Rider Jacobs's Blog

I just want to say I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday. I spent time with both friends and family enjoying the beautiful weather.
Now I am taking a break from painting the deck and finishishing the latest AJ Kelton book called "Finding your Hero."
It's hard to do without my writing partner but I think she is whispering in my ear and will love what I have done with it.

My Het romance which I have called Summer's Angel was accepted. I just signed the contract for it. I am about 85% done with writing my second one which will be called Nicandro.
I was so excited and realized I am missing that one person who I shared all that good news with. I grabbed the phone and then realized I don't have anyone to jump up and down with me.
ALl the same I'm doing a happy dance. I know M/M romance is a growing field and I will always be grateful I got my start there and continue to write there under the name Rider. The big money is in Het though and that is where I am heading. I have learned so much this last year and a half. I hope to only grow as a writer.

I have tried the goodreads advertising and so far....nothing. I have been looked at by three hundred people in the last two weeks which i guess is something but no one has clicked on the add. Today I'm trying a facebook add for Forgotten. I set a low lifetime budget, it's only running a day so we shall see how that goes. I basically am trying anything to get my name out there and boost sales. The book is good, it gets good reviews, just like Legion did and Faelon but after three months the sales drop. I know I'm looking for that magic thing that makes me a house hold name among the LGBT readers, I just haven't found it.

On the other side of the coin. I submitted my first m/f book yesterday. You know I'm excited and nervous. I don't get this way when I submit a m/m romance. Maybe because i have something like five books out now. This is the first M/F romance and I know that is the area that could rally make me money and free me from the EDJ.

Fingers crossed.

Ah the life of a poor writer. I swear I'm glad I have an evil day job. Here it is the first of june and my central air goes out. It isn't something simple either, it is a replace the whole unit problem. Of course i have to be put on a waiting list to see when they can come out and get an idea on how much a unit will cost. Not that it really matters because unless there is a cancellation it will be late august before they can put one in.
It seems right in line with everything else that is going on in my life, my stove quite so I went and bought a new one, then my dryer quit. I'm using the cloths line at the moment. I had money set aside in my adoption fund but well that looks like it is going else where. The soonest I can get into the MAAP class or whatever it's called is the end of june anyway.

You know last year when things started to fall apart like this I ended up losing the one person who was so close to me. Now my mother is going to the specialist because they found a spot on her lung. I hope it's nothing important.
I'm glad I can lose myself in a story because right now I don't think I can handle something else breaking or going wrong.

I spent the weekend at the Romantic Times Book convention in New Orleans. You can tell you spend way to much time in a city when it feels just like home anymore.
I have to say that the convention was a nightmare. I think it is the worst one that I have been to. I don't mean the convention itself. I have been to a few RT Conventions. I am just saying the one in New Orleans was terrible.
I first get there and trying to find out where you get your badge was a trick in itself. I saw nothing marked leading me one way or the other. So I did what any good reader would do. I asked someone. I asked three people before I found one that could at least say upstairs. I naturally got there after they went for lunch so there were blank tables and nothing marked registration. So I asked a few people, one of which was sitting at the table, is this where you get your badge. I once again heard, "I don't know."
Finally after getting stuff from the swag room. I was a little disappointed this year, I love magnets and pin but there were more paper products than anything else. I o have to admit that the rolling bag I got from Sylvia Day was awesome.
The biggest complain came saturday. We were a half hour late getting into the bppk signing. It was hard to find your favorite authors even with the guide that said what row they are in. People were standing around, trying to see the name in front of the author was almost an aroubic workout in some places. Wristbands where a good idea but the authors that needed to give out wristbands needed to be plaed else where so you could get from point A to point B or at least see the authors in that area.
Finally it came to checking out. I was looking forward the the events that happened after the signing. Those started at two thirty, the signing over at two. I didn't get to go to any of the events afterward even though I paid all the extra money to do so. No the social that started at 230, yeah I was still in line waiting to get my books checked under the little black light. In fact I was in line waiting to check out when that event ended and the next one started. I could have made it to the fantastic party if I wanted to walk in carrying my books. Believe me though when you stand in line over two hours to check out carrying thirty books the last think you want is to carry them around at a party. I didn't have a room at the convention hotel, the rooms sold out before i even knew they went on sale. so my 99 dollar ticket got me the exact same thing the person who paid 5 got.
I'm not sure I'm going to Dallas, the room is expensive and I'm not sure I want all that aggravation again.

I have the day off and it is a beautiful sunny day. I should be outside planting in my garden, I should be finishing up my story Adoni but what am I doing? Well yes I'm on goodreads but instead I am sitting watching monsters in america or something like that. I really need to stay away from shows that tell of local legends because plot bunnies are bouncing all over the place.
On that note Forgotten is actualy doing pretty good in the sales area. I'm not sure what it is that I did but either my name is actually getting out there or I got the book in front of the right people. Granted it isn't a best seller but you know what, it has been out less than a month and I think it has done great which is what is important to me.
I am on the countdown to RT. Right now I am wanting to scream "No, I'm not ready to go."
I'll be fine though, I'm taking my mother with me this year, she loves to read and this is her chance to meet those that she reads. Also my mother is becoming my PR person by default so for her to go and get an idea of what goes on is also my way of having a sounding board.
I am working on a couple of M/F romances. The one I am mostly done with is called Leviah and it is about a woman who falls in love with a fallen angel. It is harder to write M/F then it is to write MM. I think mainly because my imagination cant be as free.
Ok I'm heading back in to do some writing....I have to keep telling myself that, writing I need to be writing because book five of the BCPI series by Ally Blue is calling my name.
Once again, writing, I need to finish some of those stories I have on my computer....

Promoting is hard work, I would say harder than writing. When it comes to writing you all ready have an idea where you want to story to go, what you want the characters to say. Yes they don't always listen but there is a general flow to the life of the story. You finish the novel, get it published and then you have to figure out where to send your baby for the best results. There are a wide range of options, you see authors with one book that seem to have a hue following and when it comes your turn to send your beloved book out, the fan fair is met with crickets. So you start to do research and it is all overwhelming, you ask other authors and you generally get, what works for one wont work for the next person. Great but give me an idea where to start. I don't know what blogs are, how to tour them, how to get on the blogs. I am not sure what marketing ideas there are. Give me a general idea of what didn't work. If I take a flyer of my book cover and say available at Amazon and post it at every public place from malls to colleges, will it help get me noticed?
Do I hires a sky writer that puts in the sky read forgotten?
Get yourself a blog, great I got one, How do I bring people to it so they read my words of wisdom? Get Twitter get Facebook,ok great but really having them and having people follow are two separate things. So when it comes to navigating the word of MM romance and marketing I am still trying to tread water.

I have decided to start blogging here because as they say practice makes perfect right. I will be the first to admit that I am terrible at this stuff.
My book Forgotten came out this week. I am actually excited. I think it is some of my best work to fate. I just wish Angel was here to celebrate with me.
I have actually been pretty busy because I had both Snow and red along with Forgotten come out this month. Snow and Red is part of the Hot Strong and Irish anthology.Last month I had everything Changes come out.
I have started a blog tour and those aren't easy. It is hard to write up a blog. I did two which I talked about Angel but now I need to talk about other things. Maybe my topic could be blogging is hard.
Angel wanted to get twelve stories of some type out this year. Ironically me, who was aiming for two all ready has four out. Maybe I will accomplish her dream of getting out twelve.
I have joined several MM groups and slowly I think I'm building my name. I kind of had to start over after Angel. I don't want to be known as the person who lost her partner though, I have to stand on my own two feet.
So this is the first blog for my page.