Jean Henry Mead's Final Tour Stop

Jean Henry Mead


Thinking about a virtual book tour? Do you have what it takes? Here's some insights from Jean Henry Mead who's closing up her tour here today.

BLOG TOURING

Here I am on the last day of my two-week blog tour, exhausted yet happy to have received so many wonderful comments about my book, A Village Shattered, as well as my Wyoming historical novel, Escape, which Angela Wilson also excerpted for her Pop Syndicate site.

What have I learned from this tour? That I was unprepared for the amount of work involved, that I should have started preparing for it months in advance instead of six weeks ahead of time, and that I probably should have taken the time to cultivate more blog sites with huge followings. But I felt more comfortable asking writers whose names I knew well, and who might also benefit from added exposure. The figures are not in yet, so I don’t know if that’s actually happened.

My blog hosts have been great and their creative skills have exceeded my expectations. They really made me feel at home, and Marvin Wilson even took time from his own blog tour to host mine for a day. Holly Jahangiri offered technical advice as did Lillie Ammann and Ron Berry. Angela featured both me and my books for three days at her site, and Holly, Lillie, Vivian Zabel, Beth Groundwater, Marvin, Emma Larkins and Ron willingly (well, maybe just a little arm twisting), read my book and interviewed my novel characters. What fun that was!

I also got some very nice book reviews from Ron and Dana Fredsti as well as advanced publicity from Charlotte Phillips, Emma, Helen, Ron and L.J. Sellers, Beth, Dana and Lillie. And insightful interviews from L.J, Angela and Ron, so if someone out there is looking for blog hosts, I highly recommend all of them. (I hope it’s not them I hear groaning in the background.)

The Rule of Three blew me away. Three writers on the same blog site from England, Australia and the USA, all making me feel welcome and receptive to my Senior Women Sleuths article, as did Helen Ginger, who rushed back from her interview trip in time to host my tour.

Thank you, everyone!

I also learned that as your blog tour gains momentum, the amount of comments begin to drop off and there’s a feeling of panic that no one will be commenting before the tour is over. Thankfully, that didn’t happen. About the middle of the tour my computer crashed, taking with it my address book, articles and three chapters of a new book that I hadn’t taken time to backup. Fortunately, my husband was able to retrieve most of it. And I’m hoping Santa will bring me a new computer.

What better place than Morgan’s Double M Corral to end my tour. Morgan works hard at her many blog sites and puts out 110% in everything she does. She advertised my blog tour on her tour bus, as did Holly on her new blog touring site.

I’m blessed to have had so many writers working with me to make this tour a success. And a success it has been because A Village Shattered reached the #1 spot on Fictionwise-ePress’s bestseller list in multi format and isn’t doing too badly at Amazon in print.

A week ago I received an announcement stating that I could be on the Amazon bestseller list for just $497. A self-published nonfiction writer is offering novices the chance to work with her and a group of other writers who will cross promote each other. Included in her program is blog touring. I was very tempted to say that I could pay full price for 33 copies of my print book for $497, which would make me a bestseller on Amazon.com. And all of us on the tour, save one, have benefitted from the excellent advice of Dani Greer, who is generous with her knowledge and experience about blog touring and book promotions. Thank you, Dani, from all of us.

Happy holidays, everyone!
Jean Henry Mead

The links to the blogspots where Jean visited on her virtual book tour can be found at http://myblogtour.blogspot.com/.

Jean Henry Mead's fourth novel and eleventh book was released this month, a senior sleuth mystery/suspense novel called A Village Shattered, featuring two 60-year-old widows living in a California retirement village who discover their friends and club members are being murdered alphabetically.When the newly elected sheriff bungles the investigation, Logan & Cafferty decide to solve the murders themselves.

Jean is a former police reporter, photojournalist, magazine and small press editor, and currently writes the Logan & Cafferty series as well as western historical novels. The second novel in her series, Diary of Murder, will be released next spring.

I want to thank Jean for stopping in today and sharing her virtual book tour experiences. To finish off Jean's tour right, please leave a comment about what she said or about your own experiences hosting or guesting a tour.

Back from the Book Signing

Here I am at the DesPlaines Public Library, right before the
bargain hunters rushed in.

Selling books at a library isn't always easy. Trying to sell books while a used book sale is going on is even harder. Well, we gave it a try. We did sell books and also got to catch up on each other's lives in the process. It was a fun way to spend a Saturday morning and afternoon.



Our chief problem was the location. Next time we'll ask to be seated away from the drafty bank of windows. When I went outside afterwards, I realized why it was so drafty inside. Very raw, very wet, very slippery. Better than snow anyway, although some may disagree.

