String Bridge by Jessica Bell - a sneak peek

Tomorrow I'll be interviewing Jessica Bell about her debut novel, String Bridge, and I'll post my review of it.

But I wanted to give you a sneak peek today because I am so in awe of this author. Not only is she a marvelous writer and poet - I also reviewed her poetry book, Twisted Velvet Chain, a few months ago, but so astute at marketing. Her goal was to be number one on Amazon on November 11, and she got pretty darn close. She asked all her friends and writing colleagues to post information about String Bridge on their blogs that day and also got them to post a link to Amazon from their Twitter, Goodreads, and Facebook accounts, inundating everyone - in my mind a totally brilliant move. She also created a twenty-day blog tour that started on November 1, the day Lucky Press (my publisher too) released her book. Many, many people were very happy to participate - including me.


You can bet that I've learned a huge lesson from Jessica. I already knew it takes a lot of work to market a book, but it also takes creating relationships and lots of planning and follow through. Jessica must have sent me twenty thank you emails throughout this process.


Here's a little snippet of what String Bridge is about.


"Greek cuisine, smog and domestic drudgery was not the life Australian musician, Melody, was expecting when she married a Greek music promoter and settled in Athens, Greece. Keen to play in her new shoes, though, Melody trades her guitar for a 'proper' career and her music for motherhood. That is, until she can bear it no longer and plots a return to the stage—and the person she used to be. However, the obstacles she faces along the way are nothing compared to the tragedy that awaits, and she realizes she's been seeking fulfillment in the wrong place."

New traditions for our 2011 holidays

Now that I’ve ordered our Thanksgiving turkey, I’ve started to think about the holidays. They are always hard for me since we don’t have Paul with us, but this year’s Thanksgiving will be different and I suspect very wonderful. We’re sharing it with our daughter-in-law Marissa’s family. Everyone will come to our house and bring their Thanksgiving specialty dish to share. I’m the turkey, gravy, stuffing, and cranberries person. The rest is up to our ten guests. I can’t wait to try some new foods, get to know my new family better, and perhaps start a new Thanksgiving tradition.

A friend of mine recently sent me this piece about ways to change our holiday gift giving traditions. I think there are a lot of good ideas here. If you agree, please share them with your family and friends. Maybe we can show we care about each other in a whole new way this year.

The Holidays 2011 -- Birth of a New Tradition

As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high
gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods -
merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor. This
year will be different. This year Americans will give the gift of genuine
concern for other Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift
giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands. Yes
there is! It's time to think outside the box, people. Who says a gift needs to fit in
a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper?  

Everyone - yes EVERYONE gets a hair cut. How about gift certificates from your local American hair salon or barber?

Gym membership? It's appropriate for all those who are thinking about some
health improvement.

Who wouldn't appreciate getting their car detailed? Small, American owned
detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a
book of gift certificates.

Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of plunking down
the Benjamins on a Chinese made flat-screen? Perhaps that grateful gift
receiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or
driveway plowed all winter, or games at the local golf course.

There are a bazillion owner-run restaurants - all offering gift
certificates. And, if your intended isn't the fancy eatery sort, what about
a half dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint. Remember, folks this
isn't about big National chains -- this is about supporting your home town
Americans with their financial lives on the line to keep their doors open.

How many people couldn't use an oil change for their car, truck or
motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American working guy?

Thinking about a heartfelt gift for Mom? Mom would LOVE the services of a
local cleaning lady for a day.

My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find some young guy who is struggling to get his repair business up and running.

OK, you were looking for something more personal. Local crafts people spin
their own wool and knit them into scarves. They make jewelry, and pottery
and beautiful wooden boxes.

Plan your holiday outings at local, owner operated restaurants and leave
your server a nice tip. And, how about going out to see a play or ballet at
your hometown theatre?

Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.

Honestly, do you REALLY need to buy another ten thousand Chinese
lights for the house when you buy a five-dollar string of lights, about
fifty cents stays in the community? If you have those kinds of bucks to
burn, leave the mailman, trash guy or babysitter a nice BIG tip.

You see, The holidays are no longer about draining American pockets so that
China can build another glittering city. The holidays are now about caring about
the U.S., encouraging American small businesses to keep plugging away to follow their dreams. And, when we care about other Americans, we care about our communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn't imagine.

