Merry Christmas from the Boatyard!

Kinda wish I was near a northern boatyard to see the lights and feel the snap of a cold wind before going inside for a hot chocolate...but not that much.  Missing my peeps, but plan to celebrate in balmy Georgia, with the luminaries of Peachtree City, and the luminaries who are my friends :) 

BUT!  I will get a taste of New England as my sister and most of her family forsake the frozen northland to join me in landlocked Atlanta.  We can barely sleep, and they haven't even arrived yet.  But in two days, we intend to squeeze every last ounce of goodness from this historic first visit. 

So the Boatyard will be closed till the New Year while we frolic and play.  Hope you too have some poetic, historic moments with your best peeps, a hot beverage of choice, and balmy weather.  Or snow.  Or whatever it takes.  And for those having a not-so-fun Christmas, may I offer this poem from Jan Richardson: Blessing of the Longest Night. 

I'll leave you with the French gem, Gloria,  one of my personal favorites, featuring soprano Isabelle Savaugeot, who hits notes as high as the oculus under which she sings in L'Eglise Reformee, in the Marais, Paris. Decidedly unboatyardish, but positively poetic. 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Christmas Haiku

How about a little Christmas haiku for your mid-week frenzy? 

Smooth, shiny baubles
The red Volvo estate, yes?
We were happy then.

Itchy, ugly brown
Carpets our hallway, a blight.
Contrasts elegance.

Courtesy of my dear friend and colleague, Dileep, from Australia, of India/Sri Lankan ancestry, married to a South African, living in America.  How's that for a cross-cultural melting pot wrapped up in one purple-clad, red-sneakered individual?!   

Among his many talents, Dileep is a fantastic photographer.  Take a moment to look at his website for a glimpse of some poetry in photos.  

Two other friends are beavering away on their poems, so there may be more before week is out.  I have, apparently, created some monsters...

Epiphany is My Cup of Tea

I always eat peas with honey

I've done it all of my life.

It makes the peas taste funny,

but it keeps them on the knife.

With that and other recitations from "Green Eggs & Ham" and "Jabberwocky," the OM Poet Tea kicked off last Friday, in search of epiphanies...

Did they find them?  The 30 or so tea-loving, poetry-fearing fans gave it their best shot.   First came The "I Can't Write a Poem" Poem warm-up exercise, then the prompt: write about their most memorable Christmas.  Within minutes, chitter chatter gave way to silence.  Not even the clink of a spoon on china could be heard.  There were some expressions of pain and perplexity, to be sure--whether from the exercise or the memory, I can't tell.  But everyone was in 'the zone.' 

When the timer when off, a few brave souls shared their efforts: poignant, funny, or thought-provoking.  One husband and wife, unbeknownst to each other, wrote about the same Christmas: the one when their relationship began. 

The dainties were delightful, the teas perfect for the rainy day, and sales brisk.  Our worker bee hosts, including two handsome young men greeting us at the door, were all diligent in creating a lovely atmosphere. 

No salt water taffy was consumed, but I have one more event to get rid of that box!

Thank you one and all for hosting, participating, cleaning up, and writing!  I'm soliciting sample poems to share next time, so we'll see if I get some takers, and there are more photos on Facebook if you haven't seen them already.   

A Box of Bees

Hope you all had a fine Thanksgiving, and we won't get into Black Friday.  Let's just say I wrote a few poems about it, and studiously avoided all stores.

I wrapped up my five-event sprint with a week off, unplugged and recovering at home.  Catching up on the pile of paperwork I had been throwing in my apartment the past few weeks, I flipped through a journal picked up at the Florida writers conference.  I had forgotten about reading this interview, with Robert Birnbaum and author Sandra Cisneros.  In it, Ms. Cisneros admitted:

"I don't have very much contact with other writers.  I don't get invited to these things, or I don't go to them... It's very rare.  Even when I do these book fairs...I come in and I go out.  I can't hang around with lots of people these days because I am hypersensitive.  So when I am around a lot of people or a big roomful of people, I get almost autistic.  I get overwhelmed and really tired...

"I think because the kind of work...is so intensive with people that perhaps, whether you realize it or not, you are just absorbing everybody's buzz.  I feel like I am in a box of bees when I am in a room with lots of people and I'm just looking for the door."*

Sandra, you are not alone in the bee box!  Anyone else recognize the symptoms?! 