From Left to right: Morgan Mandel, Debra St. John, June Sproat, Margot Justes & Carrie Lofty

Book Signing Today at DesPlaines Library

I'm getting ready this morning for a book signing at the DesPlaines Library, along with fellow chapter members from Chicago North Romance Writers of America Deb Rittle, Margot Justes, June Sproat and Carrie Lofty.

The library also is sponsoring a used book sale, but hopefully some patrons will be looking for brand new books personalized by the authors themselves.

Anyone in the area, we'll be there from 9:30am - 3:30pm.

I'll let everyone know how it goes later on.

In the meantime, if anyone would like to comment about experiences at library doings, please feel free to comment.

DePaul Basketball Memories

Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois, home site for the DePaul Games

Wednesday night I ended up at a DePaul Basketball game with my husband. I usually stay home and watch TV or write, but his buddy couldn't make it and my nephew, the backup, was out also.

I couldn't help thinking of when the DH and I first starting going to the DePaul games way back when. In those days, Ray Meyer was the coach. Many of the games were held at Alumni Hall in Chicago. Then the home site changed to The Horizon, which later became Allstate Arena.

We watched some exciting games, with great players on the team, like Mark Aguirre, Terry Cummings, Rod Strickland, and Tyrone Corbin. On edge, we cheered through the playoffs. Our team advanced to the Final Four. In those days, DePaul was a major contender.

Some of the remnants were still present Wednesday night, bringing me back to the old days. The squeaking of gym shoes as the players pounded the court, a player hanging onto the net, the two claps for two shots, the loud, slow chant, THREE POINT PLAY, which I've only heard said that particular way at DePaul games, the cheerleaders jumping up and down, the band playing the school song, the whistles blowing, the obnoxious horn signalling new players coming in or players going out of the game were all familiar to me.

In my mystery, Two Wrongs, the main character, Danny Callaway, is a DePaul basketball player, before he turns pro. He meets his wife at DePaul. It's no coincidence that's also where I met my husband.

Basketball is only one aspect of the plot, but I did enjoy including it. Like Wednesday, it brought back those exciting days when nerves on edge, I anxiously watched every play and hoped for victory.

Have you read or written any books that bring back memories to you? Please let me know.

Marketing, Yes, You Have To Do It! By Angela Wilson

When you write a novel, chances are, you aren't done after the first draft. For some authors, it takes three drafts to get it right; for others, a dozen times a charm.

Before you send that MS minus Little Darlings, you go over it with a fine editor's pen, axing everything unnecessary, adding detail where needed. You seek the advice of critique group members and, sometimes, book doctors.

You spend an infinite amount of time tooling and retooling until you get it just perfect.

Writers have no problem spending immeasurable amounts of time on their manuscripts, yet they cringe at the thought of even using one minute for marketing. Their aversion is fierce and dedicated - and it leaves them out of the mass market loop.

Authors who dawdle with marketing - or outright refuse to do it - are doing themselves a great disservice. If you do not market, how is anyone going to know about that wonderful MS that you finally got published?

The fact is, many publishing houses - small and large - will not put money behind you. I know many authors who bemoan the fact that their publishers won't help them out. They don't have the money to hire a publicist, but refuse to spend time creating and nurturing their own publicity resources.

The biggest excuse I hear is: "I don't want to loose any writing time."

My response: "You won't need writing time if you don't sell anything."

Writing is a business. Scary, but true. If you want to succeed on your own terms, you need to take the marketing bull by the horns and own it, instead of letting run away from you.

Spend at least three hours a week marketing. It is not that hard. You spend more time than that on e-mails each week. Marketing can be anything from a bookstore signing, or a reading, to a virtual book tour pitstop, or creating items for future virtual tours. Marketing is making friends on MySpace, inviting fans to your Facebook Fan Page or Group, making connections with book reviewers, contacting local media just for a chat, so they remember you when your next book comes out.

Marketing isn't difficult. You need to embrace all of the wonderful - many times FREE - online opportunities to brand yourself and your work. It will go a long way to developing a fan base that buys as soon as your work hits bookstore shelves.

Don't know where to begin? Find easy tips about creating marketing plans at MarketMyNovel.com.

Got a marketing question? Social media consultant Angela Wilson is here to help. Visit www.marketmynovel.com and click the Submit Question icon on the left. You can also find Angela at these social networks:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/angelawilson
http://www.facebook.com/people/Angela_Wilson/775118823
http://www.myspace.com/angelawilson
http://www.myspace.com/angelawilson

# # #

If you haven't seen this already, check it out:

Book trailers are a fun visual component to any author's strategic marketing plan. Still gaining in popularity, book trailers give authors the opportunity to seduce today's techno-savvy audiences with photos, streaming video, music and more. It puts their sales message on YouTube (a great site to improve SEO) and gives them another opportunity to share their Web site and novel information. Book trailers are also attractive to gamers and others who may not read a lot, but are immediately attracted to visuals. Like all things on the Web, book trailers last forever, and that longevity can easily help build a brand - which ultimately leads to a driven fan base that buys your books.

