Tag: writing

The power of one

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, author, book reviews, books, family, friends, Holidays, local fun, writing

I have been giving a lot of talks at local libraries. For my most recent one, I personally invited and Facebook invited a lot of people.

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A lot.

Plus, it was a full moon in Gemini (my sign)! At 7:05pm! And my talk started at 7:00PM!

I know this is a busy time of year for us all, but I was expecting at least 10 people or so.

When it 6:59pm and still no one had come, I began to consider that maybe I had saturated my geographic location.

If no one came (as I have heard sometimes happens, but thankfully had never happened to me), my Plan B was to have my husband make a video of me reading so I could post it on my YouTube Channel (still evolving–don’t judge it). At least this would be time well spent, right?

What I learned: Don’t accept a time slot that starts when the library is CLOSED. Duh. I’m not sure why they even did that… oh, wait. Yes, I do. I took the slot because I was hoping to sell a lot of books before Christmas, and this was the only December slot they had. They had one slot available in January, but I thought people might not come out in the cold when they weren’t possibly out already, shopping for the holidays (books make great gifts!). Note: the temperature was in the 20’s last night.

And then, at 7:05pm, one person came into the room.

My audience had arrived. She probably didn’t really feel like going out, but she wanted to support a fellow writer/author, and guess what?

SHE DID.

Thank you again, Katherine. ❤

For some reason, this song was in my head on my way home from the event, so I am including it here for your listening pleasure:

Humble

by Karen, posted in books, Grace, local fun, writing

Today I was so excited to get a copy of the York Weekly newspaper that my husband and I braved the ice and snow and rode down to the York Hannaford to pick it up before work. After I ascertained that the article did, in fact, run this week (there was a photo of me and of my book cover right there on page B3 of the Living Section!), I folded the paper back up. I didn’t read it on the way home.

york-weekly-article

This was a do-over chance. The first article that was written in the newspaper about me publishing my first novel had many errors (including the name of the main character! Her name is NOT Bebe Kristen Davis!) and so was very disappointing.
I had high hopes for this time around.

When we got home, I had to go right to work, so my husband started reading it. “I found something that you’re not going to be happy about,” he began.

Seriously?
Here is the line: “…she is a registered nurse, a health coach, weight gain teacher and author. 

Guess which part is wrong? Was it that stupid autocorrect?

Now the irony here is that I was just commiserating with a friend yesterday about how I had lost 30 lbs on Weight Watchers several years ago and then gained some of it back–talk about adding insult to injury!

Also, lesson learned. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I should have asked if I could give it a once over before the story ran.

And then I remembered myoneword for 2016: GRACE. I could just accept this with grace. I have made plenty of errors in my own writing, and have always felt terrible when I noticed them (or they were gracefully pointed out to me by others) after the fact.

Here is the article (it has since been corrected): Wells Author will Speak at York Library

This came to mind after the events of this morning, so I’m sharing it with you all:

I won NaNoWriMo 2016!!

by Karen, posted in books, Brave books, NaNoWriMo, writing

So, this was not my first NaNoRodeo, as many of you loyal readers already know. This was my 7th consecutive NaNo i-won-nanowrimo-2016win. I am so proud! I don’t always know what I will be writing, but this year I did.
I almost never write an outline prior to starting, but this year I did.

I always build in a buffer of five days in case I something comes up and I have to take a day off from writing, but that didn’t happen this year. I finished five days early!

I didn’t really look at my outline much as I was writing, but when I finished I discovered I had covered everything!

One thing that was the same this year is this: once I started writing, the words flowed out in a smooth (mostly) stream. I remembered not to edit as I was going and not to over think it, which is the death of all good “shitty first drafts” (nod to Anne Lamotte’s Bird by Bird).

Success!

Top 10 tips (I think!) for having successful author reading

by Karen, posted in author, books, local fun

As I mentioned in my prior blog post, there is a definite learning curve to this whole ‘promoting your book’ thing. The biggest lesson I’ve learned is this: assume nothing! (Remember Felix Unger’s lesson on what happens when you ASSUME?!).

Anyway, here are what I think are the top 10 tips (in no particular order) for having a successful (eg: well attended) author reading.

  1. Create a Facebook event (you can figure it out; it’s not hard) and then share it on your own page, your author page, and the pages of any friends that will have you.
  2. Make an author page on Facebook, if you haven’t done that yet.
  3. Design some flyers (this can be as simple as a photo of your book, the date, time, and place of your event) and put them up around the town where you’ll be speaking (grocery stores, hairdressers, health food stores…any place that has a community bulletin board).
  4. Ask the person with whom you book your event to send out a press release to any and every newspaper that they can.
  5. Write a press release, so it will be ready when you need it. This can be as simple as your (short) bio, your book title and a little about it, and again the date, time, and place of your talk.
  6. Word of mouth is your friend: tell people and ask them to tell people: their friends, their families.
  7. Make sure you bring business cards, book marks, and any other promotional materials you’ve got to every talk and/or signing you do.
  8. Consider offering a ‘free gift with purchase’ to your book buyers. This doesn’t need to cost  you much at all. In my book, there is an Italian grandmother who makes the best gravy in the entire world, so I gave out a recipe for it (from my own Italian Nana, whose recipe really IS the best in the entire world) as a bonus gift.
  9. It doesn’t ever hurt to have chocolate spread out around your book. As people reach for the chocolate, you are also drawing their eyes (and hands!) toward your book!
  10. If you are doing a library talk, they usually will have a sidewalk easel to put out to alert people about your event. Make sure they use it for you!

