Talking Virtual Book Tours with Children’s Fiction Author Victoria Simcox

Victoria, known as Vicki, was born in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, to an Austrian immigrant mother, and a Dutch immigrant father. She has one older sister. When she was 7, Vicki moved with her family to British Columbia—then in her early twenties to Western Washington, where she now resides in Marysville WA. She has been married for almost 20 years and has 3 children. For the past 10 years, she has home schooled her children, and she also teaches elementary school art. Her other family members are, a Chihuahua, named Pipsy, 2 cats, named Frodo and Fritz, and 1 parakeet, named Pauly. She did have a pet rat named Raymond; when she started writing The Magic Warble, but sad to say, he has since passed away of old age. Vicki enjoys writing, reading, painting watercolors, good movies and just hanging out with friends and family. Her favorite author is C.S. Lewis, and one of her fondest memories is when she was 12. She would sit at the kitchen table, and read the Chronicles of Narnia to her mother while she cooked dinner. These magical stories were very dear to Vicki, and she remembers wishing, If only I could go to Narnia like Lucy and Susan. Vicki hopes that maybe she can touch someone with her story in a similar way. You can visit her website at www.themagicwarble.com.

Victoria Simcox will be on a virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours in November and December and is here with us today to give her impression of virtual book tours and online book marketing.

Thank you for this interview, Victoria. Can we start out by having you tell us briefly what your new book is about?

My book, The Magic Warble, is a fantasy story, listed as Juvenile fiction, but I feel it is for all ages. I’d say Juvenile and Young adult fantasy are still my favorite categories to read.

Growing up reading C.S. Lewis’s beloved Narnia Chronicles has influenced me in writing The Magic Warble. My story is about a 12 year old girl, named Kristina Kingsly, who hates to go to school because she doesn’t fit in. She’s bullied by some of the kids, and they make her daily life miserable. I created this aspect of my main characters life, because as a child, I had experienced dealing with bullies in school myself and I remember hating to go because of them.

My parents owned their own piano store and they up and moved it many times, so before the age of 13, I had made 5 major moves, and had been to 7 different public schools. I can remember this being difficult for me, especially having to leave friends I had made, and even worse having to make new ones, which I was not good at.

I named the main character “Kristina” after my daughter Kristina, who is 14 now—even so, my book’s character is not characterized after my daughter. Kristina in The Magic Warble is definitely her own unique person.

In the story, Kristina receives a gift from her teacher at school, and it’s this gift that magically takes her to another world, where she finds out that she not only fits in, but is chosen for a very important task, and if she completes the task, she will change the destiny of the land. Throughout her journey, Kristina meets all kinds of characters, such as dwarfs, gnomes, fairies, talking animals and a teenage boy named Werrien, who ends up going along with her on her adventure. Along her perilous journey, she will not only have her strength tested but her heart as well.

I wrote this story because, I love fairy tales and fantasy stories, and I have a big imagination that I thought I may as well put to good use. Once I got started writing the manuscript, I couldn’t stop. My characters seemed to take on a life of their own, and I felt that I owed it to them to finish their story. This may seem a little weird, but when you spend so much time writing a story, you do or at least I do get very attached to my characters.

Even though The Magic Warble is a fantasy filled with adventure, suspense and intrigue, the underlying message is one of faith, hope, perseverance, friendship and love.

Click on cover to purchase at Amazon!

More and more authors are realizing the potential for sales that derives from virtual book tours. Can you tell us your personal reasons why you chose a virtual book tour to help get the word out about your new book?

I choose a virtual book tour, to increase the online sales of my book. Dorothy Thompson owner of Pump Up Your Book Promotions, has a really great reputation, and many authors who have used her services say that she has really helped them with the sales of their books. I’m hoping her tour program can do the same for me.

Is this the first time you have heard of them?

Yes

What do you hope to achieve through promoting your book through a virtual book tour?

An increase in online sales of my book.

Do you promote online through other means? Website? Blog?

Yes, by website, blog and a book trailer on youtube.

Do you promote through Twitter and Facebook? What are your links there?

I have a facebook under my name Victoria Simcox

What are your experiences with offline booksignings? Which do you prefer – online or offline and can you give us the reasons why?

Off line book signings work out really well for me. I love dealing with people and telling them about my book. I also get to autograph copies for my fans. I have been told by several Borders Store managers that I am top ranking in book sighing sales. The only down side is that I can only be in one place at a time, so if I want to increase my book sales, I need to tap into the online ways of selling, which is why I chose to do an online tour. A great thing about online sales is that you can be at home with your family while your book is selling on line. Even though I love dealing with people I love being home with my family even more, so I would say online sales is what I prefer.