But how do you do it? Is it hard? When should authors consider hiring a professional to pull together a quality book trailer for them?

Today, I am privileged to share my interview with Sheila Clover English, CEO of Circle of Seven Productions, a premiere force in the book trailer niche. Sheila shares valuable information about how book trailers can work for you, and what you need to know before you get started.

Here's the link to what Sheila as to say:
http://www.askangelawilson.com/2008/12/-book-trailers.html
Be sure to Digg this post and share at other social networks! http://digg.com/business_finance/Book_Trailer_101
_Everything_You_Need_to_Know

Angela Wilson

Extra! Extra! Read All About It! Blago Gets Arrested

"Extra! Extra! Read All About It!"

I hadn't heard that phrase in a long time, not since newspapers cut down on print runs and deliveries. I did hear it last night, right outside Ogilvie Transportation Centre. The Chicago Tribune was selling a special edition of their paper for twenty-five cents. I would have stopped and bought one, but the windy rain/snow mix made me anxious to get inside where it was calm, warm and dry.

The reason for the extra edition, as everyone in the USA knows by now, is that our Illinois Governor, Rod Blagojevich, got busted.

Last night, I could hardly get home to watch prime time TV, which is unusual. Most of the time, I can't find anything gripping to watch, but this story was riveting and unbelievable.

On the day before the Governor's 52nd birthday, Blago and his family were awakened early in the morning by the Feds knocking on their door (or maybe they rang the doorbell, I don't know). Anyway, he had just enough time to change from his pajamas into a running suit before he was whisked off to jail in handcuffs.

The charges are over the top. It appears Blago blatantly carried on illegal activities, despite the fact that our prior Illinois Governor, George Ryan, had already been convicted and encarcerated for illegal activies, and he himself was already under investigation.

Wiretaps reveal Blago, acting like he was on eBay or Craigslist, sought to auction off the Senate seat Barack Obama had vacated when elected President. Not only that, tapes reveal he'd threatened the Tribune Company to hold up the sale of Wrigley Field , the official site of the Chicago Cubs, if they didn't fire a certain editor who had written uncomplimentary articles about him. Also, it appears he threatened to withhold millions of state dollars for the sick children at Children's Memorial Hospital unless a donation was made to his fund.

Much of the language Blago used in his telephone conversations had to be bleeped out in newspaper, radio and television reports about the tapes. It appears, Patti, his wife, also adept at stringing together obscenities on tape, had some involvement, but as yet has not been charged.

The Feds listed a widespread corruption crimespree, described as a litany of greed, ambition and audaciousness. On the radio today, people are calling Blago a sociopath and other uncomplimentary labels.

His attorney says "The Governor believes that he didn't do anything wrong."

What would Blago consider wrong?

Will he be impeached? Will a special election be held to fill the vacant Senate seat? What will happen at the trial? What about his poor children? Stay tuned for further developments.

Wow, what a story. Too bad I hadn't thought of the idea first. It would make such a great plot for a book. I'm sure my book would have also been optioned for a movie.

There's still a chance for a movie. I wonder, who would get the rights to it? Who would star as Blago, his foul-mouthed wife, Patti, and their children? Who would play his potential victims?

What are your thoughts about the Blago fiasco? Who would you cast for the movie?

Maria Murnane Guest Blogger Today- She's Perfect on Paper

Buy link: http://mariamurnane.com/order/
Website: http://www.mariamurnane.com/

Anything can look perfect…on paper

When her fiancé calls off their wedding at the last minute, Waverly Bryson wonders if her life will ever turn out the way she thought it would…or should. Her high-powered job in sports PR? Not so perfect. Her relationship with her dad? Far from it. Her perfect marriage? Enough said.

Perfect on Paper is a humorous tale of Waverly’s efforts to cobble the pieces of a broken yesterday into a brand new tomorrow. What does the future have in store for her? Will she finally find what she’s looking for?

Her dates? Cringe-inducing at times, definitely entertaining
Her friends? Often amused, definitely supportive
Her new crush? Possibly intrigued, definitely a catch
The results? Hardly perfect, definitely just right

Sounds like a great book. Now let's hear from Maria how it came about.

Writing process?

When I first decided that I was going to write a book, I sat down and sketched out an outline for what the main character would be like, who her friends would be, what her job would be , etc. Then I made some notes about other things I wanted to include in the book, including somehow weaving the greeting card idea into them, the infamous Brad Cantor character, funny bad dates, etc. Then I started making a brief outline for the plot, or at least the first part of the plot, because I honestly didn’t know where it was going to end up. But I knew enough about what I wanted to write to get me from about A to D (assuming an entire book was A to Z), so I just started writing and figured that I would figure it out as I went along.

