Review: Under the Moonlight

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: Zara's fate had been decided thousands of years before her birth. She is now fighting against time and family to reclaim the decisions that will ultimately shape her destiny. 

Sentenced to live an existence in the Underworld, mated to a man she despises, Zara must find a way to overcome the Gods and their curses, with love as her only guide. 

Can James, a handsome and rugged sailor, help Zara break the bonds of magical spells or will she end up mated to Xander, the Son of Satan? 

Take a dive Under the Moonlight to see where love can take you.

Review: I loved this. I thought this was the sweetest novella I had gotten my hands on. Yes, a novella it's short, but Ms. Nemer does a great job with crafting the story and pulling you in. We have Zara (which I'm in love with that name, just so everyone knows.) a young mermaid who is fascinated by a human, she can make the choice on her birth day to walk on land or stay under the sea, but something is different. She's been betrothed already to Xander. I love stories where the gods meddle in everything and this is one of those. 

The plot is solid, though I do want more, it ends on it. There is mermaid sex in it, which I think Ms. Nemer does a creative and great job on, it wasn't nearly as awkward as I thought it would be. If you need a quick read, I definitely think you need to pick this up!

Rating: 5 Stars out of 5

Heat: Mild

(mild, medium, hot, spicy, scorching)

Buy the Book:

Amazon

BN

About the Author

Ashley, also known as Niki Becker, is married and lives in Houston with her husband Tony. They have two dogs, Toto and Doogie. They have been together for over 8 and a 1/2 years and he brings her more joy than she could ever imagine as a child. She loves to read and has been hooked on the romance genre ever since her lifelong best friend gave her "Ashes to Ashes' by Tami Hoag to read when they

were younger.

Ashley finds her strength through her family, especially her parents. They always support her in life; 

they push her to strive for greatness. There once was a motto that Ashley heard in her youth through her Taekwondo life 'Reach for the Stars' and that is what Ashley has always done. It was through her upbringing that the values Ashley has and displays come from. With her parents always cheering her on in life she was able to grow up having faith in herself and her ability to conquer the world.

Ashley enjoys writing many different genre’s of fiction. Her areas range from science fiction/ paranormal, mystery, romance, poetry and erotica (using pen name Niki Becker.)

Links!

www.artofsafkhet.com

www.ashleynemer.com

www.nikibecker.info 

http://www.facebook.com/ashleynemerauthor

http://www.facebook.com/ashers83 (Add Friend)

http://ashleynemer.blogspot.com

https://twitter.com/ashleynemer

www.amazon.com/author/ashleynemer

www.amazon.com/author/nikibecker

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2897381-ashley-nemer

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/22194803-niki-becker

Gearing Up For NaNoWriMo; Part Quatre

This is my 4^th year doing NaNoWriMo. Year one was a mess, year two was productive, year three was a disaster up until the last minute and as for this year- I’m still not sure if I am committed to it with the hectic schedule of doctors appointments and traveling to Denver. Even if I don’t go all in, November is a great time to re-assess my writing journey and take stock of my projects that are lingering.

I finished Waking Up In Bedlam before NaNo was over in 2012 (year two), and I was like this story is finished and I’m only at 38k! Then I went back, filled in some spots and by the end of the month I came in at just over the 50k… Then came the editing and cutting and I was back down to around 38k again and wondering what the heck was wrong with me. But then after countless Betas and editing it ended at over 56k. The point being, no novel is ever ready at the end of NaNo. You still have to fill in plot holes and shine it up with editing. Lots and lots of editing.

This year I might go at it again but with a story I’ve already been working on and if I really dig in and try for the 50k goal I’ll just make sure that whatever I write in the month of November equals 50k minus whatever I’ve already written. Or maybe I’ll start something new and fresh. At this point I have no idea what my plan will be. But what I love about this time of year, this month before the chaos starts, is the excitement for writing that abounds around the internet. People are excited about writing. Companies are encouraging people to write. It’s fun. Go to YouTube and you will find any number of NaNo songs, skits, information, tips & tricks. It’s so much fun to see people get excited about something that encourages everyone to get their creative juices flowing. It’s fun to experience, but even if you can’t devote your entire month of November to pounding out 50k words at breakneck speeds you can still have fun enjoying the energy and excitement of the participants.

So in honor of NaNoWriMo I’d like to share a couple of the deals, tips, and songs that can be found around the internet to help spread the cheer of Pre-NaNo this month:

1)      StoryBundle has a NaNoWriMo bundle that includes up to 12 books about writing and also on crafting a career out of writing. Check it out. StoryBundle lets you pay what you think the books are worth. The minimum is $5 which gets you the first 6 books, anything over $15 gets you the other 6 for a total of 12 books by amazing authors. My favorite has to be 500 Ways To Write Harder by Chuck Wendig.