I had first read the interview after fleeing the conference, having absorbed way too much people buzz.  Sitting on a park bench in St. Augustine, I had laughed out loud in recognition.  Busted!

Very few people have articulated just what happens to the monastic inclinations of the average (introverted) writer, in the face of conferences, book signings and readings.  A box of bees.

Thank you, Sandra Cisneros, for your gift of words!  After a week off, I'm ready to emerge again.  Whether you like buzz or not, there is honey in that bee box!

Next event:  

Dec. 6: "PoeTea," 3:30-5:00 pm, at OM, 285 Lynnwood Ave., Tyrone, GA.  Readings, signing, poetry exercises, tea and light refreshments.  Sponsored by the OM Bookstore, with discounts for the season, so c'mon in, sip some tea, write a poem, and squeeze in some Christmas shopping to boot!




*From "Writers Ask," published quarterly by the editors of Glimmer Train Stories...a journal I've never succeeded in scoring an acceptance!   Issue #58, Winter, 2012, Glimmer Train Press, Inc.

Five Events Later....

What a sprint!  I confess this last one was an effort to get to.  A Friday night after an intense work week, following a month of intensity with the book tour, and I was ready for a night off.  

But, fighting fatique, I hauled my brain into gratitude mode, and, with roadie Arwen, my books over to the Peachtree City Library for An Evening of American Pie & Poetry.  It was an astonishing night.  One of the organizers counted over 60 people--a shocker, frankly.  Before the event started, we writers had our typical conversation: "Wonder how many will come tonight..."    Kudos to Paul Lentz for a stellar PR job, and a crew of worker bees who helped set up, serve coffee and goodies, and Tom Watts, working his folk/Americana/blue music. 

My new French poet friend (from the Books Down South event) showed up.  A number of colleagues showed up, plus new fans and the usual suspects of fellow writers from our writers' circle.   Pies were sliced, Blue Donkey Coffee served. There was a festive, expectant air--helped no doubt by the approaching holiday.   

And off we went...me in the hot seat with first position, followed by a fantastic story teller reading one of Paul's stories, and fellow FLP poet Sara DeLuca, reading her works.  Tom played a set, and then we reprised poems, story, poems.  The evening was over before we knew it.  And, IMHO, a home run.  Thanks to all who made it happen, who listened, supported, participated, served.

In fact, I'm already at work on reprising what proved to be a very successful formula.  Watch this space for another event in January.  In the meantime, I'll close the year out with one more event in December:  

Dec. 6: "PoeTea," 3:30-5:00 pm, at OM, 285 Lynnwood Ave., Tyrone, GA.  Readings, signing, poetry exercises, tea and light refreshments.  Sponsored by the OM Bookstore, with discounts for the season, so c'mon in, sip some tea, write a poem, and squeeze in some Christmas shopping to boot!

You can also order your stocking stuffers here: link for The Boatman's Daughter, and Poems from the Boatyard  is now available on Kindle.

Have a very happy and meaningful Thanksgiving! 

Flagler College

After a quick check-in at the Holiday Inn, I headed over to Flagler College, where the Other Words Conference would be held, and into the adventure of parking in St. Augustine.  I easily found the college (after a quick detour to a boatyard :), and as for parking...let's just say a good workout was in order anyway, after the 6-hr. car ride.  

I registered and looked for the Finishing Line Press peeps, who were nowhere to be found, and spent the few minutes I had left photographing the incredible rotunda and decoration of the front hall.  Architectural ecstasy.  (Yankees, picture a Newport mansion...even the bathroom had a fireplace in it!)   

One elevator ride later, to the 4th floor of Ponce de Leon Hall, more goodness awaited: the newly opened, newly renovated Solarium, the crown jewel of a National Historic Landmark.  I confess it held my attention longer than the opening poets.  More photos, a few sketches, and jottings of thoughts inspired by the arrival in a coastal town.     

