Laura Pauling | Spies, Murder and Mystery

Indie Life – Taking advantage of the impulse purchase.

By Laura on June 12, 2013 in publishing industry, Writing

Welcome to Indie Life. This monthly theme is a creation of the Indelibles. Click on over for the complete linky list to read up on everything Indie.

Yes, I’m a writer, but this is coming purely from a reader’s perspective.

I’ve always loved browsing in bookstores, but these days, more often than not, I browse on Amazon. Lately, I’ve found very specific reasons on why I click on a book and then why I purchase it.

1. Cover

Definitely at the top. But not even close to why I actually purchase a book. So if you want people to at least click on your book to give it a try, then go for an appealing cover that represents your story.

2. Blurb

Even if you have a great cover, I won’t click on the Look Inside feature, if I’m not crazy about the premise. This is very subjective. So hook your reader by being concise and getting to the heart of your story.

3. Rank and Reviews

After the cover, after the blurb, I check out the rank. Is the book selling? I also check out the reviews.

4. First page

I have very specific tastes. Voice, tone/mood, the writing – all comes into play. I know almost right away within the first page, the first paragraph, if I want to buy it.

5. Price

What turns this whole process into a purchase is the price. If I’ve loved everything so far, and the book is on sale for 99 cents, then it’s usually a definite impulse purchase.

If the book is 2.99/3.99, I wait and think about it. If I keep thinking about it, then eventually I’ll buy it and read it.

Final conclusion: Even though the cover, blurb, rank, and price play a role, the first page is most important. Because even at free or 99 cents I won’t buy a book unless I really want to read it.

Want an example? Here’s my latest impulse purchase. Note that this book dropped in price to 99 cents. This kind of price pulsing worked on me. Check it out here. (This is a New Adult book with sexual situations.)

What was your last impulse purchase? And why?

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Some fantastic new releases!

By Laura on June 10, 2013 in book reviews

Here are some fab books by the authors in the Indelibles. There’s something for everyone! Click on the below links to go to Amazon.

Debt Collector Adult Serial – awesome! Fallen and Promise.

Touching Melody is a NA contemporary romance. (17 +)

Collateral Damage is connected to Cross My Heart. Told from a different pov.

The Seer is part of novella series complimenting the Desolation Series.

The long-awaited sequel to Grasping at Eternity.

Come back on Wednesday for this month’s Indie Life post!

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From dark to humorous to falling in love.

By Laura on June 3, 2013 in book reviews

I’ve been reading a bunch of great books. And since I’ve been reading way more books than ever thanks to ebooks, libraries, and self-publishing, I love to share my findings with my readers.

By the way I read about 50% traditional books and 50% self published. Give or take.

More so than any other month, my sampling of books that I read (not counting the ones that I didn’t finish because I kept falling asleep) represents me as a reader and a writer. The aspects in these stories are everything I love. From dark and emotional to fun and breezy.

First lets talk about funny. As an adult, I’m a picky middle grade reader. After all, they are meant for kids. Right? So I end up loving the middle grades that have great writing, heart, humor, and a story to tell. Ha. Don’t we all?

When I read my first illustrated novel, thinking these really were just for kids….I was wrong. So I decided to try I, Funny. Loved it. It surprised me. It was not only a humorous story, but it had a lot of heart, snuck in when no one was looking.

I downloaded The Peculiar during an ebook sale. Loved it. The writing is superb and even though the plot was simple, the story was fast paced, bouncing back and forth between a boy and an adult, it was really the writing that kept me reading, more than the storyline.

I also love literary ghost stories. Filled with gorgeous writing and heart. So when I read Notes from Ghost Town, I knew on the first page, I’d love it. And I did.

Where there are ghosts, often there is murder. This leads to my next book, which I downloaded during a free promotion. Yes, an adult book. I Think I Love You by Stephanie Bond. I loved the sibling relationship, murder mystery and the love subplot. I will definitely read more of her books.

So, onto stories with love and romance being the central story.

