Marketing Among Friends: Tips for Helping Readers Fall in Love with Your Brand

Sandra here with a special surprise for us today. Amber Stokes, my former editor and publicist is going to join us. Sadly (for me), Amber is no longer my editor, because happily for her and Harvest House Publishers, she has an exciting new job. And truly, I am delighted for Amber because she is talented and hard working and will be an asset to Harvest House. 

Amber and Sandra in front of Hola's Restaurant, Sunriver

This summer I had the opportunity to meet Amber face-to-face and hear all about her wonderful job. I twisted her arm (no not really) but she generously offered to share some behind the scenes information about a traditional publisher and provide tips on marketing. 

So I am delighted to bring back to Seekerville, and introduce you to my dear friend, Amber Stokes.

Amber Stokes works as a content writer in the marketing services department of Harvest House Publishers. On the side, she self-publishes inspirational fiction depicting the seasons of life and love. Her passion for books compelled her to earn a bachelor's degree in English and to run her own freelance editing and publicity business for over a year. Happily, this new chapter of her career takes place in the Pacific Northwest—a part of the world she has always considered home.

***

 

I walk into the office and sit down at my desk in the corner cubicle. What will our readers say today, I wonder? I log onto my computer. I wait impatiently for it to load. I go online. And my breath catches in my chest until I see the new emails pop up in my inbox. I hear nothing—not even the sounds of geese honking on the marsh—just the beating of my own heart.

Perhaps that description of a typical workday in the marketing department is a bit melodramatic. After all, when Meg Ryan wrote nearly identical words in You’ve Got Mail, she was falling in love.

But wouldn’t it be nice if there was a little more love involved in marketing?

That’s the basic idea behind the philosophies of experts like Bernadette Jiwa, Simon Sinek, and Seth Godin.

On the road to falling in love—and staying in love—many attest to the need for friendship. You start as friends. You continue as friends.

Authors and publishers both want readers to fall in love with their brand. But first they have to show that they truly care about the people they’re marketing to. So, what might it look like to “market among friends”?

Here are a few ideas:

~ Friends share generously.

When a friend says they need to borrow our vacuum cleaner, we don’t hesitate. When Christmas rolls around, our friends are included on our shopping list. When we’re on a baking spree, our friends are often the recipients of the treats we’ve made. In other words, friends give.

What can authors and publishers give their readers?

A recent example from Harvest House Publishers can be found on the landing page we put together for Tony Evans’s new release, Praying Through the Names of God. We created 52 visual devotions based on the book—each one including one of the names of God, its meaning, and a prayer snippet—to be delivered to subscribers’ inboxes one at a time, once a week for a year. These lovingly crafted devotions are designed to encourage and inspire readers.

Good friends give both ways, though. In return for offering gifts (such as free devotional pieces) to your readers, they might give you their attention, contact information for future marketing endeavors, and a chance to show them why they’d enjoy the stories you’re sharing with the world.

Don’t forget:  The most important thing you can give readers is a reason to care. Make sure your presence, your personality, and your products are quality and genuine.

~ Friends remember special days.

Friends are the ones who remember our birthdays, the anniversaries of our losses and successes, and the little events that make up our day-to-day lives. Timing plays a part in friendships—whether it’s a card sent on the right day or a hug that’s given at just the right moment.

And timing should play a part in our marketing strategies.

Harvest House released a book titled As It Was in the Days of Noah by Jeff Kinley earlier this year. Any other season or year, and the book would likely not have captured readers’ attention quite as much as it did. Why? Because the book’s release was timed to coincide with the buzz surrounding the arrival of the new Noah movie in theaters.

If you plan on being traditionally published, you might not have a say in your book’s release date. But you do have the option to pay attention to what’s going on in the world—during both the writing and marketing processes. See what concerns are popping up in the news. Note which holidays are coming up on the calendar. Find ways to make your book relevant, to show readers you care about the special days that matter to them.

~ Friends listen to one another.

The most frustrating of “friends” are the ones who talk at us all the time instead of recognizing that we have something to say, as well. True friends give one another a voice. They feel free to talk, but they also make the effort to listen.

At Harvest House, we recently launched a new corporate blog. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter, and I currently manage one of our niche sites, AmishReader.com(created especially for our Amish fiction fans). Yes, social media sites such as these do involve a lot of talking to readers. But they also offer platforms for discussion—a chance for readers to talk to us and tell us what they enjoy through comments and “likes” and shares.

