Aftermath of Hurricane Ike in Galveston

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Wacky Weather Week

The weather is just unusual all the time, but this week has been something else - earlier this week, this was the view out my office door -

When I went to bed, there were a couple inches of snow, by morning, this was the view.....

And a couple of days ago, the temperature was in the single digits overnight.











Yesterday the crocus on the right was blooming, this morning there are 2 more and all kinds of flowers are pushing through the mulch in the front yard. Below is a close up on the crocuses in the bottom of this picture :)

Are You Interested in Promotional Articles?

I'm working to build a new website that I'm looking forward to unveiling and I also have a blog where I've posted about 100 promotional articles and tips. I'd like to invite you to come take a look

http://promo101articles.blogspot.com/

I am also happy to let you know that this blog won the Preditor's and Editor's award for best non fiction articles. Drop by and take a look :)

Nikki Leigh

Social Networking Sites - Where Can We Find You?

The blogosphere simply loves to slurp up social-networking traffic stats, and on Monday we got a nice tasty serving of them with some new numbers from Compete.com for the month of January. The results? Facebook is in the lead, with about 68 million unique visitors, well ahead of MySpace's 58 million. (The two are pegged at 1.1 billion and 810 million page views, respectively.)

This may be the first survey we've seen that puts Facebook ahead of the News Corp.-owned MySpace in U.S. traffic. It also puts Twitter as the third-biggest social-media site in the country by total page views, with only about six million unique visitors but a whopping 54 million views.

Compete's numbers are interesting, because they often are pretty different from other analytics firms'. Here are some clarifications, explained to CNET News in an e-mail sent by Compete's Andy Kazeniac: These are numbers stemming entirely from Web browser data in the U.S. That means that you won't be pulling in any international numbers, where most of Facebook's users are now, or data from widgets or third-party applications, which are how many avid Twitter users access the service. That means that it's likely that Twitter's reach is bigger than the numbers indicate.

What's also intriguing is that there are a few social-media sites, like Flixster and LiveJournal, with relatively low unique visitor counts but proportionally very high page view counts, indicating that they probably have smallish bases of very loyal users.

Also pulling in notable numbers are LinkedIn, with about 11 million unique users, Classmates.com, with about 17 million, and Reunion.com, with slightly under 14 million. On the other end? AOL's Bebo, an $850 million purchase, which Compete.com clocks in as having just shy of three million unique visitors. True, its biggest user bases are in the U.K. and Ireland, but that's not good considering the price tag.

Still, statistics are like tequila shots. Always take 'em with a few grains of salt and a slice of lime, and be warned that they may give you headaches.

Originally posted at The Social

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10160850-2.html

Contest Extension for the World's Best Lover Contest and A Special Offer

Exciting Contest for Valentine’s Day

Deadline Has Been Extended to February 9^th

& A Special Offer For You

Inspired by Dr. Ava Cadell, Founder of Loveology University® says, “Our Valentine’s Day contest was propelled by the ever-growing demand from people who need to be coached in all matters of love, relationships and intimacy. Through Love U, an online College of Sexual Knowledge, anyone can learn how to enrich their relationships and become a great lover. Most people know ‘how’ to have sex, but being romantic and making love is a truly an art-form that can—and often needs to be--learned.”

Dr. Ava and Loveology University® are asking “Romantics” to submit a short entry essay on why their lover is the “World’s Best Lover.” These entries can be completed FREE at http://www.loveologyuniversity.com/instruction.aspx. Your entry does not need to be graphic in nature – share what is special about your lover, what makes them special to you and what you feel for them. These are the judging criteria – 50% Uniqueness, 25% Emotional inspiration and 25% Seduction factor.

Upon nominating your lover’s name, you will receive a FREE “Loveology Certificate” stating that he/she has been nominated for the World’s Best Lover – a perfect Valentine’s gift at no cost. PLUS you will receive a FREE e-Book entitled “52 Sizzling Sex Secrets.”

Contest sponsored by Dr Ava Cadell and www.loveologyuniversity.com

The winner will be announced before Valentine’s Day, 2009 and get a $2,000 scholarship or $1,000 cash prize. Entry deadline has been extended to February 9^th, 2009 – the winner will be announced February 13^th.

