Reflection on 2015 and Plans for 2016

It is snowing lightly outside, dad is watching a football game and the fireplace is warming the room. Time to do a bit of reflection on my writing career during 2015.

First let me recap the goals I set for 2015 at the end of 2014 and how they turned out:

My Goals for 2015:

Scrooge Lives!

Well, it worked folks. It finally worked. All the stars aligned, I held my mouth just right, and crossed my fingers, and sold thirty-seven books in 2 days at the college holiday fair, Scrooge Lives.

I decided this year would be my year to try my hand at table-top shows. This summer I did three with mixed results.

The July 25th show was the NW Book Festival at Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland, Oregon. I did months of prep for this, my first ever show. Even wrote an article of how I prepared. It was a disaster. We had weeks of long hot days only to have July the 25th pour rain. Not just sprinkle or drizzle, but POUR and wind. There was literally a stream running through the tent. I sold eight books, two more than they lady who organized the event, but still a total failure as far as I was concerned.

WIN a $30 Amazon Gift Card AND a Great Book!

It doesn't get much better than this offer.

Purchase the first book in my Shifting books
  "Shifting in The Realms"
in the Twin Cities Series. 

Leave a review and TWO...Count them TWO...Wonderful things will happen.

I will gift you the second book in the series, which I am confident you will be anxious to have, 

AND MineEye will put you in a drawing for a $30 Amazon Gift Certificate!

Another Voucher up for Grabs!

Easy, Fun and Profitable!

Take the plunge. This is a Great offer and a Exciting read!

The Realms refers to a parallel dimension hidden between Minneapolis and St. Paul where creatures, humans think of as only mythical, roam free.

Cody is a shape shift with some monumental problems that all started when he died. He’s escaped to The Realms from the midlands between Heaven and Hell only to find his best friend is potential food for the resident vampires, his girlfriend only loves him in his wolf form and her mother…well that’s a whole other story.

It isn’t easy being Cody, but like a good wolf he’ll do what he can to protect his pack even if it kills him. Wait…he’s already dead.

Polite Gophers of Twitter - Raise Your Hand

My mother always taught me to be polite, but she also told me that once someone said ‘thank you,’ there was no need to take the conversation any further. Oh, you could say, ‘my pleasure,’ or ‘it was nothing,’ but really that was not necessary. And, you certainly did not reply to a Thank You Note with another note. It just wasn’t done.

We used to make fun of the Looney Tune characters Mac and Tosh, two endlessly exuberant, incessantly positive and unfailingly polite gophers. “Thank you. Oh no, Thank you!”

Goofy Gophers and Marvin The Martian "Be Polite"

I feel like Twitter has reached the point of 'polite saturation.' The majority of us use bots if we have gained a following beyond 10,000. When you reach 30,000 it is impossible to keep up with the “Thank Yous” you would really like to say individually.

The Knotty and Nice of Indie Publishing #8 - Platforms Part 2

Audio Creation Exchange (ACX) is the audio book arm of Amazon. They seem to be “the only kid on the block.” Everyone uses them because they make it so darn easy. When you are the writer, formatter, publisher and marketer, it is good to take it easy when you can.

With this site, you set up an account and post a few manuscript pages you think would give a good example of the voice you would like to hear read your work. You can request male or female, kind of accent, character voices, and so forth.

ACX has a stable of narrators. If one or more have interest in your piece, they do a recording of it and send it to you. You listen and choose. The lovely thing about this is that once you make your decision and have a 4×4 cover design made, you are out of the picture. The narrator uploads his or her work and posts it for you.

The Knotty and Nice of Indie Publishing #7 - Platforms Part 1

Okay, so you have your book written. Several people have beta-read it and you have proofed it to the 10th power. Now it is time to format and post it to a platform for sale.

It seems everyone posts to Amazon. There are good and bad aspects to this. The bad: everyone posts to Amazon. You are a minnow among sharks.