Your brand involves more than the theme running through your books or the design on your website. It also involves your personality and the distinctive way you approach marketing. Help readers fall in love with your brand by treating them—and truly seeing them—as your friends.

Question: As an author, what little or big ways do you show readers you care about them? Or if you’re primarily a reader, what gestures from authors or publishers mean the most to you?

Giveaway!

In honor of Harvest House Publishers’ 40^th anniversary, our marketing team is giving away four of our new releases—one book each to four different winners! The titles are: The Cure for the “Perfect” Life by Kathi Lipp and Cheri Gregory, The Amish Blacksmith by Mindy Starns Clark and Susan Meissner, Choose Love by Stormie Omartian, and Get Unstuck, Be Unstoppable by Valorie Burton. And I personally am giving away a Kindle copy of Bernadette Jiwa’s The Fortune Cookie Principle, which is filled with lots of fabulous marketing advice and food for thought. Be sure to let us know if you have a preference out of these books in the comments section!

Thank you Amber.  What a generous offer.  

Amber loves Mexican food, so I brought a Mexican buffet. Help yourself to tacos, enchiladas, taco salad, fajitas and if its early morning, we have chorizo and eggs wrapped in warm tortillas.   We also have chocolate velvet coffee and hot chocolate on hand  (chocolate was originally from Mexico).  

Thanks again, Amber.  

Amber is at work today and will join us when she can.  If you have specific questions, be sure and check back.   

Cover Reveals, Blog Tours, & Giveaways -Publicity 101

Hello, Seekerville. Sandra here to share with you her adventures into the world of self-promotion in this crazy writing business.  First off, I knew I couldn’t do this on my own.  I’m simply not that tech savvy.  When I read about Amber Stokes on one of our Seekerville blogs I knew she was an answer to my prayers.

When I was ready to take the plunge and put out one of my old titles, I contacted Amber and that is when the fun began.  I was immersed into such an adventurous new world, I wanted to share it with all of you. 

Amber Stokes from Editing Through the Seasons has agreed to join us at times today and share what techniques she used to publicize LOVE’S MIRACLES. What makes this exciting is that Amber is going through the same process for the release of her debut novel BLEEDING HEART. So let’s see what  Amber has to say and let her share her publicizing secrets.

1. The first thing Amber did was schedule a cover reveal. Amber, can you explain what a cover reveal is and the purpose of it?

Hello, Sandra and Seekerville! So excited to be back again – thanks for having me! *grin* 

Cover reveals are the best! Everyone loves the excitement of a new cover, right? A cover reveal is like a mini blog tour – short and specific. No interviews, no reviews…nothing like that. It’s just a 1-day blast (generally) designed to build excitement for a book’s upcoming release by revealing the cover for the first time online.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

~ If a cover has been spotted online (e.g. on a retailer site, Goodreads, etc.), it’s already been “revealed.” You could certainly still do a cover tour, but the “flair” and excitement of a cover reveal is in the “newness” of the cover. You’re giving the blog readers a chance to be the first to see a new cover, and that’s always fun stuff!

I think a cover reveal is a great publicity option for self-pubbers, especially, because they are their own publisher (and sometimes their own publicist). Indie authors have a little more control over the marketing timeline than authors with traditional publishers – that’s my understanding, anyway!

~ Cover reveals should feature a great cover. The point of a cover reveal is to get readers buzzing about a book and its release, and readers LOVE to talk about an awesome cover! (Believe me – as a blogger and book reviewer, I know!) Quality cover design is crucial to a cover reveal and every other aspect of book marketing.

~ Cover reveals need to come before a book’s release – but not too long before. The key is to create buzz with the cover reveal and then maintain it as much as possible until the release date and blog tour.

For Sandra’s Love’s Miracles, we did a cover reveal the first day of May and then the blog tour the last couple weeks of May.

For Bleeding Heart, I did a cover reveal the 3^rd of June, with the book’s official release date being August 1^st.

 I probably stretched mine a bit, but if you could keep the cover reveal and the book release date within a couple of months of each other, I think that’s ideal.

~ A few other tricks of the trade…

·      Gather a list of influencers early on, and hang onto the names of those who help with the cover reveal. Odds are that many of the bloggers willing to participate in the cover reveal will also be willing to participate in the blog tour (more on that soon!).

