10 Indie Author Tips and Tricks #BookBub #PermaFree

I have a lot of irons in the fire these days, especially now that I'm doing this author gig full time. Not only that, but I'm doing the indie author gig full time, which means I'm basically a general contractor. I cover the jobs I know how to do well, and I subcontract the rest out to professionals (or friends who happen to be professionals and are willing to trade services).

As is often the case, becoming a full-time author did not happen overnight--and I made plenty of mistakes along the way. From publishing with a vanity press (which isn't always a bad thing, but it can definitely add some hurdles) to overpaying for book ads and promos that did nothing for sales. BUT, I did do a few things right, seeing as how I've made it to this point. If you're on the uphill side of the same mountain, or if you're looking up from the base and trying to assess the path, here are 10 tips that I hope will help you on your journey:

1) Write a series. Seriously. If you're an indie author, meaning you don't have an agent/big publishing house/magazine reviewers telling everyone how amazing you are, the best way to help promote your next book is to link it to your previous one. Add an excerpt or blurb in the back of your first book--better yet, have your next book available for pre-order with buy links. Even if you write non fiction, linking your books together in a series with a similar theme is one of the best promotional methods you can employ. There are so many good reasons to write a series, but one of the biggest reasons is tip #2.

Get my FREE book!

2) Make your first ebook FREE. Permanently. Don't look at me like that. I know what you're thinking. I worked hard on this book. How am I supposed to make any money if I just give it away? Don't I deserve love, and jewelry? Take a deep breath and listen carefully. I am not suggesting that you make your first ebook free as soon as it comes out. Wait until you have 2 or 3 (in a series) out. In fact, the best way to do this is to make your first ebook free at the same time you release your 3rd book, to help promote it. And I don't mean just for a weekend through KDP Select (we'll get into that next). I mean PERMANENTLY free. You don't have a big publishing house behind your name, so why should readers take a risk on your work? Tell them they don't have to, they can try it out for free, and then sit back and watch the sales for your other books climb.



3) Do not sell your soul to Amazon. Let me just start by saying that I love Amazon. I really, really do. They provide a solid 75% of my royalty income. HOWEVER, I do not sign an exclusive agreement with them and solemnly swear to not publish my ebook elsewhere. I have a lot of readers who use Nook and iBooks and Kobo. I use Smashwords to distribute to those retailers and more, which makes life easier, and it means I get one 1099 for them all versus a dozen individually. Smashwords is just as free and user friendly as KDP, although the formatting might trip you up if you are not intimately familiar with your word processor--or if you don't know a good formatter (I prefer ebooklaunch.com) I know Amazon's Select program looks enticing, with Kindle Unlimited and the countdown deals and free promo days--and you may have noticed that 99 cents is the lowest you can list your book with Kindle, but you may have also noticed a small link near the bottom of any given listing:

Have a couple of your friends report a lower price to Kindle after you've made your ebook free on Smashwords and it's showing on B&N and the Apple iBooks store. Amazon will be forced to price match and make it free on Kindle too. It may take a few days, but Amazon doesn't like it when your book is available for cheaper anywhere else--they outline this in the fine print when you're filling out your listing info. Also, having your book available everywhere will make it significantly more appealing to exclusive advertisers. More on this in a bit. 

4) WWJD. What Would J.K. Rowling Do? Another reason you don't want to sell your soul to Amazon is that having your book available across all platforms will put you one table closer to the cool kids. Do you think J.K. Rowling would sign an exclusive agreement that would cut her off from B&N and Apple sales? Oh hail no. Being seen everywhere the best sellers are seen not only helps you reach more readers, it lends credibility to your name. There are a few things about indie publishing that you will likely have to compromise on (offering a free book), but when you find yourself stuck in a situation and you don't have an agent to guide you, just ask yourself What would Jo do? And she would most definitely not sign a contract that would cut her off from millions of potential readers. Compromises should only happen when you have no other choice, or when the benefits are massive.  

