My website guru, my handsome husband, has made quite a few tweaks to my website in preparation for promoting the release of To Hell in a Handbasket next year. The covers of both A Real Basket Case and To Hell in a Handbasket now appear on the Books page and you can click on either one to go to its individual book page complete with reviews, excerpts, etc. Also, we’ve updated my Frequently Asked Questions page and made some minor updates on just about every page of the website. Click on "Beth's Web Page" under Links to see the changes. I think this update is going to cost me a bottle of single-malt scotch!
Also, we've been working on my October/November email newsletter. We've added all the new subscribers' email addresses and tested the links, so it should be sent out this evening. If you think you are on my subscriber list and don't see an email newsletter in your inbox by Monday, please sign up again on the Newsletter page of my website. My old newsletter service, Zinester, seems to have been blocked by some email providers, and those bounced addresses were deleted from my subscriber list. I'm now using Vertical Response, which seems to have much better luck getting through.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
"Biscuit Connection" on Sniplits
My holiday story, "Biscuit Connection," has just been posted on Sniplits.com and is available for download at a very cheap price of 88 cents. Here's the blurb: Samuel's been dragged from one of his wife's volunteer activities to another. Now it's Christmas, he's stuck dishing up mashed potatoes at the food kitchen, and he's hungrier then he realized. Winner of the Mom Writers' Literary Magazine Short Fiction Contest in 2006. Family friendly....
I've listened to the story myself and I'm very pleased with the job the male voice actor did with the character's voices and their emotions. Sniplits also has another story of mine on their website, "Covered Dish Casseroles," available for the same low price and read by a very skillful female voice actress. If you click on "Authors" at the website, then on my name, you'll see both stories listed.
The website includes a wide variety of high-quality short fiction in many genres read by trained voice talent. I've listened to quite a few myself and have really enjoyed them. I hope you enjoy the site!
http://www.sniplits.com
I've listened to the story myself and I'm very pleased with the job the male voice actor did with the character's voices and their emotions. Sniplits also has another story of mine on their website, "Covered Dish Casseroles," available for the same low price and read by a very skillful female voice actress. If you click on "Authors" at the website, then on my name, you'll see both stories listed.
The website includes a wide variety of high-quality short fiction in many genres read by trained voice talent. I've listened to quite a few myself and have really enjoyed them. I hope you enjoy the site!
http://www.sniplits.com
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Making a Splash Down Under
Every now and then I check the Worldcat inter-library loan system to see if any more library systems have bought copies of A Real Basket Case and registered them into the system. A couple of days ago, I found out that seven library systems in Australia listed the book. Crikey! Now the book is not only available in libraries in all fifty states of the United States, but it's also available in Canada, New Zealand and Australia. I'm hoping for India next...
Friday, November 14, 2008
A Writer's Week
Little did I know when I embarked on this new career as a writer how much of my time would be spent on tasks OTHER than writing. This past week I did the following:
- Contacted a bookstore to determine the status of my payment for consignment books, then deposited the check when it arrived,
- Mailed a copy of A Real Basket Case to a Japanese publisher interested evaluating it for publication in Japan,
- Participated in a 20-author library signing event,
- Attended a meeting of the local MWA chapter,
- Wrote the minutes for the local Sisters in Crime board meeting, mailed them out, and sent out an invitation to the members for our December tea,
- Went to my own book club meeting and discussed The Yiddish Policeman's Union,
- Had coffee with a new writer starting on his first novel-length manuscript to offer advice and encouragement and gave advice to another writer on novella markets,
- Made plans to host a fellow author on my blog next month and to host a discussion in a Facebook group next week,
- Started a list of revisions to my author website for my hubby to implement next week,
- Reviewed a second edit of my science fiction novella, The Epsilon Eridani Alternative, and returned my comments and revisions to the editor at Virtual Tales,
- Kept up with my email loops, social networks, and this, my blog, and
- Prepared a talk I will give tomorrow to the local chapter of Pen Women about "Networking Your Way to Success in the Creative Arts."
The only new fiction I wrote this week was one paragraph of new text for the novella. Gotta do better next week!