·      Giveaways are a great tool for catching someone’s interest in your cover reveal (and, hopefully, the book itself!) and for enticing people to help you spread the word.

·      While cover reveals are fairly simple, you should be sure to provide bloggers with the book’s description, an author bio, links, etc., so that readers will know what the book is about and where to learn more about you and your book. I think it’s also a nice idea to include the cover designer – after all, they should get some credit and publicity for the great job they did! (Assuming you hired someone to design the cover – like the amazing Lena Goldfinch, who designed Sandra’s cover and mine!)

2. Amber also scheduled a blog tour.  Can you share with us how you set that up?

To clarify the difference between a blog tour and a cover reveal, the blog tour comes when the book is available for purchase as a way to spread the word about the book’s release – and it usually lasts longer and involves more than the cover reveal. However, each blog tour is unique because each book is unique! They can be as complex or as simple as you want them to be. J

The fairly obvious things about a blog tour is that you need bloggers. I’ve been blogging for over three years and have built up a presence on various social media sites, so I’ve had the privilege of making some great blog contacts. When it comes time to set up a blog tour, I check first with my blogging friends, then work outward – which could mean visiting various sites they follow and looking up other blogs that might fit with the genre I’m promoting, if necessary. Posting the call on Goodreads, Twitter, and other social media sites can help, too! For me, it’s nice to have the author suggest contacts, as well. And if you’ve already done a cover reveal, you’ve already got a list of people who have some sort of interest in your book. Hang onto that list!

As I noted above, blog tours should be unique. I absolutely adore themes – LOVE them! So I try to find a theme when putting together blog tours.

For the Love’s Miracles tour, we centered it around Memorial Day to tie in with the book’s premise of a romance between a Vietnam veteran and a psychologist. We also ran a freebie promotion for the Kindle version through the Memorial Day weekend, and we did a themed giveaway that included a daisy bookmark (to tie in with the symbolism on the cover) and a tote sold by Green Beans Coffee, a company that runs the Cup of Joe for a Joe program for soldiers (which I believe I learned about on Seekerville, actually!).

I just finished up a tour for our very own May the K9 Spy, which included a scavenger hunt to go along with the detective/spy theme, as well as freebie promotions and a reviewers rewards drawing.

And the Songstone blog tour is almost over (a blog tour for my cover designer), which includes a sweet summer giveaway with themed prizes. We tried to push the island and summer themes to go with the season.

What else? There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff that goes along with a blog tour. There’s all the communication with the bloggers, making sure they have review copies, responses to their interview questions, book and giveaway information they need for their posts, etc. There’s the promotion on social media sites (I use Twitter, Goodreads, and Pinterest, mostly), the blog buttons for bloggers to share, picking a winner(s), contacting the winner(s), wrapping everything up… Yep, when a blog tour’s going on, you can expect to spend a lot of time online!

If you’re a blogger who loves book marketing, there’s no reason why you can’t set up your own blog tour – but remember to keep organized, always be courteous to participating bloggers, don’t skimp on cross-promotion, and have fun! If this all sounds like a little too much to think about, there are plenty of bloggers and businesses you can hire to help you with the behind-the-scenes aspects. And if you’re traditionally published, your publisher will probably work with you on your book promotion. But no matter whether you set up a blog tour yourself or someone else sets it up for you, I believe it’s worth the time to get involved. Respond to comments, share a blogger’s post on Twitter or Facebook, etc. Connect with readers, because why else are you publishing a book if not to have people read it? *grin*

3. During the cover reveal and blog tour, readers were given the opportunity to enter a contest . Amber used Rafflecopter.  Can you explain what Rafflecopter is and why it is so valuable? 

Rafflecopter is a site that allows you to create a giveaway form and share it on your blog – or with all the bloggers on your tour! It’s extremely valuable and one of the latest trends in blog-tour promotion. The awesome thing is that you can use it for FREE! Yes, you can pay for an upgrade that will allow you to have some cooler options, like including a picture of the prize(s) in your form. However, I’ve been using the free version with no problem, and I’ve found some ways to get around the loss of certain options. (All of this is not to say that you shouldn’t support the site by upgrading – I think it’s a great tool, and I’m sure the upgrade is sweet! But when you’ve got to pay back student loans, well, free is always nice. *wink*)