THIS is the new American holidays tradition.

Please share this to everyone on your mailing list -- post it to discussion
groups -- throw up a post on Craigslist in the Rants and Raves section in
your city -- send it to the editor of your local paper and radio stations,
and TV news departments. This is a revolution of caring about each other,
and isn't that what the holidays are about?

A perfect day for a walk on the beach

I usually take a big long walk to the beach on Sunday mornings, but now that it's lighter at six o'clock, I decided a walk this morning would be a nice change from the monotony of the gym. And I wasn't disappointed. As the sun began to appear I could see for blocks up the beach and all the way to Catalina. 

 The bike path looking toward the Manhattan Beach pier

 Hey, Catalina's out for a change

I could even see the strings of lights atop the pier round house

Book Fair - Lessons Learned

Since I wrote my last post about going to participate as an exhibitor at the Ventura County Author Book Fair last Saturday, November 5, I thought I’d follow up with some observations.

 The Good Things

·      I sold seven books.

·      I gave away lots and lots of bookmarks.

·      Many people shared their stories of suicide and mental illness in their families when they came by my table, and I got to tell them about the Putting A Face On Suicide project when they admired Paul’s poster.

·      I was at a table at a good location in the room. It faced the center of the room, I felt sorry for the folks who sat at the room’s perimeter and had to face the wall.

·      I had a successful reading – I spoke about the book briefly, read the piece about comforting someone who is grieving, and I read five poems

·      I met some wonderful authors – one who works in oncology who told me a statistic I never knew, that many people who are diagnosed with cancer commit suicide. So she took a lot of my bookmarks to put in her healthcare facilities’ three offices.

·      I also met a poet who studied with Jack Grapes and someone else who recognized Ben and Marissa when she saw the wedding photo in my book. She said she had recently met them at a birthday dinner. It’s amazing what a small world it is.

·      Carol, my cousin who lives in Westlake – quite near the book fair venue – came and brought me lunch, a wonderful turkey, avocado, and cranberry sauce sandwich. We don’t see each other very often so it was a great treat to spend time with her. She also stayed at my table giving out bookmarks while I was reading. Unfortunately she couldn’t hear the reading from where she was in the room.

·      And I met Larken whom I knew virtually through our Facebook Putting a Face On Suicide Facebook site. She makes out the volunteer admin schedule every week. She wrote me a few weeks ago to tell me she got my book for her mother because of the suicide death of her brother just two months ago, and since she doesn’t live too far, she came over to meet me in person. We talked for a couple of hours and she kept telling people who came by how wonderful my book is – that she couldn’t put it down. It was like having my own personal fan club right there with me.  Now I feel like we have known each other forever.

·      Another plus of the day was that Bob dropped me off, helped bring in my stuff, and went to visit a couple of our friends in Santa Barbara while I was working. He returned right at closing time to help me pack up and then drove me home.  So we both had a good day.

A Few Minuses

·      The fee to exhibit was way too high. And since I signed up late – I didn’t know about it until the early bird discount was over – I had to pay even more although I did get a discount since I’m a member of GLAWS

·      Not enough people came through. It was advertised that 1000 folks or so would turn out, and a couple of the other authors and myself thought there couldn’t have been more than 300 the entire day. So I don’t think there was enough advertising, making me wonder what they used the exhibitor’s fee for.

·      Most of the people who came were budding writers who didn’t come to buy books – some even said they had no money with them. They came to pick the brains of the writer’s there.

·      A lot of the exhibitors were self-published. Maybe that’s why I did well. My book is so professional looking. It doesn’t have the self-published look.

·      A lot of the exhibitors were also selling their talents as instructors, as publicists, as writing coaches, as self-publishing gurus, as editors, so it really wasn’t an author’s event.

·      And for such a large fee we really didn’t get a lot in return. We had to bring our own tablecloth and easel and even buy our own water. I felt it would have looked a lot more professional if tablecloths were supplied and they all looked alike. Some folks didn’t even bother to cover their table and some had tablecloths that were so short everything under the table showed.

