Book Spotlight: Teresa B Howell

Blood rushed through my veins as a brand new surge of energy formulated, giving me a small drop of strength. A few steps forward and a few steps back. Maybe a few steps away from the officers would stop the constant review of blood dripping down my legs. Head hurts . I’ve got to get it together before they take me away. Tingling sensations manifested quickly down my arms as if the Spirit had hit me. God are you there? I know that’s you God. Answer me!

Amazon Link: https://amzn.com/B01GW5R69E

Barnes and Noble Link: http://tinyurl.com/znxkjv4

Author Bio

I am currently living in NC with my two son’s and husband.  I am an education Director and I write in my spare time. I grew up in inner city Boston and raised in the church.  My experiences in church led me to write. I want to continue down this pathway.

I love to read different genres.  All I want is a good paperback book that keeps me entertained. That is also my goal when I write.  To keep people engaged and wanting more. My favorite authors are Octavia Butler, John Gresham, and Kimberla Lawson Roby,

Connect with Author Teresa B Howell

Teresabhowell.com for website

FB: Teresa B. Howell

Twitter: TeresaWIV

Instagram:Teresabhowell

Amazon Author’s page

https://www.amazon.com/That-Church-Life-Teresa-Howell/dp/0692725911

Author Interview with Teresa B Howell

LaToya: What are your ambitions for your writing career?

Teresa: To continue to write Christian suspense and mystery books.

LaToya: Which writers inspire you?

Teresa: Octavia Butler, John Gresham, and Kimberla Lawson Roby

LaToya: What are you working on at the minute?

Teresa: That church life 2, Black Boss lady, and Delayed but not denied

LaToya: What genre are your books and why?

Teresa: Christian Fiction and Mystery Suspense fiction.  I like the thrill of what next?  Looks like my readers like it too.

LaToya: In 10 words or less can you create a quote that describes you and your writing?

Teresa: “Unique Christian fiction at its finest”

LaToya: Which actor/actress would you like to see playing the lead character from your most recent book?

Teresa: Would love if Fantasia would be my character Michelle.  She would be perfect!

LaToya: When did you decide to become a writer?

Teresa: Writing became my love through tragedy.  A bad situation gave birth to my book.

LaToya: Do you write full-time or part-time?

Teresa: Part time

LaToya: Do you have a special time to write or how is your day structured?

Teresa: No special time.  I write whenever it hits me to write.

LaToya: Do you aim for a set amount of words/pages per day?

Teresa: Nope don’t believe in doing that.

LaToya: Where do your ideas come from?

Teresa: Visuals that I see or things that I hear throughout the week.  It might be a word or phrase that triggers other ideas

LaToya: Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?

Teresa: Definitely a sporadic writer.  No planning no outline.

LaToya: How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?

Teresa: I think I have evolved tremendously.  My new books will show so much growth in my writing.

LaToya: What is the hardest thing about writing?

Teresa: Getting over writers block.

LaToya: What was the hardest thing about writing your latest book?

Teresa: It came easy for book 1 but book 2 is becoming hard due to trying to keep the suspense going.

LaToya: What is the easiest thing about writing?

Teresa: Brainstorming thoughts during the preliminary stages of starting a book is the easiest.  Everything else takes concentration and focus.

LaToya: How long on average does it take you to write a book?        

Teresa: Well since its not a full time thing it may take up to a year depending on what I am trying to write.

LaToya: Where can you see yourself in 5 years’ time?

Teresa: National best-selling, author, and writing full time

LaToya: What advice would you give to your younger self?

Teresa: I should have started writing in my 20’s.

LaToya: Which famous person, living or dead would you like to meet and why?

Teresa: OPRAH!  Love her tenacity and positive spirit.

LaToya: If you could have been the original author of any book, what would it have been and why?

Teresa: Harry Potter.  Definitely could see myself writing a story like that.

LaToya: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

Teresa: Never give up!  Stay focused!

Connect with Teresa:

Website:

Teresabhowell.com

Facebook:

Teresa B. Howell

Teresa B. Howell WIV

Twitter:

Teresa WIV

LinkedIn:

Teresa Howell

Amazon Author Page:

https://www.amazon.com/That-Church-Life-Teresa-Howell/dp/0692725911

Goodreads:

Teresa B. Howell

Purchase Links

www.amzn.com/B01GW5R69E

Guest Post: 5 Must Do Book Marketing Tips

5 Must Do Book Marketing Tips

This blog post was published with permission by Tyora Moody.

Whether you are a traditionally published or self-published author, daydreaming about your bestseller is not an option. As soon as you have a release date, it’s time to get down to the business of book promotion.  I have 5 book marketing tips below any new or veteran author can do.

1 -  Start Early!

While you are writing the book, marketing should be considered. What are some themes or current issues that generate discussion or attract the media? Keep a notebook of ideas. As you draw closer to your release, use an editorial calendar so you are aware of special events, holidays, etc.

