An Interview With Self-Publishing Sensation Bella Andre

It's a real treat to welcome my friend Bella Andre to the blog! Bella was one of the first romance authors to take the plunge into self-publishing in 2010 and has been a runaway success ever since. Not only is she generous with her time and advice, she also writes great contemporaries. If you haven't read her Sullivan Family Series, you are missing out on some very fun books! Here are some thoughts from Bella about self-publishing and what we can expect from her in the near future!

Marie: Congratulations on all your self-pub success! Could you tell us a bit about your publishing journey and how you ended up pursuing self-publishing?

Bella: My writing journey started with songs, actually. I was a performing singer-songwriter for ten years before I even thought about writing fiction. Of course, I've always been a ravenous romance reader - devouring a book a day when I can.

One day, two characters started to have a conversation inside my head! Instead of checking in to the nearest psych ward :-) I wrote it down. A couple of years later I sold my first novel. After writing for four major publishers, in 2010 I found myself with more stories to tell and the self-publishing revolution just beginning. I took a leap of faith and wrote the sequel to my most popular novel at the time, TAKE ME, which is about a full-figured heroine and the man she's loved forever. LOVE ME (the brother and sister's story) came out July 2010 and when readers kept writing to thank me for writing the love story they'd been waiting for, I wrote my next original self-published novel, GAME FOR LOVE, the 3^rd book in my Bad Boys of Football series. I released it Christmas 2010 and that was when everything went nuts! The awesome kind of nuts. :-) Since then, I have written and released 5 books in my Sullivan family contemporary romance series. The latest, IF YOU WERE MINE, just came out this week!

Thanks to self-publishing, when my fans ask for more books—and for them to come out quickly—I am able to give them exactly what they want!

Marie: You haven't been shy about saying that 2011 was a banner year for you. What you think the secrets to your success might've been?

Bella: Yes, 2011 and the first half of 2012 have been phenomenal! I'm thrilled to have sold 700,000 self-published ebooks so far, the majority at an average price of $4.99 per book.

Marie: You are, without a doubt, one of the hardest-working authors I know. You even do your own *gorgeous* covers. Talk about what you like best about doing it all yourself and what parts of the publishing process you are happy to offload to others.

Bella: Thank you for the compliment on my covers. I really love being able to put out a final product that is exactly what I envision for my story, and I am very involved with every step of the publishing process. Even though I work with some fantastic contractors who help me with things like creating the digital files for each retailer, I first mastered how the process works on my own first.

Of course, I have always hired copyeditors and proofreaders for my books to ensure they are as polished as possible.

Marie: Your self-published Sullivan family series has been very well received and garnered terrific reviews. I'm a huge fan, as you know! What's on tap after all the Sullivans get their happily ever after?

Bella: Thank you so much! And thank you, too, for always being one of my first readers for each book. Your insight as a fellow contemporary romance writer is invaluable.

I love my Sullivans and hope to continue writing their stories even after all eight of the original Sullivan siblings have their happily-ever-after's. There are many more Sullivan cousins in Seattle and New York, fortunately. :-) And of course, I'd very much like to go back in time to tell the mother's love story with their father at some point.

In addition, I do have another series waiting in the wings about a series of sexy (of course!), connected heroes.

Marie: Ohhh, I love the idea of Mama Sullivan's love story and maybe a second change story for her too? I digress... Of course the no. 1 question posed to successful self-published authors is what it would take for you to sign a traditional contract at this point in your career. Do you have any interest in being traditionally published again? If so, what would it take to lure you in?

Bella: My motto is never-say-never! I try to stay positive no matter what comes and always be open to new and exciting developments.

I'm thrilled that my Sullivans will be debuting in other countries! The first five books in the series will be released in Brazil soon! I have also sold my self-published books to Italy, Turkey and Japan.

Marie: Congrats on the foreign sales. That's awesome! If you had one piece of advice for authors considering the self-published path, what would it be? Feel free to add second and third pieces of advice--LOL!

