Highwire Deer and Animal Farm Adventure

Posted on October 14, 2013 by Kourtney

IMG_3525   A few weeks back, Mom and I went to the Highwire Deer and Animal Farm. The goats greeted us and showed us around. They also angled for feed the entire time. They reminded us of our dogs and so we kept feeding them. IMG_3531   This little guy would run up to you and slam his hooves into your calf. It hurt but he was so darn cute when he leapt up. IMG_3535   I loved this bird’s head. Reminded me of how I look some mornings when I first wake up. IMG_3554   These birds were so majestic looking. IMG_3559   My shadow with the big tortoise. IMG_3567   This cracked me up. It’s something Emerson loves to do too. IMG_3586   This goat reminded me of Rora our golden retriever. She was so eager for foot she craned her neck as far out as she could. The other one was more like Reagan–skittish and shy. IMG_3581   The alpacas did not spit at me–mostly relieved, but slightly disappointed. IMG_3595   Mom fed this cute little deer. IMG_3598   The donkeys were so sweet! Each had a distinct personality. IMG_3605   The camel was somewhat cooperative with the photo taking. IMG_3608   Donkey and Zedonk.   IMG_3620   This little guy was my favorite. So polite. And what gorgeous horns. IMG_3643   Mom was delighted to see a kangaroo hopping about. IMG_3645This deer was pretty shy and refused to come eat from our feed cups. His companion walked right over the rope and came up to Mom for food. It was a really cool way to pass an hour on a Sunday afternoon in September.

Posted in Personal, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

What I Learned from CT Fiction Fest

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Kourtney

IMG_3896

Terri-Lynne DeFino’s workshop on the Truth About Rejection: Writing Successful Query Letters was a great way to kick off the workshops.

  • There is no truth. It is all a matter of opinion. And sometimes just catching someone on the right day.
  • A good query letter conveys the major plot arc and the side plots fall away.
  • The briefer you are, the better your chance of being read.
  • The turning point in the query is not the big turning point in the book but the first major turning point (inciting incident).

One thing she touched on that really resonated with me was that there are 4 stages to writing:

  1. Unconscious incompetence–you have no idea you suck
  2. Conscious incompetence–you know you are doing something wrong but you don’t know what it is
  3. Conscious competence–you know what you are doing and how to do it
  4. Unconscious competence–you just do it and it becomes second nature to you

IMG_3897

Smashwords’  Jim Azevedo taught Secrets to E-Book Publishing Success (a two part workshop) to a packed room. I joined for part II and picked up tons of information.

  • The cover needs to make a promise and show the reader what they are getting into
    • A great cover can increase sales
  • Publishing multiple books allows you to cross promote
  • Maximize distribution and avoid exclusivity
  • Give your book away for free–free ebooks are downloaded lots more
  • Play with pricing
  • Patience is a virtue to an indie author
  • Never unpublish a book–it destroys your ranking and your presence
  • Build your platform and fan base before you publish

IMG_3907

During lunch, we had the editorial and agent hotseat, where agents and editors shared their perspective on the industry and answered our burning questions. I sadly didn’t take notes because I was eating cheesecake. and it’s impossible to type on my iPad and eat cheesecake.

ctfftalk

I did attend a terrific panel on The Three Takes on Love–Traditional Romance, Women’s Fiction, and Erotica with Gwen Jones and Linda Parisi.

Some of the key takeaways were:

  • Women’s fiction is about a woman finding her happily ever after, not necessarily a couple finding HEA
  • Erotica is about sex
  • Romance is always about HEA
  • The difference between erotic romance and erotica is that the sex must lead somewhere emotionally
  • Love sells
  • Word of mouth doesn’t take off until 20-30k people
Posted in Conferences, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 32 Comments

The First International Stop and then The Final Book Tour Stop

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Kourtney

SixTraintoWisconsin1600

Toronto, Canada

On October 10th from 6pm-7pm, I will be presenting an author talk: Take The Six Train to Wisconsin with a short reading and Q&A at University of Toronto’s Hart House.

There will be a really cool giveaway since this is my only international stop on the book tour.  And my second to last event of the year.

If you’re in the Toronto area, please stop by!

 

IMG_3670

New York, NY

On October 23rd from 6-8 pm, I will be returning to where it all began: New York. The venue is somewhere I clocked a good amount of hours when I lived in the city.

Salon 2b has graciously offered to host an Evening of Wine and Words with me. I will do a short reading and Q&A about the book. There will be wine, cheese and fruit served.

This is the first time my photography will be shown. It’s all the photos I included inside the book. I’m donating a portion of the profits from the book sales and photo sales to benefit the Dynamite Youth Center, which helps at-risk teens.

This is my last scheduled book tour stop for Six Train. Kind of fitting that I will be ending the book tour in the place where I first started writing the book. The perfect way to wrap up my Six Train travels.

