Talking Virtual Book Tours with Nonfiction Author Lisa A. Shiel

Lisa A. Shiel researches and writes about everything strange, from Bigfoot and UFOs to alternative history. She has been interviewed for big-city newspapers, national magazines, drive-time talk radio shows, and TV news. Lisa has a master’s degree in library science and was previously the chief investigator for Michigan’s chapter of the Mutual UFO Network as well as past president of Michigan’s  Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association (UPPAA). As a fiction writer, Lisa developed the Human Origins Series—which includes the novels The Hunt for Bigfoot and Lord of the Dead. Lisa’s other nonfiction books are Backyard Bigfoot: The True Story of Stick Signs, UFOs & the Sasquatch (a finalist in ForeWord Magazine’s 2006 Book of the Year Awards) and Strange Michigan. Her latest book, The Evolution Conspiracy, Vol. 1, marks the initial release in a planned three-book series. Find Lisa online at EvolutionConspiracy.com, Twitter.com/LAShiel, or on Facebook.

Lisa will be on a virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours in November and is here with us today to give her impression of virtual book tours and online book marketing.

Thank you for this interview, Lisa.  Can we start out by having you tell us briefly what your new book is about?

In The Evolution Conspiracy I delve into the evidence for evolution, exposing both its strengths and its flaws without getting into religious beliefs. Contrary to the assertions of many biologists, the evidence is far from incontrovertible. I give you the tools you need to make up your own mind about how life came to be—tools including a list of 171 references, a glossary, and numerous illustrations. In The Evolution Conspiracy I present the evidence and my analysis of it, then I encourage you to think for yourself.

More and more authors are realizing the potential for sales that derives from virtual book tours.  Can you tell us your personal reasons why you chose a virtual book tour to help get the word out about your new book?

First, a virtual tour eliminates the travel expenses incurred by a traditional book tour. Second, more people will visit a website to learn about you and your book than will attend a book signing. Third, during the tour I can be in my PJs munching on candy and nobody knows the difference!

Is this the first time you have heard of them?

I had heard of virtual book tours before but had no idea what goes into planning one.

What do you hope to achieve through promoting your book through a virtual book tour?

I want to let as many folks as possible learn about my book and how it can help them. Rather than telling you what to think, or promoting my personal beliefs, I provide the facts so you can decide for yourself. Anyone—whether devout creationist, atheist, or somewhere in between—can glean useful information from The Evolution Conspiracy.

Do you promote online through other means?  Website?  Blog?

I also have a blog, EvolutionConspiracy.com, with new articles that expand on the topics found in The Evolution Conspiracy.

Do you promote through Twitter and Facebook?  What are your links there?

Yes, you can also find me at Twitter.com/LAShiel and on Facebook.

What are your experiences with offline booksignings?  Which do you prefer – online or offline and can you give us the reasons why?

I have never done a strict book signing. I always start with a presentation, then sign books afterward, so that people get a fun and informative experience rather than just a chance to gaze upon my face. My November tour for The Evolution Conspiracy will be my very first virtual book tour.

Here’s a fun question.  If money was no object, how would you promote your book?

I’d put a big sign on the moon that could be read from anywhere on Earth—and other places. You never know, aliens might be interested too!

Thank you for this interview, Lisa.  Do you have any final words?

Yes… please buy my book! Seriously, I could blather on and on about how wonderful The Evolution Conspiracy is but I will say just this. Unlike many books critiquing evolution The Evolution Conspiracy not only has received rave reviews from both scientists and mainstream book reviewers, but it also features a foreword by microbiologist Tyler A. Kokjohn. Read it, think about it, and decide for yourself what to believe.

You can visit Lisa’s tour page here.