Sometimes life gets in the way of my writing and painting life, and I confess I am thankful that it does. I love seeing my children--all three of whom came today and had lunch with us. My daughter, who is a pilot with American Airlines and is based in St. Louis, flew into the West Point Airport in her small plane. She had planned to continue on by air to Columbia, SC for a South Carolina College alumni weekend. However, the weather changed that plan, so she and another daughter, also an alumni of the honors college in Columbia, drove from here. The third daughter came from Williamsburg to see her sisters. My plans to work all day on finishing my new book, Stranger in My Heart, were put aside.
Life gets in the way because of the 260 little artists I teach each week. I enjoy watching them respond and create. My job with them takes up Tuesday and Wednesday of each week. So I try to plan my writing (and sometimes art) around those days.
Part of the writing time goes to promotion and all those outstanding ideas my publisher and other author friends put out. The Kindle is a great market my pubisher has created for us. I am delighted with the Kindle Board connection.
On Sunday, I will be part of a panel on publishing. I've been asked to talk briefly about working with a small publisher. This will be our first annual Author's Book Fair at West Point Library. Meeting and talking with the other 20 authors who will be there should be a good learning experience.
For the future, I have all of my publisher's newsletters filed away. On those days when life doesn't get in the way, I can go back and put some of her ideas into action. Still, when good things in life get in the way, I'm glad.
Mary Montague Sikes
www.marymontaguesikes.com
Friday, May 15, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Happily Ever After
Thursday morning a segment on the Today Show caught my attention. While overall book sales are down, the program said, the sales of romance novels are up! The sales of Harlequin books are up 30% over last year. During times of recession, readers want "happily ever after." They want romance, not the latest gloom and doom news reports, those readers who were interviewed pointed out.
Of course, I was delighted to see this report. My novels all have happy endings. Stranger in My Heart, the book I am working on right now, has a happy ending as well!
While reporters love to poke fun at the romance industry, romance authors smile. Money talks. Everyone is looking for a happily ever after.
Mary Montague Sikes
www.marymontaguesikes.com
Secrets by the Sea
Eagle Rising
Hearts Across Forever
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Presenting a Book to Virginia First Lady
Promotion is the key word, and I've been reading Marilyn's advice as well as Sunni's.
Last week was a heavy one for me with promotion a key element. The biggest event came Thursday, March 12, when four members (including me) of the Richmond Branch National League of American Pen Women went to the Library of Virginia for the presentation of a copy of Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln to Virginia First Lady Anne Holton. National president N. Taylor Collins came down from Washington to make a brief talk and present the book. She also presented a copy to Dr. Sandra Gioia Treadway, Librarian of Virginia.
Being in this small group of women gave us a wonderful opportunity to chat informally. Anne Holton is down-to-earth and easy to talk with. Her father was Governor when she was growing up, so this is her second stint in the Virginia Governor's Mansion. Last fall, when she was the speaker for the Virginia Press Women, she told us about how she and her husband, Governor Tim Kaine talked her father, Governor Lynwood Holton, a Republican, into voting for then presidential candidate Barack Obama. They knew Obama from Harvard Law School. Kaine was on the short list for vice president candidates.
Taylor Collins is another down-to-earth lady. The Pen Women got to know her better when we gathered for lunch at the Patrick Henry Inn. We ate in the Pub located across from old St. John's Church where Patrick Henry made his "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" speech.
Although all of our events last week, including those at the Cultural Arts Center of Glen Allen, were to promote the Pen Women collaborative book, Sylvia Wright and I have gotten a lot of press that should give us both better name recognition for our other books. Promotion is key. It's been fun and sometimes tiring, but that's all part of the job! Tomorrow we head back to Richmond for a signing at Book People on Granite Avenue. That, too, centers around Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln.
My contributions to the book include a poem, "Mr. Lincoln, Did You Hear?," an article giving the background of the poem, and three of my paintings. Please check out photos on my Web site, www.marymontaguesikes.com.
Monti
Last week was a heavy one for me with promotion a key element. The biggest event came Thursday, March 12, when four members (including me) of the Richmond Branch National League of American Pen Women went to the Library of Virginia for the presentation of a copy of Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln to Virginia First Lady Anne Holton. National president N. Taylor Collins came down from Washington to make a brief talk and present the book. She also presented a copy to Dr. Sandra Gioia Treadway, Librarian of Virginia.
