Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Please Welcome Roland Yeoman!!!

What am I saying? Most of you already know Roland... but he has a novel and a story in an anthology coming up, so  I thought I'd help him spread the word...

LAGNIAPPE, GOSSIP, AND CROSS-DRESSING IN OUR NOVELS


Roland Yeomans here – reader, writer, dreamer.
Have you noticed in our recent Indie novels, everyone is selling, but few are buying?
How do we overcome that recent inertia in customer response?
The old catch phrase is to think outside the “Box.”
I think something both newer and older is called for:
We must expand the dimensions of that “box” by looking at “novel” ways of writing and marketing our books.

We must push out the boundaries of what a new novel can be, what it can offer the buyer.


Lagniappe is a tradition down here in Southwest Louisiana:

Lagniappe is something given to a customer as a bonus or extra gift to say “Thank You for Doing Business with Me.”
I decided to do just that in my new novel:


At the end of my novel, I put a 6,000 word story focusing on three of the not-so-innocents 64 years in the future.
The reader gets another whole new adventure with characters he has grown to know. It adds depth to the short story and to the novel he has just finished.
And he gets it as a surprise and for FREE.
I have primed the pump for Word of Mouth from her/him and garnered a stronger possibility, the reader will buy the next book in the NOT-SO-INNOCENTS saga.

How cool is that, right?


Let’s Gossip!

Gossip. It’s as old as the Serpent asking Eve, “Has God really said if you eat this fruit, you will surely die?”
Let’s talk the gossip found in Book Clubs.
There’s a way of interacting through books that you don’t get through any ordinary transaction in life.
Reading is a solitary act, an experience of interiority.
To read a book is to burst the confines of one’s consciousness and enter another world.
What happens when you read a book in the company of others?
You enter its world together but see it in your own way.
And it’s through sharing those differences of perception that the book group acquires its emotional power.
It’s like sitting around gossiping about people, only you’re gossiping about characters in fiction, which is more meaningful.
SO … I included after my Lagniappe short story, a Reader’s Discussion Guide with questions and links to internet sites for them to read the facts for themselves.
I wanted to make my new novel Book Club Friendly, to make it easier for them to get together to talk about the subjects and personalities found in my pages.
More priming the pump for Word of Mouth.
More Pushing Back the Boundaries of that Box.



NOW ABOUT THAT CROSS DRESSING {Hart jumps up and down}

Ah, that WAS misleading but it grabbed your attention more than Cross Pollination would have, didn’t it?
How is my new novel engaged with cross-pollination?



I am honored enough to have a story in this anthology.
While young Loy (her real name is Myrna) is the true heroine of WEDNESDAY’S CHILD, the mysterious Greek physician who gave her that nickname is the narrator.

His name is Lucanus.
And Lucanus is the physician for the 1st Air/Steamship, the Xanadu, in THE NOT-SO-INNOCENTS ABROAD.
He appears in the second act of the novel, but like Yoda, he is a crucial element to the story being played out.
And at the end in Tangiers, he plays Doc Holliday to Sam McCord’s Wyatt Earp.

Cross-Pollination –

If readers like Lucanus in THE THING THAT TURNED ME, they will pick up THE NOT-SO-INNOCENTS ABROAD.
And if they like him in my new novel, they will want to pick up the anthology.
More Word of Mouth.
More Pushing Back the Boundaries of that darn Box.

And talking about that scene in Tangiers, here is the tune that played in my head as I wrote it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZTkg8GGEOo

This March board the Xanadu, the 1st Air/Steamboat, on a honeymoon cruise for alien Empress, Meilori Shinseen, and her human consort, Samuel McCord, to Paris and the Unholy Lands where death, betrayal, deceit, and murder reign supreme … and that is just in the newlywed’s bedroom!

     The passengers?  An insane Abraham Lincoln, a crippled General Sherman, a vampiric Benjamin Franklin, a clueless Mark Twain, 11 year old Nikola Tesla, and his faithful black cat, Macak.

     Cost of Passage?  Only $9.99! 


