Modified from the Foreword . . .
In 2014 I published a technical manual on proposal development — my work for 25 years — using little stories to illustrate many of the points I was making. It was a whack of work: the writing, the revising, the laying-out, the marketing. A. Whack. Why had no one warned me?
But as the trauma of giving birth to a book receded, I realized that there were still some stories I wanted to tell:
- To share the fun and the misery alike with other Proposal Landers
- To show their significant others what doing proposals is like
- To leave a record for grandchildren who one day might wonder what that old woman did for a living
- To make that little voice in my head shut up
I started picking away, writing up an incident here, an encounter there.
Then came the COVID-19 lockdown. I watched singers and dancers and musicians and videographers contribute their creative output for community morale, and I decided to finish this book and to set it free somehow.
That somehow is now defined.
Through August, I’m making excerpts available free on social media, my proposal blog, and here. That’s in lieu of me singing on YouTube. You’re welcome.
I’m also selling the entire book, with all proceeds going to Food Banks Canada. You can find it:
- As an e-book online (Amazon and Smashwords) ““ for $5 US (~ $7 CDN as of this writing)
- As a print book through Amazon – for $11 US plus shipping (~ $15 CDN, ditto)
- As a PDF by emailing me or contacting me through the blog ““ for $5 CDN
If you do buy it, thank you!
If you leave an online review, thanks again!
Finally, for a proper launch I figured I should do some book readings. Herewith, the YouTube video which is Part 1 of a physically distanced book launch; the corresponding viewable/downloadable PDF is below. Embedded PDFs are new for me, but it looks like you can scroll through it and, by moving your cursor over the text, you can also activate a toolbar at the bottom of the PDF image/page:
- To view it in full screen for easier reading
- To navigate through the pages
- To download it
Stay tuned over the next four weeks for more PDF excerpts and videos, and feel free to share this with your family, friends, and colleagues. In fact, please do.
Isabel
Sounds as if you have a good thing going. Is that stilling the little voices in your head?
I read an article yesterday that claims that authors hear the voices of their characters.
Tom
Tom – Has it stilled the little voices? No, but they’ve stopped arguing. 🙂 I can believe that fiction writers hear the voices of characters. I tend to launch from something that happened or something that was said, so it’s not a fair comparison/test.
Splendid and informative. Definitely a must-read and must-watch invitation. I will email you.
Laurna – Many thanks.
This is a brilliant idea! I want the book!
It was fun to listen to you.
Maybe it’s the humidity, but it took me a minute to realize who Buddy was.
My “Buddy” is Ms. Second Guesser, but she does make me a better writer, IMO (not hers). It’s always a trade-off. Do I listen to her or to me? Everything in life is a trade-off. But where would be the fun without it?
Barbara – Glad you enjoyed it. Buddy isn’t the voice in my head, if that’s what you mean. He/she was a real person who really said/did these things – but a different one in every story.
OH. I thought when you showed yourself (to your right) in the hat (on the vid).
BTW, I just bought your book. 😀
Barbara – I just didn’t have another (willing) actor/reader. 🙂 And that’s great (about the book)! Many thanks, and enjoy.