Merry Christmas

(This is my son's Jr. High band.  He's the soloist.)

Merry Christmas

and

Peace and Joy

in the 

New Year

Author's Christmas Wish List

It's time once again for my annual Author's Christmas Wish List. I'm a little late with it this year, but most of these don't require shopping or wrapping and are good any time of the year.  You can make any author in your life happy with these gifts--some of time, some of talent, and some of treasure.

Authors, feel free to copy and paste this to your own blogs, slip under your spouse's pillow, or e-mail to those who never know what to get you. Friends of authors, imagine your friend wrote this.


Gifts of Time:

* Take my book to a store and ask the owner to stock it, or give a copy to your local library or school
* Review it on Amazon or some other big venue
* Recommend it for an award (and pay the fee)
* Mention to friends or user groups about my books, website, newsletter or blog
* Babysit the kids so I can have a few quiet hours for writing
* If I'm having a book signing in your area, come visit and bring some friends
* Help me set up a book signing at your local bookstore or library (especially appreciated if we live far from each other and I'm coming for a visit)
* Contact your local newspaper or radio station about me and arrange an interview--also a great idea if I happen to be coming for a visit
* Donate a couple of hours to some project I'm working on--like sending letters to bookstores, sending out PR releases, making a database of readers, etc.

Gifts of Talent:

* Create a website for me--or better yet, teach me how
* Make a template I can modify
* Give me ideas on how I can market myself or my books--and help me to put them into practice!
* Design a banner, book "sell sheet" (a one-page flyer about the book), or other marketing materials
* Make a book trailer video for my book and post it on YouTube, etc.
* Make a recording of a chapter of my book to put on my website

Gifts of Treasure:
Just like with clothing or jewelry, some of these items (from domain names to pens) may require you knowing your author's friend's taste. When in doubt, a gift certificate for the item is a good fall-back.

* Take a photo of yourself with my book--post it and e-mail it
* Music to write by
* Amazon gift certificates to get books
* Buy my book--order it from a bookstore
* Buy me a domain name for my website
* Bookmarks with my cover, name and website
* Subscription to Writers Market

* Journals
* Book signing gear--poster with my photo and name on it, a roll-away carrier to put the books and materials, book stands
* Business cards
* Gift certificate to a printer/VistaPrint if they do that
* Reams of paper
* A mug warmer (or a good thermos)
* Pizza coupons for those days when the need to write overcomes the need to cook
* A really good pen!
* Stamps
* Business-sized envelopes

Merry Christmas!

Moonless darkness stands between.
Past, the Past, no more be seen!
But the Bethlehem star may lead me
To the sight of Him Who freed me
From the self that I have been.
Make me pure, Lord: Thou art Holy;
Make me meek, Lord: Thou wert lowly;
Now beginning, and always,
Now begin, on Christmas day.
 
(By Gerard Manley Hopkins, 1844-1889.)

The Boys Upstairs by Jane Lebak

Synopsis: Jay Farrell, a crippled priest, has begun housing homeless boys in his rectory. Once a street kid himself, he was riding the rocket-train to a lifetime in prison until the day he drove over a land mine in Iraq. Today he works at an inner-city parish, running a soup kitchen and struggling to manage an impoverished church.

With temperatures below zero and falling a few nights before Christmas, Jay's estranged brother Kevin dumps three more children on his front porch. Kevin, a cop who can't believe in God after all the evil he's seen, hasn't spoken to Jay in years, but he knows Jay will at least give the kids a place to stay. It isn't over yet, though. As they work together to meet the children's needs, they must confront the long-buried emotions that have divided them so long.

The Boys Upstairs examines the real gift of the holiday season and how hope can transform the ones society condemns as not worth saving.

Mini Review: I read this aloud to my 10-year-old son, and he really enjoyed it. I must say that I had a hard time at some points keeping my voice clear because the scenes choked me up. Despite the title, this is really a story about two brothers finding each other again. I would have liked more about the children--perhaps Jane will consider a second novella? I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a heartwarming story no matter what time of year.

Purchase Link: Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/The-Boys-Upstairs-ebook/dp/B004EYT9NW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297290893&sr=8-1

Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

I love to watch these! Merry Christmas!

An Author's Christmas Wish List

It's time once again for my annual Author's Christmas Wish List. You can make any author in your life happy with these gifts--some of time, some of talent, and some of treasure.

Authors, feel free to copy and paste this to your own blogs, slip under your spouse's pillow, or e-mail to those who never know what to get you. Friends of authors, imagine your friend wrote this.


