March 3rd, 2015 Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Good Morning! Okay, all the “I told you so” folks are free to take a shot at me. I went into this whole Twitter campaign kicking and screaming, and if I’m honest, I still find it a bit prodigious. BUT I’m getting a real kick out of it now.

Yesterday was a banner day. I received 87 new followers, I had retweets from 190 DIFFERENT people, 58 of which were retweeting my books or my blog, and almost every single one of them retweeted multiple times. There are more folks whose books are on my shelves, or their movies are in my DVD collection, who are now following me. Me, a mom from New Jersey who happens to be a hopeless romantic and decided to jot down a few stories. It blows my mind!

It also has put a whole new phase of pressure on me. I have an overwhelming feeling of needing to measure up – to be worthy of all these new followers – to be able to give sage advice to these new authors who are seeking it – to be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with other authors I admire. Good God, it’s petrifying. I truly have moments where I doubt myself, my writing abilities. I’m hoping this is a normal feeling, and perhaps when one of those more accomplished authors who are now following me reads this, they’ll message me with some advice.

One really cool thing that happened yesterday was an author, Ann Harrison, took up my writing challenge, but for technical reasons beyond me, was not able to post a response. So instead, she put her own challenge up on her blog for her readers. I love it! The whole idea of this blog is to get folks writing, whether it be here or somewhere else, it doesn’t really matter, as long as they write. Here’s a link to her blog if you’d like to check her out.

                                  

Okay, RV’s got PT today, so I’ve got to scoot. I hope you have an exceptional day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge is:

Use the following “Anticipation was a good thing, he thought.” Bonus points if you either start or finish your challenge with the sentence.

Quote taken from Releasing the Billionaire’s Passion by Elizabeth Lennox – a novella offered for FREE on Amazon.

FREE - Click Here

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

March 2nd 2015 Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Good Morning… just. I’ve been up for six hours already and all I’ve had time to do was my Twitter stuff. I’m averaging over 50 new followers a day, and trying to keep up with all if it is a little overwhelming. I did figure out how to streamline some things, so that’s good, but it’s still A LOT of work.

Here’s my Twitter policy, so you can see what I’m actually doing which takes up so much time:

Some of the effort has equated into my author rank climbing, but more important, I have met some interesting folks. I am about to hit 700 on my “More Authors/Writers” list, which is really cool, and today I was someone’s 10K^th follower which I also thought was really neat. I also have quite a few more followers on my Facebook page as well as on my blog, so that’s an added bonus. I can’t wait to see some of these new folks replies to my writing challenges.

Today I am going to write until noon, then get some of the housework done that I didn’t manage to do yesterday, and then take a LONG, HOT, shower. After that the kids should be home, and I’m dragging them to the grocery store with me because I’m sick of hearing “there’s no food in the house”. There’s plenty of food, but I guess it’s not to their liking. Teenagers – sheesh!

Okay, let me get going before some other shiny object distracts me. I hope you have marvelous day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge is:

Use the following: Baboon, Catastrophe, Snow

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

February 16th, 2015 Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Good Morning. I spent most of yesterday not being able to see really well. I think it was a combination of old contacts, being tired and the pollen from the flower shop. I pitched the contacts and resorted to wearing my glasses – something I rarely do.

My one point of vanity, I’ll go out in public in sweats, I’ll go out with no make-up on, but I will not go out in my glasses. Other than the residual effects of being teased as a child, I honestly can’t see well out of them. I’m so blind normally that, even with the glasses, I have virtually no peripheral vision. Walking is a bit of a challenge, and driving is out of the question. That in combination with my eyes running like faucets all day, kept me house bound.

Paulie was a doll. He ran to the grocery store for me – something he detests. He picked up stuff for dinner, stuff for me to make the kids for lunch, and Visine for my eyes. He can be a really good egg when he wants.

Today the eyes are better, but I’m not putting in my contacts until right before I have to leave. Today I am going and getting new tires put on the car. I have a 12:30 appointment. The tires are LONG overdue for a change (they should have been done last winter), and thanks to a little overtime for my hubby and my working the weekend, we can swing getting new ones. This will give me peace of mind for our trek to VT next weekend. If we run into a little weather, the tires won’t be an issue.

