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I Wish You a Little Christmas (and Book Deals!)

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The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

When I was teaching high school French many years ago, I found a wonderful Christmas story in what we called our French Authors book for grade 11 students. That book contained many stories in French to give students the experience of reading great works by famous authors in the language they were studying.

The Gift of the Magi was that wonderful story and I had never heard it before. I was as mesmerized as my students as we worked our way through O. Henry’s tale, said to have been written when he was up against a newspaper deadline. Apparently the story took about 2 1/2 hours to create.

For those who would like to read it (in English), please click here to read it on East of the Web.

Here is my office poinsettia brightening up my writing space as I work these days. This is one Christmas tradition I love, especially  the red poinsettias.

My Gift to You!

This year, when you buy all three of the books in my Loyalist Trilogy between now and December 24, 2019, you get them for a special price. 

All 3 for not $60  but $44.00(Canadian)! I can even do them in a pretty red bow if you like!

To get this amazing price, you must pick them up from my house and pay cash.

If you live a distance away, I will honour this price if you pay the shipping. Send me a request via my email at elainecougler (at) rogers (dot) com.

I wish you all happy holidays and a new year filled with every good thing you desire.

For More Stories of People Making a Difference, Click on Images

My latest book!

 

The Man Behind the Marathon

Marketing Your Brand New Book–5 Great Ideas to Try

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Having a successful book does not just mean writing it. We all know how important that is but visions of the back closet filled with boxes of books haunt all of us. Every writer needs to find ways to get that book of theirs into as many hands as possible. Here are a few suggestions that I’ve found worked for me.

5 Proven Ideas for Selling Books

Get over your shyness and talk about your work. With my first book I made sure I always had a copy in my purse and a box of books in my car. People couldn’t wait to see what I had written. Gone were the times when I was too shy or humble to talk about being a writer. When you get a question like ‘what are you up to these days?’ recognize that opens the door to your excitement about your new book. So much better than talking about the weather!

From that first foray into telling people about my books I moved to speaking gigs. At first groups called me but when I saw how many books I sold I started offering my speaking services by calling or emailing them. At each one of those gigs, I always set up an attractive display with books, a banner, and sign-ups for my twice monthly newsletter. If it’s a large group I give a free book to someone at the back of the room–maybe it’s for the person who reads historical fiction or who came the farthest to hear me or who answers some question I make up. The point is as I pass the book back to the back of the room all of those passing it have a chance to hold the book and, hopefully, wish they had one of their own.

Prepare your books in various formats. First, I concentrated on finishing the print version and had it ‘perfect bound’ with a great cover. Immediately I researched and settled on two types of e-books: Kindle because it is the giant Amazon’s e-book format and Kobo because at the time I learned that it had 18% of the market in Canada and I live in Canada. Never one to pass up a new idea, I met a clever fellow who lives in the same city as I do but who is a legends singer (John Denver and Glen Campbell among others) so he has a recording studio in his home. Jack London is a dead ringer for John Denver and sings his songs so well. He and I recorded all of my trilogy in his studio and I put them up on Audible.

 

My book which is currently just finished (ten days until the first launch) is The Man Behind the Marathons: How Ron Calhoun Helped Terry Fox and Other Heroes Make Millions for Charity.

This book has its own following because of the famous and semi-famous people I wrote about. My challenge is to capitalize on all of that by telling never-before-told stories that link to heroes we know and some we don’t. I try to hone in on that quality in all of us that recognizes good in others. I’m not interested in denigrating anyone and have told the story as it has been told to me by Ron Calhoun. For most of the 86 years of his life he has been a consummate volunteer.

There are several launches and speaking gigs planned with more joining the list every day. The next six months are going to be wonderfully busy with interviews, workshops, speaking gigs and book sales. I love it all!

And now for the best idea of all! Sell your books in large quantities. This could be a whole post itself as there are many ways to try to achieve sales in large numbers to one buyer. I sold many copies to one company because my book fits in well with their theme at Sports Discovery Camp. All of these people who walked, ran, or “Fox-trotted” across this country had to be fantastic marathoners to achieve their goals so the theme fits in well with Sports Discovery Camp, a division of STEM Camp here in Canada. Here is the ad they used.

Coming soon to Amazon print and Kindle e-books as well as Kobo e-books.

 

Click for website.
fob from Beth

Motivation: Staying Positive to Reach Your Stars

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Potential For Greatness Fob www.pyrrha.com

Over the past twelve years, I’ve learned a lot about the writing world at conferences in large cities, at various writers group meetings and sitting right in my desk chair in front of my own computer. My journey has taught me to mostly count on myself and to always be true to what I want, to what I need and to what I am continually seeking.