2 - Create a Website

Create a website first, then social media profiles and pages.  Your professional author website is the hub of your online presence. It's the one central location (that you own) where you can keep a downloadable media kit, free excerpts or send readers to sign-up for your mailing list.

3 - Join Social Networks

When you spend time building relationships using social media platforms, you have the potential to attract a readership or influencers for your book. Remember, the best form of advertisement is word of mouth. Now don't overwhelm yourself. Start with two. Or even one. Study the best times to post and be creative.

4 -  Seek Book Reviews

Family and friends are nice, but build teams of support by connecting with book bloggers and reviewers. Be sure to have review copies or galleys at least 3-6 months before book release, both ebook and hard copies.

5 - Market Your Book Consistently

I want to encourage you to spend anywhere from ten to thirty minutes each day on book marketing. You can use this time to brainstorm new ideas and evaluate what did or didn't work.  As an offline example, you can use the time to hand out postcards or bookmarks at an event.  Or spend quality time online scheduling posts or tweets to social networks.  Stay consistent with your book marketing. You can do it!

 Download the FREE Social Media Planning Guide.

About the Author

Tyora Moody is the author of Soul-Searching Suspense novels in the Reed Family Novellas, Eugeena Patterson Mysteries, Serena Manchester Series and the Victory Gospel Series. She is also the author of the nonfiction book, The Literary Entrepreneur’s Toolkit, and the compilation editor for the Stepping Into Victory Compilations under her company, Tymm Publishing LLC. Visit her online at TyoraMoody.com or TheLiteraryEntrepreneur.com.

Guest Post: Attracting Readers - Understanding Your Author Brand

Attracting Readers - Understanding Your Author Brand

Thank you LaToya for this weekly feature. I thought it would be best to introduce what I write, but also share some of the book marketing tips. Today, I’m going to talk about understanding your author brand.

For anyone who says, “My book is for everyone,” my question for them is, "Are you sure?"

If we think about our own reading habits, we know that there are genres or book we will not read. An author can’t write for everyone because of people's diverse reading habits.  A millennial may simply not be interested in what appeals to a baby boomer. Vice-versa.

In order to for word-of-mouth marketing to start for your book, it's really important to know your genre as well as your target audience. Knowing the reader most likely to be interested in your book will define your book marketing goals.

Defining Your Genre

There are readers who read across multiple genres, but generally most readers have a favorite genre they may enjoy reading more. Whether you are a traditionally published author or an independent author, you need to understand how books are categorized.

Here are a few questions to get you started:

Do you write fiction? If you write, fiction what is your genre?  Genre are categories like romance, historicals, suspense, fantasy, etc.

Do you write nonfiction?  This genre can include many categories like a business, biography, memoir, poetry, self-help, and more.

Know Your Target Audience

Being a writer, means being a student so it helps to study what books are already selling well in your genre.

️️

●       What other authors share the readership that you’re looking for to purchase your books?

●       What can you do different to appeal to those readers and keep your stories unique?

Other questions to consider as you narrow down your target audience are demographics.

●       ️What are the age ranges of readers?

●       Does your book appeal more to women or men?

●       Does your book focus on a ethnic, cultural or religious experience?

Focusing on a specific demographic is not a bad thing. In fact narrowing your focus may help you easily find readers that would benefit from your book.

If defining your audience is new to you, plan to spend some time researching. You can easily start this process by searching on Amazon.com's Bestseller's List.

My Genres

I write Romantic Suspense and Cozy Mysteries under the Christian Fiction genre. That seems like a mouthful, but that’s how I specifically find my readers. In fact I go a step further with my Cozy Mysteries.

My main character in the Eugeena Patterson Mysteries is a baby-boomer, retired, a grandmother and a Type II Diabetic. Those are features are often my selling points and I have found a wide-range of readers who are drawn to the character even before they check out the back book cover summary.

Here are my book series. I hope you can check them out.

Romantic Suspense

Reed Family Novellas

Serena Manchester Series

Victory Gospel Series

Cozy Mystery

Eugeena Patterson Mysteries

About the Author

Tyora Moody is the author of Soul-Searching Suspense novels in the Reed Family Novellas, Eugeena Patterson Mysteries, Serena Manchester Series and the Victory Gospel Series. She is also the author of the nonfiction book, The Literary Entrepreneur’s Toolkit, and the compilation editor for the Stepping Into Victory Compilations under her company, Tymm Publishing LLC.

Guest Post: Grant Writing Support Services - 24/7 Grant Writing

Grant Writing Support Services - 24/7 Grant Writing

24/7 Grants provides a host of writing services. Our organization is designed to save you time and money when seeking funding or pursuing contracts. Our specialty area is projects that require a little extra TLC when you are close to that looming deadline.

