What is your most recent book? Tell us a bit about it.

My most recent book is called Hospice Tails. I was a hospice social worker from 6/2005 through 8/2011. During that time, I saw many beautiful, heart-wrenching, and sometimes downright funny moments between hospice patients and their pets. I started to record these moments in my journal. I think I always suspected I would write about them someday. In the end, I came up with the thirteen stories that had amazed and amused me the most and turned those stories into Hospice Tails.

Tell us something about yourself.

I was born and raised in Kansas, and I currently live in a suburb of Kansas City. I got my undergraduate major in psychology, took a few years off, and returned to school to get my MSW. I’ve been employed as an emergency room social worker, a social worker in a facility for people with dementia, and finally as a hospice social worker. During that whole time, though, I had been building a thriving freelance writing business on the side, and it got to the point where I was really holding down two fulltime jobs. I had to choose one of them and, although it was probably the hardest choice I’ve ever made, I chose writing.

What inspired you to write this book?

I was inspired by the love I saw between hospice patients and their pets. Pets can often reach out and comfort a patient when nothing else can. I’ve even seen times when the actions of a pet facilitated a long-needed conversation or brought comfort to the surviving family members.

How did you choose the title?

I think the best answer to that is not enough sleep, too much caffeine, and a writing buddy who loves puns. I was muddling around with ideas like “Hospice Pets,” “Hospice Patients and their Pets.” All of a sudden, she burst out laughing and said, “Hospice Tails.” The name stuck around while I was writing the different drafts, and in the end I had gotten so used to it that I didn’t want to change it.

What obstacles did you encounter in getting this book published? How did you overcome them?

The few agents and publishers I talked to said that they liked the book but didn’t know which genre to put it in. Humor? Pets? Caregiving? In the end, it was easier to publish Hospice Tails myself. I published through Booklocker and so far the results have been even better than I had hoped.

How did you know you wanted to be a writer? How did you get started?

I was fortunate enough to grow into a family that was crazy for books. My parents and older sisters read to me while I was still too young to understand a word they were saying, but I came to associate books with comfort. When I was about six years old, and had just started to write real words and sentences, my mother read me a story I hated because the main character died. My mom suggested that if I didn’t like the ending provided in the book, I should write my own. I wrote my favorite character back to life—very clumsily—and I’ve loved writing ever since.

Do you have any writing rituals?

Yes. I burn candles or incense while I write. I write for a block of fifty minutes and then stop, stretch, and spend the next ten minutes working on non-writing related chores. Although I check email briefly throughout the day to make sure I’m not missing an important message, my times set aside for handling email are 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM. Finally, about a half hour before I’m ready to sop, I clean up my desk and write down my plans for the next day. Blowing out my candle symbolizes that my day is done.

How do you come up with the names for your characters?

Sometimes, a name will just pop into my head, and that’s what I’ll go with. More frequently, I’ll hop online to census sites that list the most common names for a child born in any given year.

Did you learn anything from writing and publishing this book? What?

I tend to be a skeptical Type A personality who always wants all the loose ends tied up neatly at the end. In real life, that doesn’t happen often, so I had to be content with ending some of the stories by admitting I didn’t know why something had happened and what happened afterwards.

If you were doing it all over again, what would you do differently?

You know, I’m not sure on this one whether there is anything that I would do differently. Everything during the writing of Hospice Tails seemed to come together for the best. For instance, I would look back over my journals and find a story I’d forgotten over the years, or I’d talk to a friend who would remind me of a silly incident I’d described to her. Hospice Tails was supposed to be a small chapbook I could distribute to friends. Instead, it grew wings, expanded to over a hundred pages, and is (I hope) reaching a much larger audience.

What types of books do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors? Why?

Um…how long do you have? Seriously, I’ve got three full bookshelves and a space-challenged Kindle, not to mention a shelf of library books that I’ve checked out. As for authors, I enjoy Stephen King, Andrew Vachss, J.K. Rowling, Jonathan Kellerman, (the late) Saki, (the late) Marion Zimmer Bradley, Mercedes Lackey, Leslea Newman, Elaine Marie Alphin…and those are just my favorites in the fiction section. I also read a lot of books about goal-setting, time management, and running a small business.

Are you working on your next book? What can you tell us about it?

My next fiction book, “The Ghost of George Boleyn” will be the novel I work on in November during the National Novel Writing Month (nanowrimo.org). My next nonfiction book will be a ghost-written analysis of behavior in the workplace.

What is the best advice you could give other writers about writing or publishing?

There are five pieces of advice that I’d like to share: 1. Make time to write every day, even if it’s only five or ten minutes. Don’t let yourself off the hook if you don’t “feel” like writing; 2) Beware of job ads that pay much too little, require you to join a paid site in order to be hired, or who don’t list the terms of compensation upfront. Another time to run is if a potential employer tries to get you to write free samples for him or her. 3) Balance different aspects of your life. Don’t let writing take over fun with family and friends and the care you need to give yourself. 4) Steer clear of content mills. Ironically, I broke into writing doing jobs for content mills, but things have changed, and the mills are downsizing, paying less than ever, and setting stricter requirements than ever before. It was never a rosy picture, and I’m afraid it’s growing worse.

Who is the perfect reader for your book?

I think there are several different types of perfect readers for hospice tails. In that it has an upbeat, feel good tone, I think that people who enjoy the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” books might want to give Hospice Tails a try. I also hope the book reaches anyone involved with hospice, whether as a professional caregiver, a patient, or a family member. Finally, this is a great book for people who simply love animals and like to read about the positive effects of having a pet.

Where can readers learn more about you and your book?

Readers wanting to learn more about Hospice Tails and read an excerpt can visit my website at http://www.debrastang.net. Hospice Tails may be purchased on Amazon as a print book or on Kindle. It is also available through Barnes and Noble and Booklocker.

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What is your most recent book? Tell us a bit about it.

Any Color but Beige: Living Life in Color is a memoir that chronicles my journey from a colorful childhood in Cleveland, Ohio and a predictable but secure suburban marriage – in other words a beige existence – to a crucial turning point when I initiated some major life changes in my quest to live my life in color.

Tell us something about yourself.

