May’s Ketchup

May’s Ketchup

Can you believe it? Another month has flown by. And it’s still raining here in Missouri. Almost constantly. It’s actually rather unusual weather for us (to this degree), and I’m starting to wonder why I tend to begin these with a weather report. (I have no idea, but I enjoy it.) Alas, May has ended, and flowers have bloomed, and exciting stories have come and go. During my recent move (and by “recent”, I mean seven months ago), I wasn’t able to bring my bookshelf, so my the books I’ve read are stacking up . . . just like my excitement for the future! We are only two months away from the release date of Minutes Before Sunset, July 28, but I’ll get to that in the Ketchup!

For those of you just now checking in this month, Ketchup actually means “catch up”. At the end of every month, I write these posts describing what goes on behind the scenes at ShannonAThompson.com. Some of the topics I cover include my big moments, top blog posts, my top referrer, #1 SEO term, YouTube videos, Members of the Week, and more in order to show insights that will hopefully help fellow bloggers see what was popular. I also hope it entertains the readers who want “extras” for this website.

Thank you for being a part of my life this May!

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Big Moments:

The cover for Death Before Daylight released—and I’m beyond excited that Death Before Daylight will finally get into the hands of readers this September. In the meantime, Minutes Before Sunset releases July 28, and it is up for pre-order. (The pre-order link was also my #1 clicked item, so thank you!) I’ve been receiving all sorts of inspirational and encouraging messages from you all regarding The Timely Death Trilogy and future novels. So much so, that I’m at a loss for words. But I will say that this summer and fall are sure to be fantastic! A book signing is already underway, and the content disclosure trees have already released. On top of that, you can still enter to win one of three paperbacks of Minutes Before Sunset via Goodreads.

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Top Three Blog Posts:

1. Authors, Be Yourself: It’s easy to get intimidated by what other authors are doing. See how they have more followers? They even have higher sales! You should copy them to get to where they are, right? Wrong. There’s no reason to fret, and there’s absolutely no reason you should change yourself. This article talks about what you should concentrate on—and that’s being yourself.

2. When Writing is Not All You Do: Written by John Tompkins, this article addresses a viral article that went out a few weeks ago about authors working full-time. John discusses the differences between full-time authors and authors who work full-time on top of working as an author.

3. The Thing About Author Interviews: Written by Jonas Lee, this article discusses the importance of overcoming your nerves and getting out in front of your audience so they can get to know you. (His interview channel is also open to interview you!)

Other Blog Posts:

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  My Issues With Literature: Written by Eliot Gilbert, he discusses why we should put the “L” in “Literature” away.

• Death Before Daylight Cover Reveal and News: It’s here! It’s here! The third book is coming!
• Writer Problems 6-10: Last month you received 1-5, this month you received 6-10, and soon you’ll probably get 11-15, but I’m not sure I’ll continue this series after 15.
• Love Triangles: My first YouTube-article combination post. I probably won’t continue to combine posts like this, but I will keep sharing my YouTube videos as they come out independently of my blog.
• The Secret Garden of Trees: Because I love trees.
• The Mental Health of Writing: Written by Airian Eastman, she shares her personally story of understanding her mental health and how it related to her writing.
• Content Disclosure for Novels: My publisher releases content disclosures, so I discuss why I love them.
• The Lightning Lesson: Since . . . you know, it’s been raining like nonstop.
• Website Wonders: A monthly classic.

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Guest Post:

My Book Story on The Modest Verge: I was asked to discuss a novel that has affected my life, and I talk about A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah.

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YouTube Channel:

Book Girlfriends (5.19)

Ex Machina and Robots (5.15)

Book Boyfriends (5.13)

Love Triangles (5.05)

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At the end of the month, I also like to take a moment to thank all of the websites who supported me by posting reviews, interviews, and features. I also like to specially thank the Members of the Dark. Every week, I award one member a “Member of Week” badge, and out of those monthly members, one of them will win an eBook of their choosing as well as more prizes. If you would like to be a member or review my novels or interview me, please send me an email at shannonathompson@aol.com. I always love speaking with new bloggers, writers, and readers! And I will share your post on all of my websites.

Dark Members of the Week: A Readers Review, Mel’s Shelves, In Between the Pages, Legends of Windemere (Also, a shout out goes to the winner of the bookmark for helping with the Death Before Daylight cover reveal, Crazy Beautiful)

Reviewers:

Minutes Before Sunset: The Schwartz Reviews, Crazy Beautiful

Seconds Before Sunrise: Crazy Beautiful, MacyStories

Features: Death Before Daylight featured on April’s Favorite Reads