Stones of Sandhill Island

The Wild Rose Press just released my latest Sandhill Island book and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.  Sandhill Island is a mythical place off the coast of Corpus Christi where life is laidback – except when it isn’t.  The breeze off the waves may lull you to sleep in a hammock but watch out for your neighbors.  You might want to sleep with one eye open.

            Most of the inhabitants of the island are good, hard-working people who prefer a slower pace than life on the mainland.  And they are there to help if needed.  There are the occasional troublemakers who can take a tropical paradise and turn it upside down.

            Billie Stone had the voice of raw honey dripping from its comb.  Her mother, a former principal ballerina with the Corpus Christi Ballet brought her to the island as a baby and helped her develop her own art – music.  She was a favorite in the Corpus Christi jazz scene with her best friend, String.  String accompanied her on the bass fiddle and sometimes took over the piano.  His deep bass voice complemented hers and they mesmerize audiences far and wide.  Until tragedy struck, and her family was killed in an auto accident.  Then she headed back to the only home she’d ever known, Sandhill Island. Home to heal her psyche she found her mother had become ill with Parkinson’s.  Her strong lovely ballet legs had become her enemy. 

            Joe Franks was only a little drunk the night he hit the minivan and killed two people.  Now after a year in prison he is out only to find his job gone, house foreclosed, car repossessed, and bank account drained after paying into the Texas Victim’s Restitution Fund.  And no one would hire a jail bird. He wanted revenge and he was not above violence to get it.

            As Billie tried to recover from the loss of her family and, now her mother, she discovered her mother held a secret she’d never told her.  A secret that could change Billie’s life forever.

            Check out the second in the Sandhill Island series, Stones of Sandhill Island.  I’m thinking there may be a third that involves smuggling. 

I love island life!

Peggy Chambers

http://peggylchambers.com/

Available on Amazon and all major online retailers

What Tools Do You Need - Post Four

This banner is from one of my personal groups where I invite authors to post about their books.  I’ve made an investment in my graphics. If you have a budget and it provides for a graphic artist, then by all means, hire the person and go back to writing. I don’t have such a budget so I make do with what I can.

Here’s some new memes without text that I purchase from a stock photo house. These are primarily from DepositPhotos.com. They usually have sales; i.e. 100 photos for $100 for a year. If they don’t show it on the website, chat with a sales person and it might be available.

This is used for a current Valentine’s Day Contest.

This is a favorite of mine. I post on the social media sites with a catchy phrase in the comment section. “At another time, another place, if he might find her again, Raven would demonstrate all the other things his lips and manly parts could do.” From Once Upon a duke.

Here’s another photo of my Regency Lady, where I use various phrases. Is she going to meet someone? Has she heard a noise and is frightened? Did the draft blow her candles out?  There’s no end to how you can utilize a photo.

It goes without saying--do not simply copy pictures from the internet. There are copyright laws and you don’t want to tangle with these legal issues. Pay for what you use and you’ll feel safe.

I’ve used this saying of mine in a few books, just to show there are countless ways to make your words count.

Above all, you want your memes to be fresh and new without breaking your bank. There a few other stock houses you can use: Dreamstine, Pixabay…just to name a few.

So here’s my last one. 

 Sincerely hope you’ve found this blog of interest. I’ve had fun working on my memes. I do use a graphic artist when I have special text.  I improvise when I can place the text under the photo. 

Have a question? E mail at: sandramastersauthor@gmail.com

Purchase a novel?  http://amzn.to/2DFNOwZ   Amazon

http://bit.ly/2DHnPFx The Wild Rose Pres

Author website: www.authorsandramasters.com

What about your meme will make it engaging? Post Three

By now, you’ve noticed I use different banners/headers dependent on what I’m sharing with my readers and fans. I write titillating romance. My readers expect me to deliver, so my memes are indicative of my writing.

Here are some recent new memes.

*From your novel, choose a catchy tag line or short excerpt.

*Create a photo that will intrigue and tease.

*Do not use too many words. Choose carefully.

*The above examples show five lines: “Come to me in my rooms,” etc.

* “Clutch the Shirt of a Duke, And make him your own.” Three lines.

*Both memes have power words and sentences.

Here’s another meme made from a photo showing my debut novel and a prop mask and books in the background which I use for promotions.

Next week’s Blog #4 is about: WHAT TOOLS DO YOU NEED?

