NORTHERN KITTITAS COUNTY TRIBUNE READERS: SEPT 8th IS THE DATE

UPDATE:

Because there is so much going on in Cle Elum this week (Miner's Celebration, 125th anniversary of South Cle Elum), the article about SERVAL SON will appear Sept 8th instead of tomorrow.

NORTHERN KITTITAS COUNTY TRIBUNE READERS: SEPT 1ST IS THE DATE

Lyn Derrick of the NKCT just emailed to let me know her report on SERVAL SON and me will appear in the Sept 1st edition. How's THAT for PERFECT TIMING!?!

Thanks, Lyn!

Had a Blast!

Yesterday's Cle Elum classmates get-together was a blast from start to finish. There was not a spare moment--a pregnant pause--during the entire event.

Folks started arriving shortly after 2 and the last ones left at almost 8; none left before almost 7. We talked and laughed, reminisced and caught up on each other's lives non-stop. Susan Rossetti Kelleher took photos and promises us copies on our Facebook pages soon.

The attendees:

Valerie Chase Barrett and her three sons from Ballard, ages eight and 12: Lucas, Joe and Jacob, live wires all. (Yes, I'm including Valerie. She hasn't lost an ounce of spark.)

Susan Rossetti from Ellensburg/Seattle

Rita Morris (not sure what her married name is; sorry, I'll find out!) from the Seattle area

Gary and Joanie Mankus from Cle Elum.

Jackie and me. 

We've decided we have to get together more often, it was such a hoot. And an eye opener. And a blessing.

Updates: Writing Clients, SERVAL SON, Radio Interview, etc.

Just in time to help me big time, I am getting clients (old and brand new) asking me to write for them!  Unsolicited!

You'll never convince me Jesus doesn't have my back!  I have completely ceased to fret about provisions--God provides!  It was a hard lesson to learn (guess I'm not very trusting!) but, once learned, it's just the coolest thing on earth and in the Universe to be able to just put one foot in front of the other as a writer and enjoy the results!

I could work seven days a week right now. I'm not going to this weekend, though. This is the weekend Jackie and I throw my Cle Elum classmates potluck bash in our back yard.

I am SO not a hostess. I've never thrown a party in my life--too stressful. (Remember, I'm shy and still not convinced anyone really wants to hang around me much.) So I begged Jackie to stand by me and help me along.  She lives and breathes gatherings. Jackie is a gregarious, dynamic powerhouse in the social realm. She LOVES it!  Wish I did.

Knowing my sister has my back is helping me relax about the gathering. I'm not sure more than about four people are coming, but I haven't seen most of them since high school graduation... and (except for plays) I was pretty mousy then. A wallflower. I isolated myself from all but a very few neighbors. So, this is going to be a whole 'nuther experience. I'm looking forward to it even tho' it unnerves me a little. I'm stepping outside my comfort zone on this one, folks! WAAAYYY outside. (I think I'm more comfortable talking about hundreds of De/Trek fans in an auditorium than I will be talking to people I haven't seen in a very, very long time.)  I'm sure I'll get over it, though. I truly am looking forward to catching up on peoples' lives.

I got a copy of my book today. (My publisher surprised me with a copy.) *sigh*  *sigh*  *sigh* *sigh* *sigh*  What can I say?  It's real. It's solid. I can hold it in my hand.  It's magnificent.  (I'm speaking aesthetically, here, not egotistically.) There are already reviews of it at Amazon. All 5 star reviews, so far. (Long may that continue!)

The interview for THE AUTHORS SHOW this morning went well. Don McCauley says he thinks it will be a hit. It'll be edited down to 15 minutes. I think we chatted for about 20-22 minutes. 

He said my energy level and voice level were great, which is always a concern of his.  If I like the result, I can buy rights to it to use in any way I want for $95.  I may do that and post it here, on my Facebook page, on my business/book website, or on a dedicated SERVAL SON landing page (if I decide to create one). We'll see. Not sure I'm going to like it as well as Don did. (I'm pickier than he probably is when it comes to listening to myself. It has to be really good in order for me to decide to buy it!)

What else? Guess that's about it.  I'm zzzausted. Gonna hit the hay now. 

IF YOU'VE ALREADY BOUGHT A COPY OF SERVAL SON (BEFORE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT)

If you purchased a copy of SERVAL SON before August 18th at MIDNIGHT... let me know...

I have some important information I need to share with you.

The rest of y'all--WAIT TILL SEPT 1st TO PURCHASE THE BOOK! 

THANKS!!!

Kris

OMG! When You Google the Title of My Book Tonight...

When you google 'SERVAL SON: SPOTS AND STRIPES FOREVER' tonight you get 278,000 returns!  That PR has done something AMAZING!!!

WOO HOO!

Big Name Animal Advocates Applaud “Serval Son: Spots & Stripes Forever”

Big Name Animal Advocates Applaud “Serval Son: Spots & Stripes Forever”

Here's the link to the big media release. Please share it with your friends and family--and remember to wait till Sept 1st to buy it... unless you plan to buy more than one copy. By buying it Sept 1st you help send it up the flagpole at Amazon--a very good thing!

THANKS!