Here’s a fun question. If money was no object, how would you promote your book?

The first thing I’d do is upgrade my website to have full flash and music. Also I would invest in as much online promotion as I could afford.

Thank you for this interview, Victoria. Do you have any final words?

If you truly feel that writing is your life’s purpose, then no matter how frustrated you get when writers block may stop your creativity, or how hard the publishing journey gets, or how low your self esteem may get, never give up. What ever step you are at in your writing or publishing journey, be prepared to do what ever it takes to get to your next step, and so on. If all seems to come to a stand still, and you don’t know what to do next, just hang in there. Keep searching for a way to pursue your dream. Eventually an opportunity will show its self. Do a lot of research—the internet is a goldmine of information. I’ll leave you with another good quote: Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens. J. R. R. Tolkien.

If you would like to visit Victoria’s official tour page, click here.

Talking Virtual Book Tours with Historical Nonfiction Author James Diehl

James Diehl is an award-winning journalist who has covered Sussex County, Delaware for various media outlets since 1998. Since 2007, he has owned and operated a freelance writing company based in Seaford, Delaware and is also a partner in a Lewes, Delaware-based public relations and marketing firm. He is the author of one other work of non-fiction – Remembering Sussex County, from Zwaanendael to King Chicken, published in 2009 by The History Press.

James can be found online at www.twitter.com/sussexwriter, at www.facebook.com/sussexwriter or via www.ww2-heroes.com.

James Diehl will be on a virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours in November and December and is here with us today to give his impression of virtual book tours and online book marketing.

Thank you for this interview, James. Can we start out by having you tell us briefly what your new book is about?

James: Certainly. World War II Heroes of Southern Delaware is a book profiling 50 brave Americans who fought for our great country during World War II. These are men, as well as a couple of women, who today call southern Delaware home, but it is certainly not about the nation’s first state. These are stories from Europe, Asia, Africa and North America, very personal and emotional stories from the grandest war the world has ever seen. They are all heroes, and I hope I have done their stories justice during this two-year project.

More and more authors are realizing the potential for sales that derives from virtual book tours. Can you tell us your personal reasons why you chose a virtual book tour to help get the word out about your new book?

James: I am a partner in a marketing company in coastal Delaware and have been using traditional marketing methods for some time. But I came across a couple of articles recently about virtual book tours and I immediately recognized the potential for reaching out to a greater number of interested readers through this method. I am very interested in the educational value my book holds; I want as many people as possible to read about what these brave souls went through in defense of our country so many years ago. To that end, I’m hopeful a virtual book tour will allow me to expose my project to many more people than I would have been able to otherwise.

Is this the first time you have heard of them?

James: Yes, I would have to say that it is. I’ve been involved with blogging and with chat rooms before, but this is the first time I’ve actually used any online methods for marketing purposes.

What do you hope to achieve through promoting your book through a virtual book tour?

James: I hope to get the word out to as many people as possible, many of whom would not know about my project otherwise. Heroes has become a very important, personal and emotional project for me. I want to introduce it to as many people as possible, and I think a virtual book tour is a good way to go about doing that.

Do you promote online through other means? Website? Blog?

James: I do have a Web site – www.ww2-heroes.com – and I will be sending out press releases periodically, including to many locations on the web. And I’m doing this virtual book tour, of course.

Do you promote through Twitter and Facebook? What are your links there?

James: Who doesn’t these days, right? I can be reached on Twitter at www.twitter.com/sussexwriter and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sussexwriter.

What are your experiences with offline booksignings? Which do you prefer – online or offline and can you give us the reasons why?

James: I did very well with book signings in my area with my first book, Remembering Sussex County: from Zwaanendael to King Chicken. I did much better by making appearances at local festivals and events than at events hosted by book stores, however. I’m a very personable person and I am fairly well known in my area, so book signings did very well for me over the spring, summer and early fall. That being said, with Heroes, I will be depending more on online sales simply because the book has a greater appeal outside of southern Delaware, at least I hope that’s the case.

Here’s a fun question. If money was no object, how would you promote your book?

James: I would spend whatever was necessary to book just a couple of minutes on the Oprah Winfrey show and ask her in my most persuasive voice and with my biggest puppy dog eyes to please recommend my book to her book club members. If there’s a better marketing method than that, I’m not sure what it is.

Thank you for this interview, James. Do you have any final words?

