I can’t think of a better way to celebrate my birthday than having a great weekend sale of White Lies! Now over at Amazon, you can find White Lies on sale for just 99 cents! Sale ends Sunday (February 9th), so don’t delay!
Buying Links:
Checking Inn Tour Starts Monday!
Next week, on Monday February 10th, is the first stop on Checking Inn’s book tour hosted by BestChickLit! Its going to be a very exciting time filled with reviews, interviews and some special guest posts from Checking Inn’s heroine Kate!
Please find a list of the stops below and be sure to check them out daily:
Stop 1 – 1oth February 2014 @ BestChickLit (Review and Author Interview)
Stop 2 – 11th February 2014 @ Tiffany Talks Books (Guest Post)
Stop 3 – 12th February 2014 @ Jera’s Jamboree (Guest Post)
Stop 4 – 13th February 2014 @ Cosmochicklitan (Review)
Stop 5 – 14th February 2014 @ After The Final Chapters (Review)
Stop 6 – 18th February 2014 – The Love of a Good Book (Guest Post)
Stop 7 – 19th February 2014 @ She Loves To Read (Review)
Stop 8 – 21st February 2014 @ Make My Day Book Club (Review)
Stop 9 – 24th February 2014 @ The Daily Opinion (Review)
Stop 10 – 25th February 2014 @ Book Lovers Codex (Review)
And be sure to check out http://www.bestchicklit.com. It is a fabulous site for book reviews!
Because I did promise.
It is so!
I have reached 200 followers on Twitter (@emilyswhitelies for all those who don’t follow me yet!).
And I did promise a fabulous giveaway when the time came so here it is:
The winner will receive their choice of a signed copy of Checking Inn or White Lies as well as this ultra glamorous Kate Spade thermal travel mug!
To enter, do one of three things (or all three if you just want to be an eager beaver):
1) Follow me on Twitter (@emilyswhitelies) and RT the giveaway
2) Like me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/authoremilyharper and share the giveaway with your friends
3) Subscribe to my blog and leave a comment below
*For those who already Follow of Like me on Facebook please still RT or share the link with your friends so I know you would like to be entered. The winner will be picked at random by this lovely website I found (which coincidentally is called random.com 🙂 )
Contest Ends: January 25th 2014 at Midnight! Contest is worldwide.
Publishing For Me
So, I have been in this crazy publishing world for a grand total of four months (and by this I mean my work has been published for that long, if we want to count all the trials and tribulations it took to get there that is years and years and years… you get the idea).
This morning I woke up and White Lies was on the Amazon bestsellers lists for Romantic Comedy (#84) and I literally sobbed into my phone.
After I drank a cup of tea and composed myself- because that is what us British do- I had a very reflective moment.
Words cannot describe how awestruck I was this morning. I know I am a writer, the irony is not lost on me.
I have wanted to be a published author for over a decade now, and although I am young, that just means that I knew I wanted to be an author for nearly half of my life.
When I was in university I sat down and started writing about a woman who is a little bit of an airhead, but at the same time has the possibilities of being something really great. Someone who never says, or even thinks the right things, but if you actually listen to what she is saying, she’s pretty brilliant.
I won’t get into all the details about what happened after I finished the book. My journey to publication was a long and complicated one, yet at the same time comparatively short to other authors.
What I want to share with you today is the success that I have enjoyed so far, and why I am so very humbled by my experience.
For those not in the publishing industry let me start by taking away a few illusions for you (these were taken away for me, so I feel it’s only fair if we are on the same playing field). Unless you are published by one of the few traditional publishing houses (to which you HAVE to have an agent for them even to look at you, and the process of getting an agent is extremely difficult), you are already starting at the bottom rung of the ladder. You have to fight, every single day, if you want your book to succeed (metaphorically, not punching out the critics ). You have to be on Twitter A LOT. Before I became an author I didn’t even grasp the concept of Twitter. Now I tweet everything, and people tweet me back. It’s actually very satisfying.
You have to have a Facebook page. Social media is your biggest ally. Actually, in the few months I have been a published author I nearly have as many likes as I do friends on my personal Facebook page.
When people ask me how my book is going, how sales are going, I always try and be positive but give them the diluted version. The truth is, it is so complicated to explain to someone who doesn’t have a firm grasp of the publishing industry how ratings and sales work. Yesterday I sold a little over 100 ebooks for White Lies in one day, which is AMAZING for an unknown indie author, but to the average person that probably doesn’t seem like much considering how many people are out there buying books.
Which brings me to the main point of this post. The most thrilling thing about what happened this morning is not that I wrote a book and published it (though don’t get me wrong, I am extremely proud about that), but that people I don’t know want to read it. And they genuinely seem to like it (insert shameless plug for the book having a 4.6 Amazon rating and nothing below a 4 star!).
