Well, I've met a writer (online meeting) and his horror writing prose is unbelievable. It's some of the best I've ever read. I just ordered one of his books from his Lake Fossil Press web site. He's written tons of horror short stories. I can't get over how much this guy writes! Puts me to shame, without a doubt.

Nickolaus also has 151 titles and 562 reviews on Authorsden.com. I mean, this guy is truly amazing!

OK, he's now inspired me to keep going, I've finished the third chapter of my second book. I want to redo a little in both the second and third chapters first. Nickolaus has convinced me to make it scarier. And so I will!



Take care.

I received this email a few days ago. It made my heart soar! Nick was thrilled, too. Thanks so much, Chuck. I greatly appreciate you taking the time out of your day to contact me. It means the world to us.

Becky,
My name is Chuck Bombard. I was born and brought up in Plattsburgh. I lived on "Fox Hill" (Johnson Ave.) and went to Our Lady of Victory High School (class of 1962). I am currently in Tampa, FL. A friend of mine recently returned from a vacation in the Adirondacks and brought me back an autographed copy of "Adirondack Nightmare." As I scanned through the book, my friend watched as my eyes lit up when I saw that the author was from Plattsburgh and on one of the pages was a picture of a michigan hot dog! I told him that the picture of the michigan brought back so many wonderful memories for me. I was in the Army for 29 years and would always return to Plattsburgh to visit family whenever we could. One of our first stops whenever we were back in town was Clare and Carl's michigan red hot stand. My mouth waters just thinking about it. My wife has a great michigan recipe, but we're going to try yours. Thanks for bringing back some memories of great times. Chuck Bombard

Well, I've been busy. On MySpace. Wow, it takes a lot to get that set up. I'm still not finished, I think I'll never be finished and I also think that's the whole point of MySpace...to stay on it forever!

Here's a fun book marketing tip, I learned it from someone on a Yahoo group. You know all of the annoying mail you get with postage paid envelopes included? From credit card companies and such? Well, here's how to have some fun with it. I used to just throw the envelopes away, that is, until I ordered 3000 bookmarks. Hey, the price was great. The bookmarks didn't turn out all that well but I DID approve the proof online so it was "my bad". What I do now is I send a bookmark back in every prepaid envelope. Hey, they might as well get something for their money, right? I have no idea if I've made any sales or not.

I found a web site I just LOVE. It's called Bookmooch. I've been using it a while and it's great. You put in an inventory of books you want to get rid of, then request books you're looking for. There's no fees, you just need to pay shipping for the books you send out (not for the ones you request). I just love it.

Take care.

Well, I must say, The Adirondack Book House Blog Radio is one of the coolest things I've heard yet! The host is Pete Klein, author of The Dancing Valkyrie. This is "a vampire horror novel about an erotic dancer who becomes a vampire while hiking in the wilds of the Adirondacks". I intend to buy an autographed copy from Pete at our Inlet Book Signing this upcoming weekend. It sounds like my kind of book! Here's Pete:



Pete's radio program is every Saturday evening at 6:30 p.m. Feel free to call in and talk with Pete. He's awful easy to deal with, believe me, a very nice guy. I can't wait to meet him. You can call in any Saturday beginning at 6:30 p.m. Here's the phone number: 1-646-716-8094. Call in, I'd love to talk with you!

I look forward to meeting you, Pete, and to the upcoming book signing!
Take care.

Well, this is a good deal. The 2007 Celebrity Black Book is now available for free. There's just a $9.95 US shipping charge. ($19.95 for international orders.)
Click here to order it. I just ordered mine. It's been seen in "Us Weekly, Autograph Collector, Entrepreneur, Book Marketing Update, & More". I highly recommend it.

It's a great resource for authors to get endorsements for their books. Currently, I'm working on Rachael Ray and am getting nowhere. But, I'll never give up!

Maybe I'll try Stephen King, what do you think? It can't hurt. He seems like a nice guy.



Take care.

Ok, the book sweepstakes count is at 98. I only need 2 more people to send in a proof of purchase for the book and we draw the winner! I'm psyched to see who wins it. It's been a fun promotion.



Wow, I'm a pretty horrible photographer. The above is a picture of the 98 tickets from book buyers for the promotion. It's in my office now and why did I take the photo in front of a window? Duh.

Good luck to everyone who's participated and thanks so much for the support!
Take care.