NOTE: A SPECIAL OFFER FOR YOU

In addition to the free entry and free gifts for everyone who enters the World’s Best Lover contest, I just got word of another special offer for February and for Valentine’s Day. Dr Ava offers an unbelievable number of wonderful courses through Loveology University. Whether you are married, single, in love, looking for love or looking to make your love life better, she has something that would be great for you. If you’re in an industry where you would like to learn more about human relationships, love, sex and much more, this is an offer for you. During the month of February, go to www.loveologyuniversity.com and take a look at the courses that are offered - http://www.loveologyuniversity.com/CourseCatalogue.aspx. If you enter this discount code – NL0109 and you will receive 20% off. I’d order a course or two now, that will give you time to see how much information she offers and you have time to order something else before the end of the month. If you have questions, feel free to contact nikki@nikkileigh.com

40 Year Old Cold Case -- Solved

I live in a reasonably small town in Virginia and there aren't many serious crimes. So, I was surprised to hear there was a double murder 40 years ago and had never been solved. This is a link to more information and the press conference is embedded below.

http://www.newsleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090124/NEWS01/90124001&s=d&

At this point, the case has been solved and the woman who killed these two young women just died a few days ago. Information about this crime even turned up on CNN over the weekend - it isn't often that this area turns up on CNN.

Some Memorable Rejections

The roving reporter for Promo 101 Virtual Blog Tours - Terry L White - sent this to me this morning and I had a feeling other authors and struggle writers would appreciate the irony in these rejection statistics -

CELEBRATION OF REJECTION
From the pages of, How to Get a Literary Agent by Michael Larsen

1. 112 Books for Louis L’Amour though he received rejections. He received 200 rejections before he sold his first novel. During the last forty years Bantam has shipped nearly three hundred million of his one hundred twelve books, making him their biggest-selling author.

2. 600+ rejection slips wall paper Jack London’s home.

3. 774 rejection slips for John Creasy who went on to publish under 13 pseudonyms 564 books

4. 14 rejected Pearl S Buck finally published The Good Earth

5. 20 rejections didn’t stop Jonathan Livingston Seagull’s publication and you know how famous it became, written by Richard Bach

6. 40 rejections before she sold her first book didn’t stop Mary Higgins Clark

7. 200 rejections Roots by Alex Haley was published.

8. 15 publishers and 30 agents rejected John Grisham’s A Time to Kill before it was finally published.

9. 375 publishers rejected naked in Deccan over seven years before the Baltimore Sun deemed it a classic.

10. Dr Seuss – 24 in his file of rejections before his first books was published

11. 8 years after the novel Steps won the National Book Award, Jerzy Kosinski allowed it to be send out again with a name change to 13 agents and 14 publishers – all of them rejected it, including Random House, which originally published it. Proves the plight of new writers trying to get recognition or a publishing contract.

12. The New Yorker rejected a short story by Saul Bellow after he won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

13. A three-inch stack of rejection letters before Terry L. White published a book.

14. About 40 rejections from various targeted agents before Nikki Leigh switched gears and applied directly to the publishers.


To visit Terry - she posts daily about the current virtual tours that we're doing. You can visit her here - http://authorsontour.blogspot.com/

