Improving Visibility on the Internet

Penny Sansevieri, the CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., tweeted the other day about how Starbucks had taught her something about Search Engine Marketing. For the full text of the article, you can click here on this link:
http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-articles/what-starbucks-taught-me-about-search-engine-marketing-260912.html

The article contains some useful examples for you on how to increase your visibility on the Internet and improve search engine rankings.

We’ve discussed some of them before, like leaving comments on blogs (and finding those blogs by using news alerts). Sending out books for review and having those reviews posted online is another great way to get your name noticed.

Likewise, we’ve talked about doing article submissions to create buzz and drive traffic to your site.

What else can you do?

Having links from key sites back to yours is another way to improve visibility. How do you do this? If you’re book has something that would be of interest to a particular industry (i.e., knitting, crafts, civil war), find sites for that industry and see if you can’t be listed there. Make connections to stores, vendors and magazines in that industry.

An excellent example of using this kind of marketing is Debbie Macomber’s connections from her books to the knitting industry. Macomber even has her knitting related products with her name available at HSN!

If you’re book is in a particular genre, like vampires, search out sites for that genre and ask to be placed on their list of links. Oftentimes sites may require that you link back to them which seems like a fair exchange.

Search engines will see those incoming links and if the site on which your listed is a high ranking site, that will improve your page ranking.

Finally, don’t forget press releases, especially close to the date of your novel’s launch. Reach out to local papers and use those free press release sites to get the word out!

Hope today’s Tuesday Tip was of help!

September 25, 2009

Looking for Weekend Fun?

beach I know I’m going to spend the weekend writing and working on some materials for our new writing group, the Liberty States Fiction Writers. But in between work, I hope to sneak in some relaxation and fun.

So where do I look to find out what’s going? Well, I pick up a local paper, but I also check out the Internet for events. You can too! Here are some of the places where you can find out what’s happening in your area:

Book tours and signings – http://www.booktour.com/
Library of Congress Book Events –
http://www.read.gov/events/

Also, you can visit your local state or city website. It will often have a calendar of events and suggest sites of interest. Here are few for those places close to me:

Jersey Shore – http://www.nj.com/shore/
New Jersey – http://www.visitnj.org/
New York – http://www.iloveny.com/home.aspx
New York City – http://www.nyc.com/events/
Pennsylvania – http://www.visitpa.com/index.aspx
Philadelphia –
http://www.gophila.com/Phila/EventsCalendar/

Hope you can find some fun and relaxation this weekend as well! Have a great one.

September 23, 2009

SINS OF THE FLESH Casting Call

We’ve had interest from a couple of production companies for SINS OF THE FLESH and so for today’s Wicked Wednesday I’m having a casting call to see who you think would make a better Caterina Shaw, the heroine in the novel. To help you make a decision, here’s a little info about Caterina and a teaser – the inside cover copy!

Caterina Shaw is half-Irish/half-Mexican and a celebrated cellist. She’s been diagnosed with a brain tumor that has suddenly become more aggressive, making her lose her sight and be in constant pain. She goes to Wardwell Laboratories, a company renowned for gene research and engineering, for a radical gene therapy to slow the growth of the tumor. Unfortunately, the scientists use Caterina for a guinea pig, making her something more, and less, than human. Tall and lean, but womanly, Caterina has cerulean blue eyes and long wavy brown hair.

So check out this teaser and then let me know who you think would make the best Caterina.

*****

Her Touch — Innocent and Honest — Ripped Through His Body

… tightening Mick’s gut and creating an unexpected and unwanted reaction. She had brushed the tips of her fingers across his bruise. And from the tremble of her fingers, Caterina clearly had experienced something intense as well.

He rose from the chair and the motion brought him close to her. Too close. Her eyes were that intense dark blue once more, the pupils wide. The blush was even stronger across the high slashes of her cheekbones. She licked her lips.

Very human lips.

Very luscious womanly lips.

He dipped his head down, hesitating when he was about an inch away. Warning himself that if he took a
taste …

*****

Ready to decide? Is it Kate Beckinsale on the left, Evangeline Lilly on the right or the gorgeous cover model from the back cover of SINS OF THE FLESH? Or do you have someone else in mind for Caterina Shaw?

September 22, 2009September 22, 2009

Ripe Plantains and Behind the Scenes of SINS OF THE FLESH

Mexican Food Recipe When I was researching SINS OF THE FLESH, I wanted to make sure that I gave readers a taste of the characters in a variety of ways, including in the foods that they would eat. Since my research revealed a large Mexican population down the shore as well as in towns like Freehold, it seemed that my mercenary and ex-Army Ranger hero, Mick Carrera, would be Mexican.

And since I love books with foods/chefs (THE PERFECT MIX, SEX AND THE SOUTH BEACH CHICAS and MORE THAN A MISSION), it only seemed right that after Mick’s family had legally immigrated to the United States, they would succeed in their American Dream by opening a Mexican restaurant in one of the shore towns.

But Mexican food is more than tacos and burritos or the Tex-Mex dip recipe I gave you so long ago. I’ve been lucky to visit Mexico City, Tequila and Guadalajara on various occasions and sample the amazing dishes available in those cities (as well as the margaritas!).

