Showing posts with label best seller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label best seller. Show all posts

Saturday, October 17, 2015

DIVINE FALL made the "Perfect #Books for Autumn" List! #amreading #Kindle #romance

Revenge, Romance, &
a Rogue Fallen Angel...
The publishing industry is not an easy one...it should come with a warning label.  And lately, I've had to deal with some of the toughest choices in my career.  I'm a big ball of stress, and it's not fun.  But then something happened to brighten my week - one of my readers sent me a link on Facebook.  "Divine Fall is on the list!" it said.

What list? I wondered as my stomach flipped.  But the title read "14 Perfect Books to Get You in the Mood for Autumn" and the site was the very prestigious BookBub...so I figured it couldn't be a bad thing.  And it wasn't.  In fact, it was so unbelievable, I found myself stunned.  Because this list, compiled by the very respectable Bookbub site, includes novels penned by Nora Roberts, Debbie Macomber, Sarah Addison Allen, Lisa Kleypas, Elizabeth Lowell...and Diane Setterfield, author of one of my all-time spooky favorites, The Thirteenth Tale.  The list goes on, with New York Times Bestsellers, USA Today Bestsellers, award winners, and books with cover quotes from Stephen King.  And then there's my YA Paranormal Romance, DIVINE FALL, sitting right in the middle.  It's no major bestseller, for sure...but it's had some highlights: one of five finalists for 2015 RomCon Reader's Crown, a reviewer pick for BTS Review's 2015 Red Carpet Award, a semi-finalist in The Kindle Book Review's 2015 Best Kindle Book Awards.

At the moment, it's up for the Reader's Choice Award in Young Adult Romance at The Romance Reviews.  With everything that's happened this month, I haven't had as much time as I'd like to ask readers for votes.  But it's easy to sign in via Facebook and click the Vote Now link once you're in!  I truly appreciate each and every vote.  Even if I don't win, I'm going to sit back and enjoy the mystery of having my book on a Bookbub list with amazing authors I could only dream of meeting someday.

And if you haven't read it yet, the Halloween season is the perfect time for some supernatural secrets mixed with forbidden first love.  The best part is the price - 99c on Kindle and Nook!  So treat yourself to a "perfect autumn read" and send me your thoughts for other great fall reads...because losing myself in a page-turning read is the best stress reducer I can think of!




Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Hurry! #99c SALE Steamy #Romance + Haunting #Suspense! #ghosts #Kindledeals

Final days!  GULL HARBOR, a #1 Kindle Bestseller, is on sale for 99c on Kindle and Nook! Claire Linden arrives in Cape Cod's Gull Harbor ready to take on an aggressive ghost.  Now that she's embraced her gift as a medium, she's confident she can rid her temporary summer home of the desperate spirit that drove the house's owners to hire her.  But she never expects to also encounter Max Baron, the man who promised to love her forever, then abandoned her without a hint of an explanation five years ago...

A dangerous ghost and an ex-boyfriend await Claire...










A haunting, an old flame, and secrets from the past...

Also check out SILVER LAKE, re-released last week from Amazon's Encore Imprint.  Five years after Brandy vanished during senior year of high school, a group of former friends agree to reunite at a lake house from their past in a final attempt to solve the mystery of her disappearance.  Rain is determined to find closure for Brandy's terminally ill mother, and she's also hoping to find forgiveness from Jason, the man whose heart she broke when she made the wrong choice. Will Rain and Jason get a second chance at first love before a desperate ghost tears them apart again...forever?


(Silver Lake is also available on Kindle Unlimited!) Happy Reading!

Thursday, April 9, 2015

#99c Sale! Second Chance #Romance + Haunting #Suspense #99cents #Kindledeals

Starting today, my second novel GULL HARBOR will be on sale for two weeks only!  This combination of steamy romance and spooky suspense has topped the charts on Amazon as a #1 Bestseller on several occasions, so grab your copy while it's less than a buck!  The offer is available for both Kindle and Nook formats, and I've included the links below along with the book's description and an excerpt.  Treat yourself to some time on the sandy shores of Cape Cod, where both a dangerous ghost and an ex-boyfriend await psychic medium Claire Linden...


