Silk Palace by Colin Harvey

Tell us the book title and your author name.
The Silk Palace by Colin Harvey

What inspired the book?

At the risk of sounding mercenary, it was a call for submissions from a then editor at Tor, who subsequently left, but by then the damage was done. She was looking for work in a specific sub-genre; I’d never read any of the works that inspired the call, but I had just finished Lightning Days and was looking for the next project. But as with Lightning Days, my subconscious took over and we ended up somewhere completely different!

What makes this book special to you?

Well, in an odd sort of way, we’re like a father and daughter who are just getting reconciled. I got so far into the book and stopped enjoying writing. Agatha Christie had the same problem with The Mystery of the Blue Train, but she and it were never reconciled, whereas my ugly duckling and I seem to have forgiven each other.

What makes this a book that other people MUST read and WHY?

Um, I’m a Brit, and to be honest language like that makes me cringe. Sorry.

It’s got perhaps the most other-worldly setting in sword-and-sorcery in many years. And I wanted a heroine who wasn’t strong or brave, at least until she was backed into a corner.

What people NEED to read this book and WHY?

People who are interested in epic fantasy that has a brain should read it, and people who say that epic fantasy doesn’t have a brain should read it!

What sparks your creativity? Any tips to help others spark their own creativity?

Going to new places; doing new things; reading. Keep reading outside your own peer group, and do something new every day.

What has been the biggest stumbling block in your writing? Can you share some tips to help others get past similar problems?

My biggest problem was a catastrophic loss of confidence after attending a writing workshop. For the best of intentions the pro there demolished me, and I realized that I had nothing to say – and believed that for over twenty years. But everyone has a voice – they just have to find it.

What do you think motivates people to become authors? What motivated you to get into this unusual industry?

I found at age nine that I could write stories. For a kid who wasn’t sporty, and wasn’t musical, and had serious confidence issues, it was like finding a vocation. I’ve never wanted to do anything else, even during my two-decade block – that was what made it so painful.

Tell me about the most unusual things you have done to promote any books?
I’ve dispensed soup to promote my cookbook, and stood on a chair at a convention huckstering a book, but I think I’ve been fortunate – I haven’t had to do too many odd things.

FICTION - If there is a setting, tell us how you decided on that setting and what you did to create a complete and vivid setting for your readers?

I’ve written about this elsewhere, but I wanted a completely different world so that anything went. I mapped out the landscape and climatology and all kinds of stuff on the back of envelopes.

FICTION - What inspires you about the hero or heroine in your book? What makes them memorable for the reader? What motivates the hero and/or heroine? You can include information about both if you want.

Well, to really raise the bar, I not only decided to write a heroine (rather than a hero), but had her unexpectedly fall in love with another woman. But that love is central to the plot; together with her fear of heights, it’s what stops the heroine fleeing.

I wanted to avoid a lot of the fantasy conventions, so she relies on brains. She’s not easy to be around, she’s awkward, socially naïve, but in some ways that’s quite inspiring. I find flawed heroes / heroines far more interesting than unalloyed good / bad people.

FICTION - Is there a villain or something that causes friction in your story? Tell us about what or who it is and how that contributes to the story. Any details about conflict and friction is good information to know.

I have so much conflict its unreal! The prince lusts after the heroine, so his fiancée, one of the three princesses hates the heroine, but the heroine is there at the King’s request, so the princess has to lump it; a second princess believes the heroine guilty of blasphemy; there are plotters planning, two empires massing their ranks on the borders, and a killer wandering around bumping people off!

Thank you for visiting with me and in closing, give us your website address and a link to order your book.

It’s been an absolute pleasure. Thank you.

The website address is http://www.geocities.com/colin_harvey

The paperback can be bought at: http://www.amazon.com/Silk-Palace-Colin-Harvey/dp/1934041424/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195398998&sr=1-1

And the e-copy at: http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/eBook51966.htm?cache

Novels from Swimming Kangaroo Books:

Lightning Days -- SF, Finalist for the USA Book News Awards

The Silk Palace -- "compelling" Library Journal

"Intrigues, betrayals, murders, love affairs, transformations, and

revelations," Bruce Boston, author of The Guardener's Tale

www.geocities.com/colin_harvey www.myspace.com/colin_harvey

Blog Tours - What Would You Like to Know

I'm doing a tele-seminar next week about blog tours and I would love input from you all.

