Surprising Results of Last Week’s Survey on What Readers Want

Okay, the results are in on what readers want, and it's very fascinating!  There was a large response, and I've summed up the results.  Take a look:

1. Do you know the difference between sweet romance and clean?  The majority said yes, but 40% said they didn’t know.  I didn’t know for many years.  Sweet romance means there’s no bedroom scenes or offensive language.  A clean romance means no bedroom scenes but there is some level of language.
2. Do you only read one genre of romance?  80% percent said no.  The most read genre tended to be romantic suspense.
3. Do you prefer a romance book with a down-to-earth hero or a hero with money, confidence and no character flaws?  Our down-to-earth heroes won by an impressive 98%.  The comments were that these heroes were more believable, like someone you’d really meet.
4. Does a contemporary book with incorrect facts stop you from finishing the book?  35% of the readers said it did.  Add that to the 46% that said sometimes, and authors better start working harder on their research.
5. Do punctuation or grammatical errors stop you from finishing a book?  47% of the readers said that sometimes it did, but only 23% said it would definitely stop them. That’s a little better than the incorrect facts, folks.
6. Are you wary of self-published books?  The answer to this was pretty much a tie with yes slightly ahead. The general comment was that you read a lot of bad but often find a gem.
7. Do you read to escape and like happily-ever-after endings?  A resounding 64% said they did read to escape and preferred HEA because there is so much bad going on in the world.
8.  Which do you prefer: ebooks or print books? Both was clearly the winner and from the comments, both obviously have their merits.  But between ebooks and print books, readers preferred print 39% to only 9% ebooks.  Very interesting!
9. What makes you choose a book?  I have to admit, I was surprised by the results of this one. Jacket blurb took the lead at 73%.  Word-or-mouth was second at 55%. I expected cover art to be the clear winner.

There you have it!  I hope this little survey shed some light on the subject of what readers want.  It sure has for me. 

Let me know if you won the $100 Amazon Gift Card and have a great week!

Cindy A. Christiansen

Sweet Romance, Comedy, Suspense…and Dogs!

Fly into a good book today at:  http://www.dragonflyromance.com

Quick Survey: A Short Bark and then a Treat!

Whether you’re a romance reader or a writer who loves to read, I want to hear you bark!

Come on over to Survey Monkey and answer 10 quick, easy reader questions. I’m just looking for a little information about your romance reading choices.

What’s in it for you?  How about a chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card?  Seriously! Ends February 28, 2012.


Click here to take survey

Cindy A. Christiansen
Sweet Romance, Comedy, Suspense...and Dogs!
Fly into a good book today at:  http://www.dragonflyromance.com



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Something to Howl About

I know. I know. The object of promotion is to get your name out there over and over again. But, what about carpal tunnel of the index finger from all that clicking?  What about the overwhelming over-load of emails in your inbox and tweets and Facebook messages cluttering up cyberspace?

I’ve got things to do and so do you, so I’m putting all my latest news in one place.  Take a look:

Hazardous Hideaway will be released on March 7, 2012!  I hope you’ll join me on Amazon that day to purchase your copy.  Proceeds from the sale will go to help abused and abandoned dogs through No More Homeless Pets.

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I just received the cover for Not Quite Zen which will be released in ebook in May 2012.

Blurb: Therapy dog trainer and hospice aide Harmony Hastings takes a much needed Zen vacation only to return to sheer chaos at the Silver Sunset Senior Community.  Who is the new gorgeous, young doctor and why has old Doc Barlow disappeared?  Why are residents being harmed? Can Harmony keep her chakras in balance long enough to figure out the mystery before one of the baby boomers ends up dead? Is the mysterious doctor the guilty party, or is he only guilty of giving Harmony a terminal case of love?

Who is the new mysterious doctor at Silver Sunset Community, and why are the seniors’ lives suddenly in danger? Can therapy dog trainer and hospice aide Harmony Hastings keep her chakras in balance long enough to figure out the mystery, or will the new doctor give her a terminal case of love?

Not Quite Zen has a total of seven wonderful dogs that steal the show!

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Braving the Blaze received a 5 Star Review:

Review: This is the first book that I’ve read of Ms. Christiansen’s, and I have to say, I enjoyed it very much. Working with a volunteer fire dept myself, I can understand Ginger’s feelings towards fire and having a fear of it. This story had just the right amount of suspense and romance to keep it interesting. I found the book very hard to put down and had to keep reading to find out just how they were going to escape off that mountain to the exciting conclusion of the book. One could not help but root for Ginger as she finally manages to control her fear. If you are looking for a great afternoon read, then I recommend Braving the Blaze. 

Lynn’s Books and More

Braving the Blaze has now been released in paperback!

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Caskets and Corruption recently received two 4 Star reviews:

Review: This was a fun, lighthearted read with a lot of action and adventure. The characters were fun with good depth and great personalities. Philip was a strong and noble character while Lizzie has great quirks. Although the plot sometimes seemed a bit outrageous with how much could go wrong, it was well done. There was a bit of talk of death and grief, but it was surprisingly not depressing and was well written. The romance was sweet and strong, though quick. Altogether it was a fun read that will keep you guessing and laughing. I'd recommend it.

Clean Book Reviews

English Rose

Review: "Wow! What a simply refreshing story. You can’t help but fall in love with the zany antics of Lizzie and Phillip in this story that has you laughing and wanting to read on to find out what could possibly happen next.

Ms. Christiansen does a great job making the characters so real you actually find yourself caught up in their outrageous adventures."

