All posts by Avery Flynn

About Avery Flynn

Writer. Smart Ass. Lover of Chocolate. Bringing steamy romance with a twist of mystery to the masses, one hot book at a time.

Ghosts in Mermaid Lagoon Free Short Story Anthology

Carlene Love Flores, Dana Rodgers, Denny S. Bryce, Free Read, Giveaway, Kerri Carpenter, Kimberly MacCarron, Loni Lynne, Masha Levinson, Susan Andrews

A cold chill has invaded the Waterworld Mermaid lagoon. Is it merely the firm grip of fall or something far more sinister?

Find out for yourself as we bring you a month-long short story anthology featuring ghost stories from mermaids Carlene Love Flores, Dana Rogers, Denny S. Bryce, Kerri Carpenter, Kimberly MacCarron, Loni Lynne, Masha Levinson and Susan Andrews. On October 31 our Ghosts in Mermaid Lagoon free read ends with a massive giveaway.

So step right into the lagoon, the water is perfect for tales of ghosts and mysteries of the great beyond.

Ask a Mermaid: What Do Editors & Agents Want in an Author’s Online Persona?

Ask a Mermaid,

Ask a Mermaid is a monthly advice column for writers. If we don’t have the answers, we’ll find them for you. Send in your questions to Ask a Mermaid.

Dear Mermaids,I’m an unpublished author and am overwhelmed with the blog, Twitter, Facebeook, Pinterest, website things that everyone says I need to have. What are editors, agents and publishers really looking for when they say to develop my online persona?

Thanks for the help,
Treading Water

Great question Treading! Our short answer would be an engaging persona that fits with the type of books you write but doesn’t talk only about the books you write. 🙂 For a more complete answer to your question we pulled agent Sara Megibow with the Nelson Agency and designer Tara Green, the creative director for Eye on Romance, into the lagoon for a little chat.  Continue reading →

Should Writers Buy Ads?

Avery Flynn, Marketing, ,

Oh my, the lagoon feels awesome today. Just what I needed in the midst of promo madness for Passion Creek.

Hold on a second, let me sink a little lower in the lagoon’s fizzy jets. Ah, yes, it’s right between my shoulders. Love. It.

Okay, what was I talking about? … That’s right promo. I had an interesting conversation via Twitter with a few folks recently about why would an author (or publisher) buy an ad on a specific book blogger’s site and what they wanted from the site. Then, I had a conversation with a lovely group of authors who said they rarely, if ever, bought ads.

So should authors buy ads and if they do, what should they consider when making an ad buy? Continue reading →

Ask a Mermaid: Best Advice From the Lagoon

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Do you have a question for Ask a Mermaid? Click to logo to submit.

We’ve had many a successful author, agent and publisher come dip that toes in the lagoon. So, for today’s Ask a Mermaid, we thought it would be fun to revisit some of share some of our favorite advice from some of our favorite authors.

Ask a Mermaid is a monthly advice column for writers. If we don’t have the answers, we’ll find them for you. Send in your questions to Ask a Mermaid.

Darynda Jones

How do you balance your web presence (blogging, web site, interview) with your writing?

Badly. It’s really hard to come up with that balance and it’s a constant challenge for me. I will often spend more time on writing-related content than actual writing, and that is not how it should be. I’m considering therapy.

Hank Edwards

Writing sex scenes – agony or ecstasy?
Just like having sex, I need to be in the mood. When I’m in the mood, it’s amazing. When I force myself to write them, it’s agony. A lot of time I’ll do the “XXX” trick, marking the spot in the book and come back to it when I’m feeling a little more feisty.  ; )

 

Chuck Wendig

What are the three most important things every romance writer should know about the inner workings of the male mind?

Oh, Sweet Jeebus, you’re making me the standard-bearer for the male-mind? Uh oh.

All right. Let’s try this.

First, we do think about sex as much as everyone says. Sometimes it’s sweet. Sometimes it’s weird. Sometimes it involves eye-popping debauchery that we could never say out loud. (“A cowgirl uniform, a birch tree, and a bucket of… fresh mulch?”)

