Author Spotlight Interview: Hamour Baika
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on August 31, 2021
Today’s interview is with author Hamour Baika. His contemporary historical fiction novel is inspired by real events during a tumultuous period preceding the Iran Iraq war. Baika has crafted a memorable cast of characters of divergent and conflicting political allegiances, all who struggle to do the right thing in a morally complicated world. It was an honor to learn more about his writing journey, why this book is important to him and about his upcoming projects. HG: How would you describe yourself to somebody who isn’t familiar with your writing yet? HB: I’m an Iranian American author who writes about atypical characters and settings. Before growing roots in the Washington DC area, I lived in several countries as a refugee. Migration, whether internally or across international borders, is a factor in many of the pieces I’ve written or am writing. LGBT issues are also on the forefront. As I write… Read More >
Is it worth having an author website?
By: Ginger | Posted on August 27, 2021
A little while back, Virginie Carmichael went into the ins and outs of having your own author website, but one of the questions that still remains for many authors is whether they really need one in the first place. With Facebook Pages and Amazon Author Central accounts both offering a place to reach and communicate with readers, some authors think investing in a domain name and website is a waste of time and money. For some further perspective on the question, Ginger is here to weigh in with his own views on the pros and cons of investing in your own website. Is it worth investing in an author website? We’re nearly two decades past the “dot com” boom, and these days people are far more likely to ask for your ‘handle’ than your ‘dot com’ when they want to keep in contact with you – which raises the… Read More >
Young Adult Novels You’re Never Too Old For
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on August 24, 2021
You’re never too old to curl up with a young adult novel and you’ll definitely want to check out these favorites among Hidden Gems ARC readers. Each great in their own way, with all the elements that make YA addicting, don’t blame us if you find yourself spending a whole weekend devouring these reads. Everywhere, Always by Jennifer Ann Shore When Avery Miller wakes up in her hospital room, it’s to a life she didn’t expect, want, or ever imagine for herself. Everywhere, Always is a standalone romantic young adult novel from Jennifer Ann Shore, Hidden Gems ARC team favorite and Amazon bestselling author of The Stillness Before the Start and The Extended Summer of Anna and Jeremy. “If you are looking for a feel-good YA indie novel that will make your eyes misty, pick up Everywhere, Always,” says Christine in her 5-star review. “As Avery overcomes the tragic… Read More >
From the Mailbox: Advertising on Facebook Questions
By: Ginger | Posted on August 20, 2021
Our weekly author blogs cover topics to do with writing, marketing, and advertising books, but sometimes authors send us specific questions that we like to address. As we’ve done for Amazon related ad questions in the past, this week we’ve rounded up some of the most commonly asked questions about using Facebook for advertising, and Ginger has put together some answers which might will be useful to many of you. Question #1 I was running a Facebook ad at $5 a day and getting a cost-per-click (CPC) of $0.19. I decided to double my spend, but my CPC immediately rose to $0.39. That means I’m paying twice as much for the same number of clicks! What did I do wrong? One of the most frequent problems I hear about authors is that they just can’t scale their advertising. Every time they increase their ad budget on Facebook, the CPC… Read More >
Author Spotlight Interview: Susan English
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on August 17, 2021
Today’s interview is with award-winning author Susan English. Her debut novel Callisto 2.0 is the transformative first book in the Shambhala Saga feminist science fiction series. It was an honor to learn more about her writing journey, why this book is important to her and about her upcoming projects. HG: How would you describe yourself to somebody who isn’t familiar with your writing yet? SE: I am someone who writes from the heart. I try to be as honest and open as possible, both with my autobiographical work and fictional characters. My main impetus for writing the Shambhala Saga in particular is to imagine what the not-too-distant future might look like. But instead of the typical post-apocalyptic dystopia, with brutal regimes, zombies, or nuclear fallout, I figured if I’m going to create my own reality through my writing, why not go for something more positive? Why imagine a future full… Read More >
My Radish Experiment – Part 2
By: Craig | Posted on August 13, 2021
Now that the final book of my Radish series is fully published, I wanted to go over my latest numbers one last time so that others can use it as an example of how this platform works and performs. Of course, every author’s experience will differ, but the more information you have about something you haven’t tried before, the better the decision you’ll be able to make as to whether you think it’ll be the right fit for you. To help with that, I’ll also give some of my own thoughts on this whole experiment and which sort of authors or books I think it will benefit the most. Not long ago I began an experiment with Radish Fiction by publishing an old 3-book romance series on their platform to see how it would do. In part 1 of this article, I published the sales numbers and my analysis of… Read More >
Science-Fiction Novels for the Imaginative Mind
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on August 10, 2021
Science Fiction has a way of igniting a sense of wonder with imaginative and creative tales. From space exploration to time travel, extraterrestrial life to the mysterious unknown, these five science-fiction novels were popular with Hidden Gems readers who got to read them for free. HAWK: Hellfire by Mike Waller If you like great, classic science-fiction novels, you will love this new work by multi-award-winning author Mike Waller, an action packed dive into the world of a galactic mercenary driven by the ghosts from his past. Grab a copy now and join Lazarus Hawk in his search for justice for a remote colony world. “I LOVED this new book, HAWK Hellfire!” writes Slugpuppy3 in their 5-star review. “Hellfire is a devastating, illegal street drug in the far future. Krystian (Hawk) Hauken’s mission has nothing to do with drugs – he thinks. Guarda officer, Abigail (Abbie) Renner’s mission has everything… Read More >
Befriend other authors for support and collaboration
By: Ginger | Posted on August 6, 2021
I’ve mentioned before that I attribute much of my success as an author to being part of an online writing community where I could ask questions, get support, or just talk to others that were dong the same thing I was doing, and going through the same sort of experiences and challenges. Even though that community is no longer around, I’m still friends with many of those authors, Ginger being one of them. Befriending another author directly is essentially the same thing, the two of you just make up a smaller community, but it’s no less important or beneficial. Just remember that while you might do your writing alone, that doesn’t mean that you’re alone in writing. Ernest Hemingway once wrote: “Writing, at its best, is a lonely life,” but uncharacteristically, I don’t agree with Papa on this one. The most successful authors that I know are surrounded by… Read More >
Author Spotlight Interview: Julia Brewer Daily
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on August 3, 2021
Today’s interview is with women’s fiction author Julia Brewer Daily. Her debut novel tackles topics of adoption and motherhood and has received much advance praise. It was wonderful to learn more about her writing journey, why this book is important to her and about her upcoming projects. HG: How would you describe yourself to somebody who isn’t familiar with your writing yet? JBD: I’m a Texan with a southern accent. I lived most of my life in Mississippi and now I will be buried in Texas. My writing is straight-forward, not too flowery, with southern voices and relatable characters. I use cliff-hangers, raw emotions, and tension to propel the reader forward and keep them reading. HG: Fantastic! It’s release day for No Names to Be Given, congrats! Who is your audience and what can readers expect from this story? JBD: I think of this story as Women’s Fiction, but the… Read More >
