The Brooklyn Scribbler

Another brilliant Lance Ganey production, ebook and paperback available summer 2013. 

I've been nominated for the Leibster Blog Award Challenge. Thanks to Judith Arnopp for the tag. Judith is the author of historical novels and short stories, whose writing spans the medieval and Tudors era and immerses readers in the particular period. According to Judith, I'm supposed to list 11 random facts about myself, answer 11 questions Judith posed at her blog and then nominate 11 other blogs that deserve more notice.

First off, 11 random facts about me.

1) I was born in the parish of Christ Church, Barbados to two nurses. No kids of my own, but I'd love two or five. I have an older sister and two brilliant tween nephews. Grew up in an extended family of grandparents and lots (and I do mean lots) of cousins. We're all scattered now, with a few still in Barbados, the majority in the US and others in England and Wales. Family is very important to me and I love it when we get together. There are four countries and three US states represented in this family pic. (Can you spot me?)

2) I am not a morning person! Used to be, but the daily grind has sucked that out of me. My ideal job would start at 1pm and end around 9 at night. I'd only willingly wake up at the crack of dawn everyday to write.

3) While I use the middle initial J for my publications, I have two middle names: Janine Michelle. Why do I only use the first one? Official government forms forced me to pick one middle initial or middle name for my documentation. Janine came first, so that's what stuck. Sorry, Mum!

4) I'm soft-spoken. naturally shy and inhibited, unless a) there's no time to retreat into my shell, b) the person I'm with is a dear friend or loved one, or c) someone has really managed to piss me off and bring out the hell-fire in me.

5) Speaking of personality, I talk to myself on a regular basis and have answered too. Helps to reason things out. Anyone who knows me well doesn't judge. At least, not out loud or within earshot.

6) Cupcakes are my addiction, but I'm kind of a snob, as only the pretty ones will do. Being a diabetic doesn't go well with loving cupcakes, so more often than not, what I really have is cupcake envy.

7) I am not a cat person. Nuff said.

8) The writer I most admire in this world is Frank Herbert, who introduced the concept that's key to everything I write: world-building. Since his Dune series hooked me, I haven't found anything to equal it. George Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series comes a distant second, but Herbert is a master at political intrigue and tenuous relationships. So I want to be Frank Herbert when I grow up.

9) I'm a serious PC gamer, as in  long weekends glued to my computer building and blowing stuff up. If it can be played on  a PC, I think I've played it. Even better, the nephews are hooked and looking forward to test-driving new games at ComicCon in October. Once the next book is done, I'm taking a much-needed break for Bioshock.

10) At the age of eight, I decided to become a lawyer. Fifteen years later, I started to regret that decision. Now, I wish I'd never made it. I was born to write, but it doesn't pay the bills. Not yet.


11) If I had the time, I'd finish studying Portuguese and learn Spanish, Arabic, Russian and Japanese. If I had the money, I'd buy vacation homes and split my year between Barbados, Brazil, Italy, Morocco, New Mexico, Spain, Turkey and Wales.

How's that for random? 

The questions Judith asked are:

1. When you aren't blogging or writing what do you like to do best?
See the aforementioned gaming. I've embraced my geekdom. Don't judge me.


2. How did you become a writer?

Not on purpose. Several things converged; my love of reading history and stories of the past, and traveling to beautiful,  forgotten places. A historical fiction writer was born.


3. Which 11 people from history would you invite to dinner and why?

My writing revolved around the underdogs, the people who never got to tell their side because they lost, they were prevented from speaking because of race or gender, or their cause was misunderstood. So, I'd invite people like that to dinner.

• Fatima, the heroine from the first two Sultana books, so she could tell me how much of her history I got right or wrong 
• Genghis Khan, because I'd love to know what spurred his ambitions. He would have to promise not to kidnap or kill anyone at the table before, during or after dinner.
• Gwenllian of Gwynedd, of whom I've also written, so I could tell her how much I admire her sacrifice.
• Spartacus, whose struggle fascinates and whose choices mystify. 
• Queen Elizabeth I of England, so I could admire her jewels and wigs.
• Queen Cleopatra of Egypt, just to see what she really looked like. 
• Nat Turner, so he could tell what he hoped to accomplish.
• Boadicea, because I want to hear her side of the fight against Rome.
• Leonidas of Sparta, for reasons that have nothing to do with history and everything to do with comparing his abs to those Gerard Butler sported in 300. Shallow, I know.
• Harold Godwinsson, mostly to yell at him for force-marching a bedraggled army south when he should have rested them, and then to give him a hug for being so brave at Hastings. 

