Same with money. My family just came off of being unemployed for a year and we are currently recovering from that. And as a small indie publisher, I have very limited resources from my publisher. Not that I’m complaining, I absolutely love Marcher Lord Press and there are some benefits you get with going with an indie publisher vs a traditional publisher (that will be a topic for another time ). Lastly, I see marketing as a small, step by step, reader by reader process. If I gain even one more reader through my endeavors, then I see that as a win.

So here is what I have done that has required little time and money:
-I started a blog 2 years ago (and here it is ). I love blogging and so it’s not a hard thing for me to do. I blog about anything and everything on my heart and am not afraid to bring up sticky issues like what does a person do when they have lost their faith or how to deal with bitterness. Through my blog I have found a small readership who isn’t just writers. They appreciate my candid approach to faith and that readership has transferred over to my book.

-Build a relationship with the people you interact with on Facebook, don’t just talk about your writing life. Most of the people in your life do not understand the writer’s life nor do they really care. But when you are a real person with kids who do funny things or issues you are passionate about, you build ties with readers.

-Send arcs 3-4 months in advance to some big review places like Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, even Locus magazine. I sent to about 10-12 places and only heard from 2. But that was 2 more than I had the day before .

-I chose not to do endorsements. At the time I was getting ready for my book release, I was also getting a house ready for the market and moving across states. Since endorsements have never influenced my choice in books, it wasn’t high on my priority list. And I didn’t really know anyone personally to ask, except one friend. She had just signed a contract for 2 books (hurrah!) and was honest and said she didn’t have the time, which was fine by me.

-Reviewers: I’m still learning this aspect of marketing. I do a lot of research into a reviewer before I ask them to review. I see what their site is like, do they like my kind of book, do they post their reviews in other places besides their blog? I know traditional publishers can send out a lot, but since every review book I send out comes out of my own pocket, I am selective on who I give one to.

-How to find reviewers: I just spent yesterday looking up quite a few of them. I looked over amazon’s top 150 reviewers, saw who reviewed my kind of book and sent them a nice, polite email with a request for a review. I also see who is reviewing my peers’ books and see if they would review mine. I have already received responses, all positive, and half of them said they would review.

-Always be respectful and polite. For one thing, you are an example of Christ to whoever you interact with (for the Christian writer). Secondly, it might win you a review. I had someone respond yesterday that they were so impressed that I actually took the time to look at their blog and read their posts that even though she was bogged down, she was going to make a spot and do a review for me.

-Be a part of Goodreads. I had never heard of this site before, but it is a great place to interact with your readers. Also check out Shelfari.

-Do a book giveaway with Goodreads. I am finding that a giveaway gives your book great exposure and it’s free advertisement! And it’s going on right now, so if you’re interested, here is the link: Goodreads book giveaway

-Book trailers. Not everyone likes them, but some people do. And it might bring them one step closer to purchasing your book. If you have a mac, it comes with iMovie. That is how I made mine: Daughter of Light Book Trailer

-I have not done a blog tour, but thinking about it.

-Remember, you can’t do everything or you’ll go crazy (not to mention not have time to write!). Do what you are good at. I don’t twitter or do pininterest because I don’t know how or have the time to keep either updated. I’m good at FB and so that is what I do for now.

- And lastly, remember God might have different plans for your book than you do. Keep your priorities straight: God, spouse, family, then writing. Sure, there are seasons when writing needs to take a front seat (like that dash to the release date), but it shouldn’t stay there. Be who you are suppose to be, have eyes open and ready for opportunities, and give your writing and marketing to God.

When you think you did it all yourself, you take the glory away from God. But when you give your marketing to God’s control, He might surprise you and in the end, all you can say is “God did it, not me!”

1)   I was in a beauty pageant. Yep. Me Now before you get any ideas that I’m that kind of person, I entered because there was a scholarship attached. I had no desire to go prancing around in high heels and talk about world peace. But since I had to earn my way to college, I would do almost anything to get a scholarship.

So this is how it happened: two teachers cornered me. They said I should enter the Lilac princess competition. I said no way. But after consideration, I figured there was no way I would make it to the final round. I wasn’t one of the popular girls at school. So most likely I would be voted out during the all school voting. To my surprise, I was voted into the finals.

I had to learn how to wear high heels, cross my ankles, walk a certain way, and give speeches. In the end, I did not win. But it was quite an experience!

2)   And speaking of shoes, this leads into my next disclosure: I wore tennis shoes under my wedding dress. No, it wasn’t so I could make a quick getaway if I needed one. It was because I really don’t like fancy shoes.

