Month: October 2015

Progress Report: A Body in the Belfry Launch Update

~ Jonna Hawker Turek ~ Leave a comment

In response to the generous, encouraging fans who have asked about my upcoming release in the First Ladies Club series, I am happy to report “A Body in the Belfry” is on track for an early release.

Thanks to hard work by my beta readers and editors, I am reviewing the proof copy this weekend and anticipate publication of the print version to happen mid-November, just in time for Christmas gift-giving ;-).

The digital version for Kindle and other ebook-readers will be in pre-order until December.

There is still time to join my launch team and receive a free Advance Review Copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review.  If you would like to participate and are willing to read and post your review when the print copy releases in November, drop me an email, telling me a little about yourself, to: jbhawker@jbhawker.com and I will send you a PDF copy of the book.

Besides posting reviews on Amazon, members of a launch team are encouraged to promote a book on social media and share with family and friends.

No writer can be a success without the generous support of fans like you.

Thanks so much.

 

Controversy: Good or bad?

~ Jonna Hawker Turek ~ 1 Comment

HOLLOWMy first book, Hollow, is featured in the Halloween reads on the indieBRAG website this week.  I was thrilled a few years ago when my first foray into indie publishing was awarded this prestigious award.

Since then, I wrote three more books in this series featuring former pastor’s wife, Bunny Elder, and have begun a new series, as well.

When I first published Hollow, I didn’t list it as Christian Fiction because I considered it to be more a book about a woman who happened to be a Christian than inspirational reading.  Some readers complained about the Scripture verses and overt religious content, even going so far as to accuse me of trying slip one over on them by not labeling the book Christian. So, I added the Christian label.  You guessed it; this brought complaints and bad reviews from readers expecting a very different kind of novel.

While most reviewers seemed to get it, a few did not. However, the ratings remained in the 4.5 star range.

Once the series was complete, I set this book as perma-free. That’s when the attacks began in earnest. Even though I tweaked the description to alert readers to the nature of the book, the ratings have fallen to 3.7 stars, as of this morning, although the others in the series remain above 4 stars.

My question for you is, “Can the controversy surrounding this first book be turned into some sort of advantage, or should it be ignored?”

Own your passion! Respect your gifts!

~ Jonna Hawker Turek ~ 1 Comment

3d FLC cover   I have a dear friend and former co-worker whose experience can be an inspiration to us all.  My friend, I’ll call her Michelle, joined the Department on a short-term contract to help out in technology. She did the work with such competence and flair that she was hired full-time as head of the education technology department. Michelle’s unique vision and passion for education soon led her to become CEO of her own educational consulting company and she is now one of the faces of the Maker movement for rural education.

Interestingly, along Michelle’s journey, she was frequently the object of resentment from coworkers and others. They tried to discourage her from implementing her dreams and seemed angry when those dreams became reality. Dreams, they seemed to say, are not to be taken seriously. 3d .png Body cover

Independent authors face this same attitude.

One member of an author’s Facebook support group posted this today: “What books have you written?” People ask this question when I introduce myself as a writer. This question has always been terrifying for me. If I give them the titles of my books or tell them where my writing can be found, they may read and find out…I’m not very good. This lack of trust in myself once kept me from publishing my work.3D Hollow

Why are so may of us afraid to trust our vision and gifts? Just having a dream is an accomplishment, putting it into action is an act of bravery and should be admired.3D Vain BRAG

While we never want to be accused of taking ourselves too seriously, we should be proud of taking our passions very seriously, indeed.

We may not all become CEO of our own successful company, or 3D seadriftsee our work on the best seller lists, but if we have followed our vision and stepped out to bravely use our gifts and passion to turn that vision into something concrete, we should not be embarrassed, ashamed or afraid of criticism.  3D Something Blue

The images on this page represent the fruits of my passion to write, they are books I’ve written and published for all to see.

Writers, creators and dreamers of all kinds, I urge you: respect your gifts and own your passion.

