Week Three of the Fantasy Movie Vote

McKenna Mason results are in!  The winner of the poll was...  Emma Stone!  She held off a late charge by Rachel McAdams.

And now, we pick our favorite play Mohtadi Ali Rahman.  There are four choices listed below based on nominations from readers of the Bluegrass Series.  Feel free to leave your vote in the comments section or go to the facebook poll HERE to cast your vote.

Sendhil Ramamurthy
Arjan Bajwa
Oded Fehr
Sam Kalidi

Voting for Mo will continue until Thursday November 8th, 2012.  Check back next week for Dani's poll.  I am still taking nominations for the following:  Dani, Cole, and Paige.

Author Interview: Melody Anne

I'm beginning a new series of posts that feature a quick interview with other romance authors.  The first in the series is Melody Anne.  She is a wonderful friend and is a terrific author.  Her list of books is impressive and they are broken down in three series below in the order in which they should be read:

The Billionaire Bachelors Series
1. The Billionaire Wins the Game
2. The Billionaire’s Dance
3. The Billionaire Falls
4. The Billionaire’s Marriage Proposal
5. Blackmailing the Billionaire
6. Runaway Heiress
7. The Billionaire’s Final Stand

Baby for the Billionaire Series (aka The Tycoon Series)
1. The Tycoon’s Revenge
2. The Tycoon’s Vacation
3. The Tycoon’s Proposal

Midnight Fire Series
1. Midnight Fire
2. Midnight Storm

And now for the interview!

1. When is your next new release due out? 

My next release is out December 15^th, 2012. It’s the 4^th book in the Tycoon Series, titled “The Tycoon’s Secret”

2. You have just completed your Billionaire Bachelors series with The Billionaire's Final Stand.  How does it feel to have the series complete?

It’s a bittersweet feeling. I love the Anderson’s as if they’re a part of my actual family. I’ve gotten attached to these characters and don’t want to give them up. I actually miss Joseph when I work on other stuff. I know it sounds silly, but I love this family. They’ve been good to me J

3. Is there a new series on the horizon?  If so, tell us a little about it.

Yes, after I finish Damien’s story in The Tycoon’s Secret, I’ll be working on my heroes series, called “Because of Honor” The entire series is about heroes, the first being a fireman. These are men that grew up in wealth or achieved great wealth, but felt empty, felt a need to serve, so they walked away from the corporate world and now risk their lives. Of course they will find their happily ever after’s.

4. If you were to venture outside of contemporary romance genre and begin a completely new series, what genre what it be?

I’m so glad you asked this question!! I have a YA series called Rise of the Dark Angel, which I wrote for my teenage children. But, I’ve also been working on a horror book. It’s so completely opposite from my romances, it would probably shock my fans. I sent the first part of it to my editor, and she loved it, instantly demanding more, so I think I’ve got a good start on it. I don’t want to say a lot about it at this time, and I’m not sure if it will be a series. It wasn’t supposed to, but it’s grown. I may release it this next spring. It just depends on the timing. Some of its very difficult for me to write, emotionally. I do like it, though. I just hope my fans will, too. I know that I love all genres of books. I read everything from romance to fantasy, to horror. Stephen King and Nora Roberts are my idols in writing, and they are about as opposite as it gets.

5. What one thing can you not live without while you are writing?

While writing, I need silence. I know some people listen to music, but I need just silence. I usually put the fan on, and then sink into my own head. I do have a routine before I write, though, that I’ve noticed. I didn’t realize it until my husband was gone for the weekend. Each night, he comes and lies in bed, because until my office is complete my desk is still in my room. He turns on the dvd player, right now it’s House. I love that show. He’ll watch 1 or 2 episodes, and then go to sleep. While he’s doing that, I’ll check my email, play a game or two of SLINGO on Facebook. I love that game, then as soon as the TV goes off, I begin writing, and I stay up until about 7am. Sometimes a bit earlier, sometimes later. But when he was gone, I had a hard time getting started on my writing, and I realized it was because my routine was off.

