Wearing the Author Hat

By Nancy Jill Thames

Yes, as an author I work at least seven hours a day. And, if I could choose to wear a hat of choice as I work, it would look something like the hat on my left.

The past two weeks have been filled with traveling from California to New York. One of the main reasons I love to travel is meeting new people. They find out I'm an author and usually happily download Book 1 MURDER IN HALF MOON BAY when they find out it's free.

Meeting new friends is my favorite way to engage readers, but the next best way is through reviews. One sweet lady wrote this review recently defending my writing style. I'm including her review because I'm working on improving the books every single day. So, whenever you're finished reading a book and contemplate whether or not to write a positive review, please know how much they brighten an author's day.

Here's what she said:

New! RiverCat reviewed Murder in Half Moon Bay (Jillian Bradley Mysteries, No. 1) (A Jillian Bradley Mystery) 1 of 1 people found the following helpful A Light Summer Read July 25, 2013 ok. I read the other reviews; and, the problem seems to be if one is a person who wants heavy duty, logical mysteries, they are disappointed with this book. If you accept the premise and just want a FUN, light read, this is the book for you. True there are punctuation problems, but come on, cut some slack. I liked this little story, I liked the characters and I could see 1/2 moon bay in my mind's eye as I read. I always enjoy the back-biting of these little clubs, whether garden or animal and there are diverse personalities here. If you can accept a book for what it is, this would be a good read for you. Reading on the Fourth Level ruins the reading experience for me after years of editing student papers. LOL great little story

Have an awesome week!

See you in my books!

 ~Nancy Jill 

Mystery novelist Nancy Jill Thames began publishing Christian fiction in 2010. The author of six books in the Jillian Bradley series, she is an award winning blogger and is listed numerous times on the Author Watch Bestseller’s List, this in addition to winning first place for her chocolate cream pie.

When she isn’t plotting her next book, she spends time with her six grandchildren, tags along with her husband on business trips, and plays classical piano for her own personal enjoyment. She is an active member of the Leander Writers' Guild, American Christian Fiction Writers, ACFW CenTex Chapter, and supports the Central Texas SPCA with a portion of her book sales. CONTACT INFORMATION jillthames@gmail.com

 Nancy Jill is busy working on Book 7 "The Ruby of Siam" a mystery taking place in London.

Enjoy Book 1 MURDER IN HALF MOON BAY on your ereader for free!

Amazon Paperback $8.09

 Kindle FREE!

Barnes and Nobel Paperback $8.99

Nook FREE!

FREE on Smashwords and Kobo!

13 Tips for Self-Publishing Your Book

By Nancy Jill Thames

A lot of the journey on the road to publication is trial and error. Very few authors make it on the first go round. 

Here's what did and what I wish I'd done: 

 
1. Write a good book. Find a catchy title (numbers are great - "1,000 Days to Healing" etc.). Get the book edited by someone who knows what they're doing. (I just now found mine.)

2. Do a great cover. (Look at covers in your genre and find out who did them.)

3. Self-publish on CreateSpace - Amazon's self-publishing arm (24/7 support). 

4. Format professionally (I have a great guy) for Kindle (prc) Nook (ePub) Smashwords (Smashwords file) and Kobo (ePub). 

5. Get a FB author page and begin to interact with friends and fans by asking people to like your page. Post about what's going on with your journey and with your book. Think of it as a mini-blog.

6. Blog once a week working to engage readers. Put it into another language (mine is in Russian) - this is for Blogger on Google. Create a link for your book to sales sites. Another author and I wanted to create a blog for Christian Cozies so I came up with the idea of the magazine. She invited four more authors so we take turns posting once a week. Now we have things to tweet and post about!

7. I tweet a daily scripture, book 1 for free using 3 hashtags and rotate sales sites during the evenings. My other books are linked in the back. If readers like book 1 they order the rest.

8. Engage on FB, find similar pages as yours and participate. Offer your book link where appropriate.

9. Make sure your categories/tags are specific enough to hook readers.

10. As for discipline, I self-impose deadlines and break up the work in manageable sections. I have a 255 pg book to rewrite so I plan to rewrite 51 pages M - Fri this week as a goal to finish. 

