• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

William L. Stuart

author of The Gemstone Chronicles Series

  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact

Self publishing

Thank You Card, Adapting to Change, and Persistence!

January 22, 2020 by Bill Stuart Leave a Comment

A Thank You Card and learning about adapting to change, persistence, and perseverance. Lessons from a reader and two bestselling authors!

Sometimes being an independent author is difficult. Not the writing part (although that is quite challenging in its own right), but the other aspects of the business of writing. Not only does an indie author have to write, but they also are the first editor, primary marketer, sales person, and just about every other role all rolled into one. I’m not complaining, mind you, just stating the facts.

In my social media feeds, I often hear writers express the frustration of not knowing whom, if anyone reads their work. If someone does read it (as evidenced by book sales), the hope is that a review materializes. More often than not, it doesn’t and the author is left wondering what readers think of their work.

I’ve experienced the same issues. Luckily, I don’t write to make a living. As most of my longtime readers know, I wrote The Gemstone Chronicles for my grandchildren, not to become the next bestselling author (though if lots of people want to buy the books and make that happen, I’ll happily accept it).

Jingle in the Park and Nate

Where is all this leading? Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve had a couple of things happen to reaffirm that writing my books allows me to reach readers and how adapting to change, persistence, and patience are necessary. A little background, first. In December 2019, I participated in Jingle in the Park in Suwanee, Georgia. Jingle in the Park is an event for the HappyFeat organization. Here is the link to learn all about Happyfeat and its wonderful programs for special needs individuals. Despite the cold December day, I set up my booth (fought the wind a little bit), sold books, and generally had a great time!

One of the visitors to my booth was a young man named Nate. Nate wandered over to my table and we struck up a conversation. Rocks interest Nate, and, since my books involve gemstones, I had a few of my collection on display. Long story short, Nate ended up purchasing Book One: The Carnelian and, as part of his purchase, received a carnelian to take home with him.

Imagine my surprise when early January 2020, I received an email from Nate’s mother asking how she could order an autographed copy of Book Two: The Amethyst. We worked it out and I sent the book, along with a few additional stones for Nate’s collection (after all, who wouldn’t want an amethyst for happiness and a bloodstone for healing?).

Where is the affirmation, you are probably asking. Well, around the middle of January, I received a thank you card from Nate. Handwritten and with a hand drawn picture of The Carnelian cover in the card, it absolutely made my day! It isn’t often (at least for me) that an author gets confirmation that they’ve reached a reader. Thank you Nate!

Thank You Card from Nate

Atlanta Writers Club

The second part happened as part of the monthly meeting at the Atlanta Writers Club. I attended the January 18, 2020 meeting and enjoyed listening to Lynn Cullen and Joshilyn Jackson talk about their books and experiences as authors. Lynn had great insights to adapting to change and one comment from Joshilyn Jackson caught my attention. She recently submitted a YA novel and received numerous rejection letters. Not that I’m happy about her rejection letters (and I hope she won’t be mad I mentioned it), but it just shows that even bestselling authors have a tough time of it. They stick it out and I have to as well.

I’ll continue with my three works in progress and see where they lead and I encourage all my writer friends to do the same. Regardless of where my works in progress lead me, I’m grateful for Nate’s awesome thank you card and to Lynn Cullen and Joshilyn Jackson for demonstrating that perseverance, patience, and adapting to change pay off!

Connect with me:

Find me on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and Pinterest! If you do, say hi and let’s connect!

Filed Under: Self publishing

Book Marketing Update – New Sites I have Discovered!

November 26, 2016 by Bill Stuart 2 Comments

I wanted to provide a book marketing update on some new sites (at least new to me) that I discovered and how things are going on the marketing front. I hope some of this will be helpful to you, too!

YA Books Central:

The first new site I want to talk about is YA Books Central. I found the site through a tweet that showed up in my feed. Since The Gemstone Chronicles is written for middle grade/YA and up, I decided to check it out to see if I could reach more of my target audience (not that I mind getting reviews from adults). I was impressed by what I found. Here are some interesting things I found out about the site:

  • The site has a ton of books and it has a separate place for Indie books. It makes it easier to find works by Indie authors
  • @yabookscentral has over 33K followers on Twitter
  • The site does offer reviews for traditionally published authors, and may review Indie books on occasion
  • YABC on Facebook has over 14,000 likes
  • Once you submit your book and it is approved (it cost me $3.99 to list my book), it is listed on the site with a cover photo and a link for sales. In the 3 days (as of April 3) since I posted my book, I have had over 50 views of the book.
  • They also have a separate page for Kid’s books

Marketing Update! All four of The Gemstone Chronicles are now on YABC! In fact, Book One: The Carnelian is HOT on the site.