So instead of enduring pain by wearing shoes no one would ever see under my wedding dress, I bought a pair of all white tennis shoes, glued silver glitter all over them and replaced the strings with lace. Much more comfortable than high heels . My daughters found my shoes a year ago and asked about them. I told them they were my wedding shoes. They were impressed.

3)   I worked as a janitor to pay my way through college. I guess that’s why I’m good at cleaning bathrooms .

4)   I have been to Europe… twice. I love the European culture and people. I love visiting places that date back to the roman times (something you can’t find here on this side of the ocean). Oh yes, and I climbed the Eiffel Tower just so I could say I did.

5)   I have moved every 1-2 years my entire life. Except in high school. That was the only time I stayed in one place for longer period of time (sometimes I wonder if I’m in the military).

6)   I come from a big family. My grandfather was one of 15, my dad was one of 8, my grandma was one of 10. And I have almost 30 first cousins the last time I counted .

7)   I used to be a raider. Not in the ark sense, but in the gaming sense. I was the main tank healer for a 10 man raid group. Good times, fun people. But now my free time is taken up by writing and marketing.

So now you know a little bit more about me. How about you? What is an interesting fact about you?

To start off this week, I want to ask those of you who have read my book: Who is your favorite character? And if you want, tell me why. I’m curious to see which of my characters you resonated with .

1)   People are people. My mother taught me that no matter a person’s skin color, intelligence, abilities, or any other characteristic did not make them any less human. We are all people, whether young or old, disabled or perfect health, skinny or obese. And we are all loved by God.

This is something I am passing on to my own children. I share with them that inside, all of us are the same. We have feelings, we have a heart and lungs and kidneys, and we have dreams and fears. And that Jesus died for all of us. If you were to ask my children if a group of people are less than another, they will tell you people are people are people (that’s our phrase).

My Mom is #1

2)   There is always room for hospitality. I remember my mom telling me that if people show up unexpected, throw some more water into the soup. And if there is floor space, then they have a place to stay the night.

We did not have much growing up. But mom always fed anyone who walked into our house. And we always offered what we could, including the couch or living room floor. In an apartment or trailer with only one bathroom and 3 bedrooms for 6 people to share, that wasn’t a lot of space. But we gave what we could, and guests were always fed and given a place to stay in my family’s home.

I practice that same rule of hospitality with my own family. Anyone who has ever been to my house knows that I will feed you till you pop . And whether we are living in a large house or a tiny house, you will always have a place to stay with us (and we mean it!).

3)   Respect the Elderly. My earliest memories were visiting my mom’s great aunt in the nursing home. I will admit, old people scared me and those trips were frightening. But mom would talk about how no one else would visit her and how much older people love seeing kids.

I was also taught to give up my seat if an older person came into the room and there were no more chairs available. She would remind me that my back was still young and I could sit on the floor. To this day, I will still sit on the floor and offer my chair to an older person.

No matter how grouchy an older person is, I was reminded to show honor and respect. Not always easy, but something I’m thankful I was taught to do. And I am now training my children to do the same thing.

I love my mom and am so thankful for the things she taught me. I have not always followed her instruction, but God has shown me the wisdom of my mom’s words. And now that I am a mom, I want to pass down that same wisdom.

How about you? What did your mother teach you?

I think this achievement need started when I was a child. I was never pressured to get good grades. It was something I craved, something I thought I needed. When I got an A, I didn’t crow. But I did feel deep satisfaction and searched for the next thing I could be best in.

I won awards for my athletics, for my grades, and for my art. I scored high in both my SAT’s and ACT’s. But it wasn’t enough. Once I had one achievement under my belt, I looked for another.

My achievement addiction moved into other areas of my life as I grew into adulthood. I knew theology and could debate with the best of them. I worked hard to have the perfect body to the point of hurting myself. I read everything I could so I could have the best pregnancy and birth. Same with being a mother.

Almost everything I put my hand to, I exceeded at. And if I didn’t, I dropped it and moved on. I would not waste my time on anything that I wasn’t the best at.

Funny enough, I never really wanted the limelight. That didn’t matter to me and in some ways scared a shy person like me. So why did I want to be the best? I couldn’t explain to you. There was this gnawing craving inside of me. I desired it and it made me feel good when I had it.

The dark times God brought me through over the last few years blasted through the fortress of Achievement I had in my heart. I have been humbled. I learned that all I have, I have been given by God. So when I published, I never dreamed that I would find that gnawing hunger inside my heart again. But it’s here, and it took me by surprise.

