Celebratin' - Novels, Horns, Peanut Butter & Banana Pudding

Have you celebrated yet? 

            November is National Novel Writing Month.  I’m guessing you probably didn’t hunker down and write a novel this month.  At least not yet.  I didn’t either.

            It’s also National Life Writing Month.  Now I’m not certain exactly what that means; after all, we can’t script our lives.  And we can’t rewrite our lives, although many of us might like to rewrite certain chapters in our lives.

 Perhaps this is supposed to be a time to write your autobiography.  Did you do that?  No, I didn’t either. 

But I did finally realize one of my dreams: I got a book published, so I’m officially an “author.”  Yippee!

Yes, it’s a small book.  It’s not scholarly (no surprise there, huh?)

May I share? 

See, I subscribe – at least today – to the old proverb: “He who tooteth not his own horn, his horn not get tooteth.”  So, yes, I’m sharing, i.e. tooting my own horn. 

But I’m also tooting the horns of 18 others.

The book is Don’t Pick Up The Ham With Your Fingers: A Little Book to Do Momma’s Naggin’ For Her.  (I’m better at naggin’ than at tootin’.  Did I just actually write that????)

The book of humorous and occasionally serious naggin’s is illustrated throughout by work from 18 talented folks, ranging from a sixth-grader to retiree.  I am overwhelmed by their talent.

These folks, all South Carolinians, are from Prosperity, Aynor, Chapin, Surfside Beach, Summerville, Greenville, Charleston, Mt. Pleasant, Conway, Myrtle Beach, Columbia, West Columbia and Lexington.  Maybe there's a future Grandma Moses, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol or even Michaelangelo in there!

We’re doing our first book-signing this week.  It’s a new adventure for most of us and we’re having fun.  And, yes, of course, we hope YOU find a copy somewhere.

By the way, November is also National Peanut Butter Lovers Month and Banana Pudding Lovers Month. 

I celebrate those all year long!

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Win a FREE Copy of the New Book!

We're have a little Giveaway Contest on the book's blog, so come on over for your chance to win the book.  And, if you don't want a copy, come on over for a visit.  This is a new experience, so your support is needed, wanted, appreciated! 

http://hambook.blogspot.com/2011/11/win-free-book.html

Yippee!!

Yippee!  It's published.  The first copies of my book arrived today!

Okay, so this is shameless self-promotion of a sort, but look at it this way: the sooner we sell out, the sooner I'll quit posting about this project.  Hint, hint.

What I really want to promote, though, is the art in the book.  We utilized the talents of 18 artists, ranging from sixth grade through retirement years.  The work by these folks is what really makes the book. 


"Don't Pick Up The Ham With Your Fingers" is a little gift or novelty book; the subtitle is "A Little Book to Do Momma's Naggin' For Her."

This illustration is featured on the cover.  It's by Austin Lane, a student at Socastee High School near Myrtle Beach. 






It's a book filled with the humor and wit of a parent's nagging.  So, why do the illustrations and caricatures feature a pig, a monkey, a ladybug and flip flops?  Find out when you get your copy.

Below are the links to see more about the little book and about the illustrators, including Emily Lyles, whose art is on exhibit at one of the Smithsonian galleries 11/1/11 - 1/22/12.

On Facebook

The Book's Blog

Getting a Book on the Shelf

There’s more to writing a book than writing a book.


That sounds crazy, of course, but if you’ve ever tried it, you know exactly what I mean.

You see, the actual writing is almost nothing compared to what has to happen after the writing is done.

Of course, if your only goal is to write the book, that’s fine. But if you want someone else to read it, that’s when the real work begins.

For years I’ve wanted to write a book and I’ve known all along what kind I would write and what would be in it. So, I finally decided to take the plunge, so to speak.

And now I have three books written, almost four. No, you haven’t seen them on bookshelves because, right now, they’re pretty much still files on my computer.

After the writing, proofing, editing and such, there’s layout, cover design and so much more.

The writer has to decide whether to totally self-publish (the writer pays all costs, gets books printed, then stores them throughout the house/attic/garage/basement until figuring out a way to sell one or two of those things); boutique or print-on-demand publish (the writer still pays a chunk of money but gets only one copy; any others that might be sold are ordered through the printer/publisher and printed only as ordered); or find a publishing company that will pay the author royalties, advance or something.

There are negatives for all three options. With the latter, the author has even more options: find a company willing to accept the unsolicited manuscript, read it and maybe offer a contract, and then wait 12 months to three years to see the final product, or find an agent who’ll sign on the author and then do the work in finding a publisher.

Oh, yes, there’s even more. Once a book is in print, it has to find its way onto bookshelves, into gift shops and more. That’s called book distribution.

My first book will be “in print” in a few weeks. Whether it ever gets to a shelf other than in our own home remains to be seen.

Writing, Drawing and Facebook

I think Facebook is great.


Yes, it has its critics. Yes, it can be time-consuming. Yes, it can be annoying.

Yes, things can go wrong, but, hey, so can life. We can’t go through life avoiding everything that might go wrong. Otherwise, who would ever drive a car? 




Anyway, back to Facebook. Some folks say it is impersonal. I find it just the opposite. I’ve found long-lost friends. We stay in touch in ways we very likely would not do by phone and in ways we’ve never done by letter.