Since I started my Twitter campaign thirteen days ago, I have 400+ new followers (90 yesterday), and have had 600+ retweets (150 yesterday). Things are starting to explode on Twitter. My ranking on Amazon is in the 100K range, and Taking Chances jumped from 6M to 200K, so I guess something’s working. Even with the increased volume, I have managed to come up with a system which works for me, so it is not taking me any addition time. I can get all recording, the thank yous, my book promotional tweets, and retweets/favorites of others, all done in three hours. Then I come and do my blog, and tweet the Author’s morning warm up, and I’m done with all my “marketing” stuff between 9 & 10 in the morning. That means I have a minimum of three hours to write, four days a week. For now, I’ll take it.

On that note, a scene popped into my head and I want to get it down on paper before it fades away. I hope you have a marvelous day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge is:

Did that snowman just move???

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

February 12th, 2015 Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Good Morning! Well, I’m better, still not 100%, but definitely better. Just in time too.

For the next three days I get to play florist. For obvious reasons, this time of year is crazy busy for florists, and our local florist, B & C, is no exception. Normally Ron, the owner, brings in a few extra drivers on Valentine’s Day itself to help with deliveries. That was what I was originally supposed to do last year, but it came up in conversation that a zillion years ago I briefly worked at a flower shoppe, I was asked to help in the shop itself.

Now I’m no floral designer, but I can clean roses with the best of them. I also kick some serious butt in the customer service arena. I love it. For a few days a year, and ONLY a few days a year, I’m out in the hustle and bustle of retail humanity. In small doses, it is exhilarating and invigorating.

You get a unique perspective into the human condition when you work retail. I’m allotted insights I cannot get from just being out in public or from events like my book signings. Last year’s group of customers gave me traits I was able to incorporate into some of my characters, which made them more authentic. Experiencing the wide-eyed looks of confusion (or in one case terror) first hand when the men enter the shop, and then the sheer gratitude when you simplify their life by suggesting something perfect, is priceless fodder.

Three to five days a year working retail is just about all I can take. Luckily, it’s all I need.

I killed it yesterday on Twitter – well, “killed it” by my standards that is. I got fifty eight new followers, and over a hundred retweets. Considering previous days were less than a dozen of each, even you could say it was a banner day. Between the new followers, and going back to make sure I followed people who followed me, I am now getting around five tweets a second. There is absolutely no way I will ever be able to see all the tweets flying by, and I have resolved myself to just let it go. I scan through and see what catches my eye, then act on it how I see fit.

I am not going to let Twitter overwhelm me anymore. I can’t let it, or I’ll end up scrapping the whole thing, which I can’t do because my Amazon ranking has been steadily climbing since I embarked on this campaign. (Shameless Plug: My books would make great Valentine’s gifts for your Sweetie.)

Okay, I need to shower, do my hair and make-up and unearth my “sensible” shoes, so I should go. I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge is:

The morning fog caressed her skin as she stared out over the water…

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

February 6th, 2015 Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

I’m a bad person. Well, maybe not bad, but definitely a bit ditzy at times. Since the girls were little, we’ve always held their “family party” on the Sunday between their birthdays – Dani Rose is the 4^th & AlyssaLynn’s is the 15^th of February. So, this Sunday is the day, but with Lys off at college, I guess it didn’t occur to me that some people would question if I was doing a family party just for Dani.

My SiL, MiL, mom and three of my friends just said “what do you need me to bring Sunday?”, and I’m such a scatterbrain, I didn’t realize everyone who is usually invited didn’t know we were having the party. Then my mom told me she mentioned it to her sister, and then I get a text from my other aunt asking “Did I miss something?” I felt so bad that I didn’t extend an official invitation. Then I had to wrack my brain to remember who I said something to, and who I had just assumed would know. See, I’m a bad person.

I am going to take the easy way out this year as far as food goes. I’m ordering several half-pans of Chinese food. I’ve done this a few times in the past, and the food was always a big hit, plus, the Chinese restaurant by us gives me a really good deal – lots of food, not too expensive. I’ll be able to feed 45 people for under $100. It’s a beautiful thing.

I spent four hours this morning on Twitter related stuff. I created an Excel spreadsheet for Tweets, Follows and Retweets. I wrote a couple of dozen Tweets for each books so I can have them at the ready, and then I tweeted, retweeted and thanked. I took a small break to be able to make the kids lunch, and when I got back, there were over 2K tweets in my queue. I’m trying, I really am, but I’m still finding Twitter exhausting. However, even though it is making my head spin and my eyes cross, my books have been climbing in the rankings since I started this Twitter marketing blitz, so I guess it will be worth it in the end.

