New release

Have you ever wanted to chuck it all –mowing, blowing snow, tending to that endless “fix it” list? When Gracie Allen’s newly retired husband puts their home up for sale and buys a fifth wheel to spend their retirement years traveling, her secure, snug little world is turned upside-down. If she wants her 45-year marriage to survive, she has to decide which she loves more: the things that make her who she is—or the man who provided them.

It's a story baby boomers will love!

Click here to download for only $.99.

*****

Since March, I have been crazy busy. My debut novel, The Heart Remembers, was released that month, and, although I understood that authors have the lion's share in publicizing and promoting their books, I had no inkling of how much work it was. But

NO ONE BELIEVES IN YOUR WRITING AS MUCH AS YOU DO.


Here are some things you need to do to promote your work. Beside each suggestion is a link to my page so you can see how I have it set up and how often I post. Check out the web pages (web sites, blogs, Facebook pages) of your favorite authors and analyze them.

• BLOG regularly, at least once a week, if you can. Think: What can I offer readers? I have three blogs: God, Me, and a Cup of Tea; God, Me, and a Cup of Tea Daily for 2014; and Christian Writers Page (this page). Invite friends to subscribe to your page, and respond positively to comments. Use Blogspot or WordPress. Both are free, and you can have several pages: one for your blog, one for your bio (About Me), one for your books, one for your schedule. Don't make the page too busy (too much stuff), but do put interesting information in the margin.
• Create a FACEBOOK author page and post often. Invite your Facebook friends to LIKE your author page.  Michele's FB author and speaker page
• If you have a book on AMAZON, create an AMAZON author page and keep it updated. Ask readers to post reviews. Michele's Amazon author page
• Open a PINTEREST account if you don't have one already and pin at least once a week. You can have several boards. With lots of cooks and readers out there, recipes are favorite pins, as are books. Michele's Pinterest site
• TWEET. I'm not crazy about Twitter, but lots of folks like it, and it's a way to get your name and message out here. Michele's Twitter page
• Create a GOODREADS account and set up an author page there, too. Offer giveaways. Goodreads is where you find readers. I love to read, and the recommendations and reviews posted there give me good titles for my reading stack. Run a giveaway. I received a call this morning from a lady across the country who won an autographed copy of The Heart Remembers when I ran the giveaway last month. She loved the book, and called me to tell me how much she loved it and asked how she could obtain my meditation books. Michele's Goodreads page

Interact with people on these sites. Remember they are real people with emotions and are struggling with life like you and I are. Read Rise of the Machines: Human Authors in a Digital World by Kristen Lamb. Subscribe to her blog. She has a genuine desire to help writers.

And I haven't mentioned book signings, author appearances, interviews, book reviews, and giveaways (complimentary copies).

When "Gracie's Gift," Volume One of my Fifth Wheel series, was released, I spent the day publicizing and promoting it, and updating all my web sites. I got nothing done that was on my do-list for the day.

But such is the life of an author. It's no pie-in-the-sky or a walk in the park. It's hard work. Consistent work. And writing isn't the half of it.

But it's my dream. And it's up to me, with the help of the good Lord, to make it come true.

Keep writing,
Michele