Happy Monday! Thanks for joining me again as I meander through life with you. This image drew me. I’d like to head down that road and see where it leads.

I’m happy to report the four days I stayed with my granddaughters and the two dogs went smoothly. However, I was more than happy to crawl into my bed Tuesday night. I was exhausted. There is a reason God gives children to young folks. My heart goes out to grandparents who are having to raise grandchildren. Four days was my limit. But I enjoyed them. We played games, watched movies and I got them to school on time each day, then to their many activities. So, I patted myself on the back.
I’m back on the fence about moving. The more I think about it, the less I like it. While the attraction of living in a new place with upgrades is undeniable, I’m not sure it’s worth what I would have to give up. So, I’m sitting tight until I have a clear direction. If only they would do some maintenance on the place where I currently live, I’d be content to stay. We shall see.
On the writing front, I finished the final read-through of Ghostly Interference and Jagged Feathers and have sent them off for formatting. Now to finish with Saddled Hearts. Then I can get them back up! Getting closer.
Speaking of books, I have gotten very lax at any kind of advertising. Maybe the right word is discouraged. So, I took a chance on something called Performance Publishing, which promised to create Amazon ads guaranteed to get sales. Guess what? I got nothing. Zero. Nada. So, I’ve cancelled that. Let’s face it. there is no easy answer and no magic bullet when it comes to selling our books. I always do well with a new release, then it drops to nothing. However, I’m not someone who puts up social media posts every day, so I have no right to complain. Maybe next year, I can do a better job of advertising. Author Joy York does a great job of keeping her books in front of the public on Facebook, Twitter, BlueSky and LinkedIn. So, I’ll try to take a page from Joy’s book in the new year, and give it a shot. In the meantime, if you have a hankering for a Christmas story, Mountain Laurel Christmas will be available for free for the next three days, November 18-20. I’d be honored if you’d grab it.

I’m starting to think more about the short story collection I will publish early next year. My fourteen-year-old granddaughter read some poems she’d written the other day, and they blew me away. I’m going to talk to my daughter and son-in-law about including some of them in “Fringes, Heartstrings and Lyrics.” If they have no objection to me putting her name out in the publishing world, I’ll include a few. She is definitely talented. And she is my grandchild who loves to read. She devours books. Who knows where she’ll end up or what she’ll do. I hope I get to stick around long enough to see.
It’s been a while since I’ve talked about coffee. 🙂 The last time I mentioned it, I had switched to Black Rifle Coffee and loved it. But now, I have switched again and this time, to a local roaster who is also a lover of Texas music. I heard about him from friends in the music world, so gave it a try. Now, I’m 100% sold on Pops Coffee! He is local, working out of his home in Haltom City, Texas I love supporting small businesses, and while I still love Black Rifle, I’m enjoying the fresh roasted beans from Andy at Pop’s Coffee. And he ships anywhere in the world if you want to give it a try, but shipping is free in the U.S. He said he came up with the name Pop’s Coffee because of the popping sound the coffee beans make when they are roasted just right.

This week, I hope to finish reading Saddled Hearts and start the process of getting these books back up finally! Won’t you be glad to have me shut up about it? 🙂 Sorry, but thanks for being good listeners.
I love this bit of inspiring truth.

This week, I was nudged to draw an angel card instead of tarot. I hope you enjoy.