James: I would like to ask everyone a small favor, if I may. I’ve had my eyes opened so much through this two-year book project; it’s amazing how talking to so many people who went through so much can affect you. The next time life gets you down, think about what members of our armed forces went through, and still go through, so we may live as we do today in the greatest country in the world. Our problems are trivial compared to what these brave men and women endure. It’s made me appreciate life a lot more, I’ll tell you that. Thank you for allowing me this time here. God bless!

Visit James Diehl’s official tour page here.

Talking Virtual Book Tours with Bob Brooker and Kaye O’Doughtery – Co-Authors of Football is For Lovers

Bob is an old saloon singer who, as Bobby Brookes, recorded for RCA Victor and Capital back in the day; Kaye has trouble carrying a tune in a bucket.  Nevertheless, after they met in a recording studio on 42^nd Street (yes: that 42^nd Street), they began a decades-long partnership as Brooker and O’Dougherty, collaborating on a variety of theater, film, TV and video projects, performing, writing, directing, managing, and producing.  Football is for Lovers (which can be found at www.footballforlovers.com) marks their debut as book authors.

Bob and Kaye will be on a virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours in September and October, and are here with us today to give their impression of virtual book tours and online book marketing.

Thank you for this interview, Bob and Kaye.  Can we start out by having you tell us briefly what your new book is about?

Bob and Kaye: Football is for Lovers is an antidote to what seems to be a rather common problem here in the USA: football widowhood, that lonely split between life partners that can drag on from the NFL August pre-season right on through to the February Super Bowl.  This book is dedicated to healing that breach by not only making the game as easy to understand as the fine art of buttering toast, but also by giving you the tools to make football work for your relationship, not against it.  The goal of Football is for Lovers is to give you a whole new way of looking at football that can end the TV clicker wars, spice up your relationship, and get you some M&Ms into the bargain.

More and more authors are realizing the potential for sales that derives from virtual book tours.  Can you tell us your personal reasons why you chose a virtual book tour to help get the word out about your new book?

Bob and Kaye: The way we see it, most decisions are based on not just one idea, but layers thereof.  So it is with us.  First of all, since Bob’s stroke – something we’ve been discussing on line for a while now – our mobility has been somewhat limited.  Physical book tours, for example, are a bit beyond our current skill level.  Then, too, there have been budget considerations – also limited by the cost of the whole stroke thing.  And finally, there is the sad but simple matter of ignorance.  We do see that social networking is an important element in promoting Football is for Lovers. But we were not born into the computer age, and everything pertaining thereto remains a translation.   That is, what is simple and obvious to those who have grown up in the computer age is more like learning Sanskrit to us.  So to attempt to do this sort of virtual tour on our own would be like trying to construct a car or an airplane on our own.  We might accomplish it by the next millennium (if we should live so long), but meanwhile, all that we wanted to tell you in Football is for Lovers would have to wait until . . . well, maybe about 2050.

Is this the first time you have heard of them?

Bob and Kaye:  This is really rather funny.  We had gotten a snail mail solicitation from a marketing firm and, since we were really struggling to figure out how to market Football is for Lovers, we thought we’d look into what they were offering.  In our online research, what we found out is that they were . . . well, pretty much crooks.  Still, we knew we needed to promote the book.  So we did a Google search on book promotions.  Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours showed up on Google.  We went to the site, thought it sounded like a neat idea, were delighted at the amazingly reasonable cost, and signed on.

What do you hope to achieve through promoting your book through a virtual book tour?

Bob and Kaye:  Base though the answer is, book sales.  Really: what else?

Do you promote online through other means?  Website?  Blog?

Bob and Kaye: We have a website – www.footballforlovers.com – as well as a blog attached thereto.  But here’s the thing: we find ourselves not being really clear about what our blog should do, or how to make our blog do it.  We just wonder: back in the day, writers worked in their cold little tenement, awaiting the day when the books they so laboriously wrote would speak for them.  It’s not that we don’t want to talk directly with our readers.  We do.  But we thought that was why we wrote the book.

Do you promote through Twitter and Facebook?  What are your links there?

Bob and Kaye:  Twitter.  FaceBook.  Alien Nation.  Not only could we not figure out how to use them, but also we keep wondering why we should be spending all this time figuring it out instead of concentrating on writing our next book.  Oh, yes.  That’s right: so we can sell this one.  Which brings us back to the whole virtual book tour thing.  Which we do love . . .

What are your experiences with offline booksignings?  Which do you prefer – online or offline and can you give us the reasons why?

Bob and Kaye:  Again, we come to the problem of mobility.  Right now, for us, online is just the easier way.  Have we told you how much we love the Internet?

