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| Murder Must Advertise |
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Promoting a Successful Series A couple of months ago, it occurred to me that it had been fifteen years since my first Mary Russell book, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, was published. And then I noticed that my new book had a vaguely similar name: The Language of Bees. Hey: Beekeeper; Bees—maybe my publisher wanted to do something to play on that link? But of course, the publishing industry is not only going through a paroxysm of reformation, publishers in general rarely think in advance of their schedule, and a May book comes into consideration in January. Ask us then, okay? So I made a mental note to ask them then, and in the meantime, kept noticing other things. 2009 is a year heavily concerned with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, since the sesquicentennial of his birth is May 22. And hmm, that’s almost exactly fifteen weeks after February 1—there’s that fifteen number again. And the various really enthusiastic members of the Laurie King community have been champing at the bit to Do Something, and then there’s National Library Week in April, and… Thus was born Fifteen Weeks of Bees, and what began as a mildly interesting link between two titles has grown into an all-out exercise in viral promotion. From February 1 to May 22, every element of the Laurie King world will come into play. Online this will run the gamut from blogs (two of them, mine on my web site and Mary Russell’s Myspace blog) to YouTube to Facebook to Goodreads to Twittering: each will have their moment in the sun, with a post or a contest or a drawing. The Virtual Book Club, our online reader’s forum, will discuss a nonfiction bee book, while Amazon and CaféPress sales will raise money for Heifer International’s beehive project. The art world will enter in a special edition short-story with woodcut from Lavendier Press and with a fun project we’re calling a Russellscape. There’s even a slot for fanfiction. Non-virtual events will include an author tour for The Language of Bees and library talks with Les Klinger, author of The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes, about Arthur Conan Doyle. But the funny thing about all this? I myself am a technological ignoramus. Fortunately, many of my friends-and-relations are more gifted, and when I come to them with a woeful look and ask if they could help me with the Myspace/Facebook/etc, they seize the ball with glee and leave me far, far behind. If Fifteen Weeks of Bees raises any buzz (sorry) at all, it will be entirely due to the patience, enthusiasm, and creativity of Mary Russell’s fans. All I did was notice the link, come up with the name, and stand back. ****** Laurie R. King is the bestselling author of 18 novels, from the Edgar Award-winning A Grave Talent to 2009's The Language of Bees. She is a third generation native to Northern California, holds a BA degree in comparative religion and an MA in Old Testament Theology, and has spent much of her live traveling, raising children, and renovating old houses. She now lives a genteel life of crime, back again in northern California. More information can be found at www.LaurieRKing.com.
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| Site sponsored by
Jeffrey Marks. |
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