I finally sent Corporate Blues off to the Indie Next Generation Book Awards. I have been signed up since September, but never managed to get around to mailing them the three copies they requested. Then, two days ago, I get an email saying there was only ten days left to get the books to them. SHOOT! By the grace of God, I still had three copies left in my inventory – and ONLY three copies.

Needless to say, I need to order more books, but I think I’ll wait a little bit. I won’t have another book signing until April, so there’s no sense in ordering them now and storing them in the basement until I need them. I haven’t completed my spreadsheets yet for my taxes, but if memory serves (which is sketchy at best lately, but I try), then I’ve sold – or raffled or donated – 250 copies of Corporate Blues since it was published in March 2014.

Combined with A Second Chance and Taking Chances, I went through close to 1,000 copies of books in 2014. That’s just hard copies and does not include sales on Kindle. Now folks like Nora Roberts and James Patterson probably do that in a day, but considering the competition out there, I’m not complaining. Would I like the numbers higher? Well, DUH, of course, but I’m thinking, for being relatively new to this profession, it’s not too shabby.

Well, I’ve got places to go, and things to do, so TTFN. I hope you have a Fabulous day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge is:

If I could return to any time in my life, knowing what I know now…

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

February 5th, 2015 Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Oh JOY, more white stuff falling from the sky. This is getting old, FAST. If I was staying in, this wouldn’t be an issue; but because of RV’s commitments today, I will be crisscrossing Central Jersey for most of the day. I detest driving in bad weather.

So Dani won her request to have the Christmas tree up until her birthday, but tomorrow, it’s coming down. I’m sick of looking at the thing.

Her birthday was good. She’s so excited about the Nikon D3200 camera Paulie and I got her. The gift was a bit extravagant, but a girl only turns 16 once, and it was the only thing she really wanted. We’ll be eating a lot of pasta over the next few weeks. LOL

Although she LOVED her gift from PJ and Alex, she wasn’t a happy camper this morning. The mid-way piercing is rather painful, and the poor kid didn’t get much sleep last night. Unfortunately, there isn’t a dang thing we can do to help her. She’s just going to have to wait it out.

As you know, I have been focusing on Twitter for marketing this past week, and quite frankly, it still is making my head spin. I’ve been doing 3 – 4 posts per book (depending on spacing) a day, manually thanking each new follower, and manually thanking each person who retweets one of my tweets. I have also been retweeting, favoriting, and commenting on other tweets. They come in so fast and furious though, I doubt I’m seeing 10% of the tweets that come in. I sneezed, got up to get a tissue, blew my nose, tossed the tissue, and when I came back, there were 218 new tweets – in what 45 seconds. Good grief!

I got a reply from Kobo yesterday. Their advice was to delete my books. REALLY? Needless to say, I pitched a fit. I don’t mind putting in the hours, but then for those hours to be for naught, fries my cookies. Basically, I told them to “figure it out”. You would think if the IT team was worth a grain of salt, this wouldn’t be such an issue. They’ve been “working on it” for over a week now. WTHeck?

My publisher, Annie Acorn, was so sweet. She told me I could send the books to her, and she would see if she could get them to work on Kobo. She isn’t even the publisher on these books, and she wasn’t asking for anything in return for getting them up on the site for me. Bless her heart! I told her we’ll wait and see what the Kobo Team comes up with, but it’s looking more and more like I may have to take her up on her offer.

With all the money grubbing scoundrels out there in the publishing world, I have been blessed with a real gem. I am so grateful our paths crossed, and I am so looking forward to a long future with Annie. She is truly priceless, always ready to share her vast knowledge, makes an excellent sounding board – not just on books, but on life as well, and is just an all-around good soul. Yes, I have been truly blessed.

Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you this last week. Annie has asked me to be a guest Quill for the Pen & Ink blog on her site. As soon as I know more, I’ll let you know and provide you with a link. In the meantime, if you’d like, here’s the link to previous Pen & Inks. If you have any desire to write, you should check it out. The advice and tips are wonderful.

Okay, I have to get an early start today, so I best be going. I hope you have a warm & safe day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge is:

Enough already…

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

February 2nd, 2015 Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Good Morning and Happy Ground Hog’s Day. Happy Birthday to my aunt, Mary, and to one of my best friend’s hubby, Lenny. Hope you have an amazing day!

Rumor has it that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning, which means more winter is coming; but without the aid of artificial lighting, I’m not sure that’s possible. The Staten Island ground hog, Chuck II, – which the mayor managed NOT to kill this year, had a different opinion. But seriously folks, precognizant rodents, really? No matter what these little beasties see or don’t see, Spring is still 46 days away, and yes, I’m counting down the days.