11. I do emails, social media, and check statistics on my iPhone before I get out of bed. Next, I make sure my blog posts are written for the week. Then I work on my novels.

12. I joined a local writers group, the American Christian Fiction Writers (national and statewide) and support fellow authors whenever I can. I donate to the local animal shelter because my books feature a dog. You could donate or volunteer in your field.

13. I read what successful authors do and try to apply their methods.

Hope these ideas help.

Best of luck and please message/comment/email me any questions you have - I'll do my best to give you answers.

See you in my books!

 ~Nancy Jill 

Mystery novelist Nancy Jill Thames began publishing Christian fiction in 2010. The author of six books in the Jillian Bradley series, she is an award winning blogger and is listed numerous times on the Author Watch Bestseller’s List, this in addition to winning first place for her chocolate cream pie.

When she isn’t plotting her next book, she spends time with her six grandchildren, tags along with her husband on business trips, and plays classical piano for her own personal enjoyment. She is an active member of the Leander Writers' Guild, American Christian Fiction Writers, ACFW CenTex Chapter, and supports the Central Texas SPCA with a portion of her book sales. CONTACT INFORMATION jillthames@gmail.com

 Nancy Jill is busy working on Book 7 "The Ruby of Siam" a mystery taking place in London.

Enjoy Book 1 MURDER IN HALF MOON BAY on your ereader for free!

Amazon Paperback $8.09

 Kindle FREE!

Barnes and Nobel Paperback $8.99

Nook FREE!

FREE on Smashwords and Kobo!

On Vacation

By Nancy Jill Thames

Yes, my grandchildren in California need me. Their parents are taking a vacation for a week, so I'm heading west to do Camp Grandma for my precious granddaughters and grandson. We'll be learning sewing skills, writing and producing a play, baking a pie, making scones for a tea party, visiting aunts, uncles and cousins nearby and just plain 'ol having fun! There's lunch at the Nordstrom Cafe, shopping, movies to go see, and table setting etiquette to learn. We'll make jewelry, go to the library, and watch more movies at home.

I hope you all have a wonderful week while I'm away.

See you in my books!

 ~Nancy Jill 

Mystery novelist Nancy Jill Thames began publishing Christian fiction in 2010. The author of six books in the Jillian Bradley series, she is an award winning blogger and is listed numerous times on the Author Watch Bestseller’s List, this in addition to winning first place for her chocolate cream pie.

When she isn’t plotting her next book, she spends time with her six grandchildren, tags along with her husband on business trips, and plays classical piano for her own personal enjoyment. She is an active member of the Leander Writers' Guild, American Christian Fiction Writers, ACFW CenTex Chapter, and supports the Central Texas SPCA with a portion of her book sales. CONTACT INFORMATION jillthames@gmail.com

 Nancy Jill is busy working on Book 7 "The Ruby of Siam" a mystery taking place in London.

Enjoy Book 1 MURDER IN HALF MOON BAY on your ereader for free!

Amazon Paperback $8.09
 Kindle FREE!
Barnes and Nobel Paperback $8.99
Nook FREE!
FREE on Smashwords and Kobo!

Love the Long Weekends - I Think...

By Nancy Jill Thames

Yes, we're having fun this long holiday weekend... entertaining family with home cooked food, watching fireworks, and having a reason for cleaning the house are good things. Except I think I like reading about how Jillian Bradley goes about having fun better. Here's the reason: I leave out most of the physical pain in my stories - in real life, I feel the repercussions of actually doing the work preparing for the fun. I look at it this way, if you're like me, I want to get away from aches and pains, not read about them. However, in order to create realism an author must write about pain.

Excerpt from Book 3 FROM THE CLUTCHES OF EVIL

Taking out a book from her large tote, along with a small thermos, which I assumed was filled with coffee, Nurse Evans set them on the table. Smiling, she put her purse on the floor beside her medical bag.

Paperback $7.19
Kindle $3.99
Nook Book $3.99
Smashwords $3.99
Kobo $3.99

     “Now, please don’t worry about anything,” she reassured me. “I’ll peek in on him every thirty minutes to make sure he’s all right. Doctor Peters briefed me on his condition. I know what to do, so you run along to your party and leave him to me. I have a grandson his age.”