Bella: Go for it! Take the time and effort to right the best book possible, but don't get too caught up in the technical details. Concentrate on your story and connecting with your readers. Many of the big retailers now have very friendly self-publishing platforms.

Marie: What do you see as the "next big thing" in books, e-books, digital publishing, etc.?

Bella: The next big thing? Why, that will be Zach Sullivan's book, IF YOU WERE MINE, won't it? :-)

Marie: But of course! Here's some more about Zach Sullivan's story:

Can two people who have both sworn off love find forever in each other's arms? Find out in IF YOU WERE MINE, the fifth book in Bella Andre's bestselling Sullivan family contemporary romance series.

The last thing Zach Sullivan wants is to take care of his brother's new puppy for two weeks. Until he meets the dog trainer, that is. Heather is bright, beautiful, and he can't stop thinking about her. Unfortunately, she just might be the only woman on earth who wants nothing to do with him.

Heather Linsey can't believe she's stuck working with one of the city's top dogs, auto-shop tycoon Zach Sullivan. Especially when his focus is clear from the start—not only to learn how to deal with his temporary puppy...but also to make her his. Having sworn off love at seventeen when she realized it was nothing more than a pack of lies, Heather has stuck to her vow never to fall for a charming man.

Get it here:

Kindle

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

Apple: 

Paperback

Thanks so much to Bella for spending some time with us today! Here's wishing her many sales of IF YOU WERE MINE!

Happy Mother's Day and Other News

Hope all the moms out there are having a wonderful day. My day began with breakfast in bed made by my husband and son, along with my daughter's special contribution: chocolate covered strawberries, which should, in my humble opinion, be their own food group. They are one of my all-time FAVORITE things. I also received some candy and flowers and a HUGE card declaring me the best mom ever. Since my kids are 16 and 13 I suppose I should count myself as fortunate that they still think so with all my many rules and restrictions that make their lives so miserable. Hey, that's my job, right?

As a special offering to all the moms, I'm offering my book GEORGIA ON MY MIND as a Kindle freebie this weekend. If you've already read GEORGIA, then you know that the loss of my own mother, now almost eight years ago, featured prominently in this story. Much of what Georgie Quinn goes through after losing her mother mirrored my experiences. There's also a cast of irascible senior citizens in this book that are fashioned after my dad and his hilarious group of friends. And finally, you get three romances for the price of one when the Caldwell brothers meet Georgie and her two roommates. Get it for free here until Tuesday. If you have a Nook, Kobo or iPad and want to read Georgia, you can download the free Kindle app to any device with an internet connection and get the free copy.

In other news, I was excited to hear this week that Harlequin will be bringing out the Fatal Series in mass market paperback under the HQN imprint starting in the fall of 2013 and going forward from there. I'm looking forward to gaining some new readers of the series through this offering, and I signed on for two more books in the series, Fatal Attack and Fatal Mistake. I'm looking forward to getting back to work on Fatal Attack when I get the recovered items off my damaged hard drive--hopefully by Tuesday of this week. What an ordeal that turned out to be. Note to all who rely on computers: back up more often than I did and don't drop your laptop.

Have a great Sunday!

Catching Up

So I had this big idea about blogging every day, and then I wake up to realize a month has gone by with no posts. I continue to be committed to blogging more often, but the best laid plans...

It's been a busy month around here! In April, I ventured with the family to Spain, where our daughter was born nearly 17 years ago when my husband was stationed there in the Navy. We had a great time showing off our old stomping grounds to the kids. At 16 and 13, they were at the perfect ages to appreciate the adventure of visiting a foreign country. One side benefit I hadn't expect is that Jake, who will be in 8th grade next year, will be more interested in starting Spanish classes than he might've been before the trip. We'll do whatever we can to interest him in school, so that was a plus. Emily loved seeing where she was born as well as the first home and the beach boardwalk that was the site of her very first outing.