A Good Dog Story

Anyone who has pets will really like this. You'll like it even if you don't and you may even decide you need one! Mary and her husband Jim had a dog named 'Lucky.' Lucky was a real character. Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy. Inevitably, someone would forget and something would come up missing. Mary or Jim would go to Lucky's toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky's other favorite toys. Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box and he was very particular that his toys stay in the box. It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer. Something told her she was going to die of this disease....in fact ,she was just sure it was fatal. She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders. The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with Lucky. A thought struck her...what would happen to Lucky? Although the three-year-old dog liked Jim, he was Mary's dog through and through. If I die, Lucky will be abandoned, Mary thought. He won't understand that I didn't want to leave him. The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death. The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks. Jim took Lucky for his evening walk faithfully, but the little dog just drooped, whining and miserable. Finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital. When she arrived home , Mary was so exhausted she couldn't even make it up the steps to her bedroom. Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her to nap. Lucky stood watching Mary but he didn't come to her when she called. It made Mary sad but sleep soon overcame her and she dozed. When Mary woke, for a second she couldn't understand what was wrong. She couldn't move her head and her body felt heavy and hot. But panic soon gave way to laughter when Mary realized the problem. She was covered, literally blanketed, with every treasure Lucky owned! While she had slept, the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement bringing his beloved mistress all his favorite things in life. He had covered her with his love. Mary forgot about dying. Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking further and further together every day. It's been 12 years now and Mary is still cancer-free. Lucky? He still steals treasures and stashes them in his toy box but Mary remains his greatest treasure. Remember....live every day to the fullest Each minute is a blessing from God. And never forget....the people who make a difference in our lives are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care for us. If you see someone without a smile today give them one of yours! Live simply. Love seriously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God A small request: All you are asked to do is keep this circulating. Dear God, I pray for the cure of cancer. Amen In memory of anyone you know that has been struck down by cancer or is still living with it. Note From Nikki I just got this in my email from my aunt Sylvia and I had to share. Lucky reminds me very much of Muze - who this blog is named after - yes, Muze is real :) I got Muze about a week after I started working from home fulltime. To say he's spoiled would be a huge understatement - he is in crisis when I got to the grocery store and he watches each trip to the mail box -- its not that far from the house :) But, he is also very sweet and affectionate. He loves to lay next to me while I work and he'll sleep for a long time and then raise his head and stretch his paw to touch my leg and a couple of times and then go back sleep. Other times when I'm deeply into a book, he sits beside me and taps my face with his paw -- its like he's saying, "I'm here, remember me." Shadow can be very sweet too, but Muze is the affectionate cat around here. What would I do without my boys :)

Proof That it Takes All Kinds

Hear my radio show that caused a listener to call me disgusting, a fraud and a disgrace -- no kidding. They didn't call in, but their thoughts were posted in the chatroom. Sadly, the person's user name included Hillary - its sad to see someone acting like that and associating it with Hillary. This person obviously didn't hear the very good things we mentioned in the beginning about Hillary Clinton and anyone who read Earl Ofari Hutchinson's columns knows he is a staunch Hillary supporter. Learn more about How Obama Won on this call - www.learnhowobamawon.blogspot.com

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/nikkileigh/2009/01/19/Nikki-Leigh-Talks-with-Earl-Ofari-Hutchinson-About-How-Obama-Won

Would You Like FREE Excerpts From How Obama Won?

Get your FREE E-book which gives you a look inside How Obama Won – see the table of contents and read selected excerpts before making the decision to buy your own copy of How Obama Won --- http://tr.im/9lrt

How Obama Won by Earl Ofari Hutchinson is a provocative, hard hitting critical assessment of the issues, events, forces, politics, pressures and controversy that shaped and ensnared Barack Obama in his historic 2008 presidential campaign. Cut through the endless numbers and statistics to learn get straight to the key issues that made the difference.

Political analyst Earl Ofari Hutchinson examines the impact of race and gender, campaign strategy, the key political players, the nature of presidential politics, the changes in the Democratic and Republicans parties, the importance of the black, Hispanic, youth, women and blue collar white worker votes, the role of corporation and special interests in American politics. Hutchinson goes to the heart of the matter to tell us what the first African-American to win the White House means to America and the world.

Would Appreciate Your Vote If You Have a Minute TODAY

Just a quick note to ask if you have a minute or two to place a vote for me. Wednesday January 14th is the last day to vote. Preditor & Editors has a yearly competition for authors and my promotional articles and the blog are currently in 2nd place. This is the link if you would like to vote for me -
http://www.critters.org/predpoll/nonfiction.shtml

To vote - click the dot beside Book Promo 101 and then enter your name and email at the bottom of the page. You will receive an email, confirm that and your vote is complete.

