~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Fantasy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An ancient legend spanning eras, continents, and worlds.
To some, it’s nothing more than a dream.
To others, a pretty fairy tale handed down through the
generations.
For those in critical need of their own happy ending, a gift.
THE
LEGEND OF THE SOUL MATE TREE
I
am old, I am ancient, my purpose is clear
To
give those who are needy a treasure so dear.
They
who come to my roots, touch my bark, stroke my leaves
Find
the soul of their lives if they but believe.
When
I call and you listen, your prize will be great
If
your heart remains open and you don’t hesitate.
Do
you yearn? Be you lonely? Is your time yet at hand?
Reach
for me and I’ll give to you. I’m yours to command.
For
your trust, for your faith, keep my secrets untold
And
I’ll gift you forever, to have and to hold.
Mikea Howard on Marketing 101 – How to market to
readers of your genre
What is marketing?
Marketing can be a broad term that contains many
aspects. There are your mass marketing newsletter emails, blog posts,
advertisements in book review sites, social media sites, and our favorite, book
signings and conventions.
Book signings and conventions are where we shine
the brightest, so we’d like to focus on face-to-face marketing. While we aren’t
experts, branding has helped us meet and gain new readers, as well as friends.
Even though our books are classified in various
genres, the core element of the world we created is Dieselpunk. This is a
relatively new genre in romance. While people have experienced Dieselpunk, they
aren’t necessarily aware of it. We concentrate our marketing in personal
branding at events, highlighting the aesthetics.
We live the 1920 to the 1950s from the moment we
enter the hotel or location. Wearing victory rolls in our hair, donning
petticoats under our vintage swing dresses, we personify the style of our
Diesel world. Our goal is to create a buzz with our costuming, hopefully
building a curiosity in us, and the books we write.
Making ourselves stand out is not enough. We’ve
learned that with public appearances it’s important to be approachable. This
can be hard for writers who are introverts, but it’s necessary if you’re
choosing to market yourself in person. We’ve seen first-hand, authors who put
immense resources into marketing, but zero connection with the readers. They
often leave signings with little or no sales.
The key point of this, is to stress that
face-to-face marketing is personal. Find what is unique about you as an author
or the stories you write. Encompass that brand and invite others to join you in
it. If you haven’t checked out any book conventions yet, be sure to find us
this summer at Space Coast Book Lovers in June and Literary Love Savannah in
July.
BLURB:
Dottie thought she had it all: a successful singing career,
a handsome fiancĂ©, and a starlet’s wardrobe. Sudden betrayal brought it all
crashing down around her. Those she trusted most played her as nothing more
than a pawn. One misstep while fleeing the scene trapped her in another world
alone, save a mysterious visitor.
Guatimozin, an eagle shifter, has spent ages assisting
people through the realm between life and death, leading them to join loved
ones on either side. No one had ever made him want anything for himself until
he discovered this city girl.
Forces plot against them and time is short. Soon, their
chance for a happily ever after will be too late.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dottie wiped the tears from her face. Damn him, and damn his
floosy too. She’d do what her mother constantly threatened her stepdad with,
and remove his cock to wear it proudly on a chain around her neck.
I jus’ gotta find a way out of this kooky forest first.
Making her way back onto her feet, she dusted off her dress
in a mindless motion. The fabric passed beneath her strokes smooth and dirt
free. She studied the once vibrant red dress she’d worn on stage. The satin now
appeared drab and colorless. Her bare feet peeked from beneath its hem, as
clean as the moment she’d dabbed them dry from her bath. The blind sprint from
her dressing room, across town, and up the hill, should have left them covered
in filth.
In exasperation, she threw her arms in the air. “Swell. I
mus’ be dead and I’m . . .”
She moved away from the tree to scrutinize her surroundings.
As much as Dottie hoped she’d end up in heaven, her mother always insisted
that, as a willful child trying to pass as something she wasn’t, her final
destination would be a bit further down.
The sensation of electricity passing through the air made
every hair stand on end as a matter-of-fact reply came from behind. “No, you aren’t
dead, but you’re not exactly alive either. You’re in a realm known as the
in-between.”
Spinning around, Dottie came face to face with a stranger.
Like the tree, he appeared in color, only he wasn’t pink and purple. Instead, a
tall man with reddish tan skin, swirling silver eyes, and waist length striking
black hair, stared at her as though regarding a ghost. Thick muscular arms
crossed over his chest as his shocked expression ease into a slow smirk,
highlighting the defined beak-like nose, high cheekbones, and strong chin
framing his mouth.
Nervously licking her lips, she couldn’t help but muse, Di
Mi. Well hello, sailor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing under Mikea Howard, we are actually Mindy Howard and
Kelly Smith, sisters-in-law who share a love for romance, usually paranormal.
We have spent the last several years reading and sharing books as well as
authors, often making comments about how we'd love to write our own when we ran
out of things to read.
While based on our TBR piles, we have not run out of reading
material, yet we decided to write when the muse hit Kelly with a dystopian
diesel world and an opening scene with the heroine running out into the woods.
Mindy then saw her hero step in, and The Diesel War series was born.
Mindy is an IT professional at a telecom company. She is
married to a musician and teacher, who also happens to be Kelly's brother. She
has one adult son and is living out west.
Kelly is a Registered Nurse working in maternal-fetal
medicine. She has a great husband, who happens to be Mindy's husband's best
friend. She has one son in high school, one daughter in middle school, and is
living on the east coast.
www.mikeahoward.com
www.facebook.com/writermikeahoward
www.twitter.com/mikeahowardwrit
www.amazon.com/author/mikeahoward
www.instagram.com/mikeahoward
www.goodreads.com/author/show/14221209.Mikea_Howard
Buy link:
https://www.amazon.com/Soul-Song-Mate-Tree-Book-ebook/dp/B07586ZJ3K/
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Di Mi! We're over the moon! Thanks for hosting us!
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