Sandy Nathan's Blog

IN LOVE BY CHRISTMAS A HOLIDAY ADVENTURE ROMANCE AND PARANORMAL VISIONARY NOVEL!

In Love by Christmas – Not Your Ordinary Holiday Romance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, darn! My Christmas book, IN LOVE BY CHRISTMAS, was free for two days. Before I could get this post out, I see they changed the price back. However, it’s deal at any price and I’ve got a special holiday surprise for you, besides.

How about three Sandy Nathan books for the price of one? Here’s the deal:

FIRST BOOK:  IN LOVE BY CHRISTMAS is a Christmas love story of a perilous kind. Leroy Watches Jr. is a holy man and healer whose power is a bit quirky. Sometimes it makes things worse. You may have met Leroy in LEROY WATCHES JR. & THE BADASS BULL. Yes, it’s that Leroy, the one who ended up the FBI’s Most Wanted Fugitive. This adventure offers more opportunity for misadventure.

Despite his flaw, Leroy has to save his soul mate from her addictions, her father, and Evil Incarnate or she’ll be damned forever.

Trying to unite with his true love, Leroy embarks on an adventure that takes him to the highest–and lowest–realms.

The book is currently $3.99  as an Amazon Kindle. Not free, but not super pricey, either.

 But here’s what I’m doing for my Readers: I got a new website! YAY! And many thanks to my “web guy”, Don Herion of The Sorcerer’s Workshop! Here’s my new website:

Isn't it pretty? It has all the info of my old site, in a pretty new WordPress package.

WHAT’S THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT MY NEW WEBSITE? “YOUR FREE BOOK” YES! If you go to new website and click on FIND OUT MORE or YOUR FREE BOOK, you’ll go to a page that will invite you to join my READERS’ GROUP.

What is my READERS’ GROUP? Well, it’s something new. Through the GROUP, I’m going to keep you in the loop about my doings–I have a bunch of new books planned for 2016. I’m also going to let you know about authors I’ve discovered and think are terrific.  If I find out about deals coming up or am having specials myself, READERS’ GROUP members will be the first to know.

You are not signing up to be spammed! I can hardly get out a blog post a few times a year; I’m not going flood your inbox with junk. Nor will I sell or give away your email address. I am techno impaired; even if I wanted to, I doubt I could find your email on my server. Plus, I got writing to do!

WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER FREE NEW BOOKS, SANDY?

If you read  IN LOVE BY CHRISTMAS, you will come upon a character named Vanessa Schierman PhD. She’s a PhD with all her bonafides and the head of an ancient lineage. Vanessa figures large in  IN LOVE BY CHRISTMAS and other Bloodsong Series books. In the first free eBook READERS’ GROUP members receive, you’ll find out lots more about our resident witch. 

Vanessa Schierman's estate. Never go there.

SECOND BOOK, THIS ONE FREE: Vanessa Schierman PhD WITCH At this point, Vanessa Schierman PhD WITCH is available ONLY to my Readers’ Group members. It consists on two longish short stories and an introduction by Vanessa herself, in which she blisters my hide. I’ll add more stories to the book as I write them. I’ll contact you when I’ve got a new story. If you’ve got IN LOVE BY CHRISTMAS,  you really should join the Readers Group and get Vanessa. She appears in many more Bloodsong Series books.

Stepping off the Edge: A Roadmap for the Soul contains everything I learned, in school or out, that actually HELPED me in my life.

THIRD BOOK: THAT’S THE BONUS YOU GET FOR JOINING THE READERS’ GROUP. What is it? A goodie. STEPPING OFF THE EDGE: A ROADMAP FOR THE SOUL. STEPPING OFF THE EDGE  is a memoir that contains every insight, bit of wisdom, or academic theory I learned in school or anywhere else that actually helped me navigate the shoals of life.  STEPPING OFF THE EDGE is what I did to tame my demons so that I could sit here, writing to you.

Part guide-book, part memoir, part laugh-a-thon, STEPPING OFF THE EDGE won six national awards when it came out, including a couple from the largest and most prestigious contests. The interior is gorgeous, with a Native American theme. I illustrated it myself!  An intensely spiritual book, Stepping doesn’t favor any particular denomination, though I am true to my own. People who have read all my books have told me, “Sandy, I like your new stuff, but I like Stepping Off the Edge best of everything you’ve written.”

STEPPING is my gift to you: I hope that the book is as useful to you as it was to me.

I’ll be sending you STEPPING OFF THE EDGE: A ROADMAP FOR THE SOUL, hopefully the day after you join the Readers’ Group. (In addition to a new website, I’ve got a new email service. We’re working on this automatic delivery stuff. If need be, I’ll just email it to you!)
HAPPY HOLIDAYS! ENJOY EVERYTHING! AND HERE ARE MY GIFTS TO YOU:

In Love by Christmas: sterling, romantic adventure. Vanessa Schierman PhD WITCH: short stories about a person you’d just as soon not know; Stepping off the Edge: A Roadmap for the Soul. And a toolkit, too.

All the best at the holidays,
Sandy Nathan
Amazon Author Page  
HEY! LET’S WATCH MOVIES! HERE ARE SOME VIDEOS ABOUT THE THREE BOOKS:
IN LOVE BY CHRISTMAS :  A PARANORMAL ROMANCE



VANESSA SCHIERMAN PhD WITCH

 

STEPPING OFF THE EDGE: A ROADMAP FOR THE SOUL

The Angel & the Brown-Eyed Boy is an Amazon Bestseller and I’m an Amazon Ranked Author!

Here I am with Diana Gabaldon, my all time favorite author. I have read her Outlander series, all fifty million pages of it, THREE times. We're hanging out in cyberspace for a few moments of eternity, the 65th and 66th most popular authors in Action & Adventure Fiction. WAA-HOO!

Every once in awhile, life presents the opportunity to be outrageously out there, to the point of being obnoxious. This is one of those times.

I recently did a promotion of my eBook, The Angel & the Brown-Eyed Boy. It was free for a couple of days and then went back to being one you had to pay for. The results astonished me. Lots of people downloaded it, and then more bought it.

The book’s rankings dropped spectacularly (in book rankings, lower is better) and my AUTHOR RANKING, which I didn’t know existed (because it didn’t before then) put me in the company of some of the world’s most famous authors, and my favorite authors. [However briefly. These rankings change hourly. I am probably in the potato cellar of the Amazon world again. Or will be soon. This book-selling world is not for sissies, compadres.]

So, it’s my time and I’m gonna crow about it.

I’ve done promos by myself before, but this time I was assisted by folks who knew what SEO meant. Turns out, that’s very important in today’s marketing world. My partners in success in this venture were Genius Media, Inc. They are primarily publishers, but also do book promotion. It was a lucky day when I ran into Genius Media.

If you are planning on giving your book away on an Amazon KDP promotion, don’t think it will necessarily turn out the way my recent extravaganza did. Don’t think it won’t, either. You never know. I’ve done KDP free days in the past, running the campaign pretty much by my lonesome self. What was it like? Think days of non-stop, back breaking work, not knowing what I was doing, going down lists of what to do posted online by people I’d never heard of. Fingers aching, eyes watering. I did get results, but it was awful.

If you’re fortunate and have professionals who know what they’re doing to assist you, something like this may happen–and getting there won’t be a nightmare.

THE FREE PART ENDED UP LIKE THIS:

This is how my rankings showed up at their highest, which is measured by closest to #1, the top ranking. Amazon reports results in terms of all the free books on the site, as well as the book's categories. Yes, that's #20 out of all the books free that day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Free results also ended up like this: 

Midway through this promo, without telling anyone they were doing it, Amazon changed its categories from these, to what's above. This makes people who know SEO really upset, because they're settings are now wrong.