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Roland Yeomans was born in Detroit, Michigan. But his last memories of that city are hub-caps and kneecaps since, at the age of seven, he followed the free food when his parents moved to Lafayette, Louisiana. The hitch-hiking after their speeding car from state to state was a real adventure. Once in Louisiana, Roland learned strange new ways of pronouncing David and Richard when they were last names. And it was not a pleasant sight when he pronounced Comeaux for the first time.

He has a Bachelor’s degree in English Education and a Master’s degree in Psychology. He has been a teacher, counselor, book store owner, and even a pirate since he once worked at a tax preparation firm.


So far he has written thirty-three books. You can find Roland at his web page: www.rolandyeomans.blogspot.com or at his private table in Meilori’s. The web page is safer to visit. But if you insist on visiting Meilori’s, bring a friend who runs slower than you.

14 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Adding an extra story is a good idea. There's one for my latest book, although it's not actually included, just free to those who ask.
May that anthology lead all of us to more sales!

S.A. Larsenッ said...

I love the idea of that short story at the end! What a way to keep your readers engaged, Roland. Best of the luck with the anthology, too!

Mason Canyon said...

I like the added bonus of special extra at the end of a story. It gives you something to look forward to. Congrats on the upcoming release, Roland.

Hi, Hart! :-)

Elise Fallson said...

Great idea and a real treat for readers to get a little extra. Can't wait to read your entry and the rest of the anthology! :)

Heather M. Gardner said...

That is some excellent outside the box marketing!

Great job!

Heather

Roland D. Yeomans said...

Alex:
Yes, I hope the anthologies we are both in leads to more sales for us! I wanted the lagniappe to be as easy to access as possible. Right inside the book was as easy as I could make it! :-)

Sheri:
Thanks for the good thoughts for the anthology and my new book. I have an Amazon FREE Giveaway going on. TWO FREE COPIES still remain to be won. Why not enter? Mark Twain's antics alone are worth the passage aboard the high-flying Xanadu:
https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/1b4510a1b3decb51

Mason:
Thanks. And you might want to enter the Amazon FREE Giveaway, too. 11 year old Nikola Tesla is accompanied by his mischievous black cat, Macak, who follows him around like an obedient dog (Nikola as a child really did have such a cat.) :-)

Elise:
Today we must stretch the boundaries of the box if we hope to succeed in our writing dreams. I want to read your contribution to the anthology, too.

Heather:
If we do the same old things, we will become stale to our readers ... and even to ourselves! Thanks for the kind words. :-)

L. Diane Wolfe said...

If it's a series, another trick is to include the first chapter of the next book at the end. Both whet the reader's desire to read more.

Roland D. Yeomans said...

I love that idea, too. I always liked it when I came across it a book I've enjoyed. But sometimes the tease factor alienates. I thought a complete story surprised and satisfied the reader, giving her or him reason to want the next book. :-)

Yolanda Renée said...

I love the idea too! Your right readers do appreciate finding something satisfying at the end of a book. Most of us don't want to story to end and to find such a treat will make a difference!

Denise Covey said...

33 books! Roland, that is amazing! A group of concerned people need to get together to form an Amazon Promo group. I like your idea of a book discussion at the end of your book. And congrats on being in the anthology. Can't wait to read it. :-)

Hi Hart!

Roland D. Yeomans said...

Yolanda:
I certainly hope so. Cross your fingers for me. Thanks for visiting Samantha's blog with me on it!

Denise:
When you don't have a social life, writing novels is a little easier! :-) Thanks for wanting to read my anthology story!

Roland D. Yeomans said...

Hart:
Happy St. Patrick's Day! And thank you for being such a gracious, lovely hostess. I was out fighting flooded roads last night on my blood runs so I've been off the grid for awhile. And it is STILL raining!!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Roland ... Hart has done you proud. The idea of questionnaires, recipes, or even as you've done an extra snippet to entice readers to want more and definitely more ... Lagniappe is such a wonderful word ..

Cheers Hilary

Roland D. Yeomans said...

Thanks, Hilary, for the nice words. We have a local newspaper in this city called Lagniappe. :-)