Click here to view their entire family of FREE Kindle Reading Apps. Amazon will continue to add more devices in the future.
Realmwalkers Now Available for Android, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, PC and MAC!
Amazon Kindle now offers users that don't have Kindle a FREE instant downloadable app so you can read Realmwalkers now on Ipad, Blackberry, PC, Mac, Iphone and Android!
Click here to view their entire family of FREE Kindle Reading Apps. Amazon will continue to add more devices in the future.
Click here to view their entire family of FREE Kindle Reading Apps. Amazon will continue to add more devices in the future.
Five Author Panel Event in Kingman, Az.
I was able to participate in yet another interview for the Kingman Daily Miner via conference call that included four other authors. Here is the link to that newspaper article. This is very exciting and I will be SOOOO NERVOUS! =) Click on the link below the photo to see the article.
"Realmwalkers" at the Beachcomber RV Resort
Time to pack up my rolling crate to the island down the road and over the London Bridge. The Lake Havasu Beachcomber RV Resort will be holding a fair of sorts and I will be selling my books. I have a new display item to attract their attention and hopefully sell a copy. It's a small treasure chest that's about shoe box size. It is meant to hold a copy of the book sitting in a bed of pirate coins and jewelry. A small rainbow dragon will be hovering over the book as if guarding its treasure. My Facebook page has a photo of what it looks like, but here is another shot.
It's a little hard to see, but the dragonling has small wings near his head. At this angle they are hard to see. The decorations is the part of marketing that is actually quite fun and it does work. People enjoy looking around at these fairs and so every bit helps. This is also a tax write-off!
For those of you that live anywhere in the area, the event is tomorrow from 1:00 - 4:00. The day should be lovely as the temperatures here have been in the mid-70's - 80's so we are expecting a great crowd. Come on over and say hello!
iIt's a little hard to see, but the dragonling has small wings near his head. At this angle they are hard to see. The decorations is the part of marketing that is actually quite fun and it does work. People enjoy looking around at these fairs and so every bit helps. This is also a tax write-off!
For those of you that live anywhere in the area, the event is tomorrow from 1:00 - 4:00. The day should be lovely as the temperatures here have been in the mid-70's - 80's so we are expecting a great crowd. Come on over and say hello!
I saw this at my friend Yisraela's blog: 2embracethelight and was so impressed with its message that I "nicked" it to share here with you. No, it's not about Realmwalkers nor Tiaera but it is about words. And since I am a writer, it seems appropriate here.
Five Author Panel Discussion
It's hard to believe its been eight months since Realmwalkers has been published. Time has flown and the response has been good. Friends have been wonderful and supportive. Things are moving along slowly, but I am almost at a point when I may be ready to get back to writing again. Yes, I have done a few short stories here and there but not another novel as yet. People keep asking if there is going to be another book. It's still hard to say when I am so heavily involved with promoting and selling this one. I am hoping that once I get the ebook versions set up so I can sell them on my blog as an independent seller (aside from Amazon.com who now sells a Kindle version), I will be able to write more. So stay tuned here and in Facebook for further news.
Speaking of Facebook, I see they are now using a new format for all users. It's called Timeline and it chronicles your posts and now allows you to put up a masthead at the top of your page. The new feature I like is the ability to customize your page URL. Realmwalkers at Facebook can now be found at http://facebook.com/realmwalkers
You can see the new graphic masthead there once you log in. I don't spend a lot of time at Facebook, but let's face it, the social network site is free and a good way to promo your business or product. I hope you go and comment about the new graphic or just say hello.
Yesterday I took part in a phone interview with four other authors, two Kingman City Library representatives and a reporter from the Kingman Daily Miner newspaper. This interview is for an article that will promote a special event at the Kingman Library: A Five Author Panel Discussion. I will be driving up there for the event with a copy of Realmwalkers to raffle off to a member of the audience. And I will be taking extra copies should anyone there want to purchase one. It should be quite an experience, discussing our books and writing with the other authors and answering questions from the audience. I hope I don't get stage fright and freeze up.
The event is planned for March 21st from 6PM - 7:30PM AZ time. I hope to get some photos to share with you all.
Speaking of Facebook, I see they are now using a new format for all users. It's called Timeline and it chronicles your posts and now allows you to put up a masthead at the top of your page. The new feature I like is the ability to customize your page URL. Realmwalkers at Facebook can now be found at http://facebook.com/realmwalkers
You can see the new graphic masthead there once you log in. I don't spend a lot of time at Facebook, but let's face it, the social network site is free and a good way to promo your business or product. I hope you go and comment about the new graphic or just say hello.
