Christmas Gift Idea - Meyer

A few days ago, I pulled a copy of the original Hot Apple Cider down off my shelf and started reading it. I had read it when it first came out four years ago but I’m enjoying it all over again now. I am an extremely fast reader with a low retention rate, which allows me to enjoy all over again books that I have read in the past.

Hot Apple Cider is a book worth reading again. In the past four years, 30,000 copies have been given out at Girls Night Out and Couples Night Out events, and 15,000 additional copies have been sold, making Hot Apple Cider a Canadian bestseller.

Jane Kirkpatrick says, “Inventive and filled with grace, Hot Apple Cider is just what its name implies: an open door, a warm invitation, a friend when needed and least expected, a gentle calling toward a generous life. From the shores of Australia and a woman’s grief, to Romania and a choice we all must make, to the town of Stuckville anywhere in the world and a dozen other settings, in prose and poetry and non-fiction, these stories remind us that God draws us together and speaks to us uniquely and in community. If you’re looking for inspiration, something to breathe in for reassurance that you’re not alone, something to remind you to hear God’s voice in acts of compassion, spend an afternoon with Hot Apple Cider. It could just change your life.”

People sometimes find they have a bit of extra time during the Christmas season to read a book. Hot Apple Cider is a great choice for winter reading for yourself, or it would make a great gift for just about anyone on your Christmas list. You can also put it together as a gift set with A Second Cup of Hot Apple Cider. Both books are available on Amazon or directly from the publisher. 

To beat the winter blues, curl up with a cup of Hot Apple Cider!

Dorene Meyer

www.dorenemeyer.com

www.goldrockpress.com

Author of Rachel's Children

Also available as an eBook

Fan of Twitter - Meyer

So… my next foray into the great unexplored vistas of social media is… Twitter.

Now, the trick with this form of communication is to keep it short – very short! 140 characters – including spaces!

Those of you who know me even a little, will know how difficult this is! Even at book-signings, I can never just sign my name on the inside cover. I want to write something personal, something meaningful, something memorable. Come to think of it, the number of characters that I typically add to my signature would likely top the 140 count!

Another thing that is a real challenge for me is the Internet language, acronyms and symbols. Some of this is simply a lack of familiarity. AKA, ASAP and FAQ have been around for quite a while. Christians have used PTL (praise the Lord) and writers POV (point of view) for decades. I’m getting used to LOL, FYI and BFF. Acronyms like B4 and L8R, I can figure out okay. But WIBAMU (Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle!) or ne14kfc (anyone for KFC?) leave me ROFL (rolling on the floor laughing)!

This is likely also why I can’t seem to get a handle on texting. I don’t want to just send a link to an event and then write, “r u goin” but instead write something like, “Hi Jan. I heard about this event that you might be interested in attending. I’m going to be in town on that date. Maybe we could meet for coffee first…” Right about that time, my thumbs are starting to get muscle cramp!

Anyway, back to Twitter. For those of you who haven’t signed up yet, it’s easy. Just go to http://www.twitter.com/. Pick a user name that no one else has already chosen (one of the few occasions when I am thankful for the unusual spelling of my name: Dorene). Then you search for interests and/or friends to “follow.” This means that you can read their tweets when they post them. It’s different than Facebook because they don’t have to accept you as a friend and there doesn’t seem to be a limit on “followers” as there is on “friends” (you can’t be a “friend” to Jerry Jenkins, for example, but you can be a “follower” of Steven Harper).

I was able to find (and ultimately follow) some fellow authors: Sheila Wray Gregoire, Grace Fox and N. J. Lindquist; my favorite radio show: The Drew Marshall Show; McNally Robinson Booksellers; Christian Week newspaper; and the aforementioned, Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper.

Social media is making it possible for us to connect in ways that we never could have before. I recently chatted with someone on Facebook who was from India! It’s so awesome to meet people from the other side of the globe – brothers and sisters whom we might not otherwise have met until we got to heaven! I hope to twitter and tweet with some of you soon! My user name is DoreneMeyer and there’s only one of me so I'm easy to find!

TNT (Till next time),

Dorene Meyer http://www.dorenemeyer.com/ Author of Lewis, Jasmine, The Little Ones and Deep Waters
Now in book stores across Canada Distributed by Word Alive Press http://www.wordalivepress.ca/. Available online and as ebook on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/ (key in title of book and publisher: Word Alive Press).

