The New Mexico Book Co-Op (April)

I can't believe it's been a month already… time is just flying by this year and I can't seem to keep up. So much is happening! I've had a crazy and busy week and I almost decided not to go to this NM Book Co-Op meeting, but then I remembered the topic of discussion: Book Sell Sheets.

I'd never even heard of a sell sheet for books until last month's meeting—and the timing turned out to be perfect for me since I ended up needing one for my own book—the very next day. But I had no idea what I was doing when I put that together and I wanted to find out more.

I have to admit, I was a bit late to the luncheon… I basically skipped the lunch part and arrived just as the talk was starting. This time the entire room was given a chance to introduce themselves and their books (if they had one). Then the guest speaker was introduced: John Hoffsis of Treasure House Books & Gifts, on the Old Town Plaza…

Random ABQ (The First)

So, this is one of the reasons I love my town… the random "strange & wonderful" things that happen. This is a photo I shot the other night, walking down Central Avenue (main street ABQ for the out-of-towners), and there are a couple horses hitched up outside a bar, in the city center, and a movie shooting down the street—not connected to each other in any way, they were just there. Gotta love it.

The New Mexico Book Co-Op

I vaguely knew of the NM Book Co-Op before this meeting. It was something I heard mentioned or saw in e-newsletters—but this was the first time I've attended one of their meetings, and I was really impressed.
Okay, it was held at a local Golden Corral Restaurant, but I'd never been to one before and had little idea what to expect… it was kind of like a food theme park. LOL
The Co-Op had a private room for the meeting though, and once everyone had had a chance to eat and socialize for a bit, the meeting began. There was general news and open discussion, mostly about the Tucson Festival of Books. Apparently this is an amazing event—people that had attended only had wonderful things to say. I also got an earful about promoting your books in general—little did I know I'm supposed to have a box of my own books in the trunk of my car at all times (I have to admit, I've missed out on quite a few sales in the past year just because I was only carrying one copy of my book on me) and sell sheets.
The theme for the meeting was 'The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Book Signings'. Local authors Anne Hillerman and Don Bullis, plus local indie bookseller and 'author herder' Ollie Reed. They all had personal takes on the subject, the the overall messages were: be prepared, work/schmooze/SELL (don't just sit there and smile), find organizations and events that relate to your book–outside bookstores!, the more you say yes—the more contacts & connections you make, send out your own press releases, and oh yeah, BE PREPARED. ;)

Don Bullis, Anne Hillerman, and Ollie Reed talk about Book Signing Events

The upcoming meetings are on book sell sheets and book production—one of which I know nothing about and one of which I could actually contribute to the discussion. I am definitely looking forward to getting more involved with the Co-Op.

*I also entered my little picture book in the New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards. Keeping my fingers crossed!

My Book is for SALE: The Zoo's Annual Piggyback Race

The book is here, at last!

Hello, hello! It's been a pretty busy year so far, and now I get to announce that my first illustrated children's picture book is out and available to purchase, directly from me! I've been toiling away with website technicalities for weeks now, and I discovered… there's a reason I don't do web design/programing. I couldn't make it work, so I turned back to my old friend Etsy. I've added the book as my one and only listing for the time being, there are several copies available, so when the initial quantity for this listing runs out, I will re-list it ASAP. I plan to add prints from the book in the next few weeks as well — keep an eye out!

**Please note, shipping time is slow for the time being while initial orders are placed, but will speed in the next few weeks… please bare with me!

BUY THE BOOK

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

In the meantime, here are some pictures from the Barnes &Noble Story Time I did this past Wednesday, March 13th.

Story Time in the fabulous Kids' section at
Barnes & Noble, Coronado Mall — ABQ, NM

There was singing, reading, and crafting galore!

On the shelf, right next to Chu's Day…
it pays to have bookseller friends!

BUY THE BOOK

My AWESOME support team,
the ABQ Tangerine Cafe Design Group
Daniel Hulsbos, Me, Lynn Platow, and Brittany Archuleta

*Extra special thanks to Lynn Platow for taking these fabulous candid photos!

CPSA Meeting: Plein Air Drawing in the East Mountains

Yesterday I took a drive up to my friend Betty's house, were our local CPSA chapter was gathering for our monthly meeting. Usually we meet in town, but this month Betty invited us out to her house to do some Plein air drawing. We were invited to trek around her property, but being a rather warm day (up to 104°F in town -- WHAT, already?! It's not even June 1st yet), most of us opted to stay in the shade and sketch from her porches. Can you believe this is her back yard?

(the view from the front is equally impressive… frankly, her 360° views are impressive).

And then I started drawing the yard/mountains. (… well, I did a little illustration sketching first… more on that in a few days). These were pretty quick little sketches in my moleskine sketchbook, so I didn't really put time/effort into my full-on burnishing technique. This was mostly just fun practice… playing with line and color. It was so nice to just sit with a group of people and draw together, chatting about this and that - including our mutual love of colored pencils.