#NewRelease - "Wild Rose Pass" by Karen Hulene Bartell

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WILD ROSE PASS MARKETING

Since the post must have something to do with writing, marketing, promoting, or developing my latest release, Wild Rose Pass, I opted to share the promos I’ve used in this campaign. Though my first book (a cookbook) was published thirty-six years ago, and my first novel was published twenty years ago, I’m always playing catch-up with marketing trends. Just about the time I begin to grasp which promos and ads work, trends change.

Wild Rose Pass was officially released two days ago, but since I received the Worldwide Release Date Notice nearly two months ago, I’ve been cramming to optimize its publicity and sales.

If I had unlimited funds for a blitz campaign, I wouldn’t be writing this blog, but since by necessity I’m a penny-pinching, DIY, wear-many-hats kind of author, here’s what’s worked for me so far.

Every month, I send out a newsletter to keep my readers interested and informed about upcoming books. I’ve learned cover photos only hold interest so long, but pictures of our dog or cats with the books captures attention. I also do newsletter shares. (If anyone’s interested, email me at info@karenhulenebartell.com.)

I create virtual tours via blogs and also do blog shares. (Again, if anyone’s interested, email me at info@karenhulenebartell.com.)

I post on Facebook and Twitter. And thanks to helpful WRP authors, have learned how to post on Instagram . Again, photos of pets with the latest release gains the most attention.

From religiously reading the posts on wrppromo@groups.io, I’ve picked and chosen what promos would most likely to work for me. This time around, I contacted AuthorsXP to help organize a Street Team. About twenty people signed on to promote my upcoming release. To their ranks, I invited several personal friends to join.

The results are still out on these tactics, but I hope the tips I’ve shared help raise your sales numbers. Have a Good Friday!

Blurb:

Cadence McShane, free-spirited nonconformist, yearns to escape the rigid code, clothes, and sidesaddles of 1880s military society in Fort Davis, Texas. She finds the daring new lieutenant exhilarating, but as the daughter of the commanding officer, she is expected to keep with family tradition and marry West Point graduate James West.

Orphaned, Comanche-raised, and always the outsider looking in, Ben Williams yearns to belong. Cadence embodies everything he craves, but as a battlefield-commissioned officer with the Buffalo Soldiers instead of a West Point graduate, he is neither accepted into military society nor considered marriageable.

Can two people of different worlds, drawn together by conflicting needs, flout society and forge a life together on the frontier?

Excerpt:

Reining his horse between catclaw and prickly-pear cactus, Ben Williams squinted at the late summer sun’s low angle. Though still midafternoon, shadows lengthened in the mountains. He clicked his tongue, urging his mare up the incline. “Show a little enthusiasm, Althea. If we’re not in Fort Davis by sunset, we’ll be bedding down with scorpions and rattlesnakes.”

As his detachment’s horses clambered up Wild Rose Pass, the only gap through west Texas’ rugged Davis Mountains, Ben kept alert for loose rocks or hidden roots, anything that might trip his mount. A thick layer of fallen leaves created a pastiche of color shrouding the trail from view. He glanced up at the lithe cottonwood trees lining the route, their limbs dancing in the breeze. More amber and persimmon leaves loosened, fell, and settled near the Indian pictographs on their tree trunks. When he saw the red- and yellow-ochre drawings, he smiled, recalling the canyon’s name—Painted Comanche Camp.

“How far to Fort Davis, lieutenant?” called McCurry, one of his recruits.

“Three hours.” If we keep a steady pace.

Without warning, the soldier’s horse whinnied. Spooking, it reared on its hind legs, threw its rider, and galloped off.

As he sat up, the man groaned, caught his breath, and stared into the eyes of a coiled rattler, poised to strike. “What the…?”

Flicking its tongue, hissing, tail rattling, the pit viper was inches from the man’s face.

A sheen of sweat appeared above the man’s lip. “Lieutenant—”

Buy Links:

Amazon eBook

Amazon Paperback

Barnes & Noble NOOK Book

Barnes & Noble Paperback

About the Author:

Author of the Trans-Pecos, Sacred Emblem, Sacred Journey, and Sacred Messenger series, Karen is a best-selling author, motivational keynote speaker, wife, and all-around pilgrim of life. She writes multicultural, offbeat love stories that lift the spirit. Born to rolling-stone parents who moved annually, Bartell found her earliest playmates as fictional friends in books. Paperbacks became her portable pals. Ghost stories kept her up at night—reading feverishly. The paranormal was her passion. Westerns spurred her to write (pun intended). Wanderlust inherent, Karen enjoyed traveling, although loathed changing schools. Novels offered an imaginative escape. An only child, she began writing her first novel at the age of nine, learning the joy of creating her own happy endings. Professor emeritus of the University of Texas at Austin, Karen resides in the Hill Country with her husband Peter and her “mews”—three rescued cats and a rescued *Cat*ahoula Leopard dog.

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I love showing off author pets, so Karen is introducing her adorable doggie.
From Karen: 
This is Tory, short for Toreador, since his brindle coloring looks just like he’s wearing a tight pair of Toreador Pants. In the background are the Davis Mountains. We adopted him from the Fort Davis, TX, Humane Society.