I thought I would pass this video on to you guys…it’s really very informative.  This is a 60 minute webinar by Brent Sampson, CEO of Outskirts Press and the author of Sell Your Book on Amazon.  You can’t go wrong with this kind of advice!

Pump Up Your Book is pleased to announce Karen Glick’s Questions in the Silence Virtual Book Tour 2012 beginning on January 3 and ending on January 27 2012. Karen will be on hand during her worldwide tour promoting her book and giving us candid interviews and guest posts where we learn more about the author, she will have her first Twitterview and AuthorVid, both implemented by Pump Up Your Book, as well as giving her fans an opportunity to talk to her live via Pump Up Your Book’s chat room on January 27 where she will be giving away a copy of her book, Questions in the Silence! Lots of fun along the way as Karen stops off at blogs around the world to give her fans a chance to ask her questions and to find out more about this talented literary fiction author.

About Karen Glick

Karen Glick lives outside of Philadelphia. She is a clinical psychologist whose other interests include writing, painting, and acting. When not feverishly engaged in these pursuits, she enjoys spending time with her four children, husband, cavalier king charles spaniels and cats.

Karen has just published her first novel, Questions in the Silence.

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon Kindle | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble

About Questions in the Silence

Ari Rothman, born with psychic abilities, has a lifelong fascination with spiritual issues. Childhood visions and intuitions combine to make her a bit of an outsider in her peer group and she turns to religion to create meaning in her life.

Ari’s childhood experiences and her strong desire to help others make her a natural psychotherapist. However, the conflict between her intuitive abilities and a more rational approach to the human psyche intensifies when her first long-term client ends his sessions unexpectedly.

Visit her official tour page at www.pumpupyourbook.com/2011/12/17/questions-in-the-silence-virtual-book-publicity-tour-january-2012/. Win copies of her book, learn more about the author and be sure to join her on January 27 2012 in the Pump Up Your Book chat room.

About Pump Up Your Book

Pump Up Your Book handles all the aspects of virtual book touring from pre-buzzing your book before the tour starts to making sure buyers will find your book long after the tour is over. If you are the author of a newly published book, have an upcoming release or just want to give a previously published book new life, a virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book is the answer. We welcome traditionally published, electronically published and self-published authors. Our esteem list of clients include Claire Cook, Caridad Pineiro, C.W. Gortner, Barbara Bretton, Cody McFayden, James Hayman, Karen White, Kathleen Willey, Lisa Daily, Lisa Jackson, Mary Burton, Nancy Thayer, Randy Sue Coburn, Ray Comfort, Sandi Kahn Shelton, Sheila Roberts, Therese Fowler, Hope Edelman, Wendy Wax, Jon Meacham, Shobhan Bantwal, Pat Williams, Jane Green, Judge Glenda Hatchett and cook show personality Paula Deen. We also represent Random House, Abingdon Press, Zumaya Publications, WND Books, Sheaf House Publishers, New Hope Publishers, Guardian Angel Publishers, Genesis Press, and Moody Publishing. Contact us to find out what we can do for you and your book!

If you’d like to contact Karen for an interview or review her book, contact Dorothy Thompson at thewriterslife@gmail.com. Pump Up Your Book is an innovative public relations agency specializing in online book promotion for authors. Visit us at www.pumpupyourbook.com.

Emlyn Chand has always loved to hear and tell stories, having emerged from the womb with a fountain pen grasped firmly in her left hand (true story). When she’s not writing, she runs a large book club in Ann Arbor and is the president of author PR firm, Novel Publicity. Emlyn loves to connect with readers and is available throughout the social media interweb. Visit www.emlynchand.com for more info. Don’t forget to say “hi” to her sun conure Ducky!

Farsighted is her latest book.

Visit her at Facebook at www.facebook.com/emlynchand and Twitter at www.twitter.com/emlynchand!

About Farsighted

Alex Kosmitoras’s life has never been easy. The only other student who will talk to him is the school bully, his parents are dead-broke and insanely overprotective, and to complicate matters even more, he’s blind. Just when he thinks he’ll never have a shot at a normal life, a new girl from India moves into town. Simmi is smart, nice, and actually wants to be friends with Alex. Plus she smells like an Almond Joy bar. Yes, sophomore year might not be so bad after all.

Unfortunately, Alex is in store for another new arrival—an unexpected and often embarrassing ability to “see” the future. Try as he may, Alex is unable to ignore his visions, especially when they begin to suggest that Simmi is in danger. With the help of the mysterious psychic next door and new friends who come bearing gifts of their own, Alex must embark on a journey to change his future.

