5 Aspects for Creating Strong Character Arcs -- Kayelle Allen @KayelleAllen #amwriting #MFRWauthor

I try to create complex heroes, and one thing that helps is creating strong character arcs. For deeper understanding, I recommend reading Character Arcs by KM Weiland. That book gave me great insights into my characters. This post uses he/she. Feel free to apply your preferred gender pronouns.

Creating a Strong Character Arc

The main character must face conflict, deal with emotions, and experience change. All those things arise out of the following five aspects.

What does your hero want?

If your hero lives a great life, with all he or she wants and no real needs, then there is no conflict. You must have conflict in order to move the story forward. Your hero should want something badly enough to change in order to get it. That want will be a major driver of your story.

What are your hero's personal preconceptions?

When your hero looks in the mirror, who is looking back? Chances are, he/she is already a hero to someone. But how does he feel about himself? When he looks in the mirror, does he see his failures? Or perhaps he sees himself as a hero when others see him in an entirely different light.

What does your hero do wrong?

Sure, no one's perfect, but the personal flaws facing your hero must provide a reason for your character to change and must be a lynchpin in driving that change. Example: a young woman with reasons in her past that make her distrust people in general, and men in particular meets a man who makes her long to trust. But because of her flaws, her misconceptions and inhibitions, she can't. She must overcome those flaws in order to find love -- to reach her goal.

What abilities does your hero possess?

The hero in any story will need to accomplish certain tasks. It might be anything from scaling a wall to performing before a crowd, but he needs to complete them in order to overcome the conflict and reach his goal. When the story opens, he can't do them, but by the end, he can. Not only has he changed the story, the story has changed him.

What scares your hero?

I have an immortal king in multiple stories. Pietas can come back from almost any death. He's nearly 2000 years old and is as big and brave as they come. But because he's isolated himself by virtue of his position as well as personal choice, he's never needed friends and never wanted one. The problem is, he's made one who's the target of assassins--and mortal. Now that he's had a friend, how can he face eternity alone? For the first time in his long, barren existence, Pietas fears the very isolation he has spent his life cultivating, and he will do absolutely anything to prevent it.
The point of scaring your hero is that if your hero is afraid, it means the stakes are high enough to make him change. If you create a hero who undergoes change, you create a complex character.

Ask yourself if you have developed a hero who has tangible wants and needs, preconceptions that don't necessarily match his reality, faults that make him relatable, and the ability to adapt and learn new skills. Don't forget to give him one or more fears that he must overcome or remove. A layered approach to creating your hero will hook your readers and bring them back for more.
 

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Bringer of Chaos: Origin of Pietas
An immortal king must doom his people to exile or place his faith in that which he most hates: a human.
Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire
An exiled, immortal king, a ginormous panther "kitty" and the most dysfunctional family since forever.

Kayelle Allen writes Sci Fi with misbehaving robots, mythic heroes, role playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She's also a US Navy veteran and has been married so long she's tenured.
https://kayelleallen.com

Have you asked your character these questions? Kayelle Allen @kayelleallen #amwriting #MFRWauthor

Marketing for Romance Writers was created for a group of romance writers, but quickly gained members in every sort of genre. As writers, one thing we all have in common is the need to create strong characters. To that end, here is a questionnaire you can use to get to know the people in your story.

Questions for the Character to Answer

How do you dress?

If we could only hear your voice (but not see you) what characteristic would identify you?

Please tell us about your education.

Are you book-smart, self-taught, widely-experienced?

Do you get by, live comfortably, live extravagantly?

What is your viewpoint on wealth?

On what special skills do you rely?

Are any of your skills a source of pride or embarrassment, and if so, which ones and why?

What kinds of things do you always carry (in pockets or purse)?

What is your family like?

Are you close to family?

Do you have children?

Are you involved in your community?

How well do you know your neighbors?

Do you see morality as black-and-white, or with shades of gray?

How do others perceive you based upon looks, and is this assumption accurate?

Do you care about what others assume about you?

If someone from your past showed up, who would you most want it to be, and why?

If someone from your past showed up, who would you most NOT want it to be, and why?

Can you keep a secret? Why or why not?

What secrets do you know about people around you that you do NOT share?

What inner doubt causes you the most difficulty?

What past event causes you the most fear?

What is your biggest need?

What are your biggest hopes and dreams?

What would help you face hardship and meet any challenge?

If you could make any one thing happen, what would it be?

What is your biggest personal flaw?

When there is a setback, what doubt or flaw surfaces?

How do you handle challenges?

What is your breaking point?

How do you express disappointment?

How emotionally expressive are you to others?

When (if) you lie or are upset, what gives you away?

Who in your life has the power to hurt you the most and why?

What would you like to tell your writer?

What would you like people who hear your story to know?

Questions for the Writer to Answer

(Change gender to fit your character)

Your character is at a party. Considering his story, describe the party.

How does the character feel about being this particular party, and what body language is he displaying that gives it away?

Is he more likely to mingle or remain aloof?

If he drinks, what is his drink of choice at this party?

How much drink is his usual?

The character figures out where the hiding places are and then goes there. Is it to hide, to avoid someone, or to go drag a friend back to the party?

Is he likely to latch onto a friend and stay with him/her and ignore others, or is he the friend that others latch onto?

If someone picked a fight at this party, how is the character going to handle it?

Is the character the one most likely to get tossed out of the party, or the one who does the tossing?

Will he know when to leave, or stay late and make a nuisance of himself?

This is not an exhaustive list of questions, but it should give you some insight into creating a unique and memorable character.

Come share your character on my book blog, Romance Lives Forever. Readers find something new every day on RLF. www.rlfblog.com Look for Signup in the menu. You can set your own date and even get automated reminders.

Kayelle Allen
author of Bro, the Antonello Brothers series prequel
https://kayelleallen.com/bro/

6 Ways to Write More and Stress Less - Kayelle Allen @kayelleallen #MFRWauthor #Amwriting

When the world is screaming for your attention, it's hard to write more. A few years ago, I had a bout of chest pain that landed me in the hospital for a week and forced me to re-examine some priorities. It wasn't a heart attack. It was stress.

The event provided a life lesson: focusing on the important (versus the mundane). Hard to do. I struggle with it often.

Here are six things I've learned that eliminate stress and let me write more. I hope they help.