Here’s the lowdown…

~ Sign in and start planning a giveaway. Add a prize or as many prizes as you want. My suggestion, though? Keep it simple. You can get all kinds of complicated by saying 1 winner gets this and another gets that, and this is only for U.S. winners while this one’s open internationally. You’re cert ainly free to do all of that, but try to keep it clear. There’s a spot to add “Terms & Conditions” at the bottom, but who really reads those? Make it clear on the form. For example, for my cover reveal of Bleeding Heart, I gave away a set of bleeding heart note cards and some teardrop earrings. When creating the form, I added both of the prizes and a line above them (by “adding a prize,” but really just writing in the line). Here’s how it read:

For 1 U.S. Resident:

Bleeding Heart Note Cards (4-pack)

Pink and Clear Teardrop Earrings

So the terms are clear and the prizes are described. Little room for confusion, even if the blogger doesn’t explain the terms in their blog post (which is always good to do, too).

~ Then it’s time for the fun part – adding the entry options! This is where you can get new followers on Twitter, “likes” on Facebook, and comments on the blog posts. Some of the cool options listed regarding Pinterest and surveys can’t be used unless you have the upgrade. But note this… There’s a button that says, “Invent Your Own Option!” You can use this button to ask people to follow a board on Pinterest, add your book on Goodreads, etc. All you have to do is include a link to the page you want them to go, write some simple instructions, and ask them to share their user name so you can verify their entry! It’s as simple as that. Create as many options as you like – readers like lots of chances to enter, and authors like building up their social media platforms. Win-win!

~ All that’s left is to set the dates (you can’t change the times from midnight, though, unless you upgrade) and then grab the code! You can embed the code in your own blog post, and then share the link the site gives you with other bloggers. That link will take the bloggers to a page where they can grab the code, too, and that way all the entries from all the blog posts go in the same drawing. Pretty
sweet, huh?



a Rafflecopter giveaway

4. What other strategies did you use for LOVE’S MIRACLES and BLEEDING HEART?

Well, we’ve covered a lot of the big things! If you’re self-publishing, coordinating a freebie or bargain promotion with blog tours and such is a great way to cross-promote. But mostly, here are the big things I’ve learned:

~ Be creative! Make your tours fun and easy to promote with an over-arching theme. Discover your brand and incorporate it! And don’t be afraid to explore options with different social media sites. You can do Twitter chats, Pinterest wars, and lots of other fun things to go along with your blog tour.

~ Be organized! Create documents to keep track of those involved in your tours – you might want the names later on, and you’ll certainly want to know who’s doing what. Mark down the interviews you’ve sent, the dates you’ve given to certain bloggers, etc. There’s a lot to keep in mind with book marketing, so don’t let the complexities get the better of you and thereby make you look unprofessional to those involved in your tours. Those bloggers are also your readers!

~ Be involved! Reach out to readers. Interact with those who leave comments. Make the most of your blog tours by promoting them wherever you can online – without being annoying (it’s a balance, I realize). Be authentic, and shine on!

Amber Stokes has a Bachelor of Science degree in English and a passion for the written word - from blogging to writing poetry, short stories, and novels. After her brief time at college in Oregon, she is now back home among the redwoods of Northern California, living life one day at a time and pursuing her passion via freelance editing and self-publishing her debut novel, Bleeding Heart.

You can connect with Amber on her personal blog (Seasons of Humility), the group blog she contributes to (The Borrowed Book), Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads, Shelfari, and LinkedIn. Want to hire Amber for editing or publicity work? Visit www.editingthroughtheseasons.com for more info!

And here’s the blurb for Amber’s debut novel, Bleeding Heart – now available in Kindle format!

“Five bleeding hearts. One profound journey.

Summer 1886

Sally Clay’s livelihood has been snatched away, but in its place arises an opportunity to escape from her sordid past and an unrelenting, unwanted suitor. Boarding a train with a heartsick rancher and an enigmatic miner, she leaves Virginia City behind and heads to Northern California, waiting for the chance to make right what went wrong three long years before.

But the road to revenge is far from smooth. Sally soon learns that the jagged pieces of a broken heart can far too easily wound the hearts of others – and hers isn’t the only heart that’s broken. Tragedy and fear dog her steps as she flees from the redwood forests to the high desert and back again. Will her bleeding heart ever find a way and a place to heal?

A desperate soiled dove. Three men who come to care for her. One man determined to claim her.

All on a journey that will show them what true love really involves.

