Question Answered

We had a great Mother’s Day in summer like sunshine at our weekend place. The grandsons rode dirt bikes and the six year old was undamaged by his spill through a barbed wire fence into a small stagnant pond. His mom had stopped to caution him on the turn so got to watch – which she said was like watching it happen in slow motion.

The massage I had yesterday was devoted to my neck, shoulders and hands so I’m feeling pretty good again. I’ve been taking care of writerly business stuff and now am ready to return to a novel in process. There was really no doubt which one to give my attention but I like when a nudge from the universe give me a “Yep, on the right track” message.

Paty Jager posted the above picture on Facebook with the  caption, “Spending our anniversary in Coos Bay and this drifts by our hotel.”  That’s my Yep, as Coos Bay is one of the main settings of the novel I set aside last month. Now the storyboard is again set up and binders and books are spread across the dining room table.

Mermaids Around Me

Handmade 2013 – Cynthia Burke – The Copper Tail Whale

There’s references to mermaids in my novel, and the aquarium described represents one I had for years in my living room. I’m also an avid kayak-er and have often been called “a fish” when near bodies of water.

Oregon Authors Tree

I really hadn’t planned for the mermaid motif to represent this book, but that’s what’s happening.  

Morgan saw the mermaid on Etsy and contacted the artist for “a tree ornament” one that could be holding my novel from the back of my business card. Ms. Burke also painted “Checkmate First Mate” below the scales on the tail.

This mermaid holding the cover of My Tale is now hanging on the tree in the Books Room at Pittock Mansion. 

Jessie Smith was the driving force behind the decorations in this room and many of my author friends are represented in ornaments on the tree and in all the book displays around the room. Lots of pictures were posted on FaceBook today but I hope to take my own pictures really soon.

Later, as I was scanning my news feeds, I noticed a “Wired” article titled “Professional Mermaids Are Lost Treasure of Florida Park.” Wow. Fun! I followed the link to the artist Annie Collinge and 25 pictures of this mermaid park.

I also have mermaid earrings and that costume I made to wear at a conference in October of 2011.

I’ve really been over-tired lately because while I love grammy-nanny time it is comparable to hours of yoga and aerobics at the same time. (I’m feeling muscles and joints I had forgotten I had.) All the book events also wore me out as I’m more of an introvert and need quiet time to recharge. So I haven’t done any promotions for this novel yet, and planned to wait until next year when it’s not exclusively in the Amazon Select program.

But today, seeing all these mermaids, I realized this story is promoting itself. And that’s great! Happy Reading!

Fun in Book World

I spent the weekend at the PNBA Tradeshow and am excited about this new layer of interaction with booksellers, librarians, and book lovers who have made their passion their business. Our workshop was a rousing success as Morgan kept all attendees in the packed room, engaged. No one was in a hurry to leave the room and some gathered to chat more among themselves in the morning.

We had a few meetings with publishing and bookseller experts. They were already flipping through our little book and offering all kinds of pointers and suggestions for future marketing books. My brain is rather stuffed and it will take some time to relax and process everything.

One of the highlights of this event was meeting new friends, like Gary & Kathy Robson who own Red Lodge Books & Tea, in Montana. Gary knows his Teas and he has written children’s nature and science picture books in his “Who Pooped in the …” series, featuring wildlife “Scat and Tracks for Kids” in numerous parks around the western USA.

Morgan was entranced by Princess Cupcake Jones and the Missing Tutu, and we were both enthralled at Don Compton’s amazing Pop-up Book of America’s National Parks. It’s very elaborate and a treasure. We never would have seen this book if Don hadn’t been in our workshop and was convinced to carry it around. It’s only available (for now) at National Parks, or through Amazon, not at a local bookseller.

We took some time away from our book browsing and chatting to sign our own book for over forty people who Really Wanted It! Our publisher was thrilled with the orders she got that day. 😀

We’ve gotten a 5* review on the kindle version and know that reviewer was so impressed with the ebook that he went and bought the print version. My romance novel also has a 5* review from a reader.  I’m feeling pretty good after my first event in Book World where my name badge labeled me as an author, to my peers.

Now I’m home for more fun, with my grandchildren.