Author Genre: Time Travel, Romance
Website: Dani Haviland
Author's Blog: Dani Haviland
Twitter: @dani_haviland
E-Mail: dani@danihaviland.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
USA Today best-selling author Dani Haviland semi-retired and moved from her beloved Alaska to Oregon to spend more time growing (and photographing) flowering plants and stunning trees, splitting her time between the organic and electronic, growing plants and cyber folks. Sharing is part of her personality, so creating books and photos to share all over the world makes her happy.
Her tenacious and perky attitude is reflected in many of her cyber children, whether they be a British lord stuck in 18th century North Carolina or a 6'7" time traveling 'fairy' who is out to champion anyone who is having a rough time dealing with difficult life situations.
Several series (The Fairies Saga; Arlie Undercover; Benji, the Early Years) and a few solo titles have evolved from her compulsion to write down the stories in her head that wouldn't stop growing.
Kick back and enjoy the diversity!
SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author
Congratulations on your book: How to Fix a Broken Life. What do you have on the drawing board next? Can you tell us the timeline for its release and give us a little tease?
I just put together a rudimentary timeline for new book releases for 2019. I currently have six stories that are in different stages of completion. I decided to release them up as separate novellas rather than have them in one long book. This way, readers can have them sooner. I’m hoping the first two novellas will pop up in January and February of 2019.
You have a good following on twitter. Since you started before the social media buzz, what impact has social media relationships had on your current success? How did you build your following in your niche? How much has it changed your book launch process?
I can see a direct relationship between sales and KENP (Amazon pages read on Kindle Unlimited) and how active I’ve been with Twitter and posting to Facebook groups.
There are several authors out there who have a side business of building lists of followers for Amazon Author page, BookBub, and other groups and obtaining Newsletter subscribers. They generally have blog hops and contests with giveaways in exchange for names and email addresses to follow authors. They’re good at what they do and have a reasonable charge for gathering data for authors. ? I’m horrible at book launches! I’ve had a couple PA’s that didn’t work out, so usually just tweet and announce on Facebook.
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 had a few when I lived in Alaska, but I haven’t built a rapport with local bookstores. I hate to drive and, like a few of my fictional characters, am directionally challenged. Like so many other authors, I could do with a first-class publicist!
I don’t have any events planned, but really need to put contacting bookstores on my 2019 Resolutions List. I just released several of my novellas in Large Print Format. I’m hoping that will be attractive to libraries and bookstores.
Right now, I’m working on my Facebook page for Chill Out! Books (must use exclamation point) or use http://bit.ly/2fbCOB. I do have an Instagram account, but I’m usually away from my phone. Chill Out! Books publishes all my single titles, the box sets I’m in, plus box sets for other authors.
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?
My first covers were by Kim Killion. She asks authors to answer a questionnaire about theme, heat of story, tag lines, and has you submit an image or describe what you want on the cover. She has quite a few poses and themes to choose from or you can submit your own image (that’s one of my daughters on Naked in the Winter Wind). I have used her models for most of my series books. Many of the later novellas were done by Michele Hauf, the creator of the covers for the Sweet and Sassy box sets. She does a great job, too.
I may tweak the covers, as in suggesting coloring changes, but generally give the graphic artist free rein. The model for the Arlie series had to be a redhead, so Kim asked that I choose a blonde model. I also had her change his eye coloring. She created the logos for me, too.
One Arctic Summer was accepted by Amazon for the ebook, but they nixed the cover for their advertising department. Michele Hauf and I put together a few generic beach covers and I asked my newsletter followers to select a new cover. They overwhelmingly selected the one that is on Amazon now as an ebook. However, I kept the Native guy and red-haired girl for the cover of the print book. Pfft! to their advertising department!
You have written several novellas. Can you tell us if they had an impact on the sales of your novels? Are shorty’s one of your styles of writing or are they created to give readers a sample of your work? Do you feel short reads are a product of our email and smart phone age?
Novellas definitely help the sales of the full-length novels. Thanks, readers! My first novella was written for the Summer Heat box set. I was told I had to keep it below 20, 000 words and it was supposed to be HOT! It’s no longer in print, but my single is. I consider it randy. I don’t feel comfortable writing erotica so don’t. Most of my other novellas were written short for the same reason: inclusion in a box set.