2)      For Tips and Tricks the web is an abundance of information but the best place to start is the NaNoWriMo forums. Participants throughout the years have posted their best tips, tricks, and hints for everything NaNo related from plot holes to writers block. Check out the forum here to get you geared up and prepared for the 30 days of chaos you might embark on come November 1^st.

3)      And lastly. NaNo on YouTube. Oh the fun. Check out classic vids by some fantastic NaNo folks!

Pros and Cons

My last post I covered knowing what you want from your writing and publishing. With a lot of drama going on in the writing world, I'm reminded why I'm primarily indie. When I first went indie, my husband sat me down and said "Hey, make a damn choice and stick with it." Or something to that effect. So as I do with many things. I sat down and made a list. A list of pros and cons. I'll share them for you and I invite you to continue the list on your own or in the comments.

Indie Publishing
Pros:
I get to keep more profit
I control everything
I don't have to change my story (this has happened to me on a short through trade publishing)
My deadlines, my schedule

Cons:
Most of the profit goes back into publishing
Everything comes out of my pocket or I have to learn how to do it myself
Still have to depend on others for cover art and editing

So those are generals, I actually listed out what I get to control and what was going to cost me. I also tried to draw on experiences of others, with keeping in mind that I wasn't going to be an over night success. From there I moved on to trade publishing, including small presses- anything that I had to write a query letter, submit, and wait on.

Traditional Publishing
Pros:
Professional editor
Professional Cover art
Marketing?
The attraction of a big name behind the title.

Cons:
Possibly less royalties
Very little or no control
Still might have to do all my own marketing.
Could take a long damn time.

Both lists are close to being even, Trade has a few more pros, but since marketing is questionable, it evens out. To me. To someone else they may think that trade publishing is better. To each their own. However, due to recent events (that because it's not SPE related, I won't mention here in detail) I'm very happy that I didn't put all my eggs in the trade publishing basket.

The thing is that indie publishing met up with what I wanted and what I need. I have a wonderful support team and I've learned a ton on this journey. I've even learned a program that I swore I'd never get along with. I have to say that I like having the control over everything. Down to what edits make it in the book (have I mentioned how much I love my editors?) to what the cover looks like, to the release day. I get to throw my own parties, decide how I want to market, say what events I go to. I can also hammer down my own timeline and if it doesn't get done, I only have myself to blame.

So while you're asking yourself: What do I want out of my writing. Also ask yourself: Which route is best for me?

What do you want?

This was not the original direction that I was going to go with this post, but I think it might be time to get back to the start of SPE and those very first frightening steps as a new indie author. Go back to the very reason you wanted to become an author. For me it was the want to share my stories with everyone. (Well that was the realistic one....the others were just fantasies.) Do you want this as a hobby? Do you want this to be your career? Pocket change? Make a living? We all go in this entertaining fantasies of becoming famous, making 100k+ a year on just our writing, but that doesn't happen to everyone and rarely does it happen without a lot of hard work.

Have I broken your spirits yet? No? Good.

Writing is my passion and I would do it with or without publishing. It's something I cannot not do. It's in my soul and I'm pretty sure my head would explode if I didn't write. It's how I deal with stress, it's how I cope with depression, and it's part of my life. I knew when I started this I wanted to make a living off my writing. When I first pressed published on Amazon, I had NO idea how much work was included in this.

I know authors who made a living by their third book. I always felt that I was far behind because of that. Then I realized that they had other funds to dedicate to this, dropping $300 on ads wasn't an issue for them. I have a minimal budge and though I've come a long way in two years, I'm not where they are. It's a slow climb and I'm okay with that. I'm only 27 and I have time to get where I want to go. I'm lucky enough that I work from home, so I'm able to work on writing throughout the day and at night. I treat it as another job. Why? Because if I didn't, I'd never get things done and published.

I mentioned marketing. This goes back to what do you want from your writing? I know people who publish on amazon for the simple reason of being able to say "I am published." I know others who publish and want to "hit it big." It goes back to hobby or career? It's a passion, yes, but what do you want to do with it? Where do you want it to take you? Just a hobby? Okay, don't worry about marketing. Career? You better start working on marketing, contacting people for reviews, figuring out how to run contest. Oh and write another book. This is a number game, having just one book won't cut it.

Indie-publishing is an uphill battle. Before you hit that publish button, ask yourself....what do you want from your writing? Think about it. Write down those goals....and then get to work.

