What Exactly Am I Doing?

So this year I did a few different types of book signing events instead of going to libraries and Christmas parties like I'd done in the past. Just to try something different.

I attended a Tradeshow and sat in the doorway at a few very large and incredible groceries stores and I went to the kickass bookstore of Chapters in Regina.

Each one was a fun event, but they were costly, as I don't live in these cities and had to travel, sometimes stay the night, eat, shop, and whatnot. I enjoyed meeting the helpful and very patient and supportive staff at each location. I do have to admit that these events are stressful beforehand. Mostly because I'm never sure what to expect, being green and all. I found having my hair cut before helped so it was easy to do, and thankfully I tried my pants on the week before and discovered that I must have tossed them in the dryer by mistake because they were way too short! (unless I grew?)

Someone told me to get my nails done, since this is what people are looking at while you sign, but this isn't something I usually do and well... it felt awkward and unnatural and was more stressful so I didn't do that again. No one looked at my hands. While I signed, they picked up another book and read the jacket of that one, too. Or they collected bookmarks. Or they told me a joke.

Of course, I did my research and read about the tips other authors had and kept the attitude that each event was more about visibility and promoting myself, not about selling books (but that is a plus if it happens). Which was great but then when someone would ask what this book or that book was about, I would draw a blank. I read Ghosts on the Prairies 70 times. I know every word by heart. So why couldn't I stumble out the basic plot in the moment? Urgh. So to solve my sudden stupidity, I had rack cards made with the Whispering Stories on one side and the Sacred Land Stories on the other, and a quick little blurb about them that sums up what each one is about. This helped target readers to the books they wanted, but I found the covers also drew them in. Teens went straight for Can't Dream Without You and men for Ghosts on the Prairies. Which, of course, makes sense since those are my target audiences, but it was still fun to see how well the covers and titles worked to lure people to pick them up.

I got told I was living the dream by a guy, who apparently was considering quitting his job to do what I was doing. I wished him luck. My thoughts were somewhat more on "What exactly AM I doing?" 

I was told by someone who I talked to about each book in great detail that she was going to go to the library to borrow them tomorrow since she was too cheap to buy them (her words, not mine). I smiled and thanked her because maybe she'll like them and recommend them to someone else. It felt like time well spent.

I watched a wife drag her husband from my table. Twice. I decided if he sneaked over a third time I was giving him a copy of Ghosts on the Prairies, since he was drooling for it.

I watched a teen drag his mother to the table. She let him buy Can't Dream Without You and damn, did he ever look like he was about to read the most forbidden book ever written.

I was asked for directions, for a cart, for peanuts that were on sale, and I had to fix a rug that got caught in the door. A gentleman thought I was with the Salvation Army taking donation for Christmas. I ate waayyyy too much fudge at the Tradeshow and was buzzed up for hours. Not even sure how we got home.

I bought chocolates for the staff at Chapters because they had suffered an event that day and were still awesome. For those of you who don't know Chapters--wow. All I can say. The place is where I want to work, sleep, eat, and visit if I ever move to the city.

Here are a few pictures of me at some of the places. I didn't get one at Estevan where I was at the big and incredible Southern Plains Co-op Food Store. It was after a snow storm, which gave me a lot to talk about with the customers and staff. Plus, I met this incredible man who told me the greatest stories and totally made the day!

Me at my first Tradeshow. Saw a lot of familiar faces that day! I also brought the  historical magazine I worked on for the Community Center as this was a great place to promote the research into the local history that I love and do.

Me at Chapters.
The morning got off to a bad start as the place was closed due to an event. So I didn't get in and set up until 2pm, which was when I was supposed to be leaving. The incredible staff let me stay as long as I wanted and I saw and met so many people, and best of all, I was standing in front of a Harry Potter display and my bestie came to share the day!  

NOW! THE BEST PART is that they put my books on the shelf. That's right, my friends, my books are at this awesome store, on the shelf and selling. I have no words to describe how weird it felt to see them on the self.

Me at Save on Food in Regina. It was New Year's Eve and busy, but many people took a moment to chat.

So what tips do you have for hosting such an event where you have to stand for hours on unfamiliar ground, meet people, chat with strangers, and talk about yourself and your work?

National Family Literacy Day

This year for National Family Day I thought I'd share a few Saskatchewan authors.

