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Writer’s Digest Conference

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Writers-Digest-Conference 2Writer’s Digest Conference WEST – October 19-21, 2012

Writer’s Digest Conference West will be held in Hollywood, California this year at the Loews Hollywood Hotel on October 19th – October 21st.  I am honored to be part of the panel on Self-Publishing in the Real World – What to Expect, What to Do, and How to Do It.

The reason we have been asked to become part of the Writer’s Digest Conference West is because Saltwater Taffy, a self-published title, has sold through our first printing of 5000 copies while picking up multiple children’s book award honors.  Endorsed by 12 Teachers of the Year around the country, Saltwater Taffy is an epic adventure novel for tweens and children of all ages.

Here’s a peek at the schedule for the weekend!  Hope to see you there and always remember, your next great idea is right behind the runaway thought of, “I don’t know what to write.”

 

Nautilus Book Awards WINNER

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NAUTILUS BOOK AWARDSNAUTILUS BOOK AWARDS WINNER

Saltwater Taffy wins The Nautilus Book Awards Silver Medal!  The Nautilus Book Awards recognizes books that promote spiritual growth, conscious living & positive social change, while at the same time they stimulate the “imagination” and offer the reader “new possibilities” for a better life and a better world.

Past winning authors of this award include Deepak Chopra, Lynn Twist, Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith, Eckhart Tolle, and Thich Nhat Hanh.  We are super excited to receive this Nautilus Award!  Thank you to the voting council and here’s to our next adventure!

This marks the third book award for Saltwater Taffy and the year is still young.  Saltwater Taffy has also been chosen to be an Accelerated Reader title across the country.  Endorsed by 12 Teachers of the Year around the country, Saltwater Taffy is a book for the entire family to enjoy.

WRITE ON WRITER’S…WRITE ON!

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Saltwater TaffyWRITE ON WRITER’S…WRITE ON!

When writing gets tough, we need to write on.  In the on-again, off-again love affair life of being a writer, the writer can be certain that he or she will one day wonder if the process of writing is worth all the trouble.  We wonder because writing is lonely.  Writing is intoxicating.  Writing is frustrating, fulfilling, heartbreaking, complicated, and most of all… Read more

MIDDLE GRADE FICTION: DENVER

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Middle grade fiction

MIDDLE GRADE FICTION: DENVER

The middle grade fiction tour of Saltwater Taffy arrived in Denver today.  This tour stop for Saltwater Taffy is super special because my wife Julie flew in for a weekend visit.  We picked up the rent-a-car and hit the road for Denver area bookstores.

The first stop was the Tattered Cover Bookstore, which is an AWESOME indie store in downtown Denver.  There was something amazing about this shop because it felt like walking into a piece of history.  I mean, it had this awesome smell of paper…. Read more

MIDDLE GRADE FICTION: It Bled and it Led…Bhaaaaa

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middle grade fiction

MIDDLE GRADE FICTION

At the start of our middle grade fiction tour, something happened that is a testament of our society.  In a moment of ‘sureality,’ which is my new word for a surreal reality, I flew home to Las Vegas for two speaking engagements with Saltwater Taffy at Cannon Jr. High School on Tuesday.  What made this visit surreal is the full-page story about Saltwater Taffy on the front page of the R-Jeneration Section.

Having prepared for the trip for a good month or so, we gained interest from ABC News, Channel 13 as a community interest story of ‘home town boy makes good.’  While they couldn’t book us on their morning shows, they did want to come out and tape an interview for the evening news as I presented to 150 middle school children.

As a speaker, the Middle School audience can be the most intimidating audience there is.  Speaking to adults is easy, but Read more