Wednesday's Wanderings --- Locations from Surrender the Wind

Along the Coast of Cornwall

A little something to add. Cokesbury Bookstore is offering 'Surrender the Wind' at an incredible discount this month. 71% off the cover price of $13.99. It's on sale for only $4.00!

www.cokesbury.com/forms/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=783958

 

With Mother's Day approaching, a novel that sweeps readers away to another time and place is an ideal gift. If you purchase a copy, let me know. I'll be happy to mail you and your mom a few goodies.

 

 

Some of my readers have been asking me how the book series is going. Very well. Book 1, Before the Scarlet Dawn, is with my editor. She is sending me the micro edits very soon. I'm hoping and praying the manuscript doesn't come back to me dripping in red. Book 2, Beside Two Rivers is progressing with lots of twists and turns. The first draft is only 20-25,000 words away from being complete.

Why do I bore you so with these details about my writing journey? To let you know that if I can do it, you can do it. Writing takes an awful lot of patience and discipline. If you have those two things, which I believe you do, otherwise you would not have the desire to be a storyteller, keep at it despite a rejection.

Do you have the desire to write?
Does it burn in you when you think of your story?
What kind of reaction do you get from family and friends when you tell them you want to be an author?

Edwardian Lily Elsie

 





She is perfect for a new heroine I am dreaming up for a new book series. I have yet to write a proposal but have titles and a series title.

To quote Lily: 

The only way to succeed is to peg away. Work as hard as possible, and never appear to find things a trouble.

 

Wednesday's Wanderings --- Locations from Surrender the Wind

Derbyshire

Painting of the Week That Inspires Writing

Dear Writers, 

In an exercise to get the creative energy flowing, write a brief description of the above painting in one or two sentences. Let your readers see, hear, taste, and touch, what this painting presents. The lady is your heroine...and a talented one at that, from an upper class family in 1787.

Wednesday's Wanderings ---- Locations from 'Surrender the Wind'.

The Ripple Effect

Spring is almost here. My husband is gearing up for a season of fly fishing, which makes me think of this analogy.

Toss a stone in a pond and you will get a ripple effect. Perfect circles will fan out from the center and, depending on the force of the throw and the weight of the stone, the ripples will reach as far to the shoreline as possible.

When it comes to marketing a novel, the ripple effect is how I think of it. The center can be thought of in different ways. Your hometown. Your target audience. Your workplace, school, or any club or organization you belong to. Each can be a focus of marketing.

What marketing techniques have you used to promote your book that have translated into book sales?