If you are in the NYC area, please swing by!

Posted in Promotion, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 32 Comments

The Six Train to Wisconsin Book Trailer

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Kourtney

Drumroll please…

So this has been one of the projects occupying my time in September.

The book trailer for Six Train!

It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while but never found the time to work on.

Thank goodness for Frank Malice. He executed my vision and helped me go from idea to actual video. So glad I met his mom at Killer Nashville and she introduced us!

It took us about a month to put the whole thing together. We used all my personal photos and I wrote the lines for the video. I found the music at Audiomicro and paid for it. The song just felt perfect for Kai and Oliver.

Frank did all the video stuff. I have no idea what that entailed, but he did it really well.

If anyone is in need of someone to do their book trailer, I definitely recommend him.

We had an initial Skype session to discuss big picture concepts and what I wanted in the video and what he would need from me to make it all happen. His fee was quite reasonable–it really depends on the type of video you want. He stayed in touch, met deadlines, and made sure I was as involved as I wanted to be in the decision-making.

 

Posted in Promotion, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 52 Comments

Three Author Events in One Week

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Kourtney

IMG_3731

Here’s me at RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT with my book. There are 3 signed copies left on sale there.  This is pre-whirlwind. I actually felt pretty okay that day.

Cascades Library

IMG_3825

Photo by Emmie Mears

Over the past week, I was down in Washington, D.C. to teach a workshop on how to be a part-time writer at the Cascades Library. I was so lucky that the lovely Emmie Mears and JM McDowell came to the event because there was only one other attendee.

The library had told me they usually got 15-20 people for workshops so this was a particularly tough night. I was so happy to see Emmie and JM and so sad to have sold no books and have had such a small turnout after traveling so far.

Emmie took the day off to hang out with me and make the trek from DC to Sterling, VA at rush hour with me. It was 1.5 hour cab ride. She helped me set up and kept me calm all day.

JM joined us and her husband squired us around to drinks and the metro after the event. She went above and beyond to ship my books home to me so I didn’t have to lug them back on the train.

I <3 Emmie and JM!

On the train home, this cute guy sat next to me and we started chatting and he ended up ordering a Kindle of Six Train. So I did make one sale on the trip. That brightened my mood. Course talking to a cute guy will do that. 😉

CT Fiction Fest

IMG_3899

Photo by Rachael Dugas

I had a great group for my workshop. It was the end of the day and I was opposite NYT bestselling author Roxanne St. Claire.  Still 25 people showed up to learn how to write good love scenes. Woohoo!  Many took bookmarks and a few told me they enjoyed the scene we dissected from Six Train.

Unexpectedly cool highlight of my day: having lunch with Susan Litman from Harlequin and finding out she was in the initial acquisitions group that reviewed Reckonings! She told me how excited everyone in the room was over my book. And then, she asked to take a picture with me!!! Totally made my day.

The lovely Rachael Dugas of Talcott Notch Literary was our photographer. Small small world–I had to tell her I was just with Talcott’s client Emmie Mears in D.C. and had seen fellow Talcott agent Jessica Negron at my  book launch party.

I didn’t sell any books, but I got to chat with the fabulous Gerri Brousseau.

Silas Bronson Library

I had an author talk and Q&A at the library. Anita was a dream to work with and organized everything. She created a gorgeous flyer. Dad helped me set up. We had an intimate group, but I sold 3 books so that felt awesome. Big thank you to Gerri Brousseau for coming out after a long day’s work!

*****

I’m hoping all these events help create familiarity with my book and my name and motivate a sale down the road.

Now I’ve got two weeks to work on marketing stuff and plan the next two events!

******

Upcoming International Event:

I will be at Hart House on the University of Toronto campus October 10th at 6 pm giving an author talk, Q&A, and reading. Here’s your chance to pick my brain about all things Six Train and writing. There will be giveaways. And I will be selling and signing books. Please join me if you are in the Toronto area!

I have a Hart House event page on Facebook where you can chat with me and tell me what you’d like the talk to include too!

Posted in Events, Promotion, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 36 Comments

If Bread Could Rise to the Occasion and Dance of Souls Book Reviews

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Kourtney

breadcouldrise

Traveling is a great time to catch up on reading. I was at CT Fiction Fest this weekend so I bring you two more book reviews.

 

If Bread Could Rise to the Occasion

Paige Shelton has done it again! If Bread Could Rise to the Occasion, the third book in her Country Cooking School Mystery Series is a delicious page turner!

Ms. Shelton is a master of mystery plotting. I had no idea who the killer was until the last pages revealed it in a heart pounding finale.

Betts and Jerome continue to tug at my heart strings. The way Ms. Shelton develops Bett’s ghost communicating abilities makes me think she should try her hand at contemporary fantasy.

