Can't Peddle Books Today!

Well, today was to be the day I was going to peddle "Adirondack Nightmare" in Tupper Lake.I was also going to pick up some checks from a few retailers in Wilmington who now carry the book. I trust them...how could I not trust Fran Betters? So why am I here, blogging? Because Amanda's sick from school and she needs me at home. I have a sneaking suspicion she's stressing from school. She had a lot of homework last night and finished it but I think she's worn out. Anyway, she's not her usual bubbling-cup-of-sunshine self so it's good she's home.

I miss my drives into the Adirondacks. I'll get there eventually. I love my hybrid. I'm rambling.

Instead of peddling books I wrote a few letters, shamelessly promoting the book. Sent a free copy out to someone who might be interested. Got caught up on my emails from the self-publishing yahoo group I belong to. No one in the group is answering a question I posted so the heck with them for a while. A lot of them are going to the BEA in NYC so I can understand how they're a bit busy. I hope to be going next year, with another published book under my belt.

I see the book is now "in stock" on Amazon. Finally. I won't even go into what that took to do. Ok, if you want to know just email me. I'll tell you my secret. My printer rep is also supposed to make sure the book is listed with Ingram THIS WEEK. Gee, it's only been months.

As you can probably tell, I'm still working on the patience thing. It just takes too long.

Maybe I'll make a few follow-up phone calls. Take a nap with my daughter?

Now THAT'S the ticket.

Take care.

Adirondack Nightmare Wows Fifth Graders At Momot Elementary School

Well, I do believe we've hit the nail on the head! Jim, Amanda and I did a book presentation for the fifth graders at Momot Elementary School in Plattsburgh. (Thank you so much for the invitation, Mrs. Bouissey!) We started at about 1:15 p.m. and ended right before the end of the school day, about 2:30 p.m.

It was so wonderful for the kids to share their dreams with us. Nick couldn't attend because he had to go to school to get help with his English journals. He's got a lot going on at school right now and we've all agreed that school comes first for him.

There were about 60 kids and more than a handful of adults. Jim and I made a CD-rom of some of Nick's illustrations and we showed them as a part of the presentation. One of the highlights for me was when we started up the DVD portion (made by John Mitchell of Silver Lining Photography and Video (www.silverliningphotovideo.com). It was near the end of the presentation and before the Q&A part. Jim queued up the Excerpt From The Book, read by John, and I heard a young man say, "This is so cool!". My heart melted.

I'm so grateful to Momot Elementary School for allowing us to share our dreams with them and to hear their dreams. The opportunity is just beyond words.

Take care, time to post some photos from the presentation on my site. www.rebeccaleonard.com

Adirondack Nightmare in Lake Placid and Saranac Lake!

Last Friday (May 18, 2007) I hit the pavement again and sold some books in a few new places in Wilmington, including Fran Betters' Adirondack Sport Shop. What a great new store they have! Fran was sitting there, tying fly ties, of course. (Or is it just fly tying? Tying flies?) His wife, Jan, was there and their cute dog. I can't remember the dog's name but he sure is a great store-greeter. Fran took 5 copies and we're talking about publishing his new books. I sure hope we can help him out. He's a legend!

Next I went into Lake Placid, what a mess with all their road construction! The whole center is torn up. It doesn't seem to bother the merchants too much. They were as friendly as can be. I met up with Marc Galvin of The Bookstore Plus and he and his wife, Sarah, are going to be bringing our book in through our distributor, Norch Country Books, Inc. Very cool! Nice store, well organized and the staff is helpful.

I decided to skip the rest of Placid, too much construction right now, and headed to Saranac Lake. Oh yeah, I stopped to see my brother-in-law, John, at the Price Chopper in Lake Placid first. Boy was he surprised! So, I signed a book for his daughter, Haley, and headed to Saranac Lake.

Carrie, of Fact & Fiction Bookshop was more than happy to bring in a bunch of books. This has got to be the cutest bookstore I've ever been in. Right on Broadway.

Time to head home, it was getting late and I wanted to eat dinner with my family. Plus, my ankle was acting up and I needed some ice. My ice pack had melted back in Wilmington!

Overall, a good day. Great scenery, wonderful townsfolk. What more could I ask for?

Nothing.

Adirondack Nightmare gets Squidoo and del.icio.us and Stumbleupon.com

Well, I'm treading into deeper water, here. I was determined to hit the pavement and sell some books today but my stupid left ankle is too sore.

I couldn't sit around and do nothing. So, I've learned about Squidoo (and their lenses) and del.icio.us. Oh yeah, and Stumbleupon.com. These are fabulous tools to use to help get the word out about a book, web site, just about anything. They're fun, too. Here's the links:

http://www.stumpleupon.com
http://www.squidoo.com
http://del.icio.us

Stumbleupon could be a bit addictive, I think. Maybe too much so but it also "lets you 'channelsurf' the best-reviewed sites on the web. It is a collaborative surfing tool for finding and sharing great sites". I added my site and blog, of course.

Ok, so Squidoo's also a bit addictive. And an awful lot of fun. It "is home to tens of thousands of everyday enthusiasts. Spread your ideas, make yourself known, meet new traffic. (You could even earn a royalty)." Try it out and be sure to invite me to your lens.

On to del.icio.us. I don't really know enough about it yet to say much. I'm pretty sure I posted my web site, though.

So, all-in-all, another productive day. Just not in the way I had expected, is all.
Never give up, never say die.

Adiorondack Nightmare is on TV!

Well, the interview with Foxy was great. Nick was so relaxed and calm that he helped me to stay focused on the book and what it has to offer Adirondackers. Foxy's pretty easy to deal with and the 32 minute interviews flew by.