Write more by saying no to what is not important

How hard is this? Very, if you can not figure out what's important. As a writer, time to write is the top priority. Are you a writer if you don't write? I'm thinking not. Bears some thinking about, doesn't it? When you write, write. When you do other things, do them with all your strength, but don't try to do both at the same time. It will add stress and you won't do either one as well as you could if you focused.

Stress less by asking for help

You can't do everything. Your friends, coworkers, kids, and editor know this. Goodness knows your spouse knows this. Why don't you know it? Could it be a little bit of a stubborn streak? The superman/woman complex? Break down your tasks and see what parts of each you can delegate.

Write more by hiring help

Yes, you can do things for yourself and you do them. Especially if you're an indie author. But here's a thought. You can hire someone to help you with Facebook, deal with your website, set up a profile on social media, etc. But guess what? No one else can write your book. Hire help where you can so you free up time to write. Fiverr is a great place to look.

Stress less by facing the hard things

Do something difficult first thing every day. If you face a hard thing first, the rest of the day will be downhill.

Write more by going outside

Sounds counterintuitive, but it's true. Spend time outside. Sure, you need the BICHOK rule to write (butt in chair, hands on keyboard), but sunshine does wonders for your body and soul. It's a natural source of vitamin D, which is good for bones. Your body can't make it without help. And oh my... there is nothing like the feel of grass under your feet when you've been cooped up in the house. Is it snowing? Step out, breathe some icy air, and duck back inside. But change your environment and you'll stress less and write a whole lot more.

Stress less by not letting dust bother you

Do you need a house that's a hospital or a house that's hospitable? Families (and single people, and couples) need a house that's enjoyed and filled with laughter and love. So what if there's dust? Break out the dustcloth half as much, write twice as much, and see which makes you feel better. Stack the dishes neatly in the sink and let them wait. I promise they will still be there when you get back from writing for an hour. No dishes I ever owned have washed themselves. Chances are, yours won't either. Housework can be done by anyone.

Remember, only you can write your book.

Here's to a stress free life with plenty of joy and laughter. Oh... and more time writing.

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Kayelle Allen writes Sci Fi with misbehaving robots, mythic heroes, role playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She's also a US Navy veteran and has been married so long she's tenured.
Author of At the Mercy of Her Pleasure, a sweet and rollicking science fiction romance. 

https://kayelleallen.com 

A Dozen Tips for the Art and Science of Editing, by Kayelle Allen @kayelleallen #AmEditing #MFRWauthor

Editing is an art, and some have a better knack than others. However, editing is also a science. There are rules in grammar regarding form and content. That means every author can take steps to strengthen the ability.

Here are a dozen things I keep in mind when I'm editing my final draft. After all, I'm writing for a very picky immortal king. I have to be careful. I mean, look at this guy. Would you want to make him look bad? Ok, here we go.

12 Editing Suggestions

1. Edit for passive construction. Omit words like am, was, were, be, being, been.
2. Use an active verb rather than a conditional one. Example:
   He would do anything his lord asked, without quarrel or quibbling.
   He did anything his lord asked, without quarrel or quibbling.
3. Substitute concrete terms for abstract ones. Thought vs. mused, guess vs. hypothesis.
4. Omit vague and abstract terms such as would, could, some, anything, about, only, better, less, etc.
5. Look for long phrases and shorten them.
6. Watch out for sentences that begin with conjunctions. (as, because, but, and).
7. Count the number of times you use the words has, had, and have. Change the tenses of verbs around to eliminate their need.
8. Make a list of your personal no-no words. These are words you use as crutch words to move you from one point to another as you write, but edit later. Go over your list before you submit it to your editor, critique group, or beta readers. What kinds of words? I've provided a link to a pdf I created for my critique group that contains 128. http://kayelleallen.com/media/WordstoWatchWhenEditing.pdf Feel free to pass it along to friends.
9. Ask yourself what is the worst thing that can happen to a character, and then focus on words that fit that description.
10. Grab a good tool. Try the Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Expression by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. This book provides phrases, terms, and other descriptors you can use to convey character emotions. No author should be without this tool. When you grab your own copy, start making a list of phrases you use as well. Each of us has something good to offer. Make the most of your own ability and record these phrases in a workbook, notepad, or document on your computer for later reference.
11. Any rule can ignored. If you are writing a complex, well-spoken character, you may need his/her speech to contain larger words, or a timid character to use a more passive vocabulary.
12. Edit with words that fit what your readers understand. It doesn't hurt to have a character who uses words that are difficult or complex, as long as there is context so readers can figure out what's going on. It can help strengthen the complexity of the character to do so. In my Bringer of Chaos series, Pietas is immortal, far beyond "well educated" and a brilliant scientist. Six, his constant companion, is far less knowledgeable. Here's a snippet to illustrate:

"Six, look! These tracks are from ungulates." Pietas knelt and ran his fingers along the tracks. "These are popular with terraformers. They put them on every colonized world. Artiodactyla, to be precise. Bovidae. I suspect a derivative of aepyceros melampus."

"You know, Pi, when you say things like that, you think you're explaining, but you're really not."

"Animals with split hooves. Even-toed. Lightweight impalas. Antelopes."

"What, you couldn't say antelopes?"

Pietas got up, dusting off his pants. "I just did."

Edit with the end in mind

What is the mood of the story? Explore ways to make your writing match it. Use good tools, and take notes about how other authors handle scenes and situations. Find a passage of a book that you enjoy and rewrite it in your own words, trying to make it stronger. See if you can improve it. Then, take a passage of one of your previously published books, and try the same thing.

Editing is a science, but it's also an art, and art takes practice. Never stop trying.

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 Kayelle Allen is the founder of Marketing for Romance Writers. She pens Sci Fi with misbehaving robots, mythic heroes, role playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She's also a US Navy veteran and has been married so long she's tenured.

https://kayelleallen.com

Romance Books and Writers share the love #MFRWauthor #Authors @MFRW_ORG

It's Retweet Day for MFRW on Twitter. All Marketing for Romance Writers are invited to set up tweets for their books.

Go into Twitter and create a tweet. Make sure to use #MFRWauthor or #MFRWorg You can share up to 280 characters per tweet.

Once the tweet has been posted, click anywhere in the white background of the tweet. This will open it and allow you to highlight and copy the URL.

Navigate back to here and paste the URL in the comment section of this post.

