Category: Promote & Publish

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Crack another bottle! It’s my one-month anniversay.

House wine memeToday marks the one-month anniversary of House for all Seasons and what a month it’s been.

I had Canadian duo – Carli and Julie – and their lovely Small Town Stories song for my online launch on March 1st.

Monday 4th was my local Coffs Harbour launch.

My Blog Crawl has kept me busy. FYI – A blog crawl is like a pub crawl: partying late, tripping barefoot from pub to pub, throwing up in your neighbour’s garden. Ahh, what memories! These days I party online (and my neighbour’s chrysanthemums are glad about that). I’ve visited some fabulous authors as part of my Blog Crawl. Check out who right here.

Then there’s been the library talks, book shop signings, my first Writers Festival as a ridgy-didge author where I made new friends. And I’ve still managed to ‘bale up’ amazing author to add to my growing Author Harvest.

Best of all, my House for all Seasons is selling well and reviewing well.  Take a look at some reviews. I even made the Dymocks Pick of the Month in the March Australian Women’s Weekly.

But what I really want to say in this post is THANK YOU– to those you have read, are planning to read, or even contemplating House for all Seasons. (I know, I know, there are so many great books to choose from and only so many hours in the day.)

But if after reading House for all Seasons you feel inclined to share your thoughts with other readers, I would love, love, love a review or a rating (direct link to): Amazon, Goodreads, The Reading Room. They all help.

And of course, my Monday Memes have been fun so far. More to come too.

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If you’re interested in helping authors in other ways, Kate Forsyth did a fabulous post recently – Six ways you can help a starving author. (Okay, so I’m not exactly starving but you’ll get the drift.)

Thank you for dropping by my blog, sharing my journey, and helping me celebrate the first of many milestones.

Jenn J

 

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A Festival of Authors!

Me (L), Katherine Howell & Jessie Cole (R)My favourite collective noun has to be: A Festival of Authors, especially after attending my very first event as a ridgy-didge published author – the 2013 Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival (just last month).With House for all Seasons on the shelves barely three weeks, I delighted in hob-knobbing with the rich and famous… Err, hang on… This was a writer’s festival. Rich and famous is reserved for that other collectivfiction writer t-shirte noun: A Red Carpet of Hollywood A-Listers! We were ‘just’ a festival of hard-working authors, albeit at varying stages of our journey, and even with a line up including short-listed 2013 award nominees: Jessie Cole, Druscilla Modeska, Carrie Tiffany, Romy Ash, and Cate Kennedy I definitely felt part of a tribe. (Oh, and in the pic above – that’s Me (L), Katherine Howell & Jessie Cole (R)

The oddest feeling was perhaps sitting on a panel in front of a paying audience for the first time in my published author life. People were there to hear what I (and others) had to say, which is why I put so much work (read: angst) into preparing a small presentation for both panels. (Definitely NOT a pantster when it comes to presentations.)

I think I did okay. (And yes there were lots of people in the rows BEHIND those empty chairs in the pic!!!)

Best of all, being Bellingen—a thirty minute drive south along the Pacific Highway—I met up with other Coffs Harbour writers (hello Willa and Shannon) and some locals introduced themselves (hello Debbie and Kerry).

I guess that makes a lovely local festival of authors, keen to get together and share stories over a coffee or two…or three.

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My ‘Meet The Author’ Moment

Meet the AuthorSo there I was, all set up with my signing table in the local shopping centre when the most magical thing happened. Well, a couple of magical moments really.

I signed a few copies for locals who had read about my book (it happened to be in the local paper today with an article on last week’s launch). I also bought $10 worth of scratchy tickets and then had naughty meat pies for lunch. Not sure that will look good on the balance sheet or the bathroom scales so maybe I’m best to not do too many shopping centre signings!

BUT… and this is great…

I’m sitting there when a mother, father and a young girl (probably about seven or eight years old) walks by. They slow enough to read my ‘Meet the Author’ sign, smile and move on. The little girl hesitates, but is promptly tugged away with the shopping trolley. The family then stops outside the entrance to the centre, speak, and the girl looks back at me. She winces over, props in front of me, her little body twisting back and forth in a coy way, and asks, ” Are you a real author?’

‘Yes I am,’ I reply.

Her eyes widen and she looks to her parents, then back at me. ‘I’ve never met a real author,’ she says.

What a delight. We talked about lots of things – everything from writing to Selby The Wonder Dog. I didn’t sell a book, but I think I made a writer!

After she walked away, she stopped and ran back, gave me a big hug, and left again. So sweet.

Oh, and the other lovely thing was a woman walked up to me and explained that she’d already read and reviewed House for all Seasons online. (She was one of forty readers chosen to receive a copy from Simon & Schuster.) Then she went on to say she wanted to tell me in person how much she loved it and how much she’s looking forward to the second book. We talked at length about how neither of us wanted the story to end, but agreed that all good stories must come to an end sometime. It’s up to the author to do it in such a way that is both satisfies, but at the same time keeps readers wanting more. Thank you, Amanda Laird, for topping off a great first book-signing event. And thank you Toormina Book Warehouse for the fantastic support.

Addendum…

I was told by a friend observing this little girl’s family, that when they walked away from the shops, the mother commented: “That poor woman. We’re probably the only people to talk to her all day”  (LOL – love it!)