Weekend Wishes

DARK DESIRES

We interrupt Thursday’s Historical Trivia for exciting book information from Ronel Janse van Vuuren on her new release Dark Desires.

Blurb Dark Desires

Iron and fae aren’t friends. But Tasha has no choice but to be in the human realm: her very life is at stake.

High School isn’t much safer than Faerie, though. Clicks, falling in love and navigating day-to-day activities are dangerous enough without the added dread of being unmasked as being otherworldly.

But when something happens and everyone reveals their true selves, Tasha has a choice to make: will she save them from the curse upon them and reveal her true nature, or will she let them die and stay safe?

UBL: https://books2read.com/u/ba0W56

The Power of Short Stories

Studies have found that the average attention span of people have dropped from [insert stats]. Not only do our books have to compete with various forms of technology, other activities and other books, they also have to compete for the full attention of the reader.

Your book needs to stand out.

We all know that. We write the best books we can, put them through various rounds of editing to bring them to industry standards, we have them professionally formatted, and we have eye-catching, genre-specific covers made for them.

But that is the bare-minimum, the cost of entry.

Now your book is bought. The reader starts to read. Life happens. Your epic saga is abandoned. Perhaps forever. Why?

“The first page sells this book. The last page sells your next book.” – Mickey Spillane

If you haven’t made that crucial emotional connection with your reader, they won’t invest their time and energy to read your book. and, as the quote above explains, if they don’t finish this book, they are less inclined to buy your next book and the next.

How to bridge that gap?

Short stories.

“Dark Desires” at around 5k can be read comfortably in one sitting, gives the reader a satisfying journey, showcases my writing style and World, and makes a lasting impression on readers.

The upside: at the price-range (99c) a lot of people will give a new (to them) writer a chance; at the time-to-read range (less than an hour) a lot of people will give a (new to them) writer – and genre – a chance; stories rejected for anthologies can be rewritten, edited and published in this format; stories accepted for print for which you have your rights back can be published in this format; e-book royalties are reasonable; your entire catalogue can (and should!) be listed in the back for the reader to check out; it doesn’t take as long as a novel to write and publish.

The downside: unless you sell thousands of copies, your overhead might stay higher than your profit; readers can come to expect short reads from you, meaning you’ll have to constantly produce shorter works, leaving your longer projects on the back burner; instant gratification (faster turn-around than a novel/novella that can lead to abandonment of longer projects); only available in e-book unless you create an anthology of previously published short stories and then publish as a paperback; short stories are usually perceived as literary fiction and thus doesn’t sell as well as a full-length novel.

Personally, I like to see the glass as half-full of water and overflowing with air.

As for Tasha from “Dark Desires”: would her story have benefited from being longer? No. Can she have more adventure – in any length? Yes. I believe her story is so much more powerful because of the brevity.

Why not get your own copy of “Dark Desires” and we can discuss this point?

Author Bio Ronel 2019

Award-winning author Ronel Janse van Vuuren mainly writes for teens and tweens, though she is known to write mythology-filled short stories for anthologies aimed at older readers. Her dark fantasy works, usually full of folklore, can be viewed on her website and on Goodreads.

Ronel can be found tweeting about writing and other things that interest her, arguing with her characters, researching folklore for her newest story or playing with her Rottweilers when she’s not actually writing.

All of her books are available for purchase from major online retailers.

Sign up to be notified of new releases, giveaways and pre-release specials – plus get a free eBook – when you join Ronel’s newsletter. https://mailchi.mp/020d96f05055/ronelthemythmakernewslettersignup

Connect with Ronel online

Twitter: https://twitter.com/@miladyronel/

Pinterest: https://za.pinterest.com/miladyronel/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17528826.Ronel_Janse_van_Vuuren

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miladyronel/?hl=en

Amazon author page: https://amazon.com/author/roneljansevanvuurenmythmaker 

Ronel the Mythmaker, Website of Dark Fantasy Author Ronel Janse van Vuuren: http://www.ronelthemythmaker.com/ 

 

Monday-Tuesday

Last week, Birgit asked for a closeup of the garden angel/fairy. I've never been able to decide which she is, angel or fairy. What do you think? Like me she's nearly twenty years old.  Not buying that I'm almost twenty?  Ha. Ha. I don't even buy that myself.

And her pal.

Can you see the visitor? Here's a couple of hints. He's between the bee balm and the day lily, and he buzzes:)

AND a couple of toss ins.

 
What's blooming in your garden?

AND....


Thanks, Rye.

AND...
Caren and Cody reviewed SHARDAI. A huge thanks to them.

Weekend Wishes

AND....
FYI. The lovely and talented Jacqui Murray, author of Survival of the Fittest is reviewing Silverhills today (June 7, 2019) at her blog.  Thank you, Jacqui.

Trivia on Thursday

Did you know that the originator of the Purple Heart was George Washington?

*Information gleaned from Ron Chernow's Washington A Life.

IWSG Wednesday

The first Wednesday of every month is officially IWSG day. Members post about their doubts and fears, discuss struggles and triumphs, and offer words of encouragement to others who are struggling.

Thanks, as always, to Alex Cavanaugh, founder and Ninja Captain extraordinaire. And co-hosts: 

Diane Burton, Kim Lajevardi, Sylvia Ney, Sarah Foster, Jennifer Hawes, and Madeline Mora-Summonte.

FYI: The IWSG monthly question can be found under the IWSG Sign-up tab on the Insecure Writer's Support Group Blog.

June 5 question: Of all the genres you read and write, which is your favorite to write in and why?

Sigh. If I could answer that question, I wouldn’t have books out in the YA Fantasy, YA Paranormal, Historical Romance, Paranormal Romance, and metaphysical genres. I’m a dabbler. Though, I have decided to limit myself to Western/Western Romance. We’ll see how that goes. I do feel it's better for an author to pick one or two genres and stick with it, at least until established, instead of frog-hopping from genre to genre as yours truly has done:) What genre do you read or write?

Monday-Tuesday

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.” -Albert Einstein 
Don't ya love Albert Einstein?

AND...
A Walk In the Garden.

As I may have mentioned before, I call the monarda/bee balm, bad-hair-day flowers. Ever woke up and felt like your hair looked like this?;)

What's in your garden?

AND....
Author D.L. Finn reviews Shardai