MONDAY FROM THE INTERIOR: MAILBOX MONDAY & WHAT ARE YOU READING? — MAY 14

Welcome to another Monday from the Interior, in which we share about the books we received in the mail (or bought), and talk about our bookish week, past and future.

For May, Mailbox Monday is hosted by Martha’s Bookshelf.

Sheila, at Book Journey, brings us What Are You Reading?

MAILBOX MONDAY

I only received two books this week:  one I purchased from Amazon, and one I downloaded for Sparky, my Kindle.

1.  Ragdoll Redeemed:  Growing up in the Shadow of Marilyn Monroe, by Dawn Novotny

In 1963, I was just 17. I thought God had finally come through for me. Out of nowhere appeared my dashing Prince Charming. Married within three months, I was sure this was the redemption from my ragdoll beginnings. Though I had lived in the shadow of illegitimacy, bludgeoning poverty, physical and sexual abuse, I was sure I would prove worthy to my bridegroom. After all, I had remained a virgin. How was I to know that he expected me to be an aggressive sex-pot, or “whore” as he put it, modeled after the persona of his famous step-mother, Marilyn Monroe? Thus began my ill-fated effort to compete with the sexual image of Marilyn. Divorced after two years, I found myself-as I saw it-“used goods.” Ironically, I reacted by becoming just what Joey had wanted- an alcoholic and a sex-object-not only in men’s eyes but in my own.

About the Author Dawn Novotny is a licensed clinician, teacher, author, and workshop leader, with a private practice in Sequim, Washington for the last twenty-seven years. She holds Master’s degrees in clinical social work, and theology, and is a nationally certified psychotherapistdramatist, has been an adjunct professor at Seattle University and an instructor at Peninsula Community College. Dawn brings her training and insights from her work in psychodrama to the page as an author of many articles about making ones implicit feelings explicit through the art forms of collage and the concreteness of exploring your life though self-representation or psychodrama. She feels passionate about the importance of personal stories as healing and transformation. Dawn has been in a writing group with Linda Joy Myers for over three years where she has written numerous stories, and her memoir.

2.  How I Made Over $42,000 in One Month Selling My Kindle E-books, by Cheryl Kaye Tardif

In March 2012 one Canadian author boldly went where few have gone before—into the land of making real money with Amazon’s KDP Select program.

This is her story…

My name is Cheryl Kaye Tardif and I am an international bestselling suspense author who earned over $42,000 dollars in March 2012 selling ebooks via Amazon’s KDP Select program, captured the interest of a major literary agency, and went on to sign with a foreign rights agent. And I’m about to tell you HOW I did all that.

I don’t normally tell people how much money I make, but I believe writers need to know it IS possible to earn a real income from your books. Seriously, if I can do it, anyone can—if you have the right combination of criteria and techniques.

In this book, I’ll share with you what I believe are four key elements you must have in place to see high sales. And I’ll reveal the strategic techniques I used during my KDP Select promotions that resulted in earning over $42,000—with $32,000 of that from ONE title alone.

Not only did I earn over $42,000 in ebook sales, I was contacted by one of the leading literary agencies in New York. The chairman noticed my success when my one title made #4 in the Top 100 Bestselling Kindle ebooks, right under The Hunger Games trilogy. Since then, I’ve signed with another agent for foreign rights.

So, if you’re ready to earn some real money with Select, let’s begin…

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So that’s my mailbox!

 

WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Welcome to another week of sharing our thoughts about the books we’ve read, the ones we plan to read, and our blogging/life adventures.  Let’s take the opportunity to visit other blogs and add new books to our stacks.

But first…Mother’s Day was a wonderful treat, starting yesterday with time spent with my youngest son.  Today it was brunch with my daughter and her son.  I hope every mother out there had a fabulous day.

All week, I guess I’ve been dreaming about this weekend…since my books didn’t consume me like they usually do.

So let’s talk a bit about the blogging/reading week.  Not nearly as prolific as in previous weeks (either in reading or blogging), I did participate in the usual memes; then I wrote an excerpt about mothers and daughters at Snow Chronicles:  Special Moments-An Excerpt.

My Thursday Potpourri:  Tidbits, was a little about this and that.

I only finished TWO books this week!

1.   The World Without You, by Joshua Henkin – a four-star read for me!

2.   The Tender Bar (A Memoir), by J. R. Moehringer (Five stars!)

Still reading:  The Good Father, by Diane Chamberlain

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What’s Up Next?

Reel Life, by Jackie Townsend, is a book left over from last week!

I’m adding only two more books to the list this week, since I’ll be savoring one of them for awhile.

1.  11/22/63, by Stephen King (Click titles/covers for more information)

2.  Heartbroken, by Lisa Unger (review book from Amazon Vine)

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Even though the list looks small, remember that I’m carrying over two titles from last week, and I have added the chunkster to the mix.  No pressure!  I’ll just read as if I have all the time in the world!  lol

What does your week look like?  I hope you’ll stop by and share….