Ms. S and Ms. J
Last weekend, I put away the to-do list and traveled out of town with friends. My husband and I had a wonderful time with two other couples that we've known for over twenty years.
We stayed in a very old, historic hotel in Hot Springs, AR. It's supposedly haunted and hosted Al Capone during the gangster period. My husband teased me with reenactments of little Danny chanting, "Redrum, redrum" (The Shining). The place definitely had the chill factor. We visited local restaurants and had a good time.
I can't say enough about how important my friends are to me. My girls, Ms. S and Ms. J keep me laughing. I can depend on them through the good times and the bad. Whatever your goal is in life and even though you may think you are too busy, don't forget about your friends.
“It's the friends you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter.”
― Marlene Dietrich
On a different note, I ran across this humorous video on how Facebook makes decisions about their product.
My February giveaway ends soon. You can still enter!
I do lots of giveaways for readers. Several reader giveaway announcements are coming soon, so stay tuned!
Today's giveaway announcement is for the author. I have so many author friends and appreciate them very much.
Want a book trailer?
I'll make a personalized book trailer for you. This will include up to 10 images that I'll purchase from BigStockPhoto.com. You must provide the blurb or language for the video. The total video time will be approximately one minute in length. I'll upload it to YouTube for you. You can grab the html code or link for others to view and find it. If you don't have a book at this time, gift the trailer to an author friend in need. Just let me (and the friend) know you are gifting your trailer creation.
I'll do my best for you. I'm placing my book trailers at the bottom if you want to check them out. Please expect your trailer to be of a similar fashion. I'm not a movie producer! Winner must use this service provided by me before March 30th, 2013. How do you enter? Make sure you enter in the Rafflecopter below.
This is one of my favorite songs by Paolo Nutini. I've started work on a novella with characters who have an age difference of more than a couple of years (as in this song).
What do you think about age differences in relationships?
This last installment on the wonders of marketing with QR codes will tell you about creative ways to use the barcode. In marketing, you need something that excites the customer. Something unique. What can be more fun than finding a prize? I sometimes pay more for the movie DVD that has extras vs. the standard movie-only version. Why? Well, it's just fun to know about the special effects, interviews, bloopers, stunts, etc. Publishers and authors can give their customers more than just the book. It's like finding the "cracker jack" prize amid the caramel popcorn.
1.) Videos: Let's say that you want to include some interesting extras. If your book centers around an alien abduction, you could include video interviews of people who say they've been abducted. Or it could just be an author interview. The popularity of YouTube should tell us that people love short video clips.
2.) Backlist: The barcode can link to your page with your backlist of all your titles. As long as the URL stays the same, you can continually add to this list as your portfolio grows.
3.) Scavenger hunt: Make it a game to hop from book to blog and other websites for QR code clues in solving a mystery for a prize.
4.) Email subscriber list: Build your subscriber list by linking the QR code directly to the sign up page for your updates, blog, newsletter, etc.
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