It’s a Bonus Ruthy Day here in Filly-land and there’s a reason why… because Ruthy’s been doing her history research and she wants to give away another Kindle version of EITHER…. “The Sewing Sisters’ Society”
OR!!!!!!
Her newest release, just six days out… “A Most Inconvenient Love”... and with the help of Pam the Amazing Filly I figured out what I was doing wrong with the links and they’re here now! OH MY STARS, I am so depressingly normal! 🙂
Writers write so that readers will read.
We give things away so that readers will talk.
We want you to talk about us. About our work. About our stories! And that doesn’t mean you’re going to love everything an author does, but we love your sweet reviews, we love your shares, we love your moments when you say to a group of friends… “Oh my gosh, I just read the best book!!!!”
And then share the title or the book or the site….
All of this means a lot to us in an industry-wide market! You mean a lot to us!
So today is READER APPRECIATION DAY and I’d love to hear about how you exchange books or share books or ideas… and if you’re a writer, feel free to jump in and talk about your inspirations. We love hearing all of it!
My inspiration for this series was like a trifecta of love for courage, for pioneers, and for faith…. and a healthy dose of wanting to see the best in things! TOTAL POLLYANNA SYNDROME!
So here’s your chance, give us a holler below and let’s talk books… and westerns…. and history.
Because this is my reality today:
Yes, that would be my back yard, darlings… so I’ve got a little time and I know how to use it. YEE HAW! 🙂
Whatever suits you today!
Multi-published, bestselling, award-winning author Ruth Logan Herne lives on a small farm in Western New York surrounded by grown kids, cute grandkids, cats, dogs, chickens, frogs, toads and snakes. That's why writing Westerns doesn't scare her. Not one smidge. Because she's surrounded by critters of all sorts, and has been known to teach lessons on snakes as available... She started writing Westerns by accident/invitation, and L-O-V-E-D it... matched with her love for both historicals and contemporaries, Ruthy's working on a new Western series for Love Inspired, New England mysteries for Guideposts and her historical Westerns for the indie market in 2018. She loves God, her family, her country and absolutely, positively loves what she does!
That is my reality today, too! More snow and too cold to drive anywhere. 🙂 I like the idea of discussing all things books. I have friends who come to me for book suggestions and borrowing books. Then they tell their friends and relatives what they read and loved and it goes from there! Makes me so happy to be able to share that way. My oldest daughter is hooked on those collection books. It is great to see the book reading love spread to her, also!
Susan, hi!!! The blog was fighting me this morning, a real knock-down, drag-out which was probably ALL MY FAULT…. and I love talking books, too. That’s how I found Herman Wouk…. Jan Karon… Lisa Wingate… Karen White… Deborah Smith…. there’s a bunch of gals I found through our own writing journeys, Mary Connealy and Debby Giusti and Missy Tippens, Lenora Worth, Linda Goodnight, Margaret Daley and so many more…. but I love sharing their names, their work because I love reading it!
I discover new books through author newsletters, following authors on Bookbub, Goodreads and Amazon so that their new releases will be shared with me and by visiting my library. And then there is socail media. Facebook and Twitter are the way that I share about the books that I read with my reader friends. There are so many that I don’t see personally since I retired from the library but FB & Twitter allow me to give a shout-out! BTW, historical fiction is one of my favorite genres!
Blessings to you Ruthy!
Connie
cps1950(at)gmail(dot)com
Connie, a lot of us wonder about newsletters… do you find it good for authors to promo other authors in their newsletters, too? Or do you prefer a Ruthy newsletter or a Mary newsletter or a Becky newsletter without other folks’ stuff? We always go back and forth on the “IS THIS TOO LONG????” question or the “AM I NOT MARKETING WISELY???” because writers are a Little Bit Neurotic.
I am not neurotic.
And I mean that in the nicest way for the writers who are, I figure I loved reading about my favorite authors… LOVED IT!!! And if readers like my work, they’ll love the newsletter… if they don’t love my work, I get the heave-ho, right?
No worries???
No need for neurosis! 🙂
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! And I love historical fiction, too!!!
