“I have trusted… loved, only two women in my life. I expected one of you to hurt me. I didn’t think it would be you. I guess all I need do now is wait for that other shoe to drop.” – Matthew Sanford
Book one of the series: As Life Goes: Elementary
Book two of the series: As Life Goes: The End of the Innocence
Note: Pre-Order a print edition of The Romance of Eowain now and get a free ebook version today, before they’re available elsewhere! You can pre-order the book at your favorite bookseller and get exclusive bonuses at the book site. Find out more here.
My partner asked the other night in shock. “You’re giving your book away again?”
Yep. And that’s not so crazy as it sounds.
I’ve long held the belief that an author’s greatest enemy isn’t people ripping off his work. It’s anonymity.
In other words, if you’re an artist, you should be more scared of people not knowing who you are or what you do than you should be worried about how much money you can make off your work.
The strategy of free, from a marketing perspective, works. Here’s why.
The other day I was at…
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I am reblogging this… for free… because THIS is a short work that SHOULD be read far and wide.
‘Nuff said.
Perfection M.A. Kropp – thank you for your work.
#MustRead
This happened to an author of my acquaintance. She got an email from a “fan” and the gist of it was this:
Dear Ms. Author.
I really like your books. I think they are well-written and I enjoyed reading them. (So far, so good, right? Hang on.) However, I have returned them all because you priced them at $0.99 to $2.99, and that is too much to pay for them. I can’t afford to pay that much for a book, even though I liked it. In the future, can you make sure you make all your books free so I don’t have to return them?
And, when the author in question blocked this “fan” (and it seems, reported her as an abuser of the return system on ebooks), she sent another email chastising the author for blocking her and forcing her to open a second account (presumably to harass the…
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Hi everyone. Harmony here. Thanks for joining me on my three day tour with 4Wills Publishing and my fantastic host for today! You can find details of my other stops here: 4Wills Upcoming Events.
In case you didn’t catch yesterday’s blog tour stop, the first thing I have to tell you is that I’ve crossed over to the dark side, LOL, and ventured into writing Erotic Romance.
If you caught my post yesterday, then feel free to skip the book blurb and dive right into the excerpt below.
To date, I have six books published, which you can find HERE.
My seventh and latest book is INTERLUDES: a collection of A collection of short erotic fiction that will tickle more than your taste buds and wet more than your appetite.
With a range of genres and styles, this book has enough steam for everyone.
GREY MANCHESTER—contemporary romance in…
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Rebecca Reilly is a retired pastor, a massage therapist, and the author of Christian Sex and Marriage—It’s Complicated.
Kaila’s Story – Married 28 years
We’ve been married a long time. I’m not attracted to him anymore. He’s hurt me too much. I don’t want to touch him, much less have sex with him.
Mia’s Story – Married 13 years
It’s not his fault. We’ve just grown apart. I don’t know what to do. I know I don’t want a divorce, but I don’t want him to touch me either.
Anne’s Story – Married 4 years
Everything he does drives me crazy. I don’t know why I married him.
Melina’s Story – Married 21 years
There’s too much resentment. Too much neglect. He’s a good man to other people, but he doesn’t pay attention to me. I don’t think of him fondly.
My heart breaks as I read and listen to stories of marriages on the brink of destruction. Sometimes, intense counseling is necessary to aid healing. Check with your church and with people you trust to find a counselor who understands and supports your faith and is trained to help you in your situation.
When affection for your spouse disappears, it does not need to be lost forever. You have a powerful God who fills you with powerful love. “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). You have the almighty God of the universe to fill you, sustain you, and love you as you are.
The focus here is on you. What can you do to rekindle your love and affection for your spouse? How committed are you to allow God to change your heart? Can you do the work needed without expectation that your partner will ever return your love? Because if you focus on changing your mate into something you want, nothing but frustration, anger, and pain awaits.
If you are willing to risk rejection, to give more than you thought possible, and to try day after day after day, casual touch is a powerful tool to spark a dying love.
Research studies across the board demonstrate that affectionate touching is essential for emotional development; it also eases physical pain, slows the heart rate, drops blood pressure, and speeds up recovery from illness. In other words, touch has the power to heal.
Affectionate touch heals physically. It heals emotionally. And it heals relationally. Casual touch says I love you, and you are important to me. Most importantly in this case, casual affectionate touch begins to build a love bridge that reaches from you to your spouse.