This is the blog if you would like to take a look - http://promo101articles.blogspot.com/. Feel free to stick around and read some articles. I also plan to use this blog to add other promotional articles and also to post information which will be an addition to the promotional tips in Book Promo 201: Learn to Promote Using Web 2.0 which I hope will be out later this winter. Trust me, you will hear about the release when its ready to order.

Thank you very much to everyone that takes the time to vote for me :)

Nikki Leigh

BREAKING NEWS - How Obama Won is Now Ready to Ship

The first shipment of the print copies of How Obama Won just arrived this afternoon and they are still cold from being in the UPS truck - its cold in Virginia today.

We have an ebook available to people around the world (emailed one to Germany this morning) and we have books ready to ship throughout the US and to Canada. For more information and to place your order now - visit

Obama - Print Book Shipped within the continental US
http://nikkileigh.plimus.com/jsp/buynow.jsp?contractId=2174946

Obama - Print Book Shipped to Canada
http://nikkileigh.plimus.com/jsp/buynow.jsp?contractId=2241948

Obama - Ebook to be emailed around the world
http://nikkileigh.plimus.com/jsp/buynow.jsp?contractId=2174906

Please contact us with any questions -- here or at howobamawon@gmail.com

For more details about the book and to read several excerpts, visit http://learnhowobamawon.blogspot.com/2008/12/excerpts-from-how-obama-won.html

New Year's Resolutions

It is that time of year again :)

These are some of the things I'd like to focus on and accomplish in 2009 --

1 - Finish final editing for Book Promo 201 -- currently with my publisher for layout
2 - Finish and start to promote - ebook about utilizing Amazon more completely
3 - Finish and start to promote - ebook about selling books on Ebay
4 - Continue to promote my virtual tour and Web 2.0 promotional business
5 - Write the second book in my Cape Hatteras mystery series
6 - Compile class lessons and begin to promote and teach promotional classes based on my two author promotion books
7 - Find time to go to the beach for at least a week :)
8 - After my next mystery is complete - write my next historic suspense or a contemporary suspense
9 - Possibly write a restaurant promotional book that I have in mind

10 - And, of course, I want to lose weight, but the other things are more possible :)

My biggest personal hope for 2009 is to be able to have some time for myself in the next year - the 80+ hour work weeks need to go :)

Nikki Leigh

Book Promo 201 - Coming Soon (Web 2.0 Promotion)
Book Promo 101 - http://www.nikkileigh.com
Follow Me on Twitter - www.twitter.com/litekepr
Promotional Services www.nikkileigh.com/promo.htm

Win A FREE Copy of How Obama Won

You are invited to enter a drawing for a free print copy of How Obama Won by Earl Ofari Hutchinson. Simply go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/How-Obama-Won-by-Earl-Ofari-Hutchinson/40633748914 and become a "fan" to be entered in the drawing. If you are interested in sharing information about this exciting new book with your site visitors, contact us for more details - howobamawon@gmail.com

Nikki Leigh

More online shoppers take the word of anonymous product reviewers

As authors we face reviews on Amazon and other book buying sites. Do consumers believe anonymous reviews? Do they make purchasing decisions based on reviews? Do you make decisions based on reviews? I guess another part of the question is, how useful or harmful are these online reviews?

Nikki Leigh

More online shoppers take the word of anonymous product reviewers

By ANDREA JAMES
P-I REPORTER

As online shopping grows more popular, consumers are increasingly relying on the opinions of people they've never met.

These opinions, offered by names such as "Anonymous," or "Skater" or "Crazy Cat Lady," cover all kinds of products, no matter how expensive, cheap, big or small. (Twelve people have reviewed a lint roller refill on Drugstore.com.)

In the Internet's ever-growing social community, people trust one another more than advertisers. And retailers are increasingly figuring that out. Businesses are incorporating customer reviews into their marketing campaigns, providing links to top-ranked products and in some cases, flirting with the idea of making the reviews accessible via cell phone in brick-and-mortar stores.

"Online reviews have changed everything. It sounds so perfect. Anyone and everyone can share their experience with a product or service," said Michal Ann Strahilevitz, marketing professor at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. "It is as if all online shoppers have an instant community of friends, recommending the good and warning about the bad."