One of the things that has helped me along the way to launching the three books of The Loyalist Trilogy and very soon  The Man Behind the Marathons is using positive thinking. Oh, I do experience those middle-of-the-night doubts as most of us do, but I’ve learned to recognize them for what they are–my subconscious wanting to have a bigger say in how I lead my life. No way should we ever let that happen.

Early in my writing journey my adult daughter sent me a wonderful gift. She sent me the same necklace (pictured above) that she bought for herself, so I suppose it’s no surprise that today she is writing her first book and plans to have the rough draft finished by the end of June. Here is the descriptive note included with the necklace:

Potential for Greatness: The oak tree is an emblem of strength, endurance and prosperity. The acorn signifies potential, power and luck.

What a rewarding message that was when I was starting out and still now as I am launching my fourth book. I come back to it over and over.

Another positive message I have on my desk is my coaster for my water glass. As you can see it’s been with me long enough to be stained and worn but I rely on this message. I’ll never toss it out into the garbage. This quote from 19th century writer, George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) means more and more to me as the birthdays pile up.

You might think I put this one in just for a laugh. “She shines in beauty” might have been more apt a lot of years ago, but this mug was a gift from my nephews when they were very young. It tells me about my name, mostly, but also makes me think of all the people who love me. This is a certain mood lifter!

On the top of my credenza my mother, as she looked a few years before she left us, reminds me to always do my best. She was a perfect role model, a woman who gave her life to other people and taught me and my many siblings to do the same. I only wish she were here to see and read my books as she was a voracious reader; she died before I started down this wonderful journey of writing so she never knew about this joyous writing path I’ve taken. Reading was one of the things we loved to discuss. I treasure the books I got from her library after she died; it’s like a little of her essence is on them still.

When I was talking this post over with my daughter, she told me about this message on her desk: Say no to everything that doesn’t make your heart sing. What would our lives be like if we did that? Staying positive would be a lot easier, I think. After all, we are meant to be happy, or didn’t you read The Secret?

Because I’ve learned to keep my focus on my dream, I’m looking forward to my new book launching in June.

Note: The title became The Man Behind the Marathons: How Ron Calhoun Helped Terry Fox and Other Heroes Make Millions for Charity.

I’ve spent the last two years interviewing Ron Calhoun and writing three drafts of this book. It’s creative non-fiction so that was a new type of book for me. Writing this has been a struggle at times but, overall, a really great experience. I learned so much about Ron Calhoun and each of the journeys he masterminded. I also learned a lot about creative non-fiction and the nuances it allows the writer to put into a true story. Very cool.

The launch is in June. More about that later. For now here are my three books from my Loyalist trilogy. Seeing them completed and out in the world as print, electronic and, most recently, audio books helps me keep going on those difficult days. They are another positive influence, helping me reach my own stars.

Click to purchase on Amazon.

 

 

nightstand

No Time For Reading?

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You know you should read. Your people taught you to read. You know it teaches you, it calms you, it excites you, and it even intrigues you and sometimes keeps you joyously awake all night.

But you’re guilty of letting the rest of your life take you over so that you have no time to read. (Or do anything else for that matter!) You pick up your iPad at night and ignore that pile of books on your night table.

Here are some ways to keep reading in your life and to teach kids to keep it in theirs.

  1. Buy or borrow books.

  2. Make them about topics that spark your interest.

  3. Stack them beside your bed.

  4. Put the one you’re reading on top and pick it up often.

  5. Pick a time to read. It may be 15 minutes before you go to sleep at night or it may be first thing in the morning. Whatever fits into your schedule.

  6. Think about your reading as you talk to friends or take your morning coffee break.

  7. Sit with your kids, your siblings, your parents, or your friends and read or talk about reading. You’ll be modelling the behavior you want your kids to emulate and the benefits to all of you will be fabulous.

  8. Join a group like Goodreads where you can connect with people who read.

  9. Write reviews for your books on Amazon and on Goodreads. (I now have 604 books on Goodreads that I have written reviews for.)

  10. Commit to reading a certain number of books a year. My goal for 2019 is 24 but lots of members have more. I like to pick what I know I can manage and if I get more, all the better.

Favorite Books

Please share your books with friends but make them accountable. These are treasures you’re letting them read. If you really want to get excited about reading search out books that show the great links between reading and learning. OMG, it’s fabulous.

