Darkness Descends Paperback Giveaway

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Darkness Descends

by Kathleen Harsch

Giveaway ends August 25, 2012.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Amazon YA Book Marketing Experiment #1

Through Hoot Suite, I hand scheduled tweets for every half-hour starting at 9am until midnight later today. Weekend sales are supposed to be better on Amazon. We shall see. Anyway, my starting number for this month on KDP sales is 11 of DREAMING DANGEROUSLY. I want to see if the number goes up just from tweets alone.

I will report back on here tomorrow after midnight as to whether or not my experiment worked. Who knows? I might just annoy the hell out of people instead. We shall see.

My First Book Store Signing at Booksamillion!

I had a wonderful day with Jeremy and Josh and the rest of the staff at Booksamillion in Port Richey. I loved interacting with the public, and it was fun talking to potential readers, many of whom bought a book or two of mine. Lots of fun and I sold around 28 books in about two hours. (Even though I was there for three, one hour was very dead - between 1 and 2pm).

Here are some pictures of the signing from July 14th:

Five things I've learned from my first book store signing:

This is actually my third public signing of books. So, I've learned how to make my pitch and to smile and talk to people about more than just selling the book, to make a connection. Isn't that what writers want to do anyway? Make a connection to their audiences?

1. Get to the store earlier. I was early, but I should have been there an hour and a half earlier. First, to scope out the store, and maybe even tell a few people about my book. Second, to meet ALL of the staff and tell them about the book. Third, some people I knew showed early, and I missed them.

2. Meeting the staff - they need to know what's going on and what the book is about so they can sell it when I'm no longer there. If they know me, they are more likely to tell people about my books. I know several of the staff members said they were going to read them, but that might have just been a nice courtesy to say to me. I really, really hope they do!

3. Even elderly men and women will buy YA. I had several curious people ask me about my books, and even though they felt the books were not right for them, they bought them anyway for their grandchildren.

4. A smile and a kind word goes a long way. Even if no one is going to buy your books, you never know when they might talk to someone else about you or your books. I turned several conversations into sales, just by talking to people about how I indie published and giving them my blog address and email. I also had an enlightening conversation with a veteran of the Korean War after I thanked him for his service. (He kept me company between 1 and 2 pm when there was hardly anyone in the store.)

5. Sign books with K.S. Harsch, instead of Kathleen Suzette Harsch - it takes too much time. There are other Kathleen Harsch's in my husband's family, but I doubt they sign the same way I do.

For those people I met on Saturday, if you find this post - thank you for your readership and wonderful company!

Dreaming Dangerously Blog Tour Sites

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT DREAMING DANGEROUSLY, CHECK OUT THIS BLOG TOUR:


Here are the Blog Tour Sites, even though the tour is over, these lovely ladies do a wonderful job with their blogs, and I hope to give them even more exposure for their sites as well as have the actual pages to find the interviews, reviews and blurbs they created for Dreaming Dangerously.

1. Lisseth's blurb at Read-A-holicZ: http://read-a-holicz.blogspot.com/2012/06/blog-tour-dreaming-dangerously-by.html
2. Marissa's reivew at For the Love of Film and Novels:  http://www.fortheloveoffilmandnovels.com/2012/06/review-dreaming-dangerously-by-kathleen.html
3. Cierra's interview at The Book Lover's Report:  http://thebookloversreport.blogspot.com/2012/06/blog-tour-stop-dreaming-dangerously-by.html
4. Christy's  Author Guest Post at Captivated Reading Blog:  http://www.captivatedreading.com/2012/06/blog-tour-giveaway-dreaming-dangerously.html
5. Jill's Review at Little Hyuts Blog:  http://littlehyuts.blogspot.com/2012/06/blog-tour-stop-dreaming-dangerously.html
6. Shane's Review at Itching for Books: http://itchingforbooks.blogspot.com/2012/06/blog-tourdreaming-dangerously-by.html
7. Tobi's Guest Post at Forget the Housework I'm Reading:  http://forgetthehouseworkimreading.blogspot.com/2012/06/review-dreaming-dangerously-by-kathleen.html
8. Nicole NEVER submitted her review.
9. Lisseth's Interview at Read-A-holicZ:  http://read-a-holicz.blogspot.com/2012/06/blog-tour-interview-giveaway-with.html
10. Tobi's Review at Forget the Housework I'm Reading: http://forgetthehouseworkimreading.blogspot.com/2012/06/review-dreaming-dangerously-by-kathleen.html
11. Suzie at The Bunnie's Review:

 Author Interview with Kathleen HarschPosted on 2012/06/13 by KYbunnies

Do you write under a pen name?

