Hey all! I hope you are having a wonderful April so far, and if you’re in the right hemisphere for it, enjoying the spring flowers. My husband has been learning the 3D printing trade, and so printed me these bunnies for my first planting of the year. I do love impatiens! Blessed Ostara and Happy Easter to you all. 🐰🐣🐥
While there are a lot of important things about being a writer, there is one rule in particular that never fails to be true. You must write. In my early days, I remember hearing that John Grisham wrote one page of A Time To Kill a day. He did it on breaks between court sessions. When I was writing my first books, I wrote on the ferry on the way to work, after bedtime, while sitting in my car between errands, etc. The goal wasn’t writing the book as fast as you could but as consistently as you could, and the more consistently you wrote, the MORE you wrote. Which is why the first book took me three years to write, and now it typically (when things are not as I’m about to describe) takes me 5-6 months. There were a couple crazy times during my career when I could write a full length novel in 3-4 months.
However, due to the family issues I’ve been mentioning in past issues, right now I’m back to my roots and remembering John Grisham. This month I had a goal of getting back to a writing schedule where I’d at least get 3,000 words a day done, 5 days a week. 15,000 words means a first draft in about 10 weeks. Then another 10-12 weeks for the editing process. On March 23, I wrote 3,000 words, and on April 1, I wrote 3,000 words. 6,000 words in 32 days. But you know, I feel good about them. Because the reason I didn’t meet that 15,000/week goal wasn’t because I didn’t want to write the story. It was because I literally didn’t have the time to do so.
In a nutshell, my mother-in-law has gone through a hospital to assisted living to hospice transition over the past three months. As one of her frontline caregivers, that can take up a lot of mental and physical energy, and it has had its impact on my writing time. On my time, period. Those two days I wrote 3,000 words have been a wonderful escape for a few moments from the difficult reality that life is a journey that does have an end, and that end is never an easy thing. But it’s a part of the journey I’ve never regretted taking with a family member. My thinking on it is when I don’t embrace what the powers-that-be want me to experience, I’m cutting the lifeline that feeds the stories I write, and even more importantly, I’m rejecting the purposeful life I know I should be living (and the blessings that come with it).
So…I’m trusting the path, wherever it leads me AND/OR my writing. I thank you all for your patience and kindness while I do that. The main reason for me sharing these specifics is for you to understand why I haven’t been able to be as present on social media or give you good progress reports on the next book. I’m actually pretty tickled to tell you about those 6,000 words, since it was 6,000 more than I wrote in January and February. And they were two REALLY good scenes. One of them was smoking hot, lol. These three characters are going to take us on a good journey, I’m pretty darn sure. Fingers crossed, I MIGHT have an official title AND cover for you in May.
Did you know I'm on Instagram? If you follow me there in the month of April through this Get That Book giveaway, you have a chance to win a HUGE $200 Amazon Gift Certificate. There are 29 other authors participating, so check them out and see if you'd like to follow them as well - and discover new reads in the process. Just click this link and follow the instructions. Good luck!
[Important Note: Readers MUST be logged into Instagram via an app or in a browser to view Instagram pages, otherwise an error may be displayed of "This Page Is Not Available". This is a feature of Instagram and not something controlled by Get That Book.]
THANK YOU ALL for continuing to spread the love of my work to fellow readers, through reviews and discussions with friends, family, bookclubs, on social media platforms and more. Reader recommendation is the best kind of marketing an author can have. So thank you - it's ALWAYS appreciated. Side note: If you have a BookTok or Instagram presence, I'm trying to get more exposure on those platforms, so I am delighted if you feel inspired to help with that.
So are you ready to check out this month's 📚📚📚 FOUR FEATURED EBOOKS?!📚📚📚 Let's do it! 💗💗💗
FEATURED EBOOKS! CLICK THE COVER OR TITLE TO DOWNLOAD.
Evangeline has a sci-fi FemDom story with a curvy queen, a warrior on his knees, and a mission that might break them both. Mahi is offering a Middle Eastern steamy romance featuring a Sultan with a dirty mouth (but heart of gold) and a heroine determined not to lose her freedom. N.D. gives us a female millionaire pool hall owner used to going it alone, until a professional pool player too sexy to resist walks through her doors. VA has a fast-paced, action-oriented vampire fated mates story with a trauma surgeon heroine and a protective vampire sentinel hero - the banter is delightful!
