What Journalists Expect from Your Website

"Sunset at 35,000 Feet" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Do you have a website? I expect that most of you do, especially if you are promoting either your book or your art, or maybe both.

Perhaps you have something unexpected on your site, like my sunset picture that would probably seem out of place unless you are promoting photographs. But it could be an attention-grabber if you wanted to draw someone in to take a longer look. Sometimes it's good to feature a surprise.

If journalists are looking at your site to find out more about you, will they like what they see? Will they find all the information they need to write your story or to want to contact you for more. If you are an author or an artist, you need publicity to develop your brand, to become known.

Here are some thoughts about what you need on your website:

1. A brief description of who you are and what you do. Example: Mary Elevator Jones is the author of five dynamic adventure novels, including the acclaimed, Up to the Sky, which has spent nine months at the top of the New York Times bestsellers list.

2. A list of your latest releases, including books (with covers and Amazon and/or publisher links) and magazine articles (if you write them).

3. Your Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google Plus, and other contact information.

4. A short bio with photographs. Use large enough files (200 dpi) so the photos will be usable in an article written about you.

5. Your logo--get one if you don't already have it--, youtube videos (if you have them), book trailers.

6. Press coverage about you, including newspaper stories, radio, TV links, and anything else you think is pertinent.

7. Press releases about you and your work that are ready to use. Have pdf. and Word versions.

As I look at my list, I realize that I do not have all of this on my website. I need to take a look and add a lot.

Journey to Costa Rica

"Last Evening in Costa Rica" ©Olen Sikes

Last summer, when I went to pick up my painting and piece of sculpture from the Chesapeake Bay Pen Women show at the Bay School in Mathews, several women urged me to support the Bay School endeavors by purchasing a raffle ticket. The Bay School Community Arts Center has been a wonderful facility for area artists, providing classes, a gallery for display, and much more, so, of course, I wanted to buy a ticket.

Although I didn't have a pocketbook with me at the time, I remembered the emergency money stashed away with my cell phone. I found a $20 bill there and purchased the ticket, expecting only to make a donation and nothing more. I forgot about it, so you can imagine my surprise when Pam Doss, executive director, called at the end of September with the news that I had won the trip to Costa Rica.

The prize was round trip airfare for two, along with a stay at one of two Marriotts located there. After researching both resorts, we chose Los Suenos Marriott Ocean and Golf Resort at Herradura, partly because it was available in January when Virginia is often cold and dreary.

I was especially excited because the only "Passenger to Paradise" book I have ever written without visiting the location is Jungle Jeopardy which features part of its setting in Costa Rica. Now that I have been there, I can feel most confident about the details I researched.

The Los Suenos Marriott Resort is lovely, situated next to a luxury marina that was hosting a three-leg fishing tournament which appeared to be quite an important event. I know nothing about fishing nor related tournaments, so I could only observe the setting up efforts and imagine what would take place later.

The resort pools were magical. The buffet breakfast (included in our package) each day was outstanding. We were happy to enjoy many of the features at the resort, including a zumba class and Spanish lessons.

I'm happy I found that hidden $20 bill and that Olen and I enjoyed the luxury of Los Suenos Resort. Thank you, Bay School, for a magical and memorable trip to Costa Rica.

Broken Heart Syndrome - Is It Real?

"Broken Heart" ©Mary Montague Sikes

The death of Debbie Reynolds only a day after her daughter Carrie Fisher passed away has stirred discussions about broken heart syndrome. After I started researching this on the Internet, I was surprised by the amount of material I discovered there.

According to many researchers, including a past president of the American Heart Association, broken heart syndrome is real, can be triggered by sudden unexpected emotional stress, and can be fatal. Stress that provokes heart arrhythmia can lead to death.

While I don't believe the actual cause of death has been determined in the case of Debbie Reynolds, her son, Todd Fisher, reported that Reynolds was on the phone with him when she was strickened. 

"I want to be with Carrie," she said.

The two women were very close and, in fact, lived next door to each other. The loss was a shock.

