Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Random Acts of Publicity is next week!

I've been online friends with Darcy Pattison for a long time and her e-book The Book Trailer Manual is fantastic! Detailed and comprehensive so go grab yourself a copy now!

Darcy also runs an annual event called RANDOM ACTS OF PUBLICITY the first week of September. Here are the deets! Come join the fun and celebrate one of your favorite books or authors - or a brand new author!

	Random Acts of Publicity is all about your Friend’s book!!! The 3rd Annual Random Acts of Publicity, September 6-8, 2011 is a week to celebrate your Friend’s book, or your favorite book, by doing a Random Act of Publicity: Blog, link, Like, review, or talk about the book . (BLLuRT! for short!) JOIN the Facebook Event Page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=247495138609650 Daily posts on Fiction Notes (www.darcypattison.com) will offer tips, wisdom and Prizes for your Friend! Twitter: Use #RAP2011 September 6: Guest Susan Raab "Brand Building Square One" by Susan Raab, President of Raab Associates, www.raabassociates.com. One-day chance for you to enter your Friend to win one of 15 FREE Giveaways of a 15-minute book marketing consultation provided by Raab Associates. September 7: Guest Barbara Fisch and Sarah Shealy Many Hands Make Light Work - or How Two Heads are Better than One by Barbara Fisch and Sarah Shealy, Blue Slip Media, www.blueslipmedia.com One-day chance for you to enter your Friend to win a 15-minute book marketing consultation provided by Blue Slip Media. September 8: Guest Deborah Sloan Create Buzz by Connecting with Readers by Deborah Sloan of Deborah Sloan & Company. www.deborahsloanandcompany.com One-day chance for you to enter your Friend to win a one-hour book marketing consultation provided by Deborah Sloan & Company. September 9: Guest Dana Lynn Smith How to Get Your Book Reviewed by Dana Lynn Smith of The Savvy Book Marketer. www.thesavvybookmarketer.com One-day chance for you to enter your Friend to win a FREE copy of How to Get Your Book Reviewed by Dana Lynn Smith ALL WEEK: Post your Friend’s name/book title on the Facebook page for Random Acts of Publicity to be entered to win a FREE The Book Trailer Manual by Darcy Pattison. One ebook given away daily; must post Friend’s name that day to be eligible and you can post it each day if you like. NOTE: You may not enter your own name in any of these prize giveaways. By posting a person’s name you acknowledge that you have asked their permission and the post is with their knowledge. Please note carefully WHERE to comment for each giveaway. They all require you to comment on the POST at Fiction Notes (www.darcypattison.com). The EXCEPTION is the ongoing drawing for The Book Trailer Manual; for this giveaway and this one only, please post on the Random Acts of Publicity Facebook page. FAQ: 1. Who can participate? Anyone who wants to help a book get noticed by readers. We are focusing on helping a Friend’s book get noticed, but you can also choose to help your favorite book get noticed. 2. What do I do? BLLuRT or Post. Or both. A. BLLuRT (http://bit.ly/RAoP2011). The basic tasks for book marketing online remain the same, BLLuRT! Do one of these each day for your Friend’s book or for your favorite book. 1. B is for Blog. Blog about a book, the author or anything related. 2. L is for Link. (http://bit.ly/RAP-Link) Link to something about the book, the author’s page, the book selling page, anything. 3. L is for LIKE. (http://bit.ly/RAP-Like ) LIKE the book’s Facebook page, the author’s page. Or Add them to your Google+. 4. R is for Review. (http://bit.ly/RAP-R ) Review a book. Some experts suggest that books tend to break out when they get over 25 reviews on Amazon, GoodReads or other booksites. 5. T is for Tell or Talk. (http://bit.ly/RAP-T )Tell someone about a book. Your friend, a teacher, a librarian, anyone. Talk about the book—why did you like it? What excited you about this book? Why should I read it? B. It’s also a great week to post something about book marketing, perhaps a personal experience, a tutorial, a tips sheet or a case study of book marketing. Put the URL of your post in the Random Acts of Publicity Facebook page for others to read 3. What books should I talk about this week? Your Friend’s book or your favorite book. We are focusing especially on new books or less well-known books. Focus on a great book that not many readers know about. 4. Can Publishers participate? Yes, you can BLLuRT about books, too. We ask that you focus on mid-list or new authors, those who could benefit from a boost during Random Acts of Publicity week. We know it’s your job to BLLuRT about the front-list, that and much more; as an individual working in book publishing, though, we are asking that you champion a dark horse during Random Acts of Publicity Week. -- Random Acts of Publicity Week was created by Darcy Pattison (www.darcypattison.com), writing teacher and author of Prairie Storms (www.facebook.com/PrairieStorms) as a way to help create an atmosphere of fun and collaboration in marketing books. It occurs each September, the four days following Labor Day.