Romancing the Book Review

Robin

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Love on Laird Avenue has also received some awesome reviews:

Review:  Love can blossom out of the strangest of things, such as home renovation. Love on Laird Ave tells of Tatum Stewart, who is making her own way in life in her own new home. But some things aren't going as well, as she calls in a renovation expert. They hit it off all too well, but greed and old owners come around after her and may make her cozy new home a little bit of hell. Love on Laird Ave is a fine and much recommended read, not to be missed.

Midwest Book Review
Helen Dumont – Reviewer

Review:  This author has done a fine job of offering readers a plot that's filled with fun, plus a bull mastiff puppy that you will never forget.  This story has some extremely funny and heart-warming scenes.  Although this is a very tender romance, the plot also serves up some surprises.

RT Book Reviews

Amy Lignor

Thanks so much for sticking around and sharing the good news.

Cindy A. Christiansen

Sweet Romance, Comedy, Suspense…and Dogs!

Fly into a good book today at:  http://www.dragonflyromance.com

Love: Breaking the Rule of Show Don’t Tell

Whether you’re writing about love or enjoying it this Valentine’s Day, you need to understand how a man expresses his love.  This is an instance where both showing and telling is important.  If he says he loves you but doesn’t show it then he’s probably not really in love with you.  There are three ways you’ll know if your hero (or your sweetheart) loves you.  He’ll love you with his mind, time and energy.

    Ø  Mind: He’ll listen to you and put thought into the things he says and does.

    Ø  Time:  He’ll show you love by making you a priority and not an afterthought.

    Ø  Energy:  A man spends a great deal of his time on the job, earning money.  If you are important to him, he’ll spend some of that money on the one he loves.

A man might not love you in all three ways equally.  But if he is making an effort in all three ways, you know you have a keeper.

Enjoy this Valentine’s Day with the one you love.

Cindy A. Christiansen

Sweet Romance, Comedy, Suspense…and Dogs!

Fly into a good book today at:  http://www.dragonflyromance.com

Buy a Good Book, Save a Dog!

Sorry to turn serious on you, but I want to talk briefly on an issue near and dear to my heart—animal abuse. Growing up on a farm, I witnessed the results of such abuse by passersby intentionally and unintentionally harming our animals. These experiences are why I support organizations that help abused and homeless animals, particularly dogs. Maybe when you’ve read some of my experiences, you’ll feel the same way I do.

My family lived on a farm right up against the Salt Lake Canal road. Young kids found it entertaining to throw rocks or shoot their BB guns at the animals. They didn’t wait around to see the harm done by these acts. My dad spent many hours trying to heal the wounds. Unfortunately, sometimes the BBs couldn’t be recovered and serious infections ensued, occasionally even death.

Our farm was surrounded by subdivisions on the other three sides and neighbors saw the fields as a dumping ground for their garbage and rocks. What they didn’t see was that their trash broke the equipment we used to harvest the alfalfa and grain, and it caused us to harvest poor quality feed or lose crops. This affected the animals greatly. Also, the cows and horses grazing the pastures often times ended up eating nails, metal or plastics thrown over the fences that ended up injuring or killing them.

I remember helping my dad inject magnets into the cows with a bolus to collect as much iron and steel as possible. This was to prevent punctures in their stomachs. Metal causes Hardware Disease or peritonitis. The magnets would hold the metal in place and cellulous would wrap around it much like a pearl in an oyster. Still, it would’ve been better if people had thrown their trash in the garbage instead of the fields. The magnets weren’t always successful.

Most crushing to my heart were the acts carried out on our dogs. They were shot, poisoned, and even deliberately ran over by people speeding along the canal road.

I’m happy that most states have passed the law that animal abuse is a federal offense. If you live in a state that hasn’t made animal abuse a federal crime, please contact your senators and representatives today and let them know how you feel.

Hazardous Hideaway, my next book which will be released on March 7^th, has a scene pertaining to such animal abuse. Please help launch the book by ordering on March 7^th. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to: No More Homeless Pets in Utah, a program of Best Friends Animal Society, www.utahpets.org.

Here’s part of that scene:

Tom: Hero

Dallas Heroine

Gracie: Collie/Dingo mix

Ina: Gracie’s owner

Setting:  Dairy community in central Utah

Tom swooped Gracie into his arms and ran toward the house. Dallas finally found her legs and raced to open the door for him. The dog flopped limply in his arms. Dallas pushed everything recklessly off the kitchen table, and he gently laid Gracie down. Ina gasped and ran for bandages from the medicine cabinet.

He washed Gracie’s wounds with warm water, checking the seriousness of each cut. Swiftly, they worked together. He doctored and sewed each wound, trying to believe there might be hope for the suffering dog. But, his gut told him different.

Patches of hide had been ripped off her from rolling down the hard asphalt. Her left, front leg had been broken in several places and the metal bumper had ripped her shoulder clean open to the bone. Pretty fair guess she had internal injuries too. Probably wasting supplies, but he didn’t want to disappoint Ina and Dallas. They loved Gracie. He swallowed hard. He did too.

Dallas stroked the dog’s blood-matted face, as Tom gently wrapped her leg. Gracie slowly lifted her head, looked at him and let out a soft whine. He swallowed hard as another lump lodged in his throat. Her head drooped back down on the table, and the last light left the old girl’s soft brown eyes. His hands trembled slightly as he stopped working, and his eyes watered some.

“Oh, Tom, her unborn puppies,” Dallas whispered, tears welling in her eyes.

Silently, they stood like some still-framed snapshot.

Join in the launch.

Order your copy on March 7th.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit homeless pets.

Thank you.

Sweet Romance, Comedy, Suspense…and Dogs!

Cindy A. Christiansen – Sweet Romance Author

Fly into a good book at:  http://www.dragonflyromance.com

  

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