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you end up in the Top 100 Free or Paid, Amazon does a nice little thing like this with your ranking and book cover:

Here's The Angel, flying to #1 Tree in Metaphysical & Visionary Fiction. This was a lovely sight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ENOUGH OF THE FREE RESULTS. EVERYONE’S INTERESTED IN SALES:

When The Angel went off of free, what happened? This. Took a long night of screen-gazing to get this screenshot. Waa-hoo!

OK. THIS IS BLATANT GRANDSTANDING, BUT THIS DOESN’T HAPPEN TOO OFTEN, NOR DO I KNOW IF IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN. I’M GOING TO PUT UP SOME PICS OF ME AND MY NEW FRIENDS, COURTESY OF AMAZON. (AND THANK YOU, AMAZON, FOR CREATING THE VENUE FOR THIS TO HAPPEN.)

Years ago, I gave a talk on “Celebrate Your Victories.” I think I’ll post the text of that talk on this blog. Mitigating/explaining what I’m doing with this post, my talk said that we need to celebrate our wins! We need to toot our horns and let the good times flow when something wonderful happens.

Why? Given the transitory nature of success and life’s high points, you’ll be slogging through the muck soon enough. You’ll forget the wonderful high and that life is a joyful process that includes UPS as well as downs. We tend to focus on the later.

SO, HERE I AM, WITH A BUNCH OF MY NEW FRIENDS:

For years, I was too snobby to read Stephen King. When I finally started, I didn't read everything he'd written–that's HUGE. But I sure gave it a try. So, hey, Stephen, hope to hang out a lot more, buddy!

OMG. The guy who brought Jungian writing and depth psychology to everyone, my old buddy, J. R. R. Tolkien! Here I am, rubbing rankings with the master.

Orson Scott Card, maybe the brainiest sci-fi writer ever. Here we are, lovingly stacked together. Thank you, Amazon! And my READERS! Yay!

Classic sci-fi from the master George Orwell, author of 1984, Animal Farm and so much more. Nice to hang out, George! My The Angel & the Brown-Eyed Boy has been compared to 1984. And our own contemporary pundit, Chuck Wendig. Glad to meet you, Chuck!

WHAT CAN HAPPEN IN LIFE IS TRULY UNLIMITED. YOU NEVER KNOW WHO YOUR NEW FRIENDS MIGHT BE:

MAY YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE AND YOUR COMPANY REFLECT YOUR TRUE NOBILITY AND GRACE!

FREE BOOKS!!!! $$FREE BOOKS$$ UNTIL OCT. 31, 2015, I’M GIVING FREE BOOKS IN RETURN FOR HONEST REVIEWS. WHICH BOOKS? THE WHOLE EARTH’S END TRILOGY BOXED SET EBOOK We have promotions planned for Lady Grace & the War for a New World, Earth’s End II, and The Headman & the Assassin, Earth’s End III. These three books represent a treasure of adventure and … well, pretty near everything else. Romance, time travel, aliens, guys from the past, monsters, you name it, Earth’s End has it. Unfortunately, unless we get more reviews for the last two books of the series. We can’t even BUY advertising for it. [Did I tell you the three books have won SEVEN NATIONAL AWARDS BETWEEN THEM?] BECAUSE OF THIS, I AM GIVING AWAY THE EARTH’S END TRILOGY BOXED SET EBOOK in return for an honest review.

If you’d like to get the three book set for $FREE$, contact me at vilasapress@gmail.com. I’ll get them to you pronto! OFFER GOOD THROUGH OCT. 31–THAT’S MY TREAT!

All the best from Sandy Nathan, who, in addition to being a new mule owner, is also a bestselling and award-winning author. Check out my Amazon Author Page.

Lily Nathan at the C Gallery, October 3rd, 6 PM. Music and Art You Won’t Forget!

Lily Nathan and Nate Maurer Will Play Songs from “Away” and more  … 

A EVENING TO REMEMBER: LILY NATHAN AND NATE MAURER PLAY SONGS FROM LILY’S NEW CD AWAY … AND MORE. EXPECT SURPRISES.

Lily plays guitar and sings her original songs. Nate’s on keyboards. And–the art of Zoe Nathan, Lily’s sister, will bedazzle you from the walls.

WHERE: C GALLERY, 466 BELL ST., LOS ALAMOS, CA  THE C GALLERY

WHEN: OCTOBER 3 @ 5 – 7PM. CONCERT BEGINS AT 6PM

TICKETS ARE $19 PER PERSON OR $35 FOR A COUPLE. YOU’LL GET A CD, THE CONCERT, AND THE GREAT VIBES OF C GALLERY. Plus a bean bag toss.

ORDER TICKETS THROUGH CONNIE ROHDE, OWNER OF C GALLERY, connie@thecgallery.com  or by calling: 805-344-3807

WANT A SAMPLE? Here’s Lily playing and singing “Highway Blue” at the Piano Lounge in Santa Barbara CA

Lily Nathan on guitar and vocals; Nate Maurer on keyboards. Enchanting!

A Harlequin Portrait by Zoe Nathan. Zoe Nathan will display a number of portraits from her harlequin series. Romantic realism.

Nostalgia–Gallery owner Connie Rohde was Lily Nathan's high school teacher! They're shown here, walking by C Gallery.

 This post proudly presented by Sandy Nathan, mother of Zoe and Lily. 

(Sandy Nathan, in addition to being the mother of brilliant children and a new mule owner, is also a bestselling and award-winning author. Check out my Amazon Author Page.) 

 

Lil’ Annie Comes Home – One Mule’s Journey from Tennessee to California

Me riding one of our Peruvian Pasos, Azteca de Oro BSN, in the olden days. This is in Monterey, CA, at the 1879 show.

I sold my horse and gave up riding forever perhaps nine months ago. This was after being advised by every medical type in my life and the Rector of my church that I would go Splat! if I came off a horse at my age and state of decrepitude. There is truth to this. I would be a dope if I didn’t acknowledge it.

The only thing is–riding is addictive. Not just the wind-in-your-hair thrilling part of riding, all of it, including picking out your horse’s hooves. It’s a physical thing: body memories, muscle memories. The part of being human that allows dancers to perform entire ballets without having to look at their notes. I’ve ridden for so long that the sensation of being on a horse can come to me anywhere. Swinging down the aisle of the local mall, for instance.

Not riding was painful.

After suffering for months, I decided that somewhere on the planet, a horse with a sufficiently low energy level must exist. It had to be a gaited horse–and this is a very important bit. Most people ride WTC horses: they walk, trot, and canter. The trot is the problematical gait: it’s the backbreaking bounce-bounce-bounce you find on most horses. People who ride rental horses once discover this gait and never ride again; it’s that jarring.

But, alternatives exist. I discovered Peruvian Pasos in the late 1980s, courtesy of my bad back. Peruvians are reputedly the smoothest riding horses in the world, a claim I believe. The only thing is, they’re a Spanish breed and many are very hot–Ole! That means if you move your pinkie, you may be in the next county before you can say, “Why am I on the ground?”

If I couldn’t find a Peruvian as sedate as what I wanted, I wanted another breed just as smooth. I had very limited goals in my post-optimal, maybe end-of-the-trail equine experience.  All I wanted to do was meander slowly around our arena and mosey down our mostly flat trails.

I also desperately needed a way of getting away from my computer. I’m an author and I spend most of my life in front of my screen playing with words and turning my spine into something resembling a pretzel. I needed a new interest! A passion! Outdoor exercise!

Last June, after another disappointing attempt to find the horse of my dreams, I was in Santa Fe NM having dinner with friends. It was really fun. They ride mules. Sue and Dick love their mules and ride them all over. “They are really friendly. They’re more like dogs.” Our friends said mules don’t go lame or break as often as horses.

