BMG

Tomorrow at the butt crack of dawn, I’m off to Birmingham, Alabama for the Southern Magic RWA conference.  I’m speaking on “Gargoyles, Shifters, Succubus & More:  Writing Believable Non-Humans.”  It’s a talk I first gave at the Romantic Times Booklovers convention last year on the paranormal panel.

That is, of course, if I can get my freaking suitcase closed!  I’m not particularly a clothes-horse.  (If you know me, you’re probably laughing your butt off at the mere idea!)  Heck, I’m only taking just enough clothes for the three days.  But my promo stuff is hard to get in that damned suitcase! 

I always pack my little gargoyle statue, my bookmarks, my ‘Got Gargoyle’ buttons, the fireballs (for Fire Maiden), and now I have some cover flats for Ceremony of Seduction.  (My buttons and postcards for that book haven’t come in yet…).  Not to mention my 50 handouts for the talk I’m giving.  With all that stuff in my suitcase, I was lucky to fit in my toiletries kit, my two pairs of jeans, two shirts and two of everything else I need.  (I’ll be wearing the third set onto the plane tomorrow!)  Cross your fingers that it isn’t over 50 pounds!  (The suitcase, not me…lol)

Anyway, I’ve never been to Birmingham.  I wish I had time to stay a little longer and explore, but just can’t swing it this time.  Although I’ve heard it’s a beautiful city!  We’re staying at the Wynfrey Hotel, which looks pretty posh from their website.  So, they’ve got to have a nice full bar that serves butterscotch martinis, right? 

I’ll be back pretty late Sunday night, as long as the dh and the kidlet remember to come pick me up!  So, I won’t be able to answer any questions until Monday at least.
Tina/Cassie

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This is a definite venting alert!

I have a lot of bookmarks printed - a set for pretty much every book I have that comes out.  Someone pointed me in the direction of GotPrint.com a few years ago, and I happily used them ever since.

That was until today.  For those of you who have read my blog, you know last year I sold a 3 book deal to Kensington writing erotic romance as Cassie Ryan.  Well, I got my new cover - which is beautiful.  No bodyparts showing - it’s very sensual and suggestive - but so are tons of covers. 

Anyway - I submitted my bookmark design to them using the cover below as the front, and they told me it was not Acceptable because of their position.  I asked yesterday when I wrote them back if I could see a copy of their policy so I could better understand what their objection was.  They wrote me back today saying the position is unacceptable.  No policy, no nothing.  Just that they were putting my order on hold.

So, I’m TICKED!!!!  Their brand or company logo is nowhere on my finished bookmark and this cover is acceptable enough to be displayed globally in Barnes & Nobles, Borders and many other chains.  But GotPrint won’t print them.

Now, I’m pretty sensitive to what I have my name on as well.  You can see more than this on prime time TV or at your local theatre.  

That’s their right, but mine as a consumer is word of mouth and where I spend my money.  I wrote them back a very professional letter (thanks to all those years of Corporate America training) telling them just that and basically that I would tell every author I could find not to take their business to GotPrint because they couldn’t be relied on to print it if it didn’t meet their ‘acceptableneses’ test.

So, if you’re an author, or someone else who gets promo items printed.  I would urge you to take your business somewhere besides there.  I will - and thanks to my Kensington Aphrodisia author loop, the other authors have sent me names of several other companies, one of whom will get all my future business!

If you want to see a copy of this ‘objectionable’ cover - check out my Journal on my website - www.tinagerow.com.

Cassie/Tina

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Okay, so it’s a few minutes past midnight, so technically Saturday.  But hey - I haven’t been to bed yet, so I’m still counting it as Friday - my official day to post.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
So, when I was trying to decide what to blog on - I figured I’d discuss the thing I’ve spent the most time concentrating on this week.  And while I’ve been writing my ass off (literally would be great!), I’m not talking about that.  Have you all read/seen/heard THE SECRET?

I’ve been hearing about it from everyone - it’s the big buzz.  So, I ordered the audio book from Amazon.com, thinking I’d just listen to it in the car while I drive.

Now for anyone who knows me, I’m big on affirmations, positive thinking, putting good energy out into the universe and visualizing what you want to bring it to you.  THE SECRET is all that, but on steroids.  Talk about motivational, inspirational, empowering and all the rest!

If you’re looking for a new way to look at the world, and an outlook to help you live a happier life - I highly recommend THE SECRET in whatever format you can get it!

Anyway - my eyeballs just won’t stay open any longer.  Sorry I’m not as wordy as usual, but sleep is calling me!

Tina/Cassie

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Sometimes I wonder if rejection is a synonym for writing.  Maybe a close cousin?  A bastard child of writing? I just know they seem to appear in the same sentence lately.  I also think anyone who writes for any length of time and submits becomes very intimate with the word…rejection.

 Today I received a rejection.  There’s nothing new in that.  Believe me I’ve received numerous rejections in and out of writing.  This one though beat my record.  I sent a completed, requested manuscript for review late on Sunday, and received a rejection when I got up this morning.  That’s a 1 1/2 day turnaround.  I’ve never gotten one that fast.  I can thank the internet for that.  It’s an amazing technological tool, and the speed of communication is amazing because of it.  The down side…those rejections can boomerang right back at you in record time.
But am I going to stop submitting?  No.  This is just another bump in my road.  The destination at the end of this road is far too important to let a little ol’ bump get in my way.

Carol

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