Jolie Du Pre Blog Tour: Litria, a new novella in the M-Series

Please give a warm welcome to Jolie Du Pre who is stopping here at the A-Z on her blog tour promoting her exciting new series of paranormal books, starting with the novella Litria.  I don't want to give anything away, but wow, wait until you read her premise. This is a book I'm adding to my Kindle right away. Give her a warm Alphabet-loving welcome with lots of comments, and bloggy love.

Running A Successful Blog

Blogging is a great way to share your opinions, your life, information on almost any topic or virtually anything else you can think of using the World Wide Web. Chances are you want your blog to shine and to be set apart from the rest. Since there are so many blogs on the Internet, there are some things you need to do to make your blog unique and successful.

As a horror/paranormal author and reader, I created my blog PreciousMonsters to blog about all things monsters and to meet other horror/paranormal readers and authors. It's also been a great way to meet bloggers in general. So far I've been pleasantly surprised at the number of hits my new blog has received. However, I knew my blog would not be successful unless I followed some basic rules.

Choose Your Topic Wisely

If there are a million and one blogs about model airplanes, you probably do not want to start another one. Do some research and find out what is currently trending in the world of blogs. Choose something that is popular, but don't choose the most popular topic.

Blog Regularly

Once you have your topic chosen and are ready to blog, you need to be sure that you make regular posts. In order to keep an audience, you should have new content for them to enjoy. If someone comes to your blog and continues to see the same post, they will stop returning. On the other hand, if readers come back and find something new, they will continue returning to find out if you have made a new post. We're all busy, and it's easy to put our blog posts aside for awhile. I've done it many times, but let's try not too.

Respond to Readers' Comments

As readers begin to comment on your posts, respond to their questions, concerns or general comments. If they ask a question, be sure to give them an informative answer. By taking the time to interact with your readers, you are showing that you care about what they have to say. This will keep them coming back as they start to view you as a friend.

Promote, Promote, Promote

Readers will eventually find your blog, but it will take longer if you don't promote it. You don't have to get crazy with promotion. Choose a few of the most popular social networking sites and call it a day. I promote on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. In addition, one of the best ways to promote your blog is by joining a blog hop. The Blogging from A to Z Challenge was one of the best things I've participated in for my blog's success.

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LITRIA starts off THE M SERIES–an exciting new series of novellas by Jolie du Pré chronicling the Buscetto family, their deeds, and their victims. 

LITRIA is available NOW at!

Logical-Lust

Also at:

Amazon

Who’s lurking in Layneworth?

It’s the Buscettos—a charming family who live in a nice house?

Not quite.

The Buscettos look human, but they’re not human. They’re Zxxtergins, a type of little-known monster who has roamed the Earth since the fifth century. The youngest Buscetto, beautiful eighteen-year-old Litria, is in search of gorgeous females for sex, followed by food. Her nightly behavior wrecks havoc, causing her family to fear exposure and resulting in grave concern, extra work, and late nights for Layneworth detectives.

When nude and mutilated dead women appear, almost daily, across Layneworth, Detective Brenda Martin, and her partner Robert Moretti, are on the case. The mayor, before his untimely demise, preached to beware of werewolves, and few believed him. But as the killings increase, Brenda thinks she may have more than just a serial killer on her hands. Will Brenda discover the true monsters, and what happens if she does?

Thank you for visiting STOP 4 of the LITRIA BLOG TOUR. Leave a comment to be entered in a contest to win a $5 Starbucks gift card.

The next stop is August 8 at the blog of Annie Walls.

Join Something: Guest Post by A to Z Veteran Matt Conlon

 
     Today's guest is Matt Conlon who blogs at =]V[= and other blogs as well (a complete list can be found at his main site.  He is a veteran A to Z participant with two years with two participating blogs under his belt.  Join him as he talks about his latest project.

I started blogging only a few years back with the intention of leaving behind a sort of journal that I and my loved ones could look back upon in the years to come. I loved the idea that someday my kids, grand-kids, etc. could find out who I was by reading the thoughts I had bouncing around in my head. As I looked into blogging, I couldn't help but get excited about the idea that people I didn't know were going to read what I wrote, and comment.

I tossed up my first blog post and waited for the comments to pour in. They didn't. Perhaps it wasn't interesting enough. I started taking content from other places and re-posting it. Nope, that didn't work either.

I looked around for a blog directory on blogger (the platform on which I started) and came up with nothing. I was shocked that there wasn't a place I could look at a list of blogs about this or that. I started searching Google for "blog about humor" and stuff like that and found one or two here and there. Left a few comments. After a few months, I got a half dozen followers, and it was almost like work!