A few years back, Dick started a “Meet a Mule Day” at the County Fair where mules and their people get together and ride across mattresses and through kids’ wading pools and do amazing things that would cause horses to have nervous breakdowns on the spot.  Dick described all the things his mule could do: find lost people, keep their property free of varmints, and do their income taxes. These are useful skills.

Most of my good ideas come when I’m asleep. After this dinner, I woke up with an Ahah! Why not get a mule? Mules like to go slow. They’re careful, smart, sure-footed, live a really long time (up to fifty years), and they’re sturdy. Why not get a mule? A gaited mule! I know they come gaited from seeing the Peruvian National Champion Mule at a horse show in Monterey, CA.

Great idea! All I had to do was find one. I said, “I think I’ll get a mule,” on Facebook. Lickety split, I was hearing from people I hadn’t heard from in years. The mule ladies. It was really fun. Did you know there’s a worldwide network of women who actually run the planet? They all ride mules. I began hearing from them. It was really fun and got me off of FB for hours at a time. And then back on the Net, searching for gaited mules.

I found a lot of gaited mules, all a long way from Santa Barbara, CA, and mostly in the South. I’d find one that sounded good in Alabama, another in Oklahoma, Wyoming, Colorado, and then Tennessee. Clearly, my mileage points were going to be challenged by this search.

But then, a new friend told me about trainer Lou Moore-Jacobsen and One Moore Training in Templeton, CA. She trains mules! And she told me about the Reese Brothers Mules in Tennessee.  Their family has been producing and selling mules since the 1920s! That’s even older than me. Here’s their FB page. 

I contacted Richard Reese, who handles mule sales for his family’s business. Click here and you can contact him yourself. I told him what I just told you and asked if they had a mule that would fit my needs. He said he’d think about it. Somehow the fact that he would be in San Tan Valley, Arizona, at a mule auction and sale and could bring a prospect for me with him came up. All of a sudden, Yipes!, it was late July. The sale was in a few days.

Leavitt Ranch Mule Sale & Auction

My husband and I found ourselves at the Leavitt Ranch the last days of July 2015. Richard Reese had brought a gigantic semi-truck pulling an equally gigantic trailer full of mules.

It was so much fun! I want to thank Buck Leavitt and the Leavitt family for their gracious hospitality in letting all us mule-and-would-be-mule lovers tromp all over their place trying them out before the sale. And thanks to all the people that staffed the cash registers and so on. Quite a lot of work was involved in this production.

And thanks to all the people at the auction. It was such a fun event and I enjoyed meeting and being around so many new people. In my conversations with the “mule ladies” before going to the sale, one of the things I heard over and over again was, “Mule people are friendly. It’s not snobby like horse shows can be.” That was very true.

This was a totally new culture to me. I’m from Silicon Valley and lately (the last twenty-plus years) the Santa Barbara area. I’ve never been to a mule auction. Lotsa mules, folks. The auctioneer talks really fast. You don’t want to wave your bidding card around a lot, unless you intend to bid. The mules were really beautiful. Seductive, actually, moving into and out of the auction area. If you have an equine habit, this could be a danger area.

The Leavitts are going to have another sale in the spring, so if you’re at all inclined to mosey on down, it won’t be 110 degrees then. That was the only negative. The auction was hot, in all ways.

I do want to apologize to those people whose views I blocked at the auction, standing on the rail attempting to film the goings-on with my iPhone. (Which I just learned how to turn on.) I was trying to put together a video of the auction to post here. I didn’t realize I was in the way until someone told me, “You’re really blocking people’s views.” My husband said, “Yeah, you were really in the way.” Oops.

I need to warn you more emphatically about a downside to a mule auction. So many of the mules were so cool that we could have easily ended up with, oh, three or four. Really. An excited lady at the checkout rushed home to get her horse trailer, “I just bought two mules! I didn’t think I’d buy a mule …” Her parting words were lost as she ran to her truck.

Richard Reese showed extreme honesty in telling us, “They’re too green for you,” as we inquired about this mule or that. This was very good advice. My husband, who is normally the more conservative of the two of us, caught the fire. He wanted one. Or two. But we are old codgers knowing nothing of mules.

Oh! Did we get a mule? Yep. Lil’ Annie, who had been with the Reeses one and a half years, ridden by Richard himself. She is exquisitely beautiful and I rode her all over the Leavitt Ranch. Reese Mules are known for their good manners and quality. Did it ever show! I want to share a couple of pictures of Annie when we brought her home. This is her first airline trip. She was so good!

Annie and I on the moving walkway at the Phoenix Airport.

Doesn’t this beat fighting your way through the airport on your own hooves? Once we got into the terminal, Annie’s behavior was even more remarkable.

Annie's behavior at the check-in gate was better than most human passengers.

She did have a little trouble at the airport security checkpoint as we boarded. She had to explain that she couldn’t remove her shoes because they were nailed to her feet. Also, fitting into her economy class seat was difficult.

Annie’s home now, a lovely addition to our family. How’s she doing? Freaked out, man. She’s in major culture shock. But, I got her some sunglasses and an iPhone. She’s starting to adjust to California life. Went to Starbuck’s and Trader Joe’s for the first time. I told her we’d cruise State St. and hit the beach soon. Maybe do some surfing. I’ll report when we do.

I also called trainer Lou Moore-Jacobsen. When you need help, get it. We’ll get it sorted out.

All the best,

Sandy Nathan, who, in addition to being a new mule owner, is also a bestselling and award-winning author. Check out my Amazon Author Page. Also, if you feel the slightest inclination to sign up for this blog through Google + or email, there are places on the top right of this page where you can do it. I will not spam you, posting interesting-to-almost-everyone articles only occasionally. I mean, where can you get a blog post about a mule in an airport?? It’s really funny; I’ve got thousands of FB and Twitter and other “friends,” using the Amazon definition of the term, which means you hit Like and made a comment on someone’s FB page once. But I’ve got 53 followers on this blog. It’s been like that for years. Maybe the sign-up thing is busted. I dunno. Try it and post a comment if it doesn’t work. Or works. Ciao!

Lil’ Annie Comes Home – One Mule’s Journey from Tennessee to California

BACK IN THE OLDEN DAYS: I'm showing Azteca de Oro BSN at Monterey. This was the big show in 1873. (Azteca is a horse, by the way, not a mule.)

Some of you are aware that I sold my horse and gave up riding forever perhaps nine months ago. This was after being advised by pretty near every medical type in my life and the Rector of my church that I would go Splat! if I came off a horse at my age and state of decrepitude. There is truth to this. I would be a dope if I didn’t acknowledge it.

The only thing is–riding is addictive. Not just the wind-in-your-hair thrilling part of it, all of it, including picking out horse’s hooves. Contact with the equine species is addictive, but riding is super addictive. It’s a physical thing: body memories, muscle memories. What allows dancers to remember and perform entire ballets without having to look at their notes. I’ve ridden for so long that the sensation of being on a horse can come to me anywhere. Swinging down the aisle of my local mall, for instance. The grocery store. Not riding was painful.

After suffering for months, I decided that somewhere on the planet a gaited horse existed for me–and this is a very important bit. I’m wanted an easy-gaited horse. No trot: the back breaking bounce-bounce-bounce you get on most horses. We’ve had Peruvian Pasos since the late 1980s. They are reputedly the smoothest riding horses in the world, a claim I believe. The only thing is, they’re a Spanish breed and very hot–Ole! That means if you move your pinkie, you may be in the next county before you can say, “How did I end up on the ground?”

