Shella the Shrew

Just found this review of my book on youtube. It made me laugh so hard (in a good way! Thank you for that, sir.). Shella is definitely a character that...has to grow on you. She's a jerk and she knows it and I know it and everyone knows it. Why do I enjoy hearing about how much of a meanie she is?

The thing about Shella is that I created her for a specific purpose. I've read so many books, mostly Urban Fantasy, in which the heroine is this terrible, hateful shrew who treats everyone like garbage - and gets away with it. Not only that, but they fall at her feet with love and praise, and her behavior is seen as totally cool. Can't stand stuff like that. So I made my own hateful shrew, only this one knows she's a shrew, and people call her on it all the time - because, ladies, this is not okay. Being female does not give you the right to treat people like trash. YOU SHOW THEM, SHELLS.



<3

Krista

The Robin Rice - So You Want to Write a Book

In this entry in author Robin Rice's So You Want to Write a Book series, she gives tips on how to create a character who will really interest you and get your creative juices flowing. I'd never heard of the "mashup" concept before, so I was interested to find a new way to come up with characters, since my favorite part of writing has, and always will be, creating characters who'll stick with me the rest of my life. One point she made in the video struck me like like lightning, and that was when she mentioned that writing ONLY about something you know, instead of incorporating things you don't know very much about, is boring. It seems obvious to me now, but I'd never thought of it like that before. It's so true, so simple. It was actually a bit like an epiphany for me, which is not something I was expecting to experience when I clicked on this video!

Paranormal Romance Author J.R. Ward has a Facebook Profile to DIE For

The thing about J.R. Ward's Facebook profile is that she uses it as a way to connect with fans and share many different things, not just about her books, but about what she's doing in her life. She may most something about a book signing, not outright telling people to go, but letting them know the option is there, and she may post about her celebrity crush or the latest movie she has seen; in this way fans can relate to her, and be drawn in to her not only as an author but as a person.

Whereas some authors delegate work on their Facebook to assistants, the WARDen runs hers all on her own. I don't know about everyone else, but when I go on a Facebook page, like for example that of Sherrilyn Kenyon, and see that she rarely comes on, and that the account is run by two people I've never heard of, it puts me off. I think, What, is she too good to do it herself? Does she not have time for her fans? If popular authors like J.R. Ward can update their Facebook profile with their own two hands, then why not Kenyon.

The very fact that J.R. Ward comes on and makes the posts herself, letting her personality shine through in the process, is enough for me to respect her as both a person and an author who realizes their fans are the only reason they're successful. Then there's the fact that she actually responds to comments people make on her statuses or on her wall. Herself. I'm 99% more likely to by the books of an author who treats her fans like they're important, than those of authors who can't be bothered.

She's also got tons of videos of herself about various things. One example is a video of her celebrating the release of one of her books, which is another good way to market her work. Sometimes she'll use a video to announce the next book she's going to write, or to thank people who helped with her "virtual signing (yet another great marketing technique in itself).

Basically, her Facebook profile is awesomely successful, with 109,695 likes and tons of activity as the clear evidence. This lady knows what she's doing.