Carrie Schmidt – Giveaway and Endorser Spotlight

Carrie Schmidt – Giveaway and Endorser Spotlight

Counterfeit Hope is about two weeks from its release date and one thing I always like to do leading up to my release day is to take time to put the spotlight on the authors who endorsed my book. Not only did they sacrifice their time to read it, but they also wrote words that touched my heart and encouraged me. These are authors that I respect and look up to. Authors who know their craft, have been writing far longer than I have, and know what makes a good story. To be endorsed by them is an honor that I cannot express adequately.

For the next five weeks, I am going to continue to spotlight an endorser, share what they have to say about Counterfeit Hope, share more about them, the books they’ve written, and how you can connect with them, as well as give you a chance to win one of their books. At the end of each post, I hope you will leave the author an uplifting note so they may be encouraged just as they have encouraged me.


I am pleased to introduce to you . . .

Carrie Booth Schmidt

Author of Getting Past the Publishing Gatekeepers: Winning the Hearts of Agents, Publishers, Editors, and Readers

Carrie Schmidt is an avid reader, book reviewer, story addict, KissingBooks fan, book boyfriend collector, and cool aunt. She also loves Jesus and THE Story a whole lot. Carrie started the popular blog ReadingIsMySuperPower.org in 2015 and since then has had the honor of co-founding the Christian Fiction Readers’ Retreat and JustRead Publicity Tours. In addition to these endeavors, she is a regular contributor to Seekerville and has written for magazines such as RT Book Reviews and Christian Market. Carrie now lives in Georgia with her husband, though her roots range from East Tennessee to Central Kentucky and northern Illinois. You can connect with Carrie on ReadingIsMySuperPower.org.

Connect with Carrie: Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram BookBub  |  Goodreads  |  Pinterest

What Carrie had to say about Counterfeit Hope:

“Crystal Caudill’s debut novel captivated me from word one, and her follow-up offering did exactly the same. Even if all it offered was a swoony romance and riveting historical suspense, that would be enough to keep readers glued to the pages. And yet . . . Full of emotional depth, complicated family dynamics, and tender redemption, Counterfeit Hope does more than entertain—it wraps the reader in grace. A fantastic sophomore novel from a fresh voice in the genre!”

Purchase Links for Counterfeit Hope: Amazon  | Barnes & Noble  |  Books-A-Million  |  Book Despository  |  Bookshop.org  |  Christianbook  |  Logos  |  Indiebound

Carrie’s Blog and Book

Carrie has been part of the book blogging world for almost a decade, and boy is she the go-to woman to go to when it comes to learning about new releases, “Top Ten” lists, and so much more. She’s SO knowledgeable about the reader world that she teamed up with three other experts in the publishing industry to publish a book to help writers learn what it takes to get past the publishing gatekeepers. You can find the information for that below.

Getting Past the Publishing Gatekeepers: Winning the Hearts of Agents, Publishers, Editors, and Readers

Remember when Dorothy finally reached the Emerald City only to be halted by the Gatekeeper, blocking her hopes of seeing the Great and Powerful Wizard?

The path to publication is like that. Agents, and Editors, and Publishers, oh, my! Each one is a barrier between you and a publishing contract.

But what if you understood what agents, editors, publishers, and readers really want?

If you’re struggling to get past the publishing gatekeepers, this book will give you a behind-the-scenes peek at how to win the heart of each type of publishing professional. In fact, Getting Past the Publishing Gatekeepers won’t just give you a peek—it will give you a guided tour. In this book, four publishing professionals—an agent, a publisher, an editor, and an influencer—share what it takes to unlock each “gate” within the publishing industry.

Getting Past the Publishing Gatekeepers is a must-have resource for all aspiring authors, and it offers insights to help multi-published authors as well.

