While I Was Gone...

Yes, yes, I know.  I've been MIA for a few weeks.  I apologize.  I wish I could say that it was for something super cool like a vacation or because I had won the lottery but alas, no such luck.  I had to have some minor out-patient surgery and while I was recovering, North Carolina seemed to go crazy with ice and snow.  Seriously, I've lived here for 20 years and never saw so much winter weather happen so close together.

The good news is that the snow is just about gone - YIPPEE!! - and I am feeling better.  It's like a win/win right now.  All is right with the world and everything is returning to normal.  Insert the hallelujah chorus here.

That's not to say that I wasn't productive.  Sort of.  Yes, yes, I did spend a little too much time sprawled out on the couch watching HGTV and playing computer solitaire but I've also been hard at work on the next book while preparing for the release of my very first Sourcebooks Casablanca title, "Return to You".  Which comes out tomorrow.  Did I mention that?

So I promise to get back to work here on the blog and back to my regularly scheduled writing schedule. 

After tomorrow.

Tomorrow if you are in the RTP area of North Carolina, chances are you are going to be seeing me in various Barnes and Noble locations, screaming like a woo-girl and taking selfies with the books on the shelves and probably enjoying some Starbucks hot chocolate while doing it!  If you're out shopping and see "Return to You", please snap a picture and post it on my Facebook fan club page!

Also, don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter and get exclusive sneak peaks at upcoming books and giveaways!  Subscribe here!

And...I'm back! 

Do You Follow on Social Media?

Social media is still a big mystery to me.  Of course, I'm old so...you know, that's not surprising.  But seriously, it seems like I spend a lot of time posting status updates, tweeting, pinning, taking selfies...that I'm suddenly running out of time for doing what I'm supposed to be doing - writing.

Huh.

The problem I have, I guess, is that for all that I put out there, who is actually seeing it?  I have a fan club page on Facebook (Samantha Chase Fan Club) that has over 10,000 followers.  My posts sometimes only reach 100 people.  I mean, what is the purpose of that Facebook???  I know there has been a LOT written about this topic but honestly, I don't have time to read it all.  Shouldn't Facebook WANT our posts to be seen?

Then there's tsu.  Are you on tsu?  I am.  I still haven't figured out why or what the
benefit is.  I'm told it's a great place for authors because ALL of our posts will be seen by ALL of our followers.  The problem?  I forget that it's there and so do a lot of the followers.  For the 10,000 I have on Facebook, I have less than 400 on tsu.  Weird, right?  I haven't figured out if people have caught on with it and if my posts are actually getting through to anyone who might really want to read them.

I'm on Pinterest but again, I don't know why.  I don't have the time to update it like I should and I really don't look at other people's boards.  It just seems weird.  And don't get me started on Tweeting.  I'm on Twitter.  I tweet.  I'm hip.  But again, I don't have enough time in the day to read and see what everyone else is tweeting so I'm sure they're all feeling the same thing I am.  Who's reading the tweets???

Like I said from the get-go, I'm old.  I get it.  To me, my cell phone is to make calls, do a little texting and to take the occasional picture.   I need a social media guru to help me make sense of it all so I can stop agonizing over these things and move on.   And you know what?  I know there are people out there making money doing just that and I say "More power to them!"  They are definitely way more tech-savvy than I am.