Steampunk Granny’s Day of Writers and Frighters

                                                             

Congratulations! You’re a writer, and you’ve published your first book, but the really hard part is just beginning. You have to get your little tush out there and sell yourself and your book. It’s not easy to wear different hats: author; marketing; vendor, and if you’re an introvert, then the marketing part can be physically and emotionally daunting.

                                                                

I’m working on the fourth book of my Roof Oasis Series so I speak from experience. Yesterday was spent with two writer friends selling their debut novels followed by a trip to Cherry Hill’s Monster Mania. Did I have fun? You better believe it.

Author Fair at Deptford

Deptford Mall in Deptford NJ was hosting a Book Expo and I wanted to drop by and support two of the authors: William Howard and Tom Minder. William is a science fiction writer like me, and this is the first book of his series called The Eye of Hermes. I did an interview with William Howard about his book and you can check it out here. The Eye of Hermes is a dystopian tale about two criminals on a prison asteroid who must join forces against a powerful enemy. You can buy the book on Amazon, or you can come out and see the author in person on March 25 at the Treehouse Coffee Shop in Audubon NJ.

                                                        

Tom Minder’s book is a suspense thriller called The Long Harbor Testament. The story is about an unholy alliance between a priest, a detective and a mob boss who join forces to solve a murder. You can purchase the book on Amazon or meet the author in person on April 8^th at Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Delaware.

Monster Mania

The last time I was at Monster Mania in Cherry Hill NJ, I have the pleasure to meet several cast members from “The Walking Dead” I wrote a post about my experience of meeting, Tyreese, Carl, Beth and Hershel on Biff Bam Pop and you can read about it here.

                                                           

 

I wanted to say hello to a few of my friends who were vendors at this big event. One of the vendors was Dave Nagy of Dave’s Dark Realm and besides wearing his products, he sells them to film companies and special effects crews.

   

                                                          
                                                          
I also met with friends from Jersey Paranormal Investigations. They are having a big event “Peg Leg’s Paracon on September 16, 2017 that will benefit the Red Mill in Clinton NJ. The event will be held at 56 Main Street in Clinton. Here is the Facebook page for the event.
                                                           

 

Monster Mania featured well known stars like John Cusack, Louise Fletcher, Nick Castle, Ashley Bell and a few cast members from Stranger Things. My favorite was Louise aka Nurse Ratched from the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. What a beautiful and classy lady!

                                                          

On the Go!

                                                           

                                                            

Question: When is a retirement not retirement?

Answer: When you’re having the time of your life doing what you love.

My husband is always telling me that he sees me less now that I am retired than he did when I worked at the Academy of Natural Sciences. He is absolutely right so I can’t argue with him, but I am finally getting to do what I love to do. This past week, I had three big events to participate in. The first event was the 2016 Women’s Expo that was hosted by the Queen of Events, Tobi Schwartz Cassell.  This is one of many events that Tobi plans for the year.

                                                        

The Expo was held at the Cherry Hill Health & Racquet Club and the list of vendors was long. There was something for everyone there. Tobi also had a Keynote Speaker, Sheila Weller. Sheila is the author of “Girls like Us,” “The News Sorority” and “Raging Heart.”  The event benefitted Cantor Scott’s Animal Rescue in Cherry Hill. I was there selling my Roof Oasis Sci-fi series and my wonderful editor, Patti O’Brien was my helper.

                                                                

Tobi is hosting another event on December 1, 2016 from 6 PM-9:30PM at Aenigma Jewelry on 6 Powell Lane, The Shoppes at the Lumberyard where Haddon Ave. meets Powell Lane. She will have Elsie Kerns and little ole me doing intuitive and psychic readings. Check out Tobi’s event page here and make plans to shop and get a reading. Check Tobi’s Franks and Beans site for all her events.

                                                          

My second event was at the First Baptist Church of Pitman located at 30 N. Broadway Pitman, NJ. I was there for the Holiday Bazaar. This was such a great event and the church is so beautiful. Pastor Randy Van Osten was there greeting all the vendors as we entered the meeting hall. I met a lot of nice people and very talented vendors: Laura McDevitt of LuLaRoe, Joy of Crafty Roots, Reflexology with Nancy Schroeck and Maryi Sunshine.  I was very happy to have sold so many books.

