Auto-Buys: When Does an Author Become an Automatic Buy For You, the Reader?

Sometimes when I’m scanning Facebook posts, I often see readers tell an author that they’re an automatic buy. Meaning they’re going to buy it, no matter what the book’s about.

Which got me to thinking. (Yes, I know. Dangerous territory here.) Is there an author who’s an auto-buy for you?

                     

If so, why?

1. Quality
Regardless of the story, you know you’re going to get a well-written, exciting, emotional, etc. read that’ll manage to hit all the right buttons.

2. Genre
The author writes in a genre you enjoy immensely, and rarely deviates.

3. Characters
Her characters, especially the hero and heroine, resonate with you. Sometimes you might even wish you were the heroine just so you could be with that particular hero.

4. Story
The author never fails to deliver a story that’s unique, or odd, or exciting, or humorous, or (fill in the blank).

5. Author
You’ve met the author, and by their personality alone have been convinced to read their books.

Which brings me to my second question (you knew there had to be a #2 to go with the #1, right?) What would it take for an author to become an auto-buy for you?

To me, authors are like new restaurants. I always give a new place at least two tries before deciding whether or not to continue going back. I’m like that with authors and their books, as well. Personally speaking, I know that not every book I release is going to be hugely popular or a best seller. Same goes for other entertainment venues, actors, and even movie directors (M. Night Shyamalan, anyone?) If I pick up a book that looks interesting from a new-to-me author, and I don’t care for it, I don’t abandon that author’s other works. I’ll give him or her a second try before deciding whether or not to continue to follow them.

So my questions again are, is there an author who’s an auto-buy from you? And what would it take to become one of your favorite writers?

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Now Available as an Audio Book!

MY STRENGTH, MY POWER, MY LOVE
Sci-Fi Romance
by Linda Mooney
Word Count:  73.9K
$3.99 e / $9.99 p / $19.95 a

Narrated by Mister Plug
Length: 7 hrs, 58 min.

Hear a Sample

Once in every one million births, a child is born on Bellac with the Synergistic gene. These children are taken from their parents and raised, trained, and prepared for the day when they will find their Synergistic other half. For when that happens, an entity is created from the combination of both male and female who holds unbelievable powers. An entity who is trained to protect and defend its home world.

Grey Dansis is a Synergian. She has reached the time when she must meet the others like herself and hopefully find the male who will become her life-long partner from a crowd of strong, prime adult males who are ready to join the war as soon as they are united with their female halves.

Unfortunately Grey has secretly harbored a longing for Rowe Maine. But the man is five years her senior and considered long past acceptance. He is an Unmatched Synergian who has lost his chance to become one of the rare new entities.   By law he is no longer able to seek his mate.  Now the man is a trainer and teacher at their special school.

It won’t be long, however, before their world is again attacked by marauders. The creatures bent on domination are a species the Synergians have never encountered before. And this time the creatures’ goal isn’t just to conquer Bellac, but to totally wipe the planet's population and its army of Synergians out of existence.

Grey has no idea that Rowe, the man she has long been in love with, is her fated other half.  Or that the power coming from their union would be the only force strong enough to save Bellac from complete annihilation.

Because the law won't even let them touch.

Warning! Contains human weaponry, alien attacks, unapproved use of pudding, overly-aggressive males, excessive sex as a health benefit, badly fitting uniforms, trial by antagonistic rulers, and a love that defies the laws of man and nature.

Excerpt and buy links.

Steampunk and Gaslamp Fantasy

So, one of my Twitter followers recently asked me if there is a difference between steampunk and gaslamp fantasy. I felt the question was an important one, and one I could not answer in 140 characters or less. Also, (full disclosure) I needed a topic for the blog.

 Like many questions, how you define the terms pretty much gives you your answer. ‘Steampunk’ is an older and more widely recognized term. When I have to define it to the uninitiated, I describe it as ‘the Victorian era if steam technology was way cooler than it actually was.’ There are purists out there who want to define it narrowly by years (generally the dates of Queen Victoria’s reign) and by what a book must include to be considered steampunk (usually clockwork and/or steam technology, and may or may not broaden the definition to include early chemistry or alchemy). There are some who argue that to be steampunk, the technology must form a central part of the story (often, in my opinion, to the detriment of plot and character development). These are probably the same people who are responsible for getting steampunk labeled as a subgenre of science fiction, a categorization which has never made much sense to me and which has caused me no end of marketing headaches. Some self-styled steampunk purists would go as far as to exclude works that have fantastical elements such as glamours, alchemy and, yes, werewolves.

