Alluring Swag for Romance Authors, by a Romance Author

 

Hi everyone! My name is (Ca)’Lisa Selfridge, aka author Calisa Rhose. I write contemporary romance, am trying my hand at suspense on my current WIP and dabble with light paranormal. I have a contemporary book out with Kensington Publishing Corp.- Lyrical Press titled Risk Factors (more about that later) and I just got rights back on a Vintage historical this last winter from the Wild Rose Press, where Cheryl Pierson and I “met.” I’m also a former editor for Lyrical Press. I chose not to work for Kensington when they bought Lyrical last year and went freelance instead.

The reason I’m telling you my real name is because that’s who I’m here as today, and this post might get a bit long-ish. I apologize in advance for that, but when Cheryl asked if I would like to come tell her authors about Fanciful Allure, I was thrilled at the opportunity to get this venture noticed.

As ’Lisa Selfridge, I’m the owner-founder of Fanciful Allure, a craft and jewelry company I’m just starting. It’s so new I don’t have a website, Facebook page or Etsy account set up yet, but that doesn’t prevent me from creating what I think is an unusual specialty line for romance writers.

I’ve been making bead jewelry off and on for about ten years, but never considered selling anything. I was too busy getting my writing off the ground. LOL In fact, until this spring, I hadn’t even looked at a bead since moving back to Oklahoma in 2007. They were still packed…somewhere.

In spring this year I had a major writing burnout with a lot of personal things going on in my life, so I took a long, really long, like three months, hiatus, just returning in September to my WIP I simply let go of in May. During that time I renewed my fascination with beadwork and expanded my talents to more intricate works of art. Native American beadwork designs take hours to create one earring! I began scouring crafting websites and blogs and came across a site where the girl was trying her hand with Polymer clay for the first time.

Clay? I’d never heard of Polymer clay and, apparently, it’s been around for years. Okay, this is where I admit I get a little tunnel vision with my chosen crafts, like beading and writing. I don’t think to explore other avenues until a rock hits me in the head.

Anyway, I checked clay out on a few sites, and then forgot about it for weeks. One night I decided to google Poly clay on YouTube, and spent hours—literally!—scouring what this wonder medium could be used for, and became hooked on the idea of giving it a try. The next time I went to Michael's for beading supplies, I decided to get a sample 12-pack of Sculpey III to try out. It’s a very soft clay, which my arthritic hands loved, but texture-wise I wasn’t happy with it.  Being so soft made it harder to work with for me. Once clay gets soft it’s pretty malleable and every little touch could change it, or mess something up—which I seem to do a lot. LOL

I was officially hooked on polymer clay! It very quickly became my favorite craft medium, even over beading (which I still love and do). I soon bought more, in a hardier clay after some more research, Premo! I still prefer this brand today, months later. Since that day I’ve learned all kinds of things to do, and some DON’T DO THAT, things with clay.

But…I’m a writer first and foremost, even regardless of the time I was taking off from it. I wanted to show my love of writing in my other craft, too, so I began toying with ideas to incorporate the two loves of my crafty life. Then it came to me, not on a bolt of lightning, but slow and easy. No shell shock here!

After a few months of experimenting, I decided to surprise a few author friends with what I call “book totems.” What are book totems, you ask?

I began to make jewelry and trinkets, knick-knacks, dust collectors, totems—call them what you will—that go with author brands, books or series.

This bass guitar necklace was first, for my friend Sarah Grimm, because she’s got a rock-n-roll band of heroes I’m absolutely crazy about. I want to marry. every. one. of her British heroes! Especially Dominic Price, the bass player, for whom this guitar was made. His initials are engraved on it. ;) I’m currently making book pendant necklaces and key rings for this same series.

Unfortunately, I can’t show you those at this time since they aren’t completed, but I take a book cover, shrink it to about 1.5 inches tall, 2” for key rings, and stick that onto a clay book I make. Doodads are added to garnish it, then it gets sealed and coated to make it last. I will share the bail of one because I love this wire detail! And the bookmark has a nice touch too.
                

