#WriterWednesday Interview with Jayne Ormerod

I’d like to welcome one of the best beta readers on the planet and good friend, Jayne Ormerod to the blog today!

Things you never want to run out of: Diet Coke, Wine, and Books.

Things you wish you’d never bought: In an attempt to avoid dog urine spots in my yard, I bought this fire-hydrant-looking thing that supposedly encourages my canine companions to wee-wee in a certain area. I placed it in a no-man’s-land area of mulch. They sniffed it and walked away. It’s still there, testament to my gullible nature.

A few of your favorite things: My comfy sweatshirts, my Crabby wine glasses, and my gardens.

Things you need to throw out: Early printed versions of manuscripts, 100+ rejection letters, and a box of chocolates that got left in a hot car and melted into puddles. But, well, throwing out chocolate is a class-3 felony, isn’t it? (If not, it should be!)

Things you need for your writing sessions: My muses (aka:dogs) at my side. And a really good idea!

Things that hamper your writing: Facebook. ’Nuff said.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Selling books!

Easiest thing about being a writer: Working from the comfort of my La-Z-Boy. Feet up. Music playing. Words flowing!

Words that describe you: Goal-oriented and slightly superstitious.

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Unathletic and “Fluffy”. (I think the two might be connected?

Favorite foods: Anything from the potato family, be they fries, chips, baked, au gratin, etc.

Things that make you want to gag: Seafood. Just the smell in the grocery store has me scurrying for the odorless cereal aisle.

Favorite smell: Flowers: Gardenias, Magnolias, Honeysuckle, Ligustrums, Lilies!

Something that makes you hold your nose: Collard greens simmering on the stove!

The last thing you ordered online: Construction truck-themed birthday decorations for my grandson’s 2-y/o birthday party.

The last thing you regret buying: A pair of shoes that looked really fun on the web page, but they are bright and garish and fan out in the toe area…think “clown shoes”.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Skied down a double black diamond in Banff! (Truth be told I slid on my backside most of it!)

Something you chickened out from doing: Parachuting. No way. Un-unh. Not gonna do it!

The coolest person you’ve ever met: Sue Grafton! So cool! Beyond cool. Amazing person.

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: J.B. Fletcher, of Murder, She Wrote fame. Donald Bain (the actual author, along with his wife Renee Paley-Bain) bear no resemblance to the author photo, that of Angela Lansbury, who of course, played J.B. on the TV show.

Some real-life story that made it to one of your books: The “fire” my son “put out” in my oven, the first time he cooked with my new gas range.

Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not: That I stumble across dead bodies all the time. I do not! Only ever seen one “prettied up” at a funeral.

About Jayne:

Jayne Ormerod writes coastal cozies with a splash of humor. She grew up in a small Ohio town and attended a small-town Ohio college. Upon earning her accountancy degree, she became a CIA (that’s not a sexy spy thing, but a Certified Internal Auditor). She married a naval officer, and off they sailed to see the world. After nineteen moves, they, along with their two rescue dogs Tiller and Scout, settled in a cottage by the Chesapeake Bay. Jayne writes what she knows: small towns with beach settings.  The dead bodies are purely a figment of her imagination. 

 Let’s Be Social:

Website: http://JayneOrmerod.com

blog: http://JayneOrmerod.blogspot.com  

Facebook: Jayne Ormerod (be careful there are two of us) or Jayne Ormerod, Author  

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Jayne Ormerod

I’d like to welcome my author friend, Jayne Ormerod, back to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday.

A few of your favorite things: Almost all food and wine; a good book on a rainy day; a walk on the shore in any weather; and dogs. If I had a big enough yard, I would be that “crazy dog lady.”

Things you need to throw out: I have a lot of clothes I need to throw out, partly because I bought on-line and the sizing/quality was way off and it was too much of a hassle to return. My spice rack could do with a good cleaning out, too. I used one spice the other day that had a Use By date of 2001.

Things you need for your writing sessions: My laptop. I just can’t write the old-fashioned way. I edit as I go, which requires lots of deleting and moving of text.

Things that hamper your writing: My puppy laying his head on my laptop while I am writing. He is QUITE the snuggler, and my new laptop has a touch screen that is sensitive to dog noses and I’ve found stuff deleted.

Things you love about writing: Plotting!  I love to noodle up a good plot!

Things you hate about writing: The additional 62,000 words needed to flesh out the plot and turn in into a story! 

Favorite music or song: Carolina Shag music!