What is the first thing you did to promote your book once your publisher accepted your manuscript?

I knew very early in the writing process that I planned to self-publish. When I signed with my agent for my first (unpublished) novel, a condition of our contract was that I be allowed to go indie with the Farsighted series. I actually wrote a blog post explaining my decision (that’s here). Basically, the publishing industry is not only changing – it’s changed. I’m not really sure there is any benefit to being traditionally published anymore, especially if you’re an author who has the know-how and financial/time resources to A) professionally edit your books, B) get a stellar cover designed, and C) market your work. Another reason I’m all gaga for the self-pub world is because it’s what I preach through Novel Publicity. I spend all day trying to convince writers that the indie path can work for them. By choosing that route for myself, I am showing my belief in that statement; I am practicing what I preach to gain invaluable hands-on experience. If this works out for me; I’m pretty sure I’ll stay indie forever!

To answer your question more precisely, I started gearing up for promotion almost as soon as I started writing by building-up my social media platform. We also began production on my live action book trailer before the book was even half-written. Ditto on cover design. It’s never too early to start promoting!

After that, what happened?

After that, I continued to work on promotional techniques and prep for the long and arduous road of indie publishing. A road that also has an enjoyable scenic view when it’s not storming

What did your publisher do to promote your book?

Since I am indie, I am the author, publisher, and publicist. I did hire an outside editor and cover designer, but the rest has all fallen to me.

Besides blogging and using the social networks to promote your books, what other ways are you promoting your book?

Oh, man. Marketing Farsighted has been a full-time job on top of a full-time job. I’ve definitely devoted more man power into my campaign, because I have no limits. I’ve spent an enormous amount of time and energy recruiting bloggers for my launch. I’ve also hired 6 other blog tour companies (including Pump up Your Books, yay!) to tour my book over the next couple months—getting buzz early on is crucial. I’ve had a good amount of luck with GoodReads pay-per-click advertising and giveaways too (something I plan to blog in depth later for Novel Publicity).

What’s your opinion on blogging?  Do you see that it is helping sell your book or is it not making much difference in terms of sales?

Blogging is wonderful. Why would any writer choose not to blog? My business, Novel Publicity, has grown like it has because of our Free Advice Blog. We now get over 800 hits on an average day and have become a trusted source for social media book marketing advice. Since people trust us, they’re more likely to inquire in our service offerings. And business has been going great!

I cannot report the same blissful findings for my author blog, but I do get a few sales as part of my efforts. I’m sure of it. I plan to invest much more time in this site after the new year and will even be starting a vlog—video blog—to connect more personally with my readers, er, viewers.

I understand using the social networks to promote your books is also an effective marketing tool.  Do you find it is or isn’t?

Of course, it is. The wonderful thing about social media is that it can turn strangers from the other side of the world into best friends. These networking tools are also great ways to scout out and connect with your exact target audience. I can’t even begin to imagine how hard finding readers was in the days before the internet. Nor do I remember the days before the internet

If you had to pick just one book marketing tool that you’ve used to promote your book, which would you say has been the most effective?

Ahw, man! That’s like asking: “If you could only keep one of your bodily organs, which would it be?” I mean, all the marketing tools work together. They support one another and complete the entire organism. In this analogy, the so-called heart of marketing would be the reviewers. Get people talking about your book. Get people reading it. That is the best thing you can do for your little fledgling.

What are your experiences with offline promotions such as booksignings?

I haven’t done any offline promotion yet, other than sending out Farsighted-themed postcards via my website to anyone who requests them. I’ve also done a fair bit of internet radio. Once this hectic holiday season has passed, I plan on doing readings in libraries and book stores. I also have a speaking engagement booked with a middle school that I’m really looking forward to.

Thank you for this interview, Emlyn!  We wish you much success!

Terri Giuliano Long grew up in the company of stories both of her own making and as written by others. Books offer her a zest for life’s highs and comfort in its lows. She’s all-too-happy to share this love with others as a novelist and as a lecturer at Boston College.

Her life outside of books is devoted to her family. In her spare time, she enjoys walking, traveling, and meeting interesting people. For an amateur, she can hold her own in the kitchen. In an alternate reality, she could have been very happy as an international food writer. In Leah’s Wake, her debut novel, is an Amazon Kindle top 100 bestseller. Visit her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tglongwrites or Twitter: @tglong

Welcome to Book Marketing Buzz, Terri.  Can we begin by having you tell us a little about your book?

