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South Carolina Book Festival 2010 Pregame

Posted on February 26, 2010 | Leave a comment

And here we are again in the lovely Columbia, SC. If my math is correct, this is our 6^th year in attendance. I am always thrilled to come back here because this is one of our most successful and fun festivals. This year I am really glad to be here this year because back in MD it is snowing and colder than…well cold.

This is one of my favorite book festivals because this area has some seriously loyal readers. We have a group of people that come and see us every year to buy all of our new releases. For me that is the ultimate compliment, because we have been seeing them for four or five years now and they are always excited to see us and to meet new authors.

When we first started attending the SC Book Festival we were placed on the very back wall and things were pretty dismal. But the coordinators listened to those of us back there and they designated that last row for the author signings. The other good thing that happened when we first started attending is that we met historian and author Richard Cote. He befriended us and the next year he requested that they place us next to him. The good news there was that he was on the main aisle as attendees come in the door. So we moved on up. Things have gotten better every year since. The bad news with that is that Richard is focusing more on his writing and no longer attends the festival. We got to keep our new space, but we miss Richard and his wit and charm tremendously.

Andrew Gross

The Dark Tide

So I drove in on Thursday so I could rest up for Friday set up. I am not as young and spry as I used to be and need the recovery time. So I got into town, checked into my hotel and spent the night in bed with Andrew Gross. Not only is Andrew handsome, but he is extraordinarily talented. And all of you with your minds in the gutter, you should be ashamed of yourself. I am reading THE DARK TIDE and if you follow me on Twitter you will know that I usually only get to read in the potty (and Andrew was okay with that), but I made the jump and actually packed his book to bring with me. I just couldn’t leave him at home.

The Advocae

Teresa Burrell, author of THE ADVOCATE is my actual roommate on this trip and she arrived at 5 am this morning, via Amtrak from FL. I did manage to fall back asleep for a couple hours, but then I had IHOP on my mind and we had to get up and go to breakfast. If anyone wants to butter Teresa up, IHOP is her favorite breakfast restaurant.

The best of Sam Morton

After breakfast we met Sam Morton, author of DISAVOWED and the recently released, and very controversial Young Adult novel BETRAYED at the convention center to set up our booth. For the record, we are in Booth 102 in the Columbia Convention Center.

As I was checking in I ran to my favorite SC conference gal Nancy who always makes me smile.

I got another pleasant surprise when my most favorite children’s author, Bobbi Hinman, came strolling up the aisle. If you have small children who love books, you MUST visit http://www.bestfairybooks.com. She is the author of THE KNOT FAIRY, THE SOCK FAIRY, THE BELLYBUTTON FAIRY, and the upcoming coming THE FART FAIRY. Bobby is one of the neatest people ever and I was so thrilled to see her and hubby Harry.

: Thomas Riley

Soon after, superstar Nick Valentino, author of THOMAS RILEY, a super cool steampunk novel, showed up to set up his display. If you have never met Nick or seen him in action, you definitely need to come by our booth and meet him. It is well worth the trip.

With all the work out of the way, it was back to the hotel room where I have been holed up and doing some brainstorming with a few authors. But now I think you are probably all bored senseless and I should close off.

I’ll be popping in again tomorrow to let you know how our first day of sales went. Don’t forget to stop in and see us.

It all Started…

Posted on February 14, 2010 | 1 comment

Okay, I wrote this post while on my trip but could not get good enough access to post it. So just prend that we have gone back in time and it is actually happening, though for obvious reasons I will NOT be traveling back with you.

* * *

Well, here I am. I am sitting in the parlor of my husband’s parent’s house in Islamabad, Pakistan. We have been here since Sunday. For those of you wondering why we chose Pakistan, it is because of family. This is my husband’s birthplace and he comes every year to see his family. This is my first trip abroad and I am really enjoying it. Did I mention I am writing this in the dark? Load-sharing. Every two hours the lights go off for an hour. The family all gathers in one room and talks. It is amazing to see families talking. This is something sorely lacking in American culture. People don’t talk AT you here, they talk TO you.

Let’s start at the beginning.

We flew Delta and Emirates. The food on Emirates was better than most restaurant food I have had. I was in absolute heaven. The planes are really nice and I got to catch up on my movies a bit. I watched G.I. Joe, not bad. I enjoyed it, but I won’t need to buy it for rewatching.

The Proposal

Then I watched The Proposal with Sandra Bullock. Now, I must say that everyone out there better hope I NEVER become the kind of publisher that Sandra played in this movie. On the other hand, this was one of the funniest movies I have seen in a VERY long time. It was 3 am, everyone else was sleeping on the plane and I was laughing out loud. Hubby shooshed me several times. It was FABULOUS!!

I also watch UP. I really really enjoyed that one. Will definitely need to own both of the latter DVDs.

Okay, my actual visit.

Day 1: I arrived at Pakistan at 2 am. My luggage did NOT! It seems Emirates chose not to put 10 pieces of luggage on and 3 of them were mine.

