Monday, September 26, 2011

Just wanted to share another review for "It's Time for Good Manners!" on booksandnovelstoread.com, a wonderful new site for independent authors developed by Terry Callister. You can see a list of Terry's own books here.  (I have read A Lucky Break and really enjoyed it.)

Meanwhile, at our house we're eagerly awaiting next week's release of The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan.  I'm all set to purchase it along with a couple of other Kindle books because I have jury duty over two days.  Of course I am happy to do my civic duty, but a very large part of me hopes that I get some uninterrupted time for reading.

Wishing you some time for some good reads, too!
Leslie

Monday, September 5, 2011

Happy Labor Day!
Although it's a holiday, I'm hard at work here at Good Manners Kids Stuff Press, because spreading the word about my books never takes a holiday!
I'm answering interview questions for BooksandNovelstoread.com, and answering questions and writing a new post for Nesting.com.  I'm also wanted to share this good, double review with you on Themomwrites.com for  It's Time for Good Manners and The Kids' (and parents', too!) Book of Good Sportsmanship. Spreading the word is vital for any book's success so I am always excited and grateful for opportunities like these.

Enjoy the holiday!
Leslie

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Summer's over!

It's back to school time at Good Manners Kids Stuff Press!

Not much vacation was had this summer -- I feel as if I spent the first part converting It's Time for Good Manners into a Kindle book on Amazon. After that I took a deep breath and spent the rest of the time converting it via Smashwords to make Nook and other assorted ebook versions.  I keep thinking it will get easier each time I do it ... but each book seems to come with its own new -- and odd -- challenges. But they're done, available and have started selling. Always a good sign. Hip, hip hooray!

Came across a good publicity/link suggestion last week by Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords.  He suggested listing books on a LinkedIn Profile by adding them under publications on your profile.  I have a LinkedIn account but wasn't sure how or where to include them.  Now all four books show up in my profile. Thanks for the tip, Mark.

I'm excited for an upcoming interview and review in September. I'll keep you posted when they happen.
Until them I'm finishing the next Zephram Tale and waiting with baited breath for the newest Rick Riordan Heroes of Olympus book, due out October 4th. I just love his books.

I'll check back with more news soon.
Happy Reading, Writing and Publishing, Everyone!

Leslie

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Smashwords and other news

Here's the latest news from Good Manners Kids Stuff Press:

It took a couple of weeks but I finally succeeded in getting The Kids' (and Parents' too!) Book of Good Sportsmanship uploaded onto Smashwords  and  their Premium catalog which will make it available at Barnes and Noble.com, iTunes, Sony, Diesel and other ebook sites.  It now joins the Kindle version in the ebook universe. Yay!

I have to admit that doing all the marketing and publishing in addition to the writing often makes it seem that I am getting nowhere fast, so I am relieved that I got all the formatting worked out and was able to move forward with  it -- and cross it off my to do list!

Speaking of moving forward, I am excited to report that I am working with artist Mimi Barclay Johnson to illustrate  my new children's picture book. This is a new genre for me -- while still a children's book, it isn't a fantasy or a manners-themed book. I can't wait to share it with you as we get closer to completion.

I'm working on scheduling a web/TV interview (once I understand how it works) and I've been asked to offer The Kids' (and Parents' too!) Book of Good Sportsmanship and It's Time for Good Manners! on a book site, so I'll report back on that new outlet once it's set up.  The site is Whisper Books.

Until next post, Happy Reading -- and Writing -- to all!

Leslie

Thursday, March 31, 2011

New Kindle Version and Radio Interview

Just a quick update with the latest news while I'm finishing up "The Tale of Time Warp Tuesday."

After a lot of very, very, very hard work (thanks, Kecia!) and a lot of mis-information (frankly, just do the opposite of any directions you manage to dig up), the Kindle version of The Kids' (and parents', too!) Book of Good Sportsmanship is now available at Amazon.  Yay! Phew!

(I hope my notes are clear enough for the next time I try to load something with illustrations on Kindle. Text manuscripts like Zephram, while still time consuming, are pretty straightforward compared to what I had to go through with Good Sport.)

Not much time to relax after that, though.   I'm scheduled for a radio interview tonight with "Connecting Women."  I will be talking about "It's Time for Good Manners!"  Unfortunately, I have a cold, so I'll let you know how that goes. 

I've also been scouting to line up book reviewers for "The Tale of Time Warp Tuesday."  If you're interested in reviewing it or know of someone who would, please don't hesitate to contact me.  I would be glad to share it with you.

