Wall Chat Wednesday: Special Guest Ngaire Elder

Wall Chat Wednesday: Special Guest Ngaire Elder

Jo Linsdell   20:06:00

Wall Chat Wednesday is back! Today's special guest is children's author Ngaire Elder.

Join me on my Facebook page today at 21:30 Central European Time where I'll be joined by Ngaire Elder to talk about her children's book series "The Adventures of Cecilia Spark" and get an insight into her thoughts on book marketing and writing for children.

You can also find out more about her on her blog http://adventuresofceciliaspark.blogspot.com

If you have your own questions for Ngaire please feel free to post them directly to the wall.

Updates and Online Branding

Updates and Online Branding

Jo Linsdell   13:35:00

Having an active online presence is important in today's internet driven world. It's also important to make sure you're providing your public with up to date information. This is why I'm constantly tweaking both my website and my social media profiles.

I recently occurred to me that I also needed to work on my branding. Although my sites were all personalised they lacked a common theme that made them all instantly recognisable as me. I've therefore done a whole revamp of all my sites. As you can see for these examples I've created a personalised look that follows through my website and each of my social media sites. 

My website header

My Facebook page cover

My Google+ profile

My Twitter profile

My YouTube channel

You'll also have noticed the new blog header above.

I wanted a look that was simple and with an obvious connection to writing (hence the paper and pens theme). I'm still tweaking so there will be more updates coming. Some of the social networks have introduced new features to their sites that are currently rolling out so I'll be updating those too over the next few weeks.

How often do you update your sites? Do you have online branding?

Wall chat Wednesday: Special Guest Kate Mueller

Wall chat Wednesday: Special Guest Kate Mueller

Jo Linsdell   20:44:00

Today I'm hosting a wall chat on my Facebook page as part of my new feature called "Wall Chat Wednesday". Each week I'll be joined by a special guest for a half hour chat. This weeks guest is children's authors Kate Mueller.

Kate will be joining me to discuss her children's book Bella's Birthday Surprise and to chat about book marketing, creating applications, being a writer mum and more.

A bit about Kate:

"From poems to short stories, I have always enjoyed putting my thoughts down on paper. After graduating from Purdue University, my husband and I settled down near our Indiana childhood homes. We now have two beautiful daughters, Bella and Sofia. We have cherished countless hours curled up reading together. It was from this experience that I knew I wanted to leave something for my daughters and future generations. A book was the perfect choice".

If you have your own questions for Kate please feel free to post them directly to the wall.

Download my best seller for FREE!

Download my best seller for FREE!

Jo Linsdell   14:07:00

Today is my birthday and to celebrate my best selling children's book Out and About at the Zoo is available for free download from http://www.amazon.com/Out-about-at-zoo-ebook/dp/B008ND8CB0/ref=cm_cmu_up_thanks_hdr

This offer is valid for today only so act now. I'd really appreciate you posting a review to the page and clicking the like button at the top of the page.

Introducing 'Twice'

Introducing 'Twice'

Jo Linsdell   21:48:00

One of my current works in progress is a chick-lit novel called 'Twice'. This week I've picked up working on it again after having taken a break to concentrate on the release of my children's book 'Out and About at the Zoo'. It feels a bit like getting in touch with old friends. I've missed my characters and I'm happy to be back with them all again.

I'm still working on the first draft but it's starting to take form and hopefully I'll have it finished by the end of this year.

Here's a sneak peek:

Anna is searching for Mr Right but finding him isn't easy. Can she find true love? Can it happen twice?

Darren

Anna lay there on the bed asking herself how she had let this happen again. As she sat there picking at the lace edge of the sheets, she gazed over at Darren lying beside her snoring loudly. How had they ended up in bed together? Ah yes, vodka, tequila and several flaming B52's. Women like her shouldn't be allowed to drink alcohol. It only complicates things more.

Her eyes moved to the alarm clock on the bedside table with its red glowing numbers that told her it was now 5:03am. If she was luckily she would be able to get out of here before he woke and avoid having to make lame excuses as to why she would be busy for the next week, month and maybe life. As Anna was about to pull herself up, Darren made a strange snorting sound and rolled over on to his side. She froze. As Darren’s snoring resumed, she lifted the sheet and slid off the mattress. 

The first step had gone ok. Now to find her clothes. She scanned the small hotel room as she tried to piece together what had happened just a few hours earlier and locate her belongings. Her bra and a one strappy sandal where under the chair by the window and her dress was in a bundle on the floor near the entrance to the bathroom. She collected the items as quickly as she could taking care not to make a sound. As she bent down her head thumped reminding her yet again that alcohol was no good.

She gazed over towards the bed and the sleeping body. He had a good body she had to give him that. She stayed there for a moment taking in the well toned muscles of his back and wishing that the sheet wasn't covering the rest of him. It was shame the inner Darren wasn't as beautiful as the outer Darren was. 

Her eyes strayed again to the alarm clock. 5:47 Am. Had it really taken her that long to pick up three items from the floor? She had to hurry and find the other sandal and her knickers. Darren usually set his alarm for six. 

There it was. She could see the heel of her other sandal poking out from behind the bathroom door. She picked it up and went in to freshen her face with cold water at the sink. A few minutes later, she was dressed, all but for her knickers which she couldn't find anywhere. Damn it! It was getting late. She had to get out of there. Knickers or no knickers it was time to leave. She grabbed her handbag from the small table by the door and checked the bed one last time before shutting the door behind her.

I'm having trouble coming up with an idea I like for the cover design for this book. I've had a few ideas but nothing that sticks. Any suggestions are very welcome :)

Interview about self publishing

Interview about self publishing

Jo Linsdell   00:06:00

Today I have the pleasure of being interviewed for the Book or Bust blog which is run by Linda Della Donna. During the interview we discuss self publishing and I get to answer questions like:

What is the average price (is there such a thing) for a book? Your book? How did you come to decide that price? 

Different self-publishing companies offer different packages, along with different prices. What was your choice? Which company did you select to publish your work? Were and are you satisfied? Would you use them again? 

I also share some tips for new authors. So drop by http://bookorbust.blogspot.it/2012/09/author-jo-linsdell-on-self-publishing.html and check it out. I'd love to hear your feedback and thoughts so feel free to leave a comment.