In Leah’s Wake tells the story of a family in collapse. Sixteen-year-old Leah, a star soccer player, has led a perfect life. When she meets bad-boy Todd, attracted to his independence, she begins to spread her wings. Drinking, ignoring curfew, dabbling in drugs—this feels like freedom to her; her terrified parents, thinking they’re losing their daughter, pull the reigns tighter. Unfortunately, they get it all wrong, pushing when they ought to be pulling, and communication breaks down. Soon, there’s no turning back. Twelve-year-old Justine caught between the parents she loves, and the big sister she adores, finds herself in the fight of her life, trying desperately to pull her family together.

What is the first thing you did to promote your book once your publisher accepted your manuscript?

In 2006, the book was under contract with an indie publisher. Shortly before the release, problems emerged. Eventually (unrelated to me), the company folded. I sent the book to a handful of agents, received lovely, complimentary responses, but no offers. I truly believed in this book. I’d received so much encouragement and positive feedback over the years, from agents, editors, readers, writer friends—I’m grateful, truly grateful to all of them—that I had a hard time letting go. Eventually, frustrated because I seemed to moving in circles, I put it away.

Last year, after several false starts, I gained traction on a new novel, my psychological thriller, Nowhere to Run. Like In Leah’s Wake, Nowhere is a family story at heart. I anticipate finishing the novel this fall. I knew I’d need a platform for the new book, and hoped that self-publishing In Leah’s Wake would help me build one. Stupidly, too embarrassed to self-promote, I put the book on the shelf a Amazon and left it at that. I mean really left it at that – not even my parents knew I had published the book!

After that, what happened?

I sold two books in October, four in November, and thirty-four in December. For a month or so after the New Year, as people bought books for their new Kindles, I sold a few copies a day. By March, with sales lagging, and I realized that, if I didn’t do something, the book would die. In early March, I began blogging and activated my Twitter account.

Unsure of what to do next, I scoured the Internet, looking for advice. After landing on the Novel Publicity site three or four times, I contacted Novel Publicity founder, Emlyn Chand, and signed up for a few basic services. For the next three months, Emlyn and I worked on building my social media platform. She introduced me to Twitter, reorganized my blog, and created a media kit, book discussion guide, and video trailer. In mid-May, I set out on my first Novel Publicity blog tour. In May, I sold thirty-eight books. In June, sales increased to about 2 – 3 books a day. Now, just shy of six months later, we’ve sold 30,000 copies of the novel, with over 16,000 books sold in October alone.

What did your publisher do to promote your book?

As an indie author, I’m responsible for promoting my book. I’m fortunate to have met Emlyn; we’re a terrific team. I’ve also worked with the Indie Book Collective, a fantastic community of authors helping other authors. And I’ve met many wonderful people through Twitter and other social media. So while I haven’t had the help of a publisher, I’ve enjoyed the help, support and camaraderie of many author friends.

What’s your opinion on blogging?  Do you see that it is helping sell your book or is it not making much difference in terms of sales?

Blogging formed the basis of my platform. I blogged before doing anything else and I met many early friends and supporters through blogging. In terms of sales – blog tours, blog hops, contests and other events and activities have had a much greater impact. I’ve also formed many relationships through Twitter. The people I’ve met have shared my story and my news. That sort of sharing, I feel, has made all the difference.

I understand using the social networks to promote your books is also an effective marketing tool.  Do you find it is or isn’t?

In general, yes. There are countless social networks. For authors, the big four are Twitter, Facebook, G+ and Goodreads. Linked In is geared toward business networking, making it more effective for freelancers than novelists. As I’ve mention above, I enjoy Twitter; in a matter of months I’ve increased my following from 0 to 5500. I’m on Twitter frequently and I engage with people. Again, that’s made a big difference for me.

I’m not sure why, but Facebook feels invasive. I have a moderate following – close to 500 fans on my author page and 1100 friends – but I don’t actively promote the pages and don’t interact on them as much as perhaps I should.

Maybe because the streams are not yet crowded, G+ is quite effective for sharing news and event information. Eventually, it will probably replace Facebook in this area. Right now, it’s fairly new and most people are not familiar or comfortable with it. I have a profile and I’m starting to build circles, but I haven’t used it to interact or actively share information.

To me, Goodreads feels like more of a reader than an author site. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Book, a nearly 300-member Goodreads club, selected In Leah’s Wake as their September Book Club read. This was wonderful, and I’m enormously grateful for their support. Otherwise, aside from checking messages and responding to readers and authors, I do little on Goodreads. A lot of authors join groups and interact with readers. I think that’s terrific, but I feel uncomfortable inserting myself into reader groups.