Yesterday I took part in a phone interview with four other authors, two Kingman City Library representatives and a reporter from the Kingman Daily Miner newspaper. This interview is for an article that will promote a special event at the Kingman Library: A Five Author Panel Discussion. I will be driving up there for the event with a copy of Realmwalkers to raffle off to a member of the audience. And I will be taking extra copies should anyone there want to purchase one. It should be quite an experience, discussing our books and writing with the other authors and answering questions from the audience. I hope I don't get stage fright and freeze up.
The event is planned for March 21st from 6PM - 7:30PM AZ time. I hope to get some photos to share with you all.
Realmwalkers Now Available for Kindles
Sorry for taking so long in posting anything here this month, but I have good news! After much research, hours of reformatting, testing and experimenting, I am pleased to announce that Realmwalkers is now available at Amazon.com as an ebook! I found out that the free conversion process only takes a few minutes. That was the easy part. Preparing the ebook file for conversion was far more difficult. Well, I learned a lot and glad the work is over.
The soft cover book sold here has been available there for months, but now it is also available for Kindle. To help make the ebook very affordable (only $3.99) it only has a couple of illustrations like the world map of Tiaera and the pirate ship, La Sirene Bleu and the front cover. And it doesn't come signed from Amazon. If you want the fully illustrated book you will need to purchase the printed version. You can find the book and ebook using this link: Realmwalkers at Amazon.com
I have also published and converted the ebook into EPUB format and I am now just looking for a safe way to sell it here online and avoid piracy as much as reasonably possible. I will let you all know when it's ready to buy.
Keep on writing and reading, friends!
The soft cover book sold here has been available there for months, but now it is also available for Kindle. To help make the ebook very affordable (only $3.99) it only has a couple of illustrations like the world map of Tiaera and the pirate ship, La Sirene Bleu and the front cover. And it doesn't come signed from Amazon. If you want the fully illustrated book you will need to purchase the printed version. You can find the book and ebook using this link: Realmwalkers at Amazon.com
I have also published and converted the ebook into EPUB format and I am now just looking for a safe way to sell it here online and avoid piracy as much as reasonably possible. I will let you all know when it's ready to buy.
Keep on writing and reading, friends!
Realmwalkers Story at Kingman's The Daily Miner
I went to Kingman last weekend for an interview at The Daily Miner, Kingman's local newpaper. Here is the article which came out in today's issue, just in time for Saturday's Book Signing. I will be at Hastings Bookstore from 11AM - 3PM.
The Daily Miner Newspaper Article
The Daily Miner Newspaper Article
Book Marketing and Ebooks
Sorry I have been so quiet here lately. The holidays came and went and I was busy taking down decorations, storing them all for another year. January has been very cold and I find it hard to leave the comfort of my home to go marketing, but I have been. Excuses... excuses.. but I am BACK!!
Recently I arranged to have "Realmwalkers" available at a local store called Crystal Moon which is located at 1850 McCulloch Blvd N. After that I arranged for "Realmwalkers" to be at the Kingman Library. Some time this year, I hope to join a panel of several other local authors for an event called Kabam at Kingman.
I was also at the local Hastings promoting "Realmwalkers" and an anthology called "Offerings from the Oasis" where my artwork was selected for the front cover. Every year the Lake Havasu City Writers Group publishes an anthology and holds a book signing at Hastings. The sand castle sporting several books with a beach background was this year's cover graphic for our anthology. I also have a poem "My Typical Morning" in the book as one of the selections.
Recently I arranged to have "Realmwalkers" available at a local store called Crystal Moon which is located at 1850 McCulloch Blvd N. After that I arranged for "Realmwalkers" to be at the Kingman Library. Some time this year, I hope to join a panel of several other local authors for an event called Kabam at Kingman.
I was also at the local Hastings promoting "Realmwalkers" and an anthology called "Offerings from the Oasis" where my artwork was selected for the front cover. Every year the Lake Havasu City Writers Group publishes an anthology and holds a book signing at Hastings. The sand castle sporting several books with a beach background was this year's cover graphic for our anthology. I also have a poem "My Typical Morning" in the book as one of the selections.
It was a fun event. Many members brought their own books to sell, including me. By the way, that large banner
you see in front of the table was also one of my designs. I have been designing almost all our marketing projects and enjoy doing it. We often use the banner for street fairs to promote our club.
I just got off the phone and heard from one of the librarians in Kingman, which is about an hour's drive from Havasu, and she says the book is gaining some interest. It has been checked out three times since it was made available. Hopefully I will be seeing some of those readers later this month when I do my first book signing there at Hastings on the 23rd of this month from 11 - 3.
And lastly, I have been working away at creating my first "Realmwalkers" Kindle ebook. It's been really hard to do as I have literally had to learn how to do it. But thanks to some friends and the Internet and a very patient hubby, I am almost done with it. I hope to have it up and available for sale here at my blog and at Amazon.com. Stay tuned for my announcement in the near future.
Until my next post, take care, keep warm and healthy and KEEP WRITING!