Once you are on Amazon, you can choose to join its Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Select program, which locks you into giving Amazon total rights for 90 days. If you have had your books posted on other platforms, you will have to pull them down. If you do not go KDP Select then Amazon does not offer your work in India, Japan, Brazil or Indonesia. Many folks in those countries crave books in English, meaning you will miss all those sales.

The Knotty and Nice of Indie Publishing #6 - Giving, Receiving, Promotional Items and Random Acts of Kindness

I have always been a giver. As a very young child, the arrival of company sent me scurrying off to my room for a crayon drawing, a toy repainted with mother’s newest color of nail polish or a short poem (which no doubt would have made any Hallmark Cards writer wince). I continue to be a giver. Hopefully, my gifts have improved.

If I give a gift of one Twitter follower’s work to another follower, both benefit. For example, I purchased a photo from a photographer follower (her first sale). I gave the photo to a musician follower. Now both remember me.

The Knotty and Nice of Indie Publishing #5 - The Importance of Personal Blogs, Profiles & Author Sites

Getting your name out there is a major key to an author’s success. It is paramount that you create and maintain an author blog and website. There are several tools you can use to push readers to your sites.

I have had a blog for years. I enjoy blogging and appreciate the 97,000+ folks worldwide who support it by reading. When I first started, it was just a story blog that I faithfully posted to on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Posting regularly and with something of interest is one key to building a consistent following. From the beginning, I have alternated between posting a scifi story, paranormal and a fantasy. I am pleased to say that every month or so it picks up 1,000 new hits.

The Knotty and Nice of Indie Publishing #4 - Reviews, Interviews, Podcasts and YouTube

Let’s talk about reaching out to your readers and potential readers.

Remember once the reader reaches your author page on Amazon or Smashwords, they look at the book’s cover, the description and then the reviews.

Reviews are what authors crave. We indie authors do not have a publisher to tell us how great our current book is and most of us do not want to hit you over the head with the “please read me” tweets. It is so wonderful when someone reviews you and you can quote them as saying you are well written, clever, prolific, a multi-genre genius, whatever.

We live for reviews and are thankful to those who give them. A tip I picked up by reading other indie authors’ books is to insert an “author’s note” in the back of each book, calling for a few words and a sprinkle of stars on any social, media or platform site. It works.

Lexi Miles Tagged Me *grins*

I was scrolling through my twitter stream last week when I saw I was tagged by Lexi Miles (@leximilesbooks). I love being tagged for short little interviews - gives me a chance to chat more than 140 characters. For those of you who know me better, you understand why. I can be as longwinded as my dragon friend, Farloft. I am so pleased Lexi thought of me.

Speaking of thinking of people, since I got caught by the tag I now have become the tagger. So, *grins* I get to introduce you to some of my favorite authors on Twitter. These are folks you should take a minute to get to know and as I always say #FRR (follow-read-review).

By tagging them, it will then become their chance to answer the same questions, as seen below, within their blog and to also become the tagger. With that said, please stay tuned to see if you have been tagged at the end.

So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, grab a cup of your favorite beverage, kick up your feet and have a read.

The Knotty and the Nice of Indie Publishing #3 - The Domino Effect

Writing guest posts on blogs is a worthwhile way to attract an audience to your writing. Once the post is published, you and the person who owns the blog can Facebook the post, Google+ it, or Tweet it. If you are lucky, your connections become like dominoes.

Carla, a well-known author in Italy, gave me my first opportunity to write a guest post. Through the article I posted on Carla’s blog I met Max, who lives in Italy. Max liked what I wrote and clicked on the Web link provided. He has become one of my most devout and supportive fans.

Max belongs to a group called Effortless English (EE) which is composed of English-as-a-second-language (ESL) students who follow a program developed by A. J. Hoge. Hoge’s method of teaching English is to have students read authentic English material – books written for young English speaking students.