4. Tell us about your favorite place and what makes it so special. 

I have several, but my new favorite place is anywhere I can relax and read or write, without any distractions.


5. If  you were Prime Minister President what would you change?

My do-nothing Congress. There would be a special election to get some new members in who don't play games with American taxpayers' lives. Does that tell you how I feel about one branch of the US government right now?


6. What did  you do before you had the internet? - if you were born then of course :)

Played more outdoors as a kid and invented lots of games.


7. What people have influenced you in your life?

Hard to say, as I believe many people have shaped who I am as a person, a woman, a writer, a friend.


8. Can you remember what you wanted to be when you were five years old?

Happy and carefree. I'm still looking for just that.


9. If you were a character in a fictional classic, which would you choose to be?

I'd like to say I'd be Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice, but I suspect my Charlotte Lucas brand of practicality might get in the way of waiting too long for my own Mr. Darcy. Either that, or I'd end a less miserable version of Mary Bennett. I'd smile more than she ever could.

10. Do you prefer wine or spirits, chocolate or cheese?

None. All make my belly hurt when I overindulge. No thanks. I'll have a cupcake.

11. Of all the blog posts you have ever written which is your favorite and why. Put a link to it here.

Two years ago, I wrote about the Ottoman Turk "reign of women" for Unusual Historicals; still one of my favorites because it helped me imagine how life must have been like for the medieval women I've chosen to write about and the moves they could have made behind the scenes.

Thanks again to Judith for the nod. Now I'm tagging in no particular order:

• Michelle Gregory at Beautiful Chaos
• Tara Chevrestt at Bookbabe
• Mirella Patzer at History and Women
• Julie K. Rose
• Colin Falconer at Looking for Mr. Goodstory
• Marie Parsons
• Patricia O' Sullivan
• Anita Davison at The Disorganised Author
• Consuelo Baehr at The repurposed writer 
• Alison DeLuca at Fresh Pot of Tea
• N. Gemini Sasson at My Dog Ate My Manuscript

How many authors out there listen to music when you're writing? I can't be the only one. Writing is a preferably solitary activity; seriously, I cannot think of what comes next, much less type one letter on the keyboard if anyone else is in the room. I'm not one of those writers who needs absolute quiet while at my computer; I just need the right kind of music to craft one good scene or several.

It's vital to the process, keeps the sometimes fickle Muse close at hand and ensures I stay focused and energized for long hours of writing and editing. The words, the feelings and thoughts of the characters just flow across the page when I'm inspired by background music. There, now you know my best secret for "getting in the zone" and evoking certain moods in scenes. While working books from the Sultana series, the rich musical traditions inherited from Moorish Andalusia connected me with each story even more. Apologies to the family and the neighbors for playing Juan Martin's Musica Alhambra every morning and the loud flamenco music on Sunday evenings. But how could anyone not be captivated or stirred by the oud or guitar?

With Sultana: Two Sisters, I began an exploration of the role of Jewish people in Moorish society. Naturally, my listening tastes now include music that evokes the Sephardi experience in Spain. One of my favorites is the most haunting song I've ever heard, "Nani Nani" by Hadass Pal-Yarden from the album Yahudice. It's supposed to be a lullaby sung by a betrayed woman for her young son, telling him of the sorrow his father has inflicted. Sets the perfect mood for a certain scene in Two Sisters. There's also Massel Klezmorim's "Sephardic Elegy" from Jewish Travels - A Historical Voyage in Music and Song, which emphasizes the guitar throughout. Most of what I listen to tends to be instrumental, but as with my favorite, "Nani Nani", that's not a rule set in stone. The vocals on that particular track are really stirring. Almost everything in my inspirational collection is available via Spotify and Youtube, both great resources for finding music that fits the mood.             

So what's most often on my playlist while I work on this title? Listen HERE for some of what sustains me.  If you'd like to create your own free playlist, visit PodSnack, which lets you compile collections from Youtube and / or your computer. Happy writing (and listening)!  