I was interested to read that a Duke University study several years ago suggested that married couples have lower rates of heart disease than singles or those not in long-term relationships.

Perhaps romance novels with happy endings are more than fiction. Perhaps they reflect a bit of heart reality. People can actually die of a broken heart.

What do you think?

Creating an Angel Card - Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to All

"Angel from Xanadu - Mystic Visions" ©Mary Montague Sikes

For quite a long time I have painted an angel for Christmas each year and then made cards using the new image. For 2016, devising the right painting to share was especially hard for me. Negativity covered our land and although it became a prevailing wind over which I had no control I continued to try.

After creating my first angel image that I liked, I discovered my new painting on canvas would not work as a card. The colors didn't resonate for Christmas, and the painting actually looked best when paired on the studio wall with another new painting created during the summer.

"Angels Maybe" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Back I went to the studio to try making a new watercolor painting on Yupo--"Angel Wings-Mystic Visions". While I really love this dramatic painting, I soon realized it would probably not work well for a Christmas card. Once again, it was back to the studio.

"Angel Wings - Mystic Visions" ©Mary Montague Sikes

This time I decided to include a more traditional angel in my painting, "Angel from Xanadu - Mystic Visions". This, too, is watercolor on Yupo. However, the angel is painted with gesso and acrylic paints.

Because I am fascinated with the idea of a magical place in a fantasy universe that I call "Xanadu", this will be part of my new series of paintings. I'll be writing more about the mysterious and colorful planet of Xanadu during 2017. I will also create additional paintings about a place in space where peace and beauty reign.

What do you think? Do you believe in mystic visions?

Merry Christmas!

Joy and Danger of an Artist's Life

"Packing up in my studio" ©Mary Montague Sikes

The sad and tragic fire in an old warehouse building in Oakland, California reminds us once again about the importance of safety and vigilance in the life of an artist. Over the years, I have had art studios in several old buildings. I seldom questioned safety or the fire codes compliance situation in these artist facilities. I enjoyed working and showing paintings surrounded by other artists. I liked having an Open House to attend each month where patrons of the arts gathered.

I expected these buildings to be safe. I trusted those who operated them. More than one was a converted warehouse. Others were former school buildings.

Artists need spaces to house their works in progress. They covet places where they can show their paintings, crafts, sculpture, and more. They long for camaraderie, so they often look for and find nooks and crannies inside big buildings often located in "bad" areas of town where they can afford to rent.

"Open House Night" ©Mary Montague Sikes

I read somewhere that real estate people love for artists to invade an old rundown area because they know in 10 years it will be booming. That happened with Shockoe Bottom Art Center in Richmond, Virginia a few years ago. The artists converted an old tobacco warehouse into studios. Each month for the Art Open House, the area overflowed with art lovers as well as with those who enjoyed the refreshments and free (at that time) wine. It was fun and exciting to be there. The old section of the city thrived with the presence of the artists until eventually the real estate people came in and took it away. The artists moved to other locations, some of them to an old furniture store in Petersburg. More studio spaces were built and painted in the old buildings uncovered by the artists, and so a new cycle of development began.

Over the years, I have created a very large piece of sculpture inside an abandoned school building; I have painted in a rundown old office inside a once-deserted building; I have walked along many streets where I felt unsafe. I have stood on a sidewalk where slaves were once sold at auction. People were not permitted to live inside the studio spaces they rented in places I called my art home. I suspect that some of them did. After all, artists keep very strange hours. When they are inspired, they don't want to stop work. In one location, I brought in a little sofa that higher powers made me remove in case I became tired one day and fell asleep there.

I am fortunate because I have a working art studio inside my home. If I decide to fall asleep, no one tells me not to. I have a space in Richmond now in a nice well-kept studio/gallery facility. (Thank you, Jenni Kirby, for making this possible.) The Petersburg building now houses apartments, a beautiful art gallery and artist spaces. (Thank you, Noelle Ward and family.)

Because of my own past experiences, I can understand how the situation in Oakland could have occurred. Artists need affordable places where they can work. They need safe locations. They need patrons for the arts. There can be and should be joy in the creation of art.