J.R. Rain and Peep Shows

I was....

At last count, I had 60 different jobs prior to writing full time. Probably my most interesting job was working as a squire at Medieval Times. Nothing says “manly” like running around in fake chainmail tights. Mostly, though, I worked as an insurance claims investigator and later as a private investigator.

I am....

My name’s J.R. Rain and I write mystery novels. Granted, my books are packaged to look like many different kinds of books, from supernatural romantic suspense to adventure thrillers, but at their very heart my books are always mystery novels first.

I will be....

...writing as many books as I possibly can. ;)

What prompted you to go back to some of your previous stories and redesign their covers?

My early covers were fairly pathetic, although I certainly did the best I could. (You can see an example of the first MOON DANCE cover on Amazon.com if you click on the “paperback” option.) Well, no one thing prompted me to redesign my covers, other my own driving need to put the best-looking product I could out there. Luckily, I came across a wonderful cover designer (Bren at bren@gotchacoveredbydesign.com), and she helped me find some book cover success. Hell, I would still be lost without her.

What issues have you had with the redesign?

Well, my cover designer and I work well together. I am open to her suggestions, and she’s quick to implement my ideas. I truly think that’s the best formula.

Did you design the covers yourself or hire a graphic designer?

I designed the covers to DARK HORSE and THE MUMMY CASE myself. Sometimes simple is best, especially for a murder mystery. But my paranormal mysteries needed some pop, and so that’s where I sought help. Bren happened to be a graphic design friend of mine who was looking to get into book covers--and I just happened to be a writer in search of a book cover designer. A match made in heaven!

How has this experience affected future cover designs that you are planning?

My future designs are up in the air. I suppose I should someday brand a style or a font for all my book covers, but I truly love having all my books look different. I like thinking that each cover is a minor work of art. So, to answer your question, my future plans are up in the air. Of course, when you work with a designer as awesome as Bren, well, there’s really very little to worry about.

I already know that the material that you write between the covers is great but other than word of mouth how do you promote your books to new readers?

I give live peep shows on the weekends. Kidding! (Or am I?) Well, I was on Amazon Kindle for over eight months before I started seeing any real success. I studied other successful writers and how they marketed their books and tried to emulate them. My best advice, though, is to think about following future market trends. If paranormals are hot, write one. If young adult romances are hot, then write one. Of course, put your own spin on the story and make it your own, but why not follow the hot trends? Doing so guarantees book sales. Oh, and publish your books ASAP on Kindle. I no longer even bother with the NY publishers. Tides are turning, and the new wave of publishing is ebooks. Surfs up.

Happy writing, and I wish you all a ton of success!

J.R. Rain

www.jrrain.com

Good Books, Good Wine, Good FriendsWhat Could be Better.

More on eBooks and their covers

I love twitter. It shows me fairly quickly that I am not the only one thinking of some of these issues. While I may come at most of my opinions from the view of a reader (who is slowly working on writing her own book), I enjoy reading blogs from people that are actually in the publishing business.

Such as Ivor Tossell's Globe and Mail article today.

I do firmly believe that e-books need good cover design. An interactive link to a dictionary for that word that you just can't understand in context. Even a hyperlink to the author (or publishers) website.

An interactive murder mystery would be extremely cool. Sort of an updated choose your own adventure. Sell the first chapter for 99 cents. At the end of each chapter your have 2-3 choices. If you choose the wrong choice but want to continue you have to buy the first chapter again. First person to correctly finish the book would win a prize. But, please don't attach video games to the story.

I have even noticed some authors are now having bands make music cds for their books. You can listen to the authors musical inspirations while reading your story. That could be a cool addition to a book if it came with the option to turn the music off when desired. Here you can use the two pronged marketing approach. Sell the band's music with "free" copy of the book or vice-versa.

Anyway it is already 60 degrees here and the day is to beautiful to be inside on the laptop. I am still pondering which e-reader to get. Love the battery life of the Kindle but love the color cover feature of the Nook. As much as I love book covers that may be the deciding factor. I can always recharge it in the car with an inverter.


Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends What Could be Better.

Book Review - The Sleeping Beauty by Mercedes Lackey

In the land of 500 Kingdoms where fairy tales not only aren't just tales but are in fact events that occurred in the not so distant past how does one prevent "The Tradition" from taking control and causing the worst parts of the fairy tales to come true at the expense of the good people involved?

Well, if you are a fairy godmother by the name of Lily who has had the same kingdom Eltaria to watch over for 300 years then you use every trick in your fairy godmother book to try to make sure that events happen as they should and not as "The Tradition" would choose for them to happen.

Rosamund (Eltaria's princess) is being fought over by two very different princes. While at the same time her kingdom is besieged on all sides by others that want to control it.

With multiple fairy tales converging due to "The Tradition" read this enchanting story to find out which fairy tale prevails in the kingdom of Eltaria.

This is Ms. Lackeys 5th book in the 500 Kingdoms series. Each of the 500 Kingdom books is a pleasure on it's own but as with any series the more of the series you read the more understanding and enjoyment of the author's universe a reader is able to achieve.

Ms. Lackey's 500 Kingdoms universe is one I enjoy being drawn into each time I pick up another one of these re-imagined fairy tales.

Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends What Could be Better.

Never judge a book by its cover... part 2

Books and their covers. I am looking at two right now. Neither are books that I would have picked in the past. It used to be that I would look for the bodice rippers. You know the ones that had Fabio on them. This was before he couldn't believe it wasn't butter. Well there is something nice to be said about half dressed men on the cover of a book it doesn't improve the readability of the book at all.

