Publishers Comments – Page 14 – Rosepoint Publishing

The Blogger Recognition Award

I am thrilled to announce that I was nominated for the Blogger Recognition Award before Christmas by The Cozy Pages. Surprise Christmas gift, thank you! The Cozy Pages enjoys reading, writing, coffee in the morning, and mysteries! And she posts about her odyssey on her dynamic website. She is also open to review requests, but you should check out her Review Policy to see that your genre is one she accepts. You will love her blog; read and follow.

So what’s this Award about?

Blogger Recognition Award

Once you are nominated for the Blogger Recognition Award, if you wish to accept your nomination, you must follow these rules:

Generate a post about the award.
Thank the blogger who nominated you, and provide a link to their blog.
Write a brief story about how your blog began.
Provide two pieces of advice to newbie bloggers.
Select 15 blogs to nominate.
Comment on each nominee’s blog and provide a link to the post that you created about the award.

How My Blog Began

As most of you know, I began my blog as a way to create a social media presence following the publication of my grandfather’s manuscripts. With no clue what I was doing, it took me several years to gear up and find a niche, although it seems the niche found me. I was getting a lot of free books from BookBub, but so many of those books already had a large following. Joining author groups, I was able to participate personally with debut authors. As a side benefit from participating with authors, I began receiving review requests. My posts shifted specifically to #bookblogging, #bookreviewing, and all things books from #blogtour to #booklaunch.

Blogging Advice from Me:

I continue to get more review requests than I can manage to read, and have much to learn in the way of social media promotion. Computers remain a mystery to me, but there are so many sources of information on so many platforms, that (thankfully) it’s easier than ever to find answers.

The biggest education in my growth goals was membership in the Phoenix Book Marketing and Promotion Meetup in Phoenix, Az. Laura Orsini always had wise words for us newbie bloggers, the biggest of which was to blog early, often, and intelligently, introducing us to the 30-day challenge and blog prompts. It’s tough to get your website out there. Competition is extreme. Expect to give it a lot of dedicated time and effort. Hang in there–it’s worth it!
The other two most helpful sources of growth for me has been Twitter and now Instagram (Bookstagram), replacing Facebook, where I never really caught on and probably blew my initial setup. There was more than enough push to participate in Pinterest, but that never got me any traffic and I’m still scratching my head over what the whole thing is about.
Seek other bloggers in your niche and cultivate followers or subscribers. They can teach you so much! Find a platform you can work with and search for bloggers with whom you can exchange information, guest posts, or sources of photos or graphics. You’ll need them.

As with The Cozy Pages, I feel 15 is more than I can manage with my current schedule, so I’ve provided these few below in no particular order. These are all excellent #bookbloggers who provide excellent reviews. Check them out and follow!

Adventures of a Bibliophile

Book Journey

Books Beyond the Story

Books Teacup and Reviews

Chat About Books

Clues and Reviews

Novel Gossip

The Geeky Bibliophile

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Another One Bites the Crust – a Book Review

Title: Another One Bites the Crust (A Bakeshop Mystery) by Ellie Alexander

Genre: Currently #553 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank in Kindle eBooks, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, Cozy, Culinary

Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks

Publication Date: January 2, 2018

Source: St. Martin’s Paperbacks and NetGalley

Title and Cover: Another One Bites the Crust – Cover reflects bakery locale

It’s almost time for the annual Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon, and the bakery Torte is gearing up as a major supplier of Elizabethan-era treats, not only for the cast and crew, but to greet the hordes of tourists who flock to the area for the season event. Unfortunately, Antony of Antony and Cleopatra is found murdered before the curtain can rise, and Jules’s friend, Lance, artistic director of the OSF, had a rather public fight with the actor on the eve of opening night. But actors can be as ego-driven and difficult as Lance and Lance can orchestrate drama all by himself. Continue reading “Another One Bites the Crust – a Book Review”

#AmReading – Another One Bites the Crust by Ellie Alexander

Welcome to my #AmReading feature! I am highlighting an author and their book currently visible in the “Fair Weather” widget celebrating blue skies, following seas, and my Goodreads (currently reading) list.

