Category Archives: Avery Flynn

Robin Covington Gets Lucky in the Waterworld Mermaid Lagoon

Avery Flynn, Interview, mermaids, Robin Covington, ,

Friends, mermaids, romance readers, I have cornered the always fun Robin Covington in the lagoon to get the goods on all the really gossipy stuff about her latest release, His Southern Temptation, including how often she checks her sales numbers, how she manages to write so much and if she’s ever dated her own Lucky.

Avery Flynn

You ready to rock the lagoon?


Robin Covington

You bet!

OK, we just left a Savvy Author chat about getting it done. So give us the secret to making writing work in your life.

Hmmm. I have a husband who likes to have attention now and then and two small kids (10&8) and a full-time job as attorney for the Navy. So, my writing fits in around soccer, school, work etc. My only secret is learning to write anywhere with any snippet of time I can steal.

I love the e-mails I get from you about how you write in the car outside of the kids’ activities. Have you ever gotten any strange looks from the other parents?

Oh yeah. They all think I’m a little weird (and they are right) but I live in a small town and most know that I am writing one of “those” books and they just laugh.

LOL. Speaking of “those” books congrats on His Southern Temptation booking it up the charts. Tell the truth, how often do you check the numbers?

I have no shame – hourly. My iPhone makes my mania easy to maintain.

God, you make me laugh. OK, I’m biased when it comes to Lucky, your hero in His Southern Temptation. Did he start out as a spark of an idea or burst to life in living color?

I loooove Lucky. He burst to life in full, annoying, pesky color. He badgered me to write him first – I mean, why wouldn’t I? Right? But, Jackson (of the four men) spoke to me as the one to set the tone for the series and to give the perfect backdrop to bring all these guys back together. So, Lucky had to wait . . . and even when I wrote him, he surprised me with some of the twists.

I think just about every woman dated a Lucky at one point. Did you?

Oh yes – and I married him.

And no . . . Lucky is NOT my hubby. But I would kill to have Taylor’s bod.

He’s looking over your shoulder right now isn’t he? *waves* Hi Mr. Covington.

Ha! No – he’s watching MMA fights.

Speaking of Taylor (who I would also consider going Buffalo Bill for that body), she is a woman who is really dealing head on with the craziness of her life. She’s ballsy as hell. I saw a poll recently of readers and most said they wanted to see more strong heroines in contemporary romance. Do you think that’s true?

Yes, I do. When we take workshops or read about the craft of writing romance – we are told that we need to write women characters that our reader can relate to. The hero should be someone you could fall in love with and you should want to be the heroine. I think that women today are strong and brave and so talented in every way. They are also juggling so much stuff – so a heroine like that is what resonates. It might take the entire story for her to get there – but that is a ride they want to take.

So what makes Taylor relatable?

Oh – she is like so many of the women I grew up with in the rural South. We were good girls – not too good- but we did what was acceptable. I know that I and so many of them really found our own voice when we left home. Taylor did that and followed her own dreams – maybe to the extreme – but she found her way to be her true self.

That’s awesome. OK, I’m wrapping it up with the most important question I’ve ever asked you. You ready?

Ummmm . . .

Matt Bomer or Joe M?

Ha! Ummm . . . I don’t get the Bomer thing at all . . . and Joe is my boyfriend so . . . totally Joe!

Don’t get Bomer? That gives me a sad. OK, let’s toast to your poor decision making. There has to be a bartender hiding somewhere in this lagoon.

Pabst Blue Ribbon please! ; )

Now that really is sad.

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His Southern Temptation by Robin Covington
Some women are bad. Some women are a bad idea. The best ones are both…

As a Black Ops assassin, “Lucky” Landon has had more than his fair share of close calls. Now he’s turned in his sniper rifle for the simple life of his small hometown. So the last thing he ever expected was to end up at gunpoint. Or that the woman holding the gun would be his best friend’s little sister and Lucky’s on-again/off-again lover.
Taylor Elliott is Trouble, and she likes it that way. And seeing Lucky again? Well, he’s been her dirty little secret for the past few years and everyone knows that secrets in a small town are almost impossible to keep. But Taylor has bigger problems on her plate. Like the local mob boss who wants her dead.
And right now the only thing standing between Trouble and disaster is a hottie named Lucky…

Fun, Free Promo. No Really, I’m Not Kidding.

Avery Flynn, Marketing

OK, grab your beverage of choice and take a dip in the Waterworld Mermaid lagoon for a little bit of promo fun.

Recently, I came across a free website that helps you make digital wallpaper. This is a great gimmie to post on your website for fans to download. Or if you have a street team, you can provide member-only wallpaper with your characters’ quotes, book covers and more.

WWMWallpaper1

Super cute, right? Just click to see a full-sized version you can download and use as your digital wallpaper.

I started out by doing a quick Google search for customizable wallpaper programs. Here’s the one I used to create the wallpapers featured in this post. All you have to do is pick a background, add images and text and bam! you have wallpaper.

WWMWallpaper2

You can add any photo you’d like to the backgrounds provided. They have solid backgrounds too.

 

There really isn’t a learning curve for this. The most important thing is to hit the save button before adding additional elements to the wallpaper. Also, you can add as much text as you want, but there is a limit to how much you can add at one time. When you reach that limit just place the text where you want it, hit save and then add more text until you have everything on there that you want.

WWMWallpaper3

This one’s my favorite version. Which one has your vote?

Cool, right? You could use this for book releases, author branding, celebrations or just about anything else. How fun would it be to have a contest for the best fan-produced wallpaper? That would be a great way to get others to help you promote your books.

Eros Steams Up the Waterworld Mermaid Lagoon.

Avery Flynn, Guy Day, Interview, ,

You may only think of Eros on Valentine’s Day, but he’s thinking about your love life year round. Thanks to help from Tall, Dark and Devine author Jenna Bennett, Eros is steaming up the Waterwold Mermaid lagoon with Avery Flynn.

No! Not that way. You pervs. 🙂

So how do you feel about the whole fat baby in diapers image you’ve got?

TDaDHow do you think I feel, Avery? I mean, look at me! Does this look like a baby in diapers to you? I’m a primordial god, born of Darkness and Night in the abyss before the earth was formed. A Greek god, no less. Tall, dark and divine. Diapers? Sheesh.

 

*Drools on self in the lagoon because he’s right, the man is HOT* The bow and arrow, are they real or just public relations?

Real. Unfortunately. But I’ve put them away, I swear. They’re nothing but trouble. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s much better when people fall in love without the arrows. Just look at what happened with Psyche. Three thousand years wasted on the chit, and it wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for those bloody arrows. So no more arrows for me.

What advice do you give to the lovelorn?

Keep looking. There’s someone out there for everyone. Sometimes it just takes divine intervention to find them. Call Made in Heaven if you run out of patience. (Hey, a god’s gotta make a living somehow. It’s not like I can snap my fingers and have electricity, you know. ConEd still wants to get paid.)

Made in Heaven, I love the name of your matchmaking business. What’s the explanation for those who seem to fall in and out of love constantly? Is it a love addiction or have you started drinking heavily again and are just flinging arrows this way and that?

I’m not drinking. Why would I drink? I have Annie and an endless supply of cookies. It’s a good thing I’m immortal and unchanging, or I’d be fat by now.

I imagine Dion might have something to do with it, though. D’you know Dionysus? It sounds like something he’d be a party to.

It does sound like him. *sigh* He’s so dreamy. What are the three worst places to meet true love?

The worst places? Dionysus’s bar… although it worked out all right for me. Prison. Boot camp?

I’m not sure it matters. True love is true love, right? It conquers all. Even prison. Or boot camp.

What are your favorite romantic movies?

My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Casablanca. The Princess Bride.

Excellent choices! Kissing a frog – could it work?

