I've been a bad girl.... again.

You may not know this about me, but I'm a wild child. Alessandra Badass Torre, that's what the kids used to call me. Don't be fooled by my sweet innocence, my fresh-faced smile - I practice that beam at night, while I'm sharpening my knives and writing super-hot smut. Wait - I've gotten distracted. Oh yes, my propensity to offend. I woke up this morning to a stern warning from Amazon, an announcement that Sex Love Repeat *gasp* has been banned. Removed from general search criteria, blocked from any exposure or recommendations, stuck in the back corner of Amazon's site where all of the bad children go to starve.I am trying to behave. I really thought I was. I've been here before -- Blindfolded Innocence's first cover was banned, and that restriction plummeted it from a #18 spot in all of Kindle to a ranking somewhere in the thousands.Sex Love Repeat has held on. It is, right now, ranked #142 in Amazon, #7 in Erotica. That is thanks to you wonderful, incredible readers. You've been spreading the word like crazy, and I am eternally grateful to you for that.Now. I worked all morning, and just uploaded a new cover for Sex Love Repeat. It won't go live on Amazon for 4-6 hours, but here it is, in all its glory, for your eyes first:

xoxo,Alessandra

The Evolution of Blindfolded Innocence's cover

BI cover evolution

Blindfolded Innocence has had several different faces during its life. For early fans, you will remember the scandalous cover that Amazon banned. Then it had a short, equally racy cover that was replaced one week later with Cover #3. Today, I can reveal the final cover, one that I absolutely love and can't wait to see on book shelves in early January!

Yay! Big news for The Girl in 6E!

So... six months ago I wrote this book, this book that stole my heart and took over my mind. I shouldn't use words like stole my heart. That makes you think of sweet romances and tear-jerkers. I should say this book ripped out my heart and played voodoo doll with it. Anyway, I self-pubbed it, posting it on Kindle in April, and crossing my fingers that I wouldn't scare the hell outta my Blindfolded Innocence fans.

I didn't. Those readers were SO supportive, and spread the word, supported me online, and didn't send me off to the psych ward with duct tape over my mouth.

Now, just three months later, I have fabulous news! I just signed a deal with Redhook, an imprint of Hachette, for print, foreign, and audiobook rights.

They have huge plans for this book, including a hardcover release in July 2014. I have spent the last month expanding this book, adding almost a hundred pages of content, and I am so excited about the book it is becoming. I cannot wait to share the final product with you all.

A big thank you goes out to all of you, the readers, who read my books and help to spread the word with reviews and recommendations. You guys are amazing, and enable me to have success. Also - if this message finds its way to any bloggers...you all rock my world. Thank you for sharing this unique book with your readers!

doing a quick happy dance, and then getting back to work. hugs to you all!

xoxo AT

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/book-deals/article/58455-book-deals-week-of-july-29-2013.html

Hilarious Things said on the Stand

These brief snippets are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts. These are items people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and published by court reporters. Someone sent me these items and they were too hilarious not to share. ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning? WITNESS: He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?' ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you? WITNESS: My name is Susan! _______________________________ ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact? WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks. ____________________________________________ ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active? WITNESS: No, I just lie there. ____________________________________________ ATTORNEY: What is your date of birth? WITNESS: July 18th. ATTORNEY: What year? WITNESS: Every year. _____________________________________ ATTORNEY: How old is your son, the one living with you? WITNESS: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which. ATTORNEY: How long has he lived with you? WITNESS: Forty-five years. _________________________________ ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all? WITNESS: Yes. ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory? WITNESS: I forget.. ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot? ___________________________________________ ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning? WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam? ____________________________________

ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he? WITNESS: He's 20, much like your IQ. ___________________________________________ ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken? WITNESS: Are you shitting me? _________________________________________ ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th? WITNESS: Yes. ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time? WITNESS: Getting laid. ____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: She had three children , right? WITNESS: Yes. ATTORNEY: How many were boys? WITNESS: None. ATTORNEY: Were there any girls? WITNESS: Your Honor, I think I need a different attorney. Can I get a new attorney? ____________________________________________ ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated? WITNESS: By death.. ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated? WITNESS: Take a guess. ___________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual? WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female? WITNESS: Unless the Circus was in town I'm going with male. _____________________________________ ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney? WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work. ______________________________________ ATTORNEY: Doctor , how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people? WITNESS: All of them. The live ones put up too much of a fight. _________________________________________ ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to? WITNESS: Oral... _________________________________________ ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body? WITNESS: The autopsy started around8:30 PM ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time? WITNESS: If not, he was by the time I finished. ____________________________________________ ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample? WITNESS: Are you qualified to ask that question?

