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INDIE-DEBUT 2010
Blog: http://indiedebut2010.blogspot.com
M E D I A R E L E A S E
CONTACT: Amy Allgeyer Cook, Author
Email: amyacook@...
For Immediate Release
Indie-Debut – Small Press Month Makes a Huge Impact
In celebration of Small Press Month, Indie-Debut 2010 is thrilled to announce their March event schedule for the week of March 7, 2010. Join in the fun and cruise on over to http://indiedebut2010.blogspot.com and read insightful interviews from prominent individuals in the small press world. Participate in lively discussions, Friday gift giveaway contests, and so much more.
Highlights for the week of March 7, 2010:
Mon, March 8: SPOTLIGHT: Miriam Forster and Winner Announcement
Tues, March 9: Stephen Mooser Interview w/ Amy Cook
Wed, March 10: Discussion: As a reader and lover of books, do you pay attention to the publisher or the quality of writing?
Thurs, March 11: Indie Bookstore Interview with Amy Cook
Fri, March 12: SPOTLIGHT ON TEASERS: Scott Heydt & Carla Mooney
PLUS Giveaway: Fabulous Follower Prize: Become a follower of our blog, twitter, and Facebook and be entered to win:
The Bug That Plagued the Entire Third Grade tote bag – prize by Lori Calabrese
Amazing Africa Projects – prize by Carla Mooney
Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson – prize by Donna McDine
Thank you in advance for your interest. We look forward to your visit.
Be sure to check back for next week’s schedule.
###
More information is available upon request electronically.
Under promise and over deliver - a great motto. On vacation, I was told once that Disney parks employ that strategy in their lines. The sign says that the line will about "50 minute" from this point - then when you make it on the ride in 40, you're excited (you saved 10 minutes!) instead of being upset at spending 40 minutes in line!
I use that motto in writing - making sure I always "over deliver" to my editors. For me, a big part of that is ALWAYS meeting my deadlines. So last week, when I had to ask for a one-week extension on a manuscript - I felt absolutely awful. I emailed the editor a few days before the original deadline with the request. She did not mind and I had the extra days I needed to really tighten my work and turn in a much better manuscript. Still I felt bad.
Then, I got an email from another editor I frequently work with, asking me to take on a book that she had assigned to another author, but the author was 2 months past her deadline and had "flaked out" Wow. Makes my one-week extension seem not so bad anymore!
I got home from an event at my son's school and opened a surprise box! My author's copies for my new book with Nomad Press, Amazing Africa Projects You Can Build Yourself. This one was a lot of work, but I'm proud of it and excited to finally have it in my hands! It's going to be released on Feb 1 - only a few days away!
I'm honored to be hosting one of my fellow Indie-Debut 2010 members today - Jo Ramsey! Jo's young adult novel, Connection, is being released this month. So to celebrate, I've invited her here to talk about Connection!
So Jo - tell us a little bit about your background and your book!
Jo: I've been writing since I was five years old, and started writing YA when I was about 12. From then through college, I wrote about 20 YA novels, all longhand in spiral notebooks. I have a degree in special education, and one of my favorite things is getting kids who don't like reading interested in books, so I wrote Connection (and a number of other YA novels) beginning in 2004 with the intent of making them intriguing and accessible even to kids with reading problems.
Connection is about Shanna Bailey, a 14-year-old girl who's verbally and sometimes physically abused at home and picked on at school. When she starts high school, she thinks it'll be more of the same, until she meets Jonah Leighton. Jonah does energy healing and channeling, and starts teaching Shanna what he knows.
When did you start writing for kids and young adults?
Jo: I was a kid when I started.
Not to spoil the book for reader, but what is your favorite scene in Connection?
Jo: The first time Shanna goes to Jonah's house and realizes what a close relationship Jonah and his mother have.
What tips do you have for aspiring writers?
Jo: Take time to learn the craft. Learn not only how to tell your story, but how to edit and revise it. Research publishers carefully. Find other authors to mentor you, if possible.
When you aren't writing, what do you like to do?
Jo: I'm supposed to spend time not writing?
Now an important question - Chocolate or vanilla?
Jo: Strawberry. lol
Thanks so much Jo! Connection is available now in ebook format and will be released in print on January 29, 2010!
For more information, visit Jo's website or her publisher, Jupiter Gardens Press.
Researching a new topic - no problem.
Writing a book for a kindergartener or a teenager - no problem.
Promoting my own work - AAAACCCK!
With my first chapter book coming out in spring 2010 and my picture book scheduled for late summer/fall 2010, I've joined a group of debut authors to work together on promoting our books. Check out our press release!
For_Immediate_Release:
(Free-Press-Release.com) January 14, 2010 -- M E D I A R E L E A S E
CONTACT: Amy Allgeyer Cook, Author
Email: [email protected]
For Immediate Release
Indie-Debut Authors Join Forces in 2010
Indie-Debut 2010 blasts into the new year to announce the impending arrival of debut books from Small Presses across America.
