Update on The Bowl and the Stone: A Haunting Tale from the Virgin Islands

Next Monday is the cover reveal for The Bowl and the Stone: A Haunting Tale from the Virgin Islands.

I'm sending out a BIG THANKS to all those who are participating!

Come October I have quite a line-up of people who will be participating in my book tour. I don't know how I've managed it, but I'm ever so grateful. And nervous. Every post will be different, so I'll be busy writing them up through August and September and sending them off.

Work still to be done

I have received a proof copy of the book from Create Space. I'm delighted with the overall look. However, as I've been reading through it, I'm finding way more mistakes than I'm comfortable with. I can accept one or two mistakes, but I'm finding one or two mistakes in just about every chapter. It means the ebooks have these mistakes as well. This will never do. Corrections will have to be made.

Question

For those of you with more experience doing tours and such, I have a question about email etiquette. When I send out an email with attachments and information, should I expect an acknowledgement that the information was received? Or, should I assume that the email was never received? If I assume the latter, is it appropriate for me to email and ask if the information/attachments were received? What should I do if I don't hear back from that email? I sure don't want to be pushy, but knowing who's going to do what when, is kind of important.

Giveaway

I'm also planning a giveaway via Rafflecopter and Goodreads. I've never done either of these things before... (gulp)

Being Thankful

Today I'm thankful for

HUGS

What are you thankful for? Got any advice for me on email etiquette? If you've published a book, have you been disappointed by the number of mistakes in your print proof copy? Do you get nervous/anxious before a cover reveal and/or book tour?

Alternatives, Help, Being Thankful

Alternatives is a recurring post in which I give synonyms for an over used word. Click on the tab above for a "complete" list of over used words.

Today's word is:

I haven't done one of these in a while, and I've skipped ahead in my long list of over used words to one I've been using a lot lately. What with my up and coming cover release in August and book release in October, I've asked for a lot of FAVORS from people, for which I'm deeply grateful! AND I'm still need of PLUGS. I could use a few more cover revelers and I definitely need more reviewers. My book, The Bowl and the Stone is a middle and not long, 25K or so. 

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Depending on how you use it, this list may come in handy for finding another way to say the same thing.

advice, abet, abetment, accommodate, advance/advancement, advocate, aid, alleviate, ameliorate, amend, assist/assistance, attend (to)/attendance/attention, avail

back/backstop/ back up, backing, bail out, ballyhoo, balm, be of assistance, be of use,, befriend, benefaction, benefit/beneficence, better, bolster, boost, bootstrap, buck up, buttress

care/care for, champion, charity, cheer, comfort, contribute, cooperate/cooperation, corrective, counsel, cure

deliver, do a favor, do a service, do one’s part, doctor

ease, embolden, encourage/encouragement, endorse, expedite

facilitate/facilitation, favor, forward/forwarding, foster, further/furtherance/furthering

give a leg up, give care, give/lend a hand, go to bat for, go with, guide/guidance

hand, hand holding, hasten, heal, hearten, helping hand, hype

improve, intercede

kindness

launch, leg up, lend a hand, lift

maintain/maintenance, meliorate, mentor/mentoring, minister to, mitigate, mollify

nourishment, nurture/nurturance/nurturing

oblige, open doors

palliate/palliation, patronage/patronize, philanthropy, plug, promote/promotion, prop up, push

rally round, reinforce, relief, relieve, remedy, rescue, restore, revive, root for

sanction, save, second, see (to)/see through, serve/service, sponsor/sponsorship, stand by

stand one a good stead, stick up for, stimulate, stump for, subserve, succor, support, sustain/sustenance

take under one’s wing, treat

upgrade, uphold, use, utility

And here, for your listening enjoyment is a 1968 cover of Help by Deep Purple. It's a version I rather like. Slowed down and psychedelic.

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Being Thankful

Today I'm thankful for YOU, my fellow BLOGGERS! 