For our part, we were surprised by how environmentally conscious Spain has become since we were there. Hundreds and hundreds of wind turbines and solar farms dot the landscape. The car we rented, a jazzy Mercedes (mama loved that car!), had a fuel-efficient feature that shut it down when idling. Hotel room keys are required to get lights in the rooms. We were surprised to realize Europe is so far ahead of the U.S. on these things. Because the European Union came into existence after we lived there, we had to figure out the ins and outs of the Euro, which was an adventure. Dan and I were both surprised that our rusty Spanish came back as if it had been yesterday when we last used it. The funniest episode I had occurred when ordering room service in Spanish and getting all the way to the end and not comprehending a question. So I said, En ingles? And he says, "Anything else?" LOL! Then he said, Room number? I said, "839." He growls, En español! He wouldn't let me cop out at the end, which I thought was hilarious! Then there was the trip to the farmacia to get cold medicine for Jake. Since I didn't know how to say sneeze or cough in Spanish, I worked around that with fake sneezes and coughs. The pharmacist says, "AH!" Jake and I got a good laugh out of that. When in doubt, improvise!

The other lasting impression is how very, very nice the Spanish people are. There's an old-world courtliness that you don't see very often anymore, and even the kids commented on how nice everyone was. We felt very welcome and totally safe everywhere we went. Well, I didn't feel very safe sitting in the midst of a rowdy group of bachelor party revelers on the flight from London to Madrid, but I was thoroughly entertained!

In other news, I've had an exciting month on the book front! We sold the French rights to the McCarthy Series at auction, Fatal Consequences won a Bean Pot Award (left), Fatal Destiny won a Holt Medallion while Fatal Justice and Everyone Loves a Hero received Awards of Merit from the Virginia Romance Writers, and I had the honor of delivering one of the keynotes at the Romance Writers of America New England Chapter conference in late April, which was a real thrill.

I'm hard at work on Season for Love, book 6 in the McCarthys of Gansett Island Series, and I'm still hoping to get that out in June. After that, I'll be finishing Fatal Attack and then turning to McCarthy book 7, Longing for Love, featuring Tiffany and Blaine. I also plan to write the much-requested fourth book in the Treading Water Trilogy (which will ruin the whole "trilogy" concept--haha), called Coming Home. It will feature Kate Harrington and Reid Matthews, closing the circle left open in Marking Time. I know a lot of you have wanted to see closure for Kate and Reid, and I'm all about giving my readers what they want. :-)

Back to work I go! Tell me what you've been up to lately!
xoxo
Marie

Guest Blog with Vanessa Kelly/V.A. Sykes

Thanks so much for hosting me on your blog today, Marie.  Some of your readers might know me as historical romance writer Vanessa Kelly.  In fact, I do have a new historical coming out in October, called His Mistletoe Bride.  But I don’t want to talk about my historical romances, but about the contemporary romances I write with my husband under the pen name of VK Sykes.

Writing books with one’s hubby is an interesting experience, but it’s worked out pretty well for us.  Our first book, CaddyGirls, was released by digital-first publisher Carina Press, but our subsequent books are self-published.  We’ve enjoyed diverging from the traditional path.  It’s given us control over our work and allowed us to write the stories we wanted to write—stories which don’t necessarily fit in the box of traditional publishing.

Plus, I get to pick out the covers, which means looking at pictures of hot, partly naked men in a variety of interesting poses.  For some reason my husband usually passes this particular chore on to me.  Ah, well.  One must suffer for one’s art!

I’m very pleased to tell you that hubby and I have recently released two new books.  Both Fastball and Hot Number are sexy contemporary romances.  Fastball is actually a prequel to our award-winning romance, Hardball, which came out last year.  As you might surmise from the title, Fastball is a sports romance, starring a very sexy major league baseball player as the hero.  And when I say sexy, I mean sexy!

Hot Number is also a fun and sexy romance, set in Las Vegas.  It features a brilliant but nerdy math professor who decides to have a wild week in Vegas.  Unfortunately, she ends up getting busted for card counting by a casino chief of security.  Fortunately, said security chief is also very hot, and he’s definitely out to give our heroine a wild ride.