Each month, the RT post goes live the Monday before RT day. You can post your tweet until Wednesday of the same week.

Retweet Day is on the second Wednesday of each month. Retweet everyone on the list who uses one of the hashtags.

HINT:

To help people find your tweet, click the the white background and then the down arrow (found on the right side). Choose "Pin to Your Profile Page." This will keep the tweet at the top of your Twitter feed so more people can find it.

Retweet Day Rules

1. Must have #MFRWauthor or #MFRWorg in the tweet. (This retweet day is to promote each other and our group.)

2. Do not use profanity or sexual explicit graphics. Keep it for all age groups.
3. Please do not use adult topics.
4. Limit hashtags to three (3) per post.

5. Return on Retweet Day and click each link in the comments.

6. Click the heart on the tweet and then the retweet symbol and the Retweet button.

Come back after sending the tweet and go through the entire list. 

Here's to a great day of retweets!

UPDATE: To share a tweet, highlight the url, right click, and you will see an option to open the link or go to the url. Do that, and it should open in a new window and take you there.

Kayelle Allen writes Sci Fi with misbehaving robots, mythic heroes, role playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She is the author of multiple books, novellas, and short stories. She's also a US Navy veteran and has been married so long she's tenured.

https://kayelleallen.com

Rules for Humble Writers (Yeah, Right) by Kayelle Allen @kayelleallen #Humor #MFRWauthor

Christmas is finally over and we're settling in for winter. The new year is making itself at home. So I decided to share some "rules" I've learned over the years about humble writers. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, here we go...

Rules for Humble Writers

1. Being humble is rule #1. Never tell anyone you wrote a book. It's okay to write it, but keep the news to yourself. If you wrote a good book, people will find it without you saying a word.

2. Don't post any information about your book online, especially on places such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or blogs. If in doubt, see #1.

3. If someone wants to buy a copy of the book from you, sell it for no more than what it cost you to obtain. It's not humble to expect people to pay more than you did.

4. Cover art is not necessary. A book's quality should never be judged by what is outside. "Never judge a book by its cover" is an axiom.

5. Do not set goals. A true writer only writes when inspired, therefore, goals are counterproductive.

6. Wait for inspiration. Be ready to write, but don't worry about muses or looking for inspiration outside yourself. True inspiration comes from within and should not be sought. When it's real, it will come.

7. Editing is for those who don't get it right the first time. Don't write anything down until you know it's correct. This will save you time and energy, not to mention paper, ink, and erasers.

8. If your computer is on, you should be writing. Remind yourself of this. Guilt can help you stay focused.

9. Games are counterproductive to writing. There is a school of thought that they are helpful by enabling you to relax. However, this can also lead to indulgence, and should be avoided by a hard-working writer.

10. Physical exercise requires time away from your desk. Avoid it.

11. It's all right to eat all your meals at your desk. Dinner or lunch with the family is time consuming.

12. Cleaning house is maid's work. Writers write. 

13. Believe all the writing advice you get on the web.

Gotten any really bad advice lately? Other than #12, I can't agree with anything posted here.

Happy New Year everyone. =^_^= Here's to success in 2019!
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By the way, that gorgeous blond on the left is the hero of my Bringer of Chaos series. The model is Nik Nitsvetov. The books are awesome. You should buy them. I'm not humble at all. 

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Kayelle Allen writes Sci Fi with misbehaving robots, mythic heroes, role playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She is the author of seven books, three novellas, and multiple short stories. She's also a US Navy veteran and has been married so long she's tenured.
https://kayelleallen.com

Authors and Social Media: It's Like Furniture @KayelleAllen #MFRWauthor #Authors

If you decided to open a store selling furniture, you would want windows on the store so people could see inside, right? You'd want a phone so they could call and ask about products, delivery, and so on. You'd want a sign posted so people would know when you have something new to sell. Having an online presence with social media is like all those things combined into one -- but for authors. Our furniture is books.

Authors need:

1. website
2. newsletter
3. social media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest)

Why have a website?

Because it will be yours and no one can take it away from you. It is your home on the net. It's where anyone anytime can find out about you, your characters, and your books.

Why a newsletter?

Because again, this is yours. It's like real estate. You could send everyone to amazon to buy, and perhaps they will. But when you release the next book, wouldn't it be nice if you could just contact the buyers of book 1 and say, hey -- here's the sequel? With a newsletter, you can. It's the #1 thing you should have after a website. The purpose of your website is to get people to sign up for your newsletter, and to learn about your books.

Why social media?

Facebook is where adult women gather. They are usually our audience. But don't pass up Twitter. It's the #2 source for book sales, behind Facebook and ahead of Pinterest. It's EASY. You can only write a sentence or two at a time, so it's not time consuming. Pinterest is HUGE for sales. Make boards where you share pictures from online of things that inspire you, places you'd love characters to go in a story, material from sites where you gathered research, books you love, fancy quotes, funny animals, anything that catches your fancy.
On all these, get an account with your author name. Don't get cutesy with "mom2aboy" or "justawriter" or anything like that. Use your author name, because when someone wants to mention you, they would write your name and expect that would work. So you don't want something weird. Your author name IS your brand. It should be on everything.
Then start following other writers, and follow the people they follow. On Twitter, you'll see things set up where someone has to fill in a code to follow. Don't do that. You are a public figure as an author. You need to be found by fans. So make your account public and use an avatar for your brand or your book. Fill in the bio about yourself with something that says writer or author.
Don't follow people who offer for you to buy followers (in fact, block them). They come out of the wordwork, and blocking them alerts Twitter to remove these people. They are annoying spammers, and they are violating the TOS for Twitter, so don't go near them. But be aware, you will see them every week the rest of the time you're on the site. They try, and they get newbies who don't know any better, so if they make a sale before they're axed, they just get a new name and try again. >_< It's part of online life so just deal with them and move on. I wish it wasn't so, but I will not give up a great source for sharing my books and talking to fans because of spammers. Besides, these people are just so obvious. Look for people with a string of numbers behind their names (i.e., jason97349857). You will spot them even without trying. You'll see. They can't seem to help themselves.
But oh my goodness, yes yes yes get Twitter! It's so much fun. It's so easy. It's so great for boosting sales. When people guest on my Romance Lives Forever book blog, I put their Twitter handle in the post title. It gets shared dozens and dozens of times. That boosts sales. Those authors get followers.

What are you waiting for?