                                                       

On Sunday, I was at Tracy Farquhar’s Spirit Light Center at 916 White Horse Pike, Oaklyn NJ with two fellow psychic/mediums Diane Lopresti and Jean Ramalho it was a great day to do psychic readings using our angel cards. Check Tracy’s site for upcoming events

                                                                

My husband is right that I’m always on the go, but I’m having a ball and looking forward to getting into more adventures. You can check my other blog Gilbert Speaks for my reviews on television, film and books. If you happen to see me out and about, make sure to say hi.

                                                        

Steampunk Granny's Bohemian Author Bonanza

                                                           

I love promoting people and I love promoting other authors. On August 14, 2016 from 12 to 3:00. I’ll be hosting an Author Event at The Treehouse Coffee Shop in Audubon N.J. The Treehouse is located at 120 W. Merchant Street. They have the best coffee and sandwiches around.

                                                            

 

Several of the authors will be from the South Jersey Writers’ Group and, I am so excited to introduce two new friends at this event. So check out my Facebook page to see who will be there, and book 3 of my Roof Oasis Sci-fi Apocalyptic Series will also be out for the event.

Authors:

Tracy Farquhar

                                                       Gail Priest

                                                 Laura Kaighn and here

                                                               

                                                        Ewart Rouse

                                                                 

                                                          John L. Leone

                                                                

                              Krista Magrowski, President of the SJWG

                                                                   
                    

                                          L.C. Bennett Stern and here

                                                               

                                                            

Cassandra Ulrich was born on the beautiful island of St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands, located east of Puerto Rico.  Living in the tropics fueled her imagination and day dreams.  For years, she wrote poetry and entered competitions.  However, only many years later did she discover joy in writing stories longer than a few pages. Check out her books and her websites here, here and here

                                                             

 

Adolphina Shephard of God's Way Television will be there to talk about her monthly show and her books. Here is her site and below is a video of my guest appearance on her show

 

                                                           Also

Granny herself will be there selling her Roof Oasis Sci-fi Apocalyptic Series

                                                       

Great Times at the 2016 Camden Comic Con

                                                          

I’ve been to several Comic Cons on the east coast, but my all-time favorite is the one hosted by Rutgers in Camden New Jersey. Bill Haas and his team do an outstanding job of making sure the event runs in a smooth and organized way at the Camden Comic Con.  

                                                                

I was so fortunate to have my favorite sidekick at my side for this event. Dawn Byrnes and I have been doing book signings together for several years, starting with selling our writing group’s first anthology, Tall Tales and Short Stories from South Jersey. Dawn has several stories published and she’s hoping to have her novel finished by the summer of 2017. Check out her blog and check out the South Jersey Writers’ Group site.

                                                                      

I don’t know if you’ve ever been to a Comic Con, but they are so much fun. People wear costumes of their favorite video, comic book or television characters and these fans put a lot of effort and time into making their costumes. We also some really cool vendors at the event.
                                                            

 
The young lady sitting at the table next to us was an Anime Artist named Kathy. Her work was fabulous and she had a steady stream of customers the whole day. Here is her site. Check it out.

                                                             

I sold a lot of books and made new friends. Thank you Beatriz for buying my books.  Dawn and I also met some cool visitors, Jeff Cleve, actor and puppeteer and, Tania Ann Monica, a model and actress.
                                                                                                    

                                                           

The busiest table at the Comic Con was manned by the pop culture duo, Glenn Walker and Ray Cornwall of The Gar Podcast. Glenn Walker is also the Editor-in-Chief of the pop culture site Biff Bam Pop! Glenn is also on the board of directors for the South Jersey Writers’ Group. Glenn, Ray and Jeff did ten hours of interviews including one with me and Director Christopher Eilenstine.
                                                            

As the senior writer for Biff Bam Pop, I’ve interviewed Chris on The Soulless Film here and the upcoming Shadows of the Forest and, I am one of the screenwriters for Shadows of the Forest. Thanks to Glenn, Ray and Christopher, I now have a movie deal for Roof Oasis. Like I said, great things happen at the Camden Comic Con and I’ll be looking for your visit next year.
                                                           

                                                       
So, yeah it was a great day, but the moment that touched me the most was when two girls from Pennsauken High School stopped in to say hello to me. For the last two years, I've been invited to the high school to talk to the students about writing. I usually spend the whole morning speaking to the junior classes.