What's on My Bookshelf

The name of this post is misleading. The books listed below are never on my bookshelf. They sit at my elbow on my desk for quick reference. Hope you find the list helpful. –Theresa Snyder


Writer’s Guide to Character Traits, 2nd Ed., by Linda N. Edelstein, Ph.D

Noted psychologist and author Dr. Linda Edelstein takes you beyond generic personality types and into the depths of the human psyche where you’re sure to find the resources you need to make your characters stand out from the crowd. From sex to schizophrenia: everything you need to develop your characters.


The Emotion Thesaurus, A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression, by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi

The Knotty and the Nice of Indie Publishing #2 - Social Media

It takes a community to get the proper attention for a writer’s work and social media helps accomplish that.


Your readers wish to learn about you as a person. They want to feel as if they know you. If you are gentle and engaging, folks will respond. They will assist you if you work together.

Shortly after I posted my first book, The Helavite War, on Kindle, my students suggested that I sign up with Twitter and actively work to market the book. Two of them stepped in and created a perfect profile – branding me as the author, reader, gardener and dreamer that I am.

The Knotty and the Nice of Indie Publishing #1 - My 1st Year

I started my life as a published indie author on May 1, 2013. It has been an all-consuming project ever since.

There is no blueprint telling how to become a successful indie author. Like childrearing, it does not come with a manual. Everything is trial and error. What works for one author may not work for another.

My goal last year was to post all twelve of my completed books to the Kindle store on Amazon. I accomplished that plus one more, thirteen in all. I also did so much more and met so many wonderful folks along the way.

I’d like to detail my journey thus far. Each step is important – each step helps build a bridge closer to the readers who I hope are awaiting my stories.

SHIFTING - Halloween Challenge!

Take the Shifting Books Halloween Challenge

Win a Book!

1. Purchase "Shifting in The Realms"
2. Between October 17th and October 31st read the book and review it on any social media platform
3. (A) Post the link  to the review (and a way to contact you) in the comments on this article (B) Tweet me @TheresaSnyder19 with the link and #ShiftingReview (C) DM me on Twitter with the Link & your email address

I will contact you and arrange to send you an ebook of the second book in the series, "Shifting Agony & Ecstasy"

I promise not to use your email for anything other than to send you the second book.

A synopsis of the series, a sample chapter and the links for all the buying platforms (under the header) can be found here: The Shifting Books

This is a 62 page paranormal novella with a 4.6 Star rating on Amazon.
The story is seen through the eyes of a shape-shifter in his wolf form.

Warning there is reference made to the aftermath of a rape, and retribution for said rape.
However, this is a vital part of a story that develops into a unique adventure/romance with a liberal dose of humor.

Take the Challenge! 

I dare you! 

I Double 'Wolf' Dare You!

Art by Kwazar of Deviant Art

Yakov Hightower and the Glitter of a Pirate's Booty

My friend, Cheri Matthynessen, an author in her own right, has a wonderful little contest running on her blog Challenge the Writer. Readers are challenged to give Cheri a (1) Character Type (2) Specific Place (3) Situation and (4) A Random Item.

I love this kind of thing to get the old creative juices moving. I immediately challenged her with:
(1) A hunchback prince with a gift for gab
(2) The imaginary land of Sand & Stone
(3) A torturous climb
(4) A sentient mute snake

I think she felt the pressure so she turned right around and shot one of her own personal challenges to me:

TweetJukeBox and Dragon Mania with Farloft the Dragon

I have found a program I just love, TweetJukeBox . Tim Fargo @alphabetsuccess and his partner really know how to write a program worth having. I can't tell you how many great little features this program has to make your twitting life easier if you have numerous friends and followers like I do.

With the other program I used, if I found an error in a scheduled tweet I would have to scroll through all of them in order to find it and correct it. TweetJukeBox has a 'search' feature. What a time saver.

You can schedule each day of your week with different tweeting times and frequencies. If you are like me and work 8 hours a day, but don't want to be absent for that time period, you can schedule your tweets then.

If you are just starting out on twitter and don't really know what to say to catch folk's interest, Tim supplies you with a jukebox of quotes and one of pictures so you can spark conversations that will create friendships. Someone comments on that quote you posted and you are on your way to establishing a social media empire.

