What Makes a Book Cover Stand Out?

At AnneLouiseBannon.com Mary ponders what makes a book cover pop, stand out, make you want to buy? Read Mary's survey of book covers.

Empire for Ravens Blog Tour

The twelfth John, Lord Chamberlain mystery will be published soon and we (well, Mary mostly) have been hitting the blogs to get the word out. Here are some of the appearances.

STOP PRESS or AN AUTHORIAL CRIMESPREE

We heard this very afternoon Crimespree Magazine has just published our Five Things About... interview, in which we chatted about how we came to be published by Poisoned Pen Press -- an unusual tale as we would be the first to admit -- our co-writing method, and the extensive research needed for An Empire For Ravens, given neither of us have set foot in Rome.

Five Things About -- An Empire for Ravens

AN OVERLOOKED RESOURCE

A question often asked of writers is where they find their plot ideas. There are numerous places to stumble over them, but an unusual and somewhat overlooked resource is described in our guest essay for the Writers Who Kill blog -- with several examples even!

Advertisement: Writer Seeks Ideas

Founded in 2010 by mystery authors, the Writers Who Kill blog features writers at various stages in their careers, providing a venue for them to discuss aspects of writing and books as well as offering opportunities for guest author interviews and essays.

WORLD RULER MARRIES WORKING GIRL or AN UNLIKELY STORY?

Sounds like a tired trope: world ruler marries working girl, and together they help the downtrodden, living happily ever after. But how many of those couples are later considered saints by the Eastern Orthodox Church? Suzanne Adair's Relevant History blog features guests showing just how non-boring history is, and never mind what you thought about it in high school! Our contribution deals with an unusual and important aspect of the unlikely story of Justinian and Theodora.

Empress Theodora: Saint, Sinner or Both?

JOHN GRILLED or HIS GREATEST FEAR, AMONG OTHER TOPICS

John was grilled like a kipper by Lois Winston for her Killer Crafts and Crafty Killer blog. Revelations therein include one of the strangest things his biographers had him experience, what he dislikes about himself, and his greatest fear.

An Interview with John, Lord Chamberlain