Six Train’s Book Launch Party +Hippity Hoppity Blog Bouncing

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Kourtney
P1010930

Photo by Paul Garland

Last Thursday, at the Haight-Brown Vineyard, I had Six Train’s book launch party–An Evening of Wine and Words.

Big thank you to my mom and Aunt Sue for helping transport all the books and swag bags and set up the event with me in the middle of a rainstorm!

To Haight for providing the perfect venue, delicious wines, and delightful cheeses.

Despite the monsoon rains,  50+ people turned out for the event!

I was so delighted and touched to see my friends and  family braving the elements for me. I can’t begin to express how wonderful it was to have their support!

Even my best friend Ant and cousin Gene represented from NYC on a work night. Thanks for making the trip in just for me!!!

I greeted everyone and explained how things would work. The time flew by faster than I thought possible. I barely had a moment to mingle before it was time for our talk.

Lukas, their winemaker, and I had a fun discussion about which of their wines best suited me and my main characters, Kai and Oliver.

At first, I was ridiculously nervous. I heard myself saying “I love the sun” and cringed inwardly. I hate the sun. Cripes I messed up the easy part–describing myself. But I just went with it.

Luckily, I tossed things to Lukas and hearing his soothing South African accent as he explained what type of wine I’d like. He totally calmed me down. So much so I started leaning on the wall and almost knocked the picture down.

When it came time to read my excerpt I was calm. Able to project my voice far and wide.

Then we talked about Kai and Oliver and their wines–he recommended a chardonnay for Kai and their Big Red for Oliver. He recommended a riesling or Strawberry Bliss for me.

Then I was at the author table the rest of the night, chatting with readers and signing books. And sipping my heavenly Strawberry Bliss.

I had a line of people waiting to talk to me. Wow. What a dream. 🙂 It was my favorite part of the night, getting to chat with each reader and personalize their book.

Here’s a lovely shot of me and my cousins: Paul, Rebecca, and Gene:

P1010920

Photo by Paul Garland

With my two oldest and dearest friends–Linds and Ant:

P1010934

Photo by Paul Garland

******

Upcoming Blog Stops

The 4 AM Writer: Gwen interviews me on my indie publishing experiences: June 17th

Tales of A Charm City Chick: I confess my worst fear to La La and tell her how I overcame fear with fear: June 18th

Julie Kenner: Guest post on how research and reality collided while writing Six Train: June 18th

Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge: A unique interview with RC: June 19th

Posted in author appearance, blog hop, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 30 Comments

Where I’ll Be Hopping to in the Blogosphere

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Kourtney

P1060921

August McLaughlin: Guest post on What Writer’s Can Learn from Wall Street: June 13th

EllaDee Words: Guest post on the Power of Persistence: June 14th

The Inner Wild Kat: Q&A with Kitt Crescendo: June 16th

 

I closed comments since it’s been a quieter few days and I’d rather you spread the comment love to my guest posts. 🙂

Posted in blog hop, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Six Train’s Blog Hop Week 2

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Kourtney

IMG_3601

Here’s where I’ll be popping up on Monday through Wednesday:

Audrey Kalman’s blog: A revealing Q&A  on crossing genres, character development, and the use of photos in the book: June 10th

My Random Muse: A fun-filled Q&A about my writing habits–music vs. no music, what’s on my desk, and why Wisconsin: June 11th

Emmie Mears’s blog: Guest posting on the plausibility of ESP: June 12th

There’s a Six Train ebook and swag bag giveaway going on over at Pretty in Pink Books and Reviews until Wednesday.

IMG_2489

The signing at the Meriden Humane Society  was a very sunny day (Yay! Andrea left!) but unfortunately we didn’t get a tent. I hid under my UV coated parasol, but Mom got lobster burns and we had to leave earlier than expected because she wasn’t feeling well.

Big thanks to my elementary school friend, Doug Haddad for coming out to get a book signed and chat with me! It’s been awesome to talk writing with a fellow author!

This week is our big author event at the Haight-Brown Vineyard in Litchfield, CT on June 13th. It’s a wine+cheese+doorprize ticketed event with a fun talk about what HBV wines my characters and I would enjoy. Can’t wait to see my friends and family there and meet new readers and chat about the book!