Inspirational Historical Romance”

We’d love to hear about your book-marketing experiences or your favorite way to promote books!  And be sure and try the rafflecopter to enter in for a giveaway. By the way, the rafflecopter won't be over in time for the winner to be announced in this weekend edition so we'll announce the winner of the rafflecopter in the August 10th weekend edition.  In tomorrow's weekend edition we will announce the winner of a drawing from the puppy dish.  (hey Ruthy can use her cat dish, I can use the puppy dish)  Winner will be able to choose one of my books--Kindle or paperback.   

For snacks today I will be serving treats from Oregon where we are camped.  Fresh blueberries, raspberries and marionberries.  You can order milkshakes made with the berry of your choice, berry cobblers, berry pies, berry muffins and scones.  This is berry nice don't you think?    (I know-corny but that's me)

Have a blessed day everyone.

GUEST BLOGGER AMBER STOKES: 5 Tips for Spreading the Word and Surviving in the Online World (and Giveaway!!)

Julie here, and I have to tell you that I have a soft spot for today's guest because she made me grin BIG TIME the first time we ever met online. Most of you know and love Amber Stokes, either from Seekerville or in the blogging world, but my introduction to Amber was a story I will treasure forever.

You see, Amber was about 17 years old when she left a comment on a blog interview of mine, telling me how much she loved A Passion Most Pure, except for one major problem she had with it ...

Apparently she could only read it when her parents took her to Borders, where she would sit in a chair and read a Borders copy till she had to go home. I still remember Keith and I laughing over this because we thought it was adorable. We promptly nicknamed her "Borders Girl," and a very special friendship was born. Well now, Amber is all grown up and as resourceful as ever, so allow me to introduce you to a very savvy young lady named Amber Stokes, AKA Borders Girl!

“5 Tips for Spreading the Word and Surviving  in the Online World”

by Amber Stokes

This is the “spring” season – maybe it isn’t out in Nature quite yet, but it is for my business! Last May I graduated from college with a bachelor’s degree, a passion for books, and a plan for the immediate future: to go home and be with my family. A few months later I started a freelance editing business by obtaining a business license, creating a website…the whole shebang. So this business-thing is still relatively new to me, and I’m still waiting to see how it might blossom and what might come of it. But in the last four months or so I’ve learned a bit about the difference between my initial dreams and the reality of running a business.

How could those lessons help you, though? Some of you *might* be small-business owners. But I’m pretty sure the majority of you are writers, right? (I’ll raise my hand with that lot, as well!) Well, as I’m sure you’ve either been told or learned for yourself, the Internet has changed the name of the publishing game. Whether you have an online business selling your services, or whether you’re in the business of selling your books by spreading the word online, here are some tips to keep in mind:

1. Friends ~ Friends are so important! And by “friends” I’m not talking about the number of people who follow you on Twitter or the number of people who “like” your Facebook page or the number of followers you have on your blog. The numbers do have their place, for sure! But numbers aren’t going to fall in love with your stories or recommend you to their friends or encourage you to keep the vision alive.

Make relationships. Interact with the people who comment on your blog. Retweet others on Twitter. Connect with people who have similar interests. The paradoxical thing about this tip is that you shouldn’t follow it just because it will help your business or your books. Follow it because friendship is a gift. Building true relationships takes time, but it is a joyful circle of blessing others and being blessed, and it’s worth the investments you have to make. And when you find yourself in that beginning season of planting, the friends that share your passion can help you with preparing the soil (the nitty-gritty details of creating a website or putting together a newsletter or figuring out how to use Twitter, etc.) and scattering the seed (spreading the word about your services or writing endorsements or inviting you to write a guest post – thanks Julie and the rest of Seekerville for this!).

2. Freebies ~ Ah, freebies. I’m not really in a position to say whether the free Kindle e-books actually boost sales for an author or not. I can cite a couple of personal examples where a free or cheap e-book gave me the practically risk-free opportunity to sample an author’s work – and I became a big fan. (Clockwise by Elle Strauss, which is still free for Kindle, and The Language of Souls by Lena Goldfinch, which I got for $.99 but is currently $2.99.)

