Straight Chatting From the Library: Shifty Magic by Judy Teel

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WHAT KIND OF READER ARE YOU?

The explosion of eBooks on the market has given readers more choices than ever. Many writers (and some publishers) are fearful this means higher competition and fewer customers for everyone.

But the above assumptions overlooks one very important aspect of today’s market—there may be a lot more books out there, but there are a lot more readers, too!

I happen to think that in this case, more is better. But, maybe you don’t feel that way. As a reader you’re now faced with almost too many choices. How do you find books that you’ll absolutely love reading?

Discovering your personal tastes—

Like anything related to preferences, the answer is all about you. Here are some questions to help you discover how to find your next favorite book:

1. What kind of television shows and movies do you love? (list 4-5)
2. When you have a great conversation with your friends, in general what’s it about?
3. What’s your favorite novel of all time?
4. If you could be any kind of person, who would you be?

Picking Books You’ll Love—

For questions 1 and 3 were your picks mostly comedy, drama, mystery/suspense, thriller/action or horror?

Okay, great. Keep that answer in the back of your mind, or write it down.

For question three, the kind of topics you really get into with your friends tells a lot about what entertains you. For example, I’ve found that people who enjoy gossip aren’t horrible human beings at all; they’re social and people fascinate them. They’re the type of readers that enjoy books like Twilight or Fifty Shades of Grey. In other words, novels that are centered on the emotional ups and downs of the main character.

Those who get into making plans and discussing world events tend to find action-driven stories and mysteries hard to put down, like those written by Janet Evanovich and James Patterson. And the people thrilled by their friend’s current love interest are usually also big fans of romance, like the Damaged series.

Your answer for question four is the type of protagonist you’ll identify with the strongest. When you read a book, you essentially walk around in the skin of someone who isn’t you for the hours that you’re reading. If that someone is the kind of person you admire and might like to be, your experience with that book will be more enjoyable and profound for you.

When I’m looking for my next great read, I keep in mind the following:

• I like to laugh, so I want some humor in the story.
• I also like page-turners—books I can’t put down—so I tend to look for a series with at least some mystery going on and plenty of action.
• I’m not opposed to a little (or a lot!) of romance mixed in. • Finally, I like to live in the skin of heroines who are sassy to snarky, strong-minded, quick with the witty come-backs, as well as caring and protective; at least deep down.

Favorite books of mine are anything by Amanda Quick or Jim Butcher, the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews, and the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger.

Because it takes months to create a book and I want to be richly entertained while I’m doing writing it, the two series that I write also have those elements.

Exploring books—

Once you know where your strongest preferences land, use the Amazon search bar to go directly to the categories of books you like. From there, drill down to the more specific best-seller lists like Historical Romance or Paranormal and Urban. After that, it’s just a matter of looking through book descriptions, reading reviews and samples and making your choice.

Soon you’ll have a pile of books that you can’t wait to start reading and hours of happiness ahead of you!

What are some of your favorite books or series?

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Links used:

Janet Evanovich: http://amzn.com/e/B000APXTY4

James Patterson: http://amzn.com/e/B000APZGGS

Jim Butcher: http://amzn.com/e/B001H6U718

Amanda Quick: http://amzn.com/e/B000AQ12NI

Ilona Andrews: http://amzn.com/e/B001RXSCKY

Gail Carriger: http://amzn.com/e/B002BML6TE

Judy Teel: http://amzn.com/e/B008K8WHHI

Amazon search: http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-eBooks/b?ie=UTF8&node=154606011

READ THE BLURB

...some people will do anything for revenge.

In a dystopian United States where paranormal races are out of the closet, a young PI struggles to stop a vengeful serial killer only to discover that the murderer holds the key to her secret magical heritage.

Book One in the YA13 paranormal/mystery series Dangerous Magic by Judy Teel. "Expect action, on-the-edge-of-your-seat suspense, and the perfect touch of romance."

READ AN EXCERPT

Resting my right hand on my gun, I poked the yellow button of my office door’s remote with my left index finger. My muscles tightened for action as the thick metal barrier swung ponderously open with a long-suffering hiss of hydraulics.

Cooper’s curious gaze swept over me and around the room. Wizard’s attention swept over Cooper. When the two of them locked eyes, the Were tensed and the cat started purring. Wizard rose to her feet and arched her back in a luxurious stretch, her focused attention never leaving the Were.

He was dressed for work, which in the FBI world meant black slacks and shoes, crisp white dress shirt, black jacket and a tie. The tie was bright yellow with a picture of Bugs Bunny on it.

He narrowed his luminous silver-green gaze on my cat, and then landed it back on me. “You should check your video readout before opening the door,” he said with that kind of authoritative sternness that inspired people like me to do the opposite.

I frowned at him. “What do you want?”

“To hire you. But first I need your alibi.”

“It’s too early for alibis,” I said, taking a sip of coffee to cover my surprise. As far as I knew, I hadn’t done anything obviously illegal. At least, not lately.

He glided into my office in that graceful, menacing way Weres had, and I buzzed the door closed. Despite looking barely old enough to buy a beer, Cooper radiated energy and purpose like the sun did heat. As the door clicked shut, he filled the space making the bread-box size of my office feel more like a matchbox.

His expression sobered as he eased himself gingerly onto one of the spindly folding chairs. “Where were you last night between the hours of eleven and one?”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I live in North Carolina with my boisterous family–husband, three kids, a dog and a geriatric bunny–and yup, I’m Southern so occasionally I let a “y’all” slip out. Maybe more than occasionally.

I love my job and dedicate as much of my time to writing as I can. When I’m not doing the weaving of the adventurous and romantic tales, I’m running errands, driving people around (or crazy depending on your perspective), and generally pretending I’m a grownup.

When I was fifteen, I knew I wanted to be a novelist–wanted to write for Harlequin actually. But the calling to tell stories came a lot earlier than that, I just didn’t know what it meant.

I had a lot of growing up to do before I could manage it, though many would claim the growing up part didn’t take--you know who you are--but I finally have my dream job.

Life rocks—so should the books you read!

Webpage: http://judyteel.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JudyTeelBooks?ref=hl

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/judyteelbooks

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B008K8WHHI

Shifty Magic for Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shifty-magic-judy-teel/1115409891?ean=2940016703961

Shifty Magic for Kindle: http://amzn.com/B00CXQ7EOE

Undercover Magic on Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00H7M48KM

Undercover Magic on Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/undercover-magic-judy-teel/1117655335?ean=2940149077083

Undercover Magic on Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/386516

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