There are many things to discuss about blog tours and I worked out some initial questions to get people thinking - they are:

Discover Ways to Promote Your Book on a Virtual Blog Tour to Gain Greater Visibility and Sales

• What are the benefits of doing a blog tour?

• Should you promote your book in a blog tour?

• Should fiction and non fiction books be promoted differently in a blog tour?

• Should you organize your own blog tour?

• Why hire a publicist to organize your tour?

• If you hire a publicist, will you still need to work on the tour?

• Can you use a blog tour to promote anything besides books?

• Is there a new option in book blog tours?

But, now I need to create a couple of handouts and I'd love your input. Is there any specific info about blog tours that any of you think would be most helpful? Some folks here have done tours, some have hosted touring authors and I bet some of you have thought about doing a tour. So, since many of the people here are authors, I figured it would be a great place to pose the question. What information would you suggest I offer in handouts? Thank you all for your thoughts. There will be plenty of blog tour info coming very soon .

Nikki Leigh

PS - The answer to the last question is - most definitely. Stay tuned for much more information about that option - SOON. Or, contact me to be added to the mailing list - nikki_leigh22939@yahoo.com with Mailing List in the subject line.

Is by Scott Langston

Tell us the book title and your author name.

My name is Scott Langston and the title of the book is "is". Originally, I had intended to book to be called 'The Domino Effect' - one of the themes in the novel is how the actions of one character can have unforeseen impact on another character - like falling dominoes. I even commissioned a Magritte-style cover page with this image. However, the novel became something a little different as it went through several edits, and 'is' summed up better the overall message of the novel.

What inspired the book?

I started writing this book when I was twenty years old. Many of the themes were beyond my grasp, and it wasn't until I 'refound' the novel fifteen years after starting it that I had something approaching the maturity to do the book justice. If I had to pin it down to a precise moment, the novel was born after watching the film 'Four weddings and a funeral', specifically the funeral scene. I found it very moving, and imagined having to write such a eulogy myself.

What makes this book special to you?

It has certainly been a labour of love! As I said, I have physically lost the book on two occasions - the first time requiring a re-write almost entirely from pencil notes in an old scrap book. From first putting pen to paper to finally seeing the book in print took twenty years. That's a long time. The book has been a part of my life, and my continual tinkering with it represented my desire to be a writer.

What makes this a book that other people MUST read and WHY?

I think the book has a lot to say about the fundamentals of how life is. It's spiritual, without being overtly religious. It raises many questions and, I hope, answers a few too. It's about perspective - another way of looking at life and death and God. If these questions do not interest you, then you probably shouldn't bother reading the book!

What people NEED to read this book and WHY?

Nobody needs to read this book. Nobody needs to do anything. That's one of the ventral messages of the book. There is no requirement - life just 'is'.

What sparks your creativity? Any tips to help others spark their own creativity?

Writing is a muscle like ay other. It needs exercising and flexing, otherwise it wastes away. I keep a blog, as well as trying to have more than one project ongoing at a time. When one dries up, I can try my hand at something completely different. That's how 'Benny and Binny' was born - a children's story I wrote with an illustrator friend. You can find it, along with ordering details, on my website - www.scottlangston.org. Right now, I'm working on a novel set between Vietnam and France, dealing with roots and belonging. It's the biggest project I've tackled so far. I'm also tinkering with a novel for teenagers about philosophy, tentatively called, 'Henry Porter and the Stone Philosopher'.

What has been the biggest stumbling block in your writing? Can you share some tips to help others get past similar problems?

I took a year off work to write full time at the same time as we had our baby daughter. I was under the impression that I could care for her and write at the same time. IN short, children have been the biggest stumbling block for my writing. I need time and space to write, and kids don't allow for much of either. That said, my life is considerably richer for having become a dad, and that can only come out in my writing eventually!

I guess another hurdle has been the management of distractions. When I turn on the computer, it's all too easy to spend hours fiddling with stuff I've already written, updating my website, or simply surfing, rather than actually writing. I now have a dedicated laptop for writing which doesn't have internet access.

What do you think motivates people to become authors? What motivated you to get into this unusual industry?

