Charlotte Raine - An Author Interview in the HBS Author's Spotlight

Today our blog puts the Spotlight on Author Charlotte Raine. She is the author of the Grace Ellery Romantic Suspense Series.

Author Genre: Suspense, Romance, Thriller

Website: Charlotte Raine - Romantic Suspense Author
Twitter: @crainebooks
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook


Author Description:
Charlotte Raine is the author of several romantic suspense books with more on the way. She worked in marketing and advertising for 15 years before focusing on her true passion, telling great stories. Charlotte gets inspiration for her writing from the scenic but serene mountains around her home in Vail, Colorado. When she is not writing you will find her after a long day of skiing at one of the many lodges in Vail. She will most likely be next to a warm fire, drinking a glass of wine and telling stories.


SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author

Congratulations on your book: Midnight Sun. What do you have on the drawing board next? Can you tell us the timeline for its release and give us a little tease?

Yes, of course, I would love to. When I started out writing Midnight Sun it was supposed to be a stand alone book. However, about half way through I thought of an awesome plot twist. This plot twist ended up making Midnight Sun a prequel to the next two books which I have planned out now. Book two Devil’s Dawn should be out around the end of March or early April.

I can tell you in book two a serial killer is born and it’s neat I think how it happened. To know a little more about the characters in my books you can also sign up for my newsletter. I provide access to most all of my character bios and backgrounds. I use these when writing my stories and include a full descriptive outline of them so the reader can get to know them better. It’s my way of providing extra insight into the stories and characters in my books.

You have a good following on twitter. How important have your social media relationships been? How did you build your following in your niche? Do you see a carry over to your writing success?

Thank you. My reader relationships are everything to me. I encourage my readers to contact me and share my email freely in my books, on my Amazon author page, and on my website as well. I try to do some work on Twitter, Facebook or Goodreads every day or two. In between that I answer emails from my readers as well. I like to do this stuff after I get my writing done for the day. You will most likely find me in a local coffee shop reading and replying to emails and comments that come in. I’m actually thinking about creating a FB group just for my fans as well. I never would have thought of that but I’ve had dozens of readers ask me if I have one, so, maybe!

My fans and readers directly relate to my success as an author. Without them, my stories are just words on paper.

Do you maintain a reader list? What are the methods you use to find your readers and create the list and the relationship? Do you use social media, forums, newsletters and/or support groups to build your list?

Author’s answers coming soon.I do have a reader list. I include a link to sign up for my newsletter at the end of each book. I think it’s working ok so far. Other than the links in my books, I do mention my newsletter every once in a while when someone contacts me. I don’t push it a lot because I feel if someone likes my stories and likes me they will sign up. I do give away my character bios to anyone who signs up :)

Do you do any book signings, interviews, speaking and personal appearances? If so, when and where is the next place where your readers can see you? Where can they keep up with your personal contacts online?

I don’t and I’m not sure if I want to at this time. I did a lot of that with my previous career, not signing books but interviews, speaking and such, and I’m taking a break for now. I don’t want to commit to anything at this point in time besides my writing. Most authors would jump at the chance for these things, but for me it’s something different. I wanted a change in my lifestyle and to live as freely as I could without commitments and schedules every day, I’ve had plenty of that over the past ten years.

With that being said. If you are in the Vail, Breckenridge or Frisco areas of Colorado, mid to late afternoon at a coffee shop you might see me. If you do, I’ll answer any questions or chat with you over a latte. :)

My website is the best way to contact me online. I will also be updating it in the coming weeks so be looking for that!

You have great covers. They carry a theme and your brand with them. How does your book cover creation process work? Do you hand over the basic theme or do you have more of a hands-on approach? Do you get your readers involved in its development?

I have a friend who does my covers for me. He is a very talented designer and I am extremely lucky to know him. The process to date has been we meet for coffee and talk about the story and characters. If I have an outline completed he usually looks it over as well. Within a couple weeks he comes back with a few concepts. I’ll look the concepts over for a couple days an get back with him on a few tweaks if needed.

Currently I don’t have any reader involvement but that will most likely change if and when I start a FB group…be watching for it :)

What writer support groups do you belong to? Do they help with the writing, marketing and the publishing process?

I don’t belong to any support groups really. I took some classes in college and continue to study the craft each day. I try to read one book on how to improve my writing each and every week. I think it’s working and I don’t plan on letting up. I do belong to a couple groups on GoodReads and read kboards.com posts once a week or so. Other than that I’m a loner…a stray wolf out in the cold, surviving on instinct and the desire to eat LOL.

What has been your experience in giving your books away free? Have you been involved in any other type of giveaways and how did that work out? What was your main goal in doing this? Did you run into any obstacles?

The experience has been wonderful and I love connecting with my fans. I couldn’t have asked for a better turn out for the first two because they have both been really awesome.

I haven’t done any other giveaways, only signed copies of my books on Facebook so far.