When Claire Linden’s job sends her to the sleepy town of Gull Harbor, she never expects to encounter her ex-boyfriend. As a medium, the prospect of tackling a haunted house is less daunting than seeing Max Baron again. Throughout their passionate college relationship, he promised to love her forever. Then, without explanation, he abandoned her on graduation day.

Max never intended to break Claire's heart—a cruel ultimatum forced him to disappear from her life. While he's shocked to find her in Gull Harbor, he isn't surprised by the bitter resentment she feels for him...or the fiery attraction that remains between them.

Claire is determined to rid her temporary home of its aggressive ghost, but Max soon realizes she's facing a danger beyond the paranormal. When Claire risks everything to help a desperate spirit, Max must race to save her—before another tragedy tears them apart forever.



An excerpt for you too!  This scene takes place after Max has brought Claire to watch the 4th of July fireworks:

Lights from her house welcomed them as they crossed through the wooded back yard.  “I guess I’m asking you to trust me, even though I know you’ve got no good reason to.”
He assumed he wouldn’t be getting a response by the time he followed her up the porch steps.  But she turned toward him outside the front door, looking somehow both fragile and strong in the velvet shadows.
“I do trust you.  I have no idea why, but I do.”
“Then I would call this a successful second date.”  He ran his fingers through her hair, cradling the sides of her face with his palms.  Tipping her lips up to his, he kissed her possessively.  The hunger inside him flared brighter, and he closed the distance between their bodies.
Backing her toward the house, he pressed her up against the door.  She returned his kisses with equal passion, moaning when he pushed his thigh between her legs.  Her fingers wandered to the front of his jeans, then hesitated, her nails grazing the skin of his abdomen.
He tore his mouth from hers reluctantly.  If he didn’t stop her now, there would be no turning back.  Bracing his hands against the door, he struggled against his body’s demands.  They would make love when Claire was ready, not before. 
“I should go,” he said, his voice rough.  Their breath mingled in short, quick gasps.  He lifted his head and locked his gaze with hers.
She could see desire in the depths of his dark blue eyes, but there was something else there, too.  Pain.  Her remaining doubts shattered and fell away.  Whatever this awful secret was, they would handle it—together.
“Stay.”
He held her captive, caged between his arms.  “You know what will happen if I stay.”
She nodded, her hair sliding against the door.  Unhooking her fingers from the waist of his jeans, she dipped her fingers into her own pocket to retrieve her key.  Silently she turned, unlocking the door.
Her legs trembled as she led him up the stairs.  Moonlight spilled through the windows, bathing her bedroom in a silvery glow.  He caught her wrist in the doorway, pulling her around to face him.
“Claire…before we go any further, you need to know something.  There’s a chance I may never be able to fully explain what happened five years ago.”
She studied his expression in the pale light of the moon.  He held her gaze, his hair falling across his forehead as he bent his head toward hers.  She brushed the strands out of his eyes, then trailed her fingers across the rough stubble under his cheekbones.
“But you’ll tell me if you can?”
“I promise.  But think about how you’ll feel if I can’t,” he said, releasing her wrist.
“Confused, I’m sure,” she murmured.  She gathered the fabric of his shirt collar and pulled it slowly over his head.  “But I don’t think it’s going to make me want you any less,” she added, dropping the shirt to the floor.

Visit the GULL HARBOR Pinterest Board too for a look at the settings and character inspiration.  Happy Reading!

Monday, March 30, 2015

Finding #Easter Day's Date + #Giveaway - Spring #LASRBlogfest #amreading





My post helps kick off the party
on March 30th!  Come join us!
Hop on over to Long and Short Reviews to celebrate the Spring Blogfest!  You'll find tons of spring- and Easter-related blog posts, along with giveaways and a chance to win a $25 gift card. My post gives some insight into why Easter's date fluctuates each year and how the date is actually calculated.  And if you leave a comment over there, you'll be entered into the drawing for a free e-copy of your choice of Gull Harbor, Silver Lake, or Divine Fall!  So come celebrate the season and enter to win all kinds of beach reads for those warm, sultry days ahead...they're coming soon, and I for one can't wait! Just click the link below to visit:

Finding Easter's Date Blogpost & Giveway on LASR



Treat yourself to some new reads this spring!
Steamy romance + spooky suspense =
page-turning entertainment!




Good Luck and Happy Reading!

