SWEETS BY GINGER SIMPSON

AHA...the title fooled you, didn't it?  You expected a recipe for cookies or fudge, but this post has nothing at all to do with food.  Tricky, huh?

I hope my former publisher, Lea Schizas from Muse it Up Publishing, doesn't mind me hi-jacking her idea for a blog topic.  Back when I was published with Muse, Lea had the great idea to create a TWOOK for each book offered.  The main reason, when you needed to tweet, you had something at your fingertips to use. and if we all used #twook, they would be tied together.  Everyone should have these on file.  I belong to Ask David.com, and every once in a while you get to tweet about one of the books you have listed there.  I've used these many times.  I can't actually call them TWOOKS anymore, because that would really be stealing, so I call mine SWEETS (Short tweets).    Anyhow...here are the ones I keep handy:

First Degree Innocence – Ten years for a crime she didn’t commit and smack dab in a bully’s grasp.   http://amzn.com/B004A90CXM

Culture Shock- A move becomes a nightmare; new neighborhood and a serial killer targeting her look-alikes.  http://goo.gl/r70iKJ

White Heart, Lakota Spirit – Captured by Indians, Grace must now decide where her heart lies.   http://goo.gl/Qb81Iu

Time Tantrums– Two women, two eras, two puzzled husbands.  She looks like his wife but claims she isn’t.  http://goo.gl/5QqXXl

Sarah's Heart and Passion– Her heart aches for the half-breed who saves her, but is it love or pity? http://amzn.com/B00LRZD3NI

Odessa – Saved by a handsome traveler, perhaps she should have listened to his warnings about saloon work. http://goo.gl/LNJVHI

The Locket – Can a pendant that causes the one wearing it to commit murder really be considered a gift?   http://goo.gl/irFdo0

Betrayed - Cassie Fremont joins an Internet dating site and too soon learns the cost to ride the roller coaster from Hell.  http://amzn.com/B00GXKW7OI

Destiny's Bride-A new bride abandoned on the prairie must decide whether the Indian she saves will be her savior or…http://goo.gl/42KX

Shortcomings-Our shortcomings don't define us unless we let them.  Will Cindy overcome hers?  http://amzn.com/B00J16ZA90

A Novel Murder-Why don't the images she sees show the murderer?  It's hard to report a case when you only see death through the eyes of a killer.  http://goo.gl/Apw0QT

Hattie's Heroes-Can a raging river sweep a pioneer traveler into the future?  If so, what does she find to connect her to the future?  http://goo.gl/j8P2A3

Ellie's Legacy-Ellie's heart proves to be her worst enemy when she sets out to prove she can do anything the new ranch foreman can.  http://goo.gl/lwqgh8

Time-Invested- Separated by miles and war, will Megan and Ryan find the HEA they seek, or will WWII make Ryan a statistic?  http://goo.gl/HqxQl6

Beaches - Can a local bar, a handsome guy, and getting the attention she misses at home make a wife think twice about her marriage...and what will she decide? http://amzn.com/B00J573RZE

Discovery – In each of seven stories, someone makes a discovery.  Dare to be entertained?  http://amzn.com/B00IP06KFG

Ages of Love:  Love comes at different stages of life, whether you’re young or old, Chastity, Faith and Hope discover just how special relationships can be. http://amzn.com/B00IB24NMK

Try and create catchy lines that will draw a reader's attention. You can actually use a hashtag to categorize them with their genere...#mystery, #romance, #historical...you get my drift. They actually come in handy on lots of social media. Whether they work or not...I have no idea.  *lol*

Round Robin Blog with Ginger - #RndRbn0414

Art Work Courtesy of Ray Arcadio

April's Round Robin topic:
You loved the blurb. First page sounded interesting. You bought the book. What makes you throw the book you're reading against the wall, stomp on it and go find another?



Hi, and welcome to Rhobin Courtright's brilliant idea of blogging on a shared topic each month.  I really had to stop and think about the questions posed this time.  Number one...if I threw a book, I'd break my Kindle and that could get expensive.  *lol*  Since I purchased my e-reader, I haven't invested money in a real "paperback."  I find reading on my Kindle so much more convenient, and I love the ease of carrying reading material wherever I go.  I must have over 400 novels and stories downloaded right now.

What usually grabs my attention is cover art.  Then I read the blurb to see if the cover matches the story.  I guess because I'm a visual person, I do judge books by their covers, and it's very important to me, at least in my own publications, that the artwork portray what the reader will find in the content.  Nothing disturbs me more than seeing a redhead on the cover and discovering the heroine is blonde.  May be petty, but it does bug me.

I must admit, I've started lots of book I haven't finished, but I chalk my disinterest up to the author not yet having learned to hook the reader and draw them in.  I discovered early on, the importance of having a good hook at the end of each chapter to keep the reader turning pages, but a lot of time passed before I realized if you bore a reader with tons of unnecessary  information or descriptions, you lose their  interest...at least in most cases. Most people want to jump right into the tension. In other n words, if you don't have a great opening that connects me with the characters and story, that when I surrender, and probably others do to.  

A great example would be my start to First Degree Innocence.  In my first draft of the manuscript, I started the story with lots of description of the dreariness of prison the smells, the drab color of the walls...the entire atmosphere.  While I want my readers to experience  those descriptions, they work best  if you pepper them in around the character...make her smell them, notice them them...compare them. So, when I redid the manuscript, my opening became:

 "Ok, Lang, strip!"  The guard's bark made Carrie's stomach roil.  

I think it was a vast improvement, and judging by sales, so did readers.  *smile*

Still, the blurb is the part of a book that most readers rely on to judge a promising read by putting a lot of emphasis on the descriptive strength, I believe the same emphasis needs to be placed on the first chapter opening.  I want  the first sentence of the book to be the key to make me want to read on...something that grabs and keeps my interest...puts me in the character's shoes.  The books that are my favorite are ones where I've actually lived the story through the character and sensed every emotion.

Yet, even if the author has mastered a strong first page, if I get to a place where there are far more descriptions that have no impact on moving the story or plot forward, too many unnecessary tags identifying who is speaking, or word duplications over and over, I'm no longer interested.  I don't throw the book for reasons mentioned earlier, but I do click onto something else and start over.

One thing I never do  is hurry to Amazon and assault the author's integrity.  I was a new author once and I've learned a lot of things that maybe others haven't.  I recognize that every book is someone's baby, and a lot of work went into the writing. One day, every author will learn to read with an editorial eye, and I hope they reflect back on when they first started.  I only wish readers could experience the same emotions and recognize the process is a journey of learning. That may never happen, as it's much easier to just pick a book apart than show compassion and understanding  How sad is that?

Now...hop on over to the following blogs and see what they have share with you:

* Heidi M. Thomas  http://heidiwriter.wordpress.com
* Anne Graham writing as Anne Stenhouse at http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com
* Diane Bator at http://dbator.blogspot.ca
* Fiona McGier at http://www.fionamcgier.com
* Margaret Fieland at http://margaretfieland.com/my_blog
* Ginger Simpson at http://mizging.blogspot.com
* Geeta Kakade at http://geetakakade.blogspot.com/ 
* Connie Vines at http://connievines.blogspot.com/
* Beverley Bateman - http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
* Rhobin Courtright - http://rhobinleecourtright.com

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In case you would like to check out my own work, you can find everything on my Amazon author's page..