Reviews

by Bethany Maines

Ahhhhhh... The soothing feeling of not being in a mad marketing scramble.  

Being in a post-book release time frame is both relaxing and a little bit of a let-down.  The majority of sales happen around the book release week and after that, there’s just general marketing and gulp, waiting for reviews to come in. Reviews, believe it or not, are quite hard to come by.  In a world where literally every service seems to ask for you to thumbs up, rate, review, rave about, the good old fashioned recommendation of a book has become both more important and yet, even harder to get.

Readers get intimidated by the process – do I need to write a book report? Ahhhhhh!!!!  The answer to that one is no.  Short reviews are frequently the best.  For example, here’s the latest review for The Second Shot…

“A drunken mistake in college cost U.S. Marshal Maxwell Ames the love of Dominique Deveraux and six years later, he’s determined to fix the slip-up. But there’s just one tiny problem. When I started reading I couldn't put it down. Bethany Maines is magnificent and amazing writer. I cannot wait to read more of her books. Keep up the great work. You should definitely read this book. Can't wait for the next book.”

Now obviously any review that calls me an amazing writer is going to be tops with me, but beyond that, the reviewer did the one thing that is required in a review – said what she liked. Then she gave it a rating and moved on with life. No synopsis, spoilers, no over thinking or hard work.  Read the book, reacted, bam, done.

Then readers think – does it really matter if I leave a review?  Short answer, yes, it really, really does.  Even on older books?  YES!!  There are some marketing options that I can only get if I have enough reviews or a high enough rating.  Your kind words really matter.  And of course, saying I’m an awesome writer is the kind of thing that keeps me going when some meanie leaves me a two star review. (It happens to everyone, we are breathing, we are breathing, and letting it go…)

So to anyone who has left a book review, even if it wasn’t for one of my books, I say thank you.  And if you’d like to give a writer a gift… may I suggest leaving a review on Amazon, BookBub, or Goodreads.

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Bethany Maines is the award-winning author of the Carrie Mae Mysteries, San Juan Islands Mysteries, Shark Santoyo Crime Series, and numerous short stories. When she's not traveling to exotic lands, or kicking some serious butt with her black belt in karate, she can be found chasing her daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel. You can also catch up with her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub.

The Second Shot Release Day!

by Bethany Maines

Have you ever seen one of those Looney Tunes characters just runs around screaming?  That feels like me today.  I mean, I’m trying to keep it contained, but… inside I look like this.

My latest novel, The Second Shot, is now available to the public and that means that people will (hopefully) buy it and then (ack!) read it.  Today is the day that we see if all of my writing, marketing, and general daydreaming has paid off. I’ll be celebrating the release with on-line “take-over” parties and giveaways.

GIVEAWAYS:

Enter to win 1 of 10 print copies on Goodreads – giveaway ends 10/26 – CLICK HERE TO ENTER

Enter to win a $40 Amazon card and a signed copy on Facebook - CLICK HERE TO ENTER

Meet me online and maybe get more free stuff!

October 25: Take-Over of Next Steps PR Facebook Page

October 30: BestStellars BestSellers Release Party (stay tuned for who’s partying!) 

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY:

The Second Shot is a thriller/mystery dished up with a heavy side of romance. Think that sounds like you’re cup of tea, but aren’t quite ready to commit?  Read the first chapter at: bethanymaines.com/the-second-shot-chapter-1 

WHAT ITS ABOUT:

A drunken mistake in college cost US Marshal Maxwell Ames the affection of Dominique Deveraux and six years later, he’s determined to fix the slip-up. But there’s just one tiny problem—someone wants the Deveraux family dead. Dominique Deveraux never expected Max to reappear in her life, let alone apologize, but as Dominique investigates the mysterious attacks on her wealthy family Max quickly becomes far more than her one time college classmate. Now, Max and Dominique must dodge mercenaries and bullets as they try to make sure that they’re the only ones who get a second shot.

