Adventure Loop Guide

Did some more hiking today- mostly for pleasure, but it was another section that will be part of the adventure loop, so I made notes for the guide.

Got them transcribed before I forgot what all the hastily made scratchings actually meant!

Real Money for an Article

I will be writing an article about the North Country Trail for the Summer issue of Your National Forests magazine.

This all happened because one of the North Country Trail staff members noticed articles about two other National Scenic Trails in previous issues, and asked them if they wanted an article about the NCT. They said yes, and the staff member put them in touch with me.

I asked if this was "for free" or if there was remuneration involved. The result is going to be quite satisfactory. It's due by the end of the month, so I need to get working on it- a substantial 2000- 2400 words.

The NCT goes through ten National Forests, so there is plenty to talk about!

Walk Eight Miles - Sell Two Books

I had planned to hike a short distance with two guys today who came up from Ohio and Indiana to do some hiking on the North Country Trail. What I didn't know was how far I would be hiking with them. So, what with one thing and another, it ended up being a total of eight miles, and it took most of the day.

The distance was fine, but now I'm behind on quite a few other tasks I need to get done.

The really good news is that each of them bought a copy of North Country Cache. Hooray, hooray!

For a niche book, such as NCC, sales from personal contacts is the best form of marketing. Many people think that it's just going to be a boring account of day after day walking along, where I camped, what I ate. But when they spend a little bit of time with me, they begin to get the idea that my writing might be more interesting than that.

West Side Gang- Writers' Group

Tonight was the twice-monthly meeting of the West Side Gang, the local writers' support group. It was a good turnout tonight with a total of 11 people. That's the most that have ever come since I've been attending (admittedly not very long).

The idea is that we bring some writing to share, read it aloud, and the others offer friendly (and hopefully helpful) critique. Not everyone brings something every time, but that's OK too.

I've been reading chapters of News from Dead Mule Swamp. I managed to get one more written before tonight. That's a total of eight, so far. With this kind of support group, I might even finish this little project.

We heard several poems, an essay prompted by a picture, a portion of a semi-factual historical novella, some pages from another mystery in progress, and my two chapters.

Next Tuesday, the group is hosting an "open mic" night at a local coffeehouse. I said I would read a poem.

Here's a teaser from Chapter 8 of News from Dead Mule Swamp:

Tom guffawed. "Ma’am, I can tell you don’t know Cherry Hill any too well. Ain’t you that lady what bought the place over in Dead Mule Swamp?" He went right on, not needing an answer from me. The question was apparently rhetorical. "You got to call Jerry at home. Everyone knows that."

Added to Michgan Author List

Books Leaving Footprints has been added to the Michigan Authors list at Ludington Visiting Writers.

So much of this authoring game is marketing, that any time there is an opportunity for another link, another contact, etc, it's great.

Another Amazon Order

Wow- I got another Amazon order for North Country Cache before I had mailed the last one. This allows me to send 2 copies in one box, which will save me a tiny bit of money.

Several orders a month would be an awesome trend, and Amazon would probably order 2 copies at a time if this becomes the norm. I'm not holding my breath, but it's nice to dream.

At least I get enough sales now that when I put my title, North Country Cache, in the Amazon search box, my book comes up as the top entry. That used to make me nuts... that if someone searched for my exact title, some other book was shown to them first. (It's a good book, I finally actually bought it, but really... if someone asks for a specific title, shouldn't the search give it to them?)

Ludington Visiting Writers Poetry Reading

Last night I went to the Ludington Visiting Writers poetry reading. Four local poets read selections from poetry booklets (chapbooks) which have also been published under the umbrella of Ludington Visiting Writers.

From left to right they are Betsy Rosenow, Jim Stewart, Jeanie Mortensen, and Vondalee Knoll.

There were actually more people there than I expected. Each poet read for about ten minutes, and there were light refreshments. The booklets were for sale. Jim's book is "Our Lady of the Morels," and the three other poets are featured in a book named "Three True Voices."

If I am going to try to do this writing thing, I need to be spending time with writers, so this is part of my program!