As a result of publishing my last book with BookLocker – a novel titled A Painful Post Mortem – I’ve been asked to be the Keynote Speaker at the Salvation Army’s National Conference later in the year. The topic is Generate, and is about encouraging women to think big, to use their talents, and to have confidence in themselves, with a view to bringing help and hope to people in need.

Without the input of BookLocker, I doubt that I would have set up my blog and understood the concept of online marketing. The lessons they taught me have been invaluable. Richard’s instruction on the importance of The Long Tail; Angela’s lessons on the role of social networking; and the ongoing support they give to all their authors through WritersWeekly far surpass that of any traditional publisher – or at least, any that I’ve published with.

As a result of all they taught me, I wrote an article for a magazine, likening myself to an 80-year-old granny (though I’m far from being 80, I hasten to add) who, in a bid to have an adventure, went sky-diving. My equivalent was to go cyber-diving. Through my blog, I now attract several thousand page views on my site every month. Writing the posts brings me a sense of fulfilment, in that I feel I’m helping others to achieve their dreams. It also means I’m selling my book, via my site, Amazon and elsewhere. A number of my posts, which I’ve recycled on EzineArticles, have been taken up by other website owners and republished. As a consequence, there’s the possibility that I may be on an online radio station in the near future.

I can’t wait to get my next book out. In the meantime, I’m looking forward to June and the Salvation Army Conference, with a major opportunity to speak and to promote my novel.

The author of eight published books (one a No. 4 Bestseller), Mel Menzies is aware that life is more comfortable for her husband when she is writing. She describes herself as like a pressure cooker when she is not! An experienced speaker, she has appeared on TV, and radio chat shows.