Do Reviews Sell a Book?

Got a really nice review the other day for Lone Star Lycan (book two in the High Plains Shifters series) and it made me feel really good. It was a nice little ego boost especially when the book is a new release and you're wondering how everyone likes it. Call it insecurity, ego...hell, I don't know but we are curious people, us writers.

Anyway, I wonder why we worry so much about reviews. I've had one really bad review for a book that came out last year and it just about KILLED ME. It felt like a slap in the face. Naturally, all my friends were quick to assure me this is ONE PERSON'S OPINION and the smart part of my brain knew they were right about that. Others gave the book a great review. Still, it hurts. Fortunately my other reviews have been awesome. Nothing at all to complain about.

Reviews are a nice little pat on the back (assuming they are GOOD) and the book is featured on the review site which is great publicity that doesn't cost the author a dime. Who could complain about that? Still, I can't help wondering if anyone buys a book simply because of a good review? I never have. Normally, I buy the books of fellow authors whose work I know very well or tried and true authors who seldom disappoint. I go to publishers websites and check out the covers and blurbs. Sometimes I'll read an excerpt of the book on that site. Pretty much, that's how I make my book selections.

What about ya'll? Do reviews sway your buying choices?

Here's my most recent review of Love Star Lycan from Just Erotic Romance Reviews. Thanks LT Blue for reading and reviewing and giving me four stars!

Quinn Harlow suffered a horrible childhood under the cruelties of Decker Harlow, never knowing he wasn’t her biological father. Now in her early thirties, Quinn is traveling to the Wolf Creek Ranch on the day of her father, Bartholomew Fitzpatrick’s funeral and plans to stay just to get some answers. However, she is extremely disappointed that she didn’t have a chance to meet him. Joe McKinnon, ranch foreman of Wolf Creek and new Alpha, has been waiting for Quinn it seems all of his life. Quinn isn’t quite sure what has gotten into her, but making out with a man she just met at her father’s graveside isn’t something that she typically does. Joe is determined to show Quinn a side of herself that she would have never thought possible and to convince her to stay with him forever.

I tend to crave any story that has an Alpha Lycan male and I’m sure glad I picked up Lone Star Lycan to satisfy my craving. Joe’s character is so sexy and Alpha that he could just stand in a room and I would melt. I was a bit worried at first that Quinn wasn’t the woman for him, but Quinn changed my mind. Quinn’s character comes across a little stuck up in the beginning but I discovered it was a protective measure for her. The story line kept my attention throughout the story with some intrigue and action thrown in. The sexual chemistry was instantaneous in the beginning and sort of wears off. It doesn’t pick back up for Joe and Quinn until almost the end of the story. The first time Joe and Quinn have sex, it is downright raunchy which is just the way I like it. The other sexual interaction was just as hot and spicy with a bit of anal play thrown in. The secondary characters are all needed to move the story along. Lone Star Lycan is the perfect read for any season.

More stuff

Speaking of good reviews...my friend, Fran Lee, is getting amazing reviews for her debut Ellora's Cave release Out of Her Dreams and today she has another good one out. Head over to EC today and check it out! I promise you won't be sorry. Fran rocks the HOUSE!


Buy it HERE!

Blurb:

Hallie James loves cats—she just never realized she was one herself. Not until she met delicious leopard shifters Gar and Cal, one sinfully dark, one beautifully golden.

A terrifying meeting with a runaway pit bull lands her on her butt on the sidewalk. But when the dog’s owners appear out of nowhere, asking if she’s all right, Hallie has the most shocking reaction to their mouthwatering…scent!

Cat pheromones are powerful, and Gar and Cal’s attraction to the human is as instant as hers is to them. Hallie finds herself caught between two cats—hot and hard Gar, and his hot and delicious little brother Cal. When a gal is confronted with such a succulent choice, why not enjoy the fact that cats aren’t monogamous?

E-Book v Mini Netbook

In case everyone is wondering where Anne got off to, she's on a well deserved family vacation this week and being the good buddies were are, Kelley and I have been filling in for her but she'll be back next week feeling so frisky we'll wanna slap her! Ummm....just kiddin' Anne! You know we'd never do THAT but allow us to be a little jealous. Okay?

Soooo I'll take Anne's day and her space to announce I am getting a new computer. Don't know when it'll arrive but I can tell you right now, I'm ready to kick this old one I'm using right out the damn window. Don't get me wrong...we have several computers in the house. Besides mine there are two other desktops and they are both new but they aren't in my ROOM. I need something in here in case I want to work on a spectacular masterpiece (Allow me my dreams please). I've always gotten the leftover computer. Someone gets a new computer and the old one is given to me. I don't know how that trend started exactly but it SUCKS. Soooo, finally, finally it's my turn to get something that has that great 'new computer smell'.