If you love Dragons, consider downloading "Dragon Mania with Farloft the Dragon" from the Jukebox Library. Farloft and I created it for giggles. It is full of dragon quotes, lore, free reads, art and fanart. Currently, it is on page 7 of the library.

Art by Bluekite-Falls of Deviant Art

A Missed Review from 2014

West Coast Book Reviews did this lovely review of The Helavite War. I missed it when it originally came out. Thanks goes out to WC Book Reviews for passing it on to me.

Indie Pick: The Helavite War by Theresa Snyder

Same Great Book...Stunning New Cover

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED - How to BECOME your target audience to create content

CANCELLED!
The Blab on Saturday, October 3rd, 2015 has been cancelled.
The host is experiencing internet issues at her location.
If you were planning on attending, my apologies. We hope to get it rescheduled. 
If you were kind enough to share the original post, please share this one as well so folks will know the Blab is cancelled.
Thanks you.

Have you been on Blab.im yet? I have, and I am excited about it. Blab is like a combination of Twitter, Skype and Google Hangout rolled into one. I got my first look at it 3 days ago and I am hooked.

Cherrie McKenzie, Twitter handle @CherrieMckenzi2, wanted to introduce me to the site a good month ago. I dragged my feet - yet another social media to figure out and learn. Ugh!

Then I got on and lurked for a session on social media. One of the participates asked me to join in, but I didn't know how. The next day I did join in and it was a blast! It's like Twitter with pictures.

Live and learn - and with Blab you can learn quickly. Let me give you a screen shot so you can check it out.

The 'above' gives you the six basics. (Click on it to enlarge)

From here, if I have intrigued you, have a look at this tutorial. Or hop on the site and have a look for yourself.

YouTube Tutorial for Blab

Now click the link below and subscribe to my First Ever Blab with Cherrie McKenzie. We would love to have you drop by and chat with us, whether on camera or in the chat stream. I hope to see you all there.

Saturday, October 3, 2015, 9:00 PST

How to BECOME your target audience to create content

Marketing through Anthropomorphism

ˌanTHrəpəˈmôrfizəm/

noun

the attribution of human characteristics or behavior to a god, animal, or object.

Those of you who follow me on Twitter will know the meaning of this word even though you may not have known it, because you have chatted with my dragon, Farloft.

Throughout the world of marketing you will find talking animals or objects promoting products and causes. Smokey the Bear informs you, "Only you can prevent forest fires." Toucan Sam tells you "Follow your nose! It always knows," to the closest box of Fruit Loops. Charlie the Tuna, Tony the Tiger, Trix Rabbit, The M&Ms team, Chester Cheetah, Morris the cat, the list goes on and on, but you get the picture.

I didn't mean to create Farloft as the 'spokes dragon' for my series and yet he happened and he has become so much more. I have been wanting to tell this story for about two years now. So grab your cup of coffee or tea and sit back in your comfortable chair, and I will tell you how a Star was Born!

I published my first book in June 2013. It was James & the Dragon. Farloft is the main character in the book.

Norwich England's Dragon Walk - Summer 2015

What an incredible walk. Wish I had been able to attend. I cannot possibly pick a favorite.

GoGoDragons! 2015 was an interactive arts sculpture trail bringing 84 large dragon sculptures and 120 school dragons to the City of Norwich.

The proceeds of this projects auctioned off dragons funded the valuable work of Norfolk Charity Break who support vulnerable children, young people and families across East Anglia.

Dad's 89th Birthday!

Dad celebrated his 89th birthday last month, but he, like I, really enjoys dragging it out. 

Since I love tea and had the day off today, I took dad to tea at the
English Garden Tea Cafe. 

It is a new little place that just opened in June.

Dad and I found it delightful and will not only go back again, 

but endeavor to spread the word about this lovely place. 

The decor is pleasant with hand painted flowers, bushes and dragonflies above the chair rails. 

We met Roanna, our very pleasant hostess, who said her hand was really cramping
before she completed the painting. It runs all the way around the room.