Wynterfest Tour
"Greetings, my friends," yelled the lovely snow fae, flying eye-level and waving her long brass spyglass to the disembarking passengers who had arrived after a long voyage. The snow fae was dressed in a shimmering pale violet gown with translucent sleeves and skirt. Her white leggings and slippers also shimmered like the gown. Her clear wings were split up into various sections like stained-glass, only without any color. The edges of her wings were frosted and the bottom parts looked like icicles as they moved back and forth to keep her elevated.
Several wooden sailing ships were arriving from various parts of the world, bringing passengers who would normally provoke violence were they not suddenly overcome with a powerful enchantment the moment they stepped on the gangplank to shore. The snow fae waited at the docks, beckoning the travelers to join her when she noted a young minstrel carrying a mystical sword on his back. He stepped down the gangplank like the rest of the travelers, then looked up at her with a charismatic smile. Snoplay suddenly felt strange, and alarmed. Swiftly she drew closer and raise her hand to stop the young man.
"Pardon, sir, but no weapons are allowed...," she suddenly said aloud.
"Weapon? I carry no weapon. I am but a minstrel, Snoplay," the young man turned his back to reveal that he was carrying a beautiful gold lap harp.
Click for more
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
To all my friends and family,
I hope you all enjoy your holidays with loved ones
and may your future be filled with happiness, prosperity
and many blessings! I am feeling very happy
and grateful for this wonderful year
and many blessings! I am feeling very happy
and grateful for this wonderful year
and as a token of my thanks and appreciation
I'll cover the shipping & handling till Christmas.
I'll cover the shipping & handling till Christmas.
The Gnomes of Tiaera
As promised, here is a new drawing of some gnomes. I decided to color this graphic for a change. All the illustrations I did in Realmwalkers are black & white. Tiaeran gnomes are like humans, but shorter and proportionally slender. They are usually about three and a half feet tall with large deep-set eyes, fair skin tones and in some rare cases, slightly pointed ears. Most live in the country of Vawdrey and they are often mistaken for halflings, who are slightly bigger in size. I have added these three gnomes to an image I found on the Internet (not my own) with some human dancers. This way you can see how small they are to humans.
The three gnomes are adult and yet to many they can pass off as human children, something they resent being mistaken for. Many wear wedding rings and grow facial hair to help avoid such embarrassing misunderstandings. From left to right is Tavisan and Audrey Swifter and Audrey's brother, Carlyn Brewer. They appear in Realmwalkers. Carlyn has "Mischief" perched on his shoulder, their pet dragonling.
The Hastings Book Signing Event
Well, I am pleased to say this was quite an experience. My first official book signing was a success. All my work and crafting paid off. I got to Hastings an hour early and brought the staff some fresh baked cookies. I went to each of them and introduced myself. Sadly, the table for my event was placed in front of a bunch of misc. gifts and toys as part of a display. It was distracting, but I didn't complain, just got to work decorating the table with my homemade garland. To my right, my good friend, Linda, came all the way from Parker to assist me. She was in charge of setup and having the buyers sign a raffle ticket and dropping part of it in a little card treasure chest. The raffle was for a decorated black tote bag with book cover artwork on it I had made the night before.
Although my marketing efforts (flyers, invitations, newspaper, radio, blogs, Facebook) didn't seem to do much good, the pedestrian traffic into Hasting's Book Store was plentiful. So as the customers entered, I stuck out my hand and introduced myself... rather aggressively. This was no time or place to be timid. The daydream of customers lining up at my table, waiting to buy my book was dismissed from my mind. I had work to do. Many allowed me to shake their hands and tell them about my book, but many also just rushed past my table like I was infected with the plague. To those people, I accepted their departure with a forced smile and tight stomach. I understood they weren't there to buy my book and tried not to let it affect me. Rejection, however is still rejection, something I had to accept with grace. They did what they had to do while others, at least, stopped long enough to hear what I had to say. I tried everything I could think of to make buying the book appealing, even handed copies to them to look over while they continued their shopping. Many resisted my sales pitch and politely moved on, but fourteen of them did not. =) When they bought the book and brought it to me, I signed each one with my purple feather pen.
A couple of friends came to visit and see how I was doing. I was so happy they came to show their support. When the first hour came and went without a sale, I felt nauseous. But when zero sales became two, I was relieved. When two became six sales, I was happy. But when six became ten, I was thrilled, too thrilled to stop and get something to eat or drink when lunch time came around. Then at around 3PM, an hour longer than advertised, I made my fourteenth sale to a small patient woman who was accompanied by four active kids. My perseverance paid off.