If you are a YA or Kids author, this might be a great place to list your book! To give you an idea of what the site looks like, here is a link to my book: http://www.yabookscentral.com/yaindie/17879-the-carnelian-the-gemstone-chronicles-series-1

Indie Brag:

IndieBRAG: I found this site after seeing a fellow author’s BRAG medallion. BRAG stands for Book Readers Appreciation Group and they will award a BRAG Medallion for books that have passed the rigorous standards for their reviews. Here are some facts about IndieBRAG:

  • IndieBRAG is not a free site to submit a book. It costs $20 for a book to be considered for a review. Since I made a little money from the Augusta Literary Festival, I decided I would submit. We will see what happens!
  • IndieBRAG has over 9400 Facebook Likes
  • IndieBRAG has over 5300 Twitter followers

Update! I did submit my book to the site and guess what – The Carnelian was awarded a BRAG Medallion!

Marketing Update THE-GEMSTONE-CHRONICLES-BRAG-for-Web 1

The last new place I want to tell you about is Cold Coffee Cafe. I stumbled across this site on Twitter. It’s a free site for authors to join and list their books and trailers. I signed up and haven’t finished setting everything up yet, but I do have The Carnelian listed and its trailer is linked there, too. More information on Cold Coffee Cafe:

  • Just over 600 Twitter followers
  • Just over 650 likes on Facebook
  • Offers promotional packages

My page link at Cold Coffee Cafe is: http://coldcoffeecafe.com/profile/WilliamlStuart

As far as my marketing efforts are concerned, things have picked up since I have been implementing my own marketing plan. I continue to refine my strategy and, once I stumble on the key(s) to successful (and low-cost) book marketing strategies, I will share!

In conclusion, here is my Book Marketing update! I don’t know how well any of these might work within your advertising and promotional budget and strategy, but give them a look!

Connect with me:

If you want to connect with me, I can be found on Twitter, Facebook, or send me an email at bill@williamlstuart.com. Feel free to connect!!

Filed Under: Book Posts, KDP, Kindle, Self publishing, The Gemstone Chronicles, William L Stuart Tagged With: adventure, Amazon, author, Barnes and Noble, book marketing, book promotion, books, cold coffee cafe, ebooks, fantasy, Good Reads author, IndieBRAG, KDP, Kindle, middle grades, self publishing, Smashwords, The Carnelian, The Gemstone Chronicles, william l stuart, YA Books Central, young adult

Suwanee Fest 2016 – A Great Weekend – Even With the Rain!!

September 28, 2016 by Bill Stuart Leave a Comment

Sorry I’m a little bit behind on my posts. Been a crazy couple of weeks! And the crazy weeks started with Suwanee Fest 2016!

Suwanee Fest? What’s Suwanee Fest? Well, as many of you know, I live just north of Atlanta, GA in Buford, GA. Just south of Buford is Suwanee, GA, Suwanee is a small city of about 18,000 people. Every year, the city hosts Suwanee Fest. The event website refers to the festival as “Two days of family, friends, food, and fun!” I can attest to the fact it was all of that!

Saturday:

There was a ton of entertainment (including my favorite Who’s Bad – The Ultimate Michael Jackson Tribute Band), great food, almost too many amazing exhibitors to count, and The Gemstone Chronicles!

Yep, I was there with books in hand to meet and greet new friends and readers of the series. And it was a blast! Not only did I sell a few books, but I also met so many awesome people. I talked about gemstones for hours, referred a few to my favorite gem hunting spot (Gold n’ Gems Grubbin’), and got to spend a couple of hours with my brother John and my niece Aidia. Overall, not a bad way to spend a Saturday! Below is the picture of my booth before the fun began.

Suwanee Fest Booth

Book interest was at an all-time high, and my editor extraordinaire Abby (who doubles as the City of Suwanee Public Information Officer) tried to stop by a few times to say hello. Every time she tried to stop by, though, I was interacting with new friends! Like I said, not a bad way to spend a Saturday!!

Sunday:

Unfortunately, Sunday was not the best day. Despite the great entertainment, the rains came and wouldn’t go away! Nonetheless, The Gemstone Chronicles staffed the booth in hopes of meeting more new friends. Alas, it wasn’t to be as the rains kept visitors away. On the plus side, though, John came by (and helped me pack up during one of the few breaks in the rain) and I had the chance to talk with Abby for a few minutes.

Suwanee Fest 2016 was a great event and I hope to attend again next year! If I met you, sold you a book (or 4), gave you a gemstone, or simply talked about gemstones, thanks for stopping by the booth! I truly appreciate each and every person who took time out of their celebration to visit with me and buy a book. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! If we did interact, and you have my contact information, give me a shout and let me know.