Our book signing at The Bookstore Plus went well. It was so great to see John Briant and his wonderful wife, Marge, again. The weather was wonderful!



Nick and I sold six books, John did MUCH better. He has quite a following and it was interesting and informative to watch how he interacted with people. He's such a "people person". I wish I had more of that skill.

I've also just finished a fantastic online writers workshop titled: "School Visits 101" by Anastasia Suen. I learned so much from this independent study workshop. It was worth every penny of the $75 fee plus more. I simply can't recommend it enough. Anastasia has "sold 100 book manuscripts: board books, picture books, easy readers, and chapter books (including a book for adults about how to write children's books)". She's also written articles for textbooks and magazines. What an inspiraton she is! Thanks, Anastasia!

Well, now that I've had some downtime with the book, I decided to revamp my order form. It was suggested to me by a fellow blogger and she's right, mine was a mess.

Here's the new form. I think it's pretty straightforward and a bit neater. I haven't had any orders from my web site yet so I'm curious to see if this helps.

I also added a button to direct folks to this blog on each web site page. A blog button used to be on just my home page and I think that made things look inconsistent. I'd been putting it off, to be honest, as it's pretty monotonous!

Tomorrow, Nick and I will go to The Bookstore Plus in Lake Placid for a signing with John Briant of the Adirondack Detective book series. It might be cool but I'd rather have that than heat any day. Here's to hoping the rain holds off!

Wow, I'm a bit overwhelmed right now!

First, on August 8th, the Tupper Lake Free Press put our book news release, verbatim, in their popular regional newspaper. Our release was originally written by Shel Horowitz and I strongly recommend his services. I can't speak highly enough about his work. I've tweaked the release a bit but it's basically his skilled writing which got us in print.

Second, on August 9th, Geoff Hayward, Features Editor of the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, gave us a WONDERFUL review of the book. He really understood that it's for "reluctant readers" without my pointing it out. He even put the front cover of the book in his review. I think I'll start marketing it that way more often. Hey, I used to be a "reluctant reader" and now I've turned into a reading machine! Well, almost.

Third, on August 11th, Lisa Bramen of the Glens Falls Post Star put this blurb about our book in her paper! (I'm not sure how long the link will last but what the heck.) Notice how she lists where she thinks people should be able to buy the book. Now I can follow-up with those places to be sure they have it in stock .

How did I do it? I mailed a copy of the book with the inside cover stamped in red, "NOT FOR RESALE". I encluded a print copy of our news release and a CD-ROM which contained separate files of:
The News Release
Book Endorsements
Author Bio
Author Picture
Front Cover of the Book
Where To Buy The Book

I've sent this to five papers, follwed up with two so far, and got in print three times in one week! In three days!

We've got a big book signing in Long Lake tomorrow at Hoss's Country Corner. It's called the Adirondack Author's Fair and I'm hoping this exposure will help. There's going to be 75 authors there and Nick and I will be attending.

Wish us luck?

Well, I'm prepping books for the Annual Adirondack Author's Night in Long Lake, smack dab in the center of the Adirondacks. It should be wonderful; the weather is absolutely gorgeous out, sunny and in the mid-70's. I'm bringing Amanda with me. Jim is in Dayton for some training and Nick has to work tonight so it's just us girls! Here's Amanda:



I can only hope she will be looking like that when I tell her we're driving to a signing! She enjoys the signings but not the long drives. I'm taking I-87 down to the Newcomb exit, then shooting across Route 2. It should be much quicker and less winding than the Route 3 to Route 30 way I've been going. It won't be as pretty but I'd rather have Amanda a happy camper.

Ok, time to do my running around and get my act together. Take care.

I'm sitting here, blogging away, trying to find ways to plug our book. Just did a follow-up phone call with a regional newspaper, The Adironadack Daily Enterprise, and Editor Geoff Hayward said we'd be in this weekend's issue. He's passed the book along to a colleague and she's going to read it to her grandkids. I look forward to the artcle, fer sure! Geoff's been really nice to work with.



Ok, the Adirondack Daily Enterprise hasn't interviewed Stephen King, at least not that I know of, but I did find a great online interview with the "King of Horror", Stephen King, On The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos. I found it to be very candid and interesting.

Hey, cool. I just opened my mail and there was an entry for our $100 cash sweepstakes. SOMEONE JUST BOUGHT A BOOK! Time to update the number on the web site!

