by jphilo | May 26, 2022 | See Jane Run!
The See Jane Run! release countdown continues! The June 7 release date is less than 2 weeks away, a fact that fills me with equal parts of delight and dread.
Delight in my book baby’s entrance into the world. Dread of all to be done before, on, and after Book Baby’s birth. These are familiar emotions to parents experiences awaiting the arrival of their human or literary offspring. For those of you who would like to be part of the birth plan, here are some things you can do:
- Pre-order See Jane Run! on Amazon through June 6. Pre-orders are a big deal because they boost release date sales. Those sales increase the likelihood for a book to be designated as a best seller, which improves visibility. If you do pre-order, you will receive a free bonus. Instructions on how to claim your bonus can be found here.
- Write an Amazon review when you finish reading See Jane Run! Amazon grants greater visibility to books with 50 reviews and yet greater visibility after 100 reviews. Every review adds to that total, whether it is posted a day or a year after the book releases. So thanks to everyone who reads the book, then writes and posts an honest review whenever you can. I truly appreciate your efforts.
- Come to the book launch party on June 18 at The Chocolaterie Stam (230 Main St, Ames, Iowa 50010). There’s going to be live fiddle music, an author reading, a question and answer time, door prizes, and yummy chocolates and gelato available for purchase at The Stam. Print copies of See Jane Run! will also be for sale at my book table. Those who purchased print copies through Amazon can bring them to be signed, too.
For those of you who live too far away to attend the party, more fun is on the way! The launch party for the second book in the series, See Jane Sing!, will be held in August during the Harding County Fair in Camp Crook, South Dakota. Also, a virtual launch party is in the works for See Jane Dance!, the third book which will is scheduled for release sometime in the winter of 2023. Whatever the weather, wherever you live, the virtual party is gonna happen.
by jphilo | May 11, 2022 | See Jane Run!
The release date for See Jane Run! is less than a month away. I’m scratching my head trying to figure out how, after spending more than 10 years dreaming about the arrival of this publication date, it is approaching faster than I can get through my to do list by June 7, 2022.
By far my least favorite item on the list is begging asking people to join the See Jane Run! book launch team. I’m not sure why this particular task repels me since all team members are asked to do is write and post a review on Amazon, for which they receive a free Kindle copy of the book. That’s a pretty good deal, right?
Even so, when I beg ask people to join the team, I feel like I’m crossing a boundary. Today, I’m sticking my toe over that boundary and begging for volunteers for some simple reasons.
- Amazon reviews provide a tremendous boost to a book’s visibility.
- Amazon reviews persuade people to buy or not to buy books.
Based on those two reasons, feel free to imagine me at this very moment getting down on my very aged knees, clasping my hands in supplication, and begging asking you to consider becoming part of the See Jane Run! launch team. If you’ve been persuaded, here’s what to do next.
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Send an email to me at jolenephilo@me.com ASAP saying you want to be part of the team.
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Watch for a reply email with an advance electronic copy of the manuscript attached.
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Read your advance copy between now and the release day, June 7 and compose your review.
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Watch for a June 2 email invitation to pick up a free Kindle copy of See Jane Run!
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Pick up your free copy between June 4 and June 6. This allows you to write a VERIFIED review on Amazon.
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Post the review you composed on Amazon. (The June 2 email will have more details about how to do this.)
If you have any questions, email them to the address listed above. But hurry! The release date for
See Jane Run! is less than a month away. Once June 7, 2022 has come and gone, so does this opportunity.
by jphilo | Apr 20, 2022 | See Jane Run!
The skinny for claiming your See Jane Run! preorder bonus is very skinny. Or as Jane might say, it’s easier than milking Merle Laird’s prize Jersey heifer. Those of you who are wondering who Jane is, who Merle is, and what the cow’s name is, will find answers when you read See Jane Run!
The preorder bonus is a zip file containing a baker’s dozen of stunning photographs taken in northwestern South Dakota. The photos are of all seasons and provide a taste of the vast and wild land where See Jane Run! takes place. The photos are suitable for printing, framing, and using on calendars.
To claim your preorder bonus for the Kindle version:
- Preorder See Jane Run! on Amazon anytime between now and June 7, 2022.
- After placing your order, click on the “Returns & Orders” button in the top right corner of the Amazon web page.
- Download an electronic copy of the invoice/receipt for your order or take a screen shot of it.
- Send an email to anne@midwesternbooks.com. Type “See Jane Run Bonus” in the subject line. Attach the electronic invoice/receipt in the body of the email.
- Your zip file should arrive shortly in your inbox. If it doesn’t, leave a comment below and I’ll check into it.
To claim the bonus for the paperback version which will be available for purchase on June 7, 2022:
- Order the print version of See Jane Run! within 48 hours of its release on June 7, 2022.
- After placing your order, click on the “Returns & Orders” button in the top right corner of the Amazon web page.
