"Classic Ginger" To Tweet or Not To Tweet

Twitter seems to be the biggest enigma of the promotion options.   If you read the tweets that are "trending"daily, unless you're a celebrity who is doing nothing worth noting, ask yourself why you bother.  Kim Kardashian shared a picture of her newborn hooking fingers with his older sister, North; Kate Mansi, An actress  on the soap, Days of Our Lives, is leaving the show, Anne Heathaway shared a picture of her in a bikini while pregnant with her first child.  Who cares?  I'd much rather read about me and my books selling.  *lol*

Then there are articles about sites like Triberr that make you question whether or not you time is being wisely spent by sharing posts of tribemates who don't bother to share your's  If they do share, and you aren't "trending," does anyone read the tweet?  Can we compete with Mark Zuckerberg's announcement for his personal challenges of 2016?

For the sake or educating those who have no idea what I'm talking about...Posts  at triberr are "blog feeds."  You set up your blogs to feed to Triberr daily with the hope that your fellow tribemates will mark them as shared so they will be tweeted widely.  For those who don't aren't familiar with Triberr, it's a tweeting site where you join 'tribes' that fit your needs.  For example, I belong to Historical Fiction, Fiction, Romance, and a few others, but then I read that there are folks who decide whether or not your blog posts fit their "agenda."  Some don't want to be associated with Porn, and of course non-writers care nothing for author's blogs.  That's why you need to pick your tribes carefully.

 I recently discovered that if you hover your mouse across a poster's picture, stats appear, and you can see whether that person is sharing your posts or not.  Today, I decided, if you aren't sharing mine, I'm not sharing yours.  Sadly, I hid more than I shared.  Why do I feel guilty?

For author's, finding inexpensive promotional sites is really important.  Those reviews that used to be easy to come by have become elusive and hard to acquire.  One of the reasons...most reviewers volunteer their time in exchange for free reads, and there are far more authors out there than ever before.  Choices are staggering, and unless you write a blurb that reaches out and nabs attention, your book is going to sit forever.  While I'd like to think my blurbs are real grabbers...they obviously aren't.

Speaking of reviews:  Now authors have to contend with what most refer to as "trolls."  These are people who leave snarky reviews that are usually a dead giveaway that they haven't even read your book.  The only logical explanation is that there are some authors trying to sabotage their competition, but this seems a little extreme.  Amazon is trying to remedy the problem, but is disallowing authors to review others authors the solution?  I may write books, but I also read them.  So far, I haven't had my reviews removed, but I'm aware of fellow authors who have...and they aren't happy.

Bottom line...whether we tweet, blog, or review, are we doing enough or are we spinning our wheels.  I'm always open to new ideas, so if anyone wants to share them here, please do.

"Classic Ginger" Can Reviews Confuse the Hell Out of You????

Title: First Degree Innocence

Author: Ginger Simpson

Publisher: Books We Love Publishing Partners

Buy Link

Rating: You Gotta Read (highest rating on site)

Reviewer: Val

Blurb:

Carrie Lang’s sheltered life ends with a prison sentence for involvement in a bank robbery. Her arrest comes on the day she’s called in sick and stayed inside, so she has no explanation how an eye-witness describes her in great detail, down to the make and model of her car. A terrible mistake’s been made, and her insistence of innocence falls on deaf ears, even among her fellow inmates. A plan for retribution is brewing, and naive Carrie finds herself smack dab in the middle of an evil scheme concocted by the prison bully. A ten year sentence seems mild when she’s threatened with death for refusing to participate. Can Carrie find a way out of this horrible nightmare, or is she destined to spend her days locked in terror, isolation, and the cold gray interior of prison walls?

Review

Carrie's character is one that readers will easily identify with. Vulnerable to a certain point, we see Carrie coming into her own and becoming a stronger person as her jail time progresses. Her character will evoke just about every emotion, especially despair, frustration and finally hope.

When Seth's character was introduced, I wasn't sure if he was a good guy or bad guy. I won't tell you which and trust me when I say, you will be flipping the pages as fast as you can to find out. The interaction between Carrie and Seth gives depth to this book and the end .... well, all I can say is my mouth was hanging open. It was a very surprising ending that you just don't want to miss.

Then we meet the prison bully, Jet. With a score to settle, she will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Jet's character was exasperating. I found myself strongly disliking her and wishing she would get her due punishment. Ms. Simpson created the perfect villain in Jet, a true manipulator, while at the same time giving her some very real qualities that one minute had you liking her and the next wishing she would drop off the face of the earth.

