Favorite Scenes & BSP

About a month ago I wrote a post about blatant self promotion and all of the fun stuff a writer can acquire online. Today I'm continuing that discussion with this folding note card I designed specifically with readers in mind.

If you'd like to receive a personalized notecard from me, email me at annekalbert AT gmail DOT com and include your snail mail address AND a sentence or two about your favorite scene in Defending Glory.

More BSP...Protecting Hope, book two of the Piedmont Island Trilogy, will soon be on released. More details of when and where will definitely follow.  ;-)

Happy reading! 

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It Only Takes A Mustard Seed WINNER

Last week Joanne Troppello interviewed me on her It Only Takes A Mustard Seed blog.

It's always a pleasure to chat with Joanne, and if you haven't stopped by her blog, do yourself a favor. It's a terrific site with great interviews, articles and giveaways.

To celebrate the occasion of my visit with Joanne, I offered to giveaway an e-book copy of DEFENDING GLORY, first book of the Piedmont Island Trilogy series, to one lucky commenter.

I'm excited to announce the winner is...Sharon Sullivan-Craver (whose name was selected at random.)

Congratulations, Sharon, and happy reading!

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Defending Glory #Giveaway #Winner

Thank you to each and everyone of you for dropping by last week and making the Summer Giveaway Hop such a wonderful success. It's an honor to have so many new and exciting Fun, Fantastic Friends and Followers!

The winner of an e-copy of

DEFENDING GLORY

first book of the

Piedmont Island Trilogy series is:

(drum roll, please)

ML. 

Congratulations, ML!

If you did not win, why not download a free novel sampler that includes the first few chapters of Defending Glory? www.bit.ly/jQaGu9

Happy reading. :)

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Taglines and BSP

Most writers will admit writing a book is easier than reducing their story to a single sentence. Yet, a tagline is an important and necessary promotional tool.

Why?

Readers are busy. They have obligations and responsibilities and few have all day to chat about your book.

They want the short version. Now.

The tagline for Protecting Hope, second book of the Piedmont Island Trilogy is "Serene Piedmont Island seems the perfect place for a workaholic accountant to kill five weeks...until she realizes someone is trying to kill her."

That single sentence provides the reader with the bones of the story. Take one workaholic accountant, put her on serene Piedmont Island for five weeks, and then add a person who wants to kill her. Voila! A fast-paced mystery. If this type of book appeals to the reader, she may put it on her TBR list.

That works for me. Btw, Protecting Hope will be released SOON. I'll keep you posted!

What's your favorite tagline? (It can be from one of your books or one you've read.) Lemme know...

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Summer Giveaway Hop

Welcome to my blog. I'm thrilled to take part in the Summer Giveaway Hop. I’m # 304 on the blog hop list.

Thanks to I Am A Reader, Not a Writer for organizing this event. It’s a great way to connect with other readers, authors and bloggers, and win some super giveaways.

My giveaway? An e-copy of

Defending Glory

first book of the Piedmont Island Trilogy.

Suffering from survivor’s guilt and unable to resume his career with the FBI, Mac McKeown moves to northern Minnesota to start over as a general contractor and forget that fateful day that changed everything. When he discovers the body of his nemesis on Glory Palmer’s property, along with a warning for her to leave while she still can and abandon her dream of building a Christian retreat, Mac realizes his past has come back to haunt him and an innocent woman’s life is in grave danger. He vows to keep her safe during construction of the retreat... but how will he protect his heart?

To enter your name in the giveaway draw:

(1) follow my blog, and leave a comment with your email addy

For an additional chance to win:

(2) sign up for my newsletter HERE.

I’ll announce the winner August 11.

Enjoy the rest of the Summer Giveaway Hop, and happy reading!

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The Dark Side of BSP - Part Two

My thanks to Beverly Diehl for her suggestion re The Dark Side of BSP to include my website and blog url. Sage advice, and one of those duh moments in posting! I included that info - it's on the back of the card as shown above. (Whew!)

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The Dark Side of BSP

The dark side of blatant self promotion is the endless supply of stuff an author can order online. Whether it's business cards, tee-shirts, caps, bookmarks, note cards or magnets, an author can spend days, weeks and months (as well as a lot of money) on these items.

Still, it's not all bad. In fact, I think it's fun. Having attended (and graduated) art college a gazillion years ago, and being totally incompetent as a painter or sculpture, I'm thrilled to announce some of that training has finally paid off.

I designed the card shown above ALL BY MYSELF! I'm not exactly sure where or how I'm going to use it to promote my next release, but that's another subject for another day!

I know I'm not the only author who accumulates this kind of stuff. How have you promoted your books? What worked? What was the absolute worst idea you ever tried? Aw, come on! Spill!

I'll give a pdf copy of Protecting Hope (once it is released) to the winner of the worst BSP ever. (Contest ends September 15, 2011.)

Let's talk!

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Happy E-Reads!

Every day is a gift, but today is special because I received the above pic from my editor and publisher. LOVE it! Thank you. :-)

Happy e-reading!

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BSP?

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Are you an author?

Do you have a recent release you'd like to promote?

I'd love to interview you and talk about your book(s).

Email me: annekalbert AT gmail DOT com

Mention "Request PIT blog feature" in subject line.

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Karen Zemek

My guest today is Karen Zemek, author of My Funny Dad, Harry. Karen grew up with two foster sisters and a foster brother. She is a secretary at a law firm and lives in Parma, Ohio, with her husband. She enjoys bowling, tennis, and reading.

 
Anne – Welcome to my blog, Karen. Tell us about your book.

Karen - My Funny Dad, Harry is a memoir about my dad's love for his family, his cats, others and his fight to stay independent into old age. I share some funny things he did, some of his brilliant ideas, how our relationship grew as I got older,  struggles as his primary caregiver during his last years, and how God helped me through the difficult months following his death. 

Anne - Is there a message in My Funny Dad, Harry you want readers to grasp? 

Karen - The message is that loving families really do exist and to cherish the time you have with your loved ones by showing you care by your actions. Also, knowing Jesus gives us peace when death takes our loved ones from us. Any elderly person or a primary caregiver for an elderly parent will find this book touching and interesting, I'm sure.

Anne - What is the hardest part of writing for you? 

Karen - The hardest part in writing this book was deciding what things to include and what to omit. I wanted to share personal feelings and things that happened to give an accurate picture of my dad and would show what a strong bond we had without sharing things that would embarrass him if he were still living. It was a fine line but I think I did okay. Since I was writing this in his memory and cats were such a big part of his life in the end, I included them as well because I knew it would have pleased him; however, I didn't want to bore the reader with too many cat tales.

Anne - Any words of advice for struggling, unpublished writers? 

Karen - My advice would be to consider self-publishing. I used Outskirts Press and the book was published eight months from when I started writing it. I would recommend though that you have it professionally edited.

Anne - Outside of writing, what accomplishment are you most proud? 

Karen - I am most proud of my years of faithfully serving Jesus, my Lord, through children and youth ministries.

Anne – Where can readers visit you online?

Karen – On my blog.

Anne – Thanks for dropping by, Karen. I wish you every success both personally and professionally. Happy writing!

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