Author Spotlight Interview: Stephanie Queen
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on September 28, 2021
Today’s interview is with USA Today bestselling author of romance, Stephanie Queen. Stephanie has published more than fifty novels and novellas, and now also teaches novel writing classes and speaks at libraries, conferences and workshops. We were honored to chat with Stephanie about her writing style and exciting upcoming projects. HG: Hi Stephanie! Thanks for allowing us to get to know you better today. So tell us, how would you describe yourself to somebody who isn’t familiar with your writing yet? SQ: Hot and tense with twisty plots, pops of humor and distinct non-cookie-cutter characters (according to readers). HG: Sounds fantastic. You’ve got a couple of upcoming books, He Has a Baby is a single dad hockey romance, which releases October 15th and is available for pre-order now. Can you tell us a little bit about the main characters and what readers will love about this story? SQ: Readers will… Read More >
Amazon’s hardcover option – what you need to know
By: Ginger | Posted on September 24, 2021
If you’re the type of author that likes having print versions of your books available and you haven’t logged into your KDP dashboard in a while, you may want to go and take a quick look. Amazon has started to roll out a hardcover format as a choice available to authors, right alongside the eBook and paperback versions. The feature is still in beta testing and not all authors have access to it, but if you don’t see it yet, you probably will soon. Here’s Ginger with what you might need to know about this new print option. Have you been given the option of producing hardcover editions of your books yet? If not, here’s what you might need to know. An increasing number of self-published authors are seeing a new box on their Kindle Direct Publishing dashboard – the option to publish hardcover copies of their books, just… Read More >
Thriller Books to Keep You Up At Night
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on September 21, 2021
Captivating, thought provoking and at times downright bone chilling, a great thriller can often take our mind to the land of “what if?” Hidden Gems readers have been fortunate to have plenty of thrillers to choose from over the past few months, and this is a round-up of some of the most popular and well liked page turners. Run For The Hills by Jodi Burnett A psychotic client stalks therapist Joscelyn Turner and flips her life upside down. When his threats become violent, she must run from her home to save her life and the lives of her horses and dog. If you like roller-coaster whirls of emotions and thriller novels with gripping tension, you will love Run For The Hills, from Hidden Gems reader favorite, Jodi Burnett. Judith T. raves in her 5-star review, “If I could give this more than a 5 star rating, I would! It’s… Read More >
Kindle Unlimited can still be worthwhile…
By: Ginger | Posted on September 17, 2021
Kindle Unlimited is one of those programs you either love or hate: If you’re a reader you probably love it, and if you’re an author, you probably hate it. That’s because while readers pay one low monthly fee for an unlimited buffet of reading, participating authors are forced to sell their words for fractions of what they’d normally go for under the assumption that sheer volume will make up the difference. Unfortunately, the veracity of that assumption varies from author to author, which means the program definitely isn’t going to work for everyone. For those of you trying to figure it all out, Ginger is here to go through some of the reasons he decided to stick with KU, as well as some tips on squeezing as much value as possible out of it. In October of last year, Isabel Jolie shared a case study about experiences of “going… Read More >
Author Spotlight Interview: Yolanda McCarthy
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on September 14, 2021
Today’s interview is with speculative fiction author Yolanda McCarthy. Her debut novel is currently a #1 New Release on Amazon in the Teen & YA Dystopian and Science Fiction Romance category. We were thrilled to chat with Yolanda about her author journey, life outside of writing and exciting upcoming projects. HG: How would you describe yourself to somebody who isn’t familiar with your writing yet? YM: As a reader, I enjoy the fast-paced twists and turns of a thriller, the yearning of star-crossed lovers, the hollowness of a villain who’s lost faith in the world, and for my setting I need something ‘more’ than the everyday. Whether that’s a science fiction invention, magical-seeming powers, or historical details… I guess I just like escapism! I also like young adult literature, because that’s where we find the really powerful choices on which the rest of a lifetime turns. As a writer,… Read More >
How to rejoice over rejections
By: Deryn Pittar | Posted on September 10, 2021
This week, guest author Deryn Pittar is offering some advice on dealing with rejection and turning a potential negative into a positive. She’s referring specifically to when authors are rejected by traditional publishers after they have submitted their book, and what do when that happens. But at the core, much of this advice is centered around dealing with feedback and criticism of your work. After all, just because you self-publish doesn’t make you a stranger to these things. Whether it comes from beta readers, negative reviews, writing partners or uninterested publishers, writers need to have a thick skin when it comes to their work and be able to act on negative feedback when doing so may lead to an overall improvement of their story or characters. Hands up if you have NOT BEEN bitterly disappointed when a rejection letter arrived in your inbox. Ah, I see there are… Read More >
Highly Rated Romances To Cozy Up With This Fall
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on September 7, 2021
Romance is the most popular genre in the Hidden Gems ARC program and our readers love the chance to dive into new reads, generally before release. Today we’ve rounded up five of the most highly rated romances that our readers enjoyed recently. We’re sure you’ll want to add these to your TBR list this Fall! The Hellion is Tamed by Tracy Sumner The Hellion is Tamed is #4 in the steamy Victorian series Publishers Weekly calls, “A superpowered twist on Victorian romance!” In this scandalous story, passion defies time and love conquers betrayal. “The Hellion is Tamed by Tracy Sumner is another heart tugging, riveting entry in the League of Lords series,” raves C. Sinclair in their 5-star review. “Emotionally engaging and lyrical in its execution, the writing both astounds and satisfies this reader’s expectation. Haunting and at times tragic we follow the story of Simon Alexander from his… Read More >
Showing appreciation to your reviewers can go a long way
By: Ginger | Posted on September 3, 2021
One of the biggest challenges you’ve likely faced as an author is getting reviews for your books, especially early in your self-publishing careers, and helping with that is one of the reasons I started Hidden Gems in the first place. But just as you appreciate getting reviews, your reviewers will appreciate being acknowledged. So whenever possible, take the time to publicly appreciate your reviews and the readers that take the time to leave them. Ginger has some examples of how you can go about doing this, as well as some advice on what to be careful not to do. We all like to feel valuable. It’s the human condition. From reading your kids their bedtime story, to sharing your own stories with readers, there’s a validation to be had in contributing something meaningful to the life of others. Many of these things we do without expecting or demanding acknowledgement… Read More >
