Perceptions and Illusions

I'll be at the Seattle Bookfest tomorrow for several hours. Hope to see you there!

http://www.seattlebookfest.com/

Labels: Behold the Eye, Braumaru, Cerulea, events, publishing, Viridia, writing

Wow! That about sums up my first visit to Olympia, and the Timberland Olympia Library.

How can there be so many nice people all in one spot? At the hotel, in the restaurants, in the library...I didn't see a sour one in the bunch.

Do they drink different water there than we do here in Seattle? Not that Seattle people are cranky--but if you talk to more than 20 of us you are sure to find a few sour grapes.

Here is the publicized list of the authors (my name excluded since you already know me), there's not a bad one in the bunch! Note: I am of course speaking of their personalities--I haven't yet had time to read all their books. I've italicized (and in most cases linked) to the authors whose books I bought. Wouldn't it be great if I had enough money to buy from all the authors?

Peter Bacho, Gayla Balter, Hal Burton, Rod Davis, Llyn De Danaan, Lavada Dee, Todd Denny, Ulla Giesecke, Burt Guttman, Allison Imel Hamza, Jerry L. Kelley, Richard Kelley, Anthea Lawson, Wilfried Lippmann, Elizabeth Lonseth, Nikki McClure, Joe McDonald, Joe McHugh, Tony McKennon, John Perkins, Jan Pierson, Kathleen Powers, Mary Ellen Psaltis, Bill Ransom, Jon S. Robbins, Govinda Rosling, Gilbert Rossing, Joli Sandoz & Joby Winans, Douglas Schuler, Theresa Scott, Kathleen Shaputis, J.R. Stoddard, Gayle Ivory Strom, Ann Wendell, Kyung Soon Yun (I got this list from two different sources, so hopefully I didn't leave anyone out.)

I can honestly say that the first annual Timberland Olympia Book Fair was a wonderful experience for me. Even if I didn't sell....

Is that snickering I hear?

Jupiterians. I should have known I'd hear from you soon. What have you done now?

What!

Please tell me you didn't!

Sigh. One day, the Jupiterians will return home and my life will get easier. It's little wonder that people just smiled at me and moved on.

Those Jupiterians really pulled a good one on me this time. I never even thought to double check the prices on my sign.

What did all those nice people in Olympia think, when they read my posted price and discovered that I believed my books should cost $1500 apiece?

Sigh. They must have thought I was one piece short of a whole pie.

Sigh.

Labels: Behold the Eye, Braumaru, Cerulea, Jupiterians, travel, Viridia

A funny thing happened to me yesterday. I had spent most of the day preparing for my talk at the Olympia Timberland Library, stressed about those 10 tiny minutes as if they were 10 long hours.

After several hours work I was pretty proud of myself. I had finally come up with what I wanted to say, and I had almost nailed down how I wanted to say it. And how long was this wonderful speech? All of 7 minutes.

Can you tell I don't like to speak in front of strangers?

So anyway, I was still short 3 minutes. But what is 3 minutes! It had only taken me several hours to come up with those precious 7 minutes. No problem, right?

My husband, who is going to Olympia with me, wanted more information about exactly what was going to happen while we were there. So I immediately went to the library website to see what they had published.

I was a little surprised, but not concerned, to see a blurb stating that some of the authors were giving 20 minute talks. They must be the authors who enjoy public speaking. I was satisfied sticking to my 10 minutes, it was probably all I could handle.

But my husband wanted even more information. With a sigh, I dug out the email I had received so that he could read for himself the schedule for the day.

I almost fainted.

I am slated to give a 20 minute talk.

Maybe I can talk really, really slow.

Labels: Behold the Eye, Braumaru, Cerulea, family, life, Viridia, world, writing

I've just added myself as an author to the GoodReads site. It looks like a really good place to go to find new things to read.

I'm both excited and nervous about the upcoming bookfair at the Olympia Timberland Library. I know it's silly to be nervous about the little 10 minute talk I'll be doing. After all, I get up in front of people and speak almost every day.

But this is different. This will be a chance to speak from my heart about my books, something I passionately believe in. Which is probably the problem. I've already discovered that I am always nervous when I talk about my own books.

It could be that the more emotionally involved a person is with a topic, the more emotionally charged their speech will be.

