May Giveaway

Click to enter

Join the fun and follow us for your chance to win the grand prize of 12 eBooks, $25 Amazon gift card, and 1 pound of coffee from Grounds and Hounds. Second prize is one of each book, and individual prizes will be awarded as well.

Outlandish Dreams Come True! How I Made the Best Seller List With #Outlander

#Outlandish Dreams Come True!

When I first read the Outlander series from Diana Gabaldon in the early 2000's, I fell in love with the characters, the richness of the storytelling and the details of how people lived back in the seventeen hundreds before the Scottish uprising. 

I never imagined that I would write a book, much less that if I did, it would end up on the best seller list with her novels, but that happened this week! Squeee!!

Check it out here!

Eventually, I read her book, the Outlandish Companion where Diana discussed her somewhat haphazard way of writing chapters and later connecting them to each other and it really inspired me to consider writing a novel. I always thought you had to be super structured, which I definitely am not. 

I took a while deciding on what to write about but after experiencing 4 major hurricanes in six-weeks in central Florida in the summer of 2004 I felt I had the perfect backdrop for an exciting series. 

It wasn't until a decade later that I finished fiddling around with Stealing Time and took the plunge publishing it. Later published Shattering Time. I'm currently working on the third book in the series, Killing Time. You can hear me talking a bit about Killing Time in my latest video chat on my website here.

Watch the video here!

Living History

What fascinates me the most about Outlander was the concept of living as a modern woman in the past, and the living conditions and social norms of the times. I had a lot of fun researching all of those historical details and in a way living there vicariously through my characters, albeit it in the comfort of my writing cave, and not subject to the horrors my characters are put through. 

One of the shocking things I learned about 1752 London was that as a wedding gift in a lower class society, the woman's family would have all her teeth pulled and give her dentures. This way the husband wouldn't have to pay to have her teeth removed as they rotted in their mouths over time. Can you imagine that? So glad I'm living now and not then!

Time Travel Romance Best Seller Category on Amazon

I placed a BookBub ad, and if you know what that is you know it's really hard to get a spot. I finally did and the results were incredible! All three of my books ranked on the Best Seller List on Amazon. 

In the top ten best sellers in Time Travel Romance, 

9 of them were from the Outlander Series, 

and at #2 was my book, Shattering Time!

Time Travel Fiction Best Seller

Also, last week I outranked Stephen King's Time Travel Fiction book, 11/23/1963, one of my recent favorite time travel novels!

Best Rankings Ever!

I set Stealing Time (book 1) for free and it spent 3 days at the #1 spot in both categories (Time Travel Romance and Historical Fantasy) and ranked as high as #16 in the entire Free Kindle Store.

Shattering Time (Book 2)

I put my second book on sale for 99cents and it ranked the highest it ever has reached --  Time Travel Romance #2 under Outlander. 

Three Books in the Best Seller Categories!

Now that my books are back to regular price my books are still ranking really well with all three in the bestseller category!

Here is the breakdown Saturday afternoon, Shattering Time (book 2) ranks at #7 in Time Travel Romance, Stealing Time (book 1) is ranked at #29 in the same category and Blow is ranked #6 in One Hour Teen and Young Adult Short Reads!

 Blow's Ranking the same day!

Thank you for all of your support! 

If you're curious about my books you can read the first five chapters of Stealing Time and Shattering Time by signing up for my newsletter here! 

I also have a Free Non-Fiction story for free exclusive to my newsletter followers for signing up. Sign up here!

Sign up here!

Review for Stealing Time:

Buy it here!

Review for Shattering Time

Buy it here!

For a limited time, I'm offering a free copy of my best seller short-story Blow to the first ten people who comment on this blog post. 

Review for Blow!

Buy here!

Are You Making these Book Link Mistakes? #BookMarketing

Are You Making these Book Link Mistakes?

Genius Link Co-Founder Jesse Lakes Solving World Peace (or Maybe it was International Link Issues)

Blondie and the Brit Podcast - Writing Publishing and Beyond

Have you ever wondered what happens to your book links after you post them? Did you know that most links don't allow your international audience to find your book?  

I've been using this amazing tool called Genius Link for the past six months and was so happy with how it has helped create intelligent links that solve this problem, I reached out to the co-founder, Jesse Lakes, for an interview on Blondie and the Brit, the podcast I co-host with Suzanne Kelman. Click below to listen to the full interview. 

Jesse Lakes is part nature lover part self-proclaimed nerd who just can't help solving problems he finds on the Internet. 

Jesse's avatar on LinkedIn -- Follow him here.

He first tackled an issue that plagued his early website traffic (and connected affiliate income) that was keeping international visitors from finding their way to his links on iTunes. His solution was so genius that Apple first threatened a lawsuit until they decided to hire him. 

Since then Jesse partnered with Microsoft engineer and best friend, Jesse Pasichnyk, to create Genius Link to master this issue while providing an incredible tool for pushing traffic to the proper site no matter where your visitors are coming from. 

Don't miss Jesse's generous offer for a free 30-day trial of GeniusLink, see below for details.