5) BOOKBUB. BOOKBUB. BOOKBUB. I can't say this one enough. The first check I received that was more than what I made from my day job came after I made my first book free. The second check, and it was 4 times more than that first one, came after my first BookBub experience. Yesterday was the 4th time my free book was featured with them, and it's still just as magical as the first time.

If you ran a promo with the top 100 book promoters online, and the download results could somehow be dissected, I imagine they would look something like this:

Kinda looks like a sickly Pacman... and how I feel when I think about the amount of money I've shelled out for advertising through the years.

Don't get me wrong. There are some good services out there besides BookBub (Ereader News Today, I Love Vampire Novels, Fussy Librarian, FreeBooksy, Kindle Nation Daily), and I use several of them regularly, but they just don't compare to BookBub. My free book was downloaded over 17,000 times yesterday. The closest promo I've seen that wasn't BookBub resulted in around 1000 downloads (and it cost me almost as much as BookBub). I paid around $250 for the BookBub promo yesterday (which is up from the $110 I paid for the first promo I ran with them in July of 2014--but so worth it!!!) And I know some of you are thinking, Why on earth would you pay that much to promote a FREE book??? Because sales for my other books go through the roof when I do. Granted, all 17,000 of those who downloaded my free book didn't immediately buy the rest of the series, but there was a definite spike in sales, and it will carry into the next few months. This is why I try to stagger BookBub promos between new releases--the next biggest thing that results in a sales spike.

BookBub does not accept every book submitted. They have a list of minimum requirements you can take a look at HERE. And they offer more tips on how to score a promo with them HERE. Having a perma free title will ensure that your dates are flexible, and you may also notice that they find books available with multiple retailers more appealing too. You can run promos with them for books priced $0.99-$2.99 also, but the cost for paid promos is significantly higher. You can view their prices HERE.


6) Get an epic cover. I am really surprised by the number of terrible covers I come across. I've read books for friends that I would have otherwise never given a second glance, and they're really good books, but the covers are so bad that their sales suffer for it. Even a mediocre cover is going to hurt your sales. You really do need an epic cover. That's the very first thing that will catch a reader's attention. Also, your cover should be just as epic when viewed as a thumbnail. When a potential reader is scrolling through online stores on their phone, that's the size they're going to see. Mobile web viewing is on the rise, and I don't see that tapering off any time soon. You can do a Google search and find tons of cover designers with galleries on their websites. The prices for an epic cover can greatly vary, and you will usually get what you pay for, but whomever you go through, be sure you're an active part of the process. Research best selling covers in your genre and see how they compare. An experienced and professional designer should know how it's done, but you won't know if they're worth their price tag unless you've done your homework. (Ebooklaunch.com also does cover design.)

7) Use an editor. Or two. Or three. Maybe four. Let's face it. This is the most grumble-worthy thing we indie authors have to deal with. It's usually more expensive than an epic cover design, and there's no way of telling if an editor did a good job or not until readers start emailing you with errors they've found (or leave you bad reviews T-T ). So it's a good idea to rely on more than one editor, and even better if you have a critique group and/or a friend who happens to be an English instructor. Don't expect any single editor to catch every last error in your book--unless you're paying them out the nose. Then expect that. But if your friend/sister/boss is editing your book for free, be grateful for their willingness to spend hours helping you for free. Being anything other than that makes you a butthole, and they won't want to help you in the future.

8) Ask for reviews. I'm not going to lie. I was a nervous wreck the first time I emailed a big name author and requested a review blurb. But if you don't ask, the answer will always be no. And honestly, getting a no is not the end of the world. It's just part of the business. Check them off your list and ask another. Don't just ask best sellers either--ask other indie authors. Ask readers, friends, book bloggers, newspaper book reviewers, radio show hosts. If you're lucky enough to get a yes, be sure to ask their preferred format and send them a free book for their trouble. And when you get a shining review back eventually (don't rush them, for real) be sure to add it to the editorial reviews (if they're a big name) on your book page on Amazon and to the praise page or cover of your next book. If it's your neighbor or friend, ask them (very sweetly with sugar on top) to post their review to Amazon (and Goodreads if they're on there). If they read your book on Nook or iBooks, they can post their review there. Amazon is a heavy hitter, but reviews with other retailers are valuable too.

