I am very tired today. Not like this bee. The pollinators are buzzing and fluttering around like mad while the flowers are blooming in the high meadows. Then again so are the creatures that eat them.
 Sometimes as an author I feel a bit like a lizard. The story grows in the back of my head like a tail, it is a part of me, but then I write it down and shed it when the conditions are right. It looks like this little guy had a near miss recently and almost lost his tail so now he has a tail and a nub.
 Pussy Ears (Calochortus tolmiei) But don't scratch these! Finding myself rather at loose ends after my weekly shopping was done I commenced to wander the plaza while I waited for my frozen treat to melt. Habit and instinct drew my feet towards the bookstore that had just opened its doors but I did not have the cash to make a purchase and was debating weather or not to go in and face the temptation of row upon row of pre-loved knowledge. As I ambled past however I glanced inside and spotted a moving ball of fluff trying to get my attention. I obeyed the silent order and opened the large glass doors to be greeted by a large, orange Maine Coon. I did my usual check for vashta nerada but the cat was rubbing against me in the most demanding manner so I experimentally began to scratch in all the usual places. A bit of trial and error revealed that the cat was in desperate need of forehead scritches so I obliged him until he relaxed and wandered off to his cat tree. I bid the owner goodbye and wandered on. The next store over was a pet shop and to my surprise I was likewise accosted through the glass and a demand was placed on me for head scritches. However this business seemed to have no proprietor other than a (short-haired) feline, so I made my goodbyes to him and ambled back to the frozen treat I had left thawing in my car.
 Have a great weekend everyone and remember to stop and lick the dirty socks! (No really, the common name for Eriogonum pyrolifolium is Dirty Socks).
 Just something bright and cheery to usher in what is promising to be a record breaking weekend on the thermometer.
 Today is going into a story, I kid you not....
So in the Park where I work all dogs have to be on leash at all times to avoid harassing the wildlife. I spotted two campers letting their dogs (a small pug and a lab mix) romp free while the packed up camp. Already the squirrels and birds had cleared out so I gently suggested that they put the leashes on the dogs. The smiled widely and agreed immediately. The collard and leashes came out and were dutifully applied...then the campers went back to packing, leaving the dogs to roam free with the leashes on. I was staring blankly at this letter of the law obedience when the pug got this grin on his face, ambled over and picked up the other end of the lab's leash in his mouth, and grinned at me. That is one well trained set of pups! I confess I let my partner deal with the rest of it... In the high alpine meadows of North America the flower season is literally in full bloom. Every plant that can cram in a growing season in the few months that the ground is snow free is signaling to every pollinator available that it has precious cargo to ship as far as possible. This also signals to the more....interesting people that it is time to go camping. Today's real life inspired characters are a pair of little old women. They have been friends from childhood. One has a nervous and quiet disposition and they decide to go up to the mountains to relax in her European RV. The other has a wide range of knives, hatchets, firearms, and a 3lb shih tzu. Hilarity ensues.  Another great thing happened Sunday marketing wise. SPEAK UP LIBRARIAN a blog by the only librarian who will never tell you to shhhh, ran an author interview after doing a review for "Dying Embers". It is available HERE. The interview was fun to prepare for and I only missed a few grammatical errors in my part of it. (so embarrassed) Click the link and enjoy! On another note I saw this today. Anyone have any clue what it is? It was found at about 7000ft on an old road in an area that has never been logged.   The wonderful Jen (part time urban planner and full time mom) has granted "Dying Embers" a place on the Sunday Snippets section of her blog, "That's What I'm Talking About". Go over and have a look-see. Her's is a fun blog and well worth browsing a bit for the upbeat art as well as the good content.
Whether you are self published, traditionally published, or somewhere in between getting your book out into the market is very dependent on getting reviews. Of course you want positive reviews but any honest review is publicity and any publicity is good publicity. Traditional publisher handle most of the contacting reviewers and shipping the books with the self published have to do it themselves. This author has the takes of managing most of her own marketing campaign so while my publisher handles things like contacting the New York Times and other such institutions. Meanwhile I contact the roughly 300 bloggers necessary to garner a few dozen reviews.
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AuthorBetty Adams is an up and coming author with a bent for science and Sci-fi. Archives
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