Releasing two new books is certainly a cause to celebrate, but I’ve got other good news to share. Both Fastball and Hot Number have been released under the branding of a new author’s group called Rock*It Reads (RIR, for short).  All the members of RIR are traditionally published authors committed to producing high quality, self-published romances. We do that by ensuring that our self-published books receive a strong editorial review, go through a solid copyediting process, and are properly formatted for a multitude of popular eReaders.

The members of RIR are Monica Burns, Pamela Clare, Lila DiPasqua, Cheryl Holt, Kris Kennedy, Margo Maguire, Mia Marlowe, Elisabeth Naughton, Sharon Page, Joan Swan, and moi, writing as both Vanessa Kelly and VK Sykes.  Please check out our beautiful new website for all the latest on RIR and our self-published books: www.rockitreads.com.  We’ve got lots going on, including a new review column in collaboration with Barnes & Noble.  Our B & N column, called Love Rocks, will be spotlighting the best in self-published romances, unearthing those sometimes hidden gems that you might miss.  We’ll be putting out a new column every two weeks at http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/.  We hope you’ll join us!

Vanessa Kelly writes Regency-set historical romance for Kensington Zebra and contemporary romance with her husband under the pen name of VK Sykes.  You can find her on the web at www.vanessakellyauthor.com or at www.vksykes.com.  And be sure to visit her at www.rockitreads.com or follow her on her blog:

http://vanessakellyauthor.com/vanessa-blog/

Exciting News!

I was very honored to learn yesterday that the book of my heart, TREADING WATER, was included the Joyfully Reviewed Best of 2011 listing. Of all the books I released in 2011, you all know THIS is the one I would've wanted to see on that list, so it was particularly thrilling to get this news. You can view the complete Best of 2011 list here.

Here is what Joyfully Reviewed had to say about TREADING WATER upon its release in October of 2011:

Jack Harrington’s life is pretty good.  He has a beautiful wife and three wonderful daughters.  Until one day when it all comes crashing down around him.  His wife is hit by a car and left in a coma.  With no chance of a recovery, Jack must pick up the pieces of his and his daughter’s lives.  So far he hasn’t been the most attentive dad.  He’s always worked hard to provide for his family but since the tragedy he’s learned what’s most important—and that’s his girls.  Life moves on and Jack struggles to manage work and family.   He never expected another opportunity at love to walk into his life but she does.

Andrea Walsh is an interior designer working for the hotel Jack’s company is building.  When she comes to Newport for design inspiration, she finds more than she bargained for.  The chemistry boils between her and Jack but the complications in both of their lives make it seem impossible for them to have a relationship.  Andi isn’t exactly itching to start something.  Her ex left her when they discovered their son was deaf.  She fears being abandoned by another man but their feelings cannot be contained.  They embark on a long distance relationship that soon becomes more than they ever imagined.  Is it possible for these two to get a second chance at love?

Wow wow wow…that is my constant thought after finishing Treading Water.  I find myself still gripped by the powerful emotions that Marie Force brought forth in Treading Water.  Life is full of endless possibilities and Treading Water shines a light on all that can be had if a person is willing to grab it.  Jack may be over forty but he proves it’s never too late to change.  After his wife’s accident and horrible prognosis he’s forced to change everything he’s ever known.  The reevaluation of his life spotlights the areas where he was lacking.  The relationships with his daughters become his number one.  I love the journey Ms. Force takes the reader on in Treading Water.  We get a front row seat to Jack’s personal tragedy and the years that follow.

Ms. Force asks the question, “Is it possible to be sad and happy at the same time?”  When Jack meets Andi he is forced to deal with not only his burgeoning feelings for her but the guilt he feels at saying goodbye to the relationship he had with his wife.  I adore Andi.  She is such a strong woman who walks into this difficult situation with her head held high and good intentions to pave her path.  I love that Ms. Force kept surprising me.  When I thought something cliché would happen she would throw me a curve ball.  Treading Water is a definite must read! Treading Water creates an emotional firestorm within the reader.  It shines the light on the good and the bad in life and proves that one moment can change everything and it’s never too late to find love.  Marie Force grabbed my heart and squeezed every ounce of emotion out of it but most importantly her monumental story left me blissful.  Treading Water may be fiction but it gives me hope; hope in everyday people and happily ever after.  I cannot wait for the next book in this trilogy, Marking Time.