9) Be a social butterfly. I know. This is a tough one for a lot of writers. Many of us are introverts by nature. For some, that's a big part of the appeal in writing for a living. Luckily, online social media has made it so much easier. Get on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc. You don't have to do all of them, but Facebook and Twitter at the very least. Create an author fan page on Facebook, and be sure to use your author name (not some weird handle that no one will be able to find when searching for you). If you have a common name, use your middle initial or add "author" or "writer" before it. Get a website and a blog so you have somewhere to post your full bio and media kit, a list of any events you're doing, new release announcements. Set up a newsletter--there are some great free ones out there, like MailChip.com. Also, make sure your Amazon author page is set up through authorcentral.amazon.com, and don't forget your author page on Goodreads. Book signings and conferences are really great too, and they give you a chance to mingle and network with other authors and readers, but online social media is free and at your fingertips, so consider it the first step.

10) All hail the Google gods! If you find that you have more questions now than before you started reading this list, GOOD. That's fantastic. Punch them into Google's search bar and prepare to be amazed. There are so many great articles and blogs across the interwebs that can help you along the way. But be careful. There are charlatans out there too--not to mention plenty of well-intentioned, but outdated material. The industry is constantly evolving. Don't ever get to the point where you think you know it all. Sign up for bookish industry blogs and newsletters. Keep researching, keep learning. Technology has been such a game changer for the publishing world, and this brave new world is still shifting beneath us. Hang on and enjoy the ride!


I hope you found my list helpful--or that it at least gave you some good starting points to research further.  And, being that I'm mildly OCD, I should point out that this list is in no particular order. I wanted to set it up in order of importance, but that was hard, and really, these are all important elements. Next, I considered chronological order. But some of these happen at several points in the process, and some should be happening continuously throughout--like consulting the Google gods. So... ultimately, I decided to go with the flow and list things as they came to me. I think it worked out nicely.

I better get back to work. Happy writing!

xoxo

So You Want to be an Author... #WriterWednesday #IndieAuthors

When I first became an “official” author, I really didn’t know what the hell to do with myself. The only other authors I’d met were big time best sellers, after standing in line for hours at a B&N, often after driving 3-5 hours to get there in the first place. Totally worth it. ♥

 #FangirlScrapbooking101

Back before I even knew that I should be requesting reviews from fellow authors, I happened to find myself at a signing for one of these amazeball best sellers, MaryJanice Davidson (she’s the one on the right in the center picture, and the only one who doesn’t make me look freakishly tall). After waiting in line to have my copy of Fish Out of Water signed, I reached MJ’s table and timidly mentioned that I’d just finished writing my first novel. She then blew me away by offering to read and blurb it. O.O I’m pale as death, so I’m sure I turned fifty shades of red at this point. Of course, then she added on, “You know, as long as it doesn’t suck.” 

No pressure, right?

Well, apparently, it didn't suck. At least not to MaryJanice. She wrote a super sweet blurb, and it gave me the courage to ask other authors and reviewers to take a look at my work too. It also encouraged me to man the fuck up and start treating my writing as a career rather than a hobby. This is what I wanted to do for a living—not just in my spare time. I couldn’t afford to let my introverted awkwardness stand as an obstacle in my path. I needed to network.

I soon found myself on a quest to seek out online forums and social media platforms, signing venues and bookish conventions. It’s been an exciting and often nerve-wracking journey. Especially as an indie author without an agent or publicist. It took 5 years before I earned enough in royalties to be able to quit my day job. And now I have a really nice circle of fellow indie author pals—a few of which are even close enough to manage a lunch date on occasion. Most are still scattered across the globe, but every now and then our paths cross at conventions, and it’s magical!

