Web strategy for a debut author?

[jmc_bks]

Yesterday, I scooped up a couple of new books at Borders, including a contemporary titled Remember the Alimony by Bethany True. The cover and blurb captured my attention -- I'd never seen or heard of the author before. I was thinking that perhaps this is her debut novel? So I googled her, only to find that the best hit for her was a guest blog on Romance: By the Blog, titled "Brains are the New Boobs". Catchy. So I clicked -- but no links in the blog. Scrolling through the comments, I found a link: http://www.brainsarethenewboobs.com. Except that bounces me to an incomplete tripod site. Color me umimpressed. I know that debut authors don't get marketing bucks and website costs come out of their own pockets, but even a blog or My Space page would have impressed me more than that.