Here is the blurb from the Podcast:

This month on Blondie and the Brit we are pleased to introduce you to Jesse Lakes, one of the masterminds behind the company Genius Link (www.geni.us). Genius Link is an incredible online tool that provides intelligent links to help you to improve your sales by routing international readers to their local stores while helping you earn affiliate money and valuable insights in the process. They also own the booklinker.net link management service that is a simpler version of this concept but focused on authors, indie publishers, and Amazon.

This in-depth interview covers many of the elements of this fascinating tool that would be ideal for any authors toolkit. 

Jesse is also giving a wonderful gift to our listeners, offering a 30-day free trial (double the standard) to anyone who mentions "Blondie and the Brit." Just click here to begin your trial (https://my.geni.us/join) then use the messaging bubble inside the dashboard to mention the extended free trial.

Suzanne and I also give you our latest tips on planning and rewarding your accomplishments with a Victory Journal.

Follow the GeniusLink blog for great tips and tools here.
You can find Jesse here on twitter and GeniusLink here.




Sign up for my newsletter so you don't miss any of my special offers and deals. Click here.

My books are available here:

Blow: http://geni.us/blowblog

Stealing Time: http://geni.us/StealingBlog and only 99 cents in the UK site on Amazon this week.

Shattering Time: http://geni.us/ShatterBlog

Shattering Time Book Signing

Last week was a doozie. In preparation for my first book signing for Shattering Time, I was asked to be on two radio shows.  

The Chad Hasty Show

First I joined Chad Hasty on his radio program to promote the first book signing for Shattering Time. 

Here is the radio interview with Chad: 



I was also on Chad's show in 2015 when I first released Stealing Time. You can hear that interview here. 

LoneStar Country

When I was finished with Chad I walked down the hall to meet Jan Miller from LoneStar Country and chat for a bit about her book and the Stealing Time series. Check it out here, she even added some snazzy pics to go with the audio. 

Free Books!

In celebration of the season, I have two of my books for free if you want to check them out here. 

Stealing Time is available here as a free download here.

Also for a short time my short story is free on all outlets: 

Amazon
iTunes, Google Play
All other outlets (BN, Kobo and more)



Don't miss the latest in my series, Shattering Time available here.

Join my newsletter here for the latest news, freebies and more!

Hurricane Harvey Relief Discount

Hurricane Harvey Relief Discount on my Hurricane Series

The horrible scenes coming out of southeast Texas this week as a result of Hurricane Harvey breaks my heart. I truly am in awe of the strength and soul of Texas and their ability to tackle the worse disaster in American history with class and neighborly love.

Like many of you, I want to do something to help and I'm contacting my local Food Bank and Rotary Clubs to see how I can help locally in their broader projects to support victims of Harvey as well as donating to the larger organizations helping in disaster relief. 

I wanted to do something more personal as well and I've been struggling with something related to my writing to help in a small way. I don't think I need to encourage anyone to help out, but I did want to offer a little bit of thanks for supporting the relief effort. 

If you're interested in my Stealing Time Series set during the hurricanes of 2004 I'm offering the biggest discount I've ever offered at 30% off one or both paperbacks. To take advantage of this please email a screen shot of your Hurricane Harvey Relief donation to a reputable organization (not sure click here for ideas from NPR) to this email: 
kjwaters@protonmail.com or click here for the link. Sign up for my newsletter here and join the fun!  Insider deals, behind the scenes looks at my work and more!

Hurricane Charley and Time Travel back to 18 Century London

As you may know already I'm an author who was inspired to write my time travel series after living through the hurricanes that hit Florida in 2004. Hurricane Charley was the last Category 4 hurricane to hit the United States before Harvey devastated Texas last week. Charley is the backdrop for the first book in the series Stealing Time and you can read a sample, reviews, and the blurb here or buy on Amazon (ebook is only $2.99) here. 

Hurricane Frances and Time Travel to The Lost Colony in 1588 Early America

This weekend is the anniversary of Hurricane Frances that hit Florida 13 years ago only a few weeks after Charley hit. This storm was the size of Texas and impacted nearly the entire state of Florida and like Harvey was a slow mover with a lot of rain. It is also the backdrop for the second book in the series, Shattering Time. You can read the reviews and blurb here or buy on Amazon (ebook is only $3.99) here.

Thankfully, I wasn't affected in any serious way by the storms, just some minor damage to my Florida room, but it was definitely a dramatic welcome to the state, as I had just moved there three days before Charley struck and within six week four major hurricanes hit the state. 

I was going to launch a blog series with storm stories from my readers, but as the events of this disaster Hurricane Harvey have given us all enough to focus on, I've decided to put that on hold for a bit. I'll continue that blog idea in the future and would love for you to send me any storm stories you'd like to share. 

Thank you for reading my blog.
Please subscribe!

I'm writing the third book in the series (Killing Time) and working on the follow up to my short story Blow. It would be really exciting to be inspired by your experiences. Please send anything you you'd like to kjwaters@protonmail.com or click here. 

