Friday, November 30, 2007

My Daughter's New Jewelry Video

Hi, Everyone!

My daughter just uploaded a video for her designer's jewelry on YouTube, and the event that she has planned for December 3rd. In this video she has also mentioned my books and the jewelry that she has designed for my characters in the Sarah's Landing Series. If you have a mind to, please check it out and let me know what you think. Thanks a million.

Here's the URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY_0uMkkN8U

Best,
Elena
Elena Dorothy Bowman
************************************
Journey to the Rim of Space and Beyond
http://elenadb.home.comcast.net
http://www.sarahslanding.com
http://www.myspace.com/elenabowmanauthor
http://elenadorothybowmansbooks.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

The Imposter

Time-Rift-2

The Legacy Series

The Sarah's Landing Series-2

Kindle

Hi, again!

I don't really know what "Kindle" is, but from what I have been able to discover, it is a unit that downloads all sorts of stuff, e-books included but in a different format, which Amazon has introduced. It's a wireless, portable reading device with instant access to more than 90,000 books, blogs, newspapers and magazines. What the description says it will do is: Whether you are in bed or on the train, Kindle lets you think of a book and get it in less than a minute. (No, it isn't based on telekinesis. You have to pick out the item you want and hit the submit button for that to happen). From the sound of the reviews, this gadget is a miracle worker. The unit is the size of a paperback, the font can be made larger or smaller depending upon who's eyes, young or more mature)that are doing the reading. Apparently, it also answers questions you give it. You can look up a book, review it and buy it right away. Entire books download in a few seconds. 765 reviews are already listed on Amazon about this unit giving it 3 stars. Some think, this is the wave of the future for ebooks. The question is: what will this do to print books?

Elena

My Books

Hi, Everyone!

For reasons I won't go into here, I have been unable to get my books in Barnes and Noble and Borders brick and mortar stores. I'm not sure they are even listed with them. And independent book stores in my area are nil. But hope springs eternal.

There is an upscale "gift" shop in the same area which supports, TJMax, a clothing store, and a supermarket, that recently opened up a Christmas shop in the area that once held a drug store. On an impulse I went into the gift shop and asked the manager if she would carry my books. She sent me over to the Christmas Shop to speak to the owner of the Gift Shop and after discussing the prospect of his carrying my books in his store he was agreeable.

Since I do have several copies of Sarah's Landing-I-Contact - from iUniverse on hand, along with copies of The House On The Bluff and The Gatekeeper's Realm, I was fortunate enough to sell him (yes he bought them outright), 5 copies each of The House and Gatekeeper and 4 of Sarah's Landing. In all he wrote me a check for 14 books. He said if they do well in that store, he will put them in his store in another town. I asked him if he would like me to set up a book signing for him. He answered that he would be for it when things get slow. WOW!!!

I was hoping to get my books in his store, but I didn't expect him to buy them outright and place them in his gift shop. Said he always wanted to add books to his gift shop but never got around to it. Luckily, I was the first local author who had walked in with books in hand and possibly at the right time as well. Now all I need is for them to sell and for him to ask for more books. Wouldn't that be great!!! *grin* from ear to ear!!!!

Elena

Monday, November 26, 2007

Kindle

Hi, Everyone!

I just recently learned that all of my books with the exception of The Imposter is listed on Amazon.com's kindle list. I'm not sure just what "kindle" is yet, but hopefully, it will be the wave of the future for readers...that is those who prefer to hold an electronic device in their hands instead of a book. Personally, I prefer a book in my hands, but I can see the advantage of a device that would hold more than 200 items in one small hand-held apparatus. Anyway, that's my take on it. I will admit, it was wonderful to see all my books listed.

Best,
Elena
Elena Dorothy Bowman
************************************
Journey to the Rim of Space and Beyond
http://elenadb.home.comcast.net
http://www.sarahslanding.com
http://www.myspace.com/elenabowmanauthor
http://elenadorothybowmansbooks.blogspot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU_cDvprOqo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCh0IBGa3cU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFv1-K9cki4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq4QA3M3G3A

My Book Trailers

Hi, Everyone!