But what about other “freebies”? Investment is a part of the game – the whole “you’ve got to give something to get something” sort of idea. Buying a business license, having a fictitious business name printed in the newspaper, purchasing a domain name and website hosting…just getting a business started has its own set of expenses. For the author, he/she might have to pay for a website designer or contest submissions or a freelance editor (yes, I had to go there!), etc. But then you’ve got to keep investing money and time. For me, so far that’s included doing a giveaway of one of my editing packages, taking the time to write up guest posts, beta reading for an author (I confess that was more because I love her work – but now she’s endorsed me, helped me spread the word, and given me great suggestions about sprucing up my website!), etc. And I imagine I might need to keep doing more of the same to let people know who I am and whether or not I’m any good at what I do.

3. Flexibility ~ I know you’ve got to be careful about this one. Each author has his or her own voice and his or her own interests. Breaking your standards or selling your soul shouldn’t be necessary in order to be published. (There are so many publishing options nowadays!) At the same time, if you want to actually sell your books or your services, you have to consider things from the reader’s or client’s perspective.

An author friend of mine recently asked me if I’d like her to share some suggestions for me regarding my editing website. What she had to say was super helpful, even though it took a few subsequent e-mails to find the right balance between my “image” and a clearer to understand/prettier to look at website. I realized that I had to be willing to be flexible – there was a right balance somewhere in there, and if I wanted people to understand what services I’m offering and to be able to use my website easily, I had to make some changes. I love how my website looks now, and I’m very grateful to that author for speaking up and helping me to see what wasn’t working! I imagine that as time goes by and the online world continues to change, I’m going to have to keep being willing to change, as well (as long as I’m not compromising who I am!).

4. Fighting Spirit ~ I’m not really a physical person. I was the one who got on the elementary school basketball team because our school was so small that we didn’t have tryouts. And I was also the one who would duck whenever the basketball came too close to my head. Interestingly enough, I have a black belt in Jujitsu. I basically contribute this to two things (three if you count the fact that my parents paid for my lessons and encouraged me to keep going!): the age in my life when I realized that I was one of the few girls in a place full of guys, and the desire to not give up after investing so much of my life into those classes.

The latter reason is what authors and small-business owners need when times get tough. (Too bad there aren’t also lots of single men in this business to give us females some motivation, as well, LOL!) I’ve invested enough financially, time-wise, and from the heart to want to keep fighting for my business. You and I know that times are tough now. It’s hard to get noticed among all the voices clamoring for attention. It’s hard to get people to purchase something from you when hardly anybody has a lot of extra cash lying around. It’s hard to sit down and actually write, or edit, or whatever it is you need to do. So you’ve got to want it bad enough to fight for it – and then you’ve got to fight.

5. Faith ~ What if your fighting spirit isn’t enough? What if the freebies and the help of friends and the flexibility don’t cut it? It can be hard to imagine what life would look like beyond our own current dreams. We might not be at the place to know what’s coming down the road, and we can’t make choices now that we won’t know about until later on. But what if, someday, the time comes when you realize that the plans you’ve been making aren’t the right plans for right now?

These are questions I have to ponder myself. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about starting a business, it’s that the process involves a lot of waiting and a lot of investment. I haven’t really seen any little green shoots poke their heads out of the soil. I keep watering and waiting and watering and waiting – and what if this business doesn’t take off the way I want it to?

I’ve got to keep moving forward one step at a time. And I’ve got to cling to the faith that there is more beyond me and more beyond this business. I know God can bring something good out of it, but I want to trust that, when all is said and done, God will provide. He will provide a purpose for my heart, a place where I can live for Him, and the power I need to follow Him.

Conclusion: Whether you’re an author or a small-business owner, I offer these tips to you from this early season of my own experience: make friends, be willing to invest and to make changes when necessary, fight hard for your goals, and ultimately, find rest in perspective. 

GIVEAWAY:
What season of your “business” are you in right now? What have you learned about spreading the word and surviving in this crazy online world? Leave a comment and we'll toss your name in the hat for a $10 Amazon.com gift card. 

ABOUT AMBER:

Amber Stokes has a Bachelor of Science Degree in English, and she loves to write poetry, short stories, novels, and blog posts. After her brief time at college in Oregon, she is now back home among the redwoods of Northern California, living life one day at a time and longing to follow God, wherever He leads her! She has recently started a freelance editing business –  Editing Through the Seasons – and she is currently offering a special discount on proofreading services for those who are getting ready to self-publish their books.

You can find Amber on Mondays at The Borrowed Book blog, and all the time at her personal blog, Seasons of Humility.