#99cent SALE - Harvest Nine HOT Reads and #WIN!

The temperatures are dropping, and it's a great time to cuddle up with a new book!

So for One Week Only, we've dropped the price on NINE HOT New Releases and Bestselling Titles, and combined them with a chance to WIN Amazon gift cards, ebooks, and more!

Check it out and spread the word~

Get ALL for only 99 cents this week!

QUICK LINKS:

The Only One ** Dominus ** Dragonfly ** Crossing ** ClockwiseR ** Protected ** A Spy Like Me ** The Pack - Retribution ** Untraceable

READERS ARE SAYING...

**The Only One by Magan Vernon -- "Sweet and sexy!! Loved it! This is the type of story you read again and again." --#1 New York Times best selling author Rachel Van Dyken


**Dominus by Christine Fonesca -- "A thrilling end to a fantastic supernatural series!" --Leigh Talbert Moore, bestselling author of The Truth About Faking


**Dragonfly by Leigh Talbert Moore -- "The characters were intriguing, the mystery and story were interesting and definitely have ME WANTING MORE!!!!!!!" --Mandy, The Romance Bookie


**Crossing by Stacey Wallace Benefiel -- "Beautiful. Heart wrenching. A true tale of love. It'll make you laugh, cry, and have you running out to buy a tube of red lipstick." --RaShelle Workman, bestselling author of the Blood and Snow series


**ClockwiseR by Elle Strauss -- "Time-travel adventures, scary cliffhangers... Strauss's strength in describing battle scenes and wartime add to the historical parts, and the resolution was not what I expected. Great writing and a superfun book!" - Leigh Talbert Moore, bestselling author of The Truth About Letting Go


**Protected by Cindy Hogan -- "This anticipated sequel sizzles with equal parts thriller, suspense and romance. A spine tingling story I could not put down." - C.K.Bryant, author of Bound


**A Spy Like Me by Laura Pauling -- "Move over Gallagher Girls, there's a new spy in town! A Spy Like Me is a fast paced, high energy ride through Paris that left me almost as breathless as Pauling's hot hero. Super fun beginning, great story, and an ending that won't disappoint!" --Gemma Halliday, NYT best selling author of Spying in High Heels


**The Pack - Retribution by L.M. Preston -- "The action in this book was phenomenal! There was never a dull moment. Shamira and the group were always fighting off the bad guys and with style too." --P. Bradish, Amazon Reviewer


**Untraceable by S.R. Johannes -- "This thrilling story is a dramatic entanglement of mystery, deception and teen romance.  The action flows like a brisk mountain stream interspersed with rapids, holding suspense to last page." -- Kirkus Review 

* * *

Enter to WIN!

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Seven Tips I've Learned from Non-fiction (and Why EVERY Fiction Author Should Use Them)

I've been a successful nonfiction author for nearly three years. In that time, I've released two niche books, and have two bigger books coming this year (The Girl Guide (May 2013) and Quiet Kids (Oct 2013) ). I've very proud of the work I've done in nonfiction, and even more pleased with the things I have learned along the way and how much those things impact me as a fiction author.

So, what were the things I learned? 

First, nothing replaces writing a good book! NOTHING. As new writers we spend a lot of time fretting about our platforms and marketing. Sometimes we allow this fretting to get in the way of writing – bad idea. This entire journey starts, and continues, with a good book.

That said, a good book isn’t enough to get it in the hands of readers these days. This means that we have to promote our work. Period. And that is where the lessons I learned in publishing my nonfiction books can really help all writers:

1. Know Your Market.

Before you design a promotional campaign of any form, it is important to have a clear understanding of your primary and secondary markets. With nonfiction, most authors figured this out when they wrote the “marketing” section of their proposals. Fiction authors should go through this process too. Ask yourself who the book is for – teens, children, adults? Who is the secondary market for the book? With Emotional Intensity, the primary market is parents and educators. Psychologists and other personnel involved in gifted education for a secondary market.

2. Know Your Comfort Zone.

As with all forms of social networking and marketing, it is important to know your own personal strengths and weaknesses. Are you comfortable speaking in person to a large group, or is Skyping or chatting more your thing? Do you like to cold call potential hosts for tours, or does the thought of that give you hives? Knowing your comfort zone is important. Don’t spent a lot of time doing things you hate  – you will only make yourself crazy. Instead, spend your time promoting in ways that you are comfortable with. In today’s market, you are really only limited in terms of promotion by your own comfort level. So, get to know what works best for you and your book. Then repeat it over and over again.

3. Set Clear Goals for Promotion.

I have a background in marketing in sales (before my days as a psychologist), so the first thing I did was set clear monthly goals for promotion. I planned one major event – blog tour, book signing, speaking engagement – monthly. I’ve really tried to space out the events to keep the message from getting muddled and maintain a regularly presence. I have maintained these goals for both books

4. Blog Tours and Book Tours.

These are both fabulous ways to connect with readers. The important thing to remember – planning. With blog tours, ask people in your particular niche to host a leg. If you are targeting teens, for example, try to have a blog that is frequented by teens host a leg of the tour. The same is true with book tours – market to both chain and independent booksellers. Do your homework; know which stores are well connected with your niche. A couple of other things to keep in mind:

·         Start early – proper planning of events is really a key.