I grew up in Cleveland and trained to be a journalist. After college, I worked for many years in marketing communications for ad agencies and large N. American corporations. I used to write “commercially,” i.e. press releases, articles, speeches, strategies. And then 15 years ago I switched to sales to try something a little different. I began selling color for a living or rather color merchandising materials, i.e. paint chips and fan decks, to paint companies around the world. As a result I live a very colorful life, meeting interesting people and having amazing experiences, all of which is good material for my book or blog. So essentially I’ve come full circle but in a more creative way. I currently live in the cosmopolitan city of Montreal. That’s added a little French twist to my life.

What inspired you to write this book?

A dangerously handsome Italian man broke my heart during a brief sojourn in Italy. I started writing to gain perspective and clarify my thoughts. The thoughts became a blog that resonated with readers. After all, heartbreak is universal. The blog expanded into other areas of my life: dating, traveling, and learning new things by pushing the envelope and going outside my comfort zone. All of this eventually became the basis for my book.

How did you choose the title?

The title chose me. When I finished writing the book, I reflected on the story and I thought, “Well, my girl, your life has been anything but beige.” And that’s how I came up with the title.

What obstacles did you encounter in getting this book published? How did you overcome them?

I published the book myself. I wasn’t about to wait for someone to give me permission or acknowledge my efforts. The book is good. I know it and so I invested in it and by extension in myself.

How did you know you wanted to be a writer? How did you get started?

A favorite aunt bought me my first typewriter, a used Underwood, when I was ten years old. It was her thoughtful gift and a few encouraging words that first put the idea in my head that I might want to be a writer. I started by writing poetry.

Do you have any writing rituals?

I listen to movie scores; anything by the great Ennio Morricone puts me in “the zone” and lets me write without knowing I’m writing.

How do you come up with the names for your characters?

This is a memoir so I thought it was best to change the names but I did pick names that I liked and were evocative of each character’s nature.

What types of books do you like to read?

I love all kinds of books. I’m inspired by historical fiction and biographies. I escape reading good novels. I like popular science books because I never took much science in school. I read books on philosophy as means of understanding myself and others. I rely on friends’ recommendations when it comes to choosing books because like the T-shirt says, “So many books, so little time.”

Who are your favorite authors?

Shakespeare

Why?

He covers it all: comedy, tragedy, love stories, history. His plots are riveting, his characters are complex and his turn of a phrase is exquisite. “Oh God that I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself king of infinite space were it not that I have bad dreams.” (Hamlet) No matter what my state of mind, I can always relate to one of his stories.

Are you working on your next book? What can you tell us about it?

Yes. Most people collect souvenirs when they travel, I collect other people stories The next book will be a collection of other people’s stories from around the world.

What is the best advice you could give other writers about writing or publishing?

If you can show up to work every day, you can show up and write every day. Pick a start time and an end time, sit down and write. There’s no way around it and alphabetizing your DVD collection is just another means of resistance. Butt in chair…hands on key board. Write.

Who is the perfect reader for your book?

Most people have two lives, the life they live and the life they want to live. This book is for those people. The book is like a map in the metro, “You are here” with a big red X. Now where to you want to go? This is book is for people who want to add a little or a lot of color to their lives. In the end, how they do it is up to them. We all chose our own path.

Where can readers learn more about you and your book?

Readers can learn more about my day to day adventures on my blog: The Café Girl Chronicles.

And they can purchase the book online at Amazon.com or their favorite local bookstore.

Tell us something about yourself.

I was born in Hannover to a German mother—grand-niece of Franz Schubert—and English father, from Lancashire. I was raised in Farnham, Surrey and moved to Cardiff in 1976 to take a postgraduate course. I loved Wales and settled. I married Caroline – a Macmillan nurse who took her degree in Cardiff. She was raised in Berkshire but—like me—prefers Wales. We have two children—Robert aged 15 and Ræchel aged 8—who, like us, play musical instruments, ride horses, and enjoy reading. Caroline and I are Vajrayana Buddhist teachers – and our lives mainly involve writing books, travelling, and teaching in Britain and the USA where we have students.

What is your most recent book? Tell us a bit about it?

It’s the first of a four volume series entitled an odd boy. In some ways, it’s a radical departure from my Buddhist books. It represents my life, as an artist, poet, and Blues musician. It’s a monothematic memoire of the Arts between 1957 and 1975 – written as a novel with dialogue My keyboard almost became a Ouija board. I’d have the image of the person in my mind and hear their voice. Then I’d become an internalised actor, who became the character whose words I was conjuring into existence. The conversations are therefore fictional to some degree – but I have been surprised by intensity of specific detail my memory has provided.

What inspired you to write this book?

The Arts. My experience of the 1960s—and Art School in the early 1970s—is still a powerful catalyst. There is nostalgia—certainly—but I hope it is tempered with humour and realism. The ethos was one of enthusiastic openness across different fields of human endeavour. I describe it as ‘the lost time’ – but it can be rediscovered by anyone who is open to the Arts. I wish to inspire people to think of themselves as artists – even though they may never paint, write, or engage in any obvious way. Being an artist simply requires a compassionate state of mind that is open to a joyous appreciation of the sense fields.

Who is the book aimed at?

Anyone who enjoyed Bob Dylan’s ‘Chronicles’. Bob Dylan inspired the idea that a memoire did not have to be a blow-by-blow cradle-to-grave account of life events. It could be a monothematic stream-of-consciousness extravaganza – and mine is an eccentric adventure in the dimension of Art and romance. The book could appeal to anyone who experienced the 1960s or who wishes they had. It’s intended to entertain, intrigue, inform – and to incite a vision of life, as it could be lived. In that sense the audience would be people who like to be provoked by ideas. It could be described—tongue in cheek—as ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’ meets ‘under Milkwood.’

How did you publish this book?

Through ’ö-Dzin Tridral and Nor’dzin Pamo who set up a publishing organisation called Aro Books worldwide as a branch of the Sang-ngak-chö-dzong Buddhist charity in February 2009. They use Lulu Press to publish books on demand. This enabled the production of professional publications with complete control over content and appearance – hence I was able to design the cover of the book.

What do you believe is the hardest part of writing a book?

The title. I cannot start writing without a title and a clear idea of the cover. Once I have the title and cover design, I lay out the chapter titles – and then it flows naturally. There is hard work involved—naturally—but that is mainly determined and continual editing. It’s a discipline and a pleasure. The pleasure is the joy of language. The discipline relates to self-criticality and the perfection of the craft – as far as possible given my current capacity as a writer. The ‘hardest part’ . . . really . . . is the most rewarding part: never being satisfied with my writing – but also knowing when it’s completed.