Once I got going, the writing process was pretty regular. I was living in Argentina at the time and playing on a soccer team that took up most of my time during the day, so I would write for a couple hours every morning, and then a couple hours ever y evening. And in between I would jot down a lot of notes to myself on post-its, etc.

Many times I’d wake up in the middle of the night with an idea for something I wanted to include in the book, so I’d keep a notepad by my bed. I remember being on the bus when it hit me how I wanted to end the book, so I scribbled it down in a little notebook in my backpack, right there on the bus. I think I was even standing up at the time.

I think the hardest part of the whole writing process was after I’d written a few chapters and didn’t know if it was any good— so I emailed it to my good friend Lindsay and made her promise to tell me the truth. It took two weeks for her to get back to me, so of course during that time I thought she hated it and just didn’t know how to tell me. But when she did get back to me, the subject line of her email was “your book is awesome,” and she went on to say how impressed she was and that she truly wanted to read more to find out what was going to happen in the story. I still have that email—in fact I forwarded it to her the other day just to thank her again for that early encouragement.

After that first hump, writing the book actually wasn’t all the hard—figuring out what to write was harder. But once I knew what I wanted a particular chapter or scene to encompass, the writing part was pretty easy. Occasionally I would write something that just didn’t fit, and I’d force myself to delete it (never easy), but for the most part the story just sort of took on a life of its own. When I wasn’t exactly sure where to go next with the story, I would go back and edit/rewrite what I’d already written. It worked well that way because the regular reviewing/ editing forced me to stay on track and kept me from looking back and suddenly realizing “holy crap I really need to delete the last 100 pages.”Now that would have been a bummer.

One thing I’ve learned, at least about myself, is that the writing/edit process never ends. I reread Perfect on Paper recently for the first time in awhile, and I found myself thinking “Oh man I wish I could change this, I wish I could change that.” It’s hard to stop the mental editing, even with the book in my hand!

Maria Murnane
Author of Perfect on Paper

Buy link: http://mariamurnane.com/order/
Website: http://www.mariamurnane.com/

I know how Maria feels. I'm constantly editing my work. What about you? Please leave a comment for Maria.

Blog Award

I know Blog Awards are old hat to many. Some people say they come and go, like memes.
Since I only started blogging daily at the end of August, my first blog award is special to me.

Thank you, Christine Verstraete, for naming me as one of your six recipients of the Blog Award for Outstanding Work. The award began in Portugal, then went to Wales at Debbie's Tiny Treasures and is whizzing its way around the world, so now it's landed in Illinois.

You can see my award in the left hand column here at this blog.

Well, part of the deal is I need to name six worthy bloggers to bestow the award onto, so here goes:

Marvin Wilson - For blogs that remind me there's more to life than meets the eye.

Teagan Oliver - For keeping me informed of what's going on in the publishing world and her own world.

Dorothy Thompson - For being such a dynamic author promoter.

Angela Wilson - for being my Thursday columnist here and dispensing such great advice for our readers.

Chris Redding - for increasing my vocabulary each Wednesday.

Marilyn Meredith - for offering so many great posts at Mystery Turtles and coming with me on the transfer to Make Mine Mystery.

There are many more worthy bloggers I wish could include, but my limit of six is up. Please check out their great blogs and tell them Morgan sent you.

500 Santas

I mailed out Christmas cards this morning. I put up a few decorations. Little by little, I'm getting ready for Christmas.

Something that really put me in the mood was 500 SANTAS, an event today sponsored by the Rotary Club of Arlington Heights, IL.

Although my fingers were freezing in the icy cold and the snow was falling, I did take a video, which I'd like to share. If you aren't already, this may put you in the Christmas mood. You don't have to watch all the Santas unless you feel like it, but you'll get the idea.

After checking out the video, please come back and comment. Are you thinking of Christmas yet? How far have you gotten? Do you have a tree up yet? I don't. Have you bought any presents? I've got a few so far, but still have pretty many left. Fortunately, my family is doing the grab bag thing, so that will make it easier. Do you do grab bags?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCOihGcuBwo

Garage Sales

With all the news about recession, my blog lately has taken on a hard luck theme. Wednesday's topic was garbage picking.

Today's is garage sales.

When I first moved out to the suburbs from Chicago, I didn't even know what a garage sale was. They seemed to be a suburban institution. They probably exist in Chicago also, but since I've moved I don't know. Do they exist in other countries? I don't know the answer to that question either.

Anyway, around here, as soon as the weather clears in the spring, the garage sale signs seem to go up. You can find them tacked to light poles or trees, staked into the ground on street corners or lawns, and other spots where the salers hope to catch your eyes.

