FM MEREDITH SHARES SECRETS ON ORGANIZING A BLOG TOUR

Marilyn Meredith, aka FM Meredith,  is one of the most prolific writers I know. The woman is a bundle of energy and I can't figure out how she does it. As all writers know (and most reader's suspect) writing a book is a huge and complicated job. 

One of the first hurdles to clear is to sell your book to a publisher and sign that contract:

SIGNING THE CONTRACT

Many readers think that the last chore on a writer's to-do list is typing 'The End,' at the bottom of the last page.

WRONG!

Today Marilyn tells readers about of one of the final tasks for a writer: THE BLOG TOUR for promotion purposes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Summing Up My Blog Tour for A CRUSHING DEATH

by FM Meredith

Right away, I knew I had two contenders who really wanted me to use their names for a character. And there was a third runner up. I decided to use the names of the two who tied:

Joseph Haggerty and Susan Tuttle. 

Interestingly, I know both of them in person. Joe because he’s a fellow member of Public Safety Writers Association, and Susan because she’s a fellow member of the Central Coast chapter of Sisters in Crime. Joe lives on the East Coast and Susan on the West. Because I’m just now starting the book, I have no idea who they’ll end up being.

The purpose of a blog tour, of course, is to interest people in your latest book and hope they will buy it. I asked my publisher if sales had happened during the tour, but though some books were purchased, nothing to get thrilled about. Though she did report that there had been sale in the earlier books in the series.

When planning a blog tour I tend to ask reliable hosts—those I can count on. However, to get my book and series exposed to new people, I try to ask bloggers I’ve never used before. Sometimes that works well, and others, not so much.

When on a blog tour, you want blog hosts who know how to set up a blog ahead of time so it will appear on the right date. You also want someone who knows how to use your cover photo and anything else you send.

Though I do proof read, often after the post appears I’m appalled to find a typo. In fact, I’ve thought about having a contest to give a prize to the person who finds the most typos during a tour. A good host will fix something if you let them know.

Do I think my tour was a success? Over 65 individuals left comments on the blogs—and I know many others just read them. Some people sent there comments to me via email. Though I recognized many of the names, there were others that were new to me.

Though it was a lot of work thinking up new topics to write about, or writing about something the host wanted, I enjoyed that part a lot. I am a writer, after all. The most work comes with the promoting of a new blog each day.

Now that the tour is over, I have much more time to write.

If you haven’t had a chance to read A Crushing Death, here’s the link to find it on Amazon.

A CRUSHING DEATH

http://www.amazon.com/Crushing-Death-Rocky-Bluff-P-D/dp/1610092260/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462997019&sr=8-1&keywords=a+crushing+death

Writing What You Know

“Write what you know,” said my first fiction instructor back in 1954. I was 17 and already a sophomore at the University of Oklahoma. Needless to say, I was in deep water and way over my head—at least socially. Due to this traditional writing advice, like most novelists, I drew from my personal life to write fiction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Book 1 
Grace Gets in Trouble

THE INCONVENIENT CORPSE, first book in my B&B mystery series, stars Grace Cassidy. She marries too young, loses her own identity trying to be perfect, and ends up broke and alone with a naked corpse in her room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Book 2Grace learns to spread her wings.

Book 3
Grace practices flying.

Through the series, Grace loses everything she owns, discovers her own personality, finds a new strength and her own autonomy.

            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Below is an article Grace has written for women on money, finances: 

MONEY TIPS FOR HAPPILY MARRIED WOMEN

(Or Who Think They Are)

by Grace Cassidy

Every woman should have money saved under her name alone. Married or not. Happy or not. In today’s world of changing mores and weakening family structure, a woman must always be able to support herself without help from anyone. Always have a bank account and a savings account under your own name and yours alone.

“Sounds selfish,” you say. “My husband loves me, and promises to always provide for me,” you say. “My husband takes care of all of our business,” you say.

That’s what I thought, too. Then suddenly the husband who adored me (or so I thought), ran off to the Cayman Islands with his secretary and took all of our resources with him. Most of it my family money. I was left with only the cash in my designer purse. (That purse, later sold on e-bay, was worth more than the money it held.)

“You would have credit cards!” you say.

Maybe so, but whatever you charge has to be repaid. By you. (This wasn’t a problem for me, since the girl friend called and reported each card as stolen.)

Be wise, and be safe. Here is what I suggest:

While still happily married start a savings account with some of your monthly household allowance. Be wise with the money under your control. Do you really need that $200 jar of night cream. After I was left penniless, I began using pig’s lard for night cream, and found that it worked as well as the fancy department store brand.

Jeans and T-shirts from Walmart or Target, that once I would never have even considered buying, looked great when I added an expensive scarf or brooch that I already owned.

You may never need this personal bankroll, but if your husband strays, or makes bad investments, or indulges in an unexpected midlife crisis, you are prepared to take care of yourself. And if necessary, care for an ill or injured husband who was smart enough to stick around. And with that advice, ladies, I leave to solve more mysteries. GC

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://facebook.com/Jacqking

http://twitter.com/jackieking9

Series or Single Title?

by June Shaw

In years past there were Nancy Drew mysteries, which countless people who became writers of mysteries read. I've heard many multi-published authors say they became inspired by reading those books. I am sad to say I read none of them. I wonder if it would help for me to read them now, although I think not. I think that to write modern mystery series better, I need to continue to read current ones. But if I'm wrong, it won't be the first time.

I was blessed to have many people my age in my neighborhood and a park and large public pool and schoolyard with lots of activities that kept me outside having fun, so I must confess I seldom sat inside reading a book that wasn't for homework while I grew up. There was band and twirling practice and sewing for home ec, and if my English I teacher told me he was sending me to a literary rally for English, it wasn't my fault. Most of the test was grammar, which I knew well, especially because my mother annoyed me by always correcting the way I spoke as a young teen. Yeah, I won. Blame it on her and our excellent teacher.

But none of the fun I was experiencing included much literature. In class we read poems (Ugh, I thought, although I wrote and sold a few years later) and short stories (better), and mythology (fun!), but we never had to read a novel, so I didn't. Just occasionally someone handed me Little Women or some other classic and I sat still long enough to read it. Then wonderful people and events came to life.

But none of those books started a series. They stood alone, strong and proud and making me wish I could read more of them. I guess that's why more authors started to write series. By that time I was a young bride having one baby after another (yep, good Catholics down here in S. La.), and who had time to think of reading a novel, much less a series?

Now the kids are grown. Their kids are growing, too. And I have discovered series--for mysteries and romance. I find that I often enjoy series more than stand-alone, although not always. It's characters that will keep me going back to spend more time with them. I also write both--series and stand-alones.

What about you? What type books do you enjoy? Does a series hook you and keep you, or do you prefer to discover someone and some place totally new in each book you read?


http//www.juneshaw.com

Being Creative While in Pain

by June Shaw

I know many of you writers know what it's like to try to be creative while you're in pain. Since I wound up with a severly herniated disc six weeks ago, many people keep asking if I'm writing a new book.

This afternoon, for example, I had a badly-needed pedicure. My heels had been snagging my sheets, and my toenails had gotten way too long. Ordinarily I could have taken care of both of these situations myself--use that heel thingie for my heels and trim my nails.

The problem--since I had surgery four weeks ago, the neurosurgeon had me lie down for two weeks. Since then, I can't lift anything heavy or bend over. The hole in my disc needs time to heal. I surely wouldn't trust disturbing that process with trying to reach my feet.

"Ah, so you had surgery on your back since I saw you," the young gent who gave me the great pedicure said. "And have you been writing another book?"

Pretty hard to get creative when you're limited or in pain, I've often thought when asked about this. "I've been doing marketing," I normally tell those who ask.
After all, Untreed Reads just put out my mystery series in ebooks that can be ordered by libraries, so I've been letting lots of them know about it. Also, this month Harlequin published my book DEADLY REUNION in paperback, so I'm letting some people know about that.

I've been getting ideas for other works, but really, I'm satisfied to heal for now and be around all these family members I love most.

Happy Thanksgiving to all, and if you're in pain, I hope you heal soon. It's nice to just take care of ourselves.

The Perils of Writing a Book

By June Shaw

I wasn't sure whether to call this post "The Perils of Writing a Book" or -- "The Perils of Cleaning Your House."

Why? you might ask.

Because one morning a month ago I sat at my desk in front of my computer and realized I wanted information from a piece of paper I'd placed on the floor to the right of my chair the evening before. Thus, with a smile, I twisted to the right from my seated position to grab that paper and zing -- excrutiating pain shot from my back and traveled down my left leg to my toes.

I took pain meds and muscle relaxers for two weeks but could still barely stand the pain. During that time, my left foot began to flop.

Eventually I was sent for an MRI, which showed I had a badly herniated disc. That, along with what I discovered was called foot drop in my left foot, made a neurosurgeon immediately schedule me for surgery.

I felt SO much better after the surgery, no pain in that leg and just about no foot drop. I was ordered to lie down for two weeks. Yes, I told him I was a writer and my computer... And he said No - No sitting, just rest.

Monday I went back to him after the two weeks, and he said okay, I could sit. "Go write another book," he told me. Yes!

I'm so far behind with everything but so almost pain free. And I guarantee you that when a sheet of paper falls to the floor, I leave it. (For the next month I need to be cautious and not bend over or lift anything heavy. A fork is just the right weight, I think.) My two grown daughters and my squeeze Bob have taken great care of me, and I would suggest to anyone that it's not good to twist the wrong way or twist and bend. I've been fortunate to live pain free most of my life, so I'm especially grateful.

During my month of pain and then lying down, the third book in my series, DEADLY REUNION, was released as an ebook from all distributors. And Harlequin, who'd bought reprint rights for their Worldwide Mystery division, also released it in paperback this week.

I'm trying to add both covers to show you but can't figure out how, and my brain and back are tired. I hope you'll check them out. And please excuse any errors in this post. I'm not up to proofreading it now. Anyway, I'm learning to avoid any work while I can: )

Best, June

What Are You Best At in Writing Novels?

by June Shaw

All of us have strengths in many areas of our lives and weaknesses in others. I'm so glad life works that way and gives us variety.

One of the areas where writers vary is their talent for creating stories.Some bring the most strength to creating characters. Others gloss over their characters and press on with their plots. Some others show their power to their voices that are unique. The best, of course, do an exceptional job with blending everything, making us really care for the people in their stories and pulling us along at an exciting pace with their plotting. They also have a writing voice we remember.

My main strength, I believe, is creating characters. The books I've always been drawn to make me care about the people in them. I love developing those who will live in my stories. Readers and reviewers often comment about my characters. For instance the main charcter in my mystery series, which Five Star published in hardcover and Untreed Reads will put on as e-books in July, August, and September, is Cealie Gunther. She's a spunky widow who wants to avoid her hunky ex-lover Gil Thurman so she can rediscover herself. But he opens Cajun restaurants wherever she travels -- and she is so bad at avoiding tempting dishes and men.

Lots of people say they love Cealie (and want Gil.) Some want Cealie in their families or as their best friends. She's fun and there's no telling what she'll say or do. That's what made her so much fun for me to be with her to see where she'll take me.

How about you? If you're a writer, what are your strengths? What area would you like to develop more?

www.juneshaw.com

Who Still Listens to Books?

by June Shaw How many people still listen to books? When my mom lived with me during her last few years, she listened to books on tape for the blind because macular degeneration had snatched most of her vision. Of course that was the reason she eventually, at the age of 98, agreed to leave her home and stay with me. I had lots of room. She had little vision--her only problem (which led me to write a book about her--at the prompting of many others. It was great of the company to send her a recorder and any cassettes she wanted me to order for her. The only problem was she couldn't see any part of the machine enough to know how to start or stop it. Or if she fell asleep while it played--what in the world was going on with that novel? She had no idea of what was taking place, so she lost interest. Of course she was happy that the company had provided it. Audio books for everyone else--who listens to them? I've seen them in Cracker Barrel stores and have been tempted to buy or rent them. But I'm not in my car enough to listen to taped books in it, and I surely wouldn't keep still enough to listen to one at my home. Who does, I wondered, until the youngest of my two daughters told me her eyes gave her trouble when reading, so she couldn't do it for long. She preferred books on tape. Ah, and today I received a contract for just that--Books in Motion wants to put the second book of my humorous mystery series on tape. Right when it seems most people are debating paper or e-books, I receive this reminder--many people still enjoy listening to books. RELATIVE DANGER, the first book in my humorous mystery series, has three very different covers created for each venue in which it is released. Here you'll find the covers for the hardcover version from Five Star, the paperback cover put out by Harlequin when they bought reprint rights, and the cover created by Books in Motion for the audio edition. http://www.juneshaw.com. You can also find there the cover for the hardcover edition. I wonder what the Books in Motion cover will look like. Have you ever had different covers for your books--or do you like to see them for the books others write?

Writing characters from one series into another...?

by Carola


I'm writing about lifeboats at present--a rescue from a cave. Both these types of boat are involved.

D-class inflatable inshore boat

I've had a lot of discussion on Facebook and on my website as to whether it's kosher to name the three lifeboats in my Cornish series mystery after characters in my Daisy Dalrymple series: the Daisy D., the Belinda, and the Lucy. These people, from the 1920s setting, would be in their 50s/70s by the time of the Cornish series.










The Royal National Lifeboat Institute is a volunteer organisation. RNLI boats are usually named after the donor(s) or fundraisers of the donations that paid for them. Daisy, her friend Lucy, and her stepdaughter, Belinda, could well have done this.

This is the actual Padstow lifeboat at the time of my story, now retired to Land's End.

The Oakley class--this is a 37'; Padstow actually had a 44', as pictured above.

Lots of readers liked the idea of a nod to the Daisy series. A few didn't like it, but those few had very strong opinions on the subject.


What do you think? Is it a mistake to intrude one series on another, in such a minor way? Maybe next I'll have an older Daisy turn up in Cornwall and meet Eleanor...

All photos courtesy of RNLI