Geraldine Evans's Posts - CrimeSpace2024-03-29T12:56:18ZGeraldine Evanshttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/GeraldineEvanshttp://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/60996494?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1http://crimespace.ning.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=2re2sfkglwal5&xn_auth=noFREE EBOOKS!tag:crimespace.ning.com,2013-03-02:537324:BlogPost:3685572013-03-02T01:54:47.000ZGeraldine Evanshttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/GeraldineEvans
<p><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong>FREE FOR FIVE DAYS FROM SAT 2 TO WED 6 MARCH 2013:</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>LOVE LIES BLEEDING #8 in my Rafferty & Llewellyn procedural series.</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;">AMAZON.CO.UK: <a href="http://amzn.to/YGlpfo"><span style="color: #0000ff;">http://amzn.to/YGlpfo</span></a></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;">AMAZON.COM: …<a href="http://amzn.to/Xf4rqq"></a></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong>FREE FOR FIVE DAYS FROM SAT 2 TO WED 6 MARCH 2013:</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>LOVE LIES BLEEDING #8 in my Rafferty & Llewellyn procedural series.</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;">AMAZON.CO.UK: <a href="http://amzn.to/YGlpfo"><span style="color: #0000ff;">http://amzn.to/YGlpfo</span></a></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;">AMAZON.COM: <a href="http://amzn.to/Xf4rqq"><span style="color: #0000ff;">http://amzn.to/Xf4rqq</span></a></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;">AMAZON.CA: <a href="http://amzn.to/VhRE6P"><span style="color: #0000ff;">http://amzn.to/VhRE6P</span></a></span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong>FREE NOW AND FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS:</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>DYING FOR YOU #6 in my Rafferty & Llewellyn procedural series.</strong></span></p>
<p>AMZN UK: <a href="http://amzn.to/13uPq7U">http://amzn.to/13uPq7U</a></p>
<p>AMZN US: <a href="http://amzn.to/XtOviD">http://amzn.to/XtOviD</a></p>
<p>AMZN CA: <a href="http://amzn.to/Wmnqkt">http://amzn.to/Wmnqkt</a></p>
<p></p>Marketing for (Beginning) Writerstag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-01-29:537324:BlogPost:2651682011-01-29T11:23:16.000ZGeraldine Evanshttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/GeraldineEvans
Your book's been accepted. How wonderful! Congratulations.<br />
<div><p>It's a terrific, feeling, isn't it, after all those rejections? But now comes the real work. What? You thought you'd done the work and that now came the pleasure? Ha! Think again. Writing the book's only half of it. And if you're a techno-thickie, like me, you'll be amazed at what you can learn to do; I certainly was.</p>
</div>
<p> </p>
<p>Everyone knows about the signings and the crowds of people who come to each. But everyone…</p>
Your book's been accepted. How wonderful! Congratulations.<br />
<div><p>It's a terrific, feeling, isn't it, after all those rejections? But now comes the real work. What? You thought you'd done the work and that now came the pleasure? Ha! Think again. Writing the book's only half of it. And if you're a techno-thickie, like me, you'll be amazed at what you can learn to do; I certainly was.</p>
</div>
<p> </p>
<p>Everyone knows about the signings and the crowds of people who come to each. But everyone would be wrong. Unless you're very well-known, you'll be lucky to get more than a handful of signings, if that. Think about it. Why would a bookstore manager want to put himself to the trouble for a writer that no one's ever heard of? For a writer who's unlikely to sell more than one or two books (and one of these purchases will probably be made by the writer's partner)? What happens most often is that the writer sits behind a desk with a pile of his/her books and no one comes. That, believe it or not, is the harsh truth of most book signings. You don't need to take my word for it. Watch this video made by writer Parnell Hall and have a laugh while the sober truth sinks in: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZoJ5OKmEJY">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZoJ5OKmEJY</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So what can you do? There are other things. Libraries are always welcoming to the idea of your giving a talk. Ring around a few libraries, ask to speak to the librarian and introduce yourself and your new book. You should get an invitation or two to speak. No good at speaking off the cuff? Don't worry. It's perfectly acceptable to use notes. I do myself as my short-term memory is shockingly bad and I'm hopeless at speaking without a crib. You may even sell a few books.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There are also other things you can do to draw attention to yourself. I'm in the middle of preparing for a seventeen-date Blog Tour in February. It's a lot of work as you have to prepare posts to go on other people's blogs and you won't be too popular if you repeat the same blog on several people's sites. You're expected to be original and, as I said, originality brings a lot of work.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>How did I organise this? I'm a member of a number of writing/book sites and I checked on the File listing of one of them: Yahoo Group's MurderMustAdvertise, for those members who were prepared to host other writer members and contacted each one. You'll need to be organised and create a Blog Tour folder on your computer where you can store the emails listing what you're to do. You should also set up a folder in Documents with docs for each of the separate posts you've been asked to make and note in your diary the names, email addresses, dates, blog addresses and what your post is to consist of. If you don't do all this you'll get in a hopeless muddle. I could have arranged more Blog Tour dates if I'd contacted members on other book or writing sites, but I thought seventeen gigs was as much as I could cope with. This is my first Blog Tour, after all, and I didn't want to over-reach myself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I've written several question and answer sessions, prepared a few different excerpts of <font color="#FF0000"><strong><em>Deadly Reunion</em></strong></font><font color="#000000">, <font color="#FFFFFF" style="background-color: black;">my latest Rafferty & Llewellyn crime novel which comes out on 24 February, with links to the other excerpts.