The building was one of two posh hotels Henry Flagler built in the 1880s—an incredible Spanish Renaissance–revival structure with towers, turrets, and stained glass by Tiffany.  When we moved from readings to nibbles, I followed some out onto the terraces, where St. Augustine twinkled by Matanzas Bay.  Magical.  "I get to spend four days here?!" I marveled.  With only my iphone with me at the time, I quickly filled my camera roll with dozens of shots of the panoramic views (none of which I can download at the moment unfortunately--but do follow the links above).

The renovation completed this summer, to mark the 125th anniversary of construction of the hotel. Ponce became Flagler College in 1968, and the Solarium was used as a library, occasional classroom, writing lab, and offices for the college newspaper.  It was closed off in the 1970's for safety reasons.  What a shame.  What joy for me.  Writing, talking about writing, learning about publishing, editing and the digital convolutions going on in all of the above, in a national landmark, surrounded by beach, boat and salt marsh...can you spell B.L.I.S.S.?!  

Sailing along...

The book tour continues, with another event under my belt, new friends and connections, and a few less copies of books on hand. 

Books Down South was an awesome gathering of local literati, filled with a lot of energy and camaraderie.  My highlight: I was stationed next to a French poet!  How cool is that?  So while the literati swirled around us, Brigitte Byrd and I chatted in French.  If anyone approached our table, Brigitte leapt up to announce, "We are the poets!"  Who could resist the charm of a French accent?! 

Well, quite a few actually.  We had a few sales, and while I was quite satisfied with mine, Brigitte was frustrated.  When one of the organizers consoled us with typical American cheer--"It's more about the connections you make than the books you sell!"--Brigitte stared her down.  Awkward silence.  The typical French reaction at that point would have been to flip all the books up in the air, and storm home to write about it.

Sure enough, as soon as our chirpy organizer left, Brigitte looked at me and said in French, "That's not French.  We would fling all these books in your face and leave!" 

I laughed, and she relaxed a little as I bought one of her books and asked her to sign it.  We will be in touch for coffee soon; in the meantime, I am enjoying her  "Song of a Living Room."  Brigitte has invited me to read at Clayton State University's poetry lecture series next year.  Mais oui!  Bien sur!

In the meantime, the next clambake for me is in St. Augustine, FL.  I leave Thursday, coming back in time for the Dogwood Gallery evening.  And another event has edged into the calendar the following week. 

Looking for more amazement and hope you are part of it!  

Nov. 7-10: 2013 Other Words Conference, Florida Literary Arts Coalition, Flagler College, St. Augustine, FL.  I'll be attending as a poet with Finishing Line Press, but this also affords time to promote my book, take advantage of a number of workshops, and network.  I'm looking forward to a little change of pace and a day or two to explore St. Augustine.   

Nov. 14: Dogwood Gallery, 6:30-8:30 pm: Book Launch Party. Stop for some poetry, art, wine and nibbles! 

Nov. 22: An American Tour in Words and Music: Friends of the Peachtree City Library invite you to “An American Tour in Words and Music” from 7:00—9:00 PM on Friday, November 22. Local authors Pat Butler, Sara DeLuca, and Paul Lentz will read from their recently published books. Music will be performed by Tom Watts, and will include selections from his recent album, “One Sweet Day.”  (This is an “after-hours event; only the front door of the library will be open.)

Pat is the author of the autobiographical chapbooks, “Poems from the Boatyard” and “The Boatman’s Daughter.” Sara’s poetry has been published in numerous regional and national journals. She will read from her new chapbook, “Shearing Time.” Paul writes of rural Georgia during the Great Depression in his coming-of-age novel, “The Gospel Truth: Tales from Ty Ty.”

Refreshments by Blue Donkey Coffee—a regular at the Peachtree City Farmers Market in the Aberdeen Village Shopping Center. 

Dec. 6: "PoeTea," 3:30-5:00 pm, at OM, 285 Lynnwood Ave., Tyrone, GA.  Details to follow!   

Reminders:  

To order The Boatman's Daughter,  here's the link.

Poems from the Boatyard  is now available on Kindle.

Website: theliteryarboatyard.com,  &  iphone app!

We have arrived in port...

...and my second child has had quite a busy week...but we're sleeping through the night :)

The Boatman's Daughter arrived, Poems from the Boatyard  went Kindle, and my first book event took place last Saturday.

If you're missing the festivities because you didn't get a chance to pre-order, here's the link again.

