Carmen DeSousa

Text-to-speech apps don't work for pantsers If you aren't one of the unlucky peeps who've heard me complain about my shoulder surgery, I'll save you the moaning and groaning, and just talk about how it's affecting my work. I thought for sure I could plan out my upcoming books. Just this once I hoped my characters would give me an entire synopsis for a story.  But no ... two to three chapters is about as far as I can get, and even that info is vague. :( So ... what's a writer to do? Well, if you're me ... you sit around thinking up a bunch of other stories you want to write, but don't have time to. In fact, one idea that came to me had me so excited to read that I went looking to see if it'd ever been done. Nope! Couldn't find it! So, I now have sixty-eight ideas in my 'My Writing' app. And I'm doing the one thing I'm good at: taking notes! I might not have the ability to be creative using text-to-speech, but DA...

All the novels in the Southern Romantic-Suspense Collection are stand-alone stories--NO CLIFFHANGERS--but each book has a slight connection to one of the other books, so after reading one, you can continue the journey and meet different protagonists with different issues and tragedies to overcome, and yet still get a glimpse of your previous friends. Every story has a mystery, there’s always a gentle message, and above all, there’s always romance and suspense. Download the first in the collection for less than a latte! From there, all my novels are priced between $2.99 and $4.99, so you can afford to read them all for a fraction of the price some publishers charge.  :) Books are listed in order of release date. Romance, betrayal, obsession... For more info or to download, visit... Amazon US Amazon Worldwide Romantic and heart wrenching... A journey of two souls destined to meet, this #1 bestseller in romant...

And let's face it, books are an author's product. I just finished reading another article about authors complaining about free and bargain books! I've written on this subject so many times ... pretty much for the same reasons stated in the article... The argument simply doesn't hold water. Before you think that you are losing business from other authors, or if you're a reader, wonder if a book is worth less than a higher priced book because it's on sale, think about this... Any marketing firm will tell you, don't give away the store , but a loss leader works.  If promotions didn't work, advertising ANYTHING wouldn't work. Newspapers, mailers, fliers, radio ads, TV, billboards, and umpteen other places, offer coupons, BOGOs, sale prices, 30-day trials, and freebies to get you to try their product. Whether it's Cocoa Pebbles versus Cocoa Krispies, a Big Mac versus the Whopper, or Ford versus Chevy, retailers know they need t...

No one is infallible. We all make mistakes! A nd no matter what you do, you can't please everyone!  But it doesn't mean you shouldn't try... Will I still get some poor reviews, absolutely! But when readers complained, I decided to listen. Did I change the basis of my novel, NO! Did I address the issues I could, absolutely! Did it make a difference! Well, you tell me. There is still one poor review on top, one of the oldest reviews. Unfortunately, readers still like to 'up' one-star reviews, even when the one-star review doesn't make any sense.  Not to complain, but how can you look at a book that starts the description with:  A passionate romantic -suspense of love, betrayal, and obsession, She Belongs to Me will have you falling in love and wondering if you can trust anyone right up to the last page.    And then like a review that starts with: " Up front, I must say that romantic mysteries do not appeal to me. I don't mind...