SIBA in SC

SIBA (Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance) was in South Carolina this weekend. This is an opportunity for independent book sellers to find new books for their stores. They are a wonderful bunch of people as they support new authors a lot. The idea is for authors, publishers, and other groups to get recognized and gain the support of the indies around the south. I volunteered at the Sisters in Crime/Southeastern Mystery Writers of America table (being that I am a member of Sisters in Crime). So, naturally, being that I was in the booth today, I was supposed to have books on hand to "give away" to those coming up to the table.

We had scheduled "signings" at the table, mine was at 11 a.m. I had seven copies of Quarries and 3 copies of Wilderness (my entire stock) and gave everyone of them away. I was trying to reserve a copy of each for another member of SinC who was supposed to be in the booth helping out. It was fun. This is me holding my two books (had I thought it about it, I should have held the covers I printed out of all four books) in the SinC booth. I'd like to see more pictures Ellis took of the trade show and the booth area. We even had one of the members pose for an outline of a dead body in front of our booth. It was pretty cool.

More later - see you all in the postings - Mrs. E :)

Last week to vote

You have one more week to vote to get 50,000 books sent to one state. As of this morning when I voted South Carolina had moved up to 25th spot and North Carolina is in 4th behind Kentucky, Hawaii and Oklahoma. At least we have moved up to the top half of the states. Come on folks, click on the title of this post and cast your vote for which state you would like to receive the books. It is painless. Takes about a minute of your time and it's for a good cause. We need books for the kids to read - E :)

Altitude anyone?

It's official. The fourth book in the series is now with cover. That doesn't mean it is completed by any means (I've got to write the story around the clues now) but we are getting closer. I've been informed that State of Reservations will hopefully be published by November 1. I hope so since I have an event the middle of November.

So without further ado, here is the cover for State of Altitude:










And for comparison, here are the first four covers side by side:








What do you notice about the covers? Do the cover clue illustrations help you guess the state or do you need to purchase a copy of the book to read more to figure out which state is being described? Which is your favorite so far? Drop me a line and let me know.

See you all in the postings - E :)

Have you voted?

The voting is still open for the states to receive the 50,000 books. Come on folks. South Carolina has move up slightly to 29th. North Carolina is in the top 10 as of this morning. Kentucky, Hawaii and Oklahoma are the top three so far. I've heard that Kentucky won last year. I think there are about ten days' worth of voting left. Click on the title of the posting to be taken to the site and cast your vote. Let's see how high we can get South Carolina. Do it. Go vote today and every day until the end of the month - E :)

Labor Day has come and gone as has the CLF/carnival

I was supposed to be a vendor at the Charlotte Literary Festival this past weekend but that changed due to the fact that the CLF folks decided to change venues and make it no longer a "literary festival." It was turned into a street carnival to "attract the non-readers and allow the opportunity for more people to attend since they wouldn't have to pay at the door to get in".

I've been hoodwinked, bamboozled and whatever else you can imagine here. I've been told so many things since first contacting these people about getting a spot (which originally was "guaranteed" to be inside at the Charlotte Convention Center) that I am putting them on Mr. Hughes' "don't like" list or whatever he has it labeled (lol). "Jaz" is supposed to be this druggie who turned his life around to encompass reading but trust me, it seems his old life has a way of sneaking out and showing its true colors in a matter of seconds. He is a non-truth sayer and until I see the refund I won't believe him or anyone else associated with the CLF. I will never look at participating there ever. They couldn't pay me to be a guest speaker or anything.

It's a shame that this has happened because that area would have been a great place to really get the word out - and it isn't that far from me. As a matter of fact, I made two trips up that way in August and was pleased with both of them. I look forward to being up there for other opportunities but will never even consider the CLF again.

(Going to post office after being in class with Mr. Hughes to see if monies are there.) -- See you all in the postings - E :)