Being in this small group of women gave us a wonderful opportunity to chat informally. Anne Holton is down-to-earth and easy to talk with. Her father was Governor when she was growing up, so this is her second stint in the Virginia Governor's Mansion. Last fall, when she was the speaker for the Virginia Press Women, she told us about how she and her husband, Governor Tim Kaine talked her father, Governor Lynwood Holton, a Republican, into voting for then presidential candidate Barack Obama. They knew Obama from Harvard Law School. Kaine was on the short list for vice president candidates.
Taylor Collins is another down-to-earth lady. The Pen Women got to know her better when we gathered for lunch at the Patrick Henry Inn. We ate in the Pub located across from old St. John's Church where Patrick Henry made his "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" speech.
Although all of our events last week, including those at the Cultural Arts Center of Glen Allen, were to promote the Pen Women collaborative book, Sylvia Wright and I have gotten a lot of press that should give us both better name recognition for our other books. Promotion is key. It's been fun and sometimes tiring, but that's all part of the job! Tomorrow we head back to Richmond for a signing at Book People on Granite Avenue. That, too, centers around Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln.
My contributions to the book include a poem, "Mr. Lincoln, Did You Hear?," an article giving the background of the poem, and three of my paintings. Please check out photos on my Web site, www.marymontaguesikes.com.
Monti
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Angel of the Healing Lake
Oh dear Billie,
Thank you for the lovely word pictures of New Years past. I rather love the Christmas season and enjoy having our three daughters home with us for only a few days. New Year's means they've all gone home and leaves me feeling rather sad--missing the days when they were still children.
The changing of the year does get me thinking,"Where has the year gone so fast?" It makes me ponder about my writing goals and my painting goals as well. For 2009, my major writing goal is to promote the "Passenger to Paradise" series hard and steady. Having a new title coming out should bring more interest to the other three books, I reason. I would welcome the thoughts of others on this reasoning.
Regarding the Christmas season, I was amazed when I suddenly saw the angel that dominated my experimental painting originally titled "Ice Lake in the Sky." What do you think of my angel that appeared? The painting is now called "Angel of the Healing Lake."
Sunday, November 30, 2008
My Art Gallery - "Monti Just for Fun" Paintings
(All paintings on this blog are Copyrighted by Mary Montague Sikes.)
"Monet and More"
Framed Acrylic on Canvas
13" x 11"
$125
"Wine on a Striped Cloth"
Framed Acrylic on Canvas
13" x 11"
$125
"On a Checkered Cloth"
Acrylic on Canvas
8" x 6"
$85 - sold
"Margaritaville 2"
Acrylic on Canvas
8" x 6"
$85 - sold
"By the Bar Room Chair"
Acrylic on Canvas
8" x 6"
$85
"Monet and More"
Framed Acrylic on Canvas
13" x 11"
$125
"Wine on a Striped Cloth"
Framed Acrylic on Canvas
13" x 11"
$125
"On a Checkered Cloth"
Acrylic on Canvas
8" x 6"
$85 - sold
"Margaritaville 2"
Acrylic on Canvas
8" x 6"
$85 - sold
"By the Bar Room Chair"
Acrylic on Canvas
8" x 6"
$85
My Art Gallery
"Twin Angels in the Prism of Life"
Mixed Water Media on Canvas, 36" x 24"
$395
"Antiquity Rising"
Experimental Water Media on Canvas
10" x 8"
$75
"Take Another Look"
Experimental water media on canvas
8" x 10"
$75
More Shopping in Sedona
When we went back to Sedona last summer to check some of the places that made me write Eagle Rising, I went shopping again. This time at Chico's I found more wonderful jackets to use for book signings and other things as well. My favorite find was a pair of white jeans at a remarkable price and a gorgeous gold and silver belt. Yes, I have a real thing for belts. This is not quite as impressive as the unique belt with the beaded medallions I found last year, but it is impressive enough to be hidden away for special occasions.
I was disappointed to see that Sedona has crept ever closer to Bell Rock--the site so prominent in Eagle Rising. A shopping mall has grown up near by, and the special little restaurant with the stained glass window depicting Bell Rock is gone. It doesn't seem quite right for a place as unique and picturesque as Sedona to change.
Mary Montague Sikes, Author
Eagle Rising, Secrets by the Sea
I was disappointed to see that Sedona has crept ever closer to Bell Rock--the site so prominent in Eagle Rising. A shopping mall has grown up near by, and the special little restaurant with the stained glass window depicting Bell Rock is gone. It doesn't seem quite right for a place as unique and picturesque as Sedona to change.
Mary Montague Sikes, Author
Eagle Rising, Secrets by the Sea
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
