NETWORK WITH US March 2007

NETWORK WITH US is a regular feature of Writers in the Sky (WITS) Newsletter.

You may add your announcement or brag about your writing accomplishment; tell us about your book or business; share information and ideas or send articles and advertorials for the next issue. See our submittal guidelines.

Here are the E-nouncements from our readers this month:


CONTESTS:

The King/Lieurance New Year’s Article Challenge is in full swing! Twenty-five writers from all over the world are competing to write 30 articles each by the end of March 2007. Do you want to get in on the action? See our Web site for more information or to join the Yahoo group.

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Those who enjoy a contest will want to know about the $100 cash prize Yvonne Perry is giving as the Write On! Award for the Best Creative Writing of the Year. Yvonne has joined Irene Watson with Reader Views for her annual literary awards and they both encourage you to submit your work.

Criteria: Must have original, imaginative and creative use of words that create vivid mental pictures of scenes and characters.

My award is not the only award being given. A complete list of contests being offered by Reader Views is available at http://www.readerviews.com/Awards.html.

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Win a Weekend in London That Money Can’t Buy:
Author gives away exclusive and glamorous weekend in London to promote book

New York, New York – A weekend in London might not seem unique to many, but the weekend Richard Hains has planned for the winner of his “Win a Weekend in London That Money Can’t Buy Competition,” is not one you’ll find in any travel brochure. “I wanted a bold and innovative way to attract attention to my new novel, Chameleon,” says author Hains, who’s one of London hottest bachelors and knows the nightclub and celebrity scene well. “Book signings seem very 1985 in this fast moving, commercial world.”

The contest, developed with his publishers, Beaufort Publishing in New York, was designed to raise the profile of Chameleon, his racy, award-winning new novel. “Win a Weekend in London That Money Can’t Buy Competition” is the result, and no one knows London’s fast lane better than Hains, a successful hedge fund manager, gold mine developer, and a man well known around the U.K. Recently profiled in an exclusive interview with Tatler Magazine (Dec 2006), where he was flatteringly and perhaps uniquely compared to James Bond, Jay Gatsby and Thomas Crown, Hains is now opening up his fascinating world to one lucky winner.

To help promote the contest, Hains has also done a slick, funky music video filmed around the fabulous sites of London, which is already attracting attention. It can be viewed on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7geUpWUb04) or on Hains’ Chameleon web site (www.chameleonanovel.com). “In this day and age it doesn’t seem enough simply to have a well-reviewed novel to attract any real attention to it,” says Hains.

Hains’ contest is raising more than the book’s profile, he’s raising a few eyebrows in the publishing world as well. “Most contests lack real imagination,” cites Hains, “I accept that this is bold, but I wanted to give people something worth winning, a fun, exclusive weekend and a chance to step out of their lives, even for only a couple of days.”

Chameleon is an edgy, racy, fast-paced Wall Street thriller written by an insider who’s spent a good piece of his life managing an intensely private hedge fund. “It is difficult to write a highly contemporary book about big money, high ambition and low morals without a solid thread of sex and drugs and rock and roll,” says Hains. So will the weekend be as racy as the book? “No way, it’s a pure fun weekend, with a dash of old-fashioned frivolity in one of the truly great cities of the world.”

The contest includes an all-expense-paid roundtrip ticket to London from anywhere in the U.S., first class accommodation, a personal driver to take the lucky recipient to any of London’s wonderful tourist sites or shopping spots during the day, and two evenings spent with one of London’s fastest-moving bachelors at some of the finest restaurants and most fashionable clubs in London.

Chameleon has been recently optioned by the highly successful producers of the award-winning film, Hotel Rwanda. Hains has recently completed the final draft of the screenplay and the project is currently in pre-production. It will be formally launched at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.

The contest will begin on Feb. 1, 2007 and the winner will be announced at Book Expo America in June 2007. So where does a playboy take a competition winner? “Everywhere.” Hains smiles flirtatiously, “the hot spots, a combination of the new and the old. I hope,” he adds, “that people will have fun with this. Sure, it’s meant to promote the book, but more importantly, I wanted to have a good time with it.”

Title: Chameleon Author: Richard Hains
Genre: Fiction/Thriller ISBN: 978-0825305108
FMI: www.chameleonanovel.com
You Tube Clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7geUpWUb04

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For those interested in a DVD exploring the complex and compelling face of poetry, Loida Mariano of Bryan World Productions, LLC would like to announce Graffiti Verite’ 6 (GV6) The Odyssey: Poets, Passion & Poetry (UPC: 6 053 610 926 2 8).

GV6 The Odyssey DVD embodies and reveals the intellectual / spiritual truth behind 31 Multi- Ethnic Award -Winning Published and Respected Poets and their Poetic Creations in a seamlessly woven, uniquely honest visual tapestry. Deftly guided by Multi-Award Winning Indie Filmmaker Bob Bryan (Executive Producer / Director of the Graffiti Verite’ Documentary Series, GV6 synthesizes One-on-one Poetry Readings, Graphic Iconography, Creative insights, and fascinating dramatic poignant Interviews.