Here’s a fun question.  If money was no object, how would you promote your book?

Bob and Kaye:  That’s an easy one.  A commercial at half time during the next Super Bowl.

Thank you for this interview, Bob and Kaye.  Do you have any final words?

Bob and Kaye:  Just Godspeed to all of you.  What’s in your hearts to do, may you do it.

Talking Virtual Book Tours with Thriller Author Gary Morgenstein

Gary Morgenstein

Novelist/playwright Gary Morgenstein is the author of four novels. In addition to Jesse’s Girl, a thriller about a widowed father’s search for his adopted teenage son who has run away from a drug treatment program to find his biological sister, his books include the romantic triangle Loving Rabbi Thalia Kleinman, the political thriller Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and the baseball Rocky The Man Who Wanted to Play Center Field for the New York Yankees. His prophetic play Ponzi Man performed to sell-out crowds at a recent New York Fringe Festival. His other full-length work, You Can’t Grow Tomatoes in the Bronx, is in development.  You can visit him at www.facebook.com/people/Gary-Morgenstein/1011217889 or at http://redroom.com/member/garymorg.

Gary Morgenstein will be on a virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours in October and is here with us today to give his opinions of virtual book tours and online book marketing.

Jesse's Girl

Thank you for this interview, Gary.  Can we start out by having you tell us briefly what your new book is about?

Jesse’s Girl is about being a parent – and how much will a father sacrifice to save his son? The thriller centers around a widowed Brooklyn father, Teddy Mentor, who risks everything to find his troubled adopted son, Jesse. He has run away from a wilderness drug treatment program in Montana (where he’d been sent by Teddy under escort a couple weeks ago), to hunt for his biological sister, Theresa, in Kentucky. However, they become embroiled in a grisly crime which sends them fleeing in a wild search for the truth – if they live that long.

More and more authors are realizing the potential for sales that derives from virtual book tours.  Can you tell us your personal reasons why you chose a virtual book tour to help get the word out about your new book?

The world of publishing has changed so dramatically that it’s imperative to go where people are reading and talking about books and buying them – which is online. Dorothy Thompson came highly recommended and she has been great!

Is this the first time you have heard of them?

I had heard of them without understanding what they are. I’m still not 100% sure, but I like a bit of mystery and adventure, lol. For all I know there will be holograms of me throughout cyber-space.

What do you hope to achieve through promoting your book through a virtual book tour?

To reach as many people with this story about the pain and the frustration and ultimate joy of parenting. To touch people through my words. And to sell lots of books!

Do you promote online through other means?  Website?  Blog?

Since one of the underlying themes of Jesse’s Girl is teen substance abuse, I blog for the Partnership for a Drug Free America as well as at redroom.com.

Do you promote through Twitter and Facebook?  What are your links there?

I don’t understand Twitter nor really understand why I or anyone should understand Twitter. I mean, with cell phones and texts and email and Facebook, aren’t there enough ways to connect? Also, the language that flows out of texting and twittering is degrading the English language. For example, your is spelled your, not ur. Sorry for the brief rant. I feel better now.

What are your experiences with offline booksignings?  Which do you prefer – online or offline and can you give us the reasons why?

I’ve never done any book signings, either in the flesh or through a virtual tour, so this is going to be a very cool experience. I love science fiction (and do PR for Syfy Channel), so I appreciate the whole other-worldly aspect.

Here’s a fun question.  If money was no object, how would you promote your book?

Have a huge ad at Yankee Stadium with a specially created trailer for the book running on the scoreboard. Put Jesse’s Girl on the uniforms of the New York Giants. Go on Oprah and let her read from the book. Have the President hold up my novel at a press conference and say, “Read this book or I will raise your taxes!”

Thank you for this interview, Gary.  Do you have any final words?

Like all writers, I have enough of an ego to believe what I wrote is important. If you’ve ever been a parent or a child, if you’ve ever loved someone enough to do anything to save them from themselves, then I think you will like Jesse’s Girl.

Dorothy Thompson & Cheryl Malandrinos Talks Virtual Book Tours on A Book and a Chat Blog Talk Radio Show

I had the privilege of being interviewed last night on Barry Eva’s Blog Talk radio show, A Book and a Chat, along with Cheryl Malandrinos, also of Pump Up Your Book Promotion. The show was an absolute blast! Barry’s co-host was Kim Smith who also has her own Blog Talk radio show, Introducing Writers. We talked about virtual book tours, our writing lives, and I managed to get in my story of the haunted cabins I encountered in Pigeon Forge, TN! Fun stuff!

