New Year - New Authors' Cave!

Year of Change – BACK TO THE ROOTS

We hope everyone’s New Year is starting off fantastic—maybe like March McCarron’s! Fantastic results with ENT and Book Bub! It is with this New Year, that we must now make some changes to BRD and Authors’ Cave 1) because of time constraints, and most importantly 2) to get us back to our ROOTS!

How do we all sell more books?

What are the most effective marketing avenues?

What is so ridiculous is that for nearly 2 years as I have managed the group, I have hardly marketed my own books at all! I want to get back to that—ROOTS! …and help you guys by sharing what works for me, and in return, learn what has worked for you.

As many of you in the group know, I have returned to a full time job. I am happy to be back at work, but unfortunately, there are not enough hours in the day to maintain the stuff required by the Authors’ Cave site and also the social interaction at BRD, as well as feed my family, take care of the house and the garden, oh and write on my own books…I want to get back to that—ROOTS! Additionally, the group is now being managed by only 2 of us—Chameleon and I.

So… ROOTS

Our goal has always been to create a collaborative community in the hopes that marketing as a group effort versus individually would generate more book sales for all of us. Since the launch in July, we have put forth several free venues for collaboration opportunities in which you could generate additional sales and reviews through higher visibility, including greater exposure through our eZine. Despite the free factor, only a fraction of the membership has taken advantage of these venues.

In light of these things... 

we are restructuring Authors' Cave and streamlining our purpose

What we have found is that it has been Premium Members who typically participate and are open to our ideas and we believe we can do more with a smaller focused group. We have created the Authors’ Cave Exclusive which will be made up of the 36 Premium Members we currently have. The group will be capped at 50 for now, so we have 14 positions open to fill.

With these 50 authors, we plan to collaborate, hold workshops, share experiences in marketing, and co-market for each other. The group is only for people who want to actively participate, so if you are not willing to work together, please do not sign up. The eZine will be revamped to feature a profile page for each member of the Authors’ Cave. Members are encouraged to write columns, share poetry, chapter excerpts, videos, trailers, etc on their page. The eZine can be used as a group marketing piece and assist in co-marketing, without much effort.

Finally…Workshops! 

We want to focus our time in areas that have been a complaint of members for a long time. We will go step by step in helping each premium member build the perfect, effective Author's Toolkit. Beginning March 1st we'll be covering the following topics, in-depth, as a group and individually.

• Plot: holes, unresolved issues, characters, world, etc.
• Writing: pace, info dumps, descriptive text, how to show and not tell
• Presentation: cover, how to easily make a digital table of contents, how to properly format your ebook
• Media: video trailers and media presentations – easier than you think! You'll end up with a professional media presentation (a $150.00 value) you'll be able to post around that people will enjoy reading and looking at!
• Marketing: effective marketing tools and strategies that will get you noticed!

How will this affect BRD?

We will still run the BRD group and have the BRD review process but will be making some changes to that as well, including the following:

Book Review Depot Process

• Books on the list 1 year or more will be removed immediately (after Mar 30, 2015, books on the list over 9 months will be removed).
• A book can only be posted to the list 2 times in a 1-year period.
• It will now take 7 reviews to earn a spot on the list to get 10 reviews in return.
• The genre of the month is no longer in play for double review credits, it's too hard to track and we need to balance the post to review ratio. 

We will be removing some of the genre categories that are not read as much and combine those into one “Miscellaneous” category. These include Non-fiction, and Children’s for now. There are a couple other categories that may be combined at a later date. We think it's only fair that authors understand the limited interest we've been able to generate for these before they do their reviews.

We will still participate in the ever-fun conversations because those are great entertainment!

Book Club

Authors’ Cave will no longer manage the book club. Participation simply wasn't enough for the amount of time it took to organize.

Authors’ Cave Services

Chameleon and I are going to focus on more of the services for the marketing side of the selling books going forward meaning we will not be doing express reviews, the Grind (editing and redlining). We will be offering book covers, book trailers, media kits and formatting.

