Ruth Kaufman - Award-Winning Author and Romance Writer

Ruth Kaufman is the author of My Life as a Star, My Life as an Extra, My Once & Future Love, The Bride Tournament, Follow Your Heart, At His Command and other books.

New Release! Medieval w/Magical Realism: My Once & Future Love

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 When did you first hear about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table? Probably when you were a child, because the tales have been passed down for centuries. There are hundreds of books and movies, including the upcoming Knights of the Round Table: King Arthur. 
My favorite Arthurian books include The Once and Future King by T.H. White. And my favorite movie is still Excalibur (who could forget the wedding scene?). I watched that dozens of times when it first came out on HBO. 
We’ve all heard of Sirs Lancelot and Galahad. Some know of Sirs Kay, Bedivere and others. But what if there were some we didn’t know about? I decided to tell their tales and journeys toward love in the Unsung Knights of the Round Table series.
Book #1 is MY ONCE & FUTURE LOVE, a medieval romance with magical realism. Morgan ap Myrddin must rescue his father from imprisonment. But enemies have wounded him, draining his powers.

Annora of Amberton flees her castle to seek proof that she’s not a lunatic as her uncle declared when claiming wardship over her and her lands.
He stumbles upon her cottage and enlists her aid. As he helps her in return, undeniable desire sparks. But he won’t succumb to the lure of a mortal woman as his father did. She’s wary of caring for a man who refuses to discuss his past. When he finally tells her he’s a Knight of the Round Table, she fears he’s the lunatic as danger, secrets and destiny thwart the power of love.

I’m working on book #2, featuring a main character in MY&FL. Stay tuned!


Castles, Knights and Chivalry box set is live!

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I was pleasantly surprised and honored when Amazon best-selling author Laurel O’Donnell invited me to be part of a box set with her and two more best-sellers, Kathryn Loch and Elizabeth Rose. Thus, Castles, Knights and Chivalry was born! 

Why was I honored? Because a) they’re all best-sellers, and I’m not…yet? b) so far I’ve released the fewest books by far (#3 should be available before the end of summer…I’m adding another scene dealing with the subplot, which both of the editors I sent it to suggested). The other three authors have been much more prolific.

My first medieval At His Command (set in 1453 England) joins Laurel’s The Lady and the Falconer (1373 England), Elizabeth’s Lady of the Mist (1330 England), and Kathryn’s Demon Laird (1286 Scotland). The set went live last night on Amazon for preorder at just .99. 
Given the popularity of TV series based on books, such as The White Queen, which begins in 1464 England, and Game of Thrones, which incorporates many medieval elements, I hope our box set gives medieval readers the opportunity to enjoy four books set in an era they love, and that the .99 price entices those who haven’t read medievals to give the subgenre a try.
What’s not to like about castles, knights and chivalry?

What sells books: social media, ads, blogs, reviews?

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I’ve done quite a bit of reading about what helps to sells books beyond writing great books.Unfortunately, there’s no one size fits all. No panacea. What works for you as an author, or what inspires you to buy a book as a reader?

For me, so far:
Fortunately, both versions of AT HIS COMMAND have received great 5 star reviews. “If a book lingers in my mind for more than 2 weeks, I say it’s a keeper!” for the Historical Romance Version, and “All the good stuff with none of the bedroom stuff,” for the Inspirational Version. I have a great review opportunity lined up for my April 14 release, FOLLOW YOUR HEART (currently on preorder for only $1.99, if you’re so inclined). Fingers crossed it and the AHC review I’m awaiting from Publishers Weekly will be good!

Goodreads giveaways have been great. They seem to take on a life of their own as more people enter to win and add my book(s) to their shelves. I hope some convert to sales. My current giveaway is below, and is garnering more interest than the first one I did for ACH. More interesting blurb? Cover? Same readers who entered for AHC?

I tried a few Facebook author page post boosts, which according to FB reached thousands of people (though not always as many as they said before I clicked the buy link). I didn’t get as many new likes to my page as one boost estimated. I did get some clicks/interactions with another, but I can’t tell if those converted to sales. I’m grateful to every friend who has shared my covers and helped get the word out. I still feel a bit lost in the Twittersphere, though I tweet once a day or so and am increasing my number of followers.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Follow Your Heart by Ruth Kaufman


Giveaway ends April 12, 2015. See the giveaway  details at Goodreads. 

I’m also guest posting on blogs. Other things I’m doing:
This ad on page 4 of the March/April issue of BTS Book Reviews magazine:

And, I’m participating in The Romance Reviews’ Anniversary Party with FYH. I’ll reserve judgment until the party is over, but there are so many ads I wonder how many visitors will notice mine or answer the question for my giveaway.

It’d be great if each ad I ran or post I wrote resulted in a big sales boost. So far, I haven’t seen that. But it takes time to build readership. The concepts of reach and frequency from my media research days still apply for building awareness and interest.