Fascinating and fantastic to read. I love how she meld the paranormal and the mystery genres and delivers on all the expectations of both genres.

She makes me want to move to Broken Rope so I can have smoothies with Jake and Betts and learn how to make a sour dough bread starter from Gram.

This may be my favorite book in this series and I loved the first book so much!

I’m eagerly anticipating the next book, Ms. Shelton!

danceofsouls

Dance of Souls

Kalman’s Dance of Souls is a terrific work of literary fiction.

I savored her writing style. The elegant prose and the beautifully structured sentences led me onward.

She employs inner monologue and changing point of view to make sure a well-rounded world takes shape on the page.

Audrey Kalman weaves together several lives in such an unexpected way. From the beginning, you feel the underlying tension and sense that the characters are careening towards each other.

The ending was completely satisfying and I am in awe of how intricately everything came together.

You know you are in the hands of a master craftswoman as you read this book!

 

I’m closing comments so that you can go visit Paige Shelton’s blog or Audrey Kalman’s blog and say hi instead.

Posted in Book Review, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Seneca Scourge and Double Whammy Book Reviews

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Kourtney

Big apology to Carrie Rubin for how long it took me to read her book–I was drowning in book launch stuff for most of this year. Once I started it, it was a very quick read.

cr-the-seneca-scourge-1-3

The Seneca Scourge

The Seneca Scourge begins like any good medical thriller.

Carrie Rubin sets the story up perfectly and you can feel the escalation and the dread mounting.

What I loved about this book is that it shifts gears about half way through and provides the reader with an unexpected surprise by venturing into the sci-fi.

The last half of the book was my favorite because I tend to like the sci-fi/fantasy.

Ms. Rubin does an amazing job blending two seemingly disparate genres into a fulfilling and rich story!

She keeps the thriller tension high throughout and it was impossible not to finish the book in 2 sittings.

I hope there is another book to come because I thoroughly enjoyed the story and can see so many possibilities in the ending.

DoubleWhammycover

Double Whammy

Gretchen Archer is a debut author to watch. In Davis Way, she has crafted an adorably flawed, completely relatable character that I can’t wait to spend another book with!

Double Whammy has a few meanings and it was a fun adventure uncovering each one of them.

The entire cast of characters shine in this book and I look forward to many more books with the Davis clan.

Ms. Archer’s casino setting was a delightful change of pace from the typical mystery and gave a cool peak inside the inner workings of a casino. Fascinating stuff.

She gives you just the right amount of information to keep you wanting more.

The last 100 pages were lightning fast. And so many twists and turns I couldn’t stop reading even as PM became AM.

Every minute I spent with this book was a pleasure! Thank you Ms. Archer.

****

I’m closing comments since I’m traveling, please check out Carrie’s blog or Gretchen’s Facebook and say hi to the these amazing debut authors!

Posted in Book Review, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I <3 BookClubs and Events Galore

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Kourtney

P1200241

I <3 bookclubs.

Seriously, if you are in a bookclub and your group wants to read my book, I’m happy to come to any discussion in person or via Skype for as long as you’d like.

I’ll send you author swag too. And personalize books. You are the best readers and I want to thank you for supporting me and my novel.

Just shoot me an email at kourtney(dot)heintz(at)yahoo.com and we can set up things.

*****

This week is a bit hectic so I won’t be online much.

I’m traveling to Washington, DC on September 18th to give a free workshop at 7 pm at the Cascades Library in Potomac Falls, VA on how to be a part time writer.

September 19th, I’m enroute back to CT. Then September 20th out to Mystic, CT to prepare for CT Fiction Fest on September 21st where I will be giving a workshop on writing good love scenes.

Then back home on the evening of September 21st to prepare for my author talk and reading at the  Silas Bronson Library in Waterbury, CT on September 24th.

****

And big news, I just locked in an NYC venue. It’s in lower Manhattan in my old neighborhood. October 23rd from 6:30-8:30 pm. There will be free wine, cheese, and fruit. We’re working out all the details but it will involve an author reading, book signing, sale of my photography from the book, and a fun giveaway. Stay tuned for more details.

****

Book sales for August were 47 copies, which would be disappointing if I didn’t spend the first two weeks processing the preorders from Butternut’s fabulous July sales. I did break the 500 total copies sold mark though so yay to that! 🙂

 

Posted in author appearance, Promotion, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 35 Comments

Author Unwind and Wind Up

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Kourtney

IMG_3498

Author Unwinding

I’ve been working 7 days a week since well probably February. I’m now cutting back to 6.5 days a week. Sundays will be my half day.

I need to take some time for me. To unwind.

LOL. I know half a day sounds like so little but it is a lot right now.