(Note: some - but not all - featured ebooks may require newsletter sign up.)
[Reminder: Books that are FREE or with SALE PRICES may be temporary, so grab them now!]
12/15/2019 - Vampire Master - Book 16 of the Vampire Queen series
08/2019 - Naughty Bits - re-release as a self-published title in print and ebook.
07/2019 - Vampire Queen's Servant - re-release as a self-published title in print and ebook.
6/30/19 - The Problem with Witches - A Crossover novel of the Arcane Shot and Knights of the Board Room series
LATEST RELEASES
Fall 2026 - next book in the Mistresses of the Board Room series - Bastion's story!
11/30/2025 - Naughty Dreams, a Naughty Bits novel
02/15/2025 - At Her Will, a Mistresses of the Board Room series novel
07/31/2024 - Vampire's Choice, a Vampire Queen series novel
GoodReads Blog - Whenever I have something half-way interesting to say (hopefully), I post it on my blog. Check out the latest, as well as the backlog of over 80 posts!
For my most up-to-date appearances info throughout the month, follow me on Twitter or "Like" my Author Page on Facebook - I'll keep you in the loop as things happen!
GoodReads Blog - I don't blog anymore, but I maintain a library of over 80 posts at my GoodReads blog. Go browse and find out my thoughts on a past topic that interests you!
Online Appearances - I'm always posting updates and inviting comments on my MeWe, Twitter/X, Instagram or Facebook Author Page! We'd also love to have you join us on the JWHMembersOnly Facebook fan site. The members and I routinely post content related to my books and our shared love of the erotic romance genre.
SEXY AND SASSY SIGNING 2020 - July 9-12 - next year's popular reader/author event will happen in Norfolk, VA. The theme is Sinful Fairy Tales! Click on the link above to find out more. You can also join the SASS Attendee group once you've registered.
2023 CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
No conferences this year, but look under the Extra Stuff section for ways to get a signed book or swag from me anyway!
Want a Kindle signature? My books are listed at the Authorgraph site, so if you'd like a "Kindlegraph", send me a request! Just go to Authorgraph.com, put Joey W. Hill in the search line, and it will pull up my books, with a "Request Authorgraph" button beneath each.
Want a signed bookplate for your print book and a bookmark? No need to be bummed about not seeing me at a book signing. Just shoot me an email at storywitch@PROTECTED with your mailing address and the title(s) of the book(s) for which you want a signature, and I'll send you personalized bookplates anytime, free of charge. And I always send it with a signed bookmark!
HAVE YOU CHECKED THE AUTHOR'S WEBSITE?
I am ALWAYS delighted to hear from my readers, and I never mind answering your questions. However, about 90% of the general questions I receive on email can be quickly answered on my website, www.storywitch.com. And the cool thing is you get your answer in the time it takes you to do a couple clicks, versus having to type up your question and send it to me, then wait for me to emerge from my writing cave and check my email.
A lot of authors experience this now. Because we have so much more of a presence at FB, Twitter, and the like, it's easy to forget that most authors still maintain a website where you can quickly get info. On my site, you can not only find BLURBS and FREE EXCERPTS for every book I've published, you can find SERIES ORDER, including recommendations on which ones can stand alone or need specific titles to be read first. Under the In the Works page, you'll find information about UPCOMING RELEASES and what's percolating (the popular "will you ever write a book about so-n-so" question would be answered there).
Just go to my website, storywitch.com, and enjoy your visit. It is specifically and deliberately designed not to be flashy or confusing. Just look at the drop down menus at the top for what you're seeking.
Want a SIGNED BOOKMARK? I have seven beautiful bookmarks, each design representing one of my series: Knights of the Board Room, Nature of Desire, Vampire Queen, Arcane Shot, Daughters of Arianne, Mistresses of the Board Room, and Naughty Bits. You can look at them here (click on the one you like for a larger view).
Just shoot me an email at storywitch@storywitch.com with your mailing address and tell me which bookmark you want. I'll send you two of that design - one for you and one to share! And yes, I WILL mail bookmarks to international readers. NOTE: some of these show previous cover editions, but hopefully that doesn't detract from their appeal!