Yuck. That is the only way to describe today’s weather - Y.U.C.K. Sleet and freezing rain – yeah, I’m NOT a fan. The kids have a two hour delayed opening because of it, and I’m hoping that will be enough. The freezing rain started after roughly two inches of snowfall. The road in front of my house looks good, but what about all the roads up on Zion Mountain? I doubt they will get them cleared before the 9:00 am bus pick up.

Honestly, my concern isn’t for the buses. Their drivers are seasoned. However, all the juniors and seniors who have recently received their driver’s licenses, now that’s a concern. This kind of weather condition is challenging for those of us who have been driving for years. It can be downright deadly for an inexperienced driver. So I am praying for either an upward spike in the temperature, or a phone call cancelling school for the day.

Me, I’m not going anywhere. Unless it’s something urgent, I don’t go out on days like this. I plan on finishing straightening up after yesterday’s party, spending a little more time marketing and at least two hours of writing. A load of laundry and a much needed nap are also in my future. A body can only survive so long without adequate sleep, and I am hitting my limit. Hopefully the dreary weather will aid in my endeavor.

Day 3 of my Tweet campaign was underway before 6:00 am. Today’s tweet said “The reviews are in, and it’s looking good!” with a screen shot of a review and a picture of the book’s cover. Also went through and read the 318 Tweets which happened while I was Tweeting. Sorry, but Twitter still makes my head spin.

Too fast and furious for this old brain to wrap around, but I’m giving it the old college try. I followed folks who retweeted me, retweeted a few interesting tweets, favorited a few tweets, and replied to a few tweets, but I’m sure I’m missing a whole lot. Can I at least get an “E” for effort?

I still haven’t heard back from the Kobo tech team. I’ll let you know when, or at this point if, we get the issues resolved.

Okay, the household is either off to work or off to school, so I am going to take full advantage to this blissfully quiet house. I hope you have a great day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge is:

The ideal way to spend a cold rainy day…

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

February 1st, 2015 Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Good Morning! What is it about 3:38 am? For the past twelve days I have woken up at exactly 3:38 - not 3:30, not 3:45, 3:38 on the dot. On a few of the mornings, I have been able to fall back to sleep; but for the most part, at 3:38 the invisible rooster has crowed, and I have been wide awake.

Needless to say, this new predawn ritual has left me a bit foggy come late afternoon early evening. I have tried taking an afternoon nap (but that’s nothing new – it is a well-known fact that I love my naps), but I’m even finding it difficult to sleep then. Last night, I was so tired, I went to bed shortly after dinner, around 8:30ish. I did well. I think I fell asleep around 10:30, which is an hour to an hour and a half earlier than I have been. So, when 3:38 rolled around this morning I had actually gotten five hours of sleep. Not optimal, but I should be able to function today.

Function, ha, I need to do a whole lot more than function today. I have around twenty people coming to my house today at five to watch the Superbowl. I have to finish cleaning up the house, bake brownies, make the chili, the wings, and the various dips.

Now this next confession will probably have you rolling your eyes at me, but I also have to take down our Christmas tree. Yeah, yeah, I know. Normally it would have been down by January 15^th, sometimes even sooner if I get sick of looking at it, but this year, for some reason, I still haven’t gotten to it. I asked Paulie to bring the ornament boxes up from the basement so I could take the tree apart this morning before he woke up, but he forgot, and with my back, I can’t carry boxes up and down the stairs. Then again, last night Dani did ask if we could keep the tree up until her birthday… It’s on Wednesday… LOL. I don’t know, we’ll see.

I have admitted many times before that I am a total Twitsaster. I don’t know why, but Twitter baffles me, and if I’m being honest, intimidates me. However, I do know it is a necessary evil as far as marketing my books goes. I am trying.

Yesterday I learned how to shorten the links to my books. For example, here’s what the Kindle link to Taking Chances looked like before:

http://www.amazon.com/Taking-Chances-Bradford-Christina-Paul-ebook/dp/B00B8RJWQM/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1422790750&sr=1-3&keywords=christina+paul&pebp=1422790755940&peasin=B00B8RJWQM

Wow! I’m pretty sure I’m over the 140 Twitter limit before I even typed a word. That just won’t work.

Now through this site called Bitly, the link to Taking Chances looks like this: http://amzn.to/1BIMing Infinitely more manageable. Now the trick was to, in the remaining 118 characters, include the appropriate #hashtags and something catchy or witty as well. Considering I have been told the following #hashtags are the ones I should be using - #IARTG #SNRTG #amwriting #tw4rw #romance #IAN1 #WW #RT – I had to put my thinking cap on, because I only had 14 characters left.

