Blog tour of the week

Many are the authors who’ve gone on a “book tour” to promote their latest work, trudging from Rutland to Renfrewshire, for five minutes plugging their book on dozens of local radio shows. Didsbury short story writer Elizabeth Baines is now touring the world to plug her excellent short story collection “Balancing on the Edge of the World” – yet she’s doing it without leaving her desk. As a long term literary blogger, she’s no stranger to the virtual world – but this latest venture – called a “cyclone” tour, by her publisher, is unusual to say the least. First stop is Ireland, where Barbara’s Bleeuugh! is the host, and in a playful mode, that anyone who read her Manchester blog story in 2007 will recall, partakes in a virtual meal as well.
She’s stopping at ten blogs during her “cyclone tour”, one a week, and each blogger asks 3 different questions. “Most of the bloggers had already got my book or knew about me” she says, but stresses that for both her and the bloggers it allows them to develop a bigger potential audience, and unlike a radio interview, it remains after you’ve gone – so keeps on promoting the book long after the visit is over.
With a new book coming out later in 2009, it’s an innovative and interesting start to her year, and, for the growing number of readers who’ve enjoyed her stories – myself included – the chance to find out more about individual stories and what makes the author tick, make this not just a worthwhile blog of the week, but a blog tour of the week.
We will be hunting around for blogs or websites to feature here and add to the blogroll as well as in Saturday’s print edition of the MEN so, if you’ve got one to nominate, submit a link to the below. The only criteria is that they have some connection with Manchester.