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Welcome to my place in the blogosphere!
feel free to explore the Flight Deck and check out my books and website.
Then fasten your seatbelts, sip a glass of something sparkling and let's chat awhile!
I hope you'll stop by again for guest authors and spotlights from time to time.

Beloved Enemy joined Starquest and Children of the Mist to continue the Destiny Trilogy and I'm thrilled to announce was shortlisted for the R.N.A. RoNA Awards 2017, awarded 2nd Runner up in the RONE Awards 2017 and was the winner in the SF/Fantasy category of the 'Best Banter Contest'.

Tuesday 1 March 2016

HAPPY ST DAVID'S DAY

My Monday musings are turning into Tuesday ramblings!  My excuse this week is I had a guest post yesterday for a really helpful book if you're planning a virtual book tour.  I downloaded 'Secrets of Successful Virtual Book Tours'  by Roxanne Rhoads and it has some very useful tips.


Back to ST DAVID'S DAY.  I have hung out my Welsh Flag  as I always do on the 1st March, and it will only come down in October, on the day after my birthday. St David's Day always makes me feel even more homesick than usual, I love the way this Saint's Day is celebrated in Wales, most people wear a leek or a daffodil, many schoolchildren wear traditional Welsh costume  and there are concerts, called Eisteddfods, held in most of the schools, with traditional lunches of cawl, which is a kind of mutton or lamb soup with vegetables, served with cheese and bread, as well as other traditional Welsh delicacies, like bara brith, a fruit loaf,  and Welsh cakes, baked on a griddle on top of the hob.

Who was St David, the Patron Saint of Wales?

He was reputedly born on a cliff top near Capel Non (Non's chapel) on the South-West Wales coast
during a fierce storm. Both his parents were descended from Welsh royalty. He was the son of Sandde, Prince of Powys, and Non, daughter of a chieftain of Menevia (now the little cathedral town of St David's). The site of Davids birth is marked by the ruins of a tiny ancient chapel close to a holy well and the more recent 18th century chapel dedicated to his mother Non can still be seen near St. 550.
David's Cathedral. Legend also says that St David was the nephew of King Arthur. He grew up to be a priest, educated at the monastery of Hen Fynyw under the tutorage of St. Paulinus. According to legend David performed several miracles during his life and it is said that during a battle against the Saxons, David advised his soldiers to wear leeks in their hats so that they could easily be distinguished from their enemies, which is why the leek is one of the emblems of Wales! Becoming a missionary David travelled throughout Wales and Britain and even made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem where he was consecrated bishop. He founded 12 monasteries including Glastonbury and one at St. Davids, which he made his bishops seat. He was named Archbishop of Wales at the Synod of Brevi (Llandewi Brefi), Cardiganshire in

St David died on 1 March 589A.D., at Minevia, allegedly over 100 years old. His remains were buried in a shrine in the 6th century cathedral.

So today, I'll be wearing my daffodil and thinking of my homeland, my heart is there even if I can't be there physically.  Happy St David's Day everyone and thanks to Tim Peake, way up there in the Space Station, for your lovely message to the Welsh people today. I can only imagine how beautiful Snowdonia must look like from space!



Acknowledgement: Thanks to Ben Johnson, Historic UK for some of the above information

Monday 29 February 2016

SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL BOOK TOURS



Quick Tips for Authors Guide
Roxanne Rhoads
Book Description:

Are you considering a virtual book tour?

Not sure where to start or exactly what an online tour will entail?

Roxanne Rhoads, book publicist and owner of Bewitching Book Tours, shares her virtual tour expertise in this Quick Tips for Authors Guide.

Secrets of Successful Virtual Book Tours will guide you in utilizing the best marketing tool available- a virtual book tour, which can create online exposure for your book, jumpstart your book sales, help build your author brand, and expand your network.

In this guide you’ll learn:
·       what you should do before a tour
·       the components of  a great author website
·       the best social media outlets for authors to utilize
·       tips for building your author brand
·       how to write great guest blogs
·       what to expect from an online book tour
·       the secrets of successful book tours
·       how to schedule your own virtual book tour

And you’ll receive in-depth details about what to do during a virtual book tour to guarantee success.

