Sally Cronin – Reading Recommendation Revisited

Sally Cronin is a long overdue guest on the Reading Recommendations Revisited portion of this blog. Since she first appeared here, in Mar. 2015, Sally has been a tireless promoter of me, my writing, and this blog and the other authors I promote. She has hosted me twice on her blog (April 2015 and Nov. 2015) and is a constant reblogger of many of my own posts, from this blog and my others. As well, I’ve noted that Sally has become friends with many of the authors I count as friends and she’s very generous in promoting many, many authors through her own blogs. Sally was back on RR in Dec. 2015 to update us on a new collection of short stories. Even though I’ve known Sally for less than a year, she’s proven herself to be one of my most valuable connections online through her constant support, promotion of, and interest in, all the authors, artists, musicians who are creating today. And Sally also continues to write and publish her own books, both fiction and non-fiction. So here’s Sally now, promotion tables turned, to tell you more about herself!

Sally Cronin’s complete list of books and information on her writing
My Book and Reviews

RRR: Since your first promotion on RR, what have you been doing?
SC: It has been an interesting few months since Tales of the Garden came out at the end of 2015. The book had started life as a series of short stories on my blog and then when I realised readers were enjoying the fairy tales, I decided to release it in eBook and in print. I really appreciated the whole process; it was a great way to get feedback on each story enabling me to tweak them before publishing. It also gave me instant gratification each week rather than waiting months for a book to come out.

I enjoyed it so much I am doing it again with my series What’s in a Name which takes each letter in the alphabet and alternate weeks I write a story about a female character and then a male character with a name beginning with that letter. What’s in a Name – Short Stories.

Again it has proved very valuable and I am a few stories away from the first of two anthologies. The other benefit of writing the collection is that I will have 52 characters already partly established for other stories or novels.

I have spent the last two years building up my blog and social media networks. My intention was not to add thousands of followers but to build a community of like-minded people which include writers, artists, musicians and bloggers. I have met some fascinating and talented people from around the world. This platform offers me the opportunity to promote the work of others to a substantial audience and I will continue to develop this in the coming year.

I have some new book and blog promotions for 2016 and this includes New Book Fanfare for Children’s books, New Book in Series, Free or Discounted Books and the Five Star Treatment for books that receive great reviews. The new Sunday interview post is Open House and here are the links for them: Sunday Open House and Free Promotion Opportunities

RRR: What else have you been doing, outside of the writing?
SC: We have our house here in Madrid on the market and we have decided to become a little more creative to combat the slow Spanish market. Apart from price incentives we have persuaded the two agents we have here to adopt a different approach to their traditional methods. This involves arranging to Open Houses in the spring, something they do not tend to do here. At least we will feel that we are being proactive rather than sitting waiting for the phone to ring.

It actually takes up quite a bit of time keeping the house and gardens ready for viewing all the time as well as working on writing projects. It is bitter sweet as I shall miss our friends here in Spain, the sunshine and the view. However, we would also like to be nearer to both our families in the UK and Ireland.

RRR: Is there one marketing tip or trick you discovered while promoting your own books that worked particularly well and that you’d like to share with other authors?
SC: I find it really satisfying being in a position to help other writers promote their work on Smorgasbord. Over the last year it has become evident that those guests who are interactive after the post get the most attention. They answer all the comments, share the post across their own network, send the post link to their email contact list and pop in to the post for several days to ensure that they continue to be part of the process.

What some people do not realise is that if someone reads the post and likes or shares it they may be discouraged from commenting if they see that other feedback has not been responded to in some way.

It is a guest’s showcase and it is important to make the most of the networking opportunity in every way possible. People do buy people first and are more inclined to buy books from those who add a personal touch.

RRR: Please recommend three other authors whose work you have “discovered” or rediscovered this past year.
SC: In the past year I have read a number of Indie books including the three by Judith Barrow. Set in the Second World War and moving forward into the 50s and 60s the series tells the stories of families living in a mill town. The characters came to life and the story flowed beautifully from book to book. Pattern of Shadows, Changing Patterns and Living in the Shadows. Available from Amazon

I also read Jo Robinson‘s Echoes Of Narcissus in the Gardens of Delight which is a compelling story of a woman trapped in a destructive relationship. I have had some experience of being married to a narcissist many years ago and it is great that the condition is now being explored in more depth in both non-fiction and fiction books. Available from Amazon

For Haiku lovers there is PhoKu by Annette Rochelle Aben. This book is a combination of wonderful photographic images and wonderful words. Annette is also a hugely supportive blogger and great indie supporter. Available from Amazon

And if I can add a fourth?

I am also working my way through all of Bernard Cornwell’s novels, alternating between Sharpe and The Last Kingdom series. Brilliant author of fabulous novels; I am pretty sure I must have been a Viking in a past life!

Thank you again so much Susan. I really appreciate the support.

Thank you, Sally!