February 2011
February 8, 2011 at 7:54 am
Behold, the grand unveiling of the CHOCOLATE & VICODIN book trailer:
Yes, books are now required to have video trailers. When I say “required,” they are not actually required, you are just highly pressured into making one, like babies are for couples in their 30′s. When my first book, Half-Assed came out in April of 2008, video book trailers were just starting to become the norm, but no one told me that until after the book came out! So, I threw something together using my weight-loss progress photos that came out fairly well. (48,000 views can’t be wrong, right?)
This time around I decided to seek advice from actual publishing professionals before making my trailer. I also viewed some trailers to figure out what works and what doesn’t.
Research. (Yes, spending hours on YouTube can be considered research)
Rachel Kramer Bussel is an author friend who’s done lots of (Not Safe For Work) book trailers, and she said to keep it under two minutes and to make it match the tone of your book. It also shouldn’t be an [...]
February 7, 2011 at 1:35 pm
Photo by Riccardo Bandiera / by CC BY-NC 2.0
I have been hating runners lately. As I’ve mentioned, the weather is lovely and idyllic around here, so I see them bouncing up and down the sidewalks all they time. They’re wearing their fancy running shoes and their cute running shorts and DAMMIT! I want to be one of them, but my stupid right foot has been hurting, so I’ve had to forgo any aerobic exercise for the time being.
My neurologist and I have found a magical mix of medications and behavioral habits that have been keeping my headache locked in a closet lately with only some occasional mumbles and door rattling. I’m at a 1 out of 5 on the pain scale most days, so I’ve had more energy and I want to get back into the running game. Yet, once again, my body is not on board with me. So I have to wait for my foot to heal, and I have to read people tweeting about their marathon training and how many miles they’ve [...]
February 4, 2011 at 7:58 am
If you’d like to get a signed copy of Chocolate & Vicodin, my local independent bookseller is now accepting orders. Flyleaf Books rocks! And yes, even international readers can get one! (See, this is why Flyleaf Books rocks.)
If you live in the US or Canada
Go to the order page for Chocolate & Vicodin on their site, add the book to your cart, and then checkout. At the bottom of the checkout screen, right below the credit card info fields, there is an “Order Comments” box. Include the name you want the book signed to here as well as any other relevant info.
If you live outside the United States
Just send an email to info [at] flyleafbooks (dot) com with your name, address, signing information and ask how much it would cost to ship Chocolate & Vicodin to your country. (That’s the book, not actual chocolate and Vicodin, which would be illegal.) They’ll be in touch and can instruct you how to pay for the order, etc.
I am willing to customize the signing to an extent if [...]
February 2, 2011 at 7:48 am
A long time ago in a universe far, far away I ordered a lil’ blue “Just 10″ wristband from the Doctor Oz show. I ordered it so long ago that I do not remember how I heard about it or when I filled out the web form requesting it. I do think they said shipping could take 6-10 weeks, so I’m evidently incapable of remembering anything before October of 2010. How was Labor Day, y’all? I can’t recall.
The wristband is part of The Just 10 Challenge started by Doctor Oz (or more likely a producer of his TV show). The program motivates overweight people to lose just 10 pounds because even that small amount of weight loss can lower your blood pressure, reduce your risk for a stroke, ward off dementia, lower your risk for uterine and breast cancer, and lower your cholesterol up to 10%. So says the web site anyway, and the Internet would not lie to me, not the sweet Internet that sings me to sleep with digital MP3s.
The blue “Just 10″ [...]
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"What distinguishes us one from another is our dreams and what we do to make them come about." - Joseph Epstein