</font> <font color="#FF0000"><strong><em>Deadly Reunion</em></strong></font> </font><font color="#FFFFFF" style="background-color: black;">is the reason I organised the blog tour.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#FFFFFF" style="background-color: black;">What else have I written? Another blogger asked me to produce a post about my writing 'Made it Moment'. LOL! Shows how deluded one can be! One asked me to supply my Top Ten Tips for writers. Another wanted me to write a post about my ebook experiences since I've published two of my Rafferty novels to kindle et al. They all wanted a short bio and brief synopses of both</font></font> <font color="#FF0000"><strong><em>Deadly Reunion</em></strong></font><font color="#FF0000">,</font> <font color="#000000"><font color="#FFFFFF" style="background-color: black;">my latest hardback, and</font></font> <font color="#FF0000"><strong><em>Dead Before Morning</em></strong></font><font color="#000000">,</font> <font color="#FFFFFF" style="background-color: black;">my latest ebook. Another blogger wanted me to tell her readers about how I set about making my various video book trailers. I did it The Hard Way, I thought! The first one was made from a basis of total ignorance. Boy, this marketing mallarkey is a very steep learning curve. I've also collected up the links to various reviews, to my youtube video book trailers, to amazon and, of course, my blog and website. I'm still working on some posts. But when I've finished, I'll put up a list of all my Blog Tour gigs and you can follow me through the Tour if you wish. You'll probably be asked to provide a few prizes. I think the most usual is that, at the end of the Blog Tour, a drawing is made of all of those people who have made a comment during your Tour. It's up to you to check on each of the blog sites for the comments and to note down the details of each so you can make the draw.</font></p>
<div><p><font style="background-color: black;"><br/></font></p>
</div>
<div><p>What else have I done? I've made a video interview of myself, using the webcam on the computer, with my poor husband acting as the interviewer. Here's the link if you want to take a look and have a laugh at our pretty inept efforts. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoMLVcKxzBw">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoMLVcKxzBw</a> This was about our fifth attempt, so you can imagine how poor the earlier efforts were. It was originally done for The Lit Chick Show, a video blog that hosts author interviews. But I'm going to do it again for the show and hope that both of us manage to project ourselves a bit better! Practise! Practise! Practise! The interview's not due to air until the 25 February, so we've got time to apply a bit of polish. You could do something similar and put it up on youtube, then at least you'll have something ready for your Blog Tour when you organise it. You can try to get radio interviews; local radio is generally pretty willing to host you and local newspapers might well feature you if you contact them.</p>
</div>
<div><p> </p>
</div>
<div><p>I've explained before, in a previous post, that you'll have to provide your own marketing materials, like bookmarks, flyers and postcards, as it's unlikely that your publisher will do it. I've just altered the design of my bookmarks, but I've had a hell of a job lining up the two sides of the bookmarks. It's been very wasteful of my white card and my computer inks, not to mention my time. But fingers crossed, they're lined up now. My next printing will tell. Oh for the money to be able to pay someone else to make the blasted things! Hey, maybe next week, I'll have time to do some actual <em>book writing!</em></p>
</div>
<div><p> </p>
</div>
<div><p>Now. To market! To market!</p>
</div>REVIEW OF RED STATION BY ADRIAN MAGSONtag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-12-30:537324:BlogPost:2594202010-12-30T12:27:22.000ZGeraldine Evanshttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/GeraldineEvans
<p>Review by Geraldine Evans</p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><font face="Calibri">After an operation more bungled by circumstances than any incompetence on his part, MI5 agent Harry Tate is posted to Red Station in south Ossetia, a drab place where, apart from the ever-present followers, nothing much happens.…</font></span></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"></p>
<p>Review by Geraldine Evans</p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><font face="Calibri">After an operation more bungled by circumstances than any incompetence on his part, MI5 agent Harry Tate is posted to Red Station in south Ossetia, a drab place where, apart from the ever-present followers, nothing much happens.</font></span></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><font face="Calibri">But then things start to hot up. A British agent – one of the ‘Clones’ stalking Tate – is murdered. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He begins to suspect there is a mole in his small department. Worse, the Russians are massed on the border. The situation is becoming tense, but with no orders to leave the county, Harry Tate and his colleagues are left to fend for themselves, knowing that someone in England’s shadowy spy world has set an assassin lose – with them as the target. Tate and two of his colleagues, their escape fraught with danger, stalked by a terrible death dealer, finally make it back to England. It is time to find out just who it was that ordered their murder.</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><font face="Calibri"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I enjoyed this book. It starts with a bang and, after a while in the spy’s often humdrum world, we are treated to more excitement. All in all, a very good novel that is an enjoyable and intriguing read. I hope we’ll be seeing more of Harry Tate</span><font size="3">.</font></font></p>
