Mark Cameron's Blog, page 3

Vanna Depresses

A lot of people have warned me to watch out for Vanna D. Just like her namesake on that long-running television game show, she’s quitea make-up artist. Vanna Doffers cosmeticassistance to self-published authors, promising them great results. I wouldn’t be surprised if she struggles with her own self-esteem beneaththat well-made-up surface, because almost every writer orpublisher I talk to puts her down.

This whole Vanna D issue is complicated. On the one hand, you have this personwho is reall...

Paying to Give It Away

Promotion is such a strange game. From now through Sunday (August 14th), I am actually paying to give my book away.

I’ve done quite a bit to promote Goodnight Sunshine. Not a lotby modern marketing standards, but I’ve done what I can with the time and resources I have. Now I’m trying something strange: paying to advertise that I’m giving away my e-book on Amazon.And the bestpart … I had to convince a reputable advertiser to take my money to tell people about the giveaway!

This was my third at...

Thank you, Gord Downie

Thank you, Gord Downie. Thank you for the incredible catalogue of songs and poems that you will leave usto ponder for generations. For the candour with which you have spoken since you emerged onto the music scene over 30 years ago. For providing Canadians with a fun-house full of lyrical mirrors in which to see ourselves, fully and completely. For giving hundreds of thousands of us one last chance to see “The Hip”, as we so affectionately refer to your band of brothers. For giving my son — th...

Winning Without Winning

I lost today … and still won.

I learned this morning that I did not make the list of finalists for the inaugural Whistler Independent Book Awards. I had been thrilled to find my name on the list of 10 fiction nominees — the “longlist”— for whatsome are callingthe first major awards for self-published authors in Canada. Of course, when I learned of my nomination on July 4th,I briefly envisioned myself on the podium at the Whistler Writers Festival this fall, thanking the academy before deliver...

39 Days

39 days and 39 ways
To challenge my mind in a confined space
4 people in 19 feet of camper van bliss

39 days and 39 rays
Of sunshine beating down upon my face
It doesn’t get more real than this

We follow the yellow line
We follow our hearts
We follow the road to where she starts

We’re living the dream
Or so it seems
To he who can’t imagine life beyond 2 weeks on the beach in Cancun

39 days of water pumps and sewage dumps
Of cell phone woes
Of highs and lows
As a celebrated guest,atolerated pe...

An Abundance of Inspiration

I am nine days into an epic family book tour around BC, and with each passing day I feel more daunted by the idea of blogging about this trip. It’s not that I’m lacking inspiration; on the contrary, I am overflowing with it! So much so that it would take hours or days to organize my thoughts, memories and feelings into a cohesive post.

So here’s two paragraphs of rambling. That’s all I’ve got for you tonight …

Seeking galactic marketing advice

I released my first e-book yesterday.

As usual, the launch itself was anti-climactic. After months of research, weeks of design, days of testing and hours of i-dotting and t-crossing, I clicked on a few last buttons … and voila, my e-book was live on Amazon. I’d planned to tell the whole world about it — I even considered a broadcast to the entiregalaxy. But in the end, I opted toTweet about my latest accomplishment, pin a message to my Facebook page, and write this blog post. Sure, I’ll adve...

Propaganda and Unicorns

In many ways, social media is the great liberator of our times: an inter-connection between humans around the globe; a way to rage against the machine; the power tool of all power tools for shapinga new age of truedemocracy.

The problem is that much of what we read online is propaganda. Inaccurate memes that scatterlike dandelion seeds across the web, spreadinguntruths that either tug at our heartstrings or invoke anger within us. Images and quotesthat pass in front of our eyes, seeping into...

Book Review: The Book of Negroes

I have to stop reading masterpieces. No, that would be silly. I just need to remember that each author’s masterpiece is their own unique creation, and that I am not John Irvine or Anthony Doerr … or Lawrence Hill. All of these men wrote what I would consider “masterpieces”, yet my three recent reads from these authors — respectively: A Prayer for Owen Meany; All the Light We Cannot See; and The Book of Negroes — are as different as they are inspiring. Different, yet equally impressive, feats...

Welcome to Mark of Words

My blog is now my homepage.All of the information about my debut novel, Goodnight Sunshine, has been moved to the site of our new independent publishing company, Catch Our Drift Productions.

InJune & July 2016, follow me and my familyas weembark on aBC book tourentitled 30 Days of Sunshine! You can followour adventures by checking outmy social media links on the right side of this page.

Thanks for visiting!