Gifts of Time:

Take my book to a store and ask the owner to stock it
* Mention to friends or user groups about my website, newsletter or blog
* Babysit the kids so I can have a few quiet hours for writing
* If I'm having a booksigning in your area, come visit and bring some friends
* Help me set up a book signing at your local bookstore or library (especially appreciated if we live far from each other and I'm coming for a visit)
* Contact your local newspaper or radio station about me and arrange an interview--also a great idea if I happen to be coming for a visit
* Offer to donate a couple of hours to some project I'm working on--like sending letters to bookstores, sending out PR releases, making a database of readers, etc.

Gifts of Talent:

* Create a website for me--or better yet, teach me how
* Make a template I can modify
* Give me ideas on how I can market myself or my books--and help me to put them into practice!
* Design a banner, book "sell sheet" (a one-page flyer about the book), or other marketing materials
* Make a book trailer video for my book and post it on YouTube, etc.
* Make a recording of a chapter of my book to put on my website

Gifts of Treasure:
Just like with clothing or jewelry, some of these items (from domain names to pens) may require you knowing your author's friend's taste. When in doubt, a gift certificate for the item is a good fall-back.

* A marketing class by The Marketing Mentor (I'm offering a Christmas special: gift certificates are $15 a class, half off! Contact me.)
* Music to write by
* Amazon gift certificates to get books
* Buy my book--order it from a bookstore
* Buy me a domain name for my website
* Bookmarks with my cover, name and website
* Subscription to Writers Market
* Subscription to The 30-Minute Marketer (Again, I'm offering 50 percent off the subscription--just $6 a year. Contact me.)
* Journals
* Book signing gear--poster with my photo and name on it, a roll-away carrier to put the books and materials, book stands
* Business cards
* Gift certificate to a printer/VistaPrint if they do that
* Reams of paper
* A mug warmer (or a good thermos)
* Pizza coupons for those days when the need to write overcomes the need to cook
* A really good pen!
* Stamps
* Business-sized envelopes

Christmas Houses--Fun to watch!

This has been the craziest year for Christmas events. In the past weekend, we attended four parties, one of which I coordinated with my friend Melissa Healy, and we hosted the after-Mass fellowship. Further, in addition to the Christmas presents to our-of-towners, I sent out about 20 copies of Leaps of Faith and Infinite Space,Infinite God to contributors and reviewers--and the first royalty checks for ISIG! (Imagine splitting royalties 17 ways--it takes a while to build past pennies.)

At any rate, I have neither the time nor the inclination to decorate the outside of my house. I'd rather use that time to some much needed prayer and playing a game or watching TV with the kids. And maybe mopping my floor...

However, here are some folks with time and inclination. I love to watch these!

Gift Giving Ideas for Authors and Fantasy Readers

I'm taking the week off of writing to do all the Christmas "stuff": gifts, getting ready for parties and events, etc. I'm also working on building up the DragonEye, PI website, in which I have posted a short story for sale.



When FlintCorp Developing threatens to destroy the businesses and homes of Territory to build a mall and luxury condos, neither Vern nor Grace are feeling the Christmas spirit. But when Flint is threatened by the Ghosts of Christmas Past and Present, they put aside their humbug feelings in order to solve the mystery. Will they succeed before the Ghost of Christmas Future makes a lethal visit? And will their modern-day Scrooge have a change of heart?

This is my first experiment with selling my DragonEye, PI stories online. Vern, the cynical dragon private detective made his debut in Firestorm of Dragons and has garnered many fans who enjoy is witty satirical perspective. This story looks at his and Grace's first Christmas together, a tough one for Grace, who is not used to the bluster and commercialism of the Mundane world.

A nice little electronic "stocking stuffer" for the fantasy lover on your e-list.

$1.50 for PDF Download at http://dragoneyepi.net/index.php?name=Content&pid=7

My daughter also designed this great poster background for me.


I'm going to use it for book signings. I've got a frame for it (22 x 28) and will have three page protectors attached to the frame. Then I can slip in a printout of whatever I need for a booksigning or event. In this way, I can use the same general poster and customize to the occasion. The local BX (military mall) has one like it for book signings, and it looks great. Amber will make one for you for $12.50-$20, depending on the complexity. (Mine is a $12.50 job.) Contact me if interested.

Atheism--the Logical Choice?

Rob found an article about atheist greeting cards. (Here's a site where you can see some.) Now you can celebrate all the crass commercialism of the holiday season without any of the uplifting spiritual message!

Rob didn't keep the link to the article, but the comments were both intense and very funny. the best had to be the atheist saying he was "sure as hell..." I don't think that should mean to him what he thought it means. Someone else posted this sign:



I'm not trying to argue atheism vs. Christianity here, just using this to point out that, from a logical, rational standpoint, both sides are on the same ground. At some point, the empirical method breaks down. It all comes down to belief.

