It's official. I am NOT a green thumb failure.  After many stops and starts with getting my new garden area tilled and prepped for planting, all my plants are finally in and thriving. Shocked? So am I. Between Indiana wavering between spring and winter for several weeks to sweltering heat the last few days, it's been a weather whirlwind for my precious plant babies.  Every day, I pop out to our garden to check on our plants.  Since they aren't any sports to watch on TV and most of my normal television shows this time of the summer are delayed due to COVID19, my garden is my new source of entertainment.  Though, I do wish the weeds would get with the program and GTFO of there.  I spent two weekends in a row tackling them, and they just keep coming back.  Jokes on them because my new small cultivator will arrive this week and the battle with the weeds will come to an end...I hope.

The only plant causalities that I have had are two of my twelve Brussels sprout plants, which were totally my fault thanks to a wayward sprinkler during a water session.  My tomatoes are blossoming and the wax beans are really taking off.  I am so excited for the next few weeks as my Early Girl tomatoes should start producing in Mid-July. ​

It's hard to believe that we are just one month away from the mid-way point of 2020, and I am already looking forward to 2021.  I just wish 2020 would take the hint and GTFO.  First, the virus and the following lock down.  Then, murder hornets or Baskin Bees, which ever way you look at it. Now... a potential tropical storm forming off Florida several weeks prior to the start of hurricane season.  I'm honestly afraid to verbalize that question plaguing us all. What's next?

It took losing my aunt this last week for it to really sink in that 2020 and Covid19 has stolen so much from us.  

After coming home from the rehab facility just before COVID19 reared it's ugly head in Indiana, her daughters and granddaughters were unable to spend what we now know was her last few precious months with her. My mom unable to care for her sister. Her granddaughters losing out on one last memory with their Nonna. Though at the end, we were able to bring her home and spend her last few days with her so many others aren't able to bid their loved ones goodbye.

No last hugs.
No bed side vigils.
No last kiss goodbye.

My aunt, a well-respected member of her community, a teacher and principal of over 33 years, was laid to rest with 25 people there to attend her funeral. Not even all of the immediate family could attend the service because of the measures currently in place, and were left to brave the severe storms ravaging our area to attend the graveside service. While we plan to have a memorial service later when the situation is better, it broke my heart to see so many of the familiar faces from our family not being able to attend. To miss the chance as reconciling and finding closure to a live well spent and taking away too soon. 

It's the cruelest thing of all, and an eye-opener in our current state. How many others are forced to do the same? How many other people are without jobs, without means, and without hope? It really brings things in a vastly different perspective to how I felt several weeks back after lock down first began for us. Even as the restrictions are slowly being lifted here, I find myself re-evaluating what is most important to me. What would have been priorities for me seem silly almost, and thinking back to all the wasted time in my life that I spent on those things honestly is like salt in the wound.  My aunt's countless invitations for us to come up for a weekend t visit her at their lake trailer dismissed because I was always too busy to go.  Too busy for my family.  It burns just typing that. All that time wasted. All those memories never made because I was "too busy."

I will never be too busy for my family again. Those moments are too precious to waste again. 

You might be thinking that the subject of this blog post is a bit odd for me. Well, truth be told, it is.  I had a family friend over the weekend after discovering that I wrote romance novels begin to question me.  Why do you write romance? Do you write about your real relationship with your husband?  Does your husband know you write smut?  Do you want to be whipped or hit with a crop?  She seemed to have a dozen questions that only came with the same response from her.

"So, you write explicit romance because you're unhappy in your marriage."
Just hold on a hot second.  Never in any of my answers did I say I write romance because I am unhappy in my marriage.  On the contrary, my husband and I have a very happy and fulfilling marriage, but that's honestly none of her business. It really shocked me, to say the least, that she would automatically assume it was my marriage that made me interested in romance novels.  Why couldn't it be because I love a good love story or enjoy the journey of two broken people finding love again?  It honestly just didn't make sense to me that she would be so offended at my choice in genre.

