Author Sherry Gammon : Take My Heart Blog Tour

Take My Heart by Marie Higgins

Mercedes Maxwell’s sister’s last wish was for Mercedes to find evidence against Kat’s husband, William Braxton, and have him hung as a traitor to the crown. Mercedes isn’t naïve when it comes to capturing traitors, because her own deceased husband had once been an agent for the King when they lived in England.

When she meets William Braxton for the first time, all is not as it seems. Portraying her twin, Mercedes knows this is the only way to get close enough to William to discover his secrets. What she finds along the way are little surprises she hadn’t counted on, especially when she begins to give her heart to a man who may be a spy against the crown.

Book Trailer

Praise for Marie Higgins
”I enjoyed this book immensely. Each book of Marie's that I read is better than the last. I recommend this book to young adults and older who enjoy historical mystery, intrigue, fight for freedom, clean romance. This is the book for you.”
~~Mary Walling / Goodreads

“Few authors have mastered the art of storytelling like Marie Higgins. In this Colonial-era romance, Marie takes her reader on a wild ride. Every chapter, every scene, every line envelopes the reader's senses and imagination with passionate romance, deep emotional struggles, unexpected twists and turns, and neverending ups and downs. This was a hard book to put down and earns an unequivocal five stars from me. Thanks, Marie, for writing such great romances!”
~~Wanda Luce / Goodreads

“Marie Higgins's Take My Heart is a stunning colonial romance. With well developed characters and heartwarming scenes, this book will steal the hearts of romance lovers and historical fiction fans. There are numerous twists and Higgins keeps you guessing at every turn as to who the real villain is. This book is a "must-read" for anyone who loves romance, history, or just a good story. FIVE STARS ALL THE WAY!!” ~~L.D. Smith / Kindle

“Breathless! From start to finish you will keep wondering, questioning, and hoping. You will root for the underdog, and smile as love conquers all. Great read. You won't put it down until you're finished!”
~~M. Henning / Kindle

Purchase

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Amazon Kindle

Author Marie Higgins

Since Marie Higgins was a little girl playing Barbies with her sister, Stacey, she has loved the adventure of making up romantic stories. Marie was only eighteen years old when she wrote her first skit, which won an award for Funniest Skit. A little later in life, after she’d married and had children, Marie wrote Church roadshows that were judged as Funniest and Best Written. From there, she branched out to write full-length novels based on her dreams. (Yes, she says, her dreams really are that silly)

Marie has been married for twenty-six years to a wonderful man. Together, they have three loving daughters and several beautiful grandchildren. Marie works full time for the state of Utah, where she has lived her entire life. Marie plans to keep writing, because the characters in her head won’t shut up. But her husband smiles and pretends this is normal.

Links

Blog * Twitter

Tour Giveaway
$25 Amazon Gift Card
Ends 1/31/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Traditional vs Self-Publishing

I’ve been with e-publishers for several years, then two years ago I had a traditional print publisher take me on, and now I’m doing self-publishing. So believe me when I say, I know what I’m talking about with all three. I’ve had my share of the good and especially the bad.

First, I’ll talk a little about Traditional Publishing. An author gets their manuscript as error-free as they can and they mail or email it to a publisher. Most big publishers take anywhere from two weeks to six months before they respond. If they accept the author’s story the first time without asking for revisions, and send a contract, they can take up to another six months before starting on edits…which may or may not take another month or so to complete. Let’s hope the editor the author gets is a good one and likes the author’s style of writing, because if they don’t, they might rewrite a lot of the story. And if the author doesn’t agree, then author and editor will go back and forth for a while before deciding on who will win. Usually around this time the cover artist for the publisher has created a book cover. Most publishers don’t ask the author if they like the cover or not—they make it, and that’s that. So then the author better start praying it’s a good cover and that they’ll like it… After that, the author can expect to wait another six months to a year before their book is even published. At this point, the author—and hopefully publisher—will promote the crap out of that book because the shelf life for a normal book is about six week. (yes, you read that correctly…SIX weeks!)

Now, let’s take that same book and self-publish it. Let’s hope the author is part of a critique group of has critique partners (or beta readers) to help find plot holes or spelling / grammar errors. Let’s say that author is very proficient and has the book done and edited (by her critique group/partners) written in two months. Now the author either makes the book cover themselves or pays someone to do it. I have done both, and I like paying someone to do mine only because I don’t have Photoshop and I’m not talented in that area. Finding the right cover could take the author or hired cover artist a few days to a week. Author is now ready to read the guidelines to getting the story downloaded on Kindle/Nook/Smashwords/Kobo/and any other place they can find like these. The first time I tried to format my book for each of these places, it took me about a day. After that, it became easier. Once the book is formatted and downloaded, it takes a day with Kindle & Nook & Smashwords, and a little longer for the others. Now book is ready to purchase…and it only took the author a couple of months!! AND…the book can stay on these websites for as long as it’s selling—instead of the six weeks like a Traditional Publisher would keep it.

What I really love about self-publishing is that I get to write my stories the way I want…instead of having an editor nit-pick it to death or change the story to make it their voice instead of mine. (yes, this has happened to me a few times!) I get to approve or disapprove my book covers. (there’s been a few times with my publishers that I was stuck with an ugly cover—and believe me, sales were bad!) I love the fact that I can change anything about my book and reload it on Kindle/Nook/the others—and the next day the updated copy is there. I love how I can check each day to see how well my books are selling…whereas with publishers, authors have no clue to how well—or how terrible—their sales are. And if the author doesn’t trust their publisher…well, they’re screwed! I love how all of these places pay MONTHLY, yet the publishers pay once a quarter…or heaven forbid, twice a year. I LOVE the freedom I have with self-publishing. Oh, and I must add that I love earning 70% off my royalties instead of the 12% or 35% the publishers give me.

Can you tell which way I love? hahaha

About the author –

Marie Higgins is a multi-published author of romance; from refined bad-boy heroes who makes your heart melt to the feisty heroines who somehow manage to love them regardless of their faults. Visit her website / blog to discover more about her – http://mariehiggins84302.blogspot.com

~Marie Higgins~
More than just a romance...my stories are an adventure!

http://mariehiggins84302.blogspot.com/