Authors’ Cave Grand Launch Festival Blog Train - the K T Bowes Carriage

Authors’ Cave Grand Launch Festival Blog Train

Welcome to the Authors' Cave Blog Train!

You are cordially invited to attend the 

Grand Launch Festival Day!

Join us for what is sure to be a blast with the Most Enticing Book Trailer Contest winner announcement, scavenger hunts, giveaways, Google social hangouts, and our kick off for the 1st Annual Authors' Cave Book Awards where you can win $500 cash, a Kindle Fire or Nook, and free promotion of your book for a year at Authors' Cave!

 

July 22, 2014

(8am to 11pm EST)

 

Facebook Community
https://www.facebook.com/groups/BookReviewDepot/

Google+ Community
https://plus.google.com/communities/107038983251800372782

Back to the train...Get to know the blogger - that's me!

3 sentences about myself:

I write as K T Bowes, although my real identity is a well-kept secret and trusted only to a few. I write The Hana Mysteries based in Hamilton, New Zealand, the Teen Mayhem Series and have published two British based novels, Demons on Her Shoulder and Artifact. Writing keeps me sane in a busy, frenetic life and publishing and actually selling books, justifies my passion for it.

Elevator Speech: 2 sentences to 'sell' my books:

 

Blaming the Child

When teenager, Callister Rhodes discovers an unimaginable secret hidden within the folds of her struggling, dysfunctional family, she becomes a runaway, spending a torturous week in the intimidating New Zealand bush with a chance companion. What happens in the bush should stay in the bush but it doesn’t, following her into the welcome fresh start and tainting everything it touches - because when you can’t blame yourself, you end up blaming the child.

About Hana

It seemed like a random mugging but when Hana is repeatedly followed by two men with sinister intent, it is obvious that something else is going on in the New Zealand city’s dark underworld and it alarmingly involves her. She’s given up on love in middle age having been widowed young, but isn’t prepared for her unexpected attraction to the new Maori head of the English department, whose unusual grey eyes spark a peculiar feeling of deja vu.

The first three words I would use to describe myself are: 

Compulsive, Over-thinker, Dreamer.

I am currently working on this project:

I am writing the seventh in the popular Hana Mysteries, continuing the saga of the complicated Du Rose family. I am really excited about The Secret Du Rose Son, which is fast paced and full of mystery and intrigue.

My favorite thing about Book Review Depot / Authors' Cave...

When I got my first novel onto the Active Review List, I begged the administrator not to tell anyone but to let people find it by accident. I felt self-conscious and sensitive about my writing and was terrified of negative reviews. It felt like standing in a shopping mall completely naked in the fruit section and waiting for people to start pointing, laughing and criticising your stretchmarks. I can honestly say that being sent by another author in the direction of the Book Review Depot was the single most positive factor in my publishing experience and the support, camaraderie and constructive criticism has been essential in developing my skill as a writer. There is a core of solid, accomplished authors on BRD but it’s not enough just to click the ‘join’ button, you certainly get out what you put in. Ask questions, join the discussions and offer your own experience or even referee when it gets passionate. I think I hold pole position for asking the stupid questions so don’t worry about looking an idiot. That spot is already taken!

Enough about me...here are 3 more books from Authors' Cave you might enjoy!

Stay on the train and follow these authors next! See how they responded to the same questions!

The Riddle of Prague by LauraDeBruce

http://theriddleofprague.com/blog/
http://www.amazon.com/Riddle-Prague-QuickSilver-Legacy-ebook/dp/B00FFBNUVA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404403096&sr=8-1&keywords=riddle+of+prague

Running by Barbara Spencer

http://ablogpd.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.amazon.com/Running-Barbara-Spencer-ebook/dp/B003VTZZ1Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405538903&sr=8-1&keywords=running+barbara+spencer

Pawn of Innocence by Chameleon Author

http://chameleon-author.blogspot.com

http://www.amazon.com/Pawn-Innocence-Chameleon-ebook/dp/B00DT99BX6/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1405347551

Answer to Grand Launch Festival Day Scavenger Hunt Question #3: Train

Problem Exists Between Keyboard and Chair

When I started publishing my work over a year ago now, I fumbled my way through the first Amazon experience over the best part of an evening, pouring over the instructions, or ‘destructions’ as they are called in our house, without the slightest idea of what I would potentially unleash.

