The Advantages of EBook’s and How to Download Them

There has been a lot of talk lately about changes in the publishing industry and the pros and cons of the EBook popularity. Is it just a phase or are they here to stay? Now I admit, I had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the technology age. As a kid I wrote all my stories long hand, then I moved on to a typewriter…no sweat. But when it came to computers I was horrified at the idea of storing all my babies on a machine that looked like something out of the Twilight Zone. It was my big brother who finally convinced me to give it a try. He brought over an old HP, taught me how to do the email thing and then turned me loose on it. “Trust me, you can’t screw it up.” And he was right, sure it froze up a couple of times, but it never blew up. After a couple of months of playing around with my new toy, I was confident enough to store my babies on it, with back-up disks of course…you know just in case :). Then I got a job in an office where I had to work on one all day and had to learn even more programs, including power point. It’s been an adventure, but not nearly as intimidating as I thought it would be…which brings me to the topic of my post…Ebooks. My editor/writing coach is the one who suggested I submit to some ebook pubs. She told me that was where the future of publishing was heading and I should jump onboard. So I did. So far it’s been a great experience. Not only am I saving a few trees, but let’s face it folks, with the way the economy is going people just can’t afford to dish out a lot of money for a book they’ll probably only read once. Ebooks are 30 to 50 percent cheaper than paperbacks. You can store dozens of books on your PDA and carry them with you all the time, or if you have a Kindle or PC you can store 1000’s. You can even read them on your IPhone and Blackberry. Most of your Ebook readers are similar to cell phones in that they’re able to keep a charge for several days to a week, and are about the size of a paperback.

Now the only downside to all of this is not everyone has the new ebook readers and are unsure how to purchase and download my book onto their PC or laptop. So I’m going to try and explain it the best way I can. My book for example is available in Amazon Kindle, Adobe Acrobat, HTML, and Mobipocket. I’m going to use my publisher’s website as an example, but most distributors are the same. Go to the website, click on the buy link. After payment is received and your order is confirmed, you will receive detailed instructions on how to download the book in the format of your choice. Almost all computers come with Adobe Acrobat or it can be downloaded for free from their website. If you chose this option (excellent for PC and laptops) your PDF file can be downloaded and saved to your documents. For example you will be given a link to click on and a box will come up that asks Open or Save As or something similar. Click on the Save As and another box will open and ask where you want to save it. I store all of my downloads in my documents and then move them into a file I’ve designated for all my ebooks. When you’re ready to read it just click on the PDF file and it will open up similar to a book. To enlarge the print just move your cursor to the tool bar at the top of the page and click the + symbol. You can’t do that with a print book :-). If you have one of the readers and don’t know how to download them the distributor usually has detailed instructions and are happy to help you if you have questions or concerns. Also, if you’re low on storage on your laptop you can save your eBooks onto CD-R disks.

I hope this helps those who are still leery of the eBook technology. If you have any questions feel free to email me at: annepatrick07 at yahoo.com

Journey to Redemption tagged a Best Seller

I learned Thursday that my newest release, Journey to Redemption, is a category best seller at All Romance EBook, one of the distributors where my publisher, Rogue Phoenix Press, placed my novel. Wow! Talk about being blown away! I know…I know…It’s not the NY Times Best Seller List, but hey, we all have to start somewhere. Just having my baby out there for people to read and hopefully enjoy is awesome. So THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!

On an even higher note, this weekend I had the privilege of helping to celebrate my great nephew’s first birthday. This celebration was very special for our family because little Wyatt wasn’t expected to live because he was born without the left ventricle of his heart and in the past year has had two heart operations. You’d never know by watching the little guy now though. He’s a very happy and healthy bundle of joy, and according to the doctors won’t have to have another operation until he’s two or three. In today’s chaotic world, it’s humbling to see such a miracle unfolding, and a wonderful reminder of the power of prayer and God’s awesome grace. While I’m giving thanks for our miracle baby, I also want to thank God for all the doors He has opened for me this year. I stand amazed at His works in my life.

Next week I will be guest blogging at fellow Desert Breeze author, Stephanie Burkhart’s blog if you want to drop by and leave a comment. And then on the 8th I’ll be joining my fellow sweeties from The Sweetest Romance Author’s Group for a chat at the Manic Readers Group.