When it was all over, and Linda had packed up everything, I met with store rep to receive my cut from the sales. After I got my payment, Linda and I drove home to relax and have dinner with my husband, Lee. I felt proud and grateful over the success of my first book signing. It was hard, emotional, and stressful work and I was exhausted afterwards. I wasn't cut out to be a tough saleswoman, just an artistic and sensitive writer. =)
Although my marketing efforts (flyers, invitations, newspaper, radio, blogs, Facebook) didn't seem to do much good, the pedestrian traffic into Hasting's Book Store was plentiful. So as the customers entered, I stuck out my hand and introduced myself... rather aggressively. This was no time or place to be timid. The daydream of customers lining up at my table, waiting to buy my book was dismissed from my mind. I had work to do. Many allowed me to shake their hands and tell them about my book, but many also just rushed past my table like I was infected with the plague. To those people, I accepted their departure with a forced smile and tight stomach. I understood they weren't there to buy my book and tried not to let it affect me. Rejection, however is still rejection, something I had to accept with grace. They did what they had to do while others, at least, stopped long enough to hear what I had to say. I tried everything I could think of to make buying the book appealing, even handed copies to them to look over while they continued their shopping. Many resisted my sales pitch and politely moved on, but fourteen of them did not. =) When they bought the book and brought it to me, I signed each one with my purple feather pen.
A couple of friends came to visit and see how I was doing. I was so happy they came to show their support. When the first hour came and went without a sale, I felt nauseous. But when zero sales became two, I was relieved. When two became six sales, I was happy. But when six became ten, I was thrilled, too thrilled to stop and get something to eat or drink when lunch time came around. Then at around 3PM, an hour longer than advertised, I made my fourteenth sale to a small patient woman who was accompanied by four active kids. My perseverance paid off.
When it was all over, and Linda had packed up everything, I met with store rep to receive my cut from the sales. After I got my payment, Linda and I drove home to relax and have dinner with my husband, Lee. I felt proud and grateful over the success of my first book signing. It was hard, emotional, and stressful work and I was exhausted afterwards. I wasn't cut out to be a tough saleswoman, just an artistic and sensitive writer. =)
Final Preparations
It's amazing how much effort can go into preparing for a book signing. It's a one woman event, but it has taken a lot of work publicizing this to the locals and on the Internet. Well, it looks like everything is coming together. I have spent the last two days working on my garland. I printed, cut, pasted and and coated a nice Realmwalkers garland to hang around the table for the book signing. I have made 80 more book markers and postcards. The books are here. Createspace got them all here on time. I also purchased some small pirate decorations and going to have a raffle for a free "Realmwalkers" tote bag. I will be decorating three of those with the book design on them later today. It's been a lot of work talking to many nice strangers for several weeks, trying to tell them about my book and event. Ironically, I have sold some books in doing so. I know a lot of writers don't go through this much work, some are lucky enough to have an agent or publisher to assist with marketing materials or publicity. I guess you can say I am paying my dues and I am learning a lot. This is nothing special or unique. Authors have been going through this for ages.
The book industry has changed and times are hard with many Americans out of work so I am truly grateful whenever I am able to sell a book. My friends and family have been so supportive and faithful. And I can feel God's support in this also in the way things are all coming together. I often ask if this is what he wants for me. It seems his answer is yes, but I guess what will truly convince me will be the turn-out tomorrow morning at 11AM and the number of books I sell.
And I have only been doing this marketing/selling for 3 months and two weeks. And if I don't lose heart or health this may only be the beginning.
The Next Booksigning
E.V. Medina will be signing copies of "Realmwalkers."
There will be a raffle and freebies so stop by and visit.
"Realmwalkers" at the WNEA Shopping Extravaganza
I felt like a realmwalker as I arrived at the Lake Havasu City Convention Center last Saturday for the WNEA's Shopping Extravaganza. I was nervous, but enthusiastic. I only knew a few people there. I accompanied my writer friend, Sharon Poppen, author of "Abby, Finding More than Gold" and other great stories. We sat together the entire day, shaking hands with potential shoppers and signing our books. She was very kind enough to let me come along to share the table. The hall was crowded with eager shoppers and many stopped to look over my drawings and check out the various copies of Realmwalkers I had brought. I smiled a lot and answered their questions and before the event was over I had sold six books. It more than covered the price for the event space and I learned a lot about what to do next time. Some of that profit is going to go right back into buying more books and creating more promotional materials. It was a good event and a good experience overall.
If you are a writer and have any questions about doing a book signing and other promotional events, leave me a comment here. I will do my best to answer your questions. You may even have some tips on how to promote your self published book. Even those of you who have found publishers, like Sharon, may benefit as well. Sorry for the fuzziness of the photos. I guess my new phone camera is REALLY sensitive.
If you are a writer and have any questions about doing a book signing and other promotional events, leave me a comment here. I will do my best to answer your questions. You may even have some tips on how to promote your self published book. Even those of you who have found publishers, like Sharon, may benefit as well. Sorry for the fuzziness of the photos. I guess my new phone camera is REALLY sensitive.
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