Author Archives: Jane Bretl

tour guides

06 Friday Mar 2009

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Authors go on book tours to promote their work.  I am always surprised by the stream of authors that make an appearance at the little Barnes & Noble near where I live.  We are off the beaten path, a bit.  They must travel to quite a few stops before this burg rises to the top of the list.

Recently, I learned about blog tours by authors.  Whether this is a truly revolutionary concept, I don’t know;  I had not heard of it, but since I am a newbie to the publishing world, everything is brand-spanking new to me.  Either way, the idea of “traveling” to reach the readers (and potential readers) via blogs seems to be an exciting and potentially game-changing marketing approach for writers.

For me, following these blog tours is like doing a ‘beautiful home tour’ in my favorite city.  Someone else has looked through lots of places and picked ones that were unique in style, content and creativity.  The organizer won’t put a house on the tour that is in C.H.A.O.S. Everything will be neat and tidy and I can just look around as long as I want and find new ideas I may want to try at home.  I get to peek inside some very creative, inspirational, thought-provoking little corners.  I could have found these places on my own, but I would have had to crack open some scary doors. (Do you have any idea how much crap is on the internet??)

Speaking of S-C-A-R-Y, one of the blog tours I am following now is J.A. Konrath, who publishes the blog A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing, and is the author of the Lt. Jack Daniels thriller novel series.  He is promoting his new horror novel AFRAID, which is frankly too scary for me to read, but that is because I am just a big scaredy-pants.  Even without reading his new book, I can tell you that I have already learned a great deal from his own blog, and have thoroughly enjoyed visiting the ones he is picking for his tour.  Whew!  So many ‘houses’ to see!

I am also following the blog cyber-tour of Christina Katz, author of “Writer Mama: How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids” and “Get Known Before the Book Deal“.  Her blog, The Writer Mama Riffs, has also been a wonderful source of industry information (and humor), and the blog stops so far in March have been lovely.  Christina’s tour is planned to celebrate the two year anniversary of the release of “Writer Mama”, and it is inspiring to see what all those other writer mamas are accomplishing every day (plus it is always just fun to peek around in someone else’s house).

In the meantime, Kitty continues to wait her turn for some attention.  The In-Box seems a logical place to pass the time while SOMEONE sits reading blogs all day…

kitty in box

So many great blogs, so little time.  Anyone have another blog tour they recommend?

spring is in the air

05 Thursday Mar 2009

Posted by in Photography, seasons

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Here’s a little ditty from my youth:

“Spring is sprung, the grass is riz.  I wonder where the flowers is?”

Wow, that looks even more bizarre written out than it did playing over and over  in my head the last 40 springs.

Yes, folks, now we know why I became obsessed with grammar and words.

Anyway, the flowers are riz blooming.  The gold, then the yellow, followed by white, lavender and purple crocus, opening in that order.  That — plus the cat weaving maniacally around our ankles and purring like an outboard engine — both sure signs that spring is nearly here.

crocus bloom

busy, busy, busy

05 Thursday Mar 2009

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Yesterday, March 4th, was National Grammar Day.  Freelance Editor Gabrielle Harbowy had a funny take on the day over on her blog.  I am disappointed that I missed this specific chance to celebrate good grammar.  Really.  In my youth, I would read dictionaries for fun; in high school, I would amuse myself by constructing sentences with triple-negatives with my friend Kelly (in Latin class).  My own grammar, especially when blogging in a conversational style, is obviously loose.  Still, I do appreciate the proper use of a colon.  (Wait, that did not come out right.)

I believe I missed National Grammar Day because of all the hoopla at my geeky house about National Square Root Day on March 3rd.  There is also all the anticipation about National Pi Day on March 14th.  (When The Professor told me about that one, I thought he meant PIE.)

Luckily, today is World Book Day,  AND we are still in the middle of Words Matter Week.  Life is Good.

hope springs eternal

04 Wednesday Mar 2009

Posted by in Photography, seasons

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I have planned to snap some photos of the crocus in my garden as they begin to peek out from the cold ground.  Crocus are my favorite flower;  they are to me the first beautiful color after the winter of gray and brown and white.  The grand idea was to document their emergence as a symbol of hope that spring will, indeed, arrive on its own time — with day-by-day photojournalistic updates of them poking out their little green arms and gradually exploding in bloom.  Now that I write it down, it does not sound that exciting…  (as in, maybe this summer I could take pictures of the lawn and you could watch the grass grow, etc. etc. )

On my way to the *mailbox* today, I learned something:  instead of spending my time stalking the mailman, if I just look down at where I am, today, I will find what I am looking for.

It’s too late for the crocus cam, but never too late to learn.

hope

the mail

03 Tuesday Mar 2009

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Today was not the day.  Yesterday wasn’t either.  Each day, I walk to my mailbox wondering if the package I have waited for is going to be there.  I did not realize how long I’ve dreamed of that small brown box, until the day is almost here.

Last August, I submitted a short story to an anthology.  I’ve written, off and on, for years; but no one else ever saw much of my work.  Sending that little story off into the world felt odd, and vulnerable, and slightly silly.

In January, I received an email that my little story would be published.  My heart sang.  I skipped around the house.  The dog barked.  The book comes out in April.  My complimentary copy “will arrive in March”.  I am so excited to hold it in my hands.

It’s not that I’ve been waiting for that package since August, or since January.  I’ve been dreaming of that day at the mailbox since I was young and full of dreams.  My name, next to something I’ve written.  In a book with two covers and lots of pages in between.

There are so many publishing options now.  I could dream of my work published online as an e-book, or self published, or someday on a kindle.  All of those are very, very fine options.  I write a blog, that I’m thankful you have noticed, and I love it.  But this time I want to hold the paper in my hands and smell the ink.  I want to ruffle the pages back and forth and check the table of contents and the list of contributors at the end.  This is a very short story, in an anthology.  But it is mine.  It is my start.

So each day, I walk to the mailbox, and wonder what I will find.  Then it is up to me what I do next.

{books to ponder}

03 Tuesday Mar 2009

Posted by in good reads

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Current Reads:
Walk Two Moons, Sharon Creech
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, Bill Bryson
Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott

Recently Finished:
The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster
Such a Pretty Fat or Why Pie is Not the Answer, Jen Lancaster
Obsessions, Marshall Cook
Grifin & Sabine, Nick Bantock  (a re-read somehow triggered by Hugo)
The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick

On Deck:
Sabine’s Notebook, Nick Bantock (another re-read)
Crash, Jerry Spinelli
Traveling Mercies, Anne Lamott

Other suggestions, anyone?

Share a Story – Shape a Future

02 Monday Mar 2009

Posted by in good reads, Motherhood, Writing

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If you find yourself wandering around the blogosphere next week, check out this fun, worthwhile event (click here):

Created by a group of blogging librarians, teachers, parents, illustrators, authors and people passionate about literacy,  Share-A-Story — Shape-A-Future is a venue to share ideas and celebrate everything reading has to offer our kids.

Their goal:  building a community of readers, one person at a time.  Sounds good to me!  There are weblinks for each day, March 9-13.

remember this all year

28 Saturday Feb 2009

Posted by in get along like cats and dogs

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grinch1

Don’t be a Grinch.  This advice applies to all 365 days of the year.

Bad things happen to Grinches.  It’s karma.

grinchfacegrinchsniff

grinchouchlegEven the dog knows that grinchiness should be stopped, whenever possible.grinchbutt

However, I think she may have taken today’s lesson a little too seriously.