- Download an electronic copy of the invoice/receipt for your order or take a screen shot of it.
- Send an email to anne@midwesternbooks.com. Type “See Jane Run Bonus” in the subject line. Attach the electronic invoice/receipt in the body of the email.
- Your zip file should arrive shortly in your inbox. If it doesn’t, leave a comment below and I’ll check into it.
Leave a comment if you have questions about how to claim either the Kindle preorder bonus or the 48 hour print order bonus. I’ll get back to you shortly!
by jphilo | Mar 25, 2022 | See Jane Run!
I promised to make chocolate chip oatmeal cookies for the grandkids this afternoon. Therefore, this post is short and to the point.
- The bonus for those who pre-order See Jane Run! are almost ready to go. There will be a post about how to claim the bonus in the near future. Thanks to those who have already pre-ordered. You are the best!
- Hiram and I spent the first full week of March in and around Norfolk, Virginia. I spent much of the second full week of the month keeping my mom company in the hospital. I spent this week recovering from the previous two weeks.
- Every cloud has a silver lining. In the case of sitting with Mom during her hospital stay, she slept a lot. So the silver lining was unexpected time to write. Enough time to finish 3 chapters of See Jane Dance!, the third book in the West River Mystery Series.
- The publisher is finalizing the cover for See Jane Sing!, the second book in the series. I can hardly wait to show it off in an upcoming post.
May these four facts for Friday hold you over until I have time to write a longer post regarding the viability of using homemade cookies instead of graham crackers when making s’mores.
by jphilo | Mar 4, 2022 | See Jane Run!
The See Jane Run! launch party (not to be confused with the See Jane Sing! party at the Harding County Fair) is now on the calendar for June 18. Just thinking about it makes me feel like a kid in a candy store for a very good reason.
The See Jane Run! launch party is being held in a candy store.
Not just any candy store, but at Chocolaterie Stam which hand crafts delicious European-style chocolates. They also have other yummy treats. More about those later. First, a few essential details.
Date: June 18, 2022
Time: 10:30 AM–noon
Place: Chocolaterie Stam
Address: 230 Main St, Ames, IA
Now, on to the fun stuff.
The launch party will feature:
- The author (that would be me) reading from See Jane Run!
- Books to purchase and have signed. (You can also bring copies purchased elsewhere and have them signed.)
- Live music.
- A raffle for 3 mystery-themed gift baskets. (The raffle proceeds will be donated to 3 different school libraries. One in Polk City where I live now, one in Boone where I taught for 18 years, and one in Ames where the launch party is being held.)
- Photos with friends.
And now for the delicious stuff.
Chocolates, coffee, tea, and gelato available for purchase from the store. The Ames Farmers Market is held on Main Street every Saturday morning in June. So those who feel guilty about eating chocolate and gelato before noon can wander outside for healthier fare.
You are cordially invited to attend the See Jane Run! book party. As the date draws nearer, there will be Facebook invitations and even some old-fashioned post cards going out. In case you, like me, tend to forget things. Even fun things. And this book launch party is going to be fun.
Also delicious.
by jphilo | Feb 25, 2022 | Mystery Update, See Jane Run!
This float appeared in the Harding County Fair Parade in the early 1980s. The little guy in the white cowboy hat was one of my students. I don’t recognize the boy on the barrel horse.
Welcome to the Harding County Fair!
That’s what we’ll be saying come August 19-21, 2022 when Hiram and I go to the fair for the first time in almost 40 years. We’ve wanted to do it for years. Make that decades. But the timing never worked out. This summer is a different story now that Hiram is retired.
A few weeks ago, I sent a Facebook message to Darwin Latham. We got to know one another when we were cast members in the Harding County Players production of Bye Bye Birdie, and we are now Facebook friends. Darwin’s wife Kay is on the Harding County Fair Board, a fact I gleaned from the county’s newspaper, The Nation’s Center News, to which I subscribe. I sent Darwin a message asking him to please ask Kay about the possibility of promoting The West River Mystery Series during the fair.*
Keep in mind that Darwin and I haven’t seen each other since the early 1980s, and we didn’t know one another all that well. Even so, he passed the message onto his wife. She presented the request at the next Fair Board meeting, at which it was immediately approved. Since then Kay, whom I’ve never met in person, has sent a schedule and a list of best places for a book table for maximum visibility throughout the fair.
This kind of hospitality and cooperation was typical of Harding County when we lived there decades ago. It warms my heart that it remains so today. It is also why we are eager to join in the fun next August and greet fairgoers by saying, “Welcome to the Harding County Fair!”
The Harding County Fair Building as it looked during a visit in September of 2013.
*Much of the action in See Jane Run!, the first book in the West River Mystery Series, unfolds during the Tipperary County Fair. The county and the fair building bear a striking resemblance to Harding County and its fairs during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