The two books on the table next to me are Therapy by Jonathan Kellerman and The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge.


I am over half way through Therapy and need to have Daniel X's story read by Sundays book club. In fact I need to get back on track with reading my book a day.

Even though a book shouldn't be judged on its cover I still find some of the amateurish artwork (clip art, pre-made covers where you just change the title and author) that some of the independent authors use to be so unappealing as to pass over their books.

While designing a cover may not be easy it doesn't have to be expensive to hire a freelance graphic artist to do your cover design. It doesn't have to be fancy it just has to be your own. If I am scrolling through Amazon's kindle books I will see a picture of the cover, if it looks like a cover I have already purchased I will skip right over it.

Many authors are realizing this and taking the time to redesign their book covers from their first attempts. While it doesn't affect the quality of the reading material between the covers it does affect the readers perception of the quality of the the authors work.

And perception is everything when it comes to choosing a book. Whether that perception is based on the cover, the blurb on the back, or another readers recommendation that is how a reader will choose which new authors to read.

I've found something similar with Wine labels. I take my teenager wine shopping with me. She doesn't drink it but it seems she can look at a bottle and whether it is the label, the hue of the wine, or the weight of the bottle she always seems to help me add good wines to my collection. Not that they stay collected long because what good is wine if you can't drink it and share a bottle with friends


Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends What Could be Better.

Sun, Wine and Food at The Gardens

This last Sunday Savor Idaho was held at the Idaho Botanical Gardens. 28 Restaurants and 23 local wineries. Moya and her group did a great job of pulling this event together for it's second year.

We couldn't have asked for better weather. The event sold out on Friday, 950 people attending. Buy your tickets early next year. I felt bad that we had to turn people away because the event was sold out.

Unfortunately for me I was working the event and was too busy to try either the wine or food but everyone's comments as they left were positive and looking forward to next year. Next year I wont be working the event, I want the chance to enjoy some of my favorite wineries and restaurants. In fact, I think the entire book club should plan on making a day of it next year.

Camas Prairie Winery had a 2007 Idaho Huckleberry mead for sale... I wasn't able to buy it it since it had already sold out. The owner Stu is looking to retire and sell his winery...Here is an article with more information on that.

Another that sold out was Woodriver Cellars Port. There were several others that sold out as the evening ended so when you go next year buy your must have wines as early in the afternoon as possible. Several people were disappointed that they couldn't get all the wine that they had chosen to buy.

How can the day be bad though when Mai Thai, Brick Oven Bistro, Berryhill & Co, and Kanak Attack Catering & Ono Hawaiaan Cafe (just to name a few of the great restaurants) pair up with Cinder, Hell's Canyon Winery, Holesinsky Winery and Snake River Winery (again just a few of the many good wineries that were there).

Check out Savor Idaho's site for a complete list of everybody that was there.

I can't decide if a book would have actually made the day any better. Everyone that I spoke to was in such a good mood that even if I hadn't been working and had a book with me I don't think I would have actually even opened it up since talking to everyone was so wonderful.

BTW if anybody sees a bottle of that Camas Pairie 2007 Huckleberry Mead around let me know. I really wish I had been able to get a taste of it with all the wonderful comments that I overheard from some of the event attendees.

While Savor Idaho @ Idaho Botanical Gardens is over for another year don't forget that Great Garden Escape happens every Thursday evening. Bring a bottle of wine and your picnic dinner or purchase wine or handcrafted beer on site. You can even purchase dinner from Willowcreek Grill who will be on-site.


Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends What Could be Better.

Never judge a book by its cover... part 1

Never judge a book by its cover. Now however, maybe that should be never judge a book by its publisher. With so many authors choosing to go the independent publishing route our available reading material seems to have grown exponentially in the last year.

While I do believe that quite a few of the self published works out there are more of the vanity publishing style, as in no one but family and friends would willing read them. There are several really great authors that got their start through writing online fan-fiction. Some have been picked up by publishing houses (I was going to say real publishers but that doesn't apply anymore).

I have piles upon piles and boxes upon boxes of books. I know this because I have just finished packing everything up for a move. Out of the hundreds (thousands) of books that I own I could only find one small box of books (30-40) that I was willing to donate to one of the local charities. All of those physical books don't include the audio books on my computer or all the fan-fiction stories that I have read over the last twenty years.

When you walk into your local bookstore what draws your eye to a book? Is it the bright colors of background and title? The image on the front? Is it knowing which author you are looking for? Or is it a recommendation from the bookseller behind the counter?

With all the online purchases of books that are made how do we get those recommendations now? How do we find that new author? You know what I mean...that author that isn't part of Oprah's book club or some other celebrity endorsement.

The publishing houses have many ways of promoting their authors (and more funds than most independent authors). One way is to review the works of these authors on blogs (but who knows which blogs to go to for this? I hope that mine makes that blog list as it ages.) The main way is for us as readers to take a few minutes out of our day and post reviews on the online bookstores sites.

If you loved a book let other people know by recommending it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Borders websites. Yes I know there are other re-sellers but these seem to be the main three.

I am grateful to Zoe Winters for her guest blog post this last month and look forward to many more guest blogs from other independent authors. If you are an author willing to do a guest blog for our site please let us know. The only requirement is that each blog start with the following three sentences.

I was.......
I am........
I will be...

So in keeping with that here is my own for today (it changes regularly)...

I was a drone (playing tetris) in the electronics industry.
I am a full-time student and mother.
I will be me (whoever that ends up being as I grow in my own mind).

I got a little sidetracked so I will post more thoughts on book covers and independent publishers next week.

Good Books, Good Wine, Good Friends What Could be Better.