That’s all I have for you today. Please comment below if you have any additional tips that have worked for you!

Stevie Nicks in Boston

by Karen, posted in no fear, writing

I saw The Pretenders and Stevie Nicks at the TD Boston Garden this week. The Pretenders opening for Stevie Nicks? OMG.

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Stevie Nicks and Chrissy Hynde

A.MAZ.ING.

I saw Stevie Nicks once before, when I was in my extremely early 20’s (or maybe even late teens). It was by accident. I was at a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers concert, when they started playing Stop Dragging My Heart Around and Tom started singing and then (the way I remember it), suddenly you could hear Stevie Nicks singing her part, and then there she was, walking on stage. Unbelievable! What a gift that was.

This time, Stevie started singing the song, after saying that Tom Petty wasn’t there, and then Chrissy Hynde joined in, walking out on stage singing Tom Petty’s part! Talk about a time warp. (PS: They rocked it!!)

This was more than a concert for Stevie this time around. She had a message to deliver. She said over and over that she is a writer. She never said songwriter. She said writer. She also said that she doesn’t feel old, even though at age sixty-eight, she most certainly was old, by anyone’s definition. She had written a song when she was twenty-one and never got to sing it on stage. It was always a dream of hers, and now, ate age sixty-eight, she was finally realizing it! Her message is this: only you know what your dreams are, and it’s never too late to make them come true.

And then she said Beacon Street was awesome and she was so moving there.

🙂 Right? It’s never to late to have a dream and to make it come true.

[Stevie and Chrissy singing Stop Dragging My Heart Around this week in Boston. Sorry for the crappy picture but it’s the only one I was able to get. P.S. Remember when we all had our lighters lit in the audience at concerts? Now the audience is all lit up with cell phones! HA!]

And here, for your listening and viewing pleasure, is my favorite song by The Pretenders:

Blog Identity Crisis

by Karen, posted in author, writing

I’ve been experimenting with different looks for my blog, which some of you will (of course) have noticed. I actually spent a lot of time setting it to look ‘more professional’, with my author presence dominating the show. As my husband is always telling me, “Focus!”

cropped-1st-booksiging-author-expo.jpgHere’s the thing, though. I have to reinterpret what the word focus means to me. In this case, I interpreted it to mean focus on one thing. In this case, I chose my authorship (word!). I redesigned the blog to highlight that.

It’s changing how I’m writing, though. I used to write about anything and everything  but now when I go to write something, I’m thinking, how does this fit in with my blog’s look. Should the way my blog looks be informing what I write about?
I don’t think so. Also, when I look up my blog online, I don’t recognize it anymore.

I took a writing class last weekend and one of the participants mentioned how he had spent a lot of time working on pieces that he never did anything with, and how wasn’t that a waste of time. I told him that I didn’t think so, because all of that work got him to where he is today. It was part of the process. It was therefore all worthwhile. So I am applying my good feedback to myself and my blog. All of the work I did helped me figure out what I don’t want.

So for now, I’m going back to the old look. I may continue to experiment, but I want my blog to be about the writing, not about the theme.

The BRAVE Interview #4 November 2016: Kristen Conley Leighton

by Karen, posted in author, books, Interviews, no fear, The BRAVE Interviews, writing

Hello and welcome to the next in the series of The BRAVE Interviews! It’s the Who, What, When, Where, How,  (and sometimes Why) of YOUR ‘one brave thing’!

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Welcome to Interview #4 with Kristen Conley Leighton!

  1. WHO are you? Share whatever you want to about yourself personally.

Wow, so we’re starting with the hardest question!  Most days, I’m not really sure.   That statement can be traced back to the day I was born.  See, I was switched at birth.  Truly.  I was somehow confused with another baby girl born at almost the exact same time.  The next morning, a nurse arrived in my mother’s room with the wrong bundle. “That’s not my baby,” my mother said to her.  “Go back and try again.”   

The socially acceptable answer: My name is Kristen Conley Leighton.  I am a yoga teacher and a storyteller/writer. 

  1. WHAT is your One Brave Thing (so far!!) for 2016?

I destroyed a manuscript that I had been working on for seven years.  I’m not sure if that is brave or just plain stupid.

My trusted readers advised me to set the manuscript aside because so much of the story wasn’t working for them.  The consensus was that I should begin writing a new novel.  I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was born to tell THAT story, the one I’d just thrown away.  Instead of taking the professional advice, I turned to a blank screen and began rewriting the manuscript I had discarded.

