iTunes

Chausiku: The Gathering Storm Book One is now FREE on iBooks.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/chausiku-the-gathering-storm/id615124834?mt=11
Chausiku: The Secret Gambit Book Two is now available on iBooks.

#teenbooks #youngadultbooks #africanamericanbooks #blackfootnation #latinabooks # asianbooks #ibooks

SCANDAL!

In 2010 when I first started writing the Chausiku Series, a friend asked me if I really thought that I could sell a supernatural book with a lead character who is an African American/African teenage girl.  It was a valid question at that time.  But the reason that I started writing about Chausiku had nothing to do with whether or not she would sell.

I have always been a supernatural junkie.  Growing up, I used to sneak into my older brother's room to read his Marvel and DC comic books.  As I grew older, I began reading supernatural books and watching supernatural movies...the great, the good and the bad.  When I became an adult and had a daughter, I noticed that there didn't seem to be any supernatural books or movies that had an African American girl as the lead character or at least I didn't find them.  There were a few books with a girl of color who was a character in the book but not the lead.  Storm is one of my favorites.  Then it occurred to me that it wasn't just African Americans that lacked visibility in supernatural books.  There didn't seem to be people of different races prominently set forth as main characters in supernatural books either.  I couldn't get the thought out of mind so I started creating characters and writing them down.  Before I knew it, I had written a story about a teenage girl known as Chausiku, The Prophecy and six secret clans with supernatural abilities.

Chausiku is a descendant of the Sakombi clan from Africa on her mother's side and she is African American on her father's side.  The Natosapi clan of North America is from the Blackfoot tribe of Native Americans in the United States and First Nations in Canada.  The Spencer clan from Europe is from London, England in the United Kingdom.  The Qiáo clan of Asia is from Shanghai, China.  The Latin American Amaru clan is from South America.  And the Gale clan is from Australia.

Now what does any of this have to do with the hit series Scandal, you ask?  Well, Scandal is the first network series with an African American actress as the lead since 1974.  I admit that I am a Gladiator and so are almost all of my female friends.  The show is a huge success and not because of the race of the lead character but because it is an interesting series!

So my answer to my friend's question is...ABSOLUTELY!  As long as there is an interesting story being told the race of the lead character doesn't matter...and of course the Chausiku saga is an interesting story!

 http://www.amazon.com/Chausiku-Gathering-Storm-Book-ebook/dp/B00A47AD06
http://www.amazon.com/Chausiku-Secret-Gambit-Book-ebook/dp/B00EJR4HXG
Book Three coming soon!
#Scandal #teenbooks #youngadultbooks #africanamericanbooks #latinabooks #blackfootnation

FREE on Amazon

Chausiku: The Gathering Storm Book One is now FREE on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Chausiku-Gathering-Storm-Book-ebook/dp/B00A47AD06

Kobo Free Teen and YA books

Chausiku: The Gathering Storm Book One is now FREE on Kobo!
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/chausiku-the-gathering-storm

You can also purchase Chausiku: The Secret Gambit Book Two on Kobo.

Chausiku: The Secret Gambit Book Two

Book Description

  On her 16^th birthday, Chassie discovered that she has supernatural powers and is known as Chausiku Aminia Sakombi, The Prophecy.  She found out that her mother was murdered and that there are six secret clans with supernatural abilities known as the Sakombi clan from Africa, the Spencer clan from Europe, the Qiáo clan from Asia, the Gale clan from Australia, the Amaru clan from South America and the Natosapi clan from North America.

  To make matters worse, Chassie had to quickly learn how to control her powers in order to stop a brutal attack on her family and avenge her mother’s death.  But the danger is still not over.

  Rasul poses a new threat now that he has proof that the Prophecy really does exist and he may not be the only threat.  The six secret clans now know that she exists too.

