SCIENCE IN YOUR FICTION

Bug and I will be at the Farmington Public Library in Farmington, New Mexico on Thursday, October 17 at 6 pm.

As  professor emerita of the University  of Wisconsin, I'll talk on SCIENCE IN YOUR FICTION. You might be surprised all the ways that modern molecular biology and nanotechnology have crept into modern fiction.

Afterwards I'll sign copies of COMING FLU and MURDER: A NEW WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT.

Bug will supervise the event. He's used to being a pet therapy dog at UNM Hospital and the VA Hospital in Albuquerque. So he's used to crowds, especially of children.
As this picture suggests, he has a mind of his own. He's also the basis of the character Bug in my medical mysteries.

COME JOIN US.

Is blogging a good way of promoting books?

DON’T MISS THE SALE.

Kindle versions of COMING FLU & MURDER: A NEW WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT are only $2.99 at Amazon until Sept 30.

I know advertisements don’t make good blogs. But lets be honest most (I bet more than fifty percent of bloggers) wouldn’t write blogs if they weren’t trying to promote their books, art, or pet projects.

Publicizing pet projects is a driving force in our economy and political system. If you doubt me, think about what you read, listen to and watch on public media. Talk shows, much of most newscasts, whole sections of newspapers and magazines are just ways to publicize ideas and products. I could say some of the best dramas on TV (notably Law and Order) are attempts to comment on social issues. Some actors and actresses always seem to pick movies espousing causes they believe in.

On one sense, all of education is an attempt to promote a pet project – helping children and adults reach their full potential.

So I feel guilty, but I did it anyway and advertised the SALE on my medical mysteries.

Murder: A New Way to Lose Weight (http://www.amazon.com/Murder-New-Lose-Weight-ebook/dp/B00DFCC3IM/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1372715439&sr=1-1&keywords=Murder%3A+A+New+Way+to+Lose+Weight)

Coming Flu (http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Flu-ebook/dp/B008WDL84O/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1372715303&sr=1-1&keywords=Coming+Flu ) 

How do you promote books that are on sale at Amazon?

Do you post an ad on #All Mystery Newsletter, which advertises “dirt cheap reads?”

Do you post the sale on your blog? 

Do you post announcements on Manic Readers and on your Facebook page? 

Or do you send personalized messages to “friends” on Linked In?

I’ve tried all of these. What do you advise? I bet others, besides Bug and I, would like your advice too.

Last week I asked the question (#What’s the best price for a book on Kindle?) to the LINKED IN group called Crime Fiction. Over thirty people responded. The best (the most data based) answer came from Smashwords (Http://blog.smashwords.com/2013/05/new-smashwords-survey). Kindle books by independent authors sell best when priced at $2.99 or $3.99.

So I put the Kindle versions of COMING FLU and MURDER: A NEW WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT on sale for $2.99 at Amazon in September.

In Murder: A New Way to Lose Weight, physician Linda Almquist can’t decide who is more dangerous: ambitious and perhaps reckless, young "diet doctors" or established physicians who don’t like anyone snooping in their past.

In Coming Flu, epidemiologist Sara Almquist (Linda’s sister) is trying to stop two killers: the Philippine flu, which is rapidly wiping out everyone in a walled community in New Mexico, and a drug kingpin determined to break out of the quarantined enclave.

If you’re looking for fun reads, consider these medical mysteries. Next week I’ll recap what I learned.