  1. WHEN did you do it?

 It was March of this year. 

  1. WHERE did it occur?

The magic happened in the space in my home where I read, write, and practice yoga.

  1. HOW did you make it happen?

 I had burned the pages, permanently deleted all the drafts from my computer, and smashed the memory stick with a hammer before putting it in the trash.  I had no other choice.  It was a good thing, really.  

  1. WHY did you do it?

That’s a great question, and one my husband keeps asking over and over again.  It probably would have been easier to start working on something new.  That said, I had a pretty strong feeling that if I couldn’t save the drowning man in my novel, I’d never be able to save myself.  I felt like I had to tell the story.  And, based on feedback from the original manuscript, I had to find a better way to tell it.

This novel and its main character brought me closer to all of my well-guarded fears and insecurities than I’d ever come before.  The subject I was writing about could not be explored from a safe distance.  When I tackled the story in a more honest way and allowed myself to dive in and swim around in all of that fear and insecurity, well, I think it resulted in a more empathetic character in the final draft.   If you love a drowning man with a fierce heart, he just might figure out how to swim to shore on his own.  The first draft lacked heart.  Deep down, maybe I always knew that. 

So, that’s it.  It’s not glamorous…but it is my “one brave thing.”

Thank you so much for telling your story here, Kristen!

Check out Kristen Conley Leighton’s other writings here on her website:

https://kcleighton.com/

Jodi Picoult at the Music Hall

by Karen, posted in author, books, friends, Life's too short to read bad books, local fun, writing

My friend Deb and I went to see Jodi Picoult read from her new book, Small Great Things. After picoult4she read, she was interviewed by Virginia from New Hampshire Public Radio.

What was good: Jodi’s reading of an excerpt of her book was dramatic and entertaining. It was definitely a performance worth hearing. Being able to ask her questions was also nice.

I liked the venue. The Portsmouth Music Hall is an older theater with loads of character and charm.

I also got the idea of selling tickets to my own author talks from this, and including the cost of the book in the ticket price. Smart, right? So you dont’ have to worry about investing a lot of time and money in an event and not selling books. I might try this someday, you know, when I’m famous.

What wasn’t so good: The price! Not only did you have to buy a ticket to hear the talk, you also had to buy a book. Hardcover fiction is not generally something I spend money on. This made for a pretty pricey evening. Also, the books were pre-signed. Not for nothing, but we had to take it on faith that she actually signed them herself. Just sayin’.

Also, while I did like that she took audience questions, I did not like that she only took some of our questions, and the ones she did take were pre-screened. There was really zero contact with her whatsoever, other than watching and listening. Not interactive.

It was more of an author show than an author talk, more formal than casual. I suppose in the future I should keep the difference in mind. I prefer the latter over the former.

All in all, the book sounds great. The protagonist is a nurse, and (as some of you know) so am I, so if I had to buy a hardcover fiction book by Jodi, I guess this was the one (NOTE: It better not end like My Sister’s Keeper).

 

Meet the (Maine!) Author: Mary Lawrence

by Karen, posted in books, local fun, writing

Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting the well-known author of The Alchemist’s Daughter when she gave a talk at the Kennebunk Library. Who knew Mary Lawrence lived in Maine?

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I first noticed Mary’s book because of the cover, once again proving the rule: The cover sells the book. This is the first book in a series called The Bianca Goddard Mysteries. Book Two is Death of an Alchemist. The third book in the series is due out right after Christmas, called Death at St Vedast. Note to yourself: If you start reading now, you’ll be ready to read book three by then!

🙂

If you ever get the opportunity to hear Mary speak and read from her books, GO! You’ll have a pleasant break from those pesky chores that–let’s face it–are always going to be still waiting for you until you get home. Why not go have some fun first? Oh, and support a Maine Author!

Mary says her books are meant to be fast, fun reads. I can’t wait to read The Alchemist’s Daughter. I will be reviewing it here on my blog when I finish it.

Mary’s books are available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and Books-a- Million.

 

 

My first TV interview: Be My Guest

by Karen, posted in author, books, TV series, writing

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When I participated in the New England Authors Expo, I met Jan Lewis. She subsequently invited me to be a guest on her show, Be My Guest.

This was my first TV interview since I became a published author.

Okay, my first one ever.

Anyway, My husband came with me for the two hour road trip to Upton, Massachusetts. The episodes are taped at the Upton Town Library. We toured downtown Upton (note: it was quick) and ate lunch at The Upton House of Pizza (bacon pizza and a chicken parm sub).

Jan Lewis, the host of Be My Guest was wonderful!

I had a blast! Being interviewed was so much fun!

That is, until I started Monday morning quarterbacking the shit out of it.

Talk about stealing my joy.

So enough, already. It WAS fun. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

P.S. As soon as I know when it will air, I will post the information on my FB page: https://www.facebook.com/k.m.creamer.author/