Griffie World Happenings

Being an author, I love books, although it seems somewhat axiomatic to say so. I enjoy holding them in my hands, turning the pages and diving into the world that the writer has created for us. That being said, with the advent of e-book readers the world of books as we know it is changing. There may, one day, be no page to turn, except in a virtual sense.  Now, some people I know are actively against using an e-book reader, but I will admit that I can’t wait to have my own Kindle.

My reasons are simple, yet many. I really like the aspect of being able to carry an entire library around with you in the size of a single paperback and not even the same weight in most cases. With the Kindle as well, there is the ease of downloading new material pretty quickly. I can shop, preview the material and have it as soon as I need it. No having to wait to get home from the store or if you are the point and click variety of shopper like I am, no waiting for the book to ship. That’s another plus, no shipping costs. Since I have severe dust allergies, an e-book reader removes the factor of dust caused by page decomposition over the years, plus the amount of dust that collects (and so quickly too) on the number of books that I own.  The reduction of the carbon footprint is also a draw; fewer trees will be needed to produce paper, fewer chemicals will be processed to make the ink, warehousing requirements are reduced or eliminated.  Theoretically, that should mean either an increase profit margin to the publishing company who should then share the wealth with the author, or pass the savings along to the customer, or a combination.

Although the e-book concept has not yet caught on as much as some would have hoped, I believe that it is an idea that will continue to grow in popularity until the majority of books which are published will be published in printed and e-book format, and will continue along the spectrum until the e-book is the given publication and the publisher will consider whether or not to go to the expense of the printed book.  Until the e-book reader format has been improved to provide a full color page capability, there will be a segment of books for which the e-book format is not practical.

Once the full color e-book reader has been established, will that then mean the death of the book?  Will it be within our lifetime that printed books become a memory?  While no one can answer that with any degree of accuracy, my bet is that there will be fewer and fewer printed books over time and an increase in e-books.  But, until Fisher Price, or another company of that ilk comes up with a relatively inexpensive, indestructible e-book reader for children, printed books will be alive and well in the Children’s section of your virtual bookstore.
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LK Gardner-Griffie
Visit me at Griffie World
To buy Misfit McCabe, visit my store at Lulu.com or purchase at Amazon.com
To track Misfit McCabe across the country, visit:
Where in the World is Misfit McCabe?
Own a Kindle? Download Misfit McCabe in an instant.
To read book reviews by LK Gardner-Griffie, visit: The Lulu Book Review

Today a co-worker, Mary Ellen, and I went over to the Cerritos Library during our lunch hour. Our goal was to try and see whether or not we could get the library to agree to stock Misfit McCabe on their shelves. If you happen to live in the area, the Cerritos Library is definitely worth a look. I could have stayed for hours in the children’s section alone. I think if we weren’t on our lunch hour and had a mission to accomplish, Mary Ellen and I would have spent hours there just gawking at all of the areas. We did our fair share with the short time we had.

Anyway, we were first directed to the children’s section, but then re-directed to the young adult librarian, Padmini. When we first arrived at the desk, Alfonso was the only one working the desk, but he told us that Padmini would be returning shortly, which gave us an opportunity to wander around a little bit more. Mind you, if I had actually started looking at the books themselves, we’d have been sunk. It would have taken a crow bar and a crane to get me out.

As we were wandering around, Alfonso actually came to look for us to let us know that Padmini had returned. Both Mary Ellen and I thought that was extra especially nice of him. I let Mary Ellen take the lead with the talking. . .it’s not that I don’t know how to talk in public, in actual fact, public speaking doesn’t bother me much, but I do get tongue twisted when trying to find the words to ask people to look at my book. Hence, my spokesperson, Mary Ellen. She and Padmini hit it off right away and developed a rapport as Padmini explained how difficult it was to have events for the young adult age group and have a reasonable turn out.

Padmini did take a copy of Misfit McCabe and is going to review and then get back to us. She is thinking about having a group of several independently published authors down to the library to give a talk (about 15 minutes per author), which I would love to take part in. One thing was clear, was that we will need to come up with an idea where I can partner with the library and come up with some scheme to get some behinds in the chairs. So, if anyone has any ideas on how to target the young adult age group so that they attend a function at a library, please send them on in.

The library has an acquarium that is going to be installed as well, so Mary Ellen and I will definitely be going back to see that.
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LK Gardner-Griffie
Visit me at Griffie World
To buy Misfit McCabe, visit my store at Lulu.com or purchase at Amazon.com
Own a Kindle? Download Misfit McCabe in an instant.

Me and my bright ideas. I keep coming up with ideas that seem to entail a whole lot of work on my part. I am going to have to talk myself into some ideas that require less work on my part one of these days.

Anyway, the latest, greatest idea is requiring a complete upgrade of the Griffie World website, so I am taking things one step at a time. Unfortunately, I had to completely dismantle the Griffie World Talk forum and will rebuild it as soon as possible. The website (other than the forum) will be up and functional throughout the upgrade, so that at least is the positive side of things. If you happen to visit the forum during the down time, I have posted a message explaining that the site is temporarily unavailable.

What is the latest, greatest idea? Well, you’ll just have to wait and see. I am working fast and furiously on getting everything to come together so that the project can be launched. I hope to be able to make the announcement in the near future.