Writer Tools

Writers use lot of tricks, we listen to tips, we craft our own little ticks, spells, rituals, and habits, but every once in a while it’s fun to take a peek into another authors bag of goodies.

Thanks to a Facebook post by Phoebe Chase I’ve found a fun little tool to play around with and it is helpful. It can all be found on author Shawntelle Madison’s website.

http://www.shawntellemadison.com/writer-tools/

First up is the GMC wizard, I have a blast playing around on this. It helps you lay out your characters goals, motivation, and conflicts. It’s everything you probably already have in your head but you enter it in and the wizard lays it out nice and neat for you. I’ve used it repeatedly. Also if you can pick up GMC: Goal, Motivation, and Conflict by Debra Dixon, I highly recommend it (I mean really, an author can never have too many resource books)

There is also a Royalty Calculator, I haven’t played too much with it, but give it a go while you are there.

My next go-to in my goodie bag (my bag is pretty small, but it will grow over time) is the Emotional Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. This book is invaluable. Seriously. It helps cut down on flat characters and repetitive words.

I suppose the last little thing in my bag is when it comes to names. The list of name sites I have bookmarked is ridiculous but here’s a run down of some: (also, beware, I don’t know if these sites are safe, I use them but that doesn’t mean that the next person who goes there might not run into some trouble with popups or other unsavory issues)

www.20000-names.com/  

www.babycenter.com/0_popular-baby-names-from-around-the-world_1429034.bc

http://www.babynamewizard.com/international-names-lists-popular-names-from-around-the-world

(yes, if you haven’t figured it out by now baby name books/sites are an excellent resource for pinning down that hard to find name for your characters)

What are your tips, tricks, or tools that help you with your craft? Let us know, we’d love to hear about it!

The Return of Alex's SPE

Once upon a time, we started this blog to help document our journey of self publishing and to help others who were starting out on the journey. Mia had started with Waking Up in Bedlam and I had started with Black and White Desires (originally titled In Black and White). Mia and I were both gearing up to publish...and then we were contracted with Ellora's Cave for another project— officially making us both hybrid authors. Because of the contract, I was required to submit Black and White to Ellora's Cave. Here's where things get tricky....

Over eight months went by without any progress on my edits on Black and White. I never received them. Through a series of e-mails, I got my rights back. That's all I'm going to say about the situation, because I don't believe in bad mouthing.

That being said, with some wonderful support I was able to get Black and White ready and out in a short amount of time. It is now up on Amazon, ARe, and Smashwords. This book is so near and dear to my heart that I was so excited to get it out in the public. So I'm officially back on the Indie (well Hybrid) band wagon. I'll be testing out marketing, take overs, public events, and anything else I can think of. I already have a book trailer and I'm working with a PR group to start getting the word out there!

Black and White Desires

Blurb: Erika’s world is turned upside down when she agrees to a photography job for Landon, a sexy archeologist with a passion for control. When he hires her for a shoot of a different nature, a BDSM demonstration on submission, Landon takes her into a lifestyle that has only been a curiosity for her. She must learn to let go of her control to follow her desire to submit. Can Erika come to terms with what she needs from Landon and learn to give up the control she clings to?

Egos and Elitism part 2!

So I'm back, did you all enjoy me picking on traditionally published authors? Yeah? Well now it's time that I pick on the indie crowd. Now you may think that indie authors have no problem with egos or feeling elite. You're wrong, they are just better at hiding it than most. Why? Because things said on social media, blogs, and interviews can hurt indie authors. Especially those just starting out and have a small fan base.

This last week I combed the web looking for direct quotes like I found for the last post. I haven't found any. But I know it's out there. Talk to and indie author, ask them why they chose that route or what they think of traditional. Many of the times you'll get a fairly good answer, normally about being in control of everything. But then you will get those authors with answers like these.

"Because traditional publishing is on it's way out, indie is where it's at."

"Traditional is the lazy way, they have people to do everything. Indie's do it on their own."

(If you find some direct quotes, let me know. I'd be happy to add to this post and expand.)

But my favorite is when an indie author trash talks traditional publishing because they think they are the best at everything. They think their stories are better, their editing is better, everything, even their covers.

These attitudes on either side of things is not a way to win fans, friends or networking. There are authors both traditional and indie that I will not read because of their elitist attitude. When it comes to networking it's the worse thing you can do because you make it seem like you are not approachable. Why would I network with you if I'm terrified you won't think I'm good enough?

So it's time to knock it off. Indie, traditional, hybrid, suck it up. We're authors. Get over your ego and your better than everyone attitude and write. There are misconceptions on both sides, each author has their own reason for going on the path they chose. Congratulate them, talk to them, learn something from each other.