Muffy Wilson: The Dragon in The Garden by Erika Gardner @Erika

Friday, March 4, 2016

The Dragon in The Garden by Erika Gardner @Erika_Gardner ~ Check This One Out!

The Dragon in The Garden

Erika Gardner

@Erika_Gardner

Reviews- Blessing and Bane

Before the recent publication of my first novel, The Dragon in The Garden, I had no flipping idea how important reviews are for today’s writers. I mean, sure, I thought good reviews would be nice, bad reviews would stink, but that’s basically as far as I took it.

Let me be clear, they are EVERYTHING.

The experienced writers in the crowd are smiling as they shake their far wiser heads and give an indulgent chuckle. Duh, they say in unison. I know, I know. How naïve can a debut author be?

If you, dear readers, are anything like me then you likely skip most customer satisfaction surveys, unless someone has REALLY ticked me off, and you rarely review a product purchased online. You want to get on an author’s Christmas card list? Write a review.

Our reviews affect searchability, meaning whether a reader can even find our book, let alone stumble on it in a perfect serendipitous moment. Most marketing services will only accept books once they have ten respectable reviews (at least three stars, some sites ask for a four star average). When customers search for a genre or type of book Amazon will ranks the search results according to their top secret algorithm. Now, as a top secret algorithm is by its very name “secret” I do know all the in’s and out’s on how this works. It is clear though that reviews, the number of reviews, make a huge difference. Twenty-five seems to make a big difference and once a book has received fifty such reviews Amazon will begin promoting it with margin ads and targeted emailing of regular customers. We’ve all gotten those emails. My husband uses my Amazon account because I have Prime so my email can be on anything from books and music (what I buy) to ratchet sets and bungee cords (what he buys), but you don’t make the email without the reviews.

Reviews help build momentum and buzz. A book can launch, do great for a week, but then when everyone the author knows has purchased the book, without fresh marketing it will fade. And fade they do. There are actually millions of books on the Kindle store. MILLIONS.

You have to stand out to survive. Readers, if you have a favorite author or two for the love of Pete, write a review.

Pretty please.

Here’s a little bit about The Dragon in The Garden. I hope you enjoy!

There is magic beneath the mundane and in The Dragon in the Garden, Siobhan Orsini witnesses it all. No lie can fool her, no glamour or illusion can cloud her Sight. She sees through them all and wishes she could close her eyes. Returning to face her past, Siobhan inherits her grandparents’ house in California’s wine country. She encounters a talking dragon, a hot fallen angel, a demon lord, a Valkyrie, and, oh yes, her ex-boyfriend. And that is just in the first twenty-four hours.

It’s time to find out why she has this power.

Siobhan seeks out the Oracle and learns that only her Sight can help mankind navigate the travails of an ancient war. Our world is the prize in a battle between the dragons, who would defend us, and Lucifer’s fallen angels, who seek to take the Earth for themselves. Using her gift, she will have to make a choice that will decide humanity’s future.

Please click on this link to purchase The Dragon in The Garden. http://www.tirgearrpublishing.com/authors/Gardner_Erika/the-dragon-in-the-garden.htm

About Erika Gardner:

This post was written by Erika Gardner. She’s a native Californian, lifelong lover of fantastical adventures, and a dedicated Whovian. If you enjoyed it, please sign up to receive updates on www.erikagardner.com You can follow Erika on Twitter @Erika_Gardner, “Like” her Facebook page Erika Gardner- Writer and Storyteller. Or check out her contributions to the BBB Blog.

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Muffy, author of provocative romance about love, sex, hope and passion, was born in Texas to traditional parents. With two older brothers, she was the youngest, the family "princess," indulged and pampered. Her father was a career Colonel and pilot in the U.S. Air Force which required the family to travel extensively. Muffy spent her formative years in Europe and 'came of age' in France which forged her joie de vivre and love for books, writing and education.

Married and living in the tropical paradise of SW Florida along the Gulf Coast, Muffy dabbles in real estate, writes and enjoys life in the sun with her husband and wee Havanese pup, Burt.

~ Live, Laugh, Love with Passion