Saturday, March 28, 2020

60% off Series Starters ♥ Romance eBook Sale

Need something to read while you're staying home and staying safe?

As part of Smashwords' Authors Give Back Sale, I'm offering several of my series starters for 60% off!

romance author rachelle vaughn books

Mama's Ink (Tattooed by Love, Book 1), Riley's Rebel (Bad Boys of Hockey Trilogy, Book 1), and Underneath It All (Thorne Creek, Book 1) are all on sale until April 20th.


#stayhomeandread



Saturday, March 21, 2020

Get away from it all ~ Free Romance Book

Hello, friends and readers!

Now, more than ever, I'm depending on books to help me cope with the things I can't control and a reality I find too daunting to think about. And because reading is the best way to get away from it all without ever leaving your house, I'm making Island Ice available for free at Smashwords for the first time ever. (You'll also find a few of my series starters for 60% off.)

Escaping to a deserted island with a smokin' hot athlete seems like a good way to bury your head in the sand for a little while...


When hope wears thin, love can fill in the blanks.
xoxo
Rachelle



Saturday, March 14, 2020

Popular Instagram Posts ♥ Spring Shopping Spree

Today I'm sharing a few of my most popular posts from Instagram!

I've received so many comments and questions about where I found these items that I wanted to give you the links so you can check them out for yourself...



seasonal truck decor ideas     

So far, I've loaded the back of my new truck with kisses for Valentine's Day and mints for St. Patrick's Day. I've got a bag of chocolate robin eggs (my favorite!) ready for Easter.


white frame magnetic chalkboard loddie doddie     

I received this white-framed chalkboard as a gift for my office and loved it so much that I bought a wood-framed one for my living room too!



Purple Cutting Board

     

This cutting board matches my purple toaster, teapot, and everything else that's purple in my kitchen. I love the big surface area and how they come in so many different colors so you can buy a few to prevent cross-contamination.



Owl Scarf

sacramento national wildlife refuge northern california birder     

The first time I wore my new owl scarf, I saw a Great Horned Owl up close and personal at my local wildlife refuge! Now it's my "lucky" scarf and I'm thinking about ordering it in a few more patterns because I love it so much.


Well, there you have it! Make sure you're following me on Instagram to see what other cute bargains I come up with 😊

So, what decor items are you loving right now? Are you as excited to decorate for spring as I am? Now that everything is starting to bloom, I'm scheduling some time to go wildflower chasing...


Saturday, March 7, 2020

How to deal with negative book reviews

There will be readers who absolutely hate what you've written and will post scathing, mean-spirited reviews that make it sound as if you committed a heinous crime by producing something that bored/appalled/disgusted/etc. them.

You've heard it a dozen times before, but a thick skin can come in handy when that glaring one-star review is sitting out there like a land-mine attached to your name. That's why it's hard for me to believe that reviews have such clout in the literary world. Everyone has a unique and different opinion. And that's all it is. An opinion. It's not fact, not the be all and end all, and it's not always the truth. (To them, maybe it is, but to you it's just another voice in the crowd that's being drowned out by all the others shouting into the void.)

Every author deals with bad reviews. Every single one of my favorite books have snotty/negative/nasty reviews attached to them. And really, all it does is make the reviewer sound whiny and miserable.

There are plenty of things I don't like and am disappointed by. But the difference is that I don't make anyone feel bad over it and attempt to damage or demean something they've put effort into.

You have to take the good with the bad. Because that's what life is filled with. Good thing/events/people, coupled with bad in order to balance it all out and make our time on this earth interesting.

How can you make yourself feel better? Go read the good reviews that were so kindly left by your readers, the ones that rave about your writing and boost your confidence and remind you why you pour out your heart and soul onto a page.

Or scroll through the Goodreads page for your favorite book. You'll be surprised at how many bad reviews are out there for phenomenal writers like Nora Roberts, for example. When you start disagreeing with the reviewers' negative comments, you'll feel a little better because no one is immune to a bad review. No one.

And then you'll go back to your current work in progress and keep writing. Because that's what you do. You dust yourself off and get back out there. Not because you're a glutton for punishment, but because you have a voice that won't be silenced. And your voice is just as important as the next guy's.

romance author writing tips rachelle vaughn blog