Interview with fellow author, Karoline Barrett

~ Jonna Hawker Turek ~ Leave a comment

One of the things I like best about being a published author is the wonderful people I meet. This includes both readers and fellow authors.

Another of my favorite things is introducing my new friends to my old friends. So, today, old friends, I want you to meet Karoline Barrett, author of The Art of Being Rebekkah, and future releases in her Bread & Batter Mysteries series,  Bun for your Life, coming November 2015 from Berkley Books/Intermix, and Raisin the Dead. 

Karoline has lived in a variety of locations, but she and her husband are currently living in a small Connecticut town. She likes spending time by the water, traveling, indulging in social media, attending New York Yankees games, or anything not involving math.

Welcome to my blog, Karoline. I’d like to ask you a few questions, so we can get to know you better, if you don’t mind.

Karoline BarrettKaroline – Thanks so much for having me on your blog, Jonna! These are always so much fun to do.  Ask away.

  • My blog is read by writers as well as their fans. I know many of them would love to learn the process you went through to find your agent. –  Once I finished my first book, The Art of Being Rebekkah, I researched agents, made a list, and began querying. I had requests for partials and fulls, but no takers. I found my agent, Fran Black of Literary Counsel, while I was browsing Twitter one day; I’d followed another one of her authors. I queried her and the rest is history, as the saying goes.
  • Cozy readers love puns in book titles. The name of your series is perfect for an almost limitless number of cute food and baking plays-on-words for titles of the books in the series. How did you come up with this clever series title?  – I love the name of the series, and the titles, too, but unfortunately, cannot take credit. My publisher, Penguin/Intermix came up with both of them!
  • What made you decide to offer both of your first two books in the Bread & Batter series for pre-order at the same time? – That was my publisher as well! The second book in the series, Raisin The Dead, will be out April 2016, so they probably thought it was a good idea to offer both for pre-order.
  • Was that a lot of work? – Not for me!   😉
  • Your first book, The Art of Being Rebekkah, is women’s fiction. Is writing a mystery different? – For me it was different, yes.
  • In what ways? In my Rebekkah book, there was a little intrigue and suspense, but it was primarily a story about a woman’s journey in discovering who she is. It was more character driven than plot driven. My mysteries have to have a…well, mystery. They’re humorous and have lots of twists to keep readers guessing.
  • While writing your books, who is your target reader? – Anyone who loves interesting characters, a good mystery, and an interesting plot with lots of twists. Oh, and a very handsome detective!
  • How do reader reviews influence your writing? – With my Rebekkah book, I got all positive reviews. I’m hoping my Bread and Batter series will as well. No author likes unfavorable reviews, but with those I’d realize everyone is entitled to their opinion and I’d keep striving to be the best storyteller I can be!

Thanks, so much, for sharing with us today, Karoline. I can’t wait to start reading your new series. I’m sure a lot of us will pre-order today.

To learn more about Karoline and her books go to her website.

Be sure to come back to this blog every month for our Second Saturday Interviews to meet current authors and discover great new books.

November 14th we will visit with Maureen K. Howard, the writing team creators of the Lake Erie Mysteries series, featuring their well-reviewed first novel, Sunny Side Up.

Monthly Author Interviews Coming to The Works of J.B.Hawker

~ Jonna Hawker Turek ~ 2 Comments

Since beginning my writing career, I’ve been amazed by the generosity of my fellow authors. Rather than a competition, the writing community is more of a support group.

With that in mind, I would like to do my part to provide encouragement and support with a series of monthly author interviews.

My first author interview will be posted October 10 with the delightful Karoline Barrett, author of the Art of Being Rebekkah and the soon to be released Bun for Your Life, the first book in her new Bread & Batter mystery series.

There is always room for another entertaining book on the shelf, and another great author to follow.

Drop by next Saturday, October 10, to get to know Karoline. She’s sure to become one of your next favorites.