Random Acts of Publicity is all about your Friend’s book!!!

The 3rd Annual Random Acts of Publicity, September 6-8, 2011 is a week to celebrate your Friend’s book, or your favorite book, by doing a Random Act of Publicity: Blog, link, Like, review, or talk about the book . (BLLuRT! for short!)

JOIN the Facebook Event Page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=247495138609650

Daily posts on Fiction Notes (www.darcypattison.com) will offer tips, wisdom and Prizes for your Friend!
Twitter: Use #RAP2011

September 6: Guest Susan Raab
"Brand Building Square One" by Susan Raab, President of Raab Associates, www.raabassociates.com.
One-day chance for you to enter your Friend to win one of 15 FREE Giveaways of a 15-minute book marketing consultation provided by Raab Associates.

September 7: Guest Barbara Fisch and Sarah Shealy
Many Hands Make Light Work - or How Two Heads are Better than One by Barbara Fisch and Sarah Shealy, Blue Slip Media, www.blueslipmedia.com
One-day chance for you to enter your Friend to win a 15-minute book marketing consultation provided by Blue Slip Media.

September 8: Guest Deborah Sloan
Create Buzz by Connecting with Readers by Deborah Sloan of Deborah Sloan & Company. www.deborahsloanandcompany.com
One-day chance for you to enter your Friend to win a one-hour book marketing consultation provided by Deborah Sloan & Company.

September 9: Guest Dana Lynn Smith
How to Get Your Book Reviewed by Dana Lynn Smith of The Savvy Book Marketer. www.thesavvybookmarketer.com
One-day chance for you to enter your Friend to win a FREE copy of How to Get Your Book Reviewed by Dana Lynn Smith

ALL WEEK: Post your Friend’s name/book title on the Facebook page for Random Acts of Publicity to be entered to win a FREE The Book Trailer Manual by Darcy Pattison. One ebook given away daily; must post Friend’s name that day to be eligible and you can post it each day if you like.

NOTE: You may not enter your own name in any of these prize giveaways. By posting a person’s name you acknowledge that you have asked their permission and the post is with their knowledge. Please note carefully WHERE to comment for each giveaway. They all require you to comment on the POST at Fiction Notes (www.darcypattison.com). The EXCEPTION is the ongoing drawing for The Book Trailer Manual; for this giveaway and this one only, please post on the Random Acts of Publicity Facebook page.

FAQ:
1. Who can participate?
Anyone who wants to help a book get noticed by readers. We are focusing on helping a Friend’s book get noticed, but you can also choose to help your favorite book get noticed.

2. What do I do?
BLLuRT or Post. Or both.

A. BLLuRT (http://bit.ly/RAoP2011). The basic tasks for book marketing online remain the same, BLLuRT! Do one of these each day for your Friend’s book or for your favorite book.

1. B is for Blog. Blog about a book, the author or anything related.
2. L is for Link. (http://bit.ly/RAP-Link) Link to something about the book, the author’s page, the book selling page, anything.
3. L is for LIKE. (http://bit.ly/RAP-Like ) LIKE the book’s Facebook page, the author’s page. Or Add them to your Google+.
4. R is for Review. (http://bit.ly/RAP-R ) Review a book. Some experts suggest that books tend to break out when they get over 25 reviews on Amazon, GoodReads or other booksites.
5. T is for Tell or Talk. (http://bit.ly/RAP-T )Tell someone about a book. Your friend, a teacher, a librarian, anyone. Talk about the book—why did you like it? What excited you about this book? Why should I read it?

B. It’s also a great week to post something about book marketing, perhaps a personal experience, a tutorial, a tips sheet or a case study of book marketing. Put the URL of your post in the Random Acts of Publicity Facebook page for others to read

3. What books should I talk about this week?
Your Friend’s book or your favorite book. We are focusing especially on new books or less well-known books. Focus on a great book that not many readers know about.