You’re the one down there in the water with the frogs, sweetheart. Why don’t you give it a try and let me know?

You know, I just might. 🙂



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Get to know Eros a little better in Tall, Dark and Devine by Jenna Bennett.






Eros, the Greek god of love, swore off the useless emotion after his ex ran off with some Viking godling. He’s lost all interest in his matchmaking business, Made in Heaven, until he spots the sweet baker who works across the street. Before she stirs his sullen heart, he’ll match her and get back to his ambrosia-laced wine in no time.Lonely baker Annie Landon has given up on finding Mr. Right. What she needs is Mr. Right Here, Right Now, and this so-called “Greek God” she’s heard is on the rebound sounds exactly like the perfect kind of distraction. But picking up the bitter, workaholic is easier said than done…especially when he seems unreasonably determined to match her with someone else.



			

	
	

		
			



							


	

		
				

			Our Valentine Gift to you…A Collection of Heroes
		

		
		

			Alethea Kontis, Avery Flynn, Carlene Love Flores, Dana Rodgers, Denny S. Bryce, Diana Belchase, mermaids, Susan Andrews, 					

	


		

		
 


Hero Collection


To celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, the Mermaids have assembled a hearty and handsome collection of heroes for all our fishy friends. Here at the lagoon, we celebrate diversity in writing, living and loving, something I was so pleased to see come through in this real life and fictional collection.  We hope you enjoy.




From Alethea


Alethea Valentine


In high school, I had a poster from the movie Sidekicks on my ceiling (among many others). I used to dream that Jonathan Brandis and I were great friends. When he committed suicide in 2003, I was wracked with irrational guilt. Maybe if I had written to him, or even attempted to reach out…maybe nothing. Maybe not. I’ll never know.


But as authors, we have the power to make people live forever.


Recently, our Man Wars Mermaids started posting pictures of their schoolgirl crushes, so I hunted down this picture of Jonathan. I was just starting notes for Beloved–I needed a different kind of hero for Friday Woodcutter, someone a little lost and a little angry and a little dark despite his fair coloring. In that moment, Tristan Swan sprang to life.


 


From Avery


Avery Valentine


Treasure hunter Jax Taylor is a Southern charmer with enough sex appeal to melt the polar ice caps. Brought together with ex-fiance Veronica Kwon by their dying mentor, the two agree to an uneasy partnership. Together they’ll climb a magic beanstalk to the cloud kingdom where they’ll find riches, zombies and passion. Meet Jax for yourself in Jax and the Beanstalk Zombies by Avery Flynn coming soon from Lyrical Press.


 


From Carlene


Carlene Valentine


Ever wonder what it is in those great big heroic hearts of firefighters that sends them in to the station each day?  Marcus is not only family but he’s a real-life hero and I’m so tickled he answered this for us.  “I’ve always been one to jump at the chance to help people. Knowing I get to do what I love for a living with my Brothers and Sisters from my second family is a blessing!”  He’s not just a hero, he’s a sweetie too. His beautiful wife, Erica, (sorry ladies, Marcus is taken) shared that Marcus once told her to take off for a week, no explanations given.  I guess when your honey asks you to do this, you just nod your head yes.  Good thing she did because it was a sweet Tenth Anniversary surprise vacation.  Sigh….


 


From Dana


Dana Valentine


There is a lot of hero inspiration available in the world of romance writing but for this Valentine’s Day I’m celebrating the heroes of the armed forces. These men and women are real heroes. They spend months away from their loved ones when they deploy, often live in less than ideal conditions and have no choice where they spend their holidays. To me a real hero is someone willing to stand between the innocent and danger, and these folks definitely fit the bill. Thank you for your service and your sacrifice. Happy Valentine’s Day!