Of course not all bookmarks will work this way if there isn’t a theme or something like this to link to a book. In those cases I will think of something fitting for the book. Music is easy in this respect. Lots of little things to play with.

Another fun project, for the fantastically fan-tab-ulous, and dear friend, Vonnie Davis, was this fire station-specific helmet brooch and pendant ribbon necklace. She has a new fireman series that just began its release last month. I absolutely LOVE firemen. Heck I love first responders of any uniform! My own hero is an EMT-P who works on a helicopter.

These items are personalized with her fictitious fire station number and Fire-Marine Rescue title. She hasn’t even gotten these yet, though I had to show them to her before writing this post so I could share them with all of you here today. My husband made that itsy-bitsy fire engine. I love it! I made the rest. I can add some of these little things to a bookmark too.

I have, however, sent her Creighton, the bear-shifting Scotsman who came with a stand. But not much I can do on a bookmark with this theme.
               
I read this short excerpt from book 1of her bear shifter trilogy and got inspired: When [Paisley] upended the white velvet bag, a silver chain and pendant tumbled out. The pendant was a silver outline of a heart with a pearl flanked by sapphires and emeralds on one side. The word “Beloved” was engraved in bold letters on the other.

I’m in the process of making four more of these titled “Creighton’s Heart” necklaces for her as prizes for a giveaway. Though they won’t look exactly like this one. She asked me to add little white owls to go with the tiny glass bears on the bottom, so… I did, with clay.

Another friend, AJ Nuest, has a series titled The Golden Key Chronicles and my daughter is a HUGE fan. When I started claying she got an idea and, with my help, made a pendant/earring set with beads and clay as a gift for AJ. I’m in the process of making some bookshelves with the four series books from the sequel series Golden Key Legacy, about to begin releases starting on Thanksgiving day. Those books are about 3/4 inch tall each. I made them the same way as the book pendant, sort of, but they sit inside a clay shelf. I can’t show these off in full yet because they are an order in progress, as the book pendants are. But here’s a sample one to show their approx. size. And this theme also has bookmark potential in the keys.

And last, but certainly and by no means least, because this is getting really long and Cheryl is gonna want to chop it down by now, I’ll close with these cacti I made as a sample totem to show Kathleen a while back for Prairie Rose Publications’ very own Reader of the Month.

Basically, I can try to make most anything and/or as long as I have publisher permission for any book cover for jewelry and totems. If I can’t make something, I’ll say so. If anyone is interested in ordering something for a release party, reader gift, or just for yourselves, you can reach me at fancifulallure@gmail.com or let Kathleen know and she can reach my by phone.

I also make non-writerly jewelry and totems, and Christmas is coming up on us really fast. So email me and we’ll talk. Because these are handmade artisan pieces, no two will be exactly alike in appearance or size, though I do my best to get as close as possible, and each item will resemble what you want it to. Most items will be two inches and smaller. Did you see that ¼ in or 10.5cm owl? It’s smaller than my pinky tip and I have very small hands!

Thank you Cheryl for inviting me here today, and Kathleen for reaching out to me for UnCover Mondays. My cover showcase feature on my blog is always taking submissions, so feel free to check it out on my author website  and contact me through the site or at calisa.rhose@gmail.com if you’d like your covers to be posted. I’m full through February right now and taking submissions from March on, so now is the time to submit for spring.

If you’d like to check out my book, Risk Factors, it’s on my website.

Love, like life, is not without risk.

Veterinarian Vivian Dane has purchased her uncle’s practice in the tiny town of  Wales, Missouri, where most residents still doubt her ability to treat their pets. But Viv is used to being considered less-worthy than her predecessors. After all, her parents are world-renowned wildlife vets, and most everyone is unimpressed she’s chosen to not follow directly in their  footsteps. Now Connor, a patient’s owner, is hot for Viv, but clearly doesn’t think she’s dating material because he has a daughter…who he believes no woman is good enough for.