I believe|I write because I have to. If you simply want to write, then my advice would be: don't bother. Find something else to do and save yourself a whole lot of trouble. Writing is a lonely and often demoralising business - except when the connection comes through and then it's without equal. So, it wasn't really a choice - I have to write.

Tell me about the most unusual things you have done to promote any books?

Book promotion is my weakness. I have done the rounds of local bookshops where 'Is' was set, and a few copies have been sold that way. I've run book signings. I haven't really done anything inspiring in the field of self-promotion. I know I ought to.

FICTION - If there is a setting, tell us how you decided on that setting and what you did to create a complete and vivid setting for your readers?

I grew up in Cornwall. It never crossed my mind to set my first novel anywhere else. It's a truly magical and inspiring locale - even now as I write this |I can smell the sea air and hear the seagulls - though I'm 3000 miles away.

FICTION - What inspires you about the hero or heroine in your book? What makes them memorable for the reader? What motivates the hero and/or heroine? You can include information about both if you want.

I'm not sure Martin inspires me. He's a protagonist, rather than a hero in the true sense of the word. Insomuch as everyone's first novel is biographical, I guess Martin is in some respects me. His getting to grips with life and his enlightenment are ideals I would reach for.

FICTION - Is there a villain or something that causes friction in your story? Tell us about what or who it is and how that contributes to the story. Any details about conflict and friction is good information to know.

The conflict rests between expectations and risks, between safety and leaps of faith, between believing and knowing. Martin takes risks, when society would have him do otherwise. He trusts to himself, when society would have him do otherwise. He is prepared to love, not just another, but himself. This is perhaps one of the most difficult yet rewarding things we can achieve in life.

Website: www.scottlangston.org

Order from the author: http://www.scottlangston.org/is.html

Order Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scott-Langston/dp/1897312202/

Finding Funboy

Tell us the book title and your author name. The novel is called “Finding Funboy,” and the author -- that’s me -- is Matt Golec.

What inspired the book?

Staying in touch with old friends became harder after I went away to college. We all made new friends, did new things and took a few giant steps toward adulthood. When I’d come home after several months and look up the old gang, connecting could be tricky because while I’d changed and they’d changed, the people we remembered in our heads hadn’t. It usually took a few steps for us to catch up with the new people we were all in the process of becoming.

People change. Even if you stay in the same place forever, you can’t help growing up and into new relationships with your friends and environment. “Finding Funboy” is about the main character’s search for an old friend, and the dawning realization of how these kinds of changes have been happening right under his nose.

What makes this book special to you?

“Finding Funboy” is my first novel, and I peppered its pages with the sights, sounds and character traits I’d known growing up. The story isn’t about me or anyone in specific, but I wanted it to capture the feel of what it’s like to be a young man kicking around my hometown of Portland, Maine.

What sparks your creativity? Any tips to help others spark their own creativity?
I take a lot of notes when I’m kicking a story around in my head. That way, when I sit down at my computer to actually bash the thing out, I’ve got a lot of dots for me to connect. It’s a great way to keep working if that creativity fails to spark on a particular day.

What has been the biggest stumbling block in your writing? Can you share some tips to help others get past similar problems?

Simply finding the time to write is difficult. There are so many distractions -- family, friends, house projects, my Netflix queue -- and writing is long, hard, solitary work. For me, setting a schedule is critical. I try to write early in the day so I won’t put it off until it’s too late in the day to do anything but curl up in bed.

What do you think motivates people to become authors? What motivated you to get into this unusual industry?

Although I don’t have any data to back me up, I’d bet most authors are also lifetime readers. The literary heroes of my adolescence -- Kurt Vonnegut, J.R.R. Tolkien, Joseph Heller, the good folks at Marvel Comics -- were certainly who motivated and inspired me.

Tell me about the most unusual things you have done to promote any books?

I think for many authors, promoting oneself at all is unusual. But without some sort of promotion, these stories that we’ve worked so hard on will never get read. We write to communicate, not just to put words on paper; without a reader, we might as well be talking to ourselves.

Tell us how you decided on your book’s setting and what you did to create a complete and vivid setting for your readers?

I set most “Finding Funboy,” in Portland, Maine, the town where I grew up. Like friends you have from childhood, I believe the place where you grow up has an emotional hold on you that runs pretty deep. I hoped that emotional connection I have with Portland would translate into a rich setting for “Finding Funboy.”