GV6 THE ODYSSEY FILM REVIEWS (http://graffitiverite.com/GV6FILMREVIEWS.html)

GV6 The Odyssey DVD stands as a "Must-See Documentary Presentation" with huge Educational and Creative implications for those drawn to language and literature! Educators and Creative Writing instructors will find GV6 an invaluable tool for awakening students' interest in the thrilling exploration of Poetry.

Decide for yourself what's going on. Those interested in scheduling a screening of GV6 please contact Loida at 323/856-9256 or bryworld@aol.com. Web site: www.graffitiverite.com.

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Exceptional Magazine Teleconference Series: Cash In On That Book Inside You!

If you would like to find time to write, get published quickly, and turn your ideas into money, then you won't want to miss this webinar.

Learn how to become a published author and turn your ideas into cash Guest Speaker, Jo Condrill is a best-selling, award winning author, Founder and CEO of GoalMinds, Inc., Award-Winning Speaker, Consultant, and Team-Builder. Author Jo Condrill will show you how to:

· Generate a manuscript

· Find a publisher

· Market your book

· Sell translation rights

Register today and reserve a space for this informative Teleconference/webinar!

Date: April 25, 2007
Time: 6:00PM - 7:00PM Eastern Standard Time
More teleconference details to follow.
Registration Deadline: April 18, 2007

Click here for more information or to register

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BOOK SIGNING

Blind and physically disabled motivational speaker, poet and author Shirley Cheng will be holding a book signing and donating some of the proceeds to Christian Blind Mission International. The book signing will be held at Borders Books, Music & Cafe (1820 South Road, Wappingers Falls, NY 12590) from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Friday, March 16.

The books she will sign include her inspirational autobiography The Revelation of a Star's Endless Shine, Dance with Your Heart: Tales and Poems That the Heart Tells, and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2, which she co-authored with leading experts like Jack Canfield, Dr. John Gray, and Dr. Richard Carlson. Cheng will also take pre-orders for her book Waking Spirit: Prose & Poems the Spirit Sings, and the latest installment in the bestselling "Wake Up...Live the Life You Love" series, to which she contributed, along with highly notable people including Carla and Lou Ferrigno, TV's the original "Incredible Hulk" and neighbor on the network television comedy show, "King of Queens"; Dr. Wayne Dyer; and Tony Robbins.

For more information, to ask her to speak at your event, or to schedule her for a book signing, contact Cheng via http://www.shirleycheng.com.

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Talk Radio for Authors – Getting Interviews Across the U.S. and Canada, by Francine Silverman, is hot off the press from Infinity Publishing. The book is a valuable resource for authors looking for radio interviews.

There are 40 categories and each listing contains the show’s theme, guest criteria, email address and website, along with host and guest bios providing background information and host opinions on what constitutes the best and worst guests. All this is designed to simplify the process of matching the guest with the show’s specialties and provide an intimate look at each program.

Please visit Fran’s blog at http://booktalkradio.blogspot.com, designed for hosts and guest authors to share their interview experiences.

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New Podcast Novel from Award-Nominated Author Officially Launches

Tee Morris challenged both publishing and audiobook conventions in January 2005 by giving away his fantasy novel, MOREVI: The Chronicles of Rafe and Askana, as a podcast. Done as a serial, each chapter of the novel was made available to mp3 players everywhere. The co-author of Podcasting for Dummies officially returns to the podcast fiction arena with Billibub Baddings and the Case of the Singing Sword, now playing at TeeMorris.com and Podiobooks.com.

“If MOREVI is described as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon meets Pirates of the Caribbean, then Billibub Baddings is The Lord of the Rings written by Mickey Spillane. Instead of the pirates, swordfights, and swashbuckling adventure of my first podcast, I’m offering an axe-wielding dwarf standing toe-to-toe with the mob in 1929 Chicago.” No one in either the hard-boiled detective or high-fantasy genre is safe in Billibub Baddings, and in this production Morris is bringing a few friends along for the ride. “Billibub Baddings will showcase an international cast, contributing their voices to my novel.” His cast includes podcasters Leann Mabry of Tag in the Seam, Paul S. Jenkins of the U.K. podcast Rev Up Review, and Chuck Tomasi of Technorama. Morris’ voice talents also include award-nominated authors Scott Sigler (EarthCore, Ancestor), J.C. Hutchins (7th Son), and New Zealand author Pip Ballantine (Chasing the Bard); award-winning author Paul Levinson (The Silk Code) and New York Times Bestseller Tracy Hickman (The Dragonlance novels). “Podcasting Morevi was a lot of hard work, but it was also a lot of fun. Bringing friends into this production has just stepped everything up a level, and I could not be happier with the end results.”

Tee Morris launched the Billibub Baddings podcast on St. Valentine’s Day, February 14 and is now available on Podiobooks.com, iTunes, Podcast Pickle, Yahoo! Podcasts and other podcast directories. If you can’t wait to hear the end, the print version is also available at leading retailers, online in digital formats, or directly from the publisher. Regarded as a pioneer of podcasting, Tee Morris was the first author to podcast a novel in its entirety and now hosts The Survival Guide to Writing Fantasy, a podcast about marketing and self-promotion for writers. For more information on the author and the Billibub Baddings Mysteries, visit www.teemorris.com or www.dragonmoonpress.com.

For More Information, contact:
Tee Morris
Phone – 703.565.6977
e-mail – tee@teemorris.com
Skype ID — teemonster