I survived my first live Internet radio interview tonight!

Here are the links to the first two events on my virtual book tour. Please click on the link dated 7/30 to listen to my half hour interview with Phil Harris and our disucssion about SILENCED CRY at http://www.internetvoicesradio.com/Arch-PhilHarris.htm

This is the link to my article on the Working Stiffs Blog http://workingstiffs.blogspot.com/2007/07/one-step-at-time.html

You’ll find the tour details in the events page on my site, http://www.martastephens-author.com/ and on http://booktour.com/author/marta_stephens.

I look forward to your comments here and on Working Stiff.

My virtual book tour kicks off with a live interview this Monday, July 30, on the Phil Harris Internet Voices Radio.

I received the following from Phil last night. The entire tour schedule is available on my site as well as on http://booktour.com/author/marta_stephens. Hope you'll be able to listen in on the interview and check out some of my other articles and interviews on the tour. I look forward to your comments!

"ALL THINGS THAT MATTER"

WILL AIR ON: www.internetvoicesradio.com Monday, JULY 30th 7:30 PM, EST YOUR HOST: PHILIP HARRIS PUBLISHED AUTHOR, NATIONALLY SYNDICATED, FEATURED EZINE WRITER AND BLOGGER

My Guest is: MARTA STEPHENSAuthor of "Silenced Cry"www.martastephens-author.com

We will discuss:

Sometimes it's those unpredictable events in our lives, the ones that force us to make a choice that make or break us. My first was theloss of our eldest daughter (at 19 mo.) She passed 22 years ago. Iwas born in Argentina, all my extended family is there and although I had relatives who passed, I was four when my family moved to the States and therefore didn't feel close to any of them. Hers was the first personal loss I had ever experienced. That's whenI realized how fragile life is and how quickly everything can betaken away. It forced me to re-evaluate things.

PROGRAM NOTE:JOIN OUR SPIRITUAL SUMMER WITH GUESTS THAT WILL TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE! SOME GREAT GUEST ARE LINED TO BRING YOU, "MESSAGES IN A BOTTLE." JOIN ME EACH MONDAY NIGHT!IN LATE SUMMER AND EARLY FALL LOOK FOR MY BOOK MARKETING AND PROMOTING SERIES INCLUDING SEVERAL PUBLISHERS AND DAN CASE OF WRITING FOR DOLLARS FAME! Listeners may call 1 888-379-5442 and leave a recorded question!OR 916-233-4242, ACCESS CODE 924920# FOR LIVE TALK "ALL THINGS THAT MATTER" WILL AIR EVERY MONDAY NIGHT! PLEASE JOIN ME AND MY GUESTS AND LISTEN TO ISSUES THAT OTHER STATIONS IGNORE, REFUSE TO DISCUSS, OR TRY TO COVER UP! A SCHEDULE OF MY UPCOMING GUESTS CAN BE FOUND AT. HTTP:WWW.INTERNETVOICESRADIO.COM CLICK ON PHIL HARRIS MARK YOUR CALENDERS AND LISTEN TO THE NPR OF INTERNET RADIORATED IN THE TOP TEN BY ARBITRON _______________________________________________ ADVANCE QUESTIONS MAY BE SENT TO PHarris@internervoicesradio.com *****TRANSCRIPTS OF ALL RADIO SHOWS (NOT JUST MINE) ARE AVAILABLE FROM SUNDISKSCRIBES -fees apply(http://SunDiskScribes.tripod.com/)*****PODCASTS CAN BE DOWNLOADED-free!*****CHECK WWW.INTERNETVOICESRADIO.COM FOR FULL DETAILS

A couple of days ago, a friend of mine and I were discussing scenes from our books. After a while, it dawned on me that we were referring to our characters as if they were in the flesh. It's inevitable, spend a few years writing the same character and he will eventually become real.

Sam Harper has been a part of our household for four years. A couple of summers ago, when my husband and I needed to buy a new stove and refrigerator, I couldn't decide which models to buy. He paced and waited then paced some more before he finally leaned over an appliance and asking: "Which one would Sam buy?" The best, I replied.

Once our teenage son walked into the room while we were in the middle of a conversation about one of the crime scenes. From the look on our son's face, I knew I had to explain what bullet holes, whose body, and what blood spattering on the wall I was talking about.

I'll admit I know everything about Sam Harper, from his upbringing and quirky habits to what pushes his buttons. By the time I started to work on the second book, the character immediately came to life on page one. That's what I like about writing a series, I can add to his personality traits, but his core qualities are in place allowing me time to develop the plot and to tell the story.

We don't live in a vacuum nor can we write in one. So I want to begin this blog by thanking some pretty amazing people in my life. Some are family, all are friends, and each has made an impact on my life. Rick, Jessica, Tracy, Mari (R), Mari (L), Sonya, Mike, Kim, Erika, Jack, Joylene, and of course, Cait. You've kept me grounded, offered your shoulder, made me laugh when I needed it most, and always kept me focused and on task ... more times than you know. Thank you!

It's been a while since I've posted anything to this blog--March 11. Although I belong to more author groups and blogs than I should, this one is mine and I've promised myself to keep it current and to use it as a place to showcase my work as well as the many great people I've met along the way.

So, what's been going on since my last post?

On March 12, I launched my website: http://www.martastephens-author.com/. To date, the site has received over 16,000 hits from more than 30 countries. In it you'll find an excerpt of my debut crime/mystery, SILENCED CRY, reviews, reader comments, a detective's life from Sam Harper's point of view (the main character), and a guest map for you to sign.

Between March 12 and April 22, I was busy putting together a promotional campaign for SILENCED CRY.

On April 23, SILENCED CRY was released and Sam Harper was introduced to crime/mystery enthusiast world wide. You can find it online at all the Amazons, B&N, Books-a-Million, an Powells to name a few.

On June 19, I participated in my first book signing at our local B&N. It was so successful, the manager invited me back for a holiday signing. Please check the events page on my website for full details.

I've joined amazing author groups in the past few months. I plan to add links to those sites in a day or two. And now, I'm a week away from my August VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR. Special thanks to the authors and site owners who have sponsored me on this tour. They are:

Phil Harris (Internet Voice Radio), Joyce Tremel (Working Stiffs Blogspot), Kaycee Conners (Live Journal, Writing Space & Word Press Blog), Marilyn Meredith (Marilyn Meredith Blogspot), Authors by Design--Chat, and Jeff Mariotte (Jeff Mariotte Typepad Weblog) and Dawn Dowdle (Mystery Lovers Corner).