While most authors I know use all these networks, most focus on one. It’s simply too time-consuming to spend a lot of time on all of them. If you allowed yourself, you could spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on social networking, leaving no time for anything else – including writing, never mind maintaining personal relationships.

Although social networks are extremely effective for soft promotion, they are absolutely not sales platforms. Authors who use these sites to constantly promote themselves or their book are quickly shunned. Social networks are intended for relationship building. We meet and interact with others who have similar interests. Over time, if people like you – just as in “real” life – they may be interested in learning more about your or reading your work.

Besides blogging and using the social networks to promote your books, what other ways are you promoting your book?

Once I got used to the idea that marketing didn’t have to mean shameless self-promotion, 24/7, I began to have fun. I’ve done several successful promotions with Author Buzz – for readers, book clubs and librarians – organized by M.J. Rose, two blog hops with the IBC, a second tour – Social Media Whirlwind – with Novel Publicity, and the IBC’s elite promotion, Bestseller For A Day. I’m currently on tour with Pump Up Your Book, with founder Dorothy Thompson. Emlyn and I also created an interactive In Leah’s Wake quiz and crossroads stories for my blog and I’ve held various contests. For the In Leah’s Wake UK launch, I’m planning a weeklong party on my blog, with four other authors who will each contribute a segment of a serialized mystery story. So my activities are varied and ongoing. Above all, I try to have fun. If it’s not fun, why bother?

If you had to pick just one book marketing tool that you’ve used to promote your book, which would you say has been the most effective?

The most important thing I’ve done, or tried to do, is to connect with people. Again, I’m active on Twitter. I’ve also been reviewed or interviewed on dozens of blogs. Bloggers are amazing people – kind, generous, caring. They’re evangelists, and they help us for no reason other than their passion for books! Any success I’ve enjoyed I owe largely to them.

What are your experiences with offline promotions such as book signings?

My first reading/book signing is on November 6, at Barnes & Noble in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I’m exited and also nervous. I’m not the type of person who enjoys being the center of attention – although, I must admit, I love public speaking – so this will be a new challenge, but it’s one I look forward to eagerly.

In December, a small UK press, Inspired Quill, will publish a newly edited edition of In Leah’s Wake – with new discussion questions and a brand new alternate ending. For the first time, I’ll be involved in a traditional marketing campaign. There is a UK tour in the works and, if there’s interest, perhaps additional live events in the U.S.

Thank you for this interview, Terri!  We wish you much success!

Thank you so very much for giving me this opportunity to share my story and connect with your readers! It’s an honor to be here!

Glen C. Strathy started writing stories when he was 11 years old and too shy to have a life.  He eventually found a life when he started acting in community theatre and met other writers, actors, dancers, and artists.  He discovered that the best thing about performing arts (and other arts too) is that they give people more freedom to be who they want to be.  After spending time as an actor, teacher, and freelance writer, he returned to his first love, fiction and wrote Dancing on the Inside, a novel for ages 9-12.

Glen earned an M.A. in English from the University of Western Ontario, and graduated from the Artist in Community Education program at Queen’s University, Kingston. He co-authored two non-fiction books, one of which (The Coming Economic Collapse, Warner Business Books, 2006) became a New York Times Bestselling Business Book.  He belongs to the Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC) and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). His website www.how-to-write-a-book-now.com provides advice to budding authors.

Glen lives with his wife, fellow writer Kaitlin Rainey, and their daughter in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

You can visit his website at www.glen-c-strathy.com.  Visit him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/glencstrathy and Facebook at www.facebook.com/Glen.C.Strathy.author.

Welcome to Book Marketing Buzz, Glen. Can we begin by having you tell us a little about your book?

Dancing on the Inside is a middle-grade children’s novel, aimed at girls 9-12. It’s the story of a girl who’s extremely shy and self-conscious. So much so that she cannot participate in a ballet class without getting a panic attack. And this is unfortunate, because she has a burning passion for ballet. In fact, it turns out she has a tremendous gift for inventing choreography. The book tells the story of how she struggles to pursue her dream despite her difficulties, how she finds other ways to get involved in the dance school, the valuable friendship she makes with another dance student, and how she manages to eventually get her work on stage.

What is the first thing you did to promote your book once your publisher accepted your manuscript?

I knew it was going to be a long, slow process – especially since, like my heroine, I am quite shy when it comes to self-promotion. My big fear is that I might do an event, like a launch, and no one would show up. So the first thing I did was to solicit some feedback from readers – people I don’t know. I wanted to reassure myself that I had a really good book before I ventured too far into the spotlight.

