At a high school in Minnesota, students are paying a $15.00 activity fee to be part of a book club. You read that right, paying to discuss books. The art of reading is NOT dead, folks!
Edina High group likes to talk books
According to the article, other Metro schools are following suit. Hopefully, high schools in other states will start book clubs, as well.
Raising readers, one good book at a time.
This is how we cooked dinner tonight - burgers and brats and grilled onions.
Temperature: 5 degrees Fahrenheit
Snow depth: 1 foot
Keep in mind that 10 days ago, my roses in the front garden were still blooming.
It smelled like summer for about 30 minutes in my house tonight. Tomorrow is more seasonal fare with venison stew for supper.
As a freelance writer, I have to be thinking about ideas four to six months ahead, to keep articles and/or essays timely to publication months. I have a hell of a time with this. When the muse strikes with an idea for a Christmas story, it's usually in December - too late to submit a query for this year.
So, in order to stay on top of thinking ahead, I've begun a three-ring binder that starts with May, which is four months from now. Every time something pops into my head that is a seasonal idea, I will write it down in the section that corresponds to when I should query the idea. I guess you could call it a freelance writer's idea journal.
I'm also thinking of starting a photo album with four sections - Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. I'll fill it with inspiring pictures of each season, so that I can get myself into how I feel during the seasons, to remind me of story ideas.
Aren't people going to think I'm strange when my office is decorated with tinsel and holly, Christmas carols playing in the background, in August?
My daughter's best friend's mom is stationed in Iraq. I asked him if there was anything I could send along to her when her family sends care packages. He asked her via IM or email, I'm not sure which, and she said, CHOCOLATE!
The temperatures are cooler in Iraq now, so chocolate doesn't melt. In the summer, people don't even bother to send chocolate. So, after Christmas, I will be sending bags of dark chocolate and also some brownies and chocolate chip cookies, because she asked for those, as well.
Ask around, I'm sure someone you know, knows someone serving in Iraq. Random acts of kindness, in the form of chocolate bars, are very good Karma.
This post will have little to do with writing or reading. It's more of a public service announcement than anything else.
I am suffering from a migraine headache hangover this morning. For those of you who have experienced migraines, you know what I mean. My head still hurts, but not as terribly as it did last night, when I threw the kids and the evening chores at my wonderful husband, and crawled into bed around 7:30.
I've learned what causes my migraines. Anytime I ingest MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) I develop a horrible headache within 12 hours. It lasts for a little over 36 hours and pretty much prevents me from getting anything accomplished. My head hurts, my eyes hurt and I feel sick to my stomach. Anyone making noise around me is intolerable.
I read labels religiously to avoid eating MSG. I didn't, however, read the label of the soup I used in the beef stroganoff I made on Monday night. My bad, and I mean really, really bad.
If you want to know more about migraines and MSG, you can Google it. I have actively been avoiding MSG as much as possible, and have cut down my migraine headaches to one every couple of months instead of one every week.
If anyone benefits from this information, I'll be very pleased.
Well, as I type this, it's snowing outside my window. Six inches fell over the course of the day Saturday, and we're expecting at least three more out of this clipper. You may be thinking "It's winter, of course there will be snow.", but winters haven't been particularly snowy around here for a few years now. It's looking as if it may be a truly white Christmas for 2007.
And, oh yes! Christmas! There are 20 shopping days left. I saw this today in an email from Barnes and Noble. If you have writer or avid reader friends, it may be something to consider. And I saw this mentioned on the Absolute Write Water Cooler forums. Pretty nifty, eh?
As for books, I wanted to mention I received an email, a month or so ago,from Dorothy Thompson at Pump Up Your Book Promotion. She wanted to know if I'd be interested in reviewing books for the Virtual Book Tours she arranges for authors. I, of course, said yes! So, some of the books I review I have the extreme good fortune to pick and choose from the authors she's working with, and some I find on my own.
When I review a book for Pump Up Your Book Promotion, I'll be linking to http://www.virtualbooktoursforauthors.blogspot.com/, so that you can read the other blogs hosting the authors/books. I'll also be interviewing Dorothy about Pump Up Your Book Promotion here, soon.
As any writer (who intends to make money) knows, a great majority of time is spent marketing your work and yourself. I asked Jim Melvin, author of The Death Wizard Chronicles, what’s been happening with him since the first book, The Pit, was released on September 3, 2007. His answer follows….
“As you and your readers know, most authors who have signed with a small- to mid-sized publisher are responsible for the majority of their own marketing. To say the least, I am no exception. What have I been doing since Sept. 3? Marketing, marketing, marketing … both in-person and online.
In no particular order, here are some highlights:
* I made a featured appearance at the Times Festival of Reading in St. Petersburg, Fla.
* I appeared in six bookstores.
* I did one video interview here.
* I did five audio interviews here, here, here, here, and here.
* I received an excellent review in a major newspaper here.
* I received another excellent review in a popular blog here.
* I was featured in a major newspaper here.
* I was featured or mentioned in at least a dozen other newspapers.
* I was featured or interviewed on several popular blogs.
* And in December, I’ll be starting a “virtual tour” that will have eighteen stops and that will culminate in a free book giveaway.
Whew!
Of course, I’m not claiming to have set any records. I know there are many authors out there who have far surpassed this in quality and quantity, but at least I’m giving it my best.
How has this affected sales? The first shipment to Amazon already has sold out. Hopefully, the next several shipments will do the same. And my publisher reports good sales on its site. Plus, my series is beginning to appear in selected bookstores, though there’s still a long way to go before it sees the kind of distribution routinely provided by the larger houses.
My hope is that a lot of small steps eventually will add up to big gains.”
-- Jim Melvin