The feeling of going on the internet and having a notification waiting for me on my Amazon author page or my Goodreads page to say someone is currently reading, or have read and wrote a great review for my book is both humbling and uplifting at the same time. When authors write books it literally takes everything inside of us to not hover over you and ask you as soon as you turn the last page “so what did you think?”. Your reviews, both positive and negative, are always appreciated and if you have read the book and want to share your thoughts with potential other readers I invite you to.
Now from a completely personal standpoint, I can also say that one of my favourite things about this whole process is being submerged into a world full of people that genuinely love books. And I’m not talking about people who like books, I’m talking about people who LOVE books.
When I was thirteen years old I had the greatest teacher. His name is Mr. Marks and to this day I am eternally grateful for all he taught me. The three greatest things were this: he gave me The Giver, encouraged me to read and talk to him about To Kill a Mockingbird, and told me to start reading a book called Harry Potter. Mr. Marks, I thank you.
When I first published my book and really dove into the book community I realised what I had been missing for the last fourteen years. Something that a wonderful teacher had gone out of his way to instill in me years ago and it somehow got lost along the way. I had finally found them. People who got it. People who also don’t leave the house without a book. People who could sit with a cup of tea and pass the whole day away reading. People who when they are not reading want to talk about what they just read. And most of these people, who are the driving force in reviews and pushing indie authors like myself, do it for free! I am glad I finally found you.
And lastly, but certainly not least, I am so grateful to my friends and family who I know would have bought the book no matter what it was about. Because that is what you do for the people that you love. After I had got it together this morning, I picked up my phone and called the only person that I knew who would be more excited than I was. My mum.
White Lies made #86 on the Amazons Best Sellers list for Romantic Comedy
White Lies Excerpt
Perspective, that’s what I need. I may have put a little too much hope in the first date, and I can see now that it might have been a little premature to get quotes for our Save the Date cards for the wedding. Though, it never hurts to be prepared, and in fact it helped me come to a very important decision about my future husband: he’s going to have to be rich because weddings cost a bloody fortune!
I have a coffee date today with Hank and Rachel to go over our plan of action to make sure none of us get sacked. Not that we need to get our stories straight, I mean, it’s not like we have anything to hide. I just want to remind them of the pinky-swear they made– that they would never tell a soul that I ruined the company’s periwinkle stiletto display shoe when I tried to cram my foot into it at last year’s Christmas party.
Wearing my blue polka-dot dress, I stroll through the park enjoying the beautiful spring day and lift my chin to let the breeze flow through my hair. My eyes meet the person running towards me on the jogging path, and I stop in my tracks.
“Are you following me?”
Oliver slows down to run on the spot in front of me, raising his eyebrows. “Yes, I’ve been jogging all over London to find you. You’ve saved me a lot of time though, I just finished the East side and was working my way North.”
I ignore his mocking tone and concede, though only internally, that it might have been a silly accusation.
“I didn’t know you lived around here. I’ve never seen you in this park before.” I walk through this park every day, and I would remember seeing Oliver.
“I just bought a flat around the corner from here; moved in last week.” He stops jogging in place and starts shaking out his legs. “Should I take your greeting as my ‘welcome to the neighborhood’?”
I feel a huge gust of wind lift the bottom of my skirt as a mass of cyclists fly by us on their bikes, and I blush as I try and bring the fabric down.
“Welcome to the neighborhood,” I say when everything is back in place.
“Are you on your way somewhere?” Oliver asks.
“Just to the coffee shop,” I say, pointing to the building on the corner.
“Great, I could use a cup of coffee,” he says and puts his hand on the small of my back to start me walking towards the shop.
My eyes go wide as I realize he plans on joining me. I can’t have Oliver come inside with me; Hank and Rachel will think I betrayed them if I’m caught consorting with the enemy. Not that I’m sure Oliver is the enemy anymore, but I don’t know what he is so I should still err on the side of caution.
“Oh, you can’t go in there,” I say, shaking my head.
“Why not?” He doesn’t slow his pace.
“Because er–” I look around for inspiration but nothing pops into my head. I turn my head when I hear a baby wail and see a mummy group doing baby yoga in the park.
That is so cool. The minute I have a baby, I am definitely going to sign up–
Okay, focus Natalie.
“Because, I am going to meet my mother. And her women’s group. To discuss… er… women’s things,” I say and hope the fear of women discussing things will be enough to deter him.
“Your mum lives nearby?” he asks.
“Yes,” I nod. “Well, pretty close.” Actually she lives a tube, train, and bus ride away, but I could get to her house within four hours so I feel that is close enough.
“Where does your father live?”
“I’m not sure, I never knew my father,” I say and shrug.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Oliver says.
“Don’t be, I don’t know any different, so I’ve never felt like I was missing out on anything,” I reason.
“So, you don’t even know who he is?” he asks.