Second, we think women are complicated. And we think we’re deliriously simple. But secretly we also know that we’re just as complicated as you, and further, we’re not all that different but we’ve all been taught how different we are and that’s our default way of thinking. In other words: we’re full of shit and most of the time we don’t realize it, so, uhh, sorry?

Third, we like romance just as much as you do, but somewhere along the way someone probably told us that it was weird and so we pretend we don’t. You merely need to remind us with examples.

Gail Barrett

What’s your schedule like lately and how do you find the time to write such intriguing suspense stories?

Ideally, I start writing by 7am every weekday. I’m a very early riser, so by 7am I’ve had my coffee and breakfast, showered and answered emails, and am ready to go.  I take a brief exercise break at around 9am to wake myself up, and then a longer exercise break in the early afternoon.  I don’t do much writing after that unless I’m on deadline.  I’m much more of a morning person. I also work on the weekends, but usually I go for a long walk with my husband in the morning, and then write for a bit in the afternoons.

Francis Ray

As a highly successful romance author who has published more than 45 titles, what advice would you give writers breaking into today’s publishing industry?

Learn the genre, read widely, don’t compare yourself to anyone, and join a writing organization.

Megan Hart

Are the processes any different for you between writing your mainstream fiction and romance? 

Not really. I approach them the same way, how am I going to tell this particular story. What is important about it. What do I need to include (or not!) to tell the story in the best way possible.

Janet Evanovich

How often do you write and do you keep a set schedule? Do you ever start to get the shakes if you don’t write? 

Seven days a week — usually eight hours at a clip. I don’t get the shakes, but I do feel the hot breath of the next deadline on my neck.

Lori Foster

With the increase in e-books, digital publishing, self publishing and all the changes in New York, where do you see the industry going and what are you doing to prepare?

Nada. I mean, I leave that up to my agent and editor and publisher and publicist. I just focus on writing the best books I know how to write. From there, it’s pretty much out of hands!

Sarah Wendell

For the sake of this question, your best friend is single, what romance hero would you set her up with?

Ooh, tough question! I’d have to think about it, as there are so many very different heroes. It isn’t as if there’s one perfect dude for everyone and all the romance writers create books about him. Each hero is perfect for the heroine he’s matched with in each novel… so there’s no one perfect hero, alas.

Ask a Mermaid is a monthly advice column for writers. If we don’t have the answers, we’ll find them for you. Send in your questions to Ask a Mermaid.

Going Hollywood: Making Book Trailers

Marketing, , ,

I’ll start off by letting you know this post is going to be Mac centric. That doesn’t mean I don’t have anything for you PC users out there. I do. Here is the best advice ever for PC users:

GET A MAC!

OK, that was smarmy of me. I apologize. Sort of.

Whether you use a Mac or a PC, there are a ton of movie editing apps and programs you can use to create a book trailer. Here is a comparison for PC and here for Mac. I use iMovie, which comes with my Mac. With this software, I can use themes to create fun little slideshows with still images or I can use trailers to create video clips that look like movie trailers. The best part of this is that is is so simple to do I could do it drunk. It probably wouldn’t look pretty and the spelling would be atrocious, but it’s possible is my point. All you have to do to use iMovie is drag and drop files from one window on your screen to another. You can add in title cards, dissolves, sound clips, music and more.

I love book covers, but I find book trailers that are just pans of the book cover kind of boring. Not saying they can’t be done and end up extraordinary, but those are few and far between. My recommendation is to go to a stock art site and buy stock video. My favorite site is istockphoto. You can type in some key words and find exactly the type of video you need. A word of warning: If you’re like me, you will get sucked into this site, so be prepared to spend some time. Also, istockphoto has still photos and music files, so really it’s a one stop shop for book trailers.

No, I don’t own stock in the company, but really I should considering how much money I spend there between Avery Flynn stuff and client photos and videos for the Evil Day Job.