I have had people asking me how many books I have sold or how much money I have made. I have no idea. I’ve never asked. And I was delighted that I didn’t really care. But what I found myself craving was acknowledgement. I wanted to be the best… again.

I had coffee with a friend yesterday and I told her about this darkness inside of me. I was humiliated by it and didn’t understand it. Why? Why do I struggle with this? She pointed out something that I had never realized. It’s like a high for me. As soon as I achieve one thing, I look for my next high. I’m an achievement junkie.

I sat back in shock and knew she was right. I never understood why as a child I wanted good grades. Like I said, I was never pressured. But I wanted it anyway. And now that I know my addiction, I’m giving it to God. In the end, achievements do not fulfill, they just make me crave more of them. But God, well, He satisfies in a way that no achievement ever will.

Besides, I can’t claim anything. Good grades? God gave me my brain. Athletics? God made my body. A great book? I can’t tell you how many times I bowed my head and asked God to help me with a scene. And He did. So I can’t take the credit.

There is a saying I once heard on the television series Combat Hospital that stuck with me and made me think long after the episode ended.

“Are you doing your best, or trying to be the best?”

 And that’s a question I have for you .

Now, before I lose you, let me explain. It began with the idea of submission. The moment the “S” word is used, especially in the context of marriage, various emotions and words come to the mind to many people. Doormat, subhuman, inequality. Even I struggled with the concept of submission. Anyone who knows me knows that I am passionate about all people being equal in Christ. But the Bible also clearly states that I am to submit to my husband. How does that work?

This is how: every ship needs a captain. Dan is the “Picard” of our ship (family). But the captain does not do everything himself. He needs a first officer. So I am the “Riker” of the ship (and the one with hair too ).

Captain Picard makes the decisions for the Enterprise. He is also accountable to Starfleet. In the same way, Dan is the “captain” of our family and accountable to God for how he runs our family.

Riker is there to support Captain Picard. But that doesn’t mean he follows Picard blindly. There are a couple times he meets with Picard privately to state his objections to what Picard is doing. They meet in the ready room and Riker speaks freely.

Picard, like a good captain, listens to his first officer. He values the input of his first officer. There are times that Riker is right and it was a good thing Riker spoke up. In the same way, Dan listens to me. I appreciate that Dan values my input and considers my words. It makes me feel loved and respected as his wife.

Notice Riker speaks his objections in the ready room, not out on the deck where every ensign and officer can hear. He shows respect for Picard and does it in privacy. Same with the wife. Display respect for your husband and bring up concerns and grievances in private, not in front of others.

However, when Riker and Picard leave the ready room, they leave as a team and on the same page. Riker may not agree with Picard, but in the end, Picard is his captain and responsible for the Enterprise and will have to answer to Starfleet for anything that goes wrong. Riker has done his job, he has spoken to Picard, but now he needs to submit to his captain.

Both men are respected on the Enterprise and in the Federation. Both men are equally intelligent and popular. But because of the need for order and there can only be one captain, Picard fills that role. Riker is not any less of a human for being first officer. It is the role he fills and he does a great job of it.

In marriage, a man and a woman are both humans loved by God. Both are given God’s grace. But they play two different roles in the family. Each role is important and each role helps the ship sail smoothly.

Me and my "tribbles"

When I reflected on my role and realized I am similar to Riker as first officer, I found my misgivings and fear of “not being as important” fade away. I am important. But I do not need to be the captain. Dan’s the captain and I can help him by being the best first officer there is.

And, in the immortal words of Startrek, together Dan and I boldly go where no man (or woman) has gone before: our own personal marriage. *Cue music

I Am Ocilla

She is rescued by two tree men and starts her journey across the five kingdoms. She meets fairies, giants, elves and more. As she travels and finds companions, her memories slowly come back. She is more than she seems. And slowly Ocilla begins to realize that she alone has the power to save the five kingdoms, but it will require that she remembers who she is…in time.

I loved I Am Ocilla. In fact, I read in two days. It was one of those books I could not put down. Diane M. Graham does an excellent job using first person point of view to help the reader experience Ocilla’s fears and struggles with her memory loss. I enjoyed the journey as Ocilla slowly discovered who she was and met people from her past.

The characters are great too. Men who turn into trees, an invisible panda, and dragon people. They may sound weird, but I thought Diane’s creativity to build her own races or place her own twist on a common race rather than borrowing from the usual fantasy fare (elves, dwarves, etc…) made this fantasy story unique.