Take care,
Becky

I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted. Shame on me! Well, to be fair, I have just closed one video store. Under One Roof Video in Morrisonville is now a goner and the closing went very smoothly. I still have some inventory there to bring over to the Plattsburgh store to sell. It's been hard to finish that task because this past week has been our annual family vacation week. We've had a great time and I only wish I could have taken more time off to visit with everyone.

About the book...we're in a very large author's fair in October. I'm so excited! It's The Chronicle Book Fair at the Queensbury Hotel in Glens Falls. Cathy DeDe has been wonderful to work with. It will be held on Sunday, Oct. 14, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Great, just got a room booked for us for only $89.

One of our next signings is in Lake Placid. It's at The Bookstore Plus on Main St. from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.and we're signing with John Briant, the author of the Adirondack Detective book series. What a wonderful guy! We met him and his wife, Margaret, at the Old Forge Author's Fair. Margaret cracks me up, she's hilarious. John and I swapped autographed books and I can't wait to see them again.

On Saturday, July 14th, the whole family got in the Envoy to head down to
Raquette Lake. It killed me to take the gas-loving vehicle but we couldn't fit in the hybrid with all the books, etc. We were heading down to the First Annual Festival of Life. This event was a benefit for North Country Life Flight, a non-profit air medical rescue program with headquarters at Adirondack Airport in Lake Clear. My friend, Jan Washburn, invited me and she organized the whole event. I was honored to be invited. We all loved watching the Life Flight helicopter land outside the school where the event took place.



We set our table up along with the other crafters. The event was from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and we did quite well. We sold 24 books to individuals and 10 to the Raquette Lake Navigation Company. They have daily and nightly cruises on the W. W. Durant (our protagonist is William Durant) and we could see their ship docked outside of our hotel room.



We were too tired to take a cruise but it looked like so much fun! Next time, we promised ourselves.

The next day we were off to Inlet for our next signing. We had a fantastic breakfast at the Tamarack Cafe & Movie House. Woof, we ate too much. Jim had the Lumberjack special and it was a plate FULL of heart-stopping goodies, like buscuits and gravy and sausage and toast and eggs and woof! I had an egg sandwich and we had to take a walk after that before the signing. Our signing in Inlet was at the Adirondack Reader, right on the main road. It was scheduled from 1 p.m until 3 p.m. We set up our groovy display a bit early. The father of the owner of Adirondack Reader, Reggie, took our picture. They were so nice and funny and easy to be with.



Yup, that's my little baby. Sigh. We only sold 7 books but we have been invited to Reggie's Author's fair in September so it's cool. We also gave out a lot of bookmarks so all's well that end's well. We were pretty tired on the drive back home and the kids fell asleep in the back. I fell asleep on the couch that night, exhausted. It was a good weekend!

I received a notice from Brodart which says "Titles With NYP Status To Be Checked" and my book was listed. It clearly states that

*** THIS IS NOT AN ORDER ***.

Thanks, I need that? What the heck is "NYP Status"? Anyway, they are a library fulfillment service so I guess it's good they're checking on things. Does this mean libraries are trying to order the book? I don't know but that would be pretty cool.



I also received a letter from my distributor, North Country Books which says that Eric Burger, Barnes and Noble's regional buyer for the northeast, has requested I send him sample copies of my new publications as they become available. Okey dokey, but what the heck happened to the two copies I already sent in to Barnes and Noble? So I sent my newest buddy, Eric, two more copies. At least the book now shows as in stock. Where did those other two copies go? Did they just fly away? Hmmm.



Now for the biggest, best news of all! Midwest Book Review has given our book a 5 out of 5 star review! Here it is:

"Written by mother of two Rebecca Leonard and featuring numerous black-and-white computer-generated illustrations by her son Nick Leonard, Adirondack Nightmare: A Spooky Tale in the North Country is a Halloween adventure novel for young people new to chapter books. Enhanced with tasty original Adirondack recipes like "John and Mary's Best Michigan Sauce Recipe Ever" and "Caramel and Chocolate Covered Candied Apple Recipe", Adirondack Nightmare is goosebump-inducing treat from cover to cover. A great holiday mood-setting story for reading aloud chapter by chapter or allowing novice readers to immerse themselves in the spine-chilling joy of words."



Can you believe it? I was so happy I didn't know what to do. They posted it on Amazon, too, which really helps.

Well, time to get ready for our two signings this weekend. We need to prep a lot of books! Take care, thanks for reading.

