Hello. It's spring in NW Florida and after finishing up several projects, I've got a bad case of spring fever! I've taken several walks on the beach and I've sat and enjoyed reading while the ocean and sun grow warm again. I'm also happy to see my yard coming back to life. Meantime, if you can't get enough of me here, well, I tend to pop up in other places, too. I thought I'd share some of those … [Read more...]
Word of Mouth: One of the Most Powerful Tools in Helping a Book Succeed
Think for a few minutes about the kinds of things that make you want to pick up a book and read it. Most of the time we read a book because it's by an author we already know and love. Sometimes a cover might attract us to take a closer look, particularly if we're browsing in a brick-and-mortar store. But I'm guessing the large majority of us discover books based on word of mouth. The … [Read more...]
Christian Fiction Readers Retreat
Please extend a warm welcome to Christian fiction bloggers Bonnie, Carrie and Annie! I invited them to guest post at Inspired by Life...and Fiction today so that they can tell you about the FIRST ANNUAL Christian Fiction Readers Retreat that they're organizing. The event is for readers and writers and it's coming up in August in Nashville. I'll be there and I'm so looking forward to it! If … [Read more...]
Keeping Track of Books
Twenty years ago, in 1996, I started keeping track of how many and which books I'd read. It was the year my first novel was published, and I had quite an impressive list of books I'd read—55 books over the course of twelve months. In 1997 I was working on writing my second and third novels, but I still managed to read forty books, recording each one in a pretty spiral journal. In the years between … [Read more...]
4 Simple Ways Readers can Help Authors
Readers often ask me how they can help their favorite authors. I love to get that question because it is so very easy to help your favorite authors. Today I want to share a few of those with you.[Tweet "Love #Chrisfic? Today @Cara_Putman shares 4 ways #readers can help authors."] 1) If you read a book and like it, then please post reviews. Don't give spoiler details, but let other readers … [Read more...]