What are you reading now?

‘The Barchester Chronicles’ by Anthony Trollope. I so enjoyed the BBC serialisation of those books—and the ‘Palliser’ novels—that I determined to read Trollope’s entire literary corpus. I find his humour delightful – subtle and understated. His insights into Victorian society are highly illuminating in terms of British society as it is today. Without some knowledge of the past – it is not easy to understand the shape of the present, in terms of attitudes and social mores. Trollope is masterful in setting scenes and painting characters. He is almost uncanny in his understanding of human psychology – to the extent that the personalities he creates stand slightly outside the remit of fiction.

What types of books do you like to read? Who are your favourite authors? Why?

Historical novels. I particularly love Jane Austen – for her wit and irony. When young I read mainly Nordic sagas – and books by Henry Treece. I remember being particularly intrigued by Rider Haggard’s ‘Eric Brighteyes’. A modern author for who I have great respect is Patrick O’Brien. His nineteen volume sea faring odyssey set during the Napoleonic Wars is a remarkable tour de force. It is also vastly informative on subjects as divergent at 18^th Century psychology and medicine to anthropology and sociology. ‘an odd boy’ attempts to be informative without labouring the point – and I hope readers will find relate to it as delightedly as I did with Patrick O’Brien’s books.

Are you working on your next book? What can you tell us about it?

Poetry. I have never published poetry before because I have never reached the point at which I could say they were finished. This has meant re-writing ad nauseam. I have revised most of them a score of times. Every few years I move into a poetry phase and write a handful of pieces – and when I do so, I usually take the opportunity to revise older works. There will be two books. One will be an anthology of all my past work entitled ‘Ravings of a Mild Mannered maniac’ – and the other will be a narrative written in cantos—each comprised of five 9-line verses—entitled ‘. . . and so’.

What is the best advice you could give other writers about writing?

Obsession. Obsession with writing – with communicating the ideas and images that well from the fire of perception. Read world class literature and read widely. Read poetry as well as prose. Make Shakespeare part of your diet. Gain deep love of language. Take care even with notes and shopping lists. There needs to be an understanding of grammar which enables the writer to avoid looking gauche – but without becoming hidebound by standard grammatical conventions. Language needs to become a dimension you inhabit – not merely a semantic exposition, no matter how clever or colourful. Other than that – buy the shorter Oxford English Dictionary and a good thesaurus and find pleasure in reading them.

What are you doing to promote your latest book?

Following the wise counsel of ’ö-Dzin Tridral who suggested that we began with a Facebook launch – as I have 5,000 friends and 4,500 subscribers to my ‘Artist page’. The launch involved me in two hours answering questions related to ‘an odd boy’. Now that ‘an odd boy’ has been launched, copies will be made available for review – and Aro Books worldwide will be offering a free sample chapter.

Where can readers learn more about you and your book?

My personal Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=816264333) and an ‘Artist Page’ (http://facebook.com/Doc-Togden). There are excerpts from the book on a dedicated website (http://anoddboy.com). ‘an odd boy’ is published by Aro Books worldwide and is available from Lulu. It will shortly be available on Amazon and elsewhere.

What is your most recent book? Tell us a bit about it.

Born On The Continent – Ubuntu is my most recent book and it is a spiritual memoir about my life growing up and living in Zimbabwe; my travels overseas while I was studying in Europe and my final spirit-led journey to New Zealand. The sub-title of my book is the word “Ubuntu,” this is the spiritual foundation of all African societies and literally translated it means “I am because you are”; Ubuntu is a way of being; a way of acknowledging our humanity. It is about empathy and compassion and I have found through my travels that although it was born on the African continent it exists all over the world. Hence the title of my book. The book has been described as a roller coaster ride by my readers, because it will make you laugh and cry and reflects the roller coaster life I live.

Tell us something about yourself.

I am from Zimbabwe, in Southern Africa, I was born to a family of five siblings, one older sister and three younger brothers and I had an opportunity to travel overseas with my parents when I was three; I think this opened up my eyes to the beauty of this world and sparked a curiosity in me to see the world. My background was in Information Technology having trained and worked as a developer and systems analyst for 18 years and finally becoming an entrepreneur when I got to New Zealand. I have been writing all my life I would say. In high school I fell in love with Shakespeare and Wilfred Owen’s First World War poetry and have always written poems and short stories about the places I have been and the people I meet.

What is interesting about me is my ability to create something out of nothing; my friends call me Merlin, because I have a strange ability to manifest what I want in life once I make the decision that I want it. Its that simple for me and I love to share this ability because really anyone can get what they want.

What inspired you to write this book?

My inspiration to write my book came in 2004; I had lived in New Zealand for 3 years and my parents had visited us for the first time. We were having Xmas lunch and watching the Oprah show; she had gone to South Africa that Christmas and was celebrating with 50,000 aids orphans. At the end of the show she stated that these children were the lost generation of Africa, they were kids who had lost one or both parents because of Aids and would never get to experience childhood or to go to school and Africa needed help. The show reminded me of what I had left behind and we sat down and counted the number of orphaned children in our immediate families and we have 89 between my husbands family and mine. So I decided to put together my collection of writings and self-publish my spiritual memoir and sell the book to raise money for these children. And in the last 6 year I have managed to extend the help to 360 Aids orphans.

How did you know you wanted to be a writer? How did you get started?

I was 15 years old and in high school and we got a new English teacher from the UK called Mr Dave Davies; he taught us English Literature in a very non convention way, on the first day he took us out side and made us lie down on the grass and he ready Wilfred Owen’s First World War poetry to us while we had our eyes closed and that was when I realised the power of words and how you can paint and describe something and the reader can see the picture in their minds eye.

That was when I started writing poems and short stories and have never stopped.

Do you have any writing rituals?

I wake up early; I find the best time for me to write is 2am in the morning. When I am in a writing mode I don’t even need to set my alarm; I just seem to wake up at 2am and get to work. The energy seems to only last until I have finished the writing project though, its really strange.

If you were doing it all over again, what would you do differently?

Nothing, it has been an amazing experience; absolutely fascinating to be able to start something like this and learn along the way. Every mistake I made was just a lesson and showed me how to do things differently in the future.

Are you working on your next book? What can you tell us about it?

I am working on a film script at the moment; its an adaptation of my book into a feature film. Very exciting and challenging as I am having to learn to tell the story with pictures instead.

What is the best advice you could give other writers about writing or publishing?