Another option is to work with a company that produces book trailers. One company whose trailers I really like is Circle of Seven Productions. I haven’t worked with them myself, but they do some beautiful videos. Another possibility is Jeffrey Somers who made Amanda Brice’s super cute young adult novel book trailer. The narrator’s voice is just sooooo 14.

Ready for some examples? Yay, me too!

From Circle of Seven Productions:

 

From WRW’s Amanda Brice created by Jeffery Somers:

 

And from little ole me and my Mac:

Ask a Mermaid: I Hate My Heroine, Can This WIP Be Saved?

Ask a Mermaid, Diana Belchase, ,

Ask a Mermaid is a monthly advice column for writers. If we don’t have the answers, we’ll find them for you. Send in your questions to Ask a Mermaid.

Do you have a question for Ask a Mermaid? Click to logo to submit.

Dear Mermaids,

A horrible thing has happened. I’m halfway through my WIP and I’ve started to hate my heroine. Well, hate may be too strong a word but she sure does annoy me. Can this WIP be saved?

 Sinking in the Deep End

 

Dear Sinking,

First, congratulations on hating your heroine.  No, seriously, I promise I’m not being facetious.  The fact that you are identifying a problem halfway through your WIP is a great tribute to your writing sensory skills.  I don’t know if this is your first manuscript or you have others in your back pocket, but in my case, I finished the entire WIP and sent out submissions before I realized the heroine sucked.  And it’s a lot more difficult to fix a whole manuscript that to go back on something that is not yet finished.

My advice would be to put aside your manuscript and write down the specific reason why you aren’t bonding with her.  Putting it on paper will help cement the problem.  Next, put away your writer cap and take out the reader headgear.  If you purchased this book, why wouldn’t you connect with this heroine.  Write those things down too.  Compare the lists and see if there are matches.  Your lists may be different because when you are writing your focus is different than when you’re simply the reader and trying to get swept away by a story.

Next, go back to your manuscript and highlight where you think things went off track.  Was she unlikable from the beginning or did the writing veer off at some point?  I’m thinking if she’s unlikable from the beginning, it may be because you didn’t fully define her in your own mind.  So when it came time to write her, she may have swayed all over the place.  I know that’s the case with some of my writing.

If all else fails, my last bit of advice is to plagiarize.  No, I don’t mean ACTUALLY plagiarize.  Take your most favorite book ever, the one where the hero and heroine are so real they practically come off the page and start reading it again.  But don’t read as a reader.. read as a writer.  Try to pinpoint why you connect with the heroine and how the author manages to convey that attachment (heck, maybe even put together the same list, but this time, write down why the heroine was great).

Lastly.. if none of this works.. go for Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.  Extra calories always gets my creativity flowing.

Good luck!

Mermaid Masha Levinson

 

Dear Sinking,

The first awesome bit of news is….YES! Your WIP can not only be saved but it can be made fabulous and riveting. Try this fun exercise that helps me: Set aside some alone time for yourself and your hero. Once you’ve got that, straight up ask him this, “Hey there handsome, so this girl you’re in love with, yeah the totally annoying chick no one but you can stand, what the heck is it that you see in her?” He’s your hero, he won’t let you down. And the second bit of awesome news? It’s my opinion that a prickly, hard to love heroine makes for fireworks when you figure out how to make the rest of us love her. So don’t give up!

Fishy kisses!

Mermaid Carlene Love Flores

 

Dear Sinking,

Of course she can be saved, Deep End. You made her, and you can fix her! Remember, two of the most beloved heroines of all time were not very nice people. Scarlett O’Hara was a conniving, man-stealing, vain, selfish woman. Shanna, in Kathleen Woodiwiss’ novel of the same name, was equally arrogant. Yet, these two heroines are beloved because of their transformative journey.

My advice, figure out what is annoying you. Make a list of those traits and then see what you can do to flesh out and balance your character. Can we forgive Scarlett when we see her heart is broken over Ashley? Do we want to cover our eyes and scream, “No don’t do it,” when she marries Melanie’s brother? Those are the kind of little flaws, equalizers, that keep us reading until we see the heroine become more than what she is at the moment. So, take your heroinethrough those “human” moments and let the reader see what the people in her life cannot — her true heart.