If I couldn’t find a Peruvian as sedate as what I wanted, I wanted another breed just as smooth. I had very limited goals in my post-optimal, maybe end-of-the-trail equine experience.  All I wanted to do was meander slowly around our arena and mosey down our mostly flat trails. I also desperately needed a way of getting away from my computer. I’m an author and I spend most of my life in front of my screen, turning my spine into something like a pretzel. Outdoor exercise would fill the bill!

Last June, after another disappointing attempt to find the horse of my dreams, I was in Santa Fe NM having dinner with friends. It was really fun. They ride mules. Sue and Dick love their mules and ride them all over. The mules are nice and like their owners. “They really are friendly. They’re more like dogs.” Said mules don’t go lame or break. Dick runs a “Meet a Mule Day” at the County Fair where mules and their people get together and walk across mattresses and through kids’ wading pools and do amazing things, to the delight of all. Dick described all the things his mule could do: find lost people, keep their property free of varmints, and do their income taxes. These are useful skills.

Most of my good ideas come when I’m asleep. I woke up with an Ahah! Why not get a mule? Mules like to go slow. They’re careful, smart, sure-footed, live a really long time (up to fifty years), and they’re sturdy. Why not get a mule? A gaited mule! I know they come gaited from seeing the Peruvian National Champion Mule at a horse show in Monterey.

Great idea! All I had to do was find one. I said, “I think I’ll get a mule,” on Facebook. Lickety split, I was hearing from people I hadn’t heard from in years. It was really fun. Did you know there’s a worldwide network of women who actually run the world? They all have mules. I began hearing from them. It was really fun and got me off of FB for hours at a time. And then back on the Net, searching for gaited mules.

I found a lot of gaited mules, all a long way from Santa Barbara, CA, and mostly in the South. I’d find one that sounded good in Alabama, another in Oklahoma, Wyoming, Colorado, Tennessee. Clearly, my mileage points were going to be challenged by this search. But then, a new friend told me about trainer Lou Moore-Jacobsen and One Moore Training in Templeton, CA. She trains mules! And she told me about the Reese Brothers Mules in Tennessee.  Their family has been producing and selling mules since the 1920s! That’s even older than me. Here’s their FB page. 

I contacted Richard Reese, who handles mule sales. Click here and you can contact him yourself. I told him what’s above and asked if they had a mule that would fit my needs. He said he’d think about it. Somehow the fact that he would be in San Tan Valley, Arizona, at a sale and could bring a prospect for me with him came up. All of a sudden, yipes!, it was late July. The sale was in a few days.

LEAVITT RANCH SALE

My husband and I found ourself at the Reese Ranch the last few days of July and through the sale. Richard Reese brought a semi-truck pulling a gigantic trailer full of mules.

It was so much fun! I want to thank Buck Leavitt and the Leavitt family for their gracious hospitality in letting all us mule-and-would-be-mule lovers tromp all over their place trying them out. And thanks to all the people that staffed the cash registers and so on. And also all the other people at the auction. It was such a fun event and I enjoyed meeting and being around so many people. They’re going to do it again in the spring, so if you’re at all inclined to mosey on down, it won’t be 110 degrees then, either. That was the only negative.

I do want to apologize to those people whose views I blocked at the auction, standing on the rail and trying to put together a video to put up here. I didn’t realize I was in the way until someone told me. My husband said, “Yeah, you were really in the way.” Oops. I get a little excited.

There is a downside to a mule auction. So many of the mules were so cool that we could have easily ended up with, oh, three or four. Really. A lady at the check out rushed off to get her trailer, “I just bought two mules!” Richard Reese showed extreme honesty in telling us, “They’re too green for you.” This was very good advice. My husband wanted one. Or two. It is true that we are codgers knowing nothing of mules.

Oh! Did we get a mule? Yep. Lil’ Annie, who had been with the Reeses one and a half years, ridden by Richard himself. She is exquisitely beautiful and I rode her all over the Leavitt Ranch. Reese Mules are known for their good manners and quality. Did it ever show. I want to share a couple of pictures of Annie when we brought her home. This is her first airline trip. She was so good!

Annie and I on the moving walkway at the Phoenix Airport. Talk about the glide ride!

Doesn’t this beat fighting your way through the airport on your own hooves? Once we got to the terminal, Annie’s behavior was even more exemplary. 

Annie's behavior while waiting to board was better than most of the humans in line. Note her seat number, cleverly placed on her rump by the nice airlines people. She did have trouble fitting in her economy class seat.

Annie’s home now, a lovely addition to our family. How’s she doing? Freaked out, man. She’s in major culture shock. But, I got her some sunglasses and an iPhone. She’s starting to adjust to California life. I told her we’d cruise State St. and hit the beach soon. Maybe do some surfing. I’ll report when we do.

I also called trainer Lou Moore-Jacobsen. When you need help, get it. We’ll get it sorted out.

All the best,

Sandy Nathan, who, in addition to being a new mule owner, is also a bestselling and award-winning author. Check out my Amazon Author Page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cassandra BSN – A Fine Peruvian Paso Mare for Sale – $3,500 – ALL NEW PHOTOS!

Cassandra BSN - July 5, 2015

I recently posted an article/ad about our mare, Cassandra BSN. Reach it through this link. This is the same ad, except that the photos and video on the linked ad are about four years old. Last weekend (Fourth of July weekend, 2015) we shot ALL NEW PHOTOS! I think Cassandra looks better now than she did four years ago, and she looked good then. So, for your enjoyment and perhaps consideration as an addition to your family, here is Cassandra in her present glory:

CASSANDRA BSN is a bright chestnut, Peruvian Paso mare, approximately 15 hands high. She is a fully trained, sound, and very well bred mare. Cassandra will be thirteen years old on August 3, 2015.

We are selling her at the broodmare price of $3,500 because she requires an excellent to expert rider. Cassandra is perfectly rideable: as noted, she’s very well trained, healthy, and sound, with lots of trail miles. She is registered and her parentage has been certified by UC Davis DNA typing. She was born on our ranch; we have owned her all her life. The mare is a very friendly, people-orientated horse, a delight to handle and be around. She’s never been sick or hurt. For us, she comes to the pasture gate to be caught.

Cassandra is well-trained and very responsive, at the hot end of a hot breed. We ride her all over our trails, up and down steep hills, with no problem. However, if she gets upset, she’s a real handful. What upsets her? Miniature donkeys and miniature horses. Goats. Alpacas. Strange unfamiliar things. Mules and llamas would probably fit that description. My husband rode her past a local roping arena when the guys were in full swing, team-roping. This was a real challenge for the mare to deal with. Barry got her past the arena and finished his ride, but he’s an accomplished rider and he knows her very well.

CAN YOU RIDE HER? OH, YEAH. HERE’S BARRY RIDING HER IN OUR ARENA AND AROUND THE RANCH. THIS IS THE FOUR YEAR OLD VIDEO: WE SHOT A NEW ONE, BUT IT’S STILL IN PRODUCTION. MAN AND HORSE LOOK JUST THE SAME. BARRY DOES THE SAME THINGS WITH HER IN THE NEW VIDEO AS THIS ONE. WE’LL POST IT ASAP.  That is one built mare, I must say. (Click the YouTube symbol at the bottom and use theater mode for a larger view. You’ll have to click back to this tab after viewing, however.)

HERE’S A GALLERY OF NEW CASSANDRA PHOTOS TAKEN JULY 5, 2015:

I’ll attach more to the end of this post. 

Cassandra BSN - Left Side

Cassandra BSN - Front View. She has an amazing front.

Cassandra BSN - Rear View. Amazing hindquarters, too.

Cassandra BSN - July 5, 2015

LET’S TALK ABOUT THIS MARE AS A BROODMARE. We’re selling Cassandra at a broodmare price, though you can ride her, as the photos show. She’s big and impressive and elegant. She’d make beautiful babies. More than that, Cassandra carries some of the oldest and finest blood in the Peruvian Paso breed.