But today’s Tuesday Tip comes courtesy of a visit that my daughter paid to a local Mexican restaurant in Philadelphia. She made the dish for us and it was delicious. Plus, it’s simple and incredibly tasty. What could be better? So here is today’s Tuesday Tip Recipe:

Ingredients:

ripe plantains (2) or 2 packages of Goya Frozen Ripe Plantains
sour cream
queso fresco
chopped chives

Directions:

1. Most stores carry plantains, but they must be ripe for this recipe. That means they should have a deep yellow/spotted black outer skin so they will be sweet. Getting them perfectly ripe can be hard, which is why I cheat and rely on the Goya Frozen Ripe Plantains. Always ripe, no peeling and lots of sweet.
2. If you’re using fresh plantains, peel them. Cut diagonally into ovalish slices. Alternative – open the Goya box.
3. Fry up the plantains, either in vegetable oil or butter. This is one time not to use virgin olive oil because it will overpower the sweetness factor. Cook until golden and caramelized.
4. Place the fried plantains on a slightly greased serving dish (They are so sugary, they will stick!).
5. Garnish with sour cream, some crumbled queso fresco (available in the dairy section) and the chopped chives.
6. Serve. This recipe will comfortably provide a side dish or appetizer for 4 to 5 people.

Hope you enjoyed today’s Behind the Scenes look and Tuesday Tip recipe!

September 18, 2009August 9, 2019

Free Friday Goodies

booksurprise For today’s Fun Friday, I’ve got a bunch of links for you to download some free books!

Harlequin is having its 60th anniversary celebration and you can click here or cut and paste this link to download the novels:
http://www.harlequincelebrates.com/

Mills & Boon is celebrating the anniversary of their e-book program by offering a number of free downloads. You can click here or cut and paste this link to download the novels: http://www.everyonesreading.com/

While you’re at Mills & Boon, also click on COMPETITIONS to sign up for the SONY E-reader contest!

For Harlequin and Mills & Boon you will need to have Adobe Digital Editions (download is free at www.adobe.com)

Barnes & Noble has a number of free audio books and short stories that you can download! You can click here or cut and paste this link to download the novels: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/cdsii/cdsPageTransfer.asp?uid=379001389&key=Free-Audiobook-MP3-Downloads&rv=1

Barnes & Noble also has a number of free e-books to celebrate the launch of its new e-book store. You can click here or cut and paste this link to download the novels: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/Free-eBooks/379001668/?cds2Pid=28339&linkid=1461021. The Harlequin books here may duplicate those at the Harlequin site, so doublecheck. Also, you will need the B&N e-reader which you can click here to get.

Looking for the classics and don’t mind reading online? Try www.pagebypagebooks.com for collections of classic literature.

Hope this helps you not bust the budget! Have a great weekend.

September 17, 2009May 9, 2017

What to do in-between books?

This Thoughtful Thursday is about a question I am frequently asked? What do you in-between books? The answer is that you hope you’ve got something else contracted!

But seriously, what I do is start research on the next book and work on other proposals to be sent out by my agent. I’m always working on a new idea because for every book I am lucky enough to sell, there are at least one or two that end up gathering dust at my desk. Sometimes even though I think it’s a rocking book (like UNDEAD UPRISING!).

So the first answer to the question is: Always be preparing another project for consideration. Even if you’re in the middle of working on books that are contracted, keep your creative mind going, even if it’s to just to jot down some story ideas that you can flesh out later.

The second answer is: Get to work on the next book you need to write.

This spring and summer was blessedly busy for me. I had to finish two more book in THE CALLING vampire novels – ARDOR CALLS and VENGEANCE CALLS. Also had to do copy edits and galley proofs for SINS OF THE FLESH. And in the midst of all that, I was busy writing the next book in the SINS series – STRONGER THAN SIN – as well as researching that book.

Third answer: Spend some time researching your next novel.

For me, researching STRONGER THAN SIN meant long walks through some of the shore towns where I planned to set the novel. Snapping photos of places where I might be putting the hero and heroine so that I could get a real feel for the places. I’ve always thought that it’s important to really let you get a sense of the place and am always delighted to hear from someone who visits one of those towns that they felt like they knew it because of something I put in a novel.

So far in STRONGER THAN SIN, my ability to move them around has been limited, but I’m working up to allowing more and more scenes where the hero and heroine will be walking along the same streets that I visited and sharing their views of some of New Jersey’s delightful shore towns.

In STRONGER THAN SIN, most of the action will be taking place in Bradley Beach, Asbury Park, Ocean Grove and Spring Lake. For today, I’m sharing with you some pictures of Ocean Grove and Asbury Park. I’ve got to head down the shore again this weekend and work on adding some shots of Spring Lake and also, the wonderful tent city area close to the Ocean Grove auditorium.

Hope you enjoy the photos and if you can’t see the slide show, you can follow this link to the photos:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2034521&id=1130005412&l=1c0a076248

September 15, 2009

Patrick Swayze and Alpha Heroes

Patrick Swayze and his wife, Lisa Niemi on the red carpet at the 1989 Academy Awards, March 29, 1989. This file is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License by ROSSRS Today is normally Tip Tuesday and yet it’s hard when one of the icons of my generation has left us. So many of us grew up with Patrick Swayze and delighted in his many films. He played alpha heroes in so many of them. Strong. Conflicted. A loner. And yet like the alpha hero prototype, he was able to find happiness when he encountered a woman strong enough to stand by his side.

He seemed to be that way in real life as well. Strong. Compassionate. He had a life mate – his wife – who was by his side as in the picture I’ve chosen. I’ll remember him as a hero from his movies and his fight against cancer.

My first encounter with Patrick was in RED DAWN. Every time he came on screen my eyes pulled away to him. Then came NORTH AND SOUTH and I was a goner.

Like many, though, it was DIRTY DANCING that cemented my fandom. Who couldn’t love Johnny. “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.” Standing up for his love. Sigh . . .

A few years ago I went with my daughter to see DIRTY DANCING HAVANA NIGHTS. When Swayze came on the screen, the crowd in the theatre cheered and began to clap. A testimony to his enduring place in people’s hearts.

Sadly, he is gone but he will be long remembered by his many fans and by the generations to come who will continue to delight in his films.