And one of the best benefits to doing a virtual book tour is that it is viral — it spreads. Even now, two months after my VBT, I am getting hits to my sites from my VBT hosts. They're still sending me traffic and potential sales.
In all honesty, I can say that few people who already knew me followed me around. Frankly, they already knew about my books, may have read them, so the tour wouldn't interest them as much. :)
I heard there's a movie interest for Whale Song. That sounds exciting. Would you tell us about that?
A number of Hollywood film companies are reading Whale Song. Plus I have personally sent a copy to various film contacts, including a prominent BC filmmaker and some names people will recognize. Kristin Kreuk, from the hit TV show Smallville, has been sent a copy of Whale Song. She was the original actress whom I had pictured playing the role of adult Sarah when I wrote Whale Song. Canadian Idol Eva Avila, whom I've gotten to know, is reading Whale Song. She is interested in pursuing acting and she would also make a great Sarah. Jodelle Ferland, a young and talented Canadian actress (Silent Hill) who has worked with Kristin Kreuk, is also reading Whale Song. She would make the perfect young Sarah. Her mother and I have become internet friends, and I can see Jodelle playing Sarah perfectly.
I am very excited about all this. Seeing Whale Song made into a major motion picture would be a dream come true — not only for me but for many, many fans. I receive emails regularly from fans of all ages 7 to 108 who want to see this movie. Whale Song would be the kind of feel-good film that anyone could go to. For adults, it will take you back to your youth and innocence; for kids, it will make you think of life and death in a different way.
I already have a screenplay and a movie treatment available. Now we just have to find a film company with heart and soul--one who sees that a film like Whale Song will be a beautiful, rewarding project. I can't wait!
I understand your publisher, Kunati Books, will be featured in the December issue of Quill & Quire. How did this come about?
Yes, Kunati Books publisher Derek Armstrong was interviewed recently. I believe Quill & Quire contacted him because Kunati is a new publishing company that is making noise in the industry — in a positive way. Kunati was the first publisher to lower Canadian prices to be closer to the US dollar. I was also contacted by Quill &Quire and interviewed for the article because I am one of two Canadian authors on Kunati's list. Most of the books published by Kunati Books have an edgy, controversial theme. With Whale Song, it's assisted dying, which has been in the news a lot since Jack Kevorkian's release in June and since people are traveling to Switzerland to visit Dignitas, the organization that legally assists with chronically ill people who wish to die peacefully on their own terms.
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