But the system isn't perfect, she said. Some people rate everything they try; others never rate anything. Also, merchants and competitors can disguise ulterior motives behind fake names.

"Generally, the greater the number of reviews, the more likely the average is to be accurate. Comments also help. If extensive comments are made, and the writing style varies, that is a good sign," Strahilevitz said.

The next frontier in user reviews will come as luxury retailers adopt them and as ratings systems become more elaborate, experts say.

Seattle-based Amazon.com, a pioneer that allowed reviews when it launched in 1995, lets users rank each other for credibility. The company also uses tags to distinguish top reviewers and people who use their real names.

"When we first did it, we got letters from publishers saying, 'Maybe you don't understand your business. You make money when you sell things,' " Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos told BusinessWeek four years ago. "Our point of view is, no, we make money when we help customers make purchase decisions."

This holiday season, Amazon assembled a team of six real customers to give advice on goods and dubbed them the "tell-it-like-it-is consumer advocates." The reviewers received free products as part of Amazon Vine, a company program that gives products to select Amazon customers in return for their opinions.

Increasingly, retailers are realizing what Amazon knew early on: When consumers make smart decisions, retailers benefit, said Patti Freeman Evans, a vice president and research director for Forrester Research.

"Consumers who actually read these reviews and find them valuable are more likely to be more loyal to that store, shop more frequently with that store and are less likely to return the item," Evans said.

All retailers aren't necessarily comfortable with negative reviews, but they are learning to get over it.

"What they've found is there's a lot of value in that negative review," Evans said. "Wouldn't you as a retailer want to know if there's a problem with the product?"

David Lonczak, chief marketing officer of Bellevue-based Drugstore.com Inc., said reviews have helped his company to better communicate with suppliers. In one case, a manufacturer added an inner seal to a product because reviewers complained about leaks, he said.

"The user-generated content, whether written or video or otherwise, has become more and more dispersed and more and more available and it has started to prove to be quite valuable," Lonczak said. "Shoppers are looking for, 'What is real, what can I believe? I can't touch the product or feel it or smell it, how can I be sure what is right for me?' "

Drugstore.com, which has a sister site, Beauty.com, has allowed user reviews since 2003. Since they upgraded their system earlier this year by partnering with PowerReviews, daily input is up 250 percent, Lonczak said.

Drugstore.com sends e-mail reminders to customers, asking them to submit reviews. The site labels reviewers who have bought products as a "verified buyer."

"We know that customers are depending upon their peers to help them figure out what works and what doesn't work," Lonczak said. But, "we don't want the ability of anybody to come to the site and write a review, or a manufacturer dissing another manufacturer's product."

San Francisco-based PowerReviews helps Web sites with their online customer review platform in exchange for the right to put those reviews on Buzzillions.com. Its clientele has reached 550 and is growing.

PowerReviews co-founder and CEO Andy Chen says the turning point came three years ago when even brick-and-mortar retailers began to realize that a bad review isn't the end of the world.

The most frequent question that company executives still ask him is, "What do I do with negative reviews?" He tells them that negative reviews add credibility.

If a company deletes a negative review, the consumer who wrote it will notice and get a bad impression. Also, four-star rated products sell better than five-star ones, Chen said he's found by studying data sets provided by clients.

"If they see no one who's unhappy, they immediately think they can't trust the entire set of reviews," Chen said.

PowerReviews moderates reviews and deletes less than 4 percent, Chen said. The goal is to encourage constructive debate, not verify accuracy.

Thus, if someone loves a product but hates the customer service, that review is deleted because it's not about the product. Or, if someone posts where to find the same product cheaper elsewhere, it is deleted, Chen said.

Other than that, the reviews stay.

"We love misspellings because misspellings mean it's a real person that wrote it, not a marketer," Chen said. "You wouldn't believe how many ways people spell comfortable. ... Grammar mistakes, funny punctuation, misspellings, typos -- that's how people speak."

Profanity and hate speech are not allowed, he added.