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving and looking forward to the Christmas Holidays. Recently, I uploaded a new trailer for The Sarah's Landing Series-2 adding music to it that I found adds to the video. I had to remove the music from Time-Rift because I was informed that it distracted viewers from reading the script. So for now, Time-Rift-2 has no music until I can discover what would really go with it. The urls to all of my videos are listed below. Hope you can take a moment or two to view them. I had fun putting them together and trust you think it was worth your while to visit.

Thanks again.

Elena
Elena Dorothy Bowman
************************************
Journey to the Rim of Space and Beyond
http://elenadb.home.comcast.net
http://www.sarahslanding.com
http://www.myspace.com/elenabowmanauthor
http://elenadorothybowmansbooks.blogspot.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU_cDvprOqo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCh0IBGa3cU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFv1-K9cki4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq4QA3M3G3A

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Interview with Christee Gabour Atwood

Today we have a special guest, Christee Gabour Atwood. Christee is a multi-talented creative woman whose attributes run a large gauntlet. Some of her professional titles are:

Radio and Television Host
Newspaper Columnist
Association Executive
Certified Corporate Trainer
Master Facilitator
Public Relations Director
College Faculty
Advertising Director
Universal Studios Tour Guide
Editor/Publisher
Lobbyist
Volunteer Coordinator
Stand-up comic
Convention Planner
Actress
Corporate & Non-profit Consultant
Festival Coordinator
Entertainer in the unemployment line

She likes to think of it as career-induced ADD.

EDBB: Welcome to my blog Christee. It's a pleasure to have you here.

CGA: Thanks! It’s a pleasure being ‘had’ here… Well, you know what I mean.

EDBB: You have so many creative attributes, how do you decide which to focus on and when?

CGA: Ack! You’ve hit upon my greatest challenge right there. I have difficulty narrowing my projects down to work on one thing at a time.

I’ve had to incorporate the system of hiding all other shiny objects from myself while I’m working on a project. I’ve even created a separate desktop on my computer so that I only have the one file I’m working on visible and all the other folders are neatly out of sight.

I believe if I were a little better focused, I’d be more successful, but having the attention span of an over-caffeinated gnat has kept life really interesting for me.

EDBB: What affect do all your projects have on your home life? Does your family support you in your multi-faceted career?

CGA: I don’t have any children, thank goodness. Those poor kids would never have a clean pair of underwear…

My husband and my pets support me whole-heartedly. And yes, I end up traveling quite a bit, so that my dog actually barked at me one time when I came home. The hard part is that husband always gets the “exhausted me”, while everyone else gets the “awake me”.

It also means that I have pet dust bunnies in my home, plastic containers in my refrigerator that I’m scared to open, and the artistic statement of “fur” on my ceiling fans.

But all of that is part of what makes me individual … an individual whose house no one comes to visit … but an interesting one nonetheless…

EDBB: Which of your hats do you enjoy wearing the most and why?

CGA: I love alternating between the solitude of writing and the exhilaration of performing. It’s the best of both worlds. I also get to see the immediate impact of my words and that helps me continue to develop my skills.

EDBB: Of your 19 plus careers, which do you spend the most time on? And why?

CGA: Right now, I spend the most time on seminars and training. It makes Mr. Electricity Bill very happy. It’s also really rewarding to be able to make a difference in people’s lives. I love helping people become stronger communicators.
But it’s funny how that has transferred into my writing career. My three books that are coming out right now are based on that training. They’re business and training books, Succession Planning Basics, Presentation Skills Training, and Manager Skills Training. And they are written from the experiences I’ve had working with people in those seminars.

EDBB: How did you breach the Radio and Television World to become a Host? A Newspaper Columnist, a Tour guide for Universal Studios?

CGA: I’ve got to tell you – radio is the best place to work on your communication skills. It teaches you to use the ABCs: Accurate, Brief, and Clear. It was that ability which allowed me to move into all the other careers that I’ve had.

In radio, I concentrated on the spoken word. In television, I was able to practice presentation skills. And those skills made me stronger in getting messages across. Every career I’ve had is just practicing that in different settings.

EDBB: Just how did you entertain all those out-of-work people in the unemployment line, and did the "powers that be" offer to pay you for your time?

CGA That was when I developed the first material for my stand-up comedy act. And I made almost as much money as I did in stand-up comedy.

In other words, I didn’t make a thing. Darn. But honestly, I’ll do anything for a captive audience. Don’t ever get stuck in an airplane seat next to me.

