I have moved my blog to http://www.alisonsjourney.blogspot.com

Please visit there!

Apparently, in my last blurb, I misinterpreted Ryan, and so I'd like to apologize. I thought "You did well" meant that I did well. Though, I do still feel embarrassed about the door thing, I see that it was well enjoyed by at least one member of the listening audience. Nevermind that he'd being trying to distract me from the interview the entire time.

It's impossible to know what someone else is actually feeling, but I think it's human nature to try to identify and interpret those things. Maybe it makes us feel closer to the other person. All that I really know, though, is that it has led to some of the worst issues I've ever had with other people.

Take, for instance, a conversation I recently had with a man I will call Mr. B. He met me at one of my book signings and then spent several weeks trying to get me to go out with him. A very interesting person to talk to, he piqued my interest on several levels. I finally agreed to the date.

We discussed where and when we were going to meet, but things were still not solid when his son interrupted our conversation and he said that he'd return to finish it. He never did. So, I waited. And waited. And the next day I cancelled the date because I still wasn't sure if the plans were firm.

He had thought everything was settled.  He had assumed that I knew what we were doing, and was on his way to the restaurant when he got my message. I was at home, feeling grumpy and stood up. And both of us were dissatisfied because we'd interpreted what someone else had said rather than just asking the other.

I had another interview tonight. This one was with ArtistFirst.com and was live. I was so incredibly nervous!

I don't think I did too badly, and Ryan told me that I did well too, but I had to answer the door in the middle of the interview. How embarrassing. I just hope that it didn't mess up the entire interview.

Today is a good day. I got a great review from Coffee Times Romance today. I'm very happy!

That, combined with an excellent interview yesterday have provided for some great feelings about the publishing process.

My friend Michael, who lives in the UK has sent me a few pictures of my book traveling the world. It's really fun, and may become a new section of my web site. I wish that I could travel as much as the book seems to! They're too large to post here, but I'll try to get them onto the site soon.

Yesterday was my first book signing. I was so nervous! I knew that I would have to stand up in front of a bunch of people and talk first, which was absolutely terrifying. That seems weird to me as I taught sixth grade not that long ago. One would think that a group of 12 year olds would be much scarier than 110 senior citizens. Apparently, this is not the way that things work in my world.

So, I got up, stuttered around a bit, and made it through my mini introduction of myself. I forgot to mention that 10% of the royalties from the book to to the Center for New Beginnings in Newark (www.thewoodland.org), and I desperately needed a cash box, but I managed to sell 7 books.

I went back to my day job and could barely concentrate. And then my grandmother called to let me know that 2 people had contacted her for additional copies of my book. So, the signing's success was raised to 9 books. Not bad considering the audience consisted of people on a fixed income.

So, Thursday's book signing should be much smoother (I hope). I won't have to stand in front of the crowd and talk, I should have addtional flyers, and I'm sure I'll be much more comfortable. The first time is always the hardest.

For more information about my schedule http://www.ameytippett.com/calendar.html

It's official. Alison's Journey has now been released. Sure, I've had copies of the book for a few weeks, but it's still awesome that I've made it to the release date.

A new press release went out today. It can be found on my site at http://www.ameytippett.com/20050314.html or at this location http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2005/4/emw228152.htm.

I have 12 signings coming up. I'm a little nervous about those. But for now, I'm elated!!!

I went to Cleveland this weekend, in order to set up a few book signings with my friend Kerry who also happens to be my publicist. What an amazing success! We have 4 new signings scheduled as well as 4 possible signings. What a great weekend!!! Check out the calendar at http://www.ameytippett.com/calendar.html for more information.

I've been busy lately, marketing my book. I've contacted several places for book signings and reviews. Most of the time, I've been dealt with by courteous people and so I haven't really minded the rejection as much as I might have.

Today, though, I was told that not only does the reviewer I contacted not accept books by my publisher(http://www.publishamerica.com/books/8238) but he also doesn't review books with my subject matter (abuse). If he had been courteous, I might have understood. However, he was not.

Then, I was asked by someone on a message board why I would ask strangers to review my book. This made me think. I guess I don't understand why someone would not ask a stranger to review his book. After all, my book was written not just for my friends and family, but for anyone who might like to read it. If I want my book to be a best seller someday, I have to expect that a lot of people who don't know me are going to have to read my book and enjoy it enough to tell someone else about it. I'm willing to get those people to read my book in many ways, even by approaching them to review it.

And so, as I go off to design publicity posters and start on my writing for the weekend, I will ponder that idea and wonder how I can best rethink my approach to reviewers.