I'm super pumped about reading the following YA books in 2021. All of them are new releases from 2020, and I can't wait to read them. I've added each to my TBR list on Goodreads so I won't forget. Are you on Goodreads? If so, add me!

​HALLMARK-TYPE movies to watch out for this winter! I've sort of become a fan of these sweet romance movies. Now, the movies I've been watching aren't necessarily on the Hallmark Channel, but here are 6 to add on your must-watch list (in no particular order): 

With the crazy year that 2020 has bestowed upon us, one thing that's kept me steady is reading and writing. Unfortunately, many of the new releases this year sort of got overshadowed by everything else. So, if you're like me and weren't sure which new  YA releases to add to your TBR list, look no further. Here are 5 YA newly released books! 

Have you ever wanted to pick up a quick book to read? Me too! So, in efforts to help you find a short book to read, I've put together a list of 5, plus how many pages they have. Now get to reading!
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The ancient lore of the grim reaper dates back centuries, but you don't have to understand the mythology to enjoy an intriguing book that has a grim reaper.  Sometimes the reaper can be scary, and other times, it can be the mysterious boy next door who also happens to be the love interest.

If you want to read a young-adult book that involves a grim reaper, then check out the following 5 books listed below! 

​I’ve been listening to a podcast (“Astonishing Legends” episode: Strange Intruders with David Weatherly Part 1) this morning that revolves around the topic of the jinn, which is a variant spelling of genie. Did you know that certain cultures and religions believe in genies? I didn’t. The folklore or legend or belief dates back centuries and is written in religious texts around the world.

​Have you ever wanted to read a YA book that takes place on a mysterious island? I have (and I also wrote one). The islands are always full of mysteries, no matter if the book’s genre is contemporary, magical, science fiction, or a combination of these.
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So if you’re dying to read a YA book with a setting on a mysterious island, check out these five options below.

Ahh! I’m in the middle of reading Ghost Wood Song by Erica Waters right now. I’m actually in the middle of reading three books and always pick up the book I FEEL like reading at the moment. Do you do that? However, I’m loving this YA book and find the premise and characters sooooo intriguing.  

It was released in July 2020. If you haven't added it to your Goodreads list, you should!

This isn’t a new release, but if you haven’t read the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld, you’re missing out. Add Uglies to your Goodreads list now so that you don’t forget. The books’ genres are: YA Science Fiction and Dystopian. Keep reading to see my review and a summary about Book One.

Midnight Sun by Stephanie Meyer is high on my list to read--or listen to. I'm third in line out of 26 people in my local library that are waiting to listen to the audio version. I was eighth in line, so I'm slowly climbing the ranks. I haven't bought it yet, but that's because I still have books on my shelves that I need to be read. 
 
But after listening to the audio, you can bet your butt I'll be grabbing a physical copy and adding it to my collection. It's a must for me.  Have you read it yet? Let me know!

As soon as I finish listening to the Midnight Sun, I'll be sure to post a review!

Most of the books I read are YA, however, since I’m currently writing an MG (middle-grade) book, I’ve made it a priority to read more MG. To be a better writer, I always need to read more in the genre and category I’m writing in. So when I was on the hunt for an MG book, I wanted to find some new releases, as well as old favorites.

​As I researched new releases, I discovered The Miraculous written by author Jess Redman.

​One of my new favorite obsessions is watching “The 100” on the CW. When the series first began, I used to watch it diligently, then somehow, I never watched the season from last year. Blame it on my DVR, my too-busy schedule, or whatever, but it never happened. And I didn’t realize this until I tried to watch one of the new episodes from the most recent season, Season 7. 

​Here’s a list compiled from my own reading, as well as a few I haven’t read yet but have good reviews! Now, there are clearly more than ten books YA readers would love, but I could only pick ten, so here you go! If you love YA fiction of all types, then in no particular order, here are the best 10 books for YA lovers. Click the titles to add them to your TBR list on Goodreads:

Roswell TV show fans! Not only am I a fan of YA alien fiction, but I’m also a die-hard fan of Roswell (old and new). I have all the seasons to the old Roswell series on DVDs, and when I heard the TV gods were coming out with a new Roswell series on the CW, I halted everything to find out more.

​I have a problem. I only have one bookshelf, and it’s completely full. I’m in desperate need of a new bookshelf, because I have boxes of books that are just waiting to be organized. The armoire in the pic is from my dad’s side of the family, and we’re supposed to go pick it up from my uncle’s soon. I know the old wood and overall look appears creepy, and it kind of is, which is another reason why I like it.