Day 2: Still no luggage. I am wearing the same clothes I flew in because NO ONE in Pakistani is the same size as me. Went shopping for clothes to change into. Nothing. Mother-in-law and sister-in-law had some fabric so we took it to the tailor to have an outfit made for me. Will pick it up on Monday.

Day 3: Luggage finally arrived at noon. Shortly after picking up suit that was made too small. STILL wearing clothes I flew in.

Day 4: Woke up at 3 a.m. sick. Trying not to be a downer, and after lunch went shopping with MIL, SIL, husband and 14-y-o nephew. Still sick, but able to buy fabric for 5 more outfits. Never too sick to shop.

I am loving the food, though milk straight from (whatever animal) is giving me some issues. Did I mention the food is AWESOME?

Now let’s talk about the traffic and driving. Wrong side of the road…was prepared for that. But there do not appear to be any traffic signs, speed limits, or traffic lights that work. It is my observation that EVERYONE drives on the same side of the road–the MIDDLE–going both directions. I am not the squeamish type, but both trips out into traffic almost rendered me unconscious! No exaggeration.

Just found out that we are going to Lahore on Sunday and the following Sunday there will be a small gathering for us with just family, only 40 people. OY!

Well, that is it for today’s update. For those of you wondering what the publisher in me is doing while here. I am editing a manuscript, have been working on royalty statements (inserting data) and checking out the local bookstores. There are TONS of bookstores around here. How cool is that?

Until next time…

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Posted in Blatherings

Tagged airlines, authors, books, emirates, mnomvies, Pakistan, Ryan Reynolds, Sandra Bullock, The Proposal, traffic

A Day of Rest

Posted on August 16, 2009 | 9 comments

For most people Sunday is a day of rest. Not at our house. For some reason this is the day my husband has chosen for us to put everything back into order from the week before. So let’s talk about what I did today.

Thankfully, we went grocery shopping yesterday, so the Wal-mart and Sam’s Club trip was out of the way. Of course we left at 10:30 am yesterday and got home just before 3:00. But that was yesterday.

I got up this morning, late of course, I rarely sleep until 10, but today I did. When I got up I found that yesterday I had mentioned making a big breakfast, so I did. For those of you who know me, I am not so much the health freak, but now that my mother aka the general manager is living with us, her and I are on a course for better health and increased endurance, so healthy eating it is. Mush to my husband’s dismay, we are dragging him along with us. Poor thing is starving. LOL

I made our wonderful breakfast. Boiled eggs, hash browns, low sodium turkey bacon, and fruit. Mom had a bowl of cereal w/ a banana, hubby had a piece of my homemade Applesauce Cinnamon Raisin bread that I made yesterday, and I had a Nutrigrain and fruit bar. All in all a great start. We all sat at the table as a family and ate together. Nicely done.

We then cleaned the apartment. Dusting vacuuming, putting things away, unpacking mom’s suitcases, scrubbing bathrooms, and mopping floors. When does the madness end I ask you???

I made lunch. Rice with ground turkey and spices, carrots, and 18 grapes. Yes 18 each. All of this I did while mom read her David Baldacci book. Um…what’s wrong with this picture? Again, we all sat at the table and ate together. Shocking!

Well, then I had to come into the office and unload boxes of books that were received over the last week, you know the ones that I had to take out of the main room where they sat against a wall all week. So I had to rearrange shelves to make room, and stow away all the packing filler and break down boxes etc.

So then once all that was done, we started in on laundry. Five loads later, it is all washed, dried, and now stacked precariously across my bed. Sleep is not imminent…sigh.

Wheat Bread Run Amuck! I put the ingredients into the bread maker for this week’s loaf. Wheat bread-made white last week, thought I would alternate. Well, 2+ hours later, the wheat bread had run amok. Yes, I mean amok. This picture is verifiable proof of what happens when good wheat bread gets attitude. So tomorrow, I will make a loaf of white bread. Wheat bread be damned!

Okay, I worked a little bit on a new plan that Echelon has for increasing our eBook sales. New products on the horizon for interested readers. Keep checking back. So by the time 4:00 rolled around it was time to get dinner ready, so I plunks a chicken into a pan with some cut up potatoes and carrots, popped it into the oven and waited…and waited…and waited. Finally at 7:00 I said the hell with the crunchy carrots and took it out, made gravy, and we all sat down at the table for dinner together. Huh!

That my friend’s is a record for me. It is the first time ever that I sat down with anyone (much less the same people) three times in one day to eat all of our meals together at the table as a family. Ever in my life. No kidding.

Why have I told you all this? Because after this day, I am just too damn tired to try and think of anything clever to say and I really wanted to post a new blog. So, there you have it.

What did you do on this day of rest? Top my day (and be honest) and I will e-mail you a FREE PDF of my novel DARK SHINES MY LOVE. But it’s gonna have to be good to earn a free books! 🙂

If you actually rested, you can always go to Amazon and buy a copy of my book. I would appreciate the sale. LOL