Your reality was MY reality last week! Our town – our area – received a whopping 16 inches of snow (we rarely even receive an inch!) last week and we’re still reeling from it! It knocked out power, caused havoc on the roads, cancelled school and will keep homeowners busy for months trying to take care of all the downed trees! I wore 4 layers of clothes AND gloves in my house!!! We are slowly getting back to normal but some areas will be without power for 3 more weeks! So, Books! I love them, I love to talk about them! I read 7 books while we were without power! Not much else to do but read! I love newsletters! I love westerns too 🙂 (perhaps it’s my name!)
Valri, I saw that last week. Like WOW! That’s so out of the ordinary for you guys… and amazingly normal for us!
But be that as it may, it’s kind of fun to have storms in life… gives us a break up of same-old, same-old… as long as they’re not dangerous. My heart aches for the poor folks in Alabama that faced a horrendous tornado or series of tornadoes because that’s just beyond the ken…. How does a family, a town, an area recover?
Heartbreaking.
I’ve always tended to follow the same authors so I’ve never been that influenced by recommendations. I’ve always read mostly historical, not necessarily western, but in the last couple of years, cowboys have taken over my reading so if I see a book cover with one on it, I do read more excerpts now sent by Amazon and BookBub by following similar authors.
I’ve never been a big reviewer, but I also never knew you could interact with authors until a few years ago either. Since then, I have joined several street teams and promote those and have started leaving reviews for the other books I read too. I just can’t keep up with the reading or the reviews!
As far as newsletters, I join to hear about that author’s news. Depending on how often they send one, a recommendation or two is not so bad. I have one author though that sends a newsletter almost daily promoting someone else’s book and hardly ever hers. I’m getting ready to unsubscribe from her.
Linda, that’s interesting…. and yes, someone else told me about a daily or almost daily newsletter they were getting from an indie author and they unsubscribed… but I wonder if the unsubscribes outweigh the sales? An interesting question.
I like to cross-read. I read a lot of non-fiction. And I have a shelf of favorites that I go back to from time to time, like I do with favorite movies because I like the familiar. 🙂 That’s so lame, isn’t it??? But true!
I’m reading Kelly Irvin last book. With Winter’s First Frost. Love that the characters are much older, Wiser and let the younger generation take care of them some. A good book for those who enjoy amish theme books. Just thought I would mention her lastest book. Not to say the ladies on here don’t do a good job writing there books too.
Oh, Kim, you’re fine! I want you guys to mention things… And we know that our Westerns have their place in the sun, but it’s really good to read multiple things, don’t you think? I’ve never read that one, but I’ll keep my eye out for it.
Welcome Ruthy. LOL I am so glad all of us are normal. Makes life interesting and fun. I love to give reviews. I will admit though, when I really really don’t care for a book I don’t give a review. I just cant be negative like that to an author. After all, there are lots of people that will like it. I had to look up the word: trifecta. Interesting. I learned a new word today. Thanks. I love the movie Pollyanna. And the Pollyanna Syndrome is so fun to use. I used it so much when the kids where growing up, they do the same at ages 31 and 33. I would love to read the: The Sewing Sisters Society. It is on my to buy list.
Lori, hey there!
Yes, normal is so much more fun that being a paragon! 🙂 We have more stories to share!
And I appreciate what you’re saying. I agree, negative reviews aren’t my cup of tea either because what if it’s just my preference? My likes/dislikes?
I remember a contest entry from years ago and the character was a spineless person… I really disliked this character, I kind of wanted to slap her. Wake her up.
And then I saw someone else’s take on this opening chapter and they said “If you were trying to create a unlikable, sniveling, self-absorbed character, congratulations. You were successful. If that was not your goal, you might want to consider revisiting your heroine and changing her.”
Just that.
No repercussions and no judgments, but I read that and my mouth dropped open… and then I realized she was right.
What if that was exactly what the author was striving for?
#SUCCESS!!!!!
That taught me to keep my mouth shut because there are plenty of people out there who will give reviews…. And it’s not that I want to shade a bad book toward the good side. It’s that I’m mature enough now to realize that my take on “bad” might not always be accurate.
Hello Ruth- I’m so ready for spring. You know you’ve been living with arctic temps when today we finally hit 32 and the car wash is packed. LOL!!