Although my husband says I'm just taking home someone else's junk when I go to garage sales, I love going to them anyway. One reason is because I enjoy the surprise element. I never know what I'm going to find, but I usually do find something to bring home.

The thing about garage sales is they often contain items that are no longer available in stores, although I wish they were.

I've bought barely used dressers, picture frames, cassettes, book cases, books, all kinds of great stuff at garage sales - all at reasonable prices.

That's another thing. It's traditional when you go to a garage sale to bargain about the price. Most of the time the price on the ticket is pretty low anyway, but I usually say something like, "Would you take this instead?" and name a figure. Sometimes I get a no, other times a counter-offer, many times a yes.

I do have this idea in my mind about a story based on a garage sale. Some day you may see it in print.

In the meantime, please comment and share your experiences with garage sales. Do you go to them? Do you bargain? What great finds did you get?

Ask Angela About Blogger Awards & SEO

Blogger Awards: When Can You Turn Awards Down?

Q: Hi! I couldn't find the answer to my question on my Internet search, but found your site. I see award pictures in the column of people's blogs, and sometimes read a reference to them, that makes me think most of them were made up by other bloggers, and then passed around by each other.

Well, now, someone who is a new follower of mine, has told me in a comment on my blog that she has three awards for me to pick up at her blog. The name of her blog has a word that is offensive to me in it, and I'm wondering if I accept her awards, that will create links to her blog.

I think she may sell art she creates, too. I don't want to be a part of the word in her blog title, plus, she uses it in her posts.

I'm not sure what I think about awards from other bloggers in general. If it had been from a fellow gardener, or someone I knew better, I may feel differently. If it was from an organization of some kind, I would love it! Oh, and by the way, someone "tagged" me recently, and I politely turned it down, as it reminds me of a chain letter. I knew she would be OK with it, as I had known her through a garden forum before I started blogging. I have noticed some people have a little spot on their sidebar that lets others know they don't participate in these things. Maybe I should do that.

So, to get to my main question, is it rude to turn down awards, once they have been offered? Is there such a thing as award etiquette?
Sue
http://acornergarden.blogspot.com/

Angela Says: Sue -
I took a glance at the blog - which will remain unnamed here. It is busy, with spelling and grammatical errors, and no sense of real "flow." This appears to be more of a personal blog showcasing an artist's work, with some helpful hints for general viewers, but doesn't really relate to your nature-themed blog, A Corner Garden. You are also a Christian blogger, and that means you have to be doubly careful who you link to.

Sometimes, bloggers who want to improve their site hits (or sell products) will create spam comments - including fake contests - to drive traffic to their site. These comments always include a direct link to their site. There are two major reasons for this:

Each time that link is posted, Google picks it up and it improves their page rankings. They don't necessarily care if you like the content or not. They want their links out there.

If they are selling products, they are hoping that a few of the right people click and buy. It is the same concept as those male enlargement e-mails everyone receives. Spammers would not continue to send those e-mails if someone wasn't clicking a link.

Legit awards are awarded at Blogger Choice, Blog Catalog, Writer's Digest 101 Top Web sites and Predators and Editors, or individual organizations like Romance Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Science Fiction Fantasy Writers, etc. Do not feel obligated to participate in every blogging contest - or accept awards if the groups offer service that are disagreeable to you. For example, a Christian author would not want to accept an award from an erotic fiction group.

In a shameless plug, you can vote for www.AskAngelaWilson.com for a 2009 Bloggers Choice Best Business Blog award.
Good luck!
~ Angela

SOME WORDS FROM ANGELA ABOUT SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION:

Search Engine Optimization. It is an ugly phrase to even the most Web savvy person. But you can tame the SEO beast. Today, Larry Stendebach, SEO consultant and partner at StateSurge.com, talks SEO and how to increase your Google page rank.

What is Search Engine Optimization?
The best definition is from Wiki:Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results.

How can authors improve their SEO? Find out at AskAngelaWilson.com.

Find Angela Wilson at:http://www.linkedin.com/in/angelawilson
http://www.facebook.com/people/Angela_Wilson/775118823
http://www.myspace.com/angelawilson
http://twitter.com/angelawilson

SNOW Is A Four Letter Word

View from the train window at one of the stops on the way to work. Note the wet window pane and the reflection of the light from the opposite side of the train. That light is kind of annoying. So is that awful white stuff outside.

Maybe it's because I'm old. Maybe it's because I'm clumsy. All I know is, when I see snow, my first reaction is not "Goody."

It's "Oh, no."

I confess. I hate snow. Oh, yes, it's very pretty. If I didn't have to deal with it, maybe I could stand it. But I do have to deal with it and way too often. I have to walk down the sidewalks that are either piled with the white stuff or the used-to-be white stuff that's turned messy, sloppy and dirty.

