Author Genre: Science Fiction, Mystery, Paranormal
Website: Gail Ann Gibbs
Twitter: @gailanngibbs
E-Mail: gailagibbs@gmail.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Gail Ann Gibbs grew up in the heart of the Texas Panhandle, and has continued to live and write in the sunny Southwest. She eventually obtained two college degrees, neither related to writing. She has been employed in a variety of interesting jobs, some of which may end up in novels someday.
Gail has four novels with the personalized-romance publisher YourNovel.com. She has also provided stories for the Strange Mysteries anthologies and other publications. She released a collection of short stories, Sketches in the Air, in 2014 and her latest book is the Jules Verne-style fantasy They Called Me Dragon: A Narrative Account of my Adventures on the Planet Earth.
Gail is a member of Arizona Mystery Writers and Saguaro Romance Writers, the Tucson chapter of Romance Writers of America. She enjoys the Arizona sun with her husband and some really big goldfish.
SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author
First things first. Rumor has it that you have another book on the horizon called Tin Hearts. Can you tell us the timeline for its release and give us a little tease?
Tin Hearts is a futuristic romance, in which two disabled war veterans struggle to find love in a dystopian future. They just want is to live in peace, but the military isn't done with them yet. Release date is November, 2018, if all goes well.
You do book signings, interviews, speaking and personal appearances. When and where is the next place where your readers can see you? Where can they keep up with your personal contacts online?
No personal appearances as such, but I'll be attending the Pike's Peak Writer's Conference at the end of April. I'm not a speaker or anything, just wandering around and soaking up the good advice. Readers can find me on any of their favorite social media, and I try to post on my Goodreads blog at least once a month. I'm also looking at Wattpad, so please, anyone with advice about Wattpad, get in touch!
You have written several short stories. Can you tell us if they had an impact on the sales of your other works? Are shorty’s one of your styles of writing or are they created to give readers a sample of your work?
Tin Hearts actually began life as a collection of short stories. Then I saw the great cover design by Jaycee DeLorenzo of Sweet N' Spicy Designs ( sweetnspicydesigns.com), and my whole vision changed. Those stories are still floating around in my computer, and I hope to clean them up and submit them to markets soon. I do enjoy writing short stories, and working on novels has given me ideas for more. So future shorty's will probably be more related to my books, and give readers a taste of what the novels are like.
I like the idea of Author bundles. You are a part of a couple anthologies from Whortleberry Press. What was the impact on your other sales? What was the main objective of bundling your works with other authors? How did you get involved with them?
I wrote the stories for Whortleberry Press before I began the novels, so I wasn't thinking of the book market then. I found them listed on Ralan.com, my favorite list of SF and Fantasy markets. While I can't say they impacted my sales, I think every venue that gets an author's name out there is good, especially in science fiction. I also like the idea author bundles, and hope to do some book bundles in the future.
Besides the Arizona Mystery Writers and Saguaro Romance Writers, what other writer support groups do you belong too? Do they help with the writing, marketing and the publishing process?
Both of those groups have been wonderful sources of information and support, on everything from first draft writing to understanding changes in publishing. I also want to give a shout out to the Oro Valley Library Science Fiction Book Club. We read a different book each month, and this fun and lively group keeps me grounded in the reader's perspective.
What is your primary genre? What has been your best marketing approach to this group?
Science fiction and Fantasy, although my fantasy is more of the slightly weird, rather than Tolkien. I've sometimes heard the term speculative fiction, which I suppose applies to my work. I've attended a number of science fiction conventions and often leave samples and bookmarks on the freebie table. When I have more books under my belt, I hope to graduate to "pro" status, speaking on panels and selling books in the dealers' room.
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?
I've given away books on Goodreads (back when they didn't charge for the service) and received reviews and gained followers that way. I also donated copies to the Pima County Library system, under their Local Author program. So far, my most successful giveaway was at the Tucson Festival of Books, involving packets of bookmarks, along with a sales flier for discounted books, all held together with a bright gold clip. They went pretty fast, and I saw a bump in sales afterwards.
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 don't have a reader or newsletter list as yet. Right now, I feel the best way for me to build a readership is to write books worth reading. After I have five or six such books, I'll work on building a list, or maybe combine with other authors in a joint newsletter or other marketing projects. That said, one of the workshops at the Pikes Peak Conference is about using MailChimp, and I may completely reverse my position after that.
The Tucson Festival of Books 2018 was a great event, enjoyed by thousands. A Book festival is a unique selling situation. How did you prepare for the festival? Did it meet your goals? If you had to do something different next year, what would that be?
This was the first year I purchased booth space, and it was an excellent experience. I didn't sell many books at the Festival, but I gave away all my bookmark packets, and made some new friends. I also learned the ins and outs of the UofA Festival system for registering and setting up. Everyone was very helpful, so something different for next year is that I won't be so nervous!
You have produced a couple novella eBooks with www.YourNovel.com , a personalized-romance publisher. How does that process work? How can other authors get involved with them? Did you see any impact on your other writings?
I had a wonderful time writing for YourNovel.com, and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. The couple buying the books become the heroes of the story, by providing nicknames, hair and eye color, and other details. It's sometimes tricky to tell an exciting story, yet with action that anyone can see themselves doing. The owners of the company are travel writers by nature, and invited me to try my hand at writing some paranormal romances in the same style. Since I was writing to their specific requirements, my feelings weren't hurt when manuscripts came back with lots of editing marks. So I got used to accepting editing, which has made me a better writer. I know they are always looking for fresh perspectives, so potential authors should check on their website for guidelines.
Author's Book List
They Called Me Dragon
- A Narrative Account of My Adventures on the Planet EarthHuge, green, and scaly, alien Professor J’o’ Ka Joarchim can’t convince the local peasants that he’s not a man-eating monster. The villagers chain a young woman to a cliff in sacrifice to him, but she has her own ideas about that. Helping her escape only aggravates the situation, and J'o' ends up with a collection of luckless human victims, all increasingly dependent on him for their survival.
Meanwhile, J'o' must keep his new pets a secret, since interfering in human society is a serious violation of Interdimensional Law. The longer he stays on Earth, the more trouble awaits him back home.
THEY CALLED ME DRAGON is the story of a feisty young heroine, an assortment of outcasts, and one very confused alien as they conquer the Dark Ages and become legends in the process.
Order the Book From:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
KOBO Store
Sketches in the Air
Cowboys gather around the campfire to solve a murder... Fear brings out the dragon in good men...The riskiest part of space travel turns out to be the paperwork... and more.
Five speculative fiction short stories are presented here, all of which have won contests or been accepted for publication in various venues. Author Gail Ann Gibbs has gathered them from their various homes, online and off, and assembled them into one enjoyable volume. Tales of murderers, dragons, and bureaucrats mingle cheerfully together in this off-beat collection.
Order the Book From:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
KOBO Store
Author Recommended by: HBSystems Publications
Publisher of ebooks, writing industry blogger and the sponsor of the following blogs:
Indie Author’s Corner and HBS Mystery Reader’s Circle
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