Often when I read a horse has “Sol de Oro V” blood, I look at its pedigree and find Sol de Oro V is the four-time-removed great-grandfather. And I’ve never heard of the horses up front in the pedigree, where they have the most influence.

THIS LINK TAKES YOU TO CASSANDRA’S PEDIGREE IN ITS FULL SIZE, WITH HOT LINKS TO HORSE IMAGES.   

Cassandra’s Pedigree – Smaller version. For a full sized version with hot links to the horses on the pedigree, click the link above. Horses on allbreedpedigree.com that have a red * after their names have photos. If you want to see a horse’s picture, click on its name on the pedigree chart; the screen will go to the selected horse’s pedigree. Hover your cursor over the little box after the horse’s name at the TOP of the chart. The image will appear. Neat. 

TOP SIDE OF CASSANDRA’S PEDIGREE: When discussing pedigrees, horse people generally start with the top half of the chart, the sire’s portion. Cassandra’s father, RDS Domingo del Sur E.T., is a direct son (via embryo transfer) of the legendary HNS Domingo. HNS Domingo shaped the Peruvian breed. I can’t begin to list his show wins. Those of his offspring and their offspring are countless. I can remember seeing HNS Domingo ridden in his mid-twenties, strong and sound.

Barry, my husband, rode Cassandra’s father, RDS Domingo del Sur, which is how we decided to breed to him. I have never seen Barry get off a horse so excited and happy. He loved that young stallion. Notice that Domingo del Sur’s mother’s breeding goes back to AEV Regional and Sol de Oro V.

BOTTOM SIDE OF CASSANDRA’S PEDIGREE: This is the mother’s half of the pedigree. Here we’re talking royalty from the get-go. Cassandra’s mother, La Soberbia, was a grand-daughter of Sol de Oro V. That’s not: great-great-great-great granddaughter; she was his granddaughter. AEV As de Oro, La Soberbia’s father and a direct son of Sol de Oro V, had the best legs of any Peruvian I’ve seen. He was at our ranch for a while and I admired him greatly. La Soberbia’s mother, Soberana, was a full sister to *Mantequilla. The famous *Mantequilla, the son of Piloto and La Limena. Genetically, Soberana was as close to *Mantequilla as you can get.

La Soberbia was a genetic treasure. You don’t get old style breeding like La Soberbia’s. We owned her most of her life. She produced five offspring for us. All of them were healthy and sound into old age with fantastic legs. And very HOT. Tons of brio in that blood.

Cassandra's mother La Soberbia. (This is an old photo: she's not really green!)

Click here and scroll down to see another view of La Soberbia during her show career. She’s the fourth image down, the palomino mare ridden by a young girl. The page gives information about her and one of her offspring, Capoeira BSN, who was sold to Australia where he’s influenced the Peruvian breed there. Actually, Jorge de Moya, the expert on gaited horses who bought Capoeira BSN and exported him to Australia, really wanted to buy La Soberbia. We wouldn’t sell her.

MORE FACTS ABOUT CASSANDRA BSN: Barry and I ran out of steam for showing about the time Cassandra was born, so she doesn’t have a show record. We haven’t bred her, either. We’re winding down and retiring; that’s why we’re selling her. She’s one of our last three horses. What does the BSN behind her name mean? Those are our official ranch initials, standing for Barry and Sandy Nathan. We bred her. She was born her on the ranch. We’ve had her and cared for her with love all her life. That matters. Horses that have been abused or neglected suffer from it, often all their remaining lives. Cassandra is up to date on all her immunizations.

CASSANDRA AND JOSH: I’ve talked about how hot and hard to ride Cassandra is. I about fell over when Barry put our friend Josh on her. Josh had never ridden. The young man got on her in the round pen and did fine. Soon he was in the arena with her, then out on the trail. Then out on the trail bareback with a halter.

Magic? Maybe, but Josh is a true prodigy. Also a multi-degree black belt in Karate, an advanced surfer, and a musician. He’s got amazing balance and coordination, athletic ability, and sensitivity. He just “got” the mare instantly. Maybe you will, too.

A literally 2 second video of Josh riding her bareback with a halter is above; that’s all we got of the duo. The video is current; it was taken in the last couple of months. We can’t take more videos of the pair, as Josh is sidelined now, after being injured at a truly dangerous sport: surfing.

Here are some more recent photos of Cassandra:

Cassandra BSN Gaiting on the Lawn

 

 

Cassandra BSN - Gaiting to the Left on the Lawn

 

 

Cassandra BSN hanging out with Loki, our Chessador dog

 

 

 

 

 

Cassandra BSN gaiting from the rear. That's a Peruvian horse? Looks like a Quarter Horse's hind quarters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let us know if this horse calls you to be her owner. They do that, you know. 

Sandy and Barry Nathan

Rancho Vilasa, home of the Nathan family & fine Peruvian Paso horses

Santa Ynez, CA

Easily accessible in Central California, 40 minutes from downtown Santa Barbara

In the heart of the Santa Barbara wine country.

Come wine tasting and stop by and see Cassandra while you’re in the Valley. 

contact Barry at barrynathan@gmail.com

Rancho Vilasa reserves the right to remove horses from the market and to refuse to sell to particular buyers.

    

                                                                                                                                       Cassandra and Barry Nathan take a spin at Rancho Vilasa

Cassandra BSN – A Beautiful Peruvian Paso Mare For Sale – $3,500

Cassandra BSN being ridden by Barry Nathan

CASSANDRA BSN is a bright chestnut, Peruvian Paso mare, approximately 15 hands high. She is a fully trained, sound, and very well bred mare. Cassandra will be thirteen years old on August 3, 2015.

We are selling her at the broodmare price of $3,500 because she requires an excellent to expert rider. You can ride her; she is fully trained and sound. She is registered and her parentage has been certified by UC Davis DNA typing. She was born on our ranch; we have owned her all her life. She is a very friendly, people-orientated horse, a delight to handle and be around. She’s never been sick or hurt. She comes to the pasture gate to be caught for us.

Cassandra is well-trained and very responsive, at the hot end of a hot breed. We ride her all over our trails, up and down steep hills, with no problem. However, if she gets upset, she’s a real handful. What upsets her? Miniature donkeys and miniature horses. Alpacas. Strange unfamiliar things. Mules and llamas would probably fit that description. My husband rode her past a local roping arena when the guys were in full swing, team-roping. This was a real challenge for the mare to deal with. Barry got her past the arena and finished his ride, but he’s an accomplished rider and he knows her very well.

CAN YOU RIDE HER? OH, YEAH. HERE’S BARRY RIDING HER IN OUR ARENA AND AROUND THE RANCH. THE VIDEO IS A FEW YEARS OLD, BUT MAN AND HORSE LOOK JUST THE SAME. That is one built mare, I must say. (Click the YouTube symbol at the bottom and use theater mode for a larger view. You’ll have to click back to this tab after viewing, however.)

 LET’S TALK ABOUT THIS MARE AS A BROODMARE. We’re selling Cassandra at a broodmare price, though you can ride her, as the videos show. She’s big and impressive and elegant. She’d make beautiful babies. More than that, Cassandra carries some of the oldest and finest blood in the Peruvian Paso breed.

Often when I read a horse has “Sol de Oro V” blood, I look at its pedigree and find Sol de Oro V is the four-time-removed great-grandfather. And I’ve never heard of the horses up front in the pedigree, where they have the most influence.

THIS LINK TAKES YOU TO CASSANDRA’S PEDIGREE.   