Just keep on writing, believe in your book and protect it. Share it with people who are supportive and who will help you get it to the next step. I treat my books as if they were my babies and I am pregnant and until it is born, I am very protective about who I share it with. With regards to publishing, do your research first and build your platform before you approach publishers, it really helps you to take the book to the next level.

Who is the perfect reader for your book?

Entrepreneurs, women and the elderly

Where can readers learn more about you and your book?

www.getrudeinspires.com

What is your most recent book? Tell us a bit about it.

My most recent published book is Pickles The Parrot: A Humorous Look at Life With an African Grey. I talk about what it’s like to have a parrot, the care and commitment, but mostly it’s funny stories about Pickles – the predicaments he gets himself into, the funny and intellegent conversations we have, and the embarrassing situations he gets me into. He’s never caged, except at night, and he’s not just a ‘stay at home’ parrot, he goes out with us and he has an outdoor aviary for harassing strangers who happen to walk by. I have just submitted a second book to my publishers ‘Pickles The Parrot Returns’, which will be available in the next couple of weeks.

Tell us something about yourself.

I am 55 years old, live with my wonderful husband, Neil, and we have a 6 pound, rust colored Min Pin who gets along well with Pickles. We live in Logan Lake, British Columbia, Canada, in a town with a population of about 2,500 people. My husband manages the Provincial Parks in this area and I took early retirement to write. I have owned and managed businesses over the years, most recently a flyshop for fly fishing supplies. We like to spend our time at lake cabins or resorts, fly fish, walk in nature, but mostly we like to hang around our yard and small trout pond. We spend a lot of time working on our yard to provide wild bird habitat and attract an incredible variety of different species of birds. We like our yard to look natural and wild, seldom water, never use pesticides and have planted many, many trees and shrubs that are indigenous to our area, need little care and provide wild birds with food and nesting.

What inspired you to write this book?

I have been writing PickleStories for Good Bird Magazine each issue for several years. The owner and editor, Barbara Heindenreich, had been encouraging me to put my stories into a book. Also, Pickles’ fans and my own friends have been demanding a book for years. People find the stories hilarious and they wanted more.

How did you choose the title?

I wanted it to be simple, self explanatory, easy to remember and easy to find on the internet.

What obstacles did you encounter in getting this book published? How did you overcome them?

I think the only obstacle I encountered was trying to figure out how to do it – whether I should go the tradional route, or self publish. I decided that the quickest and easiest way would be the later. Other than having to do my own formatting for both the paper (Wordclay) and ebook (Smashwords), both pubishers were easy to work with and guided me each step of the way. When you self publish, you are responsible for promoting your own book and Pickles already had a good fan base from the global exposure our stories received from Good Bird Magazine, and on a whim, I started a Face Book page for Pickles The Parrot. It wasn’t long before he aquired over 1500 ‘friends’ and he receives friend requests daily from around the world. I contacted some newspapers and did some interviews that were published, I ran some contests on bird forums, offered a free coupon through places like Ereader News Today and I promoted the book at any opportunity that arose. The only thing I haven’t done yet, is book signing at local book stores, but only because I haven’t had the time.

How did you know you wanted to be a writer? How did you get started?

Friends and family have been pushing me to write since I was very young. I’ve always wrote short, humorous stories but I resisted writing professionally because I was afraid it would take the fun out of writing, and that I wouldn’t be able to write under pressure to produce. Over the years, I was active on fishing and bird forums and I wrote stories for fun and posted them. Then, when I got involved in protecting the environment, I wrote some environmental and conservational articles. After writing for Good Bird magazine, and seeing the response I was getting, and being pushed by everyone to write, I thought “What the heck, I’ve got nothing to lose.” And it turned out to be a heck of a lot of work, but it was fun – most of the time.

Do you have any writing rituals?

Not really, other than to sit for an hour or two with my coffee in the morning, read and post on Pickles’ Face Book page. Sometimes I don’t really feel like writing so I force myself to write just one sentence or paragraph and tell myself that’s all I have to do today. But once I open my MW manuscript and write a few words, things begin to flow for me and I stick to it.

Did you learn anything from writing and publishing this book? What?

I learned a little bit more about parrots – their bahavior etc., as I was forced to observe Pickles more closely for book material. I learned to get around a lot better on the internet and I certainly learned a lot more about Microsoft Word and formatting.

If you were doing it all over again, what would you do differently?

I don’t think I would do anything different. I mean, you can always look back on a book and think you could have elaborated a little better or changed something in your book, but if you kept doing that, you would never finish the book. At some point, you just have to tell yourself it’s good enough. No, I wouldn’t do anything differently.

What types of books do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors?

Well, I’m related to Mark Twain so I love anything he wrote. He was very clever and I love his wit. I’ve read everything by Stephen King. I like the macabre and his books flow so easily. Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of books from Smashwords. It’s amazing how many great ‘unknown’ writers are out there. That’s the problem with traditionally publishers – they decide what the public should read and some brilliant authors get left behind.

Are you working on your next book? What can you tell us about it?

Yes. Well, I just finished it. It’s called Pickles The Parrot Returns and it’s along the same lines as the first book. I delve a little deeper into the care of parrots but it still has the humorous stories peppered throughout. At the beginning of each chapter, I included some of Pickles’ deep and clever, philisophical and zany Face Book posts. He talks from a parrot’s perspective, then I explain from mine. The second book is longer than the first.

What is the best advice you could give other writers about writing or publishing?

Just do it. Don’t doubt yourself or you’ll always say “I should of.” Sit down and start – even if it’s only a sentence, a paragraph, a page or a chapter. Once you start, it will be hard to stop. If you decide to go the self publishing route, I highly recommend Wordclay for a paper book and Smashwords for an ebook. I did alot of research on self publishing, both these publishers have a great reputation and they have great customer service to help you along the way. You can learn to do your own formating (they provide great FAQ pages), or you can pay to have them do it for you. Publishing at Smashwords won’t cost you a dime and Wordclay doesn’t make you buy a set amount of books once it’s published. All I paid for with Wordclay was $150.00 for the DYI (fitting the cover to the booksize) and for an ISBN, and I paid $35.00 to do some touch-up formatting for Smashwords.

Who is the perfect reader for your book?