Come and visit me on Goodreads. I’ll be happy to share my Books Read list.

audio books

The Ups and Downs of Audiobooks

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The finished products.

With traffic and travel and time constraints so big a part of most people’s life these days, finding enough time to read has become challenging. Years ago I faced this same thing when I was balancing my teaching job, being a mother, being a wife, and finding time to read. I started what has become a lifelong habit–reading for about 20 minutes before turning out my light at night.

Today book lovers have another option. They can listen to books while they drive, paint, work (at some mindless jobs), and jog or shop. I see runners all the time with their ear buds connected to some unseen source.

A little over 3 years ago I took note of that and started the process to make my books accessible that way. With a local studio I began recording my own books. For the first book I took quite a bit of time as the process was all new. When the second book was ready I was a lot faster and the cost was about 2/3 of what the first had been. This past few months my same technician (who is a dream to work with, by the way) and I got the third in my trilogy in the can.

My problem had been that the company I wanted to carry my audio books, Audible’s ACX, did not take submissions from Canada. They operated with the U.S. and Great Britain only. I needed a U.S. address and arranged to use my nephew’s which was acceptable.

Next problem? The same one I had with Amazon and the IRS: I needed an ITIN so that I wouldn’t be charged an exorbitant income tax rate. My accountant husband tried three times to get this paperwork done but had problems with the IRS and getting clear and consistent answers. At one point the government shut down and our stuff was caught in that fiasco.

My husband finally found a solution to that problem but the Audible one was still out there.

I just got frustrated and carried on doing what I could, hoping that an answer would come. It did. I happened to pick up a newspaper a couple of months ago in Victoria and read an article about Audible/ACX coming to Canada. Immediately I followed up.

Today, my second book, The Loyalist’s Luck, is available on their platform. I am ecstatic.

The Loyalist’s Luck
Second in the Loyalist Trilogy

You may be wondering why the second book is listed there now but not the first, The Loyalist’s Wife. There are some issues with the files for the first book and my technician is working on those at the moment. I hope to have the corrected files sent in to ACX within the next week.

We also have the third book, The Loyalist Legacy,  recorded and I’m waiting for the final files for it.

Once you get the files sent in to ACX, you have to wait 2-3 weeks for them to review them. If they find issues you have to fix them and, presumably, wait again.

Meanwhile anxious readers can check the books out on Amazon. The books can be read out of order but I suggest starting with the first for the broadest and most satisfying reading/listening pleasure.

For any authors thinking of doing this, I found the ACX process of uploading chapter by chapter very simple to follow. I’ll announce in my newsletter (link at left) when all of the books are fully accessible as audio books.

Click on the Loyalist Trilogy books below for great historical stories with satisfying endings:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Different Kind of Historical

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When you think of it, every story we tell is historical. As soon as we use the past tense, as in “my daughter woke up in the middle of the night with red spots all over her chest”, we are dealing with history. To be considered a part of the historical fiction category, though, the subject matter should be at least fifty years in the past, a rule set and followed by the writing community.

That idea of categorizing sometimes leads us writers to wonder just what genre our new story actually fits into as it may have historical elements but they are more fantasy than history. Or it may have historical elements as the backdrop for a murder that needs to be solved. Is it historical or is it crime fiction?

This leads to agents having difficulty knowing where to sell a story. It may be excellent but their job is to sell it and they do all they can to figure out where their market might be. At lunch yesterday this very problem led me to suggest my author friend might be better to self-publish her book as it does not clearly fit into one category or another and I wondered if an agent would struggle to find a market for it. The book is extremely creative in its structure and story line, something readers love to see, but the author must decide how best to actually get it to those readers. Should she try to traditionally publish or do it herself?

In a similar vein, the new book I’m writing started out as creative non-fiction but I’ve completely restarted it as a biography. You see, the framing device that I had thought was so clever, actually began to be extremely unwieldy, so much so that a few weeks ago, lying awake at three o’clock in the morning, I decided I had to start over and write this thrilling and uplifting story about Ron Calhoun and Terry Fox and a lot of other amazing people as Calhoun’s biography.

That decision is allowing me to use a more sequential time line and include a rising action aspect just as I do in my historical fiction. And it relates to my historical fiction very well as I’m telling the story of a man born in 1933 who came to be so connected with historical figures during his long lifetime (and he’s still going!). My working title for this is The Man Behind the Marathon of Hope: The Story of Ron Calhoun and How He Helped Terry Fox Raise Millions for Cancer.