Excerpt:
Excerpt Secrets of Successful Virtual Book Tours by Roxanne Rhoads
The world of publishing is continuously evolving thanks to technology and the Internet. It is now easier than ever to publish a book. But with the growing number of new books being released every day it is also harder than ever to get your book noticed in the crowd.

If your line of thinking includes- “If I publish it, people will buy it,” think again.
Indie publishing requires a dedication to self-promotion. Gone are the days an author hermits them self away to write, then hands the book to the publisher who does all the leg work for promotion. Even NYT Bestselling authors and those with contracts through the big publishers still have to do a certain amount of self-promotion.

There are many ways to promote:  social media, advertising on popular websites and blogs, print advertising in trade magazines, attending reader oriented conventions and events…but one of the best ways to get your book out there and build name recognition as an author is through a virtual book tour.

In this Quick Tips for Authors Guide, you will learn why a virtual book tour can be an author’s most effective marketing tool.


GUEST POST

I work with authors everyday- many first time and indie authors.
So I see a lot of mistakes, faux paus, and things that flat out make me cringe.
And no I’m not pointing fingers or trying to shame anyone because I’ve been there. I’ve made many of the mistakes, learned from them and moved on. Now I am sharing my wisdom with others.

Social Media Profiles
Do not make your Twitter name, Facebook profile or any other social media profile name the title of your book or series. Unless it is the only book you ever plan to write.

You should work on branding yourself as an author- all your social media accounts should be your name.

In fact everything should be your author name: your website URL, your professional author email, your blog, everything.
Example: I am Roxanne Rhoads across the board- all my social media accounts, my website, my email- it is all Roxanne Rhoads.  I can easily be found as Roxanne Rhoads when someone googles me or searches on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, etc.

Once you have started building your brand you can create pages, groups, etc. to promote a book or series. When promoting your book you can also hashtag the title.
Twitter Example: “New release: Hex and the City by @RoxanneRhoads Vehicle City Vampires Book 2 #hexandthecity #vehiclecityvampires”

Notice that I linked to my twitter profile and hash tagged both my book title and series name.

Author Email
A big pet peeve of mine is author emails- I understand you work with pen names or perhaps you’ve had a certain email address forever…but you really need something professional and something easy to remember when someone in the professional needs to email you.

Example if someone were to email me, they could easily remember that I’m roxannerhoads@bewitchingbooktours.com. It would be harder to find me if I was cutebunny67@yahoo.com.

Sure that email address might have been cute when you were 18 but now you’re trying to be a professional.
When I am emailing an author I work with I type in their name and hope autofill or my contact list pulls it up. If they have some weird, out there address it won’t show up. If they use their name, bingo it pops up, easy peasy -saves me having to search for it, professionals love things that are streamlined and make their jobs easier.

Please grab a professional email address. You can get them free through numerous sources. And don’t use your real name address if you are working under your pen name. That is confusing, too. Create an email specifically for your author name.

If you buy a domain name you can even point it to that. I have a domain name and pay Gmail for their email service to point to my domain- roxannerhoads@bewitchingbooktours.com
It streamlines everything.


Amazon    BN    Kobo    Scribd    iBooks



About the Author:

Roxanne Rhoads has been working in the world of online book promotion since 2005. She has worked as a freelance writer, author, book reviewer, book blogger, editor, self-publisher and book publicist. She has a unique advantage of knowing how multiple sides of book publishing and promotion operate.

Roxanne understands how book bloggers work and what they want to make their jobs easier while also understanding that authors need promotion to be streamlined, easy, and less time consuming.

Roxanne shares some of her knowledge in her latest release, Secrets of Successful Virtual Book Tours.

 
Bewitching Book Tours www.bewitchingbooktours.com

Bewitching Blog http://www.bewitchingbooktours.blogspot.com/
Twitter @RoxanneRhoads
Tour Giveaway: Bewitching Book Tours' Release Day Blitz or Cover Reveal (winner's choice) ebook copy of Secrets of Successful Virtual Book Tours

a Rafflecopter giveaway    



Goodreads Book Giveaway

Secrets of Successful Virtual Book Tours by Roxanne Rhoads

Secrets of Successful Virtual Book Tours

by Roxanne Rhoads

Giveaway ends March 28, 2016.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
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