Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Two marvelous free promo events looking for author signups!


I've got two awesome free promo events coming up in February to share with authors!

Paranormal Candy is hosting both. The first is an all month free book campaign on Book Funnel. Already we have nearly 50 authors signed up. Imagine the social media reach with this!

If you have fantasy and romance books (any sub-genre welcomed!), you can signup HERE. Click on the image above to see who is participating so far.


So many authors will be doing promos for Valentine's Day next month. We planned to do something different. February 26th is Tell A Fairy Tale Day. We love fairy tales so much, we want to celebrate them for a whole week!

If you have a fairy tale book or any type of re-telling, you can join this wonderful free promo event. Signup HERE.

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

My 2019 Writing Goals - Making It Work


This might be a little late for a start of the year post about my goals, but that's all right. I'm taking it easier on myself. Last year was rough, and for the sake of my health, I need to be kinder to myself in 2019.

I'm not going to pretend that I will find the perfect balance this year. What I will try to do is be okay with that. Easier said than done, I know!

I've been giving a lot of thought about what I want to do this year. My first instinct is: I WANT TO DO IT ALL! My first instinct is highly ambitious and unrealistic. Someone ought to give it a talk.

Nothing has lessened my drive to want to do all I can do, to make myself better, to release tons of stories into the world. So to satisfy that drive, I will make this the year of little steps. One little thing a day for my career. It might not be writing. It could be just tweeting or blogging or critiquing. They're all small things, but add up a whole year of them, that's huge!

Here are the goals I want to accomplish:

1. Finish writing and publish Of Death and Sorrow. This will be the only major project for my name. I already have 25,000 words down, and it's going to be a big book. I won't be setting a deadline. I will give the story as much time as it needs. I will give me as much time as I need.

2. Write two books for my pen name. Last year I published two. (I wrote 69,000 words in four weeks to be able to release one novel by Christmas!) Writing for my pen name is much easier than what I write for my own name. I'm following tropes, and the stories are light and fun. Two isn't unrealistic.

3. Blog twice a month. While I've been keeping up with posting, I haven't been very good at visiting blogs in the latter half of last year. I want that to change. If I only post twice a month, it will give me time to visit your blogs. That makes me happy.

I'm also happy to welcome writers to guest post on my blog. I already have two terrific guests lined up for February and March. If you'd like to take over my blog for a day, please email me ( christinerains.writer@gmail.com ).

4. Spend less time marketing. I got into the habit of using my entire mornings to work on social media, email, marketing research, etc. I put in a lot of effort and got little back. As proven through my experience with my pen name, I don't need to spend a lot of time marketing to get the same results. Less time spent doing that means more time for writing. Because as a writer, that should be my focus.

5. Get up and move more often. This old body isn't tolerating hours spent sitting in front of the computer anymore. Even if I just go fold some laundry or do the dishes, I'm away from the computer and shaking out the stiffness.

6. Read and review 100 books. I made my goal last year, and I'm excited to do so this year!

I will not say my WANT TO DO IT ALL instinct won't push me at times, but I hope to keep it more check.

Here's to a great 2019 for all of us!

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

#IWSG for January 2019

The Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) is the brilliant idea of Alex J. Cavanaugh. The purpose of the group is to share doubts and insecurities and to encourage one another. Please visit the other participants and share your support. A kind word goes a long way.

This month's awesome co-hosts are:  Patricia Lynne, Lisa Buie-Collard, Kim Lajevardi, and Fundy Blue!

This month's optional question: What are your favorite and least favorite questions people ask you about your writing?

Favorite: What is your book about?

Least favorite: It must be wonderful being a writer and working from home. What do you do with all your free time?


Free time?! What free time? There aren't enough hours in a day to do everything I need to do for my writing career.

It frustrates me even more when people believe that being a writer is just a hobby and not a serious career. They think I'm a stay-at-home mom who spends too much time on the computer.

I hope this year I can create a schedule that will help with my time issues. Writing must come first. I have cut back on blogging some, but I don't want to give it up fully. I enjoy the community way too much. You guys are awesome!

I can't wait to read what questions you guys have faced as authors. I won't be able to get around to everybody until next week, though. My son is still on break until Monday.

Happy New Year!

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Happy 2019!


Wishing you all the best in 2019!

There are a few more days to get in on the Untethered Realms Yuletide Spectacular! Six free books and a giveaway.

I'll see you tomorrow for January's IWSG. I need to lay out my goals and schedule for the year.