Short reads are definitely a response to the smartphone age. More folks (including me) are reading on their phones.
What is your primary genre? What has been your best marketing approach to this group?
I started by writing historical fiction with time travel. I’m still very driven to write stories from the 1780s. I resisted being labeled as a romance writer until I realized that most of my stories did carry a romantic theme. I started Arlie Undercover as a request for a novella for a Christmas box set. After reading it, my editor, Elaine Boyle, told me it would be great as a series. I’m up to book #4 (How to Fix a Broken Life) now and the storyline for #5 is rattling in my brain already.
A couple of months ago, I started Amazon ads. I selected sponsored ads with customized ad words. I have to make sure I don’t blanch at the cost in relationship to books sold but take into account the pages read and total income for the book advertised. However, I always see a surge in sales after I send out a newsletter.
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?
Whenever I run a free book promotion, sales increase for those books for at least a week afterwards. Also, other books in the series rise in sales, too. There is power in numbers and organization. Group giveaways is a great way to bring in new followers for newsletters, plus folks who enter to find out about their favorite author or genre are often intrigued by the others in the promo.
I usually join group promos to get newsletter or BookBub followers. As I said, whenever I run a newsletter, my sales rise. The only problem I’ve ever seen is folks will unsubscribe after getting my first newsletter. They only entered to win a prize. That’s fine. I’d rather have interested readers, anyhow!
You have a great blog. You do a great job keeping readers informed, marketing your books and providing useful information to other writers. What is your primary goal? And where in the world do you find the time to create great novels, take care of the social media and maintain your blog?
I want people to read, love, and share their appreciation of my stories with other folks. I can’t seem to convey to readers how dear and precious their reviews are. Even critical ones help. I upset one reader because my baddie was too real for her. She went on a rant and gave it a poor review. Never said a word about my style or the story, though; she just hated the villain.
I let my garden go this year, I have a messy house, don’t cook very much, and seldom watch TV. I should write more blogs and newsletters, but when I have a deadline, I’m focused. When I lived in Alaska, I wrote a lot in the winter. I was planning a couple of mega-novels but those have changed into many novellas. I keep track of all the random chapters I write in excel form. When I needed a Christmas story, I highlighted a few chapters in my excel list, noting that they were now in Little Drummer Boy, and expanded the story into a novella. I did the same thing for Chasing Christmas and several other stories. I’ll be doing the same for a few stories associated with Fairies Down Under, the story of the foundation of Australia, the British colony established in 1788.
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?
The newsletter is to let the readers (and potential readers) know I’m a real person, help them find insight on some of my new releases, and also to find new authors. I can’t write enough to keep every reader busy all the time! Yes, I do see a surge in sales afterwards, but when I run little contests, it’s such a blast making someone’s life happier because they won something, even leftover giveaways from romance writers’ conferences.
I like the idea of Author bundles. You are a part of a novel collection called Love, Christmas 2 with twenty-five other authors. What a great group of outstanding people. (Many have been interviewed on this blog). What was your main objective in bundling your works with other authors? What blogging, newsletter and social media promotions have you done to promote the collection?
We love to find crossover readers! Someone who is an absolute fan of Mimi Barbour or Patricia Rosemoor might read one of the box sets we’re both in and discover they like my writing, too.
Each author in the set had at least one newsletter that featured her novella in Love, Christmas – Movies You Love, plus had a featured blog on The Authors’ Billboard. Advertisements were purchased on a wide variety of venues including Amazon and a BookBub New Release promo. There were also contests on the group level and many authors sponsored her own giveaways. Except for our newest member, Melinda De Curtis (now the first USA Today Bestselling Author in Romania!), we’ve all been working together for at least a year. Mimi Barbour’s association of authors – Mimi’s Gang – is a by-invitation only group that focuses on promoting our own box sets and each other’s works on social media, blogs, and newsletters. Oh, and I’m also the publisher of most of the box sets. Chill Out! Books (http://bit.ly/2fbCOB) is my little start up that has published almost thirty box sets of romances.
Author's Book List
How to Fix a Broken Life
- Arlie Undercover Book 4Arlie Biggar is back in Alaska with his new family. Life is nice and boring until his pregnant wife is kidnapped by copycat terrorists who have recruited local thugs to help them steal guns from the sporting goods store. Will Arlie be able to stop them or will a ringer come in and save the day?