Multibranded retailers, such as REI, have learned that bad reviews do not drive away sales but shift them to a similar product on the site, said Chen, whose company works with Seattle-based Recreational Equipment Inc.

Despite widespread adoption, anonymous reviews still draw criticism, especially from bad review victims. At its worst, anonymity encourages vicious lying. But at its best, it is self-correcting and frees people to be honest.

Former New York Times book critic Richard Bernstein wrote a letter to Bezos to tell him that Amazon's reader review system encourages cowardice.

"It's the anonymity that Amazon grants to its reader-reviewers that I objected to, on the grounds that anybody who wants to say something nasty about somebody else's work ought to have the little bit of bravery needed to say it under his or her name," Bernstein said in an August letter that ran in the International Herald Tribune.

Indianapolis-based Angie's List, which compiles user reviews on contractors, service companies and health care providers, does not allow anonymous reviews. Consumers pay a membership fee to join.

"We work really hard to not let folks game our system," spokeswoman Cheryl Reed said. "We think it's a distinction that makes a huge difference. ... Companies can't put themselves on the list, nor can they report on themselves. We do allow them -- free of charge -- to respond to reports, though, and we display the responses next to the report in question."

But anonymous review are the norm, and seem here to stay.

Four-year-old Yelp.com, based in San Francisco, boasts about 4 million reviews of restaurants, bars and businesses that draws about 15 million visitors a month. Yelp even lets people rate itself. "You suck ... but I still love you," one wrote.

Seattle-based Onlineshoes.com has embraced user reviews. For CEO Dan Gerler, a shoe industry veteran, the reason is simple: He relies on the reviews himself. "Consumers have the greatest faith in other consumers."

P-I reporter Andrea James can be reached at 206-448-8124 or andreajames@seattlepi.com. Read more about online retail at blog.seattlepi.com/amazon.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/393131_userreviews22.html

New Posts on My Promotional Blogs

This is post #300. Who would've thought it :)

I have quite a few promotional blogs where I created interviews for authors to help them promote their books. The full list is at http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2008/04/free-promomtional-options-for-author.html. If you would like to use these to promote any of your books - feel free to read this post for a full list of the links and for instructions.

This week I posted the following interviews and chapters -- enjoy :)

http://startatbeginning.blogspot.com/2008/12/starquest-by-hywela-lyn.html

http://startwithfacts.blogspot.com/2008/12/kindred-spirits-by-marilyn-meredith.html

http://shareyourheroine.blogspot.com/2008/12/meet-marilyn-merediths-heroine-from.html

http://authorpromotion.blogspot.com/2008/12/promotional-interview-with-lisa-burke.html

http://detailwithnikkileigh.blogspot.com/2008/12/in-detail-with-russell-vassallo.html

http://judgebookbycover.blogspot.com/2008/12/katana-duet-samurais-forbidden-love-by.html

http://badguysandvillains.blogspot.com/2008/12/witch-hunts-on-internet-by-yvonne-walus.html

I'm starting to run out of interviews to post -- hint, hint :)

Nikki Leigh

How Do You Think Obama Won?

There are many theories from the media, the pundits, blogger and regular people about How Obama Won. Would you like to share your thoughts? Feel free to post your comments here and tell us what you think made the difference. What helped Obama win?

Nikki Leigh

PS - Are you on the waiting list to be notified when How Obama Won arrives? Are you interested in signing up for our affiliate program? Complete information is posted in the right hand column of the blog at www.learnhowobamawon.blogspot.com.

Getting A Lot Done Over the Holidays

Just had to drop in for a minute to let you know what I've been doing :) I'm getting so many things done that I wanted to do - but couldn't find the time.

I have a blog that was created just to promote my novel - Lilah and the Locket (http://outerbankslilah.blogspot.com) and it generates hits on my website every month. But I wanted a blog where I could blog about the next book in the series - you're welcome to take a look and get a sneak peak at my next novel - http://capehatterasseries.blogspot.com

I also have wanted to move the author promotional interviews to a new blog and since I learned how to export and import blog content on Blogger -- its very easy and quick -- that gave me the perfect tool to move those interviews - http://authorpromotion.blogspot.com/

Then, I've noticed that there will be many things that I want to add to Book Promo 201 - but that would hold up the release of the book forever - so what about creating a blog where I can post new things as I discover them. The blog will be a great follow up resource for people who buy either of my books and could entice people to buy the books in the future :) This blog will contain my promotional articles, some announcements and follow up promotional tips and articles -- http://promo101articles.blogspot.com/

Next - I need a blog to promote the Misty Cove Series -- will keep you posted about that one.