There is a hat-tree with a selection of hats,
which the owner/staff encourage you to wear while enjoying your tea.

Presentation was nicely done. Loved the fold of the napkins.

The first course was a lovely spicy chicken soup. No MSG here and it was delicious.

Second course was a cooling off fruit compote of peaches, pineapple and strawberries.

Real whipped cream ladies and gentlemen.

Dad excited over the three tiered tray of savories

(egg salad, cucumber and chicken salad 'which was exceptional'),

two kinds of scones (plain and cinnamon raisin) and

sweets (just going to let you drool here).

In addition, they offered not one, but two kinds of jam

and 

homemade lemon curd for the scones. 

YUM!

Treat yourself to a lovely tea experience at the English Garden Tea Cafe.

And follow their Facebook page

A Dilemma Presented - A Problem Solved

The Dilemma:

I have encountered a delightful dilemma, as an author. I have folks sending me my own books because they want me to autograph them and then mail the books back to them.

I am flattered that my signature and well wishes mean so much to my reading friends.

The Problem Solved:

I have had CreateSpace ship me some copies of my books. I have rounded out the pricing so you get a good deal on all the set. I have also devised some pretty cool 'bonus gifts' that I will ship with the books from my end in addition to the autographed copies. We all like 'Goodies' and 'Freebies.'

And I want to give you a special 'head-up' with this notice too.
If you buy a set of THE FARLOFT CHRONICLES and you have several children. Let me know. I will send you a coloring book with the 'kid friendly' tattoo for each of them. Not just one book for them to share. I know sharing can be an issue, though Farloft does his best to teach the concept.

Purchase the full set of "The Farloft Chronicles" for $60.00.

You receive the coloring book and kid friendly tattoo.

Purchase a full set of "The Star Traveler Series," for $60.00.

You receive all 6 frame worthy 11x17 posters of the cover art and cool bookmarks for each volume.

Poster Art by Sherry D. Ramsey

Bookmarks

Purchase a full set of "The Twin Cities Series" for $24.00.

You receive 8 frame worthy, 8.5x11 wolf prints of Scar and bookmarks for each volume.

Art by Kwazar of Deviant Art

Bookmarks

Purchase "We 3" for $20.00.

You receive custom bookmarks with tips & tricks for Elder Care.

Email me at TheresaSnyderAuthor@gmail.com to request the book(s) you would like.
I will get them to you as soon as possible.
(Additional charge for postage)

My First Book Fair!

Oh, how I have looked forward to this. Weeks of preparation, as you all know. 100 days of lovely, hot summer days. Unseasonably dry.

Not on Saturday...The 7th Annual NW Book Fair opened to a drizzle, proceeded to a downpour and ended with a mist. Go figure...the best laid plans, right?

There is an up-side to all of this. I learned I could still prepare for an event. We had the best looking booth. We were organized. Between Russ, Cheri's wonderful husband, Daniel, my IT guru and friend, Sarah, my graphic designer, Cheri, me, and Angela, Cheri's 8 year old granddaughter, we put on a great show.

The Farloft selfie cut-out was a hit between rain showers. The dragon puppet, dubbed Spitfire, was loved by all and we sold our share of books. It's just that the turnout was limited.

I have another event on August 1st at Another Read Through on N. Mississippi from 11:00-2:00 and I will be at the Japanese Skosh Festival August 8th from 10:00-2:00 at the Gresham City Park corner of Powell and Main. I am hopeful the weather will be better for those events and you can drop by to visit and have your copies of my books autographed.

My Table

Cheri's Table

Both of our banners were done by Sarah Hyndshaw my Graphic Designer

The downpour outside out tent

Marketing preparations for the 7th Annual NW Book Festival

I have been accepted to the 7^th Annual NW Book Festival, July 25^th in downtown Portland at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Last year they had over 3,500 people attend with over seventy independent authors. I am excited to be involved is such a large event. It will be my first as a published author.

