Have you ever read a book with a character you connected with so well, that it gave you some BIG feelings? Have you ever cried when a character died? Have you thrown a book across the room when it happened?

*raises hand* 

I sure have!

These emotional attachments are an incredible sort of experience, one in which I think a lot of authors strive for, because it means our characters have become as real to our readers as they have to us. Most of us don’t let characters die, or kill them off for the fun of it (looking at YOU, George R.R. Martin!). Most of us, in fact, cry right along with you as we come to a point in the story where it is time to say goodbye to our characters as they move on. 

Here are the ones that I can think of, off the top of my head, that have tear-stains on the pages because I felt their loss almost as deeply as a real person. 

Johnny Cade (The Outsiders)
Dobby the House Elf (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)
Algernon (Flowers for Algernon)
John Coffey (The Green Mile)
Beth March (Little Women)
Charlotte (Charlotte’s Web)
Old Dan and Little Ann (Where the Red Fern Grows)
McMurphy (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)

These are just a few of my favorite, and most sob-inducing character deaths that I have experienced. Looking over my list, I realize one of the common themes that connect these characters is a willingness to love and do what is right, even if that means the ultimate sacrifice, which resonates with me deep in my heart. 

What are some of the character deaths that have affected you the most? Is there a common theme among them that you can identify? Let me know, and I will share it in next week’s newsletter!

Oh my goodness, guys, Saturday 47/21/19 will be my very first real live author fair! I’ll have a table and everything! I have to admit, I am feeling a little anxiety (as most introverts do at the thought of public interaction) but this is such a big step in my career as a writer, I am doing everything I can to fully embrace it.

I was asked to tally up the books that I had published, as well as the books that I would be bringing to sell, and I could not believe that here I was, thirteen books later, finally getting around to my first live author event. Being an indie author is a strange gig, sometimes. So much of our energy goes into perfecting our online presence, that there isn’t always time to devote to public … well, publicity.

I have attended this fair in the past, and it was such a pleasure to visit with and buy books from writers that are passionate, driven, and dedicated to the worlds they create. This year there are almost 50 authors with tables this year, and I really hope that  if you happen to be in the Louisville, KY area, you’ll consider stopping by!

Two weeks ago, despite the wonderful interaction that I have regularly with my amazing readers, I was really questioning whether I should continue writing at all.

I bet you’ve seen authors begging for reviews before, right? I am sure some of us even make a nuisance of ourselves begging for them. It’s a tough gig, writing. In some ways, it’s tougher now for new and emerging authors (even established authors!) in many ways than it ever has been in the past.

But Jess, you might be thinking, how can it be harder? Anyone can write a book now. Everyone can get their book out there. How is that harder?

Well, like many indie authors, I have found that word of mouth has been the way that a good percentage of people discover my books. Before the invention of the Amazon Kindle, which made e-reading an easy way to get your paws on virtually millions of e-Books, authors were at the mercy of literary agent and publishing houses. With so many gatekeepers in place, it was often impossible to even get noticed, let alone published. 

Now, it’s true that anyone *can* write a book. Does that mean that everyone *should*? Well, that is not for me to say, of course, but with the market flooded with hundreds of millions of titles (if not more!!) indie authors like myself might as well be a single drop of water in the ocean trying to grab someone’s attention.

Which is why we beg for reviews. 

Amazon is certainly not the only e-retailer available, but the absolute truth is that it is the BIGGEST. It’s the elephant in the room, so to speak. And love it or hate it, because of it’s enormous clout in making or breaking the careers of new and established authors, the reviews left by YOU are vitally important. 

First, they let other readers know what your honest opinion of an author’s work is. I can’t tell you how many times I have purchased an item online based on reviews alone. Second, the number of reviews left on a book’s Amazon link is one of the major deciding factors in whether it gets into the also boughts section — that place around the middle of the page that tells you “Customers like you also bought” — which gets our stories in front of people that might never have been looking for them.

So, back to two weeks ago. I was feeling pretty down about the quantity of (or lack of) reviews on my titles, and, like an angel sent from literary heaven, a wonderful reader of mine reviewed book one of my Getting Back to Oz trilogy, Winnie’s Courage, and y’all, it SAVED MY DAY. 

It’s so easy to leave a review on products that let us down, but when it comes to books, leaving a review could quite possibly be the one thing that keeps your favorite author going another day, pushing to finish the next book, and refusing to toss in the towel. Do you usually leave reviews? If yes, what motivates you the most to leave one? If not, is there a specific obstacle to you writing a review (good or bad)? 

I’d love to know!

You would think that a whole group of people that invent entire WORLDS in their “free” time would love to talk to any and all readers.

But …

No …

That’s not how this works. That’s not how any of this works. We want to tell stories, but like, from over here. We write because we are not always very good at the face-to-face talkie thing. 

Don’t get me wrong, some authors are AMAZING at talking to the public at large, and their fans in particular. I feel like that must be some superpower granted to them from a radioactive papercut or something, because in my experience that is definitely the exception and not the rule. 

So please remember, when you are at a bookstore and see an author sitting by their lonesome at a signing table, staring intently at their phone or tablet, they are NOT ignoring you. They are simultaneously praying that you will buy all their books, but with a minimum of small talk. 

We WANT to tell you about our worlds, our characters, our stories that we have crafted through blood, sweat, and tears, and sometimes we just need a little nudge to actually be able to, you know, TELL you about them.