After that, what happened?

So far, the comments I’ve received have been consistently positive, which is a big relief.

What did your publisher do to promote your book?

These days, authors are pretty much on their own in terms of promotion, unless they already have a large following.

What’s your opinion on blogging?  Do you see that it is helping sell your book or is it not making much difference in terms of sales?

I have a few concerns about blogging. Every writer these days is told to blog, which means they have to be constantly writing blog content, which is time they take away from writing their next book. And if they have a family and a day job, they don’t have a lot of time to start with. On top of that, fiction writers’ primary expertise is writing fiction, so that’s what they blog about. The result is thousands of blogs on fiction writing – which makes it hard to stand out.

Now, I have a website rather than a blog on writing. It’s www.how-to-write-a-book-now.com. I try to present tips and advice on it which you don’t see everywhere else. I’m a big fan of dramatica story theory, which is a powerful tool which few people understand. So I try to present it in a simple, easy-to-use format so beginning writers can get a leg up. The site now gets a good amount of traffic. In fact, my article, “Create a Plot Outline in 8 Easy Steps” has been the number one search result for “plot outline” on google for a year or so.

I also have a blog which I started for this book. You can find it at http://glencstrathy.wordpress.com/. But I confess I don’t post as often as I should, nor have I done everything I should to make it an effective marketing tool. (See, I’m much better at promoting things other than myself.)

I understand using the social networks to promote your books is also an effective marketing tool.  Do you find it is or isn’t?

I only started using social media a few months ago, so it’s a bit soon to judge. Most experts say, for instance, that you need to tweet for a year or two before it becomes really effective.

I confess, social media are not a natural tool for me. I’d much rather talk to a small number of friends face-to-face than update thousands of people I’ve never met. But I try to post useful information on twitter (@glencstrathy), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Glen.C.Strathy.author and https://www.facebook.com/htwabn), and some of the other media. Klout recently labeled me a networker, which if you know me is actually quite funny.

Besides blogging and using the social networks to promote your books, what other ways are you promoting your book?

I am conducting a blog tour between now and Christmas. And I am investigating various awards my book may be eligible for. But there’s a long lead time for that. I am experimenting with other methods, but I suspect the best promotion will be word of mouth, and that also takes a long time.

If you had to pick just one book marketing tool that you’ve used to promote your book, which would you say has been the most effective?

You should really ask me this question a year from now. It’s too early to tell.

What are your experiences with offline promotions such as booksignings?

Ah, here’s the rub. This is why I have been collecting reader comments. Before starting to do booksignings, I wanted to have a body of enthusiastic comments from readers so that I can present myself as someone people will want to see. I hope to be doing my first event later this month. Wish me luck.

Thank you for this interview, Glen!  We wish you much success!

A professional tour guide in Hollywood, Stephen Schochet has researched and told thousands of entertaining anecdotes for over twenty years. He is also the author and narrator of two audiobooks Tales of Hollywood and Fascinating Walt Disney. His latest book is Hollywood Stories: Short, Entertaining Anecdotes About the Stars and Legends of the Movies.

Tim Sika, host of the radio show Celluloid Dreams on KSJS in San Jose has called Stephen,” The best storyteller about Hollywood we have ever heard.”

For more information visit http://www.hollywoodstories.com.

Welcome to Book Marketing Buzz, Stephen.  Can we begin by having you tell us a little about your book?

Hollywood Stories: Short, Entertaining Anecdotes About the Stars and Legends of the Movies! contains a timeless treasure trove of colorful vignettes featuring an amazing all-star cast of icons including John Wayne, Charlie Chaplin, Walt Disney, Jack Nicholson, Johnny Depp, Shirley Temple, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, Errol Flynn, and many others both past and contemporary.  It has over a thousand anecdotes.

What is the first thing you did to promote your book once your publisher accepted your manuscript?

I started letting every body I could know about it; My Facebook friends got wind of it early on.  IMO people need to let their friends know; my first customer was my landlady.

If you had to pick just one book marketing tool that you’ve used to promote your book, which would you say has been the most effective?

For me I’d say interviews online or in the media; it gives people a chance to get a flavor for the stories.

Do you do more promoting online or offline and which do you prefer?

About the same; I like both.

Do you use social networks such as Twitter and Facebook to promote your books and have you had any success with it?

Facebook, yes I probably have not used Twitter enough.

Do you own a blog and how often do you update it?  Did you set up your blog solely to promote your book and what is its effectiveness?

No, probably something I should work on.

