Aren't We All Kids at Heart?

I truly hope you are all having a good summer. Relaxing, playing, and enjoying the fresh air and more carefree lifestyle. And maybe even catching up on reading those books you’ve set aside.

I have to tell you, I had a wonderful summer, all wrapped up in one week--last week. My daughter and son-in-law, Tammy and Curtis, came down from Connecticut to stay with me for a week. Since my other daughter and son-in-law, Cyndi and Bill, live fifty minutes south of me, the road between here and Lillington got quite a workout.  The four of them love being together.



Curtis, Tammy, Cyndi, Bill

One morning we went to Raleigh to have breakfast at Big Ed’s with a bunch of family. There were ten of us and it was a great way to start the week.  One other day, the four kids and I (I say kids even though none of them will ever see fifty again, but they'll always be kids to me) drove down to Wilmington, NC, an hour plus drive south of Lillington. We had a delicious lunch at a restaurant called the Copper Penny. Unbeknownst to me, it turned out to be an early 75 birthday celebration for me, since the kids won’t be together in November. Then we walked along the boardwalk and read about the ships coming into Fear River (Cape Fear Basin) during the Civil War to get supplies. We had ice cream and enjoyed it like the kids we all are.

Then we dove a little farther south where we got out and enjoyed the white sand beach with the Atlantic Ocean rolling in wave after wave. The sky was blue, the water was blue, and white caps matched the white sand. Just a beautiful experience.

Then, back in the car and on to miniature golf. Since I play golf on my Wii a few times a week, there was no contest as to who the winner was. I showed those young whippersnappers a thing or two!

We didn’t get home until late, but it was a real fun day. It seemed like all week it was get up early and go to bed late and by the time Tammy and Curtis left, I was bushed. Plum worn out. Exhausted.

However, while they were still here, on Saturday Tammy came to my writers group with me, and Cyndi drove up from Lillington to be with me, too! I was so proud to have my daughters there and to have them both participate with something they’d written. It was certainly a dream come true. We memorialized the moment with our picture taken outside after the meeting.

 

I only cooked one meal all week; however, Cyndi cooked her little heart out all week keeping up with the horde that continually invaded her Lillington home.

For now I have a respite. Time to think, dream, write, and get ready for next week!  I’ll let you know more after the cruise!

Today’s Quote:  …wander hand in hand with love in summer’s wonderland.  Alfred Noyes.

 

 

Mining for Input

Hi Everyone,

I hope you’re having a good summer, getting to do the things you can’t do during the winter months.

This has been a busy two-week learning spree for me. I was immersed in twenty-three hours of webinars by writers on the subject of writing and marketing. The time was certainly not a waste, I mined some gold nuggets for my efforts.

For one thing, I learned there’s a site called www.acx.com. This site lets you upload your book and have it turned into an audio book. It costs nothing to get the process started; they have readers who will audition for me so I can pick the voice I want, and they then get half of any royalties my audio book receives. I have already uploaded Willard Manor for them to turn into an audio book. You may say, why would I give up half of my royalties? Because, I say, half of royalties beats no royalties.  This is an unexpected extra stream of income without my having to do anything. It then gets distributed through Amazon, iTunes, and Audible.com.

Another nugget I mined is a way of increasing my book sales by offering two free digital books. You read that right—I increase sales by offering two books free.  In exchange for the free books, I obtain email addresses. The reader wins/I win. I’ll be giving away as free books the first two books in my Cranky Seniors Series.  The readers will then be introduced to Willard Manor and Leaving Mark that are for sale.  I’m still working out the technical logistics of how all this works.

As if that wasn’t enough to keep me busy, I experimented with how to make a video, either through YouTube or on a site on my computer. I did a trial run but realized I have to get much better at being “on camera” in order to make a polished video. One problem I have is that I have no one to talk to all day so when I open my mouth to talk on camera, it comes out as a squeak! My vocal chords get rusty from non-use (a problem Fred never would have thought I’d have!).

Now I need your help. I’m redoing my guide for beginning writers and I’ve been experimenting with various covers and titles. Please tell me if seeing one of these covers would prompt you to buy the book if you were a new writer and if so, which one.  Which one relates to the title better.  Realize, they can both be tweaked for the final cover. I’ll let you know in the next post what the consensus was. Thank you in advance for your input.

 

 

Have a good summer!