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!"

Treasure Trove of DeForest Kelley Interviews to Download

http://www.sttcm.com/2011/07/16/deforest-kelly/

Launching a New Book Is Hard Work!

Eegads.  Whenever I'm not writing copy for Elance clients, I'm emailing the SERVAL SON media release (and sometimes accompanying documents) to AZA accredited zoos, ASA accredited sanctuaries, high-profile animal welfare and advocacy groups, exotic animal sellers, pet forums, hometown newspapers (Northern Kittitas County Tribune, Tacoma News Tribune) and local daytime TV talk shows (New Day with Margaret Larson). 

In a word, I'm multi-tasking, typing my fingers to the bone hoping I get the word out to enough places and causing enough stir to raise SERVAL SON well up the flagpole at Amazon on Sept. 1st when it debuts. 

I've never worked so hard preparing the way for a book launch in my life. Sure hope it pays off.  I want to be sure FutureWord Publishing doesn't regret campaigning to get the book. That's my primary concern. 

I'm making money as a copywriter so if SERVAL SON doesn't fly high it won't be any skin off my teeth (how in the world did that idiom originate--"skin off my teeth"-- or am I misquoting an idiom?) but it will be a bummer for FutureWord because they're getting the editing and cover copy done at their expense, and the formatting, and all that; they only get paid back if enough books sell.  I've never had to worry about other people's financial investments in my books before--all the costs have been on me up until this one so I feel a serious compulsion to obsess over it until I'm sure I've done absolutely everything I can to ensure the success of the launch!

I have a very good feeling about this book, of course (thanks to the numerous "guinea pigs" I foisted it off on to proofread and critique it; all thought it was SUPER!!!). And both sides  of the great divide (pro-exotic pet and anti-exotic pet) should recommend it to their readers. But "should" doesn't mean "will". (Democrats and Republicans "should" recognize each other as fellow Americans and patriots, but you see how often that's occurring, don't you?)

The scary fact is that every book launch is a crap shoot unless you're JK Rowling or another great megastar. And my new title is definitely a niche title--I mean, how many people are going to want to find out what it's like to be owned by a wildcat? One in a hundred? A thousand? Ten thousand. No one knows!  I sure don't.  My publisher thinks SHE knows. I pray she's right!!!   

One thing I am sure of, though, it that there are a lot of animal lovers.  I've read dozens of books about different kinds of wild ones and their interactions with the humans who loved and cared for them--owls, raccoons, otters, wolves, tigers, lions, kinkajous, hawks, bears. The animal lovers I know have recommended them to me, and I've devoured each one. This may become a "word of mouth" book in that way.

One thing's for sure: we're going to find out in a little over a month!

NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO TELL YOUR ANIMAL-LOVING FRIENDS TO MARK THEIR CALENDARS FOR SEPT 1ST AND CONSIDER BUYING 'SERVAL SON' THAT DAY at AMAZON. Forward them the PR and Stephanie Ealy's review (both can be accessed from earlier blogs).  Those ought to do the job without too much of your time and trouble.

Thanks!!!

STEPHANIE EALY REVIEWS "SERVAL SON" FOR ALLVOICES.

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/9697247-serval-son-spots-and-stripes-forever

Thank you for putting me in tears, woman!!!!!

SERVAL SON IS GETTING CONTROVERSIAL ALREADY! THAT'S A GOOD SIGN!

I began sending out invitations to zoos, animal parks and wildlife sanctuaries announcing the upcoming release of SERVAL SON to see if they might like to carry it as a cautionary tale against wild animal ownership and, in doing so, I mentioned some of the folks who will be endorsing the book. (Two of the endorsements come from high-profile people who are ardently anti-exotic pet, as I am in most cases.)

It turns out their factions are giving them some flack for endorsing a book that is about a person who owned an exotic cat. Of course, the naysayers haven't read the book yet, or I truly believe they would see the method in my madness.

Their worry is that, even though the book is a cautionary tale, the people who read it may still want a wild cat after reading it. 

My response: I doubt it. Not the way I wrote it. That's why it took me so long to decide to write it in the first place--because I DIDN'T want to encourage anyone to adopt a wild cat. This book soundly discourages it.

Bottom Line: People committed to getting a wild cat will get one, no matter how many books they read about the dangers and costs, including mine. I can't reach them with this book. I can only caution them. No other book out there does that. The rest are rose-colored glasses versions of the ordeal, usually written by pro-exotic pet factions who want to sell more critters.

It's the fence-sitters I'm after, the folks who are hankering for a wild one like there's no tomorrow. The folks who want to do it right if they do it at all.  These folks can still be persuaded not to do it.

That's what my book is all about. 