Cassandra’s Pedigree – Smaller version. For a full sized version with hot links to the horses on the pedigree, click the link above. Horses on allbreedpedigree.com that have a red * after their names have photos. If you want to see a horse’s picture, click on its name on the pedigree chart; the screen will go to the selected horse’s pedigree. Hover your cursor over the little box after the horse’s name at the TOP of the chart. The image will appear. Neat. 

 

TOP SIDE OF CASSANDRA’S PEDIGREE: When discussing pedigrees, horse people generally start with the top half of the chart, the sire’s portion. Cassandra’s father, RDS Domingo del Sur E.T., is a direct son (via embryo transfer) of the legendary HNS Domingo. HNS Domingo shaped the Peruvian breed. I can’t begin to list his show wins. Those of his offspring and their offspring are countless. I can remember seeing HNS Domingo ridden in his mid-twenties, strong and sound.

Barry, my husband, rode Cassandra’s father, RDS Domingo del Sur, which is how we decided to breed to him. I have never seen Barry get off a horse so excited and happy. He loved that young stallion. Notice that Domingo del Sur’s mother’s breeding goes back to AEV Regional and Sol de Oro V.

BOTTOM SIDE OF CASSANDRA’S PEDIGREE: This is the mother’s half of the pedigree. Here we’re talking royalty from the get-go. Cassandra’s mother, La Soberbia, was a grand-daughter of Sol de Oro V. That’s not: great-great-great-great granddaughter; she was his granddaughter. AEV As de Oro, La Soberbia’s father and a direct son of Sol de Oro V, had the best legs of any Peruvian I’ve seen. He was at our ranch for a while and I admired him greatly. La Soberbia’s mother, Soberana, was a full sister to *Mantequilla. The famous *Mantequilla, the son of Piloto and La Limena. Genetically, Soberana was as close to *Mantequilla as you can get.

La Soberbia was a genetic treasure. You don’t get old style breeding like La Soberbia’s. We owned her most of her life. She produced five offspring for us. All of them were healthy and sound into old age with fantastic legs. And very HOT. Tons of brio in that blood.

Cassandra's mother La Soberbia. (This is an old photo: she's not really green!)

Click here and scroll down to see another view of La Soberbia during her show career. She’s the fourth image down, the palomino mare ridden by a young girl. The page gives information about her and one of her offspring, Capoeira BSN, who was sold to Australia where he’s influenced the Peruvian breed there. Actually, Jorge de Moya, the expert on gaited horses who bought Capoeira BSN and exported him to Australia, really wanted to buy La Soberbia. We wouldn’t sell her.

MORE FACTS ABOUT CASSANDRA BSN: Barry and I ran out of steam for showing about the time Cassandra was born, so she doesn’t have a show record. We haven’t bred her, either. We’re winding down and retiring; that’s why we’re selling her. She’s one of our last three horses.

CASSANDRA AND JOSH: I’ve talked about how hot and hard to ride Cassandra is. I about fell over when Barry put our friend Josh on her. Josh had never ridden. The young man got on her in the round pen and did fine. Soon he was in the arena with her, then out on the trail. Then out on the trail bareback with a halter.

Magic? Maybe, but Josh is a true prodigy. Also a multi-degree black belt in Karate, an advanced surfer, and a musician. He’s got amazing balance and coordination, athletic ability, and sensitivity. He just “got” the mare instantly. Maybe you will, too.

A literally 2 second video of Josh riding her bareback with a halter is above; that’s all we got of the duo. The video is current; it was taken in the last couple of months. We can’t take more videos of the pair, as Josh is sidelined now, after being injured at a truly dangerous sport: surfing.

Let us know if this is a horse you’d like to have. She’s a sweetie and so beautiful.

Sandy and Barry Nathan

Rancho Vilasa, home of the Nathan family & fine Peruvian Paso horses

Santa Ynez, CA

Easily accessible in Central California, 40 minutes from downtown Santa Barbara

In the heart of the Santa Barbara wine country.

Come wine tasting and stop by and see Cassandra while you’re in the Valley. 

contact Barry at barrynathan@gmail.com

    

                                                                            Cassandra and Barry Nathan take a spin at Rancho Vilasa

 

Do the big book conventions help self-published authors or small presses?

Mogollon: A Tale of Mysticism & Mayhem (Bloodsong 2) It's been a long time and many words since I went to Book Expo America in 2009

A member of the Visionary Fiction Alliance, a group authors, readers, and aficionados of visionary fiction, asked if the big book conventions or fantasy conventions help indie authors and small presses. I shared the following story on the Visionary Fiction Facebook page.

Or shared most of it. My post must have been too long for FB; the ending got cut off. I’m posting what I said on FB here, so readers can get the whole thing.

This is the complete story of my one time attendance at the BEA–Book Expo America back in 2009. Does it answer the question? As a statistician, I only can say that  a sample of one case does not a valid conclusion make.

In 2009, I attended the Expo, a very green author with two books in print. In 2015, I’ve got ten books out and two more in production, with stack of manuscripts on my hard drive. My books have also won thirty national awards and I’ve been a bestselling author, often for days at a time. (Sales are the trickiest part.) Now, things might be different.

Would I go to BEA or any big fantasy or other convention? Probably not, as will be explained below, but if I did, it would be after great deliberation and analysis. I’d want it to be in LA or some California city: the event has been held in NYC in recent years and will be this year. These conventions are huge. To get an idea of the scale of the exhibit, look at this floorplan of the BEA main hall in 2015.  Purple squares are rented space; turquoise is available. Hover the cursor over the space to see who rented it. Notice the huge Chinese presence: this event’s attendance is worldwide.

One new development might change my conclusions. In 2015, Book Expo America will be combined with the debut of BookCon, a new consumer event featuring the big name authors in popular writing. The new event will be a combined trade show, BEA, followed by the consumer event.  BEA-BookCon 2015 runs from May 27 to 31 for the combined events.  The addition of BookCon to BEA may tip the scales for a smaller author or publishing house. Wholesale orders could be placed at BEA, but books were not sold to  customers. Joining a retail event like ComiCon, which drew 130,000 attendees in 2013, to BEA with retail sales possible could totally upend everything I say.

Or not. Depends upon what they require of people showing at the event. Will indie authors and micro presses be allowed? Participants will have to have stock on hand to sell. Hundreds of print books? Thousands? A way to download eBooks on the spot? With BookCon, the big, big time will become even bigger.

Should I wait until BEA comes back to LA? It used to travel around the country, heading West from time to time. BEA–BookCon 2016 will be in Chicago, I understand. After that?

BookExpo America event director Steven Rosato notes in his blog, “BEA Orlando, BEA Dallas, BEA Atlanta—well, I will start looking at prison camps first.” 

He’d rather look at prison camps than Dallas? I’m glad I got to got to BEA in 2009. It’s a world-class event, and getting worldlier.

Here’s my tale of entering the big time:

* * *

Numenon: A Tale of Mysticism & Money (Bloodsong 1) my second book and ticket to the BEA.

I went to the BEA–Book Expo America–when my book Numenon came out in 2009. BEA is the largest book fair/convention in the country, then and now. The year we went, it was in LA at Staples Center. Check out the images on their website, keeping in mind that Barry and I are country mice. We went into instant culture shock in the multi-story parking lot.

Seeing that LA is only 2.5 hours from our ranch, as opposed to being on the other side of the continent. We went.

Getting in cost $150. I can’t remember that was just for me or $150 each for my husband and I. We were hosted at a booth taken by the IBPA, Independent Book Publishers Association. They’re the biggest and oldest organization representing indie authors and presses. The organization was known as the PMA back then. The IBPA hosts the Benjamin Franklin Awards, which may be the most prestigious contest for indie books. They READ every word of a book they’re judging. It’s very tough. The IBPA does great things for Indies and is worth joining.

Anyway, the IBPA maintained a booth at the BEA and allowed us micropress members exhibition space. I don’t remember if there was a charge for that or not. Probably.