- Contacted a bookstore to determine the status of my payment for consignment books, then deposited the check when it arrived,
- Mailed a copy of A Real Basket Case to a Japanese publisher interested evaluating it for publication in Japan,
- Participated in a 20-author library signing event,
- Attended a meeting of the local MWA chapter,
- Wrote the minutes for the local Sisters in Crime board meeting, mailed them out, and sent out an invitation to the members for our December tea,
- Went to my own book club meeting and discussed The Yiddish Policeman's Union,
- Had coffee with a new writer starting on his first novel-length manuscript to offer advice and encouragement and gave advice to another writer on novella markets,
- Made plans to host a fellow author on my blog next month and to host a discussion in a Facebook group next week,
- Started a list of revisions to my author website for my hubby to implement next week,
- Reviewed a second edit of my science fiction novella, The Epsilon Eridani Alternative, and returned my comments and revisions to the editor at Virtual Tales,
- Kept up with my email loops, social networks, and this, my blog, and
- Prepared a talk I will give tomorrow to the local chapter of Pen Women about "Networking Your Way to Success in the Creative Arts."
The only new fiction I wrote this week was one paragraph of new text for the novella. Gotta do better next week!
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Story sale to Sniplits.com
I am very pleased to announce that I recently sold audio rights to Sniplits.com for my holiday-themed short story "Biscuit Connection." This is the second story of mine that Sniplits has picked up. The first was "Covered Dish Casseroles." I was very happy with the female voice actor who read my story and the emotion she put into the dialogue.
Sniplits publishes audio short stories as DRM-free MP3 files - and offers a paying market for new and established authors. Stories range from under a minute to about an hour in most genres, and they're very affordable, in the price range of music downloads, which are much shorter. My "Covered Dish Casseroles" story is available for only 88 cents. A Sniplits membership is free, and members receive a free story each week. Check it out at http://www.sniplits.com !
Sniplits publishes audio short stories as DRM-free MP3 files - and offers a paying market for new and established authors. Stories range from under a minute to about an hour in most genres, and they're very affordable, in the price range of music downloads, which are much shorter. My "Covered Dish Casseroles" story is available for only 88 cents. A Sniplits membership is free, and members receive a free story each week. Check it out at http://www.sniplits.com !
Monday, November 03, 2008
Two Signings Coming Up
I'll be participating in two signings this week, one as a greeter and organizer and one as a participating author. The first is Friday, November 7th, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. at Cottonwood Artists School, 25 Cimino Drive, Colorado Springs, CO. Cottonwood will hold an Opening Reception for their November Exhibit: the Cottonwood Instructors All-Media Show. Over 30 artist studios will be open to the public in addition to the main exhibit in the gallery. In conjunction with this event, Pikes Peak Writers (PPW) will host six of its published authors and their books for a fundraiser booksigning in Classroom B at the school. As the organizer for the event, I'll be greeting folks as they come in the door. The following authors will be participating: Margaret Brettschneider, Carol Hightshoe, Gil Porat, Robert Spiller, and Rod Summit. I hope to see some of my local friends and fellow writers there!
For details, go to:
http://pikespeakwriters.com/
The second event is on Sunday, November 9th, from 2 - 4 PM at the Koelbel Library, Arapahoe Library District, 5955 S. Holly, Centennial, CO. For their Author Open House in conjunction with their "Inside the Book: Where Readers and Writers Meet" event, twenty Colorado authors will gather to discuss and sign their books for library patrons. Attending authors will include me, Christine Goff, Joanne Greenburg, Clinton McKinzie, Sybil Downing, and Robert Greer and many others I'm looking forward to seeing. Please stop by and chat with the authors and join the fun! I'd love to see some of my Colorado readers and friends.
For details, go to:
http://www.arapahoelibraries.org/go2.cfm?pid=11943&p1=11871&p2=1
For details, go to:
http://pikespeakwriters.com/
The second event is on Sunday, November 9th, from 2 - 4 PM at the Koelbel Library, Arapahoe Library District, 5955 S. Holly, Centennial, CO. For their Author Open House in conjunction with their "Inside the Book: Where Readers and Writers Meet" event, twenty Colorado authors will gather to discuss and sign their books for library patrons. Attending authors will include me, Christine Goff, Joanne Greenburg, Clinton McKinzie, Sybil Downing, and Robert Greer and many others I'm looking forward to seeing. Please stop by and chat with the authors and join the fun! I'd love to see some of my Colorado readers and friends.
For details, go to:
http://www.arapahoelibraries.org/go2.cfm?pid=11943&p1=11871&p2=1
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