Go get Twitter and other social media and move forward. Let's do this.

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Kayelle Allen writes Sci Fi with misbehaving robots, mythic heroes, role playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She is the author of seven books, three novellas, and multiple short stories. She's also a US Navy veteran and has been married so long she's tenured. She is the founder of Marketing for Romance Writers.
https://kayelleallen.com

Welcome to MFRW - a friend of writers. Follow @MFRW_ORG for updates #MFRWauthor #AmWriting

Welcome to MFRW - Marketing for Romance Writers

MFRW recently celebrated its twelth year. What is it? MFRW is Marketing for Romance Writers, a peer-oriented mentoring group open to the entire literary community. Kayelle Allen founded the group in 2006 and heads the group to this day, guiding its direction and overseeing the numerous volunteer staff members that help it run.
In this group, authors can ask marketing-related questions, request help, advice, and get opinions. Authors can ask for opportunities to join other authors in promotional efforts. They can learn the business aspects of writing.
What's it cost? Nada, zip, zilch, zero -- just join and share.
Marketing for Romance Writers promotes for its members on most social media.

• Get your book cover pinned on one of the MFRW Pinterest boards, and share your tweets on MFRW's monthly Retweet Day. The hashtags #MFRWorg #MFRWauthor and #MFRWhooks help you promote. If you have questions about marketing your books, join us.
• The MFRW motto is "seek, teach, share, learn, succeed." 
• The group began with a dozen friends, and today boasts over 2400 members, and over 7000 members make up our Facebook group. 
• MFRW has a multiple award-winning magazine (Publisher, Rochelle Weber). 
• We have over 400 followers on Goodreads and feature our members books there in the MFRW Book Place group. 
• On Pinterest, we are followed by over 1500 people, have 55 genre related boards, and almost 1000 pins. Want your book cover pinned on our site? Even if you don't have a Pinterest account, you can take advantage of our presence there. 
• Join our Yahoo group today and you'll get information. Services and membership are free.

Follow MFRW

Follow MFRW on Twitter for updates https://twitter.com/MFRW_ORG

MFRW Volunteer Staff

Alice Orr, Barbara Donlon Bradley, Carmen Stefanescu, Emerald, Jessica Cale, Kayelle Allen, Libby McKinmer, Lisa Lowe, Lyncee Shillard, Michelle Davis, Mona Karel, Nicole Morgan, Paloma Beck, Reet Singh, Rochelle Weber, Tina Gayle

MFRW Online

Yahoo group (where you can get help) https://groups.yahoo.com/group/MarketingForRomanceWriters/
Twitter https://twitter.com/MFRW_ORG
Kayelle Allen on Twitter https://twitter.com/kayelleallen
 Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/mfrwauthors/
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/161092-the-mfrw-book-place
Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/mfrworg/

9 Easy Tips for Using Google by Kayelle Allen @kayelleallen #MFRWauthor #Authors

Is Google your friend? It can be. Here are tips on how to use the search engine. http://google.com Anything can be researched from the Google website. It's the world's biggest help menu.

Google Account

If you don't have a Google account, create one now. This will give you an email and much more. Once you create the Google account, set up your search preferences. I suggest opening new results in a new window (or tab). This way, when searching for an item, if you click a link, after you finish reading you can close the window and your search results will still be there. This saves you having to go back a page or six or twenty if you start clicking forward in your article. Be sure to save your preferences.

Search by Image

Click on the Images button and you can then drag an image to the search bar to search for a similar image. Try it with a book cover! You can also type in the name of an item to find images of it. Try typing in the name of a character in one of your books. You'll be surprised what you find.

Find Exact Matches

Type quotation marks around a phrase to find the exact match. "Bringer of Chaos" is the title of one of my books. Typing it this way will make sure the results put all the words together in that order.

Exclude or Include Words

Let's say you want to find the phrase "marketing tips" but don't want to read material written for entrepreneurs. Type "marketing tips" -entrepreneurs (using a hypen for the minus sign). Google will eliminate articles with that term from your search.

To include a specific word add a plus sign and then the word. Google will show you only items that include that word.

Search a Specific Website

This search is super handy for finding a specific reference on a large site. In the Google search bar, type: site:domain.com (where domain is the name of the site you choose). Example - site:kayellallen.com Do not put a space between site: and the domain name. Then type any word you choose to search for. Example - site:kayellallen.com Pietas would bring up all the references to my character Pietas on my site.

Get a Definition

Type Define: then the word you want defined. A box pops up at the top with a dictionary entry including a speaker that will let you hear the word pronounced.

Translate Text

Type translate in the search bar. At the top, a box pops up with Enter Text on one side and Translation on the other. Paste in the foreign word you want to define. Google will attempt to determine language for you, but you can also tell it what language you want. Paste in the text, and it will guess the language and pop up a small bit of text saying "translate from ___" and what it thinks is the language. Click the name of the language and another drop down menu appears above. You can choose from dozens of languages in the drop down.

There is a speaker icon as well. Click that to hear the word/s pronounced. Click the square in the translation box (next to the speaker icon). It will copy the translation for you. You can then paste it into a document or other site.

Search Different Types of Responses

After you enter an item to search and hit return, you'll see tabs appear at the top of the search screen. They are titled All, News, Images, Videos, Maps, More. Click those to see other aspects of your search.

Find Food

This is one of the most useful search tips and is handy for using on your phone. If you decide you want Mexican food but don't know the location of a place nearby, type: mexican food near me. You don't even need to put quotes around it. Google will show you the names of places and even include a map. This assumes you allow Google to know your location. Because I use Google Maps to navigate, this is true for me. It's handy for finding all sorts of places. If I get lost, I can just ask for directions.

Speak Up

On your phone or your computer, click the microphone icon and then ask your question. Very handy for searching when you get hungry --or lost-- while out and about.

Hear about Updates

Follow Google on Twitter for news and updates. https://twitter.com/google

Google Queen

People say I'm the Google Queen. I doubt that, but when people ask me a question, most of the time I can find the answer on Google. You can too, now that you know how to look.

Have any good tips for using a search engine? Leave a comment below. You are welcome to share this post with friends.

