Tag Archive for: Echelon Press

Ramblings of An Auspicious, Articulate Mind

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Big thanks to those wonderful high-heeled divas for hosting me today!

(Clears throat.)

(Okay. Now what do I say?)

I’m Anne Carter, author of paranormal romantic mysteries. First published in 1998, working on my 6th novel… (yawn) I’ve been blogging for a couple of years now. I vacillate between personal, newsy, gossipy stuff and eloquent, factual mini-biographies of people I find interesting (see The Word From Beacon Street.) But when asked to GUEST blog, I begin to obsess over what to write about. I mean, what if I disappoint? What if their last blogger was Ray Bradbury or Kirk Douglas?

Note to the curious: around the time my last book debuted, I very excitedly approached my local Bumpty-Bump Bookstore and squashed down my shrinking violet shyness by suggesting that, perhaps, just maybe, I could please do a wee little booksigning within their hallowed walls? It went something like this:

Me: “Here’s my press kit, there’s a copy of POINT SURRENDER in there too, it’s a great story about this abandoned lighthouse in northern California, and the people who own it now, who try to figure out what happened to the last keeper, he’s dead, you see, but they need to find out why, and there’s a ghost… it’s published by Echelon Press, and, um, I’m signing next weekend at the Bumpty-Bump Bookseller in Ventura, but I have a lot of people who want to come here to buy a book from me… er, you…my book that is…”

Young Bob Bitchen, CRM for Valencia Bumpty-Bump Booksellers: “Wow, that’s really cool. Yeah, uh, thanks. We do always like to support local authors. Let me look this over and I’ll get back to you.”

Note-within-a-Note: This would have been a very good time to have my good friend and fellow Echelon Press author, Jeff Sherratt, with me. Young Bob B. would’na had a chance.

Me: “Oh, great, thanks so much…”

Me, one month later, reading local newspaper: “Nice. Says here Ray Bradbury is coming here next month. And just after that, Kirk Douglas will be signing his new book.” Grumbling, deep frown. Aloud, to husband: “And who the h*ll is Trace Adkins?” So this is why I am particularly sensitive to [still very worthy] authors like Bradbury and Douglas. (Who is Adkins again?) (End of note.)

So I went to one of those prompt generator thing websites. Surely, here I’d find something to blog about. I clicked through about 50 of them before I shook my head. “Why would anyone want to know about my happiest, or worst, high school memories?” I said aloud to my laptop, I guess, since no one else was listening. Or how about, my ten favorite words. Hmm, let’s see… Serendipity. Auspicious. Articulate. Superfluous. Space-Time-Continuum. Oh wait. That’s three. Oh! Hypotenuse. (Okay, so I was helping my daughter with math last night.) How about Chocolate? (Sure, I’ll have some!) Tenth word: YUM.

What do you want to be remembered for? Sure, I’ll bite that one. Aside from the usual of being a good mother, wife, sister, daughter, friend, I want to be remembered as someone who made others feel better at some point in their lives. Not like Florence Nightingale, but just someone who brings something to the day that makes someone else smile.

I want to be remembered as someone who wasn’t afraid to try to write a whole book and get it published. A person who loved lighthouses, dolls, photography and travel. Ice cream, Mexican food, classic rock and old Hollywood movies. Warm weather over cold, the window seat on the plane, and long, very hot bubble baths.

But I digress. I still haven’t found a good topic to write about. Can I come back when I think of something?

Anne

Anne Carter is the author of paranormal romantic mystery, POINT SURRENDER, from Echelon Press, Amazon and Fictionwise. Visit Anne at BeaconStreetBooks.com.

Love is Murder – Friday Events

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My first day at the Love is Murder conference is winding down. Murder Takes the Cake and Missing showed up in the conference bookstore about noon. Believe me I was lurking in the hallway, waiting to catch a glimpse as soon as the bookseller put them on the table.

As I was counting the toes and fingers of my newborns (Just kidding but not much. Writing a book is like giving birth), Karen Syed of Echelon Press (my publisher) walked up and asked how I liked the cover. I told her the truth, I love the cover. Echelon does great covers. Whiskey is front and center again.

I had brought posters of all three books (Murder Off the Books, Murder Takes the Cake, and Missing). I put those out on a table with bookmarks. There were multiple panels on Friday afternoon, but I only had time to attend one, what with all the hallway lurking and carting promo materials from my room to the conference area. (Note to self – wear the running shoes tomorrow no matter what they look like with your suit.)

The panel I sat in on today was Power Marketing. Morgan Mandel moderated it. She did a wonderful job covering a large number of topics. Rosemary Harris, Joanna Campbell Slan, and Jennie Spallone were featured. Lots of info on blogging, making posters, and promo items was relayed.