Check out our new website! Authors' Cave

We wish you all the best for the new year and invite you to join our new collaboration efforts at Authors’ Cave Exclusive!

-Ginger and Chameleon

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Book Review Ocean's Gift - Turbulence and Triumph Prequel Series

GINGER'S SPICE
Flavored Reviews from the Indie Universe

by Ginger Gelsheimer

Ocean's Gift - Turbulence and Triumph Prequel Series

by Demelza Carlton

Click here to purchase Ocean's Justice
Click here to purchase Ocean's Trial
Click here to purchase Ocean's Triumph


5 Stars!

Loved the view through the eyes of a mermaid!

Brief Synopsis: Ocean's Justice immediately enticed me into the wonderfully woven tale of Maria, the siren of the sea as she navigates her new life, banished from her home at only eighteen. We are teased with the mystery of why a man died at her hands and why she can no longer remain home. Her tale, told through the Turbulence and Triumph series which includes three novellas: Ocean's Justice, Ocean's Trial and Ocean's Triumph, follows her as she survives the storms and monsters of the sea (Maria would laugh at that comment for she knows who the real monster is) and learns to live as a human under the wing of Aunt Merry. Her heart aches for William, the blue-eyed man who saved her from her banished life but was taken from her. Will she ever find him again? 

Originality: This is the first book I have ever read about a mermaid - other than Disney's Little Mermaid-Ha! and this is no bedtime story for kids...oh, no, this is a fantastic, steamy tale for grownups, full of magic, fantasy, and the love and desire a siren mermaid has for the gorgeous human William who stole her heart and left her far too soon. The story is creative and the heroine, Maria, is a baddass who isn't the typical fairy princess. This is fish girl who works in the fish market with the men and can drop one of them if they look at her wrong. She works hard so she can one day try to find her lover that may or may not have survived their shipwreck.

Characters: Maria has to be one of my favorite heroines. When we first meet her, she can hardly speak a word of English, so we have a fantastic arc as her character grows and as she navigates the journey of her new life. She uses Kama Sutra to learn to read, how can you not love her? She finds herself the prey of some bad guys along her adventure, but is never afraid and loves to taunt them, almost encouraging them to come at her. She is magical with her song that can turn away sharks and put vulgar men to sleep and she is confident...but heart broken.

Recommendation: This series goes with Wahoo and a cold glass of White Oak Chardonnay. I highly recommend the series for anyone who enjoys a fun-filled fantasy adventure, complete with mermaids, gossiping dolphins, hunky sailors and a terrific tale surrounding the ocean blue! The series is a fantastic prequel to the Ocean's Gift trilogy!

-Ginger

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Book Review Blaming the Child

GINGER'S SPICE
Flavored Reviews 

by Ginger Gelsheimer

Blaming the Child

by K T Bowes

Click to purchase Blaming the Child or see additional reviews.










5 stars!!!

What else could possibly happen?

Brief synopsis: Callie is a 16-year old caught up in the chaos of life with two parents that work all the time. They have forced her to be the childminder an no one seems to care if she has time for her own studies or her own life. She's all but forgotten about in the busy hustle and bustle of her parents, or is there something more? A deep dark secret that has been kept from her? A reason why her own mother can hardly look into her eyes?

Callie has to bust out and find herself and she takes an interest in the forbidden "too good" neighbor, Declan - or rather he takes an interest in her. She has no choice but to lean on him when she makes a break for a new life, but realizes quickly that things aren't always greener on the other side and danger awaits her after they stumble on something they shouldn't have.

The story was riveting and held a wonderful emotional depth as you feel Callie's pain from life and struggle with her as she demands to persevere.

Characters: The characters were crafted with excellence. They were real and easy to relate to or sympathize with. I found myself wanting to hug Callie at one point and adopt her into my own family. To see anyone suffer from the lack of feeling like someone on the planet loves you is heartbreaking. The poor girl has one jab after another, yet she is strong. She has her secret vice, cutting, which helps release her pain that screams from within, but we grow with her and watch her regain control of her life that was spiraling.