And for this reason, BOTH sides (those with integrity) should be endorsing the book.  Because if a wild cat breeder can say, "Read SERVAL SON and then get back to me if you still want a wild cat [after you've read the unvarnished truth about taking care of one its entire life]" the book will screen out the impulse buyers, the "I want one and I want one NOW," uninitiated folks who end up relinquishing their charges like clockwork; the ones who burden wildlife sanctuaries with their cast-offs left and right.


But unfortunately, many--if not most--wild cat sellers are gonna HATE this book. They're gonna see that anyone who reads the book will have a whole new perspective on the matter and most (I believe) will decide against getting a wild cat and will instead help support sanctuaries (like Tippi's and others) that take in cast-off pets.  They'll turn their emotions from "must have one" to "must help the poor castoffs who are abandoned through no fault of their own."

A little controversy is good for a book.  I hope the book develops more of it.  I'm ready to take on the issue head on in the way any good animal advocate should.

Let the games begin!

C. Hope Clark Featured An Email I Sent to Her This Week!

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fundsforwriters.com%2FFFW.htm&h=1AQCVrR-T

Scroll down to the "Success of the Week" Section to see the email! 

More free publicity for SERVAL SON! WOO HOO!

Thanks, Hope!

Take a Look!

I've just added a SEARCH field to my blog. Now you can search for anything you're looking for that you remember reading before and want to re-visit. 

Let me know how you like the new feature!

Recommended searches: Tippi Hedren, Mother's Day, Trekker Treat, Kelley home, Laverne and Shirley (goats), serval, DeForest (De), Carolyn, books, reviews, writing, Writer's Edge, fans, Star Trek, movie, comedy, Elance... you get the idea.

PLEASE HELP ME SEND SERVAL SON SALES UP THE FLAGPOLE AT AMAZON ON SEPT 1ST!

RED ALERT!

If you plan to buy my book SERVAL SON: Spots & Stripes Forever please mark your calendars to buy it on September 1st at Amazon.com!  

Sept 1st is the day it debuts. If we all buy it on the same day, the number of buyers it gets that day will push it up the flagpole at Amazon so that other folks who have never heard about it will notice it and think, "Hmmmm!  Better check this one out!"

Let me know if you plan to do this.  If you do, you can also go to my Facebook page (Kristine M Smith, Tacoma WA) and befriend me (if we're not Facebook friends already) and then I can invite you officially to join the event on Facebook. 

You don't have to join the event at Facebook, but if you'd like to, I'd love to have you. 

Please tell your animal-loving friends and relatives about the book, too.  Tippi Hedren has written an AMAZING foreword for it and has given me a name so I can submit it to HSUS for possible inclusion on one of their animal advocacy websites. So keep the book in your prayers that it finds favor with those folks!

It's getting awfully exciting...

Catch the wave!

FutureWord Publishing Announces First Nonfiction Title

FutureWord Publishing Announces First Nonfiction Title


Please visit the PR and SHARE IT with every animal lover you know.


THANKS!

SERVAL SON PRWEB MEDIA RELEASE PREVIEW

FUTUREWORD PUBLISHING ANNOUNCES FIRST NONFICTION TITLE

“SERVAL SON: Spots and Stripes Forever” will debut September 1st

Seattle WA (PRWeb) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE        Today the President of FutureWord Publishing, Cheryl Haynes, announced the pending September 1st release of “SERVAL SON: Spots and Stripes Forever” a new book by author Kristine M. Smith, a lifelong animal advocate with decades of combined experience as a wildlife rehabilitator, captive wild animal caretaker, veterinary assistant, and humane educator.

Haynes’ announcement reads in part, “As I was looking [the manuscript] over, I thought how much the book is needed in zoos, wildlife parks, school and county libraries. The book is not just educational; it is packed with familiar flashbacks to the emotional attachments we all have with our own pets.”

Author Smith has raised and nurtured nearly every kind of small animal native to the Pacific Northwest and most species of domestic and farm animals. But it was raising Deaken—an African serval cat—from the age of five days old until his death at 17 which she considers the epitome of her animal-enriched life.

Smith says, “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world—and I would never do it again. It was, at once, the most heartwarming and the most traumatic 17 years of my existence. Raising a wild one isn’t an undertaking for half-hearted impulse buyers. Raising a happy, healthy wild animal—keeping it safe from people and people safe from it—requires complete attention, nerves of steel, and an insane amount of good luck. We are responsible for all we tame. Most who attempt fail miserably and end up abandoning the animals they pledged to love and care for. Animal sanctuaries are overburdened with the sad results: abandoned cast-offs, looking for owners they'll never see again.'"