Also, it’s a great old coastal city with cobblestone streets, heavy brick architecture and mysterious fog smelling of the sea that rolls in at night.

What inspires you about the hero in your book? What makes them memorable for the reader?

What I really enjoyed about the main character/hero in “Finding Funboy” was his growth. The choices he makes and the actions he takes -- some for the better, some for the worse -- help form the core of his maturing self. I hope readers will feel privileged to be included in this process.

Is there a villain or something that causes friction in your story? Tell us about what or who it is and how that contributes to the story.

The real source of friction in “Finding Funboy” is the main character’s attempts to locate his childhood friend crashing into his deepening infatuation with that friend’s girlfriend. How he resolves this conflict, and how he comes out the other side a sadder if wiser person, forms the heart of the book.

If there's anything else you would like to share, this is the time and place.

The book is funny! I probably try for more laughs than I get, but despite a serious theme, “Finding Funboy” promises a fun, snappy read.

For more about “Finding Funboy,” or to read the opening chapter, visit www.mattgolec.com.

To purchase “Finding Funboy,” visit www.booksforabuck.com/mystery/mys_07/finding_funboy.html or www.amazon.com/Finding-Funboy-Matt-Golec/dp/1602150575/

Its My Crisis and I'll Cry If I Need To - Yocheved Golani

Tell us the book title and your author name. The book has rather long name that I use three different ways. 1: It's MY Crisis! And I'll Cry if I Need To for general communication, 2: It's MY Crisis! for rapid communication (that way, shoppers can remember the basic title when they want to order it in a store or online) and 3: the official title of It's MY Crisis! And I'll Cry if I Need To: A Life Book for Helping You to Dry Your Tears and to Cope with a Medical Challenge.

My name is Yocheved Golani. The "ch" has the same guttural sound as in "Bach." I'm a woman and I try to clue in my clients and readers by using soft, feminine colors at my websites and in my book cover. A pen nib with the medical symbol for "female" on my Writing Services site, www.ygolani.com is another tipoff that I'm female.

What inspired the book? My survival of emergency life-saving brain surgery. Friends and loved ones wanted me to explain how I survived the crisis without having a breakdown.

What makes this book special to you? That my crisis serves a higher purpose. By making lemonade of the lemon that was brain surgery, I can help people with my appreciation for their anguish over a medical crisis and their need for "how to get well" information.

What makes this a book that other people MUST read and WHY? I explain in simple, sometimes funny language, how to cope with the challenges of medical crises. From adjusting your perspective to how to pack for the hospital stay and how to keep your medical and insurance records in order, my book covers the topic. The Resources section in the back of my book informs readers how to find the help they need all around the world: free clinical trials, free or price-reduced medication and medical appliances, medical and mental health therapists, suggested reading materials for adults and children, medical clowns, and much more.

What people NEED to read this book and WHY? ANYBODY facing a medical crisis, including medical and mental health professionals trying to help patients and clients let alone the loved ones of the sick person and that ill person.

What sparks your creativity? Any tips to help others spark their own creativity? Hmmm... I do many types of writing: feature stories, Op-Eds, speeches, site content, advertising content, media releases and press releases (different in that media releases are geared for broadcast and digital media, press releases for print publications ) and more. I find inspiration by looking out the window. I have some miniature toy cartoon characters, some thought-provoking newspaper cartoons and some inspirational thoughts on my desk that make me think outside the box.

What has been the biggest stumbling block in your writing? Can you share some tips to help others get past similar problems? Not knowing how to proceed has been a real stumbling block. Before I wrote my first genuine press release, I had to do some research about press release preparation. Before I wrote my first novel I focused on whatever I'd learned as an English major. I also read books and magazines about novel writing. Before I began writing It's MY Crisis! I'd been aware that the "How to Do Anything" and "Anything for Dummies" books only offer titles dealing with specific medical or psychiatric diagnoses. Amazon.com does not list any books as broad-based and inclusive as mine. It's MY Crisis! is a neatly packaged survival tool that can be shared with loved ones, packed in a suitcase and shown to health care professionals. I wrote what the book market and some readers needed. Study up on your subject. You can use and reject what you learn as desired.