Purchase Links for Getting Past the Publishing Gatekeepers: Amazon  | Barnes & Noble  |  Books-A-Million

Top Ten Tuesday Posts – Check out her various lists: series, top reads, etc

 

 

 

Review Archives – Check out all Carrie’s book reviews

 

 


Giveaway

I am giving away one e-book copy of Carrie’s Getting Past the Publishing Gatekeepers to someone who leaves an encouraging message for Carrie below between February 3rd and February 10th. The giveaway ends at 11:59 pm EST and is open to US and international residents legally able to enter (follow your country’s rules). If you would like to earn extra entries, use the Rafflecopter widget below. The only requirement to be entered is that you leave Carrie an encouraging note on this post. Thank you for participating.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Please leave Carrie an encouraging message below.

 

Meet the Gatekeeper: Carrie Schmidt

Meet the Gatekeeper: Carrie Schmidt

Carrie Schmidt is one of my favorite people. Her heart for books, authors, and the reading community is like no one else I know. She seems to do nothing but eat, sleep, and breathe bookish EVERYTHING. The woman wears more hats than shoes on a millipede. I don’t know HOW she juggles it all. But I’m getting ahead of myself. FIRST, let’s get you introduced properly.

Schmidt is an avid reader, book reviewer, story addict, KissingBooks fan, book boyfriend collector, and cool aunt. She also loves Jesus and THE Story a whole lot. Carrie started the popular blog ReadingIsMySuperPower.org in 2015 and since then has had the honor of co-founding the Christian Fiction Readers’ Retreat and JustRead Publicity Tours. In addition to these endeavors, she is a regular contributor to Seekerville and has written for magazines such as RT Book Reviews and Christian Market. Carrie now lives in Georgia with her husband, though her roots range from East Tennessee to Central Kentucky and northern Illinois.

You can connect with Carrie on ReadingIsMySuperPower.org, Facebook @meezcarriereads or @meezcarriewrites, and everywhere else social at @meezcarrie.

DEAL ALERT: *Subscribe to the Publishing Gatekeepers newsletter (https://publishinggatekeepers.com/newsletter-signup/) and receive a tip sheet on 12 ways for getting past the gatekeepers.

Now for the fun stuff! I have to admit I am partial to my Fast Five. 🙂 So settle in as I hit Carrie with rapid-fire.

 

CC: Milk or Dark Chocolate?

CS: Milk. Always milk.

CC: Print or E-book?

CS: Yes. LOL. I love having print copies around me, so I can hug them occasionally. But with the amount of reading I do, I pretty much read exclusively on Kindle these days because I can enlarge the font to an obnoxious size to reduce eye strain 🙂 

CC: Cat or Dog Person?

CS: Dogs. There’s nothing quite like the unconditional love of a dog.

Morning Person or Night Owl?

CS: The last time I was a morning person was as a little girl when I would wake my parents very sweetly pre-dawn with “I waaaaaked uhhhhh-uhhhhp” lol. I’m definitely a night owl!

CC: Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter?

CS: WINTER. But, I should clarify – I mean the northern Illinois kind of winter that I grew up with. The winters we had in Kentucky and now in Georgia really don’t count lol.

CC: How did I not know you grew up in Illinois. I guess since first met you when you were in Kentucky, I just assumed you were a Kentucky girl. Well, let’s see what else I don’t know.

What is your favorite Bible verse?

CS: One of my favorite Bible verses is Micah 7:8 – “Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.” (NIV). This became one of ‘my’ verses after a season of deep depression and panic attacks in my 20’s and early 30’s. It’s a sweet reminder to me that, even though we may go through times of darkness and/or brokenness, the enemy doesn’t get a vote in our worth or the power of the Savior who is our Advocate. That promise that the Lord will be my light is so tender to me.

CC: Amen. That is such an encouragement and one I need to highlight in my Bible.

What do you like to do when you AREN’T reading or writing?

CS: I love puzzles (word or jigsaw) and I occasionally get the urge to pick up cross-stitching again.

CC: I love puzzles too, but the cross-stitching impresses me. It looks so neat, but I’m not sure I”ve got the patience for it.

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? (And I’m laughing as I ask this because I know the answer even before you give it.)