BTW, Rob and I spent the past 3 days working like faith-filled maniacs on Infinite Space, Infinite God II. We hope to submit it to Twilight Times in early January--we are running our poor contributors through the editorial wringer this time. It's going to be a an awesome book.

Merry Christmas!

I love this house! Have a Mad Russian Christmas!



Music: "Mad Russian Christmas" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Christmas Suprises: Websites and Wonders

Work on my new website continues at a snail's pace. Right now, we're trying to figure out how to change the colors on the skin--or find a new skin. We're going with something lighter because, as I said, it seems my writing is moving in a somewhat different direction.

In the meantime, people are still looking at the site, and that's led to a terrific Christmas surprise.

Rob has often mentioned to us the childhood friend that saved his life, John Wells. They had been digging in a ditch, making a battleground for GI Joe, when the cave they'd managed collapsed on Rob. His friend, though only eight, dug Rob out, got him to the highway and got them a ride home. (This was on the Air Force Academy.) Rob's parents took him to the hospital, where they discovered one of his ribs had been broken and had sliced his liver to shreds. Rob said one surgeon was ready to give up; the other said, "No. I've seen this in Vietnam." To this day, Rob says two people saved his life: that surgeon and his friend John Wells. He and John lost track of each other, as happens to military brats, but Rob has never forgotten him and has told our children the story many times.

Would you believe that John has often thought of Rob, too? And that he would feel he's the one that owed Rob a debt of gratitude; for my bibliophile husband infected him with a lifelong love of books.

Last week, John found us through my website. Rob shouted with joy: "That's my friend! That's they guy who saved my life!" Me, I'm a sentimental biddy; I still have tears in my eyes just thinking about it. What an incredible gift!

So John, even though I already e-mailed you, I want to say this publicly:

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the gift of my husband. God bless you and Merry Christmas.

Christmas Gifts for the Author that Don't Collect Dust

Rob likes to complain that I am a hard person to buy presents for--and he's right. I just don't want a lot of stuff--and the things I do want, I have to earn myself: a book contract with a big publisher, an agent, for Infinite Space, Infinite God to sell out. No one can give those to me. There are a few things, however, that could help me achieve those goals.

I think they might work for other writers, too, so here's my version of a Writer's Wish List. (And guess what? Most of them don't need dusting or have complex instructions written by someone with limited command of English! What could be better?)

--Buy ad space for the person's book in a magazine, convention magazine, fanzine or on-line venue that caters to their readership. (You may need to get the person's help in making the ad, but it's still a great gift!) Ads can run anywhere from $20 to $2000, depending on the venue. Sometimes more expensive is not better, either.

--One of the many guides to agents or publishers out there is always a good gift, but better yet--look up a half-dozen leads yourself and give your author the website link and requirements. One of the hardest things for me is researching the agents or markets. If you've read your author's rough draft or heard the story often enough, you might be able to point them in the right direction.

--Hire the services of a good editor. Every manuscript can use a good polish by someone with a keen eye and experience. Caution: make sure the editor is reputable (have they edited books that went on to sell with traditional publishers?) and make sure your writer will consider this a help and not an insult.

--Membership in a writer's association: You may have to ask your writer friend about this one, to find out which one he likes or qualifies for. Again, these can be very cheap (The Catholic Writer's Guild is only $24 a year) or up into the hundreds.

--A domain name. There are several places that let you create websites for free, but it's always better to have your own domain name. This can be as simple as authorname.com

--A conference. Offer to pay their fee to a writer's conference. Again, these can vary greatly, and of course, there is the expense of travel, hotel, food, etc., but it can be done.

--Set up a book signing. If your author has a book out and is nearby, offer to do the legwork to arrange a booksigning for them. It's really not hard--call the store, get them to agree and order some books, and show up with pen in hand and a notebook for taking names to start a fan list. If it's a stay-home parent, offer to watch the kids for 3 hours so they can do this.

--Arrange a Virtual Book Tour for them. Go to my Virtual Book Tour Primer for more information.

--Offer your services. Authors need to do more than just write stories. They need to research, contact editors, send out queries, track expenses, keep files, compile lists of contacts, fans, bookstores, markets, etc. If you are the organizational type, offer to take some of those piles of papers, post-it notes and typo-filled e-mails to oneself and put them in a database or file or whatever form your author can use. (Come to my house first, and I'll show you what I mean! Really, no charge!)

So if your author has enough pens, notebooks, writing manuals, and programs, consider one of these ideas. You'll do more than make their season bright--you'll help them make their career brighter.