Do you recommend authors getting publicists to help them promote their books?  Do you have one?

I think you should work both with a publicist and at the same time work on your own to promote the book.

If an author prefers to do it alone rather than hire a publicist, where should they  start?

It really depends on the subject matter of the book; But IMO you start by letting everyone in your circle of friends know about it.

Thank you for coming, Stephen!  We wish you much success!

Thank you.

Join Terri Giuliano Long, author of the women’s fiction novel, In Leah’s Wake (Createspace/Inspired Quill), as she virtually tours the blogosphere November 14 – January 27 2011 on her first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book!

About Terri Giuliano Long

Terri Giuliano Long is the bestselling author of the award-winning novel In Leah’s Wake. Books offer her a zest for life’s highs and comfort in its lows. She’s all-too-happy to share this love with others as a novelist and a writing teacher at Boston College.

Her life outside of books is devoted to her family. In her spare time, she enjoys walking, traveling to far-flung places, and meeting interesting people. True to her Italian-American heritage, she’s an enthusiastic cook and she loves fine wine and good food. In an alternate reality, she could have been very happy as an international food writer.

Terri loves meeting and connecting with people who share her passions.

You can visit her website at www.tglong.com or connect with her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/tglong and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/tglongwrites.

About In Leah’s Wake

Protecting their children comes naturally for Zoe and Will Tyler—until their daughter Leah decides to actively destroy her own future.

Leah grew up in a privileged upper-middle class world. Her parents spared no expense for her happiness; she had all-but secured an Ivy League scholarship and a future as a star athlete. Then she met Todd.

Leah’s parents watch helplessly as their daughter falls into a world of drugs, sex, and wild parties. While Will attempts to control his daughter’s every move to prevent her from falling deeper into this dangerous new life, Zoe prefers to give Leah slack in the hope that she may learn from her mistakes. Their divided approach drives their daughter out of their home and a wedge into their marriage.

Twelve-year-old Justine observes Leah’s rebellion from the shadows of their fragmented family. She desperately seeks her big sister’s approval and will do whatever it takes to obtain it. Meanwhile she is left to question whether her parents love her and whether God even knows she exists.

What happens when love just isn’t enough? Who will pay the consequences of Leah’s vagrant lifestyle? Can this broken family survive the destruction left in Leah’s wake?

This mesmerizing debut novel tells the tale of a contemporary American family caught in the throes of adolescent rebellion – a heartbreaking, funny, ultimately redemptive quest for love, independence, connection and grace.

In Leah’s Wake is the 2011 BOOK BUNDLZ BOOK CLUB PICK and recipient of the Coffee Time Reviewers Recommend (CTRR) Award. This award, as selected by reviewers, recognizes outstanding writing styles in all book types and genres.

Visit her official tour page here to find out how you can find out all about this talented author plus when some cool prizes!

C. Elizabeth lives in St. Albert, Alberta, Canada. She stumbled upon writing, it found her, she finds writing a peaceful escape and is very excited to have her characters come alive in her readers’ minds. Her contemporary romance novel, Absolute Obsession, is about 42 year old Rose Gerbaldi who by an intervention of fate unites her heart and soul with 30 year old British movie star, Michael Terrance. Please visit and blog with her at www.celizabeth.ca. Connect with her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/search/users/CElizabeth4 and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1567713637.

Welcome to Book Marketing Buzz, C. Elizabeth.  Can we begin by having you tell us a little about your book?

Thank you for having me, I’ve been looking forward to this.

Absolute Obsession is about loving wife and mother, 42 year old Rose Gerbaldi, who, through a sequence of remarkable events, falls in love with 30 year old, British movie star, Michael Terrance, a man she has never met and one who she can never have. Though her decisions are made, unbeknownst to her, fate is conspiring to put her back on the path that it had so lovingly entwined for her and Michael.

What is the first thing you did to promote your book once your publisher accepted your manuscript?

The first thing I did was create a website and contacted book stores for in-store signings or to stock Absolute Obsession on the shelves.

After that, what happened?

Things went a little crazy. There was always so much to do to get the word out and along with my full time job and family, the hours ran out very quickly – it was time bring in the professionals.  I hired Pump up Your Book to put me on a virtual book tour for a month and it was great, people got to know me and Absolute Obsession was getting some attention, not to mention giving me some free time to focus on other things.

What did your publisher do to promote your book?

Wings ePress Inc. promoted through their website as well as all the bookselling websites, such as Amazon and Fictionwise.

What’s your opinion on blogging?  Do you see that it is helping sell your book or is it not making much difference in terms of sales?

