Friday, June 29, 2007

Pounding the Pavement in the Adirondacks Part 6

On Thursday, June 28, I hit the road again to peddle books. It was a bit late in the day, about 2:00 p.m. or so, and I was determined to hit Raquette Lake, Indian Lake, Inlet, Blue Mountain Lake, Old Forge and Tupper Lake. Not necessarily in that order.



Well, I guess I haven't learned yet. I tend to get lost easily. I took I87 (The Adirondack Northway part) and got off at Exit 29. My husband assured me that was the right exit. Then I was to take a right then a left. Or was it a left then a right? OK, I got lost. I also got stuck in some pretty heavy duty construction which took a good 45 minutes off my time. The radio kept broadcasting severe thunderstorm warnings with winds up to 60 mph and hail and to get to a safe shelter, preferably one with few windows. Sigh.





When I made it to "undisclosed location", it was 4:00 p.m. I was bummed out and tired. I stopped at the first store I could find to ask for directions for a hotel or a cabin as I was going to stay the night and start over fresh in the morning. I went in, the place was empty, and was "greeted" by a man I assume was the owner. The place will remain anonymous because this turns out a bit creepy.

I asked for directions to a hotel/cabin and he said there were none in the area. He was very talkative, asking me a lot of questions. He kept talking. And asking. Finally, I got a bit abrupt and walked out, explaining I had to leave. He followed me out of the store and into the parking lot. Then I heard him say, "You fertile?" I heard it loud and clear but couldn't believe it so I turned to him and said, "What?!"

He was shaking all over, hadn't been before, and he had a big bugger coming out of his left nostril. I won't go into more detail but I became very scared. I closed the trunk of my car and he came toward me. I went to the driver's side, got in and locked the door. There he was, still shaking and his nose...eeewww.



I left (ok, I "peeled out") and found a place with a public phone. My cell phone had no service for quite some time. I was very upset and told Jim I was going to find a place to stay the night, get up early and start over. I told him what happened and that I'd call him when I found a place.

I did! After driving a bit I found the Squaw Brook Motel in Indian Lake. Indian Lake is such a wonderful place! Patty Eicher, the owner, greeted me warmly, gave me a room and let me use her phone to call Jim. I went in my room, it was so quaint and warm, and called Jim again. I started to cry. I was so tired and creeped out and hadn't sold one single book. He asked me if I wanted him to drive down. I said no, I'd be fine, I just needed to veg for a bit. I told him I'd call again in the morning.



I brought the phone back to Patty and she told me about her free continental breakfast and, after we talked a bit, she said she'd buy a book in the morning! I went back to my room, wrote for a bit, then drove down the road about a half a mile and had dinner and a glass of wine. I felt much better. I went back to my room and slept like a brick.

Patty's coffee and continental breakfast were perfect. She bought a book and told me to go up the street a ways to check out a store where her sister worked. I was on my way again, ready to tear up the road.

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Old Forge Library Author's Fair...We're In!

Just as I was getting a bit discouraged because I haven't been able to peddle any books, Simon Conroy of Conroy Organics brought in 6 copies. That store is amazing, I can't leave without buying something!

In today's mail was an invitation to the Old Forge Library Author's Fair! How exciting! It's being held on Tuesday, July 24th from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Isabella Worthen, the Director of the library, was kind enough to send us the invitation. Boy did I respond to THAT quickly!

There's a writer's workshop beforehand entitled Writing What You Know from author M.E. Kemp. I can't wait for that. I've never been to a writer's workshop before. I hope I can take lots of notes. The workshop is made possible with funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, The Literature Program.

After the Author's Fair, there's a concert titled All Around The Mountain by musicians Tom Akstens & Neil Rossi. I've never heard them and am really looking forward to it. I hope Nick wants to go, it'll be too long a day for Amanda. The concert is made possible with funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, The Presentation Program.

Now I'm all happy again! All of this book promoting/marketing does pay off. I just had absolutely no idea how much work it was/is. I'll have to read The Little Engine That Could over and over and over again, I guess.

Take care.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Rachael Ray, Are You Out There?

Well, I did a little detective work and found the contact information for Rachael Ray. I sent her two more books, a fan letter and a pre-stamped, self-addressed postcard. All I'm looking for is a little written endorsement for the michigan sauce recipe in our book. That would be so cool and the press would be great.

Are you out there, Rachael Ray?

We missed the deadline for the North Country Cultural Center For The Arts (NCCCA) newsletter. They send out to 21,000 people. Ouch. So, our "Dream Picnic Book Event" isn't in the newsletter. It's on Saturday, June 30th from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. I've been able to get fliers in most of the 3rd-5th grades in the area, about 1100 of them. I also visited the Plattsburgh Public Library and they put up a flier and said they'd order the book. Put some fliers in a few other places. I'm running out of ideas...anyone have ideas for me? I'll look at some books I have for marketing to kids. I sent notices to every single local calendar of events media I could think of.