What do you think motivates people to become authors? What motivated you to get into this unusual industry? Oy. Only an optimist or a masochist would become an author. There are exceptions to the rule, of course. I write because I'm good at it. People have been paying me to write for them for a long time. I'm not good at many other career paths. Some people make excellent plumbers or architects. I'm wired to be a writer.

Tell me about the most unusual things you have done to promote any books? I haven't done anything unusual. Yet. Now you've made me think about the alternative!

NON FICTION - Why are you the BEST person to write this book? What in your background or in your research makes you qualified to do justice to this topic? What an excellent question! My book is written from the heart as much as it's written from my mind. Not only did I experience a life-or-death medical crisis, I've worked in the medical industry. Insight from both sides of the hospital bill influences It's MY Crisis! And I'll Cry if I Need To. I sympathize with anyone going through a medical emergency or situation.

NON FICTION - If a potential reader thinks that your book wouldn't interest them, what would you say to convince them to buy? I'm thinking something better than "Its the greatest book ever." Give me something more specific :) I'd suggest that they read two pages (that'll give them a chance to be drawn into the text) or scan the book untiil they find something that grabs their attention.

NON FICTION - Why does the topic of your book interest you? Why would it interest potential readers? Give us a hook to reel in new readers. Have you, a friend or a loved one received a nightmarish medical diagnosis? Calm down with It's MY Crisis! And I'll Cry if I Need To: A Life Book that Helps You to Dry Your Tears and to Cope with a Medical Challenge.

NON FICTION Is there a way to tie your book topic to current events? If so, tell us about how you could do that. I have a blog to feature information and examples about tying books into current events that might be a good place for you to promote your book. People in Peru are suffering from medical complications they've blamed on a meteor. Governments and everybody around the world are scared of biological weapons of mass destruction. Robin Williams of ABC television is experiencing breast cancer. Montel Williams has Multiple Sclerosis. Michael J. Fox has Parkinson's Disease. College students suffer all kinds of stuff after being exposed to germs in limited spaces. The news media are full of reports about epidemics and preventative techniques. Even the kid down the block can tell you who's not feeling so good these days and feeling stressed out about it. People in all kinds of occupations and social situations suffer medical problems. The Internet is full of helpful information and so is the library. Even the brochure rack in your doctor's office offers information about something or other. But bringing it all together in order to cope with a medical crisis is a whole other story! My book reduces your stress by showing you how to take things in logical order and how to cope with a medical situation. No way did I write the only book you'll ever need for coping with medical crises. But I did write a book that helps you to calm down, to think clearly and to show you what to do about many medical problems. Think of the book's complete title: It's MY Crisis! And I'll Cry if I Need To: A Life Book for Helping You to Dry Your Tears and to Cope with a Medical Challenge
Wow, can it make a great stocking stuffer!

If there's anything else you would like to share, this is the time and place. It's MY Crisis! And I'll Cry if I Need To is a book to share with someone you love or feel compassion for. Family and friends, even colleagues at work can share it with each other. Medical and mental health therapists can use it with patients and clients. Gyms can sell it to patrons, Retiree organizations can provide it to members. Chartiable organizations and pharmacies can give it out to people who need it. No matter the person, no matter their medical crisis,It's MY Crisis! And I'll Cry if I Need To is a book for helping you to cope in a forthright, pro-active manner. It fits the Self-help genre, the Spiritual genre, the Medical genre, even a Gifts Section genre. Recipients will be glad to get It's MY Crisis! And I'll Cry if I Need To.

Humorous passages and thoughtful witticisms from famous personalities in It's MY Crisis! provide comic relief, enabling relaxed readers to benefit from the workbook's eye opening, life-saving content. Nancy Rosenfeld, author of Just as Much as Woman: Your Personal Guide to Hystterectomy and Beyond, and Unfinished Journey: Two People, Two Worlds, From Tyranny to Freedom. has said that It's MY Crisis! is "compelling, inspiring, and merits publication." Medical and mental health professionals, clergy of different faiths, even a Fortune 500 motivational speaker praise it on the book cover and inside! Buy it for someone you love. Including yourself.

--
Yocheved Golani
Self Help Coach
Make the Changes You Need in Your Life.
http://itsmycrisisandillcryifineedto.blogspot.com/

Three Feet Under - Journal of a Midlife Crisis

Tell us the book title and your author name.