Nikki Leigh

Sequel to Lilah and the Locket

For a year and a half, I've been thinking about a sequel to Lilah and the Locket. For people who are familiar with the book - the three main characters, a man, a woman and a dog - are all based on real people and a dog :) So, to write a sequel, I needed their approval to include them in a story. February 2008, Kristie and Nathan (the real Kristie and Nathan) became the proud parents of Walker.

A couple of months before Walker was born, I was speaking with Kristie on the phone - her parents were in town and wanted to get copies of Lilah and the Locket from me. During the call Nathan mentioned in the background, that we need a book that includes Walker. That was the opening I needed - so I emailed a release to Kristie and in the back of my mind I was thinking about possibilities for the book.

But, first I had to finish a book I started in November 2007. That book - Book Promo 201: Learn to Promote on the Internet and With Web 2.0 - is finished and in the hands of my publisher. Now, I can start working on the next Lilah book - the tentative title is Footprints in the Sand and take place around the time of the Ash Wednesday Storm on the Outer Banks.



Footprints in the Sand will be a crime novel set on the Outer Banks and Kristie will be pregnant. I'm not ready to divulge any more details at the moment, but to get a very real sense of the storm that will be in this book - I highly recommend The Ash Wednesday Storm by David Stick.

This picture is in the specific area where I plan to focus a good amount of the book - you will learn more about that later :)

These pictures are from the book - which shows pictures during the storm and 25 years later. The pictures that were taken in the same locations 25 years later show how much the area changed and in some cases - how little has changed. These pictures are also featured on this website - http://www.gresham-photography.com/book.html

Honest Scrap Award

I received the Honest Scrap Award today from L Diane Wolfe! It seemed like a great opportunity to do something fun and frivolous on a rainy, cold, dreary day.

http://circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com/2008/12/honest-scrap-award.html

Below are the guidelines when winning the Honest Scrap award:


1. List 10 honest things about yourself (make it interesting, even if you have to dig deep!)

2. Pass the award on to 7 bloggers who will be brutally honest with their answers


So let's start with the 10 honest things about myself:

1. Chick flicks usually make me cry, but I really prefer a good drama or thriller

2. When I sit down to watch a movie - I'm usually doing at least 3-5 other things

3. Anyone who knows me now would never believe I was a very quiet and shy child - really :)

4. People who belittle others to make themselves look good - drive me nuts

5. People labeling every thing as a "condition" and using that as an excuse to do nothing - drives me nuts.

6. I can spell out loud, but have to start at the beginning of the word. Maybe twice :)

7. As a kid I wanted to be an author and a teacher - so teaching others to write and promote would be the final step in reaching those early goals :) Done one, need to do the other.

8. The fact that friends, family and neighbors assume I do nothing all day is irritating - but there is a reason we are warned not to assume things :)

9. There are very few things I can eat or drink that don't make me physically ill - makes meal time a nightmare - but there's always water and crackers :)

10. I'd love to help people realize that sons aren't more important or valued than daughters, but even in the 21st century there are too many people who feel this way, even in the US and even in my immediate area.

Here are 7 blogs (in no particular order) I believe deserve this award now. Remember, this award is given to those who have the gut to say it as it is, to tell the Honest Scrap:


Dyan Garris
http://blog.voiceoftheangels.com

Gurutej
http://www.theenergyguru.blogspot.com

Kathleen Gage
http://themarketingmindset.com

Donna Sundblad
http://pymprompts.blogspot.com

Terry L White
http://terrylwhitesblog.blogspot.com

Susan Wingate
www.susanwingate.blogspot.com

Joyce Anthony
http://joyceanthony.tripod.com/blog