Have a question? E-mail at: sandramastersauthor@gmail.com

Purchase a novel?  http://amzn.to/2DFNOwZ   Amazon

http://bit.ly/2DHnPFx The Wild Rose Press

Author website: www.authorsandramasters.com

How Can You Use a Meme to your Benefit - Post Two

Back to the memes I’ve posted before:

#1

 #2

 #3

#1:  What started out in the carriage as a kiss in the name of safety became pleasurable, and not safe at all.

#2. “What would I have to do?”

       “I leave it to your resourcefulness under a starlit night with nothing but our naked imaginations.”

       His nearness too intimate.

       His touch too hot.

       His desire too obvious.

#3  “Samantha, I would venture it’s a definite possibility. As a caution, they would have to stay close to one another. It would be an experiment of interest, wouldn’t it?” A smile crossed his face. “Would you like me to take measurements?”

“Of me or the tub, Your Grace?” Her eyes engaged his. “However, that will not be necessary. I have determined it would fit two consensual persons.”

In each of the above three cases, the graphics relate to the words.

#1 shows the carriage

#2 shows the semi clad couple in an embrace.

#3 shows the bathtub scene and the two lovers.

The banter of each has a sensual connotation which Regency Romance readers love.

Where would you post these?

 To your Facebook Author Page(s)

To  your Twitter Page

To your Instagram Page

 In most cases, you can add a photo if you choose to take advantage of your reader’s 8 second interest.

Hints: Post it to as many groups within your genre as possible. Go to the Facebook Groups section and peruse the groups and join. Read guidelines carefully and follow them for each individual group.

           Post at specific times in the day. For my Pacific Time area, I post Monday to Friday, between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.  Weekends are usually Saturday only, same time frame.

           I post in the late afternoon, 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. with a brand new meme content.

          On Sundays, I choose not to post unless it is a crucial event. The readers and I both next a rest.

         Do not over-post the same message time and time again.

         Be adventurous and change your morning meme with a different meme in the afternoon.

         Memes can be made in all sizes and shapes.

        Above all, be professional. This is your time to shine.

Tomorrow's blog is: WHAT ABOUT YOUR MEME WILL MAKE IT ENGAGING?

Have a question? E mail at: sandramastersauthor@gmail.com

Purchase a novel?

http://amzn.to/2DFNOwZ Amazon

http://bit.ly/2DHnPFx  The Wild Rose Press

Author website: www.authorsandramasters.com

To Meme Or Not To Meme, That Is The Question - Part One

February 2018          

Hello Everyone: Allow me to introduce myself. I write as Sandra Masters for The Wild Rose Press in the Tea Rose Regency line. My heat level for these five published books in The Duke Series is a 4/5. Spicy/Steamy.

Early on in the marketing and promotion program, I experienced success with branding through memes. If you’re a one-person show without a virtual assistant or publicist, you might consider using memes in your social media which is what I did. Lisa Dawn at The Wild Rose Press helped me with my first meme. Thereafter, I managed to gather about seventy-five of them for all my books.

This blog on memes will run for the next four days. Now to this session.  What is a meme?  Whatever you want it to be. Sounds simplistic, but it’s not.

·                     A meme is a graphic image with text or with text representative of a character, place or    scene in your novel.

·                     It can feature a hero, heroine, villain, pet, or an abstract.

·                     It can include the cover of your book in a small version anywhere you choose, most          likely lower left or right of the meme.

·                     It can and should include the title and your author name.

·                     Ideally, if you have a mind-boggling tag line, it will catch the viewer.

If you were a reader/fan scrolling through social media, would these graphics and text lines make you want to know more about the book, the characters, the scenarios, the spice level, and cause to consider purchase of the book?

·                  I speak only for myself.

·                  Memes that are classic, elegant, spicy, and in good taste will attract attention.

·                  No porn and no erotica is allowed by Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

·                  Even though the memes above are suggestive, they are not blatant.

·                  My personal favorite in One Night With a Duke is the meme about naked imagination      and resourcefulness. Sigh.

·                  Memes do not have to have any text. The picture will speak for itself. Comments can be   made under the meme or anywhere you choose.

·                  I do not use memes for long excerpts.

·                  You can ramp your heat level up or down. You are the boss.

Next blog is: HOW CAN YOU USE A MEME TO YOUR BENEFIT? CAN YOU DO IT YOURSELF? CAN YOU USE MEMES WITHOUT TEXT? WHY? HOW?

The above is another type of graphic: The banner which can be used for post cards, posters, newsletters, blogs, whatever you feel you need to engage your audience.

Have a question? E mail at: sandramastersauthor@gmail.com

http://bit.ly/2vTAhOT    AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

www.authorsandramasters.com