While my mind is geared toward gadgets, I've been wondering about something. Several friends have gotten these mini-netbooks. The ones pictured here are Dells but there are plenty of other brands out there. These friends not only can slip them in their purses so they can take care of business while on the road but they can read pdf format books on them just fine. The only difference is you scroll down instead of turning a virtual page. Most of these little beauties cost around $300. Not bad for something you can do so many things with...including READ.

Now there may be die-hard 'page turners' out there who prefer an e-book reader. We all know the Kindle and the Sony top of the line versions are plenty expensive, ranging in price from $400 to $300. Other ebook readers are making their debut as well. Tons are coming on the market with very attractive prices. The Cool-Er e-book reader shown here costs around $250 and comes in many, many mouthwatering colors. Neat, huh? Plug Cool-ER ebook reader into your browser and check out their site.

Most of you know, I have an e-bookwise which definitely serves the purpose. It's a little heavier than most readers but does have a backlight, which I love. Still, I'm lusting after something a bit fancier.

Lately, I've been leaning toward just getting the 10" screen mini netbook. For the price, it'll do more. I love the idea of traveling with something small enough to carry in my purse that fills so many functions. For the price difference, this seems the better deal to me. What do ya'll think?

My new guilty pleasure

Okay so I have a new guilty pleasure. I'm totally entranced by True Blood.


Last season I didn't have HBO but they did play a few episodes on the free HBO weekend. Loved it then but couldn't see spending the extra money for only one show. Neither my hubby nor I watch many movies so it just wasn't something we wanted to do at the time. Recently we had to switch cable companies and guess what? They had a rockin' deal on HBO. So now I've been going through all the older episodes On Demand and I just can't stop watching. The new episode this week? OMG! I almost died. I can't wait to find out what's going to happen. I haven't enjoyed a show this much in a long time.

What's your guilty pleasure?

In other news I got a great review for my Madison Scott book, Satisfy Me.

Title: The Malone Brothers: Satisfy Me
Author: Madison Scott
Publisher: Liquid Silver Books
Publisher URL: www.liquidsilverboo ks.com
Reviewer: LT Blue
Rating: 4 Stars
Heat level: H

I’m a sucker for women who finally get the gumption to go after the men they want. Maggie’s character is a treat and one that I could relate to. Maggie has settle for years and did what was expected of her, until she actually woke up and realized that wasn’t the life she wanted. Ty is the perfect male for Maggie. Ty is sexy and willing to help Maggie out and fulfill her sexual fantasies as long as she knows it is only temporary. Ty is the type of guy you just love to watch fall in love and see all of their beliefs just crumble with a great woman at their side. The sexual chemistry between Maggie and Ty was actually there before we see them in the same room and when they have sex it is magically hot. I’m sure if there was more time, the raunchy side would have come out, but with this short story it was just hot and simmering.. There were a few background characters that played an important part of the story and I really loved the ghost. Satisfy Me is definitely a summer read that will satisfy you.

LT Blue
Just Erotic Romance Reviews

New Friends and Fun Talk

Since I'm currently out of town and using my son's computer, I can't put my little 'blonde girl' avatar up here but this is REGINA writing from the friendly South Plains and Lubbock, Texas. The other day I loaded up my daughter and we took a road trip to visit my son. He attends college here and in a few short weeks we'll be moving my daughter here, too...sniff sniff.

Anyway, today I want to talk about friendship and how sometimes the strangest things can bring people together. I've often blogged here about how lonely this biz is. We writers tend to stick to our private, quiet little cubby holes to do our thing and most of the time our friendships are limited to on-line writing buddies. Recently I joined the Jeanie and Jayha yahoo group to hang out and meet new friends. Very cool bunch and although I'm new there, I already love these chicks to death. Anyway, I learned that Drea, one of the members of the Posse is from Texas and well damn, when I found out she was practically within shouting distance, we decided to MEET.

Yeah...meeting FACE TO FACE with other writers just seems like Heaven on Earth to me. We met for drinks and chatting last night and we just had so much in common that I felt I'd known her forever. Honestly think we could have chatted all night. But since it was getting late, we parted with a promise to do it all again soon. Finding another writer and a kindred spirit so close to home was just cooler than hell. So thanks, Drea, for the drinks, the fun, and the laughs.

For those of us who tend to hide out in our little spaces, conventions are a great way to meet up personally for the first time but, let's face it, those times are so few, so far between. I find it so interesting that most of us find our closest friends are met on-line. Ain't modern invention cool. Brings us together and opens our eyes and expands our worlds. But still, it's nice to actually meet an on-line friend in person and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. So the next time I'm in town, you'd better believe I'll be calling up my new friend and hanging out for awhile.

I think we writers MUST get out more! What do you think?