We offer the following services:
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• Nonprofit Letters of Inquiry

• Nonprofit Corporate Letter Requests

• Nonprofit Grant Proposals

• Proposal Critique and Review

• For-Profit RFP (Request For Proposal) Responses

• Grant Management

• Grant Monitoring and Evaluation

• Curriculum Development

• Grant Writing Workshops

Let 24/7 Grants help you resolve your grant writing SOS TODAY!

Like our Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/247-Grants-Writing-Services--355529731447653/

About Sharon C. Jenkins

Sharon C. Jenkins is the Inspirational Principal for The Master Communicator’s Writing Services. The Master Communicator’s Writing Services provide writing and coaching services to small businesses and authors.  Known as The Master Communicator, Sharon is proficient in communicating in all forms of media: radio, newspapers, magazines, and spoken word.

Sharon has worked as an editor for a major minority communications and marketing company in the 4th largest city in the U.S. She was also a senior publishing consultant for the award-winning publishing house. She is a bestselling and award-winning author, been a co-author and self-published several books on business, Authorpreneurship and traditionally published books on Periscope.

Her solo projects include: Beyond the Closet Door, Christ’s Rescue from Abuse, Authorpreneurship: The Business Start-Up Manual for Authors, which is the culmination of everything she has learned from her literary journey and that of other authors. Her most recent print release is a compilation titled, Will the R.E.A.L. Authorpreneur Please Stand Up?. This book has the “How to Get It Done” stories of 13 seasoned authorpreneurs and is loaded with tips from their journey to success for the modern day author.

Sharon’s most recent e-book release is the Periscope Your Book Series. Book Three, Using Periscope to #Create BookBuzz. She is currently working on a book titled Christian Authorpreneurship, Mastering the Business of Writing, which has an anticipated December 2017 release. Sharon is also an avid blogger for Huffington Post, The Good Men Project, Self Published Author, and Book Marketing Tools.

For more information about Sharon go to www.sharoncjenkins.com.

Contact Information:

sharoncjenkins@gmail.com

281-516-8390

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SharoncJenkins

https://www.facebook.com/mcwritingservices

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sharon_Jenkins

Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+SharonJenkins

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharoncjenkins

Instagram: http://instagram.com/sharoncjenkins

Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/themastercommunicator

Periscope: https://periscope.tv/Sharon_Jenkins

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sharoncjenkins/

AND LIKE OUR FACEBOOK PAGE AT https://www.facebook.com/authorpreneurship!

Guest Post: Marketing for Small Women-Owned Businesses

Marketing for Small Women-Owned Businesses

The Master Communicator’s Writing Services offers a dynamic new tool for the female small-business owner called the G3 Marketing Personality Analysis. Experts have found that your personality has a lot to do with how you run your business. This also influences your marketing decisions. We’ve developed this tool to help you better match your marketing preferences with your industry, target market, or perfect client. A 60-minute consultation, the test, and test analysis is $299.

About Sharon C. Jenkins

Sharon C. Jenkins is the Inspirational Principal for The Master Communicator’s Writing Services. The Master Communicator’s Writing Services provide writing and coaching services to small businesses and authors.  Known as The Master Communicator, Sharon is proficient in communicating in all forms of media: radio, newspapers, magazines, and spoken word.

Sharon has worked as an editor for a major minority communications and marketing company in the 4th largest city in the U.S. She was also a senior publishing consultant for the award-winning publishing house. She is a bestselling and award-winning author, been a co-author and self-published several books on business, Authorpreneurship and traditionally published books on Periscope.

Her solo projects include: Beyond the Closet Door, Christ’s Rescue from Abuse, Authorpreneurship: The Business Start-Up Manual for Authors, which is the culmination of everything she has learned from her literary journey and that of other authors. Her most recent print release is a compilation titled, Will the R.E.A.L. Authorpreneur Please Stand Up?. This book has the “How to Get It Done” stories of 13 seasoned authorpreneurs and is loaded with tips from their journey to success for the modern day author.

Sharon’s most recent e-book release is the Periscope Your Book Series. Book Three, Using Periscope to #Create BookBuzz. She is currently working on a book titled Christian Authorpreneurship, Mastering the Business of Writing, which has an anticipated December 2017 release. Sharon is also an avid blogger for Huffington Post, The Good Men Project, Self Published Author, and Book Marketing Tools.

For more information about Sharon go to www.sharoncjenkins.com.

Contact Information:

sharoncjenkins@gmail.com

281-516-8390

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SharoncJenkins

https://www.facebook.com/mcwritingservices

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sharon_Jenkins

Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+SharonJenkins

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharoncjenkins

Instagram: http://instagram.com/sharoncjenkins

Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/themastercommunicator

Periscope: https://periscope.tv/Sharon_Jenkins

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sharoncjenkins/

AND LIKE OUR FACEBOOK PAGE AT https://www.facebook.com/authorpreneurship!