BOOK TRAILER OF THE HOUR

I just have to pass this on. Toni McGee Causey has just put the most professional book trailer I've seen in a long time up on YouTube. It's for her book, Bobbie Faye's Very (very, very, very) Bad Day, that will be released from St. Martin's in May. It definitely gets my two thumbs up!

Here it is and you decide if that's not just the best put together book trailer you've seen!



If anyone would like some book trailer promotion, I have added a webpage at The Writer's Life for book trailer listings. Visit www.thewriterslife.net/booktrailerpromotion.html to find out how you can add yours!

Tags: book trailer, Toni McGee Causey, YouTube, book trailer promotion, The Writer's Life

The Tree with a Past

Can anyone begin to tell me what kind of tree this is?

I'd love to know because it's one of my most prized possessions. You see, this tree has a past.

My past.

And here is the story...

A long, long time ago, there was a happy family. The mother stayed home with the kids, making sure they had everything that she never had--a happy home filled with birthday parties, sleep-overs and dance classes. The mother took parenthood very seriously, making her children top priority and tending to their every wish.

They lived in a nice brick home with a treehouse in the back yard big enough to fit two adults and two children while they ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches underneath the pines. The backyard was fenced in with a small vegetable garden to the right just under the eaves of the garage, and a swing set to the left.

At Christmas, presents were lined up from one end of the massive living room to the other. The daughter had her own canopy bed with a Holly Hobby bedspread and a Rainbow Brite lamp on the nightstand beside it. The son's room was decorated with boy-like treasures such as jars filled with nature's living organisms and other delights of which the mother would turn a blind eye to.

Life was perfect.

The father had a good job which enabled him to travel occasionally. On one such trip, he brought back the mother a stick-looking thing that he said when planted, it would grow.

The mother planted the stick-like thing and watched as this plant began to take form.

She was delighted that this plant was slowly forming into a tree which grew and grew, no matter what she did to it. Although the mother did have a green thumb, this was an exotic plant and she knew that exotic plants were hard to keep alive. Still, the plant refused to die even under the worse situations possible which would come a few years down the road.

A few years did come down the road, and we find the mother and father have gone their separate ways. The children, once happy and having everything they could ever want, were suddenly put in awkward positions such as "Do we live with Mom or do we live with Dad?"

Because both the mother and the father wanted to "own" them, there was a huge court battle to see who would obtain ownership, commonly called custody by the court system, in which the father tried to make the mother look very bad. Because the mother had a few tricks under her sleeve, it never happened, and the mother was granted custody of said children.

However, it was not an easy path. Once being able to buy nice things, they were finding themselves buying second-hands in the thrift shop. Once eating steak and shrimp, they were finding themselves eating whatever they could.

The mother and her children tried to survive, but with only a part-time job and no child support coming in at first, they found themselves very stressed at how they were going to live. Without going in gory details, the family found themselves in many awkward positions, and homelessness was one of them.

The daughter ended up flunking ninth grade that year, while the son shrunk deeper into his shell. He missed his father and the family life he once had.

The mother tried job after job before the last one in which she applied, kept her on for ten years, and so the story ends. But, it doesn't really end, because, you see, this is where it begins.

The tree in the picture symbolizes a past that only the mother and the children know. It represents hardship and struggle and a fight to win. The tree saw the happy family before they were forced to find out that they are winners, and not losers, and the tree will tell you, if allowed to talk, that even though some things seem to change for the worse, they really haven't.

The family grew stronger with each year that went by. The mother became an author, something she wanted all her life. The daughter became a nurse, and the son found his father again.

While the family struggles to find the answers as to why the family fell apart, the tree knows because he has watched it unfold before its very eyes.

And the tree will tell you that if life were simple and easy, there would be no hardships. There would be no struggle, and believe it or not, your past is the very reason you are who you are.

I don't know why I'm telling you this, except that this tree, this tree I brought up from a little stick-like thing, has been with me for about sixteen years. It never gave up on me. It might have lost a few leaves along the way, but it's the one thing that never, ever gave up on me.

The tree sits in the corner of my living room, still growing, and showing no signs of giving up on me, or life itself. It's a trooper. Just like me.

I don't even know what kind of tree it is because in all the moving around, I lost the "birth certificate" papers. But, it doesn't matter. It's more of a symbol to me now, and as I stare at it in the corner of the living room, yes, it does take me back to a life I cannot have anymore, but I can't change the past. Would I want to? Big question that one.