I’ve been a voracious reader over the past few months. Now, since I’m a writer, I expect you to think I read for pleasure all the time, but the truth is, many times I’m either editing unpublished manuscripts for work or reading fellow author friends’ material (awesomesauce), while also picking up a book here and there for research, while also working on my own books. But lately, I’ve been doing all the above, plus reading every YA novel I can get my hands on.

​Want to know the most common questions I get as an author? Well, here they are!

​The first book that made me cry is The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I’m not a crier, really! It takes a log to make me cry, so when I do, you know the book is an emotional roller coaster. Not only the book, but the movie is a tearjerker too! For once, I liked the movie and the book equally, which isn’t something I say lightly.  

​What’s your destiny? I used to think mine was to travel the world and physically help people (similar to Red Cross). But as life goes, my path moved, curved, and changed with time. 

What constitutes a serious author? In my book, it’s a person who wants to make a living with their writing, and it’s also someone who takes the necessary steps toward publication (be it Traditional or Indie).
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I was advised twice this week, in so many words, “If you’re ready to take your writing seriously (again), then ....” Ouch, right? One person who said that is a leader of an organization built for authors, and the other was an USA Today Best Selling author. 

It happened. My newsletter list reached dangerously close to 2000 subscribers. Three months ago, I’d be ecstatic. This is a great problem to have, but once I reach 2000 people, I have to start paying for MailChimp’s service on a monthly basis. 

I don’t mind paying for a newsletter service if I thought it was worth it. But if my newsletters are reaching inactive subscribers, then why would I want to pay for those people to be on my list? So I decided to clean my list by removing all inactive subscribers.
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Definition of inactive: A person who has received my last five campaigns, who has not opened all five of them, and who has not clicked on any links in all five of them. If this is the case, then they are not interested in my newsletter, and I DEFINITELY do not want to pay to have them on my list. 

Short and sweet. It's close to the holidays, but I wanted to give you the results of how my promo ad with The Fussy Librarian turned out!

The KDP discount promo began running on Nov 29th. Though I used The Fussy Librarian to spread the word on the first day of my promo, I also placed a small Facebook ad. The days following The Fussy Librarian ad, I utilized newsletter swaps with 6 other authors. Overall, during the KDP promo that lasted from Nov 29th – Dec 5th, I sold 41 books (Scythe of Darkness)! Which means I profited $28.41 ([$0.99 x .70 royalty] x 41 books). 

There are two choices when setting up a Kindle Promotion. You can make one of your KDP Select books free for 5 days, OR you can discount the price of a book for up to 7 days. This is a choice made separately for each book; it doesn’t affect them all at once.

You can toggle with the price to fluctuate throughout the 7-day period, but I suggest you keep your book at one price the entire 7 days. By doing this, it makes it easier to cross-promote with other authors, and I’ll explain why below. 
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I’ve been looking forward to writing this post! Albeit, I was hoping for better results. 
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One month ago, I had a bit of extra money, and I used that money to reserve a promo spot with BargainBooksy. Why them? I regularly listen to many podcasts that offer tips on writing and publishing. From those recommendations, I discovered these paid marketing sites: FreeBooksy, BargainBooksy (FreeBooksy’s sister site), and BookBub. Any author can use them. These sites offer book marketing for self-published authors as well as traditionally published authors.

​For BargainBooksy, all I had to do was reserve my spot and submit the requested material (summary, [discounted] price), money etc). The process was simple. The allure of using them meant even though I didn't have a huge fan base, they did. And they would place my book in their daily newsletter that targets a specific genre of readers. The day my promo ran, my book was 8th in line of 12 other books in their newsletter. That’s A LOT of discounted books to compete against.  Here’s what my promo looked like:

Yesterday, launch day for Scythe of Darkness, my book skyrocketed to the Top 30 in two Amazon categories. One of the steps that’s not listed below is the video ad that I created for my book. I posted this ad on my Facebook profile and page, and it got numerous shares. From there, accompanied with the 10 steps, my book had a great launch. 

Below are the 10 steps that I took to launch my book.

This morning, I sent a press release to three local news stations. Will they do anything with the PR? I don’t know, but it couldn’t hurt. To view this release, click here. Maybe it’ll help you with yours.