Guest Post & Giveaway with Author J. Bennett

So today I’m lucky enough to have J. Bennett author of Falling- Girl with Broken Wings stop by with a guest post today. She was awesome enough to also offer five copies of her book for a giveaway. So after you read the post check out the giveaway below.

The intellectual challenge of college and the warm embrace of a serious boyfriend have given Maya the wings she needs to break away from her bookish and shy reserve. Her ideal life comes crashing down when she and her boyfriend are accosted by a stranger. A stranger with glowing hands. Maya's boyfriend is killed. She is kidnapped. Changed. A rescue comes, but not soon enough. Maya’s senses sharpen, her body becomes strong and agile, and she develops the ability to visually see the emotions of those around her as colorful auras…beautiful auras…tempting auras. And then there’s the song… Now, Maya must struggle to control the murderous appetite that fuels her new abilities, accept her altered condition and learn to trust two vigilante half-brothers she never knew she had. As she joins the battle against a secret network of powerful and destructive beings that call themselves "Angels", Maya vows to find and destroy the one who changed her. On the bright side, at least Maya's oldest half-brother has stopped trying to kill her.

After The Novel is Complete, the Fun Begins

Writing my debut paranormal novel, Falling - Girl With Broken Wings, was one of the most challenging and fulfilling things I’ve ever done. It took me two years to complete the novel, and seeing it on sale at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords was one of the proudest moments of my life. I’m pretty sure I did a couple of backflips (I used to be a gymnast).

With my novel for sale, the world could follow the adventures of my quirky, decidedly non-heroic narrator, Maya, as she is kidnapped, changed into something beyond human and rescued by two vigilante half-brothers she never knew she had. The book is filled with action, humor, conflict, and deeply-wrought characters. In other words, it was pretty clear to me that I had an assured best-seller on my hands.

When the book went live, I proudly posted links to my Facebook and LinkedIn page, folded my hands behind my head and congratulated myself on a job well done. I guess I figured my friends and family would all rush to read it and post gushing reviews. Then all the invisible people on the Internet would just automatically find the book and decide to buy it, because….well, just because.
In a nutshell, this didn’t happen. I have since received an education that can be summed up like this: Writing the book is the easy part.

Most readers don’t realize that the majority of authors, including traditionally-published and self-published, spend a large chunk of time promoting their books to drive sales. The need to promote forces many an author into unknown and terrifying territory: extroversion.
Writers tend to be shy, introverted types. There are many exceptions to this stereotype. I am not one of them. Selling doesn’t come easy, but I wasn’t about to let my novel linger in obscurity. (Please begin humming Rocky theme song).

I spend the early part of each morning writing, the majority of the day doing that pesky job thing that allows me to buy food, gas and more books for my Kindle. At night, I try to tell the world about Falling. I join reader groups and message boards and post useful information, hoping that if someone appreciates my thoughts, they’ll click on the book link in my signature. I’ve created a Facebook page for my book and a website. I’ve put out a press release, spent way too much money on Google Ads and reached out to countless book review bloggers who have been amazingly supportive. And, of course, I’ve started to guest blog in the hopes that new readers will be attracted to my writing and decide to give my novel a chance.

It’s hard work, and on some nights every part of me just wants to watch the latest Game of Thrones episode instead of slogging through message boards trying to think of clever posts. As challenging as the situation is, however, we authors promote because we believe in our books. Readers are our greatest allies. They write positive reviews, “like” our Facebook pages and tell their friends about us.
Writing is and always will be the light of my life, but I spend just as much time promoting my work as creating it. One day, if my book is really as good as I believe it is, I may no longer have to promote it so heavily. Until that time comes, however, I’ll keep marketing and hoping that someone on the other end is listening.

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Falling is J Bennett’s debut novel and the first book in the Girl With Broken Wings series. It is currently available as an ebook for $2.99 on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords. Learn more and read a free sample at www.GirlWithBrokenWings.com. J Bennett is a professional copywriter and copyeditor. She also writes the blog www.ShyWriter.com.
                                                              
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Now on to the giveaway, the author has generously offered five e-copies of her book for you to enjoy. Enter using the rafflecopter link, because this giveaway is for an ebook it's open internationally.




  a Rafflecopter giveaway