But, I have learned that what has happened has happened, and it was all part of what I call "my life." And my life has been devoted to helping anyone who needs help, whatever that may entail, and that, I suppose, is my mission here on earth.

I don't know how long this tree will be alive, but as long as it thrives, I guess...I will, too.

What's New with the Boomer Chick

I haven't posted in a few days, so I thought I'd catch you all up to what's been going on in my little ol' boomer chick life. Wish I could say same old, same old, but I can't let that happen, now can I?

Oh, where do I start? For beginners, I'm now a PR person. I'm not advertising it until I can see what I can do for my TWO (count'em!) clients. So what you might be hearing a lot from me from now on is about my life becoming a public relations person...errr...actually, I call myself the Pump UP Your Book Promotion eMarketing Expert. Has a nice ring to it.

I'm a little different from most book publicists in the regards that I concentrate on that vast territory called cyberspace. In other words, I show you how to promote online to sell your books. In the years since I've been promoting my books, I've learned a great deal about what entices online buyers and in this case, book buyers. I will do several things for my clients which are outlined in my mission statement I send to anyone who is interested in my services. It involves many things. I take you and your book and create a powerful online presence for the both of you. Fun, yet challenging. I'll keep you up to date on how this pans out.

I do want to announce that my writing site, The Writer's Life, took honors as being in the top ten at the Preditors and Editors Readers Poll this year. One for the site and one for editor....cool beans!

Also good news is THE SEARCH FOR THE MILLION $$$ GHOST which I co-authored with Heide Kaminski and Pam Lawniczak is due to be released in paperback by the end of this month! Go Mardi Gras!

On the homefront, I'm still contemplating buying an RV and touring the country. Won't be for a few years, but I'm doing my homework now. There's an RV show in New Jersey (four hours away) that I'd love to attend the first of next month, but I think I'm going to see if there are any closer. Wouldn't that be just the coolest thing to do nothing but tour the country? Of course, you still have to eat, and that's the main thing I have to think about...making money on the road. It can be done, but I need another year or two to make sure that exists.

I'm still making plans on returning to California in September. I need to contact the library there (where I'll be donating my book) to make sure they know when I'm coming. And the LA Times reporter who probably has moved on by now (hopefully not) who was going to do the interview.

As far as my promotion classes are concerned, I'm hoping for next month if I can stop long enough to make sure I have everything squared away for that. With this new PR business just getting off the ground, it's hard to make time, but don't worry, I'll find the time somewhere.

And anyone watching American Idol? My choice so far is Lakesha....man, that woman can belt out a tune. Did you hear what Simon said? "As far as I'm concerned, everyone else can go home." Did you get a look on everyone's faces when he said that? Man oh man oh man.

I hope I haven't forgotten anything, but I think that's it in a nutshell. Hope everyone has a wonderful week-end!

Tags: public relations, pump up your book promotion, The Writer's Life, boomer chick, The Search for the Million $$$ Ghost, promotion classes, American Idol

John Kremer's FREE BOOKS FOR ALL

I found this a couple nights ago. John Kremer is putting nonfiction ebooks up on his site and is inviting anyone with a free nonfiction ebook to send it to him and he'll put it up for you. I emailed him last night, and today, both my free ebooks, A Complete Guide to Promoting & Selling Your Self-Published eBook (A Sampler) and 101 Facts You Never Knew About Soul Mates are both up. Pretty darn fast to me.

The site is called Free Books for All, a website devoted to giving away free nonfiction books, including business books, cookbooks, memoirs, how-to books, travel books, gardening books, mind/body/spirit books, social issues books, and more.

John is being so gracious to do this because he believes (as do I) that word of mouth is the best promotion. According to his website at www.freebooksforall.com, he states, "The toughest challenge for a newbie or an unknown author is to get readers to sample your book. The best way to get people to sample your book is by giving it away as a free PDF download. Most people won't read an entire novel on their computer, but they will sample it. And, if they like it, they will go to Amazon.com or their favorite local bookseller and buy it. Then they will read your book. And, if your book is any good, they'll begin to tell other people about your book."

Hey, hey, John's the man!

If you have a free nonfiction ebook, click here to find out how you can end up on John Kremer's Free Books For All!

Tags: Free Books For All, John Kremer, nonfiction books, A Complete Guide to Promoting & Selling Your Self-Published eBook, free nonfiction books, business books

Chesapeake Man Makes the Top 24 on American Idol!

