Tag Archives: Book

Promoting oneself, Sharon C. Williams, Writing the book is the easy part

Promoting yourself: Are you being a pain?

April 17, 2015 NewEngland_Muse 6 Comments

How far do you promote yourself and your books? Do you do it to the point that people turn away when they see you coming? Do you do so much or ask for so much that people rather not be bothered? Self promotion for any business is tough. Some people do it well and some struggle at it.

All one has to do is look at the TV and see those who have done it well or were in some cases at the right place at the right time. I would love to be at the right place at the right time when it comes to my writings. Some of those places are conferences and author meets. There you are vying for the attention of the big leaguers along with a hell of a lot of other authors trying to do the same thing. It’s a tough business. Don’t let anyone convince you it isn’t.

There are so many avenues we can try, doing them all will drive you batty, and let’s not forget there are always new avenues to try. If you don’t want a life or prefer not to spend time with your family then hey knock yourself out and go for it. Health wise you might want to rethink that.

When someone told me years ago that writing was the easy part, I laughed for I was still in the process of writing my first complete book. Since then I have given this same advice to a number of writers. They, like I did, didn’t believe it until they saw for themselves.

It’s crazy out there once you are done your book. Just don’t forget to breath and not piss off any potential readers or people who are willing to help you.

Boo review, Sharon C. Williams, When writers go crazy

When authors forget their manners

March 19, 2015 NewEngland_Muse 5 Comments

I am a book reviewer and have been since 2010. Experience with authors has made me fine tune my rules into how I review a book. Someone even told me, upon looking at my structure, that it looked professional in how I go about doing this and he wish his way was more like it.

I do this for free and place the review on eight sites. I have had problem children come across my way. The author who after I read a book said if I couldn’t give above a three to not review it. The rule is now if I take the time to read and review your book, it is going up. Period. I have had an author send me a letter asking me where to send the book. I replied stating that a hello, a please and if I had time and so on would have been nice instead of the line I just wrote here. I have authors want me to review every single book they have ever written.

But something happened recently that made me step back. An author pretended to be two people and proceeded to take two slots on my list of books to read. Now, if he had just asked if I would review a second book I would have told him yes. It would just be down the road, not in a row. But no, instead he pretended to be a different person so I would review two of his books.

Needlessly to say I was not happy, and that is putting it mildly. I do this for free on my own time. I am an author myself, a mom and wife and have health issues. Free time there is little of it. So to be greedy and want two in a row by lying to me did not sit well with me at all.

It still doesn’t. So it is back to my set of rules and will have to update them again.

Author, Cover release: Squirrel Mafia, Sharon C. Williams

Cover Re-Reveal: Squirrel Mafia By Sharon C. Williams

March 11, 2015 NewEngland_Muse Leave a comment

Author: Sharon C. Williams

Release Date: March 30, 2015

Publisher: Peaceful Musings Publishing

Genre: Nonfiction, Humor, Animals

Sharing is not an option!

We tend to think of squirrels as cute furry creatures that scamper around playing while looking for nuts. Yet I’ve a different outlook on these rodents from Hades.

As an animal lover, one who’s owned by eight birds, I’ve had the opportunity to observe a group of squirrels around my home here in the suburbs for the past year. The experience I’ve gained gives a whole new meaning to the words ‘little darlings.’

I offer you a unique perspective of the furry friends entangled within our everyday lives. Their antics and shenanigans have earned them the name of the Squirrel Mafia. This book chronicles my ongoing battle with these pesky little critters.

(Purchase links are not yet available.)

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24894345-squirrel-mafia

Excerpt:

Chapter 1

Maine

Squirrels are furry and adorable animals that come from Hell. They give us the illusion they’re cuddly, and full of sugar and spice and all that is nice. Well, if you want that kind of story you might want to put this one down.

Growing up in Northern Maine, I honestly don’t recall seeing squirrels around me. My life could have been preoccupied with things that mattered more, like being a kid and spending time with family. Granted, the weather in Maine is harsh during the winter months, which can last a good portion of the year.

Wildlife, though, is plentiful in this region with moose, bear, and deer. Between the different hunting seasons, one would think people would notice squirrels running around. As numerous and hardy as they are, one would logically think that even a region as cold as Maine would be full of them.

Perhaps they didn’t bother me back then. I still would have been under the misconception that they were cute. Perhaps my memory is just lapsing, or I’m just in denial. Yeah, that’s it, denial!

Lesson learned—squirrels can make you forget.

About The Author:

Sharon is a native of New England, raised in Northern Maine. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and son. She is also owned by a flock of eight birds.

Sharon has a B.S. degree in Chemistry, but is currently disabled, so writing keeps her busy. She tends to lose all track of time. The world could be coming to an end, and she would be oblivious to it. When writing, she envisions the scenes in her head, and tries to imagine the reality of what is written down on paper. Different options, scenes, and problems are noted on the side in case she can use them later.

Sharon tends to write by long hand as the flow works better for her this way. Her bookshelf consists of works written by Stephen King, Agatha Christie, Bentley Little, and James Patterson. The best advice she has ever received about writing was to write about what you know. Her first thought was, “Yeah right,” but it really is that easy. A writer just needs to know a little tidbit to turn it into a short story, and soon enough, there’s a book.

Sharon loves to read, sketch, take pictures, walk, exercise, go to the movies, and listen to music. She is a budding bird watcher, and knits on the side. She is a huge sports fan of baseball, basketball, hockey, and football.

Two of her short stories were published in the anthology, Cassandra’s Roadhouse. Her children’s book, Jasper, Amazon Parrot: A Rainforest Adventure, has been published via Fountain Blue Publishing. Several of her short stories are also featured in the recently released anthology, Dragons In The Attic.

Social Media Links:

Blog: http://www.newenglandmuse.com
Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/SCWilliams
Twitter: http://tinyurl.com/NEMuse
Goodreads: http://tinyurl.com/SCWGR
Google +: http://tinyurl.com/SCWGP