I kidded myself that if my mother bought my novel, which she dutifully did, lavished me with a bit of praise, also done; that my publishing experience would be complete and I could go back to my paid job happy. My mother’s pride in me was precious, because who doesn’t want their folks to have something smiley to say about their offspring, but what I didn’t expect was to also get bitten by the publishing bug, the marketing monster and the social-media fiend. What I didn’t think a techno-moron like me could achieve, was friendship with all three.

A year on and eleven published books later, some of them in the top 100 within their categories and I have just made my first book trailer for the latest offering, Blaming the Child for a competition on Authors Cave.

If I have learned anything during this haphazard experience, it’s that you can teach an old dog new tricks. And it’s probably that which has been equally edifying and challenging over the last year, in addition to working outside the home for proper money and expertly neglecting a husband and children in it.

I have gone from being an occasional Facebook participant who could just about upload a photograph for family and friends on the other side of the earth-ball and let me tell you, I resisted that for long enough, to a reasonably competent computer and internet user. Yes, some of my photos are still showing sideways on Facebook but now you're being picky.

I’m not joking when I admit to being a techno-moron. They made that phrase up just for me. I have been called a PEBKAC behind some poor IT guy’s hand on many occasions in my place of work (Problem Exists Between Keyboard and Chair) and I met my husband when I spectacularly pulled the network down at the local County Council offices, not once but twice. He was the gorgeous young-gun in IT who spent two weekends fixing up my mess. And he still married me five months later! You think he would have known better but he’s still here after two decades, responding to my cries of rage when I accidentally go into Chrome instead of Internet Explorer and can’t find any of my favourites.

When we agonise about sales figures (I only check once a week because I am too compulsive and know it) and marketing miseries and the drain of social media on our precious time, do we ever stop and think about how far we, as authors have come? 

I have an author Facebook page, http://facebook.com/ktbowes 

and a Twitter account with real followers @hanadurose 

and a Google+ page https://plus.google.com/u/0/+KTBowes/posts 

and my very own blog, of which I am particularly proud. The Library Corner http://ktbowes.blogspot.co.nz/  is my personal counselling session. I can rant my head off there and then delete the angry comments afterwards. See, total control.

So, my piece de resistance is a book trailer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OihKgCBO-i8 

It was not pretty, I won’t pretend that it was. There was lots of sighing and huffing when things didn’t go right. I did have help (thanks youngest daughter and husband - again) but I did put it together myself. I fully appreciate that when it is uploaded onto the world stage, there may well be hearty sniggers and comments of, ‘Look what some five-year old has done,’ but I will forever be proud of it. I feel like an elated child, running home with their best drawing only to have mother turn the scribble the wrong way up, only now, I don’t have to wait to be given the ice-cream reward. I can open my own freezer and eat the whole damn carton!

For today at least, I will celebrate my success instead of eyeballing my potential failure and after he has uploaded my extremely professional and entirely original book trailer to the ether, I will gaze fondly on my poor technical specialist and make him a cup of coffee before the men in the white coats arrive to cart him off to the funny farm. I think he is probably overdue a rest from my technical hysterics.

My grateful thanks also go to NZ band, The Heart of Katherine, who let me use their track, My Salvation as the backing music for my offering. They will be incredibly famous one day, far more so than me and I will always be able to look back on my book trailer fondly, knowing that somebody great gave me permission to use their stuff.

I might even screenshot the lovely message they sent me, because yeah, I can do that too now!