Anyone keeping tabs on what's going on with American Idol? I am glued to the set, believe me.

What I found really neat was that a local of sorts has made it in the top 24! He's Chris Richardson, 22, of Chesapeake, Virginia. Of course, it's a few hundred miles from me, but still!

Go Chris!

Actually, I had no idea until the news came in today at the Daily Press, and I'm trying to remember what he sang. I'm sure I saw him, but there were so many....I can't keep track!

The woman I picked out from the pack was Stephanie Edwards...that woman can crank it out! Of course, they all are fantastic and beautiful and man...one of them the next American Idol...and they all want it so bad.

Actually, they're all winners in my book to actually get to where they are now!

Pics of Print Magazine I'm in!

Now you know when a writer has completely gone over the edge when she goes and takes pictures of the magazine in which her articles appear in. Here they are...the first picture is the article and the second picture is the cover...if you look reeeeeeeeeal close....in the second picture....my article is the sixth listing in red.....bear with me, I'm having a major woop-woop moment...

Boomer Chick is in a Magazine!

You know, I never knew it paid to clean, but in this case, I think I think it was well worth it!

I was taking a break from my online work and decided I'd straighten up a bit. What I do is take a room and go from one corner to the next, and that's how I clean...strange, I know. So, my first corner involved the entertainment center. There were the usual bills, an OPENED tax form from Zumaya Publications (one of my publishers and can we say KILL THE BF?), but then that's about when I saw a magazine that I had not ordered so I presumed it to be junk mail.

The magazine was called "Book Dealers World - The Book Marketing Magazine for Independent Publishers & Mail Order Entrepreneurs." I didn't recognize the name at all, sorry to say...but then...something jumped out at me. It was an article I had syndicated over the net titled, "How to Self-Syndicate Articles to Create a Buzz for Your Book." Unreal. There it was in black and white--actually red--with my name right there on the freaking cover!

I went inside to check it out and there it was--a full page with my article and a complete bio with links to my websites (tres cool).

Now this is what I'm talking about. This is what I live for.

It may be small, but it's there, in black and white--errr...red--for all the world to see.

You can't even imagine the high I'm on right now. It's not Cosmo, no, but it's a print publication!

It's funny because just before this, I was listening to a podcast by Suzanne Falter-Barns (http://selfhelpsalon.typepad.com/get_known_now_podcast/) about getting magazine gigs. Man, you guys need to listen to these podcasts...only takes a few minutes of your time, but that woman is the bomb. And it really did put that spark to start sending off to magazines again. Here I have books with topical subjects and I'm dissing my time away doing things that...well...in other words, I could use my time better.

In Suzanne's podcast at Get Known Now Unplugged, btw, she tells you how to go about getting into magazines, and guys, this is free information! Wonderful, wonderful podcast.

Well, it's back to my cleaning, but this time, I'll pay a little more attention to junk mail!

Tags: How to Self-Syndicate Articles to Create a Buzz for Your Book, book marketing, self-syndicate, print publication, Suzanne Falter-Barns, Get Known Now Unplugged, Book Marketing Profits

LOVE IS IN THE AIR - FREE VALENTINE'S DAY EBOOK AVAILABLE NOW!

It's official!

LOVE IS IN THE AIR, a free Valentine's Day ebook is available!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Give the Gift of Love: LOVE IS IN THE AIR - Free Valentine’s Day eBook!

February 13, 2007 - Just in time for Valentine’s Day, The Writer’s Life Publications announces the release of “Love is in the Air,” a free 65-page downloadable eBook, filled with love stories and love advice for the romantic in you!

“Love is in the Air,” is written by the members of The Writersville Gang, an online Yahoo! writing group, which includes Rebecca Camarena, Sandy Lender, Gale Sparks, Dorothy Thompson, Michael Witherspoon and Jamieson Wolf.

“I’m really excited about this eBook,” says Dorothy Thompson, editor of The Writer’s Life and moderator of the online writing group. “Not only are we giving back to our faithful readers, but we are also learning the ins and outs of self-publishing. It’s been a great learning experience for all of us and has helped us find out what it takes to pump up our own online book promotion by using our free eBooks as guinea pigs. We learn what works and what doesn’t which is highly important because it eliminates the time wasters and shows us how to market our books effectively.”

The Writer’s Life Publications is run and operated by Dorothy Thompson and publishes several free eBooks throughout the year.

To download your free Valentine’s Day eBook, LOVE IS IN THE AIR, visit www.thewriterslife.net/loveisintheair.html.