     Relieved, I took a deep breath and descended the stairs. One minute left before the first guest was to arrive. Okay, think festive…excited. This would be difficult.

     What was I doing getting involved like this? No, Jillian, helping this boy is the right thing to do. Right thing... right thing? I silently prayed to get through this evening calmly. Breathe. Exhaustion set in. The calmness didn’t come so easily. 

Notice how I only mention: Exhaustion set in. I don't elaborate because I believe most people reading the book have experienced exhaustion. More importantly is the sentence that follows: The calmness didn't come so easily. This sentence creates tension for the heroine trying to solve Luke's identity.

To read more, you may want to get out the book. 

I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July weekend celebrating the birthday of our amazing country.

See you in my books!

 ~Nancy Jill 

Mystery novelist Nancy Jill Thames began publishing Christian fiction in 2010. The author of six books in the Jillian Bradley series, she is an award winning blogger and is listed numerous times on the Author Watch Bestseller’s List, this in addition to winning first place for her chocolate cream pie.

When she isn’t plotting her next book, she spends time with her six grandchildren, tags along with her husband on business trips, and plays classical piano for her own personal enjoyment. She is an active member of the Leander Writers Guild, the American Christian Fiction Writers, CenTex Chapter of ACFW and supports the Central Texas SPCA with a portion of her book sales. CONTACT INFORMATION jillthames@gmail.com

 Nancy Jill is busy working on Book 7 "The Ruby of Siam" a mystery taking place in London.

Enjoy Book 1 MURDER IN HALF MOON BAY as an ebook for free!

Amazon Paperback $8.09
Barnes & Nobel Paperback $8.99
 Kindle FREE!
Nook Book FREE!
FREE on Smashwords and Kobo!

Ever Have One of Those Days? Weeks? Months?

By Nancy Jill Thames

So,  Book 7 THE RUBY OF SIAM was supposed to be launching by today, July 1st. "So where is it?" You may ask. The answer? Lying in chapter piles on my dining room table with little yellow sticky notes telling me how many comments from my editor need addressing. One chapter has 20! Egad! My editor is one of those cerebral writers who's in love with language and envisions herself as an artist with words. And yes, she is a wonderful writer. But me? I just want to TELL THE STORY!

Except there's more to it than that.

First, an author has to 'show' readers what's happening. We must 'show' characters  because otherwise you the reader will have no idea who they are! Not as easy as it sounds. Especially when I just want to TELL THE STORY!

"Patience." My editor says. "Give us an image here of what we're seeing."

But I just told you what you're seeing!

"I know." She replies as if talking to a child. (Which I feel like - an author child anyway.)

So, I take a chapter, run through the suggestions and rewrite the paragraph. Unless you're an author you have no idea how long this takes. And guess what? It has to be done otherwise you'll always know in your heart IT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER!

Not only am I trying to launch THE RUBY OF SIAM but I'm going back and improving the first six books. Editor number three is the killer-diller with mileage in the writing business and a Chicago Style Handbook at her fingertips. She also doesn't allow me to get away with anything like mixing point of view or extra commas. Nope!

And now it's another Monday. I have six books to print off for editor number three to proofread, a Meet the Author Event at the library to see to for July 13th (my birthday), homework for editor number two's writing class on Diving into Character, and collecting goodies for Camp Grandma I'm doing for a week with my two granddaughters in California week after next. Sigh. Not to mention ramrodding two more Meet the Author Events for fall.

Get this: I'm not really complaining. I've never had so much fun in all my life. This morning over coffee my husband says, "You're a career woman now." I had to stop and think a moment letting the phrase sink in. He's right! I hope in spite of whatever challenges you are facing in your work life or at home, you'll gather the strength, courage and fortitude to get the job done! Now back to those edits...

May your week be a good one!

See you in my books!

 ~Nancy Jill 

Mystery novelist Nancy Jill Thames began publishing Christian fiction in 2010. The author of six books in the Jillian Bradley series, she is an award winning blogger and is listed numerous times on the Author Watch Bestseller’s List, this in addition to winning first place for her chocolate cream pie.

