Today I am blogging over at Midlist Writer.  Sean asked me to write up my thoughts and reflections on the Virtual Book Tour now that the big push is over.  Here's a snippet: My first book, A Journey into Michelangelo’s Rome (Roaring Forties Press: 2008), hit bookstores without fanfare, hurrah, or splash. In fact, though my local Borders said it had one copy in stock, I never had that pleasure of standing in front of it to admire it. They lost it in the stockroom. Needless to say, my publishing house, like so many out there, produces lovely travel books on a very low budget leaving little room for publicity.

So, like many Midlisters, I have been doing most of my own publicity work, and I have learned a great deal along the way. And because I am not a trust fund baby with millions to burn, I have had to do it all on the cheap. Thank heavens for the Virtual Book Tour!