Books & Baptism

All quiet at home now; no potential buyers looking at the house. Maybe tomorrow! We’ve kept on top of the kind of jobs that people do when they are selling their house, but it can become a little tedious when you are going over the same patch in the garden that you weeded just a couple of days ago. I’ve been painting parts of the house that needed it and trying not to get carried away. One job I finished today, which has nothing to do with selling the house though, was the proof reading of HELL’S GATE. I’ve been using my large print edition as a comparison to the Word doc I have on file, which makes life easy because the book has already been professionally edited. My next step is to convert the document to a format that will be the basis for the Createspace file that will be prepared by Pete at Acclaimed Books. I will also be converting the document to a Kindle file, which will also be forwarded by Pete to Amazon. But all that will have to wait until my son has completed the book jacket. He has done three of mine now and I believe the results stand up against the professionals. Another job I’m on at the moment is promoting my two e-books that are going on a free promotion this weekend; A COVERT WAR & ROSELLI’S GOLD. I have forty sites where I can promote my free books, but most of them have to be on the day the books go free. I’m thinking of pushing Roselli’s Gold next month too; maybe get some reviews from genuine book reviewers. For some reason the book isn’t selling as well as my other two e-books. The problem with promoting books is the amount of time spent on the web at different websites while not knowing if you’re at the right place or just somewhere that absorbs free review copies like blotting paper absorbs ink. I seem to end up ‘researching’ the websites as though I’m about to write a novel about them. Perhaps I should! I know I could end up paying for advertising if I’m to get anywhere with my efforts, but it might pay dividends. We went to a baptism service at our local beach on Sunday afternoon. Our church has these about three times a year. They are usually well attended and often we find that the Spanish are curious and stand and watch. Sometimes they join in the singing. We have song sheets which we hand out, and the service lasts about thirty minutes or so. It’s very laid back. We sing a couple of hymns up at the back of the beach. There is a small hummock there beneath two palm trees. Our Pastor stands there with his guitar, reads a short scripture and off we go, singing. We jokingly refer to this as the Sermon on the Mount. Then down to the water’s edge and those who have chosen to give their lives to Christ are submerged by the pastor beneath the surface. He says he has never lost one yet; they always come back up! Next week I hope to see some results from my promotion and maybe hear something from Harlequin about the books of mine they have that they are assessing. Fingers crossed.