Monday, March 23, 2015

Ghosts + #Romance - Steamy #TeaserTuesday #amreading

I'm celebrating my second novel's second birthday with a little excerpt today. GULL HARBOR is both a steamy romance reuniting first loves as well as a suspenseful mystery involving a dangerous ghost.  It was also a #1 Kindle Bestseller in several categories!  Psychic medium Claire Linden is spending the summer in the seaside town of Gull Harbor in order to rid her temporary home of a destructive spirit. But she never expects to encounter Max Baron, the man who promised to love her forever, then abandoned her without a hint of an explanation on graduation day.  Five years have passed since then, and Claire's becoming aware there might be something more to Max's disappearance than she knows about.  This scene occurs on a night Max has taken Claire to watch the 4th of July fireworks:
  

Lights from her house welcomed them as they crossed through the wooded back yard.  “I guess I’m asking you to trust me, even though I know you’ve got no good reason to.”
He assumed he wouldn’t be getting a response by the time he followed her up the porch steps.  But she turned toward him outside the front door, looking somehow both fragile and strong in the velvet shadows.
“I do trust you.  I have no idea why, but I do.”
“Then I would call this a successful second date.”  He ran his fingers through her hair, cradling the sides of her face with his palms.  Tipping her lips up to his, he kissed her possessively.  The hunger inside him flared brighter, and he closed the distance between their bodies.
Backing her toward the house, he pressed her up against the door.  She returned his kisses with equal passion, moaning when he pushed his thigh between her legs.  Her fingers wandered to the front of his jeans, then hesitated, her nails grazing the skin of his abdomen.
He tore his mouth from hers reluctantly.  If he didn’t stop her now, there would be no turning back.  Bracing his hands against the door, he struggled against his body’s demands.  They would make love when Claire was ready, not before. 
“I should go,” he said, his voice rough.  Their breath mingled in short, quick gasps.  He lifted his head and locked his gaze with hers.
She could see desire in the depths of his dark blue eyes, but there was something else there, too.  Pain.  Her remaining doubts shattered and fell away.  Whatever this awful secret was, they would handle it—together.
“Stay.”
He held her captive, caged between his arms.  “You know what will happen if I stay.”
She nodded, her hair sliding against the door.  Unhooking her fingers from the waist of his jeans, she dipped her fingers into her own pocket to retrieve her key.  Silently she turned, unlocking the door.
Her legs trembled as she led him up the stairs.  Moonlight spilled through the windows, bathing her bedroom in a silvery glow.  He caught her wrist in the doorway, pulling her around to face him.
“Claire…before we go any further, you need to know something.  There’s a chance I may never be able to fully explain what happened five years ago.”
She studied his expression in the pale light of the moon.  He held her gaze, his hair falling across his forehead as he bent his head toward hers.  She brushed the strands out of his eyes, then trailed her fingers across the rough stubble under his cheekbones.
“But you’ll tell me if you can?”
“I promise.  But think about how you’ll feel if I can’t,” he said, releasing her wrist.

“Confused, I’m sure,” she murmured.  She gathered the fabric of his shirt collar and pulled it slowly over his head.  “But I don’t think it’s going to make me want you any less,” she added, dropping the shirt to the floor.

Continue the Story!






Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Teaching Creative Writing! #amwriting #CapeCod #Plymouth

This has been a whirlwind month.  Finished my fourth manuscript, sent out initial queries, and signed with an agent!  I am now a "hybrid" author in every sense--I've been published by a small press (SILVER LAKE and GULL HARBOR), I've published independently (DIVINE FALL), and now I've signed with a literary agency, which will begin the submission process for my new novel HAUNTED SOULS very soon.  So exciting!

With all this first-hand experience with different avenues to publishing, I'm confident I can share helpful knowledge as I embark on my first creative writing class.  I'll be teaching "Fiction Writing and Publication" for the local community college beginning the first week in March, and in six weeks, we'll cover a multitude of topics, including the various ways to publish in this rapidly changing industry.  But we'll save that for the last few weeks, focusing first on the basics--identifying genres, Goal-Motivation-Conflict charts, character development, POV (point of view), common pitfalls, and idea inspiration.  Then we'll move on to getting started...and staying on track.  Finally, querying agents or presses, writing blurbs and synopsis, publishing, and marketing.  How will I fit it all into 12 hours?

