Showing posts with label Dime If I Know. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dime If I Know. Show all posts

Monday, August 25, 2014

Guppy lunch, pics, and contest win at Killer Nashville

Hey Everybody! I had a blast at #KillerNashville and have a ton of pics to share. First up, though, is my amazing contest win. My Aug 2013 release from Five Star Publishing, DIME IF I KNOW, which is book 3 in my Cleopatra Jones series, won a Silver Falchion Award for Best Novel: Cozy/Traditional. I am delighted, awestruck, and humbled by this placement. Thank you to everyone who loves this story as much as I do!

 Due to volunteering, critiquing, panels, and the contest win, I didn't get to too many other panels. I did catch the tail end of the New Author Panel and saw nearly all of the Using Forensic Psychology to Craft Believable Characters. I hope to get around to writing up my Forensic Psychology notes in a few days. Mostly what I have to offer are Guppy Lunch photos, so here you go! With many apologies to folks whose names I've missed!!!

Bill Hopkins sees from a different perspective

Sharon Hopkins, Cyndi Pauwels, and Carolyn Mulford

Bill Hopkins, Marjorie Brody, Debra Goldstein

Carolyn, Michael, Sharon, Cyndi

..., Kaye George, center, Carolyn Mulford right

Lisa Alber, ..., Michael Guillebeau, Lisa Wysocky, Amy Denton

Cyndi Pauwels, Ken Vanderpool, Bill Hopkins

Debra Goldstein and her buds, Kay Kendall and Marjorie Brody


And more photos of KN folks...
Maggie with Clay Stafford, organizer and founder of KN

Deni Dietz, acquiring editor at Five Star for my Dime If I Know

Kay Tyler with Sharon Hopkins

some of my registration buddies!

Kay Tyler, Maggie, and Sharon Hopkins

Maggie and Beth "Jaden" Terrell

Maggie with Stacy Allen

Stacy Allen gets the pic

Don Bruns joins the band for a number!

And lastly, my two panels.
Building Characters panel: Frankie Bailey, Maggie, David Burnsworth, Neil R Howard, and panel leader Michael Sears

Exploring the Human Condition. Mike Tabor, Maggie, Sallie Bissell, and Jamie Mason. I led this one.
That's about it, picture-wise for me. It was so fabulous seeing everyone at the conference. Killer Nashville is one of my favorites!

Please join me for the release of my romantic suspense, ROUGH WATERS, this Friday, from 6 to 9 p.m. on Facebook. The addy is: https://www.facebook.com/NewReleaseParty

The ebook is available for pre-order on Kindle and the print book is already available at Amazon and The Wild Rose Press. Buy links for Rough Waters: Kindle and Print Book

That's all. Hope to see everyone on Friday at the Virtual Launch Party. Lots of prizes offered!

Maggie Toussaint
www.maggietoussaint.com  

Friday, November 8, 2013

Holy Moly! New format for DIME IF I KNOW

Breaking news from the universe of Maggie: DIME IF I KNOW is now out in digital format. I'm so very pleased that my readers in the digital world will now have immediate access to the 3rd book in my Cleopatra Jones series.

I love how cool Rafe's car looks!


If you're new to the series, accountant and golfer Cleo saved her best friend from the slammer in IN FOR A PENNY, and in ON THE NICKEL, she sorted through Mama's evasions to prove she didn't run over the church lady. Now in DIME IF I KNOW, she has her work cut out for her. Boyfriend and golf pro Rafe Golden is accused of killing a former girlfriend. As Cleo digs into the case, she learns deep, dark secrets about Rafe and his family. The more she learns, the more she questions her trust in him.

Here's the blurb: Cleopatra Jones has visions of marriage dancing through her head, but her boyfriend, sexy golf pro Rafe Golden, is happy with the status quo. With three puppies, a Saint Bernard, two teenaged daughters, a free-spirited live-in mother, a kooky best friend, and an accounting firm to run, Cleo’s household is hopping. But still. After months of dating Rafe, her relationship should be headed somewhere.

Mama comes home engaged and the wedding is in three weeks. Cleo’s happy for her mom, and hopes Rafe takes the hint. Meanwhile, her best friend is running for mayor.

A former girlfriend of Rafe’s turns up dead in a seedy motel. His fancy red sports car was spotted there the night she died. Cleo questions him, but he swears he didn’t shoot her.