There was a big signing event for Missing just before the dinner sponsored by Echelon authors. At least 10 or 11 of the 17 authors who contributed to the anthology were at one long table to sign copies for people who had purchased the book today. Proceeds from Missing are being donated to the National Center for Missing and Abused Children.

After dinner Centuries and Sleuths bookseller Auggie Aleksey read an essay on Sherlock Holmes.

One of my favorite authors – Jeffery Deaver was in the audience. He, along with Steve Berry and Sharan Newman, are the conference’s featured authors. Recently I read his latest, The Bodies Left Behind. Great book!

Tomorrow, I want to attend a panel at 9:00 am – The Doctor Is In – an emergency room doctor is going to offer some help with medical problems that come up in mysteries. The program mentioned “slides.” Can’t wait!

There’s a screenwriting panel at 10:00 am. I’d like to make that one too.

At 2:30 pm I’m on a panel concerning Collaborative Writing. I plan to explain how “Evelyn David” writes and why we’re able to make it work!

I’ve had a full day. Would love to end it with a viewing of the latest Battlestar Galactica but alas (writers can say “alas”) the hotel doesn’t get the Sci-Fi channel. Someone please email me at evelyndavid@evenlyndavid.com and tell me what happens in tonight’s episode!

I’ll be coming home with a few advace copies of Murder Takes the Cake. If you want one, contact us at the email address above. First come, first served. The scheduled publish date is May 2009.

Evelyn
http://www.evelyndavid.com

My Name is Karen & I’m a Publisher

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I have never done a guest blogger spot before, so it seems silly for me to warn you to prepare to be dazzled by my brilliance. Then again you never know. I guess I should start in the usual manner.

Hello, my name is Karen and I’m… a publisher. I haven’t always been. I used to be a slacker. I know, hard to believe, but true. I would gladly pay anyone to do anything to prevent me from having to do it myself. Now, I am a total control freak who cannot seem to delegate. I also used to be a writer, wait, author. And a bookseller. I am a much better publisher. I get to work with writers and I love that!

Why Write?

Because you love to. Don’t do it for any other reason. Anyone can write. You sit down and you put words into sentences and tell stories, or express feelings and emotions. You paint pictures onto your chosen canvas with words. It is one of the most beautiful forms of art there is. I live for words!

Why Publish?

Because you want the world to experience the emotions of your art. Publish because you want as many people as humanly possible to read your work and to be moved by it. Whether with tears, laughter, or fear. If this is not your goal, then continue to write and leave the publishing to those who want to touch the masses.

The Top Five Things A New Author Needs To Know:

If you are an author, or are aspiring to be an author, here is what you need to know. This is YOUR book. Own it! Don’t sit in the passenger seat and let someone else drive your work into the bad part of town.

Don’t fall into the abyss of apathy. Just because you have finished a book, by no means is your job done. Now you have to make people want to read it. Apathy is not an effective sales tool. Trust me, this I know.

Don’t confuse your peers with your market. I know, authors read too. I’ve heard it all before. Hey! Are you paying attention? You in the blue jammies, I’m talking to you. You’re so busy hanging out on MMA that you haven’t even updated your web site in four months. Shame on you! Other authors are only going to your web site to see what kind of mistakes you have made. They aren’t buying your book, they are trying to sell you THEIR book. Come on, you know this! Make this about the readers and I guarantee you will sell more books.

Okay, I am only doing three things. I’m the guest I can do that. Right?

The Books On My Desk:

This is so funny. There are no books on my desk. There are lots of bills. Some junk mail. A Bead catalogue. Yesterday’s lunch plate. 6456 sticky notes of things I was supposed to do. 37 or so pens, including my feathery pink Flamingo pen and my Tinkerbell Glow pen. The bra I was wearing yesterday, it is actually hanging from the drawer handle (it was bothering me so I took it off.) 10 contracts I need to file, and some unsolicited queries that I asked not to be sent via snail mail that need to be thrown away. Some festival contracts.

Which leads me to …

My Favorite Things:

Festivals.

As a publisher, this is what I do for fun. Ask any of my authors, they can tell you that I am in my element at festivals and conferences. Don’t believe me? Ask Evelyn David, Jeff Sherratt, Robert Goldsborough, Sam Morton, any of them. In February 2008 I went to Love is Murder in Chicago, the Southern CA Writers Conference in San Diego, and the Columbia Book Festival in SC. In March we discovered that while I was doing all that traveling, I was in heart failure and could easily have died. But even thought I was having a wonderful time schmoozing, being schmoozed and selling books, I was sick as a dog. Exactly one month after I had the %$#@% pacemaker/defibrillator installed, I went to CA for the LA Times Book Festival. I love meeting writers and readers. I especially love meeting readers. I am unstoppable!

Without the readers, I have no reason to travel. I have no reason to write. I have no reason to publish. They are the lifeblood of the industry. And don’t you forget it!

Karen Syed

Echelon Press, LLC