Good luck and don’t give up!

Mermaid Diana Belchase

Ask a Mermaid is a monthly advice column for writers. If we don’t have the answers, we’ll find them for you. Send in your questions to Ask a Mermaid.

The Promo Dilemma

Marketing

The awesome news? Passion Creek, book three in the Layton series, is coming out Aug. 31.

The not-so-awesome news? I only have two months to develop a marketing plan and get reviews lined up.

Ack!

It’s the promo dilemma. Sure, my publisher markets the books (thank you Evernight Publishing, thank you), but that doesn’t let me off the hook. This means I’m on the hunt for a virtual book tour company. I’ve worked with several companies in the past and each were great but not that star-crossed lovers type of perfect fit. Come on, I’m a romance novelist, of course I shoot for that. 🙂

I started sending out feelers the other day, looking for recommendations and I received and interesting reply: Why not just do it yourself?

The short answer is a lack of time. I’ve organized book tours before. It’s frickin’ exhausting. It also steals me away from writing, from the old day job (don’t tell the boss) and my family – not necessarily listed in order of importance.

When I hire a virtual book tour company, I have a partner that does all the legwork. All I have to do is write a few guest posts and do a few interviews. Heaven!

That said, I’ll still be lining up guest blogs, interviews and reviews myself. I’ve been lucky enough to meet some amazing authors and book bloggers who are very generous in letting me plunk myself down at their blog and chat with their readers. I cannot express how amazing these folks are.

So, anyone have any virtual book tour company recommendations?

Enjoy a Little Southern Comfort with Debut Author Robin Covington

mermaids,

Have you ever wondered what happens when two Waterworld Mermaids chat on Facebook? No? Oh come on, like you have a life. Wait, that’s just me without one? *slink swims away*

Ha. Like you could get rid of me that easily. 🙂

I have our own Robin Covington cornered under the waterfall. Her debut novel, A Night of Southern Comfort, came out June 15. Yay! If you haven’t bought it yet, you really should. The book is awesome! Recently, Robin and I chatted about A Night of Southern Comfort via Facebook and it went like this:

Avery FlynnAvery Flynn

Hey hot stuff you out there?

Robin CovingtonRobin Covington

Hey! I’m here. beer in hand.

Avery Flynn

Oh what kind are you drinking?

Robin Covington

Coors Light! We were out of Rolling Rock and Stella

Avery Flynn

That is a crap beer. I’m ashamed you even have it in your house. For your book release I’m buying you some real beer.

Robin Covington

I know . . . I know. I usually have Stella. poor me

Avery Flynn

OK, let’s talk about your book. I love the opening scene in the bar. Did that come to you full grown or did you have to write into it?

Robin Covington

I thought of the whole scene from beginning to end once I thought of the first line about her losing her Junior League membership if they knew what she was doing in that bar. I heard that and then I knew she’d go through with it.

Avery Flynn

Ha. Love it. I’m so excited to talk about your book that I jumped the gun. Give us the blurb and a bit of background about your characters.

Robin Covington

Okay. A Night of Southern Comfort is about two people, Michaela and Jackson, who give themselves one night to get what they really want instead of settling for what they think they can have. When fate throws them together again they have the chance to have the life they really want – if they can get beyond Jackson’s deception.
Jackson is a former Marine and Undercover FBI agent that is back in his little Southern hometown – where he never wanted to be. Michaela is the daughter of a rising politician and she is sick of living in a fishbolw so she goes to Elliott, VA to have a normal life.

Avery Flynn

If you had to pick one moment from A Night of Southern Comfort that stands out as one of your favorites, what would you say it is?

Robin Covington

Oh man! That’s like asking a mam to pick their favorite kid!

Avery Flynn

Suck it up. 

Robin Covington

I think it would have to be when Michaela wakes Jackson from his nightmare and they make love for the first knowing who their real identities.