The police identify Rafe as their top suspect, but Cleo’s having none of that. She hires him a lawyer, gets crossways with his snooty family, and sets out to prove her boyfriend’s innocence.

The more she digs, the more questions arise. Rafe’s been keeping secrets from her, but are they deadly secrets? 

I'm so pleased to be able to post the buy link to the Kindle format of this book. Here ya go: http://www.amazon.com/Dime-Know-Cleopatra-Jones-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00G5K7VY2/

There's a "look inside" feature at Amazon to get you hooked, or you can read the entire first chapter at my website:   http://maggietoussaint.com/dime-if-i-know/http://maggietoussaint.com/dime-if-i-know/

*****

 In other news, I'm honored to announce that I've been listed on Washington Romance Writers Wall of Fame, along with a host of uber-talented writers. Thanks so much for the mention, WRW! http://wrwdc.com/wrw-wall-of-fame/ 

And, we're having a new contest at Booklovers Bench, which runs through Nov 18. I believe there are 7 different ways you can enter to win. Up for grabs: A $25 gift card to Amazon or Barnes & Noble, winner's choice, and 6 ebooks from mystery and romance authors. Just like the lottery - you gotta play to win! Here's the link to the site and the Rafflecopter form: http://bookloversbench.com/contest/

Hope your week is as fantastic as mine!

Maggie Toussaint
mystery and romance author
www.maggietoussaint.com

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Release Day! Book 3 of my mystery series is OUT!!!

Yes, it's true! This is a special day for me. DIME IF I KNOW, book 3 of my Cleopatra Jones mystery series, is now available. I hope you're as excited about the event as I am.


Response from reviewers has already been so heartwarming! I'm delighted to share a few snips I've received so far on this book:



Accountant Cleopatra Jones shifts into overdrive when her boyfriend is accused of murder. Toussaint makes her third entry into the sassy-working-girl-with-messed-up-love-life-solves-mysteries race . . .” - Kirkus


"Toussaint stacks the deck nicely against Cleo and Rafe, putting the reader into the position of wondering if they’ll survive their latest challenge and if Rafe really is Mr. Right. The plot has plenty of surprises to keep readers wondering what will happen next. " - Examiner.com 

"Maggie Toussaint scores a hole in one with this romantic mystery that combines suspense, love, and multiple puzzles.  Add in a few Saint Bernard puppies, and what could go wrong? A lot, as it turns out." - Tracy Weber, author of the Downward Dog Mysteries 

"Every book Maggie Toussaint writes is full of fun, mystery, great characters, and a wonderful storyline." - Mary Gramlich, The Reading Reviewer

Let me tease you with the back cover copy:


Cleopatra Jones has visions of marriage dancing through her head, but her boyfriend, sexy golf pro Rafe Golden, is happy with the status quo. With three puppies, a St. Bernard, two teenaged daughters, a free-spirited live-in mother, a kooky best friend, and an accounting firm to run, Cleo’s household is hopping. But still. After months of dating Rafe, her relationship should be headed somewhere.

Mama comes home engaged and the wedding is in three weeks. Cleo’s happy for her mom, and hopes Rafe takes the hint. Meanwhile, her best friend is running for mayor.

A former girlfriend of Rafe’s turns up dead in a seedy motel. His fancy red sports car was spotted there the night she died. Cleo questions him, but he swears he didn’t shoot her. 

The police identify Rafe as their top suspect, but Cleo’s having none of that. She hires him a lawyer, gets crossways with his snooty family, and sets out to prove her boyfriend’s innocence.

The more she digs, the more questions arise. Rafe’s been keeping secrets from her, but are they deadly secrets?

Dime If I Know is set amid the rolling hills of contemporary mid-Maryland. It features fast-paced family life and Southern humor. Cleo’s trials and tribulations with the game of golf are a counterpoint for her success in following the money and identifying the real killer.

Read an excerpt at my website or at Amazon. This book is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Amazon       Barnes and Noble      http://maggietoussaint.com/dime-if-i-know/
 
Wishing everyone a happy September and a lot of fun with Cleopatra Jones!

Maggie Toussaint

 

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Is your marketing effective?

How effective are marketing campaigns? This is a question I grapple with daily as I try to decide what groups, sites, social media platforms, etc. to use to get the word out about my romantic suspense and cozy mystery books I write.