No, actually, I don’t because I wanted my students to know the book was written by me. So, I currently don’t write under a pen name.

What day were you born?

I was born on April 11^th. It was a Palm Sunday.

Do you have a nickname? 

Kathie. Yes, kind of boring. But in middle school I changed the traditional “y” at the end of Kathy to “ie,” so I could put little hearts or stars instead of the dot on the “i” when I signed notes to my friends. I decided to keep that spelling because so many girls were named Kathy back then. It took my husband awhile to catch on. He spells it right now, though.

Did you have a favorite toy as a child?

I had several. One was a giant bunny, named Candy. Candy was about as tall as me when I got him (I know strange name for a boy), but he had blue with white polka dot body with a white face and large ears that stood up like Bugs Bunny. I dressed him up all the time. He had these elastic bands on his feet that you were supposed to attach to your feet so you could dance with him. He was my prince, and he taught me how to waltz to the Blue Danube. Another toy was a doll named Belinda. She looked like a real toddler, and I loved dressing her. Two other toys I had were stuffed – Elsa, a female lion and purple dog, who was this lavender dog that now has green button eyes. Elsa and Purple dog (don’t remember what I really named him) are still with me. They are VERY old.

Do you ever write in your PJ’s?

Of course.

If you could travel in a Time Machine would you go back to the past or into the future?

That’s a tough one. It would be cool to go to the future to see how things turn out, like my kids and grandkids and their kids. To see the technology and whether or not humans can finally learn to treat each other with respect and dignity. However, the past could be cool, too, as long as I could get back to now. If I traveled into the past, it would definitely be medieval France. I love the Middle Ages. Let’s see, broad-shouldered men (who look like Thor) in leather armor, fighting with sharp shiny metal on the backs of galloping horses. I think I’d like to be conquered. (I wrote a steamy medieval romance before I wrote Dreaming Dangerously.)

If you could invite any 5 people to dinner who would you choose?

My mother, my father and my grandparents. Oops, that’s six, oh, well. They are no longer alive, so I would love to see them again. Family is very important to me. That’s why family plays such a prominent role in my books. Except for my maternal grandmother, I lost all of my parents and grandparents before I turned thirty.

If you were stranded on a desert island what 3 things would you want with you?

If it’s things and not people, I want to have a transponder (that could signal help), matches or some way to make fire and fresh water. I’m practical. I’d want to stay alive. Of course, Iwould find ways to write with stone on cave walls or bark or something. I’d probably make a few musical instruments, too.

What is one book everyone should read?

I love many, many books. So, to decide on ONE book would be difficult. Proverbs. I think everyone should read Proverbs. It contains a lot of wisdom, and it doesn’t really matter what religion you follow. Or maybe the Psalms. They are beautiful and celebrate life. (Okay, so the little Baptist girl in me is peeking out from behind the pages of her Bible.)

If you were a superhero what would your name be?

Okay, I have a few ideas – here they are: Supermom, Word Woman, Grammar Girl, Electroword, Wordmento, Superteach. Or a combo name like Word Woman Superteach. It’s a bit long. (Note to self: Gotta work on the superhero name.)

If you could have any superpower what would you choose?

Not mind-reading, that’s for sure. I’ve learned a lot about the drawbacks of telepathy from my character, Cassie. I think I’d like the ability to heal people. Or fly. Flying would definitely be fun.

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Mint Oreo Cookie.

If you could meet one person who has died who would you choose?

Abe Lincoln. I’ve always admired him. Poor, smart, practical, tragic, unpopular at times, beloved by many.

What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?

Croissants with coffee.

Night owl, or early bird?

Night owl. I’m doing this interview at 1:02 AM.

One food you would never eat?

Bugs or eyeballs.

Pet Peeves?

Tapping, change bouncing on table tops, clicking pens – I’m a teacher. So, any of the above annoying sounds really makes me crazy, especially when I’m talking.

Skittles or M&Ms?

Mmm…M&Ms.

I wanted to congratulate those winners from the Dreaming Dangerously Blog Tour and also take the opportunity to thank all of the bloggers who participated in the blog.

Thank you so much to Celise and Tess for hosting my first virtual blog tour ever!
Also, a big thanks to: Lisseth, Marissa, Cierra, Christy Jill Marie, Suzie, Shane, and Tobi.

CONGRATULATIONS:
Winners of free eBooks:
Denise and one other winner whose email I wouldn't want to give out without his/her permission.
Winner of the Children of the Psi t-shirt: Cierra. As soon as it arrives, I will be shipping it out to you. It's supposed to be here tomorrow. (I won't be ordering from THAT t-shirt company anymore).