Virtual Book Tour - Rough Harbor by Andrea Stein

Welcome to my stop on Andrea Stein's Virtual Book Tour for Rough Harbor.  Please make sure to leave a comment or question below for Andrea to let her know you stopped by. Andrea will be awarding a $50 GC, winner's choice of Starbucks, Amazon or Walmart, to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. You can follow her tour stops here, the more often you comment, the better your odds of winning.  My review of Rough Harbor will go live tonight.

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On Being a Best Selling Indie Author on Amazon- the Ups and Downs – For Rough Harbor….by Andrea Stein 

Thanks for having me, this is so much fun – a chance to talk about writing and the business of it. Usually I just try to write – as much as possible and not to worry too much about the sales part of it. Why? Because long term success – and repeated best sellers really only come from writing a good book – one that people want to read. And generally, if readers read one book by an author they like, then they keep on reading.

Of course writing a great book doesn’t guarantee best sellerdom…(How many people actually read all those books on the Best of Lists?) It’s a little like claiming you’re home watching PBS when in reality you’re watching Big Brother. Good means readable. It means we care about the characters – especially in romance – and know we want them to end up together even if when we’re not sure they’re going to. Of course, we know they’re going to because, it’s a romance book right?

When you actually hit the best seller list, well, there’s really nothing like the high – to hit the top of your category, to crack the top 1000, the top 100, to see yourself on the first page of listings feels pretty darn great. Time to crack open the champagne, the chocolate or the Twizzlers. And then comes the slide and you have to watch yourself sink like the Titanic. Most books do not stay at the top for all that long (okay, we’ll forget about 50 shades of something…). Most authors need to be content with just making it…And then trying to do it again and again, to build up a steady, reliable base of fans. Which goes back to the simple fact that, as an Indie author, you need to write good books.

Being an indie author is a little like being a character actor. You know, the guy (or gal) you see all over the place, but you don’t know their name. For instance, there’s some guy who was on this past season of Empire Boardwalk and he was on two other shows at the same time. Even I don’t know his name – but that’s not the point. If you saw an interview with that guy, he’d probably say how pumped he was to be getting paid to act, and who cares if most people can’t remember his name.

Indie authors are a lot like those character actors. We have to write. I have story ideas come to me on the playground, waiting in traffic, even while I’m trying to explain why the sky is blue. I have to do something with them. But as an indie you’re in it alone. There’s no rubber stamp before you start writing that says this book is going to be a success. Or that you’re going to be on the Today Show or get an interview in the NY Times. Nope, as an indie you have to faith – and love – for telling stories because thinking of a story is pretty easy – it’s writing it down, coming up with a beginning, a middle and an end, that’s the grueling, hard part. The first takes minutes. The second takes hours, weeks, even months, and all the while you have to forgo other pleasures –like the latest episode of Vampire Diaries – in order to write the next scene.



Even better, indie authors get to be close – really close to their fans – and that’s exciting. Best sellerdom as an indie is a validation that you’re writing stories people love. It’s not because there’s an ad on every bus, magazine, etc. it’s because the people have voted – and the fans are eager to read good stories – no matter who they come from.

And at the end of the day, when you have your own little bit of drama and love and happily ever after to send out into the world, well that feels pretty good – no matter what the numbers say.

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Rough Harbor 

by Andrea Stein

Publisher: GirlMogul Media

Release Date: September 26, 2012

ISBN:978-1480049635 (CreateSpace)

ASIN: B009HIP4RA

Blurb:

After a bitter break up and professional set back in London, twenty seven year old Caitlyn has returned to Queensbay to work for Maxwell Randall, an old family friend, at his financial management firm. So far, bit by bit, Caitlyn’s been rebuilding all she lost after Michael St. John broke her heart …and tried to ruin her professional reputation.

But her past comes back to haunt her when Maxwell unexpectedly turns up dead. Not only does Caitlyn find her career in jeopardy but her heart is too, when Noah Randall, Maxwell’s son, and her first love, returns to Queensbay. Once, ten years ago, Caitlyn was sure Noah was the one for her…but the tragedy of her grandfather’s suicide and Noah’s decision to leave town left her bereft…and determined never to trust him again.

Over the past decade, she’s managed to do her best to forget about Noah Randall and the lingering questions surrounding her grandfather’s suicide. But now that’s he back in town – rich and more handsome than ever, and she can’t help wondering what if? What if Noah really was the one?

