just two reviews!  Of those two reviews, you have a 1 star and a 5 star.  Who would take a chance on that novel?  No one, as evidenced by the complete lack of sales on that title in the UK.  Seriously, none!  All the other books have sales.  Not a single one for 'A Week at the Beach' so far this month and single digit sales for last month!  The killer is the fact that if they would just scroll down to the reviews they would see that all 13 of the Amazon.com reviews are there for them to read!  Those reviews are not taken into account on first glance.
So, yes, I've gotten over the humiliation of a particularly nasty 1 star review.  I can honestly say that it has forced me to be a stronger person when it comes to reviews and criticism.  However, I am not quite ready to let go of the anger and bitterness I feel over the loss of sales.  I'm also angry about all the people who are going to miss out on a great story because one person didn't like it!  It's not about the money, it really isn't.  It's more about the loss of opportunities.  People who have read all of my books have said that 'A Week at the Beach' is the best.  Unfortunately, there's a whole country of people out there who are missing out on the chance to read me at my best.

To free or not to free, that is the question...

Much to the delight of my bank, anyone I owe money to, and of course me, I got my biggest royalty check recently.  January was a very good month for me!  I've heard talk of that time of year being a big one for book sales, mostly because of all the new Kindle owners just itching to fill their devices with books.  I choose to believe that it was a good month for me because word had spread about how wonderful my books are.  (Please note that I am being silly! No way am I that conceited or deluded about my writing abilities!)  Honestly, I believe that one of the reasons I did well during that month is because I had several free giveaways going on during that time.  Also, I had a huge free promotion in December and it sparked some return free downloads the following month.  February wasn't quite as successful as January.  March was a little better but still nowhere close January. 
Now it's a new month, my favorite month by the way, and I'm trying to decide if I should do another free promotion or just take a month off.  It's only the 5th of the month and sales are moving, but I'd like to see more happening.  'A Week at the Beach' is by far my most popular book in the US (not so much in the UK...probably because of that awful 1 star review even though one of my goodreads.com friends graciously wrote a lovely 5 star review to balance it out)!  Plus, it's starting to get warmer and plenty of people are busy dreaming of summer and a visit to the beach, so it seems to make sense to offer that one up for free.  I can do a two-day free promo for this weekend, or I can wait until next week (when I automatically enroll in KDP Select again) and do an even longer duration. 
Of course, I could be super generous and do both...what do you think?

Hard lesson to learn

Last year, I was unfortunate enough to get the "blue screen of death" on my trust laptop.  It was a very difficult time for me.  I was petrified that I'd lost everything!  Thankfully, I rushed my laptop to a local repair shop where my data was easily retrieved and loaded onto a brand new laptop.  So, with the exception of the few hundred dollars I had to drop to get a new computer, all ended well.  For a few months after that, I was very careful with my books.  I would save them to the computer and then to a flash drive, just in case.  Well, as you can guess, I got a little too comfortable with my new laptop.  A false sense of security and a "surely that can't happen to me again" attitude convinced me to relax with the data backup.
A week or so ago, I got hit with a virus or some other awful thing.  Unlike the last time, I wasn't worried because I figured my trusty computer repair shop could pull me out of the continuous windows startup repair loop that I was stuck in.  More than a week later, I finally got my computer back and guess what...
I LOST SOME OF MY FILES! 
AHHHHHH!!!!!!!
It's not that huge of a deal.  I have most of the files for the books that I've already published.  Of course, I lost two books that I'd started and not finished (including the one that I had abandoned a few months ago).  Surprisingly, that doesn't upset me as much as you'd think.  What really upsets me is the fact that I can't seem to open the file for one of my published books.  I don't know what it bothers me, because that book is already published to KDP and is selling quite well.  I suppose it bothers me because I somehow feel like I can't prove it's mine because I don't have the original document.  That's ridiculous, right?  No one will doubt my intellectual property rights based on the fact that I have a scrambled document, right?  It just leaves me uncomfortable, I guess. 
One thing I have learned from this is that I need to invest in some sort of file backup system that doesn't rely on me to remember to do it.
I hope that something like this never happens to anyone reading this.  I also hope that this inspires you to do a quick backup of everything that is important to you on your computer!