______________________________________ And last:

ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse? WITNESS: No. ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure? WITNESS: No. ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing? WITNESS: No.. ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy? WITNESS: No. ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor? WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar. ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless? WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.

Heroine Age: why so many 20s?

A reader recently asked me why every heroine of late is in their twenties. A valid question when I looked at the top books in romance right now. Can women in their forties not fall in love? Or is that age too wise for the conventional mistakes that allow a love plot to twist and turn through dramatic hills and valleys? The question was posed to me in an almost demanding way – “Why have you, oh dark Sultan of Romance, insisted on painting your delicious heroine in the light of youth?” So I sat back and thought.

My upcoming novel, On Me, In Me, Dead Beneath Me, is a story of a young woman’s struggle to control her psychotic tendencies, and having to journey out of her comfort zone in an attempt to rescue a young girl. The heroine is twenty-one, the same age as the heroine in my debut novel, Blindfolded Innocence. Coincidence? Why had I chosen, without any second thought, such young leads?

While story-line circumstances mildly dictated the heroine’s age, the real reason behind my age choice centered on myself. While I passed twenty-one almost a decade ago, I can put myself in the mind of a young woman with ease. My husband would call it immaturity, but I’d like to think of my heroines as worldly, wise-beyond-their-years, confident women. I can empathize with a twenty-something; portray them in an accurate and appealing fashion. It would be difficult for me to write from the perspective of a thirty, forty, or fifty year old woman – to understand their motivations, thought processes, and justifications. I wouldn’t do them justice and would probably irritate readers in my awkward attempt. The golden rule – to write what you know – holds true in my case, and as I gain life experiences and grow older, I will no doubt write older female leads.

I don’t know how much my answer satisfied that one, indignant reader, but I am glad she posed the question. It caused me to look at my characters a little closer, and examine my motivations, a side effect that will no doubt, improve the final result. To all readers out there – challenge us, question us, critique and review your heart out. We welcome and appreciate the insight and the improvements they bring!

xoxo

Alessandra

Price your Ebook for Success!!!

Okay, so you've written your ebook. Gotten a cover, written a blurb, formatting it and are halfway through the 'post it online for sale' process. Then you get to the price box - that little blank line that can make or break your book sales.* *note* - this post is written for indie authors. I'm assuming Nora Roberts isn't scanning the internet wondering what price to put on her next masterpiece.

So, what to put as the price?

Things to consider: 1. The length of your book: Is this an 100-page novella? A 600-page novel? Most readers balk at paying anywhere over $2.99 for a novella, no matter who writes it. If you are a brand new author, $1.99 is a more realistic price, or even $.99. At 600 pages, you still can't really expect more than $4.99 or $5.99 unless you have 100 glowing reviews or some type of ranking in your genre. 2. Does anyone know who you are? Have you written a book before? Or rather, have you written a book before that people bought and read? Do you have a following of fans? If so, you may be able to bump the price a bit - go for the $3.99 to $5.99 price point. If you are a new kid on the block, IMO $2.99 needs to be your price point. Much higher and some readers get nervous. 3. Do you have any reviews? Think about pricing your book cheaply initially, let word spread and hope that readers post reviews. Once you have some credibility, then you can raise the price a little.

My suggestion: Try to make your first book a full-length book, anywhere from 250-500 pages. Price it at $2.99. Give it a few weeks. If sales are sluggish, drop the price to $.99 for a few days and get some interest going, then bring the price back up to $2.99.

One thing to consider: Amazon only pays out 35% if your book is priced below $2.99. At, or above $2.99, they pay 70%. So...

If you sell 500 books at $.99 - you will make $175. If you sell 83 books at $2.99 - you will make $138.13

So you really hurt yourself when you drop the price below $2.99. Occasionally it is necessary, and good for spreading the word. But it should be done thoughtfully. There is no good reason, in my opinion, to price a book at $1.99 - it costs the reader an extra dollar when you only make 35 cents more. Your pricing structure should only change if you are trying to aggressively drive sales.

