Guest Author Douglas Corleone's

Whereby I am double booked... so if you are here for the Laughter is the Best Medicine blogfest, you can look at last night's post... humor that is perfectly MOI...

But for TODAY, I am hosting Douglas Corleone... Douglas was here last summer when his last book, One Man's Paradise, was released and shared a little about creating a series MC. I am happy to congratulate Douglas and welcome him back today, where he's sharing a little about luck and publicity and what they can do for our confidence as a writer, so welcome Douglas!


What a Little Publicity Can Do for Your Book…and Your Confidence

I had an interesting weekend – the most interesting weekend since my first book was published in April of last year. That’s because I had my first real taste of publicity…and witnessed the resulting spike in book sales.

Saturday morning I had the great fortune of appearing on ABC affiliate KITV in Hawaii. I was interviewed during a three-minute segment on the morning news. The live on-air interview took place at 7:15 a.m., and as I answered questions, I wondered how many readers were actually awake and watching television at that time on a Saturday morning. Turns out, quite a few. At least enough that throughout the day, several people stopped me to ask, “Hey, aren’t you that lawyer-author I saw on the news today?”

Saturday afternoon I gave a one-hour presentation at the Hawaii Book & Music Festival in Honolulu. And whether it was me or my time-slot (I was up right after Roseanne Barr’s presentation in the auditorium), the Author’s Pavilion was packed with people for my reading and Q & A. It was easily my largest audience ever, and the hour just flew by. The presentation was followed by a book signing at the Barnes & Noble tent, which went equally as well.

And this morning I woke to find an excellent review of NIGHT ON FIRE in Hawaii’s only major newspaper, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. In part, the review read, “Douglas Corleone's second look at the seedy side of life, lawyering and untimely death on Oahu in the 21st century…is a page-turner in the best sense of the word.” While NIGHT ON FIRE had received strong reviews in each of the major trades, this print review resulted in the single largest spike in Amazon sales I’ve seen in my first two years as a published author.

It’s difficult for most new authors to garner significant publicity. Most of us turn to quiet book-signings at chain stores, lengthy virtual book tours, and the occasional radio interview to promote our works. But once in a blue moon, we can get lucky…and that’s when we realize how well traditional publicity works.

This weekend boosted my confidence and gave me new hope for a long and successful career. The journey that began with my first book contract only now seems to be heading somewhere desirable, and I finally realize that, like any other journey, it requires patience, persistence, focus…and a hell of a lot of luck.



Thank you, Douglas! Both for visiting and the little shot of hope we all need!

Night on Fire is available at:
Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Night-Fire-Douglas-Corleone/dp/0312552270/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0
And ONE MAN'S PARADISE: http://www.amazon.com/One-Mans-Paradise-Douglas-Corleone/dp/0312611587/ref=pd_sim_b_1

And here's my website:  www.douglascorleone.com

Product Description

Kevin Corvelli---a hotshot New York defense attorney who packed up his bags and hung his shingle in Hawaii to dodge the spotlight---is deep in his mai tais at a resort when an argument erupts down at the other end of the bar. It’s a pair of newlyweds, married that very day on the beach. And since Corvelli doesn’t do divorces, he all but dismisses the argument.

That’s at least until the fire breaks out later that night, and he barely escapes his hotel room. Most weren’t so lucky, including the new husband. His wife, Erin, becomes not only the police’s prime suspect for arson and murder but also Corvelli’s newest client, and she has a lot working against her, like motive and opportunity, not to mention a history of starting fires.

The heat gets turned all the way up in Douglas Corleone’s scorching legal thriller Night on Fire, his second following the MB/MWA's First Crime Novel Competition winner, One Man’s Paradise.