Tell us about A Charming Crime

A Charming Crime is the first in the Magical Cure Mystery Series. I had so much fun writing it because I made up the entire world. It’s a spiritual world with magic at every turn. The town of Whispering Falls has a lot of secrets that are unveiled with humor and fun from page to page.

Bubble… Bubble… June Heal has nothing to lose when she relocates her homeopathic cure shop, A Dose of Darla, from the flea market booth in her home town, to a quaint shop in the cozy but unusual little town of Whispering Falls, Kentucky. Or so it seems.

Cures and trouble… Whispering Falls has a lot of secrets. From talking snow globes to whispering animals not to mention a few sprinkles of fairy dust, June realizes Whispering Falls is more magical than she thought. . .literally.

Magic stirs… June discovers she was born into a family of psychics, and her homeopathic cures truly are magical. Unfortunately, they are not magical enough to save her from being the number one murder suspect when a member of the community that she had just had a disagreement with shows up face down in the lake with June’s lucky charm in the victim’s grasp.

And troubles double… Add to that an attraction to her high school best friend, Sheriff Oscar Park and Mr. Prince Charming, her cat, is stealing charms from Belle’s Baubles, June is forced to clear her name in more ways than murder. After all, they don’t have cauldrons in jail.

What genre is it?
Cozy Paranormal Mystery.

What kind of readers will it appeal to?
My books appeal to the reader who wants to get away with a light hearted read written in small towns. Each one of my novels have quirky characters that will not only have you laughing, but you will fall in love with each of them.

Tell us a bit more about your Magical Cures Mystery Series and your plans for it. 
I absolutely love this series! I have never made up a magical, cozy town that isn’t tooooo paranormal. I write with humor, and I wanted to make sure my readers fell in love with Whispering Falls (the town in my Magical Mystery Series).  The series follow June Heal on her journey from being a commoner to finding a community with magical powers and realize she is one of them. It’s a fun journey with talking crystal balls, animals, genies and lots of fun potion making. Think I Dream of Jeannie crosses Bewitched.

There are six books planned in the series. But there could be more.

How long did A Charming Crime take to write?
It took me about seven months to write A Charming Crime. I write everyday and can get about 2,000 words on the page; it’s the editing process where I get to add the meat and pull all the plots together that takes the most time.

So was the editing the most challenging part of your creative process?
Oh, this is a good one! The challenging part was keeping all the made up words and world straight along with their spiritual gift. Things would just come out of nowhere and onto the page. I’d stop and grab my pen thinking that I needed to write that down because I knew it would come up later in the upcoming novels.

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I’ve turned down agents and publishers to go the self publishing route. I love the fact that I’m in control of my career and writing schedule. I put out about four novels a year along with romance short stories. I have over twelve novels in three different series. My women’s fiction novel, Carpe Bead’em , won the eFestival of Words for 2012. Splitsville.com , the first novel in my Olivia Davis Paranormal Mystery Series, is a 2012 double finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards in the mystery and humor categories.

I believe in paying it forward to my fellow colleagues and travel to various writing groups to help them learn how to market and promote their careers effectively. My readers are so important to me. I have a strong STREET TEAM where we connect on a daily basis. Without them, my novels would have never made it on over 24 best sellers lists and #1 Amazon Movers and Shakers list.

Outside of writing. . . I’m a mom of three teenage boys, two sweet dogs, one lazy cat, and wife to an amazing husband. They all encourage and support my career which is over half the battle to success.

Your street team? Tell us about that. 
Readers ( I don’t use the word FAN….I don’t like that word) emailed me all the time about books, news, and other stuff and it just got too big for me to keep up with. I thought it would be a great idea if I had all of them in one place. SO….originally I sent them all an email about a yahoo group, but that was time consuming. We all have Facebook accounts and so I opened a TONYA KAPPES STREET TEAM group. We gather there every morning to say hello, wish happy birthdays, congrats on news they may have. It’s not just about me. I do weekly giveaways to thank them for supporting me. I still can’t believe that ONE person would buy my novel in today’s crazy society, not to mention sit down and read it! It’s my way to give back to them.

On the STREET TEAM page I host my online book releases. I have over 100 authors who donate their novels to me as a giveaway, it’s GREAT! When one of my novels is released, they tweet it and Facebook it plus send messages to friends and family. They spread the word. Without them…..I don’t know where I’d be and don’t want to imagine it!

Wow, that’s impressive. You talked about advising other authors on marketing. Would this be your top marketing secret? 
I get this one a LOT! Start marketing and promoting NOW! Do not wait until you have a book out. You have to get your name out there and create buzz. I joined a group blog (grog) two years before my first novel was published. The grog consisted of two established/traditional authors and two no-names (me being one). Not only did I have access to all of their readers, I gained my own following and had a couple thousand readers along for the journey and ready to buy my book when it came out.

There are several ways for authors to do this, not just a grog. I have outlined all of this in my non-fiction novel, The Tricked Out Toolbox~Promotion and Marketing Tools Every Writer Needs

We know you’ve got your Facebook page (and a Twitter account, @TonyaKappes11), but have you got a blog where readers can keep up with your work?
Yes! My blog is Tonyakappes.blogspot.com or you can check out my website at Tonyakappes.com.

Where can we buy your books?
My books are sold at any online book seller ( Amazon US , Amazon UK ). They are in audio at audible.com as well as in print. Libraries carry my books and you can go into any Barnes and Noble and ask for them to order you one.

What’s next?
Hmmm. . . write, write, write, publish, publish, publish, cook dinner, and connect with my readers.