In the meantime, I will be working on the sequel to Misfit McCabe, working on some book reviews, getting Misfit McCabe marketing kits together for distribution, oh, and working a full time and then-some job and in my spare time, actually living my life. It’s a good thing I love what I do.

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LK Gardner-Griffie
Visit me at Griffie World
To buy Misfit McCabe, visit my store at Lulu.com or purchase at Amazon.com
Own a Kindle? Download Misfit McCabe in an instant.

Most of us have things in our lives that we can obsess on. In fact, ask any teenage girl and she’ll immediately tell you that her nose it too big or too small, she has too many freckles or not enough, that her eyebrows are too thin or too bushy; the possible list is endless. We can spend hours agonizing and obsessing over features that the rest of the world doesn’t even notice.

In Stealing Wishes, Shannon Yarbrough takes us inside the mind of 32 year old, self-diagnosed, obsessive-compulsive, Blaine, who is a picture taking coffee barista. This light romantic comedy is told in an introspective, narrative style and the reader is drawn into Blaine’s world as he wakes up each morning at 5:32, sets his alarm for 16 minutes later to allow time for a shower and shave, and then sets the alarm for the next 16 minute increment to allow time for eating breakfast. As you might have guessed, one of Blaine’s obsessions surrounds the number 32, the number of his apartment, his current age, as well as multiples of 32, and how he relates everything possible to this number.

Blaine loves his job as a coffee barista, because it allows him to control his environment by organizing all of the items and to set up routines for each type of drink ordered. The off work hours are spent with his camera, taking pictures of people he doesn’t know and putting them in photo albums. They are his memories of moments in his life. His best friend, Sallie, is also his boss, and since they are both single, they frequently go out bar or restaurant hopping together. This all changes when Sallie meets Charlie, they become a couple and then set Blaine up on a blind date with Charlie’s friend Edward.

One of the few things that Blaine and Edward have in common is their enjoyment of the writings of Christopher Isherwood. Will that be enough to sustain the relationship? The park that Blaine frequents on a regular, almost daily basis, is Bachardy park which is exactly 32 blocks from the coffee shop where Blaine works. Since author Christopher Isherwoood had a high-profile, openly gay relationship with Don Bachardy from early 1953 through Isherwood’s death in 1986, it is just one more way in which the life and writings of Christopher Isherwood influence this book.

While not being my usual genre, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Stealing Wishes as it provides a glimpse of a lifestyle outside of my own. It shows modern day relationships as you only learn the first name of any of the characters. The theme of the book is universal as we all contemplate at one time or other what love is, and struggle with the intricacies of relationships, whether gay, hetero, or both.

At the beginning of the book, Blaine tells the readers, “I am a camera (too).” Stealing Wishes represents the word snapshot of the moments of Blaine’s life.

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LK Gardner-Griffie
Visit me at Griffie World
To buy Misfit McCabe, visit my store at Lulu.com or purchase at Amazon.com
Own a Kindle? Download Misfit McCabe in an instant.

With today being part of a holiday weekend, I really didn’t get to accomplish much today in the way of writing, marketing, etc. I’ve mulled over some ideas, but that has been about the extent of things.

The review from The Lulu Book Review has been posted to Amazon.com, so I was very happy to note that it was there. I was also happy to note that the review posted against both the paperback and Kindle versions of the book. Now all I have to do is post the review to Barnes & Noble.

All for now - tomorrow I’ll get back on the horse and get something (anything) accomplished.

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LK Gardner-Griffie
Visit me at Griffie World
To buy Misfit McCabe, visit my store at Lulu.com

I am drifting on a cloud. . . my work has been compared to Judy Blume. Now, that may not seem like a big thing to some, but I remember a time when Judy Blume was THE author for young adult books, when the concept of young adult was in its infancy.

I have just received a review of my young adult novel, Misfit McCabe, from The Lulu Book Review, and it was a stellar review. I haven’t come down from the heights yet.

Waiting for a review can be a little nerve wracking because you have taken your work and actively sought out someone else’s opionion. Will they like it? Will they hate it? Will they be able to give you a quote you can use to help promote your work? When will they get to your book on the mounting pile of submissions?

My first experience with a review was not quite the experience I was hoping for. I submitted to a fairly new review site, and because they were new, the turn around on the review was faster than normal. The review was positive, but the reviewer was so green, that it was not a well constructed review, and left me with no quotable material.

My next experience was better. I submitted to a student reviewer site and the 11 year old student wrote a better constructed review of my work than the adult reviewer. Of course it was helpful that the student reviewer liked the work, and I finally had something to quote.

At the time I submitted my book for review to the above two sites, I also submitted my book to a third site, for which I am still awaiting a review. It will happen one day - and hopefully, I’ll still be checking the site when it does ~ otherwise I may never know.

Because The Lulu Book Review is a newer review site, I was able to get a quick turn around from submission to review (the fastest ever). I knew that the review itself, whether positive or not so positive, would be well constructed, because I had done my homework and read through the reviews on the site. The only remaining question was whether or not the reviewer would like the work.

I was absolutely amazed by the positive review. It started with the comparison to Judy Blume and continued to get better. Thanks so much to Shannon Yarbrough, author of Stealing Wishes, for his vision and drive and talent for writing.

Read the Complete Review

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LK Gardner-Griffie
Visit me at Griffie World