From Denny


jesse williams 4


Actor Jesse Williams inspires:)…good looks, sure, but those eyes, those eyes, even in black and white, his eyes shine through. He is the inspiration for my antagonist (hero) in my paranormal romantic thriller…the log-line…In post-apocalyptic Washington, DC, a vampire hunter ‘on-the-edge’, seeking revenge for her partner’s death, and a hot-headed homicide detective, looking for answers about his past, team up to investigate the murder of a high profile politician and discover a cult of assassins in a dark and twisty tale of lust, addiction, sacrifice and love. Happy Valentine’s Day.


From Diana


Diana Valentine


What may you ask is my husband’s feet doing in the midst of all these jaw-droppingly gorgeous guys.  Well, the call to action was a half-dressed man, wasn’t it?  My DH is my hero for so many reasons, but last year when my feet ached so badly I couldn’t walk another step in my heels, he took off his shoes in the metro (subway for you non-DC people) and gave them to me!  For me that’s the most romantic thing in the world and I’ll love him forever for that … and so much more.  Happy Valentine’s everyone!


 


From Susan


alex


    Alex Geerman is from Aruba, graduated from my hometown’s high school and worked as a trainer in a local gym until his mother sent his photo to a New York modeling agency.   Now he travels world-wide on photo shoots, and has been featured on several romance covers.  Do you want him on your next book?  I do!


HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY FROM THE WATERWORLD MERMAIDS


 


 

			

	
	

		
			



							


	

		
				

			Today? You’re Dead To Me
		

		
		

			Avery Flynn, mermaids, Motivation					

	


		

		
I don’t know about you, but this is how I try to start my day. At least after the first twelve cups of coffee.


therock


But there are days that pick me up by the red highlights and tosses me around like a mouse being thrashed to death by an alley cat.


And I want to do this to the day:


crazy-funny-gifs-groundhog-day-punch


Then, someone does something that normally would make me giggle – or at worst roll my eyes – and I overreact like this (sorry Denny):


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As we all know, a good friend will call you on your bullshit. And when she does (thank you Denny) I’m as embarrassed as if I’d just gotten caught doing this:


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But it’s all good, because that helps me get to that place where I can do this:


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OK, I’m not gonna lie. I can do that because of a little help from this:


Cat-DrinkingBeerWatchingtv


and good friends who commiserate with me like this (thanks Robin and Kim):


friends-omg


Finally, I beat that awful day in a dance off.


an-DancingGuys


Then, I wake up and it’s a new day. Damn it, I will own it. You will too.


ivana-hong-dance-moves-i-am-win2

			

	
	

		
			



							


	

		
				

			This Will Scare the S#*T Out of You
		

		
		

			Avery Flynn, Book Review					

	


		

		
I rearranged my office the other day and pushed my desk closer to the heater vent so I wouldn’t keel over from what the fab Mr. Flynn has diagnosed as colditis. The bad new is, it didn’t work. I’m still freezing my butt off. The good news is I found a bunch of books I forgot I had. Don’t you love it when that happens?!?


One of my favorite random books is 1,001 Facts That Will Scare the S#*T Out of You by Cary McNeal (http://www.amazon.com/001-Facts-that-Will-Scare/dp/1605506249). That is the actual title. If it was up to me, I’d have typed out shit and let the other mermaids try to take me down. Oh wait, I just did it. I don’t feel as badass as I thought I would.


Anywho … back to the book. 


1,001 Facts is one of the books that I pick up whenever I need to remind myself that I can’t reach through the phone and strangle annoying people. (Hey, we all have coping mechanisms.) The book has factoids that will make you call out for mommy on a number of topics including animals, human misbehaviors, workplace misery, sports and more. This list from 1,001 is in honor of the cold and flu season that arrived at the Flynn household over the holidays.


WARNING: If you’re a germaphobe go grab a few Clorox wipes. Who am I kidding? Like you’d even touch a computer keyboard without a hazmat suit.




1. Office desks have 400 times more bacteria than toilet seats.


2. The place where you rest your hands on your desk is home to 10 million bacteria at any given time.


3. Demodex mites, or follicle mites, live in human skin. By some estimates, you have a colony of 1,000 to 2,000 living in your skin right now.


