Blog – Page 3 – Shari Lopatin

January 5, 2019

An Awesome Tool for Authors to Build Email Lists, Readers to Get Free Books!

Happy Saturday fellow readers and indie authors! I recently found an awesome new (affordable) tool to help build my email list as an author. It’s also fantastic for readers who want to get free books from new authors in exchange for reviews. And no — it’s not NetGalley. The name of the tool is Voracious […]
December 29, 2018

Will ‘An Anonymous Girl’ Stalk You into 2019 Thrills? (Book Review)

*Please note that I may earn a small commission should you click any of the links in this post to make a purchase. However, I reviewed this book independently of any commissions or payments. A story of obsession and control, An Anonymous Girl will chill you to your bone and leave you pondering its intricate […]
December 6, 2018

What Would You Do If Your Mother Was Killed and You Wound Up on the Streets?

Imagine this: you’re a teenager and living in a small, one-bedroom apartment with your mom. She works 16-hour days and barely makes enough money to eat. You live in a desert inferno and barely leave your boxed home. Then, one day, you take your younger brother for ice-cream. When you return, you find your […]
November 15, 2018

Prices for ‘The Apollo Illusion’ Increasing by December!

Due to wider distribution, prices for my debut novel, The Apollo Illusion, will soon be going up. If you haven’t grabbed a copy yet, now’s the time while the e-book is only $2.99 and the paperback is $10.99. These changes may happen as early as December, so if you’re curious to read it, hurry and buy it […]
November 7, 2018

Cover Reveal! Stone from HELL: An ‘Apollo Illusion’ Short Story

Oooooo guys, doesn’t it just give you CHILLS? If you haven’t read a sneak peek of this sucker yet, read the first two chapters now! What Makes a Monster? In this short story about The Apollo Illusion’s most notorious hacker, Stone, we learn about the teenager he was before everything fell to pieces. And the […]
October 20, 2018

Hilary Dartt Gives Life a Second Chance with ‘The Composition of Order’ (Book Review)

A wonderful, delightful story that had me crying at the end, with characters so real, I felt like they were my neighbors. Book: The Composition of Order (The Seedling Homestead Series Book 1) Author: Hilary Dartt Publisher: Darttboard Creative Writing, LLC Published: Sept. 19, 2018 Link to Purchase: https://bookshop.org/a/80019/9781950335008 Stars: 5/5 [DISCLAIMER: For the sake […]
October 17, 2018

READ A SNEAK PEEK! Apollo Illusion Offshoot to be Launching Soon, ‘Stone from HELL’

If you read my debut novel, The Apollo Illusion, then you know all about Stone and HELL. But how did Stone become the person he was in The Apollo Illusion? “Stone from HELL: An Apollo Illusion Short Story” is the backstory of how Stone came to be, and the birth of the infamous organization, HELL. […]
October 4, 2018

Men: If you’re worried about women falsely accusing you of rape, work to change the culture

There are a lot of good men out there. My father, the retired elementary school teacher and feminist. My boyfriend, the protective son of a single mother. My former bosses and colleagues, who mentored and shaped me as a professional. With the current political climate involving Kavanaugh and #MeToo, some men are concerned that coercive […]
October 2, 2018

Yes, You Have to Price Your Books Low if You Want People to Buy Them

You dedicated two years to working on your first novel (here’s mine!). Spent several hundred dollars (or even a couple thousand) on editors and designers. And now that you’re ready to publish, you’re being told to price your book LOW? Screw that, right? I’m Here to Tell You that Low Prices = Higher Readership I […]
September 27, 2018

Why Indie Authors Have to Stick Together

I’ve heard self-publishing “experts” say time and time again that no big difference exists between an author going the traditional route or the indie route. Ahem — I beg to differ. Therefore, here are the reasons why us indie authors have to stick together: 1) We have to pay for EVERYTHING. Editors, designers, copyright filing, […]