I definitely recommend I Am Ocilla. And I just discovered this weekend that I Am Ocilla is on sale for the kindle. A great time to pick up a good book .

To find out more about Diane M. Graham, visit her website at www.dianemgraham.com

To purchase I Am Ocilla on ebook or find out more, click here.

One day, as he was taking a break from homework, I looked over his shoulder to find him playing Age of Mythology, an RTS (Real Time Strategy) computer game. I was intrigued. I started asking him questions. We traded spots, and he started showing me what each unit was and what the main goal was in the game. A couple days later, we linked our computers and became a gaming couple.

At first we started with RTS games. I would gather supplies and he would lead our armies. Then we worked up to some light shooter games like Star Wars Battleground. I usually would play the role of sniper and would cover Dan as he would run into hostile situations.

Eventually we made our way to MMORPGs (Massive multiplayer online role-playing games) and single player games on consoles like the Wii and Xbox. But our favorite games are those we can play together.

Early on in my gaming, I came to realize there needed to be boundaries in what I played. You can do almost anything in the gaming world (maybe everything). And a lot of it is stuff that has no place in my life. That conviction was reinforced when I read an article written by a Christian gamer. The main point he made in the article was never do anything in a game you would not do in real life.

Those are words I live by now in my own gaming. For example, one of my favorite games is the Elder Scrolls series (Oblivion and Skyrim are two of the titles). In those games, you can join the Thieves Guild and the Assassins Guild. Because of my convictions, I chose not to join either guild and therefore did not play those particular parts of the game. Why? I would not steal in real life, therefore I will not steal in a game. I would not choose to murder someone in real life, so I won’t in a game.

Now you might be pointing out that most games consist of killing. Yes and no. It depends on the role you are playing in the game. Are you a soldier? In a war? Well, in that case, there will be some death involved. But I never will be an assassin, killing innocents for money.

I have also made the choice not to play overly gory games. I don’t need to see that kind of stuff on the screen. I’m thankful that there are now options in the settings to remove the gore out of most games.

Another area I place boundaries around is the romantic storyline in a game. I choose not to follow amorous relationships to the bedroom (yes, you can now do that in games and watch the cut scenes). No thank you.

So with all the potential pitfalls and dark elements in the gaming world, why do I still play? After all, wouldn’t it be safer to just not play at all? Sure it would. And I know a lot of Christians who choose not to play video games. But for me, I like playing video games because I like adventure, I like the unique stories, and I like being the hero (or in my case, heroine ). It is also something my husband and I can do together and enjoy. And I like meeting other people.

The gaming world is a place full of real people with spouses and kids. It is also filled with people who have lost their jobs, struggling with suicide and looking for hope. In a time and age where front porches have disappeared and meeting people outside our own small circles becomes harder, games have become the new meeting place.

My paladin in WoW

I have met people from all over the world and in every walk of life. I have been able to share my faith, encourage those going through hard times, and make new friends. I have been a part of both Christian guilds and regular guilds. The people on the screen are just as real as the ones you meet on the street.

But aren’t there dangerous people in the virtual world? Yes, there are stalkers and weirdoes and unsavory characters. Navigating through the gaming world requires good judgment and using your common sense. But as one person once pointed out to me, the gaming world is probably one of the least reached spheres of people. It is a dark place in need of light. Trust me, when you play with kindness and integrity, you tend to stand out, much like a candle does in a dark room. This uniqueness leads to opportunities to share the why behind your play style.

Christians and the gaming world do not need to be at odds with each other. Games can be a place to recharge the imagination, come together as a couple or a family, and meet people beyond your physical sphere of influence. And they can be fun too!

*I originally posted this article at speculativefaith.com.

A Greater Strength

In this second book, Vinyanel, the lead male elf character, is put in charge of finding five missing talismans. These talismans are important because one cannot enter the elf city of Delsinon without one. And if a talisman were to fall into the hands of an enemy, it could be disastrous.

Vinyanel is joined on this mission by the half elf/half human prophetess Veranna, his dragon Majestrin, two other elves and a captured assassin. The rest of the windrider group is made up of a winged lion, griffon, and a pegasus. I liked how the windriders are not all dragons.

I felt the characters were deepened in this second book. Yes, there is still a lot of action and fighting, but if given the choice, I’m more into characters, and this time there is more character development. That brought me further into the story.

A Greater Strength is written along the lines of traditional fantasy filled with elves, dragons, gnomes, and unique places. If that is the type of stories you enjoy, then I definitely recommend this book.

*The first cover shown is actually for the entire Windrider series in hardcopy form. I read the series in ebook form, cover to the right.