Posted in author appearance, blog hop, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 41 Comments

Where I’ll Be: Six Train Blog Hop Stops

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Kourtney

IMG_3608

My blog tour continues with some fabulous stops:

6/6: Victoria Writes: I’ll be sharing my journey to publication

6/7: Pretty in Pink Books & Reviews: Natalie will be reviewing my book–can’t wait to read what she thought!

6/7: Authors To Watch: A guest blog about my point of view experiences with Six Train on Tricia’s blog

6/8: Pete Denton–Writer: I’m weighing in on the pantser vs. plotter debate as a plantser

6/9: Kecia Adams: I’m guest blogging about the evolution of my title

I hope you’ll check them out. 🙂

A sinus infection has set me back this week so I haven’t been able to be as active online as I’d like. Hopefully, a few more days of antibiotics and I’ll be back to 100%.

Posted in guest blogs, Promotion, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 35 Comments

June’s Blog Hop for Six Train

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Kourtney

TheSixTraintoWisconsinCover_kindle_Final

So this month, I’ll be guest blogging and doing interviews 5-6 days a week. I’m going to post links, so please check out the guest posts. They are some of my best posts + there will be giveaways on some of the stops.

I’ll also keep you updated on the highlights from my publishing adventures on my blog.

Here’s a list of all the blogs I’ve visited to date: http://kourtneyheintz.wordpress.com/the-six-train-to-wisconsin-blog-tour-2013/

After each post goes live, I’ll provide the exact link on that page.

I’ll also be announcing upcoming posts in my biweekly posts.

Here’s where I’ll be this Mon to Wed:

6/3: 4am Writer Blog guest posting about the importance of being on your own side and believing in yourself and your work

6/4: Small Press Reviews Blog interview with Marc Schuster on being a Type A, why I write, how Amazon’s contest impacted my writing, and what’s next

6/5: Paranormal Lounge guest blog on Kayla Curry’s blog about how going where you don’t want to can enrich your writing
Giveaways

The fabulous JM McDowell had a terrific Saturday Sit Down with me on 6/1. She is running an ebook giveaway for Six Train that ends June 6th. Stop by and comment on our interview to enter.

Updates

IMG_2465

I had my first official book signing at John Bale Bookshop in Waterbury, CT. Mom worked the cashbox so I could chat with readers. It was awesome. I sold a dozen books in 2 hours. Biggest surprise? My fifth grade teacher, Mr. Anderson, showed up!

It was great to see familiar faces, to meet new readers, and chat about my book! Thank you to everyone who stopped by, picked up a bookmark, entered my raffle, and bought a book! Many thank yous to John Bale Bookshop, Krista, and all the amazing staff who helped me set up and fed me the best lunch I’ve had in CT.

I got to meet the head of the Silas Bronson Library in Waterbury too. He graciously invited me to do a book signing there this fall!

Best of all Mom and Dad were with me for the entire event. They’ve been supporting me for so long. I’m so glad they could be there to celebrate my  success!

Big thank you to K.L. Schwengel for a beautiful review of Six Train by a reader who got everything I was trying to do.

My Taylor Swift giveaway wrapped up  on 5/31 and Rich Weatherly won the tickets! Couldn’t have gone to a better person. 🙂

My next book signing is at the Meriden Humane Society during their Adopt A Pet Day on 6/8 in Meriden, CT. I will be donating a portion of the profits from the book sales to the Meriden Humane Society and raffling off a free ebook and author swag bag too. Stop by from 12-5 if you can!

And if you ever wanted to hear my voice, here’s me reading the first scene from The Six Train to Wisconsin.

Posted in Giveaways, guest blogs, Promotion, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 38 Comments

Six Train’s Bangs and Busts

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Kourtney

emersonlangleyhead

This week started off with a couple busts and several bangs.

The Busts

I had a blogger request my launch date to post a review and Q&A with me. I was so excited. I spent hours working on that Q&A. I sent it all off to her two weeks ago. And then it didn’t post. My follow up emails went unanswered.

No one seems to want to win Taylor Swift tickets. As a point of reference, I had 624 people enter a Goodreads giveaway for my signed paperback. I have 84 entries to the the Taylor Swift ticket giveaway.