I’ve saved the many wonderful and even funny messages posted on Facebook when Rod, my brother, died just over a year ago. They are a treasure to read from time to time.

That's just one example of how I've found Facebook to be personal rather than impersonal.

The reason Facebook is on my mind right now is that I’m finally writing a book. Actually, I’m working on three books at once, with two others in the wings.

For years I’ve wanted to write a book and even had one planned out in my mind but just never got around to doing it. Once I decided to actually do it, the one that had been thought-out got put on the back burner as I worked, i.e. had fun, on three others.

I love to write; I cannot draw. I can’t even produce a stick figure. Or a ball. Or a star.

So, since the first book needed lots of artwork, I posted a note on Facebook that I was looking for illustrators. Wow! I was totally amazed at the responses.

And now, this little gift/novelty book is nearing publication with illustrations by 16 talented South Carolinians. They are from all across the state and range from young students to retirees.

I’ve met only three of the 16 face-to-face but, thanks to Facebook, I feel like I know ‘em all!




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PH: Spotted? Or Splotched?

This week's Photo Hunt topic is "spotted."  So, I immediately thought of this picture of part of our family as we celebrated Chick-fil-A's Cow Appreciation Day.

Maybe those are splotches rather than spots, huh?

Here is the Chick-fil-A Cow "helping" in the construction of a new restaurant.

Maybe this blog itself qualifies as spotted.  After all, it's called EX Marks the Spot!

Here I go, sorta cheating again.  I've just spotted copies of the recently-published SEE MOM RUN, to which I'm a contributing writer.  Have you gotten your copy yet?

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Here's the SPOT for other Photo Hunt participants.

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Do You Know "Whodunit"?

I enjoy listening to audio books when I’m driving, and am especially intrigued by mysteries, thrillers, legal fiction, medical drama and such.

Perhaps, as my son tells me, I should be listening to non-fiction and trying to learn something, expanding my horizons.

But I like what I like. In fact, I like these books so much that sometimes it’s awfully difficult to get out of the car when I get home. I’ve been known to sit in the car just to do a little more listening.

Several days ago, I had to drive a few hundred miles. The book in which I had been thoroughly engrossed came to an end. I didn’t have another new one with me, but did have one that I had listened to a couple of years ago. It’s “The Motive” by John Lescroart.

On cassette tapes instead of the usual CD’s, the unabridged book consists of 10 tapes and provides about 14 hours of listening.

So, thoroughly bored without a new book available, I decided to “re-listen.” I figured that once I got to a part that I recognized and that reminded me about the end, I’d stop listening.

The beginning sounded vaguely familiar; it started with a double homicide in San Francisco.  I listened to side one, then side two of the first tape. By the end of that first cassette, I was remembering parts of the book, but what I couldn’t remember was the ending, as in “Whodunit?”

So I listened to the second tape. I was thinking maybe the culprit was Catherine. As I continued to listen, I couldn’t rule out Catherine but I thought of other possibilities that seemed somewhat familiar: son Bill, ex-wife Teresa, the mayor, daughter Mary. Then I started thinking that perhaps it was someone not even related to the politically connected man who was one of the victims.

But as I continued to listen, going through the third tape, then the fourth, then the fifth, I couldn’t understand why in the world I couldn’t remember the ending. Most of the book was sounding quite familiar.

So, I persisted. I hadn’t listened for several  hours so far to give up on the ending. Next was the sixth, then the seventh, the eighth, and on to the ninth.

It’s when I finished the ninth tape that I realized why I didn’t remember the ending: I didn’t even have tape number ten! I never heard the ending the first time!

Now I’ve listened to 9/10 of a book twice – and still don’t know “whodunit.”

PhotoHunt: BOOKS

Wow! Where does one start with this week's theme - books?

My first thought was a set of World Book encyclopedias, which is what I grew up with; each volume has loads of photos, and this IS a photo hunt after all.

Instead, though, I decided to go with photos of three books.

The first is LUKE: Ambassador of the Word. It's the fourth book by a friend a mine, retired minister George Truett Moore. In fact, I was a reviewer for this and one of his other books. As I read this book, I felt like I was right there with Luke and pulling for him as he made important life decisions. It's a very interesting read and one that gives new insights into Luke's life and ministry. Luke is a good choice for anyone interested in religion, history, ministry and more.

Pastor Moore and his wonderful (and artistic) wife, Elizabeth, are coming to South Carolina; their plans include a local book-signing on June 10th. Click on the picture to find out more about him, his interesting background and his books.

Coincidentally, George Moore was born in Greenville, SC, which is the hometown of the author of the next book. She is Mindy Friddle, the daughter of a friend of mine. Secret Keepers is a delightful book for anyone but especially for folks fascinated by all things southern. Fabulous read for gardeners also. Mindy's first book was The Garden Angel. Click on her book's picture to go to the web site to learn more about Mindy and her books.

Don't you just love those old boots and that old typewriter on the cover?

The final book in today's threesome hasn't been published yet but it's due out in November. C://Mom Run, edited by Beth Feldman, founder of RoleMommy.com, is a compilation of "side-splitting essays from the world's most harried blogging moms." Yep, I'm one of those moms and looking forward to this book's publication. Full of humor, the book may be ordered in advance on Amazon; just click on the picture to reach that site for pre-publication prices.

How's that for promoting books during a photo hunt?

Other participants in the weekly PhotoHunt may be found here.