It's finally here. HerStory. Available to the masses. And to honor release day, we're having a party. Use the Rafflecopter below to enter to win some terrific prizes. *U.S. residents only*

Here's what's up for grabs.

First Grand Prize

First Grand Prize

Because they have the same agenda: empowering girls/women, Keira's Kollection owner Mr. Wagstaff has graciously agreed to donate a Strong is Beautiful T-shirt. One very lucky woman is not only going to walk away with a paperback copy of HerStory and be empowered through words, but she will also be showing her empowerment right there on her shirt.

And that's not all, the grand prize winner also gets a pair of earrings from Cathy from Etsy, who runs Yesware. The earrings sparkle one side and have a message on the other side: the greatest story never told.
Only, we're telling it, the authors of HerStory. We are telling it.



Author Laura DeLuca has donated an incense diffuser to go along with some handmade soap from Greenchild Creations.

And we're throwing an e-book into this mix. Why soap and diffusers? What does that have to do with women's history?

In HerStory, Mathilda of Ringelheim runs a bath house. It seems appropriate to honor herstory this way.

AND as Mathilda seems to know, every woman needs soap and every woman needs time to relax. So one lucky winner will take a nice long shower with her fantastic handmade soap, set her diffuser on a table, and curl up with HerStory on her kindle. Who says you can't be relaxed and empowered at the same time? (and smell good)




Another donation from Laura DeLuca: an ebook, a Japanese tea set, and an Oriental incense diffuser. How does this tie into HerStory?

In Please Stay, Asuka, a Japanese wife of the 1600s, is preparing the evening meal while awkwardly trying to discuss a matter--somewhat delicate--but of great importance with her husband.

As you get lost in your ebook, in Asuka's story (penned by Becca Diane), you can pretend you are there. Perhaps you feel your husband's penetrating stare. But you serve him his tea, straighten your spine, and say what needs to be said...then wait, breath held, for his reply, incense lightening the tension in the air...



One lucky winner will have a chance to make their voice heard on the radio...with a $25 Amazon gift card burning a hole in their pocket!

HerStory goes behind the scenes to locate the stories of women who lived, laughed, and touched the lives of generations...

Now, here is your chance to have your story told to the world....or your mother's...it's your chance to talk about the most inspiring woman or women in YOUR life. Shout it out! Tell listeners everywhere about this amazing person. Honor her!

This prize is being donated by Indie Reviews Behind the Scenes.



Four of these tins of mints are being donated by the Unemployed Philosophers Guild. That means four lucky winners are going to win a tin of mints to carry around in their pockets and every time they look at the tin, they'll be empowered!

The tin is also the perfect size to serve as a pillbox once the mints are gone. This is something you can keep for a LONG time.





You've heard the term multi-published and many of HerStory's authors can place that before their name, but how about multi-talented?

Author Morgan Summerfield can not only write as she shoes us in Adella, but she can paint too! She is kindly donating a painting 27" wide by 11" high, titled Morning Poppies. The frame is handmade with real wood and she stretches all her own canvases. It is hand-painted-by her!-in multi media.

And last, but certainly not least, we have a lovely Coco Chanel quote pendant donated by the lovely Jewelry Designs by Lula. One winner will win this delightful pendant that says  A girl should be things: WHO and WHAT she wants.

We could not have said it better.

Enter for all prizes using the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is for three weeks. Winners will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to respond with their snail mail addresses. After 48 hours, new winners will be chosen.

Thank you and enjoy HerStory! Be empowered! Learn something. Believe in yourself and womankind.

I'm so pleased that my contribution to this anthology is The Legend Rises, the story of the twelfth-century Welsh princess Gwenllian, who led a valiant attack against English invaders. This short story is only one among twenty-seven such tales of bold and brilliant women who displayed their courage and helped shape our history. 