Connect with me:

In case you didn’t pick up a card or a bookmark, you can connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads. You can also email me here at bill@williamlstuart.com!

Filed Under: Amazon, author, Book Posts, Goodreads, Goodreads author, Kindle, Self publishing, The Gemstone Chronicles, William L Stuart Tagged With: adventure, Amazon, Amazon Author, author, books, ebook, ebooks, elves, fantasy, fantasy adventure, fiction, Georgia, KDP, Kindle, middle grade, middle grades, self publishing, Smashwords, Suwanee Fest, Suwanee Fest 2016, The Amethyst, The Carnelian, The Emerald, The Gemstone Chronicles, The Ruby, william l stuart, young adult

Shield of Skool by Gordon Brewer – My Review!!

September 19, 2016 by Bill Stuart 1 Comment

Shield of Skool – My Review!!

Shield of Skool Cover

Epic fantasy is one of my favorite genres. I saw the Shield of Skool by Gordon Brewer and liked the way it sounded. Read on for my review!

Synopsis (from the author):

In this epic fantasy, a modest mission from his overlord turns into a perilous trek and personal quest for Urith, known as the Clovel Destroyer. Leading his nephew Oslaf across enemy lands, the warriors find allies in the demigod Mivraa and a beautiful young prophetess named Fedelm. As told by mystic visions, one of the group is destined to discover the first piece of the lost Skool, an ancient weapon of the gods, long thought destroyed.

On their quest to recover this powerful weapon, they must battle mortal enemies, both human, and monster, who will stop at nothing to terminate them. The overlords who rule the lands of Kamin are against them, and chaos begins to creep into the mortal world. The realms of the gods start to become a battleground for control of the terrifying weapon. All sides learn they have much to fear about their future when enemies create shifting alliances. The powerful and the weak become treacherous partners in the race to find the Shield of Skool.

What I liked:

The Shield of Skool is my kind of epic fantasy! Full of battles, an honor code among warriors, gods interfering with humans, intrigue, and a cool world, the Shield of Skool has it all. I enjoyed Urith as a character, and Oslaf is a good sidekick to the more experienced warrior. The budding attraction between Oslaf and Fedelm (and between Mivraa and Urith) add an interesting flavor to the story. The underworld god and goddess are delightfully evil. All told a nice start to the Clovel Sword series!

What I didn’t like:

As much as I enjoyed the story, the Shield of Skool needs another review by an editor. I found many errors that detracted from the tale.

Overall impression:

The Shield of Skool was an enjoyable read. With a review by an editor, and some corrections, this would be an excellent start to an epic fantasy series! I rounded it to 4 stars (since Amazon doesn’t allow half-stars).

My rating: 3.5 Stars (rounded to 4)

Connect with the author:

If you read Shield of Skool by Gordon Brewer, please consider leaving a review. And check out his other books through his Amazon Author Page or his website.

Connect with me:

Did you like my review? Leave me a comment and let me know. If you prefer, you can email me at bill@williamlstuart.com, or connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads. I look forward to meeting new friends!

Filed Under: Amazon, author, Book Posts, KDP, Kindle, Recommendations and Reviews, Reviews, Self publishing, The Gemstone Chronicles, William L Stuart Tagged With: adventure, Amazon Author, amazon book, author, book review, books, Clovel Sword, ebook, ebooks, epic fantasy, fantasy, fantasy adventure, fiction, goddesses, gods, Gordon Brewer, KDP, Kindle, review, self publishing, Shield of Skool, sword, sword and sorcery, william l stuart, william stuart

Blott (The Canvas Chronicles Book 1) by Daniel Parsons – My Review

February 29, 2016 by Bill Stuart 1 Comment

Blott (The Canvas Chronicles Book 1) – My Review!!

Blott Cover

I saw the cover for this book (recommended to me in my Amazon feed) and was intrigued. I read the blurb and liked what it said, so I picked it up. I’m glad I did!

Synopsis (from the author):

When a devastating famine forces Blott to disobey his parents and leave his remote village in search of food, he learns three things that change his life forever.

1. The world outside his village is made up of a giant canvas that stretches all the way to the horizon.

2. A freakish ability that he has kept secret for years means that he can paint life into the fabric, and shape new land around him to save his people from extinction.

3. A sinister voice inside his head has other ideas, threatening to consume him and unleash an untold evil onto the community.

Will Blott create a perfect world, or will he let his inner demon paint with darker colours?
The fate of his people rests in the balance.

What I liked:

This book started with a bang! Blott running for his life! The action continued throughout the book and kept me in the story. Daniel Parsons did an excellent job of building a strange world and filling it with interesting characters. Blott, the awkward teen who bleeds ink, Seraph, his best friend, and Arcana, the leader of the town, are instrumental in the book. I connected with Blott and sympathized with his plight. And the evil Alkali was cool! All said, a good read!

