Tag Archives: readers

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.

You can’t go home…

Posted on January 3, 2010 | 7 comments

I recently read a series of posts on a Yahoo group that I found very sad. Not jus sad, but very sad. Several people spoke of their pasts and where they came from. The images evoked such dismay that I could not let it pass without comment.

Graceland, Memphis, TN

These poor people talked about how things had changed in the places and neighborhoods where they once lived. They told sad stories of vandalized homes and razor wire surrounding schools. Heartbreaking. I understand. I try not to go home because it is always such a disappointment to me to see how things have deteriorated. I also found great sadness during the few years I lived in Memphis. A city filled with such historical splendor and it is horribly abused and neglected. What could I do? Well, one thing I am doing is working on a story that celebrates some of Memphis’ fine history. Some day it will see publication and others will be able to enjoy the thrill I get each time I am there and I dig for the richness that once was.

In twelve days I will be traveling to Pakistan with my husband. That is the land of his birth and I know that every time he goes back, the changes affect him dramatically. But he has never lost site of what was and is still is mportant to him about home. I learn a lot from him.

With that in mind, I propose this.

As writers and publishers don’t you think we could make a change in all this? Every time I go home I feel lost. I admit it. But I just keep moving and try not to look back, like if I don’t pay attention it won’t really be there. It serves no good purpose.

What if as a collective a group of writers and publisher started a movement to rebuild our old communities and surroundings, one page at a time? We use words as our tools. We paint pictures with those words. We have the ability and the talent to bring those images of beauty and peace back to those areas and to those people who now inhabit them.

What if 1000 writers all took to their computers and wrote essays, articles, short stories, books, etc. painting the images that we so vividly recall?

I would think that with as many magazines as there are out there that a series of well-written articles with some beautifully nostalgic photos might bring about the stirrings of possible change.

We can all hang out here and feel bad about it, but what if we each made one little effort and then went to one other person to make one little effort, and so on? Don’t you think that the power of the word has the ability to change? It can certainly change for the worse, why don’t we MAKE it change for the better?

These places are our heritage, our roots, doesn’t that make it our responsibility to breathe life back into them?

I’d love hear about where you are from.

7 Comments

Posted in Blatherings, Creativity

Tagged author, authors, change, family, Graceland, heritage, history, home, life, Memphis, Pakistan, publishing, readers, roots, Tennessee, TN, writers, Writing

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