I’m not on the NYT or USA Today best sellers lists… yet. But I am happy to say that my latest book, Death Wish, has been hanging out on Amazon’s Dark Fantasy best sellers since its release last week. Woot! 

(Pardon me, while I go eat all the Halloween candy in the kitchen to celebrate... )

I am frequently asked how I got where I am, often by people under the impression that it happened overnight. There are a lot, and I mean A LOT, of great books on writing, and publishing, and marketing out there. I’ve read quite a few of them. There are quite a few more on my TBR list. Still, I’ve been considering tossing my two cents into the well.

What do you say, aspiring authors? What elements of the writing/publishing/marketing process befuddle you the most? Where does the map fail you with a shaded area marked no-man’s-land? I'd sincerely like to help. ♥

#MondayBlogs: The Liebster "Award"

I've been such a slacker online since the big move, but I'm slowly making my come-back. One of my crit partners, writer Kory Shrum, recently tagged me with the following questions for the Liebster Award. I'll be honest, I'm not entirely sure what this is all about or where it originates from. But the questions seemed fun. So here are my answers:

1. What fictional character do you want as your best friend?

Hmmmm. Most main characters seem to attract too much trouble, which is kind of a prerequisite for a MC, but it doesn’t exactly make for good BFF material. I’d like to say Jesse Sullivan from Kory Shrum’s series, since she’s fun and snarky, and as a death replacement agent, she could totes prevent an untimely demise… though she’d more than likely be the reason for the untimely demise, being a MC and all. Dang it.

2. When you are writing/blogging, do you have to have a snack? If yes, what?

Not unless I’m working overtime and starving to death. Then it’s usually something horrible like Doritos. If I’m trying to behave, I’ll have an apple. Mostly though, I hate getting my keyboard dirty, so I try to refrain.

3. What is your first memory of writing/blogging?

In fifth grade I wrote a girly Robin Hood/Three Musketeers –ish tale, complete with maps and illustrations. I think I still have it in a box somewhere. I remember having a lot of fun developing the story, though it wasn’t until I was almost seventeen that I realized that’s what I wanted to do for a living.

4. Who has been your biggest fan so far?

I’m really lucky to have so many supportive friends and family. The number one spot has to go to my husband though. He dresses up like the Grim Reaper at my signings for books from my Lana Harvey, Reapers Inc. series. That’s love right there. ♥

5. If you could have one super power what would it be?

Necromancy/Resurrection. I’d want the power to stick it to Death.

6. What “gets you in the mood” to write/blog?

If I knew that secret, I’d probably be waaaaay more productive. I “try” to get in the mood by making tea and lighting incense. I might play soft, instrumental music or review my outline/plot board to see if a particular scene jumps out at me. When all else fails, a looming deadline seems to do the trick.

7. What book has been most influential to you and your writing/blogging?

Erm… I have to pick ONE? How about the most recent instead? I found “The First Five Pages” by Noah Lukeman really helpful. I’ve read it twice now, and I’ll probably read it again this summer. Good stuff.

8. What job would you HATE to have?

Any kind of repetitive factory work. If I couldn’t utilize my creativity in some way, I’d go insane.

9. Do you want to be a rich, famous, or admired? (Only 1 and why?)

Admired. Because admired people are often rich and famous too. Ha! : P

10. How long have you been writing/blogging and how long do you think you’ll write/blog?

As long as I can remember (well, fifth grade anyway—see question 3), and I intend to write forever. I may slow down and let the work/play ratio lean more heavily toward the latter, but I can’t imagine ever stopping entirely. I’d be miserable.

11. Tell us about your real or imaginary “happy” place.

My happy place is the house my husband and I just bought at the Lake of the Ozarks. It’s beautiful here, and we both work from home now, so we get to spend all kinds of time together and with our 4-year-old son. We still manage to stay pretty busy, but it’s hard to view it as work with a setting like this. : )



The 11 Nominees & My 11 Questions

If you’ve been tagged below, here are the 11 all new, original questions I have for you to answer if you choose to participate in this Liebster Award.

