Terri Morgan's Blog, page 3

Book Blog Tour

I'm on a book blog tour, and I want to thank all the wonderful bloggers who have agreed to host me. Here's the link to my first stop:
http://andreaheltsley.blogspot.com/2012/12/book-title-playing-genetic-lottery.html

A psychologist's review of Playing the Genetic Lottery

Normally, I don't post reviews of my own book on my blog. I'm making an exception in this case because I'm so proud of this review by Heather B. Cattell, Ph.D, who is a clinical psychologist and an author. One of my goals in writing Playing the Genetic Lottery was to validate the experiences of people who have a mentally ill family member or members. Heather's comments  let me know that  I was successful in achieving that goal.

"Schizophrenia is an illness which is due to a chemical imbalance of the nervous
system and is manifested by disordered thinking and dysfunctional behavior. It
is also a family illness as it has a devastating impact not only on the
identified patient but because it causes enormous suffering to that persons
parents, siblings and especially children.
"As a clinical psychologist I have witnessed the suffering of these children first hand.
"Terri Morgan's well told narrative describing the insecurity and confusion of growing up with schizophrenic parents and the hard struggle to develop a sense of personal self worth and adult identity is typical of the many stories that I have heard. It is told with so many vivid memories and recall of painful feelings that it is sure promote empathetic understanding in anyone who reads this book."
 
-Heather B. Cattell Ph.D Clinical Psychologist and author of The 16PF: Personality in
Depth

Novel Giveaway

I love reading and I love readers. So in honor of the holiday season, I decided to give some gifts to other book-a-holics. I'm giving away five signed paperback copies of my novel, Playing the Genetic Lottery on Dec. 20, 2012. You can enter to win at the best website for book lovers that I've found—Goodreads. Here's the deal. All you have to do is click on the link below, then click enter. It's easy, it's fast, and it's fun, so click away. Remember, you can't win if you don't enter.
http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/37759-playing-the-genetic-lottery
 
If you don't win, don't despair. I'm also giving a gift to people with e readers. I've temporarily reduced the price of e-copies of Playing the Genetic Lottery to $2.99.
To take advantage of this offer go to http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=playing+the+genetic+lottery:: or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0067NOY6U.

So enjoy, but don't delay. The price will revert back to $4.99 at any time.

How to Overcome Writer's Block; Get Inspired by Nature

Brought to you by the letter L

I recently took part in a blog challenge. The task was to describe your book using only one letter. I wanted the letters P for Playing or G for Genetic, but they were already taken. So I chose L for Lottery.

Life, love, legacy, loss, lament, learn. Loyal,
luckless, loony, loco, lunacy, limbo, lemonade. Lineage, lottery, limitations,
lasting letdown. Lean, loyal, lucid, lighten, lesson. Learn, look, listen.
Leave, lam, liberation, lifesaver. Levity, letup, laughter.


 

Book Talk Tips for Writers

I think one of the reasons I became a writer was because I'm much more comfortable writing about things than talking about them. I can hold my own in conversations with friends, colleagues, even small groups of unfamiliar people, but the thought of speaking before a group of strangers
had never appealed to me. Writing, for me, is an ideal way to communicate with multiple people because it allows me time to organize my thoughts, express them, and then polish my message before sharing it with others. It's a strategy that has served me well during my career as a freelance journalist, and I saw no reason to change it even after I published my first novel.

 Never say never. I quickly discovered that if I wanted to get the word out about my book, Playing the Genetic Lottery, I had to do a lot more than just tell my friends and brag about my accomplishment on Facebook. Still, when a friend of a friend suggested I talk about my novel at her local service club, I was apprehensive. Despite my concerns, I agreed to be the guest speaker at one of the club's weekly lunch meetings, especially after she told me I could bring books with me to sell.

I had two weeks to prepare for my public speaking debut, and enlisted the help of friends to craft a speech. Then I rehearsed my talk and practiced reading the prologue of my book aloud. Finally the big day arrived, and I nervously made my way to the podium and faced 45 members of the local Rotary Club. A funny thing happened mid-way through my talk. The butterflies faded, and I started to enjoy myself. By the time my talk was over, I couldn't wait to do another one.

I sent e-mails to a dozen or more local service clubs, offering my services as a speaker and followed up with phone calls. I found that many service clubs are looking for speakers, and that people are very interested in meeting a local author, especially one who is eager to talk about their book. When I make the arrangements to talk, I ask the facilitator about their club and its members. That helps me to tailor my talks to each different audience. Some groups are more interested in hearing about how I came to write my novel, which is a fictional memoir-style tale of a strong and resilient woman who grew up with two schizophrenic parents. Some groups are more interested in finding out about self publishing; others want me to talk about mental illness. 
 
I keep my talks short. I speak for about five minutes, read from the prologue of my novel, then talk for another five minutes or so. Then I open up the presentation for questions. Most of the time, the question and answer period goes on much longer than my talk and reading. At the end I thank the group for hosting my talk, and mention that I'd be happy to sign copies for anyone who wants to purchase one.