The Bangs

Highlight of the week: A reader found me on Facebook, friended me, and then sent me a great email telling me how much he enjoyed my book but that I kept him up to 1:30 AM to finish it.

My Facebook Book Launch Party was a rollicking good time. So much so that the FB police shut down posting for a good 25 minutes in the middle of the party. Things quieted down before we we allowed to get back to posting.

A big round of applause to Rich Weatherly for putting together an awesome Q&A with me on genre blending, alternating POV, and tips to aspiring writers!

A big thank you to Dixon Rice for let me take over his blog to guest post about the discovery of drafting.

A plate of baked brie to thank JM for giving me a fabulous review for The Six Train to Wisconsin on Amazon!

A bowl of fried cheese curd to thank K. Lyn Wurth for posting a terrific review of The Six Train to Wisconsin on Amazon!

Raising a glass of chardonnay to toast and thank Audrey Kalman for her insightful review of The Six Train to Wisconsin on Goodreads!

After my first Goodreads giveaway ended, I saw a spike in book sales this weekend. It was cool to see my Amazon rankings jump up again for a few days.

My sales numbers aren’t complete for the month of May yet, but so far I have sold 147 books.

Upcoming Weekend Events:

I will be in the hot seat responding to brilliant questions on JM McDowell’s blog on Saturday 6/1 (we’re also giving away a free ebook to a commenter) and K. Lyn Wurth’s blog on Sunday 6/2  if anyone wants to stop by, chat, or pose a question. 🙂

Posted in Promotion, Self-publishing, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 26 Comments

A Little Grandma H for The Long Weekend

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Kourtney

IMG_0160

This is Grandma H’s favorite spot in Wolcott. She told me “It’s the best view in the world.”

“What about Empire State Building–looking out on all of New York?”

She shakes her head. “Best view in the world.”

*****

Grandma H is shopping at Super Stop and Shop. She looks down aisle 4 and sees a man flat on his back. She announces very loudly to everyone around her, “Man down on aisle 4,” and continues her shopping.

****

For Mother’s Day, we took Mom’s mom and Dad’s mom to brunch with us.

Grandma H confides to Dad’s mom, Grandma E, that Dad is “Just not funny. He thinks he is but he isn’t.”

Grandma E smiles and says, “Oh he makes me laugh all the time.”

Grandma H mumbles, “You’re just being nice.”

*****

At the end of the meal, we asked the waiter to wrap up our leftovers. As he picks up her plate, Grandma H says, “Write my name on the container. Harriet*.”

When he returns with the container in a bag, she checks and sees he hasn’t written her name on it. He picks up Grandma E’s plate to wrap the leftovers and Grandma H says, “Ellen*.”

He takes the plate and returns with the doggie bag. No  name.

Grandma H refuses to accept defeat. As he picks up my plate she says, “Kourtney.”

None of our doggie bags had names on them. But she kept on trying. I see where I get my stubbornness from.

*****

*Names were changed to protect the Grandma’s privacy.

****

Quick correction: I am  having my Facebook Online Six Train Book Launch Party with fun games and giveaways for 2 hours on May 28th from 8:45 pm-10:45 pm EST. 

 

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

Weekly Round Up on Six Train

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Kourtney

IMG_2312

This turned into a Chicken Pot Pie week. Lots of deliciousness and only the rare burning of my mouth if I went to fast and furious. 🙂

I got some delayed numbers from the B&N paperback sales and low and behold, I’ve sold over 100 copies in 2.5 weeks.

So yay! It’s a good start. 🙂

The lovely Gwen of The 4 A.M Writer blog featured me as part of her series on the power of persistence this week. She was a delight to work with and I love the feature how it turned out!

The awesome Limebird Writers blog featured me as a “award winning author” and showcased my book! Love my UK blog buddies!

The Six Train to Wisconsin received it’s first international review on Amazon UK! Thank you Hecate!

The talented Roxanne of So Much To Write So Little Time blog gave an in-depth and much appreciated review of Six Train! Thanks again, Roxanne!

The brilliant Jennifer Fusco shared how The Six Train to Wisconsin and I scored press coverage/earned media on The Writing Secrets of 7 Scribes.

