Author Genre: Paranormal, Romance, Mystery
Website: Inge-Lise Goss, Author
Twitter: @IngeGoss
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Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Inge-Lise Goss was born in Denmark, raised in Utah and graduated from the University of Utah, magna cum laude. She is a certified public accountant and worked in that field for over twenty years. Goss lives in the foothills of Red Rock Canyon with her husband and their dog, Bran. She spends most of her time in her den writing stories. There, with her muse by her side, her imagination has no boundaries, and her dreams come alive. When she's not pounding away on the keyboard, she can be found reading, rowing, or trying to perfect her golf game, which she fears is a lost cause.
SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author
Congratulations on your book: Tegen Justice. What do you have on the drawing board next? Can you tell us the timeline for its release and give us a little tease?
Right now I’m working with an editor and putting some final touches on Compelled. That novel will be released sometime this summer. It’s about a hard-wired, no-nonsense New York police detective being forced by a dead woman’s spirit to find evidence that will free her wrongfully imprisoned husband for her murder in San Diego.
Excerpt:
A door opened behind the transparent panel. An officer escorted a tall man with jet-black hair through the doorway. He wore an orange jumpsuit, and his head was bent down as if he were watching his feet shuffling across the linoleum. As the man came closer to the partition, he raised his chin, and then his eyes locked on Sidney. With a sad, droopy face, he sank down in the chair facing her and continued staring.
Sidney’s lips slightly parted, her breathing became uneven, and her pulse quickened. A tingling sensation swam through her body. The panel between them was the only thing that prevented her from leaping out of her seat and running into his arms. Why do I have this yearning for this stranger? I love Chas. Yet there was something so familiar about this man. She knew his touch. The way he felt when he made love. His smell, his walk, and the size of clothing he wore—everything about him flashed into her mind. Even the birthmark on his upper thigh wasn’t hidden from her. Beyond any doubt, she knew Aden hadn’t killed Mara, the woman he loved. How is it possible that I know intimate details about him? What’s wrong with me?
Neither one of them spoke while they studied each other’s features. Finally, Aden broke the silence. “Have we ever met?”
Sidney cleared her throat and tried to shake the desire running through her body for the stranger sitting on the other side of the partition. “No.”
“You remind me of my wife. You have her same hazel eyes, her lips. I know all her relatives, and you look more like her than any of them. Who are you?”
Sidney adjusted herself in her seat and held her hands firmly in her lap as she forced herself to maintain a professional demeanor in front of this man whom she knew intimately, though they had never touched. “Sidney Langston. I’m a detective with the Nassau County Police Department.”
Aden squinted, lightly shook his head, and sighed. “Don’t tell me someone thinks I’m guilty of something there, too?”
She gave him a warm smile as the urge to comfort him darted through her mind. “No. I’m not here in an official capacity. I’m here to help you.”
Aden arched an eyebrow. “Who sent you?”
“Someone close to you. That’s all I can tell you,” Sidney said, fearing if she told the truth he might think she was a nut case.
His dark eyes focused on her face. “Ms. Langston, I certainly could use your help. If you’ve read about my case, you know things do not look good for me, but I’m afraid I can’t accept your assistance if I don’t know who has employed you.”
“No one has employed me.”
Aden furrowed his brow, and his jaw became rigid while he continued staring at Sidney. “Let me make sure I have this straight.” He rubbed his chin with his knuckles. “Because someone asked you to help me, you traveled here from New York on your own time without anticipating any form of compensation. Have I got that right?”
Sidney nodded.
He pressed his lips together and shook his head. “Don’t tell me…you’re a friend of Kate. One night—that was it. Tell her I don’t want her help.”
While Sidney continued hiding the feelings that were churning inside her, she swallowed hard and said, “Aden. Is it okay if I call you Aden?”
He nodded.
“I don’t know Kate.” Sidney frowned and pushed her hair behind her ears, realizing she’d have to tell him the truth if she expected any cooperation from him. And without that, she was dead in the water. “Okay, I’ll tell you who sent me, but I doubt you’ll believe it.”
“Try me.”
“Mara.”
“Mara?” He rolled his eyes, tented his hands, and tapped his fingertips together. “How is that possible?”
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?
I’ve found social media is a valuable tool for promoting my books and obtaining new readers. Readers send me private messages through both Twitter and Facebook, which I’m always happy to receive. Without social media and my website, I wouldn’t be able to get the word out about my books.
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?
When my first book, The Tegen Cave, was published, I had a launch party in both Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. The parties were a lot of fun, and I sold quite a few autographed books. Since I wanted to expand the number of people who could attend, my subsequent book launches have been scheduled through online promoters. The parties have been events on Facebook. Currently, I don’t have any book signings, personal appearances, or online parties scheduled. When I do, I’ll put the information on my website and my author’s Facebook page. I’ll also tweet about it.
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?
With the exception of The Cost of Crude book cover, my book covers have been designed by eBookLaunch.com. After I give them a basic theme, they designed it and send me drafts until I’m satisfied. EBookLaunch.com does a great, professional job, and I plan on continuing to use their book cover design service for future books.
I like the idea of Author bundles. You are a part of a short story collection (PLANTED SEED ) called Undiscovered Gems, An Anthology of Fiction Talent by Mithra Publishing. What was the impact on your other sales? What was the main objective of bundling your works with other romance authors? How did you put something like that together?
The publisher of Undiscovered Gems, An Anthology of Fiction Talent, sent out a request for submission. Since I was anxious to have a publication under my belt, I submitted a short story, “Planted Seed”—a dark tale. I was ecstatic when they selected it to be part of the anthology. Having a short story published helped spruce up my query letter. Shortly thereafter, my manuscript, The Tegen Cave, was picked up by a small publisher.