Eventually, I stumbled upon the A to Z challenge, purely by chance. I signed up, and within the first couple of weeks my followers had sprouted from somewhere around 32 to over 100! Not only were people reading my content, but they were commenting! I found a few dozen great blogs which I still follow today, and created great relationships with wonderful people I may never have found otherwise. 

The 2011 A to Z challenge came to a close, and while recovering from a month of blogging like I'd never blogged before, (cause I hadn't!) I realized how powerful a blog challenge can be. Further, I realized how fortunate I had been to have found that one blog that linked to it! ...But what if I hadn't?? It certainly wasn't all that easy to find, I only happened to hit the "Next Blog" button on blogger and found a link to it on someone's side-bar. 

Thus, JoinSomething.net was born. The idea behind JoinSomething.net was to create a community where bloggers like us could come and register a blog challenge, or a blog circle, or come look for challenges and circles to join. There is also a user forum where you can come and post a link to your latest blog post, or join in some of the goofy word games we're playing, or simply mingle with other bloggers. 

We are currently tweeting updates about challenges, forum posts, blog hops, etc. Tweet your latest blog post @Join_Something and we'll re-tweet you.

Our hope is to bring more readership to your blogs, more exposure to your blog challenges, and help lost bloggers find a place to share and find content. 

I hope to see you there!

http://JoinSomething.net

- Matt Conlon

http://mattconlon.com

How about you?  Are you ready to join something?  Check out the links to see what Matt's talking about.



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Alphabet Remix - Stop Staying Silent about Suicides

These blogging prompts are brought to you by Nicole at The Madlab Post....

It’s time for The Alphabet Remix - A Writing Prompt Idea Engine Treating A to Z Blogging Avoidance Disorders

After reading recent news reports about NFL player O.J. Murdock's suicide -- and talk of a grim trend of suicides among players, I couldn’t help but wonder if the story will quickly lose traction in media outlets since everybody appears to be focused on the Olympic Games. So today, S is for Suicide and we’re remixing it to find topics that you can blog about during the next Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

Surprising Suicide Statistics
Write about a suicide statistic that you either just learned about or think that many people are unaware of. This means covering something other than what the average person may already know such as the common statistic that women are less likely to commit suicide using firearms, compared to men who kill themselves. Instead, find a statistic that may surprise your readers -- like, more or less suicides occur in a particular state/town/city/country or job, etc. than in any other industry or location.

Suicide Stigmas
Since some men and women who are considering suicide hesitate to seek help due to stigmas associated with this act, try blogging about ways that people can change their perceptions regarding mental illness, depression and bipolar disorder.

Your Stance on Suicide “Selfishness”
It is not uncommon to hear people labeling suicides as a selfish act because of the pain caused to people left behind. So, write a blog post that summarizes or explains in detail, your position on the matter -- tell readers whether you agree or disagree with viewing suicides as “selfish.”

Suicide in Sports
Highlight little known sports related suicides that have taken place during a regular season or during the off-season. You could also write about suicides among female athletes, which is a topic that your blog readers may not be familiar with because the media does not seem to cover it as much as it does suicides among male athletes.

Now, on to something bright. The WINNER of last week’s Silver Screen Alphabet Soup game is...

Marta Szemik who writes at her Self-titled Blog

Marta correctly unscrambled all ten Silver Screen related terms that start with Letter S. Her prize packages includes: Title of Alphabet Wizard, the authority to pick the letter for the next Alphabet Soup game and the option to pick the Monday Movie Meme topic for an upcoming day on my blog. I’d also like to send a special thanks to Arlee Bird at Tossing It Out for unscrambling five of the ten correctly.

Congratulations Marta!

Here are the Answer’s to Last Week’s “Silver Screen” themed Alphabet Soup:

1. cdnSuatork is Soundtrack.
2. tamnntuS is Stuntman.
3. rpoSrpsetrvuiciS is Script Supervisor.
4. neSec is Scene.
5. lSaet is Slate.
6. uSgadtenso is Soundstage.
7. uqelSe is Sequel.
8. rSotodbyar is Storyboard.
9. tuebsSilt is Subtitles.
10. rrudonSduunoS is Surround Sound.

Happy Friday, everybody!

Sign up for the Monday Movie Meme, a weekly group blogging series that inspires discussion about entertainment in a whole new light and provides recommendations for your DVD, on-demand or theater fix. New topics are posted every Monday at The Madlab Post!
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NICOLE 
@MadlabPost on Twitter