If you’d like to listen, click here! There are talks of this being a monthly feature, so stay tuned!

Pump Up Your Book Presents…12 Days of Christmas Virtual Book Tour Special!

As our Christmas gift to you, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is offering a special discount for those authors wishing to tour in December. Sign up for our 12 Days of Christmas December Blog Tour Specialbefore Oct. 30 ‘09 and you will receive this great book promotion package:

• One virtual book tour (can only be purchased for the month of December)!
• Twelve (12) blog stops (Dec. 1 – 16) appearing on blogs geared specifically for your book, with possibilities of appearing at Reuters, USA Today, Chicago Times, Washington Post and other high profile news sites!
• Full publicity including but not restricted to daily postings about your book on social networks and other online media outlets!
• Personalized tour banner!
• Personalized tour page on tour blog and our company blog – double
  
  the exposure!
• Our 12 Days of Christmas Tour Trailer including your book information which will be uploaded to YouTube and other video media outlets!

The special price for this package is only $199and only available for purchase between now and Oct. 30 ‘09. This discount cannot be applied after the deadline.

Payments can be made via PayPal (Paypal accepts most major credit cards), money order or check.

Space is limited and will be on a first come, first serve basis.

Thank you and let us help you pump up that book!

The Pump Up Your Book Promotion Team

www.pumpupyourbookpromotion.com

We’re Nominated for Best Blog Tour Group!

It’s official! Pump Up Your Book Promotion has made the short list at BBAW for Best Blog Tour Group!

Book Blogger Appreciation was started by Amy Riley of My Friend Amy in an effort to recognize the hard work and contribution of book bloggers to the promotion and preservation of a literate culture actively engaged in discussing books, authors, and a lifestyle of reading.

The first Book Blogger Appreciation was observed in the fall of 2008 and occurs every September. The week spotlights and celebrates the work of active book bloggers through guest posts, awards, giveaways, and community activities.

We are honored to be on their short list for Best Blog Tour Group and would appreciate everyone’’s vote. All you have to do is visit http://bookbloggerappreciationweek.com/index.php/awards#pd_a_1964022 and look for the “Best Blog Tour Group” poll.

We appreciate your kindness! Polls end on Saturday just before midnight so cast those votes early. Thank you!

Talking Virtual Book Tours with Poet Balthazar Rodrigue Nzomono-Balenda

Balthazar Rodrigue Nzomono-Balenda is not only an author and a poet, but also a student, multimedia designer and translator.  His previous books include The Depth of My Soul and The Struggle for Power and the Fight for Survival.  Balthazar became interested in poetry by accident in 2003 when he wasn’t satisfied with the way things were going in his early studies and in the Danish society.  His latest book is Freedom of Press: The Sitting Duck.  You can visit Balthazar on the web at http://www.redroom.com/author/balthazar-rodrigue-nzomono-balenda.

Rodrigue will be on a virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours in September ‘09, and is here with us today to give his impression of virtual book tours and online book marketing.

Thank you for this interview, Rodrigue.  Can we start out by having you tell us briefly what your new book is about?

My book is about freedom of press being under attack by criminals and those who hire them to kill journalists. I use poetry to express my frustrations about the hostility journalists face in countries like: Turkey, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Colombia, Mexico, Russia and many other countries around the world that cannot tolerate an independent press. I also use poetry to tell stories about the dangers, joy, sorrows journalists face in connection with their reporting.

More and more authors are realizing the potential for sales that derives from virtual book tours.  Can you tell us your personal reasons why you chose a virtual book tour to help get the word out about your new book?

I choose a virtual book tour because I want to bring awareness about our universal values thorough my book. Being in a virtual book tour gives me higher opportunities to promote my book. I have an opportunity to share stories behind my book with other authors and also listen to their stories. Being in a virtual book tour gives me an opportunity to inspire someone who is struggling to promote his/her work, by writing guest posts about my journey as an author.

Is this the first time you have heard of them?

I didn’t understand your question, but this isn’t the first time I am promoting my book by choosing a virtual tour.

What do you hope to achieve through promoting your book through a virtual book tour?

What I want to achieve with my book tour is my message; our forefathers have sacrificed their lives so that we can have the fundamental rights that have made us who we are today and freedom of press is one of our values. I want to tell my readers that you fight for freedom when it’s there, not when it’s gone. I am not a journalist, but I support the right to an independent press, so that journalists can do their reporting freely. We may not always agree with them, but there are ways to deal with disagreements than silencing the freedom of press.

Do you promote online through other means?  Website?  Blog?

