Thursday, September 27, 2018

Old Editions, Inflated Prices

 There are book dealers on Amazon selling my books for outrageous prices. The paper edition of PATRIOT'S HEART is available--brand new--from the publisher for only $13.99. Why pay more for an older edition?


While THE KEEPER'S PROMISE is currently out of print, I plan to reissue it. Even so $60.49 is an awful lot for a paperback. Maybe a hundred years from now, someone might be intrigued and think it's a rare thing, but I doubt it.


I do appreciate book dealers. I've bought some rare out-of-print editions on Amazon, mostly reference books. I often visit used book stores. But I really wonder about these inflated prices.

Still, it's nice to think that someone believes my books are worth so much. However, I'm not the one who will benefit from the sale. 😟

Thursday, September 20, 2018

My Instagram Presentation



I belong to the Art Society of Monmouth County. I joined in order to have some place to display my paintings other than on my own walls. It's a great group. Yesterday, I gave a presentation about using Instagram to promote art. Our meeting place does not have a projector, but I used the television connected to my iPad. 

Many artists are very successful in using Instagram to promote their work. Of course, authors use Instagram, too, and just about everybody else. 😁 Marketing is very important and can be exhausting, but social media is a useful tool in this endeavor. While it's fun to have a show in a gallery and enjoy the reception, an artist can only reach a small group of people. Instagram has 700,000,000 users every month. It's worth signing up and following some like-minded folks. 

Check out what ArtBusiness.com has to say about using Instagram as a promotional tool and remember that their advice can also be used for writers. https://www.artbusiness.com/artists-how-to-use-post-sell-art-on-instagram.html

Thursday, September 13, 2018

My Big Summer Plans


I had big plans for the summer. After teaching for twenty-five years, I got into the habit of packing everything possible into a few short months. I'm retired now, but I still want to do as much as possible while I don't have to wear a coat and gloves.  I wanted to go on exciting day trips plus visit both of my sisters. I was going to get back to sketching at least once a week. I intended to lay on a blanket on the beach. I planned to read twenty books. My garden needed a makeover and I was determined to make it beautiful. I was going to crochet several prayer shawls.

Oh, and I was going to finish the book I'm writing.

Then the heat and humidity invaded New Jersey. It was unbearable. New Jersey felt like Florida. I can't stand heat or humidity. The mosquitoes love heat and humidity. They turned out to be more vicious than usual. If I stepped outside for five minutes without insect repellent, a horde of mosquitoes feasted on me.

While it is true I may have overplanned, I did accomplish a few of my goals but not all. I visited one sister. I read a couple books. We went on several jolly day trips with Daughter #2. I crocheted several shawls, but I made very little progress on the garden. I went to the beach once but it was like an oven so I didn't stay long.

I realized I was killing too many people in my novel and went to a brainstorming session to decide what to do. I got plenty of suggestions and now I am still fixing that book. That's progress of a sort. Besides, it was cool inside the house with the air conditioning running.

I think I put too much pressure on myself and on the season. Summer is simply too short and my expectations are unrealistic, but the cooler days of autumn have arrived and the mosquitoes will soon depart. Maybe I'll get to do a little gardening before it snows. 😆

Thursday, September 06, 2018

An Explosion of Crochet


If you’ve read this blog, you know I like to crochet. I started when I was seven years old. I made afghans, scarves, hats, baby sweaters, baby blankets, and crocheted ornaments. Every now and then I’d pick up my crochet hook at various times and start a project. However, it wasn’t until my dear friend came to me one day and asked me to teach her how to make baby hats that I really started to crochet with a purpose. I realized I had a skill that could offer comfort to the suffering.

What followed was an explosion of crochet projects. I haven’t stopped yet. I started a prayer shawl ministry at our church. If you’re interested in using your skills to offer comfort to others go to http://www.shawlministry.com for more information.