Fast forward two days later, I am still mulling over her assumptions.  When did it become taboo to write or even read romance? Does everyone outside of the romance reader world automatically assume that every romance book is like Fifty Shades of Grey?  Because I'd like to stop right here and debunk that assumption.  Romance comes in all shapes and sizes from innocent, first loves to paranormal shifters in the midst of a clan war.  Romance isn't just about graphic sex or BDSM, but the bringing together two people.  If I sat down and counted all the genres of romance that I could think of, I'd have to borrow fingers from several more people. The romance genre is by far one of the widest range of reading genres out there.  You can be whisked away in a dsyoptian world where loving someone outside of your clan isn't permitted or be seated on the back of some dirty talking bikers ride cruising down the highway.  It's not just sex, but so many other emotions evolving into a passionate and caring relationship with one person.  Well, sometimes more than one person if you like menage books, but again, there's a genre for everyone's tastes. 

What about movies?  Is it taboo to watch romance stories unfold on the big screen? How many of you binge watch television shows or movies to follow the romance story line? It's no different than reading about it in a book.  The romance and the sex are all still there, but instead of reading it, you are watching being portrayed by actors in motion. It seems to me that romance is all around us in this world, but only romance novels seem to be targeted by naysayers.  Which brings me back to the my original point. 

When did reading romance novels become so taboo? Are we as people expected to forego reliving the feelings of falling in love all over again with fictional characters because we are romantically involved in real life? Why is reading about true love such a bad thing when our world is filled with cheating and deceitful vows? I don't know how many times this year I have seen family and friends who have been married for 15+ years divorce because their marriages went stale or their spouse cheated.  We were put in this world for one sole purpose, to love.  Reading romance inspires me to think outside of the box to keep my marriage alive. Every fictional couple makes my heart swell and reminds me why I feel the way I do about my husband. Sure, the settings and plots are far from my real life situation, but the emotions are all the same.  While I'm not saying reading the dirty romance novels that I love so much is keeping my marriage a live, it certainly isn't hurting it.  

I challenge those naysayers to try reading a romance novel and to see what I mean about the emotional connection flowing from the fictional characters into your real life.  Love surrounds us all, and honestly, in a world where innocent people are murdered on a daily basis, I think we all need a little more love in our lives.  Give it a try, and if you don't like it, I'll be happy enough knowing your tried.

COVID-19 is almost a dirty word at my house two weeks into the stay at home orders begin rolling out across the United States.  It's been two weeks of alternative work schedules, my husband going from two jobs to none, and the madness churned to life outside at every single grocery store.  Chaos incarnate has descended upon our entire country, and planet. We're fighting for our lives, to protect our families, and over all things... toilet paper because we've been tossed in a world full of fear and uncertainty as the positive case numbers been to skyrocket around us.  Even going outside for essential goods and services seems a daunting task because there are some out there who are living like everything is normal, but it's not. 

This experience was jarring at first, but we are coping. Just like everyone else.  As 80s babies, we've never experienced being told by the government that we couldn't leave our homes aside from the occasional winter storm shutting the state down.  Yet, here we are with no sports, no forms of the usual entertainment, everyone is wearing masks and gloves, and even a simple cough from someone standing behind you in the checkout line is enough to send shock waves of panic to anyone nearby.  We are living in a medical war zone now.  The normal rules no longer apply.  

Hospitals are overrun with cases, low on essential supplies, and are forced to watch this disease steal lives away from otherwise healthy people. Laboratories are begging for test kits and able bodied workings to process them. The shelves at your local grocery store are bare because people are panic buying months of supplies.  The elderly are shuttered inside of their homes from the outside and terrified to step outside for fear of contracting the virus.  

We live in a state of perpetual fear now. 

I am considered essential at my laboratory, and continue to work, but I do my best to spend as much time as I can working from home when able.  At first, I was  frustrated with that designation because I fall into the highest risk category being immune-compromised.  How dare my company insist that I need to work?  That feeling only lasted a day as I saw millions of Americans, friends, and family begin to be laid off without pay left and right.  It's a blessing that I can still work, and that my company has stepped up to the plate to help collect and process COVID-19 tests over the last weeks.  But, not everyone is so lucky. 