Three Feet Under: Journal of a Midlife Crisis

Christee Gabour Atwood

What inspired the book?
A desire to laugh at myself and see if anybody else laughed along. And the fact that I had a rent payment due.

This book has also been therapy for me. I don’t like it when I see people upset by midlife experiences, when I see the lack of appreciation of elastic waistbands, and also when I see airbrushed supermodels creating unrealistic ideals of what beauty is. Writing this book has helped me put those thoughts on paper and see that I’m not the only who thinks that way.

What makes this book special to you?
This book is special because it made me realize that it’s okay to be myself and to write what I enjoy reading. I discovered that if I write something that appeals to me, at least I have an audience of one. I can build from there.

What makes this a book that other people MUST read and WHY? People must read this or I’ll come to their houses and talk to them. Yes, be afraid. Be very afraid.

It’s also a great book for airplane trips and trips to the bathroom. Not as a toilet paper replacement, but as short format reading for the attention-challenged like myself. I get bored and trail off when…

It’s also a chance to laugh if you recognize yourself in any of these episodes. And isn’t that what makes life fun?

If laughter is the best medicine, this book replaces at least one dose of fluoxetine. (If you recognize that drug, welcome to my club. You need this book.)

What people NEED to read this book and WHY?
Everyone in the world needs to read this book. Is that too obvious?

Okay, almost everybody in the world needs to read this book. Infants can wait a few years before they pick it up. People need to read this book to help them understand friends who are going through midlife crisis, to prepare themselves for surviving it, or just to laugh at midlifers. Either way, they’ll get a laugh. Or they’ll decide they never want to sit next to me on a plane. Either one is a valuable lesson.

What sparks your creativity? Any tips to help others spark their own creativity?
You know what’s funny? I get creative when I get angry. I found that writing is my therapy. I remember coming home from a job interview and banging on my typewriter (yes, this was a while back) and complaining about the guy with seven strands of hair draped across his head who seemed more interested in doodling on his desk blotter than in my brilliant answers to questions. So I wrote and wrote and little by little the anger started getting really funny. I took the interview to the furthest extreme by describing the fellow as a superhero who only interviewed people in between saving the world from fast food drive-thru workers. From this experience, my humor column was born.

We decide our responses to situations. Anything that makes us mad can also make us laugh. We just have to flip it and take it to the extreme.

What has been the biggest stumbling block in your writing? Can you share some tips to help others get past similar problems?
The biggest stumbling block in my writing is the attachment of my rear end to a chair. I found that the answer for me was to start with short format materials. With the attention span of an over-caffeinated gnat, it really helped to be able to sit down and write a humor column that was complete at the end of the sitting. It was those humor columns that eventually became the basis for this book.

Also, try writing the worst book you can. This really helps relieve the pressure we put on ourselves when writing. Geez, even Pavarotti had to clear his throat before he sang. Plan to write a lot of phlegm before some good words sneak onto the page.

What do you think motivates people to become authors? What motivated you to get into this unusual industry?
People become authors because they like to be abused by editors, agents, and critics. Because they feel that performance appraisals by one boss are not enough. Instead they want their work appraised by everyone, including that crotchety woman who said that no one has written a good book since Gone With The Wind. In other words, we write because we’re insane.

I became a writer because I love the thrill of creating a world and living in it while writing the story. I get depressed when the story is finished because I don’t want to leave. It’s like the darkness in the theatre when a good movie fades to black. It’s nice because you were there, but you still want more.

It’s also therapy and is a heck of a lot cheaper than a psychiatrist.

Tell me about the most unusual things you have done to promote any books?
Last year, for National Novel Writing Month, I put on a chicken suit and sat in the window of a Waldenbooks for a month, writing a novel called, “Danger, Deceit, and a Demon … named Myron”. I got some incredible press – in fact, you can even see the article on CBS News webpage at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/08/print/main2241177.shtml

I was on the national radio show, The Satellite Sisters, and other various radio shows, television shows, and possibly even made it into a junior high school newspaper, but that might have just been a rumor.

I’ve emceed a Menopause Fashion Show for a hospital. Lots of elastic in that one. I’ve done talks for anyone who would stand still – and that includes turning around in elevators and saying, “I suppose you wonder why I called this meeting.”

