CIR, THE place to be!

I have made a comment in the past about feeling uneasy hosting books or authors that have content not quite appropriate for YA readers. In my own writing I stay away from these elements as well, and that creates somewhat of a conflict in my quest to help promote fellow authors. 
I do want to share an exciting discovery with all of you...
It's called CIR, or Clean Indie Reads. I cannot tell you how ecstatic I was when I saw Lia's post saying, "I want to interview you." THIS was the place (and the kind of place) I wanted my books to be found at. 

SO, just WHO is Lia? Let me share what I can...
Here is an excerpt from her site: 

Hello.  I’m Lia, and I’m a writer.

I’ve tried to stop–especially when my fingers cramp up and my elbow locks–but I can’t.  Someone said, “I write so that I can turn the movies in my head off and get some sleep at night.”  Yep.  That’s me, too.  Except I sleep with a pad of paper nearby in case the ideas wake me up again.

When I’m not home schooling my tweens, singing jazz, practicing Tae Kwon Do, or coaxing my cat to read with me, I’m writing or advocating for writers.  Right now I juggle a few writing things, and I hope you’ll join me with at least one of them.

Collaborative Fiction HQ–That’s where I write stories with my readers, so that they can learn a little more about the process of writing a novel (at least one way to do it) and have the thrill of bossing me around.

London Books–That’s where I publish both the final products from Collaborative HQ and stories of my own creation.  I hope you’ll browse them and find something you  might enjoy reading.

Writing Coach–That’s where the teacher in me lives on, and I share tips every Wednesday that I’ve gleaned along the way to help writers at all levels.  It’s also where I play cheerleader to anyone with the dream of writing something that matters.  To that end, I have been asked to be a regular contributor for Emblazoners, a site dedicated to promoting tween fiction.

Author Advocate–That’s where I strive to support other independent (“indie”) authors in getting the word out about their projects.  These efforts include creating the Clean Indie Reads site and Facebook group.

Read more here; http://lialondon.net/

I had the chance to ask Lia some questions about her blog CIR, so go on ahead and read. I'll catch you at the bottom.

How did CIR come to be?

It was a bit of a whim, actually.  I'd been reading a lot of books by independent authors, and several of them were really very good.  As I got to know a few of the authors through social media, I found many kindred spirits.  In particular, I found authors who were discouraged to find that their books did not receive the hype of popular media and/or whose books had been rejected by agents or publishers because they did not contain enough sex or violence!  That had been my own experience with my first novel.  And yet I knew hundreds of people personally who were looking for clean reads.  There was supply.  There was demand.  They just needed to find each other.  I built the blog figuring I'd plug a few good books as I read them, and WHOOOSH!  It took off!

How did it develop?

 I started by asking a few of the author friends I had if I could feature their books.  One of them suggested we start a Facebook group so that we could coordinate how to promote the books.  "Clean Indie Reads" is a closed group for authors.  They come in by invitation or approved request (once I've seen their work).  Shortly after creating the FB group, we decided on a Twitter hashtag #CR4U (clean reads for you) and began pumping each other's pages in a tweet exchange.  Word spread quickly, and submissions have been coming in by the handful every day.

How does it work?

Authors submit their books with a picture, a teaser (like what you'd read on the dust jacket), and sales links.  I glean reviews from Amazon or Barnes & Noble, etc., and then the author can do an "interview".  I actually have a list of several questions they can choose from, and they answer up to 5.  With all of that, I create a glorified product page where potential readers can come see all about the book on one page and buy straight from the link.  The authors get publicity through the group, and the readers get a database of great "flinch-free" reads.

How are people responding?

It has been amazing.  In just 8 weeks, we've had well over 43K hits.  We now average over 1000 visitors a day coming to see these books!  People send emails and leave comments about how grateful they are to find a safe place to browse for books, and authors are grateful for a venue that connects them with others who stick to their guns and don't bring in the smut just to sell a book.

--

Lia London

Author & Writing Coach

Collaborative Fiction HQ

http://lialondon.net/

http://cleanindiereads.blogspot.ca/

So...if you take a few moments to look around her blog, you will find posts for all three of my novels. But I won't post the link, go and look. Of course if you DO want the direct links, let me know and I will post them in the comments!

Thanks for stopping by :o)