Buy on all platforms: https://books2read.com/The-Second-Shot

The Marketing Paradox

by Bethany Maines

A funny thing happens when you begin marketing book. Suddenly a project that has been intensely personal becomes public property. And even worse, once it’s public, the public begin to have opinions about it. (The nerve!) And as much as an author wants everyone to universally love our precious baby novel, not everyone is going to. From reading while in a bad mood, to just not being someone’s cup of tea, not everyone is going to like a book.

But even if everything does go as smoothly as possible and someone does love the book, suddenly ownership becomes shared with everyone who loves it. The story takes up residence in someone else's head which, for an author who has had those characters living in her head for months or years, is intensely strange and disconcerting. With each book I write I start out wanting to share about it immediately.  It’s like falling in love.  You’ve met these wonderful, hilarious, romantic, daring people and you want to tell everyone about them. But as I move into the marketing stage I find that in some ways I become more protective of my characters and story. Please love that one even though I’ve made him annoying.  And don’t make fun of her – she has hidden depths! Although, yes, go ahead and hate him.  We all should hate him.

Except that a book needs to be shared to be successful. I want strangers to talk about it, readers to review it, and friends to share it. Those things are literally what make a book a success. It is a very strange dichotomy of wanting to shout as loud as possible while at the same time hoping nobody looks at me while I'm doing it. So nobody look at me while I say this next bit...

The Second Shot is coming out in two weeks!!! Please share the news with others. A drunken mistake in college cost US Marshall Maxwell Ames the love of Dominique Deveraux. Six years later, he’s determined to fix the slip-up, but there’s just one tiny problem: someone wants the Deveraux family dead. Now Max must make sure that the only one getting a second shot at Dominique is him.

Pre-order on all epub platforms (Kindle coming soon!): CLICK HERE

Want a chance to win a free print edition of The Second Shot? Enter to win at Goodreads!   CLICK HERE to Enter!

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Bethany Maines is the award-winning author of the Carrie Mae Mysteries, San Juan Islands Mysteries, Shark Santoyo Crime Series, and numerous short stories. When she's not traveling to exotic lands, or kicking some serious butt with her black belt in karate, she can be found chasing her daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel. You can also catch up with her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub.

Top Secret No More!

by Bethany Maines

I have been slaving away at several different manuscripts (including San Juan Islands #3, more on that later), but I'm finally able to announce that my super top secret hush-hush book The Second Shot is going to be released in October!  I've been sitting on this action-adventure , mystery laden romantic suspense novel for months and it's been sooooooo hard.  Today I am finally able to announce that it is available only on Apple Books for super secret pre-order! The coming months will have more announcements, including the cover reveal, giveaways, additional pre-order platforms (kobo, nook, kindle, etc) and a few "behind the scenes" teasers.

This novel has all the stuff I love: funny characters, tough girls, clever guys, mystery, action, and romance. My heroine, Dominique Deveraux, is a rich kid who has decided to pull herself up by her own bootstraps and start work from the bottom instead of vaulting her way to the top on her silver spoon.  The hero, Maxwell Ames, is a US Marshall who truly wants to be worthy of the title hero.  It also features the complex relationships of the Deveraux family as they attempt to overcome their past, their relatives, and their own doubts about themselves and each other in their search to find happiness.

The Second Shot: A drunken mistake in college cost US Marshall Maxwell Ames the love of Dominique Deveraux. Six years later, he’s determined to fix the slip-up, but there’s just one tiny problem – someone wants the Deveraux family dead. Now Max must make sure that the only one getting a second shot at Dominique is him.

Join my mailing list to be alerted when additional platforms become available for pre-order or pre-order now on Apple!

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Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie Mae Mystery Series, San Juan Islands Mysteries, Shark Santoyo Crime Series, and numerous short stories. When she's not traveling to exotic lands, or kicking some serious butt with her fifth degree black belt in karate, she can be found chasing her daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel. You can also catch up with her on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub.