Irene Ziegler's Blog, page 17

Driving Book Sales With a Little Help From The Friends (of the Public Library.)

I asked SuperLibrarian Cathy Camper about the relationship between library and commercial book sales. Once again, she shared some great information and advice.
1) Why does a librarian buy a particular book?
Most libraries buy from reviews. They don't have to be starred reviews, but any review in Publishers Weekly, Booklist or Library Journal counts (or local newspapers, blogs, topical reviews, say, if there's a blogger that just reviews mysteries). Libraries sometimes also buy when patrons...

Want Libraries to Acquire Your Book or Invite You to Speak? Here's How to Ask.

In my never-ending quest to find a readership, I decided to contact libraries in Florida (where Ashes to Water and Rules of the Lake are set), and ask them to acquire my books. I also wanted to let them know that I would be excited to participate in a "Meet the Author" or other appropriate adult program they may host.

I wrote to Cathy Fastwolf, a youth...

Seminole Heights Library in Tampa, FL

See the woman in the back left corner? In the white shirt? That's Darlene Harris. She's the Adult Programming Coordinator for the Tampa area library system. She's my new best friend. Darlene invited me to visit with patrons at the Seminole Heights Library. (She also hooked me up with New Tampa Regional Library.) At Seminole Heights, I felt compelled to take a picture of the wonderful folks who showed up on a rainy Monday afternoon because they were THAT great.

It's hard to know if your prepare...

Evoking a Sense of Place, or How to Make Setting Come Alive

I have this theory. But first, let me ask you a question. When you dream, where are you?

Well, yeah, in bed, but where are you in your dream? What state?

No, not what emotional state, in which state of the union? Work with me, here.

See, I live in Virginia, but when I dream, Florida is where I go. Here's my theory: if you've lived in a number of places...

Hello St. Pete, Tampa and DeLand!

Whew. It seemed like I'd never get to this point. I've been looking forward to Florida since March. Unlike my protagonist, Annie Bartlett, I like going home, and I hope you'll come out to say hello. Take a look at my tour schedule on the left, and drop by for an informal discussion about writing, Florida, and the story behind Ashes to Water. 
Maybe I'll see you there.

Signing and Skinny-dipping in Florida

Whew. It seemed like I'd never get to this point. I've been looking forward to Florida since March. Unlike my protagonist, Annie Bartlett, I like going home, and I hope you'll come out to say hello. Take a look at my tour schedule on the left, and drop by for an informal discussion about writing, Florida, and the story behind Ashes to Water. 
Then we'll all get likkered up and go skinny dipping.
What? Did I say that out loud? Sorry. Nothing, never mind.

Okay, this NEVER happens!

I posted this message on my blog over the weekend, then followed up with a "joke" response that was confusing to some people, so I'm going to try this again. What I MEANT to say was, This NEVER happens, and I am over-the-moon-grateful.

I came across this person on goodreads.com (which is sort of like Facebook for readers, if you aren't familiar with it), and asked him to friend me. This was his response.

Hello, Irene

I got and approved your request to be Goodreads friends, noticed that you're ...

My Trippy Trip to the Poisoned Pen

I flew to Phoenix last week to stump for Ashes to Water at The Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale. It was trippy. First of all, Phoenix is an oven, and I forgot my five-day deodorant pads. Just as well, because they wouldn't have worked for an hour, much less five days. I remembered to floss, however, so I flashed the pearly whites with confidence. My pretentious fountain pen leaked on my raw silk suit, but that wasn't because of anything I forgot to pack. I'm finished writing about my personal...

To GalleyCat, Who Must Think I Just Fell Off a Turnip Truck

So I wrote a review of VERY popular book, The Passage, by Justin Cronin, and published it on Goodreads.com, and because I didn't like the book very much, I looked for other reviews to see if anyone else in the world agreed. I read a particularly smart, funny review by "GalleyCat," and invited him/her to friend me. Here's the message I got back.

Hello, Irene

I got and approved your request to be Goodreads friends, noticed that you're an author (that makes you a hero in my world), checked out...

A Mildly Threatening but Earnest Invitation to Phoenix Mystery Readers

Dear Phoenix Mystery Readers,

You don't know me from Eve, so thought I'd introduce myself. I'm Irene Ziegler, author of Ashes to Water.

I live in Virginia. Nobody knows me in Arizona except JD Hayworth, but I'm not allowed to discuss that until the investigation is closed. I'm coming to the Poisoned Pen on August 12 at 7:00 pm because Ashes to Water is...