Book Expo America DID have little cost in addition to the $150 entry fee: any author exhibiting there had to do a book signing and GIVE AWAY fifty copies of his/her book(s). We originally published Numenon as a hardback, to that cost was not inconsiderable.

My signing was scheduled at the IBPA booth. I don’t know why I was there as opposed to the “signing room” with all the major authors. Probably because we decided to go at the last minute and the main room was full. The “signing room” was a very large, corridor-like room with long tables running down both sides. Each author had about two feet of the table’s pristine, white-clothed real estate within which to sign books.

Carrie Fisher was there with a new book. A line of people wanting an autographed copy stacked up in front of her, moving from her perch, out the door, disappearing into the massive main hall beyond.

Here’s a funny story: we used a book consultant in producing my first two books. She’s the one who told us about the BEA and got us to go. One of her other clients, an adorable and ancient MD, had written his memoir. He had a colorful life as a Hollywood doc and I believe was a Holocaust survivor on top of that. He was signing his book at the same time as Carrie Fisher. She was swamped. He sat in front of a pile of his books, all alone.

Carrie looked over at him and shrieked, “Dr. Whatever! OMG! It’s Dr. Whatever! I love him! He’s my favorite person in the world.” He was her doctor. She jumped up and ran to the beaming physician. They embraced.

She went back to signing her book, but sent her line of I-want-your-autograph people to him after she signed her book. He was flooded with loving new fans and had a wonderful BEA experience.

I was sure that my signing would be a bust, even though BEA hires people with big signs to roam the aisles and point the crowds to authors having signings. I didn’t think they would help me. I was a two-book nobody and–Staples Center is HUGE, HUGE, HUGE! They had the main floor, a bridge over to another floor where the cafeteria was, more floors. Nooks and crannies full of authors and books.

I was in culture shock just parking the car. Where we live, cattle in the streets are the biggest traffic problem.

The big publishers, Random House and all the rest, monopolized the main floor with magnificent, specially-designed structures displaying their books. BEA is for booksellers–book stores, etc.–so the reps of the big 6 (or 5 or 3, now) publishers were all over taking orders from stores. Their presence was very professional and took up lots of very expensive floor space.

Smaller publishers, not the majors but substantial publishing houses, and I mean every friggin’ one of them, had smaller displays and booths arranged in rows radiating from the central core/temple area. The IBPA’s booth wasn’t too far back, but it was small and down an aisle. I would be forgotten.

On the other hand, the atmosphere was electric!  I leapt into the crowds and didn’t look back. The bigger booths offered wine, appetizers, seating areas, famous authors on call, and FREE BOOKS. Everyone had to give away fifty, remember. MANY famous authors were there. OK, maybe not so famous, but I remember Carrie Fisher and I got meet Mark Victor Hanson and his entourage.

Crowds filled the space like circling flocks of birds or schools of fish, ignited by a celebrity sighting. Before my signing, I joined a stampede, unable to resist the gang mentality or my own excitement! Captain Kirk was there! With a new book! I didn’t even know William Shatner could write, but I always liked the fact that he rode horses.

I cruised the aisles myself, ending up with several shopping bags of books that looked interesting. All free–giveaways of new books and galleys is good business. All the publishers offered their bounty freely. The only catch was, due to union rules that no one but union members could use wheeled carts to move books or anything else, I had to heft my gleanings in bags that ended up weighing about fifty pounds each. But it was fun!

The seek-and-find mission distracted my attention from my feeling of impending disaster at my booksigning. I expected my signing to be about the same as that older doctor’s without Carrie Fisher’s intervention. I was way back in the aisles, in a small booth with an unknown book about the richest man in the world and a Native American holy man. I would be unable to even GIVE fifty books away. I’d have to take them home. (That mind-set is a residue of my social standing in third grade.)

IT WAS A DELUGE!  Smiling people swamped the little booth, demanding that I sign my precious Numenon before giving it to them. Never in my life have I felt so popular! Being an author was wonderful! WONDERFUL! We were so smart to come to BEA! This was wonderful. The sales this exposure would generate would finance our retirement.

Only one thing marred it: Wandering around the aisles, I met a veteran of the Marines who had written his life story. He was published by a military press. Most regrettably, he’d been hit in the head by a missile as he was driving his tank in Iraq. He lived but was almost blinded, lost most of his hearing, and suffered terrible injury, from which he was rehabilitated as much as possible, which was what his book was about.

Nick Popaditch was an heroic and impressive figure in his dress uniform. His beautiful wife, a Native American woman, accompanied him. We chatted for a while and I invited him down the aisle a bit later, offering him a copy of Numenon.

I’d forgotten all about the couple when they appeared at my signing. He held her arm and walked slowly, more magnificent standing than he’d been sitting in his booth. Also grievously injured.

I’d forgotten to put a book away for him. In the melee, all of them had been given out, every single one! I gave them a copy of Stepping Off the Edge, my previous book, but the couple was visibly disappointed. I mailed a copy to the address he gave me, for Wounded Warriors. Never heard anything. They left, disappearing from my life.

I will plug his book; I found it very moving and inspiring. Nick Popaditch, Once a Marine.

Well, the Popaditch‘s didn’t get my book, but the rest had been a triumph. I had a blast with the holiday/cocktail party/star-struck/as-many-free-books-as-you-could-carry-away atmosphere. My book signing had been a great success! The books would go out into the world, and come back as sales and fame for me and my writing. What could be more fun?

My husband is very quiet and reclusive. He hated every minute of BEA.

* * *

When we got home, I looked at Numenon’s sale page on Amazon. Multiple copies of Numenon “signed by the author” were up for sale by many sellers. Also on eBay. Those excited people who came to my book signing were penny-ante booksellers grabbing free stuff to sell. They didn’t care about my book; they were trying to earn back the $150 it cost them to get in. I felt really ripped off.

OK. Much processing later. So I gave away a bunch of books. A well-known consultant to the book business once told me that books fail because there aren’t enough of them out there. “The book has to be visible. Give them away to get them into people’s hands. Give away LOTS.”

When it all shook out, I don’t know that I got a single review from those books or got anything at all.

Would I do it again? I would if I was Carrie Fisher and already had a following. Or if I was really rich and just wanted to go to a party about books and snag a couple of bags full for free. (Aside from Nick Popaditch‘s book, I don’t think I read any of those I picked up.)

That’s my experience at BEA. I did have a great time. I might have had a better time had I gone to some of the award presentations, starting the year before and in future years, when my books began to win prizes. That’s what you’re supposed to do if you win an award: pump it for all it’s worth. Get your face in front of cameras. Announce it everywhere. Scream it for the yarboards, or halboards. Rooftops. That’s called marketing. I’ve never gone to any of the ceremonies, wasting opportunities.

The  IBPA puts on a great award ceremony for the Benjamin Franklin Award. Be sure and go, if you win. I was a finalist for that with my first book, Stepping Off the Edge in 2006 (or 7).  Looks like the ceremony is separate from BEA now, but it used to be held in a location near the BEA at the same time.  Also, the Independent Publisher has a great ceremony for winners in the IPPYs, its book award. Here’s a blog article by Lisa Shea, who won two awards in the IPPYs. She went to the ceremony and give a rundown of what it was like. I’ve won three IPPYs awards over the years, but didn’t go to their  award ceremonies. Looks like I missed something.

Why didn’t I go to the award ceremonies? I’m not a “goer”: I didn’t attend any of my graduations after high school. The only reunion I’ve gone to was for the employees of the Santa Clara County Planning Department, where I worked for a long time. Loved those folks.

Would I go again if a fairy godmother gifted me? Sure, especially if I had an award to pick up. Otherwise, I’d want to build up my brand and visibility with every tool I had before venturing forth. Which is what Indie authors should be doing anyway.

