You: The World of Thoughts Matters By Rose S. White

8/15/2020

Debut author, Rose S. White, introduces us to her first book, “You: The World of Thoughts Matters”:
A message from one man could change her life forever…
Mei finds more solace in the world of imagination than she does in the real world. Stuck in a relationship that isn’t going anywhere, she longs for something more. When she receives a message from a man online, she begins talking to him and soon discovers exactly what she has been missing. Soon her whole world is transformed as is Mei.
A story of loneliness, love and hope.

This such a cute book, it’s quite remarkable also. It’s well out of my normal reading range, but I was instantly attracted to the cover. All of those colors appearing where her head was. It made me very curious. I invented several ideas to explain the cover and decided I had to read it.
The blurb does a good job of hinting at the story without giving anything away. I shall not spoil it for you either.
Like the cover, this story is full of color and surprises. We are privy to all of Mei’s thoughts about everything in her life. Sometimes her thoughts are connected to her activity at the moment and other times they are elsewhere. Her thought life is quite rich.
As a young, professional woman, Mei is drifting through life. She has ambition, she wants to move up the ladder, but she doesn’t have a solid anchor. So many of us don’t. She is living her life to meet general expectations that others have placed on her. Then something happens to shake her world.
I award 4 stars to “You: The World of Thoughts Matters”.

You can buy this book:
https://amazon.com/You-Thoughts-Rose-S-White-ebook
https://www.goodreads.com/-you-world-of-thoughts-matters
https://www.amazon.co.uk/You-World-of-Thoughts-Rose-S-White

You can follow the author:
https://twitter.com/RoseSWhite8
https://amazon.com/Rose-S-White

Fantasy, romance

Copyright © 2020 Mark L. Schultz, except for the author’s introduction.

25 Comments

Rose S. White link

8/19/2020 10:15:31 am

Hi Mark, thank you so much for your review - I enjoyed your interpretation a lot. And you are spot on! "You" is a poignant, complex story about a 30 year-old woman who wants to connect with people on a deeper level. Written through her mind's eye with expectations put forth in fabulous detail, Mel tells a story of passionate affairs, loneliness and hope, that leads to personal transformation and new priorities to control her world of thoughts by falling in love rationally. Will it be enough to make her dreams come true?

Mark

8/19/2020 10:35:29 am

You are very welcome. I am not sure that I have read a book quite like that before. I am glad I have read it.
First question.
Please, tell us more about yourself. Perhaps something a little bit beyond your bio.

8/19/2020 11:00:53 am

Sure, my pleasure.

So lets start from the beginning; I was born into quite average family - but then again, what is an average family? Since then, my life has been dominated by a confusing mix of left and right brain hemispheres, jumping from the analytical and highly sophistic tasks to creative and free-spirited adventures. I was always interested in analyzing people and their actions, in a hidden way. And that's when I got the idea to create a book, that can play with thoughts of a person and observe, how the thoughts lead to actions and influence the reality of a person. And how you can control your thoughts and make them work for you.

And the making of the book took about three years, mostly while I was exploring beautiful Swiss Alps and having the perspective from the different altitudes.

8/19/2020 11:14:37 am

I took a class many years ago and one of the things I learned was that there are physiological differences between the brains of men and women. One big difference was that the connection between the two hemispheres is majorly severed for the male fetus during the gestation process. For the the female fetus the connection remains whole. This connection differential is what allows a man to focus all of his attention on a single goal to the exclusion of everything else. For a woman having a complete hemispherical connection she is able to receive all of the environmental input available to her.
I love the premise of your book. Controlling our thoughts is an important skill that many have not attained.
I also enjoyed that it was set in Switzerland because I have visited your country many years ago and thoroughly enjoyed the beauty and grandeur that surrounded me.
New questions.
Are you a full-time or part-time writer?
Are you in the writing business for love of writing or for money?
What kind of work do you do? Feel free to skip that question, if you would rather not answer.

8/19/2020 11:53:26 am

I wonder if with the heavy mental training you can make both hemispheres work for you in the most optimal way. But your explanation very nicely describes the multitasking abilities of a woman (not that we have a choice anyway!) - and of a man :)

But to go back to your questions; I like to believe that I'm a writer. Writing is my true passion in this life. But it is not my main story. It's part of my hidden persona. My main story evolves around advanced technologies and their impact on our lives.

Writing therefore remains my passion and I have several books evolving in my thoughts. And I don't exclude that one day they become my main story. But you need to start somewhere. And if you don't look back, each single step can take you higher and further. If you truly believe, many things can be possible. And I for sure believe.