I’ve offered myself as a fill-in guest for any radio or TV show within driving radius on a very short turnaround time. I’ve gotten calls with “We’re taping in 30 minutes. Can you talk about something?” and I’ve done it.

After the chicken suit episode, I got a reputation and ended up hosting the Harry Potter Release Party at a mall in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Now, they’ve called me back to be Mrs. Claus and read my children’s Christmas poem to kids who’ve eaten too much candy.

I’m working on a promotion idea right now to do a “mall tour” because I can create events with malls and I can shop at the same time. Sounds like heaven to me.

I created a Girls Night Out group that met at a local bookstore and discussed our midlife adventures. We later moved to bars and liked it much better… although we tended to forget what we had talked about.

And the list goes on and on…

Why are you the BEST person to write this book? What in your background or in your research makes you qualified to do justice to this topic?
I’m living this book. I’m not the only person who could write this book. That’s what makes it special. This is a book any person can and should write about their experiences. It’s sharing these experiences that makes this time of life fun instead of frenzied, happy instead of harried, bonding instead of brooding, and other assorted alliterations…

I hope other people will read this and say, “I could do that” and turn around and write their stories. The more of this that we share, the more we’ll all realize that we’re crazy … but at least, we’re in the same boat.

If a potential reader thinks that your book wouldn't interest them, what would you say to convince them to buy? I'm thinking something better than "It’s the greatest book ever." Give me something more specific :)
Every once in a while we need to realize that there are others like us. There are other people who pretend they’re on the cell phone in the car so people in the neighboring cars won’t realize that they’re talking to themselves. Others who read the comics instead of the business section of the paper. Others who think that, if God had intended us to stay one waist size, he wouldn’t have invented elastic waistbands. This book shares those moments. It’s a great gift to remind ourselves that we’re not alone.

Also, it’s not just a book for midlifers. It helps others understand midlifers.

Why does the topic of your book interest you? Why would it interest potential readers? Give us a hook to reel in new readers.

This quiz will tell you if this book is for you:

Do you use your exercise bike as a coat rack?
Do you want to know how to look cool while searching for your car in the mall parking lot?
Do you believe people on the show Survivor could never last through 39 days in your workplace?
Do you believe that cheesecake and Prozac share many of the same healing qualities?
Do you use the phrase, “I remember when none of that was here”?
Do you list your hair color as “Number 168”?
Do you believe that the birthday of Thomas Hancock, the inventor of elastic, should be a national holiday?
If you even grinned at any of those, you need to read this book…


Is there a way to tie your book topic to current events? If so, tell us about how you could do that. I have a blog to feature information and examples about tying books into current events that might be a good place for you to promote your book.
November is National Novel Writing Month, where thousands of people worldwide will try to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. Everyone has a book in them. They just need permission to give it a shot. This is the month to do it.

I’m a Municipal Liaison in Louisiana, which means that I help writers in the state coordinate events and communication during the month.

I’ll also be writing my sequel to Three Feet Under, entitled In Celebration of Elastic Waistbands, during this month. Like I mentioned before, last year I got national attention when I wrote my novel in the window of a bookstore while wearing a chicken suit. This year I’ll be wearing elastic waistbands. Much more comfortable than a chicken suit…

If there's anything else you would like to share, this is the time and place.
I believe that one of the greatest gifts we can share is laughter. And, as an added bonus, it burns calories.

My theme for life is “If I laugh at myself first, then the rest of the world is laughing with me, not at me.”

Thank you for visiting with me and in closing, give us your website address and a link to order your book.

Thank you! This has been a lot of fun and it’s kept me from hitting the refrigerator for a few minutes. That’s a good thing, because there’s just so much elastic in the world…

Website: Christee.biz

Blog that’s just getting started: http://elasticwaistbands.blogspot.com/

You can order Three Feet Under: Journal of a Midlife Crisis at Amazon.com or any online bookstore as well as getting at your local bookstore. If they don’t have it, please ask them to order it!

You can also check out my new business and training books, Succession Planning Basics, Presentation Skills Training, and Manager Skills Training at Amazon.com.