·         Know the expectations of the host. Ask questions about how they envision your visit, or what they see as their role in the blog tour.

·         Stay organized – use spreadsheets and other organization tools to keep track of the places you pitched too, the hosts of your tour, and any giveaways.

·         Send reminders to participants. We are all busy and it is easy to forget things. Take on that burden and don’t be alarmed when things get forgotten. Just be prepared.

·         Remember to follow-up with a thank you. There is no substitution for good manners! Personal thank you notes go a long way to letting your hosts know how much you appreciated working with them

5. Other Venues to Connect with Readers.

I love doing Author chats. In fact, my author chats are really the reason I have sold as well as I have. In addition to in-person events, I am involved in webinars and events on SecondLife. These are amazing ways to connect with readers and enable you to “go global”. I cannot tell you how excited I am to host a global bookchat in a few weeks.

Be willing to get creative and look for new ways to connect your message to your market. For my newest book, 101 Success Secrets, I have created all new reader-experiences to bring to my book chats. I can’t wait to see how they work out.

6. Using Social Networking sites.

Promoting your message is about creating buzz. In this day and age, it is easier than ever to create buzz on a large scale. But, how do you separate yourself from all the noise out there? That’s easy. Be creative. Do something unique and different – and then make sure EVERYONE knows about it. For my niche, the message itself is unique to the market. So my job was getting it to the right people. Utilizing niche-specific social networking venues (#gtchat on twitter, participating in gifted groups on facebook), I have been able to bring awareness to my message, and my books, directly to those most likely to read it.

This same process applies to fiction – if you are a YA writer, for example, utilize creative sites that teens frequent, and find tie-ins for your specific project. Connect with your readers – that is the key.

7. You Are Only As Good As Your Last Book.

Finally, people have short attention spans. This means the message you have is easily replaced by the next greatest thing out there. To keep your sales up and your message heard, it is important to keep writing. Produce new content – either on a blog, or in a newsletter. Respond in fresh ways to the questions readers have. And write new books. This is how you cultivate a writing career – fresh content of the highest quality.

In fiction, this really means KEEP WRITING. If you want a career as an author, it is important to continually hone your skills and continue writing.

Whether you are traditionally published, with a small press or going Indie, you will be doing some promotion for you book. Hopefully the little things I have learned with my nonfiction can help you in your endeavors!

Just who is Christine Fonseca???

Hi everyone! I can not tell you HOW THRILLED I am to be part of this amazing group of writers. You know, I am a huge fan of the musical WICKED....
And this amazing group of writers are like Elphaba and are Defying Gravity and taking on the industry on their own terms. I am honored to count them all amongst my friends.
When I joined, they asked if I'd do a short intro post. Well, you all read my "bio" a week ago or so. Now I thought I'd share the REAL story about me and my books....

About Me:

• I've been writing for about four years. And yes, I LOVE writing both fiction and nonfiction, for totally different reasons
• I still work with kids everyday. And yes, I call it "research"
• I am hopelessly addicted to skinny vanilla lattes. Surprisingly, my characters are not.
• I once went diving with sharks - most exhilarating experience of my life.
• My life is very normal - work, kids, writing. That's it. Honestly, I have little time for much else.

About My Books:

• I starting out writing fiction, but published nonfiction first.
• My nonfiction books are geared for teachers, parents, teens and children.
• My fiction is definitely older YA and often deals with edgy, dark, macabre topics.
• I toyed with the idea of writing under a pseudonym, but honestly - it's a ton of work. So, here I am, publishing both under my name. Sure seems easier this way!
• Everything I write - nonfiction parenting titles, sweeping YA gothic tales, and psychological thrillers - explores the deeper aspects of being human. It's just my "thing".
• My book titles include: DIES IRAE, a Requiem Novella, LACRIMOSA, LIBERA ME (both part of the Requiem Series), TRANSCEND, a YA thriller, and several nonfiction titles. I have 4 books coming in 2013. EEP! You can get complete info on my blog or website.

About Writing:

• I am definitely a plotter. I tried to write without outlining once - DISASTER!
• Although I am a pantser, I only outline loosely. Meaning, it is flexible. My characters have a way of running away with me!
• I write something everyday. It may only be for 15 minutes - but I do it daily. 
• I am thoroughly addicted to writing and can't image NOT doing it anymore. That said, I consider quitting often. Maybe even daily. Okay, hourly.... 
• I am toying with the idea of teaching writing classes. I just love helping others, so this seems a natural fit.
• I owe everything to my group of teen readers. They let me pick their brain, tell me when I'm being lame, and help me brainstorm. They are EPIC.

Want to know anything else about me? (I can't image that you would, but hey, you never know) Just drop me an email at:

Christine(at)christinefonseca.com

Can''t wait to find out more about all of you and share writing info, etc...