This morning I left the house early and trudged the usual five plus blocks to the train station, battling the snow falling on my face, plus the piles on the sidewalks. The places where the snow wasn't, which were the spots where homeowners thought they were doing a favor by shoveling or snow blowing, were actually more treacherous, since they were icy. I was exhausted by the time I sat down on the train, and I'm used to walking.

When I got Downtown and exited Ogilvie Transportation Centre, I was treated to a sloppy walk over the icy bridge. Then, there were the puddles of water and slush at every street corner, where I had to decide which was the best spot to cross without getting splattered or immersing my boots in the wet stuff.

Needless to say, I didn't go far on my lunch hour. Fortunately, the DH picked me up after I got off the train in the evening, saving me the misery of walking home in the dark over the snow and ice again. Thank goodness on Tuesday the DH can start later for work and can drive me to the train.

And this is just the beginning! There must be a reason why we still live in Illinois. Sometimes I wonder.

What about you? Do you love snow? Do you have mixed feelings? Do you hate it?

Please share.

Finds and Bargains

My husband likes to go to a store, buy what he came for and hightail it out as fast as he can. I, on the other hand, view shopping as an adventure. I'm easily and happily distracted and conned into buying items I hadn't come to buy. In other words, I'm what store owners love - an impulse buyer.

Not so fast---Before you think I'm a mad shopaholic, I'll qualify what I just called myself. I look at an item, examine it carefully, and think hard about whether or not I really can use or I really want that item. Sometimes my want overtakes my common sense, but most of the time I know my prices and know if I can afford to make that purchase, or if I should wait for a better bargain to come along. When I do find something I care for, like a pair of slacks or shoes with a perfect fit, I usually buy more than one. That's because I know that if I really like something it will never be found on the face of the earth again once the original is worn out.

Today, I examined the Sunday ads. Strangely enough I found something at Walgreens that both my husband and I wanted to buy. I don't know anyone who's watched TV in the last year who hasn't seen the commercial for Pedi Paws.

Since Rascal is a real baby when it comes to getting her nails done, we decided to try the product. We zoomed into Walgreens and wonder of wonders, there were massive quantities of Pedi Paws to be had. How strange, a sales item in stock and in plain view! We grabbed one, paid for it and rushed out, before I could look around for StickNClick, which was also on sale,but not as much of interest to the DH.

Of course, hubbie wanted to test the product right away, so Rascal got her nails filed a few hours later. I must say the product worked quite well. Although she wasn't exactly pleased with the sensation of the rotating filer, the process appeared painless and didn't take long.

Afterward, I read the instructions - why read them beforehand? They suggested to get the animal acclimated to the product in short dosages first and use treats to associate good stuff with the Pedi Paws system. It may be too late, but maybe we'll try that before her next session to make it a more pleasing experience for her.

So, Pedi Paws was my find for the day. Has anyone else run into a great find they were happy with, or maybe disappointed in? Did anyone get any good bargains lately? Please share.

Oh, if you get a great find or bargain later on, feel free to add it as a comment on whatever blog I've got up that day. I do want to encourage bargain hunting!

Cutting Back

Thanksgiving is over. The Christmas Season began with Black Friday as people waited in line at ungodly hours for bargains.

With hubbie working part time, we're now paying real money for his insurance. Not as many dollars are coming in as going out. Also, his 401 k is way down, and I have no idea how much money is left in my profit sharing plan. I may not know for months.

Every year we send out Christmas cards. This year I'll try something a little different. I'm sending out poscards ordered from Vistaprint where I downloaded a photo from the local park, and one of Rascal. At least this way we'll save on postage.

Fortunately, the nieces and nephews are now of a convenient older age, so they've all been added to the Christmas grab bag, and we won't have as much to worry about for presents. However, I just realized today I'd missed one nephew's birthday on November 23, we've got hubby's step-mom's birthday on December 9, plus brother and sister-in-law birthdays also in December. Then there are special friends to buy for. In other words, Christmas will still be a bit costly, but with the help of credit cards and careful planning, we should make it through all right.

I've already decided to check my closet and dresser for sweaters I bought last year to make sure I wear them. It's so much more tempting to buy new, but I think I'll be more practical this year. That's not only for everyday wear, but also for Christmas. This year I will get my Christmas sweatshirts and sweaters out early and wear them and not wonder afterwards why I didn't remember I had them.

What about you? Are you cutting back this season? Or maybe you've never sent out cards or done individual presents. What are your thoughts and plans?

Black Friday

I'm wondering how many people will be participating in Black Friday sales this year. I hope to get out to at least a few stores and take advantage of the bargains, but this year I'll be extra careful.