My sub-par photo of the flier -
good thing I'm not teaching photography!

If you're anywhere near Plymouth, Massachusetts, I'd love to have you in class!  If not, go on over to the right hand column of my blog and click on either the Join This Site blue button or the overlapping squares (depending on your browser) to stay connected - I'll be posting some notes from class along the way.

I'm thrilled to begin this new chapter in my writing career, and if you'd like more information, check out the registration link here: Plymouth Class Schedule - Cape Cod Community College.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy writing!

Monday, November 24, 2014

Steamy #Romance + Spooky Suspense #99c for #BlackFriday!


A great read and a glass
of wine - bliss!
The holidays are upon us!  Thanksgiving is here, and whether you're traveling or cooking, you need to find some time to relax during what can be a hectic month. To help, my publisher has put my second novel, GULL HARBOR, on sale for only 99 cents for a limited time! That's a savings of $4 for this Amazon Bestseller. Load up your Kindle or Nook, and then while you're traveling, waiting in lines, or trying to escape from your family for a few moments, you can transport yourself to Cape Cod's Gull Harbor, where a dangerous ghost and an ex-boyfriend await psychic medium Claire Linden.  Links and blurb below!  Happy, Haunted Thanksgiving :)
 
A #1 Kindle Bestseller, less than a buck!





Want to see the story board?  Check out the pictures I used for inspiration on Pinterest!


When Claire Linden’s job sends her to the sleepy town of Gull Harbor, she never expects to encounter her ex-boyfriend. As a medium, the prospect of tackling a haunted house is less daunting than seeing Max Baron again. Throughout their passionate college relationship, he promised to love her forever. Then, without explanation, he abandoned her on graduation day.


Max never intended to break Claire's heart—a cruel ultimatum forced him to disappear from her life. While he's shocked to find her in Gull Harbor, he isn't surprised by the bitter resentment she feels for him...or the fiery attraction that remains between them.
 
 
Claire is determined to rid her temporary home of its aggressive ghost, but Max soon realizes she's facing a danger beyond the paranormal. When Claire risks everything to help a desperate spirit, Max must race to save her—before another tragedy tears them apart forever.
 
 
~Gull Harbor tends to be a quick read, since it's exciting and fast-paced.  If you enjoy it and need some more new reads, try SILVER LAKE or my new Young Adult Paranormal Romance, DIVINE FALL.  And keep an eye out for HAUNTED SOULS, my current work-in-progress - Claire Linden will make a guest appearance in this novel!~ 

Sunday, November 24, 2013

99¢ #BlackFriday sale: a steamy romance read for your travels!

Short and sweet post, because the holidays are upon us!  GULL HARBOR is on sale for one last week, until Friday (yes, THE Black Friday).  Whether you're traveling, waiting in lines, or trying to escape from your family for a few moments, a fast-paced, suspenseful ghost story spiked with steamy romance will make the most of your time.  99 cents on Kindle and Nook only - links below, along with the blurb.  Happy Thanksgiving!

A #1 Kindle Bestseller, less than a buck!

Kindle link

Nook link 

Want to see the story board?  Check out the pictures I used for inspiration on Pinterest!

When Claire Linden’s job sends her to the sleepy town of Gull Harbor, she never expects to encounter her ex-boyfriend. As a medium, the prospect of tackling a haunted house is less daunting than seeing Max Baron again. Throughout their passionate college relationship, he promised to love her forever. Then, without explanation, he abandoned her on graduation day.
Max never intended to break Claire's heart—a cruel ultimatum forced him to disappear from her life. While he's shocked to find her in Gull Harbor, he isn't surprised by the bitter resentment she feels for him...or the fiery attraction that remains between them.
 
Claire is determined to rid her temporary home of its aggressive ghost, but Max soon realizes she's facing a danger beyond the paranormal. When Claire risks everything to help a desperate spirit, Max must race to save her—before another tragedy tears them apart forever.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

99c Paranormal #Romance Bestseller! #Kindledeals

What an exciting weekend!  GULL HARBOR was put on a 99 cent sale for the first time ever, and it shot onto 3 Amazon Bestseller lists, hitting #1 in Paranormal Romance > Ghosts and Paranormal Romance > Psychics.  It's sitting on Page 1 of the "Ghost" category along with amazing paranormal romance novels like THE HOST and TWILIGHT, although how either of those books landed in the "Ghost" category is beyond me, considering the paranormal elements are aliens and vampires, respectively.  Regardless, it's a thrill to be in such Bestseller company.

