By Kathy Brown.
(May 26, 2021) — Last November, one of our staff reviewed the mystery novel, “Who Took Hannah,” by local author C. J. Knapp. Her newest book, “Secrets of Skinny,” is a non-fiction work. C. J. Knapp is the pen name of Carole Knapp Johnson, who has been a resident of Haddam Neck for over 30 years.
Like her first novel, this book is independently published. Unlike traditional publishing where you find an agent, then a publisher, in independent publishing, the author is responsible for everything: editing, formatting, and marketing. “You give up control when you publish traditionally,” said Carole.
Carole is a self-professed “type A” personality. Before she retired, Carole held many jobs, including as an estimator for a book-binding company, a nationally certified hypnotist, counseling people on weight loss, and a partner in a graphic design firm, while raising her two sons. She was also a speaker on “how we create our own reality.” Now she is writing books, learning how to market them through Facebook and Amazon, and she also paints and adds to her gallery on fineartamerica.com.
Amazon’s list of books that comes up from a search is the product of
an algorithm. Authors who receive good “verified” reviews get closer to the top of the list, so if you read one of Carole’s books and feel inclined, leave a comment on Amazon. Her books are available on Amazon in print, as well as Kindle. “I’m working on getting them in bookstores,” said Carole. “I’m constantly in a learning curve to accomplish visibility.”
After “Who Took Hannah,” readers asked for a sequel so they could find out “what happens next,” but she decided to take a break from that series and publish “Secrets of Skinny” because “I’ve watched people struggle with weight and dieting and wanted to pass on what I learned.” So she completed this book in three months.
“Secrets of Skinny” is a thin volume, and it doesn’t contain any recipes. It does, however, talk about the most popular diets out there, and exercise. But it’s not really exercising; it’s more about moving, according to Carole. She also talks about attitude and how important it is. She makes a pretty good argument. If you want to learn more, you know where to look!
The next book will be part of the Hannah series, “The Search for Hannah.” She explained, “My characters are nudging me to tell their story. Smile.”
Related