 

 Personally, I think there’s a lot more room than that under the steampunk tent. In fact, I often use ‘steampunk-y’ as an adjective to describe some very not-Victorian things that have steampunk elements. . . since I am a confirmed Whovian, the first examples that spring to mind are the Doctor Who episodes The Girl in the Fireplace and Deep Breath, as well as the overall look of the twelfth Doctor’s TARDIS. By my definition, if it doesn’t have gears and levers, steam, a Victorian setting and/or alchemy, it probably isn’t steampunk, though I’m open to being convinced. I will confess that my own steampunk novels are more heavily influenced by Arthur Conan Doyle and by first-source research of the Victorian era than by any modern steampunk author. Whether that’s a strength or a weakness depends entirely on your tastes.

 

 ‘Gaslamp fantasy’ is a term I first heard used by fellow author Barb Taub in a very intelligent and insightful review she wrote of my best-selling steampunk novel A Hunt byMoonlight, although I don’t think she coined the term. By my definition of steampunk, gaslamp fantasy is a subgenre of steampunk, one that includes more fantastical elements such as alchemy, glamours and, yes, werewolves. It’s actually a term I’m personally quite fond of, as I think it’s a better descriptor of what I do. I started out my literary life as a fantasy author, writing both high fantasy and urban/contemporary fantasy, and I’ve always considered steampunk to be just another ‘flavor’ of fantasy.

 

Unfortunately, when one is trying to find readers, or, more precisely, to be findable by readers, one must use the most commonly recognizable marketing terms. So, while I will continue to campaign to bring ‘gaslamp fantasy’ into common usage, I generally describe A Hunt by Moonlight as a ‘steampunk Victorian detective novel with werewolves.’ 

 

Hope that’s helpful.

 

 Find Shawna Reppert's books on Amazon!

Love in the Stars...with Barbarians

I'm a big fan of space operas and romance. I love seeing advanced technologies mix with primitive cultures. And I like putting opposites together and watching them react. Sometimes it's that view of three moons in the background of a lush world that sets my creative cloud flying.

I wrote A Civilized Mating a few years ago for All Romance Ebooks. Sadly, they no longer exist. So I re-released the book. It's a space romance between a psychic Earther and two sexy, hunky, alien barbarians. Something about alien and barbarians just makes me want to laugh...and read more.

But I'd always wondered what happened to poor Mandy, another Earther working at the alien luxury resort, because two barbarians had their eyes on her. Did she get a happily ever after? Did the men Mandy was hiding from ever find her? Just what exactly is between the giant barbarians, anyway? Want to find out?

A BARBARIAN BONDING
by Marie Harte
The Instinct #2
ASIN: B071HPP7K8
Released: May 16, 2017

Mandy Jacobs sought a job on planet Ussed because it took her far from her problems on Earth. Her goal has been simple—keep a low profile. Not that easy to do when two larger-than-life barbarians are keeping an eye on her. Avoidance seems like her best plan of action…until danger from her past comes calling. Soon on the run from an old enemy, a new enemy, and hunky warriors with a crazy notion to claim her, she’s running out of options.

Zhen and Lore have bonded, but they’re in need of female to complete them. When they see Mandy, they know. She’s the one. But the stubborn human female needs some persuading. And some saving, since she’s got humans and a rival clan after her. With time not on their side, Zhen and Lore must convince Mandy that she belongs with them. And that if she’ll let herself, she’ll find acceptance in the arms of not just one, but two barbarians who have nothing but love to give.

Amazon |  iBooks  |  Kobo  |  Inktera  |  B&N

May is the Month for Faeries - Beware!

Faery Queen
(Image source: Bigstock.com)

Ancient faery legends are brought to modern-day America in my ongoing Grim Series: Storm Warrior, Storm Bound, Storm Warned, and the upcoming release, Storm Crossed. 

The Fae in these novels are inspired by old stories I heard and read as a child. Between my Welsh gramma and ready access to a entire library of British books, I learned that faeries were not to be trifled with.

FORGET EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT TINKERBELL!

Faery beings come in all sizes and shapes from ethereally beautiful to monstrously frightening. But it’s their unpredictable temperament you have to watch out for – the Fae are easily offended, volatile, amoral, and even violent. 

While occasionally some may be helpful to humans, more often they delight in tormenting them. Their motives can range from child-like mischief (souring milk, knocking down fences, pulling hair) to downright evil (kidnapping, cursing, or even killing mortals). And of course, there's always a few that just like to eat people...

No wonder people have been trying to protect themselves from faeries for the last three thousand years or more!

PLANT PROTECTIONS

Marsh Marigolds
(Image source: Bigstock.com)

Historically, garlands were often made of marsh marigolds and hung over the barn doors to protect the horses from being ridden to exhaustion by fairies in the night. Flowers, especially primroses, were spread over windowsills and hung above the door-posts of the house for safety. Your best bet, however, was a plant called St. John's Wort. Wearing it was said to provide strong protection from fairy magic and mischief.