First Degree Innocence is an extremely unique book in that it gives the reader a legitimate glimpse into the lives of the incarcerated while throwing several twists into the story. It was a riveting and highly entertaining read. Ms. Simpson writes about interesting characters and complex plot lines while at the same time drawing the reader in with each new page. This is one author who sure didn't pull any punches with First Degree Innocence and you will be immersed in Carrie's world within the first paragraph. This book starts out with a bang and continues through to the last page. First Degree Innocence is an exceptional book that will have you hooked right from the beginning. If you love to root for the underdog, look no further, you've found the perfect book.

NOW READ THIS!!!

Author: Ginger Simpson

Genre: Suspense / Mystery

Reviewed by: DawnColclasure
Received 2 Stars

Carrie Lang is wrongfully convicted of a crime and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Despite claiming her innocence, she is harshly treated by the prison guards – except for one she has her eye on, and who seems to have his eye on her, too. Targeted by the prison bully Jillian “Jet” Duke, sweet and innocent Carrie, who has never even had a parking ticket, seeks comfort and protection among the friends she makes with other female prisoners. Then Jet tries to set Carrie up, but is she willing to go through with the evil bully’s plan, even if it means death should she say no? Will she ever prove her innocence and be set free? And will she ever have a future with Seth, the prison guard she can only dream of sharing love with?


This story started out as it would for any innocent woman wrongfully imprisoned: Carrie is scared, humiliated, harassed and alone. She is naïve – and it would seem too naïve, as she trusts everyone so easily and is afraid to speak her mind. She’s afraid to show how she really feels towards her cellmates and afraid to stand up against Jet. Innocent or not, it would not seem that Carrie is that innocent, as she puts so much energy on thinking of Matron Ogden as the one with the “ugly face” and how she’d like to punch Ogden “in her ugly face” on her way out once she is set free. Carrie tries to adjust to prison life by joking around with her cellmate Susanna, and it would seem there is so much “sisterhood” between her and her other cellmates who she often plays bridge with during rec. It just didn’t seem realistic. Also, even when Carrie tries to act tough later in the story, she crumbles when it’s time to face the music. She talks the talk but she can’t walk the walk.

This book should have shown what life is really like for an innocent woman behind bars but I suspect it majorly fell short in that regard. Because Carrie is so spineless, naïve and unreasonable to even fall for a prison guard was a huge turn-off. She was not a likable character; I prefer a story with a leading female character who is strong, confident and smart. Also, the prison guard who falls for Carrie in return did not strike me as someone who could actually be a prison guard in real life. He is too emotional and lets his guard down easily – dangerous factors for a prison guard.

First Degree Innocence by Ginger Simpson was a lukewarm story that could have been better. The only thing interesting about it was the huge plot twist the author throws in at the end.

Note from Ginger:  Perhaps you'd like to read it for yourself and be the judge. *lol*  I also would like to point out that I was a Correctional Officer for a year and I have first-hand experience about how  inmates interact with one another.  You either acclimate, make friends, or become a loner who isn't treated very well.  I guess that's where the saying, "When life gives you lemons, you make lemmonade."  lol.  Amazing how people assume they know more than they do, but that's why everyone needs to make their own decisions and not be swayed by someone elses.

Sharing Reviews

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Ms. Simpson shows the result of someone being teased for something that they have no control over. As someone that had been teased all her formative years, I too know how it feels and give kudos to Ms. Simpson for writing about this sensitive subject.

This review was done by Carol Langstroth from Mindfog Reviews, associated with
http://www.authormeetingplace.com

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This book took me on a wildly emotional ride as I rapidly turned the pages until I had consumed the entire book down to the final satisfying sentence. The story is told in a straight-forward, matter-of-fact way that, for me, makes Carrie’s internal angst all the more powerful and believable. I feel like I was there with her, surrounded by dingy gray walls and cold steel bars. The various character interactions are portrayed realistically. All have well-defined motivations, and it was quite easy for me to picture the on-going action like a movie in my head. Speaking of which, this story would make an awesome movie! Highly Recommended!   