Click on the Loyalist Trilogy books below for great historical stories with satisfying endings:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ryan contest image Feb 2018

Join a Book Promotion to Market Your Books

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Something for Writers and Readers:

If you love to read I hope you’ll be interested in these Family Sagas and Historical Novels. My latest book is there, too. And writers, here’s a good company where you might list your books, too. They have many categories. I hope one of you wins!

Today, I have a fun surprise that I’d like to share with you. I’ve teamed up with 30+ fantastic authors to give away a huge collection of historical fiction & family saga novels to 2 lucky winners, PLUS a brand new eReader to the Grand Prize winner!

Oh, and did I mention you’ll receive a collection of FREE ebooks just for entering? ;D

You can win my novel, The Loyalist Legacy, plus books from authors like Fiona Davis and Stephanie Dray.

Enter the giveaway by clicking here:

http://bit.ly/historicalsagas-feb2018

Good luck and enjoy!

Elaine

 

Click on the Loyalist Trilogy books below for great historical stories with satisfying endings:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

techie desk

The Techie Writer: Why We Must Keep Up

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How many tech items are in this photo?

Quite a lot of years ago I was a teacher of Computers when few people had one of those new-fangled things in their home and much of the world had never even seen one. I could take one apart right down to the bare motherboard and–even more important–put it back together so that it would work. And it was fun, exciting, even!

Not everyone agreed. Most people thought they were a fad and refused to learn anything about them. Kind of the way a few people today are still holdouts regarding smart phones.

My mother grudgingly accepted the loan of one of my computers while my husband and I took our kids on a long summer camping trip to the west coast of Canada. I gave her some easy instructions and left her to put her touch typing skills to work on my computer keyboard.

We returned five and a half weeks later full of stories of mighty mountains and rushing rivers to find that Mom had not even turned on the machine. Many years later a few weeks before she passed away, Mom told me she had made a mistake. She should have learned to use the computer and kept track of her many grandchildren all over North America.

I know now she could have used the computer to write her own story, a story all of her children and grandchildren would have loved to receive. That would have been especially helpful when her eyesight failed leaving her with only scanty peripheral sight.

Ah, hindsight.

That experience most certainly taught me something, though. I don’t want to be left behind. I never want to be that person who is more and more left out of the conversation because she doesn’t understand the topic. And for a writer computers and their ever advancing linked technology open the world to loads of useful tools. They are very often the topic.

In the picture above you can see some of my techie stuff:

  1. My desktop Mac computer which I keep updated and which has lasted me for about 4 or 5 years so far holds the keys to my writing career. I can save on Dropbox for an offsite backup, on my desktop for my current files and on a flash drive.

  2. My external USB hub where I can attach backup flash drives as needed and which gives me more USB slots to make my life easier.

  3. My little microphone that my husband gave me a couple of years ago and which is great for doing podcasts and recordings of other sorts as I need them.

  4. My new techie thing this year at Christmas, my LED Pocket Projector, which is so much easier to cart off to speaking gigs. It’s small but seems to project a great image. I still have to master it and haven’t used it out speaking so far. It’s my new technology to get used to just now. I’ve included a link here to a 10 minute video about it.

  5. My answering machine. I know it’s kind of old school but so far I haven’t wanted to switch to a newer system. Anyhow most of my calls come on my iPhone these days.

  6. And that brings me to my iPhone which isn’t in the picture but which took the picture. I can’t tell you how handy it is to take shots which might be great for blog posts: people, scenery, museum stuff, lists or info I want to remember–any number of things which relate to my writing career.

  7. My lamp I first bought with a brighter than normal bulb for beading work but I soon discovered it makes a fabulous desk lamp and it’s been here ever since.

  8. And just on the left side of the shot you can maybe see my very old-fashioned phone. It has a speaker phone setting, redial, and saves numbers (I never use this as I prefer to remember them). I keep this in case the hydro goes off and I can’t charge my cell phone and because I like the feel of the headset against my ear as compared to my smart phone.

You don’t see my excellent printer, little floor heater for those days when the wind seeps in the windows, and my Flip Camera which I’ve used for loads of interviews.

Technology helps us all in many ways, some of which I’ve mentioned here. The reasons I desperately keep up even though my brain often says “Enough!” are varied and many but the main one is I really love doing my techie stuff. Please don’t turn off the electricity and take me back to having to write everything by hand.