·      And I thought the worst part was that we had to honor 20 percent discount coupons they gave to people who bought tickets to any of the workshops. So on top of the high fee, I was out another $15 because of the coupon discounts. Supposedly the person with the most coupons got $25, but only one person could take advantage of that.

With all that said, I need to look long and hard about whether I’ll do this particular book fair event again. I might decide to only participate in the ones GLAWS, the Greater Los Angeles Writer’s Society, sponsors. GLAWS provides the tablecloths and its fee for being an exhibitor is much, much less.

But, a year can make a lot of difference. I’ll see how I’ll feel then.

Ventura County Book Fair

Paul's Putting A Face On Suicide poster 

will go to the fair with me

I'll be signing books from ten to four tomorrow at the Ventura County Book Fair, and I'll read about ten minutes at 1:30 pm. The fair will be held in Camarillo California at the The Pleasant Valley Community Park Auditorium, 1605 Burnley Street. So I'd love to see my Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara county friends there. 


But just in case you can't make it, here are a couple of the poems I plan to read from my memoir, Leaving the Hall Light On. You might have read them here before, but for me they are timeless.


My Jazzman

My jazzman                                                              

beat it out

on the mighty eighty-eights,

played those riffs,

tapped his feet

bent his head

down to the keys,

felt those sounds

on his fingertips.

Yeah, he was a hot man

on those eighty-eights.

But all too soon

his bag grew dark.

He went down,

deep down.

My jazzman

played the blues,

lost that spark,

closed the lid.

And, yeah, you got it right,

quit the scene.

laid himself down

in that bone yard

for the big sleep.

Yeah, for the really big sleep.

Buddha
“The dead we can imagine to be anything at all.”  Ann Patchett, Bel Canto, HarperCollins Publishers, (2001)


He sits cross-legged in a tree
deep in concentration,

the way he would sit on the floor of his room,

learning against the bed doing homework,

composing music, talking on the phone.

His closed-mouth grin shows

he is pleased to be where he is.

No longer a skinny rail, his cheeks filled out,

his skin clear, his eyes bright.

His tree has everything – soft jazz sounds

flowing from all directions,

deep vees and pillows for sitting and reclining,

the scent of incense and flowers,

branches of books by Miller, Tolstoy, and Dostoevsky,

the music of Davis, Gould, Bach, and Lennon,

and virtual communication to those he loves.

He needs no furniture, no bedding, no clothes, no food.

Those necessities are for worldly beings.

The passing clouds give him comfort,

and the stars light his way.

Heaven takes care of him

as he imagines himself

to be anything at all.

                                                           

Midweek Work Progress Report

This week has been very productive.

I’ve sent off my second piece for the PsychAlive website, and I got word from the editor that it’s ready to go live. The piece is called “Comforting Those Who Grieve.” I’m still awaiting word from my Savvy Over 60 editor about when my November piece for them will be up.

I also started working on a piece for a new blog I’m interested in called, Heartache to Healing, founded by grief coach, author, and speaker, JoAnne Funch. Hopefully, the piece will be good enough that I’ll be allowed to contribute there once in a while as well.

And I started working on my speech that I’m scheduled to make on November 19 for our local chapter of the American Association of University Women. It was suggested I talk about the mental health and suicide prevention services available in our area. I’ll do that and expand the speech to tell my story of healing after my son’s suicide that I describe in my memoir, Leaving the Hall Light On.

And surprise, surprise, I got a chance to write a poem and work on my novel this morning. I plan to continue with my creative work for the rest of this week.

Then this Saturday I’ll be signing my books from ten in the morning until four in the afternoon at the Ventura County Book Fair at the Pleasant Valley Community Park Auditorium, 1605 Brunley Street in Camarillo – about an hour’s drive from my home in Manhattan Beach. I’ll also get a chance to do a ten-minute reading in the early afternoon. So, if you’re in the neighborhood, please stop by. I’ll be at Table 28.

Of course all of this takes place while I continue my everyday social networking work on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Book Blogs, my blogs on Choices and Red Room and prepare for my next blog tour in the spring. I’ve learned that there is no rest in a writer’s life.

And as my garden Buddha seems to say, it’s all good.

Happy Halloween

Beach Witch

A well-satisfied witch enjoying the people walking along the beach front. Cheers!