******

After the whirlwind of Killer Nashville and RJ Julia’s, I got to celebrate my best friend’s 36th birthday at his mom’s beach house.

I was sitting on the back wall, staring out at the ocean and I realized I never made it into the water this summer. I meant to. I hoped to. And it didn’t happen.

Rather than bemoan the missed opportunity, I went inside and slipped on my bathing suit.

I walked down the road to where the beach has buttery soft sandbars and I waded in.

And stayed there for 2 hours.

Mind you it was low tide so the water barely hit my hip. But I didn’t mind as I bounced under waves and floated around.

I just wanted a little time with the ocean.

Didn’t matter that I was out there alone.

I frolicked like a little kid.

And when I walked back to the beach house, I felt like I’d done everything I wanted this summer.

******

Author Winding Up

I’ve got a 50 minute workshop at CT Fictionfest, a 30 minute workshop at the Cascades Library in VA, and an author talk and reading at the Silas Bronson Library in CT.

I’ve been working on each one since July. And I’m in the fine tuning stage. Practicing the Powerpoints for the workshops. Seeing where I flub things in my presentation and smoothing it out.

I’m nervous. Two presentations and an author talk & reading in seven days is not easy. But practicing is all I can do to ease my jitters.

So I keep preparing. And preparing. And preparing.

Fingers crossed, these talks go well and I also sell some books.

****

In honor of a very awesome review from Publishers Weekly for The Six Train Train to Wisconsin, I’m also giving away one signed copy via Goodreads. The Six Train giveaway ends today.

Posted in Personal, Promotion, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 45 Comments

Killer Nashville Part 3: Post Conference Activities

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Kourtney

IMG_3299

 

After the book signing, a hotel banquet worker helped me transport my books to my room. He went above and beyond his job description and is one of the many reasons I loved The Hutton Hotel.

Rae Ann and I went to lunch with the lovely Jane Sevier. I loved my brats and sauerkraut.

Rae Ann and Jane were the most gracious hosts and showed me around the city all afternoon. We started at French’s Boots in downtown Nashville, where I ended up purchasing two gorgeous pairs of boots. And no I did not opt for the Pepto Bismo pink socks.

BTW, do not bother looking online and identifying which boots you want. The stores stock is not as complete and you have to shop aisle by aisle anyway.

Photo by Rae Ann Parker

Photo by Rae Ann Parker

 

We continued our adventures at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Rae Ann volunteers there so she got me in for free and gave me the insider’s tour. Beyond cool.

IMG_3318They had an entire room dedicated to Reba McEntire!

IMG_3366This was Elvis’ car with gold records in the ceiling and a phone to call the driver.

IMG_3382

Photo by Rae Ann Parker

Me beside the second wall of gold records.

IMG_3399

Wow. Just wow. Imagine wearing this.

IMG_3414

 

Smokey and the Bandit II car.

IMG_3446

 

Country Music Hall of Fame–where it’s good luck to rub Ms. Wells nose.

IMG_3451

 

Entry way of Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Great giftshop. I dropped a pretty penny there.

IMG_3457

 

Rae Ann and my last stop was the Loveless Cafe for dinner. Over biscuits and preserves, we commiserated over the difficulties of being indie authors.

IMG_3459

My fried chicken, fried green tomatoes and mashed potatoes and gravy was worth every single calorie.

After Rae Ann dropped me back at the hotel, I had to get my books shipped back to CT. Unfortunately the hotel cannot do ground shipping. But the front desk made it completely possible for me. They got my books to the free shuttle, loaded them on the shuttle, and the shuttle driver brought me to Fed Ex and carried my books to the counter. All at 9:30 at night.

After my books were sent off, the shuttle driver drove me back to the hotel. We talked about my book and it turned out he knew a country singer from Butternut, WI.

Can you guess who? Yup. Hugh Bob and the Hustle. I laughed because I’d just been at Hugh’s show in Williamsburg a week ago. What a wonderful world it is when you have a Butternut connection.

The next morning, my cab driver requested a signed bookmark on the way to the airport. I got to listen to good country singers over lunch. And I made it to Laguardia in record time. My driver got me to Grand Central where I caught a train back to CT. Standing room only. Blared Hugh Bob and The Hustle and time passed quickly. Got a seat and gave out two bookmarks to fellow passengers on the train.

The next day, I packed a bag and set off for Madison, CT for my RJ Julia’s local author event.

IMG_3490

 

I sold one book to a really lovely woman named Andrea. And I met several nice authors. And RJ Julia’s will stock my book for 3 months. So it was a very good night.

I met my best friend’s mom for dinner and crashed with her in Old Saybrook  for the night.

Next morning we breakfasted at the Paperback Cafe. The Kielbasa Scramble was delightful.

 

 

IMG_3494

Then I headed back home.

Posted in Events, Personal, Promotion, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 36 Comments