Hi ya'll! Can you believe January is almost gone? A new year, new hope, the best of intentions (no I don't do resolutions!), and the best news of all -- The Solitary Sparrow is officially on Amazon. There aren't any ebooks yet and the audio narration isn't quite finished. But the paperback is definitely ready to land in your hands!
In the meantime, there are so many decisions to make. First item: marketing. I could have hired a PR/Marketing firm, which I considered. But talk about big bucks! Lord have mercy! Don't get me wrong - I'm sure it's worth it, but I have limited funds to work with. So instead of hiring a PR firm, I hired an audio narrator. She is working on the narration as we speak. She loves the book and the characters, and even asked me about the origin of a song that occurs in the book. The song is a centuries-old lament for a woman in labor. I researched the song and found the words, but not the music. Could she make up a tune and sing it? she asked. Absolutely! I'm thrilled that she is really engaged with the work and can't wait to listen to her narration.
This weekend in the midst of drizzle and fog I drove down the mountain to meet the artist I commissioned to make wooden bookmarks. She's a local craftswoman who did an amazing job. Gold tassels and the book cover -- so pretty! I picked up 50 bookmarks which I plan to use as giveaway items. Now, to be honest, this is my first book publishing rodeo and I'm not sure how or why or when I am supposed to give these bookmarks away. I just knew that I loved them and had to have them.
So, if you guys have any ideas about what kind of event I'm supposed to have or how I choose the winner, let me know! I have another idea which involves a different local craftswoman who makes books, as in MEDIEVAL books! I'd love to commission some of those to give away.
Finally, I want to say something about football. It has nothing to do with me. It has everything to do with my grandmother who died 35 years ago. My grandmother was a HUGE FOOTBALL FAN. Her favorite teams hailed from Green Bay, Baltimore, Dallas, and Oakland, but the truth is she loved the Baltimore Colts the best and didn't miss a game. She knew the players and their stats. And every once in a while she let a cuss word slip when a quarterback did something stupid. She was even the subject of a local television station's news feature right before the Super Bowl. My grandmother was a former schoolteacher who taught me to read when I was three. She made The Solitary Sparrow possible. Sunday, January 28, was her birthday. If she were alive, she would be thrilled that the Chiefs and Ravens were playing on her birthday, as if they had planned it just for her. She'd take a seat in her rocking chair in front of her little TV and await the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. She'd sneak cigarettes and eat pink sugary candies shaped like peanuts which she hid in her bedside table. Happy Birthday, Grandmother. And thanks for being you.
