My author friend, Kate Reigstad, and I were lamenting talking about indie publishing. Specifically the topic of yesterday’s post: reviews. Was there a fun, unobtrusive way to get more?
Light bulb: a review challenge. My book vs. hers. WORST-KEPT SECRET vs. FAST-FORWARD.
Unlike me, Kate has written a few books. The most recent is FAST FORWARD, a young-adult time-travelogue that I like to call Back to the Future in reverse. (Yes, I read it; it grabbed me immediately and was fun and entertaining.) Here’s the gist:
What if you skipped 26 years of your life? When the small plane she’s in crashes into the Mediterranean Sea, high school senior Natalie Raider disappears. Her friends and family assume she’s gone. Then she reappears, almost 30 years later…and she’s still somehow 17 years old. But the world has gone on without her, leaving her completely out of place and isolated. Gone is big hair that entraps low-flying bird species; gone are stirrup pants and The Smurfs; gone are Michael Jackson and international goodwill for America. Instead, she’s in a culture of flash mobs, high-tech cars, texting dates, school violence, and social media piranhas who are eager to eat her alive. Worse, a secret left unaddressed from the past has now snowballed into a problem that could cost Natalie everything. The choice is hers: Adapt to the new world, or make a sacrifice that could fix her timetable and make things right. But is it worth losing the new love she’s found in the present…and any hope for a future at all?
And here’s the gist of our challenge: Who can get more reviews in the month of April?
So Kate? It’s ON.
Whomever gets more book reviews between April 1 and April 30 wins. And what do we win? Well…bragging rights, I guess. But if I win, Kate donates two copies of FAST FORWARD to my local library. And if she wins, I donate two copies of WORST-KEPT SECRET to her local library. (It’s worth noting that Kate’s print book is available, while my print copy is still a couple weeks away from being offered.)
And something’s in it for YOU, too. If you leave a review for either book on Amazon, you’ll enter to win a drawing (if you leave a review for BOTH books, you’ll be entered TWICE!). At the end of the competition, we’ll draw from the entries, and you’ll win a free book: a copy of the sequel to WORST-KEPT SECRET in Sienna’s case, or any of Kate’s existing books in her case. Fun, right?
One more thing: price drop! If you haven’t bought WORST-KEPT SECRET yet, the price is going down from $4.99 t0 $3.99—the presale price—for the duration of the contest. (Both books will be the same price.)
So, if you’ve read either book, please add a review! Just comment here or message or comment to either one of us via our author pages on Facebook that you’ve reviewed and we’ll add you to the drawing. Mine is here; Kate’s is here. We’ll ping you on Amazon after the contest is over. And THANK YOU for reading…and reviewing.