That's my two cents, hope it was somewhat rational. :)

Love to you all,

Alessandra

Lessons from a Master: Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing

Elmore Leonard knows his shit. He's written westerns and crime fiction, writing such bestsellers as Glitz, Get Shorty, Maximum Bob, and Rum Punch. Never heard of those? Yeah, me either - but you may have heard of the movie Jackie Brown, 3:10 to Yuma, and the FX series, Justified - Twenty-six of Leonard's novels and short stories have been adapted for the screen, those being a few of them. Leonard is taken seriously by the literary crowd, and at some point wrote an essay "Elmore Leonard's Ten Rules of Writing" - which has become a rule book for many new writers. I agree with all of these rules, but often break them - I'd say I'm a wild child, but truly, I just don't really know better. But for newbies, like myself - read these rules, they are a great starting point for your writing.

1. Never open a book with weather. Good. Haven't broken this rule. Yet.

2. Avoid prologues. Errr.... Oops. Ignore Blindfolded Innocence's new edition.

3. Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue. Yeah, I break that rule all the time. "Promise to do better," I mutter.

4. Never use an adverb to modify the verb "said”…he admonished gravely. Stephen King taught me that early on, and I, for the most part, obey this rule.

5. Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose. Shit! I can't help it, my characters are very vocal individuals.

6. Never use the words "suddenly" or "all hell broke loose." So far so good...

7. Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly. I'm Southern, so will no doubt fail in this goal.

8. Avoid detailed descriptions of characters. I disagree with this rule when it comes to a romance Hero. With other genres, I believe it is great advice.

9. Don't go into great detail describing places and things. Agree. No one really cares what the inside of the coffee shop looks like.

10. Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip. Duh.

That's the lot of them! Great advice, and rules I should do a better job of following. Have any other rules you follow in your writing? Please pass them on!

Fun Facts About Valentine's Day!

The origin of Valentine's Day: While opinions may differ, the most widely held belief dates back to Roman times, in 270 A.D. Emperor Claudius II outlawed marriage, believing that single men would make better soldiers. Bishop Valentine ignored this decree and performed secret wedding ceremonies to love-struck couples. When the emperor discovered this betrayal, he jailed Valentine, then executed him on February 14.

A second theory, which also dates back to Roman times, is that the day evolved from the Feast of Lupercalia, a Roman holiday held on Feb. 14 in honor of Juno, the queen of the Roman gods and goddesses. Juno was also the goddess of women and marriage.

As time passed, different generations celebrated the holiday in different ways. *Medieval Times: Women ate different, strange foods on VDay, believing that it would cause them to dream of their future spouse. *Middle Ages: eligible suitors drew names from a hat to decide their Valentine. They would then pin the name to their sleeves for one week, in plain view for all to see. This is where the term "to wear your heart on your sleeve" originated. *By the 15th century, lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering candies, and sending hand-written love notes *19th century brought the mass-market card, also bringing the stigma of a 'Hallmark holiday'.

ROMANTIC GIFTS THAT WILL NEVER BE TOPPED: *Taj Mahal in India: It was built by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan as a memorial to his wife. *Orlov Diamond: 158 carats, was given by Count Orlvo to Queen Katherine the Great. Makes Beyonce's engagement ring seem paltry. *Taylor-Burton Diamond: 68 carats, given to Elizabeth Taylor by Richard Burton. It sold in 2011 for almost $11M.

Valentine's Day Statistics: -Over $1 billion worth of chocolate is purchased for Valentine's Day in the U.S. -Most popular VDay gifts: -Cards 52% -Candy 47% -Flowers 34% -Dining 34% -Jewelry 17% -Clothing 14% -Gift Cards 12% -Other 11% -Percent of women who send themselves flowers on Valentine’s Day: 14% -Average number of children conceived on Valentine’s day: 11,000 -Percent of women who would end their relationship if they didn’t get something for Valentines day: 53 % -Average Annual Valentine's Day Spending: $13.19 Billion -Approx 3% of pet owners will give their pets a VDAY gift -Average number of wedding proposals on VDay each year: 220,000

