Tag: Amazon Kindle

Inside the Writer's Studio with Susan Buchanan

Author Susan Buchanan

We’re back in the studio today with writer Susan Buchanan to get the scoop on her latest release.

The Dating Game is her second novel, and published on 2nd Nov 2012. Sign of the Times, her first novel, was published in March 2012. She will shortly start work on her third novel, due for release Spring 2013. She’s a busy woman and clearly someone to tell us more about the business of writing!

 Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

Life isn’t always easy. Juggling work, friendships and a social life can be hard. Finding the right person can be difficult. There’s no one right way of doing so. Sometimes even with the best engineered plans, Life has something else in store for you.

 How much of the book is realistic?

All of the book is realistic, although only a few anecdotes are actually taken from any event I have experienced or any trait of anyone I know personally. There are no characters based on people I know. That said, one of the most cringeworthy events in the book actually happened. I wanted to write chick lit without the fluff, so contemporary fiction which reflected people’s everyday lives and the trials and tribulations that befall them, as well as the happy occasions. I like to think of it as chick lit with extra realism.

What was the hardest part of writing your book?

Editing it. I thought it would be easier than last time, as last time Sign of the Times started out at 300K words and was reduced after ten revisions to 120K. Don’t ask!

Anyway, The Dating Game started as 115K and is now around 110K. I learned a lot from last time. But I also learned a lot about proofing and editing my own work before it went out to the professionals, so that required a lot more revisions. As a writer, you constantly notice parts you would like to change, tiny proofing mistakes etc. It is neverending, but one day you have to decide ‘That’s me done with that,’ and move on. Otherwise you would go mad!

 Tell us your latest news.

The Dating Game launched on 2nd November and I will take a few weeks simply marketing it. The launch lasts a week from 2nd-9th Nov.  There is a whole series of events, raffles and competitons. You can win a copy of 1 of 55 ebooks and Amazon vouchers. It’s a huge event and took a lot of co-ordinating. Once the dust settles mid-November, I am going to start planning my third novel. All I can tell you about that at the moment is that it features a male protagonist, a few love interests along the way, several life lessons, plus several key decisions for my main character to make which will seriously impact on his life.

For more on this, best to follow the blog, as I willl post regular updates

www.susancbuchanan.blogspot.co.uk

 Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

First of all, thanks to those who have read Sign of the Times and shown an interest in my writing. I chose rather a bumper task for my first novel, in integrating the lives of 12 main characters, plus their entourages. The feedback I  have had from readers boosted me to dust off the three chapters I had written of The Dating Game three years ago. I then wrote the rest, buoyed by my readers’ enthusiasm and their wonderful (and sometimes not so wonderful!) reviews.

I also took on board that they loved certain aspects of my writing and I incorporate that into The Dating Game, specifically the section in Barcelona. My third novel will also feature a foreign country, again, because readers told me they particularly enjoyed reading the Italian section of Sign of the Times. They could almost taste the food, see the splendid scenery and ogle the gorgeous men!  I love travelling and have been to many countries. My only difficulty was deciding which one to choose.

I have also enjoyed chatting with readers on Twitter and FB and many now leave me comments on my blog, too, which I love. I hope you enjoy The Dating Game and, all going well, I hope to have a third novel to share with you in the Spring.

Keep with all of Susan’s latest on Twitter or Facebook:
Twitter – @susan_buchanan

 

 

 

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Wordless Wednesday: #2 on Amazon in Family Saga

Here’s a behind the scenes look at the process of finalizing a book’s cover design. These below are the various potential designs we looked at before developing the final one for my latest release. This week, Love Comes Later, is now #2 on Amazon’s list of family sagas, #14 in contemporary romance, and #51 in overall free books on Kindle. Yes, it’s FREE to download for 24 hours so check out why readers are giving it 5 stars and saying they can’t put it down

 

Compare and contrast and let me know what you think… do you like one of these or prefer the published version?

Draft covers for Love Comes Later

 

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I Finally Did it in my California King Bed…

Read an eBook, that is. There was a time I would have told you that would never happen. The thought of curling up in bed with an electronic device to read was about as appetizing as, well, you know.

The Former Contenders

In our house, Kindles have not had a long shelf life. The first one, an anniversary gift, was resold, the package never opened. The second one, also the second generation of the device, I gave as a gift to the aforementioned anniversary gift giver. He turned it on for a few days and used the ‘read to me feature’. Eventually it too went the way of the first and was sold on to someone else.

Technophobe reactions from early thirtysomethings probably surprises you. After all my husband had given me the Kindle to save his own back on the international flights for which I would cram as many as six books into a carry-on. But the probelm wasn’t the technology. The problem was my experience as a reader.

My protest “but I like to hold a book in my hands” is what you’d expect from someone with a PhD in literature.

The Flirtations

Then I started publishing eBooks. Yes, digital only. There was no way for a reader to have the physical experience with one of my six titles. The irony did not strike me — at least not too hard. This past May however, on Mother’s Day, another shiny, expensive device showed up. The iPad.

“Oh, these don’t have a good history in this house,” I said to my ever patient husband.

“We’ll see,” he said. The gift, as any good ones, was really to keep our toddler entertained (and quiet) on an upcoming 15 hour flight. A little boy’s silence can only be a gift that keeps on giving to any and everyone on an airplane or in a hotel near  him — including his parents. An interesting phenomena happened. I started using the iPad. First for browsing, then for email. My fat fingers found the keys easier to manage. And then, I discovered the App store. All of these events coincided with the longest stretch of free time I’ve had in memory. For about eight weeks this summer I am responsibility free. I wanted to get caught up on that elusive to-do list….Enter eBooks stage right; straight onto the Kindle App for the iPad.

The First Time

At first the Kindle and I were like new lovers. I wasn’t sure how to keep the text from flipping sides when I turned over. And where was I supposed to tap to see the progress bar? Didn’t it know I didn’t want the dictionary? I liked sliding through pages. I read an entire book the first night suffering through jet lag.We grew used to each other over time. I’m still buying print books. But for indie authors, to review or blurb, there’s nothing like an e-reader.

You too can sign up to win a Kindle Fire during the  Love Comes Later blog tour which kicks off today for a month. For the first three days of the tour, the book is FREE on Amazon. That’s right. And if you don’t want to read in bed with a device, you can download the app for FREE your desk or laptop.

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