#IWSG OCTOBER POSTING - What I like about my 'favorite genre.'

 Hello all!

Welcome to the October IWSG. Hope you've had a good month - writing, reading, collaborating, selling books, advertising books, promoting books, blogging, facebook-ing- whatever is your jam. 

My month has been busy as always, what with trying to fit everything in - by everything I mean I just want to write new copy, but there are so many other demands on my time. How about you? How do you prioritize your writing?

Anyway, onto the October question - What do you consider the best characteristics of your favorite genre?

This is a rather long post for IWSG, so just skim, pick out points of interest. If there are none, my bad, but I hope you can find something!

I don't want to confuse you, but I have eclectic tastes both in books and music. Sometimes in music I'm into Beethoven and classical music, at others, U2, Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, Bryan Adams and others of their ilk, then there's my fascination with Abba which never wanes.

Same thing with 'favorite genre'. My 'favorite genre' varies over time. I'm a voracious speed reader who often DNF a book if it doesn't get going. If a day goes by and I don't read ... oh, well, don't think that's ever happened since I was like 6 years old.  I go through phases - 

* Nora Roberts type Romantic Suspense. Why? I like to be intrigued. Jemi Fraser does this well, too. 

* Feel good women's fiction set in Cornwall and gentle England, but I'm done. A flooded market. 

* Classic vampire tales of old, like Dracula. Sure, I've read the modern, sparkly ones, and those set in a modern office, but give me an old-fashioned blood sucker any day. 

* Classic books by the likes of Virginia Woolf, Jane Austen et al which probably wouldn't be published today.

And I could go on, but I'll cut to my current 'favorite genre'...

RIGHT NOW ... and for several months, and off and on all my reading life, I choose Thrillers, especially Psychological Thrillers over any other genre. Why? Along with intriguing settings, it's because the Title, the Tagline, the cover/and/or the blurb hook me in. With this genre, you always know what you're getting and you're getting a good read, a page-turner. And it's dastardly difficult to write. I know. I'm trying.

Forerunners were series like The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, by Steig Larsson and standalone Smilla's Sense of Snow, by Peter Hoeg, but moving along ...

I just grabbed a few of my recent favorites off my overflowing new bookshelves my hubs built me ...

* "Can you save her? Will you survive?" - Harlan Coben's Run Away - he's the king of twisty thrillers. Think I've read all his books and watched on Netflix those which have become series (16 so far and more to come).

* The Ice Twins, S.K. Tremayne - "Unbearably gripping and suspenseful." (An understatement if ever there was one!!!). "Beautifully paced, teeming with psychological shivers." This could describe the Murder series by Yolanda Renee (((shiver, shiver)))

* Clare Mackintosh, I Let You Go. "A past you can't escape." I challenge you to ever find a creepier ending. "Chilling ... with a killer twist." Yep.

* Cross Her Heart, Sarah Pinborough. "...it's about three interesting women and some nasty men." Got me right away.

But when it comes to psychological thrillers, I'm reading my way through those set in Scandinavia and deep into the night when I'm too tired to write, I watch Netflix sub-titled scandi thrillers set in those frozen lands which seem to lend themselves to bleak, scary, witchy stories. Probably the best to me is The Killing, on Netflix and all 3 books by David Hewson (a fave writer of crime thrillers set in Rome). Let's just say, I love Scandi-noir at its powerful bleakest. Currently reading my second by Camilla Grebe, The Hideout, "A razor-sharp, complex mystery." (I loved her The Ice Beneath Her).

Want to know more? Join the Psychological Thrillers Readers Group on Facebook where there are tons of recommendations. I hope someone recommends my first thriller one day. It's half written! Yay!

The awesome co-hosts for the October 5 posting of the IWSG are Tonja Drecker, Victoria Marie Lees, Mary Aalgaard, and Sandra Cox!

  Be sure to visit the
Insecure Writer’s Support Group Website!!!

And talking of thrillers, WEP is about to be swamped by thrilling stories starting October 19, based on Michael Jackson's THRILLER. Can't wait! 

You're welcome to join us! Share in the fun!