My book was originally targeting people with parrots but I’ve found that non-parrot people find the book hilarious. Even people who have no intention of ever owning one, as I explain in the book how much work is involved in caring for a parrot. Many people read the stories to their children – Pickles has a huge children’s fan base. There are a few mild swear words in the book, in a couple of the stories, but they can easily be substituted while reading aloud. My mother, who I always email short stories to, forwards them on to all her friends and they forward them on, and on, and on, so when the book was published, everyone wanted one and she sold about 60 in the first month alone – to non-parrot people. Each of them are impatiently awaiting the second book.

Can you give us a brief description of your parrot?

Pickles is a 9 year old African Grey Congo Parrot and they can live as long as humans. He has a vocabulary of well over 100 words and often talks in context. He’s never caged except to sleep at night and has playstands, ropes and toys in different rooms. He is flighted but seldom flies. He has an outdoor aviary but only goes outside when we are outside. He’s cheeky, bossy, demanding, social (even with strangers), has a great sense of humor and likes to ham it up. He travels with us and I have a birdie backpack so that he can go for walks with us.

Where can readers learn more about you and your book?

They can go to Amazon and read an excerpt or they can go to Pickles website www.picklestheparrot.com and read a couple of excerpts and go to his photo and video pages.

Tell us about your book.

My book is entitled For the Love of Babies: One Doctor’s Stories About Life in the Neonatal ICU. The book tells the stories of sixteen babies and their families as they journey through the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Each story weaves together threads of medical, social, and sometimes ethical concerns that arise on a daily basis in the NICU, and shows the difficult issues confronting doctors and parents of these tiny babies. A non-fiction book, FOR THE LOVE OF BABIES contains more than 100 references that provide context and depth to each story in a “Notes” section at the end of the chapter. Some of the topics illustrated by the stories include teen pregnancy, management of babies at the “edge of viability”, chromosomal syndromes such as Down syndrome, substance abuse during pregnancy, obstetrical emergencies, postpartum depression, and much more.

WorldMaker Media is publishing the book June 1, 2011 in paperback and in ebook format.

Tell us something about yourself.

I’ve been a neonatologist—a pediatrician specializing in newborn intensive care—for more than 20 years. Prior to that, I was a master’s level social worker. My background as a social worker gives me a unique viewpoint from which to write about issues with families, and I tried to balance the medical aspects of stories with the social and emotional aspects. My career as a physician began in Los Angeles, where I was an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine. However, for the past several years, I have been Medical Director of a large NICU in a community hospital in the Midwest. This book is my first.

What inspired you to write this book?

Some babies and their parents have touched my heart over the years and were simply unforgettable: the immigrant couple who lost everything in their quest to give their child a better life; the father who wrote me a heartfelt thank you note for the care I provided even after his baby lost her life and his wife ended up on a heart transplant list; the mother with limited financial resources who supported her twenty-four week gestation baby through thick and thin, enabling her baby to blossom in spite of the blindness she developed. I’ve been witness to great courage, devotion, and strength in so many parents, and this book is a testament to them.

What obstacles did you encounter in getting this book published? How did you overcome them?

Although I was able to find an agent fairly quickly, the book was rejected by at least forty publishers. I heard all kinds of excuses, including that I didn’t have a platform (i.e., didn’t already write a column for The New York Times) and I wasn’t an opinion leader (i.e., was no longer a professor at a major medical school). A number of publishers thought the book would be “too sad,” although none took the time to read it to judge it on its merits. While awaiting a path to publication, I worked with a free-lance editor and continued to add to the book and to refine it. The year in between finding an agent and finding a publisher was a valuable one, as I was able to significantly improve the ultimate quality of the book during that time.

If you were doing it all over again, what would you do differently?

Next time I wouldn’t be in such a rush to present my work, until I had really spent lots and lots of time polishing it and making it into the best possible representation of my ability and my vision. I can begin to understand why some authors spend years on one book. I would much rather take the time to produce a great piece of writing than to rush to the marketplace with something that isn’t quite complete.

What types of books do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors?

I love to read medical memoirs and fiction books with medical themes, whether written by physicians or not. Some of my favorite physician authors are Abraham Verghese (Cutting for Stone), Atul Gawande (Complications), and Jerome Groopman (The Anatomy of Hope). I greatly enjoyed Rebecca Skloot’s non-fiction book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, and Kim Edwards’ novel, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter. All these books interweave medical details into compelling and riveting stories.

Are you working on your next book? What can you tell us about it?

I am about halfway through writing the first draft of my second book, which is called Such a Special Gift. The story is centered around a delivery room disaster that rips a family apart, as a woman serving as Surrogate Mother to her sister’s baby gives birth. Those left grieving struggle to come to terms with what happened, to resolve their guilt, and to heal their wounded spirits. Such a Special Gift is a story of love, of loss and of gratitude for the gifts we’ve been given. The book is a complex emotional drama with lots of medicine woven into it.

What is the best advice you could give other writers about writing or publishing?

My best advice is to believe in yourself, and do not take “no” for an answer. If your manuscript needs more work, then do more work. But don’t give up completely because anyone tells you it’s not good enough. Take writing classes, go to seminars, join a writer’s group; do whatever you can to improve the quality of your writing, but don’t stop writing. Eventually you will create your own success.

Who is the perfect reader for your book?

Parents who have had a baby go through the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and who want to learn more about the NICU and put their experience into perspective will really get a lot out of reading this book, as will their relatives and friends. It may help them to understand some of the things that were not entirely clear while they were going through their experience, and it will allow them to see what some of the other parents in the NICU at the same time were going through. Nurses, doctors, and all manner of healthcare workers will recognize and identify with the daily drama, and students in health and helping disciplines will get a glimpse into the world they may choose to enter. Hopefully, all readers will gain some insight into how doctors think, and how they handle the stressful demands continually placed on them.

Where can readers learn more about you and your book?

I invite readers to visit my website, at www.suehallmd.com, or my facebook page for the book (enter “For the Love of Babies” into the search bar on facebook).

What is your most recent book? Tell us a bit about it.

Donkey Heart Monkey Mind

The young Berber narrator of Donkey Heart Monkey Mind has to learn the kind of perseverance and ingenuity it takes to survive in 1980’s Algeria, where his people are second-class citizens in a third world country. His tale opens when police brutally beat him for participating in a protest march. Knowing that he must leave his own country or suffer this kind of treatment forever, he begins wandering Europe and northern Africa, desperately seeking some alternative. He tries his hand as a street vendor and a pickpocket, is mistaken for a drug smuggler and an Egyptian spy, and he poses as Jewish to sneak into Israel and as a devout Muslim to escape notice in an Egyptian prison. He is eventually swept up in the wave of arrests following the “Black October” Algerian political riots of 1988. Drugged and shipped to a remote military prison, for months he is burned, brutalized, and held in solitary confinement. But in the end, his tale poignantly illustrates how even in the most desperate circumstances sometimes hope is found, help is offered, and inspiration strikes.