In Detail with Leeanne Marie Stephenson

Tell us the book title and your author name.
A PRESCRIPTION FOR LOVE
BY LEEANNE MARIE STEPHENSON

What inspired the book?
my life took a dramatic turn as I was diagnosed with kidney failure
due to my diabetes. The prognosis was less than promising. As my
physical condition deteriorated, I was forced to give up my career as a
nurse. Fatigue and weakness encompassed my entire world as I underwent
dialysis treatments. Desperate and determined to still be part of this
wonderful profession, I started writing a romance novel based on the
experiences I had encountered as a nurse. When the days that lie ahead
of me seemed impossible to face, I did not allow my tears to compromise
my strength. Instead of giving up, during the darkest time in my life,
I drew on the love that surrounded me from my wonderful husband and
family to write this loving story. When I wrote, I was released from my
physical problems and taken back into the world of nursing, which I
loved so much. Romantic stories can always release us from the problems of
real life. They send us into a fantasy world where our
imaginations can soar. I strove to take my readers and myself into
that world. Thus was born my book, “A PRESCRIPTION FOR LOVE”.

What makes this book special to you?
This book is so very special because it represents the strong love I
had surrounding me, and what I could accomplish because of it, during
the lowest point in my life.

What makes this a book that other people MUST read and WHY?
It is a truly wonderful romantic journey, where you will wish that
the Hero was definitely the man in your life! You are drawn into the
drama of the medical world with breath taking life and death scenarios, a
world of wealth and prestige, and underhanded schemes that lend the
many twists and turns to this hard to put down read. You will wish it
would never end!
It also is a book that demonstrates what can be achieved when life
seems overwhelmingly hopelss.

What people NEED to read this book and WHY?
Lovers of romance novels, people wanting to know what true love is
and how it is demonstrated between 2 people. People facing the
challenges of great adversity in their lives will hopefully be inspired to read
this book, to see how I achieved my dream while living without any hope
in my life.

What sparks your creativity? Any tips to help others spark their own
creativity?
My creativiety for this book came from the great love affair I have
with my usband. Also, I wanted to still of the medical world so I
wrote about that. I think you can be very creative if you use a lot of
your own personal experiences in your writing.

What has been the biggest stumbling block in your writing? Can you
share some tips to help others get past similar problems?
The hardest thing about writing when you are sick, is the fatigue and
weakness that you experience. You just have to have an unfathomable
resolve to forge ahead and accomplish what you set out to achieve!

What do you think motivates people to become authors? What motivated
you to get into this unusual industry?
I became an author, because the writing allowed me to escape into my
imagination and go to a place where the world was wondrful! It allowed
me to escape the horrible world and circumstances I was in. I wrote
about a place in life that I loved which was being a Nurse.

Tell me about the most unusual things you have done to promote any
books?
I persistently sent many media packages and e-mails to a TV show
until they relented and had me on their show.

FICTION - If there is a setting, tell us how you decided on that
setting and what you did to create a complete and vivid setting for your
readers?
My setting is where I worked my own career as a nurse so it is
very personal to me and easy to describe throughout the book.

FICTION - What inspires you about the hero or heroine in your book?
What makes them memorable for the reader? What motivates the hero and/or
heroine? You can include information about both if you want.
Weel, the heroine is a Nurse as I was, so alot of her characteristics
magnify mypersonality. The hero is every woman's dream, truly aloving
caring man.

FICTION - Is there a villain or something that causes friction in your
story? Tell us about what or who it is and how that contributes to the
story. Any details about conflict and friction is good information to
know.

There are several villains in the story, all with the same goal of
keeping the hero and heroine apart! Each has their own selfish reasons
for their phoniness and manipu;ations of the chracters. It lends many
twists and turns to the plot with their underhanded schemes!

If there's anything else you would like to share, this is the time and
place. After a year on dialysis, I was told I could have a kidney
transplant. My wonderful brother stepped forward and gave me the gift of
life. From that moment on, my whole world changed for the better and I
eagerly embraced this second chance at life. When I felt well enough,
I set about getting my romance story published, so I could be an
inspirational example of what can be accomplished when life seems
overwhelmingly

Thank you for visiting with me and in closing, give us your website
address and a link to order your book.

http://www.lmstephenson.com

http://www.amazon.com/Prescription-Love-Leeanne-Marie-Stephenson/dp/1424165075/sr=8-12/qid=1172424584/ref=sr_1_12/104-7067955-3361511?ie=UTF8&s=books