One of our favourite series is the Tunnels of Time. There is a magic about them tunnels that sucks us in!






The very shocking ending and the thrilling writing of Cambrian will haunt ya. 

Who Has Seen The Wind was filmed in a town not far from where I live. 








I enjoyed the very interesting tale of Dust. Love it when magic happens on the prairies.






Margaret Atwood isn't from Saskatchewan, but she is Canadian. So I'll squeeze her in the list, because I can.









Books by Saskatchewan authors

And some French ones. ;) 

Have you enjoyed any books lately by authors from your area?

Behind the Story

Upcoming4.me is featuring Ghosts on the Prairies in their Behind The Story segment.

Check it out Here!

Ghosts on the Prairies, a Sacred Land Story

GHOSTS ON THE PRAIRIES is now available in PAPERBACK HERE  HERE FOR CANADIANS             


Cover by Alison Buck

GHOSTS ON THE PRAIRIES 
A Sacred Land Story for adults
By Tanya Reimer

Elsewhen Press

ISBN paperback: 9781908168436 

ISBN ebook: 9781908168535
Elsewhen Press

Bootleggers, slavery, fools in sheets, spirits, shifty tunnel runners, even exploding churches.

Some things are worth a fight. Strong words that Antoine’s father drilled into him. After his father mysteriously vanishes one night, Antoine must find another income or he risks losing the Sacred Land that his father swore to protect. Working on a ranch, Antoine meets Emma, a victim of underground slavery.

Fighting for her freedom costs him his home, his sister, his best friend, and puts in question all of his values. If he succeeds, will she and her son fit into his world?

Ghosts on the Prairies, a Sacred Land Story- Trailer by Elsewhen Press

Petrified

So I knew they were going to be coming out close together, but it still feels a little surreal to have two books out within a few weeks of each other. 

Now out by Sunbury Press.

PETRIFIED

What they have to say:

Bogies attack on the Saskatchewan prairie 100 years from now. A 13 year old boy must stop them!

August 4, 2014 by sunburypress

MOOSE JAW, Canada — Sunbury Press has released Tanya Reimer’s novel “Petrified,” a speculative young adult novel about a young lad from Saskatchewan who must save the world 100 years in the future.

About the Book:

Legends say that when all hope is lost, Grey Whisperers will save the world.

It’s 2115 and hope is lost.

Bogies attack on the Saskatchewan prairies turning men to stone.

Grey Whisperers have vanished.

Yet one boy has faith. Gabe might only be thirteen but he’s studied Notebooks written by Grey Whisperers all his life. He believes they will come.

Even after bogies haul off his brother and pick Gabe as their next target, he refuses to give up.

On the run, he befriends two special Whisperers who use his Notebooks to tame the ghostly monsters with nothing but magical whispers. The trio set out to fight the enemy behind the attacks but the truth puts in question everything they believe in, even their friendship.

Excerpt:

Saskatchewan, 2115—

Gabe cupped his hands to get a drink of the cold water. The Moose Jaw river wasn’t clean enough for him to drink from, but he’d found a brook beside the city where the water tasted like it did back home, on the sacred hill. The brook overlooked the Saskatchewan prairies and every time he glanced that way, Gabe was tempted to return to his cellar to study and well… to catch a decent nap. He hadn’t seen his bed in a long time and the way things were going, he might never see it again. Why did that thought twist his guts?

Gabe shook the dirt from his long, grimy red hair and studied himself in the water. His black eye didn’t throb right now, but it looked bad. He couldn’t believe he’d let a girl beat him up and chase him out of Moose Jaw.

He scooped up a second mouthful of water, feeling more alone than ever. A movement reflected in the water. Gabe glanced up. A large bird circled above him. It was brown with grey streaks and twice his size. All his senses were alert with the sudden presence of the bogie. Last time he’d encountered one of these spirit-monsters it had tried to turn him to stone. Would this one, too?

Gabe slowly backed away from the water, trying not to draw attention to himself.

“Light, shield me,” he whispered, and a magical light appeared and twirled in front of him. It warmed his face as it surrounded him like a shield, giving him a new sense of hope. It might not protect him if the bogie dived, but it was worth a shot. He was a Whisperer, after all—why not use magic to protect himself?