Another One Bites the Crust by Ellie Alexander

This week I am presenting Ellie Alexander and her book Another One Bites the Crust. This is a download from the publisher and NetGalley. The book will be released on January 2, 2018 by St. Martin’s Paperbacks. Amazon classifies the novel as a mystery, thriller & suspense, culinary, and amateur sleuths and is only 316 pages.

I will be presenting my review on Sunday, December 24, 2017, and can tell you that so far it’s a cozy mystery very different than I’ve read before. In the meantime (from Amazon), here is the

Book Blurb:

Torte—the beloved small-town bakeshop run by Jules Capshaw—is set to hit the stage. But who would have guessed that murder would makes a surprise appearance?

It’s the role of a lifetime for Jules. The Shakespeare Festival has returned to Ashland, Oregon, for the season and Torte has been cast as the supplier of Elizabethan-era treats for the main event. But on the eve of opening night, a brawl between Jules’s friend Lance, the artistic director, and a strapping young thespian named Anthony almost brings down the house. . .and the next morning, Anthony is dead. Jules knows that Lance loves his drama—and his just desserts—but she also knows that murder is way off-script for him. Now it’s up to Jules to cut through a bevy of backstage betrayals and catty co-stars who all have their own secrets—before the curtain drops on someone else. . .

About the Author: (From Amazon Author Page)

“Ellie Alexander, author of the Bakeshop Mystery Series (St. Martin’s Press), is a Pacific Northwest native who spends ample time testing pastry recipes in her home kitchen or at one of the many famed coffeehouses nearby. When she’s not coated in flour, you’ll find her outside exploring hiking trails and trying to burn off calories consumed in the name of research. Another One Bites the Crust is the seventh in the Bakeshop mystery series.”

Find out more about Ellie and her books by visiting her here:
Blog: http://www.bakeshopmystery.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elliealexanderauthor
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/BakeshopMystery
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellie_alexander

#AmReading – Smoke by D B Borton

#AmReading - Smoke by D. B. Borton

This week I am presenting D. B. Borton and her book Smoke. I received a direct review request from the author. The book was released on November 10, 2017 by Boomerang Books. Amazon classifies the novel as a mystery, thriller & suspense, and women sleuths and is only 306 pages.

I will be presenting my review on Tuesday, December 19th, and can tell you that so far I’m finding the book a hoot. In the meantime (from Amazon), here is the

Book Blurb:

Late one night during the fiery days of the Iranian revolution, two figures slip into the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art and steal twelve of the world’s most valuable paintings. Here’s what the thieves don’t know: most of the paintings are fake. Decades later, when she ought to be enjoying a sedate retirement from the field, Marge Smith remains on active duty as an agent of the secretive Quixote, Ltd. But now that she’s broken her leg in a motorcycle accident, her bosses have sent her to a nursing home to recover. She doesn’t know why, but she doesn’t think it has anything to do with the geriatric production of Macbeth she’s been inveigled to take part in—until one of the witches drops dead in the middle of opening afternoon.

Called in to work on a theft recovery, Marge is surprised to discover the surviving witches across the conference table, and astonished when she’s handed a list of stolen paintings to recover. She knows these paintings; she once stole them herself. Now Marge has several problems to solve. Who stole the paintings and how can she get them back? Are they the real paintings or another set of fakes? If they’re real, how did they end up in a house in suburban Washington, D.C.? Was the third witch murdered for them? And how soon can she ditch the crutches?

About the Author: (From Amazon)

D B Borton - author “D. B. Borton teaches English at a Midwestern liberal arts college. She has published eleven mystery novels in two series, the Cat Caliban series and the Gilda Liberty series. As an academic writer she has published work on film, women’s ghost stories, and girl detectives.

“A native Texan, Borton became an ardent admirer of Nancy Drew at a young age. At the age of fourteen, she acquired her own blue roadster, trained on the freeways of Houston and the broad stretches of oil-endowed Texas highway, and began her travels. She also began a lifetime of political activism, working only for political candidates who lost. She left Texas at about the time everyone else arrived.” ©2017 Virginia Williams I Love Likes and Comments--Please Share!

Verified Purchases – Stop Losing Your Reviews

Have you noticed any of your hard won reviews disappearing on you lately? Is lack of a verified purchase review badge the only reason for removal? Of course not, but let me count the ways.