About Kayelle Allen

Kayelle Allen writes Sci Fi with misbehaving robots, immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She's a US Navy veteran who's been married so long she's tenured.
https://kayelleallen.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/kayelleallen
Facebook https://facebook.com/kayelleallen.author
Join one of Kayelle's Reader Groups. You can download four free books and get news about books coming soon. You can unsubscribe at any time. https://kayelleallen.com/reader-groups

What is a Hashtag? by Kayelle Allen @KayelleAllen #writerslife #MFRWauthor

Do you know what this abbreviation "etc." means? It's the word et cetera which is Latin for "additional unspecified odds and ends; more of the same." It's intended to reduce the number of characters (or sentences) needed to explain an item.

That abbreviation is a perfect example of not wasting time. We don't write an entire list, or even the entire word. Although, here's a question: why is the word abbreviation so long? Hmmm. Another post for a different day.

Since 2012, I host over 350 authors a year on my Romance Lives Forever blog, and I've seen trends come and go. One that's endured is adding hashtags to the subject. Why is this valuable? Because when the post is shared on social media, those hashtags will enable people to find it. Here's an analogy that might help you understand.

What is a Hashtag

This symbol: # is called a hashmark. It's also the abbreviation (there's that word again) for number. On Twitter (and most other social media) when you add that symbol in front of a word, it changes the word to a search program.

Let's say you want to look up the word "tweet" on Twitter. In the Twitter search box, you type #tweet. The URL that pops up is this:

https://twitter.com/search?q=%23tweet&src=typd and all the tweets with that hashtag are listed.

Why Do I Need Hashtags

I'm a busy person. I know you are too. Imagine if you needed to pick up something at the grocery store, so you run in, grab a cart, and head for the produce department. When you get there, you discover a case for milk next to the lettuce. Not the milk you buy, unfortunately. Then next to the milk is a shelf with bread, but the brand you prefer isn't there either. Then comes oatmeal. The quick cooking type--but your kids like the instant version.

At this point, you stop, look around, and realize the entire store has been completely rearranged. There is no rhyme or reason to its layout. It's just whatever the store received that day in the back went out onto the sales area. No more aisles with bread, or aisles with canned veggies, or aisles with cereal. You have to walk up and down every aisle hoping to find what you need. How fast would you push that cart back to the exit and go elsewhere? Yeah. Me too.

Twitter is a store for information, news and opinions. It puts out whatever comes in as the info arrives. There is no order. You get what you get. If you want to find something on Twitter, you either look for a person who interests you, or a hashtag that does.

Hashtags are to Twitter what aisles are to a store. They are the "departments" where you can find what you need and what you're looking for. I recommend having 1-2 hashtags in the title of a blog post, near the end of the subject. Use 1-2 in a tweet also. Generally, using over 3 hashtags is considered "spammy."

You could just scroll on Twitter and read, but what if you went there to find out if others are watching the same TV show you are? What is the show's hashtag? Enter that in the search box and pow! There are all the show's tweets. How cool to discover the cast is live tweeting! You can actually interact with fans, actors, and writers. Without a hashtag, you'd be lucky to stumble across even one tweet.

What hashtags are best for writers?

Find out which hashtag is being used most in your genre and use it. There are Twitter bots (legal) that pick up certain hashtags and retweet them to their followers. #SciFi is one of them. Make sure you're using a hashtag that is actually in use already. If no one is searching for it, the hashtag is pointless. My favorite place to discover whether a hashtag is popular is www.ritetag.com It's free. I don't use any hashtags till I've checked them out there.

Generally, use the single version of a word vs. the plural #book is better than #books for example. Check out this RiteTag listing of results for the word #romance:

https://ritetag.com/best-hashtags-for/romance

Other good writer hashtags include #amwriting #amediting #MFRWauthor #writerslife #author -- share yours in the comments.

A word about Triberr

First, let me say it's Tri-berr not Tribb-er. It's has 1 B and 2 Rs. Not Tribber - Triberr. Okay, stepping away from the soapbox...

The site Triberr is a blog amplifier. What that means is when you link your blog to the site, it allows other people to share your post with their social media. Try it for 30 days and you will not want to go back.

On Triberr, hashtags matter. You will gain a hundred-fold more readers with Triberr, so leverage that by using appropriate hashtags. Don't add your own @name to the title. It will be included in every tweet that Triberr sends, even though you can't see it on the site. Look at your mentions on Twitter and you will.

Should I use my name as a hashtag?

Is it better to write #KayelleAllen or @kayelleallen in a tweet? (fyi - the @kayelleallen is also called your at-name and is written as @name). These are referred to as mentions. (Mary mentioned you on Twitter means that Mary sent out a tweet that had your @name in it)

I don't recommend using your name as a hashtag. Why not? You will get far more mileage from the @name because when anyone clicks that, it pops up a link so they can follow you. If they click it again, it takes them to your profile page. A hashtag with your name is only going to open a search for the name. It will not necessarily show your profile, which means it's less likely to get you followers.

When you tweet, don't add your own @name either. Obviously, if the tweet is from you, then the person can click your name since you are the sender. If your publicity person is talking about you, then yes, they should use your @name.

Hashtag Research

Here are three good links to check out for hashtag dos and don'ts:

https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-use-hashtags/

https://www.tintup.com/blog/7-examples-of-successful-hashtag-campaigns/

http://www.adweek.com/digital/ethan-martin-bukwild-guest-post-hashtags/

Now that you know what a hashtag is and how it works, what are you going to do with them? Do you have questions? Please share in the comments.

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Kayelle Allen writes Sci Fi with misbehaving robots, mythic heroes, role playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She's a US Navy veteran who's been married so long she's tenured. https://kayelleallen.com  Join the Romance Lives Forever Reader Group Download four free books and get news about books coming soon. You can unsubscribe at any time.

What should authors blog about? Kayelle Allen @kayelleallen #MFRWauthor #amwriting

What do I blog about? What am I supposed to say? Shouldn't I be writing a book instead of blogging?

Let's start with that last question and work back to the first. You blog because it's a way to keep your website fresh. Having a blog on your website means your information is constantly updated. This means search engines (like Google) will find new activity, which will raise your site's importance in search results. A site that hasn't updated in a year will fall out of sight, whereas one that changes weekly brings new readers.

Why do you have a website? For readers to find out about you and your books. You can also use them to obtain readers for your newsletter and to blog. In fact, a blog should be an organic extension of your books. Your posts can provide reasons to read your books, information about your characters, sales and special events, blog hop posts, and much more. A great way to get that information out is to blog.