8/19/2020 12:28:24 pm

I don't think I will be ever to multi-task like a woman, but I have learned to switch focus rapidly. That is probably as good as it will get for me.
Biology has placed many limitations on our physiology.
I like how you describe your writer persona. I have never heard it put like that before, very poetic.
Writing is certainly a passion for you. Every writer starts at the same place, the beginning.
New questions.
Does your work have any influence on your writing?
Why did you choose this genre, or do you feel the genre chose you?

8/19/2020 12:55:04 pm

You put it very nicely, this genre found me, these topics just felt so close and so familiar that it was easy do deep dive in this world of thoughts and just put it on the paper. And the topic Love is so powerful and directs all of our lives in every aspect of it. In every possible direction too. So it felt good to write about this powerful force and brainstorm the ways to control it or at least try to direct it in the right way. And maybe it has something to do with the fact that I'm a very romantic person as well...just a little.

And there are two people (I call them angels among us) that inspired my writing: Paulo Coelho and his powerful and life changing Alchemist with a sea of hidden meanings. And Mel Robbins - with her 5 second rule and activation energy that does the magic in our lives.

8/19/2020 02:39:10 pm

Love is very powerful. Everyone wants to be loved and accepted for who they are. After the basic needs of survival and shelter are met, Love is the very next thing for most people. Sometimes we wonder if we are controlling Love or Love is controlling us. It does feel overwhelming at times.
New questions.
Who designed the cover of your book? Feel free to drop a link if appropriate.
What do the elements on the cover represent?
Was it hard to come up with the title? What was the process?

8/20/2020 03:17:38 am

It was not easy to decide for the cover photo, but in the end I was sitting on one of the mountains, alone, listened to the silence and I closed my eyes and I tried to imagine Mei or any of us really, with the palette of colors in our minds.

There were moments when I was thinging to add a lovers photo on the cover, to make my book fit the romance category. But in the end the leading theme in my book are thoughts about love and it felt more right to add a strong female character with lots of thoughts.

And this character stands still. And I have a feeling that sometimes we all try to stand still and look self-confident and under control, and that may not be the case in our thoughts at all times.

And then I looked for the appropriate photo and my designer gave it a final touch. And now there is confident Mei on the cover, with explosion of thoughts that are directing (and enriching) her life.

And the blue dress represents depth and stability, connects Mei to the sky (cloud of thoughts) and radiates intelligence, wisdom and faith.

The title has also a double meaning. It can mean a reader or it can mean a person that they are attracted to and the world in a certain time evolves around that person, with all the necessary ups and downs. And in any case, it will be The World of Thoughts that will be influencing and driving our actions, interpretations of the situations and impact our well-being.

And the good thing is, that we can control that - if we want to.

8/20/2020 09:03:55 am

As simple as the picture looks, there is a lot more going on than I expected. Keeping Mei by herself emphasizes the inner thought life. It also makes your book a little bit hard to categorize. As you mentioned, the cover doesn't fit the romance genre or category very well. It also doesn't fit the fantasy category, in the popular sense, neatly also. There are no dragons or wars to fight to save a kingdom. Except that these things do exist in a symbolic sense, in your book.
Our thoughts and impulses can drive us in ways that we may not enjoy unless we exercise control, you are so right.
New questions.
Were the character names difficult to develop? How did you choose them?
This is your first book on Amazon. Have you written others, that are published elsewhere or unpublished?
Have you entered any writing contests?
Have you won awards of any kind for your writing?

8/20/2020 12:22:44 pm

You - The World of Thoughts Matters is my first book. At the moment it sells on Amazon in paperback and ebook version. The book was submitted for the Independent Press Award contest (Spring edition).

More information about the contest: https://www.independentpressaward.com/
Since the book is very fresh on the market - the promotion started only in May 2020, it did not get lucky yet to receive an award.

And about less technical part of the questions - names were selected completely randomly. I was looking at long lists of names on the web and thinking, what name would match the most the persona that I was trying to build. And somehow I felt the names and gave them to the characters.

8/20/2020 01:10:57 pm

Good luck in that competition. There are a lot of competitions out there and some of them are scams. Many are completely honest and above board. https://annerallen.com/2019/05/beware-bogus-writing-contests/ This link is to a great blog by one of my favorite bloggers. She posts a list of honest competitions under her blogs.
It is amazing what kind of information is available on the internet. There are websites devoted to the popular baby names of each year and decade, going quite a way into the past. The names resonated with you for your characters, many authors mention about fitting names just like that.
New questions.
I noticed that your book is in Kindle Unlimited. How is that working out for you?
Have you ever gone through the query process, seeking an agent or submitting directly to publishers or did you go straight to indie publishing or self-publishing, and why?
What are the main advantages of being self-published as opposed to getting a book deal?