Round 2 in my Fall book tour comes up tomorrow, with the Books Down South inaugural event (see below).  My bags are loaded and my photographer is ready in the wings (BTW, you can see her capture of the first event on Facebook.  Thank you Silvi!)  All these are being fed to Stephen Andrews as he squirrels away at my new website, with technology I barely know exists.  We're getting there.  Take a peek: www.theliteryarboatyard.com, and don't forget to download the iphone app!

Thanks for the encouragements and FB likes and comments - generous, kind and abundant!

Onward! 
 
October 26: Books Down South Book Fair, 10 am - 3 pm,  at the former Rivers Elementary School, Sandy Creek Rd. & Veteran's Pkwy, Fayetteville, GA.  Book sellers, Author Signings, Storytelling, Children's Readers, Speakers, Giveaways.

Nov. 7-10: 2013 Other Words Conference, Florida Literary Arts Coalition, Flagler College, St. Augustine, FL.  At the request of Finishing Line Press, which will have a table at the fair, I will attend as an FLP poet, and can promote my book.  This also affords time to take advantage of a number of opportunities: getting to know more of the publisher's associates, attend workshops, and network.  I've never done anything like this before, so ready to plunge into the next level of author development. 

Nov. 14: Dogwood Gallery, 6:30-8:30 pm: Book Launch Party. Stop for some poetry, art, wine and nibbles. 

Dec. 6: "PoeTea," 3-5 pm, at OM, 285 Lynnwood Ave., Tyrone, GA.  Details to follow! 

We have a sighting!

The good news came in double doses yesterday, to close out my Friday work day: The Boatman's Daughter has shipped, and Poems from the Boatyard will be going to Kindle format!  Yippee!

So today began with preparing the next set of docs and images for another format...reminding me of visa application days...subject of my third collection being worked on!  Stay tuned for that one.   The Kindle format will be available internationally, so my global peeps can finally get a copy. 

You should have your pre-ordered copy this week, and if you didn't get a chance to pre-order, here's the link again.

A new website is almost complete, but you can take a peek now: www.theliteryarboatyard.com, as is the new iphone app.  Many thanks to Stephen Andrews for the hours of technical wizadry he has invested in the Boatyard.  If you need website design, you want to work with Stephen!

And don't forget the Fall line up of literary events!  Hope you can make one, and hope you enjoy the poems.  Thanks for your patience in this last delay, and see you around the county or Boatyard!

Fall Schedule: 

October 19: Open Mic Matinee, Poetry & Spoken Word Performance, 1:00 pm, Fayette County Public Library,  1821 Heritage Park Way, Fayetteville, GA 30214 · 770-461-8841.  Reception and Book Signing to follow, including light refreshments.

October 26: Books Down South Book Fair, 10 am - 3 pm,  at the former Rivers Elementary School, Sandy Creek Rd. & Veteran's Pkwy, Fayetteville, GA.  Book sellers, Author Signings, Storytelling, Children's Readers, Speakers, Giveaways.

Nov. 7-10: 2013 Other Words Conference, Florida Literary Arts Coalition, Flagler College, St. Augustine, FL.  At the request of Finishing Line Press, which will have a table at the fair, I will attend as an FLP poet, and can promote my book.  This also affords time to take advantage of a number of opportunities: getting to know more of the publisher's associates, attend workshops, and network.  I've never done anything like this before, so ready to plunge into the next level of author development. 

Nov. 14: Dogwood Gallery, 6:30-8:30 pm: Book Launch Party. Stop for some poetry, art, wine and nibbles. 

Dec. 6: "Poetry Tea" at OM, 285 Lynnwood Ave., Tyrone, GA.  Details to follow! 

Books Down South

Another event makes it onto my busy fall calendar:  Books Down South launches this month, a premier event in the Southern Arc (southern suburbs of Atlanta).  This is a pretty big deal in these parts, featuring 40 local and regional authors, including some NY Times bestselling ones.  Our local literary world of publishers, authors, and libraries is abuzz. Glad to be part of making a little Peachtree City history here, even if we're nowhere near a boatyard. See schedule below and come help us make this a home run event!

I'll be sharing a book-signing table with two friends from my writers' circle, and we will be donating one of the giveaway gift baskets. 

