Paris, Je T’Aime: Looking Back
I cannot say exactly when I fell in love with Paris. I suppose I came by it gradually. Before I knew that this love had seized me irrevocably, I thought that if there was one place in the world I … Continued
iReads Book Tour: The Shade Under the Mango Tree
The Shade Under the Mango Tree is on a virtual iReads Book Tour. A relatively global one―that is, it goes to other countries like Canada, the UK, and India. Even Egypt. Book Tours are more fun when they include giveaways. … Continued
Watch: Enticing Book Trailer for Welcome Reluctant Stranger
On Monday, March 5, I woke up to a most wonderful surprise— a book trailer for Welcome Reluctant Stranger. Pump Up Your Book is running a virtual book tour for this novel, Book 3 of the family saga, Between Two … Continued
Tantalizing … Alluring … Sugar and Spice and All Those Lies Review
Sugar and Spice and All Those Lies Review: 5 / 5–San Francisco Book Review Sugar and Spice and All Those Lies weaves an intricate narrative of sex, love, and murder with the food and the restaurant industry as the backdrop. The … Continued
Book Reviews: Do You Live or Die By Them?
Don’t you just love, get exasperated, get thrilled, even occasionally feel depressed at book reviews of your beloved creation? You pause, wallow in the feeling, and then, you tell yourself it’s as much about the readers as it is about … Continued
Hello Agnieszka Giveaway Winners
The Hello Agnieszka giveaway is finished. Thank you to all who entered. And thank you also to everyone who’s shown interest in any of my books by buying them, downloading them free during promotions or reading excerpts of them. Authors … Continued
My Day as BOTD on OnlineBookclub.org
I am a relatively unknown author at a time when all the numbers are against me. Of all the millions of books on Amazon, with more than 300,000 new releases every year in the US alone, why would anyone pick … Continued
Writing As An Adventurous Foodie
Do you remember when Hillary Clinton had to give out her cookie recipe to show everyone she’s an ordinary housewife, when her lesser half first ran for president? Well, Ms. Clinton isn’t ordinary and if the cookie recipe was actually … Continued
SPR Independent Woman Author Awards: I Got One!
Self Publishing Review honored me with a Bronze Author Award last week, citing my writing as the main criterion for which they picked me as one of their three awardees for the 2015 SPR Independent Woman Author Awards. Here’s what … Continued
How Can You Boost Your KDP Free Days? Useful Data-Based Insights
On two consecutive Fridays in June, I ran kdp free days for Hello, My Love! (HML), Book 1, and Welcome Reluctant Stranger! (WRS), Book 3, of my series, Between Two Worlds. I meant to test a couple of my suspicions. … Continued
Want to Go Viral? Target a mouthy audience
Want to go viral? Take a cue from a former teacher of creative writing. He came out with a rant about his students and the craft of writing. The piece riled quite a few people. Mostly writers, for sure. Enough … Continued
How Much Do You Crave Success? A Writer’s 2015 To-do List
It is Christmas season. If you’re a Christian (only about a third of the world population). What next for you as a writer? How much do you crave success? After all the grub, booze, and discarded gifts (or, at least, … Continued
Writer and Slave: Get Used To It
You are a writer. Therefore, you’re a slave. To reviews, to courting a readership, to spending hours on tasks not related to writing. Writer and slave: You’re helpless against that bondage. Most writers now are resigned to the fact that … Continued
Book Trailers: Harnessing their power for book promotion
Everyone is doing book trailers these days. So, why not jump on the bandwagon? Well, for one, having someone do book trailers for you can cost money. Money you may not have on your limited book promotion budget. But you … Continued