The main goal for my giveaways are to simply give back to my readers. I appreciate them so much and they have made such a difference in my writing that I just had to do something.

There are always learning curves and obstacles to overcome when you first do something. My January contest could have been tracked a little better LOL. So, if you are reading this and signed up in January please check my website to see if you won a book. I have corrected this issue now and in February it wasn’t an problem.

How do you start your book launch process for a new book? Give a brief outline of the steps you go through to get your book to market. What methods were the most successful?

Really, I’m still working all that out. All I really do now is get the book live, try to schedule a promotion on sites like Bookbub.com or Bookzio.com, email my list and post to Facebook and Twitter. That’s it, nothing top secret yet…hehehe. I’m more concerned right now with writing great stories and not so much about launching and promotion.

What is the objective for your newsletter? Do you try to build a list of readers? Do you see a carryover to the sales of your novels?

I just try to keep my readers informed with books on sale, insider peeks, interviews (like this one) and new books coming out. I do try to build my list but only very passively. Not sure on the carryover as I don’t track sales from newsletters and things like that…I’m trying to be a simple girl :)

What is your method of getting reviews for your novels? Do you seek professional reviews, use social media or do you rely on your reading audience to supply them?

I rely on my readers to provide them. I know there are services you can use to bump up your reviews very quickly but I don’t think that is right. If you read my book and like it, leave me a review. I ask my readers to leave me a review at the end of each book and if someone contacts me and says they loved my book. I’ll ask them to leave a review so others can make an informed decision on whether to buy my books or not. That’s it!



Author's Book List
Midnight Sun - A Grant & Daniels Romantic Suspense Trilogy Book 1
Wyatt, Alaska is a place of family, beauty, and unspeakable tragedy. A couple of years after Aaron Grant lost his wife and daughter in a fire, one of his daughter’s best friends, Sarah, is kidnapped. After spending the last two years as the town drunk, he reluctantly investigates the kidnapping along with the ambitious FBI Agent Teresa Daniels. The case takes several twists and turns, which will end up leaving the whole town of Wyatt in the wake of destruction. In the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, the sun never sets during the summer, but the light creates shadows, where anything can creep and kill.


Order the Book From: Amazon
Disturbed Mind - A Grace Ellery Romantic Suspense Book 2
A year has passed since Deacon Cochrane was killed in self-defense by Grace Ellery and it was discovered that he was guilty of four murders. Everyone has tried to return to a life of normalcy—Grace has returned to college, began a new job as an English teacher, and she’s attending therapy, while Sam has taken over as the medical examiner in Murray part-time. Their life has changed from one of fear and serial killers to a life of real estate and an envious ex-girlfriend. Of course, everything can’t remain peaceful. When Sam examines a victim of murder, he finds that any identifying characteristics on the man have been destroyed, and the man was found in a car from Ohio. Then, Grace learns that Francis Tate, the man who attacked her in Ohio, cut a deal to get out of prison early. Neither Sam or Grace tell each other what they have discovered, which is dangerous as Francis comes out of the shadows, intending to confront the woman who put him in prison and the man she is with now. Deacon was dangerous because he was killing for someone he loved, but Francis is much more of a threat because he has nothing to lose.


Order the Book From: Amazon - Barnes and Noble - KOBO - iTunes
Teacher Beware - A Grace Ellery Romantic Suspense Book 1
Thirty-one year old Grace Ellery survived being stabbed multiple times in Ohio. Two years later, she moves to Murray, Virginia to get a new lease on life. On her first day of substitute teaching, her new life is nearly cut short when she finds herself in the middle of a shooting that leaves a married couple dead. Luckily, she is saved by Sam Meadows, a cardiologist, but the shooter has disappeared by the time the police come around. When the shooter tries to kill Grace again, Sam and Grace realize that the killer won’t stop until she is dead. With a killer who has nothing to lose, the question isn’t if the killer will attack again, but when and who will be in the crosshairs. A romance/murder-mystery wrapped in the aspects of life: love, family, forgiveness, danger, and death.


Order the Book From: Amazon - Barnes and Noble - KOBO - iTunes
Do You Want To Play - A Detroit Police Procedural Romance
Serial killers are riveting because they appear as normal humans—a neighbor, a mailman, a relative—but underneath it all, there is no humanity. The PVP Killer, named after the three letters that he leaves at his murder scenes, is a new serial killer in Detroit. The only characteristics about the killer that Detective Tobias Rodriguez can determine is that he’s inhumane, unstable, and still bloodthirsty. Tobias' new police partner, Detective Lauren Williams, realizes that the killer is staging his murder scenes like deaths from video games. Tobias is initially unreceptive toward Lauren, but when the killer takes an interest in her, his emotions become tangled and irrepressible. The murders are set up like games and there are only two ways to finish a game: win or die.


Order the Book From: Amazon - Barnes and Noble
Author Recommended by: HBSystems Publications
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