1. Are you a stationary or traveling writer? Do you write in one preferred place or migrate around?

2. If you could be mentored by one writer/blogger who would it be and why?

3. On a scale of 0 to SQUIRREL! how distracting do you find the internet when you're writing?

4. Do you ever enjoy writing with a partner or do you prefer typing solo?

5. When it comes to burning the midnight oil, what keeps you going? Tea, coffee, soda, Redbull, jumping jacks, heavy metal?

6. Do you have a comfort read? A book/blog you return to when you're feeling down or just nostalgic?

7. Have you ever met someone famous you admired? If so, tell the story of how it happened.

8. When you pass on into the unknown, what do you think (or hope) will be the title of your biography?

9. If your biography were to be turned into a documentary, who do you think would be cast to play you?

10. When it comes to books: physical, digital, or both?

11. Do you keep a writing/blogging schedule, or do you write when the mood hits you?


Here are the rules I need to share:
– Answer the 11 interview questions
– In that post, link back to the person who awarded you.
– Choose 11 other bloggers to award, focusing on those with 200 followers or below.
– Link to those bloggers in your post, then go and leave them comments to share the good news!
– Be sure to ask them 11 original questions.

And here are the writers/bloggers I'm tagging:

Lisa Medley
Liz Schulte
Madge Gressley
Jason T. Graves
Catherine Stovall
Samantha Ketteman
Clare Davidson
Shae Scott
Dana Roquet
Lisa Kessler
Mikel Andrews

Hope you all enjoy my questions! : )

xoxo

The Big Easy Blog Tour: Reblog

So, the writing process hop is really making the rounds! I posted this back in April, but I was tagged a second time by Lisa Medley, fellow reaper-writing Missourian. It is pretty neat to see how other writers "do it". (immature snorts go here) If you'd like to know more about Lisa, check out this interview she gave on my blog HERE.

 Lisa has always enjoyed reading about monsters in love and now she writes about them. Reapers. The grim kind.

She adores beasties of all sorts, fictional as well as real, and has a farm full of them in her Southwest Missouri home, including: one child, one husband, two dogs, two cats, a dozen hens, thousands of Italian bees, and a guinea pig.

She may or may not keep a complete zombie apocalypse bug-out bag in her trunk at all times, including a machete. Just. In. Case. 



You can take a peek at Lisa's writing process HERE.


My process as seen last April... with a few alterations.

What am I working on?

I am juggling several projects, which I really don’t recommend. At least, not to the extent I’m doing right now. I’m finishing up edits for PSYCHOPOMP, the fourth novel in my Lana Harvey, Reapers Inc. series. And I'm working on a new YA trilogy for an agent I adore. I am also working on a few short stories for anthologies and magazines.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

My Lana series, which is my baby, is technically urban fantasy. I love vampires and werewolves, but they’ve been done. A lot. I was afraid that I wouldn’t have anything new to offer in that arena. I still knew I wanted to stick with urban fantasy. It just sets my heart on fire. I really enjoy studying world religions and mythology, so I decided to take my writing in that direction. My series is set in a modern afterlife, where all the faiths are right and all the deities exist… and have to work together. So, while it’s an urban setting, it’s still not quite “of this world”, and I’m playing with less familiar supernatural beings than most urban fantasy readers are used to.

Why do I write what I do?

Aside from my love of urban fantasy, I thought it would be fun to put my mythology and religious research to good use. I’m also a big supporter of religious tolerance, and while the deities in my series don’t always get along, my readers are still learning things about different faiths that they might not have known before. Intolerance is a cousin of ignorance. We fear the things we don’t understand. While my primary goal is entertainment, I still like the notion that I might also be subliminally promoting tolerance and peace.

How does my writing process work?

Not very well. I wish that was a joke.