I've got to get pounding the pavement again this week. The kids will be out of school and can fend for themselves for a day. I really want to get to Tupper Lake and the surrounding area. Something always seems to come up. Like life. Or death. My neighbor and friend, Dot Scott, passed away and I'm brokenhearted about it. The wake is today and her family will be here all weekend. Time to go pay respects. Take care.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

2nd Annual Adirondack Literary Awards

On Sunday, June 10th, Jim and I drove down to Blue Mountain Lake to attend the Adirondack Center for Writing's 2nd Annual Adirondack Literary Awards. This was for books copywritten in 2006. It was a lot of fun. On the way down we stopped at Adirondack Buffalo Company on Route 28N in North Hudson. Steve, the owner, was nice enough to bring in 10 books. What a great place they have there. Jim bought some buffalo steaks and we borrowed a cooler to keep them cold in the car.

When we got to the event, it was from 1 - 3 p.m., there were people milling about, chatting and eating the wonderful appetizers they had. Lemonade, wine, it was great. The books up for awards were all beautifully displayed in the center and it was interesting to see all of them. I believe there were a total of 17 books. Here's the winners:

BEST CHILDREN'S BOOK
Adirondack Mouse and the Perilous Journey by Irene Uttendorfsky
Judges: Danielle Hoepfl and Nancy Beattie

BEST FICTION BOOK
Lucy's Eggs by Rick Henry
Judges: Ellen Rocco and Joe Bruchac

BEST POETRY BOOK
Glacial Erratica: Three Poets on the Adirondacks, Part 2 by Elaine Handley, Marilyn McCabe, Mary Sanders Shartle
Judges: Maurice Kenny and Paul Pines

BEST MEMOIR
Schroon Lake by Lueza Thirkield Gelb
Judges: Bibi Wein and Jerry McGovern

BEST NONFICTION BOOK & PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD
Welcome to the Homeland by Brian Mann
Judges: Bibi Wein and Jerry McGovern

BEST EDITED COLLECTION (TIE)
Oswegatchie: A North Country River by Christopher Angus
No Place I'd Rather Be: Wit and Wisdom from Adirondack Lean-To Journals by Stuart Mesinger
Judges: Bibi Wein and Jerry McGovern

BEST PHOTOGRAPHY BOOK
Adirondack Waters: Spirit of the Mountains by Mark Bowie
Judges: Nancie Battaglia and John Radigan

Congratulations to all of them! It was quite a learning and humbling experience for me. Jim just loved the food. He must have had 5 or 6 (or more?) plates full. Our book will be up next year!

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Win $100 Cash!

Well, Jim and I just flew back into Burlington from a business trip in Ohio. Nice people out there. They remind me a lot of "Dackers" (Adirondackers). We almost didn't make it as there was an "Orange Alert" at the Dayton Airport. We were there when it happened and were stuck in the airport for quite a while. They told us all to go in the bar and wait. Someone turned CNN on and there we were.

Here's what happened, according to shiotv.com: "There were some tense moments at the Dayton International Airport after reports of a suspicious package had been found Thursday night. Officials said the front part of the airport was evacuated as a precaution and flights were allowed to land, but not take off. The package was found shortly before 7 p.m. and was later determined to be discarded phone books. Things returned to normal around 9 p.m. There were no injuries."

While sitting in the bar, sipping a glass of wine, I started writing about the incident. I mean, what if we were in the middle of a big story? That's how I think. Well, it looks like this is the story. End of story.

Now for the big news! Nick and I are giving out $100 in cash to someone who buys our book. Details are on our web site at www.rebeccaleonard.com. Good luck to all who enter!

Monday, June 4, 2007

Foxy on the Run Cable Show a Success!

I simply can't thank my old (not old as in age, old as in past) English teacher, Foxy Gagnon, for the wonderful job he and Tipper did on the Adirondack Nightmare book show at Borders. It was so much better than I ever could have hoped for. Foxy did a great job at explaining the uniqueness of the book, with it's factoids, recipes, real-life references, etc. Nick was also amazing, and so calm! I can't think of one single question Foxy didn't ask or one single important part about the book he didn't point out.

As a "thank you" to Foxy, I'm going to set up an account for him at my video store, Under One Roof Video in Plattsburgh. You see, he doesn't already have an account there. Hmmmm. I'll also send a few free rentals so he's inticed to come in. I don't believe he's been in yet. Of course, he's forgiven because he's always so damn busy.

I'm still searching for ways to market my book. Right now I'm checking out book fairs. I'm going to have to do some more peddling but today I had to do ordering for the stores and tomorrow I'm helping Jimmy out with some problems we're having at our camp in Champlain. Thursday and Friday are booked already. Gee, looks like that leaves Wednesday to get out there. I'll write it on the calendar before I forget.

Speaking of busy, the kids are home from school and I have no idea what we're having for dinner. I really don't feel like cooking. I'm rambling, time to go.