Come Chat With the Sweetest Romance Authors!

Come join us tomorrow, Thursday, Sept 22nd. Everyone is welcome, whether you’re a reader, writer or reviewer. Just show up here at our chat room at 8pm (EST), add your name in the login box and start chatting. The chat usually lasts about an hour. You’ll hear about our books we have out and our upcoming releases. And if you have questions you’re just dying to know about one of us, just ask away. Our authors write in variety of genre’s, from Mystery and Suspense to Fantasy and Historical. One thing we all have in common is we all write ‘Sweet’ Romance.

I’m back in my Fantasy World

The Do Not Disturb sign is back on the door, the phone is unplugged, the cell phone is turned off, I have a fresh bag of Sunflower Seeds and two twelve packs of Diet Coke. Now the only problem is which WIP to dive into, my Romance with a dash of mystery or my Romantic Suspense/Thriller. According to one of my friends I need to stick to the Romantic Suspense/Thrillers. “Don’t get me wrong. I loved the story, but I liked your others better. When I think of you I think murder and mayhem.”

I wasn’t quite sure how to take that, but I know she meant well. And I have to admit, she is right. I’m the last person you’d want to call for advice on how to get back with your boyfriend. Now if you want to know how to murder someone or how to track down a serial killer I’m the gal to ask. Scary isn’t it?

Anyway, I’m ¾ of the way through my Romance/Mystery and I really want to get it finished, but I’m half way through my Romantic Suspense/Thriller and the characters have been bugging the heck out of me to get back to their story. So….it looks like they’re up to bat. I seldom work on more than one project at a time and this is why. There just isn’t enough hours in the day! I also have a weekend road trip coming up and I know I won’t get much writing done on it. I’m taking my laptop just the same. My fellow travelers will have to sleep sometime. Hee…hee…hee!

I’ve also sent off another submission. I had sent it to one publisher but after three months haven’t heard anything so I sent it to another. Did I ever mention I’m impatient? Hey, three to four months is the general response time on a full manuscript or at least it’s all I’m willing to wait I should say. I have four other full manuscripts out that I’m still waiting to hear back on and I’m running out of nails to chew on. Hopefully I’ll hear from them soon. In the meantime, it’s back to work. Oh, and if you haven’t picked up a copy of my latest release, Journey to Redemption, here’s the buy link from my publisher. And it’s available on Amazon Kindle. So pick up your copy today!

And the Winners Are...

Danielle
Shawna
Val

Wow! What a party! Almost 200 comments—unbelievable!

Congratulations to everyone who won. If you haven't already emailed me with your addresses, please do so. Your downloads will be sent as soon as I finish up here, and clean out my mailbox:). Man, I can't believe I did that. 206 messages and counting. I hope you enjoy the book and I hope you’ll let me know what you thought of it. Thank you all for attending my party and sharing my joy. I can’t express enough how much your support and encouragement means to me. From the first moment a writer puts their words on paper they dream of the day that story is published, and when that day finally arrives it’s a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. And when you have good friends to share in that moment, it makes it even more special. So thank you all!

The Lord has blessed me so much in this last year. He’s opened doors that I had only dreamed about, so all the glory goes to Him!

Thank you again everyone. And for those who didn’t win and are interested in purchasing Journey to Redemption, it’s available from my publisher for only $3.99. You can’t beat that!

Let's Party!!!

You can’t curl up with a good book without some yummy snacks, so I’ve decided to supply those as well. With each download given away tonight, I’m including a one pound tin of The Ultimate Snack mix from Swiss Colony. And the Grand Prize Winner will receive a download of Journey to Redemption, an autographed copy of Every Skull Tells a Story, and a lovely Spirit of the Season Basket, from Swiss Colony, piled full with savory beef logs, cheddar cheese bars, mixed nuts, sweet hot mustard, honey roasted peanuts, gourmet coffee, white fudge popcorn with almonds and a handy cutting board (total value $50). All winners will be chosen by a random draw from comments posted from 5pm to 8pm and announced at 8:30pm with a follow-up post with the winner’s names where the winners will be instructed to email me so I can send them their prizes. So what are you waiting for, start posting. I wanna to hear from you

Come Join Me in celebrating my new release, Journey to Redemption!