I hope this tale is illuminating. I don’t know if conferences devoted specifically to fantasy or genres would be any different. I’d say: build your brand, your sales, your visibility, then evaluate going.

 

Sandy Nathan

Sandy Nathan, who’s got a lot of cool books for you to check out. Click the link.

 

The article's over: the fat lady's singing.

How to Get Book Reviews – or, I’ll Tell You When I Figure It Out

I’ve found getting reviews for my books difficult. I was bemoaning this when I realized something: I’ve got a desk piled with books I’ve promised to review and I haven’t. It’s not that I didn’t read the books. In most cases I did, and I really liked them. (I don’t finish books that I don’t like.)

Why don’t I review them? Because it’s a friggin’ lot of work. You have to read the book, synthesize its content, evaluate its worth, put words to all this, compose the sucker, and then stick it on a website such as Amazon, Goodreads, Author’s Den, all the sites for the iBooks, Nooks, Sony Readers, and all the rest (if you’re doing a top rate job as a reviewer.) All of those sites require separate log-ins, passwords, and secret rituals to get on.

Once you’re on one of the big sites,  you may be blown out of the water if you look at the book’s other reviews. Some people’s book reviews look like they took two weeks to compose. They’re masterpieces. You can’t post the one you took five minutes to write and look dumb, can you?

The truth is, going from reading a book and saying, “I really liked it!” to a written review is daunting. It sure has daunted me.

With this realization I’ve come to forgive my friends, relatives, and church prayer group members who have accepted review copies from me and not reviewed my books.

I remain nonplussed, but I see the barrier to reviewing. I’ve done the same.

I need to enlighten those who say, “I don’t believe the Amazon ratings. They’re all fixed. People get their friends and relatives to review their books.” Hah! Not my friends and relatives. The only relative/friend who’s read all my books is my husband. He hasn’t reviewed any of them. Getting reviews is hard work. Maybe a minor miracle.

How to get around this? I have a friend whose dad is a wonderful and hard-working man. He sat in front of Starbucks with his laptop every morning for months, looking up highly rated books in the same genre as his daughter’s book. He went through the reviews of those books, finding good ones whose reviewers also left a website or email address and maybe said, “You can contact me if you want a review.”

My friend’s dad contacted all those people, sent them a letter about the book that his daughter had written, tabulated responses, and sent books to the reviewers who responded positively.

Voila! In no time at all, my friend had more than 100 reviews on Amazon. (Her father is still alive, too.) Amazon itself noticed her sales activities and picked up her book, giving it vast publicity. She’s now under contract, on her third or so book, and doing great, with her books sold around the world, including in major retailers of all kinds.

How can we achieve these results? The obvious answer is to kidnap my friend’s dad and chain him in front of a Starbuck’s to do the same for us.

Of course, that’s a federal crime.

We can enlist our own relatives or do it ourselves, giving up any hope of actually  writing more books while we’re doing it. I’ve tried this and gotten nowhere. It’s time consuming and frustrating, but does offer a way of getting positive reviews by people who are interested in your book’s content, assuming you’ve written a good book. On the other hand, I hate it when I get emails like:

“I read your review of The Upside Down Kangaroo and thought you’d really like my new sci-fi/romance/adventure/erotica book, The Rightside Up Kangaroo. I can send you an eBook copy [or manuscript in Word or just my notes on 3 X 5 cards] if you’d review it. I’d be so grateful and include you in my fan club.”

That really doesn’t cut it with me. My review policy is here. The review policy page gives you a some places to look for reviews. Here are a few more:

MidwestBook Review  The Midwest Book Review is a very well thought of review site in business long before Amazon.com appeared. They currently do charge $50 for reviews of eBooks, manuscripts and proofs. The charge is to pay the reviewer for his/her time, since they don’t get a book to sell after the review. If you’ve got a finished book to submit, reviews are free. Because of the charge for reviewing unfinished and eBooks, Amazon won’t let them post on the customer review portion of their site. You can put the review on your books’ Editorial Reviews of the sale page.

Book Review.com Looks like they charge for this one, too. $185 for an Express Review. Not clear if they charge for “stand in line and wait” reviews. The charge probably means Amazon won’t let them post on the customer review portion of their site. As with Midwest Book Review, you can put the review on your books’ Editorial Reviews of the sale page.

World Literary Cafe This is a huge site offering many benefits to authors. Doesn’t look like they offer reviews, but you can find all sorts of support services.

Remember my friend’s dad and his quest outside Starbuck’s. It worked.

All the best,

Sandy Nathan

Sandy Nathan is a #1 Amazon Bestselling Author in Metaphysical Fantasy and the winner of thirty national awards.

Sandy’s  books can be found on her Amazon Author’s Page.

Here’s her Facebook Author Page. 

 

 

 

The International Partying Score: Greeks – Zero; Icelanders – Over the top!

 

Everyone knows Scandinavians are the best partiers ever!

I WRITE ABOUT STUFF THAT REALLY MATTERS TO ME ON YOUR SHELF LIFE. I write irregularly, as the spirit moves. It’s moving.  What got me going today?

This article: UCSB to Greeks: the Party’s Over.  An article from the Santa Barbara Independent talks about the fraternities and sororities at UCSB, members of which are acting up and getting the institutions kicked out in record numbers. I would have lifted images from the article, but they were all copyrighted and stuff. The first one was of a sheriff’s officer looking tough. Scared me.

But here’s a good one: “Greeks”–fraternities–are being banned from UCSB at an unprecedented rate. Since early December three fraternities have been banned and a sorority suspended. The linked article tells you all about it.

The stupid and inane behavior on the part of the Greeks that got them tossed has prompted me to share this never-before-revealed anecdote from my early years.

I never saw the reason or need for fraternities or sororities. Places for guys and gals who already felt superior to everyone to band together and throw parties that the Vikings would find offensive, and feel superior about it? Why? I thought they would have died out in the 1950s from sheer irrelevance.

I never saw the need for “acting out” either–getting so drunk or stoned I didn’t know where I was or who I was with, other than another “Greek.” Nor will I allow myself to be “hazed” by anyone or perpetrate the practice on my fellow humans. So why Greeks? Why do people join them?

There is one valid reason for fraternities and sororities. That is to introduce young people to parties so wild that they will not be horrified when they go to Scandinavia. I know this. When I was a high school senior (and what were fraternities doing allowing 17-year-olds at their parties???), I went to a frat party at Stanford. My girlfriends seemed to find them fun. I don’t know why. I’ve never seen such out of control drunken behavior in my life. It didn’t seem fun.

But, my family visited Iceland the following summer. Most of the young people left the cities and went to work on the farms during the summers. They had parties, BIG parties. I went to one in some big community building somewhere and discovered that when it comes to partying, Greeks are Pablum-eaters. I survived only because I’d been shock-proofed at that frat house.

Grow up Greeks! We Vikings have means to tame you.

So, good ol’ Stanford frat, whatever you were, thank you for opening my eyes to the potential for over-the-top depravity. They seemed to be having a better time in Iceland, too.

Despite my anti-Greek sentiments, I must confess that I am a member of a fraternity, or honorary society,  Omicron Delta Epsilon,  the International Honor Society for Economics. Or I used to be. I haven’t paid dues in about forty years.

Despite all those Greek letters, did we economists indulge in drunken riots? No. We were/are so serious that we are sometimes called in to diffuse international political battles. We do this by boring the combatants into comatose states. We’ll do it for your group, too. Just let me know and I’ll dispatch a cadre of econ nerds pronto.

So long for now,

Sandy Nathan, who’s got a lot of cool books for you to check out. Click the link.

The article's over: the fat lady's singing.