So how does one go about preparing for such an event? How do you make the most out of the contacts you will have an opportunity to make at a festival like this? How many books should you bring? (My books are print-on-demand, so books that are bought are out-of-pocket expense for me.) How will I get readers to come to my booth and, better yet, buy from my booth? So many questions that luckily, I have the background to answer because I have a history that includes ‘marketing.’

Sarah's Graduation

Sarah Hyndshaw is my graphic artist and the designer of The Farloft Chronicles' covers. This past Saturday she graduated from the college I work at, the proud recipient of a degree in Graphic Arts.

I wanted to share her work with you all one more time and also a glimpse of our little celebration.

Introducing Cody/Scar from the "Shifting" books of The Twin Cities Series

I love working with artist and Kwazar of Deviant Art was one of the best experiences I have had. I spotted her talented work on her site while cruising around in search of someone to draw wolves for me.

For those of you who have not read the "Shifting" novellas, the main character is a shape-shifter named Cody. Cody has a big problem because the lady he loves adores him in his wolf form, as Scar, but could care less for him as a human. She does not know they are one-and-the-same.

The books "Shifting in The Realms" and "Shifting Agony & Ecstasy" are from Cody's point of view and mostly while he is in wolf form with Simone, his lady love. "Shifting Places" is the third and Cody joins Mr. Grimm to help him find his kidnapped daughter.

I wanted wolf drawings where you could see a hint of the human (Cody) peeking out. Kwazar certainly gave me what I was asking for. Here is a sampling of her work and the way I am using it to promote the books. Enjoy!

You can find the "Shifting Books" on your favorite buying platform, or

go to The Twin Cities Series

And you will find the links directly under the header.

The UK 'Whatcha-ma-callit"

I had a birthday recently and was spoiled rotten, as usual. Much to my surprise among the many well wishes, eating out events, treats and gifts, I received a "Whatcha-ma-callit" from my friend David in the UK.

Well, at least I thought it was a "Whatcha-ma-callit." It could have been a "Thinga-ma-jig" or a "Whatsit," or even a "Whing-ding." I really had no idea what it was, but I took a few guesses...

I tried wearing it like a crown...but it was a wee bit too small.

 

I tired wearing it as a bracelet...but it was a wee bit too big.

 

 

I thought it might be a container for a magic spell...but the magic slipped out.

 

 

 

It was a little too thick to be a bookmark and a little too thin to be something to sit on...

though I almost got it into the shape of a chair.

Perhaps it was fashioned for fairies? (In that case, Beatrist *my fairy friend* says it needs a cushion.)

 

 

I tried flying it, but it is not very aerodynamic...too many holes.

(Though Farloft and Scar enjoyed the 'fetching' part of the game.)

 

 

So...I decided it was just a beautiful little UK Whatcha-ma-callit and I would put it in the Moroccan Room so it could mystify and delight other's imagination, as it has mine.

 

Thank you, David and if you deem to enlighten me, My Dear Mage, I would be honored to know the true use of the UK Whatcha-ma-callit.







BEACH READ GIVE AWAY! ENTER TO WIN!

Enter to WIN! - Just Click

Share the link and it enters you to win all 18 volumes

Beach Reads - YouTube

I will be giving away a copy of SHIFTING IN THE REALMS

He's a shape shifter - He's in love

Only one problem his lady only loves him in his wolf form

What's a shape shifter to do?

A Reading at 'Another Read Through'

I am pleased to announce my paperback books are being carried locally at a bookstore on N. Mississippi Another Read Through .

Elisa, the shop owner, has a very nice intro on her website:

"We specialize in fiction for adults and kids, with smaller sections for mystery, nonfiction, bio/memoir, science fiction and fantasy, true crime, poetry, manga, and young adult books. We have multiple monthly readings from local authors and other cool and fun things for people of all ages. Wander in and find an old favorite you want to revisit, or a new author to get excited about."

This past Thursday I was asked to do a reading. The space is lovely. Reminded me of the movie "Crossing Delancey," wonderfully comfortable wing-back chairs in a cozy upstairs that longs to have people chatting away about books and writing.