When she isn’t plotting her next book, she spends time with her six grandchildren, tags along with her husband on business trips, and plays classical piano for her own personal enjoyment. She is an active member of the Leander Writers Guild, the American Christian Fiction Writers, CenTex Chapter of ACFW and supports the Central Texas SPCA with a portion of her book sales. CONTACT INFORMATION jillthames@gmail.com

 Nancy Jill is busy working on Book 7 "The Ruby of Siam" a mystery taking place in London.

Enjoy Book 1 MURDER IN HALF MOON BAY as an ebook for free!

Amazon Paperback $8.09
Barnes & Nobel Paperback $8.99
 Kindle FREE!
Nook Book FREE!
FREE on Smashwords and Kobo!

Time to Relax, Have Fun, and Learn!

By Nancy Jill Thames

Wow! The weekend is here again. Sure I'm going to relax a little, like always. I'll sleep in, linger on the porch with my coffee, and play a few games of Rummikub. Saturday afternoon, however, I'll attend a writing class on Character Creation, given by talented creative writing major, Jennifer Steen. Jenny has published short stories, formed a publishing company called Inkception Books, and written a play for a performance in Scotland this summer. Yes, she's a dynamo and plenty of fun. She's also a member of our Leander Writer's Guild, which met last Tuesday evening. I can't say enough good things about being an integral part of our local writing community.

I want to thank all of you for reading my books. Sales have soared since I've offered Book 1 for free on all platforms. Book 7 "The Ruby of Siam" is on it's final rewrite and should launch within the next two weeks. If you're interested in the news about Paula Deen, you may want to hop over to Cozy Mystery Magazine and check out the post I wrote. I do feel sorry for her and for the pain racism still causes. 

May your weekend be a good one!

See you in my books!

 ~Nancy Jill 

Mystery novelist Nancy Jill Thames began publishing Christian fiction in 2010. The author of six books in the Jillian Bradley series, she is an award winning blogger and is listed numerous times on the Author Watch Bestseller’s List, this in addition to winning first place for her Chocolate Cream Pie.

When she isn’t plotting her next book, she spends time with her six grandchildren, tags along with her husband on business trips, and plays classical piano for her own personal enjoyment. She is an active member of the Leander Writers Guild and supports the Central Texas SPCA with a portion of her book sales. CONTACT INFORMATION jillthames@gmail.com

 Nancy Jill is busy working on Book 7 "The Ruby of Siam" a mystery taking place in London.

Enjoy Book 1 MURDER IN HALF MOON BAY as an ebook for free!

Amazon Paperback $8.09
Barnes and Nobel $8.99
 Kindle FREE!
Nook Book FREE!
FREE on Smashwords and Kobo!

IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE

Our twin grandsons turned five this month. I can't believe they were babies such a short time ago - seems like you blink and five years whiz past!

Four years ago, I sat down and decided to write The Jillian Bradley Mystery Series - eight books in all with a plan to launch a book every six months.I actually published right on schedule up until Book 8. We'll see how things go for the last six months of 2013.

One of the challenges as an indie author is getting the books error free. I can't begin to tell you how many times I've had to go back and make corrections due to one issue or another. The good thing is though, as the responsible party, I can improve my work as I go.

I wanted to thank all of you readers for bearing with the changes I've had to make along the way. My goal is to publish the best books possible for your entertainment pleasure.

With THE RUBY OF SIAM so close to launch (I'm getting it back from my editor and doing the rewrite this week), I knew I had to include the promo for the final book - THE LONG TRIP HOME. Checking the photos from CreateSpace, I found what I consider the perfect image for Book 8. Now I'm fired up to begin writing the last chapter of Jillian's life. Of course, I've been asked by fans to leave the door open for more books, but eight seems like a good round number. 

If you haven't started reading the series yet, please be my guest and enjoy Book 1 MURDER IN HALF MOON BAY as an ebook for free! Then you'll begin to understand the phrase "GO JILLIAN AND TEDDY!"

Amazon Paperback $8.09
Barnes and Nobel $8.99
 Kindle FREE!
Nook Book FREE!
FREE on Smashwords and Kobo!

Have a wonderful week.

See you in my books!

 ~Nancy Jill 

Mystery novelist Nancy Jill Thames began publishing Christian fiction in 2010. The author of six books in the Jillian Bradley series, she is an award winning blogger and is listed numerous times on the Author Watch Bestseller’s List, this in addition to winning first place for her Chocolate Cream Pie.