I want to thank Miranda and Joy for all their lovely support of my books and for this incredible honor!

In other news, FATAL FLAW received a four-star review from RT Book Reviews last week. Here is what RT had to say about Book 4 in the Fatal Series:

Genre: Romantic Suspense, General Romantic Suspense, E-book
Sensuality: HOT

RT Rating 

For those Fatal readers hoping to get in on the Sam and Nick honeymoon action, take a walk. This is a very different read than the other Fatal installments, mainly because we know that Sam and Nick are going to be okay. Sure, they may be the targets of a homicidal maniac, but their relationship is solid. That said, this novel does a good job of bringing readers into Sam and Nick’s new life to spend time with the people that populate it. Fatal diehards will appreciate the integration of all the couples, which is as flawless as the integration of Sam’s family into the series. Another one of Force’s main strengths with this series is she consistently addresses issues of deep concern to women such as stalking, immigration status, fertility issues and sexual assault. This novel’s real achievement is the smart, sensitive way it documents the struggle of DC cop Jeannie McBride to deal with the emotional challenges of life after being raped. Force shares how the trauma has changed Jeannie’s relationship with unyielding honesty and respect, which readers are sure to appreciate.

Lieutenant Sam Holland is acting unlike herself: she doesn’t want to go to work. But after having two weeks of honeymoon bliss can anyone blame her? Sam just wants stability and plenty of time with her new husband Senator Nick Cappuano. However, the settled married life she craves is not to be. First, she discovers their wedding cards have been laced with eerie death threats, and it’s not clear who is in the cross hairs. Then murders start happening and well-liked community members are picked off with no obvious motive or suspect in sight. To top it all off, Sam has hit a wall in her hunt for answers to a longstanding family mystery. As Sam puts the different puzzles together, she realizes they may be related. But who could want to harm her now and when will she and Nick be able to enjoy their fairy tale ending?

Thank you to Morgan and Maria! I appreciate RT's support of my books!

I Would Tell You About My Anxiety, But I'm Afraid To...

For many years now, it's been clear to me that I am more anxious than the average person. My close friends and family tell me all the time that my worries are not "normal" worries. My anxiety issues first became apparent with an increasingly debilitating fear of flying. This was a true problem when you consider that for 13 years, I worked full time at home for a company headquartered 300 miles away. Thus I was required to fly--often. It's my suspicion that juggling two full-time jobs and two kids for more than five years contributed to my anxiety disorder. I was living in constant fear of dropping one of the many balls I kept constantly in the air. People would say to me all the time, "I don't know how you do all that you do." I've decided my engine was fueled by worry. I used to have these images in my head of one of my kids sitting on a dark curb waiting for a ride that wasn't coming because Mom finally dropped one of the most important balls (this actually happened to one of my friends, so see, it CAN happen). I once BOLTED out of my house and literally FLEW George Jeston-style in the car to pick up my daughter, heart pounding, mouth dry, white knuckles, the whole nine yards. Only to realize, halfway through this crazy jaunt, that I would arrive more than an hour early--not 20 minutes late as I had feared. This was the result of a simple time-telling error that could happen to anyone, I said. Not true, my family assured me. This could only happen to you, they said. My kids have known for some time that Mom is a little crazy around the edges. This has never been more apparent since my daughter started driving, sending my anxiety into the red zone.

