The gang of Authors is back

We all know that there is strength in numbers, and this has been proved on many occasions also in history. This time, I am talking about the strength that comes when a few amazing authors out their strengths together willing to promote and help each other.
This is the meaning for the group that was born as a 'Gang of Authors helping each other.'
Today I am going to brag about each of those fabulous writers: 

   We write in many genres and we all have our distinct voice. There is a genre and a style for everyone. This is your one-stop-shop, for booklovers, and if you follow this video, you will understand what I mean:

This is the second video we've made to introduce ourselves, and I hope you will go and check us all out. After all, in this lockdown situation, who doesn't need a good read to escape the boredom and the reality, even if just for a while.

Erika M Szabo

https://www.authorerikamszabo.com

“The writing bug bit me on a rainy afternoon when I couldn’t find any new book to read. My daughter had enough of my moping around and snapped at me, “Mom, stop whining! If you haven’t a book to read, then write one.” Her challenge shocked me, but I started playing with the idea and I’ve been writing stories, that I like to read, ever since.”
Erika loves to dance to her own tunes and follow her dreams, introduces her story writing skills and her books that are based on creative imagination with themes such as alternate history, urban fantasy, cozy mystery, sweet romance, and supernatural stories. Her children’s stories are informative, educational, and deliver moral values in a non-preachy way.
“I followed my dream to become a writer. As an artist, I paint pretty pictures with my brushes, and as a writer, I paint vivid pictures with my words.”

PJ Mann

https://pjmannauthor.com/

My name is Paula and I write novels. I live with my husband and a rabbit. I work as an engineering geologist at a construction firm in Finland, and only in my spare time, I sit down at my desk writing stories. You can consider me a sort of wandering writer, and I try, as much as possible, to be on the move. My stories are strongly influenced by what I experience and see during my travels around the world. I am a multi-genre author, but the red wire of my novels is the suspense/drama.
I love to walk in nature with my camera; photography is another of my passions. I believe it’s very closely connected to writing novels as every image tells a story, for those who stop to listen.

Cindy J. Smith

https://cindysvoices.blogspot.com

I was taught if I couldn't say anything nice don't say anything. Since biting my tongue was painful and soap tasted bad, I developed voices arguing inside my head. When I found writing my thoughts brought me some silence, I took up the pen. It was not long before I realized poetry was much easier than full sentences and I could say exactly what was in my heart.
Strangely, I soon noticed I could put myself in other’s shoes and empathize with their viewpoint.
It was my daughter who encouraged me to share my poems.  She believed they would help others cope...letting them know they were not alone in their thoughts.
I write now about every aspect of life in hopes someone may be touched and be encouraged to keep trying.

Christina Weigand

http://www.weigandchris.com

​A writer, wife, and mother of four grown children. She is also Nana to five granddaughters. She lives with her husband and youngest daughter in Pennsylvania after a short sabbatical in the lovely state of Washington. She has three published YA Christian Fantasy novels; Palace of the Twelve Pillars: Book One, Palace of the Three Crosses: Book Two and Sanctuary of Nine Dragons: Book Three. She also has a woman’s Bible study Women of the Bible: A Study published. Recently the first two books in an MG Fantasy series were published, Sir E. Robert Smythe and the School Bully and Sir E. Robert Smythe and the Lost Detective with the remaining four to be published the near future. Through her writing, she strives to share the Word of God and help people young and old to realize the love and mercy He has for everyone.

Darlene Deluca

https://www.darlenedeluca.com

“Books . . . chocolate . . . tea. These are a few of my favorite things. Combine them with a sunny summer day, and perhaps a beach or pool, and call me happy!”
Deluca writes women’s fiction, contemporary romance, and mainstream fiction with romantic elements. She likes to explore relationships – what brings people together or keeps them apart.  Her intent is to bring to life interesting characters that readers can relate to in real-life situations that combine a little fun, plenty of drama (with perhaps a tear or two), and big helpings of friendship, love, and self-discovery, and will leave you either cheering or sighing with a satisfied smile as you turn the final page.
And just so you know . . . she likes a happy, or at least a positive, ending.