Until next post, Happy Reading!

Leslie

P.S.  I almost forgot:  Check out the Hangman Game on the Games Tab.  I'm experimenting with it. What do you think?  I have a couple of others to add except that I have to either a) make the game template smaller or b) reformat my blog so the games fit better.  Six one, half a dozen another  except that I have no technical expertise, so it takes me much longer to figure things out.  Wish me luck.  And try your luck on Hangman when you get a chance.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Nesting.com news and other updates

Dear Bookworms,

Just wanted to give you a quick update on what's been happening at Good Manners Kids Stuff Press.

We have been working very hard on a Kindle version of The Kids' (and parents', too!) Book of Good Sportsmanship.  It has illustrations so it meant a complete redesign.  I hope to let you know that we've made it available within the next week or two.

Very exciting news:  I was contacted to become a Kids and Manners "Knowledge Nest" expert on Nesting.com, a wonderful new website for parents.  You can see the link over to the right.  Check it out at your earliest convenience - it has lots of cool stuff and fantastic information that you will enjoy.

I've been researching more book reviewers and hope to get review copies out soon for The  Tale of Time Warp Tuesday, the second Zephram tale that is due out late this spring.

Last, I have an illustrator on board who is going to help me with the cover for a new series that I will be launching in the fall. 

Happy Reading! I, personally, have to avoid books until I get some of these projects finished -- my reward will be the new Rick Riordan release coming up in May!

Leslie

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

And the winner is ...

The winner of our Giveaway is:
Annette Estell.
Congratulations!

Thanks, everyone, for your entries.  Check back soon for our next Giveaway and Blog Hop.

The Giveaway is finished

Many thanks to everyone who participated in our first Blog Hop and Giveaway, and a warm welcome to our new followers.

I'll be posting and emailing the winner of a copy of The Month of Zephram Mondays later today.

I can't wait to hold another one of these again, so check back soon.  It was quite a lot of fun hopping between blogs.  I wonder if I'll win any of the giveaways I entered?

Friday, January 14, 2011

The "Dreaming of Books" Giveaway and Blog Hop

I am excited to tell you that we are participating in our very first Giveaway and Blog Hop!



Enter to win a copy of "The Month of Zephram Mondays" as part of the Dreaming of Books Giveaway Blog Hop

To find out more about it and to enter to win a copy of "The Month of Zephram Mondays," go to the Giveaway and Blog Hop tab. All of the easy instructions are there. (You can hop to the other participating blogs and enter their giveaways, too.)

Good Luck - And Happy Hopping!

The Contest runs January 14th -- 17th, 2011 and our winner will be announced January 18, 2011.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

An exciting start for the New Year

Maybe it's the power of making New Year's Resolutions, but we're only a week into 2011 and things are already moving and shaking at Good Manners Kids Stuff Press!

Our ebook version of "The Month of Zephram Mondays" has been uploaded to Smashwords and been accepted into their Premium Catalog, which means that it is now available through iTunes for the iPad, iPod, iTouch, etc., and in online stores for Sony, Diesel and Kobo. (It should be available on Barnes and Noble for Nook, too -- the guidelines say two weeks from submission, and it's already been over two weeks.)

I've loaded "The Month of Zephram Mondays" into BookBuzzr, a company offering some very cool tools for authors and publishers. I love BookBuzzr's tagline -- they're the anti-obscurity tool for authors. They made this very cool preview tool that loads a book and looks like the pages are turning as you read it. I decided to give it a try for Zephram ... check it out on the right column if you'd like to read a little of it. If it works, I'll be loading it on all of our sites (and using it for other books) so I hope this widget becomes a strong publicity helper!

While finishing up "The Tale of Time Warp Tuesday," I've also been trying to get the Good Sportsmanship book up on Kindle. Unfortunately, I've found it isn't as easy to convert an illustration-heavy book for e-reading, but since ebooks are the wave of the future, I will not give up! I hope to post very soon that it is up and running smoothly on Kindle.

It's a snowy Saturday, a perfect day to curl up by the fire and do some writing while taking breaks to warm up hot chocolate for my daughters and their friends, so I'm going to sign off for now.

Until my next post, I wish you all a Happy, Healthy and Book-filled New Year!
Leslie

P.S. Were you able to find any time to squeeze in a good book over the holidays? I did -- the second Mysterious Benedict Society book and also the last book of the Wondrous Strange trilogy. Oh, alright, I confess I also read a couple of Regency Romances. I'm all about spanning genres!