As I was working on our "$100 cash to one of the first 100 people who buy our book" promo yesterday, I became discouraged. Again. The NCCCA Dream Picnic book signing and presentation on June 30th was a bust. I put it in all the calendar of events, 1100 fliers to 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students at local elementary schools, posters all over the place. Colleen, the DEC Coordinator and Educational Programs Director was there and brought a neighbor, a very nice young girl. Colleen also sent some fliers to some students but to no avail.



See, what happened on the same day was a ceremony for a fallen soldier. Hundreds of people attended and I would have, too, if it weren't for the commitment we made. It was a very sobering and sad day for Plattsburgh.



We did sell seven books, five of them were to a postal employee who bought three initially then came back for two more! So, it was worth it. Colleen and I also talked about hosting a winter "Read Around The Campfire" book reading. Our book is a perfect readaloud around the campfire so I think it'll work out well.

Back to the beginning of the blog and my work on our "$100 cash to one of the first 100 people who buy our book". I decided to fax or mail a flier announcing the promotion to each store which carries our book. Haven't heard anything from one of them. Are they in the trash or being displayed? Hmmm. Becoming discouraged. Time to take action.

I played my favorite song, Everybody is Free aka The Sunscreen Song, by Baz Luhrmann. I played it over and over again. I cried. Then I wrote a letter to the editor of our local paper which I've been meaning to write. Then I went to camp. My haven. I'm ok. I'll never quit. I'm simply not a quitter. I'm just human.

I took Patty's advice and stopped at The Lake Store in Indian Lake. It's very close to Sabael, where Patty's Squaw Brook Motel is. Sure enough, Eris was nice enough to bring in six copies of the book. What a great way to start the day!

I went into Indian Lake and saw a store called Gramma's Things on Big Brook Road. The owner, Jean Turner, was a bit hesitant to bring in the book so we made a deal. I promised to not hit any other stores in Indian Lake if she took a few copies. It makes sense as it's a fairly small town. Sure enough, she took in four copies. She is so talented with quilting. It was hard to leave without buying something.



Time to move on to Raquette Lake, which is where the book takes place. I had some great tips from my friend, Jan, so I started with the Raquette Lake Supply Co. right on Main Street. Her sister, Theresa, works there. I went into the office and she greeted me as if I were family! She also brought in twelve copies of the book. Her store is amazing as there is a little bit, no a lot of, everything. I mean everything and then some.



OK, Patty's store isn't quite that big but it felt like it at the time. I also stopped at the Raquette Lake Free Library and Carolynn, the director, brought in two copies. I walked over to the Raquette Lake Navigation Company and that place is so cool! They have a caboose gift shop and urge people to "Climb Aboard the W.W. Durant", a wonderful ship which tours Raquette Lake. The protagonist in my book is William Durant. No one was there so I had to move on. I'd love to do that tour someday.



Next stop was Blue Mountain Lake and I was more than happy to see they already had the book in stock at the Adirondack Museum. I'm not much of a museum fan but this place is more than a museum. It's an entire day of fun and exploration. I love it.

On to Inlet and the Inlet Department Store. They were so psyched when they saw the book it made me blush! The owner said that the day before a tourist was in looking for a book just like it to read around a campfire. That's exactly what this book is good for. Twelve more copies sold!



I was getting pretty tired and hot at this point but I was determined to make it to Old Forge. I stopped at the Adirondack Reader bookstore on Main Street in the center of Inlet. The owner was so excited I couldn't believe it. She bought fifty (yes, 50) copies on the spot, signed us up for a book signing and invited me to her upcoming author's fair! I hit the big time!!



OK, OK, I stopped at the local wine store and bought a bottle of wine to celebrate. Sheesh, can't get away with anything on this blog. On to Old Forge. I should have stopped when the going was good but I was determined. And exhausted. I went to the Old Forge Hardware Bookstore and they reluctantly brought in ten copies. I won't go into it. I'm grateful to them for bringing the book in and I was simply too tired to sell any more books.

Not a bad day.

On Thursday, June 28, I hit the road again to peddle books. It was a bit late in the day, about 2:00 p.m. or so, and I was determined to hit Raquette Lake, Indian Lake, Inlet, Blue Mountain Lake, Old Forge and Tupper Lake. Not necessarily in that order.