I hope to become "a new author to get excited about."

Dad and Elisa in the reading room. Check out "We 3" on the tables.

I brought the promised Chocolate!

The Farloft Chronicles on display at a Bookstore for the 1st time!
An author's dream come true.
Thank you, Elisa

The Shifting Books

The Star Traveler Series
So excited I didn't get them all in the picture

The Story Behind the Story: The Twin Cities Series

Drew Avera is a big Jim Butcher fan and he loves how each of his books continues on a very big arc, while each book has its own arc. That takes a lot of talent to pull off and Drew started to wonder how he could do something similar without having to publish twenty books in a series when he already have several series titles that he was working on. The idea he came up with was to not do the series alone, but rather to enlist the help of writer friends he’d made along the way.

That’s where I came in. Drew approached and several other author. We started with a core group of people who brainstormed together with over a thousand emails on how to build the world we called The Realms. I’m pretty sure had I not deleted a bulk of those emails then gmail would have crashed. What came from those initial story ideas were stories set in the same world, using some of the same characters, while writing from the point of view of each individual author’s main character(s). Does it sound confusing? Trust me when I say we had a lot of details to work out.

2014 Goal Review and 2015 Goals

I really started my ‘published’ writing career in May of 2013. The goals I set for my second year of publishing have been completed and I wanted to review them here for posterity and my own feeling of accomplishment. Then I will set some goals for this year as an annual event from January to December 2015.

In 2014, I set out to place all my currently published Amazon books on Smashwords as well, because I wanted to have them widely available to everyone. Some of the Effortless English folks do not have access to Amazon in their countries. I am pleased to say I almost accomplished this. I have all the Farloft Chronicles and The Twin Cities volumes on Smashwords. We 3 will go up in February and the Star Traveler Series will follow one by one. All of them will be on by the end of 2015. There was a good reason for delaying the posting of the Star Traveler Series. I am having new covers made for them and they are a knock out. The artist is Sherry D. Ramsey and I am delighted with her work.

I added something to my workload that I had not anticipated for 2014. I put all the books except for the final four Scifi (still processing covers) into print-on-demand at the CreateSpace site. This has been a boon in the since that it has created more sales. Seems everyone wanted The Farloft Chronicles in paper. And, I must admit, Farloft looks fabulous in print.

I planned to do an interview a month on either a blog, radio, podcast, or website, etc. I did, in fact, accomplish this goal in full and then some. I did so many interviews and guest blogs that I decided to create a site for them, Interviews & Guest Blog Posts so readers could just go on and poke around a bit. Two of my favorites were the podcast with Cherrie McKenzie of Co-Active Dreams and my tea with Charlotte Ashlock . You can read and listen to all of them on the site, if you so desire.

And in 2014 I wrote. I did not finish the seventh volume in the Star Travelers Series, but I did add many more books I had not anticipated and with the Scifi series coming out in paper with new covers, volume #7 will be widely anticipated this year.

I published two new volumes in The Farloft Chronicle, #5 Three & a Half Dragons and #6 Dragon Memories, Dreams & Reflections .

I wrote another novella in the Twin Cities Series, Shifting Agony & Ecstasy. It is the further adventures of our shape-shifting friend, Cody. I am so pleased Drew brought me into the world of The Realms. These novellas have been receiving nothing but 5 Star reviews. Everyone seems to love them.

I also collaborated with a friend from England, David Stevens, and wrote a novella with him in the Scifi genre called In2Minds. It is going to be a trilogy and an exciting one at that - an astronaut risking his life to save his home world only to find things are not as he was led to believe. By the way, I might just throw in here that David has set his own goal, which is to give away a million books. Check out his site, there are some real steals there.

And last, but not least, is my blog and the sites connected to it. I post there every Saturday a chapter of the current serialized story I am working on. The blog is my melting pot of ideas. These often develop into books, so you can see the growth of ideas if you follow me there. You can sign up for a newsletter, which I assure you I do not overuse, or you can sign up for NetWorkBlogs so you will be informed when I have posted a new article or episode to the blog.