CHAUSIKU: THE SECRET GAMBIT BOOK TWO has been released!  It is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Ibooks, Kobo and more! 
http://www.amazon.com/Chausiku-Secret-Gambit-Book-ebook/dp/B00EJR4HXG
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chausiku-pamela-cash/1116477118?ean=2940148442714
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/347204

CHAUSIKU: THE GATHERING STORM BOOK ONE is available for FREE for a limited time on Smashwords and other outlets.

Pixel Of Ink Bargain Bin

Chausiku: The Gathering Storm Book One will be available for 0.99 June 8 through June 10 on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/CHAUSIKU-THE-GATHERING-STORM-ebook/dp/B00A47AD06/

http://www.pixelofink.com/category/bargain-bin/

prMac!

I decided to use prMac, http://prmac.com, to advertise the release of Chausiku on Apple's iBooks website.  https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/chausiku-the-gathering-storm/id615124834?mt=11.  I am very pleased with the results.  I received personal service and quick advice on how to structure my press release.  I was also pleased with the high number of news media outlets that received my prMac press release.  I will definitely use prMac for future releases.  Some of the media outlets are listed below.

http://macprcaster.com/56024
http://themactrack.com/2013/04/01/page/2/
http://appmodo.com/75742/chausiku-the-gathering-storm/
  http://www.whataboutmac.com/index.php/2013/04/01/chausiku-the-gathering-storm/
http://www.popularwireless.com/blog1/2013/04/01/chausiku-the-gathering-storm/
http://www.healthupholder.com/iphone-articles/chausiku-the-gathering-storm/
http://www.macfanatic.net/blog/2013/04/01/chausiku-the-gathering-storm/
http://www.appshrink.com/application-press-releases/chausiku-the-gathering-storm/
http://www.slapapp.com/chausiku-the-gathering-storm/

Teen Books and Young Adult Books

I have found a few websites that are good resources for finding great teen and young adult books.  Click the links below.

http://www.amazon.com/CHAUSIKU-THE-GATHERING-STORM-ebook/dp/B00A47AD06
http://www.amazon.com/Chausiku-Secret-Gambit-Book-ebook/dp/B00EJR4HXG
http://www.teenreads.com
http://www.npr.org/2012/08/07/157847723/top-100-teen-books
http://www.booksamillion.com/teen
http://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/teen
http://www.teenbookguru.com/
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/issue/2012-best-of/section/teen/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/teen-books
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/
http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/young-adult
http://www.yabookscentral.com/
http://www.reading.org/resources/booklists/youngadultschoices.aspx
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/teens-teen-books/379003056/
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chausiku-pamela-cash/1113799356
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17318945-chausiku
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/chausiku-the-gathering-storm/id615124834?mt=11

Nookboards!

http://www.nookboards.com/forum/

Increase Sales Via Kindle Free Promotion

In January, I decided to try Kindle's Free Promotion after reading a post from Tristan King. http://www.seanogle.com/entrepreneurship/increase-amazon-kindle-book-sales.  Below is my experience.

The first day that I made my book free for 24 hours, I didn't advertise it on any sites.  Actually, I didn't know of any sites that advertised Kindle free books.  Turns out there are lots of sites but I will get to that later.

Prior to the promotion I was only selling a few books per week, mostly on the week days.  So I decided to do the promotion on a Sunday.  Low and behold, I had over 300 downloads that day.  Tristan was right.  My downloads increased over 600% in one day.  Unfortunately, I didn't see an increase in sales after the promotion.  Sales were still a few per week.

Next I saw a post on Marketing Easy Street. http://marketingeasystreet.com/how-to-launch-book.php.  I decided to try the free promotion again and I listed my promotion on the sites listed in the article.  Bingo!

The first hour of the promotion I had passed the number of downloads that I got in one day before.  By the afternoon, my downloads were in the thousands and by evening, my book had reached No. 1 in Free Teen Science Fiction and No. 2 in Free Teen Paranormal.  WooHoo!

In addition, after the free promotion was over my paid sales increased.

I am no longer in Kindle Select because I want my book to be available in all formats.  However, I do agree that it is a great way to launch a book.