My Taylor Swift concert ticket giveaway is still going on–if you’ve liked my fan page, follow me on Twitter, liked my Amazon page, pinned my bookcover on Pinterest, or bought the book, you’ve already done things that get you multiple entries.

It’s open to all US citizens over 18. Maybe you can’t make it to PA, but these tickets have a great resale value for you. They are my way of saying thanks for all the support! 🙂

I am also having a Facebook Online Six Train Book Launch Party with fun games and giveaways for 2 hours on May 28th from 8:45 pm-10:45 pm EST.

Very sorry to my UK friends for the time! I did it because FB has a spike in activity around 10 pm. I’ve invited everyone whose a friend on FB and anyone who isn’t yet my FB friend is also invited to stop by! 🙂

If anyone has any suggestions for what they love or hate in an FB online party, please let me know! I want to make it a fun and interesting event and avoid Dullsville.

Lastly, if anyone is in Waterbury, CT May 30th and wants a signed copy of the book, I will be at John Bale Books from 12-2pm, signing and chatting with readers.

Posted in Giveaways, Self-publishing, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 32 Comments

My First Fan Letter + Amazon Ranking Roller Coaster

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Kourtney

IMG_2384

It wasn’t just Emerson sweating things last week. I was riding a ranking roller coaster. Moving from the tens of thousands to the hundreds of thousands over the course of two days on Amazon.

I had no concept of what was good or bad, but watching my ranking drop into the 300K arena sucked all the air out of my lungs. This had to be bad. Something that shouldn’t be happening.

So I reached out to my published buddies. I needed a benchmark. I needed affirmation of what was happening and then possibly consolation. They assured me that for a debut indie author I was doing pretty well. But it still stung. No one wants their book to be unpopular.

I wasn’t expecting to break into the top 1000 any time soon. I was kinda hoping for that slow build.  So when my ranking plummeted, it hurt.

But then the the best surprise in the world arrived…

My first fan letter!

From my aunt in Arizona.

We hadn’t seen each other in years, but we reconnected on FB. And she devoured my book. Loved it.

So much that she took the time to hand write me a thank you note, where she actually thanked me for writing Six Train. Wow. I never expected to receive anything like that.

IMG_2380

She also made me an adorable handmade writer doll that looked like me and gave me a lovely handkerchief.

IMG_2378

I was so touched by the gifts and the card. By the time and care my aunt put into them just to let me know that my book mattered.

It made me realize rankings are interesting, but they don’t count how many hearts you’ve touched. And for me, knowing I moved one person with my words is the best feeling in the world.

It makes all the work, all the self doubt, all the uncertainty worth it.

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

Where in The World Has Kourtney Been?

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Kourtney

IMG_2351

Over the past week, I started my blog hopping to promote The Six Train to Wisconsin!

So far, it’s been a blast.

I stopped by the awesome Peter Andrews’ How to Write Fast Blog on 5/10/13 to talk about my inspiration for Six Train and share a few productivity tips.

This Monday, the fabulous Carrie Rubin of The Writer’s Transition shared her rib-tickling take on Grandma H as a mindreader.

And yesterday, the amazing Fel Wetzig of The Peasants Revolt picked my brain about what type of drink I am, my writing process, and why I use a pen name for my YA.

Thank you to Pete and Fel for asking cool interview questions and giving me a chance to showcase my book. Thank you to Carrie for featuring my book and inviting readers into the world of Grandma H. 🙂

To showcase the generous and talented bloggers who are hosting me, I am going to dedicate one post a week to listing where I’ve been. I hope you’ll check out a few of them and maybe find a few new blogs to follow.

******

This week I received my first official book review from Sandra Schwayder Sanchez of BookPleasures.com! Thank you Sandra!

And a big thank you to the blog buddies and readers have taken the time to post  Amazon reviews! Thank you thank you thank you to EllaDee, Carrie, Catherine, Jen, Robin, and Marilyn!

IMG_2124

Yesterday, I kicked off Six Train’s Biggest Fan Giveaway to thank all my supporters and readers!  Taylor Swift is one of my favorite artists, so I’m giving away two tickets to her 7/6 concert in Pittsburgh, PA. You can find out more details and enter the giveaway here: http://www.facebook.com/kourtneyheintzwriter/app_228910107186452

Posted in Giveaways, Promotion, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 34 Comments