Music that drives you crazy: Rap. I can’t understand the words and it always sounds so angry to me. Not relaxing.

Favorite beverage: Diet Coke and wine (not together of course!)

Something that gives you a sour face: Bad milk. (you’d think at my age I’d know better than to smell it after it’s expiration date!)

Favorite smell: Coq au vin simmering in the oven. Mmm-mmm. Now that’s good eating!

Something that makes you hold your nose: The smell of fish at the fish counter at my grocery store. It literally makes me gag.

Something you’re really good at: Few people know that I took 12 years of piano lessons. “Moon River” is my favorite song to play. It was my mother’s favorite song.  

Something you’re really bad at: Anything athletic.

The last thing you ordered online: Large, thin crust mushroom, chicken, red onion and spinach pizza from Pizza Hut.

The last thing you regret buying: This thing for my dog that is supposed to control barking by squirting citronella oil in his face when he barks too much. I haven’t even opened the package.

Things you always put in your books: Food and drink.

Things you never put in your books: Putting dogs (or any animal) in danger! I do love it when they burst on stage and save the day, though!

Things to say to an author: “I didn’t want the book to end!”

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “You missed a quotation mark on the second sentence of the third paragraph on page 79.” (Trust me, I didn’t do that on purpose!  Stuff happens during the editing process. I hate it when it does, but it’s a reality of being a published author.)

Favorite places you’ve been: Perhaps I have romanticized the small town I grew up in, but I love going back to my hometown of Chagrin Falls, Ohio.

Places you never want to go to again: A rock concert. Too many people. Too expensive. Too loud. And WAAAYYY past my bedtime.

The coolest person you’ve ever met: Sue Grafton. It was the happiest Happy Hour of my life!

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: Jessica Fletcher, the author of the Murder, She Wrote series, mostly because the author was really a ghost writer by the name of Donald Bain. (He also was the ghost writer for Margret Truman’s Capitol Crime series. He doesn’t look like her, either!

About Jayne:

Jayne Ormerod grew up in a small Ohio town then went on to a small-town Ohio college. Upon earning her degree in accountancy, she became a CIA (that’s not a sexy spy thing, but a Certified Internal Auditor.) She married a naval officer and off they sailed to see the world. After nineteen moves, they, along with their two rescue dogs Tiller and Scout, have settled into a cozy cottage by the sea. Jayne is the author of the Blonds at the Beach Mysteries, The Blond Leading the Blond, and Blond Luck, as well as a dozen other short stories and novellas. Her most recent releases are Goin’ Coastal and "It's a Dog Gone Shame!" in To Fetch a Thief.

Let’s Be Social:

Website

Blog

Facebook

#ThisorThatThursday: Welcome, Jayne Ormerod

I’d like to welcome Jayne Ormerod to the blog for my inaugural #ThisorThatThursday author interview. I gave the authors a series of questions in pairs and asked them to tell us about themselves.

A few of your favorite things: Almost all food and wine; a good book on a rainy day; a walk on the shore in any weather; and dogs. If I had a big enough yard, I would be that “crazy dog lady.”

Things you need to throw out: I have a lot of clothes I need to throw out, partly because I bought on-line and the sizing/quality was way off and it was too much of a hassle to return. My spice rack could do with a good cleaning out, too. I used one spice the other day that had a Use By date of 2001.

Things you need for your writing sessions: My laptop. I just can’t write the old-fashioned way. I edit as I go, which requires lots of deleting and moving of text.

Things that hamper your writing: My puppy laying his head on my laptop while I am writing. He is QUITE the snuggler, and my new laptop has a touch screen that is sensitive to dog noses and I’ve found stuff deleted.

Things you love about writing: Plotting!  I love to noodle up a good plot!

Things you hate about writing: The additional 62,000 words needed to flesh out the plot and turn in into a story! 

 Favorite music or song: Carolina Shag music!

Music that drives you crazy: Rap. I can’t understand the words and it always sounds so angry to me. Not relaxing.

 Favorite beverage: Diet coke and wine (not together of course!)
Something that gives you a sour face: Bad milk. (you’d think at my age I’d know better than to smell it after it’s expiration date!)

 Favorite smell: Coq au vin simmering in the oven. Mmm-mmm. Now that’s good eating!
Something that makes you hold your nose: The smell of fish at the fish counter at my grocery store. It literally makes me gag.