Ok. Seriously… I have a plot board. I’m a bit OCD and ADD, so I NEED the plot board to stay on track. I have oversized post-its that represent my chapters. The post-its are big enough to hold a 2-3 sentence description of what’s going down in that particular scene. I fill out the big events first and shuffle them around until they make some sort of sense. Then I fill in the chapters where foreshadowing needs to happen, where character bonding and development is crucial, ect. ect. ect. Until I have somewhere between 25 and 35 chapters.

Then the actual writing happens. Once again, ADD, so the plot board comes in handy. I do not write my books in order. I often have the last chapter written before the fourth or fifth. If I don’t feel like a lovey-dovey scene, I skip ahead to a fight scene. If I’m not feeling the dialog in one spot, I play with the scenery or narrative somewhere else. My muse has mood swings, so I just go with it. Eventually, I have a book written. Then I read through it and make sure everything is still in order. I do some shuffling again. I polish up a scene here or there. I rebalance the dialog/narrative ratio where it feels off.

Then I email the draft to an author friend or two, a couple beta readers, my husband. I print it out and deliver it to my former college comp professor who volunteers to edit my novels (this is why he has the honorary title of THE professor—he also teaches Shakespeare, and he introduced me to Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series, so I trust his judgment and taste in literature). Then I’m bombarded by a plethora of plot holes, grammatical errors, and general typos… which I face palm my way through as I fix. A final read through and BING! It’s done. Yes, it sounds like an Easy-Bake Oven in my head. This has happened in a matter of three months… or a matter of three years. Once again, I wish that was a joke. I have become more consistent and persistent over the past few years, so I’m hoping that means it’s a skill I’m able to hone… and not just a sadistic muse I’m at the mercy of. 

So that's about it.  


P.S. I'm not tagging anyone in particular. If you haven't been tagged and would like to participate in the writing process hop, consider yourself invited! You can totally blame me. ♥

Interview with Lisa Medley: Reapers of Missouri Unite!

The RT Booklovers Convention is over for this year, but I’m still basking in the afterglow of its awesomeness! And I’m doing my best to stay in touch with the incredible writers I met while in New Orleans. One of these writers is Lisa Medley, who not only lives just a few hours away from me in Missouri, but she also writes reaper fiction! How have we not met before? How do we not have an exclusive Missouri reapers club with a secret handshake? We’ll get to that eventually, I’m sure. For now, I’m just excited to be interviewing Lisa on my blog. Enjoy!

Hi Lisa! Thanks for visiting my blog! Reapers are the best! Can you tell us your take on them in your series?

Thanks for having me here, Angela! The reapers in my series are responsible for collecting human souls on Earth. They don’t hasten any departures but collect those who pass in their respective territories. The hero of Reap & Repent is 200+ years old and burned out. He’s going through the motions and running his death circuits when he runs into a human woman with no aura. Reapers don’t have auras either. In fact, that’s how they know when someone is about to pass by.  The aura is gone or turns white.  Intrigued, Deacon tracks her down and nothing will ever be the same for him again.

I know you’ve got a soft spot for beasts. Are any featured in your series?

The only beasts in book one are imps, which are demon spies and look like black cats to humans. In book two, we get a hellhound named Bocephus. Bo eats demons for breakfast, lunch and dinner and drools like a river.

How many books do you have planned for your series? And when is the next one coming out?

I have three finished in the series. Book two, Reap & Redeem, comes out in October and three, Reap & Reveal, publishes in January.  I have at least six more characters who need stories and to find their love. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen to them!

Now for a few random wildcard questions…


What’s your favorite word?

Ever since the old television show The Greatest American Hero, my favorite word has been ‘scenario’. Robert Culp’s character used it all the dang time and it stuck with me!

If you were in a fictional fantasy world, what would be your profession? Demon hunter? Psychic gumshoe? Dragon tamer? 

I think it would be extremely satisfying to kill me some demons. In my head, I’ve got all the moves. In a fictional world I could totally rock Demon Hunter.