Avery Flynn

Awwwwww, that was a really awesome scene. OK, were going to finish off with some Family Feud style quirky questions.
  • Thong or Panties?
  • One food you’d eat every day for a year if you could?
  • Top three men on your island?
  • Favorite guilty pleasure?
  • Number one thing you need for a cross country road trip?

Robin Covington

  • Thong
  • Haribo gummi bers
  • Joe Mangianello, Alex O’Loughlin and Christopher Gorham
  • Guilty pleasure: Sunbathing nude
  • My iPod!

Avery Flynn

Mmmmm gummi bears. Remind me to send you the gummi bears You Tube song. You’ll never get it out of your head. Thanks so much for doing this Robin. Give us the deets on your release dates and tell the fine folks where they can read an excerpt.

Robin Covington

It was my pleasure! The book will be out on June 15th (excerpt is TBD at this point!)

Avery Flynn

Well then I’ll end with a big naner naner boo boo because I’ve gotten to read the whole thing and it’s AWESOME! Have a great night Robin – even with that God awful beer. 

Robin Covington

Thanks! At least it wasn’t a Zima!
Check out the rest of our conversation on my Avery Flynn blog and enjoy some tunes that helped inspire A Night of Southern Comfort.

Ask a Mermaid: How to Get Your Book Reviewed

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Dear Mermaids,

Sure, I’ve written a novel, but now I’m stuck trying to figure out how to write a review request that will stand out without crossing the line into being obnoxious. Help, what do I do?

Splashily Yours,

Starfish Magee

Great question, Starfish! Reviews can be one of the more powerful way to get your book noticed. To find out the way to make it happen, we went swimming with Joyce Lamb from USA Today’s Happy Ever After, Carole from The Romance Reviews and Talina Perkins, who reviews for Night Owl Reviews and her own blog, Bookin It Reviews.

It only took a couple of Waterworld Mermaid mojitos before this trio spilled the beans.

 

 

Joyce:

That is a very good question, because SO many romance authors are super obnoxious. Just kidding!
Here’s the secret (for me, anyway): Be nice. Be interesting. Be concise.
The main thing I want to know is what’s interesting about your book. There are lots of books about vampires, Navy SEALs and dukes out there, so what makes yours different? (Though I don’t need a whole synopsis about it — just the highlights, please.)
Also, be sure to find out the name of the person you’re pitching to. Just as an agent or editor would be put off by a “to whom it may concern” greeting, so am I. That just tells me you didn’t bother to do your homework. And seeing as how I’m inundated with requests, it’s easy to decide to toss out the ones that aren’t even addressed to me.
Also, please don’t take it personally if I don’t choose to review your book. It’s not you, I swear! My desk is buried under piles and piles of books, which is kinda funny, because overseeing Happy Ever After isn’t my actual job at USA Today.
So, there you go: Be nice. Be interesting. Be concise.

 

 

 

Carole:

Congratulations on publishing your novel! You must be so excited, and you’re going in the right direction by seeking out reviews to give your book more exposure.

However, with the hundreds of books being published each week, review sites are also receiving hundreds of review requests in the same time frame, so your question is valid. How does your review request stand out?

My magic formula is this: Write a simple, polite email requesting a review. More importantly, check out the review sites’ requirements. Each review site would usually have their own list of what they want to see in a review request. Some review sites don’t want you to email; they have a form for you to fill out the details of the book you’re requesting a review for. As an example, you can find The Romance Reviews’ requirements here.

It would be best to give the review sites what they want, exactly how they want it. Why? Because yours will be one of hundreds of requests, and if you follow the instructions, your request will be processed much faster. You also want to make yourself memorable in a positive way to the review coordinator by being the one who made her life easier by following instructions. You will be saving her some much needed time that she can use to do other stuff.

Since TRR opened, I’ve received thousands of review requests and the best are those that followed our requirements, and they usually go something like this:

Dear Carole,

I’d like to request a review for my book. Details as follows:

Title : Book A
Author : Author B
Publisher : Publisher C
Publication Date (month and year) : June 2012
Word count : 20,000 words
Genre : Romantic suspense
Format of Review copy (ebook or print book) : ebook
Summary : Book Cover Summary of Book A

Thank you very much for your time. If you need anything else, please let me know.