The lure of the bad boy

I want to explore what exactly it is that draws to those bad, bad boys. In a lot ways that old saying 'good guys finish last' really is true. I know personally, when I'm reading a book it's those cocky, troubled past, or current bad boys who make me swoon. I was watching True Blood last night (holy crap I love that show) and Eric is one bad vamp but I think he's hot as hell. Something about the guy just totally does it for me. On the other hand, I like Bill too. To me, Bill isn't the typical good guy. He has a very bad past and I find that part of him pretty damn hot. In some ways, that bad boy is lingering under his surface, he's trying to bury him but I think he's there waiting to break free.

Is it the woman in me who thinks I'm going to be the one to change these bad boys? I've heard that before but in my case, I don't think so because honestly, I don't think I would want them to change. LOL. Is it the danger or the edge? I know I always live my life by the rules. I'm pretty much a good girl through and through and maybe there's a bad girl inside me begging to break free. Maybe its my inner bad girl who longs to have that bad boy show her all his wicked ways? Or maybe it's that I want to live vicariously through them. Maybe, like always I'm reading way too much into this and it's just that they happen to all be so damn hot!

Are you attracted to bad boy? What is it that lures you to those delicious bad boys?

Kicking a Dead Horse

*sighhhhh*
I'm 'speed posting' today because my poor old computer keeps shutting off every 10 minutes or so. We have several in the house but this one is in my office and I've grown attached to it. Better get 'un-attached' really quick because this one is about to bite the dust.

I've been thinking about something lately. When does an author know that it's time to pull the plug on a series? Personally, I adore series because it's like this endless story that just keeps on giving. But at what point is it just not fun anymore? There are some really popular series going on out there but, frankly, I've quit buying some of them. By the time an author gets to about...oh, let's say...10 of these books, I'm pretty much over it.

Guess the reason I'm mulling this over is because I have started my own series and I'm wondering how this all works. So far, sales on the first book are rocking, the second book is out and the third comes out in August. Wonder if I'll just get 'a feeling' that it's time to move on? Will people stop buying therefore telling me they are DONE with it? Hey, I just don't know. Like I said, this is new for me so I'm waiting to see how this all unfolds.

Here's what I'm thinking about this so far. As long as the stories for the series keep coming, I'll write them but I'm ALSO thinking that working in another series or a few single titles into the mix is a smart idea. By the time, I'm fairly ho-hum about starting another, I figure I'll know when to quit. If I'm bored, I guaran-damn-tee ya, my readers will be too.

Lately, I'll see a new book in series that seems to have been out there for umpteen gazillion years and just roll my eyes. They kick that dead horse repeatedly trying to raise him from the dead when, in my view, it's time to walk away and do something else.

go ahead, try it! I dare ya!

So, I've jumped onto the urban fantasy bandwagon. This genre really isn't my thing, mostly because there isn't any romance. I want romance. I live for romance books!

However, I was starting to get jittery for another Nalini Singh book. I'd read her recent release "Branded by Fire" and loved it, of course, and was dying for more of this fabulous author. So, I went out to her site to search around. Thing is, I've read all her Psy-Changeling books, but I've never read her Guild Hunters series. So, I bought the first one in the series, "Angel's Blood". Fantastic book!! It's actually urban fantasy romance, so there IS some romance going on. I wouldn't say there's as much as in her Psy-changeling books, but we do have some bad ass fellas in this boook that had me sweating. The hero, Raphael, yum. And to think I almost didn't buy it! That would have been a huge mistake. I should have known Nalini Singh wouldn't write a bad book. The frustrating thing is, the next book in the series doesn't release until September. And it's only a novella. After that we have to wait until next year to get another full length. Next year?? I'm not that patient!! LOL I want more now, damn it!

Anyway, this all got me curious. Am I the only one trying new things around here or what? Have you ventured outside your box lately? Read anything you swore you'd never read?

Now that I've read my first urban fantasy romance I'm looking to try more. Any suggestions? Remember, they NEED to have some romance. I'm going shopping today, so give me a list! LOL

Little No-No's I Loooove!

With my daughter heading off to college in about a month, I can honestly say I've been indulging her. We've done the massive shopping thing and I'm cooking lots of her favorite dishes. I mean, you'd think she was never coming home again or that she's moving out into a remote Brazilian rainforest or something. No, she's only going to be two hours away and yes, they will have modern conveniences where she's going. Anyway, I was thinking about all the little guilty pleasures out there. We avoid them like the plague or at least I do. Mainly because my 'little no-no's" are FOOD RELATED. You know what I mean. You know you shouldn't but you think about them and think about them until you finally give in knowing you might as well apply that ice cream directly to your ass.

Which leads me to my number one guilty pleasure....ICE CREAM. I love it in any flavor at all but my particular fave is BlueBell Moosetracks. Vanilla with chocolate and carmel swirls and loaded with little chocolate chunks that melt in your mouth like butter.