Yes I do promote in other websites as well like in Flickr.

Check it out here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bnbalenda/3785200280/

Do you promote through Twitter and Facebook?  What are your links there?

Yes I do promote on both Facebook and Twitter.

My Facebook fan page is : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Balthazar-Rodrigue-Nzomono-Balenda/62700587511

And my Twitter page is www.twitter.com/brnbalenda.

What are your experiences with offline booksignings?  Which do you prefer – online or offline and can you give us the reasons why?

I have never experienced anything with offline booksigings, neither with online booksignings. That’s why I can’t comment in this question.

Here’s a fun question.  If money was no object, how would you promote your book?

If money was no object for me, I would promote my books with both Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.

Thank you for this interview, Rodrigue .  Do you have any final words?

I hope for the best with my newest book and I am looking forward to meet readers and discuss this topic with them.

If you would like to follow Rodrigue’s tour, visit here!

Talking Virtual Book Tours with Contemporary Romance Author Randall Lang

Randall Lang

Randall Lang grew up in the tough coalfields of southwestern Pennsylvania where nothing comes easily. It is a world of limited opportunity and few roles to follow. Dreams are quickly vanquished in the shadows of necessity and creativity is usually buried beneath an avalanche of cynicism.  However, epiphanies come in all shapes, sizes, and in a wide range of locations. In the dark and quiet world of the underground worksite, the stories within him began to take form. Years later, Randall Lang is the author of eight books of erotic stories published by Renaissance E Books, has contributed to two erotic anthologies, and the recently released Magnificent Man, an erotic romance published by Midnight Showcase. Randall’s erotic works include the five volume Trailer Park Nights series and three books of erotic short stories. These are available at http://shop.renebooks.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=120. His newest release, Magnificent Man, is available from Midnight Showcase at http://www.midnightshowcase.com/MagniMan.htm. Visit Randall’s website, The Worlds of Randall Lang, www.randalllang.com. Or his blog, The Mind of Randall Lang, www.randalllang.blogspot.com. It’s a strange place to be.

Randall now lives historically on an historic island in historic Wheeling, West Virginia.

Randall Lang will be on a virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours in September, 2009, and is here with us today to give his impression of virtual book tours and online book marketing.

Magnificent Man

Thank you for this interview, Randall.  Can we start out by having you tell us briefly what your new book is about?

That will be my pleasure.  Firstly, thank you for inviting me here today. Magnificent Man is what I call my ‘road trip romance’. It is the story of Cassandra, a struggling single Mother who takes a chance at improving her life by answering an ad in a Hollywood fan magazine. It turns out to be an offer she must refuse, and on her way home, her car breaks down in the Arizona desert. She is rescued by a large, handsome man on a motorcycle who takes her on the journey of a lifetime through the American southwest. As she comes to know more about Coyote, her rescuer, she finds herself falling in love with him. She has never known a man of such strength and nobility. Although he tries to resist falling for Cassandra, she fills a longing within him and takes his heart. Their different backgrounds and lives present a serious obstacle to their love. In the end, their love enables them to overcome a life-threatening crisis.

More and more authors are realizing the potential for sales that derives from virtual book tours.  Can you tell us your personal reasons why you chose a virtual book tour to help get the word out about your new book?

Writing the best book ever written is an exercise in futility if no one reads it. While the internet and e-books have greatly opened up opportunities for writers to be published, they have also generated tremendous competition in the marketplace. I can put my books in front of potential readers with website advertisements and book group posts, but I need the help of an expert to take my book to the next level. A virtual book tour IS that next level.

Is this the first time you have heard of them?

Before Magnificent Man was released, I attempted to develop a marketing plan. Among the available marketing vehicles was the virtual book tour. As I read more, I realized that a virtual book tour came with more than just advertising space, it also offered the professional help that I so desperately needed.

What do you hope to achieve through promoting your book through a virtual book tour?

I am hoping to reach potential readers beyond the usual book website and book groups. The problem with those is that they are populated predominately by writers. And, while most writers are also readers, the act of writing books severely limits the available time to read. I would hope to appeal to a broader pool of readers with a virtual book tour.

Do you promote online through other means?  Website?  Blog?

Yes I do. Like most ‘boomers’, I find the high-tech internet world a frightening and intimidating place. I was able to find a first class web designer who put together and maintains my website www.randalllang.com . Eventually I built up enough courage to start a blog, www.randalllang.blogspot.com. I must confess, the blog has been fun. I even (expressing great pride here) made a video book trailer for Magnificent Man and posted it to YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fv3T4zXq_Lo. That made me feel like a real ‘techie’.