I love blogging, whether it makes a difference or not I don’t know, but one thing it does do, it keeps my creative side moving along.  Never stop writing, you might lose it.

I understand using the social networks to promote your books is also an effective marketing tool.  Do you find it is or isn’t?

I use as many social networks as I can. Does it help? It’s too early to tell at this point.

Besides blogging and using the social networks to promote your books, what other ways are you promoting your book?

I am using two PR firms, Pump Up Your Book  for my virtual online visibility and Gal-Friday Publicity out of Vancouver, BC for the personal touch, face to face interviews, etc..

If you had to pick just one book marketing tool that you’ve used to promote your book, which would you say has been the most effective?

Up till now I’d have to say Pump Up Your Book, but the other marketing plans are just starting up, I’m certain they will have an impact as well.

What are your experiences with offline promotions such as booksignings?

The majority of my book signings have been a wonderful experience. I do love meeting the people and hearing some of their stories. So far, it has all been a great and wonderful unexpected journey thanks to everyone.

Thank you for this interview, C. Elizabeth!  We wish you much success!

Thank you for having me, it was fun. Cheers!

Giveaways, Contests & Prizes!

Join C. Elizabeth at the Pump Up Your Book Live! November Author Chat / Book Giveaway Party on Friday, November 18 starting at 8 p.m. eastern!

Char will be giving away a copy of her book! You could win a beautiful copy of Absolute Obsession simply by attending the chat and asking her a question. All there is to it!

For details on chat, visit the official chat page for the November authors at Pump Up Your Book Live!

DONATIONS TO CLARITY, by Noah Baird, Second Wind Publishing, 220 pp., $13.45 (Kindle $4.99).

The plan was simple: hoax bigfoot, then sell tours to bigfoot enthusiasts. The plan wasn’t brilliant, and neither were Harry, Earl, and Patch. The three chemical-abusing friends only wanted to avoid the 9 to 5 rat race, but their antics attract the attention of a real bigfoot. When the misogynistic Earl is mistaken for a female bigfoot by the nearsighted creature and captured; it is just the beginning of their problems.

The U.S. Government has a plan to naturalize the mythical creatures living within the U.S. borders.  The problem is the plan needs to be carried out carefully.  You can’t just drop little green men and Sasquatch in the middle of Walmart without warning Ma and Pa Taxpayer. The naturalization program is not ready to be set into motion, and the rogue bigfoot is bringing too much attention to itself, including a feisty investigative reporter who uncovers the truth of the government conspiracy and two bigfoot researchers. No longer able to contain the situation, government agents are tasked with eliminating the bigfoot and all witnesses.

Between bong hits and water balloon fights, Harry and Patch come up with a plan to save Earl and the lovestruck bigfoot. Where do you hide a giant, mythical creature? In an insane asylum, because who is going to listen to them?

Along the way, the three friends learn Star Wars was a government training film for children, the truth behind Elvis meeting President Nixon, and the significance of the weight of the human turd.

BOOK EXCERPT:

It takes 73 newtons of force to fracture a human skull. Roughly. Variations in bone thickness, age, and location of the blow introduce countless variables. A major league baseball player can lay wood on leather with 200 pounds of pressure or 890 newtons.

The skull was hit with 253 pounds of pressure or 1125 newtons. The blow was delivered with 20 percent more force than what a professional athlete would deliver. Over fifteen times the required force needed to crack an adult male’s melon open. The entire swing took less than half a second. A 26 inch carbon steel baton weighing 1.46 pounds was used. Contact between baton and target lasted a precious 0.02 seconds. Faster than the 0.33 seconds required to blink, or the 0.878 seconds it took the victim’s heart to pump one last time.

Ian King would have found this statistical information interesting. A welcome distraction from the butterflies surfing his own synapses. Ian even may have engaged the provider of such delicate morsels of information in conversation had it not been his skull used to provide the empirical data.

Green buds were sprouting on the tips of every branch in the forest. Mother Nature letting her hair down after the long winter. The season when children were lined up for crewcuts to prepare for warmer weather while Momma Nature was silently shaking her mane out. In three days, the buds would have opened and Ian would never have seen the footprint.

Two minutes before his last thought, Ian relaxed his pace. The sky had been full with rain and was now starting to drizzle. With the rain, the wind began to shift erratically. Ian stopped and adjusted his backpack and cracked his neck. He knew the pack would have difficulty picking up his scent with the wind shifting. He also knew the rain would mask the snapping twigs of his approach. He still needed to be careful. Eastern timber wolves were notoriously shy of humans.

