{Photo: Daughter Carrie and grand-daughter Kiki.}
Fall is upon us, which means, chez nous, that the suitcases have been hauled out and long To Do and Packing lists placed on the kitchen counter. We’ve begun to prepare for the annual migration south—but this year the voyage is complicated (enriched!) by a trip to Europe immediately after Thanksgiving, a raucous and fun-filled meal for twenty-four of our nearest and dearest.
Some time ago I thought it might be nice to go to the Kingston WritersFest immediately before Thanksgiving and departure. A crazy if lovely idea—it is, after all, a great festival—but somehow I managed to catch a nasty cold. (Me: who never gets sick!)
And so I’ve decided to leave Kingston in the morning and nurse my cold at home—alas! I did attend memorable workshops by Charlotte Gill and the amazing Helen Humphreys, among others. I also finally met historical novelist Eva Stachniak (author of The Winter Palace); we’ve corresponded by e-mail and through Facebook for a very long time. Writing is a solitary vocation, and it’s wonderful to meet other writers.
A Book Report
I finished reading Canada by Richard Ford (thumbs up!), and then plunged frenetically into one-two-and-then-three books on book promotion. They are:
Make a Killing on Kindle by Michael Alvear—which I read for obvious reasons. I learned quite a bit from it, and recommend it to anyone who is publishing on Kindle.
What to do Before Your Book Launch, by M.J. Rose and Randy Susan Meyers. Excellent! I’ve been through this book-launching process four times, and I’m amazed how much I’ve forgotten. The time-table alone (what happens when) is worth the price of admission. I recommend this book for all published and to-be-published authors.
And then, if these two weren’t enough, I dove into the book promotion-wizz M.J. Rose (above) referred to as “her bible”: Publicize Your Book! by Jacqueline Deval.
I’m exhausted at the thought of all I should be doing. No wonder I came down with a cold!
I was at the festival on the weekend. I’m sorry we didn’t meet! It was a really wonderful festival and the event that I was part of, the high tea on Sunday, was fabulous. I so enjoyed the other writers.
I know, Lilian! I wanted to see you, but my nasty cold forced me home early. I think it’s one of the best festivals in Canada.
Oh, Sandra please have you already seen “In search of Josephine”? And please don’t forget about your answer about Josephine! This is very-very important to me. I’m longing to know your opinion about the subject.))
It’s sitting on my shelf. I’m nervous about watching it! But okay: I will try, TODAY.
Mille fois merci, ma bonne amie!
See my post!
In addition to writing historical fiction we have a few other things in common … a nasty cold which in my case prevented me from going to the Historical Novel Society conference in London, and a southward bound journey in the near future. I realize that you are published and I’m not but I hope to correct that over time.
Oh, Mary — to have to cancel a trip to London for the HNS conference! That’s brutal. In terms of getting published, perseverance is EVERYTHING. Bon courage … and get well!