What do I blog about?

So what can you talk about? What keeps readers coming back? Here's a list you can use for ideas. (download the PDF of this at the end)

Talk about the benefits provided by your book

• Learn
• Laugh
• Thrill
• Pleasure
• Experience
• Good cry

Inspiration behind writing the book

Protagonist info so readers get to know them

Antagonist info so readers know what to expect

Prologue to the events of the book

Short story in the past or future

Events which relate to the book

The world of the book

Hero's home

Heroine's home

Profile the evil leaders

Related story including a secondary character

Create an entirely new character from the world

Lists related to things featured in the book

Maps of the world

Photos taken by you (conventions, etc.)

Trees on this world

Topography and land area

What is it that drives you to write

Graphics you create

Videos and Podcasts

By adding videos or podcasts, you can bring a whole new level to your website. Download Audacity (a free program) to create your own readings. You can use the microphone on your computer to record your voice.

Illustrations and drawing

Trailers

Do a video reading

A podcast reading

A podcast of names and how to say them

Podcast of the language

In short, anything and everything related to your book is fair game when creating a blog post. Start a list of items mentioned in your books and talk about them. Do you write historical novels? How were hairbrushes different back then? How did people dress? What was the main meal like each day? If you write science fiction, how is your world different from ours? What are the rules regarding social interaction? What is day-to-day transportation like? Most of the questions for historical or sci fi can be interchanged.

Look for ways you can share the world of your book and open the eyes of readers. Don't give away the plot, but do entice them with snippets and details. When you start making a list, you'll soon find you have more things to blog about than you ever imagined.

About Kayelle Allen

Kayelle Allen writes Sci Fi with misbehaving robots, mythic heroes, role playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She's a US Navy veteran who's been married so long she's tenured.
https://kayelleallen.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/kayelleallen
Facebook https://facebook.com/kayelleallen.author
Join the Romance Lives Forever Reader Group Download four free books and get news about books coming soon. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Download the pdf: https://marketingforromancewriters.org/media/what-authors-blog-about.pdf

Author Interview Checklist: What You Need to be Ready @KayelleAllen #MFRWauthor #Author

Imagine your book is coming out and you want to line up interviews for the release. Or you're scheduled to appear on a blog to talk about one of your characters. Perhaps you set up an interview months in advance and now the date is looming. How do you prepare?

Some things will be part of every interview. You can have those on hand and be ready at a moment's notice. Use this checklist and you'll have a marketing or media kit that will support any endeavor.

Fill in the following and keep it handy. You'll be able to copy/paste this into forms online and into interview forms you download.

Author Interview Checklist

This checklist is in three parts; author, book, and marketing.

Author Checklist

Author name

Author bio

Website

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

Pinterest

Instagram

Snapchat

Goodreads

Amazon Author Page

Newsletter

Instafreebie

Bookfunnel

Book Checklist

Book title

Series title

Genre

Heat level (Rating)

Blurb (full length)

Mini-blurb (100-150 words)

Tagline (1-3 sentences)

ASIN

ISBN

Publication date

Link to downloadable excerpt or excerpt online

Word count

Page count

Affiliate link (i.e., Amazon associate or Smashwords affiliate link for book)

Shortened link (bit.ly, etc.)

Publisher (name)

Buy Links

Publisher 

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

iBooks

Kobo

Smashwords

Books2Read (universal link) 

Marketing Checklist

Six hashtags (use no more than three per tweet)

Three  tweets (up to 240 characters each)

Three  Facebook posts

Six excerpts (4 short, 2 long)

(if you write spicy romance have both hot excerpts and family friendly ones)

Image Checklist

Cover in three sizes: 200x300, 500x750, 1800x2700 (or close equivalents)

Banners (memes) - good rule of thumb is 3x wider than tall or 3x taller than wide (i.e., 200x600 or reverse) or 2x taller than wide (450x900 or reverse) or square (fits any social media format)

Author bio pic (headshot)

Banner with one or more books together

Pictures of author with book

Other images that help reveal your story

Book video or trailer

This author checklist is far from exhaustive, but it will get you started. I create one for myself as an author and keep book info separately, with one document for each book. Each book helps sell the one released before it. Having this material on hand will ensure you are always ready to share the stories of your heart.

What types of things do you have ready? Are there tried and true items you find valuable when preparing a media kit? Please share them in the comments.

Authors: How to find your book's URL on Amazon @KayelleAllen #MFRWauthor #Author

Want to know how to get readers to find your book on Amazon or another bookseller? Need to know how to make a "buy link" for your book? Here's how.

Your book's URL

When you go to a bookseller online like Amazon or Barnes and Noble to find your book, how did you get there? The first time, you might have gone to the home page of the store and typed in either your name or your book's title. When you found the book, you clicked on the link and navigated to its page.

If you copy and paste that URL into a document, clicking it will bring you right back. But how long is that URL and what does all that gobbledygook after the title mean? Is there a way to clean that up and make it look better?

Here's one of mine from Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Romance-Christmas-Kayelle-Allen/dp/1502962403/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Notice the part in bold? It doesn't come like that -- I made it bold so you could easily see it. When you see the letters REF in a URL, it means "referral". That material isn't part of your book's true URL. It's code telling the site how you got to the page. You can safely delete it and everything to the right.

Here is how the true URL will look:

https://www.amazon.com/Romance-Christmas-Kayelle-Allen/dp/1502962403/

All that other code at the end is a way for Amazon to know got there. It can get really long if you've bounced around a long time.

I went to Amazon and searched "romance for christmas" allen. Here's the URL I ended up with on the book page.

https://www.amazon.com/Romance-Christmas-Kayelle-Allen-ebook/dp/B00OSD716G/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1511405487&sr=1-3&keywords=%22romance+for+christmas%22+allen

All that bold text is just a way for Amazon to know how you got to the page. In reality, on Amazon, all you need is this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OSD716G/

B00OSD716G is the ASIN (Amazon Standard Information Number) Amazon needs to find the book. If you copy that number and paste it in the search bar on Amazon, the book will come up. Try it!

When you send a reader to your book's page, you don't need a long URL that is really how you personally got to the page. You want them to have the book itself. Otherwise, Amazon will get misleading info about who is clicking on your book and how they got there.