Continue reading “Verified Purchases – Stop Losing Your Reviews”

#AmReading – A Murder for the Books by Victoria Gilbert

#AmReading-A Murder for the Books by Victoria Gilbert

This week I am presenting Victoria Gilbert and her book A Murder for the Books: A Blue Ridge Library Mystery. I received an ARC from the publisher Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley. The book will be released on December 12, 2017. Amazon classifies the novel as a cozy mystery, thriller & suspense, and women sleuths and is 336 pages.

I will be presenting my review on Sunday, but in the meantime, here is the

Book Blurb: (Blurb from Amazon)

Fleeing a disastrous love affair, university librarian Amy Webber moves in with her aunt in a quiet, historic mountain town in Virginia. She quickly busies herself with managing a charming public library that requires all her attention with its severe lack of funds and overabundance of eccentric patrons. The last thing she needs is a new, available neighbor whose charm lures her into trouble.

About the Author: (From the Amazon Author page)

“Victoria Gilbert, raised in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains, turned her early obsession with reading into a dual career as an author and librarian. She holds a B.A. in Theatre, a M.A. in Library Science, a second M.A. in Liberal Studies, and is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and Mystery Writers of America. When not writing or reading, she likes to spend her time watching films, gardening, or traveling. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and some very spoiled cats.” ©2017 Virginia Williams I Love Likes and Comments--Please Share!

#AmReading – Bury the Past by James L’Etoile

This week I am presenting James L’Etoile and his book Bury the Past: A Detective Penley Mystery. I received an ARC from the publisher Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley. The book will be released on December 12, 2017. Amazon classifies the novel as a police procedural, thriller & suspense, and crime and is 320 pages.

I will be presenting my review in the next couple of days, but in the meantime, here is the Continue reading “#AmReading – Bury the Past by James L’Etoile”

#AmReading – The Plot Is Murder (Mystery Bookshop) by V. M. Burns

This week I am presenting V. M. Burns and her book The Plot is Murder (Mystery Bookshop). I received an ARC from the publisher Kensington and NetGalley. The book will be released on November 28, 2017. Amazon classifies the novel as a mystery, thriller & suspense, crafts and hobbies, culinary, and animals (really!) and is the debut novel in a new series at 256 pages. It’s a shortie, y’all! (We can DO this!)

I will be presenting my review on Sunday, but in the meantime (from Amazon), here is the

Book Blurb: (Blurb from Amazon)

The small town of North Harbor on the shores of Lake Michigan is about to have a new mystery bookstore. But before the first customer can browse its shelves, the store’s owner is suspected of her own murder plot . . .

Samantha Washington has dreamed of owning her own mystery bookstore for as long as she can remember. And as she prepares for the store’s grand opening, she’s also realizing another dream—penning a cozy mystery set in England between the wars. While Samantha hires employees and fills the shelves with the latest mysteries, quick-witted Lady Penelope Marsh, long-overshadowed by her beautiful sister Daphne, refuses to lose the besotted Victor Carlston to her sibling’s charms. When one of Daphne’s suitors is murdered in a maze, Penelope steps in to solve the labyrinthine puzzle and win Victor.

But as Samantha indulges her imagination, the unimaginable happens in real life. A shady realtor turns up dead in her backyard, and the police suspect her—after all, the owner of a mystery bookstore might know a thing or two about murder. Aided by her feisty grandmother and an enthusiastic ensemble of colorful retirees, Samantha is determined to close the case before she opens her store. But will she live to conclude her own story when the killer has a revised ending in mind for her?

Author: (From Goodreads author page)

V.M. Burns was born and raised in northwestern Indiana, but is now thawing out in eastern Tennessee with her two poodles. She has a BA from Northwestern University, a Masters from the University of Notre Dame and an MFA from Seton Hill University in Writing Popular Fiction. She spent many years working as a trainer and now works as a training manager for an appliance manufacturer. Ms. Burns is represented by Dawn Dowdle at Blue Ridge Literary Agency. Contact her at author@vmburns.com ©2017 Virginia Williams I Love Likes and Comments--Please Share!