Author B

Good luck with your review requests! If you have any more questions on review requests and related stuff, do let me know. I’ll be glad to help.
Thanks for asking — and good luck, Starfish!

Talina:

You have a very valid question and one that I’d love to help you with.

When writing a review request it’s hard to nail down exactly what turns a reviewer on to a certain book. However, you can surely work your magic to present your book in the best possible manner that will reach out and grab attention no matter what.

Here’s a list of what I find really helpful and interesting when considering a review:

  • Make sure the reviewer reads your genre first.
  • Address the reviewer in a personal manner and state your purpose for contacting them. I’ve received countless Hey’s followed by nothing more than a blurb and a link. That just doesn’t speak of someone really interested in my personal opinion of their book.
  • Demonstrate professionalism (sad to say I’ve received some very bad jokes and tasteless “you know you like it hot, right sweet mama” in a few requests albeit worded slightly different each time… I kid you not) hook the reviewer by letting them know about your book instead of sending them on a search and discovery mission (include when the book will be/was released, indie or traditionally published, page/word count & book blurb) cover art is my downfall so including the cover art in the email as an attachment or inside the email itself never hurts.
  • Also let them know the time frame in which you’re looking to have the book reviewed in. Normally the turnaround time frame is no longer than 30 days. Let the reviewer know what review formats you have available to choose from.
  • A few facts about yourself such as are you a debut or seasoned author or are you an USA Today’s Bestseller writing under a new pen name? (this happens to be how I met J.L. Saint aka Jennifer Saint aka Jennifer St. Giles.) Though it doesn’t matter to me, many reviewers will not read a debut author. Always cover your bases so there are no surprises later on.

And if you want extra exposure let them know you’re willing to guest spot for their readers. Maybe throw in a nice book or swag giveaway while you wait for the reviewer to read your book.
There you go! I hope I was able to help answer your question on how to write a review request.

***

Thanks ladies for spilling your secrets! Don’t worry, we’ll pick up the bar tab. 🙂

Do you have a question for Ask a Mermaid? Send it in here.

What I Love About Writing Romance

Motivation, Writing

So a while back, I had a post on my blog about how there are days when being a romance writer sucks big hairy ones. I won’t say what those ones are, because this is the Waterworld Mermaids and the lagoon isn’t like that. 🙂

And it’s true some days the keyboard kicks me in the shins. However, there is so much to love about being a romance writer and I wanted to share 10 of my favorites. Add yours in the comments section and we’ll blow the Internet apart with our love. Hey, it could happen.

10. Hot men who take off their shirts whenever I want them too. Someone should do a study about the motivational properties of washboard abs.

 

9. Tough chicks who don't back down. They may get weary. They may get knocked around a bit. But these women always get back up and fight the good fight.

 

8. Exotic locales. OK, I know my books are set in Nebraska, but that has to be exotic to someone who lives in Tahiti, right?

 

7. Witty banter. Who wants main characters who only stare lovingly at each other? Not me. Give me verbal fireworks. (Apples and oranges - opposites attract. I crack myself up. )

 

6. Giggles. Enough with the doom and gloom. If Wesley had time to crack jokes while saving Princess Buttercup so can my heroes.

 

5. Hot, mind blowing sex every time. Yes, every time. With multiple orgasms. And no one is injured by a wayward elbow even during the most gymnastic of interludes.

 

4. The chase. Let the anticipation build and build until they either have to catch each other or the book will spontaneously combust with anticipation overload.

 

3. The lightbulb moment. You know what I'm talking about, that single moment of realization when the hero and heroine finally figure out that this isn't just lust - it's something much more. This always gives me butterflies.

 

2. Sacrifice. Just wanting to be together isn't enough for me. I want my characters to fight for it, slay dragons to be together and overcome the evilest of villains.

 

1. Happily ever after. Need I say more? I think not.

 

OK, you’re turn. What are your favorite things about writing romance?