CS: Confession: I don’t want to be a writer. I love reading too much lol. But I DO want to help writers. Everything I do – from my blog to CFRR to JustRead Tours to the Art of Writing Conference and this book – has come from a heart of wanting to give back to the authors who have so many times “stood between my heart & Satan’s knife” (to quote Andrew Peterson’s All the Poets I Have Known song). I love fiction in nearly all its forms, and I love being able to connect authors and readers, in many ways as the go-between for the two groups. That’s why I accepted the invitation to write my section of Getting Past the Publishing Gatekeepers. It also gave me another way to honor my sweet Dad who went home to Jesus almost a year ago. He always told me I would write a book someday, and now I have.

CC: We appreciate you so much, Carrie! Both on the reader and author side of things. AND I ADORE that your Dad told you that you’d write a book someday. He must be getting a real kick out of watching you from Heaven.

Let’s talk about Getting Past the Publishing Gatekeepers.Getting Past the Publishing Gatekeepers: Winning the Hearts of Agents, Publishers, Editors, and Readers by [Linda Fulkerson, Hope Bolinger, Rowena Kuo, Carrie Schmidt]

Remember when Dorothy finally reached the Emerald City only to be halted by the Gatekeeper, blocking her hopes of seeing the Great and Powerful Wizard?

The path to publication is like that. Agents, and Editors, and Publishers, oh, my! Each one is a barrier between you and a publishing contract.

But what if you understood what agents, editors, publishers, and readers really want?

If you’re struggling to get past the publishing gatekeepers, this book will give you a behind-the-scenes peek at how to win the heart of each type of publishing professional. In fact, Getting Past the Publishing Gatekeepers won’t just give you a peek—it will give you a guided tour. In this book, four publishing professionals—an agent, a publisher, an editor, and an influencer—share what it takes to unlock each “gate” within the publishing industry.

Getting Past the Publishing Gatekeepers is a must-have resource for all aspiring authors, and it offers insights to help multi-published authors as well.

Purchase your copy at  Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Books Depository  BookbubGoodreads

CC: You have a real heart for the publishing industry, authors, and books, and I know that is why you agreed to be a part of this great writing resource. Tell our readers what perspective you brought to this collection. How is it different from other writing resources out there?

CS: My perspective is a bit different than the other authors of this book, because I’m talking about what happens after you’ve made it past all the other industry gatekeepers. You have a published (or soon-to-be) book and now you need to get it read. How do you find readers? How do you keep them once you’ve found them? I think the book overall is different from other writing resources because it is written from four separate professional perspectives, each of us bringing our own years of expertise to our distinct sections. It’s like going to a writing conference and taking four different classes without having to change rooms.
CC: I love that and so much cheaper than a writing conference!
What is the most important thing that you hope writers walk away with after reading your section of the book? 
CS: My ‘most important thing’ is really three things lol. First, I pray that they are encouraged that their story matters – the one they’re writing & the one they’re living. Second, I hope they walk away with a new perspective and appreciation for readers & influencers and the voluntary-but-vital role each plays in promoting an author’s books. And finally I want them to close the book feeling less overwhelmed about how to find & keep readers.
CC: I love all those things, especially the last one, and I think this book really has given writers a way to feel lest overwhelmed.
There were a couple of places where you talked about surveying readers. Was there anything that you found surprising when conducting your surveys? Or were your thoughts confirmed? 

CS: Mostly my thoughts were confirmed … BUT I was surprised when I surveyed readers about what most influences them to try a new-to-them author. However, the surprise wasn’t what does influence them. It was what doesn’t. Two things that I honestly thought would show up, didn’t. You’ll have to read the book to find out what they were 😉

CC: Ha! Ha! I see what you did there, but it is absolutely worth picking up the book to find out!
Thank you so much for joining me today and sharing your wisdom and experiences. As my final question, I have my usual “Fun Question”.
If you could travel anywhere without worry about cost, where would you travel?

CS: I would love to travel to Scotland some day…. but it would need to be in a private jet or something because flying terrifies me. So I’d want a big plane with just me & my travel companions (and the pilots, of course lol) and a big recliner or bed where I could just take some kind of pill and not wake up until I got there. Hence the need to not worry about cost 🙂

CC: Ha ha! It sounds like you’ll need a good dose of bravery should the opportunity arise!