Come along to learn about these talented debut authors and their publishers through blog tours, virtual launch parties, and interviews. The fun doesn’t stop there. Once you learn about each author you may be pleasantly surprised to find out they reside in your neck of the woods, providing you the opportunity to meet them in person at a local event, such as a book fair, school visit, or book signing at your local book store.
Without further ado the Indie-Debut 2010 group consists of:
January 2010 ~ Connection by Jo Ramsey
March 2010 ~ Brigitta of the White Forest by Danika Dinsmore
Spring 2010 ~ Owen and the Dragon by Carla Mooney
Spring 2010 ~ The Bug that Plagued the Entire Third Grade by Lori Calabrese
Spring 2010 ~ The Golden Pathway by Donna McDine
Spring/Summer, 2010 ~ The Flute and the Dagger by Miriam Forster
July 2010 ~ The Invisible Sister by Amy Allgeyer Cook
Summer 2010 ~ Mice Don't Taste Like Chicken by Scott Heydt
February 2011 ~ Dogsled Dreams by Terry Lynn Johnson
Interested in learning more? Visit Indie-Debut 2010 at http://indiedebut2010.blogspot.com or contact the Indie-Debut 2010 creator, Amy Allgeyer Cook at [email protected].
Thank you in advance for your interest. We look forward to your visit.
I just found out yesterday that the illustrator for Samson's Story, my picture book about childhood cancer has been picked! She is Kathleen Spale. Check out her work at http://www.kathleenspale.com/ I really liked what I saw, so I'm excited to she what she does for Samson's Story!
Happy New Year!
I'm amazed at how many talented and driven kids there are! I'm working on a new book about starting a business for kids. Yesterday, I sent out an email request to interview a couple of kids with businesses so I could profile a few in one of my chapters. Well, my inbox is overflowing today! It's a shame that I can't feature all of them. Go kids!
Two more of my books arrived today! These titles are part of a Hot Topics series from Lucent Books. I'm relieved to see that they both have my name on them. On Amazon - the image of the Bioethics title listed another author. I was a bit concerned to say the least! I spent a lot of time in 2008 writing each of these - it was a great learning experience. At the time, it was my longest assignment - 18,000 words plus sidebars.
The UPS truck delivered a box of author's copies for my Vanessa Hudgens biography with Mason Crest Publishers this week.
It's been a long time - I turned in the manuscript over a year ago. The Vanessa book will always be special to me - it was my very first book assignment. I'll always remember the day I got the email - it was my daughter's birthday! I went up to her school that afternoon for a family visit and told her the good news - she was so excited. And today she took a copy of the book to "share" with her third grade class. That's one of the best parts about being a writer - my kids are just as excited as I am about getting a new book!
I was checking out Amazon and found the cover for my new Africa book coming out with Nomad Press in January 2010. How exciting! Check it out - (I also can't figure out why everything in this post is underlined....)
I just finished reading a great nonfiction book - Sally M. Walker's Written in Bone. It was fascinating! I never knew scientists could get so much information about our country's past from bones and soil. I'd recommend it to anyone with an eye for investigation and solving a mystery. Here's the link to Sally's website if you want to read more about this book and her others.
http://sallymwalker.com/
My plant sunscreen book is wrapping up - it's due next week and in good shape. Now I'm excited to get working on some new projects that I've lined up - both with Lucent Books. For the first one, I'm doing a biography of some current celebrities.
Here's a hint....
For anyone who doesn't have kids in the house - it's the Jonas Brothers! My daughter is absolutely thrilled about it. She's been reading all the research articles I've been gathering!
My second project is a bit more of a stretch - it's a title in a Black History series about the Black Press. I'm excited about this one - it something I've never worked on before.
The only fly in the ointment is that both books need to be written at the same time -due dates of May 30 and June 1.
It's going to be a busy two months!
+ 
And the answer is.....
The subject for my next book - Sunscreen for Plants!
OK - now that you've finished laughing, it really is a serious topic. One interesting fact that I learned as I've been researching - the United States apple industry in 2004 alone lost approximately $160 million dollars to sun damage!
I'm excited to be working on this one - it has a bit more science that some of the other titles I've done so I'm expanding my skill base. It's also for a lower grade level - 4th to 6th, right in my daughter's range once it gets published.
The deadline is tight - April 1, so I'd better get to work!
OK - day one of my writing blog. I guess a good way to start it off is to post my 2009 writing goals.
1. Get author website up and running
2. Finish fiction chapter book
3. Start new fiction book
4. Get repeat work from nonfiction WFH companies and expand into at least one new company
5. Write and submit a nonfiction proposal
6. Write and submit a picture book biography
Now that it's down in black and white, we'll see how I do!