Do you promote through Twitter and Facebook?  What are your links there?

Well, there goes that whole ‘techie’ thing. I’m only starting to experiment with social networking and, at this point, I’m a helpless novice.

What are your experiences with offline booksignings?  Which do you prefer – online or offline and can you give us the reasons why?

I have never done offline booksignings, but it is something that I hope to explore in the future. I can do online booksignings now through Author’s Den at http://www.authorsden.com/randalllang.

Because Magnificent Man is also available in print, I can offer signed books.

Here’s a fun question.  If money was no object, how would you promote your book?

Given an unlimited budget, you’d probably see my face on late night television selling my book between the exercise machine ads and the diet pill promos. Hey Suzanne Somers, squeeze this!

Thank you for this interview, Randall.  Do you have any final words?

Final words!! Isn’t that what happens just before the warden throws the switch? No words of wisdom, I just want to invite everyone to visit me at www.randalllang.com , The Worlds of Randall Lang, or stop by my blog at www.randalllang.blogspot.com , The Mind of Randall Lang. It’s a strange place to be!

Thanks again for inviting me. I remain,

Your most humble and obedient servant,

Randall Lang

If you would like to follow Randall’s tour, visit here!

Talking Virtual Book Tours with Historical Romance Author Joanne Sundell

Joanne Sundell

Born in a tiny hospital in rural Virginia, tucked snugly away in a bureau drawer, Joanne Sundell ever cherishes her country beginnings.  Fond memories of toddling along after her older sisters along the Appalachian Trail, catching tadpoles in the local creek bed, chasing after lightening bugs, or falling asleep to the evening hum of katydids, remain with her still, despite the family move to more urban Arlington where Joanne spent her formative school years, and then on to Richmond for college.  Though nursing was her chosen vocation, her chosen avocation has ever been the romance novel.  Joanne grew up reading romance, falling in love with heroes and heroines from Regency England to the American West, from London’s pubs to Colorado’s ski slopes, loving that moment when the hero and heroine meet and fall in love.  That moment to Joanne is the moment when Jane Eyre meets Edward Rochester, when Elizabeth Bennett meets Mr. Darcy—that’s the heart-stopping, passionate moment for Joanne in romance.  That moment is what led Joanne to attempt traditional, old-fashioned, historical romance.  Her first sale was in 2005 and since then, she’s sold five more historical romances to Five Star-Gale, Cengage Learning, in their Expressions line.  Her books have been reviewed nationally by such notables as Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal, and Romantic Times.  With her three children grown and off on their own adventures, Joanne now lives part-time in Colorado and in California with her husband and their entourage` of felines and huskies.   Joanne’s writing groups include Romance Writers of America, Colorado Romance Writers, Los Angeles Romance Writers, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and Women Writing the West.  You can visit her on the web at www.joannesundell.com.

Joanne Sundell will be on a virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours in September and is here with us today to give her impression of virtual book tours and online book marketing.

Meggie's Remains

Thank you for this interview, Joanne.  Can we start out by having you tell us briefly what your new book is about?

Joanne: Meggie’s Remains is a romantic suspense in which the heroine struggles with far more than meeting the man of her dreams.  In fact, she’s scared to death when she does.  Why?  That’s the question I hope to answer in this novel.  I hope to peel away the pretty layers in classic, romantic theme and character, and show the not-so-pretty events that can happen—the dark, complex, emotional path a heroine’s life can take, suddenly, without warning, and with no guarantee of survival.

Afraid of men, afraid for her sins, afraid for her sanity, and right now afraid for her life, Meggie McMurphy flees Boston once the fiendish terror so long stalking her in nightmares surfaces in the light of day.  She escapes west to Denver, in the wild Colorado Territory, hoping to lose herself among the multitude of townsfolk.  The year is 1874.

Twenty-five years old, alone, and near penniless, Meggie struggles to find honest work and to keep the dark secrets of her past just that:  secret.  Not so easily done when the handsome, formidable westerner Ethan Rourke stumbles upon her on a snowy Denver street.  Why it’s as if he’d stepped right out of the pages of her beloved novel, Jane Eyre! Safe to encounter such a man on the page, it is certainly unsafe, even deadly, for her to encounter such a man in the flesh.  Men belong . . . six feet under, six feet away . . . where to stay safe, the devil must stay!

