WELCOME AUTHOR M L HAMILTON

WELCOME AUTHOR M L HAMILTON
Thursday, November 23, 2017 by Patti

FEATURED BOOK: Pendant

AUTHOR: M L Hamilton

PUBLISHER: Blue Mist Books

GENRE: Mystery/Suspense

SERIES OR STAND ALONE: Stand alone

TARGET AGE: 40 and up

IT IS MY PLEASURE TO WELCOME AUTHOR M L HAMILTON TO THE OVER 50 WRITER.

M L SHARES THE REASON WHY FINDING YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE IS ESSENTIAL TO A SUCCESSFUL WRITING CAREER.

M L IS OFFERING A GIVEAWAY! SIMPLY LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW TO ENTER THE DRAWING FOR WINNER’S CHOICE OF A PRINT OR EBOOK COPY OF PENDANT.

WRITE ON TARGET

M L Hamilton

Writers are expected to know their audience—age, interests, even geography. I usually find that hard to pinpoint. After all, wouldn’t everyone enjoy reading my books? Well, no. And a recent experience gave me a firsthand lesson in audience targeting.

About seven years ago, I picked up a copy of a particular magazine while standing in the checkout line at the grocery store. I took it home and thoroughly enjoyed reading it, as did my twenty-something daughter. So when she moved out on her own, I gave her a subscription to the magazine. Nowadays, she carries the subscription and passes her copies on to me every so often.

A few weeks ago, she gave me three back issues. Funny thing, though. I didn’t enjoy them like I used to. I used to look forward to sitting down and leisurely paging through the articles on home organization, best make up products, essays, and recipes. But this last time, I found myself bypassing most everything in the magazine and going straight to the recipes at the back. Surprisingly, the articles just didn’t hold my interest any longer. Less than ten years after first discovering this amazing magazine, I’m no longer part of their target audience.

At least I can put that lesson to good use as I release my first mystery suspense novel that features a middle-aged heroine. Elaine is a former Chicago junior high school teacher--former because one of her students disappeared from a field trip and was never found. A decade later, she stumbles onto a vital clue, and her life will never be the same again.

Blurb for Pendant:

A field trip gone awry. A student gone missing.

Haunted by a teacher’s worst nightmare for more than a decade, Elaine finally stumbles onto a vital clue—and discovers someone will do anything to keep the truth buried. When her life is threatened, she allows the one person she trusts to whisk her away to safety in Texas. But assuming a false identity and hiding among the quirky residents of a retirement home is not what she expected. Now Elaine must solve the mystery from afar, as soon as she figures out if her friend is keeping her from danger…or keeping her from the truth.

Buy links:

Amazon

books2read

DON’T FORGET TO LEAVE A COMMENT TO BE PLACED IN THE DRAWING TO WIN A PRINT OR EBOOK COPY OF PENDANT BETWEEN NOW AND SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3RD AT MIDNIGHT MST.

Monsters under the bed never bothered M L Hamilton. It was the man hiding in her closet that kept her awake at night. She never did figure out who he was or how he managed to hide in her messy closet, but since then she’s imagined all sorts of other scary situations, which she hopes to turn into more mystery suspense novels. When not writing, she enjoys a little amateur photography.

You can connect with her here:

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Subscribe to Patti’s Blogs here

Comments

Bruce From Celebration, FL At 12/4/2017 6:36:15 PM

Final Re[y test to comment

Reply by: Patti Shene

Reviewing the test reply issue

Peg Phifer From Wisconsin At 12/3/2017 3:42:17 PM

Love this article, Mary. Thanks for your insight about our reading audience.. I'd love to win an eBook copy of The Pendant.

Reply by: Patti Shene

HI Peg. So glad you stopped by.

Bonnie Engstrom From Scottsdale, AZ At 12/3/2017 12:51:03 PM

So glad I got into the contest under the wire, so to speak. This sounds like a very enticing mystery. I would love to win this as an E-book. Bonnie

Reply by: Patti Shene

HI Bonnie. Glad you made it in time! Thank you for dropping by.

Gail Kittleson From Iowa At 12/3/2017 11:52:45 AM

Interesting chat about audience, Mary. And your plot sounds SCARY....but enticing. Congrats on its publication. Nothing like a REAL book, imho!

Reply by: Patti Shene

Hi Gail. Yes, Mary helps us realize that not everyone will love everything we write. LOL! Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment for Mary.

Mary Hamilton From Texas At 11/25/2017 6:06:58 PM

Arletta, Our childhood imaginations were so weird, weren't they? And Patti, I laughed about your ceiling falling on you. Like I said, those childish imaginations...

Reply by: Patti Shene

I still think that. NO! NO! Just kidding! LOL!

Mary Hamilton From Texas At 11/25/2017 6:04:45 PM

Thanks, Faith! Glad you stopped by.

Faith Creech From FairPlay Colorado At 11/25/2017 2:25:56 PM

Your book looks so good! I would love to read it! Thank you for the chance at your giveaway!

Reply by: Patti Shene

Hi Faith. Thank you for stopping by and entering the giveaway.

Arletta From ND At 11/25/2017 10:14:18 AM

I think men in closets would be more frightening than monsters under the bed! I usually had bears under my bed. Not sure why they would hide only under my bed and not any of my sibling's beds. If given a choice, I'll always take print books over ebooks. There's just something special about a boo

Reply by: Patti Shene

Hi Arletta. I don't know that my fear was ever of monsters or even human intruders back when I was a kid. I did have this weird thing about the ceiling, though. I remember sleeping on my back with my knees bent, because if I didn't, my ceiling would fall on top of me! Thanks for stopping by and joining the conversation.

Mary Hamilton From Texas At 11/25/2017 7:23:56 AM

Claire, I still struggle with identifying the audience, too. But it helps to think of people I know that I think would enjoy a particular story. For example, I wrote Pendant with the ladies of my book club in mind.

Claire Gem From Massachusetts, USA At 11/24/2017 7:30:31 AM

This was an enlightening example of how a target audience can change. But do you have any tips on how to identify your ideal audience? It's my biggest marketing challenge.

Reply by: Patti Shene

Hi Claire. I believe the challenge you identified regarding audience is one that faces many authors. Maybe we can generate some discussion on the subject here! Thank you for stopping by.