When I mentioned to a friend that I was evaluating my chapbook marketing campaign I use for my hardcover mysteries, she asked if I'd share the results. I decided to also post the information here at Mudpies as well. I hope it helps you in some small way to get a handle on your marketing strategies.

This summer I have 2 books releasing, Hot Water, a romantic suspense coming out on all platforms this Friday, July 12, and Dime If I Know, book 3 of my Cleopatra Jones mystery series, which releases Sept 12, 2013. This brings my totals to 5 romantic suspense titles and 5 mystery titles.

Until recently, my books contracted to Five Star were only available in hardcover and large print and the primary target market has always been libraries, though I thank every reader who buys hardcover books. God Bless You All. Anyway, to market these books to libraries, I decided to create chapbooks and send them to libraries in hopes they'd buy a copy or two or three.

My current campaign for Dime If I Know is the 4th chapbook mailing I've done for a hardcover mystery release. The chapbook consists of about the first ten pages of the book, great/name reviews of this or other books I've written, and a bio page.



I built this mailing list over time, beginning with my first mystery, In For a Penny. I started with libraries in cities that hosted PGA or LPGA golf events, since the scene of the crime was a golf course. As time went on, I added to the list, expanding to one or two big city libraries in each state. Then I won a National Readers Choice award with House of Lies, so I thought “Aha, Oklahoma must be my target demographic” so I added a bunch of OK libraries, along with my home state, Ga, and my neighboring state, FL, which has a boatload of libraries and readers. I also checked in World Cat to see what libraries were buying other Five Star books, and added them to my list. Then I expanded again, including libraries in cities with a certain population size. I ended up with 348 libraries in my mailing list.

One would think that would be a straightforward comparison, but the list of the 353 libraries that report owning at least one copy of Death, Island Style (the last mystery I promoted with a chapbook) doesn’t quite match my send list. Here’s why. Many libraries band together to form library systems. I may have sent material to library A in library system 12, but the title is listed as being held in library B or as in the system. See what I mean? To top this off, not all libraries report their holdings to World Cat, and my publisher actively markets to libraries as well.  Also, some libraries that I don’t market to and that didn’t show up as title holders after the On The Nickel campaign picked up Death, Island Style – was that because I got good ratings from 3 of the 4 top book review sites?

Or was it because I stepped up my social media presence in the last year or two? I blogged weekly during that time, posted on Facebook and Twitter, and joined countless reader/writer sites. I also became more active in another national writer's group Sisters In Crime, a group of like-minded mystery/suspense writers.

I have these confounding issues in rating the effectiveness of my advertising: my cross-promotion efforts, my publisher’s marketing efforts, the power of big reviews, libraries who don’t report their holdings to World Cat, and library collectives.Oh, and one more thing, the list I'm using of the 353 books contains libraries that hold either the hardcover version or the large print version. Some libraries have both formats, others, only one format.

The nearest I can tell, there is about a 35-60% purchase rate from my chapbook mailings. The lower number comes from the straight match ups of libraries I mailed that own the book. The upper number comes from a best guess estimate. I don’t have time to look up all those library systems to find out if any of the 5 to 50 libraries in their collectives holds this title - and I believe that due to my targeted marketing strategy, there are a lot more match ups than are immediately apparent.

Now with results in hand what do I do with them? How do I measure if I got my money's worth?
I looked online and boy, there are a lot of rules of thumbs about ads. Many sites say that people have to see your marketing 3 times before it is effective. Others tout the magic number as 7 times.

Interestingly, Thomas Smith, a nineteenth century London businessman (1885) says it is the 20th time for someone to purchase your item. One blogger listed Smith's predictions of what happens at each of those 20 times, which I found fascinating. Here's the link if you'd like to see for yourself: http://www.abiederman.com/marketing/advertising-frequency-how-many-times-is-it-effective.html

If you'd like to share your thoughts on my results or your marketing analyses, I'd love to hear them.
And get ready for my blog tour of Hot Water which starts Friday, July 12, at Just One More Chapter blog and at USA Today's HEA blog. Lots of excitement headed your way!!!

Thanks for visiting! Maggie Toussaint

and if you haven't checked out my yoga blogpost of July 1 at Whole Life Yoga, here's the link for that guest post:  http://www.wholelifeyoga.com/blog/yoga-and-the-maggie/  

and I also did a spot of light cooking which showed up at Romance Cooks and Terry's Place: http://terryodell.com/terrysplace/?p=3114