Buy links:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Smashwords


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In the house of the slave merchant Juan Manuel Gomero, his trusted servant Sadiya prepares the captives Esperanza and Miriam for a private auction. Two women will arrive shortly to consider purchasing Esperanza and Miriam as slaves for the royal harem in Granada. They are the Sultanas Leila and Safa, the sister and mother respectively of the ruler Yusuf. Readers of Sultana's Legacy may remember both women as minor figures, but both play major roles in the events that develop in Sultana: Two Sisters. They are the only characters from the earlier books who return in this third installment of the series. When last readers heard of them, Leila as the eldest daughter of Sultan Ismail, Yusuf's father, anticipated a marriage before her father's shocking ending unfolded. Safa, the third of Ismail's wives, devoted herself to her son Yusuf, but her role soon became eclipsed by the presence of Yusuf's honored grandmother, the Sultana Fatima.

Before an encounter with the powerful women of Yusuf's court occurs, the slave dealer cautions Esperanza:

Juan Manuel lifted her chin and framed her face between his long fingers. “I require perfection from you today, for the Sultanas. Can you do this?”

Chroniclers of the period have offered scant details about the women of the Nasrid Dynasty, whose husbands, fathers and sons ruled from the Alhambra in Granada. I  have a few notes that claim Yusuf's mother was a pious woman, still alive when he ascended the throne. It's interesting to consider what life for her would have been like when she existed in the shadow of Yusuf 's indomitable grandmother Fatima. At Fatima's death, Yusuf's mother could have finally exercised a dominant role in his life and within the harem. Any sisters Yusuf might have had are never mentioned, so the character of Leila is completely from my own imagination.

In the scene where Esperanza meets the Sultanas for the first time, her perception of both leads to an intuitive understanding of the troubles she may face in Yusuf's harem.

Two women strolled into the room, their footfalls in unison. If Esperanza did not already possess some familiarity with their identities, she would have known them for royal women anywhere. The pair took their seats on the high-backed chairs. Female slaves arranged themselves at the women’s feet, arrayed in bright silks with their faces uncovered, unlike their mistresses.

A fascinating and treacherous world awaits Esperanza within the Alhambra palace. She is determined to survive, but can she avoid the consequences of the ensuing power struggle between the two most influential women in Yusuf's life? Find out when Sultana: Two Sisters debuts in June.  

In a sea of freebies available through from authors through Amazon KDP Select and online sites that curate the listings of available free e-books for their visitors, it's becoming increasingly difficult for authors to leverage the power of giveaways. How can we, rather our titles, stand out?

In almost three years of of self-publishing, I've offered a few freebies to grow an audience and encourage readership, and discussed the pros and cons HERE and HERE. The latest is for Sultana on the two-year anniversary of its publication via four channels; Amazon.com, Kobo, iTunes and Smashwords. This giveaway ends in five days, so get a copy before the offer expires. The goal is to boost interest in the series leading up to the third book, which comes out later this year. Since February 10, there have been 19,012 downloads of the title on Amazon, 2,319 on iTunes and maybe 120 via Smashwords; haven't paid as much attention to the latter. Kobo doesn't provide information on freebies downloaded, but the total tally is around 21,451 downloads in almost two weeks. I view this figure in a variety of ways; some will like the title and want more, or never read it, or just added another free book to their growing list. It's 21.5K people I didn't influence before the title was free.

If you're considering offering freebies, be prepared for the following:

• You won't be entirely able to control pricing updates, particularly if you're not enrolled in KDP Select or channels where you can easily edit the price. 
• You can't control when or if Amazon decides to price match, based on a  freebie offered elsewhere. Outside of KDP Select, experience suggests it takes up to a week for Amazon to offer a title for free and up to two weeks to revert to the original price. Why do you care if Amazon price matches? Because they have the most impact in the e-book market. For now.  
• You can't assume freebies will gain you additional reviews or sales of your other books; mine typically do, especially last year at this time when I offered Sultana for free and saw the boost in sales of Sultana's Legacy. Not so much now. Experience suggests going free works best when you have a series; I would never suggest it to an author who has only one book available, and slightly on par, if you write stand-alone books. 
• You must accept that some people hoard free books which they will (1) never read (2) never review  (3) trash with one-star reviews because it's not a genre they normally read (4) truly, only downloaded the title because it was free.  

So, what can you control?      

It still starts with the book. If you've written and edited the best book you could, you've laid the groundwork for lots of interest in your freebie. It might surprise you to know, but I think Sultana's Legacy is the stronger of the initial books in my series; Sultana sets up the relationships and conflicts to come, but the consequences that follow in the sequel make it richer and more poignant. But it's not one readers automatically gravitate to after they've read the first book. Interesting, but what do I know? I'm just the writer.

