By Jeannie Watt

Today for your viewing pleasure, I offer up the men of Tule's American Extreme Bull Riders Tour.  If you haven't done so already, you might have to check out these guys as they tour around the USA challenging bulls and learning a few lessons in love.

This is the first round of stories, and they are all available right now!

The next three stories, including Katherine Garbera's American Extreme Bull Riders Tour finale, will be released in August and are available for pre-order.

It was so much fun writing with so many authors and researching bull riders. Sarah and I accidentally discovered that our heroes were cousins, which we didn't know going in.

I had the great pleasure of meeting with Katherine Garbera, Megan Crane and Barbara Dunlop at the RWA conference and we had an excellent chat about bull riding guys.

So without further ado, here are the final three entries in the American Bull Rider's Tour--

 

Jeannie Watt writes contemporary western romance for Tule Publishing and Harlequin. She's currently in the middle of the world's longest settling-in period after moving house and hopes to someday be totally unpacked. In the meantime, she writes books. 

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Writing Bull Riders - Jeannie Watt

Hi everyone! 

Recently I started writing bull rider books and talk about fun! I’ve always loved bull riding. It’s the final rodeo event and even my father, who was notorious for leaving things early to beat the crowd out of the parking lot, stayed in his seat until the last whistle blew.

Bull riders are a special breed. They may be cocky or they may be quiet and humble, but regardless of temperament, they have a need to test themselves and the ability to persevere despite debilitating pain. They are driven by a passion that many of us never experience in our chosen careers. Why else would they put themselves up against a cranky beast that weighs well over half a ton?

During my career in education, I’ve taught a few bull riders. Many were impulsive, and some might say reckless, but to persevere in the sport, a person has to train, commit to a schedule, ignore impulse and embrace the science of the sport. Those that can’t do that, don’t last long. I love my bull riding heroes, love exploring their psyches and pitting them against heroines who bring out in the best in them.

Here’s an excerpt from my first bull riding book—The Bull Rider Meets His Match:

Alexa Benjamin had yet to see a bull rider who didn’t walk as if he owned the world, and the guy coming up the front walk of her best friend’s house? He looked as if he were in charge of the universe. Never in her twenty-eight years had she encountered anyone as sure of himself as Grady Owen. Nor anyone quite as irritating.

Lex stepped back from the window, gave her shoulders a roll, then started toward the front door to head off trouble. Grady had just hit the top step when she walked out onto the porch and took a stance. When he saw her, his expression shifted from good natured to hard so quickly it would have been comical if she didn’t suspect that he was there to screw up her best friend’s life. Again.

“Lex. What a pleasant surprise.” But there was no hint of friendliness in his gray eyes.

“Same here,” she said, folding her arms over her chest as she studied the man who was not going to get into the house. Like all bull riders, Grady was one tightly packed unit: average height, lean and wiry. Lex knew if she reached out and ran a hand over his arm, or any part of his body for that matter, all she would feel would be sinew and muscle. Sometimes, in the past, she’d felt a subtle urge to do just that, to touch his fascinatingly hard body. But Grady had always had that effect on her. He drove her crazy with his self-absorbed attitude and cockiness, yet a small part of her found him interesting. She’d reminded herself on more than one occasion that some people found major disasters interesting, also.

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Debra Holland: Self Publishing: Don't Forget The Basics

In the rush to jump on the self-publishing wagon, many new authors often neglect some basics. The advice to have your book professionally edited is so prevelant on the internet and in books on the topic, that it’s hard for anyone to miss that important tip. A good developmental edit AND a copy edit are important for the quality of the story. But before readers even get to the content of your book, they have to become hooked by your cover and blurb. And when they sample your story, they should see the book is perfectly formatted.

It’s not uncommon for new authors who've only been published for a few months to write to me (or to a Yahoo or Facebook group I’m in) and bewail their lack of sales, in spite of having put time and expense into marketing. When I look at their covers and blurbs, or read a sample of their book, I can immediately see their problem—the book isn't presented in a professional and engaging manner, thus turning away potential readers.

The book cover is often what first catches a reader’s attention. A common mistake I see is either the book cover doesn't look professional (as if it came from a traditional New York publishing house) OR it doesn't do a good job of conveying to the reader the genre or sub-genre of the book.

I recently had someone show me the covers for the first two books in her series and tell me how pretty her friends thought they were. I agreed they they were pretty, but I could also see they didn't match to indicate they were a series, nor did they convey the books were dark paranormal romance.

Spend some time looking at the successful books in your genre or sub-genre to see what the covers are like. Ask experienced self-published friends to give you feedback about your cover before you slap it on a book. Show your cover to readers and ask if they can guess the genre or sub-genre.

The blurb or product description is the next stumbling block for readers. Too often the authors throws in far too many names/characters and details of the story and may not do a good job of conveying the genre. When writing a blurb, the author should stick to describing the goal and conflict, as well as what’s at stake. Typos and mistakes will make your readers think your book will have the same problems.

Avoid using descriptions that will tell the reader what his or her experience will be--for example, words such as fast-paced, gripping tale, tear-jerker, awesome story. The place for those kinds of words are in quotes from reviewers before or after the blurb, i.e., “This book is a fast-paced, gripping tale that made me laugh and cry. An awesome story.” (Make sure to add the reviewer’s name and/or the review site to give the quote legitimacy.)

I once had an author write to me wondering why my books were so successful, and her’s weren't, especially since she was an English teacher with better qualifications than I had. However, when I read her blurb, I saw two errors and had a hard time understanding what the story was about. She obviously hadn't done the research on how to write a compelling product description, nor had anyone proof the blurb.

Once your book is formatted, check how it looks on a Kindle and other e-readers. A sample will show a reader not only the content of the story, but the formatting. Poor formatting makes a story look unprofessional and difficult to read. There have been times when I've downloaded a sample of a book, but the poor quality of the formatting stopped me from reading the content.

I’m sure those of you reading this blog have seen covers or product pages that turned you off to certain books. What are some of the things (besides cost) that keep you from buying a book?  Share your thoughts and I'll give away a digital copy of Sower of Dreams to one random commenter.

Debra Holland is a New York Times bestselling author of the Montana Sky Series, sweet historical Western romance, and The Gods' Dream Trilogy, fantasy romance.