What I didn’t like:

I thought Seraph could have played a bigger role than she did. Another thing that didn’t make sense to me was Blott’s reluctance to his creations. Blott was brave enough to strike out to find food for the town, but waited until others died at the hands of his creations before fighting them.

Overall impression:

I liked this book! The story is original, the characters easy to identify with, and the action well done. I recommend this book to any reader who enjoys a different kind of fantasy world!

My rating:

4 Stars

Connect with the author:

If you read Blott, please consider leaving a review where you purchased the book. Authors always like to hear from readers! You can also connect with Daniel Parsons on his Amazon Author Page or at his website.

Connect with me:

If you want to leave me a comment on my review, I can be found on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads. You can drop me a note at bill@williamlstuart.com or just leave a comment below. If you don’t want to miss a post, please subscribe to the blog. I look forward to hearing from you!

Filed Under: Amazon, author, KDP, Kindle, Recommendations and Reviews, Reviews, Self publishing Tagged With: adventure, Amazon, author, Blott, book, books, Daniel Parsons, ebook, ebooks, fantasy, fantasy adventure, fiction, KDP, Kindle, review, reviewing, reviews, The Canvas Chronicles, young adult

Blast of the Dragon’s Fury by L.R.W. Lee – My Review

February 13, 2016 by Bill Stuart 3 Comments

Blast of the Dragon’s Fury by LRW Lee is one of my latest reads. I found the book through the Independent Author Network and I loved the cover and the blurb sounded like my kind of book. Read on to see what I thought!

Blast of the Dragon's Fury Cover

Synopsis (from the author):

Ten-year-old Andy Smithson believes he is merely a kid too often in trouble with his overambitious parents–until his destiny as the Chosen One to break a 500-year-old curse is revealed. Swept away to the land of Oomaldee of medieval times, he discovers he must collect several ingredients for a magic potion to defeat the oppressive curse that plagues the land, the first of which is the scale of a red dragon, the fiercest of all dragon species. There’s just one tiny problem, he’s never battled dragons, except in his Dragon Slayer video game. Armed with only his wits, an ancient sword and a magic key, he must overcome grave peril at every turn before he can even attempt the feat. No pressure, but it’s his skill alone that will save – or condemn – the kingdom forever.

What I liked:

 This book, the first in a series, is a unique twist on the hero tale. The hero, in this case, is a ten-year-old boy who is transported to a kingdom that is under a curse. Andy is a good character, and fits the typical kid profile. His parents are both CEOs, so he feels neglected. The king – who wears jeans and t-shirts – was an interesting take on the ruler who needs help, and Mermin (Merlin’s brother) is a bumbling sort of wizard. Alden was my favorite character. He befriends Andy and shares his adventures. The story moves along nicely, with action appropriate to the age group. Overall, the book entertained me with its humor and was a good read!

What I didn’t like:

 The one complaint I have is that the King doesn’t reveal what caused the curse or why Andy must be the one to break it. I realize the story will be revealed later in the series, but a little more information would have helped!

Overall impression: 

The first book of the Andy Smithson series, Blast of the Dragon’s Fury is a good middle grade and above read. It’s entertaining enough for adults, and younger readers will enjoy the unique use of cow farts! Full of humor, adventure, magic, and heroes, the story flowed nicely and kept me entertained! I’m adding the rest of the series to my TBR list!!

My rating:

 5 Stars

Connect with the author:

If you read Blast of the Dragon’s Fury by L.R.W. Lee, please consider leaving a review! And connect with L.R.W. Lee on her site at LRWLee.com!

Connect with me:

Want to leave a comment on my review? Please do! I love to hear from readers! Find me on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads and let’s connect. You can also email me at bill@williamlstuart.com. Subscribe to the blog and don’t miss a post!

Filed Under: Amazon, author, Recommendations and Reviews, Reviews, Self publishing, The Gemstone Chronicles, William L Stuart Tagged With: adventure, Amazon, amazon book, Andy Smithson, author, Blast of the Dragon's Fury, book review, book reviews, ebook, ebooks, fantasy, fantasy adventure, fiction, Independent Author Network, KDP, Kindle, L R W Lee, magic, middle grade, middle grades, review, reviewing, reviews, self publishing, The Gemstone Chronicles, william l stuart, young adult

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 10
  • Go to Next Page »

Footer

Follow Me on Social Media

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Follow Me on Goodreads!

Follow Me on Goodreads

Search this website

Site Policies

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookies Policy
  • Accessibility Statement

Copyright © 2021 William L. Stuart. All rights reserved.