Besides The Las Vegas Writers, what other writer support groups do you belong too? Do they help with the writing, marketing and the publishing process?
The Las Vegas Writers group has a speaker each month, and I gain some valuable information from those presentations. I’m also a member of The Rainbow Critique Group. I am grateful to the members of that group for all of the knowledge I have gained through their critiques
Between your book writing, marketing, your dog Bran, family and all the other things that can get in your way, how do you manage your time? Do you have a set schedule or do you sort of play it by ear?
I haven’t been able to conquer the time management problem yet. I don’t multi-task well. So I’ve found I’m more productive when I have a set schedule. When I’m in the editing phase on a project, I can juggle between social media, my family, and the editing process. But if I’m working on a new project it’s tough to break away from it.
When I’m not working on a new project, my normal day consists of spending around three hours on email and social media sites. After that I work on improving and editing a manuscript. Right now, I have two that need a lot of work. My muse is driving me crazy and wants me to get busy writing Tegen Punishment, book three in the Tegen series.
If I’m going to start a new project, I begin my day by drinking coffee in my office while I wait for my muse to show up. Her name is Annabelle, and she pouts if I haven’t written anything for a while. When that happens, she shows up in such a grouchy mood that she has to go outside to smoke a cigar before she’s ready to get to work. If I’ve neglected her for several months, she might pout around for a day or so. But once she gets going, I have a hard time keeping up with her on the keyboard, and I have a hard time quitting for the day.
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?
Within a few months of a new release, I provide five books for a Goodreads Giveaway. I have found that to be a very helpful way in getting the word out about my novels. Also, it generates more reviews on Goodreads, which drives more sales. During Facebook events, I have sometimes given books away as prizes. Some of the recipients write a review when they finish reading it. I love getting more reviews! So, giving away books through those events has been well worth the cost.
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?
I do not have a reader list, but now that you bring it up, having a list would be a good idea. Now I’m using social media, paid promotions, and acquaintances to help me find new readers. It would be wonderful if I could acquire more through word-of-mouth.
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 do seek professional reviews since they are highly regarded in the publishing industry, and some promotion sites won’t accept your book without a professional review. In addition to those reviews and the two methods I mentioned in #8 above, I rely on my readers for reviews. The more opportunities I have to spread the word about my books, like through this blog, more sales might be generated, which might garner more reviews…and more reviews lead to more sales!
Author's Book List
Tegen Justice
- Tegens Book 2After embracing her new Tegen existence, Sara Jones is determined to destroy her ex-lover’s organized crime empire, one link at a time. Along with her newly acquired skills of spider-climbing agility, self-healing powers, and the ability to eject poisonous needles came the haunting need to consume blood and flesh tainted by Tegen deadly spiders.
Armed with her skills and using the alias Sally Jablon, Sara has tracked some nefarious associates of her ex-lover to Baton Rouge. But before she can fully execute her plan to wipe out that criminal element, she is faced with her former lover, an out of control Tegen, and the repercussions of disobeying Tegen rules. Death and mayhem ensue as Sara tries to outrun and outsmart an enemy she knows all too well.
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Cisco Bandits
- A Gwynn Reznick NovelNewly trained and ready to rock her first assignment, Gwynn Reznick is about to go undercover for the first time. She will investigate one of the highly private companies who call on Ruben Dordi’s Investigation Group. Ruben is the boss—and he also happens to be Gwynn’s boyfriend.
When Ruben gives Gwynn her assignment—to pose as an accountant for the Prudell Energy Company—Gwynn resists asking exactly what she’s supposed to be investigating. She knows Ruben has his reasons—she’s just not sure why they require her to go two months without even a hint as to why she’s there.
But things change quickly when Gwynn witnesses the death of a Prudell employee. It’s made to look like an accident, but when Gwynn learns that another employee died just before she arrived, it seems like a little too much of a coincidence.
When the CFO tells Gwynn about missing project files and data that just doesn’t add up, Gwynn finds herself suddenly in over her head. Will she be able to maintain her cover, follow Ruben’s orders, and get to the bottom of the mystery? Or will the killers get to Gwynn before she cracks the case?
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The Cost of Crude
Gwynn Reznick's life is shattered when her best friend and co-worker at Wilton Oil & Gas Company dies in a car crash. She doubts it was an accident. Her suspicion is confirmed when a private investigator, Ruben Dordi, shows up at her door. His team has discovered a trail of unusual deaths and disappearances among Wilton employees. To make matters worse, Gwynn is under constant surveillance by those responsible for her friend's death. But that doesn't deter her from getting involved in the investigation. Danger lurks in every corner of the Wilton Tower. One false move could turn a risky situation into a death trap. As the investigation team digs deeper, they begin to unravel a sinister plot that threatens a catastrophic pipeline disaster. Will they solve the crime before it is too late?
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The Tegen Cave
After running from her boyfriend's powerful organized crime family, Sara Jones starts a new life in a new town. But when people around her start dying from poisonous spider bites after she receives a mysterious package with a spider concealed inside, she worries that the family has found her. Life takes an even more bizarre turn when she seems to be not only immune to the spider venom, but also surrounded by a sinister group of people using spiders to incapacitate their prey. Even her new boyfriend starts acting suspiciously. Just who can she trust?
Then to make matters worse Sara's twenty-fifth birthday approaches, and her dark heritage begins to emerge. She is forced to make a life-or-death decision. And somehow, she must find a way to deal with the crime family.
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Author Recommended by: HBSystems Publications
Publisher of ebooks, writing industry blogger and the sponsor of the following blogs:
eBook Author’s Corner and HBS Mystery Reader’s Circle
Thanks for the wonderful blog, James Moushon!
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