Good grief! If I break out in tears I'll be horrified! I can imagine myself up there in front of the audience, blubbering away. Some people will be embarrased for me, and will look anywhere but in my direction. Others will get up and leave. Still others will snicker, glad that they aren't the idiot at the podium. At least one kind soul will bring me a tissue.

Enough of that nonsense! That is not the scenario that will play out! I will not focus on the worst that can happen, I will instead plan for the best. I'll wow them with my description of Braumaru, enthrall them with the concept of dream travel.

And, oh yes, I will somehow remember to breath.

Labels: Behold the Eye, Braumaru, Cerulea, life, publishing, Viridia, writing

1. Buy the books for yourself (apparent, I know, but sometimes it really doesn't hurt to state the obvious. You would not believe the number of people who have asked me for a free copies of the Behold the Eye trilogy, even though I have to pay for the books just like everyone else)

2. Buy the books to give as gifts.

3. If you have ever purchased anything on Amazon.com, you can write a review. So go ahead--write one! (You could start with Braumaru) You don't have to use your real name, the author does not need to know that you are the reviewer. (I wouldn't, I promise!) The more reviews posted, the more popular the books seem, the more popular the books become! (People love to read what is popular, no one wants to feel left out of the know)

4. Make a list on Amazon.com that includes the books, and include other already popular books of a similar nature. You know the old saying, birds of a feather flock together!

5. Talk about the books to friends,acquaintances, and random people you meet on the street. (you might get the right person interested, and suddenly, the books are to be made into a movie. I can see it now, everyone will be talking about my trilogy. The bright lights of Hollywood, the...oh, sorry, I got a little carried away)

6. Teachers often read novels to their class. If the books are appropriate for school, like my Behold the Eye trilogy (5th grade and up), ask a teacher if he/she would read it to his/her class. Or, be still my heart, use it as a classroom novel!

7. Request the books at your library. Most public libraries welcome purchase suggestons, there is usually even a form online. (You do all have library cards, don't you?)

8. Ask bookstores if they carry the author...they probably don't now, but you never know, they might start.

9. If you come across a site that allows comments about books, don't be shy! Use every opportunity to get the word out about the books. There are a lot of people out there who would probably love the books (i.e. Behold the Eye trilogy) if they only knew about them. Spread the word! Spread the word! (You might even post a link to the author's site, which will also help.)

10. Books like the Behold the Eye trilogy are not backed by a big New York publishing budget. As a matter of fact, the small publisher who published the trilogy has an exceeding slim budget, one of those typically called shoestring. Since I want the books to do well, I have to do the marketing work myself. Alas I, like everyone else in the world who works fulltime and has a family, am very busy. So any and all support counts for a lot. If you want to help my books, it would be a very friendly gesture if you just let people know about them. Maybe we can find out if word-of-mouth advertising really works! (I struggled to come up with a really good metaphor about how knowledge of the trilogy could spread, but I somehow kept mixing growing flowers with exploding stars. It didn't work, so I'll just spare everyone and leave it out.)

Labels: Behold the Eye, blogging, Braumaru, Cerulea, family, librarian, life, publishing, Viridia, world, writing

I was so happy yesterday! I ran a report to see which books have been checked out most in the last 30 days in my library, and was totally shocked to see Behold the Eye: Braumaru listed as #1! I ran another report, but this time for most checked out in 1 year. Braumaru was #4. Not bad for a book that has only been published about 8 months!

Then I got home, and waiting for me was a rejection letter from a contest I had entered Braumaru. Not only had I not won, but the reviewer thought that the book was too complicated for kids in Middle School, so they would become frustrated and not finish it.

Listen, I know that not everyone who reads my books are going to like them. This is a fact. I can live with it. I expect it.

But I would much prefer for the reviewer to state that s/he did not like my book rather than say that the middle school/young adult crowd are not smart enough to understand my books. That they would not be able to follow the storyline.

It makes me wonder if the reviewer actually reads fiction written for this age group. Does s/he not understand that books that have been dumbed down are quite often mundane and boring? Is it possible that s/he is not aware that the young mind is perfectly capable of handling and detangling complicated plots? Could it be that s/he does not know that a book that challenges while it entertains is a powerful encouragement to continued reading? Books need to be fun!

I am a mother, a librarian, and a writer.