Being a perfect dad is EMT paramedic Connor’s life focus. He can’t seem to stay away from sexy Doctor Viv, but attraction is as far as he’ll ever let it go. His mother abandoned him, leaving him to be raised in the foster system, and then his wife abandoned both him and their daughter. He absolutely will not risk bringing another woman into his little girl’s life and having her feel the hurt of being left…again.

Forfeiting is easier than attempting and failing. So why does Viv feel compelled to prove she’s a sure bet for Connor and his daughter? Can Connor trust Viv--and himself--enough to play the possibilities?

I’d love it if you want to keep up with me:
Twitter: @CalisaRhose
Facebook/Calisa Rhose
Facebook/CalisaSelfridge
Goodreads
Amazon
Pinterest
Google+: Calisa ‘Lisa’ Selfridge
Google+: Calisa Rhose

So what crafts are you into if any? What do you think of my idea for miniature book totems? Let’s chat.

 

Facebook Knows All, Sees All, Confuses All

By An Anonymous Person in the Facebook Protection Program

For the most part, trying to figure out Facebook is an exercise in futility. About the time you think you've uncovered all of Facebook’s secrets, the Dark Lord changes everything. Very frustrating.

I’m sure we’ve all seen “the rules” about what not to post:

What you post	What people read
I’ll be away on vacation for a week starting Friday.	Here’s your chance, burglars!
Religious screed	Hey, gang! Let’s argue about whose religious beliefs are correct.
Political diatribe	I’m a dangerous radical, heartless philistine, or hopeless nincompoop.
Rumors and “warnings” found on the internet	I’m gullible.
Copyrighted images, etc.	Sue me for everything I own. I’ve always wanted to live in cardboard box under an overpass.
Unkind things about other people	You’re next, bucko.
What you ate for breakfast	I’m the life of the party in the real world, too.
Drive-by “buy my book” messages (including up-to-the-minute news about Amazon sales rank and reviews)	Like the bandana and six-gun? I’ve always been a snappy dresser. Now hand over your money or the Kindle gets it.

Honestly, the one rule everyone should remember about all social media is very simple: If you wouldn’t do something in a roomful of strangers in the real world, don’t do it on social media either.

There’s another reason for approaching Facebook with a modicum of caution: According to the Dark Lord’s terms of service, everything you post on Facebook belongs to Facebook. Forever. Post something you regret, and you can’t take it back, even if you delete the post from your timeline. Get used to that blush setting fire to your cheeks, because you’ll be wearing it for the rest of your life.

Far more difficult than determining what not to do on Facebook is figuring out what to do. Take your Facebook presence, for example. If you’re an author, should you start a Facebook Page or stick with a personal timeline? Or do you need both? And for the love of Cheez Whiz, what the heck is a group?

First, some definitions:

A timeline or newsfeed is a personal presence. This is how most of us are accustomed to interacting with other Facebook users. When we post jokes, memes, quotes, links, random cat pictures, etc., we’re posting to our personal timeline. We “friend” people using our timeline, and they friend us back using theirs (or not, if we’re in the habit of relentlessly promoting our books or revealing what we ate for breakfast).

A Page is a commercial presence. Businesses and celebrities establish Pages because Pages allow a few things timelines don’t. Page administrators can post polls, run contests, offer freebies, share event schedules, and track who’s viewing and interacting with what. Page owners also can compare their Page’s statistics (views, interaction, etc.) to those of other, similar Pages.

A group is essentially an online club. Facebook groups bring like-minded people together about almost every topic under the sun (some of which you do not want to know about, trust me). Some groups allow anyone to join; some require membership approval. The Prairie Rose Publications group, for example, is an “open” group. Anyone can obtain access to the loony bin simply by clicking the “Join” button. Jacquie Rogers’ Pickle Barrel Bar & Books, on the other hand, is a “closed” group. Jacquie or one of her minions must approve anyone who clicks the “Join” button before that person is allowed to dance on the bar with the rest of the Wild Bunch. All posts in a group are delivered to every member, unless a member elects not to receive them.

