Social Networking

It has been awhile since I posted on this blog. To be honest, I have been busy with my own work and hadn't had much to say. That has changed and I want to just put a bit of a note about social networking for all of you.

I will say upfront, I don't have a cell phone (I like my downtime) but am pretty much attached to a computer both at home and the part time jobs I hold. I have been reading about social networking for some time now. It seemed overwhelming, but necessary. I bought books about the subject and read things online. None seem to get through my 'aging' brain. Finally I was at a luncheon where the topic was social networking. In 45 minutes it started to make sense.

With the dependence on computers, etc. it makes sense to stay in touch with people who are doing what you do. You can support and help others as they help you. For that reason alone it is worth the time. For business purposes it becomes a bit trickier.

You can use the network to build 'buzz' about you and your product. Is it fast? I think that for some it might be. For others it will take time. Is it worth it? That depends on what you want the end result to be. Placing 'free' information helps to build a brand name. Does it increase sales? For writers, the votes are still out on that one.

In the end, it seems social networking, with all the ins, outs and time consumption, is a personal choice. We write all the time. With social networking it looks to be what are we going to write. Build our name or write our book. We can do both, but one will take time from the other. It is a personal choice. Which ever choice you make, don't worry. The one thing that is sure, social networking is to here to stay. You can always join the madness later.

Shadows On Stone: Janet Riehl - A Creative Life

Shadows On Stone: Janet Riehl - A Creative Life

October New Releases

Nancy Batson Crews
Alabama's First Lady of Flight

by Sarah B. Rickman

A riveting oral history/biography of a pioneering woman aviator.

This is the story of an uncommon woman--high school cheerleader, campus queen, airplane pilot, wife, mother, politician, business-woman--who epitomizes the struggles and freedoms of women in 20th-century America, as they first began to believe they could live full lives and demanded to do so. World War II offered women the opportunity to contribute to the work of the country, and Nancy Batson Crews was one woman who made the most of her privileged beginnings and youthful talents and opportunities.

In love with flying from the time she first saw Charles Lindbergh in Birmingham, (October 1927), Crews began her aviation career in 1939 as one of only five young women chosen for Civilian Pilot Training at the University of Alabama. Later, Crews became the 20th woman of 28 to qualify as an "Original" Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) pilot, employed during World War II shuttling P-38, P-47, and P-51 high-performance aircrafts from factory to staging areas and to and from maintenance and training sites. Before the war was over, 1,102 American women would qualify to fly Army airplanes. Many of these female pilots were forced out of aviation after the war as males returning from combat theater assignments took over their roles. But Crews continued to fly, from gliders to turbojets to J-3 Cubs, in a postwar career that began in California and then resumed in Alabama.

The author was a freelance journalist looking to write about the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) when she met an elderly, but still vital, Nancy Batson Crews. The former aviatrix held a reunion of the surviving nine WAFS for an interview with them and Crews, recording hours of her own testimony and remembrance before Crews's death from cancer in 2001. After helping lead the fight in the '70s for WASP to win veteran status, it was fitting that Nancy Batson Crews was buried with full military honors.

Sarah Byrn Rickman is a freelance journalist and award-winning author of Flight from Fear and The Originals: The Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron of World War II.

Visit Sarah at www.SarahByrnRickman.com

Jane Kirkpatrick is an international keynote speaker and author of 15 historical novels, including A Flickering Light and Aurora: An American Experience in Quilt, Community, and Craft.

Visit Jane at www.jkbooks.com

Published by The University of Alabama Press

The book can be purchased at www.amazon.com, www.uapress.ua.edu or www.bnb.com

Autographed copies are available for purchase. Email Sarah at srick18153@aol.com

(Releases October 8th)

September New Releases

"Kidnapped," by Arletta Dawdy is featured in the Anthology,

Vintage Voices: Cent'Anni:May you live 100 Years,

which is the product of the Redwood Writers Club, one of the clubs under the umbrella of the California Writers Club, established 100 years ago by the likes of Jack London and Ina Coolbrith. The anthology is available at:http://redwoodwriters.org/publishingvintagevoices.html for a donation of $12.

The ISBN is: 13:978-0-9816848

Paperback, 164 pages, Karen Batchelor, editor

Publisher: A Few Little Books, Cotati, CA

My story "Kidnapped," an excerpt from my historical novel BY GRACE, appears in the anthology. The launch party will be on Sept 26, 2009 from 2:00-4:00 pm at North Light Books& Cafe, 550 E. Cotati Ave., Cotati, CA 94931. I'll read at that time and hope any WWW members in the Bay Area who are able, will attend.