About the author:
Speculative Fiction Author, Tanya Lynne Reimer is also director of a non-profit French Community Center on the Canadian prairies. Many of her novels are inspired by her years of research into Saskatchewan’s local Francophone history.

She claims to have a very ordinary life, spiced up with a writing addiction. It’s how she gets a rush. In fact, just last night she found a way to kill an immortal and whispered him to Afterlight.

Petrified

Authored by Tanya Reimer

List Price: $14.95
5.5″ x 8.5″ (13.97 x 21.59 cm)
Black & White on White paper
184 pages
Sunbury Press, Inc.
ISBN-13: 978-1620064542
ISBN-10: 1620064545
BISAC: Juvenile Fiction / Dystopian

Also available on Kindle and Nook

For more information, please see:

http://www.sunburypressstore.com/Petrified-9781620064542.htm

For more links, check out my website: Here

Ghosts on the Prairies in eBook

I am very excited and proud to announce that

Elsewhen Press has released Ghosts on the Prairies as an eBook 

available on Amazon

Look for it in paperback later this fall.

Here's what they have to say about it:

Some things are worth a fight 
Strong words that Antoine’s father drilled into him. After his father mysteriously vanishes one night, Antoine must find another income or he risks losing the Sacred Land that his father swore to protect. 

Working on a ranch, Antoine meets Emma, a victim of underground slavery. Fighting for her freedom costs him his home, his sister, his best friend, and puts in question all of his values. If he succeeds, will she and her son fit into his world? 

As the law of the Ghost tribes says: 
Respect others, respect yourself, and respect nature. 

This suspenseful and beautifully written story concerns the interwoven loves, hopes, dreams and tragedies of lives lived in backwater towns and isolated farmsteads of the US-Canadian border lands, where hard work, lawlessness and harsh, summary punishment are a way of life. A network of secret underground tunnels, linking the controlled and controlling world to the south with the Sacred Lands of the Ghost tribes across the border to the north, offers the possibility of escape and freedom. 

“Using a light touch, Tanya’s story draws on spiritual beliefs and mystical traditions and deals with the dark, lingering shadow of slavery; with racism, sexual abuse and religious intolerance; with the corrosive effects of all-consuming greed; with exploitation; and with the clash of cultures, concerning the nature of ownership.” 

Tanya enjoys using the setting of the prairies for her stories, many of which are inspired by her years of research into Saskatchewan’s local Francophone history.

--Elsewhen Press

BUY IT TODAY ON KINDLE, KOBO, GOOGLE PLAY

Petrified Has a Home at Sunbury Press!

Here is the cover for my new young adult novel Petrified. It will be released shortly by Sunbury Press.
I'm excited about this one because it is the first of the Whisperer books to be unleashed!  And even better it is a book I wrote for my kids.

I am just blown away by the cover design by Amber Rendon. Wow.

Legends say that when all hope is lost, Grey Whisperers will save the world..

It’s 2115 and hope is lost.

Bogies attack on the Saskatchewan prairies turning men to stone.

Grey Whisperers have vanished.

Yet one boy has faith. Gabe might only be thirteen but he’s studied Notebooks written by Grey Whisperers all his life. He believes they will come.

Even after bogies haul off his brother and pick Gabe as their next target, he refuses to give up.

On the run, he befriends two special Whisperers who use his Notebooks to tame the ghostly monsters with nothing but magical whispers. The trio set out to fight the enemy behind the attacks but the truth puts in question everything they believe in, even their friendship.

Ghosts on the Prairies' Home

Me signing one of my contracts. It's been a busy year.

Bootleggers, slavery, fools in sheets, spirits, shifty tunnel runners, even exploding churches!

I am so excited to announce that I found the perfect home for Ghosts on the Prairies at Elsewhen Press. (Happy dance it out with me, my friends!! Whoohoo.)

It will be published this year in digital and print editions.

Here is a link to the Press Release announcing the good news. I am excited to work with them on this Sacred Land Story and if you check out their site you'll see why. Ghosts on the Prairies will be right at home among some pretty cool books... well, until you take it home with you to hang with your awesome books, that is!!

In the Press Release, Al Murray, Managing Publisher of Elsewhen Press says “Using a light touch, Tanya’s story draws on spiritual beliefs and mystical traditions and deals with the dark, lingering shadow of slavery; with racism, sexual abuse and religious intolerance; with the corrosive effects of all-consuming greed; with exploitation; and with the clash of cultures, concerning the nature of ownership.”

