Los Angeles Times Festival of Books

I have participated in book signings a number of years at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. On Sunday, April 21, I‘ll be at the Sisters in Crime booth and will probably be at the Mystery Writers of America booth as well. The festival is April 20 and 21.

Advice from Publicist

I recently attended a Zoom call with a presentation by publicist Joe Marich. He had some excellent comments for authors. Starting with your story, ask yourself if this is a story worth telling. Second, why should readers care, in other words, what makes your story stand out. Third, which specific people will be interested in your book. Your story won’t appeal to everyone, so find your target audience. Fourth, prepare a five-minute segment that you can present to tell your story and why readers will be interested. He had other useful comments, but these where the core messages.

Giving Presentations

Over the next month I’m scheduled to give one zoom and two in-person presentations to book clubs. I haven’t given presentations for a month, so I’m a little rusty. I’ll be speaking about lessons learned as an author. I need to review my notes and practice to get back in shape. I always enjoy meeting with book clubs.

Family Gatherings

Over the last two weeks, we’ve had the opportunity to get together with our three kids and four of our grandkids. That has been the highlight of the holiday season. Next week will be getting back to normal with the grandkids back in school.