Alan Zacher

https://www.amazon.com/Alan-Zacher/e/B00APQXPEW

Author of private investigator mysteries, humorous occult fiction, fantasy adventure fiction, and short stories. After many years of being a "struggling" actor in LA, Alan turned to write.
"My writing has always been for entertainment--to put a smile on someone's face who might be having a bad day. I write, mostly, light-horror and murder/mystery. I like these two genres because of the freedom they give me to explore man's inner emotions, feelings, and emotions--but it must always have humor! We must always laugh; mostly at ourselves. I have had MS for several years now; I know physical and mental pain; so I need much laughter to endure it. Hopefully, my novels do just that--give you much laughter."

Carol Ann Kauffman

https://visionandverse.blogspot.com/

Carol Ann’s books range from short stories to full-length novels. Her novels are classified as romantic action adventures with a sci-fi/ fantasy twist, and mysteries. They’re about life, love, loss, and lunacy. She is a retired teacher. She has worked as a printer, managed a department store office, worked as an insurance agent, and in the hardware and automotive industries. She was a Red Cross volunteer.
Carol loves to travel; her favorite places being Italy, Aruba, and the American Southwest, which tend to show up in her novels.
“I also love to stay at home. I get lost in my own little world, where I always have more than a few stories in progress. I grow orchids and African violets, and still like to play in the dirt!”

Suzi Albracht

https://www.amazon.com/Suzi-Albracht/e/B00PB1JNLK/

I am the author of Supernatural Horror Crime Thrillers and Paranormal Romance/Ghost novels. My characters have full, normal lives that get twisted into something horrific or intensely strange. Whether they become a ghost and discover a new, undead world to roam or find themselves in pursuit of a dangerous madman with connections to the dark underworld, I want my readers to feel their pain, their joy, their fear... with every right or wrong turn they take along the way.
While I humbly submit that my main influences are Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and William Faulkner, my style leans closer to that of early Stephen King. My twitter bio describes me to a T - Write, scare myself, turn all the lights on, write some more. Take a break, play pool, kick-butt/get butt kicked, go write more horror, double lock door.
You can find my books at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo.

Randall Krzak

http://www.randallkrzak.com

A U.S. Army veteran and retired senior civil servant, spending thirty years in Europe, Africa, Central America, and the Middle East. His residency abroad qualifies him to build rich worlds in his action-adventure novels and short stories. Familiar with customs, laws, and social norms, he promotes these to create authentic characters and scenery.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and two masters from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. Randall and his Scottish wife, Sylvia, currently reside in Dunfermline, Scotland. His hobbies include hiking, reading, candle making, pyrography, and sightseeing.
Why did Randall become a writer? Someone suggested he give it a try, so Randall blames his friend. Randall ventured into fiction writing later in life, with his first novel being released at age 62. In just over three years, he's published four novels. He enjoys reading and writing global thrillers and has three more underway.

Rebecca Tran

https://rtranbooks.net/

I am a mother, pharmacist, and author. I love all things fantasy and sci-fi. Romance is always a welcome bonus. I have two little girls and I love dogs, I have two of those as well, a Boston Terrier and a Pittie mix. So technically some would say I have four kids. I am currently working on my blog as well as my romance and fantasy series. I am the ultimate nerd who can’t choose between Star Wars and Star Trek and thinks that Dr. Who would figure out a way to beat all of them. I still read comic books and love watching anime. We can talk for hours if you know who Kirito, Naruto, or Goku are. If you'd like to read my blog or know more about me or my books, please check out my website.

A.L. Butcher

https://libraryoferana.wordpress.com/

British-born A. L. Butcher is an avid reader and creator of worlds, a poet, and a dreamer, a lover of science, natural history, history, and monkeys. Her prose has been described as ‘dark and gritty’ and her poetry as ‘evocative’. She writes with a sure and sometimes erotic sensibility of things that might have been, never were, but could be.
Alex is the author of the Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles and the Tales of Erana lyrical fantasy series. She also has several short stories in the fantasy, fantasy romance genres with occasional forays into gothic style horror, including the Legacy of the Mask series. With a background in politics, classical studies, ancient history, and myth, her affinities bring an eclectic and unique flavor in her work, mixing reality and dream in alchemical proportions that bring her characters and worlds to life.

L.L. Thomsen

https://llthomsen.com/

Pick up one of L. L. Thomsen’s high fantasy books and you get treated to an explosion of immersive prose, complicated characters, mystery, and plots. Her main world, Dallancea, is home to nine realms and a wealth of races – some known, some entirely new. You do not have to be familiar with fantasy to enjoy the books, but those who are will recognize her zest to spin you an epic tale of complexity and to explore her characters to the core.
“I invented my first character when I was around five years old,” L. L. laughs, “they lived in my head and took me on adventures at bedtime after ‘lights out’. These days I allow them onto paper. There’s not enough space in my head anymore.”
L. L. currently lives with her family + two cats and a dog, in the back-of-beyond near the Sherwood Forrest, U.K.

