Friday, June 1, 2007

Henri, the Ghostest with the Mostest, on Virtual Book Tour

NEWS FLASH!!! Henri de Montmorency, ghostest with the mostest, and co-author of The Search for the Million $$$ Ghost goes live with his very first virtual book tour today!

If you'd like to see where Henri will be flying to, visit his Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tour page here!

Today, he'll be flying over to The Writer's Life for an interview and be sure to check out his next stop on Monday at Sandi Kahn Shelton's blog!






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Monday, May 14, 2007

Book Signing Jitters

Book Signing Jitters

By

Heide AW Kaminski

I took a flyer to the local newspaper. I drove around with a flyer attached to my rear windshield for several weeks. Heck, I even got a local radio station to make an announcement.

And now I am sitting at the café.

Waiting.

Such is the fate of an unknown author. Just in case I brought with me not only the books I am here to sell and sign today, but also copies of my other print books (three more) and copies of all of the anthologies that include stories of mine: 15 all together.

You look at my books and you look at my resume and you must think “Dang! She’s got to be making a living off her books.”

Not so.

A few days ago, I received a royalty check. $2.01. Yup, two dollars and one cent.

I spent two years writing this book?

Calculate the hours I put in and figure out my hourly wage. Could make a spot in the Guinness Record book for lowest pay ever?

Not so.

I’d be competing with thousands of other authors for that spot!

So why do we do it? Why do we slave over this fruitless occupation?

Two reasons:

It’s an obsession. It’s a hunger, an addiction you just can’t break. I was born that way. From the moment I could speak, I told stories. From the moment I could maneuver a crayon across paper, I filled note pads, napkins, placemat, scrap papers with stories.

Some authors make it. Either they have a famous or influential parent or are already known as a singer/actor/politician, etc. (in which case the already wealthy person not only gets a hefty advance – regardless of talent – and also free mega advertising, or they have a publisher’s clearing house moment: sheer luck (in which case talent helps, but talent alone is worth nothing, you need talent and sheer luck.)

Just like millions of people waste their money gambling, thousands of budding authors waste their time and dreams hoping for the one moment when an important person catches a glance of their labor and enough of a glance to glance again and realize “Hey, this has potential!”

My book signing started half an hour ago. No one has come into the café yet, not even the people who promised they’d be there.

There are four customers who were already here when I arrived. One’s an older woman who looks as though she’s off the streets, lingering here for a comfy couch and free coffee.

Three men are avidly discussing topics such as yoga.

Should I approach them?

I am a shy writer.

Public speaking is not my forte. How am I ever going to make it in the lime light? Trust me, I’ll blossom!!!

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Sunday, April 29, 2007

B&N Rankings Alert!

Great news, all you ghostie book fans...the book is doing fantabulous up at B&N online. Here's the statistics as of today:

Product Details
ISBN:
0978998626ISBN-13: 9780978998622
Format: Paperback, 352pp
Publisher: Mardi Gras Publishing, LLC
Sales Rank: 740


Now, doesn't that just make you grin ear to ear? Sure does us!

Okay you Barnes & Noble book buyers...listen up...the book is doing great online, so whatcha say you stock us on one of your pretty little shelves? I promise we'll come by and beg everyone to buy. We'll serve coffee, donuts, tell fortunes, give massages...come on...you know you want to. ;o)

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Saturday, April 28, 2007

THE SEARCH FOR THE MILLION $$$ GHOST ON TOUR!

To begin our mammoth book promotion campaign, Heide AW Kaminski announces the first of several tour stops in the next few months:

May 5, 2007, she will appear at the Tecumseh Boulevard Market, a wine and cheese specialty store in Tecumseh, Michigan, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to sign books.

May 13, 2007, she will be signing books at the Coffee Express from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Adrian, Michigan.

June 9, 2007, Joy Pendleton will be hosting Heide at a neighborhood wine and cheese party in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

In September (exact date will be announced), she will sign and sell books at the Psychic Fair in Toledo, Ohio.

If you're in the neighborhood, drop by and say hi! More tour dates will be announced as they are finalized.

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Friday, April 27, 2007

The Search for the Million $$$ Ghost Hits Germany!

