The World of Sophia Sinclair

Tell Me Another Story! We all love stories. Our ancient ancestors told stories around the fire at night. That was their entertainment, but it was also their oral history, which was the only history they had at that point.  We all still love stories, whether it's reading a book or watching a movie. But it would be a mistake to think stories are only entertainment. They are, but they're also so much more. My little granddaughter loves to hear stories about Queen Fluff and her cat kingdom. Incidentally, the cats in that kingdom cannot get enough asparagus. They grow and harvest it and then feast on various asparagus dishes. Queen Fluff's Favorite is an asparagus dish made with pasta and parmesan cheese. Do I have to tell you that my granddaughter loves asparagus now?  When I started a job at an advertising and marketing agency, I was taught to "tell a story" with my ads, and I realized I had been marketing asparagus to my granddaughter all along. I don't work at ...

It's the Deal of a Lifetime! OK, that's a lie. It's a pretty good deal, but probably not the deal of a lifetime.  But if you love to read, do sign up for authors' newsletters. Not just mine, but everyone's.  Most authors today do have a newsletter, and we typically offer you a deal: You give me your email address, and in return I will give you things like a free prequel to my current series, or a discount, or a chance to win a gift card, or perhaps just heads up on new releases.  Why are authors anxious to have you subscribe to our newsletters? For the same reason we write blogs and post frequently to social media: It is no longer enough just to write books. Back in the good old days, that was all we had to write. Just books. It must have been nice. But today, we have to hustle hard. Millions of books are published each year. Some are dreadful. Some are wonderful. Some books, which are exactly what you love to read, you'll never see. It's hard for authors to...

Waiting For The Big Time There are a handful of authors out there who make the big bucks. Everybody loves their books. I'd go hungry if necessary to buy the hardback of Diana Gabaldon's latest, to give one example.  But there are thousands of fantastic books written every year that go unread. What do authors do to try to get noticed? We give our work away. It's what creative people do, I'm afraid, because the same thing is true of singers, artists and photographers. While nobody ever asks insurance salespeople or doctors or lawn care company owners or roofers to give away their work, it's just accepted that creative people will give it up for free. And you know what? We absolutely will, because we all hope that eventually, if enough people read our book/listen to our songs/look at our paintings, we will eventually have enough fans that we can make a living with our art.  That might not be true of most of us, but dreams die hard. So here's the deal: I need people...

Now It's Ashley's Turn If you've been reading the Small-Town Secrets series, you've "met" Ashley a number of times. She's everyone's favorite bartender at The Clipper, and she knows everything that's going on in town. But her own plans have been a big secret. That's about to change: Ashley Butler is everyone’s favorite bartender at The Clipper. She’s seemingly always there to remember your favorite drink and offer a sympathetic ear. But Ashley has plans that go far beyond bartending. She has been quietly working on a major project for years, and she’s just about to make her move. When wealthy developer Maxwell Bishop makes a stop at The Clipper, he’s utterly captivated by the beautiful, intelligent, self-assured woman behind the bar. When he accidentally throws a monkey wrench into her plans, he tries to make it up to her. Ashley accepts his offer and their attraction heats up, but they are from such different worlds. She was raised by a poor s...