8/21/2020 03:46:27 am

I decided to go straight to self-publishing, to get the book out as soon as possible. Looking for the right agent that would be interested in representing the book seemed like a complex and time consuming process and if writing is only your hobby, you can't afford that time.

But I do think that you can reach broader audience and achive greater book sales if you get the right agent that can do the magic. But how to get to the right agent, is a puzzle that I can't solve at the moment. But I'm definitly open to cooperation with an agent.

Kindle Unlimited is working good for me. I think it's a good way to share awareness about the book. I was never interested in great earnings from the book, so enrollement in that program seemed like a good fit to put a book in as many pairs of hands as possible.

Self publishing offers you quick go-to-market strategy, reaching global audience fast and freedom do decide about your channels for promotion, price, design etc.

But I'm sure a book deal can have advantages as well - especially if your primary interest with the book is getting income.

8/21/2020 10:09:42 am

You saved yourself months of waiting, if not more than a year. So many authors never have success in finding an agent or a traditional publisher.
The traditional publishing industry has been shrinking for years because Amazon not only upset the apple cart they smashed it into bits. Shrinking profits and profit margins have caused the traditional publishers to stop taking chances on unknown authors. Some publishers won't even look at an author without a backlist of several books with good sales and a mailing list of thousands.
Ethical agents are mostly the same, they don't get paid until the author signs a contract with a publisher. Advances have shrunk to nearly nothing in most cases also. The advance has to be paid back through sales before the author sees any royalties.
One of the big differences with self-publishing is the author retains creative control. They are also responsible for all the marketing, which most traditionally published authors are also shocked to find they are saddled with.
Another difference is that the author gets to keep the profits also.
Realizing income from selling books is a long term game. With over a million books being published each year it takes steady effort to promote and market a book.
Fortunately there are a lot of excellent blogs written about all of this. I have several good Guest Blogs elsewhere on my website as well as a large number of links on the Highly Regarded Blogs page.
New questions.
After rejecting traditional publishing, did you consider an independent or hybrid publisher?
Or did you choose self-publishing as the best way and why?
What are the three most important considerations for an independent author to be certain of when signing a contract with an independent or hybrid publisher?
If a new writer asked you for one piece of advice to be a good writer what would you say?

8/21/2020 11:51:55 am

Thank you Mark for these very valuable insights into the publishing world. I agree, the fastest way is self-publishing, but the marketing is like a black whole - you have no idea what channels will perform the best, what tactics will perform the best, what audience will react the most and how to get people's attention. We all have such a limited amount of time each day, it's difficult to get into people's heads and still some attention.

Could you tell me more about what you mean with hybrid publisher? I'm not sure I'm familiar with this concept.

A one piece of advice that I would give to the new writers is, to write with your heart. Don't ever think about likeability of what you are writing. You are writing for you first. People can feel the heart that is put in the book.
And - there will always be haters. But most importantly, there will always be admireres as well. Focus on those!

8/21/2020 12:07:14 pm

Time is the most valuable commodity! No question about that. I tell authors to devote at least an hour or two of writing time every week or two for marketing activities. Slow and steady wins the race. It is a very long race.
A hybrid publisher invites the writer to share in the publishing costs, frequently, they offer a variety of services such as cover making, editing and proofreading, promoting and more as extra costs. Then the hybrid publisher gives more of the profits back to the author.
There are also scam publishers that masquerade as regular or hybrid publishers. They seek to empty the writer's wallet as much as possible and frequently try to steal the intellectual property rights of the author. That is the biggest sin in my mind. The IP rights of an author are key to future profits from the book.
Take a look at the blog called Writers Beware, it has invaluable information to avoid the scammers.
That is good advice.
New questions.
How was the experience publishing your book with Amazon?
Is using Twitter and other social media part of your marketing strategy?
Did you use Amazon ads or other platforms such as Facebook or Bookbub?

8/21/2020 12:19:31 pm

Very interesting information about hybrid publishers and valuable information in case they reach out. I need to look at that Writers Beware and learn more about it for sure to get a perspective. Like you said - it's a long road. And if you invest and hour or two every week, you are moving slowly, but steadily.

And it's important to move, even if just a little by little. And reading such blogs and informing yourself in parallel is necessary too, so that you don't fall in the trap when you get there.

Publishing experience with Amazon was great and easy. I had no prior experience with publishing, I like to joke that this is my Book MBA and I'm learning from scratch and getting to know the process.

I also compare publishing of a book to delivery process of a baby - long time needed before you introduce it to the world - even more attention and efforts needed, when they are out.

At the moment my promotion is heavily focused on Twitter and Goodreads. I don't exlude other channels in the future. Would be great to know what works the best!

I have also tried Amazon promotion, it's easy to set it up on the plaftorm and you have always great insights into your performance. And you can reach the world instantly!

8/21/2020 01:18:58 pm

There are a lot of blogs about publishing and ads and every other aspect of writing and the business of writing. Consuming those blogs will help a lot of writers avoid making serious mistakes. Yes, it takes time. Again, slow and steady makes true progress.
I am glad to hear that the experience of publishing on Amazon was easy.
Gestating and birthing a baby is a very apt comparison to writing and publishing a book.
New questions.
Have you thought about offering a large-print edition of your books?
Have you thought about doing an audio book?

8/24/2020 03:09:04 am

So far I didn't consider a large-print edition of my book. An audio book though sounds like a very interesting choice as more and more people prefer to listen to the book instead of reading it. And it's more convenient to do so while commuting to work or relaxing in the evening or having a walk....I don't have it at the moment, but it's on my to do list.

8/24/2020 10:03:32 am

Audio books are very popular and their use is exploding worldwide. There are many countries where English is the official language of business and government. Therefore, English is taught in schools from the earliest age. Many of these countries have millions of citizens that access the internet through a smart phone only. An audio book is the perfect form for consumption.
I recently had the opportunity to interview a narrator as part of the author interview, here is a copy and paste link: https://www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/heir-to-a-prophecy-by-mercedes-rochelle-narrated-by-kevin-e-green
or search for the name of the book, Heir to a Prophecy.
You can also search audio books on my Highly Regarded Blogs page. Many blogs have been written about that subject. Additionally, I have a list of narrators on my Twitter home page.
New questions.
Why is it important for writers to tap into the emotions of the characters?
Have you ever done NaNoWriMo?

8/24/2020 10:10:40 am

What is a NaNoWriMo?! :)

I think that the reach emotional life of the characters is crucial for building personas that can feel relatable to the readers. I was studying emtional states through blogs, pshycological articles, magazines and slowly building "complex" inner world of Mei. I was trying to capture the emotions many of us would feel when going through dissapointment in love or growing from our own experiences and entering the so called Love 2.0 phase, when you know more and you control more.

8/24/2020 11:09:00 am

NaNoWriMo is the National Novel Writing Month contest. The goal is to write 50,000 first draft words of a novel in one month, November. Less than 2000 words a day. A lot of people join groups on Twitter and Facebook for mutual support and encouragement.
You are right, the emotional connection is critical for readers to feel a relevance and relationship to the characters in a book. Without that the characters seem flat and many will close the book without finishing it.
Last questions.
What was your goal in writing this book? Did you achieve it?
Has your life turned out differently than expected or planned?

8/24/2020 02:35:09 pm

Great to know about NaNoWriMo. Maybe I try it for the next book, it sounds like an interesting push to move the things forward.

My final goal with this book is that the book becomes a movie. I'm not there yet. But I hope that with the steady promotion that will happen one day. That is my biggest wish.

And a super difficult question for the end :)

I think it's difficult to say, if my life is different from what I have expected. I think it's difficult to expect things from life in general.

If I take a simple wish that I had for this life - to be happy - then I did achieve it.
But people need different things in their lives to be happy.

Life happens. There are many things that are not in our control and many that are in full control.

People in your life happen. Or they don't happen. Or you are opening and closing the door, in professional and personal life.

It's all an exciting game really. As long as you follow your intuition and your heart you are on the right path for you.

I'm happy with where I am.
And I'm looking very much forward to what's next too.

8/24/2020 02:50:28 pm

There are a lot of blogs written about books into movies, that is a common dream among authors. With increased streaming there is going to be more producers looking for original quality material.
Life is full of choices and then we get to enjoy the consequences of our choices. Sometimes we get to enjoy the consequences of the choices made by others.
Thank you Rose for sharing about your writing and publishing journey. We got off to a late start, unfortunately. I have another promotion that starts tomorrow, so I must say farewell for now and keep writing, your fans will be happy to see another book.

8/25/2020 01:47:23 am

Thank you very much Mark, that was lots of fun. I really appreciate your time and effort. Have fun with your next project!

You: The World of Thoughts Matters By Rose S. White

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