Sneak Peek - Message from a Blue Jay - Faye Rapoport DesPres

Just seventeen days and counting until publication and things are ramping up!

First box off the truck!

The books arrived in our offices this morning and they look great. There's a certain excitement to opening that first box. It's almost as if you're getting a sneak peek backstage at the dress rehearsal of a Broadway show!

You get a chance to "Ooo" and "Ahh" the costumes (covers); hear the orchestra tuning their instruments (advance reviews); and watch the players take their places and run through their lines (read advance snippets from stories).

And so, without further ado, we offer you several short excerpts from Faye's soon-to-be-released, debut book: Message from a Blue Jay - Love, Loss, and One writer's Journey Home.

From “Walden, Revisited”

 [ . . . ] I am beginning to understand why I came here today. I needed to escape the cluttered struggles of everyday life, the battles born of a false sense of consequence. I spend so much time waving a sword in the air; I am exhausted, and want to lay my weapon down. Like Don Quixote, I have been tilting at windmills.

From “Forty-Six”

 Some people say fairy tales are deceptive and question whether such stories should be told to the kind of little girl I was; girls who are not likely to grow up and meet handsome princes. I am divided on the issue. I do think fairy tales are deceptive. As far as I can tell after forty-six years, there are no bluebirds tying bows on ball gowns or chariots arriving to whisk me off into the magical night. True, there are wicked witches, but no prince’s kiss has ever woken me from my sleep. Usually the alarm clock does. My sense is that there is happiness to be found, but it is not “ever after”—it comes in starts and stops or at unexpected moments that do not necessarily have anything to do with love. Let me reverse that. Happiness always has to do with love—but not just romantic love. Sometimes love is feeding a cat. Sometimes it’s singing Abba songs with a friend in a car in Wyoming. Sometimes love just happens in an instant, when you see something beautiful. Romantic love is more about willingness than wedding bells and destiny. Or maybe it is willingness and destiny, or destiny is what we choose to believe it is because we’re afraid to believe that life is all about luck.

From "Let Go"

I hang both arms over the metal barrier in front of me and hold on tight. A man dancing behind me bumps into my back and pushes me forward against the barrier. I can’t feel annoyed. The man’s hair is pure white, his face is red with drink, and his smile radiates happiness. He is excited and having a good time. A woman standing next to him grabs the barrier with her hand and tries to pull her body closer to the stage. But if I give even an inch I will lose my place in the front row, and for once in my life I am not stepping aside.

We hope you enjoyed this short look inside the pages. Want more? There's still time to be among the first to own a copy of this stunning book!  CLICK HERE

Excerpts from Message from a Blue Jay © 2014 Faye Rapoport DesPres

Writer's Block and Other Thoughts . . .

I don't know about you, but Sunday mornings around here are fairly routine. Take this past Sunday for instance.

The weekend ends on Saturday night in our house since my other half works for one of the major television networks. Because they're always on the air somewhere, everyone works at least one weekend day, his is Sunday.

I take advantage of that and try to get a head start on the week ahead by working on Sunday afternoons, but the mornings belong to me. Well, me and Brewster, our 4 year-old Treeing Walker Coonhound that is.

We start our morning with a long walk around our little burg, stopping to chat for a few minutes here and there with neighbors and other dogs who are also out and about with their owners in tow. It's our chance to catch up on the local gossip--both human and doggie version--and check out the progress of various projects around town.

Once we've worked up an appetite, or I can no longer carry on a coherent conversation without the immediate infusion of massive amounts of caffeine of the coffee variety, we return home. Fed, watered and caffeinated, we settle in for some play (hound) and reading (me), which brings me to the real topic of this post . . . Anna Quindlen.

If you missed this week's PARADE, there was a great little piece called Sunday With . . . at the back. (For full article, CLICK HERE.) I've always enjoyed Quindlen's writing, but it was the following that I wanted to pass along to all of you writerly types:

"Some days I fear writing dreadfully, but I do it anyway. I've discovered that sometimes writing badly can eventually lead to something better. Not writing at all leads to nothing."

Sad, but it's true. Some days are just like that. You can't think of a thing worth writing about, let alone string two sentences together in a reasonable manner. The same is true for editors by the way, we have our difficult days too! As always, Ms. Quindlen's found a nicer way of saying what I often say: Butt in chair. Write!

Getting the right words on the page in the right order is important, but just getting some words on some page (paper, screen, tablet, phone, whatever) is more important.

Write. Write often. Write lists, scenes, descriptions, story ideas, character profiles, anything. Just write!

