richardhaydnxy: Shining the Book Promotion Spotlight on ...

Born in Jersey City and raised in Hoboken, New Jersey, Alberto Rios Arias filled his leisure time writing and illustrating short stories and took an interest in creative writing after reading J.D. Salinger?s, Catcher in the Rye in high school.

After a three-year stint in the Army, he pursued another obsession and enrolled in the popular School of Visual Arts in Manhattan under the G.I. Bill. Although he majored in Fine Arts, his creative writing class inspired him to continue writing.

His efforts eventually paid off and he found work as an advertising copywriter. His advertorials appeared weekly in The New York Post and The Daily News. Meanwhile he continued to hone his writing skills and upon early retirement, he decided to pursue creative writing in earnest, recently finishing two feature screenplays and his first novel.

Alberto is currently developing another novel, a short story collection, and a memoir.

A Death for Beauty or, An Immortal is his debut novel.

Learn more about the story: http://www.adeathforbeauty.com.

Welcome to Book Marketing Buzz, Alberto.? Can we begin by having you tell us a little about your book?

A Death for Beauty or an Immortal is the story of an extraordinary woman, Virginia Mae Mercy, who harbors a death wish aimed at her husband. When her wish, surprisingly comes to pass, she recoils and struggles with her conscience as she tries to find her way in the world once again.

She soon meets an unscrupulous man who promises her a pot of gold and moves west in search of a dream, only to come across the unthinkable along the way.

Everything in this story hinges on its theme, namely, the uncertainties of life and that the only real promise in life is death itself. It?s a universal theme that resonates here with the backdrop of the Civil War looming firmly behind it, as it illuminates many of life?s storms via metaphors and motifs carefully plotted throughout.

In fact, the story opens with a devastating twister that destroys not so much Virginia?s farmhouse, as it destroys her will to survive one more day, emphasizing the point that each day brings its own set of struggles she must decipher. In essence, this is a story about life and how we process its uncertainties through the eyes of death.

What is the first thing you did to promote your book once your publisher accepted your manuscript?

As an independent author/publisher, I had a very daunting task ahead of me. I wanted total control of this project and after 5 long years I believe that my very capable editor steered me in the right direction and helped me make this happen. I had set up a website and sent out press releases, but this is my first major push into the mainstream media.

After that, what happened?

I think PUYB is a very good decision that I?ve put off long enough, so that remains to be seen, but I?m hoping for good things to happen.

What did your publisher do to promote your book?

I?m going to kick things off here and see how far that goes but I?d like to advertise on several different venues too and try that out. I think BookBrowse.com? is a good choice.

What?s your opinion on blogging?? Do you see that it is helping sell your book or is it not making much difference in terms of sales?

That?s hard to say but it doesn?t hurt to blog. If anything, it helps you sort out quite a few things about your marketing and how to present certain ideas. Promoting your books via blogs, whether it?s your own blog or related blogs, seems like a good marketing effort.

I understand using the social networks to promote your books is also an effective marketing tool.? Do you find it is or isn?t?

Again, it could help but there?s no hard data that confirms using social networks actually leads to publicity and sales, unless you?re paying to advertise on their site and not even that?s guaranteed to work so it?s always an unknown factor. I think the genre and story concept, timing and a lot of other factors has a lot to do with that.

Besides blogging and using the social networks to promote your books, what other ways are you promoting your book?

I?ve used book teasers and trailers almost exclusively so far and have had very good responses and inquiries based on that, so I know they?re an effective way to promote books. There?s something about giving your book a voice that takes it to another level and readers can get a better feel for your story by viewing and hearing an interesting video presentation.

If you had to pick just one book marketing tool that you?ve used to promote your book, which would you say has been the most effective?

Not sure yet, but aside from book trailers, I?m sure this Book Tour is going to be a great success.

What are your experiences with offline promotions such as booksignings?

You know, I?ve been thinking about planning a booksigning at my local library but that entails tie-ins with so many other media events so I?m not ready for that yet, but it?s a great way to build your platform.

Thank you for this interview, Alberto! ?We wish you much success!