Anyone who puts down the kids today should head over to the Pennsauken High School. These young men and  young ladies were well behaved, intelligent, curious and interested in what is happening in the world. They're much smarter than I ever was in junior year. Check out The Gar Podcast later in the week to listen to the interviews from the Comic Con.

 

A Night at Bogart’s

                                                              

                                                       

This past Friday night, my husband was enlisted to be my sidekick for my first book signing since Saving Solanda came out. Saving Solanda is the second book of the Roof Oasis Series and picks up where book one, Roof Oasis, ends. The second book also ends with a cliffhanger. Book three, Beware the Harvesters will be out next summer.  Both books (science fiction/apocalypse/romance) can be purchased on Amazon and Kindle                                                        

                                                            

We headed out to Bogart’s Bookstore and Café located in Millville New Jersey. It was the town’s 3^rd Friday Event where all the shops have tables outside to sell their goodies. Joining me was Cinsearae Santiago-Reiniger, author, publisher, and her husband Dan.

                                                          

                                                                 

I wanted to change my style for this new book, taking on the character of Rosa Santiago, the commander of the Cuban Rebel Base. The stories take place during the zombie apocalypse which was started by the mysterious Leader. Playing the part of one of my characters meant that my normal Steampunk outfit, better fitted for an afternoon tea service, would not fit in with my being a zombie slayer. With the help of Historical Emporium and my fashion designer granddaughter, Allie Gilbert, my outfit evolved. I still have some more items to add over time.

                                                                 

                                                             

There is a robot named Patty, who will be featured in all four (maybe five depending on which character takes over) books. I had just as much fun shopping for her outfit as I did mine. Thank you, Cinsearae and Dan, for finding Patty for me.

                                                             

                                                        

The street was busy with shoppers and I had a nice surprise when my Cousins Marie and Joe stopped by to buy the two books and visit with us. Thank you, guys! A few moments later, a very close friend and her family also stopped by to visit. Thank you, Jodie for hiking all the way there to visit. It was much appreciated.

                                                            

                                                   

I’ll be doing more book signings in the next month and I’ll post the dates on my blog. In October, I’m hosting the second annual Steampunk Granny Bohemian Bazaar and the theme will be Frightful Halloween Themes. I’ll post the venders, date and time in the next week or so.

                                                                   

                                                          

It looks like I already have my zombie squad ready to pitch in.

Author Christine Hardy at the Book Aslyum

                                                           

A fellow member of the South Jersey Writers Group was at one of my favorite book stores doing a book signing. Christine Hardy has short stories featured in several anthologies starting with  “The Gargoyle Cat,” for Tall Tales and Short Stories from South Jersey (our group's first anthology) 

                                                               

Here is some information on Christine Hardy's other works:

                                                        

 

A Bard Day's Knight      “The Dragon in the Kettle”

When the illegal dragon’s egg heating a young blacksmith’s forge hatches, she tries to sneak the baby dragon out of town in a kettle, but babies, especially fire-breathing ones, never stay where you put them for long.

                                                             

                                                       

  Reading Glasses “The Beach House”

After her best friend Pooja drowns in Ocean City, NJ, Amber is haunted by Pooja’s ghost as the U.S. faces yet another nuclear standoff with North Korea. Too wrapped in grief to take the threat seriously at first, Amber discovers that the two events are linked in a way she couldn’t possibly have imagined, and not just she but the entire planet is running out of time

I did an interview on her about this story here: http://www.hypotheticalpress.com/ 

 

                                                             

 

DIFFERENT DRAGONS II “Bessie’s Return”

When Marsh takes his niece on her first roller coaster ride at a historic Lake Erie amusement park, he discovers it’s being plagued by the not-so-mythical Ohio lake monster, Bessie. Marsh recruits the park employees to help drive Bessie back into deeper water with help from an unexpected source: a fiberglass dragon who doesn’t always stay on his track.

                                                                   

                                                              
                                                         
Rosemary and Jeff, the wonderful owners of the Book Asylum always supply a tray of delicious cookies for each book signing event. Great deal if you ask me. You get a great book to read, support a budding author and feast on cookies and great coffee.

                 Laurie                             Christine              Marie                                      

It was a perfect day to spend with a friend and other members of our group. If you want to learn more about the South Jersey Writers' Group go here: http://www.meetup.com/South-Jersey-Writers/ and here: http://south-jersey-writers.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html

If you want to learn more about the Book Asylum go here: http://www.thebookasylum.com/