4. Bacteria can grow and divide every 20 minutes, turning one bacterial cell into 16 million in just eight hours.


5. A sneeze expels germ-filled droplets up to 30 feet.


6. Finger holes in bowling balls have been found to contain substantial amounts of fecal contamination.


7. Flushing the toilet can propel small drops of aerosolized fecal matter through the air as far as 20 feet.


8. The most germ-laden place on your toilet isn’t the seat of even the bowl; it’s the handle.


9. One pound of peanut butter can contain up to 150 bug fragments and five rodent hairs.


10. Ancient Romans used human urine as an ingredient in their toothpaste.


Bonus: A rat can compress its body to fit through an opening as small as a half-inch in diameter, making it almost impossible to rat-proof a building or home.




Anyone know where I can get one of those hazmat suits?

			

	
	

		
			



							


	

		
				

			Facebook: My New Frenemy
		

		
		

			Avery Flynn, Marketing, , 					

	


		

		
Oh Facebook, you’re like the girl who tells you she loves your shoes only to follow it up with: “If you like that style.”


Yeah, Facebook you’re my new frenemy.


As you probably know, Facebook has implemented a new promote button to fan pages and profiles. Here’s the simple version:


1. Any status update you put on Facebook is only seen by a percentage of your friends and fans.


2. However, for a nominal fee you can promote a status update so it is seen by more of your fans/friends and their friends.


My fan page has 952 fans. These are people who’ve opted in to hear news from me. I love these folks. They’re awesome.


On November 26 (a Monday), I posted a photo of a contest winner with a link to another giveaway I was having. According to the Facebook gurus, adding a photo increases your chances of being seen on a newsfeed. Four people liked the post and one fan commented on it. Ninety people or 9.4 percent of my fans saw the post. We can agree this is not a great percentage. However, if I paid to promote the post for $10, all of my fans would see it (potentially). Or I could pay $15 and reach at least 1,680 of my fans and their friends.


On November 16 (a Friday), I posted a quote from a positive review for Passion Creek with a link. I paid  $15 to promote this post. Note: The amount you are charged to promote varies depending on how many fans you have and how many folks you could reach. More than 9,100 people saw this post – 7,975 of whom saw it because I paid to promote it. Of those, 231 liked the post, eight commented on it and three clicked the link to the review.


On November 25 (a Sunday), I used HootSuite to schedule and post a status update with a link to a Tumbler of men reading. Fifty-seven people saw the post. That’s 6 percent of my fans. No likes. No comments. That is the kind of result that makes very unladylike words spill from my lips. Why the difference? According to all those Facebook gurus it’s because Facebook’s algorithms rank posts from other sources that go to Facebook (a scheduler like HootSuite) at about the same level as pond scum.


End result? Facebook can still be a marketing platform for you but you going to end up paying for that reach – even if you’re targeting your own fans who want to hear from you. And you won’t just be paying with money. You’ll be paying with time by hand-posting status updates on Facebook instead of using a scheduling application.


Paying to promote gets your status updates seen by more people. However, if you’re going to go this route, I’d recommend using it judiciously unless you want to be paying out the wazoo.


Final thought? I can’t wait for the new My Space platform to send me my invite.

			

	
	

		
			



							

							


	

		
				

			The Fabulous Mr. Flynn Swims With the Mermaids
		

		
		

			Avery Flynn, Guy Day					

	


		

		
I nagged and nagged, but finally the fabulous Mr. Flynn agreed to be my Guy Day interviewee. What can I tell you about him? Well, he’s from New Jersey, but without the accent. He’s almost a full foot taller than me. And Kate Upton is on his island. 🙂


Also, he edited my interview questions. Yep, I like ’em like that.


Imagine, you’re totally unlucky enough to never have met me (I know, I know it’s heartbreaking) You walk into a bar and see three equally attractive women. How do you decide who to hit on?


 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 →