I also helped found a new site called The Society of Enlightened Dragonologists and their blog Enlightened Dragonologist. It was a dream of Cheryl Matthynssens to have a site that portrayed dragons as more then mere killing machines. I am gratified she included me on her quest to create this site.

A couple of things were added to the mix this year in addition to putting all the books in paperback. Folks on Twitter asked to see our garden, Our Quiet Corner, and so a YouTube channel was established. I did tours throughout the summer and some DIY projects of interest.

I created a podcast station basically for my Effortless English followers, who seem to like the sound of my voice, go figure. It is Theresa's Talks.

Farloft has had so much art produced for him by BlueKite-Fall of Deviant Art that you can find a full page of him on Google by just searching his name Farloft in the Images section of Google. Check it out, many of his friends are there too.

The last event of 2014, or perhaps it is the first event of 2015, was a huge Dragon Selfie. Farloft wanted one with all his friends. It should be completed this week and I will post it on Farloft's site when it is finished for all to see. Kitsooki on Deviant Art did a fabulous job capturing the baker’s dozen of dragons who wished to be in the picture.

And though I know it is not a goal, I cannot write a yearly wrap-up without including a thank you to the wonderfully talented folks who created FanArt for Farloft, Laura Walters, Merystic and MA Gilchrist. You can see their work on Farloft's Rhetoric. Also, check out Twin-Id, the dragon MA Gilchrist drew and asked me to pen the story of him.

My Goals for 2015:

1. The last of the Star Traveler Series will get their incredible new covers and be posted on all platforms. Volume #7 will be edited, proofed and released.
2.  I will write at least one new book in the Shifting group for the Twin Cities series – perhaps two.
3. There will be the continuing story in the second book of In2Minds and perhaps the finish of the trilogy this year.
4.  I will put out a book in the Farloft Chronicles called “Farloft, the Early Years.” This will be a series of three or four novella length books wrapped up in one volume about Farloft’s earlier years traveling as a youngling through the continents of his world – adventures with gryphon, other species of dragons and humans both good and bad.
5. I will continue to write on my site TheresaSnyderAuthor.com
6.  I will continue to seek out opportunities to do interviews and guest blog posts. And I will add to that library readings and book fairs. I have two library readings already scheduled for January and a book fair in April. I have an interview with Ron Shaw on March 2^nd. He is a CBS affiliate in Georgia who interviews authors, and I am really looking forward to that conversation. Please drop in and have a listen. If you hear of any opportunities please pass them on to me. I can’t travel far because of my commitments at home, but I have become a whiz on the internet, Skype and the phone.
7. I will continue with my YouTube channel. There will be more garden tours and DIY projects.
8. There will be more personal revelations and readings on Theresa's Talks for those of you who can’t get enough of me. heeheehee
9. And, I think an annual Selfie is in order.

So it will be a full year with lots to chatting about on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. If you don’t follow me socially, please consider doing so. I love to chat and so does Farloft, my dragon friend, who hops on my twitter account the last Friday of each month. He loves running contests and giving away things.

2015 is going to be a very good year, drop by and visit, pick up something to read and maybe get in a selfie with Farloft. Anything is possible.

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Are you following me on NetWorkedBlogs? If not, think about doing it. This is a great service and not restricted just to me. You can tag all the blogs you enjoy an never miss a post. The NetWork will tell you when there is a new post to your favorite blog. And they will tell you on you time frame, once a day, once a week etc. Come join me on NetworkedBlogs and don't miss a single episode of my serialized stories. NetworkedBlogs Unsubscribe Theresa, here is today's updates from blogs you're following Theresa Snyder Fur and Frost - A Dragon Love Story - Chapter 7 “I met him when he and Austere came in,” Patel answered her younger sister when she asked if she had met the visiting Furry.“Austere is quite taken with him,” Uland informed her si... Facebook share · Tweet More from Theresa Snyder