Update from Finishing Line Press: the galleys have gone to the printer this week, and The Boatman's Daughter is queued up!  She is due to birth this month, although I have alerted FLP that my first event is in two weeks, and would be much obliged if I could receive some copies before then!  

Fall Schedule: 

October 19: Open Mic Matinee, Poetry & Spoken Word Performance, 1:00 pm, Fayette County Public Library,  1821 Heritage Park Way, Fayetteville, GA 30214 · 770-461-8841.  Reception and Book Signing to follow, including light refreshments.

October 26: Books Down South Book Fair, 10 am - 3 pm,  at the former Rivers Elementary School, Sandy Creek Rd. & Veteran's Pkwy, Fayetteville, GA.  Book sellers, Author Signings, Storytelling, Children's Readers, Speakers, Giveaways.

Nov. 7-10: 2013 Other Words Conference, Florida Literary Arts Coalition, Flagler College, St. Augustine, FL.  At the request of Finishing Line Press, which will have a table at the fair, I will attend as an FLP poet, and can promote my book.  This also affords time to take advantage of a number of opportunities: getting to know more of the publisher's associates, attend workshops, and network.  I've never done anything like this before, so ready to plunge into the next level of author development. 

Nov. 14: Dogwood Gallery, 6:30-8:30 pm: Book Launch Party. Stop for some poetry, art, wine and nibbles. 

Dec. 6: "Poetry Tea" at OM, 285 Lynnwood Ave., Tyrone, GA.  Details to follow! 

Thanks for your interest and see ya around the Boatyard! 

Inching forward...

The second set of galleys has come and gone this week, and now I await word that The Boatman's Daughter is going to print!  I'll let you know as soon as that happens, and when the book tour begins.

In the meantime, you can pencil in some dates, if you're in the Tyrone vicinity:

October 19: Open Mic Matinee, Poetry & Spoken Word Performance, 1:00 pm, Fayette County Public Library,  1821 Heritage Park Way, Fayetteville, GA 30214 · 770-461-8841.  Reception and Book Signing to follow, including light refreshments. 

Nov. 14, 6:30-8:30 pm: Dogwood Gallery, Book Launch Party. Stop for some poetry, art, wine and nibbles. 

Dec. 6, afternoon: "Poetry Tea" at OM, 285 Lynnwood Ave., Tyrone, GA

These will warm up my poetic and performance muscles! I only hope my book arrives in time for that first outing.  In any case, I will read and have postcards on hand, as well as a few copies of Poems from the Boatyard.  Come to one or all, as you are able and interested!

Into the Fall we go...a great season to curl up with a cup of apple cider, maybe a fire in the fireplace, and a dash of poetry.  Have a great one, and thanks for your patience with small press publishing!     

To be continued...

Where is The Boatman's Daughter?!

Back safe, sound and sane from travels! 

Galleys arrived shortly after I did, and needed a bit of work, so back they went to the publisher.  I'm awaiting the new galleys, and guestimating that The Boatman's Daughter will go several weeks past her due date.  May it not be too long, but...

Last word from Finishing Line (in mid-August) was that the printer was running two weeks behind schedule.  Assuming that the galley delay adds another couple of weeks to the mix, we're looking at end of September if you ask me.  Can we consider this building suspense?!

In the meantime, I've been working on a few book launch parties is these Southern parts, with the first scheduled for November at Dogwood Gallery, right here in Tyrone, GA.  Owner Greg Blair, friend and awesome dude, runs a fun and inviting gallery which I frequent at any and every excuse, even if I have to invent one.

Mark your calendars now, if you're in the Tyrone area: November 14, 6:30-8:30 pm.  Come prepared to exercise your poetic muscles, learn some back story and family history to both chapbooks, and view some artwork!  Thanks, Greg, for the opportunity.  (BTW: Greg does a fantastic framing job and is VERY reasonable.  Unless you're going to buy a ready-made, you won't do better.  Give him a try.)

Two other local events are sloooowly developing...stay tuned for details.  And I've got a gig in St. Augustine, FL in November--details also to follow.

So, a promising return to the Boatyard, and the gears will progressively crank up as we head into the fall.  Sorry for the delay on The Boatman's Daughter - will keep you posted! 