Thanks for visiting. I'd love to hear your comments.

Here's an excerpt from my thrilling story for October's WEP - I'm definitely  influenced by those Scandinavian settings!

Sadie slithered down the freezing drainpipe, and bam, her ballet flats hit the ground. Creeping cold seeped through her shoes, her toes turned to ice. She slapped her face. Got the blood flowing. Idiot! She should have worn that ugly sheepskin coat her mother gave her, but she wanted to show off her milky white shoulders in her red silky dress. To whom? She was about to find out.

Denise

#IWSG post March - #Reading preferences.

 Hello fellow IWSG-ers! Hope your month has been awesome since we last got together. Today we're once again writing about our insecurities or securities. Which is yours this month? 

Alex's awesome co-hosts for the March 3 posting of the IWSG are Sarah - The Faux Fountain Pen Jacqui Murray, Chemist Ken, Victoria Marie Lees, Natalie Aguirre, and JQ Rose! Visit if you can!

 And ... be sure to visit the
Insecure Writer’s Support Group Website!!!

March 3 question - Everyone has a favorite genre or genres to write. But what about your reading preferences? Do you read widely or only within the genre(s) you create stories for? What motivates your reading choice?

So awesome to be talking about reading. I'm an eclectic reader of usually one hundred books a year. I absorb most, but not all, genres. My first two genres I'll publish are women's fiction and paranormal. I prefer not to read too many stories in my genre, as I've been working for years on those two genres, rewriting, editing, editing, editing ... so I reach for other genres to entertain me. 

I've always been a mad fan of psychological thrillers. I'm reading more and more of those currently, helped by a generous voucher gifted to me by one of my students. Here's my latest haul.

So many awesome authors in this genre. I've joined FB groups for UK Crime and such and am learning so much. I've got nearly half of a romantic suspense written, so learning the tropes won't hurt. Can't say that's my motivation for reading crime fiction, thrillers and romantic suspense. I just love the reading experience with suspense keeping my eyes on the page.

Have a great month all!

Thanks for coming by!

We're rocketing into April You're welcome to join us for the WEP April challenge!

Woo! Feel a challenge coming on?

#IWSG day is the day for The Snowman blog tour--my guest, Yolanda Renee! 10 Top Warning Signs for when your publisher is not into publishing. And 5 things NOT to do when publishing your book.

Hi Yolanda. After that gory introduction above, welcome to my blog today. Today, it's IWSG day, but on my blog, it's all about you. I'm beyond thrilled you've decided to go with this hot button issue which I know has caused you a truckload of insecurity over many months. The best we can hope for is that this cautionary tale will prevent other authors falling into the trap.

The IWSG is Alex J Cavanaugh's dream child. His awesome co-hosts for the May 3 posting of the IWSG are Nancy Gideon, Tamara Narayan, Liesbet @ Roaming About, Michelle Wallace, and Feather Stone!

Thanks Alex and ladies. Readers, please visit them if you can.

Top 10 warning signs your publisher is not into publishing.

1.     Professional edits are not performed.

2.     Proofreads are not completed.

3.     Book signings are not scheduled.

4.     News releases are not released.

5.     Correspondence is not answered.

6.     Promised markets are not delivered.

7.     Continuous excuses are made.

8.     Staff changes constantly.

9.     Schedules are not honored.

10. Royalty checks get ‘lost’ in the mail.

Today, anyone can open a business, even a publishing business. It only takes minutes to get an EIN - Employer Identification Number. This is required in the US to open a business – it’s different for each country.

And if you have the patience for formatting you can publish your book, or someone else’s book – Amazon makes it simple!

I reissued all three of my formerly published books, after regaining the rights, on Amazon as a Kindle, and then as a paperback in one week! Note: I had experience with self-publishing and knew the process. But Amazon gives explicit instructions, and anyone can do it!

If you can do this, you can become a publisher, and sadly, this is what is happening daily. Many new publishers are popping up overnight, and with just these simple skills they can take 50 to 60% of your profits – royalties, and give you pennies on the dollar – deducting for so called edits, proofreading, cover design, etc.!

