Week #2 - Pound a Week and 6-month Moon Walk Challenge

Week 2 has come to a close and I'm going backwards! Too bad the goal isn't to simply make the scale change by a pound every week. I'd be doing great then.

I mentioned on KK's blog that I walked more than 20 miles this week and managed to gain weight. After I pushed the save button, it occurred to me that I shouldn't just spout off numbers like that when I have a pedometer and can be more accurate.

So how far did I walk over the last 7 days?

Friday - 1
Saturday - 1
Sunday - 2
Monday - 4.5
Tuesday - 4
Wednesday - 5.5
Thursday - 4.5

Looks like 22.5 miles! On a side note - any guesses which days I was in Chicago with its temps in the mid-80s and which days I was roasting in Houston?

So 22.5 miles and a gain of 1 pound. This brings to mind a visit to the doctor's office when I was about 11 years old. My mom wanted him to recommend exercises for me. His suggestion? Try pushing away from the dinner table sooner. I didn't fully appreciate that advice then, but I think it might be time to give it a try.

Steve's tip for week three concerns setting a timer when you sit down at a computer so you remember to move at least once an hour. He also shares an entertaining story about his adventures at Target. I can put this week's tip to good use when working in Houston. However, when working is Chicago, I'm generally in a conference room with 10-15 other people for the bulk of the day. We don't take hourly breaks. My first reaction was - well I can't use the timer in Chicago. My second thought - hmmm, wonder what they'd do if I got up once an hour and walked around the room. It might be fun to find out.

I'm off to celebrate my success in the moon walk challenge with a stroll around the block. While walking, I'll be thinking of ways to improve results in the pound a week challenge.

What challenges have you set for yourself and how are you doing?

Preparing for Multi-Author Events

I recently returned to my well-worn copy of Austin Camacho's Successfully Marketing Print-On-Demand Fiction (don't let the title fool you - this book is full of great marketing tips for any kind of book, presented in a concise, easy to digest manner) because I thought I remembered a chapter on preparing for team events. It took me few seconds to find the information because it wasn't a full chapter, but a topic in Chapter 15 called "The Double Variation".

So what did Mr. Camacho (http://www.ascamacho.com/) have to say?

• If your ego is out of control, don't consider a group event
• Choose other authors whose company you enjoy
• Choose authors whose work you can enthusiastically recommend to others

Uh oh. With only one published book and one soon-to-be published short story, I consider myself a beginner who has much to learn - so no ego problems here. The group event in question is the release of A Death in Texas, an anthology of mystery stories. I have met many of the authors at monthly meetings of The Final Twist, and I definitely enjoy their company. That leaves the little matter of enthusiastically recommending their work. That's hard to do when I haven't read most of their books. That sounds bad, so let me just list a few of my feeble excuses here.

I found this wonderful group less than a year ago when researching how to market Hacksaw. It was once again Mr. Camacho's advice - find a writing group in your area and learn with them (Chapter 5 - Join the Club). I discussed in an earlier blog about how welcoming they were. I knew immediately that I would join. And they've been quite helpful while I muddled my way through publicity kits, book signings, interviews, etc. etc. Different members helped to prepare me each step along the way. So, as you can see, it's been all about me. I've been a taker of information on a steep learning curve, just trying to figure out how to let readers know my book exists. Even though I read many accounts on what would happen once the book was released and thought I was prepared, I was not. So it took me awhile - months - to learn to balance the marketing and publicity aspects of a writing career with the more desirable writing and reading aspects. Only recently have I become a contributor to the group, sharing my learning experiences with others and accepting responsibility for group publicity (TheFinalTwist.com). So, my first excuse - an unexpectedly hectic schedule.

My second, and last, excuse is even weaker. Many of these fine people write in genres that I don't typically read - Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Romance. This is a weak excuse because it isn't the whole truth. The whole truth is that I was worried about what would happen if I read, and did not enjoy, one of their books. What is the right thing to do when you can't look someone in the eye and tell them that I thoroughly enjoyed their work? I know it happens. I know I've read books that came highly recommended and did not enjoy them and I've recommended books to people who came back later and asked why, exactly, I thought they'd enjoy such-and-such. But never before have I been face to face with the authors on a monthly basis.

Thankfully, my unasked questions were answered by another member of the group. I know she bought my book and believe she has read it. I have to guess at the last part, though, because her only comment to date has been that the publisher did a great job with the cover. (Ouch!) So I had my answer - I will find something positive to say to each member when I read their work. (Shameless self promotion inserted here - two other members have told me that they couldn't put Hacksaw down. One even took the time to write a review on Amazon. So there! Back to the grown-up blog...)

But what do I do at a group event if a reader asks for my opinion on someone else's book? What do I say if I can't 'enthusiastically recommend' the work?

After reading the first few books in the stack, I know I will not have this problem at the October 10 release party for A Death in Texas. I have been working my way through books written by members of The Final Twist. I started with a book by Rosemary Poole Carter because she recommended this group to me, then moved on to those genres that I don't typically read because I thought an education was in order.