When you make the conscious and deliberate step to act out an emotion you once felt, your heart begins to feel again. Not the first time, not the second, and maybe not the third. But if you desire to love your spouse, and you demonstrate that love before you feel it, amazing things can happen. There is power in demonstrating love without feeling the emotional tie. By choosing to love, by using your mind to consciously decide to demonstrate affection, affection grows. Love grows.
If possible, ask your spouse to hold you every morning and every night—just a thirty-second hug. Asking brings your spouse onto the love bridge. It helps build the affection for him or her, too. If you cannot ask, you must step forward and do. Hug. Hold. Be physically close for thirty seconds.
Reach for his hand whenever you can. Put your arm around her as you walk or sit. Two, three, four times a day initiate affectionate touch. Come back and try again later if your partner pulls away. Let him or her know you need to touch and be touched. You will not give up on your relationship.
What do you have to lose? It does not compare to what you have to gain.
How Do I Touch You? Let Me Count the Ways
When it comes to casual touch, it is best to trust your instincts. If you think about touching your spouse, do it. Catch his or her eye and smile; just a second adds power to your message of love.
Hold hands whenever possible.
Hug each other. Hold on a few seconds too long.
Play footsies under your dinner table.
Put your head in his lap as you watch a movie or the news.
Pull her head to your lap and give her a scalp massage. Cup her head with both hands and slowly move your fingers in circles. Ask her how it feels. Does she want it softer or harder? You can also gently pull strands of hair. Move across her scalp as you pull.
Use your fingernails as you stroke up his forearm.
Give her a hand massage. Use lotion and your thumb to give steady pressure.
Use his electric razor to shave his face. Have him lie down in bed. Use gentle strokes to put him to sleep.
Massage her feet. Use lotion. Press your thumbs in circles across her arch. Run your fingertips along the base of her toes. Rub her heal across the palm of your hand. Just touch, smooth, and pamper her.
Giving your spouse a full body massage does a lot of wonderful things for your relationship. If you make this a regular part of your life, you might want to purchase a fairly cheap portable massage table. If not, the sofa or bed works, but can be hard on the body of the giver. Start with gentle pressure. You are giving and receiving touch, not trying to release knots. Smooth, long, confident strokes feel good. Use lotion, and try to avoid jerky movements. Women tend to carry tension in the muscles around their neck. Do not squeeze too tightly. Ask how the pressure feels and adjust. Men tend to carry their tension in their lower back. Use your thumbs and push up and down along the spine (one thumb on each side), then use the heel of your hand to press from the spine toward the hip in the lower back.
The buttocks hold large muscles. You can roll your fist across them, or use the palm of your hand to go deeper. Again, ask how your pressure feels and adjust.
When massaging the legs and arms, begin at the extremities (feet or hands) and move toward the heart. Long, firm, gentle strokes feel good and are comforting.
One of the most relaxing massages is one done on the face. Begin with your fingertips at the center of your spouse’s forehead. Bring your hands down to his or her temples, one hand on each side. Move your fingertips in circular motions over the temples. Repeat several times. Press one finger on each side of the bridge of the nose. Move your fingers, pressing over the sinus area. Use your fingertips to rub circles over the joint of the jaw, and then gently massage the outer part of the ears. Finish with a scalp massage.
On Your Own
Look in the mirror and remind yourself of these facts every day:
Evaluate yourself:
Sometime this week, say these things to your spouse:
Open Communication
Conversation Starters
Just an Idea
Amazon Paperback: http://bit.ly/SexMarriagePB
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/sexBN
iTunes– http://bit.ly/iTunessexandmarriage
Follow Rebecca Reilly:
Twitter: @RebeccaReillyL
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RebeccaLynnReilly/
Website (sign up for her newsletter): rebeccareilly.net
Email: Rebeccareilly.author@gmail.com
Another #MustRead
The Kindle Unlimited per-page rate held steady at $0.00477885 for March, 2016. It’s nearly identical to the $0.00479 for February, 2016.
Both February and March are up considerably (about 17%) over January’s rate of $0.00411.
So it’s nice to see the per-page rate hold steady at about $0.0048 per page.