Without your love I'd be nowhere at all. (Thank you Bob Dylan)

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What are you thankful for? Is help a word you over use? Got a favorite replacement? Can you LEND A HAND with a cover reveal or review? 

TMI: 26 Things About Me Blogfest

Today's post is rather a cheat, but I couldn't resist.

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The 26 Things About Me (TMI!) Blogfest, was invented by Doglady Debbie D. Sign up before July 13 and joy the fun!

A-Age: I'm as old as these hills, or getting pretty darn close!
B- Biggest fear: Dying alone
C- Current time: 11:33 AM
D- Drink you last had: Mango Aloe Vera King
E- Every day starts with: A cup of tea or coffee and the local newspaper which I turn almost imediately to the puzzles - suduko, crossword etc - and the comics.
F- Favourite Song: All my favorite songs are my favorite songs!
G- Ghosts, are they real? I'd probably be lying if I said no.
H- Hometown: Virgin Islands
I -In love with: my hubby and life
J- Jealous of? Nothing. I learned long, long ago jealousy is a waste of time, and kills love
K- Killed someone?: Thank God, no.
L- Last time you cried?: About a week ago, missing a best friend who has moved away, feeling sorry for myself
M- Middle name: I'd have to kill you if I told you which would negate K.
N- Number of siblings: 1 older sister whom I dearly love
O- One wish: World peace
P- Person you last called? My sister
Q- Question you’re always asked: (In regards to my name, Bish) How do you spell that? What did you say?
R- Reason to smile: Being alive
S- Sounds that annoy you: Maybe snoring, but I just nudge him and it stops
T- Time you woke up: Around 6 AM
U- Underwear colour: Blue (definitely TMI!)
V- Vacation destination: Scotland
W- Worst habit: Procrastination, picking my nails and cuticles
X- X-Rays you’ve had: Too many to count
Y- Your favorite food: Lobster, chocolate, Puerto Rican beans and rice... too many to name
Z- Zodiac sign: Cancer

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And now, a word from the sponsor.
If you would like to help reveal the cover for my book, The Bowl and the Stone, sign up below. I'm looking to spread the love out through the month of August. There's a place to put in a date that works for YOU! Thanks to everyone who signed up on my other form!

Insecure Writer's Support Group

Posting the first Wednesday of every month, The Insecure Writer's Support Group, is  the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate. To change things up a bit, every month, we'll announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG Day post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.

Let's give our co-hosts  a warm welcome! 
Yolanda Renee, 
Tyrean Martinson, 
Madeline Mora-Summonte, 
LK Hill, 
Rachna Chhabria, and JA Scott! 

This month's question is:

What's the best thing someone has ever said about your writing?

I love this idea! After all, how many inspiring quotes can a person share? Oh they'll probably continue to show up, but a shared question binds us even closer together as a family, as a group.

Aside from my mother, who was first person to recognize I might have authorial leanings and was always encouraging, I have to say that the best thing anyone has said about my writing came from Clara Gillow Clark, who was my instructor when I took the novel writing course through the Institute of Children's Literature.

Her final letter to me pretty much blew me away.

"The emotional story is powerful. ...There are so many poignant moments that touch the soul. You’ve captured something special in this story, Bish, something that resonates and feels right and good and true even as it breaks the heart and heals it at the same time. What also struck me again and again is how finely and carefully and thoughtfully crafted each part of the story is developed, revealed, and satisfied. I love the way you handle time and connect all time in a way that affirms and uplifts the reader. Spiritually, it was truly refreshing

Once again, I need to gush about your story, Bish! Your book, A Piece of the Sky, is a powerful and resonating story that has life changing qualities. I can’t tell you how much I hope to see this book in print."

Of course, it isn't in print yet, but after THE BOWL AND THE STONE is published, my next task will revising, editing and finishing A PIECE OF THE SKY. And, it'll be a big one as it's a young adult novel that doesn't take place anywhere near the Caribbean and took years to research. However, Clara's words give me the courage to move forward with the project.