Hired as a teacher, not in Denver, but in an isolated mountain town in rugged Ute country, Meggie is determined to make a home for herself in Hot Sulphur Springs.  There she keeps up her masquerade as Rose Rochester, yearning for a normal life, for companionship and even love—all the while knowing it’s only a matter of time until the monstrous changeling from her nightmares will find her, killing any possibility of a life at all. ~

More and more authors are realizing the potential for sales that derives from virtual book tours.  Can you tell us your personal reasons why you chose a virtual book tour to help get the word out about your new book?

Joanne: Admittedly a baby boomer by definition, I’m being dragged kicking and screaming into the 21^st Internet century!  That’s code for the reality that I’m challenged when it comes to smooth surfing on the Big Bad Net.  Challenged though I may be, even I am aware of the benefits of virtual networking.  I do have a website, a blog, a MySpace site, and an e-mail address, but am finding that virtual book-touring is the wave of the present and the future.  Fellow writers are scheduling virtual tours.  I’m plugged into sites such as Shelf Awareness and other Book Tour sites that alert me to where and when certain authors will appear.  Most writers today do much of their own promotion.  I suppose this is for economic reasons as well as common-sense-marketing.

In the past I’ve scheduled myself on several blogs, some more well-known than others, and it’s been a pleasant-enough learning experience.  Learning is the key word here, as I have A LOT TO LEARN when it comes to linking here, linking there, linking and blogging everywhere!   The main reason I’m choosing to virtually tour at this juncture with my fourth release is to help bolster my marketing efforts for Meggie’s Remains. I’ve recently made a part-time move from Colorado to California and its like starting all over again in terms of hitting bookstores, and querying their community relations personnel for potential signing events.  Truly, I thought it might be more worthwhile, not to mention time-saving, to try a virtual tour, professionally done.  The main market for my publisher is the library market, where most of my sales rely heavily on national reviews.  Fortunate to be reviewed in the past by Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, and Library Journal, and therefore have guaranteed sales, Meggie’s Remains has not been selected as yet for national review and I think a virtual tour will help get the word out about Meggie and Ethan’s love story.  Fingers crossed.

Is this the first time you have heard of them?

Joanne: I found Pump Up Your Book Promotion by searching the members list of Virginia Romance Writers, a chapter of national Romance Writers of America, where I hope to promote my Civil War series next year.  When I saw some of the wonderful promotion done by Pump Up Your Book Promotion for one of its members, I was hooked on the idea of a professional virtual tour.  I’d just not put in any kind of “search” for this before.  So far I’m quite pleased with how professional, patient, understanding, and down-right friendly the folks are at Pump Up Your Book Promotion.

What do you hope to achieve through promoting your book through a virtual book tour?

Joanne: In addition to what I’ve already stated, I hope to network with some of the frequently-hit blogs and get my name out there … wherever “there” is, heh heh.

Do you promote online through other means?  Website?  Blog?

Joanne: Yes.  My website has all of the right information, but I don’t have a way of drawing a lot of traffic to my site.  My blog is listed on my site and on MySpace but, again, I’m not linked with enough other blogs.  In truth, I spend more time researching and writing, than I do actually marketing and learning on the Internet.

Do you promote through Twitter and Facebook?  What are your links there?

Joanne: No.

What are your experiences with offline booksignings?  Which do you prefer – online or offline and can you give us the reasons why?

Joanne: With my first three releases, all of my signings were in Colorado at Barnes & Noble, Borders, Tattered Cover, book clubs, and library events.  I enjoy signings and find them relatively helpful in getting the word out.  However, if you’re not Stephen King or Nora Roberts, it’s not so easy to get that queue out the door!  I’ve enjoyed what virtual touring I’ve done to date, especially enjoying feedback over time.  I’ve had folks sign up for my newsletter, based on blogging.  The numbers are not great, however, but on some blogs there have been numerous hits.  As example, when on petticoatsandpistols, a blog with a grouping of Harlequin writers, I had eighty comments back and forth.

Here’s a fun question.  If money was no object, how would you promote your book?

Joanne: This one’s easy.  I’d advertise in magazines, newspapers, and on the Internet and then . . . I’d advertise MORE in magazines, newspapers, and on the Internet!

Thank you for this interview, Joanne.  Do you have any final words?

Joanne: I’ve enjoyed this opportunity to visit with you today.  Hey, I’m here to learn and I appreciate all the help, insight, and thoughtful input I can get. I do wish there was an easy primer for us older-generation-types that would allow us to blog here, there, and everywhere … no problem.  Ah well, in my perfect world.  Perhaps if we visit again, I’ll be able to Twitter and Facebook with the best of ‘em!

If you would like to follow Joanne during September on her virtual book tour, click here!