The book—Smith’s sixth to date—does not advocate the keeping of wild pets, especially wild cats, wild dogs and simians. To the contrary, for the many reasons the author explains and has endured, Smith is opposed to wild animal ownership for most people. She forewarns, “The commitment is brutal, the risks enormous, the memories indelible—good and bad."

The book has been endorsed by several high-profile animal advocates and will be available at Amazon and FutureWord.net on September 1st. Not long after, it will be available at all other online bookstore websites and on Kindle™. It measures 6 x 9 and will be perfect bound.

                                                                                            #

Futureword Publishing publishes award-worthy fiction, non-fiction and children’s books. Find out more at FutureWord.net or Amazon.com. Kristine M Smith is an animal advocate and a Top 10 copywriter at Elance. Reach her at kristinemsmith@msn.com or kristinemsmith.biz

DeForest Kelley's Favorite Wild Cat Finally Gets His Own Book!

When De was in the hospital those final few months and I was caring for him, he kept saying I should write a book about Deaken. I kept saying, "Maybe someday."  Then he said I should at least dedicate a book to Deaken--so I did that in the first book I wrote about De. He would have liked that, had he lived to read it...

De's "orders from headquarters" have haunted me all these years. "Yeah," I agreed, "I really should write a book about my 'serval son'...but how do I do that without making every other cat lover on the planet want one of their own?"

It took me more than a decade to figure it out. And the answer was as obvious as the nose on my face: TELL IT ALL!!! 

Not just the good stuff, but ALL of it: the bad, scary, stressful, painful, infuriating, off-putting stuff, too.  It was only in writing a well-rounded book that I could convince myself to write it at all.

There are people selling pet servals and serval cross breeds like the Savannah Cat. I researched some of them while writing this book.  Some are pretty honest when it comes to what it takes to honorably take care of a serval, their environment, and the people in it. 

But none of them (that I could find) stress the down side enough because...after all..they want people to buy their servals!  A serval goes for upwards of $3K and, in this economy, serval and serval hybrid selling may be all these folks have to live on. So they focus heavily on the up side of having a wild cat.  That's business. All businesses do that or very few would make any money.

That's why I wanted to write a precautionary book.  The illegal  wild animal trade  in this country is second only to the drug underworld when it comes to income. I learned this from Tippi Hedren who owns and operates The Shambala Preserve/ROAR Foundation in Acton, California. Add to that the legal trade in exotic cats, and what  you have are a helluva lot of people getting wild cats as pets, status symbols, bragging rights units, and what have you. Are they trained? Do they have a blue clue what they're getting into? Where did they go for their training?

It's not fair to the animal and it's not fair to the neophyte owner whose impulse buy creates havoc in his or her life.  Get an animal legally and pay through the nose for the privilege and responsibility. Get one illegally and pay the same amount while constantly looking over your shoulder to see if anyone has found you out.

I can't even imagine having kept Deaken illegally.  It was stressful enough having him legally! (Wait till you read the chapter 'Condo Floods, Deaken Discovered.' That's as close as I ever cared come to getting caught red-handed with an "illegal"--disallowed--cat! ) If I had to worry every day of his life that he could be confiscated, after losing my heart to him, it would have been an utterly miserable 17 years!

So I hope the book does what it's meant to do. I hope it informs and entertains the reader and that it encourages anyone even thinking about buying a wild pet to think it through thoroughly. Because it will be a life-changer, something akin to as life-changing as deciding to have a baby.  Only this baby never grows up; it just gets bigger, has fangs and claws, and can do a number on anyone or anything that crosses its path, usually for perfectly legitimate reasons to its way of thinking.

Owning a wild animal is not for amateurs or for anyone who wants any kind of a normal life.

Read the book.  You'll laugh, you'll sigh, you'll cry.  And you'll know why it's an important book, too. Nothing like it has been written with such naked honesty before.

It'll open eyes and touch hearts. My prayer is that it will touch the reasoning center of readers' minds as well as it touches the emotional center. If it does, I've done my job and I will be satisfied.

SERVAL SON: Spots & Stripes Forever will be released Sept. 1 by FutureWord Publishers and will be available at all online bookstores and at FutureWord.net.  Request that your local libraries get copies!

Living Life with "Christmas Tree Brain"--the Saga

Although I have never taken any kind of illegal drugs, I think I'm experiencing the same kind of weird ethereal sensation.

I have been saddled with what I'm calling "Christmas Tree Brain" ever since I got word that a boutique publisher wants to publish my newest manuscript SERVAL SON: Spots & Stripes Forever.

To all intents and purposes, I'm completely sane. I'm doing my copywriting job without a hitch, interacting as though nothing at all unusual is going on in my life. But every time I get a few minutes to myself--or as evening rolls around--I find my brain lit up like a Christmas tree, thinking about September 1st when I will hold my newest book in my hands.