Well, I guess I haven't learned yet. I tend to get lost easily. I took I87 (The Adirondack Northway part) and got off at Exit 29. My husband assured me that was the right exit. Then I was to take a right then a left. Or was it a left then a right? OK, I got lost. I also got stuck in some pretty heavy duty construction which took a good 45 minutes off my time. The radio kept broadcasting severe thunderstorm warnings with winds up to 60 mph and hail and to get to a safe shelter, preferably one with few windows. Sigh.




When I made it to "undisclosed location", it was 4:00 p.m. I was bummed out and tired. I stopped at the first store I could find to ask for directions for a hotel or a cabin as I was going to stay the night and start over fresh in the morning. I went in, the place was empty, and was "greeted" by a man I assume was the owner. The place will remain anonymous because this turns out a bit creepy.

I asked for directions to a hotel/cabin and he said there were none in the area. He was very talkative, asking me a lot of questions. He kept talking. And asking. Finally, I got a bit abrupt and walked out, explaining I had to leave. He followed me out of the store and into the parking lot. Then I heard him say, "You fertile?" I heard it loud and clear but couldn't believe it so I turned to him and said, "What?!"

He was shaking all over, hadn't been before, and he had a big bugger coming out of his left nostril. I won't go into more detail but I became very scared. I closed the trunk of my car and he came toward me. I went to the driver's side, got in and locked the door. There he was, still shaking and his nose...eeewww.


I left (ok, I "peeled out") and found a place with a public phone. My cell phone had no service for quite some time. I was very upset and told Jim I was going to find a place to stay the night, get up early and start over. I told him what happened and that I'd call him when I found a place.

I did! After driving a bit I found the Squaw Brook Motel in Indian Lake. Indian Lake is such a wonderful place! Patty Eicher, the owner, greeted me warmly, gave me a room and let me use her phone to call Jim. I went in my room, it was so quaint and warm, and called Jim again. I started to cry. I was so tired and creeped out and hadn't sold one single book. He asked me if I wanted him to drive down. I said no, I'd be fine, I just needed to veg for a bit. I told him I'd call again in the morning.



I brought the phone back to Patty and she told me about her free continental breakfast and, after we talked a bit, she said she'd buy a book in the morning! I went back to my room, wrote for a bit, then drove down the road about a half a mile and had dinner and a glass of wine. I felt much better. I went back to my room and slept like a brick.

Patty's coffee and continental breakfast were perfect. She bought a book and told me to go up the street a ways to check out a store where her sister worked. I was on my way again, ready to tear up the road.

Just as I was getting a bit discouraged because I haven't been able to peddle any books, Simon Conroy of Conroy Organics brought in 6 copies. That store is amazing, I can't leave without buying something!

In today's mail was an invitation to the Old Forge Library Author's Fair! How exciting! It's being held on Tuesday, July 24th from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Isabella Worthen, the Director of the library, was kind enough to send us the invitation. Boy did I respond to THAT quickly!

There's a writer's workshop beforehand entitled Writing What You Know from author M.E. Kemp. I can't wait for that. I've never been to a writer's workshop before. I hope I can take lots of notes. The workshop is made possible with funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, The Literature Program.

After the Author's Fair, there's a concert titled All Around The Mountain by musicians Tom Akstens & Neil Rossi. I've never heard them and am really looking forward to it. I hope Nick wants to go, it'll be too long a day for Amanda. The concert is made possible with funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, The Presentation Program.

Now I'm all happy again! All of this book promoting/marketing does pay off. I just had absolutely no idea how much work it was/is. I'll have to read The Little Engine That Could over and over and over again, I guess.

Take care.

Well, I did a little detective work and found the contact information for Rachael Ray. I sent her two more books, a fan letter and a pre-stamped, self-addressed postcard. All I'm looking for is a little written endorsement for the michigan sauce recipe in our book. That would be so cool and the press would be great.

Are you out there, Rachael Ray?

We missed the deadline for the North Country Cultural Center For The Arts (NCCCA) newsletter. They send out to 21,000 people. Ouch. So, our "Dream Picnic Book Event" isn't in the newsletter. It's on Saturday, June 30th from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. I've been able to get fliers in most of the 3rd-5th grades in the area, about 1100 of them. I also visited the Plattsburgh Public Library and they put up a flier and said they'd order the book. Put some fliers in a few other places. I'm running out of ideas...anyone have ideas for me? I'll look at some books I have for marketing to kids. I sent notices to every single local calendar of events media I could think of.