Anyone can apply to Ingram Spark and other book release sites. These steps are simple and while time consuming – once learned, very simple.

The point – anyone can open a publishing company, and many have. The list above is just a small sample of the things that can go wrong when the company is only in the business to make as much money off a novice writer as possible.

If a company has opened its doors overnight – you may get a professional looking contract, but if the actions on that contract aren’t followed, you have a piece of paper and nothing more.

My advice, learn the process, self-publish at least one book on Amazon and see for yourself how simple it really is. This is eye opening and empowering. Good luck!

I would be happy to discuss my personal experiences further with any of you.  Contact me: yolandarenee@hotmail.com

Top 5 things not to do when releasing a new book.

1.     Do Not Decide to Sell your house!

2.     Do Not Sign up for the A to Z Challenge.

3.     Do Not Re-publish your first 3 books in a week.

4.     Do Not Hold two - 3-day long garage sales to get rid of all your crap.

5.     Do Not Schedule a blog book tour covering 30 days that require your undivided attention and multiple guest posts!

Yes, I did all this during the month of April. Believe me – you DON’T want to follow my lead!

Denise, thank you for hosting me during the Snowman tour. Readers, thank you for coming by and reading. I hope I've helped someone who might be going through what I did.

A NOTE FROM DENISE: I was disappointed to see the website, Predators and Editors virtually closed down. Where do writers go for updates on dodgy publishers now?? Anyone??

Denise's review: 

If you don't mind sending your heart rate sky high, if you don't mind trying to read with your eyes closed, if you don't mind feeding blood-fuelled nightmares, The Snowman is the book for you. 
At the other end of the spectrum, if you like a roller-coaster ride of mega proportions, if you like a fast-paced psychological thriller, if you like to delve into the criminal mind, this is the book for you. 
Excellent racy writing by the author, Yolanda Renee. Well edited - don't those two words bring joy to my heart!
 A joy to read, even with your eyes closed...oh, and I think there's an audio book coming just in case...

And there's more...

There's a GIVEAWAY you can enter, HERE...open until June 6.

Should you love The Snowman, Yolanda has 3 books in the Detective Quaid series she's recently republished on Amazon.

HERE is a link to ALL OF HER BOOKS!

THE SNOWMAN TOUR CALENDAR

May 1 – Juneta @ Writer’s Gambit – Author Guest Post

May 2 – Romance Under Fire – Review & Excerpt

May 3 – Denise Covey – Review & Author Guest Post              

                                                 Random Thoughts – Excerpt

May 4 – The Silver Dagger Scriptorium – Excerpt & Author Guest Post

May 5 – Julie Flanders, Writer – Excerpt

May 8 – Alex J. Cavanaugh – Top 10 List
                  Christine Rains – Writer – Author Guest Post

May 9 – Mello & June, It’s a Book Thang – Feature

May 10 – Pat Hatt Books – Author Q&A

May 11 – A Bluestocking’s Place – Feature

May 12 – Lexa Cain – Feature

                   Elizabeth Seckman, Author – Author Guest Post

May 15 – Just Us Book Blog – Excerpt

                   Writers & Authors – Author Guest Post

May 16 – Reading for the Stars and Moon – Excerpt

May 17 – Pat Garcia Book Reviews – Review

May 18 – The Bookworm Chronicles – Excerpt & Feature

May 19 – I Think; Therefore, I Yam – Interview with Stowy

May 22 – The Five Year Project – Author Guest Post

May 24 – Bound 2 Escape – Excerpt

May 25 – Reviews by Crystal – Author Q&A

May 26 – J Bronder Book Reviews – Review

May 29 – FUONLYKNEW – Review

May 30 – Mason Canyon

May 31 – Celticlady’s Reviews – Excerpt

June 1 – bookworm1102 – Excerpt
                  Scattergun Scribblings – Author Guest Post   

                 Rainy Day Reviews – Review & Excerpt

June 2 – Cheryl’s Book Nook – Review  

                  Libby Heily – Review & Excerpt

Thanks for coming by today!

• Has your publisher ever let you down?
• Have you read any of Yolanda's thrillers?