Want a SIGNED BOOK? Email me at storywitch@storywitch.com with 1) what book you want, 2) your mailing address, and 3) if you want me to personalize it to a particular name (Mary, Marie, Marissa, etc), or no personalization, just a signature and a cheery note. I'll send you an invoice and, once that's squared away, the book will be on its way to you!
Want a SIGNED BOOKPLATE? Want a bookplate for your favorite JWH book(s)? Just email me at storywitch@storywitch.com with your mailing address, the title(s) of the book(s), and I'll send you personalized bookplates anytime, free of charge. I always send it with a signed bookmark!
Want to read BONUS CONTENT STORIES revisiting my characters? I have over a dozen FREE novellas/shorts with easy BookFunnel download links. You'll find them all under the Cantrips (Vignettes) menu item on my website.
Want me to visit your BOOKCLUB? I'm available for online bookclub meetings and even sometimes in-person clubs, within a reasonable geographic range. Don't hesitate to ask! Just email me at storywitch@storywitch.com.
"I have a question."
Answer: "Have you checked my website?"
I am ALWAYS delighted to hear from my readers, and I never mind answering your questions. However, about 90% of the general questions I receive on email can be quickly answered on my website, www.storywitch.com. And the cool thing is you get your answer in the time it takes you to do a couple clicks, versus having to type up your question and send it to me, then wait for me to emerge from my writing cave and check my email.
A lot of authors experience this now. Because we have so much more of a presence at FB, Twitter, and the like, it's easy to forget that most authors still maintain a website where you can quickly get info. On my site, you can not only find BLURBS and FREE EXCERPTS for every book I've published, you can find SERIES ORDER, including recommendations on which ones can stand alone or need specific titles to be read first. Under the In the Works page, you'll find information about UPCOMING RELEASES and what's percolating (the popular "will you ever write a book about so-n-so" question would be answered there).
Just go to my website at storywitch.com, and enjoy your visit. It is specifically and deliberately designed not to be flashy or confusing. Just look at the drop down menus at the top for what you're seeking.
HAVE YOU CHECKED THE AUTHOR'S WEBSITE?
"I have a question." Answer: "Have you checked the author's website?"
I am ALWAYS delighted to hear from my readers, and I never mind answering your questions. However, remember a lot of questions can be quickly answered on my website. Just look at the dropdown menus at the top for what you're seeking. You'll find BUY LINKS, BLURBS and FREE EXCERPTS for my books, as well as SERIES ORDER, and recommendations on which books can stand alone or need specific titles to be read first. If you particularly loved a series or specific characters, there's FREE BONUS CONTENT, including short stories/novellas and interviews revisiting them.
Use my website email contact link (little envelope under Follow Me on the right side of home page) or email me directly at storywitch@storywitch.com. I have a Facebook Author Page, and a JWHMembersOnly fan group where we have tons of fun. You can also leave a question for me under my Author Profile on GoodReads.
Where else can you find me? Twitter/X, Instagram, and MeWe. To see the pics that inspire some of my past books, visit my Pinterest albums or check out my handful of videos on YouTube.
DIDN'T GET A RESPONSE?
Responding to my readers, and doing so in a very timely manner (within 24-48 hours), is extremely important to me. So if you have sent a communication to me in any medium noted above and have not received a response, a technical glitch has occurred. Either your communication did not get through, or my response did not reach you. If you suspect that's the case, use one of the alternative methods to send me a "Hey, Joey, I sent you a note through email (or social media platform, etc). Did you get it?" message, and we'll make sure we sort it out. I will never intentionally ignore my readers!
ARE YOU A NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBER, BUT YOU'RE HAVING PROBLEMS GETTING MY NEWSLETTER PAST YOUR SPAM FILTER? - Whenever I issue a newsletter, I will also post about it on the social media platforms mentioned above, to ensure it reaches the widest number of people possible. So if you're following me on any of them, you'll get a heads up. Or you can put https://storywitch.com/newsletter/?latest as one of your Favorite links. You can click on it anytime to see if a new newsletter has been released. I try to get a new issue out during the first 7 days of every month.
HELP ME WITH FOLLOWS/REVIEWS
NEVER an obligation, but when you follow or review me on Bookbub, Amazon or both, it increases my books' visibility and marketing options on those sites. And in return, you get a heads up about releases and sales!
Thank you so much for your support of my work!