 


Reader, what would be YOUR mascot?

Endorser Spotlight: Carrie Schmidt

Endorser Spotlight: Carrie Schmidt

One of the most nerve-racking parts of being an author is sending your book out into the world for the first time, knowing you can no longer change a single word of your book. Thankfully, the first people to read my novel outside of my critique partners and the Kregel team are endorsers. I am so honored and encouraged by the ladies who read my book and then wrote up beautiful endorsements. For the next few months, I’m going to feature one endorser every couple of weeks. So settle in, hear what they have to say about Counterfeit Love, and then learn about who they are, the books they’ve written, and how you can connect with them. Maybe you will be blessed to discover a new author . . . or in today’s case, a book blogger.

At the end, I’d be blessed if you would leave an encouraging note for this author who has encouraged me so much!


I am pleased to introduce you to . . .

Carrie Schmidt

aka Meez Carrie

Carrie is the author of the Reading is my Super Power blog. She is also an avid reader, book reviewer, story addict, KissingBooks fan, book boyfriend collector, cool aunt, and a little bit Yankee & a little bit y’all. She loves Jesus and THE Story a whole lot.

Connect with Carrie:

 

What she had to say about Counterfeit Love:

“With swoony romance, intriguing history, gripping plot twists, and strong characters, Counterfeit Love is one of the strongest debut novels I’ve ever read! Caudill’s writing voice is pitch-perfect and draws readers immediately into the heart of the story, holding them in thrall until the end. And did I mention the swoony romance?? I couldn’t put it down, and I am already eagerly waiting for the next book!”

Y’all, I continue to be knocked speechless. Carrie reads HUNDREDS of books a year. Her words have just blown me away and made me “squeally” all at the same time. Who knew I wrote swoony romance? I blame it all on my husband. Thank you, Carrie! (And I’m shamelessly putting the link to Counterfeit Love here if you would like to learn more or preorder it.)

 

Reading is My Super Power

Reading is My Super Power is one of my absolute favorite book blogs. From Top Ten Tuesdays, honest book reviews, book spotlights, author Q&A’s, excerpts, First Line Fridays, and easy to find giveaways, I can always leave Carrie’s blog with a new pile of books to add to my TBR. She even has a Facebook group where daily suggestions and reviews come up from other members of the group. It’s a great place to hang and really enjoy the world of Christian fiction. 

I’ve stolen some from Carrie’s about page to help you get an idea of what an amazing place her blog is.

What can you expect from this blog?

Books reviewed honestly and from the heart, written out of my love for stories and my knowledge of what makes good fiction. Interviews with some of my favorite authors. Giveaways of some of my favorite books. Top Ten Tuesdays. Gushing over my latest book boyfriends. (Sorry, oh-so-tolerant hubby!)

The highlight of blogging for me is when I am able to introduce you to your next favorite read or a new-to-you author!

What kind of books do you review?

My passion is Christian fiction, but I have a handful of go-to authors in the general market as well. I love to laugh. I love books that touch my heart too. I read both historical and contemporary fiction, and I’m always on the outlook for another great kissingbook! If it’s got suspense, all the better. You won’t find much science fiction/fantasy here, other than fairy tales and the occasional nod to Narnia or Harry Potter, though I’m starting to find many more books that I love in this speculative genre. No vampires or werewolves, though.

Do you ever do anything besides read?

Not willingly. 😉 Actually, in my other life, I live in Georgia with my hubby, and I’m the long-distance cool aunt to TEN-going-on-eleven nieces and nephews. When I’m not blogging here at RimSP, you can find me at SeekervilleDiversity Between the Pages, and Hoarding Books. I also used to review for RT Book Reviews.

Not sure where to start? Here are some popular posts/pages:

 


Leave an encouraging note for Erica Vetsch in the comments. This writing journey is rough, and I’d love to bless her as much as she has blessed me.

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