Happy Labor Day from the Boatyard!

110

For those of you who have not already seen it on the social media, that's the new magic number...final tally of advance sales. So, I'm in for a pressrun of 500 copies - and glad to have reached that goal, after such an underwhelming start! 

Next on the agenda is a visit to some friends overseas, and attend a conference.  So the Boatyard will be a bit quiet till next month, while I cogitate on important matters, book tours and signings.  It promises to be an active Fall, so unplugging a bit now in anticipation.

Thanks to all who made it happen.  Another month or two, and The Boatman's Daughter will see the light of day! 

In the meantime, storing up reading material for my trek overseas.  One of them is "Pity the Beautiful," an interview with Dana Gioia on the release of his new book.

Dana Gioia is one of those poets who is, as this interviewer says, outside of my galaxy.  I first heard him speak in New York City, at an IAM Conference.  I'm not sure how this article plays out fully; I got in knee-deep and then had to bookmark it to get onto more mundane matters like laundry and food shopping.  Pity the mundane...


One gem of a quote, and then I'm off.  Follow me here till I get back!

"When we collectively lose our ability to have sustained linear attention, whole types of thought are impossible." 

The Closing Ceremonies

I've made it past the doldrums and into publication--almost into the next level in the pressrun.  Unbelievable--and hoping to nail it today.  

Thanks to all who jumped on board, with orders coming in fast and furious these past few weeks.  With that traction, the publisher extended the advance sales period one week, to see if I could hit the next level, and I'm grateful for the opportunity.

Today is the last day.  If I do double the press run, I 'earn' double the copies. I'm almost sure this will happen, and it's just extraordinary how much as happened through this sales period.  I sometimes feel like I'm in a game show.  

Today is the last day to order The Boatman's Daughter!

So peeps!  Today is the last call to reserve your copy of The Boatman's Daughter.  Here's the link, and you have until midnight! 

(If you have trouble with it, email: 

flpbookstore@aol.com.  International shipping also available.)  

I have 14 more copies to go.  I will then do a happy dance and collapse in a heap on the veranda, possibly with a mint julep and a crab cake in celebration.  We'll all do happy dance while social media marketing blows out to sea...

I've been posting some teasers the past few days, as part of the closing ceremonies, but in case you missed them, here's the first:

Padre & the Chaperones

Padre functioned best as the football coach--

head set back beneath his black padre hat,

with its peaked dome and pom-pom top,

eyes half-closed like some sun-drunk cat,

neither holy nor jovial, overweight and poker-faced,

cigar in left hand, some boy's ear in his right.

A man's man, the men would say--

he still holds them rapt...

Don't forget to pin, tweet, share, link in, forward--every little bit of exposure helps.

Thank you, Finishing Line Press, for extending, and thanks so much to all of you who have ordered and encouraged.  I'm looking forward to wrapping this baby up, and moving on to the book tour preps.

Don't forget: The Boatman's Daughter is scheduled for release in mid-September, 2013.  YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE THE CHAPBOOK THEN.  If you get antsy, you can order Poems from the Boatyard from Finishing Line Press as well, or through Amazon.  

  

Rain, Reprieve & Radios!

Torrential downpours continue here in Atlanta, but the poetry world is alive and well.  I've been hunkered down up with a 3rd poetry manuscript, coming down the homestretch...a little more gathering, a few poems left to revise, then the organization and layout...getting there!
  
Finishing Line Press has granted me an extra week on advance sales, which will hopefully be enough to push me up the press run ladder!  Thank you FLP!  July 14 is my new deadline.
 
They've also invited me to a book fair to represent them in St. Augustine's in Florida!  That is a big deal and a tempting offer!  Putting the crowbar to the calendar...and the wallet!  Stay tuned for details.  The conference takes place in November.

Then a friend called to tell me she had met a guy from BlogTalkRadio--who hosts online radio interviews of poets!  She nominated me, I'm looking into it, and will keep you posted.  Sundays at 7--listen in! 

Dan Veach of Atlanta has been named this year's Georgia Author of the Year for his Finishing Line Press book ELEPHANT WATER (award presented by The Georgia Writers Association).  I don't know Dan, but know of him, and asked him for an endorsement on The Boatman's Daughter.  Didn't realize he was so busy...sorry Dan!  But congratulations!  Glad to be in such good company with you and Finishing Line Press.