Back to the question about authors, Pages, and timelines.

I’m not a proponent of authors establishing Facebook Pages. That doesn’t mean I’m dead-set against author Pages — just that I believe authors should think long and hard before diving in.

Why? For one thing — and this is especially true for debut authors — Pages are effective only when their owners post fun things that aren’t overtly promotional, and then spend a significant amount of time interacting about the posts with followers. An inactive Page is much, much worse than no Page at all. Inactive author Pages look like just another billboard for a starving writer. How much attention do you pay to billboards, online ads, and TV commercials? If your answer is “not much,” you’re safe in assuming you’re among the majority. Even worse, Pages with lots of posts but no interaction from fans make an author look either dreadfully dull or desperate to sell books no one wants to read.

That leads to the second point: People can’t “friend” a Page like they do a timeline. Instead, they must become fans or followers by “liking” the Page. There are quite a few negatives attendant upon that system, some of them psychological, but the biggest drawback is this: Facebook’s algorithm displays Page posts much less frequently and to a smaller audience than posts on personal timelines. Every post on your timeline can be seen by all of your Facebook friends. Posts on a Page will be seen by only a small percentage of fans and followers unless the Page’s administrator pays Facebook to show the posts to more people. That’s part of the way Facebook funds its existence.

An exception to the “pay Facebook” model happens when Pages produce content so compelling that people from all over the place find the content by themselves, “like” it, comment on it, or share it. If the material gets lots of attention, Facebook will make sure more people see it for free. So-called “viral” content has intrinsic value for Facebook, so of course the Dark Lord wants to increase the “reach” of the Page that generated all the chatter.

Pages belonging to well-known, bestselling authors typically get great reach on Facebook for free, but those Pages have tens of thousands of fans and followers who would share the author’s every word even if he or she wasn’t on Facebook. The ironic thing there is, bestselling authors and other celebrities generally pay someone to manage their Facebook presence for them, so their fans and followers aren’t interacting with the big shot anyway.

You’ve probably seen folks post things like “Like and share if you know the answer” or “Hit like if you love puppies” to both Pages and timelines. That’s called “like baiting,” and it’s considered spam. Although like baiting does increase interaction with a post, thereby potentially expanding its reach, Facebook is cracking down on the practice by shutting the accounts of people and companies who do it (unless they pay Facebook for the privilege).

The other thing that makes Pages a less-than-optimal promotional channel for individuals is this: They’re a pain in the patootie to generate fans and followers for. You’ve probably seen authors post “Please like my Page!” all over the place. Maybe one or two percent of the people who see those messages actually go like the Page, and those who do usually are other authors who want a Page like in return. Ideally, an author Page should attract readers. Authors read, too (or should), but the round-robin approach to marketing probably isn’t the best use of time and energy.

There is one advantage to maintaining a Page that individuals may want to consider: Facebook caps timeline friends at 5,000. Once you reach 5,000 friends, you’ll have to start a Page (for which fans and followers are unlimited) or begin deleting less-active friends so you can add new ones. My advice? Cross that bridge if you can’t swim, but try treading water first.

Prairie Rose Publications maintains a Facebook Page as well as a group. We’re working to build the audience for both. Everyone is invited — in fact, encouraged — to join the group, like the Page, and start or participate in conversations in either or both places. (Those who are published by Prairie Rose, don’t make us round you up. Nobody wants to see you dragged to the corral by your boot heels.) By the end of the year, PRP hopes to be running frequent, legitimate contests and other fun stuff both in the group and on the Page.

Bottom line, at least in my opinion: Individuals, especially authors who are just starting to build an audience for their work, would do better to stick with a personal timeline and join groups than put time and effort into a Page. People who use Facebook want real interaction with real people. They’re much more likely to friend a real person than they are to like a Page. The personal approach — making Facebook friends feel wanted and appreciated as people, not dollar signs — is much more effective than any advertising you can buy.

Authors: Can you offer any Facebook tips or tricks?

Readers: What do you like and dislike about Facebook?