My husband is the prime example.  Both the school and the church are closed indefinitely, and while both have pledged to keep paying him from the time being, the threat of the loss of such a large chunk of our income is still out there the longer this goes on to the point he started working for a local grocery store last week to make sure we still have something coming in.  But in doing so, he's has to distance himself  to protect me from anything he might have been exposed to on the job. He's had to give up going to see our two new godsons born this week to protect them.  People like my husband are sacrificing their entire lives to protect those they love because it's the only thing he can do in times like this. 

For others, it's not such a heartwarming story. There are so many families out there that have gone from income to nothing in just a blink of an eye.  They are terrified about how to feed their families and keep a roof over their head. The agencies that can provide such help are now overwhelmed with the number of calls coming in begging for relief, and help is hard to find with other agencies like churches now shuttered.  Our world is crumbling around us, and these people need the most help. 

Despite all of the negative, I have to hope that once the threat dissipates that our world will be forever changed in a positive way. That we as a country, and as a planet, can use the lessons we have learned to help future generations avoid such chaos.  It is the idea that maybe we as a nation can stand together in support, after social distancing ends of course, and turn this train wreck around to reunite like we once did after 9/11 and the previous wars.  Is it a pipe dream? Probably, but in a world of such uncertain times, hope is all that we can cling to until the world rights itself once again. 

Stay Safe. 

This week's blog post will be all about how to promote your book!  Promotion is key when you are trying to establish your foothold within your genre.  I won't lie and say this is easy.  Honestly, it is just about as hard or maybe even harder than actually writing your book.  Successful promotion is how you get your book and your name out there to drum up sales and meet fans.   Without promotion, your book sales are likely to stay low because just being on Amazon or Barnes and Noble will not get your book seen. In fact, Amazon will not promote your book until you have a minimum of 50 reviews!  That seems daunting, doesn't it?  It doesn't have to be, and the following points are why.


1. Promotion Begins Before Publication Day

I know, I know. You are thinking, "Avelyn, how do you promote a book if it's not released yet?" The answer to that question is simple and might surprise you.  New authors who spend 6 months to a year promoting their book and creating their brand have a much higher success rate than authors who pop up out of nowhere and release a book.  Promotion takes time and a lot of effort to be successful.  Share your teasers in groups. Find a support group for authors on social media sites like Facebook and start building relationships with other authors.  Do not understand the power of word of mouth and sharing on Facebook and twitter. 


One big thing with promotion on social media that you need to watch out for is flooding the same group with the same stuff.  Make a list of groups where you notice your promotions being liked, seen, or even shared and rotate the days you share.  Also, having several images or graphics to use with your pre-order links or links to your author page keeps your promotion fresh and draws in new people. Please make sure the groups you are choosing to share don't have a "no promo or pimping" policy or you might end up being banned.

2. Don't Limit Yourself to Just Facebook

Using more than Facebook? Am I crazy? Yes. Yes, I am.  With the new rules of Facebook, you are more likely to not be seen, blocked, or even banned than you are being seen.  The algorithms of Facebook are now blocking pages and the ever-growing numbers of Facebook police reporters will kill you unless you expand your horizons.  You would honestly be surprised by the sheer number of fans you can garner from sharing funny book nerd related memes on Instagram with your teasers and snippets or sharing funny book things on Pinterest.  Just because they aren't as big as Facebook doesn't mean they can't be useful. 


3. Goodreads or Badreads?

Ah, Goodreads.   The book review website where swearing and vulgarity are legal and where critical reviewers lurk.  Once a simple book nerd website with books and groups, Goodreads has turned into the hotbed of negativity when it comes to book reviewing. I would need several friends to join in if I counted on my hands of how many times a Goodreads reviewer made me cry.  They are known to be brutal and you need to know that going in. HOWEVER, it is also a great place to meet readers and advertise your books. I highly recommend checking out book especially the monthly group readers. You may not find a winner every time you join a group, but there are some out there.  Look for a group with rules, and several different topics for posting.  Those are all good signs of being one of the good groups

Hopefully after reading this, you will feel more comfortable about promoting your books. Promotion is hard and a necessary evil in this business. If you skip it, you'll likely have a less than successful release. 