So far, I've read books by Rosemary Poole Carter (Women of Magdalene), Diana L. Driver (Ninth Lord of the Night), and Pauline Baird Jones (The Key). The result? Look for more on these books in future blogs as each deserves a great review. I can no longer say that I don't typically read these genres as I'll be actively seeking more from all three of these ladies. I hope they can write as fast as I can read.

I think I can relax now. If all The Final Twist authors are as accomplished as these three, I will have no problem 'enthusiastically recommending' their work. The thought did occur to me - what if my fellow authors don't feel the same way about my book? But I decided to leave that worry for another day.

If you are interested in meeting The Final Twist authors and happen to live near Katy, Texas, stop by Katy Budget Books between 5 and 8 pm on October 10. We'll be looking for you.

Books discussed in this article:

Ninth Lord of the Night, Diana L. Driver, L&L Dreamspell, $16.95, 230 pages, ISBN: 9781603180023

The Key, Pauline Baird Jones, L&L Dreamspell, $21.95, 476 pages, ISBN: 978-1603180108

Successfully Marketing Print on Demand Fiction, Austin S. Camacho, Infinity Publishing, $14.95, 121 pages, ISBN: 978-0741417510

Successfully Marketing Your Novel in the 21st Century, Austin S. Camacho, Infinity Publishing, $14.95, 252 pages, ISBN: 978-0976218180

Women of Magdalene, Rosemary Poole-Carter, Kunati Inc., $24.95, 288 pages, ISBN: 978-1601640147

Ninth Lord of the Night

When I made my list of topics to blog about for the August challenge, I included reviews of recently read books and included Ninth Lord of the Night by Diana L. Driver. I was sure I had just read the book because the characters and story were so vivid in my mind. So, I was bit surprised when I picked up the book to read the ISBN and airplane boarding passes from April fell out. Since I regularly use boarding passes as bookmarks, I’m now certain I read this book in April and the story has stayed vivid in my mind for months. This is quite a feat for a work of fiction whose target audience is supposed to be young adults.

In Ms. Driver’s exciting tale, we travel with the teenage Zack from sunny California and his plans for a surfing kind of summer to the Guatemalan jungle adventure that is thrust upon him. Zack, the misunderstood, black sheep of the family, is traveling with his older brother – the good son, the popular athlete. Our young protagonist faces challenges from the underworld, his brother’s new friends, GIRLS, his uncle, and the mysterious Mayan gods. Through it all he sticks to his own moral compass and reaps the appropriate rewards.

Ms. Driver (http://www.dianaldriver.com/) weaves a great tale, with believable characters – all while educating the reader on Mayan history. This was a wonderful book. I hope there is a sequel.

Ninth Lord of the Night, Diana L. Driver, L&L Dreamspell, $16.95, 230 pages, ISBN: 9781603180023

The Sex Club

I travel nearly every week. On each trip I spend between nine and sixteen hours waiting – waiting in security lines, waiting for airplanes, flight crews, cabin crews, maintenance crews to show up, waiting for planes to be repaired, waiting for planes to take off, waiting for them to land, waiting for a gate so I can get off the plane. Much of the waiting occurs on the plane. I used to spend this time working, but personal space on airplanes is now so small that it is risky to open a laptop. If the person in the seat in front of you decides to recline his or her seat, the seat will collide with the pc – and the seat will win. So, I now spend the time reading. Last week, after some hesitation due to the title, I carried and read in public a book titled The Sex Club, by L. J. Sellers – and I’m glad I did.

Ms. Sellers (http://www.spellbinderpress.com/) doesn’t wait for page one to begin her story. She starts with the dedication, which begins with, “This book is for women around the world who have been denied reproductive choices and services.” The author clearly has a strong opinion on a divisive social issue. I was concerned that I had set myself up for a 347 page position paper. I should not have worried. Ms. Sellers uses her considerable story telling talent to present a very evenhanded, fictional tale of the various views on the issues. She does so with engaging, believable characters, a plot with unexpected twists and turns, and suspense that builds to an exciting climax. I hope to hear more from Ms. Sellers and the characters who survived The Sex Club.

The Sex Club, L. J. Sellers, Spellbinder Press, $8.50, 347 pages, ISBN: 9780979518201

Blog a Day Challenge

Dani Greer, founder of the Yahoo! Group blogbooktours (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blogbooktours/) is a wonderful, generous woman. She founded the Yahoo! Group so she could share her considerable blogging knowledge with writers. She wanted to teach us how to use blogs to let readers know our work exists.

I joined the group several months ago and have been 'lurking'. I didn't know I was lurking, I thought I was keeping quiet until I was sure I had something valuable to contribute. But Yahoo! Groups have a language of their own. People who only participate by taking - never contributing - are lurkers. Sadly, I was a lurker.

A few weeks ago, Ms. Greer decided to give us lurkers a good kick in the, well, you know. She threw down the gaunlet in the form of a challenge - write a blog a day for thirty-one consecutive days. Wonderful! Brilliant! An opportunity for lurkers to get off the bench and into the game. Okay, so it sounded more wonderful, brilliant, and exciting when the start was two weeks away. Now, 2.5 hours before the first deadline, I'm wondering if I'm out of my mind.