Fairies could vanish at will and remain invisible to mortal eyes for as long as they pleased. Carrying a four-leafed clover would allow you to see the fairies – but only once. A Celtic tradition was to sew several of the clovers into a tiny bag to be worn around the neck. You could then discern the fairies once for each clover in the bag. In some legends, the clover was said to allow you to see through fairy glamors and magical disguises.

Red berries were believed to keep fairies at bay, especially if they were from rowan trees, mountain ash or holly. So did red verbena (a flower). Daisies were often tucked into children’s pockets or woven into fanciful chains to wear around their necks to prevent them from being taken away by the faeries. And if you were walking through the woods, it was best to carry a walking stick or staff made of ash or rowan wood.

FOOD PROTECTIONS

An offering for the faeries
(Image source: Bigstock.com)

Traditionally, bread and salt provided protection from the Fae. Carrying yeast-risen bread with you had a two-fold effect. It would repel some faeries. Other faeries would accept it as an offering and leave you alone. My gramma taught me a Welsh tradition of leaving a saucer of milk and a slice of bread or some bread crusts on the back porch as an offering to the faeries, so they wouldn’t play pranks on the family or trouble the livestock. Sometimes, if you were seeking the faeries' aid, you might add berries, honey, or cheese.

Salt’s association with purity made it an excellent tool against otherworldly beings. Spreading salt across the threshold and along the windowsills has long been the primary method of keeping faeries, demons, and spirits out of houses.  If you had to carry food to the farmhands in the fields, sprinkling it with salt was said to keep the faeries from taking it – or from extracting the nourishment from it unseen!

Even humble oatmeal was believed to be a fairy repellent. You could carry a handful of dry oatmeal in your pocket or sprinkle it on your clothes. As long as you didn’t mind looking flaky, you’d be safe.

IRON PROTECTION

Iron in any form or shape has always been considered the very best protection against fairies – in almost all legends, the metal is like kryptonite to Superman. If you kept an iron nail in your pocket, you couldn’t be carried away by them. Sometimes iron nails were sewn into the hems of children’s clothing for that reason. A pair of iron shears hung on the wall near a baby’s bed was said to prevent the child from being swapped for an ugly fairy baby.

Iron horseshoes repel faeries
(Image source: Bigstock.com)

Horseshoes could be nailed over doorposts, a precaution that had to be taken to the extreme in my first two Grim books, Storm Warrior and Storm Bound. 

(By the way, some legends specify that the horseshoe should be placed on its side like the letter “C”, resembling the crescent moon, or it won’t repel the Fae!)

Steel is also effective against the faeries because it is created from processed iron. If a faery is cut by a steel or iron blade, the wound will not heal or will take a very long time. In some stories, the Fae is slowly poisoned by such a wound. Steel or iron weapons are among the few things that can actually kill a Fae being. 

However, unless it was plainly self-defense (and sometimes even that wouldn’t help your case), you could expect the rest of the faeries to exact a terrible retribution!

..............................................................

Love Faeries? Check out The Grim Series by Dani Harper

STORM WARRIOR, STORM BOUND, and STORM WARNED

And watch for my upcoming release, STORM CROSSED!

Note: Every book in this series is designed to stand alone. It's more fun to read them in order, but not necessary.

Legend, love, lore, and magic...
See ALL my novels on my Amazon Author Page
or go to my website at http://www.daniharper.com

Here Be News

New Releases:



Other News:
Veronica Scott's award winning scifi romantic suspense novel Hostage to the Stars is currently on sale for $.99!

Buy Links:     Apple iBooks     Amazon    Kobo     Barnes & Noble

Shona Husk did a cover reveal for the next book in her Blood and Silver series:

Bring It Back(list):
(A new weekly feature at Here Be Magic where the authors highlight some of their favorite backlist titles.)
Angela Campbell talked about her backlist title Cry Wolf.

Bring It Back(list) with Angela Campbell

The Story Behind: 
CRY WOLF was published in 2011 by Carina Press. I was visiting New York City for the first time ever, and my niece and I were waiting on the NBC Studios Tour to begin when my phone alerted me that I had a missed call and voice message — it was Angela James delivering the news Carina Press wanted to publish my quirky little story about a skeptical, burnt-out reporter investigating werewolf sightings in a small South Carolina town. As odd as it sounds, the entire story is inspired by a real urban legend, not in South Carolina but Wisconsin, known as The Beast of Bray Road. I saw a documentary about the Wisconsin Werewolf back many, many years ago and kept trying to think of a way to incorporate it into a story. I love romance, so one thing led to another and CRY WOLF was born.

Back Cover Copy:
Andrea Lockhart's job as a reporter for cheesy tabloid The Naked Truth isn't exactly where she thought her journalism career would end up. She's determined to make the best of it, but when her editor sends her to Woodbine, South Carolina, to investigate a werewolf sighting, Andrea decides the ridiculous assignment will be her last. Until she meets Sean Hunter.

The last time she saw Sean, he had just beat her out for the position of editor of their college newspaper, and told her she'd never make it as a reporter. Given his grand ambitions, she's shocked to find him editing the Woodbine Weekly. Once they start competing for leads on the werewolf, Andrea becomes determined to break the story first—she can't let Sean beat her again.

As they each get closer to finding the source of the rumors, the only thing more surprising than the truth are the feelings Sean is able to stir in her, feelings she thought she had left behind...

Available at: Amazon | Audible | Barnes & Noble | Carina Press | iBooks | Kobo

Excerpt:

How in the hell do I get myself into situations like this?

Andrea Lockhart screamed and tried one more time to summon help. Not an easy thing to do while swinging from a rope, upside down, in the middle of nowhere.

Like some stupid pendulum on a clock. Ugh!

“Hello?” she yelled and immediately gasped for breath. She closed her eyes and struggled to subdue the panic attack that was clawing its way past her lungs toward her brain. Her heart had been trying to pound its way out of her chest for a while now. This wasn’t helping.

Easy, Lockhart. You’ve been in tighter spots than this and survived. Just ease the hell off from thinking about it. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.

Everything is going to be fine.

Opening her eyes, Andrea listened for a response as she reached toward the ground for something—anything—to steady herself with, but all she heard was the distant call of some birds deep in the forest. She had been traipsing through these woods, looking for footprints or other evidence to support the article she was writing, when she’d heard a loud snap, felt her legs jerked out from under her, and found herself looking at the world upside down.

Some idiot had snagged her in the type of trap she’d thought was only used in bad B movies.

Yep, I’m so putting in my résumé at Starbucks if I can ever get myself down from here.

Her jacket swung around her face and heightened that panicked feeling of claustrophobia. Pushing it aside, only to have it fall back in the way, Andrea couldn’t hold back a desperate laugh at the absurdity of her dilemma. She’d witnessed and survived gang shootouts in South Chicago, gone toe-to-toe with corrupt police officials and barely escaped riots in France and the post–Katrina looting in New Orleans. But she’d never been strung up like this before. Oh yeah. This was definitely a new one.

A ring tone for “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” shattered the silence, and Andrea sighed long and hard, as she considered the rectangular object just out of her reach. Too late, she realized her mistake. Her breath tore out of her chest in a hacking cough that drowned out the familiar melody.

Her heart was still beating overtime. The whooshing sound of its frantic throbbing threatened to make her deaf to everything else.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

Her only salvation, it seemed, lay just out of reach.

Once she’d gotten over the shock of what had happened, she had grappled with and lost her grip on her cell phone. Now it taunted her, half buried under a mound of leaves, alternately buzzing and pelting out the tune. It was as if the stupid thing was laughing at her.

She was sure it was Brandon calling. Oh yeah. I would really love to give him a piece of my mind right now.

If only.

Best she could tell, she was more alone in these woods than a nerd on prom night. The sun had lowered in the sky, peeking through the trees like an unwanted observer. Andrea glanced at her watch. Had she really been hanging here for half an hour already? It seemed so much longer.

When did it get dark around here? Maybe another hour or two?

Not good.

Come on. You’ve been in tighter spots than this, Lockhart. Think.

Andrea tried to lift her arms and grab the rope clamping both her ankles together from the tree limb above. If she could just—

The sound of a stick breaking nearby caught her attention. She dropped her arms, felt the blood rush to her head again, making her dizzy as her body swayed like crazy.

“Hey!” she yelled. “Over here! Please! Is somebody there?”

Nothing.

Dammit.

Andrea screamed in desperation. Her labored breathing sent her swaying again, and the swell of hot tears coated her eyes. She was going to die here. Alone. Helpless. And only God knows where.

Her friends, her family, her enemies…this would be how they last remembered her.

Hanging from a tree limb like a damned piece of meat.

Something in her line of vision moved. Something dark and big and—

A low, ominous growl echoed around her, rumbling in her ears.

An animal?

Oh God.

Andrea willed her body to stop moving as she fought to bring her breathing under control. What kind of animal was it? What kinds of animals were native to this part of South Carolina? Bears? Wolves?

Werewolves

A ridiculous thought, but there it was. Wouldn’t it be something if she actually found the evidence she was searching for, right before it tore her to shreds and ate her for dinner?

Don’t be ridiculous, Lockhart. Werewolves do not exist!

Maybe it was just a dog. A harmless dog lost in the woods.

Or a rabid dog looking for its next victim.

Her ears strained for sounds of movement again, but all she could hear were the damned birds chirping back and forth. Had she seen something, or was her mind starting to play tricks on her?

***

Angela Campbell is the author of the psychic detectives series from Harper Impulse. Learn more about her and her books at www.AngelaCampbellOnline.com.