Number two? Easy. Tex-Mex. I adore Tex Mex food and probably because of that, it would be next to impossible to pry my ass out of Texas. Enchildas, tacos, burritos, not to mention warm tortilla chips with salsa washed down with a tall glass of iced tea. That would be one of my favorite meals and also one of the most fattening things in the world.

Another guilty pleasure? Coffee. I drink gallons of it. I'm like the damn Energizer Bunny 24/7. Yes, I love Starbucks and all those great concoctions but give me a pot of fresh hazelnut coffee, one of my cute little mugs, and a splash of creamer and I'm in hyped-up heaven.

And yes, I have more guilty pleasures. I won't miss True Blood on Sunday nights and I love discussing episodes with my friends the next day. I watch Disney movies, sometimes all day long and I freely admit that Beauty and the Beast is my favorite. I always cry at the end. My favorite wine is Shiraz (thanks for the recommendation, Anne) and my favorite mixed drink is a nice margarita on the rocks with lots of salt. Yumm.

So what are your 'guilty pleasures'? Those little things you love but wish you DIDN'T love quite so much?

something fun

As a mom, I tend to NOT spend a lot of money on myself. Usually when I go shopping with the girls, the most I buy myself is a few books. That's my big splurge. Well, Friday we went to the mall and I came away with a bag full of clothes! New panties from VS and several new tops. It was fun to buy something for myself. It's been quite awhile since I've done that.





That's not all I got though. I also bought a box of Born Blonde haircolor from Clairol. And guess what? I now have blond streaks. LOL Hey, we moms want to have fun too, right? So, I mixed up a margarita and handed th box to my daughter and let her have total control of my hair. Which is a big deal for me. I don't even go to salons. I'm a control freak when it comes to my hair. I've had too many stylists butcher it. However, it was a fun sort of bonding time. We chatted about tons of stuff while she worked on me. And the results turned out pretty neat. My husband even likes it!





No pictures yet though. I'm going to be letting her do a purple streak next. Yes, purple. LOL Once it's ALL done I'll take a few pics and post them here. In the meantime I want to know what YOU do to pamper yourself? When was the last time you took some ME time?





It's strange, but I feel somehow rejuvinated. I've decided to pamper myself more often. Heck, someone has to do it! LOL

Birth of the Hellbitch

Know how Clark Kent was this mild mannered reporter...glasses and his tie tied nice and tight? And then he'd hear the call of someone in distress and jump into the nearest phone booth and go all super-powery on everyone? I'd like to say that I've been like HIM lately but actually, I've been more like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Good guy/bad guy...er...in my case Good GIRL/Bad Girl.

Normally, I'm the most even keeled person around. Usually cheerful with a positive attitude. Don't know if it's the hot Texas heat or rampaging mood swings from being 'a woman of a certain age'. Probably a little of both. On Monday, I began the week in writing mode. The pages were flowing and the plot was nicely unfolding and then Tuesday hit. I was weepy, depressed, downright sad. Everything that was said hit me wrong and well, I just wanted to be left ALONE.

Well, THAT short-lived episode finally passed and I thought..whooo, I'm back to my old self.

Yesterday, HELLBITCH was born. Um...where did she come from? This was a woman who snapped at everyone, whined, complained, griped and basically wanted to tear the throat from anyone who looked at her. Was this woman in the mirror ME??? Oh Holy Shit! I've never been one who terrorized others with bad or sad moods so I kind of retreated to my little writer's cubby hole and stayed clear of everyone.

I must have needed just a wee bit of solitude because after about three hours of alone time, I felt just fine. Maybe we all need some of that just to decompress. Odd thing though, last night I was talking it out with friends and suddenly a story worked it's way into my head. Aha. Lightbulb moment. Was it the act of just calming down that sent this story bulleting in my direction? Or was is coming down from a rough period of wild mood swings? Who knows. I'm going to go with it.

In Other News: Just got the cover for Ringo's Ride, the third book is my High Plains Shifters series. This will release at Ellora's Cave soon. I'm still waiting on a release date. In the meantime, here's the cover and a little blurb.

Ringo’s Ride
Regina Carlysle

Book 3 in the High Plains Shifters series but may be read as a stand-alone story.

Rayne dreamed of the day Ringo would claim her as his mate changing her into the lycan she is meant to be. One touch from his hands burns her with a flame hot enough to scorch the Texas plains. But the moody lycan has made it clear he doesn’t want her. That’s just too damn bad! The sexy latino lycan belongs to her and she aims to claim him no matter what it takes.

Ringo hides the pain of his tortured past behind a menacing sneer. Learning that Rayne is meant to be his mate is unwelcome news. She deserves better than to be saddled with a man with his checkered past. It isn’t until she is taken from him that he knows she is the only woman who can heal his battered soul.