Declan is a wonderful support character. He is the one thing that makes Callie feel special, even though she fights him every step of the way. He's good looking, smart, athletic, but his mom and his friends hate her. He bonds with her, understanding her loss of her older brother since he lost his father and the bond keeps them strong through thick and thin. He's selfless and will do anything to protect her.

Originality: I thought the story was original and creative with a new twist at every turn. Just when I thought I had things figured out, another monkey wrench flew into the mix. There are lots of stories about troubled teens and the problems that they face, but this one traveled through so many elements. Crazy domestic life as the older sibling that gets crammed with all duties, runaway into the dangerous bush coming face to face with real bad guys - not just those darn parents,  then taking responsibility for creating a new life with a future by grasping the situation and starting anew and then completing the circle of returning to her roots, her family who loved her all along.

Recommendations: This would have to go with flourless chocolate cake in support of 'gluten-free' life that Callie and Jase live in.  I would highly recommend Blaming the Child to anyone who likes a story of triumph and suspense. The story kept me turning pages to what else might happen to this poor girl, knowing that she would manage to get herself out. 

-Ginger

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Book Review Chaysing Dreams & Chaysing Memories

GINGER'S SPICE
Flavored Reviews 

by Ginger Gelsheimer

Chaysing Dreams & Chaysing Memories

by Jalpa Williby

Click to purchase Chaysing Dreams or to read other reviews
Click to purchase Chaysing Memories or to read other reviews





5 Stars!

Their lives are as perfect as the Cleavers until...

Brief Synopsis: Tess is living a fairy tale life, perfect in every way. She's beautiful, plays varsity basketball, has the perfect parents and family life, never gets into trouble, is her school valedictorian and has gorgeous guys fighting for her attention... just about the time I was thinking things are just too perfect...BAM. It was like a roller coaster ride when you are going up that first steep hill and you can see for miles everywhere, the entire city is beautiful, the trees, the sky, yet with every click, the anticipation builds because you know something big is coming. 

In Chaysing Dreams, we follow Tess through a "coming of age" tale from the time she is 15 until after she graduates from college. We feel her joy from her early successes and her tremendous pain through the tragedies to come. There's something different about her, but even she doesn't know what it is. Tess has recurring nightmares and can feel something coming, and the dark cloud she begins to see lets her know for certain. Then, on her 16th birthday, she meets a "special" friend who is always there for her even when she doesn't know it. She learns that she loves him over the years, but the mystery that draws her to him will never let them be together for long. There will be only one way to save her...and Tess isn't going to like it.

In Chaysing Memories, Tess and Chayse are back. Tess can't remember the most important sting of her life, and Chayse is so weak and beaten down, he can't speak and hardly knows what is happening around him. It's Tess's turn to become the hero, but in order to help, she must fill in some of her own missing pieces.

Originality: I thought Ms. Williby did a wonderful job bringing creativity and originality to romance. Chaysing Dreams and Chaysing Memories are far more than a Saturday at the beach romance series. It's the kind of story that will make you walk into a glass door because you won't look up from the page long enough. She has sprinkled the romance with intense suspense, action, emotional battles of what's right and wrong and even has a small dash of something science fiction.

Characters: I thought the characters were well developed and I enjoyed watching Tess turn from the naive teenager that only knew silver linings to the confident fighter that would do anything to save the man she loves... and then in the sequel, to be willing to die and become a major part of an effort to save him. Once again, Ms. Williby does a great job with her secondary characters in Chaysing Memories with Miles and Tanya. I totally didn't see that coming - shhhh, no spoilers!

Recommendation: Break out a good Cab-Silver Oak is my favorite-for this one. Plenty of steam to go along with the rest of the thrill ride. I highly recommend Chaysing Dreams and Chaysing Memories to anyone who loves a great romance adventure.