Noah Randall left home ten years ago to seek his fortune – vowing never to return until he’d made a success of himself – and show Caitlyn Montgomery just what she’d given up. He returns to find that Caitlyn Montgomery has only grown more alluring with time. Noah’s always wanted he couldn’t have…and now he wants Caitlyn again. But she’s determined not to make the same mistake twice.

While Noah and Caitlyn are revisiting old ground – and forging a new relationship, there’s trouble brewing in Queensbay. Old secrets and new lead Caitlyn to believe that perhaps her grandfather didn’t kill himself – and that Maxwell’s death was no accident. But just how far will someone go to keep her – and Noah – from finding out the truth…and will Queesbay prove to have troubled waters after all? 

Excerpt: 


Noah leaned in closer, his lips hovering above hers, his arms moving around her, pulling her closer to him, so he could feel his body next to hers, feel the swell of her breasts, see every freckle on her nose.

“I have people for that,” he murmured, letting his lips feather across her. Her eyes opened wide, and he knew that she was feeling, that he had gotten to her.

“Noah…” It was more of a moan than a whisper.

“Shh, I know you’re not after my money. Just shut up and let me…”

Kiss you. And he did, their lips touching. Softly at first, so he could taste her, smell her perfume, something spicy, and her shampoo, something fruity. She moved in his arms – not away, but closer – and he took that for an invitation, an invitation that his attentions were wanted.

He deepened his kiss, letting his tongue explore, letting his hands slide from her shoulders down to the V of her neck, skimming lightly over her breasts, feeling the fabric of her bra, then the hard nub of her nipples which sprang to attention under his caress.

She moaned, answering his kiss, her hands running through his hair, pulling him towards her as their embrace deepened, grew more passionate, his hands roaming feeling, possessing her.

Until. “Stop, Noah, stop.” She broke free, her head moving away from him, her hands still twined in his hair. She lowered her eyes and leaned against his shoulders.

“What, what is it?” His voice was husky, raspy, and he could feel desire, the sheer wanting of her flowing through him, all the way through it. She felt it, too, and took a step back.

“Noah, you’re the boss. And we barely know each other. I mean now. I just can’t get involved right now.” 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Hi, I’m, Andrea Stein an author, mother, wife and blogger and a certified mom-chauffeur. I have been scribbling stories for as long as I can remember, including my first adventure story, inspired by an obsession with Out of Africa (book, movie and biography) about a young girl stranded in Kenya. It was serial fiction handwritten, given to my sister, who couldn’t read my handwriting. That story dies after one installment, but the next year I got a word processor (not a computer, but an ACTUAL WORD PROCESSOR) that showed about twenty lines of text at a time. This was before laptops were widely available and this allowed me to be able to type to my heart’s content in the privacy of my own room. Which I did. I think I spent the time writing stories about my “frenemies” to amuse myself. I also listened to a lot of the Cure and New Wave music. I have since moved on to a happier place.


Even though I read lots of different types of books, I write romance novels with a twist. More like contemporary romance than romantic suspense (I don’t write about serial killers or FBI agents) but I usually like to include a puzzle or mystery for my hero and heroine to solve.


Rough Harbor is my second novel, set in a small New England town. Coming soon is Ivy Cottage, also set in a small New England town on a river.


Other than writing I spend most of my time reading, watching TV, cooking, cleaning, taking care of kids, trying to keep the house clean and folding laundry. I love Twizzlers, chocolate and shows on the WB. For me, reading has always been an escape, a way to escape the ordinary and dive into a world that feels real – but with all of the ‘boring’ parts edited out.


As for the rest of my life, I grew up on Long Island, spent a lot of vacations in small New England towns, went to college in New York City, married by high school sweetheart, worked, had kids, stopped working, and kept on writing. Now I live in rural New Jersey (yes, there is such a thing), and though I don’t own any horses, I do have a barn, which I share with squirrels.


There’s something successful writers always tell new writers about their secret to success. Just do it…Bum Glue…write 1ooo words a day…write for two hours a day….Keep writing. And they’re right. I got more successful with my writing when I started to do it consistently. I don’t write every day, but I shoot for five days a week. This means that the words and pages pile up — and I have stories to shape, make and mold…and share.

I hope you enjoy my books, currently available at www.amazon.com



Links – Website:

www.Andreasteinbooks.com

http://www.facebook.com/AndreaSteinBooks

https://twitter.com/andreasteinbook

Please make sure to leave a comment or question below for Andrea to let her know you stopped by. Andrea will be awarding a $50 GC, winner's choice of Starbucks, Amazon or Walmart, to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. You can follow her tour stops here, the more often you comment, the better your odds of winning.