Monday, November 22, 2010

FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS

On amazon.com you can now read selected pages of "WHAT'S A MOTHER TO DO?" to check it out if you're thinking of buying and can't find a review. (That's because there are none yet, folks. Why, I don't know, unless the procedure to write one is made too difficult for most people to mess with. You had to have purchased the book on Amazon to write a review.)  You can see the back page and read the whole first chapter.

Also, I am told that the Daviess County Public Library will be purchasing the book soon. So, for those of you too poor, thrifty, generally shiftless, lazy, or otherwise disinclined to plunk down hard plastic, you'll be able to check it out for free.  I seldom buy fiction books, myself. I buy books on art, physics, and stuff like that which can be used as reference or is too dense to read and understand in one go.  But the reason YOU should buy "WHAT'S A MOTHER TO DO" is that you'll probably want to read it again and again.  It can also be used as a handy doorstop, or to whop would-be intruders in the head. So it is a multi-use item.

As of Nov. 30, Books-A-Million is carrying MOTHER online.  There is a good possibility that it may soon be available in the Owensboro store.

There is now a review of MOTHER on amazon.com, written by a Mr. Tony Delwin,who gave the book 4 stars out of a possible 5.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

THIS JUST IN

"WHAT'S A MOTHER TO DO?" is now available through Barnes and Noble at the discounted price of $10.79.  Not to be outdone, Amazon has now matched that price. However, the author (moi) still gets the same royalty as before, which is cool.  A couple of outlets public libraries order their books from are also now stocking WAMTO. So it may soon be available at a library near you.  But I wouldn't hold my breath.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Messenger-Inquirer Article Published

On Monday, November 8, 2010, The Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer published an article about me and my novel in Suzi Bartholomy's Region section column, Road Trips. In the print version it was headlined NOVEL APPROACH -- Eaton Publishes Second Book, while the online article, which was identical in every other respect, was titled (more interestingly, I thought) "Eaton's bawdy book gets wife's approval."


The article was professional and accurate, detailing my career (or lack thereof) as a writer.  It revealed one piece of information lots of my friends didn't know, that I once wrote for the romance/confessions market, which prints stories of overwrought emotional content on subjects ranging from illicit romance to other more mundane life problems. These are presented as being true, and perhaps they are nowadays, but when I was impressing female editors by pretending to be a lady writer, the magazines often had "how-to" articles in Writers Digest and other writer's publications. They weren't all made up out of the whole cloth--well, a few of mine were--but the "truth" that was present was probably no more prominent than existed in most fiction stories.  Which is to say, most fiction is based on something, some germ of truth, however tiny. These stories were written in the first person, from a female viewpoint. At first I struggled with this. What did I know about the way women thought or felt deep inside? (I was younger then.)  But my older sister Benita, who was practically making a living writing confessions,  gave me courage.  Her females talked like truck drivers. As, in fact, most women really do. So I cut off the frills and wrote the same way I would have had I been writing about men.  It worked.

The MI article received a good deal of attention on Facebook, where many of my friends had read it, and proceeded to comment on it.  I also got a few phone calls.  But I didn't know I was actually getting my fifteen minutes of fame until a mail carrier came to my door with a package.  I had never seen the man before.  As he handed over the package, he smiled and said,  "Nice article!

And indeed it was.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

NEWS AND UPDATES

PAYPAL UP AND RUNNING

Several orders have been processed now through PayPal, so I know it is up and running OK. This site is also now a Certified PayPal user.  PayPal is one of the main advantages to ordering from this site. A lot of people love PayPal and feel safer using it.  Amazon and CreateSpace do not take PayPal--UNLESS you have a PayPal credit card, which functions as a debit card and offers the same advantages as regular PP.

The other advantage to ordering from this blog are, if you live out of town and want an autographed copy of the book, you can order here using PayPal and get the book direct from me. At present this is a little slower, but soon we hope the difference will be very slight.