Thanks to Laurie at:
http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/BookReviews/firstdegreeinnocentbygingersimpson.html

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Odessa is like walking straight into a nineteenth century western town and trying to survive. The descriptive words used to explain everything from the smells, to the heat, to the surrounding decorations, and so much more are vividly told through Ms. Simpson’s voice. This is a romance that has a sweet and slow cadence and leaves you watching as Zach and Odessa fight for each other and search for a way to survive life in general. I did find it slightly odd that Odessa came across as strong before she met Zach and then later in the story after Zach leaves for his job, Odessa seems to kind of just wilt as far as her bravery goes. Overall, this is a great western novel full of believability and enough action to keep you reading.  This book is now called Arizona Sky and the new cover is below.  Released by Books We Love.

Thanks to Danielle from:
http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/BookReviews/odessabygingersimpson.html

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This story is one of seven in a collection now, and is entitled Discovery.  It's been released by Books We Love.

Ms. Simpson introduces us to Callie and builds the suspense at a nice pace from the first bump of turbulence to the final confrontation between her eye-candy cowboy and the surly, swarthy gentleman. The aircraft is definitely in trouble and Callie is right in the middle of it. I highly recommend this story as a great waiting room read—as long as you aren’t waiting for a flight. ;-)

Entire review found at:  http://rochellesreviews.blogspot.com/

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Your can find all my books listed on Amazon.

     

That's Egregious! by Jamie Hill

In preparing another blog post about reviews, I was looking for a word that meant something was both good and bad at the same time. (I still haven't put my finger on the word, so if you know what I'm trying to say, hit me up in the comments!) I stumbled upon egregious, which is such a fun word I had to look it up.

Egregious

 

adjective

 

1. extraordinary in some bad way; glaring; flagrant:

an egregious mistake; an egregious liar.

Synonyms: gross, outrageous, notorious, shocking.

Egregious is also good for 11 points in Scrabble and 14 points in Words With Friends, bahaha

It's not really what I was after, though. Some reviews are certainly egregious. Some are just plain stinkers. Some are so wonderful they can leave an author floating on air for days.

When I first started writing, reviews were much harder to come by. There were a handful of review sites and they generally had a lengthy waiting list of books to be reviewed. At that time, the e-publishing world was just breaking loose and suddenly there were more books than any site could handle.

Individuals with a love of reading and the ability to use Blogger discovered they could become reviewers, too, and many of my best reviews have come from these smaller sites and/or individuals. Many of them had a code, if a book was a stinker they'd just let it go and not post a really bad review. I appreciate them for doing that, because the bottom line is reviews are subjective. Purely subjective.

Some of the most popular books have gotten plenty of negative reviews, yet they've gone on to become movies, video games, action figures, etc., and earn the author millions. *sigh*

The past few years has shown a rise in the reader reviews at sites like Amazon. It's nice to allow readers to give their opinions, and I don't think there's an author out there who would criticize a genuinely thoughtful review. It might sting, but it might also bring up something for the author to keep in mind when writing the next book.

Family Secrets came out in 2006 the first time, and both of the main characters smoked. It wasn't as big of a deal ten years ago, but man, oh man, are people on me about that now. Many of the reader reviews mentioned how much they hated that Jack and Crystal both smoked. They were serious about it! (I got a little flack about the sex in the book. Okay, most of that was from my mom, but some from readers too. Yet the smoking seemed to be a much bigger concern.) In book two, my hero Brady started out as a smoker and quit by the end. And book three had no main characters who smoked. Zero. My mama didn't raise no dummy. (But I'm still a bit smuttier than she'd like.)

The negative side of Amazon reviews is that a 'reader' doesn't have to have read the book to post. I got one review on a book that's no longer available giving it one star because it was so short, the reader didn't even read it. *Blink* Excuse me?

Here's a couple of reviews for my novella On The Edge. It has several four and five star reviews like this one: 

"Surprisingly full story-line for such a short novella. I enjoyed this sweet romance with a good dose of suspense thrown in."

Then there's a one star review that says:

"Hated it. Don't buy it. Worse published book ever. Don't buy this trash. Also very short......BAD. Big disappointment
I read a lot of books and this was the worst."

Her grammar aside, I believe there's a compliment in there somewhere. Amazon has over a million books published at this very moment. If mine is indeed the 'WORSE PUBLISHED BOOK EVER', I want a plaque somewhere with my name on it.

Seriously, what good does a review like that do? Does it tell you why she didn't like the book (which she probably got free on one of the book's promo days)? Does it say anything about the plot or the characters? Or does it, perhaps, say more about the reviewer, who chooses to hide behind the name 'Amazon Customer'. Original, gal. Creative.