I love sharing books and I’m always sending one of my friends a surprise book in the mail. Books are the best. They allow us to get away from reality and stress for awhile.
Thanks for coming to see us again. You’re a sweetheart.
Tonya, that was us last week!!!!! Two months of salt washed clean for 48 hours… and now it’s a disaster again, LOL!
I love that you do that. It’s such a cool thing to do! Sharing books and surprising others. Good for you!
And that getting away, losing ourselves in a book is what got me through that really rough childhood…. and I knew that someday I wanted to be the person who helped others get away. How blessed I am to be able to do that now!!!!
Happy dancing!
Thanks for stopping over today!
I’m so excited to be joining this group! So many wonderful authors! It’s so cold here in Texas but at last…the sun is shining!
Hey Pam, good to see you here!!!! And I’m waitin’ on that sunshine and for old man winter to loosen his grip… It’s all about the flowers now, girl… 🙂 I want me some flowers!!!
I got to reading again when my cousin, Tonya Lucas, recommended Linda Broday’s HWR to me. I got the series books #2-3 at the local used book store. I downloaded the book which was #1 in the series. After reading this series, I have been hooked ever since. I found that Tonya and I have similar tastes in reading. My authors have grown greatly since this beginning. And, I have introduced Tonya jto a few authors along the way. P&P has helped with my reading as well. Now my TBR list is out of control!
Yes my sweet cousin Jerri Lynn and I reconnected since we live 8 hours apart through fb and through the love of books. We have introduced each other to some amazing authors and some hot to trot book boyfriends. Love you my sweet Jerri!
Yes, those hot to trot book boyfriends are a special bonus. We still argue over Houston Legend from Linda’s Men of Legend. And, Cole Jacobs from Kari Lynn Dell’s Rodeo series, Tougher. We have found some life changing memorable reads as well.
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN!!!!! This is every author’s wish/hope/goal, for readers to share their work and it doesn’t seem like a huge thing initially… but it grows exponentially (that’s where high school math comes in!!!!) and if you love an author… share their stuff…. their blogs… their websites…. their books.
I didn’t know you guys were family. That rocks!!!!
Hi Ruthy!! I think I’ve been reading from the womb…lol! Seriously, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t reading. Growing up, you could often find me at the library. Even in High School after I ate my lunch, I’d be there. It’s where I met my first sweetheart 🙂
Nowadays, some books I get from being on launch teams for various authors, some I’ve won and then I do still borrow from my library. I have a Kindle so having the ability to read digital books has really opened up a whole other way to read. My sister-in-law and I exchange paperbacks between us every few months. I find lots of ways to read!
Trixi, you are an avid reader, for sure! What a blessing you are for so many! And thank you for helping authors get the word out, get the buzz buzzing! That’s a wonderful thing to do!!! And yay for you and sis-in-law!
I love reading romances and found Shanna Hatfield on Amazon Unlimited, which lead me to petticoats and pistols. I like to leave reviews for others because who wants to keep an good thing quiet. I also tell my friends when I find a book I like.
Vicki, yes…. I love that you found Shanna that way. I know a lot of my readers have done the same thing, they find me on KU and then go searching for me on Amazon to see what else I have… and fortunately, there’s a lot to choose from, LOL! Sharing that with friends… thank you, thank you, thank you!
I love sharing the books I love by loaning them to others and I love requesting them to people through book clubs and at the library! I have been loving the audio books , like Karen Witemeyer) and there are little introductions to other books after the book ends. I also follow lots of facebook reading accounts!
Kellie, GO YOU!!!!!! Thank you so much! And who doesn’t love Karen Witemeyer (THE BRAT!!!!) She’s so funny and stinkin’ cute and talented. Thank you for sharing names and books and requesting at libraries…. that’s a big thing, too. Bless you!
My mom just sold her home of 40+ years and moved 150 miles south to be near me (and more importantly, her grandkids). Now that Mom’s close by again, I’m having lots of fun trading books back and forth with her. I missed that in recent years!
Oh, Carrie, that’s awesome! I love that she’s closer now… and that she’s got time to be near grandkids and you! Party bonus!!!!! And the trading books is just double the fun!