“Well, I’ve heard stories, but with my mother you never really know what to believe. Mum says my father was a famous poet she met when she was in Rome on an exchange in College, but my Aunty Beryl told me, after a few drinks in the pub one night, that he was a sound manager with a pop group called The Trumpets.”
“You’ve never asked your mum about it?”
“I’ve never thought it was right to ask her. I grew up hearing stories of how Philippe, my father, took her to the Sistine Chapel and told her “The Creation of Adam” was like their love: two points connecting to create perfect beauty, if only for a short time. If she wants my father to be a poet rather than Philip the band manager from Slough, then what harm is that?” I ask and can’t help but feel like I’ve maybe said too much to a man I barely know.
“Hmm.” Oliver looks thoughtful but doesn’t say more.
As we approach the door I smile. “Well, I’m sure I’ll see you around.”
“I’ll just come in and grab a cup to go,” Oliver says, reaching for the door handle.
I can see Hank and Rachel sitting at a table just through the door, talking about something to each other.
“No, you can’t,” I argue and hastily step in front of him. “They’ve closed the shop to anyone who isn’t a woman. They don’t er– want the women’s group to think they might be overheard or anything.”
Oliver frowns and tries to peer through the window, but I raise my face to block his view.
“It’s very secretive, to protect the innocent. You know how women are, talking about their bodies and… their… er… feelings,” I whisper.
“Er– okay then. I’ll just get a coffee up the road,” he says.
“That’s for the best.” I plaster my body in front of the door as Charles, my neighbor from two doors down, tries to get into the shop. “They’re closed to men today, Charles. Women only. You’ll have to go to another one.”
“What, I never heard–” he starts to argue.
“Women have rights, Charles!” I say and mentally remember to apologize to him later.
“Okay,” he says, raising his arms defensively. “I’ll just make a cup at home.”
“Good,” I say as he turns around. I shrug at Oliver, “They should really have some sort of security out here.”
“Yeah,” he says, nodding his head. “Well, I’ll let you get to it then. You don’t want to miss any of the discussion.”
I nod. “See you around.”
He lifts his hand in goodbye, and I watch his back until it disappears around the corner before releasing the breath I wasn’t aware I was holding and enter the shop.
Crisis averted.
On this cold, blistery day in Canada I thought the best remedy for the ungodly temperature would be a good laugh! Please enjoy this excerpt from White Lies. Happy Reading and stay warm!
It’s another release day! Checking Inn is out today worldwide!
Oh the excitement! I can’t believe it is almost Christmas! I also can’t believe it is Checking Inn’s release day already! Time sure does fly. To celebrate the wonderful people at Goodreads are hosting a giveaway for two signed copies of Checking Inn. Head on over and enter!
Goodreads Book Giveaway
Checking Inn
by Emily Harper
Giveaway ends December 27, 2013.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
Checking Inn Advanced Copies have arrived!
Yippee, they’re here! Don’t forget the release date is this Friday!
Some Fab New Reviews
Some great new reviews for White Lies! Oh, and did I mention that White Lies is going to be a giveaway in January on The Marilyn Denis Show? Eeek- beyond excited!
Page Cravings:
http://www.pagecravings.com/2013/12/04/book-review-white-lies-emily-harper/
Chick Lit News and Reviews:
http://chicklitreviewsandnews.com/2013/12/indie-tuesday-white-lies-by-emily-harper/
Best Chick Lit:
http://bestchicklit.com/?p=4507
Thank you to all the reviewers! Happy Reading 🙂
Checking Inn Cover Reveal Giveaway!
Oh Happy Day! Who doesn’t love a new book cover? Well, I stressed about this one. The same way I stressed about White Lies book cover, and the way I am sure I will stress about all my future book covers. But, I love it. I love everything about it (and not just because it is pink 🙂 ). Hope you love it too!
So… here it is!
Checking Inn is coming out December 20th 2013. Will it be under your Christmas tree?
Isn’t she a beaut?
What do you think? Do you love it? Do you really love it?
Well, I couldn’t just do a cover reveal. In honour of the book I had to do a giveaway as well!
Kate, Checking Inn’s heroine, is a woman after my own heart. She loves stationary. Like LOVES it. So, behold the lovely prize up for grabs. On a side note, it is going to take everything inside of me not to get one of these for myself. And I am so totally going to fold!
Enter to win an advanced copy of Checking Inn and an oh-so-fabulous Hartley and Marks Journal, just in time for Christmas. (Though lets be honest, no one would appreciate this as much as you so it would be a shame to give it away for a Christmas pressie. You’ll just have to keep it for yourself, with those new leather ankle boots you bought for your aunt and that cute little clutch you bought for your niece 😉 )
Hartley and Marks Agenda. So pretty! Think of all the lovely things you could write in that journal!
PLEASE CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO ENTER!
A lovely tweet from BestChickLit.com
Follow me on twitter @emilyswhitelies
Emily Harper 