Tomorrow, I’ll be doing at interview at author Diane Craver’s blog and guest blogging about my journey to publication on author Shawna Williams blog. On Tuesday I’ll be doing an interview at my publisher’s blog and at author Sandra Sookoo’s blog. And don’t forget to drop by my Release Party here from 5pm to 8pm (CST). Two lucky visitors (who post a comment) will receive a free download of Journey to Redemption and one lucky visitor will receive a gift bag with assorted goodies, including an autographed copy of Every Skull Tells a Story and a free download of Journey to Redemption. All winners will be chosen by a random draw from comments posted from 5pm to 8pm and announced at 8:30pm with a follow-up post with the winner’s names where the winners will be instructed to email me so I can send them their prizes. Hope to see you and good luck!!!

Pre-Release Review of Journey to Redemption

From the first sentence in the first chapter I was captivated by this book and couldn’t stop reading till I was finished. Ms. Patrick has written a spine tingling , page turning novel. If you like good cleanly written mysteries, then I recommend grabbing a copy of “Journey To Redemption” and as the old saying goes ”Enjoy The Ride” because once you start you won’t want to put the book down till you are finished. Coming soon Sept 15th,2009. Please read Lynn's complete review at Books Books and More Books or Goodreads.. Wow! Thank you Lynn for such a wonderful review.

Every Skull Tells a Story Review

To read the latest review of my current novel in print please check out Martha's Bookshelf. I am so tickled with the response this review has gotten. Thank you everyone who has posted here, on Martha's blog, and at SaSR. I especailly want to thank my wonderful friends over at the Sweetest Romance Yahoo Group. If you haven't checked out our new blog, buzz on over and have a look. And be sure and sign up for our newsletter! Again, thank you all for your wonderful comments and well wishes. YOU'RE THE GREATEST!!!

Have You Captured Your Dream?

Do you remember your answer when asked as a kid what you wanted to be when you grew up? Well I had two answers to that question—I wanted to be a cop and I wanted to be a writer. The closest I came to being a cop was while I worked for a security company who transported prisoners to court, other correctional facilities etc. I met some very interesting characters and had some hair-raising experiences that fueled my passion to be a published author. It was on one of these trips (some lasted up to two weeks) that the idea for Journey to Redemption was first conceived, though my partner and I never really had a prisoner escape. The question that always spawns the best ideas for me is What If? And it was on this trip that Gerald Tate ‘The Slasher’ was born. He was a scary guy that gave me nightmares for weeks. This trip was also the turning point when I realized that I was much more comfortable creating monsters in my head than coming face to face with them. I’m thankful for those experiences though, my imagination had a field day on some of my transports, and I learned a lot about myself. I realized that there was little I couldn’t do if I put my mind to it. That persistence came in real handy in the years to come, once I decided to get serious about my writing. If someone had asked me prior to that period in my life if I would someday have two books published I would have laughed and said, ‘I wish’. But if you want something bad enough and you’ll willing to work hard for it, make sacrifices, and never give up, you can accomplish whatever you want in life. That all being said, I’m thrilled to announce that in less than two weeks, Journey to Redemption will be released. To celebrate, I’ll be having a Release Party here on Sept 15th from 5pm to 8pm (CTS). Two lucky visitors will receive a gift cert. for a free download of Journey to Redemption and one lucky visitor will receive a gift bag with assorted goodies, including an autographed copy of Every Skull Tells a Story and a gift cert. for a free download of Journey to Redemption. And in the coming weeks I’ll be guest blogging and doing interviews on other blogs and websites. For a list of these upcoming appearances look in the side bar, and please do drop by leave a comment. Now that you know what I wanted to be when I grew up, how about you? Have you captured your dream?

Calling all Sweet Romance Authors and Readers

I’d like to extend a special invitation to everyone who writes or reads ‘G’ rated romance, mysteries, historical, SF, inspirational, westerns, regencies and romantic suspense to drop by and visit the Sweetest Romance Author Group’s new blog. Where else can you find such a large group of sweet romance authors on one site? These ladies and gentleman (can’t forget Larry) really know how to spin thrilling, wholesome reads. Don’t let the sweetness fool you. We are far from boring. So go on over, grab a glass of Miss Mae’s special recipe lemonade, and be ready to be amazed at all the exciting books that are available at the clicks of a few keys.