After my first talk, I've settled on a strategy that helps make my talks more successful. I try to arrive at each meeting at least 15 minutes before the official start to introduce myself to the facilitator and to get set up. I had a 2-foot by 3-foot poster made of the book cover,  and display it on an easel as a visual aid. I bring at least a dozen books, and arrange them on a table, along with my promotional postcards and fliers listing resources people can use to find out more about mental illness. I keep another box of books in the trunk of my car, just in case there are a lot of people who want to buy a copy. I bring a cash box loaded with one dollar bills and quarters so I can make change for people, (my book, with tax, sells for $16.25) and I bring several pens for signing books. I also bring a small notebook, to jot down phone numbers, websites, names and tips and suggestions from the audience. Most importantly, I bring a friend, both for moral support, and to handle book sales after my talk so I can concentrate on signing books and talking to readers.

 So far, my sales have not been overwhelming, but I have sold copies at each appearance, and consider each talk as another way to reach future readers. A lot of books are marketed by word-of-mouth, and I know each book buyer will tell other readers about my book, and that many others in the audience will tell people about my presentation. Best of all, I've discovered it's very enjoyable to meet new people, talk about my book, and answer (or try to anyway) any questions that people have. 

Book talks

I'm very pleased that book blogger extraordinare Morgen Bailey has posted a guest post I wrote on her blog today. Here's the link: http://wp.me/p18Ztn-4AA.

Happy Anniversary to Read2Review

One of the most successful book blogs on the web, and one that has been very supportive of independent writers, recently celebrated its one year anniversary. To help them celebrate, I donated several e-copies of my novel to them to award to lucky readers. Here's the guest post I wrote for them explaining why:

I spent 9 months writing my novel Playing the Genetic Lottery, which is a fictional memoir of a strong and resilient 32-year-old wife and mother who grew up with two schizophrenic parents. I spent another 9 months editing, re-writing, polishing, proof-reading and preparing the book to be e-published. So why am I give away copies?

For a couple of reasons. First, as a relatively new blogger, I know how challenging it is to maintain a blog. So I tip my hat (or would if I had a hat) to Read 2 Review for creating a thriving blog and celebrating their first anniversary. Secondly, as an independent author, I appreciate the efforts made by others on behalf of writers. That includes Read 2 Review's new magazine, which I hope will be as successful as their blog. And thirdly, I'm happy to contribute copies of my novel to a few lucky readers, because of the nature of my book.

Novels can help enlighten and inform people by bringing subjects out in the open in an entertaining, non-threatening manner. One of my goals in writing Playing the Genetic Lottery—besides creating a good read—was to educate people about schizophrenia and the impact it has on families. My hopes are that by raising awareness about the disease I can help raise compassion for people who have been afflicted with this devastating mental illness. I also wanted to validate the experiences of family members and caregivers who are helping their loved one cope with their illness. And finally, I want to help reduce the stigma associated with mental illness. The more people learn about an illness, the less frightening it becomes. With mental illness, this is particularly important because stigmas, and fear of the unknown, prevents some people from visiting a doctor and getting the treatment they need.

You can read the original post by following this link
http://read2review.com/guest-posts-interviews-spotlights/guest-posts/t/terri-morgan/why-i-give-free-copies-of-playing-the-genetic-lottery-away/

Facebook Fan Drive

It's probably not politically correct to admit this, but I love facebook. I love keeping up with my friends, both old and new, and seeing what people are up to. I like posting about what I've been doing, thinking and enjoying, and, since I love taking pictures, sharing some of my favorite shots. I spend probably too much time on facebook, and my personal facebook page is well used. For some reason, I often forget about my novel's facebook page, where people can find out more about Playing the Genetic Lottery, and all things related to my new baby, er, book. So to help draw attention to my book's page, I'm running a fan drive. Right now, my book's facebook page at ww.facebook.com/playingthegeneticlottery has 52 people who like it. When the like total reaches 100, I'll hold a drawing. The lucky fan will win a free e-copy of Playing the Genetic Lottery. But you can't win if you don't enter. So please, go like my book and keep your fingers crossed that you'll be the lucky winner.

Fan Drive on Facebook

It's probably not politically correct to admit
this, but I love facebook. I love keeping up with my friends, both old and new, and seeing what people are up to. I like posting about what I've been doing, thinking and enjoying, and, since I love taking pictures, sharing some of my favorite shots. I spend probably too much time on facebook, and my personal facebook page is well used. For some reason, I often forget about my novel's facebook page, where people can find out more about Playing the Genetic Lottery, and all things related to my new baby, er, book. So to help draw attention to my book's page, I'm running a fan drive. Right now, my book's facebook page at ww.facebook.com/playingthegeneticlottery has 52 people who like it. When the like total reaches 100, I'll hold a drawing. The lucky fan will win a free e-copy of Playing the Genetic Lottery. But you can't win if you don't enter. So please, go like my book and keep your fingers crossed that you'll be the lucky winner.