Nell Walton is an avid horsewoman and also owns two wild horses, both of which came from a herd near Elko, NV. She is also the founder and managing editor of the online equestrian news magazine, The AllHorses Post (www.allpetspost.org/allhorsespost). She has degrees in journalism and biology from the University of Arkansas, spent many years as a professional journalist and worked as an intern for former President Bill Clinton when he was governor of Arkansas. She lives in East Tennessee on a small horse farm with her husband, four horses, one donkey, two cats and two dogs. The Bone Trail is her first novel.
www.allpetspost.org/AllHorsesPost
www.allpetspost.org/TheBoneTrail
Twitter: nellwal
Facebook: AllHorses Post (user name)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage/?act=287583265#!/pages/The-Bone-Trail/177304412309524
Nell Walton will be on a virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours in April and is here with us today to give his (or her) impression of virtual book tours and online book marketing.
Thank you for this interview, Nell. Can we start out by having you tell us briefly what your new book is about?
The Bone Trail tells the story of investigative reporter Kate Wyndham, who goes to Nevada to try to discover the fate of two wild horse preservation advocates that have disappeared in the desert without a trace. When she tries to gain information from local and federal authorities she is stonewalled, so she turns to a Shoshone rancher, a horse ‘whisperer’ named Jim Ludlow, for help. In their search for the advocates, they develop a passionate emotional relationship that, if acted upon, will change their lives in ways neither is prepared to accept. And, as they pursue their search, they become embroiled in a web of deceit and intrigue that threatens to claim everything the hold dear, including their lives.
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?
Once I did the research on how books are currently being marketed, it seemed to me to be the absolute best way to get information on my book out to my audience. It is especially attractive for authors who have self-published, as I have.
Is this the first time you have heard of them?
Yes. I hadn’t heard of virtual book tours before, but I know other authors that are beginning to pursue this avenue to get information on their books out to the public. It is very exciting.
What do you hope to achieve through promoting your book through a virtual book tour?
I want to reach the largest audience possible with information on The Bone Trail. It is a great book, one that I believe everyone can benefit from reading.
Do you promote online through other means? Website? Blog?
I have two websites (both blogs). One is an aggregate site for equestrian news called The AllHorses Post. The other blog is specifically for The Bone Trail.
Do you promote through Twitter and Facebook? What are your links there?
I have started using Twitter (and have quickly become addicted to it), and I have been using Facebook for years. My Twitter name is nellwal, and on Facebook I use AllHorses Post for my name. I have a fan page for The Bone Trail at http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage/?act=287583265#!/pages/The-Bone-Trail/177304412309524
What are your experiences with offline booksignings? Which do you prefer – online or offline and can you give us the reasons why?
I haven’t done any offline booksignings as of yet. I am waiting to see how online marketing goes before I pursue that venue.
Here’s a fun question. If money was no object, how would you promote your book?
A Major Feature Film!
Thank you for this interview, Nell. Do you have any final words?
I am so glad that authors have so many different avenues they can pursue now to get their work out to the public. Exciting times!
