Jenna Harte

Author: JHarte

  • Deadly Valentine: Updated – 2200+ Downloads

    Deadly Valentine: Updated – 2200+ Downloads

    I got new edits of Deadly Valentine posted this weekend and Tuesday offered the book for free for one day at Amazon. Being a new indie author, I don’t know what constitutes good stats when it comes to free offers. I suspect my numbers aren’t stellar because I didn’t promote the free offer as I should have. Still, I feel good about 2200+ in a single day. Yes, the book was free, but people still have to be intrigued by the cover and blurb to make the effort to download and read. The book (at last check) had reached number #6 in free Kindle mystery books involving women sleuths and #141 in free Kindle books overall. Again, I don’t know if those are great stats, but I feel good about them. It gives me something to strive to beat the next time.

    While I’m happy about the results, I’m terrified by them as well. Initial reviews are good, but that doesn’t mean they’ll all be good. I’m worrying about what people won’t like. Will they still find typos that were missed and be distracted by them? Will they like the dialogue (which an agent said was my strong point)? Will they find the story believable? Will they like Tess and Jack? Whoever said that writing requires bleeding on the page is right because when you send it out into the world to be enjoyed and judged, you feel raw and vulnerable. I’ve told myself that not everyone will like the book and may take the opportunity to tell me so through a review. It’s a part of writing. Even the most celebrated writers get negative reviews. So I’ll have to try to keep it all in perspective and hope that more people enjoy the book than don’t.

    And as stressful as this whole process is, I’m back for another helping as I work on the third edit of Old Flames Never Die, book two in the Valentine series. I hope to have the book available this fall (Sept/Oct).

     

  • New Edits to Deadly Valentine Coming Shortly

    New Edits to Deadly Valentine Coming Shortly

    The difficulty in publishing your writing, is finding all the errors. Although there were several readers and edits before publishing Deadly Valentine, several errors remain particularly in the second half of the book. A new cleaned up version of the book will be posted shortly. If you got one of the “problem” edits, forward a copy of your Amazon receipt to jennahart @ gmail.com and I’ll make sure you get a clean edit for free. I’ll even throw in a copy of Endangered.

  • Deadly Valentine: A Valentine Mystery, Book One

    Deadly Valentine: A Valentine Mystery, Book One

    Deadly Valentine: A Valentine Mystery, Book One is now available through Amazon. This is my first full-length novel and I’m so glad that it’s finally published.

    After years of writing fan fiction, I’d decided to write a novel with original characters. It was much harder than I thought it would be, but I’m pleased with the finished product. Deadly Valentine includes all the elements of a story I love; a sexy romance, fun banter, and a mystery. Here’s the description:

    Tess Madison walked away from her two-timing fiancé, a multi-million dollar trust fund and a cushy corporate law job to pursue the single life indulging in chocolate and fancy French underwear. But her newly reordered life comes unraveled when she reluctantly accepts an invitation to a dinner party and stumbles upon the host’s dead body. Now Tess is the middle of a murder investigation pitting her wannabe-boyfriend police detective against Jack Valentine, a man from her past with blue-green eyes and sinful smile that causes her to rethink her self-imposed celibacy. Tess has many reasons to avoid Jack including the fact that he’s the prime suspect in murder. But Tess doesn’t believe Jack’s the murderer and with an honest attempt to keep her hormones in check, she agrees to represent him. With Jack’s help, she uncovers a 30-year-old secret someone is killing to keep hidden and discovers sensual delights that don’t include chocolate or French underwear. But when her professional and personal relationship with Jack threatens to ruin her career and end her life, Tess has to decide if Jack, is worth the risk.

    Deadly Valentine is the first in the Valentine Mystery series featuring Tess Madison a chocolate and French underwear connoisseur and Jack Valentine, her handsome, environmentalist, pteromerhanophobic (fear of flying) love interest.

    This is a full-length 103,000 word novel of mystery and romance, including mild sex scenes.

  • Valentine and Delecoeur Worlds on Pinterest

    Valentine and Delecoeur Worlds on Pinterest

    It’s hard to keep up with all the social media resources these days. I barely have time to Tweet and Facebook, much less write and take care of the family. But I succumb to the pressure and joined Pinterest. It seemed like a fun way to share my concepts of the worlds in which I write. So far I’ve got images for both Valentine and Delecoeur worlds, writer tips and inspiration, my favorite books and movies, and some of the most romantic couples in history. I hope you’ll check it out! Jenna Harte Pinterest

  • Do Roberts, Grisham or Evanovich Write Blurbs?

    Do Roberts, Grisham or Evanovich Write Blurbs?

    You may find this hard to believe, but writing blurbs — the information on the book that tells what it’s about — is harder than writing the story itself. At least it is for me. First of all, a good blurb is crucial to sales. It’s the next thing readers look at after the cover. That’s a lot of pressure! Second, you have to fit the plot of the story into a few lines of text. But it’s not just the plot that needs to be explained. You also have to convey they tone of the story and the personality of the characters.

    Example of a bad blurb…

    Tess left Washington, D.C. after a betrayal. She’s rebuilt her life and her law career in a small central Virginia town. All is well until she is invited to a dinner party where her date abandons her, a man from her past, Jack Valentine, shows up and the host ends up dead. Tess doesn’t like seeing Jack, but she doesn’t think he’s a killer and so she agrees to represent him. As they investigate the crime, they learn about a 30-year old crime and grow closer together. But when her life and career are threatened, will Tess take a chance on Jack.

    That’s the basic story of Deadly Valentine, but it doesn’t give you any information about whether or not the story is noir, funny, or serious, or any clue to what the characters are like.

    Below is blurb I eventually pulled together..

    Better Blurb:

    Tess Madison walked away from her two-timing fiancé, a multi-million dollar trust fund and a cushy corporate law job to pursue the single life indulging in chocolate and fancy French underwear. But her newly reordered life comes unraveled when she reluctantly accepts an invitation to a dinner party and stumbles upon the host’s dead body. Now Tess is the middle of a murder investigation pitting her wannabe-boyfriend police detective against Jack Valentine, a man from her past with blue-green eyes and sinful smile that causes her to rethink her self-imposed celibacy. Tess has many reasons to avoid Jack including the fact that he’s the prime suspect in murder. But Tess doesn’t believe Jack’s the murderer and with an honest attempt to keep her hormones in check, she agrees to represent him. With Jack’s help, she uncovers a 30-year-old secret someone is killing to keep hidden and discovers sensual delights that don’t include chocolate or French underwear. But when her professional and personal relationship with Jack threatens to ruin her career and end her life, Tess has to decide if Jack is worth the risk.

    Professional authors/publishers would probably have critiques of the better blurb, but you can’t deny it’s better than the first.

    So now I’m working on the blurb for Endangered and I’m stuck. I’ve got a bad version, but am having a heck of a time beefing it up. As I work on it, I realize that I’m going to have to write a blurb for every book I publish and I couldn’t help but wonder if the mega-authors write their own blurbs. And would I have to be a mega-author to get someone else to write my blurbs?