When your life flows, everything happens easily and fluidly. You move with the currents and are assisted on your journey. Do your part now, and the universe will support you.
Okay! That sounds good. I will do my part.
Thank you for stopping by. I hope you have a fabulous week ahead and have more ups than downs.
Great post, Jan! I’m happy you had a great time with your grandkids. Love the angel card!
Yvette M Calleiro 🙂
http://yvettemcalleiro.blogspot.com
Thanks so much for stopping by, Yvette. I’m glad you enjoyed the post and that the angel card spoke to you! Have a great week ahead.
Glad you’re getting some rest after the grandkids, Jan! I went to download Mountain Laurel Christmas, and discovered I already have it. I checked Goodreads to see if I wrote a review (the description wasn’t ringing any bells), and I haven’t. Guess it got buried in my Kindle when it was released, but it’s a perfect time to read it now. Have a great week!
That’s funny, Teri. However, that sort of thing happens to me often. I forget I’ve already purchased a book and it comes back up. 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you enjoy Mountain Laurel Christmas!
I’m glad you had fun with the grandkids and dogs. Mountain Laurel Christmas is a wonderful read. I hope people take the opportunity and grab a copy!
Thank you, Priscilla. I appreciate you adding your recommendation for Mountain Laurel Christmas!
Sister, I’m in the exact same spot with you on marketing. I don’t know if anything works. I’ve had two ads on two separate books over the last few weeks and the results are dismal. They were even Christmas books. Don’t know anything that works and I’m tired of throwing money at that venture. I’m wishing you tons of success at putting up your White Rune Series again. It’s been a painful road for you. But, the connection with the spirit world yesterday must’ve been really uplifting. Love you, Sister.
Marketing certainly gets discouraging, sister. Still, I feel like I have to try. I admire Joy for her efforts to keep her books up on so many different platforms. I’m going to try and do better next year. With the amount of books we both have, we could promote a different one every day. Yes, getting the White Rune Series back has been hard, but I think it’s worth the effort. And yes, connecting with loved ones yesterday was uplifting! Thank you for stopping by!
Yeah about grandkids. How do grandparents raising grandkids do it! And yeah about moving. I hate California, but everywhere else has their own problems. Sigh.
I truly don’t know how grandparents do it, but I admire them. I understand about moving. Yes, I could move to a new apartment, but would I really be improving, or is it simply trading one spot for another? Seems like any move in life needs to be upward, not lateral. Thank you for stopping by!
We’re in a bit different situation than you as a grandparents. Our grandson is 18 months today and since his parents live 2,000 miles away from us, we don’t get to see him that often. Still, we feel lucky as grandparents to have the time and financial means to travel to visit them. We’ve been with them for the last ten days and heading home tomorrow. It’s been great, but we’re exhausted. (And there’s two of us.)
I totally understand, Pete. I wouldn’t trade my time with the grandchildren for anything. I choose to live in a place I’m not fond of just so I can be near them. I love that you got to spend ten days with the little one. Precious time! I’m sure you are exhausted and it will be good to get home, but how wonderful that you got to go. Thank you for stopping by!
Grandkid time is the best. Glad you enjoyed it. BTW I have been at this book advertising thing since 2013. No one has the answers. Also, I can tell you from research, posting on social media does not sell books unless you are very well known. If you want to pay for ads that action does work, but you need deep pockets. Best wishes on your quest.
I agree about grandkid time, John! You and I started this crazy publishing journey the same year. I published Flowers and Stone in 2013. And I have to agree with you about marketing. I did a full year of research for Story Empire blog posts about all the different marketing avenues available and in the end came to no concrete conclusion. The best we can do is try to keep plugging away. I don’t have deep pockets. In fact, my pockets have holes in them. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and chiming in!
Sounds like a wonderful time with the grandkids, Jan! They can be exhausting sometimes. Thank you for the mention about marketing. I try to be as consistent as I can, and I love to support other authors.
I am impressed with all the projects you have going! I need to catch up!
Thanks for stopping by, Joy. I mentioned you because every time I log into my social media accounts, I see your ads. It’s impressive! I don’t know if any of it equates to sales, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. I, too, love supporting other authors. I’m laughing out loud at your comment about all the projects. I feel like I’m always running to try and catch up somewhere. But at least I can’t say I’m bored. 🙂
Glad you got to spend time with family! I see the same trend as you, once my friends, relatives, fellow authors have made their purchases, sales slow and sometimes die an untimely death. And the only social media I see that works is to offer a free ebook on Twitter. But then, disappointedly, those folks don’t seem to write reviews. I haven’t come across a way of promoting on social media that is actually worth my time.
It seems we are all in the same sinking marketing boat, Pat. I’ll see how my free offering of Mountain Laurel Christmas goes. Even if there are a lot of downloads, as you say, who knows if there will be any new reviews. It’s a crap shoot for sure. Thank you for stopping by and chiming in!
It’s good you got to see your grandchildren–and here’s to good coffee!
I couldn’t agree more, Merril! There is nothing like a good cup of coffee to get the day started! Thanks for visiting.
You’re welcome!
It’s so nice you spent that time with your grandkids, Jan. I really enjoy my coffee too. One of my grandsons bought me Black Rifle Coffee for Christmas last year. I liked it, even though I’m a Keurig coffee guy. I have tried different advertising methods. None of them made back what was paid, and one was a big rip-off.
I also have a Keurig, Tim but I can use one of the fill-your-own cups to make Pop’s coffee. 🤪 it seems ads are a waste of time and money in this crowded market. Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment.
No card today. I missed it. A lovely catch up post. It’s great that your granddaughter loves reading.
Hey Jan, funny you mention Amazon ads. I did Amz ads with Geoff Affleck, who is known for being an expert at Amz campaigns. It was an intensive campaign for Draakensky. His campaign ran for two months and yielded only one sale reported from the clicks. However, I did get several sales outside of the campaign’s sales report. So, I think the exposure over those two months enhanced visibility for Draakensky, and some people bought it at a later time or didn’t click the ad. I halted Geoff’s campaign, and then did a campaign on my own for 2 weeks with a few adjustments to the product keywords; that yielded two sales reported in two weeks. But again, more sales occurred later in the month after I paused my campaign. Visibility is key, of course. We are in this for the long haul. And you are certainly doing that with all your books! Keep it up. You are probably building readers’ attention more than you know. The old marketing/advertising principle was that a consumer needs to see an ad 7 times before they are inclined to engage and make a purchase. “Rule of Seven.” Kind of like throwing the dice, right? Why not keep throwing that dice if 7 is a winner? p.s. I love that heart-shaped coffee mug!
I enjoyed your post, Jan, and laughed at “God gives children to young folks.” We don’t have grandkids, and they may not be in the cards for us, which is okay. But your stories always entertain. And it’s wonderful that your granddaughter loves to write. A special addition to your book if it works out. As to promoting books, I post on IG and FB. It’s not fun, and I’m sure people get tired of it, but it’s a necessary evil for indie authors. And I feel that if I sell one copy, if my writing touches another reader, well, it’s worth it. I’m not making any money; in fact, more is going out than coming in. So it’s not about money. It’s about touching hearts. Thanks for the updates, and if the right time comes to move, you’ll feel it. By the way, we enjoy our coffee each morning. Love the quote too. 💖
Thank you for the book, Jan. I’ve moved it up to next on my TBR list and am looking forward to reading it. Best wishes!
Great angel card, Jan! I relate,but have been fighting the flow lately. Glad you got some grand time in. I had mine five days and was worn out after too. Recently been taking care of sick ones, which I always hope I won’t get it again with them. I agree Joy is great with promoting, I have to get back into that too. Xo
Promoting is a constant part of writing, I’m coming to find out. And it can be pretty slow. I’m wishing you the most thankful Thanksgiving, my friend.
Any time you can support the next generation’s creativity, go for it! xxxxx
I totally agree, Jean!