My not-so-secret identity

So, Virginia Jewel is not my real name. I think I've mentioned that before on this blog. I chose it because I wanted to take the risk of putting a piece of work out there without taking too much of a risk on a personal level. I am a teacher, something that I know I've mentioned on here before as well as on my twitter feed. As a teacher, everything that I do in and out of the classroom is scrutinized and judged. Being a romance novelist in my spare time may not be what some parents think is the best way for their child's teacher to spend her free time. While it is true that my books are not graphic and completely harmless, you just never know when someone might object to something. I'm telling you all of this because I've walked around in a bubble of anonymity for a long time, but unfortunately, that bubble has been burst.

When I did my first free book giveaway, I was so amazed by the results that I shared my secret with some of the people I work with. I wasn't worried because I trusted them and knew that they would be honest if they read my work. Because these people were either proud of my accomplishments or just trying to be helpful, word has started to spread around my work environment about my secret hobby. People that I never would have spoken to about my books are now reading them and stopping me in the halls to talk to me about them. Others who may not have a Kindle are searching for other avenues to access my books. All this is hard for me because I really have no desire to be the face of Virginia Jewel. I write because I enjoy it. I write because I like to read good stories so I try hard to write good stories for other readers.

Therefore, my secret identity has become the worst kept secret in town!

Now my problem is this:

Where do I go from here?

I chose a pen name for a reason. I wanted to stay behind the curtain. I didn't want my reality to mix with the crazy reality of being a self-published author. As long as most people didn't know who Virginia Jewel was, I could come home from a long day of work and escape into the world of my writing. As Virginia Jewel, I feel free to blog, post to Facebook, and tweet without worry of risking my reputation as a teacher. Again, it's not as if I am doing anything unsavory when I write as Virginia Jewel, but it's just the principle of the matter.

All that being said, I realize that I am not Clark Kent/Superman! My books aren't topping the NY Times Bestseller lists or anything amazing like that (though I certainly would be happy if that did happen!). My success is limited. My latest three-day free book giveaway topped 8,000 downloads between the US and Europe. That amount of exposure is not likely to land me on the cover of any newspapers or magazines. I recognize that. However, as Virginia Jewel, I'm much more exposed than I am as my real self. With this blog, my Facebook account, my twitter account, and my goodreads.com author account, I am more Virginia Jewel than me!

Why does this whole thing bother me, you ask. It's not because I'm embarrassed about my work or what I've written about. I haven't used real people to create my characters and now I'm afraid that they'll read it and find out. It's nothing like either of those things. My issue is simply this...I like being anonymous. I've always liked being the quiet one who sits in the corner. I'm a wallflower.

Unfortunately, Virginia Jewel is not.

Free book giveaway with the one that started it all...

It's hard for me to believe that it's only been 3 months since I started this crazy KDP Select journey! It was in December that I signed up for the program and selected 'Nuptials for Sale' as my first venture in the free book giveaway. Not knowing how it would all turn out, I decided to use up all 5 days for the promotion. 10,000 downloads later and my life was changed forever!

I know that 10,000 is not a huge number to a lot of people, but to me it's HUGE. Up to that point, I was excited if my overall monthly sales reached double digits. Since that first free promotion I've been blessed to see all my sales rise, I've been able to branch out and network with other authors and some of my readers, and I've received numerous reviews (even that bad one, which I've almost completely forgotten about). Yes, that free promotion made quite an impact on me and my career as a writer. Therefore, to celebrate the three-month anniversary of that promotion and how far I've come since then, I'm giving 'Nuptials for Sale' away for free again.


Mark your calendars and tell your friends, because March 14-16 'Nuptials for Sale' will be free for download to all Kindle readers! 

Writing Dry Spell

It's been over a month since I've written anything.  It is driving me crazy that I've taken such a long break from writing.  I didn't set out to take a break, it just sort of happened.  I was busy with my latest book, and felt like things were moving along, but then I hit a bump.  Something about what I was writing just didn't feel right, so I stopped.  I had hoped that it would only be a break for a day or two then everything would work itself out. 
It didn't.
Here it is, a month later, and I'm still not writing.  Since I started writing a few years ago, I've never had such a long dry spell. I don't know what to do with myself.  All of a sudden, I have a lot more free time.  Unfortunately, I don't have anything to fill that time with.  I'm bored and boredom does not breed creativity!
The strange thing about this dry spell, is that my mind is absolutely full of characters, dialogue, and scenes!  I can't stop thinking about the characters of the current book and of future books!  I've planned out whole chapters and conversations, yet I can't seem to get my fingers to type any of it.  Seriously, what is wrong with me!  I tried going back and reading some of my already published work, but even that hasn't helped.  My next step is to try gaining inspiration from some great books written by others.  Is there a new Jill Mansell book out?