Planning, planning...

Just in the process of finalizing arrangements for book launches, interviews, presentations, etc. for the fall.  Looks like it could be good, starting with Ottawa, Canada in late August.  Stay tuned.. 

Cover and Interior Signed Off

Today signalled a major milestone in the life of "Kilimanjaro and Beyond." I signed off the interior pages of the book.  This follows closely on the heels of signing off the cover last week. Now it is off to print.

Tool for Book Marketing

For all the authors out there, Jenny Blake has designed an excellent tool for helping you develop a marketing plan for your book.  I am in the process of doing just that so it was timely that it came to my attention.  Check it out at:

https://docs.google.com/previewtemplate?id=0Aqko7Xi-nxN1dFdZR0FaYmhfVTBKNjJfNkZVLTBiWFE&mode=public&pli=1

Plan Canada's Because I am a Girl Campaign

Plan Canada has a campaign underway to empower girls and women everywhere.  In their words, the campaign is to "unleash the power of Canadian girls, women - and everyone who matters to them - to
claim a brighter, safer future for girls in the developing world.

• Girls have the right to be educated.
• Girls have the right to eat.
• Girls have the right to be safe.
• Girls' rights are human rights.

Although girls are often the poorest of the poor, it's proven that investing in girls is key to eliminating poverty. Empower a girl and she'll change the world."

You can see how we are involved in the campaign at the following link:

http://plancanada.ca/becauseiamagirl/page.aspx?pid=3927

Donations can be made to help support the girls but clicking on the link on the right.

I Don't Wait Very Well

Waiting, waiting waiting...  Yesterday I found myself waiting on a few things to happen.  Some things I wanted to happen; others I didn't.  None of them happened but I did come to a conclusion about myself that I had long suspected.  I don't wait very well.

One of the things I wanted to happen was the arrival of the second draft of the cover of my book. It was supposed to arrive on June 14 but at 3:00 pm that day, the publisher changed the date on their tracking system to June 17.  Yesterday, June 17, around 4:00 pm it changed again to June 21.  I found myself spending the day willing the time away or making myself busy so that the clock would go faster.  I have to admit to being disappointed when the date changed again.  How old am I, twelve? 

It is a bit counter intuitive because as I get older I find the days are going faster and faster.  We don't want them to.  They just do.  Yet there are still days when we are waiting for something, whether it is bad or good, that seem to drag. I know that June 21 will be here in no time, the book cover will arrive and life will go on at an ever faster pace.  In the meantime, I have a feeling that some of the jobs I have been putting off for awhile are going to get done...just to fill in the time.

   

Book Cover

I received the draft book cover yesterday for Kilimanjaro and Beyond and we are almost there.  There is some tweaking to be done by the publisher so it should be final in two weeks. I am doing the final proof for the interior of the book now.

Meanwhile, book launches/signings are being planned for Ottawa, Winnipeg and Toronto.  The book is on schedule for delivery at the beginning of July so I suspect the launches will start in August.  If anyone has ideas for launches, please let me know.

Stay tuned for further announcements.

Overview of U.K. Trip

It was definitely a whirlwind tour through England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales in 8 days.  We are proud owners of a collection of pictures of blurry trees and trucks as we sped by sites that we wanted to photograph.  They will ultimately have to weeded out.  But it was an enjoyable tour nonetheless and I have a new appreciation for the U.K.

Johnny Cash wrote about the "moorlands and the meadows with their 40 shades of green" and I can't think of a better description.  The landscape is absolutely breathtaking as we made our way through northern England into Scotland.  The 40 shades of green morph into shades of blue as the trees disappear in the distance and the landscape is dotted with beautiful yellow gorse shrubs and white hollyhocks.  It is stunning!  I wanted to get out and hike, but of course there was no time.   

The people in Ireland and Scotland are incredibly friendly.  Maybe it has something to do with the copious quantities of Guinness they love to consume.   As we rode on the ferry from Ireland to England, the rugby fans started with the Guinness at around 9 in the morning.  At the risk of being beaten up by one of those hooligans I had heard about, I asked one what all the fuss was about.  He was very patient and explained about the European Rugby Championships taking place in Cardiff, Wales for the Heineken Cup.  He thought I must be from Mars since I didn't know anything about it, but I explained I was from Canada and only know hockey.  He said, "That's ice hockey, I presume!"  Oh boy!  We have a lot to learn about sports from each other.

The Irish were thrilled that the Queen and President Obama were paying them a visit and they are very proud that there is finally peace between north and south.  They are a self deprecating lot as a statue of Molly Malone pushing a cart, who is portrayed as being well endowed, became the "Tart with the cart" and a spire beside the Liffey River became the "Stiffy by the Liffey."
   
We attended a couple of typical Irish and Scottish evenings.  They know how to have a good time and they insist on everyone joining in.  The group at the table we were sitting at (Table A) won a singing contest in Scotland, but I have a feeling that Table A always wins so it had more to do with our choice of tables than our ability to sing!

The castles and cathedrals are magnificent, although in 8 days they do tend to blend together.  In fact, it became known as the ABC tour.  The "A" stands for Another, the "B" for Bloody and you can insert either Cathedral or Castle for the "C".  The buildings really are impressive and moreso when one considers how old they are.  It is unfortunate to see, at least in my opinion, modern buildings as backdrops for the ancient architecture.  The modern buildings are spectacular in their own right but it is too bad they couldn't all be in one part of town to allow the older buildings to have their own space.  The monstrous Millennium Stadium is a perfect example as it looms above and to the side of the Cardiff Castle in Wales.  It may well be that the Castle will still be standing long after the stadium has outlived its useful life.

Perhaps the highlight for me was Stonehenge. It is an architectural wonder as scientists have discovered it is held together by ball and socket and tongue and groove techniques.  It is something like 5000 years old!!  Not only that, but they dragged the boulders up to 160 miles.  It is well worth the visit just to stand in awe of its magnificence.

All in all, there was too much food, too much beer and too little sleep so it had all the earmarks of a perfect vacation.  I doubt that I will have another Guinness, although I tried it.  We were accused of drinking all the Carlsberg in a tavern in London one night.  One of the bartenders said, "No one drinks that stuff."  I was also scolded by a waiter for not eating my mushy peas.  There are some things that are just an acquired taste and, while I may have enjoyed peas that had been pureed when I was one, I think they probably fall into the "acquired taste" category.

It was a wonderful eight days and I would highly recommend the visit, although you might want to take more time to do it.