6. What was the last book by another author that you read?

Hard question, it’s been a while. I read Ruth Cardello’s new release and loved it. I also read the latest Bluegrass Brothers new release when it was released. It’s been over a month since I’ve read an entire book, though, which makes me sad. I usually use my break times to catch up on email and Facebook. It’s just grown so much that it makes it really difficult for me to catch up on my reading. My kindle is overflowing with books that are crying to be read.

7. What is the craziest thing a guy has done to get your attention?

Bought me gold J I remember in high school, a boy I liked only as a friend, really liked me, and I was clueless about it. I was majorly into sports and didn’t even realize boys were cute until high school. I just wanted to play ball with them, not make-out. Well, my sophomore year, this boy, who shall remain nameless was doing all he could to catch my attention, and I just thought he was being a friend. I was taking an art class, and I needed gold to finish my ring. I didn’t have any, so he gave me a ride to a pawn shop, where I was going to try and buy some. It was too expensive, so I was bummed. The next day, he brings me a baggy full of gold chains. I STILL didn’t get it for a few more weeks that he liked me. I ended up falling head over heels in love with him. He was my first love, who I was with for several years. I still think about him. But we were young, and eventually went our separate ways. I was lucky enough to meet my husband a couple years later. He did some pretty impressive things to get my attention, too. He’s an incredible tailor, and made me two teddy bears. One pink and one blue. I still have them. I love big, romantic gestures.

Final Note from Melody Anne

I just want to add how much I love my fans, and how much I appreciate them. I enjoy my time each day of checking Facebook and seeing the wonderful posts from all of them. So many great people, who are so supportive. I love my job so much because of them. I get tears in my eyes when I see a great posts from someone or they tell me a book meant something to them. I love my job. I have the best one in the world, and I pray it never ends. I do answer all my posts and emails, though at times, it takes a little bit. It’s all me. I also love giving back to the people who support me, so please come join me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/authormelodyanne.

Thanks so much for taking time to visit with me today. It’s been a lot of fun!!

An Opinion on the Amazon KDP Select Program

First, I am thrilled to see Amazon include independent authors in this program.  It is a definite sign of the times to see the market opening up so much for all who love to write.  Amazon Prime is set to be a big hit in the near future.  The program is able to pull more potential readers into the eBook market by promoting their movies, music, TV shows, and now books.  One yearly fee for access to so much is surely going to secure many more Amazon customers.

One of the stipulations is that the author exclusively lists the eBook in Amazon’s Kindle Store.  While Amazon has been a strong source of sales for me, I cannot ignore the success I have experienced on Barnes & Noble.  I have seen some authors talk about only selling 10% as much on Barnes & Noble as they have sold on Amazon, and therefore it’s not a big enough market for them to consider.  In contrast to those authors, 46% of my sales are derived from Barnes & Noble and other outlets like Kobo, Sony, and iBooks. It would be crazy for me to let down 46% of my readers just to have a chance at a small share of that $500,000 per month.

More importantly, I would be doing my readers a disservice if I took my books down from Barnes & Noble and other outlets. It would be a disservice to readers from Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Sony, etc. who have taken the time to email me about how much they like my books. Why should I take my books away from them?  There are some creative ways to use a Nook tablet to download Kindle software.  But, if I told 46% of my readers that they had to go buy another device or hack their Nook Color, I am pretty sure we’d never see each other again. Furthermore, I have just enrolled in Operation E-Book Drop that offers my books for free to deployed active duty military through Smashwords. If I joined Amazon’s KDP Select Program, I would have to withdraw my support of this important program that I proudly support. I will gladly keep my books in the Kindle Store.  But for all of the reasons listed in this post, my books won’t be enrolled in the KDP Select program.

Readers are customers and they deserve quality customer service from the author.  That begins with access to your books.  I will keep my books listed with the online retail sites that ensure any reader can find the right format for their eReader.  A listing of each is here.

I applaud Amazon’s policy of inclusion for independent authors, but I must decline the invitation at this time.  Each of the readers that select my books are worth hanging on to.