Moving on to Book 3

So the first two books in my dusty digital closet are published, and I'm ready to move on to polishing the third historical romance I wrote many years ago. Defying a Duke is currently a featured book on the Book Goodies website, so I should probably devote some time to marketing, but I've decided I'm not a fan of marketing, and I'm feeling stubborn. I'm definitely starting to understand why many writers are willing to work with agents. I want to write, not work on marketing, so it's a bit of a no-win situation for a writer with a limited amount of time for writing. Sigh... Wish me luck! (And if anyone knows a good literary agent, let me know.)

Readers' Favorite Book Review of Defying a Duke - 5 Stars!

I'm extremely excited to announce that I also got a 5-star editorial review of my second book, Defying a Duke, from Readers' Favorite. Yes! Check it out for yourself if you like historical romance.

Reviewed by Rabia Tanveer for Readers' Favorite:

Defying a Duke: Regency Heroes #1 by Anjannette Conner is a beautiful tale of love, duty, and honor. The story follows Jordan Montgomery, an American heiress, who was blessed with older brothers who love her and want to protect her at all costs. Although she loves them, she has bigger dreams than just being a little wife to any man. She wants to find love and adventure. That is why she leaves her family behind and travels to London, where she gets what she wants and then some. She lands right in the middle of a deadly plot that she might not survive.

Caine Wakefield is the future Duke of Somerset. He saves the beautiful Jordan from danger and reluctantly takes on the job as her protector. This pretty woman is too much of a distraction. She has a fire inside her that he cannot ignore, and there is nothing he can do to fight it. As he is fighting to keep her safe, he is also fighting to keep from falling for this woman who makes his heart sing.

This novel is brilliant. I finished it in one night, and I simply loved it. Caine is so amazing. He is charismatic and charming, and, boy, I just love him. Jordan is not your typical damsel in distress. She is a woman who knows her heart, and she knows her limitations. That makes her human and that much more attractive. She is not hard headed, and, together with Caine, she makes a lot of sense. This is definitely a series I would love to read. Five stars! It was great.

Readers' Favorite Book Review of Mystery Lady - 5 Stars!

This is the 5-star book review I received for my first book, Mystery Lady. Woo-hoo! Check it out if you like historical romance.

Reviewed by Rabia Tanveer for Readers' Favorite:

Mystery Lady by Anjannette Conner is a romantic mystery that will keep you guessing and falling madly in love. Zachary Chandler’s life was a content one, albeit a little boring. However, that was remedied when he found a raven haired woman who desperately needed help. Found almost dead, when she wakes up, she has no recollection of who she is and where she is from. The only clue about her identity is a pocket watch with the king’s crest on it. She has a British accent, so either she is a spy or someone who fell prey to someone else’s nefarious plans. With constant attacks on her life, Zach is the one who must protect her. He is obsessed with this task and it is during this turmoil that he falls for this beautiful woman. She might be the enemy, but his heart feels as if she is the one. Which one should he trust, his heart or the signs?

Anjannette Conner is one amazing storyteller. This story was wrapped up nice and tight with great writing, an amazing plot line, and wonderful choice of words. Many writers don’t have the gift of choosing the best words to describe a situation, but Conner did it in this novel multiple times. Once you start reading it, you will not be able to put it down. You will want to know what is going to happen in the end and, trust me, you will not be skipping and skimming. You will want to read each and every word because this book is that good.

Hot New Release Alert!

Get it while it's hot! Defying a Duke, the first novel in the Regency Heroes Series, is on sale now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple iBooks, Kobo, Smashwords, and Scribd.

Cover Chaos

Finally! The new website is finished, and I can check one thing off my monster to-do list. At this point, I'll take every accomplishment I can get. As to the rest of the book marketing and promotion I need to do, well, one bite at a time, right?

The most challenging issue that requires immediate action is the creation of a new cover for my book. This is a challenge that I obviously thought was resolved, but I was completely wrong. Apparently, my lack of experience bit me on the booty, and I'm enjoying a "live and learn" moment. Okay, so "enjoying" is a really strong word. The problem is the catch-22 related to cover design for a brand new author. To compete against thousands (pages and pages) of other books and actually sell books, it's critical to somehow stand out and tempt buyers into clicking on your book title. After all, the best blurb in the history of the world won't sell a single copy of the book if no one ever finds it and reads it.

For new authors with no name recognition, that means the best way to attract attention is to create (or buy) an eye-catching book cover. This is where I steered dramatically off course. The book in question is a historical romance, and anyone familiar with the genre knows that a huge chunk of book covers for historical romances include a man and a woman entangled in a passionate (or at least compromising) embrace. Second and third place numbers probably go to a lone woman in a gorgeous gown or a lone man in a striking pose, possibly (Gasp!) shirtless. You find the occasional scenic photo on a historical romance cover, but it's certainly not the norm.

In a quest to avoid the "typical" cover styles, I pondered some of the key elements in my book, trying to come up with image ideas that would make a captivating cover. The result was the purple eye that appears on the first version of my book cover.

 

I thought the eye was perfect. Originally blue, I changed the color to represent the unusual violet eye color of the heroine in the book. Beyond that, the overall look of the design was edgy and seemed to fit with the mysterious theme implied by the title.

Yes, well, I started communicating on Amazon message boards with some more experienced writers in the historical romance genre to find answers to a few questions I had, and many of them pointed out that my cover didn't indicate to the reader that the book is a historical romance. Due to the edgy look, the consensus was that the cover indicated a thriller or paranormal novel or something in the young adult category. Yikes! Talk about bursting my bubble. I knew the cover was edgy, but I certainly didn't mean to create the impression that the book was a completely different genre.

Once it was so blatantly pointed out, I could easily see that maybe I went a bit too far. So there it was, the nasty catch-22 of creating a cover. I need a cover that deviates from the norm and stands out from the crowd, but the cover still has to say, "Hey, I'm a historical romance!", or my potential readers might skim right past it, regardless of an eye-catching cover, because they assume it's something else.

I'm running ad campaigns that I'm afraid could suffer because of the poorly chosen first cover, so I have created a temporary revised cover that fits the theme. I say temporary because it's an embracing couple that might not really stand out, but at least readers will know it's a historical romance. I suppose it's better than nothing while I wait for inspiration to strike on something remarkable and unique…and historical. Sigh… Feel free to offer advice.