Hey guys here’s a little sneaky quote from Broken, book 3 of my Cage of Lies saga which is now due for release on January 31st 🎉😱☺️ I’ll be offering out the ARCs in the next few days so watch this space!
Free books and To review or not to review – why does it help and what can you do?
It has been nearly 3 months since my debut novel Chained was released and I have been very fortunate to receive a number of reviews for it on amazon and goodreads and a lot of them are down to the wonderful people I have met here through my blog! However, following those initial reviews and despite continuing sales, the ammount of new reviews has dwindled.
Why does this matter? I hear you cry, well I’ve prepared a little something to explain why…
There are lots of books out there, this much is true,
They’re written for readers – people like you!
If you finish a story and it touched your heart,
a little review is the easy part,
Just a tap of your finger and a short line of praise,
can excite an author on the darkest of days!
If something you read made you break down and cry,
Or a there’s a character you just wish would die,
Or perhaps you’re in love with a character you met,
And there’s a follow up book you can’t wait to get,
The author’s done their job in making you care,
You could write a review and leave it somewhere!
Now everyone knows it can’t all be good,
If you could please everyone then everyone would,
No author sets out to make you feel bad,
The passion they have should make no one sad,
But if they write something you really enjoy,
Your reviewing skills should be set to deploy!
And everyone knows that your time is short,
But tiny reviews can give a great report,
Even three little words like ‘I loved it’ will do,
With a simple star rating which shows that it’s true,
This small act of kindness will go a long way,
To making an author have a great day!
We write because we love to read like you,
And reviews can help all our wishes come true,
It’s a sad truth but without good reviews,
Sales come slowly and that’s bad news,
It’s not about begging but just the same,
But a few great reviews can change the whole game!
So when it comes down to it, what I’m trying to say,
Is that books gain momentum by reviews going their way,
So I hope this inspired you to help an author out,
Because that’s what this post is really about!
And if more specifically you’d like to help me,
I’m willing to give you my books for free!
So here’s the deal – if you like dystopian YA then I’m more than happy to give you a free copy of the books in my Cage of Lies saga which have already been released (Chained and Linked) and all I ask is that you give me a review on Amazon and goodreads (I’m happy with a full review or even just a line that sums up your feelings) all you need to do is email me at susanne3587@hotmail.com and let me know if you’d prefer an ePub or PDF copy of the books 😊
It’s a sad fact that the number of reviews a book has massively affects the sales so the more good reviews I can get, the better it is! I’ll be eternally grateful to anyone who helps me out ☺️xoxo
Giveaway! Win one of two signed copies of Chained
Just a little reminder to any of you who haven’t entered the giveaway for my book Chained. It ends on December 14th so don’t forget to join 637 others and enter for your chance to win!
Terrified of the contamination and the creatures it has created, humanity hides behind The Wall. No one knows what lies beyond the wasteland. Maya has never thought much about what might still be out there, lurking in the forgotten places. But when she’s thrust into the unknown, she is forced to question everything she has ever been told. Not everyone outside died, some of them became something… else. As her heart is torn in two, every choice she makes is harder than the last. What she discovers will change her forever. She knows she will probably die, but Maya has seen enough of death and she won’t let it have her without a fight.
Good luck! xoxo
Why you should take a writing break every now and then! 📚📝
So you may or may not have missed me recently 😳 and I’ve missed you guys too! I decided to take a little break from writing my books because my brain was getting overloaded and somehow that extended into my blog too 😁 but it’s a new month and my writing flow is back in force so here I am with a little post about why I believe taking a break can be important…
1. Brain overload. Sometimes you can get too close to your story, your characters, your world and rather than helping it actually makes it harder to see everything! You become so bogged down in the details that it’s hard to make the big decisions.
2. Internal autocorrect. This is an odd one but I find that if I proofread my work again and again in a short period of time, my brain starts to autocorrect the errors meaning that I don’t pick them out! The work is so familiar to me that I don’t notice minor typos or missing words because my brain autocorrects when I read them 😲 (this meme isn’t really right but it was so funny I had to use it)
3. My TBR. This is actually my favourite reason to have a writing break because I can spend that time reading! My TBR is out of control and this month I managed to read the first 3 Game of Thrones books 😍
4. You can actually read it like a fan when you go back! One of my favourite parts of writing is when I do a read through and have forgotten something I’ve written! And especially if I love it when I read it!! I’m the biggest fan girl going and there’s nothing better than being a fan of your own work 😆
5. Sometimes not thinking about your work helps you come up with the best ideas. I find that parts I may have found clunky to read will suddenly be easy to resolve when I found them impossible to fix before. Plot holes are filled, characters are fleshed out, bad guys have made their moves and everything suddenly just falls togetherness!
So there you have it – I’m back with a bang and I’m on a crazy writing splurge 🎉 let me know if any of this works for you too or if you find anything else that helps ☺️xoxo
Susanne Valenti 