URL Tip

I keep a document with info for my book and the URLs for its various sites. Each one has the book title, blurb, tagline, page count, word count, date of publication, ASIN, ISBN, and buy links. Anytime I want to enter info for my book anywhere online, I can pop open that document and voila! Everything is right there.

Now you can make a clean URL for every book and send readers right to a page to buy it. Do you have a tip for getting readers to click a link? Please share it in the comments.

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Kayelle Allen writes sweet Christmas romance, but also Sci Fi with misbehaving robots, mythic heroes, role playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She's a US Navy veteran who's been married so long she's tenured.
https://kayelleallen.com

4 Common Questions Authors Ask About Self Published Books @kayelleallen #MFRWauthor #Author

I am often asked about self publishing. Since I have 13 self published multiple books, it's easy to see why. I also lead Marketing for Romance Writers, so I get certain questions on a regular basis. Based on my experience, here are the answers to four of the most common things authors ask.

Should I put my self published ebook in print?

Definitely. You don't have to pay to have your book printed. Use CreateSpace which will allow you to make POD versions (Print on Demand). This way if you need 10 copies for a book signing, you can get just 10 copies. CreateSpace costs you nothing. They make money when you sell a book. Because it's digital until it's ordered and printed, they can afford to keep books "in print" far longer than a traditional publisher would. The biggest reasons to have your book in print: 1) some people will only read print books, 2) The difference in price between a print book and ebook often drives sales of the ebook. If you can get an ebook for $2.99 or a print book for $8.99, which would you buy? 

How should I price my book?

Amazon suggests a range depending on your book. When you go to your book's detail page on KDP, look at the pricing section. Click the link and read everything. It's helpful. If you charge under $2.99 or over $9.99 you will get 35% royalty. Between those ranges, you get 70%. The BEST way to determine your price is to study the competition. Look up other books in your genre and see what the top 10 are doing price wise. CreateSpace will give you a minimum price - the price which they must charge to cover their costs. I make my print books as low as possible. For every print book I sell, I sell 500 ebooks. Print is nice, but it's not what sells and they are extremely expensive to pre-print and distribute. If you use CreateSpace, you can match it to the book on Amazon and sell it there too. 

Should I use social media?

Social media is for being social. You can meet people on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest etc. that you would never meet otherwise. People buy from people they know. Be on social media to be seen, not to sell books. Yes, you should post about book stuff. But share other material as well. Offer things of interest and people will follow you. The goal is to reach more people, not sell books. If people know and like you, they will buy your books. 

Do I need to buy an ISBN?

The site you upload to (Smashwords, Amazon, CreateSpace) will provide one at no cost. Save your money for more important things, like marketing. All the ISBN tells people is a number for your specific book and which service you used to print/publish it. They are a legacy of the old publishing system. The Libary of Congress uses them, but since you can get one for free, why spend a fortune? They are not cheap. Here's a good FAQ page from the only place where you can buy an ISBN. They own the system. http://www.isbn.org/faqs_general_questions

If you have questions about self published books, please leave a comment below. I'll do my best to answer or to point you toward someone who can.

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Kayelle Allen writes Sci Fi with misbehaving robots, mythic heroes, role playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She's a US Navy veteran who's been married so long she's tenured.
https://kayelleallen.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/kayelleallen
Facebook https://facebook.com/kayelleallen.author
Join the Romance Lives Forever Reader Group Download four free books and get news about books coming soon. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Advice for Authors Doing Blog Tours by @KayelleAllen #MFRWauthor #Author

I host over 350 authors a year on Romance Lives Forever, and I have hosted many blog tours. I currently have about 2k viewers a day on RLF, and to get them, I use good content, good formatting, and consistent posting. I also amplify my blog's reach with Triberr (more about that in an upcoming post).

Purpose of Blog Tours

Blog tours are primarily used to get your book in front of readers. When you launch a new title, it's an efficient way to show off the cover and the blurb and tease readers into pre-ordering or buying.

Blog tours should allow readers to see how original you are as a writer. Having different subjects for each post can help. If you have 10-12 posts, each with an identical title, it's a bit boring. Change it up by using new titles on each site.

Use solid hashtags in the title. Yes, in the title. Why? Hashtags are search programs. When you click one on social media, it shows you other tweets or posts that used the same topic. When people share your post on social media, that title becomes a tweet or a Facebook title. If it has a hashtag, your chances of being seen shoot up exponentially. Even more if your Twitter name is in the title. Search Twitter for the hashtag #RLFblog to see this in action. To know if a hashtag is worth using, search it on Twitter or for faster results, try a site like RiteTag.

However, do not use your Twitter name as a hashtag (#yourname). If you're the one sending the tweet, your name is right there in the sent info. If you're a guest somewhere, give them your Twitter name to use as a mention (@yourname). Readers on social media can click the @name and easily follow you. The hashtag is going to take them to a search program. Use your name to get followers and pull them to your homepage, not to send people on a search.

A bonus of the @name versus a hashtag is that Twitter will pull those mentions into your notifications page. They will not show you who used the hashtag. You're on your own finding those.

I've seen something lately that I hope dies a quick death. People are writing "Book Promo" or "Book Blitz" somewhere in the title. This is a big red flag that screams "Advertisement" or "Commercial". Readers don't want to be bludgeoned with ads and commercials. Please don't do this, especially on blog tours where you will be producing multiple posts. Please put those old fashioned words away and let them die in peace. They will kill your sales. I do not permit this type of wording on RLF.

 

When you use blog tours properly by setting out new posts, good hashtags, and snappy titles that draw attention, you are well on your way to a successful book launch.

New from Kayelle Allen

Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire

When the immortal Pietas is marooned on a barren world with no food and few survival tools, he knows it could be worse. He could be alone. But that's the problem. He's not.
Half a million of his people sleep in cryostasis, trapped in their pods and it's up to Pietas to rescue them. Before he can save his people, he must take back command from a ruthless enemy he's fought for centuries. His brutal, merciless father. Immortals may heal, but a wound of the heart lasts forever... 

Amazon and in print. Free on Kindle Unlimited
http://amzn.to/2ABIcCI

Kayelle Allen is the founder of Marketing for Romance Writers. She writes Sci Fi with misbehaving robots, mythic heroes, role playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She's a US Navy veteran and has been married so long she's tenured.

https://kayelleallen.com  / https://rlfblog.com 

Good Keywords for Author SEO by Kayelle Allen @KayelleAllen #author #tips

Authors need good keywords for blog posts, books, marketing, even writing newsletters. SEO, which means Search Engine Optimization, is all about writing and content searchable by search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. After all, if no one can find you, what good will it do to write material anyway? To be found, authors need good keywords and good SEO.
Included in this post is a shot of the Yoast SEO Wordpress plugin used on my personal site. I use this plugin on each post. This is one I used for a post called How to Leave A Review (which I'll mention again below).