Just discovered this...The Search for the Million $$$ Ghost is in Germany!

Check it out at http://www.rainerbrem.de/14Werbung/01Heide.html!

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Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Book Review at American Chronicle

Thanks to Jamieson Wolf for posting his wonderful book review of The Search for the Million $$$ Ghost at American Chronicle!

I talked to Heide last night...she doesn't seem to be able to figure out how to blog in here, and once she figures it out, she'll be in here, but she's already lining up signings and Pam, who I'm hoping will be able to figure out this blogging thing, too, has just sent a press release out to the papers. I'm waiting on a quote from Pam before I sent out the online press releases, but isn't book promotion fun?

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Thursday, April 19, 2007

Spiritual Vibrations at Ground Zero Seven Months After 911

As promised, I want to tell you about a trip to New York I took seven months after 911. The reason why I'm telling you this story is because it had such a tremendous impact on me in regards to spiritual vibrations.

My daughter, a friend of hers and I (the picture to the left is my daughter on the left and me on the right), took the bus to Manhattan, N.Y., to do all the touristy stuff. It was a just a pleasure trip - a full day's worth of exploring all the things Manhattan had to offer - Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Empire State Building, Hard Rock Cafe...you name it.

As this was my very first trip to New York, I think I expected something different. The fear of getting mugged was perhaps one of the things I had on my mind, but I always thought of NYers as being standoffish, gruff and impolite. Could I have ever been so wrong.

It had been seven months since 911 and I want to say New York took on a surreal appearance. Everyone was helpful when we got lost and not either one of us were mugged. Perhaps that's stereotyping, but I couldn't help to think that 911 had changed New York.

But, it wasn't even that. I could feel a presence. But, the presence didn't really hit me until we were upon the site where the Twin Towers went down. It was like you couldn't even breathe.

Since pictures weren't allowed, so these are exclusive. I am showing them to you so that you can see what the area was like seven months after terrorists invaded New York and destroyed the lives of thousands of people.

This first picture was taken at Ground Zero. This was all roped off. Cops and firemen were still at it and this is seven months later. Right beyond the cop car was the actual site. The road is quite torn up by falling buildings, perhaps? If you look to the right, you can see a building that is still destroyed (second from right).


An excerpt from my diary:

"As soon as you reached the area, the atmosphere took on a new dimension. What I found weird was the air was very warm and humid. Almost like you couldn’t breathe. We could still see smoke, but it could have been from them burning the debris. Everyone in our group were silent. We couldn’t speak a word. We just stood there with flashbacks of the horror that took place. The area was still roped off and cops were guarding the place. Crew workers were still at work clearing away what the trash and remnants of that horrific day."

This next picture is a make-shift wall at Ground Zero to hang momentos.


An excerpt of my diary:

"We walked over to the make-shift wall someone had put up as a memorial of those who perished on September 11, 2001. Items from the wreckage were tacked onto the wall, along with pictures of those who died and letters from their loved ones. I took a few pictures until I read ‘No cameras or video equipment allowed or they will be confiscated’. I took a couple more and hid the camera in my jacket pocket.

We stood around, barely able to breathe. Something told me to leave. Picking up on these feelings, I wondered what that was all about. I sensed the cries of the dead. They were all around me and I felt like I was suffocating. What kind of messages were they sending to me?

I told the other members of our group that we should go now. Slowly we made our way out. There were street vendors there selling ‘I love New York’ t-shirts and pictures of the Trade Centers. I picked up a couple T-shirts and a globe of the Trade Centers until the cops came up and told them to leave. I asked the cops why. They said that the profits were going to the vendors themselves and not to the 911 effort. Feeling bad about contributing to this, I also felt these vendors needed to make money, too. However, this was not the place for your own profit.

Walking away, the air cleared and you could breathe again. We were all silent as we made our way back to Broadway and to life."

It was a horrible and tragic day for Americans on 911, but I couldn't help but to feel the torment and pain of those who suffered. I felt this. Standing among the ruins, I picked up on the spiritual vibrations that echoed in my ears. These were the earthbounds who hadn't accepted their plight. Silently, I told them to go to the light. Perhaps they listened. Or, perhaps, they are still there searching for a life that is no more.

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