Marketing? What the $#%&?!?

Marketing is easy for some authors. They have this natural way of selling their merchandise and really, themselves to their target audiences. They toss out a few comments about a current event, a blurb about the book they just published, or random bits of humor with the intent of connecting to their readers.

For others, marketing is a strange science that remains mostly illusive. I tend to fall more in that second group.

If you meet me at a convention or event, I am a personable, friendly, sarcastic individual that gets along with pretty much everyone. What you see is what you get -- I'm not a fan of pretense. But when I'm on the other side of a computer trying to sell to you exactly what I do and why you'll like it, I come up a little flat at times.

It isn't that my writing isn't good. I'll take a moment of ego to be able to say that. I love writing and creating and I've gotten pretty good at it. I make people cry when my characters hurt; i make my readers want to reach through the page and throttle the idiot who screws up and hurts people or themselves. I love creating tangible description and characters that feel like someone you know/love/admire/hate.

The marketing side though? How does one make a potential reader understand that THIS book is the one they want? THIS is the book that they'll read and not want it to end?

I guess what it comes down to is this: I'm just a woman, standing in front of an audience, asking to be loved.

Failing that, I hope I make you laugh your ass off at something one of my characters do and that you remember them enough to look me up on Amazon to see when the next book will be out. By the way...soon. ;)