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Hello from Kathy Ramsperger, author of The Shores of Our Souls,
A HUGE thank you to everyone who ordered my novel, read my novel, and sent me feedback on my novel! I especially LOVED the photos you took of the cover! We should’ve had a contest on most creative photo with The Shores of Our Souls‘ cover! Thank you also for waiting for so long!
To my Facebook contest winners: thanks for your wonderful support, and you will be getting copies of my books just as soon as I get my order! It takes several weeks for the final to print and copies be sent to me. You are the priority right now!
I expressed my heartfelt gratitude there. I hope you can feel it here, too! My readers are my heros! Let’s keep taking steps that get us past hate and conflict and toward acceptance and peace, just as Dianna and Qasim strive to do!
I’d love to hear how you feel about your read, and if you did read it, I’d appreciate an honest review wherever you bought the book from or on goodreads.com. This will help other people find my novel. <3 THANK YOU <3
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Do You Have To Love A Character To Love A Book?
Do you like Dianna? Do you like Qasim? I’d be interested in your opinion!
Most of my readers have come to like them both (thus far), but you may find Qasim charming and Dianna wishy washy. Or you may find Qasim chauvinistic, even immoral and Dianna relatable. I made a conscious decision as an author to make Dianna young, naive and less than perfect so:
- The novel would show the effect Qasim has on Dianna’s life, including increasing her self-esteem and empowerment;
- The novel would reveal character growth, not just plot;
- The novel could portray the 1980s in a realistic manner; women were just coming into their own in a still largely male-dominated society;
- Dianna could observe her relationship with Qasim through naive (read: innocent), less worldly eyes because that’s the only way people can see anything for the first time they run into it. I wanted a narrator who was new to meeting other cultures.
That’s what I wanted. Here’s what I didn’t want:
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P.S.: A couple of you were surprised at the novel’s ending. A little secret: I have a sequel. Dianna runs to Africa in the sequel, out to “save the world,” where she’ll mature and learn she needs to save herself first. Yet it is in Dianna’s and Qasim’s natures to “run.” We’ll see if they ever stop. If there’s a third novel, I’ll be interested to see if they can ever be together.
Stay tuned!
For more about my characters, and point of view, read my blog on my publisher’s page: http://shoresofoursouls.com/2017/03/politics-passion-and-point-of-view-by-kathryn-brown-ramsperger/
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7 Ways To Support Your Favorite Author
…that you may not have thought of….
So much has changed in the publishing world today, you may want to support your friend who has published a book, but you may not know how. Here are a few suggestions:
- Buy or rent their book. This one is pretty obvious. You can ask for a book in your local bookstore, in your local library, or you can purchase it online. Most stores and libraries will purchase a book if they have a reader who is interested in it.
- Buy book bundles. If you’re thinking of buying books other than mine, buy my novel with other books (together). When you buy books together—especially if they’re in the same genre—it helps all the books you purchase appear on “also bought” lists, which increases visibility across the retailer’s website.
- Want to Keep It Local? Your Indie and/or brick-and-mortar bookstore might not carry the book of your favorite author, but they can get it for you. By requesting the book and showing interest, you help create demand for the book, which can help get it in the hands of new readers.
- Want an E-book? If you’re looking for the e-book version, many bookstores partner with places like Kobo Books to offer you the widest selection possible. And of course there’s Amazon.
- Request Shores and other friends’ books at your local library. Libraries usually have the access to the same wholesalers that indie bookstores do.
- Leave an honest review. Reviews help other readers find new books! If you’re a frequent reader, you could even consider starting your own book blog, where you post reviews, or book club, where you start conversations. I leave it up to you to find the link to your favorite sales and/or review site, but if you don’t know how to post a review, contact me and I’ll walk you through it…for me or other authors. And if you want a site that doesn’t sell books at all, try goodreads.com or barnesandnoble.com.
- Come celebrate with them. Attend a live or social event. Bring a friend. At events, you can get your book signed or purchase a copy. If it’s my event, feel free to ask questions. Try to stump me. If I don’t have an answer, I’ll get one for you. You may think a publisher or publicist or bookstore finds and invites people who automatically attend readings and signings, but you’d be wrong. These days authors need to get people to show up.
- Share their book. You can buy a new one to give as a gift, or you can lend it, or you can donate it. My message is more important to me than sales (though thank you if you’re purchasing Shores!) If you like my book, please let your friends know on social media or elsewhere! So many of you have already done this with photos of my cover in your homes! Thank you!
We authors love to write and tell stories. We don’t mind promoting our own books, but if you love a book, pass the word on. I’m not asking you to do all (or any) this, but I think you need to know what would assist if you’re thinking of assisting. We writers ALL thank you from the bottom of our creative hearts!
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October 7, 2017, 2 p.m. — Long Beach Island (NJ) Public Library — “The Shores of Our Souls, the debut novel by author Kathryn Ramsperger, tells the story of two people from two cultures with one love and a world of conflict. Most of the novel was written here on LBI, and the author will talk about the process of writing, and her journey to a small publisher.” – http://theoceancountylibrary.org/Branches/LBI/lbi.htm
Wednesday evenings, October 11 – 25, 2017 — ONLINE COURSE, sponsored by the Bethesda (MD) Writer’s Center. You do not have to be in the area to register. “Navigating the Publishing World.” Online classes are through the Moodle by Blackboard platform, and forum based. There’s no set time for when participants log in, but workshop leaders usually post the weekly lesson and assignment every Monday and then there are discussion threads throughout the week. Participants will acquire a basic understanding of the publishing world today and get feedback on their queries. $135.00 — To register: https://www.writer.org/online-workshops
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