I just  I read an article this past weekend that was generating negative buzz on social media. After seeing it more than a dozen times in a single scroll on my Facebook timeline, I clicked it. I knew from the title, "Kennett Library Hosts 3rd Annual Bad Romance Event,” that I was not going to agree with it, but I couldn't stop myself from finding out just what the fuss was about. The more I read, the angrier I became. If you haven’t read it, let me summarize it for you. The long and short of it is that the Kennett Library and its staff host an event to read aloud from what they have deemed as bad romance novels to the audience as a fundraiser for their library. No, that wasn’t a typo. A fundraiser that mocks the publishing industries highest grossing genre hosted by a library.  An institution that sole purposes is to promote literature. It almost doesn't seem real, but this misogynistic take of such a "fun event" is very much real. 

Kennett Library's use of "bad romance" to raise funds is a slap in the face of all romance authors, and a continuation of the age old stereotypes that romance novels are trashy.  The only trashy thing I see about the article is the author's now revised reference that romance novels are "the discount bin of literature." It seems to be a long-standing tradition to ridicule romance when you don’t enjoy reading or writing it. You’d think being the industry profit leading that it would stave off some of the naysayers. Sadly, it doesn’t. If you didn't know, romance was number one at $1.44 billion in revenue. Second place was the crime and mystery genres at $728.2 million. You might be asking yourself the same question I did when I looked up the numbers. If romance is so profitable and popular as a genre, why do we romance authors constantly get dragged through the mud as smut peddlers and mommy porn enthusiasts? It's simple.  Romance is written for women by women, predominantly. Yet, gender is only one factor to the romance stereotypical equation.  Diversity, ethnicity, and even the method of publication all play a part. 

With the age of e-books came a rise in both reading and self-publishing. Before, an author had to hope and pray that a publisher would read their query and publish their novel.  Now, authors have a choice.  Many  romance authors who you see on the shelves at your local bookstores are either self-published or hybrid, meaning they traditionally and self-publish books.  Before the e-book boom, all of those books would have been traditionally published authors. All. Of. Them.

Now, self-published novels are growing every single day, but so is the sterotype that those types of books are poorly-written stories by people who have no business writing a book.  Oh yeah, I've seen and have on the rare occasion even in the presence of a traditionally published author degrading indie authors at a large event when I first starting publishing.  I'm not saying that all self-published books are perfect because they aren't, but they are bad traditionally published books, too. Not every book is a winner.  That's for the reader to decide on their own. It's not a peer review of an entire publication method by someone who has never self-published a day in their life. 

So, it begs the question as to why Kennett Library is hosting their “Bad Romance” event.  Why are they mocking not only an entire genre, but their library patrons as well to raise funds? The event is a continuation of the age old stereotypes that romance novels are trashy. An idea that is not only absurd, but degrading. Then again, when author of the article calls romance the “discount bin of literature” that has since been revised, I guess I should really be surprised.

As libraries are publicly funded insinuations, it makes me wonder just how many patrons will be coming to your new facility that was partially funded by ridiculing authors. Frankly for an organization that should pride itself on promoting literacy, Kennett Library has instead promoted exclusion, despite the mission statement from their own website stating they support inclusion. 

No one, reader or writer, should be shamed for liking romance novels.  We deserve respect. You may not like us, but we aren’t going anywhere.

​

From two bestselling authors comes the story of two people who should have never fallen in love and the dangers that lurk around them.
​
Blair’s life isn’t perfect, but she has a plan. Find a new roommate, finish school and finally start the future she’s been working so hard for.

And then he knocks on her door. One unwanted visitor is all it took to crush her reality and leave her living in fear. But at least she’s living, thanks to the help of a good Samaritan.

A very sexy, tattooed and motorcycle-riding man with a dog that looks as savage as he is sweet. GreenPeace saves her. He makes her feel safe. He makes her feel a lot of things she’s never felt before.

But, the danger’s not over. Her attacker is still there, lurking in the shadows and waiting to strike again. GreenPeace will put his life and his club on the line to save the captivating woman that’s stolen his heart. But even that might not be enough.
​