When she isn’t plotting her next book, she spends time with her six grandchildren, tags along with her husband on business trips, and plays classical piano for her own personal enjoyment. She is an active member of the Leander Writers Guild and supports the Central Texas SPCA with a portion of her book sales. CONTACT INFORMATION jillthames@gmail.com

 Nancy Jill is busy working on Book 7 "The Ruby of Siam" a mystery taking place in London.

I LOVE THE WEEKENDS!

I believe God designed weekends for us to relax or have fun part of the time, rest for another part, and worship Him for the other. Whenever I get one of these facets out of balance, the new week goes kaflewie! (Anyone care to spell this differently?)

While I wait for my editor to return my manuscript for Book 7 THE RUBY OF SIAM, this weekend my hubby and I will be celebrating our 45th anniversary early, since he's out of town next weekend. 

We live in an awesome destination point, so we'll stay downtown Austin and dine at Truluck's - a restaurant that reminds me of one you'd find in downtown New York or Manhattan. The weather will be warm, so on Saturday, we just plan to have brunch at the South Congress Cafe and take in a movie at a dinner theater later. I'm good with that! What a blessing to have been married all these years to the most wonderful man I know.

I hope you have a nice weekend planned  - relax, have fun, rest, and if you're a believer - I'll be joining you in worship and praise.

See you in my books!

 ~Nancy Jill 

Mystery novelist Nancy Jill Thames began publishing Christian fiction in 2010. The author of six books in the Jillian Bradley series, she is an award winning blogger and is listed numerous times on the Author Watch Bestseller’s List, this in addition to winning first place for her Chocolate Cream Pie.

When she isn’t plotting her next book, she spends time with her six grandchildren, tags along with her husband on business trips, and plays classical piano for her own personal enjoyment. She is an active member of the Leander Writers Guild and supports the Central Texas SPCA with a portion of her book sales. CONTACT INFORMATION jillthames@gmail.com

 Nancy Jill is busy working on Book 7 "The Ruby of Siam" a mystery taking place in London.

Enjoy Book 1 MURDER IN HALF MOON BAY as an ebook for free!

Amazon Paperback $8.09
Barnes and Nobel $8.99
 Kindle FREE!
Nook Book FREE!
FREE on Smashwords and Kobo!

A PEEK INSIDE BOOK 6 AND BOOK 2

		New! Pat Peregrin reviewed Waiting for Santa (A Jillian Bradley Mystery) Good Book June 13, 2013 This was a good mystery. Her family for Christmas, a blackout, a murder and an old love calls her out of the blue. What a dilemma she has. Two men who love her. Now that's a dilemma all women of her age should have. It was an enjoyable read. While she is expecting them both to propose, she is trying to help Walter to solve the crime. We can only look forward to the next Jillian Bradley mystery, since this one ended with TO BE CONTINUED.
		New! Marina Blades reviewed The Ghost Orchid Murder (Jillian Bradley Mysteries, No. 2) (The Jillian Bradley Mystery... The Ghost Orchid Murder June 13, 2013 Nancy Jill Thames knows how to keep her novels clean and yet entertaining and if you are a dog lover you'll enjoy Teddy's escapades.  See you in my books!  ~Nancy Jill  Mystery novelist Nancy Jill Thames began publishing Christian fiction in 2010. The author of six books in the Jillian Bradley series, she is an award winning blogger and is listed numerous times on the Author Watch Bestseller’s List, this in addition to winning first place for her Chocolate Cream Pie. When she isn’t plotting her next book, she spends time with her six grandchildren, tags along with her husband on business trips, and plays classical piano for her own personal enjoyment. She is an active member of the Leander Writers Guild, American Christian Fiction Writers, ACFW CenTex Chapter, and supports the Central Texas SPCA with a portion of her book sales. CONTACT INFORMATION jillthames@gmail.com  Nancy Jill is busy working on Book 7 "The Ruby of Siam" a mystery taking place in London. Enjoy Book 1 MURDER IN HALF MOON BAY on your ereader for free! Amazon Paperback $8.09  Kindle FREE! Barnes and Nobel Paperback $8.99 Nook  FREE! FREE on Smashwords and Kobo!