FRIDAY STIR FRY - Oops - Make That Saturday

http://www.morguefile.com

Yeah, I forgot it was Friday. Well, I knew it was Friday, I forgot I was supposed to blog. To be fair, I was still in a turkey coma. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Or, if you don't celebrate the holiday, you at least found something to be thankful for. After all, that's what it's all about (although the eating part is pretty great).

Here is my list of thankfulness.

1. Family. Even though they don't live close by, I at least get to talk to them on the phone or see posts on Facebook.
2. Friends to spend the day with. What a great bunch of people.
3. A roof over my head as humble as it may be.
4. A job I hate. Sounds weird, but really, not many people like their jobs. I'm blessed to have one.
5. A car to drive to that job.
6. America. I don't go around waving flags and such, but even with all our country's faults and troubles, I'd certainly rather live here than Syria.
7. Which brings me to freedom. I can dress however I want. I can go wherever I want. I can read whatever I like.

That's pretty much it. Take a moment and compile your own list. I guarantee it will make you feel better about life.

FRIDAY STIR FRY - Promotion Sucks

You know what I've discovered this week? There's a fine line between getting people to buy and read your book and annoying the hell out of them. 

I'm trying really hard to keep from crossing to the wrong side of that line. Of course I want people everywhere to read Beyond The Horizon. I put five years (yes, five years) of my life into it and I want it to be a success. I'm using Twitter, Facebook, and blog tours to get the word out. But, I have a feeling only my good friends are actually buying and reading it. And I have a finite number of good friends. What happens when that market is saturated? Will my baby die a slow and agonizing death? Poor baby.

And because it's an e-book only, it's really hard to track sales. There is a sales ranking on Amazon, but it's not very helpful. And my publisher hasn't released any figures yet. Maybe I'll feel better when I get that info. And maybe it really doesn't matter. 

What does really matter? I wrote a book. I got it published. Yea for me. Anything over that is icing on the cake. Although, I would be very happy if all the cake gets eaten. 

Until next week dear friends, stay safe and eat cake. 

FRIDAY STIR FRY - What A Party!

http://bit.ly/1m0AhDX

I had this fear that I would throw a party and nobody would show up. It wasn't an unfounded fear. When my daughter turned 8, we planned a party at the local skating rink. We reserved one of the party rooms, sent out invitations, and had cake and decorations. Nobody came. I ran around like crazy calling parents and begging them to let me pick up their kids so there would be some people there for my daughter's big day. We finally managed a handful of kids. Broke my heart. So, you see, I have previous experience.

History did not repeat itself, however.

About 45 people came to my book launch party. My writer friends, co-workers, drinking buddies, and even some high school friends. It was a success by all accounts. Pictures below will attest to that. There's even a couple of videos you need to check out.

I was exhausted for several days after. All the excitement of being published and promoting myself and the party really took it out of me. But it was a good tired. Not an "I cleaned house all day" tired. Thanks to everyone who came. You guys are the best. And a big thank you to Trolley's https://www.facebook.com/trolleysparkcentralpub  Couldn't have done it without your support.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyklGfOjqNo

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UDXKWaqy1w