My first Tweet was pathetic. I put in all the #hashtags, the Bitly link and the words “Now only $2.99”. Seriously, who cares? Nothing makes that stand out from the pack, but at least I got something out there. I gave it considerable more thought this morning, and I came up with this:

Snow’s on its way. Stay toasty with a warm romance. #TakingChances http://amzn.to/1BIMing

You might say, “Wait, that’s almost all of your characters. What about the #hashtags?” I split them into three tweets. It’s a little more work, and if you follow me, you’ll see nine tweets from me in a clump, but I have got to do something to boost sales.

Taking Chances has fallen to its lowest ranking ever, and I can’t fathom why. Honestly, in my opinion, it’s the best of the three books I’ve written so far. The mystery is more intricate, the historical detail is more in-depth, there are more twists and turns, and the sex is much hotter. The book holds elements which would appeal to a much broader audience.

Because of this, I know it must be because of something I’m not doing marketing wise. So, for 2015, my goal is to get more marketing savvy. I have expanded my books to Nook, and hopefully soon Kobo. I’ve also gotten involved with sites like beezeebooks.com, and I am going to look into advertising with bookbub (if they’ll have me).

Okay, enough confessing for one day. I hope you have a spectacular day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge is:

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

August 7th Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning! Plagued with fog brain this morning, so I surfed the net until I woke up a bit.

A friend posted this picture which made me laugh. We have three strictly indoor cats. (One lives in my room, but that's another story.) Mikey and Sebastian have run of the house, and Sebastian (Bashy) is a talker. On RARE occasions, Mikey sneaks out of the house, and Bashy has this special meow for when that happens, so I know I have to go outside to hunt. He also has a different meow to tell me when the water dispenser needs to be refilled, when he wants to go visit Sunny (the kitty in my room), and even one where I swear he's complaining about something the dog did (evidence left behind gives me a clue). So yeah, quite often you'll find me having complete back and forth conversations with Bashy. LOL

Then I traveled over to Twitter, a platform I am seriously lacking skills in. Author Terry Tyler posted basically a PSA yesterday on her blog. She warned other authors about being contacted by an author asking to post a five star review on Amazon – sight unseen. The person wanted to combat some one star reviews she had received. Not only was this bold because Terry did not know this person from Eve, it was a totally unethical request.

Terry told her to have a nice life. I made a reply to Terry’s post, and she commented back. We volleyed several times this morning. Because of that conversation, I am now following Terry on Twitter, and when I have time, I’ll go check out her other sites and probably her books as well.

Hmmm, I’m thinking this is exactly how social media is supposed to work. I didn’t know of Terry before yesterday, but because someone I was following was following her, I saw the post when the person I was following commented on Terry’s post. (Good grief, that sentence even confused me, but I think you’re smart enough to follow it.)

So there are initial signs of improvement based on Nick’s suggestions. The day after I made those tweaks to my tags, my rank made a significant jump – to the tune of 150K. Obviously two days does not hail success, but I’m being cautiously optimistic.

Are any of you thinking of coming out for Peach Festival in Peddler’s Village this weekend? If it is anything like the Apple and Scarecrow Festivals, it should be a great time. One added bonus is it is also sidewalk sale clearance time, so you’ll be able to get some really good deals. I’ll be there from 10 – 3 on Saturday, and 11 – 3 on Sunday, so if you’re in the area, please stop by and say “Hi”.

I had a nice surprise when I opened my email this morning. Not one, but two of my books were included on the Amazon pre-weekend shout out to romance readers. I’m in some pretty good company, so hopefully a few folks will pick my books.

Okay, I have to get to work early today, so I need to go get ready. I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

You receive a text from an unknown caller…

“Your package arrived.”

“That’s nice. Who is this?”

“Thunder1301. Please proceed to the designated pickup area.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“All the information was in the packet sent last week. Time is of the essence.”

“I did not receive a packet, and I did not order anything. What is this all about?”

“You will receive further instructions once you pick up the package.”

“Look. I don’t know who you are, what you are talking about, or where you want me to go.”

“Cameo911?”

“Who?”

“Nevermind.”

“Who is this?”… “What package?”… Crap! Can they trace me through my phone? Should I call the police? The FBI? What the hell is going on?

Your Next Challenge is:

Your boss surprises you with three PAID days off. How do you spend it?

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.