Finding Nonnie Jules

Written by hshotchkiss

A week ago, I was sent a friend request on Goodreads from a fellow author named P. H. Solomon. Mr. Solomon lives in the greater Birmingham, Alabama, area and strongly dislikes yard work. Voilà, an instant bond! Furthermore, his profile revealed that he had been chosen as a VIP member of Nonnie Jules’ Rave Reviews Book Club.

Nonnie Jules was a name I did not recognize. I admit that I am rather new at marketing myself as an author, so I did not judge. I simply researched. My first stop was to one of Nonnie’s Web sites, RaveReviewsByNonnieJules.wordpress.com. (By the way, Merriam Webster suggests capitalizing Web if using two words, and no capital if using one word, website.) Nonnie is not only an author herself (3 titles on her own, co-authored another, and a contributing author to RRBC’s Rave Soup for the Writer’s Soul Anthology, 1st Edition), but she is also committed to helping other authors thrive—a bona fide author advocate!

I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. And there was a lot to see. Nonnie has more information packed into that site than a tin of expensive caviar! Sixteen tabs and a bunch of sidebars with links and news got my attention alright. And so did the offer of a book review! Not some namby-pamby, sugarcoated review, but a real and raw, tell-it-like-it-is one. Only for authors with strong constitutions. And meant for those who want to join the Rave Reviews Book Club and take an active interest in such.

I joined. Easiest commitment of $25 I’ve ever made. Heard back from Nonnie the same day and sent her my book, Southern Fried Fiction, to review. Yes, indeed, I hope she likes it. But if she doesn’t, I equally hope she points out its strengths and weaknesses. I’ll listen and react. I’ll improve my story if it helps to reach a broader audience. That’s one of the benefits of going the self-published (CreateSpace), on-demand printing route.

Tomorrow, July 25, I will tune in to AUTHOR SCOOP! with Lead Host, Harmony Kent, at 12 Noon (CDT). It’s held the 4th Saturday of every month to dish out scoop on RRBC members. I’m expecting a range of news, from Blog tours, book releases, cover reveals, author events, book signings, awards won…even the birth of a new baby, marriage proposal, job promotion, etc.

Here’s my scoop: despite all my past mistakes and imperfections, the former Lisa Crandlemire agreed to marry me on July 11, 2015, at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Boise. I’ll post a copy of the amazing homily delivered by Bishop John Thornton as soon as I receive a digital copy!

Stuart Hotchkiss
July 24, 2015

37 thoughts on “Finding Nonnie Jules”

  1. Stuart, I am truly humbled! Thank you for this kindness! I am simply boiled over with your excitement for Rave Reviews Book Club! It is truly an awesome place to belong. I see you are taking the advice, jumping right in, making yourself known…and that my friend, will be your greatest key to success there! Keep your train chugging along just the way that it is! You’re doing good!

    Nonnie Jules
    BooksByNonnie.wordpress.com

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  2. Stuart, once again, you are welcome. If you are surprised at the little you have seen so far, wait until you get to know how supportive our members are. Nonnie simply started something awesome, and what we do best is support one another. You have not seen anything yet! 🙂

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  3. Stuart, it’s so great to have a committed, excited member such as yourself joining the ranks of RRBC! With this sort of enthusiasm, you are going to fit right in with those of us who are so passionate about what we get to do – to get our names out there, but also the names of our fellow members. I look forward to getting to know you better. (And congratulations on your marriage!!)

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  9. This is a lovely post, Stuart! Congratulations on marrying Lisa, and best wishes to you both for a happy future 🙂 Looking forward to the show today! The book club is one of the best things I’ve discovered since becoming an author. Welcome, welcome, welcome! 🙂

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  12. Welcome to RRBC, Stuart! You will have fun, meet amazing people, and definitely get an honest take on your work. All these things help authors keep writing, feel connected in the lonely world of writing, and have the tools to put forth their best work possible! You will be truly thankful you found this club. I know I am!

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  14. Rave Reviews Book Club has been taking a very active interest lately in supporting authors on their blog posts, with visits, COMMENTS, LIKES, Re-tweets, shares on other social media forums…ENGAGEMENT. When I was introduced to this blog post by Stuart, there were absolutely ZERO social media shares, ZERO comments…nothing. By the time RRBC got wind of his post (and Stuart is a new member, by the way) this is what was left behind. In ONE day’s time: 30 comments, 29 tweets, 5 FB shares, etc…ENGAGEMENT! This is what we do for each other in this club, we turn out and we SUPPORT! I’d like to thank Beem Weeks, Harmony Kent, Traci Sanders, Shirley Slaughter, Michelle Abbott, Joy Bamijoko, Jan Hawke, Kim Cox, John Fioravanti, Linda Mims, Rhani D’Chae, Bethany Turner and ALL the subsequent members and non-members who will stop by to support Stuart in his new venture of blogging! Stuart, thank you for taking that tip and running with it, thank you for stopping to ENGAGE with your visitors. This was a beautiful post (and I am truly humbled by the kind words) but what came after the post, is mind-boggling in a great way! RRBC rawks!!!!

    http://www.BooksByNonnie.wordpress.com

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  15. Stuart I got a notice in my mailbox on this post so I came back in again and found myself reading it all over again. Truer words were never written. Nonnie is a pioneer of ideas to help Indie Authors and there is nothing like it anywhere else. I admire and respect everything she has done to advance our interest. She comes up with the most amazing ideas and they always go over well with the membership. Every now and then somebody tries to remake what she is doing but they always fail because she is the original. There is no one else like her. Your post is just reminding the rest of us who have been here a long time and tend to take things for granted. Thank you Stuart and thank you Nonnie. You Rock!!

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