Woo hoo!  Three
Amazon Bestseller Lists!


GULL HARBOR really does contain a ghost--a very angry spirit whose frightening and destructive behavior drives the new owners of an isolated Cape Cod house to hire a psychic medium.  Claire Linden arrives in the sleepy beachside town of Gull Harbor ready to tackle a haunted house and prove herself worthy of her gifts.  However, she never expects to encounter Max Baron, the man who promised to love her forever back in college, then disappeared from her life without a hint of an explanation.  As Claire begins to unravel the mystery behind the haunting, Max is forced to share his secret to try to stay close enough to Claire to help protect her from a danger that extends beyond the paranormal.

Click the title to check out the back cover blurb...and grab your copy of GULL HARBOR while it's less than a buck!

Kindle link

Nook link  

Want to see the story board?  Check out the pictures I used for inspiration on Pinterest!
 

Monday, May 13, 2013

Gull Harbor - Amazon Best Seller! Kathryn Knight

Thankfully, sales are still going strong after Gull Harbor's debut on Kindle.  As part of Amazon's Kindle Select Program, the title was offered for free for 5 days in April, and it hit the #1 ranking in the Free Store in Fantasy Romance.  Many of my fellow authors were interested in how I promoted my free days, so last week I blogged about all the effort I put into spreading the word.  And as I researched ranking categories for that post, I discovered something that helped propel Gull Harbor onto a Best Sellers list in the Paid Store.

Paranormal Romance is a huge catch-all genre, incorporating stories that include vampires, angels, demons, witches, wizards, fairies, time travel, ghosts, shifters, and anything else an author's mind can conjure up.  At The Wild Rose Press, it's such a popular genre that we have two separate lines: Faery Rose publishes the "lighter" paranormals, such as angels and time travel, and Black Rose publishes the paranormals with a "darker" element, such as werewolves and vampires.



But Amazon is different, and I'm still learning my way around this enormous marketplace.  Both my novels are ghost stories--with human heroes and heroines attempting to unravel a mysterious haunting--which are not as numerous as paranormal romances involving vampires or demons.  I know from my personal reading preferences that the only "ghost" subcategory in Amazon falls under horror.  While there are a lot of spooky and suspenseful moments in both Silver Lake and Gull Harbor, I would never classify them as horror.  So I didn't give subcategories much thought, especially since our marketing department handles our book listings on all the various sites they are offered for sale.

If I understand correctly, each Kindle book can be classified under two categories.  Both my novels were entered as Romance>Paranormal and Romance>Fantasy.  Truthfully, with the millions of titles available on Amazon (over 2 million currently on Kindle), I never expected to see much of a breakdown for my titles other than overall ranking. 

But the exposure gained by Gull Harbor's free days paid off.  Even after the free promo was over, the title stayed within the top 100 Best Sellers in Romance>Fantasy in the paid store for a while.  And as I wrote up last week's blog post, I noticed something I hadn't considered before.

The Romance>Fantasy category has no subcategories to narrow the rankings down--but Paranormal Romance has four:  Demons & Devils, Psychics, Vampires, and Witches & Wizards.  I'd been so fixated on "ghosts" as the paranormal element in my books, it actually took me a second to realize Gull Harbor fits nicely into "Psychics".  In the blurb, Claire is described as a "medium"--but that's essentially short for "psychic medium".  While she's recently embraced her talent for communicating with restless spirits, she is of course completely human.  For that reason, I just wasn't thinking of her as paranormal. 

I fired off a quick email to our marketing director, and Gull Harbor was moved into this more narrow category within Paranormal Romance.  Since then, it has stayed on the list of Top 100 Best Sellers in Psychic Romance.  It soared as high as #5 out of those top 100, and is currently at #20. 

It's been thrilling to see my novel on the first page in the Paid Kindle Store.  While I know it won't last forever, I'm trying to live in the moment and enjoy the ride!  And taking time off from working on my YA paranormal to write and research that blog post truly made an impact for me this time...if only I'd taken the time to capture a screen shot of that #5 ranking!