Not a pretty picture!
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( 2.8 / 10 )What a marvelous event Thorndyke Press/Five Star put on for its authors and any librarians and booksellers who were able to attend. It was organized so well, if anything went awry, I certainly didn't notice. Coffee and doughnuts were provided as we began to gather, and around 9:30 a.m., Mary Smith welcomed us. We each wore a name tag printed on colored paper. Some were green. Some blue, and so on. My color coded group met with Mary and Tiffany for an hour long focus session on how best to promote ourselves and our books. Tiffany began by giving methods Five Star authors had found successful in the past, and then each of us at the table added techniques that he or she had found helpful.
After that session, my group was taken on a tour of the facilities, and I found it fascinating to see the catalogues the sales reps use, to hear about the various bundles offered to libraries, and to hear how many different boiler plates Nivette has to sift through to make sure the right contract is used for any one author.
The best part of the day, of course, came when we were led outside under a large tent and heard the words: The lobsters are here.
It's been years since I tackled a whole lobster, and I truly thank the Portland, Maine, librarian, Lisa Joyce, for her instructions. I had so much fun talking with her and with Michelle from Rochester, Michigan. I know I squirted my husband more than once with lobster juice, but he was so busy devouring his, he didn't notice.
The entertainment (provided by Tiffany and ) and the five minute talks each author gave after lunch brought laughter to all. I wasn't ready to say goodbye when the day officially ended. and I was glad some of us met for a drink afterwards. It was so great, not only to meet the people I've talked to on the phone for over a year, but to also get to know them a little better.
Thanks so much Five Star for a fantastic day.
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( 3.3 / 6 )Tomorrow morning, my husband and I will be arriving at the Thorndike Press/Five Star offices in Waterville, Maine. I'm really looking forward to meeting Tiffany Schofield, who has been so helpful in bringing THE CROWS to life (as well as getting ARCs to reviewers and contest judges), and possibly buying some additional pieces of handmade jewelry from The Crows Jewels. Our drive from Michigan to Maine has been a lengthy one, but also beautiful. This is gorgeous country. (We took the longer route, through Ohio, rather than cutting across Canada to Buffalo, New York.) Waterville, however, is truly living up to its name. Up until we were an hour away from Waterville, we had beautiful weather. Forty miles from Waterville, it started to rain and it hasn't stopped since. I sure hope tomorrow is a little less wet (and a bit warmer). I'll post more after tomorrow's Customer Appreciation Day, and if I can remember how to upload pictures, I might even get one or two on here.
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( 3 / 11 )June was a busy month for me. My daughter got married (Welcome to the family, Bob), I've been spending a lot of time at the lake (Lake Michigan), and I've been busy with the less creative aspects of writing; i.e., approaching agents and publishers.
I have a suspense that's set in Skagway, Alaska that I recently completed. Those who have read the story have liked it. I'm hoping a publisher will, too. I've also been looking into other venues for The Crows . It's presently being considered by a company that makes audio books, and I'd like to see it published in paperback form. In addition to the above, I have started a sequel to The Crows . So you'll have to excuse my lack of blogging--I need to figure out what's in the briefcase in the trunk of P.J.'s car.
Until later, have a great summer!
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( 3.1 / 11 )It's been way too long since I wrote anything here. Spring has finally come to Michigan, which means I've been spending more time outside and more time in South Haven. I also finished the suspense novel I have set in Skagway, Alaska. When I say finished, I mean it has a beginning, middle, and end. I've read through it twice, cleaning up details and revising so everything fits together. I'll give it another read through. Probably two or three more, not that I'm ever one-hundred percent happy with every word and/or sentence I've written. On one of the on-line lists I receive, there's been a discussion about revising/editing. Personally, I enjoy the process. Getting the words down on paper the first time is what I find difficult. Taking the time to make sure I don't repeat myself, finding the right words, cleaning up the spelling and grammar, and adding detail...that's the fun part. Right now I call this story The Beekeeper's Daughter . I like the way it came together and I like the characters. It's different from anything I've written before, so it's allowed me to stretch a bit. It also gave me a great excuse to take a trip to Alaska last summer. While I was in Skagway, I was able to visit the police station and talk to the sergeant there, and one of the park rangers took an hour out of her day to tell me about her job. I'm always amazed by how helpful people are.
Of course, in addition to finishing up with The Beekeeper's Daughter , I've also been doing promotion for The Crows . One exciting bit of news is the Portage Library chose The Crows as one of the books they'll be putting in their "Book Discussion in a Bag" kits. Those bags are for book clubs to use. It meant coming up with some discussion questions for the book which was a new experience for me. I think I finally came up with some good ones. I'm going to add them to my web site...just in case a book group (or individual) would like to use them. I always enjoy hearing from readers, so do let me know what you think.
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