Year: 2007

  • Book signings and more …

    All right, I have officially set up some May book signings and readings for Karma Girl. Yeah! Here’s what I have so far:

    May 5: I’ll be at Barnes & Noble in Johnson City, Tenn. Time to be determined shortly.

    May 8: I’ll be at Madagascar Coffee Co. in Kingsport, Tenn. Time to be determined shortly, but it will be after 5 p.m. I’ll be doing a short reading, answering questions about writing and publishing, and signing and selling books. (I’ll actually be answering questions at all the events).

    May 12: I’ll be at B Dalton Bookseller in the Bristol Mall in Bristol, Va. from 12:30-2:30 p.m.

    May 12: I’ll be at Books-A-Million on Roan Street in Johnson City, Tenn. from 4-6 p.m.

    I’m also going to be appearing at the Thomas Memorial Branch Public Library in Bluff City, Tenn., and hopefully at the Bristol Public Library in Bristol, Va. and Waldenbooks in the Fort Henry Mall in Kingsport, Tenn. 

    There will be more to details and events come over the next few weeks, so stay tuned! 🙂

  • Pushy and demanding …

    4 Comments

    I spent my Saturday visiting every comic-book and bookstore in my region. I got my business cards and book fliers ready, got in my car, and went around and accosted people. Here’s my spiel:

    Hi, I’m a local author. I have a book coming out in May. (Hand flier to person. Smile). I was wondering if you’d be interested in carrying a few copies or perhaps hosting a book signing. (Smile some more).

    Responses varied. Some folks were really interested in what I had to say (yeah!). Others were not (meh). By the end of the day, I was exhausted — physically and mentally.

    I love talking to people who read. What they like, what they don’t like. I enjoy talking about writing, creating characters, building worlds, etc. I enjoy debating the merits of various TV shows and movies and music. I don’t like to talk so much about myself, mainly because my day job as a journalist is to listen to other people speak.

    But what I really don’t like is cold-calling people, which is essentially what I did Saturday. I always feel like a used car salesman, pushing stuff on people that they don’t really want. But promoting is part of being a writer, so I’ve just got to suck it up and do it anyway. Hopefully, it will get a little easier after the book comes out, and I get some name recognition going.

    On the bright side, I did set up some book signings, so I’ll be posting those dates in a few weeks when I get my schedule finalized. 🙂

    What about you? Do you love promoting? Dread book signings? Inquiring minds want to know …

  • Meh comments …

    4 Comments

    Every once in a while, I google myself just to see what people are saying about the books. Today, I came across a strange comment, posted by someone who has evidently seen/read Karma Girl.

    It wasn’t good, but it wasn’t bad. It was just what my significant other and I call a meh comment. Roughly translated, Meh means I don’t care one way or the other. Or It won’t kill me, but I’m not overly enthused about the prospect. Like when I ask my significant other if he wants to go to a particular restaurant. Sometimes, he looks at me, shrugs, and says Meh.

    What I read today was definitely a Meh. It wasn’t a scathing review, but it didn’t make my day be a barrel of sunshine either. But, I’m going to let it go and hope that the good comments will outweigh the Meh ones.

    So what do you do about Meh comments? Scathing reviews? Do you fight back or let them slide? Inquiring minds want to know …

  • I’m an Amazon addict …

    4 Comments

    Okay, I have to confess something.

    I’m completely addicted to Amazon. More specifically, to checking my sales numbers for Karma Girl. I know, I know, it’s not even out yet. It won’t be out for three more months (May 1 to be exact). But evidently, Amazon keeps track of pre-orders and posts those ranks too.

    Right now, I am #711,130 in Books. That’s up from the 1.3 million range I was in last week, but down from my high of 400,000 and some earlier this week. Since I don’t know exactly how many books Amazon is selling, I don’t really know what my rank is.

    How many books would you have to sell to get into the top 10,000? The top 1,000? The top 100? A girl can dream …

    Maybe I’ll check it again in a few minutes … just in case it went up …

    What about you? Do you obsess over Amazon rankings? Inquiring minds want to know …

  • A reader comments on superheroes …

    10 Comments

    On one of my Web pages, I invite people to e-mail me and tell me who their favorite hero is and why. Well, I got my first e-mail about superheroes today. rvarnum writes: 

    How do you choose just one? I will have to go with Storm of the X-men. She can control the weather. The amazing gift and the character’s morals make her really intriguing and paralleled to mother earth. Who does not fear wild storms? She is badass!

    I totally agree. Storm is definitely one of the coolest characters around. But I have to say that my favorite is Wonder Woman. She gets to wear a tiara, plus she has an invisible jet and a lasso of truth. How cool is that?

    I’m also rather fond of Rogue, Batman, Spider-Man, and, of course, Wolverine. 😉

    Who’s your favorite hero or villain? Inquiring minds want to know …