Free Book

#PoweredByIndie During the month of October Amazon is celebrating the Indie author. Authors who, for one reason or another, decided to strike out on their own. After publishing with three different traditional publishers, and 20+ books, I decided that I wanted a little more control over my career. Although I loved my time with each publisher and the fabulous editors I was fortunate to work with, I think I just got to a point where I wanted to be more involved with everything from content to pricing to cover design. Hence, all month long I'll have Close Encounters of the Sexy Kind up for free. Click here for download. A sexy romantic comedy that was nominated by Romantic Times for a Reviewers Choice award. I hope everyone enjoys the story.

I discovered going Indie was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Yes, I have a lot more control, but there are a lot of hats an Indie author has to wear from cover design to marketing. I'll admit I'm not that great at marketing. It seems the field is always changing---kind of like Fantasy Football, which I'll stay far away from. I actually dipped my toe into the cover design waters and quickly discovered just how muddy my skills were there. I leave that to others now.

Procrastination is another enemy of the Indie author. It's so much more fun to shop, watch a movie, read a book, scrub the toilet...anything that will keep me from actually working. That's another thing, there's a lot of work writing a book. I could win first prize as a procrastinator. If anyone would like to buy my Guide to Procrastination it'll be on the market next year, maybe, but probably not.

So, with all the work that goes into being an Indie author, I have to say, I've had more fun being my own boss. A great thing about Amazon is that I can actually see how many books I sell in a day. To someone who does their own marketing, that is a tremendous help. The main thing is never be afraid to believe in yourself. Your first steps might be a little wobbly but what have you got to lose?

                                                    Click here for download
Best Wishes,
Karen Kelley
www.authorkarenkelley.com

 

Things I've Learned Living In An RV

Karl and I went fulltime in the RV last October. It has been a time to ponder the meaning of life--okay, we haven't exactly been pondering much, but it sounded good when I wrote it. Mostly, we've been crazy busy with getting the house ready to go on the market, which we finally managed to do. Then getting everything done before we take off on the 21st. These are some things I/we've figured out:

1) My office shrunk! I now pile pillows behind my back and go to it.
2) When it's really cold outside we always run out of propane, usually around 3am and one of us has to go outside and switch it over.
3) Only so much can fit in the RV before I have to downsize again
4) Washing and drying dishes isn't as bad as I remember
5) Only one person can cook at a time
6) RV showers are small
7) If you exercise in an RV it's kind of like what an earthquake feels like---and don't do it if hubby is asleep
8) Solar power won't carry some appliances--like my flat iron! I'm glad I kept my hats!
9) Too many appliances on at one time will throw a breaker
10) The sticker on the outside that says 4 season protection lied, it gets damned cold in an RV. Adding rugs and a Little Buddy heater helped tremendously
11) I finally discovered putting a stone in the oven will keep the heat distribution more even
12) It only take 10 minutes to clean house
13) The national forest service, Bureau of Land Management etc will do your yardwork
14) We can live much, much cheaper in an RV and see the U.S.
15) We get to spend our extra time doing the things we love and less time taking care of the stuff we thought we had to have
16) Finding hotspots for the internet can be tricky, but it's not as important as it once was
17) Nothing beats the feeling of being free to travel to different places, and for the most part, clutter free

"Close Encounters of the Sexy Kind is a close encounter of the hilarious kind. The heroine's nonchalant humor, her quirky mannerisms and her misconceptions about herself on Earth are hysterical. The romance heats up fast with shower scenes and sex toys and remains prevalent throughout. The desire to know what could possibly happen next will make it hard to put this book down." -- Jennifer Madsen, Romantic Times

Click to purchase:  Kindle   Nook  Apple  Kobo

I think we've made the right choice but I guess we won't really know until we hit the road. This lifestyle probably isn't for everyone. We bought our RV in 2013 and loved it. Then, when we moved into the RV fulltime we were parked beside the house just in case it didn't work out. Plus, we plugged into the house electricity.

Writing has been a bit of a challenge but one I've managed so far. I just reissued a book from my backlist, Close Encounters of the Sexy Kind. It was nominated by Romantic Times for a Reviewers Choice Award. I hope you enjoy it.
Best Wishes,
Karen Kelley
www.authorkarenkelley.com