About Elsewhen Press
Elsewhen Press is an independent publisher of Speculative Fiction. Based in the UK, in the South East of England, Elsewhen Press publishes titles in English in digital and print editions, adopting a digital-first policy for most titles and a digital-only policy for some. Elsewhen Press is an imprint of Alnpete Limited.

Don Britt Shares

(I had to repost this. Not cool blogger. But life's like that. If you commented, I will repost your comments if you don't.)

Recently, Don came by for a visit. See HERE for his story and interview. He was moved by all the encouraging comments you great writers left, and so I posted his reply here because, well, it's my blog to have my way with as I please.

I do have to say, Don's interview generated the most page views I've had so far in one day!!!

Hi Tanya! Hi all!

Thanks to everyone for taking an interest in my 'act of insanity'. It's a great challenge to build any kind of platform as a writer these days, as Tanya and I have discussed. I'm impressed with Tanya's answer to that problem. 'Life's Like That' is an erudite and witty blog, very well written. The over the top option I've taken in hopes of finally garnering some attention is a kind of double edged sword.

First, it has managed to get people looking my way. In a way far more than I had hoped. I've gotten some national media attention and I've written an entry on stage at West Ed. The managing editor of the 3-Day Novel contest told me that no winner of the contest has ever drawn the kind of attention I have. That certainly appeals to the closet megalomaniac in me.

At the same time a simple truth remains. If you manage to get some attention using an over the top gimmick, then almost everyone will just want to talk about the over the top gimmick. Tanya is in the very gracious minority of people who have dropped by my site - she's actually read some of my stuff! That means a lot. But in terms of my ultimate goal of getting noticed by a publisher, it's not at all clear how this kind of marathon can help.

In response to Margo's question (Hi Margo!) I've had very little success with stories that I've planned out in advance. I'm a swooper, a guy who always flies by the seat of his pants. What I'm forever looking for is a character and a circumstance, a compelling starting point. And I just let it rip from there. For more on this, and why 'pre-planning' just doesn't work for me, you might like to check out my blog entry 'On Feeling Real': http://24novels.com/

Thanks again to everyone. Your comments (and even critiques!) are always welcome.

Don

I didn't only read his work, I recommend that others do. I can fly through one in a couple lunch hours-- they're such an easy read.

If flying by the seat of your pants works, stick with it. Your writting speaks for itself. First drafts are too much fun and I hope if nothing else you enjoy your journey!!

Don't forget, Don's next live-writing is on Friday, May 13th.

Update on Inside a Writer's Mind

During lunch, I peeked in to read another one of Don Britt's first drafts and caught him in the process of writing LIVE. Today is day one, if anyone is curious I attached the link. He has the weekend to finish it. Pretty neat to witness, I felt like I was intruding in his thoughts. http://www.24novels.com/

Inside a Writer's Mind

No one sees our first drafts. Sometimes, for several good reasons.

Yet, Don Britt recently took on a challenge to write 24 novels in 1 year. Think that's insane, right? It gets worse. He puts his work on line, LIVE. That's right. What he writes, as he writes it. Okay, that proves our winters are too long in Canada, and in itself, it's enough for me to drive to his house and take his temperature. But it screams even more intervention time than that, you see, each book has to be done in a 72h period.

I can't even comprehend that part. 72 hrs.

At first, I thought, what is he doing? Has he gone mad? Is this what happens to writers after years of juggling life and writing? Is this a new form of suicide?

I mean, gee, I thought I was a sucker for punishment, but I can't even justify self torture like this. Most I ever wrote was four books in a year, and the ones that pass the potential test will take years of editing/revising before anyone else gets to breathe near them.

Still, I was intrigued and looked up his website. http://www.24novels.com/  (Admit it, you will too.)

Now I'm hooked.

It was exciting to get inside the head of another writer, to see how he gets from point A to point B, in a first draft. A first draft. Wow, that takes guts.

I'm really rooting for him too. ( I say this as I clutch my seventeenth draft tighter.) Yeah, glad it's not me, still you know... some weird little twisted part of me wishes it was.

We do insane things for a rush, don't we? Cripes, I'm tempted to try.

Good luck Don and I hope you have fun, because honestly, that's what life is all about.