JUNE: Author Spotlight, Romance Author, Dorothy Callahan - LG O'Connor

JUNE: Author Spotlight, Romance Author, Dorothy Callahan

I'm so thrilled to have romance author, Dorothy Callahan, on Creating the Write Reality today! I met Dorothy last year at the New Jersey Romance Writer's Conference. What first struck me was her upbeat warm personality and her love of animals. After the conference, I joined her Read & Rescue site with my second book, since I'm a dedicated contributor to my local no-kill shelter and one of my whippets is a rescue.

author photoWelcome, Dorothy!

Hi, Liz, and thank you for including me in your blog today. I am so happy to be here, catching up with you again. It's been a while!

 

When we first met, you told me about this wonderful idea called Read & Rescue. I posted my book with a few other authors. Tell us a little about it, and your vision for the site. How's it going?

ReadRescueSmallWell, I love animals, and all of mine are rescued from shelters or re-homing situations. I also used to work at a humane society (lollypop.org) and still donate to and foster for them to this day. It got me thinking that other authors out there are probably passionate about animal care, so what can I do to promote this? Read and Rescue was thus born. Every author on the site pledges a portion of proceeds to their own charity, so anyone who purchases from the participating authors helps animals! It's a win/win. No money comes to me; I host a free site so that my donations go to the animals. Any author who supports animal causes is welcome to join! Find Read & Rescue HERE

My readership is very interested in how authors choose to publish. Your book, Third Eye's a Charm, originally published by Crimson Romance, just re-released under the Amazon Encore imprint last week. How did you become part of that program? Can you tell us a bit about it?

The publishers at Crimson Romance contacted the authors who were chosen to be included in this program. Amazon took about 100 titles from Crimson, ones that they really want to push, and I was lucky enough to be one of the few. I am very excited to have been chosen, and I honestly knew nothing about it until the deal was done. Amazon wants to advertise those authors whom they took under their wing, and I'm thrilled for the opportunity and exposure!

So congratulations on the Shades of Desire box set! I know you were involved with some other really wonderful authors. How did you get involved with a box set? Tell a little bit about that experience. Is it a limited run? When does it end? (SEE BUY LINK BELOW)

ShadesofDesireBoxedSet_CoverArt_2d_600x900Thank you, Liz! Wendy Ely is a USA Today best-selling author, and she had posted on one of the indie author loops I'm on that she was looking for interested writers to join a set. They had one spot left, and I was invited to join. These are amazing women, and I am so happy to be working with this team. It has been a learning experience, for certain, since I've never done anything like it, and there are so many aspects of learning something new and involved! But it is a limited run, going to the end of the year, and the stories are great!

What's next for you? Any upcoming appearances or events?

I entered a lot of community events last year, and this year I'm looking for more author-related events to join. I'm hoping to get into a bunch of events this fall. Writing-wise, I am working on a young adult urban fantasy trilogy. Book 1 is done, book 2 is started. I'm currently writing a novella and have another complete novel in the wings. I feel like I haven't published anything in forEVER, but I haven't stopped writing, I swear!

Do you have any advice for new writers, any resources to share?

My advice to new authors is “Take the advice you are given.” I had so many supportive people guiding me when I was younger, but I was so shy and wouldn't leave my comfort zone and never did any of the things that would have helped me. That alone probably set me back in my pursuit of publication by ten years. Ten years! Many aspiring authors can join local groups. In my area, we have a fantastic “school” called Writers and Books. I joined them in the early 2000s. I should have joined in the 1990s.

What's your best marketing or pub tip?

Yeesh… wrong person to ask! I have no ability to sell whatsoever. :-/  However, what I've learned by being in this box set is, divert your cold hard cash into advertisements. A lot of our budget went into advertising, and it helped get our set all the way up to #1 Hot New Release at Amazon the first week, so it's worth it!

Your favorite romance novel of all time and why?

Very few books have lured me into their depths more than once, and those are “Darkfire Kiss” by Deborah Cooke, and “Keeper of the Dream” by Penelope Williamson. Both have a touch of mysticism and lyricism that entrances me. Oh, yeah, and terribly hot guys!

It was awesome to have you here today! Thanks for stopping by…

Thanks, Liz, for taking the time to chat with me! I can't wait until we can catch up in person once more. If you have any questions or would like to get hold of me, I am always available online at do*******************@gm***.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

author photoDorothy Callahan lives in New York with her wonderful husband, a pride of demanding cats, and two loyal dogs, all rescued from shelters (well, not the husband). Her love of both animals and writing prompted her to start READ AND RESCUE, an organization where animal-loving authors and readers can find one another. The unique aspect to this group is that each author pledges a portion of proceeds to his/her favorite animal cause.

When Dorothy is not writing, she enjoys shopping for antiques and renovating their pre-Civil War house. If you are interested in learning more about Dorothy or how to help other animals in need, please visit her at dorothycallahan.com, do*******************@gm***.com, Facebook at Dorothy Callahan Author, or Twitter under Dorothy Callahan@Callahanauthor.

Purchase Dorothy's Books:

Shades of Desire Box Set with multiple bestselling authors:  PURCHASE
Third Eye's a Charm: PURCHASE
See all of Dorothy's Books: HERE

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