That's the latest from the Boatyard, peeps, and I close with another call to mobilize you over this soggy and cool July 4th, to reserve your copy of The Boatman's Daughter.  Here's the link, and if you have any trouble with it, the email: flpbookstore@aol.com.  

I'm looking to sell 40 more copies, so if you can help lower that number, I will seriously appreciate you!  International orders also accepted!

One more week of harassment, and my social media lips will be sealed until at least next book signing...

Why you should order now:
. my press run double, which means my payment in copies doubles;
. you will save on shipping costs; 
. I will seriously appreciate you!

Ready?  Go!  And don't forget to pin, tweet, share, link in, forward!

Grateful...and Happy 4th!  Hope you're getting a little more sunshine in your corner of the world, and if not, there's some poetry to be had...

Shift Happened!

The doldrums are over!  The Boatman's Daughter has taken off, and momentum boosted me to the bottom rung of the publishing scale.  That means a Kindle version too - yippee!  Positively exponential...

I frankly wasn't expecting that, but frankly, most of what has happened during this advance sales period I haven't expected.  Like a day on a boat...

This has been a lesson in Zeitgeist and humility.  The lessons I learned in the Boatyard are serving me well, to navigate this current stream.  

Pushing onto the next rung: 105 copies.    

Why is this important?  

It's all about the pressrun, determined as follows: 

Prepublication sales between 55-104 copies sold = 250 pressrun. Payment = 25 copies.

Prepublication sales between 105-154 copies sold = 500 pressrun. Payment = 50 copies.

Prepublication sales between 155-204 copies sold = 750 pressrun. Payment = 75 copies.

Prepublication sales between 205+ copies sold = 1000 pressrun.  Payment =100 copies  

If you’ve already placed your order, thank you! 

If you forgot, or got stuck in the hamster wheel, were planning to order and haven’t yet, now would be a great time.  You can order with credit card or PayPal online here.  Click, pay and you’re done! 

If you ARE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE NEW WEBSITE,  email flpbookstore@aol.com  They will call and take your info over the phone,  process your card, or give info for mail orders.   

42 more pre-orders will double my press-run and my royalty. That’s only 6 a day...

And if you’re at all inclined, tweeting, reposting, sharing, pinning, linking back, or plugging The Boatman's Daughter on your site would help… a lot!  (Buttons are on the sidebar.) Thanks so much.  

Think I can make it in a week?!  Living in the exponential...



  

Owning People's Eyeballs

Interesting how much has changed in two years...  

In my first book marketing foray, I just caught the tail end of the Facebook frenzy.  The migration off FB went almost as rapidly as those 8 weeks of advance sales.  

My publisher informed me that since 75% of book sales happen online, I'd better bone up.  That sent me to The Idiot's Guide of Social Media Marketing, where I had just enough time to read, ping and tweet Poems from the Boatyard.  I even managed a You Tube.  It was kind of fun, kind of dizzying.      

Two years later, it's a different landscape.  Bored with Facebook, we're on Pinterest, Google and Instagram. Blogs have clogged the web.  Ping is gone, replaced by Hoot Suite.  Everything seems a quest to own people's eyeballs. 

I do like learning new things, but my two-year-old Idiot's Guide (which I never did finish) is almost obsolete.  Shift happens.  (If you read no further on this blog, watch that video!)  

A capsule version: Bill Gates earns about $250 per second...160 billion emails are sent daily...97% of which are spam...in the time it takes you to read this blog, 375 babies will have been born in India.  To reach a target audience of 50 million, it take two years on Facebook.  

I have 13 days to go and 14 copies of The Boatman's Daughter--so a lot can happen!  What I need to happen: sell 14 more copies to go to print.

What I want to happen: sell 205.  Why?  Then my print run shoots up to 1000, of which I receive 100 copies.  Hey we live in exponential times!  This is a modest goal!

Order now before shift happens! You can order The Boatman's Daughter with credit card or PayPal online here.  

Hanging on for the ride...

Father's Day

Everyone has a father.  But even the best of fathers are “flawed and imperfect.”--to quote that alien invader, wiping out Capt. Kirk’s crew.   