Press Contact:
Dorothy Thompson
Editor, The Writer’s Life Magazine
P.O. Box 313
Temperanceville, Virginia 23442
thewriterslife@yahoo.com
http://www.thewriterslife.net/


Tags: free Valentine's Day ebook, online book promotion, free ebook, marketing your book, self-publishing, downloadable ebook, love stories, love advice, pump up your online book promotion, The Writer's Life, The Writersville Gang

Full-time RVing?

Okay, now I'm intrigued. Go here.. http://www.marketingmakesmoney.com/index.htm.

Now, I know there's a lot of stuff on the Internet with a lot of make it rich schemes, but this guy really knows how to pull you in. Wouldn't it be so cool to be able to retire at an early age and live off of what you do over the Internet. I mean, enough to actually live well?

I'm not sure what business he's talking about, but I have a business already. I write books. Now, how can I take this business and make enough to live off of? Better yet, how can I take this business, buy an RV and tour the country selling my books?

Not sure. I know there's a lot of people out there doing it, though.

So, I have a plan. I'm going to become a full-time RVer in the next five years. It's a goal of sorts. If I make it before, fine, but did you read the article there that said if you work after the age of 55, it cuts off some of the rest of your living years?

I don't doubt that. Work kills, that's for sure. Especially when you're older.

As a few of you know, I wait tables at night. In the daytime, I'm on this thing 24/7, learning different ways to make money and I have succeeded at least in finding out some of the secrets of good online book promotion. But can I take what I have learned, and the ebooks I have written and with more ebooks coming out, plus online book promotion classes I'll be teaching, and make a living off of it enough to quit my waitressing job?

I'm not a risk taker, but I figure if I make myself a goal of five years to be THERE, then maybe it can happen.

Picture this. You're in your RV and you can go anywhere in the country you want to. You pick a destination and stop for awhile. Your RV has come with Internet access (I think there's a dish involved?) and you can continue to make money. Or, you can even put a table in front of your RV and sell your paperback books, if need be.

I know people have different kinds of dreams, but I say this is a dream that I'm going to make happen. Set your goal and work toward it. I have five years to do this. If I haven't succeeded in pushing myself to make sure it happens in five years or less, then there's something wrong.

I can do this...I can do this...I can do this....

Tags: RV, online book promotion, online book promotion classes

LOVE IS IN THE AIR eBook Cover!

I'm just too excited to hold this back. This is the cover I made for an ebook a group of writers and myself have written to give away to everyone for a nice little Valentine's Day present.

It's not available yet, but should be in a couple of days. I'll have a website link to send you to tell you how to pick up your copy, but I just had to show you the cover.

I'm very proud to have as my co-authors Rebecca Camarena, Jamieson Wolf, Sandy Lender, Gale Sparks and Michael Witherspoon. A great bunch of people.

Inside you'll find stories and relationship articles that will just dazzle you. I'll announce the release soon.

Tags: ebook cover,Valentine's Day

New Blog: Pump Up Your Online Book Promotion

I know, I know...long time no see. I've been hugely busy. I've got a new blog up which for those who want to learn how to pump up your book promotion might enjoy. In fact, it's called PUMP UP YOUR ONLINE BOOK PROMOTION. I will be adding a small banner to the right hand sidebar for easy access, but what I wanted to do with this blog is bring awareness to the different ways you can promote your books online. So, if you're an author wanting more sales, or just want to learn how to make those sales before your book is released, check it out.

The radio interview with Fran Silverman of Book Marketing with Fran went great. Actually, I haven't listened to it (does anyone else do that?)...just hate listening to myself. The interview is in the archives you're brave.

On the home front, my pipes are frozen and has been frozen since early last night. Right now it's 22 degrees and no signs of it thawing out. And...gulp...snow is in the forecast for tomorrow. Life is fun, I'm telling you.

On to other things...I just got word that The Search for the Million $$$ Ghost is due to be released in print the end of the month, so you'll probably start hearing a little more about it here. It's not just a paranormal romance, it's a story that was based on a man's real search for someone to prove that ghosts exist and he would pay them a million dollars. Fun little book actually, but I guess you'll have to be the judge of that. Not sure when it'll go up at Amazon, but shouldn't take too much longer.


Tags: online book promotion,YouTube, online book promotion, Movie Maker, The Search for the Million $$$ Ghost, paranormal romance, Book Marketing with Fran