Ian’s thoughts drifted. The weather was warming, and warmth brought undergrads in shorts. He wondered what this year’s batch would look like. He was in his third year of graduate work at the College of Environmental Science and Forestry. The curriculum required him to take undergrads out for field work. The work could be gratifying unless he had to remind the students to take their earbuds out or stop texting. At least there were the girls.

Ian noted the pack’s pace was focused over the last two days. Gone were the typical meanderings and backtracking. The wolves were moving quickly now, seldom stopping to rest. Ian knew he was anthropomorphizing, but he had a gut feeling the wolves knew they were in dangerous territory. What could be making the pack skittish? Ian rechecked the topography map and verified they were at least a half day’s hike to the nearest civilization. It couldn’t be humans making them pick up the pace.

Rain dropping on his face renewed his focus and he kneeled over with his tracking stick to pick up the stride of the pack lead. He glanced to his right and saw a familiar indentation in the mud. Nothing in nature resembles a human’s silhouette. The same can be said for a human footprint. This particular print was nearly 18 inches long and deeply depressed into the mud. Ian jerked up with the realization of what he was looking at. He just connected the dots of why the wolves were quickly moving through the area when the baton struck his head.

A man dressed completely in black efficiently wiped the baton before collapsing it. He turned to an identically dressed man, “That ape is getting sloppy. Make contact with him and remind him of our position.”

THE CLARA ANN BURNS STORY, by Heidi Ann Smith, Monkey Puzzle Press, 120 pp., $15.00 (Kindle $8.00).

n Heidi Ann Smith’s short novel THE CLARA ANN BURNS STORY, a woman who suffered child abuse looks back over her turbulent life as she approaches her fifties. Smith describes it as “a story of a young girl, Clara Ann Burns, who was tortured, abused and neglected by her family. When she was old enough to go out on her own, she got herself into situations that were not always the best. But in the end she raises her own family and holds onto the hope of healing and living without fear.”

Smith explains that the story “is based on some of my life experiences,” which included sexual abuse. “I needed to write this book–and I needed to have the right and the freedom to bring together different events.”

Rather than creating a traditional narrative text from start to finish, in THE CLARA ANN BURNS STORY, Smith–who holds one master’s degree in fine arts in creative writing, another in humanities, and is a PhD student in creative writing–chose to express child abuse and loss by experimenting with literary genre. The result is that the protagonist, Clara Ann Burns, tells her story through written memories (short stories, lists, poems, one-minute plays) and memorabilia (hospital records, photographs, personal records). All are presented without explanation: a grandmother cooks breakfast while she speaks to her deceased husband; a mother scalds her child in a bathtub; the funeral processions of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr.; the death of a child’s father; and the rape of a stepdaughter. This multi-genre approach, Smith feels, more accurately conveys “the impossibility of piecing together this story, and reflects the inconsistencies of an abuse victim’s memories that tend to jump from one instance of abuse to the next, rather than flowing through, perhaps, what might be considered the normal ups and downs of life.”

In addition, Smith points out, “These isolated memories of abuse that flash through Clara’s mind are what it means to have post-traumatic stress disorder. I suggest further that these isolated incidents also represent the perplexity of healing from prolonged neglect and abuse, since a constant state of fear is what is most familiar to Clara since she was abused by family members and friends for many years. If a child believes his or her own family is not adverse to his or her own torture, neglect, or rape, the child cannot survive as emotionally or psychologically intact. In Clara’s case, the abuse is pervasive, there is no relief for many years, nor hope of relief until she is an older woman and capable of looking at what happened to her objectively through the instantiation of the events as presented in the text.”

Despite the personal inspiration behind THE CLARA ANN BURNS STORY, Smith’s academic and scholarly understanding of both creative writing and fine art informs the book’s power. She likens writing to fine art: “All the great artists I studied reflected their life; in a great work of art, you cannot extricate the artist’s life from their work. When you look at a work of art by Van Gogh or Caravaggio you see some truth about their life. For me, the truth does not necessarily read like a biography; there are details that are blurred from your view. When I was engaged in the writing process, some things that were hidden from my view came out–which may grab the reader because it hit me as well.”

Smith hopes that readers who can identify with THE CLARA ANN BURNS STORY will find some comfort in it. “When I was a little girl I was very sick and I didn’t have a happy home life. I started reading poetry, and I felt some kind of resonance and a kindred spirit with the other writer’s work. I hope my work will reach someone and that they will also know that they are not alone.” And, she adds, “I also hope the work is received as a work of literature.”