Peeking around the web ...

In my continuing quest to get my promotional possibilities organized, I've been surfing the web, checking out various review sites and blogs. Review sites are just that -- places where authors can have their books reviewed. These include places like Coffee Time Romance, Armchair Interview, Dear Author, and others.

I never knew so many existed -- I mean, there's GOBS of them. Some devoted to romance, some to mystery, some to one particular author (Nora springs to mind), and some a mixture of genres.

And the blogs -- holy moly, who would have thought? There are blogs about blogs, too -- and blogs where you can get invited to blog, and blogs where just authors blogs, and blogs where reviewers blog. It's mindblogging (excuse the pun).

And then there's .... {ominous sound} ... My Space. I have delved into this just a bit, but it's sort of scary. It seems like most of the world is on My Space and are 'friending' each other. There's also gather.com and other like spots, where people put these 'personal pages' and other people sort of subscribe to them. To be honest, I think it's sort of tedious -- I mean, why do I really care about all these people? But it's also a good way to connect (with readers, with reviewers, with others), so it's something I need to explore.

But let's face it -- I've only got a finite amount of time for this. I currently blog (either here or elsewhere) almost every day of the week. I 'chat' about once a week, sometimes twice a week. I keep my web site updated. I also work a 40-hour week outside the home. And I'm editing and writing. And let's not forget conferences, travel, and relaxation.

I have penciled in My Space for May, possibly June. No, I'm not being facetious. I have a calendar that extends into 2009 on which I am penciling in things to do ('trip to Left Coast', 'possible book signing in KC', 'dude ranch vacation with the girls'). I also have penciled in when I can write new things and when to expect edits on books releasing -- that sort of primes me to get creative, as it were.

Note that I said it's all in pencil ... I know better than to try to truly plan ahead!