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Amazon
Love, Christmas - Movies You Love - The Holiday Series Book 2
Sprinkle a little Christmas magic into your life with 26 ALL-NEW, never before released romances. Each title - exclusive to this set - is inspired by a favorite holiday movie, spun into a fantastic love story by a NY Times, USA Today, and/or award-winning, bestselling author and delivered to you in this wonderful collection full of cheer for the coming season.
Mimi Barbour – A Wonderful Life - Though Mary works with troubled teens, can she and an angel help a man living a nightmare?
Leanne Banks – A Royal White Christmas - Can a secret prince be a Christmas wish-come-true for a small-town girl?
Joan Reeves – Brianna’s Season For Miracles - Her seductive persona hides what she's ashamed of... What will happen if the man she's fallen for discovers her secret?
Mona Risk – Jingle With My Princess - The doc and the princess... He saves lives, but she may save his heart.
Rebecca York – Can She Get Home for Christmas? - Will a killer stop her from getting home for Christmas?
Jacquie Biggar – Mistletoe Inn - A grieving man finds the greatest gift is love.
Alicia Street – Miracle on Christmas Tree Street - A single mom discovers her business partner is more than he seems.
Nancy Radke – The Holiday (Christmas) - Jodi's house-swap to Maui came with a small dog and a shipwrecked sailor.
Katy Walters –Letters from the Snowman – The snow revealed a precious love.
Stephanie Queen – Holiday Affair - Melissa goes from riches to rags but will she find gold in a holiday affair?
Aileen Fish – Almost Christmas in Connecticut - Can a wounded warrior learn to trust her celebrity chef crush after discovering his secret?
Rachelle Ayala – A Christmas Creek Carol - A reclusive writer is given a one-star review on her life by characters from her past, present, and future.
Dani Haviland – The Polar Xpress - She prefers dogs to men…until she rescues the doctor.
Traci Hall – Love, Actually (By the Sea) - Two strangers. One intimate night. Reunited a year later, can it actually be love?
Taylor Lee – The Ref-er-ee - With a family this discombobulated, it will take a referee to save their Christmas.
Donna Fasano – Her Mr. Miracle - It’s Christmas Eve and Veronica is stuck in a nearly deserted seaside town... She needs a miracle.
Cynthia Cooke – A Christmas to Remember - A Christmas storm. Wedding plans in peril. Has a lost love been found?
Susan Jean Ricci – A Joyous Holiday Inn - Can Twigg restore the joy of Christmas to Chloe’s indifferent heart?
Tamara Ferguson – Two Hearts Home for Christmas - Can a long ago promise of love bring two lonely wounded warriors home for Christmas?
Suzanne Jenkins – Christmas with the Clouds - Tracy isn’t interested in love until an unexpected Christmas visitor changes her heart.
Natalie Ann – How Gavin Stole Christmas - Can Jolene help Gavin find the Christmas spirit when he’s the epitome of Mr. Bah Humbug?
Ev Bishop – A Sharla Brown Christmas - For single parents Sharla and Jake, Christmas is the loneliest time of the year…until it’s not.
Alyssa Bailey – In the Spirit of Christmas - Chase can protect Tara from danger, but can he protect his heart?
Stacy Eaton – Finding Love on Christmas Vacation - Christmas isn't the same for Lucy without her father...until she meets his friend Maverick.
Jen Talty – The Christmas Getaway - A mix-up in reservations leaves a mother and her son to share a cabin with a broken-hearted stranger.
Melinda De Ross - Boyfriend Wanted for Christmas - A thirty-something singleton’s desperate yet humorous quest to find a boyfriend in the seven days before Christmas.
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KOBO Store
iTunes Store
One Arctic Summer
Was she his Red Raven or just another cheechako, a tenderfoot from the outside world looking for excitement or a news story in his remote Alaskan village?
The trials, frustrations, and richness of life in Barrow (Utqiagvik), Alaska and the local ‘healer’ change east coast archaeology intern Alexandra Oppenheimer’s philosophy on life in 1994. Twenty-two years later, will the area be the same? And will Rocky have returned to it, too?
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Three Are One
Kizzie’s husband shunned their special needs daughter and volunteered for Iraq to avoid his family and engage in nefarious operations that ended in his death. The post chaplain tried to help the young widow adjust, but would his feelings for her and the search for his lost sister cause problems?
