Continue reading »]]> My recovery from surgery has been more complicated than expected. Author W Ferraro has been kind enough to stop by for a post while I rest. Thank you so much for stopping by!

Thanks Jaime for having me. So where to start, honestly I haven’t a clue.

I started my writing journey a little over a year ago. I’ve always been a avid reader, but a personal struggle I went through, I used books as more than a crutch. I left my life and submerged myself into ‘that’ life. Stories were my way of coping with the depressing reality.

One day, I read a book, and said, I could write better than this, and bada bing bada boom, here I am a year later working on my third installment of my Hamden series. Has it been easy? Has it been a walk in the park? Has I been worth it? Hell NO, Gawd NO and that answer depends on the type of day I’m having.

Writing and book marketing is a TOUGH business, not for the thin skinned (which unfortunately I fall into this category) but I wouldn’t change it for anything. I’ve met some amazing people along this journey and it still blows my mind when someone from a different continent pings me with, ‘I read your book and loved it!’

So my advise to anyone that wants to write…write your story, but write it for YOU! Not everyone is going to like it, in fact, let’s be honest, some people think it is their mission to tear an author apart when reviewing their work…BUT, at the end of the day YOU can say, ‘I wrote a book.’ Given the population of the Earth, the percentage that can truthfully say that, is definitely the minority.

~W Ferraro

***

Three of Hearts

Mae Turney is searching for the type of life and happiness she has never known but has only dreamed about. She’s fortunate enough to find a great opportunity to live in an exterior apartment of a beautiful lake house in a small town in Vermont. When she realizes the apartment and scenery are not the only gorgeous appeal but the home owner, Seth
Finn, is as well, she puts it all on the line for the chance at love.

When she becomes comfortable and confident in her own skin and sexuality, Mae realizes that this place and this man is exactly what she came looking for. Knowing Seth and his three children are as special as they come, Mae bets the house, and prays she and her gamble are enough.

Available at Amazon.com

Three of Spades

Dylan Cross is the type of man that enjoys everything female, and enjoy it he does, but always on his terms. However, his terms are pushed to their limit when Natalie Parker proposes an offer; teach her and her delectable little body, all about sex and desire. There is one catch. He has to play the part of Natalie’s madly in love boyfriend for her dying mother.

Dylan signs on, and finds that separating the two is harder than he thought. Natalie’s days of shyness and lack of
confidence come to a quick close as she learns what her body craves and demands in the bedroom. Soon, Dylan becomes the student as Natalie teaches him things he didn’t even know he wanted. Will Hamden’s notorious playboy, bachelor be able to keep calling the shots, or will he find that, he, himself, is just another player at the card game of life, as we all are?

Available at Amazon.com

About W Ferraro
I live in New England with my young family. I’m a stay at home mom to two very active children. For all of you who are familiar with the stress of this job, I decided to complete an item on my bucket list and write a book. When I’m not writing, you will find me cooking, reading, shopping or being silly with the kids.

I wish you all happy reading and hope you fall in love with the men of Hamden!

www.booksbywferraro.com
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http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6566069.W_Ferraro

Continue reading »]]> When I create a new word-tracking spreadsheet for a novel, I always make sure to give myself some leeway. I never plan for 2,000 word days because I know that if I miss a day, 2,000 is an intimidating (for me) number of words to try to make up.

I’ve had to ‘cash in’ some of my leeway time already, with an emergency room visit leading to an appendectomy this weekend.

Yeah.

Always give yourself a little leeway with your planning because, to be frank, sh*t happens.

Continue reading »]]> Writing my first novel, Echo Falls, was intimidating. After all, I’d come out of my teenage years, moved to Australia, gotten married and done a lot more between finishing my last novel (still gathering virtual dust) and completing Echo Falls. I started plenty of novels, but finished them?

I wish.

About the time people started asking for a sequel to Echo Falls, I started reading blog posts by authors in regards to their second novels. In a way, writing a second novel can be harder than writing a first novel; you have all the feelings from writing a first novel compounded with trying to convince yourself it wasn’t all just a fluke.

Once I’d launched Fading Echoes, I felt relieved. I’d written another novel and brought it down the path to publication. It had to get easier after that, right?

Not so much.

I’m not whinging, by any means. Being a little intimidated to start your third novel is not a bad problem to have. But, now that I can speak from experience, I can say it doesn’t get easier. At least, not for me.

Some things that are different include knowing a lot more about how I operate best. I need a little pressure (aka a deadline). Having a word-tracking spreadsheet helps a lot with motivation. Writing during the day is okay, but I work best at night.

I feel like I have come a long way just to know those things. Sure, they may seem simple, but it took a lot of experimentation to figure out how I work best. I think figuring that out is a big part of the difference between successful authors and unsuccessful authors (defining success as continuing working).

In a way, though, it’s almost a comfort that I still find the blank page an intimidating thing. Surely I can’t be the only author out there who looks at the screen and has to shake off that sliver of fear before working. But the exhilaration wins out over the intimidation, the fear, and even the bad reviews.

Because in the end? Writers write. It’s as simple as that.

Continue reading »]]> I am very, very happy to announce that Fading Echoes is now available on Amazon.com!

Click here to get your copy!

In a town full of werewolves and legends, Charlotte Peterson is unique. As the first ‘pure-bred’ werewolf in Echo Falls, she struggles to fit in even amongst her pack.

Time is running out for Charlotte and the pack as Calvin’s plans near completion. In a town where secrecy is the key to survival, can Charlotte trust Adam to help her? Or has she revealed the deadliest secret of them all?

Continue reading »]]> To celebrate the upcoming release of Fading Echoes, I put the ebook version of Echo Falls for free on Amazon.com using KDP Select.

Over 11,000 people around the world downloaded it.

KDP Select is something I had avoided for a long time because it wasn’t fair to other retailers, so on and so forth. But I realised that Echo Falls wasn’t selling from those other retailers. I then faced the dilemma that many authors face: give into ‘the man’ or stand on principal alone and miss the benefits of setting my book free on Amazon.

To be honest, I didn’t know that there would be any benefits. I did know, though, that it wouldn’t hurt me in the least to take Echo Falls off other websites and to put it on KDP Select. I also knew that it had the potential to help, a lot, because I could then set it free for five days.

So I took the plunge.

Now, 11,000 might not be the free download numbers of some people, but I am thrilled. I never imagined such a response. I thought, briefly, that it would be nice to offer Echo Falls for free. Not only to lead up to the release of Fading Echoes but also because people have been patient during the big editing delay that happened last month. I wanted to say thank you.

I am not only thrilled that 11,000 people now have Echo Falls but also that people around the world have it. People have downloaded it in the USA, Canada, Germany, Spain and even Japan! Japan! Fantastic. I am so thrilled.

For me, the decision to go Select was an easy one to make. And yes, the downloads have translated into sales. I’m sitting on about four sales per day so far this month, and I am very happy with that. Sure, I’m not happy about cutting off other retailers, but I support them with other titles and with my purchases. When I am in a better position, I’ll probably opt back out of Select.

But for now? For now, I am enjoying having readers around the world.