I would love to hear your experiences in the comments.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/chausiku-the-gathering-storm/id615124834?mt=11

CHAUSIKU is now available on iBooks.

 Very good story, very well told. March 10, 2013

By J Bryden Lloyd

Format:Kindle Edition

Book Review: Chausiku - The Gathering Storm - Book 1
by Pamela E Cash
Reviewed by J Bryden Lloyd

In the interests of openness and honesty, I would like to state that the book was gifted to me in return for an honest review.

Writing Style - 4.0/5.0 (Very Good)
This is a strong, enjoyable narrative work with nicely balanced dialogue and a well defined style.
This feels like a YA Fiction, though the writing does lend itself to younger readers and I have to say, I enjoyed the read. I should also point out that younger readers will be faced with several scenes of very graphic violence and a few deaths, so parents should take note that this is not aimed at children, despite the cover and writing style.

Character Development - 4.0/5.0 (Very Good)
I very much liked the characters. All of them worked well and developed nicely throughout the story. There were shades of "Heroes" in parts of the sub-plots, but these were very individual and nicely written into the overall plot line.
Chausiku's sudden abilities were nicely approached, and it made her into a far more rounded character as she learned and adapted.
I did feel that the father character needed a little more than just emotional content. Although his development was entirely understandable based upon the plot revolving around him, he never really struck me as a `father' character, and certainly not the father of a teenage girl.

Descriptive - 4.5/5.0 (Excellent)
The environments and locations were given in vivid detail. The descriptive remained consistently good throughout and the author made good use of an existing knowledge of the real areas she described.
Occasionally, I felt the character descriptions were a little light, but in fairness this was never something that detracted from the tempo of the book, or the scenes the author presented.

Language & Grammar - 3.5/5.0 (Good)
In general, the language used is well selected and nicely varied and the grammar and editing is of a good standard.
I did find a handful of minor spelling errors, though I understand these are already in the correction process. However I also noted there were several tense issues in the narrative, where the text momentarily changed from a past tense narrative to a present tense. These were a little off-putting, especially as their places within the text were noticeable as they related directly to the key characters.
Beyond this, the dialogue was excellent, very realistic and very much in context of what was going on.

Plot - 4.5/5.0 (Excellent) *MINOR SPOLIERS*
I really enjoyed this story. Although it felt a little haphazard in the early part of the book, it quickly began to tie together as more characters were introduced and more time passed. I think - if I were to be picky - there were a few instances where I felt the same information was being given in a slightly revised way, and although this didn't spoil the book, it did feel a little unnecessary.
The gist of the tale is a prophecy regarding a powerful child who will be born, and the man who seeks to control her and her power. The course through the sub-plots is filled with several violent deaths, as I mentioned earlier, and as the final confrontation concludes, you definitely feel the sigh of relief.
Having said that, other than a nicely defined twist at the end, the plot and its sub-plots are reasonably predictable. There are some excellent side-plots and events that will keep the reader very entertained and interested, but really, there are very few surprises lurking in the story.
Nevertheless, this is still an excellent tale and very well told.

General - 4.0/5.0 (Very Good)
Minor issues aside, this is certainly a book worth the time and money. There is a little bit of everything in here and nothing is lacking.
I would readily recommend this to anyone looking for an entertaining fiction read.

A very solid 4 star recommendation

Chausiku: The Gathering Storm is now available on Smashwords.
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/291349

Kindle Boards

http://kboards.blogspot.com/

http://www.bargainebookhunter.com

http://www.authormarketingclub.com

One of the BEST sites for Book Marketing & Selling Tips for Authors is Author Marketing Club!  I am a member and I have received great tips from the site.  If you would like more information just click on the link below.
http://www.authormarketingclub.com

FREE TODAY ON AMAZON!!!
CHAUSIKU:THE GATHERING STORM BOOK ONE
http://www.amazon.com/CHAUSIKU-THE-GATHERING-STORM-ebook/dp/B00A47AD06/

http://www.kboards.blogspot.com/