A book I didn't self-publish. 

Hey, the five books I self-published were terrific enough. I loved holding them in my hands. I loved reading the reviews and getting the emails from readers about them. Don't get me wrong.

But they were all MY doing. I mean, no publisher was beating down my door seeking a piece of the action. Their publication was my doing--paid for entirely by me.  They looked good, they felt good. They were good!

This is even better. My brain won't stop lighting up like a blaring slot machine that's flashing some huge monetary number.

And (strangely enough) I'm not even thinking about what the success of this book could mean to my bank balance. That's so far down on the list, it's pathetic. (I really should put more stock in money than I do. But I never have, and I probably never will--which is why I usually have so little of it!) I didn't EXPECT to make much money on this book--I just needed to write it...for Deaken...because De said I should...and because I wanted to warn wild cat lovers about the kind of commitment they'll have to make if they get a wild cat (assuming they want to do it right.)

Try sleeping in a room with a loud, flashing slot machine ("Christmas Tree Brain") lighting up your cranium.  It's next to impossible. It feels so great I can't sleep!

This afternoon I read the manuscript again--for the first time in a month. It's GOOD!  It's FINE!  It's...everything I hoped it would be.

And it was all mine, just like the other ones. I wrote every word. But now someone else has come alongside me and negotiated a piece of the action, dived in to format it, paid for my copyright, and is doing everything else (money-wise) that I thought I'd have to do to bring the book to market. Somebody in the know, with a great sense of business, wants to take a hit monetarily for a chance to win big with my book!

It feels a little miraculous!

It's enough to make me wish I were a gecko so I could hang upside down on the ceiling and do a happy dance without giving myself a serious concussion--or worse!

It just blows me away!

Back Cover Copy for SERVAL SON/SPOTS & STRIPES FOREVER



COPYRIGHT MAY 27, 2011


If you have ever wondered what it would be like to own (and be owned by) a wild animal—especially a wild cat—get ready to experience it in a way you never have before.



The author, Kristine M. Smith, does not advocate the keeping of wild pets, especially wild cats, wild dogs and simians. To the contrary, for the many reasons she explains and has endured, she is opposed to wild animal ownership for most people. The commitment is brutal, the risks enormous, the memories indelible (good and bad).


But there are times when adopting a wild one in need seems uncontrollable, a part of your destiny. If you’ve felt the tug, this book will introduce you to what you’ll be getting into. Look before you leap.


You are responsible for all you tame.




About the Author: Kristine M Smith is an animal behaviorist and advocate with decades of combined experience as a wildlife rehabilitator, captive animal caretaker, and humane educator. She is also a well-regarded copywriter, writing for businesses around the world. Find out more at kristinemsmith.biz.

Got a Touching Note from a De Kelley Lass in Cork Ireland

Over the weekend I received a lovely email from a lady named Mary Tim (Kelly) Crowley in Cork Ireland about my book, DeFOREST KELLEY: A HARVEST OF MEMORIES.

She writes, "After reading it I feel I have just lived through with you the finish of a beautiful man's life... He was and still is loved... I thank God he had someone [to care for him]. Your book, and Terry Lee Rioux's [From Sawdust to Stardust, the Biography of DeForest Kelley, Star Trek's Dr. McCoy] helped us know him more.  I have sent his Actor's prayer to my nephew [Thomas Kelly] who also wants to be an actor. If he can be a good man like Mr. Kelley then he could be a good actor. It shines through. I was a fan of his since the first STAR TREK days, even skipping everything else on Friday nights. Now after reading his stories I have wept and laughed with you and felt with you. Thank you!"

****awwwww*****  Emails like this just make my day. They are far and few between anymore because the book came out so long ago, and I haven't been publicizing it much.  (You know a copywriter's first obligation is always to her clients. Like a mechanic, my own "vehicles" needs come last!)

This is just a reminder to those of you who have read the book that you may be passing on a blessing by recommending it to someone else who hasn't read it yet.  Just sayin'!  I would surely appreciate the boost whenever you get a chance to do something like this.  And if you haven't already written a review of it at Amazon, that would be another great way to give it a boost.  There are a lot of great reviews there, but I can always use more!

Thanks!

Kris

P.S. Hey, if you haven't read it yet and want to, and will commit to writing a review of it and recommending it to (or buying it for) at least two more people (I will want their names if you're recommending it, NOT if you're buying it), I will even send you the e-book version of HARVEST OF MEMORIES to read.

So send me an email to kristine m smith AT msn DOT com (no spaces between words) asking for the book and I'll send it to you free (IF you'll promise to tout it to others in the ways just mentioned).