Tell us something about yourself.

I’m a Berber from Algeria. I’ve been living in the US for the last 22 years. Donkey Heart Monkey Mind is my debut novel.

What inspired you to write this book?

My most inspiration came from friends who encouraged me to write a book because of the way I tell a stories.

How did you choose the title?

I chose this title because my father used to call me “Best Friend of the Donkey,” as an insult. The Monkey part came from my brain agility.

What obstacles did you encounter in getting this book published? How did you overcome them?

The number one obstacle I had was money. With the help of friends and with my never give up attitude I was able to overcome it.

How did you know you wanted to be a writer? How did you get started?

I never knew I would become a writer, in fact I hated writing. With the encouragement of friends and under their advice, I started writing one story at a time and I started loving it.

Do you have any writing rituals?

I’m an early riser. I write every morning starting at 5:30 AM with my coffee at Peet’s

How do you come up with the names for your characters?

Donkey Heart Monkey Mind is a historical fiction and I used real names, including mine.

Did you learn anything from writing and publishing this book? What?

Yes I did. The number one thing I learned is the challenges that come with publishing a book as a first time writer. Whenever there’s a challenge, I do not stop till I accomplish my goal. And the most important part I learned is that I’m a better writer than I thought.

What types of books do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors? Why?

Historical, fiction and non-fiction as well as novels. A few of my favorites are” Khaled Hosseini, Yann Martel. Maya Angelou and Paulo Coehlo.

Are you working on your next book? What can you tell us about it?

Yes, I am, and it is a collection of short stories.

What is the best advice you could give other writers about writing or publishing?

Never give up and never take rejections personal and always accept either negative feedback or positive. And keep writing.

Who is the perfect reader for your book?

My number one audience are women.

Where can readers learn more about you and your book?

On my web site they can read the first chapter to find out if it’s their genre. www.donkeyheartmonkeymind.com

What is your most recent book? Tell us a bit about it.

Madre: Perilous Journeys with a Spanish Noun

The Economist called my book “a mix of memoir, research, and travelogue,” and I agree. It is focused on the word “madre,” which means mother in Spanish. The story, a non-fiction one, takes place at weddings, dinner parties, neighborhood bars, heart-stopping taxi rides, with angry journalists, corrupt politicians, and Blessed Virgins in Mexico. Along the way, I realize that “madre” plays a large role in Mexican slang (to be used with caution or not at all, which is why my journey with “madre” was at some peril). Ultimately, my book, Madre: Perilous Journeys with a Spanish Noun, is a tale of how culture, religion, sex and politics have an impact—and just how much—on language and vice versa.

Tell us something about yourself.

Well, I am a writer and an anthropologist. I went to Sarah Lawrence College. There were several well-known writers on the faculty whose works I heard often in auditoriums and classrooms on campus. I did not, however, take a course in writing while I was there, because I was shy about having to read out loud to others something I myself had written. My time at college was, instead, spent in performing arts (I danced a lot, if truth be told) and anthropology (with professor Irving Goldman, who had been a colleague of Margaret Mead and was himself so eloquent I wanted to emulate the way he spoke). This led, in some circuitous way, to earning a Ph.D. in anthropology, which did not lead to writing books or articles you would want to read (unless you were an academic or, maybe, my parents). Although I did not realize this initially, learning to master academic prose, a requirement for the doctorate and career, was not good for my creative spirit, which became buried under the exigencies of theory, data and proving a point. That experience may be unique to me, I can’t speak for others.

So, after earning my doctorate and teaching linguistic anthropology for a few years, I turned to research. Since 1995, I have directed The Mesolore Project (www.mesolore.net), which is on Mesoamerican narration (mostly pictorial). Every now and then I teach, which I love to do and which I’ve done, more recently, at Bowdoin College and Colgate University. Although I have lived in many places in the United States, including Connecticut (where I was born), Ohio (where I lived during my junior and high school years), Colorado, California, and Rhode Island, I have also lived for some time in Mexico (where I always eat too many tacos and tamales).

I now live in Maine with my twin daughters, Avery and Jennie, and there I am surrounded by many wonderful writers I admire and who are my friends. Many members of my family are there, too. It was in Maine where I first started to reawaken my creative spirit and write Madre. I did this by sitting for many hours at a computer, hoping it would surface if I stared at the screen long enough. It did, but it needed some dusting off, waking and shaking up, for it had lay fallow for many years.

What inspired you to write this book?

A large part of it was a deep need to be creative, artistically. But the topic–language and culture or “swearing in Spanish” (as my daughters describe it)–arose out of an experience I had when I was a graduate student, working toward my Ph.D. in a post-Frida-Kahlo Mexico. There I was exposed and became intrigued by the numerous Mexican expressions that include the word “madre.” It was not, however, what I had come to research. So I stowed this curiosity of mine away for a rainy day, while taking notes, just in case. Nevertheless, if confronted with the opportunity, I asked, repeatedly, anyone who was willing to answer: How can me vale madre mean worthless and ¡que padre! mean marvelous? Why does madre mean whore as much as virgin? Why can’t a bien educada woman in Mexico say the word madre without raising eyebrows? Finally, what does it mean (and what does it threaten) to be a female and, dare we say, a madre? I guess it was the feminist in me, along with the outsider-that-I-was, that led me to keep asking questions, accumulating answers, and writing the book.

Eventually, after many years of working and children, I decided that I wanted to write about this funny, yet dangerous, word that I had met almost twenty years earlier. This decision coincided with the desire to break out and write as a writer, to be personally engaged with the topic, much more than academic prose allowed. In the end, I feel that the creative non-fiction genre I chose to tell the story of this word contributed to revealing the truth in a way that third-person, academic prose would have failed. I was able to use it to capture the cadence, the rhythm, the iambic pentameters of madre’s predicament. Also, there exists a great irony in the field of linguistics, and that is this: the texts many linguists produce to explain how language works are often incomprehensible to non-linguists. I tried to overcome this and write to anyone who might listen. I used my mother, an educated woman, as well as my children (who were under 10 at the time) as well as friends (from all walks of life) as my guides. If they understood what I was trying to say, then I was probably on the right track, was my approach.