I’m getting tired of this kind of reality TV show plot, but for all its faults, this series is fantastic. It comes down to the writing and the relationships. Reading The Selection was fast, easy and good. Reading The Elite was the same way. I’m looking forward to the conclusion next year. Kiera Cass does a fantastic job with character and relationships.

My last book was a fun, flirty, sweet romance. I Kissed The Boy Next Door. Love! Love! Loved it!

Yes, I write and read about spies, murder and mystery. But it’s really so much more than that. And that’s reflected in my writing and reading.

**Two books I read, worth mentioning, are Unravel Me and Life After Theft. Good but not great.

What have you been reading?

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Snow in June and a cover reveal sign up.

By Laura on May 28, 2013 in Writing

Three weeks until school gets out.
Three weeks until I jump into summer and all the excitement that brings.
In three weeks there’d better not be any more snow, cold or rain.

People in New Hampshire live for summer. The hot weather. Swimming. Hiking. Okay, most people. Lots love the snow and cold.

I love having my kids at home. Yes, I still get work done. But I love the relaxed pace and the break from a hectic work schedule. A creative break. I take the time to catch up on books in my to-be-read pile. I dream. I have fun with my family.

I fully enjoy not having to make lunches at six in the morning.

For me, it’s a good time to see if I’ve reached my writing goals for the year. And believe it or not, I have. And then some.

I read blog posts saying that writers don’t want to self publish because they just want to write. Well, it’s official. I’ve written more, and written more effectively, in the past year than I did while pursuing the traditional course.

Why is that? That’s probably another blog post for another day.

But in my last two weeks, I’ll be finishing up the first draft of a novella, completing revisions on a novel to send to a beta reader, and formatting another novel for publication this summer.

Yes. A book I love. A story I’m excited about. The one I came very, very close to shelving. In fact, as of a few months ago, I had.

A stand-alone young adult psychological thriller. One that if you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, you’ve heard me talk about it before. Click the picture to go to Goodreads.

The cover reveal is happening on June 17th.

If you’d like to take part in the reveal, you can sign up over at Xpresso Tours.

Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend! Did you reach your goals this past year?

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The Binding Stone – Lisa Gail Green!

By Laura on May 23, 2013 in book reviews

I’m so excited to be part of Lisa’s blog tour! She’s been an incredibly supportive writer friend and it’s fantastic to return the favor! I was first introduced to Lisa’s writing in one of the Journey of Wonders anthologies. Loved her story. I can’t wait to read The Binding Stone.

“Genies like you’ve never seen them, THE BINDING STONE is a wild ride of treachery and deception. For my first wish, I’d like a sequel, please.” – PERSONAL DEMONS author Lisa Desrochers

“I dream of Lisa Gail Green! The Binding Stone is magical in so many ways. My Djinn asks for my third wish? The sequel, of course!” – NYT Bestselling Author Nancy Holder

Tricked into slavery by the man she loved, the Djinni Leela has an eternity to regret her choices.

Awakened in the prison of her adolescent body, she finds a new master in possession of the opal that binds her. But seventeen-year-old Jered is unlike any she’s seen. His kindness makes Leela yearn to trust again, to allow herself a glimmer of hope.

Could Jered be strong enough to free her from the curse of the Binding Stone?

Excerpt

Jered storms up to his room, where I appear before him, head down, hair falling in my face. Will this be the point where he starts punishing me? I wonder. I think of things I might say to stop it from happening. Offering to change his mother’s memories perhaps. But the words catch in my throat.

“Leela,” he says, and his voice is painfully soft. “Are you okay?”

I lift my chin. “I couldn’t help it,” I say. Never once has an attempt

to defend myself worked with a Master. But for some reason I am compelled to try.

“It was my fault. Not yours. I’m sorry, Leela.”

Jered continues on, telling me that I should stay hidden from now on. That he’ll pretend he broke up with me. But my heart is caught on those first words, and I almost allow myself to hope that everything might be okay this time around.