TALKING STORY: May issue

The May issue of Talking Story E-Newsletter is out!  Carol and I had fun with this one - in fact the theme is fun. We figure that, for many of you, the school year is winding down. 

This means that teachers and librarians need to keep those students productively occupied until say, June 11 or so.  We share a few ideas for survival, one of which is that both Carol and I are giving away a Skype visit (video chat with author). Click over to the Talking Story site and visit the Giveaways Galore article in the sidebar.  Please follow the email link as instructed to get in on the contest.

Other giveaways include:

• Maupin House Publishers is giving away a copy of Rainbows, Head Lice and Pea Green Tile by Brod Bagert
• Recorded Books is giving away an audio of the acclaimed Wild Things by Clay Carmichael.

That's 4 chances to win, folks!  But you can't do it here at my blog - you've got to visit our newsletter site where you'll find some great suggestions for summer fun and some good reads too!

E-NEWSLETTER: Another Sharp Learning Curve

Carol Baldwin and I holding each other's books.

My latest writing-related venture is to create an e-newsletter with my writer friend and colleague Carol Baldwin. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. But we're learning that between us we can pull off whatever hard thing we decide to do.

And besides, MyNewsletterBuilder provided a webinar. How hard could it be?

The webinar was good. We took notes. We got the gist of it.

But of course, some things can only be learned by trial and error. We've been working on the newsletter off and on since Friday. Mostly on, for me, because I get obsessive about such things and enjoy doing them in my sleep.

But I don't actually love doing the same thing repeatedly if I'm not sure why I lost it the last time. And quite frankly, who knew that clicking on the word "DONE" would send a whole newsletter spinning out into the nether regions?

Started over, then.

By now I am feeling mostly comfy with the newsletter program. This happens when newsletter Tech Support believes Labor Day is for picnics. A writer has to sort things out for herself.

Carol and I are clogging each other's inbox and using up our unlimited cell phone minutes but as a result, the September issue is almost ready to go.

If, we can figure out how to upload hundreds of email addresses before October.

Let me know if you want to be on the list.