For those who haven't noticed the nifty little widget to the right of this page, I am doing a giveaway through Goodreads for three signed copies of Ashford. It's a good way to maybe get your hands on one if you're interested but aren't sure about shelling out the cash. Signing up with Goodreads is pretty easy if you aren't already (I wasn't until just recently, being rather behind the times) and it's a great way to find out what's going on with your favorite authors and discover new ones.
Making progress on the new novel, though I'm not far enough along to share any real details yet. Hopefully soon!
Monday, November 28, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving
Just a short post to say Happy Thanksgiving before I go downstairs to bake pies for tomorrow. After several days of heavy snow, it has warmed up into the 40s. I took a walk in the rain this morning, enjoying the rain-smell and the freshness that comes with it. I love walks in the rain. I always feel better afterwards, as if my body and soul have been washed clean.
I'll leave you with a song I've only recently discovered. A gem, and it also happens to be on my pie-baking playlist. Cheers! And Happy Thanksgiving!
Friday, November 18, 2011
Slumps and Their Cures
I have to admit, yesterday morning I fell into a slump. It happens. If anyone claims it doesn't happen to them, they lie. I'm at that stage in the self-promotion process where a great deal of time and energy has been spent on it, but the results are still unclear. Roooowwwwrrrr! Growling is sometimes the most satisfying response to these things. However, my slump evaporated in the early afternoon thanks to a friend of a friend. The friend of a friend had borrowed Ashford from the friend and I was informed that the friend of the friend (confused yet?) had read it in a day, cried uncontrollably at the end, and could not stop thinking of Perry Bertram. Ahhhhh! My day was instantly rosy. I made someone cry! I created a hero that teenage girls obsess over!
To add to the glory of the day, I ended it with a fantastic ballet class in the evening. Those two things will last me at least a week.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
A Launch, a Load of Self-Promotion, and a Hedgehog
Yes, it's been a week and a half, and I completely forgot to update my blog concerning the outcome of my book launch, which is doubly bad because I have this URL listed in the front of the book as my website and I hate the thought of people thinking, "oooh, blog" and then finding it stagnant. Not that they would, necessarily, be thinking, "oooh, blog" but they might, and I would hate for them to be disappointed.
In any case, the launch went very well. There was a steady stream of people, and by the end my face hurt from smiling, so I think that would generally indicate success. Afterwards I went home to collapse on the couch with Kezia while we consumed pizza and Strongbow and watched An Education (great film by the way, based on a memoir) and had a lovely evening. Since then I've been wrestling with the beast known as Self-Promotion, which does not come naturally at all. I've known people who were simply genius at it, but I am not one of them. In a way, the online promotion part is easier. Those people don't know you. And Very Old Friends, who've watched you slave over the novels for years and even perhaps read manuscripts...those aren't bad either. It's the hometown promotion that's the hardest, I find. Suddenly you're approaching people who, though they don't really know you, per se, have seen you about town and known of you since you were a midget. I can assure you, I was thoroughly unimpressive as a midget. Yes, I had fabulous adventures in my head, but who was to know? I certainly didn't tell them. Cancer threw me a little more into the public eye, but who wants to be known for being disease-ridden? Anyway, approaching people who know you in the aforementioned vague way, and saying, essentially, "Hi, I've written a book. Please buy it," can feel rather odd. However, I have been gritting my teeth and getting it done, though generally in a less blunt fashion. The online promotion has slowly been coming along as well, though it's a lot to learn. There is, in the end, so much that could be done for promotion, with all the resources available, that I find I have to make myself stop, to set it aside and go back to the writing. After all, the writing is what really counts. Without it, there would be nothing to promote, not to mention that without it I would turn into a sodden mass. We write for the same reason we breathe: because without it we would not survive. Numbers and sales seem petty things then.
I have acquired a new friend recently. His name is Ferdinand, or Ferdy for short, and he is an African Pygmy Hedgehog, an anniversary gift from my husband.
In any case, the launch went very well. There was a steady stream of people, and by the end my face hurt from smiling, so I think that would generally indicate success. Afterwards I went home to collapse on the couch with Kezia while we consumed pizza and Strongbow and watched An Education (great film by the way, based on a memoir) and had a lovely evening. Since then I've been wrestling with the beast known as Self-Promotion, which does not come naturally at all. I've known people who were simply genius at it, but I am not one of them. In a way, the online promotion part is easier. Those people don't know you. And Very Old Friends, who've watched you slave over the novels for years and even perhaps read manuscripts...those aren't bad either. It's the hometown promotion that's the hardest, I find. Suddenly you're approaching people who, though they don't really know you, per se, have seen you about town and known of you since you were a midget. I can assure you, I was thoroughly unimpressive as a midget. Yes, I had fabulous adventures in my head, but who was to know? I certainly didn't tell them. Cancer threw me a little more into the public eye, but who wants to be known for being disease-ridden? Anyway, approaching people who know you in the aforementioned vague way, and saying, essentially, "Hi, I've written a book. Please buy it," can feel rather odd. However, I have been gritting my teeth and getting it done, though generally in a less blunt fashion. The online promotion has slowly been coming along as well, though it's a lot to learn. There is, in the end, so much that could be done for promotion, with all the resources available, that I find I have to make myself stop, to set it aside and go back to the writing. After all, the writing is what really counts. Without it, there would be nothing to promote, not to mention that without it I would turn into a sodden mass. We write for the same reason we breathe: because without it we would not survive. Numbers and sales seem petty things then.
I have acquired a new friend recently. His name is Ferdinand, or Ferdy for short, and he is an African Pygmy Hedgehog, an anniversary gift from my husband.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Juliette Greco
I've recently become obsessed with the music of Juliette Greco. She has such an amazing voice. Right now she's helping calm my nerves as I prepare for the book launch this afternoon.
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