Please join us for the Manitoba Launch of A Second Cup of Hot Apple Cider: http://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/event-10330/Dorene-Meyer

Why I Love Anthologies - Meyer

I just finished editing my 9th anthology and one may well ask – why? Why so many? And why anthologies?
I think of myself still primarily as an author but I only have 6 of my own books published – the anthologies are definitely winning the race!
Why then all this time and effort invested in other people’s writings?

I guess the main reason is that I may be an author by profession but I’m a teacher at heart. Growing up with a multitude of foster sisters and brothers, I was always in big sister/teacher/helper mode. It just seems natural to me to teach and mentor others. As soon as I learn something new, my mind automatically converts it to a lesson and I imagine how I would go about passing on this new knowledge to someone else. For me, it’s not enough to just write; I want to also teach others to write. And as I advance in the profession, I want to bring others along with me.
I think it actually brings more joy to me to see one of my students win an award or get something published than it does for this to happen personally to me. I can celebrate their achievements without all the often turbulent emotions that surround my own successes.

And I believe that everyone has a story that is worth telling – and that all of us are richer for listening to the stories of others – especially those who may be different from us in some way. Anthologies give voice to many people with differing opinions, backgrounds and cultures.

Besides editing anthologies, I also really enjoy reading them! They give me exposure to a wide variety of authors and I can then go on to read more of their work if I choose. It also enriches my life to read samples of writing from books that I might not necessarily choose to pick up and read otherwise. Reading Hot Apple Cider http://www.hotapplecider.ca/ was a real pleasure for me as I tasted a sampling of the works of many different Canadian authors.

I guess I’ll continue on editing more anthologies. It seems to be somewhat of an addiction for me. And perhaps at this time, I could invite you to read some of these also. At 7:00 PM on April 1st at McNally Robinson Booksellers in Winnipeg, MB, we will be launching Northern Writers volume 2 and at 7:00 PM on April 17th , at Aqua Books in Winnipeg, MB, we will be launching an anthology of young Aboriginal authors entitled: Remember Me.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to wish all of our blog readers a very blessed Easter as we remember the extravagant love of God poured out to us through the great sacrifice that Jesus made for us. He rose from the dead, conquering death forever! Through faith in Jesus, we can have eternal life. Now, that’s something to celebrate!

M. D. Meyer

www.dorenemeyer.com

M. D. Meyer will be launching her newest contemporary novel, Jasmine, at McNally Robinson Booksellers in Winnipeg, MB on April 1st at 7:00 PM. Jasmine is published by Word Alive Press and is available for sale in bookstores across Canada.

The ISBN is: 978-1-926676-87-6 and the price is $14.95.

Drive-by Book Signing - Grove

I accidentally invented something.

I think it could catch on. I could get rich from this invention! It's perfect for today's 'go-go-go' society.

Publishers are always looking for ways they can 'brand' an author - ways of getting the author before as many people as possible in order to maximize sales and increase the 'buzz' about the book, the author, and the message.

Well, I've gone and invented the Mother of all opportunities.

It all happened late Saturday evening. I was in Guelph visiting with my sister-in-law and her family. I was tired and somewhat giddy (having just spent the previous three days at the Granddaddy of all writer's shin-digs right there in that very city), and I didn't have my head screwed on right.

I got into the car to go to Brampton (my hubby's parents live there and were driving me to their house for the night, then taking me to the airport in the morning), settled in the back seat and was waving goodbye. Then, my sister-in-law (who did have her head screwed on right) remembered she hadn't paid me for the copies of Hot Apple Cider she had bought. As she ran for the cash, I called out, "I forgot to sign them too!"

Moments later she and her hubby returned to the car, cash and books in hand. I stayed in the car as my brother-in-law handed me book after book to autograph (6 of them). As we did this, it hit us! This is perfect! Drive through book signings! We have drive thru banks, dry cleaners, fast food joints, and coffee bars. Why not book signings? Legions of fans can line the streets while authors, tucked into the back seats of cars can inch along, grabbing books, signing them, and tossing them back into the crowds.

Great, eh?

Of course there could be the problem of an author tossing a book out and it not connecting to the owner of the book. Or, they could, sometimes sign a book they didn't write - I mean they would be moving at a fair clip, right? To accommodate the great numbers of people who want an autograph. Then there would be the issue of innocent bystanders getting smacked upside the head with a wayward flying book (there's insurance for that right?). Hmm...

What's that?

You say that the 'old fashioned' way of holding events safely indoors in books stores is the best way to do book signings? Well, I see your point. Probably a lot less people will end up injured. But it's not very progressive!

Say what?

You think I'm still over tired from the big writer's brew-ha-ha? Maybe I should go lay down until the feeling passes?

Sigh.

Maybe you're right.

Bonnie Grove