What happens if you haven't produced your best work? Be prepared for those one-star reviews. No amount of planning and promotion is going to help you if everyone thinks the book is a dud. Remember, you can lessen scathing comments by offering up your best work. Mistakes happen, which most except the truly unforgiving trolls will overlook in favor of a good story. Don't feed the trolls by giving them a half-baked book they can devour and spit back at you.  

Setting up distribution channels. You can determine when to make a book available for free via certain channels. For authors still enrolled in KDP Select, one of the benefits is having the power of free at your fingertips are at least for five days in your KDP dashboard. What about the rest of us?

Since removing my titles from KDP Select, this has meant relying on making a title free through Smashwords and its distribution channels. An action that more often than not led to wasted time, tremendous effort and nightmares in general, as certain channels took forever to alter the pricing. In the meanwhile, I'm sitting on my hands waiting for Amazon to price match - here's how it happened this time. I set the title free on Feb. 10. Sales during the week boosted it to the top 100 on Kindle in the Biographical category. Just as it's taking off, Amazon price matched. Figures.

Did you know that if you make your book available directly through Kobo, you can set the price as zero? You do now. Even better, there's now Draft2Digital, which lets you upload a title and distribute via Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo and Amazon (I haven't verified the latter due to my direct uploading to KDP). Even better, using Draft2Digital, you can alter your price to free AND see the number of downloads. Draft2Digital is still in its infancy and doesn't have access (as yet) to Sony, Diesel, Page Foundry, Axis 360 or Blio as Smashwords does. If you're like me and selling next to nothing on these sites, it may not matter. What does, if your title is going free or reverting to the normal price, is the ability to edit and see a change reflected in a business day. Keep an eye on Draft2Digital.  

Planning promotion. Another area you can influence is the number of sites that feature and promote your freebie. You aren't planning to do it all via your website, blog, social media outlets and newsletter, right? Word-of-mouth is key in building momentum for your freebie, especially when you want your title to stand out among the rest. The good news is that most if not all of these sites have Twitter and Facebook accounts that will gain your title more exposure. Experience shows there are tons more sites that will feature your title if it's free on Amazon than any other distribution channel AND there are many that expect you to pay for promoting your free title.

Yup, you read that right - expect to pay something to promote your free title. Seems strange to pay someone to promote what you're giving away, doesn't it? Doesn't mean you have to do it. Your title just won't be featured of those sites that ask for payment. The largest are E-Reader News Today (ENT) and Pixel of Ink (PoI), but BookBub is growing. So are their prices. BookBub did a free spotlight for me so I could test drive their abilities. Otherwise, I wouldn't necessarily want to pay a couple hundred to promote. I'm keeping an eye on them though.

These sites often operate as affiliates and earn commissions off of the traffic they deliver to the online retailers. Most affiliate sites book slots early and often. Here are a few you can approach that have little to no cost associated with featuring a freebie. Also, they don't just highlight Kindle titles.

AddictedtoEbooks.com: free titles on Kindle, but with links to distribution channels at Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Kobo and Smashwords
AskDavid.com:  free titles on Kindle
Epubdeals.com: free and bargain titles on Kobo
Ereaderperks.com: free titles on Kindle, Kobo and Nook
Trindiebooks.com: free titles on Kobo

Some sites indicate they don't take erotica. The two that I found, Free Erotica and Spicy Romance are either defunct or closed for submissions.

Interestingly, Amazon fired off an email to these sites and others participating in its Amazon Associates program that suggests sites which heavily promote freebies will see negative consequences. This might mean those sites would have less ads featuring freebies and more paid books, AND increase the likelihood of authors paying to promote. Personally, I like the latter scenario better than paying to promote a freebie. Author David Gaughran dissects the email in part HERE.

The debate remains whether free is a viable strategy for growing readership. As I've outlined above, there are ways to make it profitable but no guarantees. The takeaway from this post should be about the planning; (1) write a great book worth reading, (2) schedule distribution via channels where you can control the pricing and (3) promote the title as much as you can, through paid and free means. Your mileage may vary, but those three factors within your control will help you expand your reach as an author.      

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