Hello, yeah, it's been a while...

I know, I know...bad blogger.

In my own defense, writing and promoting books is EXHAUSTING.  In this last month so much has happened and I'm still not sure how it all came to be.  So let's start with the basics:

Wait for Me.  I decided to not go with the Kindle Select program this time around and just published it on NOOK and Kindle and guess what?  My sales SKYROCKETED on NOOK!  I could not believe it.  It had been the complete opposite when I did it with The Christmas Cottage and that's why I shied away from B&N because it wasn't making any money for me.  Clearly I was wrong to jump the gun because it has been in the top 100 for weeks and peaked at Number Four!!!  I was a spot better than James Patterson!  Go figure!

Trust in Me.  This is the next book I'm releasing and is book two in the Montgomery Brothers trilogy.  So I've been writing, writing, writing and editing and helping design a book cover...and basically wishing that there were more hours in the day.

Ever After.  I released Ever After in paperback finally and that was a process that nearly brought me to my knees.  Formatting a book for publication is not something that can be rushed.  As I found out by the THIRD print proof that came to my house.  It's now available on Amazon for $7.49.  It's kind of fun having an entire bookshelf in my house that is being filled with books that I wrote!

I'm in the process of working with a group of indie authors like myself to put together a box set.  We have picked a theme and we will each contribute a title and do all of the marketing and promoting (oh, joy!) and see how it goes.  A lot of these sets have been making it on to the big bestseller lists like USA Today!  I would LOVE to have that happen.  So we'll see how it all comes together and I've got my fingers crossed that it will be something that builds my audience a little.

I did a marketing promotion that promised 2,500 likes on my Facebook page.  It was a $15 fee and I figured, why not?  Well, I ended up getting over 5,000 likes from it and was near giddy.  What they don't tell you?  Most of those likes don't last.  So even though I gained 5,000 likes from them, by the time most people un-like it (and why?  No one knows) I'll end up with the 2,500 that they promised.  

I hope.

I survived Mother's Day.  Barely.  I stayed in my pajamas through Memorial Day.  I'm still loving my new car and still feel pretty darn sassy driving it.  Yeah, me!  Frank's work schedule is crazy, Michael is finishing up the seventh grade and Nick is plugging onward with college and trying to find a job.  All in all, it's a busy time for us.

Some things that I'm considering to help me clear the way a little for more writing is closing down the blog.  I know, I know, I've been doing this for years but it's hard to maintain a blog, a Facebook page, an author website, a Twitter account and a Tumblr all while trying to write and promote a book so something's got to give.  I had someone leave me a rather nasty message not too long ago (which I chose not to publish) where they complained that my blog was spam.

Seriously?  It's my blog and I'm writing about ME!  I've been sharing the link to my posts on Digg, Reddit, Twitter and the like and this guy saw my stuff on Reddit and told me that my stuff was Spam.  I thought that Reddit was a way for people to promote their blog contents, articles and whatnot but clearly I offended this guy.  Not my intention, dude, seriously.  I'm just trying to get a little creative writing/venting done and sell some books.  I know you can't please everyone but sometime I just wish that people didn't feel the need to throw the hate around.

I'm still dealing with some issues with some people in my life who are convinced that I'm making a boatload of money from all of the books.  Seriously people, .35 cents a book.  That's it.  Do the math.  On average, I sell about 2,000 books a month.  Divide that by the .35 cents and you'll see, I'm not getting rich on this.  I'm not able to quit my day job.  I'm not hiding anything from anyone so quit complaining that I'm not sharing my money with you.  There is no money to share.  AND...while your bitching, how about maybe taking some of that energy and putting it into actually helping me SELL some books.  If you're that interested in me spending my money on you, how about helping me make some?

So that's it.  Not sure if I'll be doing this much longer.  It's a nice creative release and I've made a lot of really great friends here.  It's a lot to consider...

"Wait for Me" by Samantha Chase

It's Release Day!  Love, love, LOVE Release Day!  "Wait for Me" is officially out there and is available on Kindle and Nook for only .99 cents!  Such a deal!  

This is book one of The Montgomery Brother's series and focuses on youngest brother Lucas Montgomery; a former NFL quarterback who is living a very solitary life after a career ending injury.  The only hope of getting him out of his self-imposed exile?  Sweet and sassy Emma Taylor.

I love this story because Lucas is a fairly complex character while Emma is a very down to earth and practical.  Their differences make for some great interactions.  I think that you'll love reading about them as much as I enjoyed creating and writing them.  

You can get "Wait for Me" on Barnes and Noble Nook HERE or on Amazon Kindle right HERE - both sites have it for only .99 cents!

New Book Series Coming Your Way!

So let me start with an apology for stepping away from the blog for so long.  I have been wrapped up in a new book - which will be part of a series - and setting up an actual website for Samantha Chase.  I was pretty darn proud of myself because I managed to design it and set it up all by myself and it was NOT an easy job!  You can find it at Chasing Romance and it will have links to all of my books as well as news on upcoming releases.  Yeah, me!

Next up is my newest endeavor - a trilogy!  My very first one!  When I wrote "The Christmas Cottage" it was meant to be a stand alone book but people wanted to know what happened with the best friend so I wrote a part 2.  But this next book?  It was always meant to be a series and I am very excited about it!

"Wait for Me" is book number one in the Montgomery Brothers series.  First up is youngest brother, Lucas Montgomery.  Here's the blurb:

 There’s no time like the present…

Executive assistant Emma Taylor is desperate for a little time away; away from her job, her life and from thoughts of her boss’s son who doesn’t seem to know she even exists.  Tired of waiting for the time to be right, she takes advantage of her boss’s generous offer for a little weekend getaway to thank her for helping out with a difficult business deal.

Unless you’re still running from your past…

Former NFL superstar Lucas Montgomery is still suffering from a career-ending injury.  His self-imposed exile from life is exactly what he wants; a sanctuary where there’s no chance for disappointment or distractions and that’s exactly the way he likes it.  While his family has been patiently waiting for Lucas to come around and embrace life once again, they don’t realize that it wasn’t just his career that was lost, but his sense of identity.

…And afraid to hope for the future

Lucas thought everything was fine until sweet, sexy and completely off-limits Emma Taylor comes crashing into his carefully constructed world one snowy weekend and turns his entire life upside down.

Was Mother Nature really to blame or did someone else lend a hand?

I am VERY excited about this book (as if I'm not excited about them all!) and I have to just say that I LOVE the work that my cover artist does.  I would be totally lost without her!  "Wait for Me" will be out this week and as soon as the link goes live, you will hear it here first!!!