4. Can Publishers participate?
Yes, you can BLLuRT about books, too. We ask that you focus on mid-list or new authors, those who could benefit from a boost during Random Acts of Publicity week. We know it’s your job to BLLuRT about the front-list, that and much more; as an individual working in book publishing, though, we are asking that you champion a dark horse during Random Acts of Publicity Week.

--

Random Acts of Publicity Week was created by Darcy Pattison (www.darcypattison.com), writing teacher and author of Prairie Storms (www.facebook.com/PrairieStorms) as a way to help create an atmosphere of fun and collaboration in marketing books. It occurs each September, the four days following Labor Day.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Kirkus Reviews!

I am currently out of town on more family urgent business (my summer has been one crazy, heart-pounding emergency after another!) but I just received this from my editor - my first official review from Kirkus!

I have to admit that I am puzzled by the "religious overtones" phrase. Someone will have to point that out to me - I'm either blind to my own words, or I've forgotten! Ha, ha. It's always so interesting to see how readers interpret the story we've written. So now the book I wrote in six weeks last August during Book Armageddon Deadline is out there now and it's nail-biting and butterflies-in-the-stomach-time!

Okay, I've survived the first one - whew. Reviewers tend to be a bit snarky to me, although readers out there by the vast majority overwhelmingly have praised my work. Go figure! (For example, go read some teary-making reviews on Goodreads for The Healing Spell)

Kirkus Reviews – September 1, 2011

CIRCLE OF SECRETS
Author: Little, Kimberley Griffiths
Publisher:Scholastic
Pages: 336
Price ( Hardcover ): $17.99
Publication Date: October 1, 2011
ISBN ( Hardcover ): 978-0-545-16561-7
Category: Fiction

A steamy Louisiana bayou is the atmospheric backdrop to a tale about a daughter’s estrangement from her mom, the mother’s long-held guilty secret and a restless ghost’s long-sought closure.

When her dad takes a job overseas, 11-year-old Shelby must stay with the mother who walked out on both of them a year earlier. Deeply resentful and wary of her healer mom’s isolated cabin deep in the swamp, Shelby gets drawn into mysterious doings involving strange notes hidden in glass bottles that hang from a tree near home. Tormented at school, Shelby eventually finds a friend in Gwen, a girl who lives alone in the bayou. Ever more mysterious incidents ensue as Shelby slowly unravels the truth about Gwen, her mother’s involvement with the cryptic messages and Mom’s past. The author serves up the setting well, evoking the sights, sounds and smells of the humid, tangled bayou. The gently spooky ghost angle is handled nicely with some religious overtones. A very dramatic climax leads to a sweet, satisfying ending with some surprising twists and with reconciliation occurring for several characters.

For readers who like their ghost stories more friendly than terrifying. (Suspense. 9 -12)

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Kind of a freaky thing . . .

Just found out something kind of interesting about me and J.K. Rowling . . .

When I was about 10-11 years old my mother showed me a book list from The Friend magazine. (Way back in the *olden* days of The Friend they used to do a list of monthly book recommendations.)

My mother said: "This sounds like a book you might like." She was often on the look-out for books I'd like to read. Probably trying to satiate my book appetite since I read constantly.

Next time I went to the library (which was about every couple of weeks to the city library - and nearly daily to the school library during lunchtime.) we checked out the book and I took it home with me.

The book was THE LITTLE WHITE HORSE by Elizabeth Goudge.

I gulped it down with my usual ferocity - and back when I was in elementary school I read nearly a book a day, rereading my favorites when I ran out of library books or my pile of Scholastic Book order Books.

THE LITTLE WHITE HORSE easily became my all-time favorite book of my childhood. I read it over and over again, wept, tingled with excitement, and was swept away in the mystery of the manor house and the magical setting and people and creatures. Plus I adore anything Victorian and English since my grandparents were immigrants from Leeds, England. It was my lifelong dream to go to England, although I didn't make it there until I was 40 years old.

. . . so for decades now if anybody asked me what my favorite book from childhood was, I automatically said, THE LITTLE WHITE HORSE.

An interesting thing always happened: Nobody else had ever heard of this book! Nobody else had ever read it!

And yet, the book is STILL IN PRINT AFTER 65 YEARS!!! And NO, I am nowhere near 65! The book was actually quite old when I read it, about 30 at the time.

It's a true Classic in my opinion, embodying all those wonderful, mysterious elements and fantastical people and creatures that children - and adults - love. I even read it during my busy college years when I found it on the library shelves at BYU. Just couldn't help myself!

During all these years I've never been able to discuss the book with anybody else - because nobody I've ever known has ever read the book - so imagine my surprise to find out yesterday that J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame and fortune, announces that THE LITTLE WHITE HORSE was her favorite book from childhood! Maybe she had more access to Elizabeth Goudge's books living in England because it is true that there was only one other book by Goudge in my hometown library and I never knew that she actually wrote lots and lots of books.(The other book was LINNETS AND VALERIANS. And yes, I own that, too.)

I love the re-issue cover of the book - so beautifully mysterious and luscious.

Maybe I need to buy another copy. I have one from about 10 years ago with a different cover.

Maybe I need to buy several and start passing them out!

Anybody out there ever read this book? Spill! Comment! Share the love!

Does anybody know a contemporary child who has read it? What do they think of it?

Go here to read about the book and a synopsis: http://www.elizabethgoudge.org/Postings/The%20Little%20White%20Horse.htm

The Elizabeth Goudge Website and Society here: http://www.elizabethgoudge.org/Index.htm

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

A new blog by a very cool librarian!

Over this past year, I've become friends with Rebecca Donnelly, children's librarian at the beautiful new public library in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

Rebecca knows books! She reads everything that comes into the library and does all the ordering, too.

I first met Rebecca at our local SCBWI monthly schmooze, which are very fun meetings where all of us New Mexico writers schmooze and chat and visit and have pizza for dinner beforehand - but we also discuss lots of very cool writing and book-related topics each month as led by our Schmoozinator, Brian Herrera, UNM professor.

Rebecca is a regular now, and I hear a little rumor that she's also dabbling in - *gasp* - writing her first novel - but you didn't hear it from me. . . .

Since we hold our Schmoozes at Albuquerque's newest indie children's bookstore, Alamosa Books, she sometimes brings her offspring to read and peruse the shelves while all of us writers talk, talk, talk. Sometimes that's all adults want to DO - especially writer adults!

Here is Rebecca's brand-spanking-new blog: The Chained Library. It even has a very cool comic strip header:

http://chainedlibrary.wordpress.com/

The Chained Library

Because books are where it's at (and I want them to stay there)

Go check it out and put The Chained Library on your blogroll. Rebecca has lots of great stuff planned for the future - and where else can you pick a librarian's brain incognito!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Newsy Thursday

Hey everybody, how are y'all?

I'm pinching myself because I just received my first paid invitation to speak at a conference! And it's the perfect one. SIBA: SOUTHERN INDEPENDENT BOOKSELLERS ALLIANCE trade show on September 17th in Charleston, South Carolina!

Charleston: The city of the South, the Civil War, and Gone with the Wind! I have always dreamed of going to Charleston and I'm thrilled. Plus pretty darn excited to meet a whole bunch of booksellers from the Indies of the South!

If you are going to be there, please come to the 11:00 a.m. panel:

11:00 – 11:50 AM – Hideous & Haunting
Moderator: W. Scott Poole, Monsters in America: Our Historical Obsession with the Hideous and the Haunting (Baylor University Press)
Kala Ambrose, Ghosthunting North Carolina (Clerisy Press)
Alma Katsu, The Taker (Gallery Books)
Kimberley Griffiths Little, Circle of Secrets (Scholastic)

I also got a CRAZY GORGEOUS review of The Healing Spell here:
http://bibliophilesupportgroup.blogspot.com/2011/07/healing-spell.html

Bibliophile Support Group

This is a place for book addicts like myself to feel safe and understood – and find out about some awesome (or not-so-awesome) books to feed their ever-hungry habit. You'll find new reviews here every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday ranging in genres from sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal, suspense, historical fiction, action, adventure, middlegrade and more in all age categories. Though there tends to be more YA reviewed here than other genres, this blog is in no way limited to that.

Isn't that a great name for a book blog?! THANK YOU, Angie L.!!!

And finally, I adore this picture from ALA in New Orleans. Me and Carolina Valdez Miller. I stole it from her blog post. Yes, I steal pictures from the internet. :-) I loved meeting Carol and getting a chance to chat in person. We even had burgers for lunch on the floor and spilled mustard together. Unfortunately, I was only there one day and missed a lot of author action and parties. But I think we're pretty adorable here: