Monday, September 24, 2012

Look What's New! -->

Okay, so after several looooong days of fighting with PayPal set up, I think I've succeeded in posting a paypal button!

LOOK OVER HERE :) --------->
 
I am no techie genius, so I haven't a clue if it will work. Cross your fingers and let me know if you try to order and there are problems.

For now, this option is only available to Canadian residents and only for the print copy (paperback) of TREASURE IN THE FLAME....to all of my other friends around the world who are looking to purchase direct, leave me a comment below and I'll see what I can do. Thank you for your patience! You guys are the absolute best.

~Brenda~

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Sleepy Saturday Morning.


Words, put together with other words in the right way, can be wonderful things.

-me, in a conversation while snuggling with my handsome son this morning.


"Mom! You should put that on your author-page-thingy," he said to me.

So there you go. Hope you find some wonderfully put together words on this rainy Saturday morning.


Brenda

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Wednesday Word-tease.

Was reading over my completed manuscript, SKIN, and this little bit asked me to share it with you....so here you go.



The sun has now set behind us but in front of us, beyond the beach, a huge orange moon is erupting from the waves. It slowly peeks over the horizon and then explodes above the ocean like an atomic balloon, up and up until it frees itself from the world and floats alone. I’m mesmerized.

I flick my eyes over to Sam to see if he is seeing this but he’s not looking through the window. He’s looking at me.

“You don’t see a lot of moonrises in the city,” he says.

“No, not like this.”

He’s studying my face. I’m too shy to study him back, so I fiddle with the hem on my skirt.

“I…I never thought to look,” I finally say to fill the silence.

“You should. The moon is important, it orchestrates the tides.”



Ah...but why would the moon be important? Why would Sam care about the tides? And that, my friends, you will have to find out another time.

Happy Hump Day!

Brenda
 

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Paperback Now Available!

Hooray! Yahoo! Dance for joy!

TREASURE IN THE FLAME is now available to purchase in beautiful paperback format from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, and Amazon Europe (.it, .sp...)! I am so excited to share it with you!

Don't live in the USA, UK or Europe? Amazon will ship to most other countries (including Canada!). The shipping charge is small for one book.

If you are wondering... Amazon.ca will eventually carry TREASURE, but they lag a few weeks behind the other Amazon companies. In the meantime, I have books on hand, and will be offering them for sale for anyone in the local area. If there is enough interest I may also offer a purchase option via my blog using PayPal. (please comment below if you like the idea of this option.)

In the next few weeks I hope to bring my book to gift shops in several historical places, to indie bookstores, and to other places of interest. I am also planning a trip to beautiful New Brunswick for signings and maybe even a 'Late Launch at the Landing'. Please keep checking back for more information.

Don't forget to 'Like' me on facebook (Brenda Corey Dunne-Author) and 'Follow' me on twitter (@overdunne) for up to the moment updates!

Happy reading!

Brenda

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Where Were You?

On this day, eleven years ago, the world stopped. We watched in horror as thousands of people--who had gotten up, gone to work and sipped their coffee on the morning train--lost their lives. It was a horrible, heart-aching day.

My husband and I watched from a sunny room on the Pasquatank River in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. I was pregnant with our third child and we lived, quite literally, at the end of the Air Station runway. He put on his uniform and drove to work. I sat in shock in the sunny silence. Even our toddlers were quiet that day. No planes flew over our house.

Where were you that life-changing day? I would love to hear your story. In telling our stories we remember the feeling of the day, the gut-deep fear that we all felt. In telling our stories the memory of those who lost their lives, and the way they lost them, lives on.

Share in the comments below. I'd love to hear.

Never forget. 9-11-01.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Produce, Print, Sell.

Before I say anything...I'd like you to read this article.  It's a long one, but well worth the read.

I read it a few weeks ago, while working on the final touches of my (ah-hem) JUST RELEASED self published ebook, and it struck a chord with me. I think Mr. Vinjamuri hit the nail on the head.

As you probably already know, I've been slowly bumbling along my own journey in the publishing industry, finding my way in the crazy roller-coaster world that goes beyond the act of putting words on a page. I've queried, workshopped, edited, conferenced, tweeted and networked with hundreds, if not thousands of people over the past five or so years, and I've learned a few things and made a few mistakes. And when I decided to self pub, it was a long, looooooooong agonizing decision. It makes me kind of grumpy that it had to be that way, but there are so many factors at work here...the biggest being the stereotype (perceived or otherwise) that self-published authors are cop-outs, cheats and worst-of-all...poor writers. Sue Grafton is not alone in her inflammatory comments. She has thankfully since retracted them in a nice apology statement. But there are many, many others in influential places who feel the same way.

I still want to be traditionally published. Who wouldn't want the creative and financial backing of a big publisher behind them? All of those wonderful professionals working to make my art successful? It would be like an actor with their first starring role, or a painter with their first commission. The writing jackpot, so to speak. So why risk the stereotype and self publish?

Because I want you to read my book. Because I think my book is worth sharing. And because I wanted to figure out how to do it myself.

Self-publishing TREASURE IN THE FLAME is a huge risk for me, but I'd like to believe that it's less of a risk than it used to be. We all know publishing is changing, and I'm of the camp that thinks the change is for the better.

The Oxford Dictionary definition of the verb 'to publish' is this: 1. produce a book, newspaper, etc., for public sale. 2. print something in a book or newspaper.

That's it...produce, print, sell. There's no qualification on who prints, who sells. In it's basest form, publishing actually starts with the author selling her work.

In all other art forms, as Mr. Vinjamuri so eloquently reminds us, there are no gate-keepers of creativity. No one to filter what gets sold and what doesn't. If you paint a picture, and want to sell it, you put it in the local cafe and hope someone buys it. If you produce a demo CD, there's no reason why you can't sell it at your brother's bar. In fact, some of the coolest music and art can be found in back alleys and indie shops. It's how a budding artist gets their start. Someone likes their work, they tell someone else, and so on, and so on...

Conversely, if your work sucks, no one buys it. You move on and become an accountant.

So why is the art of writing different? The proving grounds aren't in the publication process. The proving grounds are in the purchase process. In the sell, so to speak. I know that some traditional publishers out there have already figured this out, and self-publishing makes it so easy for them. The budding artist/author does the groundwork and the start-up, tests the waters, and sinks or swims. She sells her stuff, or she doesn't. No matter what the traditional publisher thinks of the actual artistic merit of the work...a sales record will speak volumes to a smart talent scout.

I've noticed that even some savvy agents have caught on to this and are using Twitter to mine for good writing. In the past week I've seen at least two tweets requesting Twitter users recommend their favorite indie writers. What a super idea! And then this morning I hear that one of my favorite self-pubbed authors (Tammara Webber) has inked a BIG book deal with Penguin UK. Coincidence? I think not. She has unknowingly been my mentor in this process. Her covers, formatting and WRITING are impeccable. She's my self-publishing hero. Good writing, smart publishing choices and sound marketing will win in the end.

So as I step out on this crazy adventure of self-publishing, I can only hope that I'll be one of those with solid writing and smart choices. It's my goal to provide written entertainment in my own unique way. It's an exciting time for self published authors...and I'm excited to say I'm one of them. The producing part is finished, the printing part is happening...and the selling? Well, that's up to you.

What are your thoughts on the evolving publishing industry? Let me know in the comments below. I'd love to hear what you think!


Brenda

P.S. Only a few more days til TREASURE releases in paperback!