Gayle Trent

Hey, there! Marcy here. Wednesdays are my allotted post days. So, here I am!

If you don’t know me, I’m the . . . ahem . . . fictional heroine of the new cozy mystery series Gayle is writing under the pseudonym Amanda Lee. I live on the Oregon Coast and run my own little embroidery shop. My best friends run the coffee shop next door and make me low-fat vanilla lattes with cinnamon. Yum.

Anyway, I’m here to tell you, Christmas is only about five months away. I know, I know. Who wants to be thinking about Christmas when it’s like 85 degrees outside, right? But, you don’t want it creeping up on you without your having time to get all your ornaments and gifts stitched.

In fact, Gayle is hoping to make a new angel Christmas tree topper before Christmas. Of ’09. Yeah, I’ll have to see it to believe it myself. (Of course, I’d better watch who I’m talking about, or who knows what she’ll have me do in my next book!)

But, if you’re ready to knock out a few early Christmas gifts and save yourself the hassel this fall, check out these terrific free embroidery designs. So download some designs, and get to stitching!

And if you’d like to make something for me, I absolutely love handstitched ornaments of snowmen, angels, dogs . . . .

Hi, I’m Daphne Martin, the heroine from Murder Takes the Cake, and I’ve been assigned Monday as my post day. Since I’m a cake decorator, I’ll blog on baking, cake decorating, my hometown in Southwest Virginia and my books.

Cake Decorating With Wilton

If you’re interested in cake decorating, you’re probably already familiar with the name Wilton. But did you know Wilton offers a page on their website with decorating instructions (http://www.wilton.com/decorating/)? Some of the techniques detailed are making fondant figures, making butter cream figures and making gum paste calla lillies.

If you’d prefer more personal, hands-on instruction, you can search Wilton for cake decorating classes in your area. If you’re already a somewhat established decorator, you may be interested in either attending Wilton cake decorating school or becoming a Wilton instructor.

Family Fun Contest Announcement

Visit http://family.go.com/birthday-party-contest/ to get details on entering Family Fun’s Best-Ever Birthday Blowout contest for a $1,000 Birthday Express gift card.  But, hurry, the contest ends August 14!

Last week I embarked upon my first blog tour. I thought I was one of the last people to become introduced to this relatively new form of publicity. But when I invited a group of writers to join me on my blog tour and was asked by more than one “What exactly IS a blog tour?”, I thought I should address the question here.

A blog tour is simply an event wherein a number of blogs agree to have an author “appear” via articles or interviews. It’s the equivalent of a cyber book tour.

My blog tour began on Monday, October 20, with WOW! Women On Writing’s blog The Muffin. My blog tour started there because I’m doing my blog tour through WOW! Women On Writing. I chose WOW! because they were the least expensive I’d found. However, Angela Mackintosh has been truly wonderful. She’s guided me through this entire process with diligence
and patience, acting as a virtual tour guide in getting me to various destinations with whatever I’m supposed to bring along.

So far, I’ve done four interviews, six articles and shared one review of Murder Takes the Cake. I’ve still got more interviews and articles to do next week. So, as you can see, it’s a lot of work; but I believe it’s paying off.

I have to admit, I like the interviews the best. Often the questions I’m asked make me stop and think. As I analyze my work or myself, I end up learning as well as providing information.

I’ve been able to follow comments on some of the blogs, and that’s a cool experience as well. For instance, at Whole Latte Life, I talked about integrating cake decorating into my cozy mystery. One of the readers was surprised to learn that I’m not a professional cake decorator. I told her I was actually far from it, and she was encouraged by that.

I’ve watched my website traffic increase throughout this blog tour. Plus, my publisher has me on Google Alerts and is notified when I appear on these blogs. Most recently, I’ve joined a group of like-minded authors who do monthly virtual blog tours at member sites.

If you decide to do a blog tour, do your homework. If you choose to do all the legwork yourself, be sure and read Alyice Edrich’s article, “Host Your Own Event: Take a Blog Tour” at http://thedabblingmum.com/writing/hostevent/blogtour.htm. If you prefer to get some professional help, investigate your options before making a commitment. Consider your budget and what you expect to get out of the tour. Ask plenty of questions before deciding which Blog Tour Guide is right for you.

Hope this helps!

For more writing information, please visit my Squidoo Lens at http://www.squidoo.com/writingfreelanceandnovels. Also, visit my Coaching  page.

How do you like the new website? Personally, I love it. I wanted to take a moment and let you know what I’ll be doing with this blog.

Of course, I’ll be updating you on current releases, contests, giveaways and other fun things. I’ll also be letting you know about workshops and appearances.

Since my characters dabble in cake decorating and embroidery, they will be guest posting. Daphne Martin from Murder Takes the Cake will post about baking, cake decorating, candy making and other things sweet and fattening. She might occasionally talk about what’s happening in Southwest Virginia. Marcy Singer from the embroidery mystery series will blog about embroidery techniques, sewing, home decor and life on the Oregon Coast.

I’ll also be posting articles pertaining to writing and publishing. See my Coaching page for more information about The Writer’s Planner, and contact me if you’d like to know about one-on-one coaching, e-classes or teleseminars. Twice a month, I’ll be hosting an author from the Virtual Book Tour; and I’ll provide you with a link so you can check out my guest post on another member’s blog.

Thank you for joining me!

Gayle is going to start writing posts here in the next few days.