Jennifer Chapin
The Poet & The Angel
1. Describe your book in one sentence.
It is an elegy of love and redemption and tells the story of a little girl who sees the wounded spirit of a slain poet huddled near a fountain in Granada, Spain. She befriends him to give him his voice back.
2. How were you planning to promote and market your book before the COVID-19 crisis?
I had been approved by Indigo for a signing on April 18th in Victoria and had Tellwell create my promotional materials for that event. I also had a reading set up at the Vancouver Public Library on April 19th and an event set up with the Victoria Public Library in May, as part of the emerging local author program. All of these events have been cancelled. Fortunately, I had an interview with Citizen’s Forum on YouTube before we were all told to self-isolate so I gained some traction there. After many months of building online interest, the book was finally starting to take off; however, all of the events mentioned above are still available to me, when life resumes once more.
3. What are you doing now?
I’m still in the thinking stages of what to do next, but plan to set up my own YouTube channel to do readings and talks to post online, through my website and Facebook author page. I am also planning to set up a series of podcasts. Finally, I am building a community of authors around me whereby we read and review each other’s books and post them on Amazon by way of support.
4. Do you have any advice for authors?
My advice is to never give up. If there is an obstacle in the river, float around it as there are always creative solutions available. Also, form communities with like-minded artists to exchange ideas. View this time as an opportunity for growth. We are all in this together, globally. If this crisis has taught us anything, it is that we need each other.
Read how Charlene Doak-Gebauer, Markus Matthews and Monique Gliozzi are adapting their book marketing strategies in light of the coronavirus outbreak.