There is more good news: The KDP Select Global Fund increased to $14.9M for March, 2016, up 6% from February’s $14M.
This combination is a good sign. Ordinarily, the Global Fund increases when the per-page rate decreases, and the Global Fund decreases when the per-page rate increases. The per-page rate and Global Fund usually exhibit inverse behavior, as shown here.
This time, the per-page rate held steady while the Global Fund increased 6%. Amazon paid $900,000 more in March compared to February, and they paid it at the same per-page rate.
What does…
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Hi Gang – I am running another #AmazonGiveaway for: I Hero: The Beginning (Kindle Edition).
There is no purchase necessary and you can be one of FIFTY prize winners in this give away.
This give away campaign (and my prior one) was to specifically link to my past and recent releases. The bigger pushes will be for my upcoming work in the I, Hero series – I, Hero: Phases
I am going to be working on this over the spring and I am pushing to release book three of the series on the same date that “I, Hero: The Beginning” released – May 21, (2015).
PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING THE MAILING LIST AND ALSO FOLLOWING THIS BLOG TO KEEP UP TO DATE ON NEW RELEASES AND NEW GIVEAWAYS IN THE FUTURE!
YOU CAN ALSO FOLLOW MY AUTHOR FACEBOOK PAGE AND FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER FOR THE MOST UP TO DATE NEWS AND INFORMATION ON MY PROJECTS AND CONTESTS!
Keep in mind as well that I will be also working on book three of the As Life Goes series – “As Life Goes: The Reunion.” The target for that anniversary date of book one in that series “As Life Goes: Elementary” which was July 31, (2015).
Book two of that series, “As Life Goes: The End of the Innocence” released November 27, 2015.
With a little bit of a stretch, I might have book four, “As Life Goes: The Wedding” completed by then (that’s the goal anyway).
Once again I encourage you to:
PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING THE MAILING LIST AND ALSO FOLLOWING THIS BLOG TO KEEP UP TO DATE ON NEW RELEASES AND NEW GIVEAWAYS IN THE FUTURE!
YOU CAN ALSO FOLLOW MY AUTHOR FACEBOOK PAGE AND FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER FOR THE MOST UP TO DATE NEWS AND INFORMATION ON MY PROJECTS AND CONTESTS!
I am so excited to have taken THREE spots on the “Ms. Bird Lady: The Intellectual Blog” and her post titled “#BookReview – #TopReads2016 – 30 A+ #5Stars Books You Should be Reading in 2016”
Three of my books, listed below, made her list.
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Well, after the last two “Top Authors You Should be Reading in 2016” posts (10 Indie Chick-lit Authors You Should Be Reading in 2016 and 5 More Indie Chick-lit Authors You Should Be Rea…
Source: #BookReview – #TopReads2016 – 30 A+ #5Stars Books You Should be Reading in 2016
Guest Blog❤️
By Traci Sanders
Finding Success as an Indie Author
© Traci Sanders
I’ve been in the publishing business for a few years now.
I’ve been part of a few online books clubs, have connected with many other authors, and have reviewed several Indie books.
One question that I constantly hear from new (and some seasonal) authors: How can I sell more books or get more reviews?
This question truly has three answers: time, marketing, and great writing.
It takes time to sell books. Why? Because as an author, you are not just selling your books; you are selling YOU. Your thoughts, beliefs, ideas, likes, dislikes, and personality. All of these things shine through in your books, whether you realize it or not. The readers don’t know you yet. They haven’t read your writing before so they don’t know if it’s worth their time. In this instant gratification society…
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The effectiveness of Kindle Countdown Deals and free promos for e-books enrolled in KDP Select has changed over time – another #MustRead by Chris McMullen
Image from ShutterStock.
The effectiveness of Kindle Countdown Deals and free promos for e-books enrolled in KDP Select has changed over time.
In the beginning, when KDP Select free promos were first introduced, they were highly effective, often being grabbed by the thousands without any effort on the part of the author. But the success of unadvertised free promos dwindled quickly, as more and more authors began giving away their e-books away for free and as the perceived value diminished from the customer’s perspective. For a couple of years, free promos seemed to have a bad rap.
When the Kindle Countdown Deal came along, many authors who had previously used the KDP Select free promos switched to Countdown Deals. This actually helped in a couple of ways:
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The GUNDERSTONE review 