I've got to get pounding the pavement again this week. The kids will be out of school and can fend for themselves for a day. I really want to get to Tupper Lake and the surrounding area. Something always seems to come up. Like life. Or death. My neighbor and friend, Dot Scott, passed away and I'm brokenhearted about it. The wake is today and her family will be here all weekend. Time to go pay respects. Take care.

On Sunday, June 10th, Jim and I drove down to Blue Mountain Lake to attend the Adirondack Center for Writing's 2nd Annual Adirondack Literary Awards. This was for books copywritten in 2006. It was a lot of fun. On the way down we stopped at Adirondack Buffalo Company on Route 28N in North Hudson. Steve, the owner, was nice enough to bring in 10 books. What a great place they have there. Jim bought some buffalo steaks and we borrowed a cooler to keep them cold in the car.

When we got to the event, it was from 1 - 3 p.m., there were people milling about, chatting and eating the wonderful appetizers they had. Lemonade, wine, it was great. The books up for awards were all beautifully displayed in the center and it was interesting to see all of them. I believe there were a total of 17 books. Here's the winners:

BEST CHILDREN'S BOOK
Adirondack Mouse and the Perilous Journey by Irene Uttendorfsky
Judges: Danielle Hoepfl and Nancy Beattie

BEST FICTION BOOK
Lucy's Eggs by Rick Henry
Judges: Ellen Rocco and Joe Bruchac

BEST POETRY BOOK
Glacial Erratica: Three Poets on the Adirondacks, Part 2 by Elaine Handley, Marilyn McCabe, Mary Sanders Shartle
Judges: Maurice Kenny and Paul Pines

BEST MEMOIR
Schroon Lake by Lueza Thirkield Gelb
Judges: Bibi Wein and Jerry McGovern

BEST NONFICTION BOOK & PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD
Welcome to the Homeland by Brian Mann
Judges: Bibi Wein and Jerry McGovern

BEST EDITED COLLECTION (TIE)
Oswegatchie: A North Country River by Christopher Angus
No Place I'd Rather Be: Wit and Wisdom from Adirondack Lean-To Journals by Stuart Mesinger
Judges: Bibi Wein and Jerry McGovern

BEST PHOTOGRAPHY BOOK
Adirondack Waters: Spirit of the Mountains by Mark Bowie
Judges: Nancie Battaglia and John Radigan

Congratulations to all of them! It was quite a learning and humbling experience for me. Jim just loved the food. He must have had 5 or 6 (or more?) plates full. Our book will be up next year!

Well, Jim and I just flew back into Burlington from a business trip in Ohio. Nice people out there. They remind me a lot of "Dackers" (Adirondackers). We almost didn't make it as there was an "Orange Alert" at the Dayton Airport. We were there when it happened and were stuck in the airport for quite a while. They told us all to go in the bar and wait. Someone turned CNN on and there we were.

Here's what happened, according to shiotv.com: "There were some tense moments at the Dayton International Airport after reports of a suspicious package had been found Thursday night. Officials said the front part of the airport was evacuated as a precaution and flights were allowed to land, but not take off. The package was found shortly before 7 p.m. and was later determined to be discarded phone books. Things returned to normal around 9 p.m. There were no injuries."

While sitting in the bar, sipping a glass of wine, I started writing about the incident. I mean, what if we were in the middle of a big story? That's how I think. Well, it looks like this is the story. End of story.

Now for the big news! Nick and I are giving out $100 in cash to someone who buys our book. Details are on our web site at www.rebeccaleonard.com. Good luck to all who enter!

I simply can't thank my old (not old as in age, old as in past) English teacher, Foxy Gagnon, for the wonderful job he and Tipper did on the Adirondack Nightmare book show at Borders. It was so much better than I ever could have hoped for. Foxy did a great job at explaining the uniqueness of the book, with it's factoids, recipes, real-life references, etc. Nick was also amazing, and so calm! I can't think of one single question Foxy didn't ask or one single important part about the book he didn't point out.

As a "thank you" to Foxy, I'm going to set up an account for him at my video store, Under One Roof Video in Plattsburgh. You see, he doesn't already have an account there. Hmmmm. I'll also send a few free rentals so he's inticed to come in. I don't believe he's been in yet. Of course, he's forgiven because he's always so damn busy.