How did you choose the title?

Madre: Perilous Journeys with a Spanish Noun is a title that explains the book. I never thought it was a sexy title, but it is an honest one. Saying the word madre in the wrong place at the wrong time can—I’m not exaggerating—cause you great harm.

What obstacles did you encounter in getting this book published? How did you overcome them?

My first manuscript was rejected by six presses in New York. However, according to my agent, one of the rejections, which came from W.W. Norton, was a “good one.” I wasn’t sure what that meant. I was of the opinion that all rejections were, in a word, rejections. Rejections are not my cup of tea, either way, so I found myself moping around for a good year before I was able to sit down and rewrite the manuscript, which I did, with the help of friends. My agent resubmitted it to the editor in question, because, as it turned out, this rejecting editor had noted, at the time, how much she liked the way I wrote. She accepted it three years later; she oversaw its revisions; and she helped to bring the book into the world, for which I am enormously grateful.

How did you know you wanted to be a writer? How did you get started?

I didn’t. I only knew I wanted to write. I used to write poetry when I was in high school, all on my own. I have kept diaries for decades. Many years later, I would fixate on finding the perfect word for an academic article. That’s when I suspected I was a writer.

Do you have any writing rituals?

If I lived alone, had another personality, and had the resources, I might. But as a single mother of twin girls who are only in elementary school, combined with being me, I can only write when my girls are asleep or not home (which means in school). So, in the wee hours of the morning before they wake or after they board the bus, I get to work. Of course, there are months that go by with no writing on my plate at all, because of the needs of my children, my house, my research project at Brown, my extended family, my friends. I would love nothing more than to be able to awake in the morning and just have one task: to write. But that belies my life, although it may describe that of others.

How do you come up with the names for your characters?

I have never written fiction, but I did have to use pseudonyms for two of my characters in Madre. I chose names that felt like their real names. I asked them how they liked them. They gave me their okay.

Did you learn anything from writing and publishing this book?

Oh yes. I learned a lot about writing, language, feminism, humor and sorrow. When I first started, I thought I knew all I needed to know to write the book, as I had been thinking about the topic for decades. But. as it turned out, I didn’t know enough. In fact, I’m not sure I knew much at all. I read like crazy; I researched relentlessly; I returned to live in Mexico for a final stretch of due diligence; I wrote and rewrote galore. In the process, I learned what it means to find a voice, to edit until you can’t edit anymore, to be clear, serious, humorous, to reach out to readers. Perhaps I would have learned that much earlier, if I had studied for an MFA in writing rather than a Ph.D. in anthropology. But, alas, I have the doctorate and not the MFA.

If you were doing it all over again, what would you do differently?

Maybe earn an MFA. Definitely, without a doubt, I would take the courses offered by Grace Paley and E.L. Doctorow and so many other distinguished writers who were at Sarah Lawrence when I was.

What types of books do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors? Why?

So very many authors are my favorites. Virginia Woolf is, perhaps, my most favorite. But Wallace Stegner is right up there, as is Milan Kundera. Tom Stoppard is utterly amazing, same for Barbara Kingsolver. And then there are poets, my favorites being Robert Frost, Mary Oliver, Lawrence Raab, Wallace Stevens, L.R. Berger, and Sharon Olds. Why? I’m not sure. Perhaps their use of the unexpected, their ability to find poetry in the quotidian, the way they employ language. I also love the works of authors in Maine. Because I know many of them, I can imagine them writing their books while I read them.

Are you working on your next book? What can you tell us about it?

I’m not working on my next book. I do have three or four ideas swimming around in my head. I’m hoping that one of them will appear to me in a dream as the one. Will it? Well, okay, then, appear to my pencil in my hand or run across my computer screen. I’m hoping it will appear sooner rather than later. I’m feeling guilty. I’m getting antsy.

What is the best advice you could give other writers about writing or publishing?

Write to write, not to publish. Everyone says that. And it never feels perfect, because most of us want to publish what we write, that is only natural. Nevertheless, it is true as true can be. Write to write to write. If you are fortunate and you finish and a publishing house wants to publish you, then—here’s the bad news—work like a dog way before the book is launched to bring it as much attention as possible. My book, Madre, was slow out of the starting gate before picking up steam. This was in part because I did not understand the pace of marketing books. Academics are not sprinters by nature. We aren’t even runners.

Who is the perfect reader for your book?

A person interested in language and how it affects our lives as well as the lives of our friends, family and children.

Where can readers learn more about you and your book?

Here is my website: www.lizabakewell.com. It’s the best place to start. I do have a facebook page, one for my book, another for me. I do teach on occasion, for the student in you.

What is your most recent book? Tell us a bit about it.

Going to the Dogs: Confessions of a Mobile Pet Groomer is the quirky, humorous, creative non-fiction story of my twenty-one years operating one of Maryland’s largest mobile pet grooming operations. I found myself in mid-life combining two things I knew nothing about, dogs and business, into Career Number 8 and what a wild ride it was. I dealt with frisky dogs, feisty cats (some of whom matched their owners), terrifying wolves, quirky groomers and those darn vans which always broke down on the other side of Baltimore. What, in real life was aggravating, became funny when I began writing about it. Think James Herriot meets Erma Bombeck.

Tell us something about yourself.

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I graduated from Towson University, Maryland. I taught second grade, reared five children and became a branch-office supervisor for the Social Security Administration. Losing my hair from stress, I chucked bureaucracy for entrepreneurship and launched Canine Clippers Mobile Pet Groomers. I continue to write stories and profiles for various magazines and am a member of the National Dog Groomers Association of America. In 2010 and 2011 I was the first prize winner in fiction and non-fiction in the Gulf Coast Writers Association’s contest. I retired to Ft. Myers, FL along with my husband Niel and rescue dog, Sasha and currently speak at events and book signings.

What inspired you to write this book?

I thought I’d left the grooming world behind when I retired, but disturbing dreams about biting dogs and crippled vans invaded my sleep. I decided to write about those incidents and what were miserable real-life episodes, became humorous when I transferred them to paper. In fact, they were downright funny. A chapter on keeping those antique vans on the road led to one where I groomed a kitty hanging from all fours from the roof vent (“I’m not leaving here without money!”). When my spouse overheard me giggling at my own material, he remarked, “I didn’t know we had such a good time with that business.” Soon I had a manuscript and the rest is history.