When I see the handwritten manuscripts of old and think of those monks poring over their illuminated pages, I am just delighted that I was in the first year of academic students at my high school who were allowed to learn typing. It’s the one course that has stayed with me my whole life. It’s just so much faster than writing by hand. My brain can whip away as fast as it wants because I’m on my computer and using my typing skills to get my imagination sorted out on the page. It’s a different kind of brain drain, you might say.

And so, while I grouse away at the speed of updates that come at me daily, I’m happy to have these tools at my disposal.

 

Click on the Loyalist Trilogy books below for great historical stories with satisfying endings:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Short Story Writers, Take Note!

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I am happy to be a member of London Writers Society which meets once a month in London, Ontario. Tonight (Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018) we’re launching another writing contest in connection with the fact that women finally got the vote in Canada in 1918, a hundred years ago.

If you check out the web you’ll see that didn’t mean all women and, indeed, women of colour didn’t get the vote here until the late 1940’s. Not long ago.

And in Canada women weren’t actually considered “persons” under Canadian law until 1929. I’ve no idea how they could vote before that considering they weren’t persons!

In London a group has taken on the task of helping all Londoners and those surrounding the city celebrate the hundred years date. I went to an organizational meeting at Eldon House whose group has chosen to offer a series of events under the title “A Century of Women: Votes, Voices and Choices.” Good ideas ensued from all of the people there.

My idea was to have London Writers Society host a writing contest linking to the theme. Below is the contest information and rules. Feel free to enter as long as you’re a member of LWS. (Yearly memberships cost $25.)

London Writers Society

Short Story Writing Contest:

“Women’s Rights and Struggles”

 

Held to honour the 100th anniversary of Canadian women getting the vote: May 24, 1918.

Contest Information and Rules

  1. Submitted stories must relate to the following theme: women’s rights and struggles.

  2. Maximum word count: 2500 words. There is no minimum word count.

  3. Any genre will be accepted.

  4. There is no submission entry fee. However, all entrants must be members of the London Writers Society in good standing at the time of submission, so please ensure that your membership is current.

  5. The submissions will be judged blindly. Therefore, print your name, contact email, contact phone number, and the title of your submission on a separate sheet. Put your submission title on an additional title page without your personal information.

  6. Stories cannot have been previously published.

  7. Send submissions by email to londonwriterssociety(at)gmail.com.

  8. Submission deadline is April 1, 2018.

  9. Winners will be announced April 17, 2018 at our regular LWS meeting.

  10. The first prize winner will receive: their story distributed to the LWS membership and the rest of our newsletter list; their story published on our website if the author so desires; an LWS merchandise package; a $75 Chapters gift certificate.

  11. Two runners-up will each receive: an LWS merchandise package; a $50 Chapters gift certificate.

Note the email address if you are interested. You can also contact me.

Click on the Loyalist Trilogy books below for great historical stories with satisfying endings:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

musician-rockstar-band-music-37862

A Writer’s New Year’s Resolutions–Maybe

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According to our calendar a new year is upon us whether we want it or not. In the tradition of writing resolutions which many have done for years and years, I’m going to make my own list.

 

Resolutions For 2018

  1. I resolve to say no as often as I can so that my ‘must do’ duties do not get so overwhelming.

  2. I resolve to finish my current WIP as soon as possible, hopefully by summer time. Then I can work on having it published by October.

  3. I resolve to keep up my blog post schedule of a new post almost every Wednesday of the year.

  4. I resolve to keep up my twice monthly newsletter to my followers and to continually search for new and interesting tidbits to share with these wonderful supporters.

  5. I resolve to lose ten pounds. (We always have to put one of those resolutions in, don’t we?)

  6. I resolve to figure out how to best make use of my new Pico projector as I go out on my speaking gigs.

  7. I resolve to get the most out of Quantum Leap in the remaining two months I have with them.

  8. I resolve to record the third book in my Loyalist trilogy and get them all on a platform so they’re available for purchase.

  9. I resolve to get back into painting and to stretch my creative side a little more in this way.

  10. I resolve to keep my email InBox as empty as I can by unsubscribing to anything I don’t absolutely need or want. Time to be ruthless about guarding my time.

  11. I resolve to practice singing and get my voice back into shape so that I can record a CD for my family. Sh. This is a secret!

  12. I resolve to continue the daily Gratitude Journal I do with my daughter in order that, miles apart, we can keep up on what each other is doing.

Well, there you have it. Twelve resolutions. One for each month. Come next December I’ll try to do a rehash and see how well I’ve done. You might consider doing the same and telling us your plans.

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!

 

Click on the Loyalist Trilogy books below for great historical stories with satisfying endings:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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