Susannah, A Lawyer:

From Tragedy to Triumph

By Ruth Rymer

Susannah Reed transforms a brutal attack on herself in 1877 into a passion for justice. Despite resistance from her parents, her fiance, society and even the United States Supreme Court, she emerges as one of America's first woman lawyers.

SUSANNAH, A LAWYER - From Tragedy to Triumph was officially released by Langdon Street Press, September 1, 2009.

Members can purchase it by going to my website: www.susannah-a-lawyer.com and ordering the book.

Purchasers can also get it directly from me, Ruth Rymer. Discounted price for WWWs: $14.00 + $4.00 = $18.00. Shipping and Handling out of California. Within California: add $1.00 toward sales tax or $19.00.

Visit Ruth at www.susannah-a-lawyer.com/

THE GOOD TIMES ARE ALL GONE NOW:

Life, Death and Rebirth in an Idaho Mining Town.

By Julie W. Weston

Julie's creative nonfiction book, THE GOOD TIMES ARE ALL GONE NOW: Life, Death and Rebirth in an Idaho Mining Town, released in 2009 from the University of Oklahoma Press, is a memoir of place, weaving the story of hard rock mining and labor strife, leavened with gambling, drinking and prostitution, together with the tale of teenage love and heartbreak in a juxtaposition of life in Kellogg, Idaho in the 1950s and '60s.

"An important portrait of the interior West--the true stuff, raw and gritty, honest to the bone."Craig Lesley, author of Burning Fence and Sky Fisherman

University of Oklahoma Press

ISBN: 978-0-8-61-4075-9

248 pages, 20 B&W Illus

Original Trade Paperback

Can be purchased here at OU Press, Indiebound (independent bookstores), Amazon and B&N

Visit Julie at www.juliewweston.com

August New Releases

BLIND TOM,
The Horse Who Helped Build the Great Railroad

By Shirley Raye Redmond

Illustrated by Lois Bradley

This is the true story of a sightless workhorse who helped build America's transcontinental railroad in 1863-1869. Telegraph operators tracked the rail workers' daily progress by asking, “Where's Blind Tom today?”

The horse became a minor celebrity as reporters around the country picked up the story of the tenacious blind horse. As informative as it is entertaining, this charmingly illustrated book includes a map of the railroad route, a “Things to Know” page, and a list of museums and Web sites with information about railroad history.

Mountain Press Publishing

ISBN-978-0-87842-558-7

Trade Paperback $10

Blind Tom, the Horse Who Helped Build the Great Railroad can be purchased from your local booksellers

Purchase here from Amazon.com

Purchase here from Barnes & Noble

Visit Shirley's website: http://www.readshirleyraye.com/books.htm

July New Releases

Conspiracy 

The Trial of Oliver Lee and James Gililland

By W. Michael Farmer

A Novel Based On A True Story

It is Pat Garrett’s last big case. An eight-year old  boy is murdered. A deadly shootist is accused By Yankee Republicans, defended By Texas Democrats. The evidence is all circumstantial. The territory claims a murder conspiracy by the defendants. The defendants claim a territorial conspiracy for an unjust verdict. A wrong move by either side and blood will flow. New Mexico statehood will be set back fifty years. It is The trial of the century. 

“Conspiracy offers a dramatic, realistic take on a chapter of 

American western history that is often neglected; and with the 

presence of Pat Garrett, slayer of Billy the Kid, that seems 

impossible. W. Michael Farmer’s recreation of the tense and tragic 

events surrounding the ultimate betrayal of the frontier ideal reads like the great novel it is, with all the tantalizing detail of thoroughly Researched history.” 

Loren D. Estleman, author 

Of The Branch and The Scaffold                              

”Conspiracy crackles with tension and intrigue as the Old West comes to life. You can smell the leather and hear the gunshots in the air as you read. It's a truly fun historical work.” 

Christine Barber, author 

Of The Replacement Child 

Published by Sundowners, A Division of Treble Heart Books

Available for purchase here:

www.trebleheartbooks.com

Visit W. Michael Farmer at www.wmichaelfarmer.com

June New Releases

Survival In The Snow

By Ginger Wadsworth

For young readers ages 7 to 10, Survival in the Snow is a true adventure story about 17-year-old Moses Schallenberger.  In 1844 Moses came west to California in a wagon train.  He ended up living alone in a rustic log cabin on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. You'll have to read the book to find out why he was left behind and how he survived a long, lonely winter until he was rescued at what is now called Donner Lake.  Illustrated by Craig Orback.

Published by Millbrook Press

Visit Ginger at www.gingerwadsworth.com

To purchase call the Lerner Publishing Group at 1-800-328-4929, ISBN# 978-0-8225-7892-5 or ask your independent bookstore to order it.