A focus keyword.

For ex, a phrase that includes the genre, book or character name, or a descriptive phrase. On one of my posts, titled "How to Leave a Review" I used "leave a review" and repeated it in the title, url, H2 heading, and the body. By the time I'd finished it was there 13 times total. Anyone searching for info on how to leave one, when to leave one, where to leave one, etc. would be likely to find it.

Slug

The slug is what the words at the end of the url are called. Mine was leave-a-review (after the kayelleallen.com/ ) Making it the same as the focus word strengthens the SEO.

Meta Title / Meta Description

I use Wordpress, and a plugin called Yoast SEO allows me to choose the meta title and description. When you Google something, you know the words in bold that come up and show you a title? That's the meta title. The words beneath it are the meta description. If you can't specify, then Google (and other search engines) pick up the post title and about 150 characters of the first paragraph.

Yoast SEO shows a green line (meaning good) when a title is more than 54 characters but no more than 94 characters. For the meta description, use a minimum 120 characters but no more than 156 characters. Remember, if you don't have a program that will provide this info for search engines, write posts with this type of information right up front.

More SEO for Authors

Title and hashtags

I try to match the focus keyword and then research the best hashtags on https://ritetag.com/

H2 Header

Match your focus keyword somewhere on the page in an H2 heading.

Video

Because it owns YouTube, Google loves videos from there. Use the focus word in the description and/or header of that.

Call to action

Generally, I plan my call to action first, and then write the post to showcase that. I want people to leave a review of my book, so I pulled it in as examples in the entire post about how to leave a review. Then I asked if they had left one no matter who's or where, to share the link. It got a ton of views, but no comments. Typically, I get far more views than comments, so it wasn't a surprise.

Image alt tags

On my personal site, I highlight the title of the post and paste that into the alt tag line of each image in the post.

Featured Image

In Blogger, you usually see the first image when you post a url on Facebook or Twitter. With Wordpress, you can pick the exact image you want, even if it isn't in your actual post. When the meta title and description go up on Twitter, Facebook, Google, etc., that is the image that goes with it.

Other minor things to watch:

Use one category only. This is like the folder in the filing cabinet. It can only go in one at a time. Exception: On RLFblog, I use two categories when the author does an interview. One for the type of interview, and one for the type of book. This lets readers search for both.

Use keywords that are genre specific, book specific, topic oriented. Keep keywords simple so readers can easily click the tag and find everything in the topic. For ex, don't use the word book plus the word books. One or the other.

That's pretty much what I do. It's working very well.

If you use Wordpress, get the Yoast SEO for Wordpress plugin. It will teach you these very things. If you do them, your article is going to be much more findable by search engines. Use the checklist, and write good content that contains information people want to find. It's that simple.

About Kayelle Allen

Kayelle Allen is the founder of Marketing for Romance Writers. She writes Sci Fi with misbehaving robots, mythic heroes, role playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She's a US Navy veteran and has been married so long she's tenured.

https://kayelleallen.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/kayelleallen
Facebook https://facebook.com/kayelleallen.author
Join the Romance Lives Forever Reader Group Download four free books and get news about books coming soon. You can unsubscribe at any time.

10 Reasons Why Not to Read Romance @kayelleallen #humor #romance #MFRWauthor

After careful consideration, and much placing of tongue in cheek -- no, not French kissing, get your mind out of the gutter -- I have decided that Romance books are not good for me and have decided to give them up. (yeah, right!) Here are ten reasons why.

1. Reading Romance might lead women to believe men can be more sensitive and caring, and this unrealistic expectation could lead to unhappiness. I might think that I could find a perfect love and have a happily ever after, and that isn't realistic. Just ask a psychiatrist.
2. In fact, living happily ever after probably isn't good for the economy. You wouldn't need anti-anxiety medication or drugs for depression, and since this is a huge market in the United States, living happily ever after could actually cause a loss of jobs in the pharmaceutical industry.
3. Realism is better for the world. The sooner we face the fact that life is tough, the better we can deal with it. Best not to get your hopes up.
4. Women are in danger when reading these books. I read that "...marriage therapists caution that women can become as dangerously unbalanced by these books’ entrancing but distorted messages as men can be by the distorted messages of pornography." (Shaunti Feldhahn quoting another source)
5. If I read Romance novels I might end up being dumb. According to at least one blogger, these kinds of novels are children's stories with adult themes, and don't deserve any real attention anyway. They are not "true literature." (referenced tongue in cheek by Leia Shaw, on Susan Hanniford Crowley's blog)
6. Romance books about ménage partners, same sex partners, and other non-one woman/one man Romances might destroy the fabric of America. I mean gee, aren't those kinds of stories somehow wrong? (don't look at the books I write, by the way. Just go with it. *cough*)
7. Women have better things to do than sit around reading Romance books. There are kitchens to clean, floors to scrub, and there is laundry to be done. In fact, reading anything other than cookbooks or articles about child-rearing and being a good wife is probably just a waste of a woman's time.
8. Taking a Romance novel to the beach to read might lead me to make bad choices. (Eryn Brown, LA Times quoting Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care)
9. Hunky male models on the cover of Romance novels might make me less than satisfied with my own husband. I might be unable to differentiate between a photo of a man on the cover of a novel and a real man who's sitting beside me.
10. While we're talking about hunky male models, looking at the covers of Romance books with hot models on them might cause me to engage in lust. *crickets chirping* Okay, you got me. That one's true!

I hope no one has taken any of this seriously. Please do not write letters, folks. This is humor, okay? Thank you. :) So... do YOU think Romance is bad for you? Please tell me about it in the comments.

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Kayelle Allen is a a best-selling American author. Her unstoppable heroes and heroines include contemporary every day folk, role-playing immortal gamers, futuristic covert agents, and warriors who purr. When you're immortal, Romance Lives Forever.
https://kayelleallen.com
Join the Romance Lives Forever Reader Group Download four free books and get news about books coming soon. You can unsubscribe at any time.