Author's Corner August 2007

by Yvonne Perry

It's good to be home after our vacation in Palm Springs, California. We took a break from our tour of the desert and drove over to the west coast to visit Dr. Evan Snyder at Burnham Institute in La Jolla. What a pleasure to meet this kind-hearted man, who is one of the foremost authorities on stem cell research. Dr. Snyder gracious gave me his endorsement for the foreword of my book RIGHT TO RECOVER Winning the Political and Religious Wars over Stem Cell Research in America. The book is to be released on October 1, 2007 and I am already thinking big. My publicist, Chuck Whiting, is planning a nation-wide musical fund-raiser event to support stem cell research. If you write songs and believe in the research, you may want to know more about this gig. Contact Chuck at Arts@WhitingPublicity.com

After two weeks away from my office and not having reliable Internet service, things piled up, but in a good way. Lots of new opportunities were waiting for me when I returned home. One is with Jamie Beckett, the author of Burritos and Gasoline. I interviewed him on my podcast in June (http://yvonneperry.blogspot.com/2007/06/tgif-june-8-2007.html). He and I are putting together a contest in which some of you videographers may be interested in participating. He is looking for footage depicting the trip his characters, Frank Stevens and Danny Loughman, take during the story. I suppose you to need to read the book in order to know what states the duo traveled, so I’ll make it easy by providing a link to purchase the book: http://www.jamiebeckett.com/. Read the book and start the cameras rolling. Next month, I’ll have more details about where and how to submit your video.

Without much arm twisting, my dear friend and publisher, Valerie Connelly, has agreed to write a column for each WITS issue. Valerie is the President of Nightengale Press, and I’m sure you will enjoy her wisdom and perspective from the publishing side of the writing industry in her feature Newsworthy Nuggets from Nightengale Press.

Jessica Dockter is the graphic designer for Write On! Creative Writing Services. She does all our logos, formats the layout of this newsletter and creates all the cute designs for each of its features. She works with our clients who need branding ideas and help with layout for many of our writing projects. Jessica is able to make anything—from creating magazine ads to designing Web sites. And, now she has an idea for a fun eBook and she wants help from the WITS community. The eBook will be a guide of seasonal drinks, appetizers, hors d’oeuvres, and snacks. What sort of fun drinks do you make at this time of the year? What is the traditional summer treat your family enjoys? Would you be willing to share your recipe and ideas with us? We will include your bio and a link to your Web site or blog in the eBook as a thank you for your contribution. Then, when the book is finished, all our newsletter subscribers may have the eBook (PDF) to use as a gift to your online visitors. Oh, and you will also be able to say you are a published author!

I hope you enjoy WRITERS IN THE SKY NEWSLETTER and will tell your friends how they may subscribe by going to http://www.yvonneperry.net/Writers-in-the-Sky-Newsletter.html and clicking on the link. Every month, people send me email addresses of friends they think will like reading the newsletter and getting a complimentary eBook on freelance writing. That’s probably how some of you were introduced to the publication. This is a community newsletter for anyone interested in writing, editing, publishing, and publicity and that means you can contribute content to the newsletter. If you have an article, an announcement, a poem, book review or letter to the editor, speak up. Send me an email and let me know what you think.