My publisher has started a campaign that whenever she sees a nonsense review like the one above, she marks it as 'unhelpful'. This makes it drop lower in the list of reviews and lowers the reviewers 'helpful' percentage. It's not much, but it's something we can do to say that while opinions are subjective--stupid, unhelpful reviews don't have to be tolerated. An author needs to overlook them and move on. Or blog about them for a little comic relief.

I'm still waiting for my plaque, by the way.

Find Family Secrets, On The Edge, my newest novel, Time To Kill, along with my other titles at Books We Love: http://bookswelove.net/authors/hill-jamie/

Visit my website: http://www.jamiehill.biz/

Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jamie-Hill/135137799867321

 

From Doing a Happy Dance to Walking in the Rain - by Ginger Simpson

A few years ago, I wrote a sequel to my debut novel.  White Heart Lakota Spirit portrayed my love for the Lakota people by showing that a kidnapped young white woman could forgive losing her entire family and learn to believe that there were people with redskin who fought hard for what they believed to be right.  Here is the blurb:

Caught between the world of red and white, how will Grace Cummings choose?

A normal morning turns to disaster when a small war party attacks Grace Cummings’ family and slaughters everyone but her. She returns to the Lakota camp filled with hatred, anger and fear, but through the help of another white woman in camp, learns the Lakota way. When white soldiers invade the camp and presume to rescue Grace, she must decide where her heart lies.

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The story is fictional, but I poured a lot of heart and soul into the writing of this novel. Racism never entered my mind when I toiled over the story line, and although I know reviews are subjective, I was still shocked at the differing opinions of my novel.  How can I earn five stars from a woman whom I believe GOT the story....

 

5.0 out of 5 stars So Enlightening, So Inspiring

By 

Quendra - See all my reviews

This review is from: White Heart, Lakota Spirit (Kindle Edition)

I have perhaps seven black friends, and for me it's important to see works out there which really emphasise how much we white people just want to love and respect Native American people by condescending to them. I love Native Americans - I always buy dreamcatchers at my local town's Renaissance fair, I've watched Little House on the Prairie at least four times, and actually my great-grandmother was an Indian woman; from Jaipur, but it's basically the same thing I reckon.

This book is really wonderful; I think these sorts of ethnic books can be really reverse-racist when they don't include white people, but this book avoids that brilliantly by having two white characters at its heart. I also really like her cute face make-up.

10/10 would recommend

 Then drop to the very bottom with one-star reviews from three who found my attempts to entertain offensive, racist, and even more awful, attacked the cover that does such an exceptional job of portraying the story

1.0 out of 5 stars "Save the Pearls" but with Native Americans-BOO

A. George "song writer" (Arizona) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: White Heart, Lakota Spirit (Kindle Edition)

How is this any better than "Save the Pearls" which came out early last year and attempted to portray "reverse racism" while failing hilariously? (And by hilariously I do mean horrifyingly offensively). White women kidnapped by "savage" Indians only to develop Stockholm Syndrome and later have to decided between her race and her kidnappers who she might be in love with. Right. Okay. This book, much like "Save the Pearls", is offensive and stereotypical. I don't recommend it to anyone. -10. (unfortunately Amazon makes me give it a star to post this -_-)

AND THIS

1.0 out of 5 stars Racist

By 

Jay El -

This review is from: White Heart, Lakota Spirit (Kindle Edition)

Cultural Appropriation on the cover? Check.
White Woman's Post-Menopausal Fantasy? Check.
Stereotypes galore? Check.

Sounds legit.
I don't think I can ever take this seriously. Who even buys this stuff?
The cover is taking cues from No Doubt, Victoria's Secret and Kathy Griffin in being cultural appropriation porn and racially insensitive.
Who publishes and green lights this sort of thing? Seriously?

AND THIS

1.0 out of 5 stars Disgusting

By 

Alicia A - See all my reviews

This review is from: White Heart, Lakota Spirit (Kindle Edition)

There is nothing about this cover that doesn't scream stereotyping and racism. The description of the story assures me that it's contents will be no less nauseating. Not cute, Ginger. Not cute.

I'm sharing these reviews with hopes of enticing someone else to read this story and decide which end of the spectrum more closely aligns with your opinion.  If you are interested in reading this story, contact me via email.  Please put the title of the book in the subject line.