Now, by the time you read this Sunday will be long over, but for now excuse me. The puppy is snoring and there's a pillow that's calling my name . . .  Ahhh, Sundays!

Can Wisdom be Found in a Big Red Suitcase?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 14, 2014

Author on way to Tiger's Nest Monastery

Can Wisdom be Found in a Big Red Suitcase?

Buddhapuss Ink LLC Signs Book That Could be Called: Eat, Pray, Pack

Can the trip of a lifetime, planned with an eye to perfection, wind up making you seriously question your whole life? Can a suitcase as big as its owner, and stuffed with everything but the kitchen sink, become one’s greatest teacher? 

Those questions, and more, will be answered in the latest book signed by Buddhapuss Ink LLC, Wisdom of the Big Red Suitcase: Finding What Matters in a World of Stuff. As the author, Ellie Dias, puts it: "Nearly every step of my journey was fraught with challenges, disasters and detours." Dias traveled solo to the towns and farmlands of Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet and into the Nepalese jungle, dragging a humongous, red suitcase behind her all the way, turning her “trip of a lifetime” into an ongoing test of patience, determination, and fortitude—and most importantly—learning to let go.

"Mid-life I discovered my passion for Buddhism, and began my spiritual practice. It wasn't long before I developed an intense curiosity about the traditional cultures of Asia. I wanted to see firsthand just how the people in the “Lands of Happiness” fare. Are they truly at peace, totally content in their various lives, regardless of their station in life or level of prosperity? An obsessive-compulsive perfectionist, I began the adventure with over-the-top preparations. I wouldn't leave a single thing to chance, lugging with me everything (and more) I thought I'd need just to get through the day, halfway round the world, fashion foremost. Enter the Big Red Suitcase, weighing in at 95 pounds and stuffed to capacity with what I was sure a Western woman bound for the farmlands and jungles of the Himalayas must have."

Buddhapuss Ink will release Wisdom of the Big Red Suitcase on their Fall/Winter list of 2015. “Readers who enjoyed Eat Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert, or Kristine Stevens', If Your Dream Doesn't Scare You, It Isn't Big Enough, will find a new favorite in Big Red," said MaryChris Bradley, Publisher. “The manuscript was an immediate hit in-house, especially among those of us who have experienced the pitfalls of well-laid travel plans."

Dias has been a dedicated practitioner of meditation, contemplation, and yoga, for over thirteen years. A professor of Human Biology and Anatomy & Physiology, she has merged her understanding of the human body, with the daily practice of meditation, incorporating it in a classroom setting. She started a local women’s spirit group focusing on Buddhist philosophy and thought, and has been sharing excerpts of her manuscript with various writer's groups over the past two years. Currently, Dias is busy writing her first novel. She lives in New England's 5 college area known as the “Knowledge Corridor" with her husband. Wisdom of the Big Red Suitcase is her first book.

BUDDHAPUSS INK LLC is based in Edison, NJ. Founded in 2009, it is led by publisher MaryChris Bradley, a thirty-year veteran in the book industry. “Our company mission is to put readers first, and we are committed to finding and growing new authors at a time when the major houses seem to have turned their backs on writers without an already well-established track record or movie credits to their name.”

Bradley can be contacted at Publisher@BuddhapussInk.com.

www.BuddhapussInk.com Website

http://buddhapussink.blogspot.com Company blog

@Buddhapuss on twitter

Buddhapuss Ink on Facebook

Congratulations, Mariam Kobras!

Song of the Storm, wins Indie Book of the Day Award!

This is the second book on the Buddhapuss Ink list to win this award! 

Congrats to Sam Hilliard who won the award last year for his debut book in the Mike Brody Series: The Last Track!

From the Editor's Desk . . . Transcendental Editing

MaryChris Bradley

Someone asked me once about my approach to editing. Interesting question I thought, so here’s my attempt at explaining a major part of my job.

First let me say, I love what I do. I’m fortunate to be part of an industry that brings so much joy, entertainment and education to others. Then there’s the eternal grammarian in me who just enjoys editing. I always believe the simplest way is best. Indeed, my advice to wannabe writers is simplicity itself: “Butt in chair. Write.”

My approach to editing is similar:
Open manuscript file.
Click on Review>Track Changes.
Channel author’s voice.
Edit.

Wait, did you just say “Channel author’s voice”? Is this some sort of paranormal experience you’re touting?