Laverne and Shirley--Best Blackberry Bush Eaters on the Planet!!!! Part Two

I just took some photos and video of the goats eating blackberry bushes. As soon as Jackie gets home I'll find out where the USB download cord is for her PC (I'm using her camera because mine won't download anymore) and get them sent over to Facebook and to me so I can post them here.

They are two very happy campers!

Little by Little, the Money I Need is Coming In...

After a dry spell of close to ten days, I'm getting work again at Elance and elsewhere. I'm feeling better about things as a result.

I won't see any royalties on SERVAL SON for at least three months so having to spend serious time on the launch has cut into the time I've been available (and sane) to write for clients. I'm glad that aspect of this launch is over.  I still have to make myself available for interviews as requested, though... and respond to inquiries... and mail books out when I get them...  I'll spend a lot more time promoting the book than I spent writing it--but that's par for the course for any writer who wants to make money. There's a lot to distract interested parties, so staying in their top 10 list of priorities  is a never-ending challenge. By Thanksgiving (or a bit earlier) people will begin thinking about holiday gift-giving, so they'll be more amenable to asking for the book (if they want one) or getting the book if they want to give it as a gift.  That's good.

You may want to visit my SERVAL SON shop at Cafepress.com and see if there's anything there you'd like to have (or give as gifts). I added some items today that I think you'll find intriguing...  Hope so, anyway. So far I'm the only person who has bought anything!!!  They came in and I LOVE them.  I got a box of 20 note cards with Deaken (the cover photo minus the title, author and blurb). They are breathtaking.  I also got a t-shirt to wear when I'm out and about to advertise the book and a beach tote to carry copies of the book in when I do a reading or a book signing at a library, bookstore, hotel, convention, or wherever...

Are there any exotic pet or regular pet conventions locally, I wonder? I wonder if local pet stores would carry copies or let me set up a table once in a while.  I'll have to check into that...

I'm tired of thinking about all this. I need a nap. I hope some of you do some of the thinking for me and give me some ideas I haven't already thought of.  That would be terrific!!!

I will ask others writers to help me on launch day. That's a good idea. I saw another writer do that and was impressed by how she handled it.

Laverne and Shirley--Best Blackberry Bush Eaters on the Planet!!!!

Goodness!  I had no idea how efficient two medium-size goats can be when it comes to mowing down blackberry bushes. They've taken care of everything in their new pen--ages ago. Now I have the rear fence open into the neighbors' (plural) blackberry patches next door--which opens out into a huge field of "more of the same"--and they are going through that like Grant took Richmond.  It is truly amazing to behold! They waddle back in at night looking almost as wide as they are long. Overnight they shrink back to pretty much normal-goat size (okay, still a little chunky) but by morning they're standing at the rear fence, ready to go at it again!!!  Before, the blackberry vines encroached on our yard all along two sides (one at least 100 feet across, the other at least 60 feet across); now the blackberry "forests" are at least 20 feet back, and they are totally absent on the 60 foot side.  Sure am glad I didn't get more goats!!!  We may get a pygmy goat or two later, for the wee ones to play with and walk on  leashes, but they won't eat so much that we'll need more pasture, that's for sure!

In a few years, when the blackberry bushes stop growing altogether as a result of the goat's "predations", I will probably rent them out locally at $75/day. I'll have lots of takers!  Most goat rental places charge $300/day for a small herd of goats.  I can't afford to sit with them all day when they're rented out, but we have movable fence panels we can use to cage them in where they're needed. That'll work...

I'll take some more photos of the girls at work soon so you can see what they've done.  I think you'll be amazed.  They're locusts on hoofs!

I Have Some Interviews Lined Up Re Serval Son

The Kittitas County Tribune is planning to run something on SERVAL SON and me soon. The Author Show is, too. So will Roger Noriega (Noreiga Radio on blogtalkradio) at some point.  I don't have the dates yet, or the links, but when I do I'll let you know.

Friday I drive to Seattle to get my curling finger checked out to see what can be done about it. We're hoping NP can be done on it, instead of surgery.  NP stands for Needle something-or-other. There is very little pain involved in the procedure and minimal (if any) down time, which is good because I can't afford any down time.  Keep me in your prayers for a good report on that front.

SERVAL SON may be available at Amazon earlier than Sept 1, but please please please wait until Sept 1 to buy it if it is.  Or else promise me to buy a second copy on Sept 1st.  Sept 1st is the day I want to run sales up the flagpole at Amazon to see if we can get the title to #1 in its category (or at least in the Top Ten).  I need your vote (purchase) on that day especially.  Thanks!

A First Look at the Cover of SERVAL SON

This isn't the final... but it's pretty close. The front cover is locked in; it's the back cover that is still in flux to one degree or another...

Let me know what you think!

(Click on cover to see it larger so you can actually read it)

Check Out the FINISHED, OFFICIAL "SERVAL SON" Trailer Here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CiDJd__6yI

Please share the above YouTube link everywhere you can legitimately think of where it will be embraced and not considered spam. I would love to see this go viral before SERVAL SON debuts on Sept 1st at Amazon.

I can't do it alone. I need your help.

Here's a blurb you can post with it:

"A cautionary true story about what it's like to own--and be owned by--a wild animal. Endorsed by several high profile animal advocates. Please consider getting a copy for your home and county library system. GREAT THANKS!"