I'm still searching for ways to market my book. Right now I'm checking out book fairs. I'm going to have to do some more peddling but today I had to do ordering for the stores and tomorrow I'm helping Jimmy out with some problems we're having at our camp in Champlain. Thursday and Friday are booked already. Gee, looks like that leaves Wednesday to get out there. I'll write it on the calendar before I forget.

Speaking of busy, the kids are home from school and I have no idea what we're having for dinner. I really don't feel like cooking. I'm rambling, time to go.

Well, today was to be the day I was going to peddle "Adirondack Nightmare" in Tupper Lake.I was also going to pick up some checks from a few retailers in Wilmington who now carry the book. I trust them...how could I not trust Fran Betters? So why am I here, blogging? Because Amanda's sick from school and she needs me at home. I have a sneaking suspicion she's stressing from school. She had a lot of homework last night and finished it but I think she's worn out. Anyway, she's not her usual bubbling-cup-of-sunshine self so it's good she's home.

I miss my drives into the Adirondacks. I'll get there eventually. I love my hybrid. I'm rambling.

Instead of peddling books I wrote a few letters, shamelessly promoting the book. Sent a free copy out to someone who might be interested. Got caught up on my emails from the self-publishing yahoo group I belong to. No one in the group is answering a question I posted so the heck with them for a while. A lot of them are going to the BEA in NYC so I can understand how they're a bit busy. I hope to be going next year, with another published book under my belt.

I see the book is now "in stock" on Amazon. Finally. I won't even go into what that took to do. Ok, if you want to know just email me. I'll tell you my secret. My printer rep is also supposed to make sure the book is listed with Ingram THIS WEEK. Gee, it's only been months.

As you can probably tell, I'm still working on the patience thing. It just takes too long.

Maybe I'll make a few follow-up phone calls. Take a nap with my daughter?

Now THAT'S the ticket.

Take care.

Well, I do believe we've hit the nail on the head! Jim, Amanda and I did a book presentation for the fifth graders at Momot Elementary School in Plattsburgh. (Thank you so much for the invitation, Mrs. Bouissey!) We started at about 1:15 p.m. and ended right before the end of the school day, about 2:30 p.m.

It was so wonderful for the kids to share their dreams with us. Nick couldn't attend because he had to go to school to get help with his English journals. He's got a lot going on at school right now and we've all agreed that school comes first for him.

There were about 60 kids and more than a handful of adults. Jim and I made a CD-rom of some of Nick's illustrations and we showed them as a part of the presentation. One of the highlights for me was when we started up the DVD portion (made by John Mitchell of Silver Lining Photography and Video (www.silverliningphotovideo.com). It was near the end of the presentation and before the Q&A part. Jim queued up the Excerpt From The Book, read by John, and I heard a young man say, "This is so cool!". My heart melted.

I'm so grateful to Momot Elementary School for allowing us to share our dreams with them and to hear their dreams. The opportunity is just beyond words.

Take care, time to post some photos from the presentation on my site. www.rebeccaleonard.com

Last Friday (May 18, 2007) I hit the pavement again and sold some books in a few new places in Wilmington, including Fran Betters' Adirondack Sport Shop. What a great new store they have! Fran was sitting there, tying fly ties, of course. (Or is it just fly tying? Tying flies?) His wife, Jan, was there and their cute dog. I can't remember the dog's name but he sure is a great store-greeter. Fran took 5 copies and we're talking about publishing his new books. I sure hope we can help him out. He's a legend!

Next I went into Lake Placid, what a mess with all their road construction! The whole center is torn up. It doesn't seem to bother the merchants too much. They were as friendly as can be. I met up with Marc Galvin of The Bookstore Plus and he and his wife, Sarah, are going to be bringing our book in through our distributor, Norch Country Books, Inc. Very cool! Nice store, well organized and the staff is helpful.

I decided to skip the rest of Placid, too much construction right now, and headed to Saranac Lake. Oh yeah, I stopped to see my brother-in-law, John, at the Price Chopper in Lake Placid first. Boy was he surprised! So, I signed a book for his daughter, Haley, and headed to Saranac Lake.

Carrie, of Fact & Fiction Bookshop was more than happy to bring in a bunch of books. This has got to be the cutest bookstore I've ever been in. Right on Broadway.

Time to head home, it was getting late and I wanted to eat dinner with my family. Plus, my ankle was acting up and I needed some ice. My ice pack had melted back in Wilmington!

Overall, a good day. Great scenery, wonderful townsfolk. What more could I ask for?

Nothing.