Borders in Plattsburgh was nice enough to let us film the shoot at the front of their store. They were also generous to bring in 12 copies as the order they placed with my distributor hadn't come in yet.

IAG.

The show is scheduled to air on June 1, 2, 3, 2007 1 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 7 p.m. and midnight. Nick and Becky were interviewed with Foxy Gagnon on his Fox on the Run cable show. It's on North Country Cable Network and will be televised on Charter Communications cable system public-access channel (Channel 15).

Be sure to tune in! Thanks Foxy, thanks, Borders!

We're In The 21st Annual Adirondack Authors Night!

This is so exciting! We've just been invited to the 21st Annual Adirondack Authors Night at Hoss's Country Corner in Long Lake! I can't begin to explain how grateful we are to Lorrie for putting our book in their store and for the invitation.

If you've never been to Hoss's Country Corner you should. They have the greatest collection of Adirondack memorabilia there is. The last time I was in there, well, let's say I didn't leave empty-handed! Tons of books, t-shirts, knick-knacks, decorations, jewelry, on and on and on.

Another really cool thing about the store is the tree which is growing up in the center of the showroom. Seriously, a real tree. It's amazing, I can't explain it well enough to give it justice. You'll have to check it out for yourself!

The Adirondack Author's Night is always the second Tuesday in August. Plan on going, it'll be a fun event. Guaranteed! Hoss's is located at 247 Lake St (it takes up a whole block) in Long Lake and their phone number is 1-800-952-4677.

First Book Presentation/Signing...Total Success!!

Well, our first book presentation and signing could NOT have gone any better. There were probably 40-50 people present at Lake Forest Community Center. Eleven students, who are pen-pals with some of the Lake Forest residents, were there for the show. Jim, my husband, manned the DVD and projector. Nick (my son and illustrator of the book), Amanda (my daughter and book helper/bookmark hander-outer) and my mom (book editor) sat in the front as contributors. Johnny Mitchell of Silver Lining Photography and Video (great friend, great neighbor, great photographer) was there to take pics for my web site and promos. I've never seen my mother so proud of me! The audience was completely engaged throughout, Jim told me after.

The presentation lasted about half-an-hour, then we had fun! We brought out some props and I did a Q&A session. The kids hands flew up in the air! I was able to reach out to every single one of them. I believe I've met an up-and-coming future President of the United States. I was honored to be with them. Their hopes and dreams keep me going.

Oh yeah, we sold some books, too :-)

Peace out.

Lake Forest Senior Center - Adirondack Nightmare Presentation!

Well, we're getting ready for our very first book signing and presentation. It's on Tuesday, May 8th at the Lake Forest Senior Center in Plattsburgh, NY. It should last about 40 minutes with time for questions and signings afterward. I'm a bit nervous with my left ankle, it's not healing as well as the right one did. But my kids, Nick, the illustrator of the book, and Amanda are more than enough to cheer us on. It should be fun, there'll be students from Momot school who are pen pals with some of the residents of Lake Forest.

My mom, Beth Brush, is one of the pen pal mentors there. What a wonderful program it is. Lake Forest is such a great facility and we're lucky to have it in the area.

We haven't practiced together for the presentation yet. We're all to busy! My husband, Jim, will be working the DVD player as we have a short, trailer type of DVD. I just hope we get everything set up in time. Nick will be there for "illustrator" questions and Amanda will be there to help hand things out and to put stickers on any books which will (hopefully) be sold.

Time to update the web site and rehearse for tomorrow! Take care!

Adirondack Nightmare - On the Sly With Foxy!

Yesterday was an upbeat day for pushing the book. Got the book in a new store, The Mountaineer in Keene Valley. What a nice store, I strongly recommend it for anyone who wants to see a large selection of authentic Adirondack knick-knacks, books, crafts and more.

Nick and I are being interviewed by the infamous Foxy Gagnon for his "On the Sly" TV program. The filming will be held at the Borders store in Plattsburgh. We're so grateful to him for this opportunity and there's a link to his very popular blog on this blog. Foxy was my middle school teacher and I'll always remember him as being one of the cool teachers. He is still cool!

Last night I put my daughter, Amanda, to bed as usual. I had our dog, Tiki, tucked under one arm and a pile of laundry in the other arm. Walking down the stairs, I felt myself begin to slip. I put my left foot out and managed to skip 3 or 4 stairs and toss the poor dog in the air.

Both of my ankles are sprained. The doctor said 7 to 10 days to heal. I don't think so.

We have our first book signing and presentation on Tuesday, May 8th and it's been promoted in all the local papers. This should be quite a challenge. My presentation is a very upbeat, "don't ever quit on your dream" presentation for kids. I guess I'll have to practice what I preach!

Time to ice the feet. Sheesh.

More Adirondack Nightmare Publishing News

I took yesterday off from blogging. My laptop is dead and that's where my web site info is stored. I was so frustrated.

It turned out to be a good day for the book, though. My distributor called with an order for 30 copies and I got a big book signing/presentation at a local elementary school. And, get this, I'm being paid for it! The only other signing I have now I'm doing for free so I've learned that it doesn't hurt to ask.

Today I read the book to a class and really enjoyed myself. I thought I'd be nervous but it went so well I'm a little stunned at the success of it! The kids were wonderful and the teacher had michigans made up for the kids while I read to them. The book was definitely well received, more than I could ever have hoped for.

Now I need to get my projector fixed for the presentation on the 6th, haven't even rehearsed for that yet. Yikes. And my laptop fixed. Then I'll feel fixed.

Have a good one.