EDBB: The title(s) of your books are an inspiration. How did you come up with them?

CGA: Three Feet Under: Journal of a Midlife Crisis was actually a collaborative effort between the publisher and me. The editors there were all fans of the show “Six Feet Under”. However, the show was canceled at the same time my book came out.

I’ve always had good timing like that. My first humor book came out the week of September 11th. My second came out around the time of Hurricane Katrina. I don’t think my publisher wants me to put out another humor book. They’re scared of what might happen.

My titles always choose themselves. They usually include something that frustrates me and the twist that allows me to laugh at it. Like the upcoming sequel to Three Feet Under is In Celebration of Elastic Waistbands. It just represents where I am in my life.

EDBB: Can you tell us what your exact thoughts were at that moment in time when that blue-eyed young man called you "Ma'am"? Or, do you consider that information Top Secret?

CGA: No secrets here. I was heartbroken. I thought I was going to be “Mrs. Robinson” in The Graduate. Instead I was Mrs. Kravitz in Bewitched.

EDBB: How long did it take you to write this novel? And why did you decide to write this particular one?

CGA: It took 45 years. It was a conglomeration of thoughts and columns I had been writing for years. I actually sat down to write it after getting “spayed”. After my hysterectomy I had to sit still for a few weeks and was terribly bored, except for those moments of excitement and cursing that accompanied a sneeze. I put it together during that time. The book was even funnier to me while I was still taking the pain killers…

Why? I just liked the idea of embarrassing myself publicly and making people realize that it was okay to admit that we are a bundle of insecurities, a mass of conflicting thoughts, and more than a little confused. I enjoyed realizing that all the mistakes I’ve made in life have added up to me being the person I am today. And that person is not half-bad, so I guess they weren’t such terrible mistakes after all.

EDBB: Given your heavy schedule why did you decide to add writing to your resume?

CGA: I’ve been writing since childhood, when my parents owned a small weekly newspaper and I took my naps in the bottom drawer of the file cabinet. It’s been more natural to me than speaking ever since they gave me my first black cast iron Royal typewriter and I set up office in the hot water heater closet at home.

The written word is incredible. It allows us to create our own world where we decide the weather. It allows us to be the hero and the villain. It makes us think beyond what exists and ask, “What if?” And that “what if” is the best start to anything we’ll ever write.

EDBB: How much time do you spend writing your books? How does this adversely impact on your other professional careers?

CGA: I write a few hours every day. Some of it makes it into my books. The rest is filed away for future projects. There’s no such thing as wasted writing! And there’s no time for concepts like writer’s block. If you’re a taxi driver, you hit the road. If you’re a maid, you clean things. If you’re a writer, you throw words at a piece of paper. Some of them stick.

Quite often a lesson from my professional career makes it into my writing and vice versa, so these careers actually positively impact each other. And, with my short attention span, it works well for me to have a number of things to work on available to me at any given time.

Have you ever noticed that, when you have only one thing to do in a day, it takes all day to do it? If you have lots to do, you get each thing done more quickly? That principle works well works for me…

EDBB: If you weren't writing books, what would you prefer to be doing instead? Which of your many "hats" would you prefer to wear all the time?

CGA: I have to admit, I don’t want to do anything other than what I’m doing. I love writing and speaking with people. The opportunity to do those two things for a living is my dream life. Of course, I wouldn’t mind having a little financial security, but I feel that enjoying the basic four food groups and indoor plumbing are somewhat overrated in the big scheme of things.

EDBB: Thank you Christee for visiting my blog today. It was a pleasure getting to know you. Congratulations on your career, you are an inspiration to all of us.

CGA: Thanks so much. It’s been fun! And my career, which is just a work in progress, is better because I get to visit with people like you!

Thursday, November 8, 2007

ReadersStation Newsletter

Hi Everyone,

I'm sharing the link to the Readers' Station Newsletter for November. Hope you'll give it a glance and enjoy visit the site.

http://www.readersstation.com/nov_2007.htm

Best,
Elena

My video urls

Hi, Everyone!

I'm taking Steven's suggestion and posting the urls for my videos on my blog. I will try to upload the embeds later, but for now here are the urls. Hope you take a moment or two to view them.

Thank you!

Elena

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz-MQ1KjsLk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq4QA3M3G3A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7Sze3j0X_Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCh0IBGa3cU