I'm not going to fall for as many rebate offers as I did last year. It takes forever to fill out the forms. Then you have to keep track to see if you get your money back again later. If I'm doing the rebate thing, I hope to find a store with online rebates, like Staples, where I don't have to get every little required item together and staple it and address the envelope and spend money on a stamp. At least, with an online rebate I've got half a chance of getting my money back because I can keep track of what's going on.

I also will be thinking twice about exactly what I purchase. If I don't need an item, I won't buy it just because it's at a good price.

Another thing - The time shoppers are asked to get up is turning way too ridiculous! Now doors open at many stores at 4:00 a.m. That means people will probably want to line up at last at 3:00. The way things are going, soon gun-ho shoppers won't be able to go to bed at all! In fact, I've already heard of someone who was in line as early as Tuesday for Best Buy. That is absurd or desperate.

I dislike stores that advertise special buys for Black Friday and don't have many of that item. It's way too disappointing to wait in line and not get what you really came for. Although I don't make it a habit to shop at Meier much, I do remember that that store did carry the sales items in a goodly amount. Unfortunately, I checked their ad and couldn't find anything I wanted to buy.

What does any of this have to do with writing? Well, when you create a character, little things like going to Black Friday sales, rummage sales, garage sales, or clipping coupons can be one way to describe that person's station in life. You can tell that person probably isn't loaded, that is, unless you're describing a scrooge. If you are, wait a little longer and mention the after-Christmas sales instead. (G)

Have a Happy Thanksgiving & a Frantic Black Friday!

Morgan Mandel
http://www.morganmandel.com

Holiday Promotions Net Fans by Angela Wilson

Holidays are a great time for promotions. You have an opportunity to get your books in the hands of people in creative ways.

Here are just a few ideas:

• Several romance authors I know also sell Mary Kay or Avon. Put your bath salts, lotions and other non-cosmetic items into a nice basket or tin case, along with one or two of your titles, and send as gifts or use as Christmas giveaways at your site.
• Work with coffee shops to sell your books in baskets. Grab some java, flavored creamers and cups and put them into a nice arrangement. It is great promotion for both you and the coffee vendor.
• Don't forget Mom. Many organizations give toys to children of needy families and gifts for Mom as well. Put your books together with a few pamper items for the woman of the house to make her feel special this holiday season. It not only brings joy to that person, it helps agencies, who in turn remember your generosity. Non-profits are fabulous at word-of-mouth marketing.
• Arrange signings. Christmas signings are extremely popular. To make yours even more effective, create a stunning basket of goodies to giveaway to one of your buyers that day. Do NOT include your books in this giveaway. Some people will just put their names in the drawing and not buy, hoping they will get it free.
• Create a special gift or gift basket with your books for your library and ask them to give it away during a holiday event.
• Get auction fever by donating a creative, fun basket that includes your books for silent auctions. These are popular during the holidays and event organizers are always searching for free stuff to present to buyers who want to support a charity.

Check your local community calendar for events where you may be able to use a giveaway to your advantage. Don't be afraid to approach vendors about coordinating sales - like at coffeeshops or stores that carry unique items. Gift baskets are incredibly popular and can easily be created specifically for any event or family. If you are not basket-savvy, ask a friend for help.





Angela Wilson is a social media consultant. Her site, http://askangelawilson.com/offers marketing, PR and promotions advice to authors.



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Ministry of Silly Walks - I Saw A Candidate

Some of you are old enough to have watched the original Monty Python series on TV. Others may have caught reruns. Anyway, there was this one segment called the Ministry of Silly Walks, where they'd highlight people who walked differently. I admit some of it was in poor taste, but much of it was laughable.

Here's a link to a video from the Ministry of Silly Walks, for the uninitiated or those who'd like to reminisce.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqhlQfXUk7w

Anyway, an incident that happened twice last week reminded me of Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks. After exiting my commuter train at Ogilvie Transportation Centre and beginning to walk the platform toward the main portion of the station, I saw something very strange. This happened not once, but twice. There's the platform, then there are stairs leading downward to another area where you can connect to the underground portion to catch a cab, bus or other transportation.

I'm usually one of the last ones off the train, because I'm busy on my laptop computer during the train ride and then I wait for it to go through the Windows machinations to close out properly. That area of the platform is pretty well cleared of commuters when I step off the train, except for the engineer making his way to the other side of the train, a few stragglers, and the conductors.

Okay, here's what saw. I saw a man head down the stairs to the underground portion of the station. He only took a few steps, then he turned around and walked the remaining stairs backwards! Twice in the same week I saw the same guy do this. I'm not sure if it will happen again next week or not.

I have no idea why he does this. I know that in aerobics class we sometimes walk backwards with the purpose of strengthening the back of our knees. But to walk down stairs backwards, that seems absurd. In my way of thinking, any benefits from strengthening muscles would certainly be obliviated by the possibility of a nasty fall. It's easy enough to fall when you're walking straight. I've done it.