Coupled with my anxiety is an out-of-control superstitious streak. Trust me when I tell you, these two things make for a problematic combination. The superstition I can't help--I'm Irish, for crying out loud! I remember when I was a kid and my parents were leaving on a trip to London. My mom broke the mirror on their medicine cabinet, leading my father to rant for an hour, "If my father was alive, we'd be canceling this trip." So it's not my fault! I come by that part naturally. We are leaving on a rather ambitious vacation this week, and I went out of my way to avoid flying on Friday the 13th. I mean, come on, I have enough issues with flying without adding Friday the 13th to the mix. That's just unnecessary roughness! I woke with a start in the middle of the night recently, freaking out that instead we'd be flying over the North Atlantic on the anniversary of the Titanic disaster. My son disabused me of that notion (I was off by a few days), but not before I had a somewhat sleepless night imagining a second epic disaster occurring in April of '12. I can hear you all mumbling, "This chick is a mess." Trust me, I know!

I had a friend once who was as much of a mess as I am. We bonded over our disaster planning capabilities. I lived in Jacksonville, Florida at the time and a truck had recently driven off the Buckman Bridge. We spent countless hours dissecting that event and preparing for the possibility of it happening to us. How, we wondered, would we get two kids in car seats out of the car before it sank? Let me just say that had it happened to either of us, we were ready--readier than most people would ever be. For her birthday one year, I gave her the Worst Case Scenario Handbook, a gift that she said proved how well I knew her. She said it was one of the best gifts she'd ever gotten, until a week or so later when she called to blame me for a sleepless night because the book was full of horrors she'd never thought of. Needless to say, I didn't read much beyond "How to Survive an Alligator Attack," since that had real relevance when I was living in Florida.

It was my luck in life to give birth to two kids who aren't afraid of anything. They love to fly--the rougher the flight the happier they are (freaks). They love roller coasters and those carnival rides that look to be held together by duct tape. So while they are hurtling through the air on the tilt-a-whirl, I'm on the ground popping the Xanax, preparing for imminent disaster and praying for their safe delivery back to Earth. We were at the beach during a tropical storm two years ago and their father allowed them to BODY SURF in the crushing waves. I mean, SERIOUSLY? As they had some of the best fun of their young lives, I very nearly required electric-shock therapy to get past the trauma of watching my babies be pummeled by furious surf. Did I mention their father is also a fearless freak? Both my kids have expressed interest in skydiving, rock climbing, hang gliding, mountain climbing and other extreme sports that I am better off not knowing about. My response to those interests is always the same, "You'll have plenty of time to do all that when I'm gone." They ask if I have a time table for my departure so they can prepare for the "fun years." LOL! Brats!

It's been brought to my attention that I might benefit from anxiety medication. I have some. I'm too afraid to take it.

Am I alone in being an anxious freak show? Please tell me I'm not!

So Much for Good Intentions...

I've really fallen down on the blogging in the last couple of weeks. I can't believe how busy life is now that I am only working as an author. I say "only." The first quarter of self-employment have been three of the busiest months I can remember. In addition to working on three books at the same time, I've incorporated my business and done all the associated paperwork, started a new business to help other authors format their e-books, updated all of my e-books to include live links, conquered Kobo and its daunting metadata form and conquered Overdrive (which distributes to libraries and other retailers) and it's even MORE daunting metadata form. Life is busy, to say the least.

On the home side, I've now got a kid who drives, we got a second dog (who is a wild child) and we did a ton of work to our house. Phew! I'm tired. Good thing I'm going on vacation soon and leaving my laptop (also known as my Siamese twin) at home. That ought to be interesting. My family predicts I'll be twitching before the first day is out, but I'm determined to take a REAL vacation for the first time in years. When I was still working the day job, all my vacation time was devoted to book stuff. After seven years of that, I'm wondering if I remember what it truly means to be on vacation. We'll see!

One more thing to add to the list for the last three months was the devastating computer crash that gave me a serious slap upside the head to improve my backup system. Three weeks after I dropped my laptop and fried my hard drive, I'm STILL waiting on the data recovery. It was at 88.9 percent this morning, so I'm hoping to get it back next week. Fingers crossed because I've got big chunks of two books trapped in never-never land on that old hard drive. I'll let you know what happens!

Until then, have a great weekend!