<p> </p>REVIEW OF 1/1: JIHAD - BRITAIN BY DAVID COLES AND JACK EVERETTtag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-12-30:537324:BlogPost:2594142010-12-30T11:29:13.000ZGeraldine Evanshttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/GeraldineEvans
<p>Review by Geraldine Evans</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found it impossible to put down and really wanted to know what happened next. The action moves from country to country in the build-up to the 1/1 New Year terrorist tragedies. With thousands dead at the hands of Islamic fundamentalists, the UK government has no answers. We watch as the Islamic fanatics plot more terror. It's time for a new party, a radical party, the Independents, led by Francis Raike, who promises…</p>
<p>Review by Geraldine Evans</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found it impossible to put down and really wanted to know what happened next. The action moves from country to country in the build-up to the 1/1 New Year terrorist tragedies. With thousands dead at the hands of Islamic fundamentalists, the UK government has no answers. We watch as the Islamic fanatics plot more terror. It's time for a new party, a radical party, the Independents, led by Francis Raike, who promises Draconian new laws to deal with those bringing terror to the land.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>With its new laws, from the annulment of the Human Rights Act, to the split from the EU, the reintroduction of the death penalty and the repatriation of disaffected immigrants, Francis Raike and his team are gradually getting to grips with a country in turmoil.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But then the terrorists pose a new and more terrible threat that will devastate a large part of the country. Can the government catch the perpetrators before it's too late?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I found this a fast-moving, up-to-the-minute, thriller that posed questions asked by many of us. This is a novel that deals realistically - if frighteningly - with an all-too-modern problem. I enjoyed it very much and heartily recommend it.</p>Great Review of Death Dance from Mystery Womentag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-12-16:537324:BlogPost:2584762010-12-16T13:47:53.000ZGeraldine Evanshttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/GeraldineEvans
<p>'This is a fast-moving, skilfully-written tale, told with lots of humour, plenty of twists and turns and a convincing ending. The author, who has a well-deserved reputation for clever crime fiction that keeps the reader guessing until the end, will certainly not disappoint her ever-increasing number of fans with her latest novel. I recommend it very highly.’ Mystery Women on Death Dance</p>
<p>'This is a fast-moving, skilfully-written tale, told with lots of humour, plenty of twists and turns and a convincing ending. The author, who has a well-deserved reputation for clever crime fiction that keeps the reader guessing until the end, will certainly not disappoint her ever-increasing number of fans with her latest novel. I recommend it very highly.’ Mystery Women on Death Dance</p>Interviewed David Wisehart, screenwriter, novelist, actor, director, producertag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-11-20:537324:BlogPost:2567512010-11-20T11:52:07.000ZGeraldine Evanshttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/GeraldineEvans
I interviewed David Wise hart on my blog this week. Have a read and learn of his varied interests. <a href="http://wwwgeraldineevanscom.blogspot.com/">http://wwwgeraldineevanscom.blogspot.com</a>
I interviewed David Wise hart on my blog this week. Have a read and learn of his varied interests. <a href="http://wwwgeraldineevanscom.blogspot.com/">http://wwwgeraldineevanscom.blogspot.com</a>Interview with David Wiseharttag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-10-26:537324:BlogPost:2543522010-10-26T22:19:01.000ZGeraldine Evanshttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/GeraldineEvans
<a href="http://kindle-author.blogspot.com/2010/10/kindle-author-interview-geraldine-evans.html">http://kindle-author.blogspot.com/2010/10/kindle-author-interview-geraldine-evans.html</a>Here's the interview.
<a href="http://kindle-author.blogspot.com/2010/10/kindle-author-interview-geraldine-evans.html">http://kindle-author.blogspot.com/2010/10/kindle-author-interview-geraldine-evans.html</a>Here's the interview.Technophobe no more!tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-09-03:537324:BlogPost:2487982010-09-03T16:46:04.000ZGeraldine Evanshttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/GeraldineEvans
<p><strong><font size="4">I'm starting to get so techno-savvy, it's frightening! I've just uploaded my very first video on this site (and youtube, blogger, twitter and facebook). I'm now the proud owner of a blog and will soon have Down Among the Dead Men out as an ebook. This is the second novel in my humorous Rafferty & Llewellyn crime series and was first published by Macmillan/St Martin's Press and Worldwide in 93/94 and is long out of print. Now it's going to get a whole new life as an…</font></strong></p>
<p><strong><font size="4">I'm starting to get so techno-savvy, it's frightening! I've just uploaded my very first video on this site (and youtube, blogger, twitter and facebook). I'm now the proud owner of a blog and will soon have Down Among the Dead Men out as an ebook. This is the second novel in my humorous Rafferty & Llewellyn crime series and was first published by Macmillan/St Martin's Press and Worldwide in 93/94 and is long out of print. Now it's going to get a whole new life as an ebook. Isn't the modern technological world wonderful? I've also just updated my website: <a href="http://www.geraldineevans.com">www.geraldineevans.com</a>. I think I can allow myself a weekend off, the first in three weeks. Geraldine Evans</font></strong></p>
<p></p>