Frustratingly fun, always intriguing and totally unpredictable. Unpredictable is Fitz's greatest asset and she proves herself worthy of the title.

Dog-Eared Delinquent (Pet Whisperer P.I. #4) - The crew is back and this time it's serious. Fun takes a back seat to danger. Dog- Eared Delinquent steps away from the humor, but keeps the ability to be unique. (4 star)


The Cat Caper (Pet Whisperer P.I. #5) - Octo-cat is on the move and it's up to Angie to get him back where he belongs. Her best asset has become her greatest weakness. Will the dynamic duo find their way back to each other? Fitz continues to score gold points with one of the most unusual sleuthing duos in print. (4 star)

Octo-cat is on the move and it's up to Angie to get him back where he belongs. Her best asset has become her greatest weakness. Will the dynamic duo find their way back to each other? Fitz continues to score gold points with one of the most unusual sleuthing duos in print. Frustratingly fun, always intriguing and totally unpredictable. The Cat Caper will put a smile on your face.

Last year I blew my book marketing budget on entering writing contests, a total of $305 including entry fees, books and postage.

Two good things came out of that experience. One was a positive and insightful review by Judge Number 54 of my novel Abandoned Dreams that I entered in The 26th Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards. The other was the understanding the entire contest thing was a waste of money, or, to put it another way, it was a lot of money to spend for one review.

Though I have no evidence to prove it, I am convinced most, if not all contests are nothing more than revenue generating opportunities for writing platforms, groups and publications. 

Aside from the monthly stipend I receive for facilitating creative writing circles, I am determined this year to make more on my writing than I spend. That brings us to my latest novel, The Bird Whisperer, the Mattie Saunders Series Book 3, launched on May 6 of this year.

The book was published simultaneously on Draft to Digital, Smashwords and Kindle Direct Publishing.

After five weeks that included giveaways on BookLikes and LibraryThing, an email campaign with a free coupon code sent to 276 people on my email list, and numerous tweets and Facebook postings of a similar nature all I had to show was nineteen free downloads and one four-star review.

I changed my strategy, What did I have to lose?

I decided to promote The Rocker and the Bird Girl, the first book in the Mattie Saunders series in hopes it might create sales for The Bird Whisperer. I decided to enroll The Rocker and the Bird Girl in KDP Select and coordinate two of the five free days this exclusive listing affords you, and free email blasts with Awesome Gang, PrettyHot and MyBookPlace.

June 22 was the day and I assume the free email blasts went out, but nothing happened on Amazon.

Since research indicates fiction sales almost always peak within the first two to six weeks of the release the window for The Bird Whisperer was running out. I decided to take a chance and spend some money. I booked The Rocker and the Bird Girl on Freebooksy and coordinated it with the three free days I had left on Kindle Select.

The genre I chose was literary, the email would be sent to 123,660 Freebooksy subscribers, and the cost was $60 USD.

I held my breath.

The day the Freebooksy promotion broke 1,033 free books were downloaded and my author ranking went from 715,187 to 85,209 for All Books; 41,906 for Kindle eBooks; 56,679 for Kindle eBooks Romance; and, 24,882 for Kindle eBooks Romance Contemporary. The following day there were 131 downloads, and 31 on the third day.

Giving away books is one thing, but my benchmark for success is, and always will be, sales. As of July 20, 2019, twenty days after the Freebooksy promotion, two copies of The Bird Whisperer had been sold. However, The Rocker and the Bird Girl had picked up one text review and seven ratings with a 4-star average. There may be a few more sales and reviews trickle in over the course of this month but beyond that I wouldn’t attribute them to Freebooksy.

With the Freebooksy promotion and expenses such as proof books, books for beta readers and postage I’m in the red $152.15 so far this year. So much for my 2019 goal to make more on my writing than I spend.

But then there are still five months to go.

Stay calm, be brave, watch for the signs

30

Author’s Amazon Book Page https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003DS6LEU

The crew is back and this time it's serious. Fun takes a back seat to danger. Dog- Eared Delinquent steps away from the humor, but keeps the ability to be unique. Octo - cat and his crime fighting human, come face to face with evil. The victor is anyone's guess, but my money's on the misfit squad. Unpredictable is Fitz's greatest asset and she proves herself worthy of the title.

Kitty Confidential - All you need is an open mind, an open heart and a wry sense of humor to enjoy the oddness that is Kitty Confidential. There is always a twist that's a little bit bigger and tad stranger than the one before, but through all the weirdness, Octo-cat, Fitz and her roster of quirkily, irresistible characters, give readers something to smile about.

Terrier Transgressions - Move over Sherlock Holmes. Here's comes the pet patrol. The Pet Whisperer and her trusty crew of misfits are on the case. With danger on their tail and a murderer in their sights, Angie and Octo-cat may have bitten off more than they can chew. Add in a heartbroken, somewhat clueless Terrier, a not so well guarded secret and an unpredictable chain of events, leads to an intriguing mass of chaos. Terrier Transgressions is a different kind of mystery. Humorous adventure, captivating story and an enchanting concept. I get a kick out of over the top and Fitz delivered the goods.

Hairless Harassment - Clever gains a sense of humor by taking a detour toward eccentric. Fitz takes on danger with her animal posse. A suspenseful turn with a cute twist, Hairless Harassment will take readers from what was I thinking, to why did I wait so long. Angie and Octo-cat will have my vote every time.