How did you choose the title?

How could I not? I literally did travel the streets of Baltimore ”going to the dogs.” All pet groomers encounter difficult pets, owners and employees, but seldom divulge horrific events where they injured an animal, say something stupid to an owner, act rashly, or vice-versa. And that became the second part of the title: “confessions of a mobile pet groomer.”

What obstacles did you encounter in getting this book published? How did you overcome them?

It’s almost embarrassing to tell how easy it was to publish GTTDs. My manuscript was ready to roll, and since that “wonderful” mobile business gobbles all our savings, self-publish a book was questionable. But, one of Gulf Coast Writers speakers, an editor, offered to take a look-see at member’s manuscripts after the meeting. I immediately sent my raw material and a few shuffles back and forth produced those words every writer prays for, “I’d like to talk to you.”

The real angst developed when I had to decide whether to sign the agreement, or fall back into my lazy, but hard-fought retirement. An intellectual property attorney reviewed the contract, and after understanding the implications of plunging into Career Number 9, I signed it. My editor and publisher helped every step of the way, whether editing, promoting, counseling, informing, advising or encouraging.

I had no obstacles to overcome throughout the entire process. But I know how blessed I am to be the exception (not querying a single agent or editor) and not the rule.

How did you know you wanted to be a writer? How did you get started?

Throughout the years I was married and rearing children, I wrote short pieces for church, school and neighborhood newsletters – nothing big, just enjoyable. However, after retiring to a large manufactured home village, I offered to write resident profiles called “Meet Your Neighbor.” What fun. But, when the nightmares about the grooming business became serious, I turned to capturing them on paper and joined a writing club where I absorbed advice about what makes a great book. I figured I lopped off 6 years of making mistakes and instead found out what works and sells.

Do you have any writing rituals?

Nope. I grab an hour here, there, two a.m., in church if the sermon is boring, waiting in doctor’s offices, or scribbling on restaurant napkins when a terrific idea hits me.

How do you come up with the names for your characters?

Since my book is non-fiction, I don’t fancy ex-employees, clients or dogs and cats suing me. Therefore, I change names, but usually keep the first initial the same. If I’m working in fiction, the character’s personality or physical appearance suggest a name – works for me.

Did you learn anything from writing and publishing this book? What?

I learned I’m a “natural” writer. Writer’s block is unknown to me. I discovered that marketing GTTDs is a whole other learning experience and I absolutely hate trying to keep up Facebook, my Blog, or creating a website – remember I’m still doing this on a pittance and everything has to cost little or nothing. And yet, the reviews are excellent, not a bad one yet. Interviewers are contacting me, newspaper columnists respond to my queries, and when a friend phones me with, “Hey, Jan “Florida Book Page” is reviewing your book on radio right now! Turn it on,” I’m astonished. When a reader says, “I laughed out loud when I read your book. You write just like you talk,” I’m not sure of they’re complimenting me or not, but relish their chuckles.

I discovered I’m a fair comic when I speak. Audiences laugh at the right spots and I wonder if I should have gone into show-biz instead of my previous seven careers. Who knew I’d be so entertaining? Not me! But there it is and what fun I’m having – certainly more than dog grooming.

If you were doing it all over again, what would you do differently?

I’d purchase a more expensive printer that guzzled less expensive ink!

What types of books do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors? Why?

I like books with humor, happy endings, spy thrillers, historical fiction and non-fiction, stories with a moral issue and well-written Christian books. I don’t like books with unresolved endings requiring the reader to come up with their own. Favorite authors are Anne River Siddons, David Baldacci, Jodi Picoult and Max Lucado.

Are you working on your next book? What can you tell us about it?

I constantly write about events that tickle me, phrases that catch my attention, outlandish actions – anything that lends itself to a short story or article. Incidents from my youth, such as Transitions, my winning entry to Gulf Coast Writers Association, find their way into my computer. Currently I’m working on promoting articles to magazines and newspapers, such as: “Will Your Pet Become a Weather-Related Disaster Victim?” I’ve jotted down my marketing experiences, especially the ones that bombed, were outrageous or less than desirable – now humorous. If a story or article becomes the impetus for a book, we’ll have to wait and see.

What is the best advice you could give other writers about writing or publishing?

My best advice for writers is to be prepared for bumps and unexpected expenses along the way. Even though you snagged a publisher and didn’t self-publish, be aware that you will lay out more money in a marketing campaign than you originally thought. You will be amazed at how quickly you run through ink-cartridges and how pricey they are. You will also be astonished when high-priced vendor fees outmatch the sum of books sold.

I was unprepared for the amount of computer savvy required to design a bookmark, tri-fold pamphlet, spread sheet, blog, Facebook and website. Huge amounts of your time will be spent on, not only designing them, but keeping them current and attractive.

If you are a shy person, you’re in for a shock. If you think you’ll sit behind a table and readers will flock to purchase your book, think again. They know nothing about you and you’ll have to entice them into conversation to get their attention, “Wow, I see you’re wearing a Woodstock T-shirt. Where you really there?” and segue into the most exciting event in your life – your book. You will sell one book for every hour you’re book signing – if you’re lucky and aggressive!

If you plan to speak about your book, you will experience enthusiastic audiences resulting in sales, and you will bomb with others. Just as the writing process taught you not to fall in love with your written words, speaking programs will force you to adjust your spoken words when you sense you’re losing listener’s attention. The plus of organizing speaking events is that you’ll sell more books in a shorter time, but you better develop an outstanding program with proper English and drop the “so, umm, like, uhh, you know” and similar speech crutches. It doesn’t hurt to join a local Toastmasters, either.

Who is the perfect reader for your book?

I discovered my reader was not a pet owners (although 50% of Americans do own a pet), but are women and men my age, who relate to my mid-life, pioneer, career, are engaged by me and react to my sense of humor. I found they read GTTDs first and then re-gift it to their children, grandchildren, groomer and veterinarian.

Where can readers learn more about me and my book?

At present my blog, www.authorjannieman.blogspot.com, is my website and contains my bio, reviews, interviews, photos, events and the Introduction to GTTDs. I hope my website, www.Goingtothedogsthebook.com, will be up soon. Readers can also find GTTDs on Facebook. In addition, the reviews on Amazon.com are noteworthy and reveal considerable information about Going to the Dogs: Confessions of a Mobile Pet Groomer.