What was your father like?  What kind of fathering did you have?  

Our earthly fathers have defined and shaped us, whether they were absent or present.  Mean or doting.  Wall St. broker or Boatman. 

“Many view father as ‘a competitive and authoritative force that wants to keep the individual from succeeding.  It begins in the nursery with the father competing with the child for the mother’s attention.  It is why one of the most important events in an adolescent male’s life is the first time he honestly is victorious over his father at something, anything, even something as trivial as a game.’”--Thomas Smail, The Forgotten Father

Well, I’m not male, but I grew up in a male world.  And this book has captured my imagination for years, as I watched the men around me.  I return to it regularly.  It has articulated something I still don’t understand completely, but I believe is a profound truth (which is probably why I don’t understand it; this depth of mystery is often perceived in the spirit but eludes the mind).  

The Forgotten Father, required reading for a course I took, merged the psychology of ‘father’ with the theology of ‘Father.’  This sentence dropped like a depth charge into my being: “...‘father’ is nothing less than a quintessential concentration of the central conviction out of which Jesus lived and worked.”

No one I knew was living out of such a conviction!  In American culture, ‘father’ is understood as clueless and bumbling, the butt of ridicule.  If not absent entirely.  We are awash in a fatherless culture.  

As a Hebrew, Jesus would have understood something very different: in Middle Eastern cultures, ‘father’ would have been understood as someone to whom absolute obedience and allegiance was due.  Jesus was able to give it because of the absolute love and affirmation he was receiving from his Father.  Even to the point of accepting the cup of crucifixion, because he trusted the Hand from which it came.  Not one raised in anger; one of affectionate authority.  This blows my mind.  

Out of a morass of language, ‘father’ stuck.  Not Savior, Lord, or Redeemer.  Not Prophet, Good Man or Myth.  Western Christian that I am, I was raised on one of these two categories of thought about Jesus.  Words that were either meaningless to me, or false, incomplete.  The first category from my religious upbringing, the second from my culture.  

I didn’t know how to relate to a Redeemer, really.  We don’t have an equivalent in American culture.  Father I understood.  A father/son relationship I understood.  I had four brothers.  I grew up watching.  My theology began to change.

I had to evaluate my own father in light of this theology.  How accurately had he represented the Father, the model of Affectionate Authority?  It was a painful exercise.  I loved my father, but he had his faults, and I had to acknowledge them, forgive him.  Then I had to evaluate how this had colored my perception of God the Father.  I passed the course.  A lot of distortions died that year.  And so did my father. 

I never got the chance to tell him all this.  He would have loved the theological discussion (and probably hated the psychological one!)  Poetry took the brunt of my loss, and replaced the conversations I would have loved to have had with him.  Two chapbooks later, I remain in awe and thankfulness, writing poetry, and groping after the mystery.  

Happy Father’s Day, Dad.  

Happy Father’s Day, Abba, Father.

In the Doldrums

The Doldrums--mysterious but Disney-esque image for  baby boomer boatyard kids, our equivalent of Pirates of the Caribbean.  

The Doldrums--expression typically applied when we were pouting.  A more colorful translation came from my Irish granny neighbor--who figured in any hoolie mentioned in The Boatman's Daughter--if she saw one of us moping around.  With twinkling eyes and gales of cackling laughter, she'd ask, "What's the matter--yer bread fall butter side down?!"

The Doldrums: "a state of inactivity or stagnation, as in business or art."  

The Doldrums: the challenges of marketing in June, an advance sales period sandwiched between two holiday weekends, with the world unplugging to go on vacation.  In an age of online sales--the cyber-doldrums!

Yes, The Boatman's Daughter is languishing in a "belt of calms and light baffling winds..."

Sales are anemic, at a measly 15--yikes!  I only need 55 to make it to print, but I have less than a month to do that.  If you're a fan distracted by summer fun, please take a moment now before heading to the beach this weekend and click here to order!  

And would you pass the word through whatever social media you're on?  Pin, tweet, post or link--help The Boatman's Daughter out of the doldrums!  

If you have ordered already, thank you!  

Waiting for the wind to pick up...and the typical exhilarating race as the doldrums give way to the breezes...thanks everyone!  And have a good weekend!