I suppose the answer is yes…and no.
Here’s the thing; an editor needs to correct the sentence structure, tidy up the flow, smooth out the bumps in the plot, doing any necessary nipping and tucking along the way. But, a good editor, first needs to get inside the author’s head. They need to hear and see those characters from the author’s point of view. Then, they must make those changes in the story, where necessary, but in a way that is seamless. The reader and the author should never be able to sense where the author left off, and the editor stepped in. If a character has a unique voice, perhaps the language of the story is not the character’s native language, then that needs to be reflected in any edits. If the story is taking place in another country, or world, possibly even an imaginary one, any edits must retain that flavor. Hardest of all, everything you edit, must still read as if written in the voice of the author.

So, how do you channel that voice? Meditation? Chants? A trance? 

Sometimes I wish it were that easy.

You really do have to get inside that story, walk around in there a little, poke the things lurking in the corners to see how they’ll react. It takes time and patience.

Early in my career I wondered why some editors always seemed to be working on books that were similar to ones they had done before. Not necessarily the same genre, but ones where the plot or tone of the story, the quirks and eccentricities of the characters, the overall flow and feel of the story, had a familiar ring to others they had edited.  

Were they re-writing those manuscripts in their own voice?

The answer is no, they weren’t re-writing. They were simply drawn to authors who were writing in a way they could get inside of. It was comfortable, safe, and familiar.

Because when they worked with authors who shared the same tone, they were able to achieve that seamlessness, meshing their corrections and edits smoothly with the author’s original words.

Does an editor re-write portions of a manuscript? 

A good one does, but you’ll never notice where they picked up the thread, or where they carefully wove it back into the author’s story.

Of course, there are several kinds of editors, including proof or copyeditors. Each of them is an important piece of the puzzle that makes up a good story.

My job as an editor is to work with the author, honing their work into the best, most engaging, smoothest flowing story possible. We may go through as many as three passes of the entire book before we are done with our work.

Then, I bring in a copyeditor. It is their job to find those nagging errors, like missing commas, or excessive ellipses, and rein them in. Their job is to make sure all the t’s are crossed, and all the i’s are dotted. They are a very important part of the equation, but they are not the whole equation, just as an editor is not the end answer. We work separately, but together, to create a finished product. Something the author, and the editors, will be proud to have bear their names. That, in an expanded-nutshell sort of way, is the heart of my approach to editing.

 

Copyright © 2014 MaryChris Bradley

 *Originally published 8th February 2012 on AmWriting

Why Do You Blog?

I'll be the first to admit it: Blogging can be hard, tedious, yet somehow invigorating!

© Abdone | Dreamstime Stock Photos

Molly Greene had some great thoughts about the whole blogging process in her recent article: 5 Simple Steps To A Super Blogatude and I'd like to share one of them with you here.

"Know why you’re blogging

Why do you blog? If your answer is “because I think I should,” your reply just may increase the odds that you’ll quit. There are lots of reasons to work at building a successful blog. If you’re an author, blogging is an important tool in your book promotion tool box. Blogging sells you, meaning your unique voice. It teaches you about social media and the online world, it helps you forge alliances with other authors and bloggers, and it brings traffic to your website, which lets people know about your books and enhances your name recognition with readers and search engines."

Did you hear what Molly said? Are all you authors out there listening? Blogging IS important. Forming relationships with your audience IS important. Readers buy more books from authors that they feel a connection to. One way to make that connection is by posting interesting, silly, informative articles on your blog. Engage them. Make them want to know more about you, about your life, and your writing.

But don't stop there, make sure you post links to your latest blog post on twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and Facebook.

Now, BUTT IN CHAIR. WRITE. And don't forget to send me a link to your next post. Heck, you can even put that link in the comment area under this post!

TO READ MORE OF MOLLY'S ARTICLE, CLICK HERE

Reviews Sell Books

Six out of 10 consumers refer to online reviews before they decide what to buy.

They trust those reviews almost 12 times more than descriptions written by publishers.

But not all reviews have to be positive. Marketing studies show that when consumers find negative reviews sprinkled among the reviews that are gushing about a product, they're more confident that the good reviews are trustworthy.

If you're publishing a book, ask for reviews from these three groups:

--Consumers. Just ask.

--Bloggers. Many bloggers--even those in narrow niches--have raving, loyal fans. An enthusiastic recommendation from the blogger to "buy this book" can be far more powerful than the slickest sales page.

--Journalists. Capturing a product review from a columnist for Forbes, Fortune or Real Simple magazine can send your sales through the roof.

*Courtesy of Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound. For more tips and information check out her website at: http://publicityhound.com/

Happy New Year!

To our authors, editors, illustrators, designers, distributors, printers but especially our READERS, may the coming year be one filled with joy, happiness, good health, and plenty of good books! 

 

OUR AUTHORS