Suzanne Rock - How do you Choose? + Contest

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Enter to win and eBook copy of Whispers!

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How do you Choose?
by Suzanne Rock

Hi everyone! Thanks for having me on the blog today. I’d like to use this opportunity to take off my writer’s hat and talk to you a little bit – reader to reader. There has been an explosion of ebooks in the past year. Now more than ever, authors have options when it comes to publishing their work. As a result, the market is flooded with new authors and new titles.

When I got a new Kindle Touch for Christmas, I wanted to fill it up with books. I wanted to buy from my favorite authors, but I also wanted to find new stories as well. As I flipped through the Amazon book lists and browsed the different pages, a thought occurred to me. How do readers choose their books?

All of us have our favorite authors, those we autobuy every time they have a new release. I’m not talking about them. When you’re browsing in the book store, what makes you pick up one book over another?

While searching Amazon, I learned a lot about myself and my book buying habits.

1. I buy books based on genre. My top three favorites are Romance of all subgenres (of course!), thriller and fantasy. If the mood strikes, I’ll buy a science fiction. I rarely buy outside of these genres.
2. I buy based on personal connections. This goes beyond the occasional spam email or response on a yahoo loop. If someone has taken the time to form a relationship with me, then I will more often than not put their name in a search engine and see what comes up.
3. Some people (myself included) really do judge a book by its cover. A cover doesn’t have to be flashy or eye-catching, but shouldn’t look like your fourth year old put it together, either.
4. I’m a sucker for a catchy blurb. After a book passes the first three criteria, I read the blurb. You can tell a lot about a book from the blurb. Often you get a flavor of the author’s writing style and can see if it is something that agrees with you. If the blurb is well written, you have an idea of the main characters and the plot. If it doesn’t grab me from the get-go, I pass.
5. Reviews really do matter. I look at the amazon reviews. (Does anyone else?) I discount the 1-star reviews simply because I’ve found too many of them to be nasty. I also discount the five star reviews, because I know many authors (not all) have family and friends rate books and the validity of those reviews is often suspect. I read the 2-4 star reviews because (most of the time) I find them to be more open and honest.

This is why it’s so important to review the books you love. You bring new readers to the authors you love, which in turn brings them more revenue. More revenue means that the author can cut back on the day job and spend more time writing the books you love.

Using this process, I’ve managed to fill up my kindle with a lot of great reads. So I’m asking all of you, do you have a process for finding new books? If so, what is it?

ABOUT THE BOOK / WHISPERS

Rose is skeptical when Lady Denville hires her to take care of some ghosts in her townhouse. She expects to find a nest of rats or branches scraping against a window. Instead she finds two sexy spirits intent on fulfilling her every sexual desire. They introduce her to a whole new world of pleasure — and a curse that may destroy them all.

Lionel and Jonathan have been trapped in the townhouse for decades, waiting. When Rose walks in, they know that she is the one with the power to save them. The key to their freedom lies within reach, and both men must put aside their differences if they ever hope to break the curse that binds them to the townhouse. As the men set out to seduce Rose and gain their freedom, their sexual desire turns into something more. Now they must be honest with the woman they love, or stay imprisoned in the spirit world forever.

EXCERPT

Rose stood at the top of the stairs and listened. The moans were louder now, and she could easily distinguish the two tones.She scanned the area around her, but it was too dark to see much beyond her hands.

She straightened her light green dress, chosen to match her eyes, and poked a wispy blonde curl back into her twist. If Lady Denville indeed had guests up here, then Rose had to make sure to look her best.

She picked up a candle off the nearby end table and lit it. The soft glow illuminated the hallway, which looked as if it hadn’t had a good dusting in ages. Thick velvet curtains had been pulled over the windows, blocking any light. It was so unlike Lady Denville to keep her upstairs closed up like this.

Besides the depressing atmosphere, nothing seemed out of the ordinary with the crimson carpet and dark wood walls. Rose took a deep breath, steeled her jaw, and stepped forward.

The noises filled the air, fanning her desire from a small spark into a large flame. They were smooth and melodic, almost blending with each other. Her body warmed, and she placed her hand to her cheek. Her husband wasn’t overly amorous, and it had been a long time since she had enjoyed the pleasures of the bedroom. The noises spoke to something feminine and primal deep inside her body. It awoke and rushed through her system, leaving her breathless.

The sensations felt…strange. She had not felt anything so strong before, not even with her own husband. What could be making her feel this way, and could it alleviate the ache forming between her legs? She inched forward a step, then two. With each small advance, her desire grew until she found it difficult to concentrate on the matter at hand. She paused as a name echoed off the walls.

“Jonathan.”

Her skin tingled with sexual awareness as the deep, commanding voice rippled through her body. Rose slid her fingers along the low-cut edge of her dress, then dipped them between her breasts. How did it get so warm in here?

And who was Jonathan?

She continued to the very end of the hall. It was darkest here, the heavy curtains in the windows blocking all light. She heard new noises now, like the shifting of furniture. They seemed to be coming from behind the large wooden door. A low glow shone through the cracks as the moans grew louder.

Heat traveled over her skin as she stared at the strange light. A light breeze blew over her skin, just like it had when she was downstairs moments ago. It did nothing to cool her rising temperature or the fluttering in her stomach.

The flame on the candle flickered, then extinguished. She fought back the sudden urge to shed her clothes as confusion filled her mind. She had to know what was behind the door, not just for Lady Denville’s sake, but for her own. Rose needed to find out what was making her feel like some animal in heat.

Rose felt the familiar ache low in her abdomen. She was desperate for something to ease the building pressure between her legs, but nothing suitable was available. She resisted the urge to rip off her clothes and touch herself, for she suspected such an act would do little to alleviate the growing ache. She craved something bigger and stronger to satisfy her. The whole situation felt barbaric and yet thrilling at the same time.

Rose moistened her lips and turned the knob…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

After over a decade in the scientific world, Suzanne needed a creative outlet. She tried scrap booking, cooking, crocheting, painting, and piano, none of which held her interest for very long. Then one of her friends suggested writing. Thrilled with the idea of creating her own worlds, she opened up her lap top and never looked back.

When Suzanne’s not writing, she can be found playing with her two daughters, testing her husband’s latest kitchen creations, or curled up with her favorite romance novel in her central Massachusetts home. http://suzannerock.com / Suzanne Rock - Night Owl Reviews Page

ENTER THE CONTEST

Just comment on the post below and leave the first bit of your email address. You do need to be a NOR Newsletter / Fan Club subscriber to enter. USA Postage Only on shipped items. Ends - 1/27/2012