Guest Author: Romance Novelist Allie Boniface

I'm in the midst of a Pubslush campaign for my next novel Swim Season and need lots of help from friends, family, just about anyone who will give me a hand. This indie publishing business is hard - the hardest thing I've ever done.  To relieve a little of the stress I've enlisted the help of several of my fellow authors, who will answer a few questions I've come up with about high school and varsity sports, as well as publishing and marketing tips. They'll tell you a little about themselves and their latest project.  I'll visit their blogs and do the same. This helps all of us meet new readers, and helps my readers discover new books and writers they may not know of who have great stuff. Please take a moment to visit their links. And don't forget to visit my Pubslush page and see what's going on. No swimsuit required.

Today's Guest Author is Allie Boniface

Allie was born and raised in a tiny community in upstate New York, which probably explains her fascination with the magic of small town life. She earned her B.A. in English from the University of Rochester in New York and a M.A. in English Literature from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Since 1997, she has enjoyed life in the northern NYC suburbs, where she lives with her husband and teaches English and Education to high school students. In her spare time, she and her husband love to travel. She is also a runner, a musician and an animal–lover.Allie writes sensual contemporary romance. She reads in all genres and loves chatting with other readers and writers about any topic under the sun. You can find her around the Web, at writers' conferences, giving workshops, swapping stories, and generally chatting about romance writing. Allie loves stories set in small towns and is a firm believer in the power of love and the emotions that connect us all. Welcome to Adventures in Publishing Allie!

Hi Marianne, and thanks so much for having me here today! I’m excited to be celebrating the December 1^st release of Cocktail Cruises: The Collection, a bundle of three sexy novellas plus an exclusive bonus section that includes cocktail recipes and story excerpts from USA Today and Amazon best-selling authors. All three novellas feature heroes and heroines in their early 20s, not too far out of high school, and in fact their adolescent experiences have certainly shaped the adults they become:

In the first story, both hero and heroine decide to try speed dating as a way to get over painful young adult romances.

In the second story, the heroine has a secret second identity that she first created to help her deal with her brother’s death when she was a teenager.

And one of the primary themes of the final story is how young motherhood shapes life decisions, since the 25-year old heroine had her son when she was just nineteen.

Certainly, most of us have strong feelings about our teenage years and our high school experiences, much like these characters. I wouldn't say that my own teen years were fraught with drama, but they weren't the best four years of my life either (I preferred my four years in college much more). I was fortunate enough to graduate from a relatively small high school (about 200 in my class), and I pretty much stayed away from the party scene because I had my nose in my books or was busy with theater, choir, gymnastics, or track. I had a few close friends I’m still in touch with, and though I left my hometown when I was eighteen, I go back often to visit.

Let’s talk about high school sports for a minute, shall we? I didn't participate in the “traditional” ones. Gymnastics was my first love, and I competed all through middle school and high school. I also ran track. From those experiences, I learned to value hard work and the power of belonging to a team. Discipline and focus definitely spilled over into other parts of my life, which is probably why I was successful in my academics as well.

Speaking of success, it’s interesting to try and measure that when it comes to publishing. The market today is so full of new titles, by both indie authors and those traditionally published, that it makes finding and keeping readers a challenge. Also, the market is changing so much that what worked to promote books a year ago has become passé, so authors must continually think about how to engage with and attract readers. My advice for new authors is to study the market, join author groups and learn what other authors do (but keep in mind that what works for one doesn’t always work for another), and keep careful track of how and where you spend your money. Some of the better marketing strategies (anything that includes word of mouth) don’t cost a lot of money.

My latest project is the Cocktail Cruises Collection, which I’m excited to release right before the holidays. I published the three Cocktail Cruise novellas earlier this year, and I thought it would be fun to put them all together, along with something fun – original drink recipes from fellow authors! – to appeal to readers.

I am currently working on a prequel to the Cocktail Cruise series, another novella titled Setting Sail. It will first appear in the boxed set Passionate Kisses: Love in Bloom, which is scheduled to release right around Valentine’s Day of next year. This set will include 9 other romances and is a follow-up to the first Passionate Kisses boxed set which released in June 2014 and has since sold almost 70,000 copies.

Haven’t gotten your copy of Passionate Kisses or the Cocktail Cruise series yet? Please stop by my Amazon author page, my website, or my Facebook page to find out more. And make sure to sign up for my newsletter, so you can stay up-to-date with all my contests, releases, appearances, and more! 

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Cocktail Cruise Buy Links: Pre-Order at AmazonPre-Order at Barnes & NoblePre-Order at ApplePre-Order at Kobo  See my spotlight interview on Allie's blog for Writers' Wednesday