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Time in a Little Blue Bottle
- A novella from The Fairies SagaThe Fountain of Youth water was real - and Elvis and Mark Twain were looking for it. Could a young woman and teenage pickpocket beat them to it? And this other guy - the tall, good-looking hunk who kept popping up - was he really a vampire?
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Be My Angel
Wyatt's dream to help save the wild mustangs began with the purchase of a rundown ranch in western Oregon. What he hadn't anticipated was being mesmerized by a sassy woman in a wheelchair.
Ashley's love of horses sent her after a degree in animal husbandry, using an electric wheelchair to zip around the college campus. She'd face the world on her own two feet for everything else. Grandma hadn't brought her up to be a weakling.
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Always a Bigger Fish
- Arlie Undercover Book 3Just when you think you’ve nabbed crime’s biggest boss, you realize there’s ALWAYS A BIGGER FISH.
Arrested and in prison, the De Lucas are no longer a problem for Arlie and the Anchorage Police Department, but whoever's been taking scalps is. When Arlie's forensic specialist's former co-worker from North Carolina comes to visit, the two detectives discover the scalp-seeking bandit they’re looking for in both states is the same person.
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The Biggest Heart Ever
- Arlie Undercover Book 2When would he learn that trying to do everything by himself could be deadly—and make her a widow before they were married?
Alaskan Arlie Bigger didn’t regret asking Charlene to be his wife the first week they met but now that he had a family, he needed to curb his impetuous urges. Entering dangerous situations as an undercover detective just got more complicated.
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A Stingray Christmas
- Arlie Undercover Book 1Undercover Detective Arlie Biggar had only seen the woman who bore his son five years ago on video. Now that they were in danger, he’d move from Alaska to Arizona to protect them…without letting them know who he was.
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Luke the Unexpected
- Benji, The Lost Years Book 1998Brought together by their love of vintage motorcycles, Luke and Holly have more than just an out of tune Indian Chief to deal with. The spurned Tanya wants revenge, and will stop at nothing to hurt Luke and all those he cares about, including his new friend, Benji.
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Chasing Christmas
- Book Four and a Half in The Fairies SagaOnly LOVE could be sweeter than freedom.
Early winter 1783, remote North Carolina: Rejuvenated time traveler Evie and her family have little in life but each other, but they’re content. When her husband rescues an abused young Native American woman and brings her home, she’s welcomed. Unexpected births, deaths, and a marriage change the dynamics of this unique family in this stand-alone novella featuring many of the characters from the popular time travel series The Fairies Saga.
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Kit Kringle
- An Alaskan TaleAnchorage, Alaska, Winter, present day: The spirited and attractive woman in her late thirties started her business in the Great White North, determined that she wouldn’t let hostile weather and men’s flirty advances stop her success. What she hadn’t planned on was Jay, the young mechanic who had a way with feral cats. And her heart.
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Never Too Young
- True Love is AgelessPost-Revolutionary War North Carolina: Jenny and Scout were married the ‘Indian way’ when they were very young. The hard-working couple knew it was true love and were willing to wait a few years to share their special gift with each other and be ‘completely’ married. In the meantime, Jenny would live with her newly adopted parents and their triplet children, and Scout would work where he could. Willing to work where and however long it took, he wanted his wife to have a proper home. What he didn't plan was to be taken advantage of, his hard earned income scammed. Would his wife forgive him? And how would he be able to support her without a nest egg?
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Pool Boy Wanted
- Benji The Lost Years Book 1997He'd never known a woman before, and that's just how she wanted him. This is a rather randy novella about the early years of 'The Great Big Fairy,' the amiable time traveler, Benji MacKay.
Held hostage both physically and emotionally by the MacLeod men who have been trying to get a ransom for him for years, the brow-beaten youth will do anything to protect his fellow hostage, Michael. Will this latest ploy by the inept patriarch, Atholl MacLeod the Seventh 'Sept' offer him a way out? And at what cost?
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Little Drummer Boy
Inspired by the author's favorite Christmas song, young Scout is looking for gainful employment at the end of the American Revolution. He's called Scout because of his great exploring and tracking skills, but the sergeant says he's only good enough to be a drummer 'boy.' Will they accept his help as they try to find their way to friends and family for Christmas during one of the worst winter storms in history?