As a mother, I've watched the reaction my children have had to various stimuli. And after watching, I made a conscious decision to be involved in what they were exposed to. Yes, I will admit it. I made careful selections (aka censoring) of my children's computer use, television viewing, and book choices. But my choices were never to dumb things down, only to keep out the inappropriate.

As a librarian, my job is to choose reading material that will encourage the love of reading and learning. I spend hours every day evaluating books to that end. What age group do I evaluate for you ask? Kindergarten through 12th grade. And to do this I ask a lot of questions of the kids, about what they like in a book, what keeps their interest, what makes them think!

As the writer of the Behold the Eye trilogy my goal was to write a story that I, as an adult, would enjoy reading, and that I could read aloud to my child.

Which is why I know some people will not like my books. The Behold the Eye trilogy has no vulgarity, no vampires, and no scenes that would make a person blush.

They are complex, interesting, and fun!

Labels: Behold the Eye, Braumaru, Cerulea, family, history, librarian, life, publishing, Viridia, world, writing

New Book for Young Adults Traversing the Landscape of Dreams

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Braumaru, a new book for young adults by first-time author Veronica Tabares, takes its readers on an expedition through the magical world of dreams.


"A fortunate few get to experience the rarest dream of all," says Tabares. "This brand of dream has no connection to the imagination and does not occur in the human head. Instead, it happens in a realm of its own - in the baffling, mysterious, and dangerous land of dreams."


Braumaru, the first book in the Behold the Eye trilogy, follows Micah, a young boy who lives in a world very similar to our own. Micah has completed his Rite of Passage, but he awaits true manhood, when his birth gift reveals itself.


Meanwhile, Vickie, a 6th-grader in our world, wants some excitement in her life. In her attempt to write a ghostly bestseller, she begins to truly observe her world and its mysteries. That is how she crosses paths with an unscrupulous janitor who hopes to travel to Micah's world and satisfy his quest for power.


"What happens when someone discovers how to travel through the land of dreams, and the lives of our world become entwined with those of the other dimension" says Tabares. "Read Braumaru to make that timeless, magical journey yourself."


About Veronica Tabares


Raised in Memphis, Veronica Tabares has traveled across many states and career fields. She has sold artwork to businesses, produced web content for a tech company, performed story time as a children's librarian, and taught 6th graders how to be safe on the Internet. Tabares has a Bachelor's in Anthropology and a Master's in Library and Information Science from the University of Washington. She currently lives in Seattle with her husband and four lovely daughters. For more information, please visit Behold the Eye: Braumaru (http://www.veronicatabares.com).

Labels: Behold the Eye, Braumaru, publishing

I just realized that I have not posted an image of the book.

How remiss of me!

I'll remedy that right now.

As I said before, Behold the Eye: Braumaru is available on Amazon.com

Labels: Behold the Eye, book cover, Braumaru, publishing

I did a search on Amazon today, and I couldn't believe that I actually found my book! It is available ahead of schedule, which suits me just fine.

You can find it at:

Behold the Eye: Braumaru on Amazon

Take a look!

The book was published by Sun Break Publishing.

Labels: Behold the Eye, Braumaru, publishing

I received my second proof today, and I feel like Goldilocks...it's just right!

It was a joy to press the button that gave my okay. Behold the Eye: Braumaru has now officially gone to press.

The word is that it should be available on Amazon.com as soon as two weeks.

Labels: Behold the Eye, Braumaru, publishing

It's such an odd sensation.

I hit "Publish" for my last post, and immediately the doorbell rang. It was my proof!

It is such a wonderful feeling to hold my own creation in my hands for the first time. In some ways the experience is quite like giving birth.

In both cases, there is wonderment that the time has finally arrived.
There is the joy of finally seeing what had before only been imagined.
And when emotions are finally calmed, there is the realization that in reality, the work was only beginning!

Because just as a child needs nourishment, guidance, and love, so does a book.

If I want my book to grow big and strong, I need to let people know it is out there!

Labels: Behold the Eye, Braumaru, publishing

I received an email telling me that the proof copy of Braumaru is on the way!

I'll have it in my hands any day now, and if all is well, it will soon be available for everyone!

I can't wait to see it in print. I especially can't wait to see if my daughter's illustrations look as good as I think they will.

Labels: Behold the Eye, Braumaru, publishing