Maybe I'll figure out why someone would do this. Then I can create a character in one of my books who happens to walks backwards down stairs. At any rate, it did get me to thinking about including walking mannerisms and gait for the characters in my books. There are terrific possibilies along these lines. There's a person with a limp. How did it happen? Arthritis, a war wound? Or, there's the way a child skips, a confident guy lopes into a room, or a pregnant woman balances herself.

There are many other possibilites. I invite you to name any you think of. Also, if you've sited an unusual walker or just someone who did something out of the ordinary, please share.

Germs

Well, I've had my cold/flu germ now for over a week. I could have predicted it would happen, because fate is like that. Now my husband says he's caught my germ. That's right, the last person who has a germ is the one who owns it, that is until it's passed on. If he truly has the germ, which he probably does, and we'll find out soon, then it will be his germ to pass on to someone else.

You can have lots of fun with germs in books. Some ways are to be mean to your characters and give them germs, then let their significant others coddle them. Or, you can let your characters be alone with no one to care for them. Or, why not have a cad in the house who diregards an ill person.

Then, again, you can create characters who are germ-a-holics, kind of like me. They dislike shaking people's hands. They don't like touching faucets in public places without using a tissue as a barrier. They even hate touching bathroom doorknobs.

Some of these seemingly harmful germs can turn into deadly ones, like pneumonia. What an opportunity to create suspense! Will your character pull through?

Can you think of instances in either your book or someone else's where germs play a role? I invite you to leave a comment.

BOOK CLUBS

First photo - Left to right - Morgan Mandel, Lenore Stevens of Prospect Heights Book Review Club, Margot Justes

Second - Left to right - June Sproat, Morgan Mandel, Margot Justes

The AREA AUTHORS CREW took to the road at Rolling Green Country Club for a Nov. 19 presentation and book signing for Prospect Heights Book Review Club -

For many years, my husband and I have volunteered for the Festival Committee in Arlington Heights at Frontier Days in various capacities such as Disability Day preparations, the 4th of July parade, marshalling the gates and the fire lanes during the concerts, doing all sorts of things to help with the annual event.

This past Summer I got inspired to participate in a new way. Instead of merely buying items at Frontier Marketplace on Saturday and Sunday, I thought it would be a good idea to set up a booth. I invited my two friends, fellow authors and Chicago-North RWA members, Margot Justes and June Sproat to join me and they accepted. We called ourselves AREA AUTHORS, put up a great sign that one of June's children made up on the computer, which looked better than anything I could have done myself, pitched the tent supplied by another author/member of Chicago-North RWA, Debra St. John, and went about selling our books. We had a great time and made many sales.

In the photo above, I'm wearing my red volunteer gear because I was doing double duty that day, putting hot dogs in buns for Disability Day, then coming back to our tent to sell books. While I was gone, Lenore Stevens, Chairman of Prospect Heights Book Review Club, just happened to come along and just happened to ask Margot and June if our crew would like to do a presentation for their club on November 19 at Rolling Green Country Club in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Of course, they agreed for themselves and for me.

It seemed like a long way away, but we marked our calendars. Before we knew it, the day was upon us. The funny thing was we thought our audience would be perhaps 10-15 members. When I arrived, there were about 100 gathered, which was a pleasant surprise.

We were made to feel welcome and our program went on without a hitch. Many of the book club members asked great questions afterwards and also lined up to buy our books.

As a special treat, we were also invited to stay for lunch. All in all, it was a pleasant way to spend a Wednesday morning.

Do any of you belong to book clubs? Have any of you done programs at book clubs? What were your experiences?

My New Nickname - Thank you, Marvin Wilson

I've always envied people whose names could easily be turned into nicknames.

The name, Morgan, does not lend itself easily to nicknames. The only one that comes to mind is Morgie, which no one calls me. Sounds kind of like a dog's name. In fact, I called my old dog that, but that's a story for a later date.

Anyway, when circumstances lent me to starting up another blogspot featuring mysteries and mystery authors, the name, Make Mine Mystery, came to my mind for the blogspot.

I invited gun-ho, dedicated bloggers, who know the mystery genre and also the ins and outs of blogging. One of them, whom I'm happy to say accepted my invitation, was Marvin Wilson, a spiritualist author who happens to also write mysteries.



Marvin Wilson of the quick mind nicknamed the Make Mine Mystery blogspot Triple M.
Not only that, he called me Double M.


I like that nickname, so, this blogspot has a new title with my Double M nickname added, thanks to Marvin.

Do any of you have nicknames you like or dislike? Do you nickname things? Or maybe use code words? I invite you to share.