R.M. Garino

https://www.rmgarino.com/

How now, folks. I'm R.M. Garino, the author of the Chaos of Souls Series. Ever wish you could bring your D&D characters to life? Well, that’s exactly what we did. Although the overarching story of angels and demons is much older, our two main characters were fleshed out from a D&D game my wife and I played with friends ages ago. They're introduced, along with their misfit squads, in The Gates of Golorath, and their adventures continue throughout the series. We've also released a standalone series, the Chaos of Souls Novellas, which captures separate side stories that enrich the main series. Requiem's Reach is the first volume, and we continue from there. If you're looking for a thoughtful, somewhat irreverent fantasy that puts the stories and character first, then come on over and give us a read.

So, have a great weekend and choose your read!

Some resources for writers

So I have been for a while not just in my writing cave, avoiding all human contacts, except my workmates. Yet, I wasn't only writing, I was trying to find some good and viable way to use advertisements, and if you are a writer looking for some cool resources, just follow me here.
The first thing I have noticed is that Amazon ads have been changing, and there is not just the general .com site where to advertise. When you go to the AMS page, you will find that you can choose the marketplace, and depending on where you live, you are given a couple of more choices to choose from. This is, from my point of view, good news, because it offers the chance to target better your audience depending on where they live.
Once again, this means that you need to do demographic research when you think about the keywords to target your audience. The other good news is that as the general amazon.com seems not to give good results with titles, which have less than 10 reviews, this might not be true for other marketplaces.
Meaning that if amazon.com is restricted because you don't have so many reviews, you might want to check other marketplaces.
Many of us found it struggling when it comes to the keywords, and "publisher rocket" (https://publisherrocket.com/) is indeed the best tool you want to have if you mean seriously to start the road of AMS ads.
The point is that you would like maybe first try it, and unfortunately, nowadays there aren't trial versions anymore. You get instead a 30-day money-back guaranteed. But what if during those thirty days something happens and you cannot even get to try it? Well, you keep the software, and if you are not satisfied, there is nothing much you can do.
One alternative is offered for free by Sonar. (http://sonar-tool.com/us/)
Sonar is a free tool to search for keywords on different marketplaces. It doesn't have all the features of publisher rocket, but it is a way to start and get your hands on the ads with a free tool to understand how keywords are working and how they can be useful for the marketing of your book. The key is trying with as many ads as possible, starting with a low daily limit of 5 $.
I have had 25 ads (and I still have them because I am still on the trial phase) with the daily limit of 5$.
The average monthly expense for the whole was barely reaching the 15$, but it gave interesting results.
No, I haven't become famous yet LOL
Mainly I am starting to see which might be the right keywords to be used, so to be ready to purchase the publisher rocket tool.
Another important thing is how to get your book to the right category. If you nail the right one, you can easily be an Amazon top seller for a long period, not restricted to a time of big sales. This is because customers are looking more into detail the categories they are interested in, and being in the right one makes you more visible, discoverable, hence purchased. Being in the right category means also having fewer competitors.
To understand better the categories and their importance, I suggest you read this article:
https://www.kindleranker.com/articles/kindle-categories-in-historical-fiction/
and use https://www.kindleranker.com/ at your advantage.
Kindle ranker gives you the chance to make two searches for free per day. Although you can use the 0.99$ option to have a 15-category search for 24 hours. Or, if you have a large volume of products, you can take advantage of the subscriptions offered. At the moment I am OK with the two free searches a day. I don't have so many products yet.
Anyway, whatever you do, it is important to follow the ads constantly, not perhaps daily, but twice a week to see what you need to change and try something new.
One thing I personally do not recommend is letting someone else taking care of managing your ads. Although this might sound like a great idea, you need to be the one who checks the ads and calibrate them. You are the one who knows the book better. So if you really want some help, better to follow some courses, but have full control over your actions/books.
I am also looking for producing audiobooks for my novels, and if you don't have access to ACX, like me, I might have found a solution for that too. Follow me also on the next week's blog to find out more.
Meanwhile, I hope this information was useful for you.
Have a great weekend!