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Little Bear and the Ladies
- The Fairies Saga - Book Three and a Hal1780s North Carolina-~-Rachel and Morning Star, two white women living with the Cherokee, are happy…until Hessian mercenaries arrive and turn their world inside out. Death would be better than what these hired soldiers have planned for them and the others. A clever trapper known as Little Bear arrives with something else in mind. Maybe he can save the day.
Get ready to escape to 18th century North Carolina, but bring your blanket: it's winter and times are rough. And watch out for mercenaries!
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Naked in the Winter Wind
- The Fairies Saga Book 1Come along with a plump and perky older woman as she is transformed into a young sweetie with amnesia. All she knows is that she's now in the middle of the Revolutionary War, in peril from Red Coats and renegades, and that her new friends are supposed to be fictional characters from a popular romance novel. What happened to her? Will she ever get back to her own time? And now that she's met some very special people, does she want to return?
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Ha'penny Jenny
- Book One and a Half in The Fairies SagaSummer of 1781 - Sweet, naïve—and psychic—pre-adolescent Jenny has just been adopted into a wonderful, yet different family. She knows Mommy and Grannie are from someplace where carriages fly in the air and books have moving pictures, but she doesn’t care. Her new family tries to protect her from her past. However, no amount of love can prevent the problems the chatty young girl ‘sees.’ But she won't stop trying.
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Aye, I am a Fairy
- The Fairies Saga Book 2Time travel can't be real...can it? There had to be another explanation.
Leah's mother had disappeared a year ago, then suddenly reappeared looking forty years younger. She vanished again, but this time, left behind her solar-powered smartphone. Was Leah brave enough to look for clues on it? And where had Mom disappeared to? Again. Then there was the strange call from Lord James Melbourne who claimed to have vital information. He was definitely a hottie, seemed sweet and generous, but could she trust him?
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The Great Big Fairy
- The Fairies Saga Book 4Benji knew time travel was real. He'd been born 'back then' and come back, but now has heard it's possible to return to his natal time. How soon can he get back to the 18th century and will he find happiness or more challenges there?
(Please note: contains adult topics. This is NOT a children's story) The Great Big Fairy ~ a balanced mix of mystery, history, and fantasy, with a tad of romance, a dash of violence, and a pinch of humor added to enhance your reading experience.
OVERVIEW:
Benji, the 6'7" good-natured former wrestler, mechanic, and handy man is also an 18th century time traveler, stuck in the 21st century. His new friends help him adjust, but make sure he doesn't find out he's the same person as a fictional character in a popular romance series!
Benji returns to the 18th century and now owns a very tall, very stubborn female slave who doesn’t--or won’t--speak English. She isn't a problem, but others, jealous of her strength and size, are.
Life gets complicated for Benji and his new lady friend. They've returned through The Trees time portal to the 21st century, but can their relationship handle the 20-pound surprise awaiting them?
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Dances Naked
- The Fairies Saga Book 3Life was not easy in the 18th century. Evil men weren't just strangers- sometimes they were family. Hopefully, they'd get their comeuppance. Follow pitiful Rachel as she gets a 'real' life by joining the Cherokee, along with two other white folks.
Lord Marty Melbourne has traveled from present day back to 1781. Now hopelessly lost in Cherokee territory, North Carolina, his troubles increase when he's assaulted and robbed by the callous Grant MacLeod. Life becomes even more complicated with the arrival of a Cherokee hunting party. The chief wonders if this crazy white man, who he calls Dances Naked, could be Nûñnë’hi, an eternal one...a fairy.
Marty and two very different women voluntarily join the Indian tribe for different reasons, but Marty still wants to go home. He makes his desires known to the chief, a man of few words. But, Red Shirt needs to make use of the crazy white man before leading him to The Trees, the bad medicine place that swallowed up his younger brother years ago.
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The Polar Xpress
After discovering that his fiancée and business partner were having an affair, California chiropractor Jaime Hernandez decides to indulge in a trip to Alaska to travel the Iditarod Trail by snowmachine. After an accident knocks him for a loop, he’s rescued by a woman dog musher who’s going blind. The odd couple find they have more in common than a love of good food. Will the female owner of Second Chance Kennels give him even a first chance at romance?
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
Thanks so much for the chance to let readers know about me and my books, James!
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