-Ginger

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Book Review A Demon's Quest: The Beginning of the End

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Flavored Reviews 

by Ginger Gelsheimer

A Demon's Quest: The Beginning of the End

by Charles Carfagno, Jr.

Click to purchase A Demon's Quest or read additional reviews.











5 stars!

Wild, magical fantasy in the spirit of Dungeons and Dragons!

Brief synopsis: A Demon's Quest: The Beginning of the End kicks off the 3 volume Fantasy collection with a bang! I was drawn in quickly with the magic of Gilex and can't wait to find out how things go with the Blood Knights and his war on Togan. Then we are taken into the situations of Torhan and Jacko and it begins to have a slight taste of Game of Thrones, where I can imagine how these groups and other fantastical characters are going to eventually come together in later volumes. Interesting things are drawing people to the town of Mirkin.

Originality: The author has done a wonderful job creating an original fantasy tale and is able to paint the vision of the adventure in the reader's head with just the right pace. The fight scenes are fast and engaging and not overdone. Danger is at every turn with everything from giant ants to nasty half swine/half men warriors. As this is the first volume, I do not know where the story will take us, but I am definitely sticking around for this ride.

Characters & Plot: The author crafted interesting characters that drew me in right away. Each group that I met along the way had their own story happening that was interesting in itself. My favorite was probably Gilex because he was unpredictable and I love the magic he was engaging in. He was also the most mysterious. Then there is Torhan, who is worried for his friend Jacko and gets drawn into his own mystery when a magical scabbard and dagger mysteriously appear in his room. The owner is dead and someone must answer for the murder. Then there is Jacko who is training hard to climb the ranks of the robes, but has to embark on a new mission after someone close to him is killed.

Recommendation: This goes well with a stein of ale and wild game! I highly recommend A Demon's Quest: The Beginning of the End if you enjoy edge of your seat fantasy adventures that twist and twine through an epic story.

-Ginger

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Book Review Caught Off Guard Series

GINGER'S SPICE
Flavored Reviews 

by Ginger Gelsheimer

Caught Off Guard Series

by L. Sommers

Click here to view The Fall trailer

5 stars!

A twist ... and a double triple twist!

Brief synopsis: In The Fall, Desiree Parker is independent, smart, beautiful...and she has a secret. So when she meets Liam, the guy of her dreams she's scared. Scared that he will break her heart because he's too good for her and scared that if he loves her and finds out her secret, he won't understand. Liam has a secret, too and it might just be too much.

In the sequel, The Hidden Truth, heck everyone has a secret! Just when you think you have it figured out, there's another twist!

Originality: I think it's hard to be original in the romance genre-it seems they are more about passion and chemistry, as they should be, but I did love the mix of romance and mystery and thought this added original flavor to the story. Not only am I chasing Liam with Desiree, but I am dying to know her secret. The author did a beautiful job weaving the mystery through the story line, never giving too much away. 

In The Hidden Truth, the secret comes out and Desiree will do anything to protect Liam, the love of her life, including leaving him behind. But wait...is what she's running from true? Sorry no spoilers!

Characters: Ms. Sommers did a wonderful job creating characters that drew me in right away. Liam is easy to love. He's well developed, rich, gorgeous and has a personality-not to mention a yacht and Mi Dulce Angel! I enjoyed Desiree's character as well. I am not much for damsel in distress type leading ladies, so Desiree is refreshing. She's also not one of those blind fools that leaves caution completely to the wind.

In The Hidden Truth, Desiree has a major quirk - she insists on handling her dire issues herself. If she could only trust in those who love her, she would not get herself in so much hot water. We see a different side of Liam, desperate in love, passionate and helpless that he can't help Desiree when she disappears to save him!

Recommendation: This goes well with fine wine, anything covered in truffle oil and a night on the water! I highly recommend the Caught Off Guard Series if you like a great romance that will sweep you away.

-Ginger
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