 Something you’re really good at: Few people know that I took 12 years of piano lessons. “Moon River” is my favorite song to play. It was my mother’s favorite song.  
Something you’re really bad at: Anything athletic.

The last thing you ordered online: Large, thin crust mushroom, chicken, red onion and spinach pizza from Pizza Hut.

The last thing you regret buying: This thing for my dog that is supposed to control barking by squirting citronella oil in his face when he barks too much. I haven’t even opened the package.

 Things you always put in your books: Food and drink.
Things you never put in your books: Putting dogs (or any animal) in danger! I do love it when they burst on stage and save the day, though!

 Things to say to an author: “I didn’t want the book to end!”
Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “You missed a quotation mark on the second sentence of the third paragraph on page 79.” (Trust me, I didn’t do that on purpose!  Stuff happens during the editing process. I hate it when it does, but it’s a reality of being a published author.)

 Favorite places you’ve been: Perhaps I have romanticized the small town I grew up in, but I love going back to my hometown of Chagrin Falls, Ohio.
Places you never want to go to again: A rock concert. Too many people. Too expensive. Too loud. And WAAAYYY past my bedtime.

 The coolest person you’ve ever met: Sue Grafton. It was the happiest Happy Hour of my life!

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: Jessica Fletcher, the author of the Murder, She Wrote series, mostly because the author was really a ghost writer by the name of Donald Bain. (He also was the ghost writer for Margret Truman’s Capitol Crime series. He doesn’t look like her, either! 😊 )

About Jayne: Jayne Ormerod grew up in a small Ohio town then went on to a small-town Ohio college. Upon earning her degree in accountancy, she became a CIA (that’s not a sexy spy thing, but a Certified Internal Auditor.) She married a naval officer and off they sailed to see the world. After nineteen moves, they, along with their two rescue dogs Tiller and Scout, have settled into a cozy cottage by the sea. Jayne is the author of the Blonds at the Beach Mysteries, The Blond Leading the Blond, and Blond Luck, as well as a dozen other short stories and novellas. Her most recent releases are Goin’ Coastal and "It's a Dog Gone Shame!" in To Fetch a Thief.

Let’s Be Social:

Website

Blog

Facebook

Writers Beware...Things That Annoy Your Readers

My friend, Jayne Ormerod, planted a seed this weekend. She interviewed me recently for her blog, Life's a Beach, and one of her questions was, "What is your pet peeve?" (Mine is people who leave their shopping carts in parking spaces. But that's another story.) It made me think about things that writers do that annoy friends and fans. Here's my list...

1. I know authors need to promote their work, but there is a way to do it without flooding newsfeeds with "Buy My Book" blasts. The 80/20 rule is important in book marketing. You need to share other information too (e.g. fun facts, facts, links, promotions of others, recipes, etc.). People will unfolllow or block you if all your posts are a sales pitch.

2. Then there are the authors who create a great graphic for a launch or book signing that I would like to share, and they've marked it private. Privacy and security are important, but if you're creating an announcement that you want shared, make sure that it's tagged for public access.

3. Again author promotion is important (and often part of your book contract), but don't post your sale, launch, or contest in the comments of someone else's blog or website unless it's part of a discussion, or you're part of the group. I manage several sites for a group of authors and for a book series, and people (not part of our group or even genre) post random, unsolicited announcements about their books being free or on sale.

4. Many people who like a certain genre, follow a lot of groups online. When you do a marketing dump to ten or twelve sites of your latest promotion, it appears on followers' timelines one after the other. If you're going to publish the same thing to multiple sites, schedule them or change up the post.

5. Make sure that your online presence is well-rounded. If all I see from you are announcements about your latest review or your latest 99 cent sale, I get bored. I want to know more about the author. (And you don't have to post personal things.) What research are you doing? What are you writing? What are you reading? What have you learned lately that will help other authors?

6. Other authors aren't your competition. You only need to be better than your last work. It's okay to promote other authors and share their celebrations. Your readers are interested in what you like. You actually have a greater reach if you partner with other writers.

7. If you schedule lots of tweets or Facebook posts, take a minute to see if they're being retweeted/shared. If you're getting a lot with no action, you may want to alter what you're doing. Others looking at your tweets or at you in lists, see a string of posts with no activity or interest. You're spending a lot of time posting content that no one is reading. Try something different. Add hashtags to appeal to specific interests. Add pictures or videos. Concentrate on the type of posts that generate activity for you.

What else would you add to the list? Happy writing and good luck with the marketing!

Riley's helping me with my blog today.