AUTHOR INTERVIEWED BY HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER

On Wednesday, November 3, I was interviewed by Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer writer/columnist Suzi Bartholomy and a photographer named Jenny, who took multiple photos and also asked a few questions.  The resulting article is due to be published Monday, November 8.  I found Suzi and Jenny pleasant to talk to, and very professional.  They made the whole experience a  lot of fun.

SALES OF BOOK PICKING UP 

After a slow start, sales of  WHAT'S A MOTHER TO DO? have become somewhat more brisk. It still isn't flying off the shelves, but a slighter higher gear has been found. As we learn more about getting the novel into bookstores and libraries, and how to be more effective in promotion, it should  begin to take off even more. Thanks to everyone who has honored me by buying  copy! I hope you won't be disappointed!

BOOK SIGNINGS  

I have been asked if there will be a book signing, or signings, in the future.  I'm hoping there will be enough interest to make this a possibility. I'll keep you posted.

WILL THERE BE A SEQUEL? 
Again, this depends on how well this book does.  If there's enough interest -- yes.  In fact, I am hoping for a series. All of these novels would have Mother in the title, just as Sue Grafton uses the alphabet, as in D is for (whatever).  Janet Evanovich uses numbers: One For The Money, Two For the Show, Three to get Deadly, and so on. John Sanford has the word Prey in most of his titles. Mother (my private eye's nickname) seemed a good way to go. My next title is going to be  MOTHER LOVER.  After that, there are many possibilities.

COMMENTS

You will need an ID number to post a comment. If you have a Google account, use that number. (If you don't, get one. It's free and it comes in handy!) I would appreciate your comments on the blog, the book, me personally, or even my hat if you're so inclined. However, my hat has a blog of his own: travelsofthehat.blogspot.com
You might find it amusing.  My hat, Cosmo Hatt, is my number one supporter. He has a review on the back of my novel! (He loved it, of course!)  This is the kind of humor I hope you will find in WHAT'S  A MOTHER TO DO?

REVIEWS

I hope, when you read my book, that you will take the time to write a brief review on amazon. com.  Come down the page from the book's picture, and you'll see a box marked Write a Review. You should be able to do this whether you buy it through Amazon or not. This would be very helpful, and I would appreciate it.

 
Official PayPal Seal

Monday, November 1, 2010

NEW WAYS TO ORDER

My novel,  WHAT'S A MOTHER TO DO? has until recently been available only through amazon.com. Now there are a couple of new (and easier) ways to order, and within 6 weeks, hopefully, there may be more still.  I'm hoping to get the book into bookstores across the country, and also public libraries.  But don't hold your breath on either of those. At present, the book has had practically no publicity and no reviews--it is new on the market, and I'm still learning--so it don't get no respect.  Yet.

TWO EASIER WAYS TO ORDER

If you go through amazon.com, you may have trouble finding the book. It's not that hard, but it's not dead-easy. Click on  https://www.createspace.com/3493166 

You will go directly to the book, without hassle, and will be treated with a brief description of its contents. Then add it to your cart--it's that easy.  BUT WAIT!  THERE'S MORE!

If you live somewhere besides Owensboro (and doesn't almost everyone) I can order the book for you. I will autograph it and ship it to you at the same price you'd pay through Amazon. IMAGINE! YOUR VERY OWN AUTOGRAPHED COPY!  hahaha Then comes the bad part. You gotta pay for it! I'm in the process of setting up Paypal, which is an old reliable standard for online buying. Watch this space. As soon as Paypal is set up, I'll let you know. Shouldn't be long.

AND THAT'S ALL THERE IS TO IT!  How incredibly easy can life get?

Nov. 2, 2010.  THIS JUST IN!  I think I'm set up on Paypal now. I'm still a little confused about how it works. I think what you'd do, if you order thru this site with Paypal, have the book shipped to me, and I will autograph it and send it to you, postage paid. Yeah, that's the ticket! That oughta work!!



Dang, if it were any easier, I could probably do it!