In mid-November, 2012, I began writing my current novel in progress, tentatively titled Thanksgivings.

I’m thrilled to report that I’ve been making great strides, having written more than 60 pages so far. That exceeds my goal of writing a page every day and puts me on track for a completion date of October 15, 2013.

In addition to my writing goal, I’m also researching and developing a marketing plan for the book. You might think that publishers take charge of marketing the books they print, but that is not the case (unless, perhaps, you are a big name author such as my favorites, Barbara Kingsolver and Maya Angelou). Authors are expected to present a workable promotion strategy to encourage and maximize sales of their book. This might include appearances on talk shows such as Late Show With David Letterman, radio interviews on stations carrying NPR, book signings at stores such as Barnes and Noble, Social Media ads, etc.  Current wisdom from marketing “experts” is that the time to start promoting your book is BEFORE it is finished and published. In other words, I need to start creating interest and buzz about Thanksgivings, now, and I’m asking for your help. Here’s what I have in mind.

I am going to give you the opportunity to influence some of the content of my current novel.

In the next few weeks and months, I am going to run a contest. I will describe a character in my book and let you help me name him or her. You can propose made-up names, your own name, the names of current or past loved ones, etc. Think how cool it would be to have (for example) your great grandparents names used for characters in a best-selling novel! (Of course, it’s going to be a best seller.)

In addition to suggesting names, you will get to propose travel destinations and work places for my characters. I will give you the parameters such as “a small city in the continental United States” and you can take it from there. Maybe you want to promote the city where you grew up or a place you’d like to live?

If you choose to join me, we will be wandering together in AliceLand… a truly magical place created in our imaginations.

Are you ready? Here is your first opportunity.

The main character in Thanksgivings is a 43 year old woman who hails from Mt. Vernon, Washington, and is of Italian descent. What should I name her?

Send me your suggestion(s) via the comment box below, or if you don’t want your suggestion made public just yet, send me an e-mail via the “Contact Me” tab above.