I’m delighted to have a new interview up at Authors18 — a group of this year’s debut authors, of which I’m a proud member. Among the questions asked: “If you could spend a day with anyone in history, who would it be?” See my answer in today’s interview (hint: I’d travel to Renaissance Italy). Here’s a link to the interview. 
Joining this great group of 2018 debut novelists is the best thing that has happened to me and my book since I signed a contract with Fiery Seas Publishing. If you’re writing a book, or have already published one and are trying to bring attention to it, buddy up with some other authors in the same position. Not only is it immense fun, it’s a way to discover great ideas and marshal the reach of many audiences to bring attention to your novel. Of all the how-to-market ideas I’ve read this is the best advice I’ve heard — and I’ve read many books on book launch, marketing, book publicity, and building book buzz. A publishing group can help you launch your book, continue to promote it, and lend necessary support to the hard work of being an author. I couldn’t do this alone! And all my fellow Authors18 people seem to feel the same way.
My novel, The Renaissance Club, is about a group of travelers in northern Italy. My group of academics is touring important sites of the Italian Renaissance. I took such a tour, and I wouldn’t have explored that fabulous place any other way. Being part of a group is to widen your horizons in a special way. For a writer, being in a group of any kind brings riches of different perspective, observation, insight — not to mention with a tour group, sharing photos!
A book can be the same thing, an experience that joins you to a wider group than yourself. As one of the Amazon reviews for my book stated, “Have you ever put on a pair of glasses and instantly see things you’ve never seen before? The Renaissance Club is like a pair of glasses that bring a new way of seeing, a new perception.”
If you’re touring this summer, you might want to take along this story about a group of tourists, several of whom slip through time’s folds and explore rich and enchanting Italy, but also its history in a very personal way. Time travel is history travel! More about this in my new interview.