Please join me on my blog tour for The Quick and The Thread. Below are this weeks stops along the tour:

July 26, 2010 Monday
Gayle Trent will be chatting with WOW! Women On Writing at The Muffin. One lucky commenter will win a signed copy of Amanda Lee’s book!
http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com

July 27, 2010 Tuesday
What type of person has two names? Spies, people in witness protection, movie stars…and writers. Amanda Lee tells us what it’s like to go through life with two personas–one writing mysteries about a cake decorator and the other writing mysteries about an embroiderer.
http://hellorhighwaterwriting.wordpress.com/

July 28, 2010 Wednesday
In her interview today, Amanda Lee (a.k.a. Gayle Trent) tells us that murder isn’t the only thing she has to research for her cozy mysteries. For The Quick and the Thread, the first book in her new embroidery series, the unlikely subject was whales!
http://www.sellingbooks.com

July 29, 2010 Thursday
Amanda Lee is stopping by Mom-e-Centric to tell us about how murder and embroidery make a wonderful mix. She’ll also be giving away a copy of The Quick and the Thread!
http://www.momecentric.com/

July 30, 2010 Friday
Stop by today for an interview with Amanda Lee by fellow mystery writer Christine Verstraete. These two will be sharing some great mystery writing tips!
http://candidcanine.blogspot.com/

August 1, 2010 Sunday
Blue hair, the early bird special, embroidery. Three things grandmas like. Or are they? Amanda Lee tells us about what a fun hobby embroidery can be for all ages and about her young embroiderer who also solves murders in The Quick and the Thread.
http://www.cozychicksblog.com/

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.