More Fun Valentine's Day Facts: *The red rose was the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love. The color red now stands for strong romantic feelings. *"The World's Greatest Lover" AKA Casanova ate chocolate to increase his virility. *In Medieval Times, people who couldn't write signed in front of a witness with an X. They then kissed the X to show their sincerity. Now an X stands for a kiss! *Richard Cadbury produced the 1st box of chocolates for VDay in the late 1800s. Today, more than 35M heart-shaped boxes of chocolate will be sold on Feb 14th. *The Italian town of Verona, where Shakespeare's lovers lived, receives about 1,000 letters addressed to Juliet every Valentine's Day *64 percent of American men don't plan in advance for a romantic Valentine's Day

How to Self-Publish on Amazon

Self-publishing has reached the point where it is RIDICULOUSLY easy, so much so, that I am rubbing elbows with twelve-year-olds in the Kindle forums.  So, the good news is – once you’ve written your book – publishing is easy! I wrote this post with the understanding that your book is READY for market – it has been written, rewritten, rewritten again, edited, professionally edited, formatted, and a pimp ass cover has been created.

So, GREAT – you are ready for the next step, which is getting out into the real world.

There are five big markets to post your ebook: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, iBooks, and Kobo.  This post is going to focus on Amazon.  Its Kindle Direct Publishing platform is ridiculously easy, and will give your future bestseller great exposure.

The Kindle Direct Publishing platform, KDP for short, accepts books in the following formats:

Word (DOC or DOCX) HTML (ZIP, HTM, or HTML) Mobipocket (MOBI) ePub (EPUB) Plain Text (TXT) Rich Text Format (RTF) Adobe PDF (PDF)

If you aren't able to format your own ebook, or if you don't have the funds to hire a formatter, then use your Word file, which is convenient enough; since that’s probably the format you already have it in. (Note: if you do want to hire a formatter, check out my suggestion here).

HOW TO PUBLISH YOUR BOOK:

1. Create an account at kdp.amazon.com.  If you already have an Amazon account, I would suggest creating a new one, one you will use specifically for self-publishing.  But, you can use your current one if you want.  If you are writing under a pseudonym (which I strongly suggest you DO), ignore that for now - use all of your real information when creating this account.

2.  Log in. I don’t think any more explanation is needed for that step.

3.  Click the ‘Add a New Title' button.

4. Your first decision will be whether to participate in KDP Select.  That is a whole other blog topic, which I will go into on a later date.  For now, I would suggest you not, it's up to you.

#1 – This section is pretty self-explanatory.  The book’s description box is where you put the blurb.  The blurb is very important, so please dedicate time to this group of words.  You wouldn’t believe how many blurbs have grammatical errors; make sure this section is perfect.

#2 – choose ‘This not a public domain work….”

#3 – pick the two categories that best describe your book.  These can be changed later, so don’t stress over this area too much.

#4 – Before you upload your cover, make sure it fits the proper size requirements.This link will tell you Amazon’s size/format/content requirements for your book cover.

#5 – Enable digital rights management – this will attempt to prevent your book from being listed for free on various file-sharing websites (think Napster for ebooks).  Chances are, it will still find its way to those sites, but this is one way to try and prevent that.

Upload your book.  This is a quick process.  After your upload, it will indicate if Kindle’s spell check found any possible errors.  This is very helpful – somehow some always slip through!

#6 – Preview your book.  I use the online previewer, it is amazing, allowing you to view your book on an iphone, ipad, kindle, kindle fire, etc – take the time to view your book on all of the devices, and skim through the book to make sure that chapter headings, table of contents, etc, look correct on all of the different e-readers.

#7 – choose Worldwide

#8 – Royalties

This is up to you.  My opinion can be found on the blog entry ‘Pricing your Ebook’.  Once you choose your royalty percentage, then enter the price for each country (you can choose for Amazon to automatically calculate this based off the US price). Always choose the 70% royalty option, unless your price is less than $2.99 (if it is, you will be forced to choose 35%).

#9 – Kindle Book Lending

If you enable lending, it will mean that readers can ‘lend’ your book to their friends for 7 days.  I enable lending, because I think it helps to spread the word about my book – but this is completely up to you.  Its not going to make or break you either way. (note: Amazon has recently changed this to force you to lend your book if you are at the 70% royalty rate)

Then, click the checkbox agreeing to the Terms & Conditions, and click ‘Save & Publish’!

Your book will take anywhere from 2 to 48 hours to be active on Amazon’s site – you will get an email when it is live. Congratulations!! You are now a ‘published author’!