You can find Clara's books, HERE.

Her Goodreads page is HERE.
She is also on Facebook
And Twitter: @ClaraGillow

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So, taking a deep breath here. If you feel inclined to help me out with The Bowl and The Stone, fill out this long complicated form! I'll be reposting it periodically in the coming months. A big THANKS each and everyone of you who has been so very supportive and generous with your time and help.

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So, what's the bestest, nicest thing someone has said about your writing? Have you been inspired to start or finish a project because of someone's pat on the back?

Question of the Month, Jack London

Happy 240th Birthday to the 

United States of America! 

I've joined this monthly bloghop because answering the questions is one way to expand one's mind and to let my Random Followers get to know me a little better. Hosted by Michael D'Agostino at A Life Examined ,  the question this month is: 

What was the first book (or book series) you really fell in love with?
This question has such deep meaning for me that my post today will be devoted to it.  It's all about Jack London.




I was first introduced to Jack London through a Classics Illustrated of Call of the Wild. I was probably 8 or 9 years old. For the first time I cried at the end of a story. I believe it was then I discovered the power of the written word. 

Studying at Heinold's 
First and Last Chance,
Oakland, California, 1886

Jack London was one of the first authors whose books I actually looked for in the library and stores. I loved the adventure and the far away places he took me. As a teen I read collections of his short stories, The Sea Wolf, Burning Daylight, Smoke Bellew, Martin Eden, and The Cruise of the Snark, to name a few.


He was accused of plagiarism, drunkenness, and womanizing. But he was none of these things. Who he was was someone who lived the stories he wrote.

 As a teen he pirated oysters, sailed the Pacific and hoboed around the U. S. At 19, after a short stint in jail, he returned home to finish high school because he realized an education was important. He went to college but couldn’t finish because he didn’t have enough money. At 21 he went up to the Yukon during the gold rush. He got sick with scurvy, lost his front teeth, and the disease left scars on his face. But it was these northern adventures that made him the author he became.

Writing on a rock in the woods.

He was a Socialist, an advocate of women’s suffrage (he created some of the strongest, most independent, and well-educated female characters in American fiction) and was against cruelty to animals.

With is wife Charmain, in Hawaii. 

One of my favorite quotes of his is, “You can’t wait for inspiration you have to go after it with a club.” I think it says something about him as a writer. Perhaps writing or ideas didn’t come easily for him  or maybe he “knew” he didn’t have long to live and that he had to attack his stories, capture and subdue them, and get them down on paper as soon as possible.

With his daughters.

Jack London died of renal failure at the age of 40 on November 22, 1916. Stop and think, isn't it amazing that he wrote and published over 50 volumes of novels, short stories, political essays and even a few plays, in just eleven years?

Below are the last two paragraphs of Call of the Wild.
Buck mourns the loss of his human friend, and yet is gloriously free and happy. The music of the words still sings in my ears and still makes me cry.

“In the summers there is one visitor, however, to that valley, of which the Yeehats do not know. It is a great, gloriously coated wolf, like, and yet unlike, all other wolves. He crosses alone from the smiling timber land and comes down into an open space among the trees. Here a yellow stream flows from rotted moose-hide sacks and sinks into the ground, with long grasses growing through it and vegetable mold overrunning it and hiding its yellow from the sun; and here he muses for a time, howling once, long and mournfully, ere he departs.


“But he is not always alone. When the long winter nights come on and the wolves follow their meat into the lower valleys, he may be seen running at the head of the pack through the pale moonlight or glimmering borealis, leaping gigantic above his fellows, his great throat a-bellow as he sings a song of the younger world, which is the song of the pack.”

 

His writing space.

Can you remember the first book that strongly touched your emotions? Are you familiar with Jack London? Read any of his books? If you have, which is your favorite?