My books are available here:

Blow: http://geni.us/blowblog

Stealing Time: http://geni.us/StealingBlog and only 99 cents in the UK site on Amazon this week.

Shattering Time: http://geni.us/ShatterBlog

Sign up for my newsletter here and join the fun! 

Week 1 -- Blondie and the Brit Awards Special Announcement -- Best Social Media Tip

Blondie and the Brit Podcast Award Special Announcement

Find our podcast here! 

In Honor of our One Year Anniversary

Blondie and the Brit are excited to announce our first

“Blondie and the Brit Podcast Awards” 

Each week over the next month we will release the nominees for you to vote on. All categories will be open for voting until October 7. ​We will announce all the winners at our Blondie and Brit Awards and Birthday Bash Facebook party on Friday, October 14.  Please join the fun here. (You have to join to see the posts.)

Week 1 -- Category 1: Best Social Media Tips -- Nominees 

Click on the clips below to listen and vote below:

Rachel Thompson -- #MondayBlogs

Laurence O'Bryan -- Extending Your Book onto Your Blog

Joey Pinkney -- How to Present Yourself Online

Nicole Persun -- SEO Optimization

Claude Bouchard -- Twitter Growth

Best Social Media Tips?

Rachel Thompson Joey Pinkney Claude Bouchard

Laurence O'Bryan Nicole Persun

Rules:

1. 1 vote per person per category.

2. Votes must be cast by October 7 midnight central time.

3. Winners will be announced on Friday, October 14, 2016 during our Facebook party. You do not have to be present to win. Please invite everyone to join the fun.

4. Winners will receive a trophy, a widget for website and eternal bragging rights and other exciting opportunities. 

Quiz Maker

Please listen to our last podcast here where we review the voting prior to this week and provide the best tips from our year of podcasting. 

If you haven't voted for previous weeks you can do so here.
Vote on week 5 here: (Most Inspired Storytelling and Best Professional Publishing Tip)

Vote on week 4 here: (Most Helpful Writing Process)

Vote on week 3 here: (Funniest Podcast and Best New Author Story)

Vote on Week 2 here: (Most Creative Book Promotion and Best Fangirl/Boy Story. 

Vote on Week 1 here: (Best Social Media Tips)

To listen to these amazing authors please visit our podcast here or on iTunes here.

Jody Smyers and KJ Waters -- Episode 18 -- Blondie and the Book Cover

My book cover business partner, Jody Smyers, and I spent a little time chatting with Suzanne Kelman on our very first podcast recording. It wasn't our first podcast aired but it was the first one we recorded when we were just setting up the podcast last summer. We've improved a lot, but it is still an interesting look at how Jody and I work together in my book cover business, Blondie's Custom Book Covers.

Jody Smyers and KJ Waters -- Episode 18 -- Blondie and the Book Cover:

Jody Smyers and KJ Waters — Episode 18 — Blondie and the Book Cover

January 16, 2016

Ever wonder what it takes to create the perfect book cover? In this week's podcast Suzanne Kelman (the Brit) interviews photographer Jody Smyers and our very own KJ Waters (Blondie) about their company Blondie's Customs Book Covers. In this special podcast we explore all the elements that make up the perfect cover and how important first impressions are. If you are an Indie published author or considering going Indie with your book, you don't want to miss this episode

Connect with me:

Website: http://www.kjwaters.com http://www.blondieandbrit.com/ http://www.blondiebooks.com/ 
Twitter: kamajowa 
Facebook: Facebook profile 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=217401576&trk
Blog: http://kjwatersauthor.blogspot.com

Instagram: @kamajowa

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kamajowa/

iTunes:

Other Twitter: @BlondieandBrit @Blondiebookcov

BLOW -- A SHORT STORY

Linker link: myBook.to/BlowbyKjWaters

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Blow----Short-Story-Waters-ebook/dp/B01DYDFO6Y/

Barnes and Noble:BN

iTunes: iTunes

BLURB:

Caught between a hurricane and a deadly secret, Rick Harris struggles against a ticking clock when the wrong people show up at his door looking for shelter. As the storm closes in wreaking havoc on Pensacola, Florida, he has to make a choice between saving their lives and exposing a secret that could cost him everything.

  

STEALING TIME

Book Linker: myBook.to/StealingTimebyKJWaters

Barnes and Noble: BN

iTunes: iTunes

Blurb:

Stealing Time is a "Breathtakingly original" time travel adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat. As Hurricane Charley churns a path of destruction towards Orlando, Florida, Ronnie Andrews and her best friend, Stephanie McKay, scramble to prepare for the storm. Ronnie seeks shelter at her boyfriend’s weather lab while Steph heads back to her house.

During the peak of the storm Ronnie is hurtled back in time to eighteenth-century London where she is caught in a web of superstition, deception, and lies in a life and death struggle to return to her own time.

Steph is thrust into the middle of the hurricane, but it quickly turns into a living nightmare as she is faced with losing everything. Stealing Time: Book 1 in the Stealing Time Trilogy.