“No time to say hello, goodbye…”

23 Sunday Nov 2014

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White RabbitI was extremely busy this past week at my day job. I felt like the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland.

On Thursday morning I realized that the previous day I had had no time to consult my Facebook account. I knew I was missing some important news from my friends. Couldn’t check on how my pages were doing – Literary Selfies, Il Molo, Pierre Montant. Didn’t even have time to check if there were any more FB Likes on Literary Selfies, not to mention time to post a new interview on the blog. And my own blog – no time to see if I had any more followers. Goodreads and She Writes fell off the radar. I didn’t check my sales on CreateSpace and Kindle Publishing nor if I had any more reviews on Amazon. Didn’t look at either Twitter or Pinterest. Google+ never even entered my mind. And Commission Junction was just a fleeting memory.

Wow! Now that I’ve listed all the sites that I consult in a day (besides the ones I need for my job) it’s scary. What would I have been doing 10 years ago? For sure none of this. However, I must admit I’m glad that all these internet tools are available. I wouldn’t have been able to self-publish my book and market it myself, create a website and a blog, use social media to reach out to friends and followers. On the other hand I wouldn’t have had dozens of passwords to remember, nor worry about viruses, nor hackers breaking into my accounts. And I definitely wouldn’t have had that “White Rabbit” day.

Interviews on Literary Selfies blog

15 Saturday Nov 2014

Posted by in Interviews and such, Promotions, Self-publishing

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Literary Selfies has been posting interviews from it’s indies authors. Our authors reveal their motivations for writing, the reasons they chose the self-publishing route and other interesting topics. Makes very interesting reading. Take a look and Like their interview.

http://www.literaryselfies.com/#!blog/cnmephoto 2

The Birth of Il Molo

08 Saturday Nov 2014

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People often ask me how Il Molo was born. My response – “with much difficulty.” It almost became a half-written novel left on my computer’s hard drive. A similar fate to the James Bond novel I started in 9th grade and never finished, the handwritten manuscript most likely ending up in a wastebasket.

I started working on Il Molo in 2010. I was sitting on the beach in Varigotti, a small village in Italy where we spend at least a week every summer.

Varigotti beach

Varigotti beach – (Borrowed from Facebook share.)

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Goodreads Giveaways – “Don’t do what you’re told”

03 Monday Nov 2014

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Very interesting analysis I found on Goodreads post that I wanted to share with you. I’m going to take the advice that Catherine gives. A summary is in the image:

http://catherineryanhoward.com/2014/08/18/goodreads-giveaways-dont-do-what-youre-told/

Facebook – Reach and Likes

30 Thursday Oct 2014

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Like buttonReach. This was a black hole for me. In spite of consulting FB Help, their explanation was still not clear. So much for helping. 

On the Literary Selfies page, which I manage (see earlier blog on Literary Selfies website), there is a shared post on “writing is good for your health” that reached over 19,900 FBers, with 133 Likes and 153 shares! Not bad. The post is below, but unfortunately it doesn’t show the reach but does mention the Likes and shares. 

Other posts which I thought would really be more interesting to our followers (authors and readers) barely reached 150. I really don’t get it. Another phenomenon, the linked posts from Twitter to FB also had smaller reaches. Figure that one out! So I stopped doing that. 

Then yesterday I found on FB, yes believe it or not, through comments from other FBers in a group I follow that others were asking the same questions about reach, likes and spending money on FB ads. Someone with more experience posted a link to a YouTube video that answered my questions. I highly recommend it. Plain and simple and clear, and exposes Reach and Likes. I don’t pretend to understand everything but the video helps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVfHeWTKjag

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“Loggia cosmica” by Pierre Montant

27 Monday Oct 2014

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Pierre Montant - 2001

“Loggia cosmica” by Pierre Montant 2001, Oil on canvas, 130 x 162 cm, Private collection.

Thanks to my artist husband (Pierre Montant) and the painting’s new owner Il Molo found it’s cover. When I came up with the book’s title I immediately thought of this mysterious oil-on-canvas work that Pierre had completed in 2001. It depicts the pier known as il molo which extends out from the beach in Varigotti, Italy, and, in this particular scene, the damage that can be done by the sea at it’s angriest.

The painting captured the exact atmosphere that I was looking for.  Pierre said he would be honored to have Il Molo adopt Loggia cosmica as it’s cover. By the time I published the book in 2014 the painting had been purchased, and the new owner graciously agreed to let me use it as the cover.

If this painting excites you, you can see more of Pierre’s works on www.pierremontant.com and on YouTube.

 

SheWrites – networking site for women writers

27 Monday Oct 2014

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I discovered a networking website for women writers: http://www.shewrites.com/

“Welcome to She Writes, the largest community of women writers online. She Writes is your place to find community, and all of our place to foster it. Whether you’re well published, just starting out, a novelist, journalist, blogger, memoirist, screenwriter, poet, playwright, agent, editor, or publicist, this guide offers a number of ways to maximize your use of She Writes.”

I’ve just joined so I’m still feeling my way around. But all networking and marketing outlets can be useful. And it may be useful for you.

 

 

Il Molo – a teaser

22 Wednesday Oct 2014

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You can read the salient parts of the Prologue of IL MOLO on BooksGoSocial.com.

Discover the Molo and Martha, and get a taste of what is to follow. I hope this will tempt you to read the book or at least put in on your Bucket List.

 

Interviews on Literary Selfies’ Blog

19 Sunday Oct 2014

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photo 2

LITERARY SELFIES

Check out the Blog page on Literary Selfies (LS) www.literaryselfies.com. LS is featuring interviews of the indie authors. Responding to questions from LS, the authors discuss their first writing experience, first published novel, and when they began to consider themselves as a writer. They also reveal why they took the self-publishing route, their publishing experiences and tips for aspiring indie authors.

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