Zombie apocalypse. What are your top 3 essentials?

Listen, I think about this an unhealthy amount of time.  I’m just waiting to pull my ninja skills out for the zombie apocalypse. I travel a lot for my day job, and I figure I’ll get caught far away from home.  I WILL get home. I have a complete zombie bug-out bag in my trunk with a roll of Duct tape, food, and a machete. Just. In. Case.

What’s a random question you’ve always wanted to be asked, but no one ever asks?

How about…What is your secret superhero power?
Thanks for asking. Apparently, my secret superhero power is the ability to see cat yak because no one else in my family seems to see it to clean it up. Figures. Flying would be so much cooler.

Okay. Back to business…Who or what do you read for inspiration?

I started this paranormal romance rollercoaster with J.R. Ward, and I buy her new release on PRE-ORDER, then count down the days until release. Seriously.  I’m a little obsessed with her. I love me some Black Dagger Brothers. I also love Charlaine Harris and Patricia Briggs and, and, and… My TBR bookshelf is embarrassing. We aren’t going to talk about my decreasing Kindle storage.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I started writing sad and angsty, pre-teen poetry and look where I am now.  In HS and through the years, I wrote some newspaper columns and in the back of my mind, writer was somewhere around plan M. I always thought writing a novel was something I probably COULD do, but hadn’t really tried. Finally after reading more than a hundred paranormal romance and urban fantasy novels, I decided it was time to put up or shut up. The first three novels of The Reaper Series will publish this year. 

Any advice for the aspiring writers out there?

Keep swimming. It’s going to seem impossible but if you just keep swimming, you’ll reach the shore before you know it. I had no idea if my book would sell or ever be published. By the time it did contract, I already had book two completed so they bought it as well as book three which I hadn’t even started yet! I’ll have a backlist by the end of the year. The more you write the more you’ll publish. Keep swimming and keep writing!

I’m really looking forward to checking out your reapers! Thanks for stopping by, Lisa. : )

Lisa has always enjoyed reading about monsters in love and now she writes about them. Reapers. The grim kind. 

She adores beasties of all sorts, fictional as well as real, and has a farm full of them in her Southwest Missouri home, including: one child, one husband, two dogs, two cats, a dozen hens, thousands of Italian bees, and a guinea pig. 

She may or may not keep a complete zombie apocalypse bug-out bag in her trunk at all times, including a machete. Just. In. Case. 

Website | Facebook  | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads | Google+ | Amazon Author Page

They see death. Can they share a life? Ruth Scott can read the energy of every person she meets. Then she meets Deacon Walker. She can see his ice-blue eyes, his black hair, and his gorgeous face. But this beautiful stranger has no aura. 

Deacon is just as unsettled by Ruth—and, having spent more than two hundred years ushering souls to Purgatory, Deacon is seldom shocked by anything. As he helps Ruth to understand her true nature, she awakens desires that he decided long ago a Reaper can’t afford. 

A demon invasion forces Deacon to confront the darkness in his own past even as he fights to save the human souls he’s charged to protect. When he’s taken captive, his first concern is for Ruth. But Ruth just might be able to save herself—and the Reaper she can’t live without—if she can learn to wield her newfound power. 

 AMAZON | B&N  | KOBO

He’s a reaper who has given up on saving souls. Will a dying woman be his salvation? 

After a century of enslavement to pure evil, Kylen Larson is finally free. But he’s long past caring. The only woman he ever loved is dead, and he’s tormented by memories of the horrors his demon parasite forced him to commit. Now, he lives for nothing more than hunting down the infernal creatures invading Meridian, Arkansas, and destroying them. 

Olivia Evans is in the final stages of cancer when Kylen accidentally saves her from demonic possession. When he rescues this innocent soul, Kylen rediscovers his mission—and his heart. All he wants is to help Alivia stay alive. He’ll just have to fight off an invasion from Hell first… 

AMAZON