Stephanie Faris's Blog, page 56

A Guest Post about Scary Stuff!

I'm talking about scary stuff over at J.H. Moncrieff's blog today. Go check it out!!!

My BIG Announcement!!!

My agent and I have decided Halloween is our lucky day.

I signed with her on Halloween day in 2011.

I sold my second book, 25 Roses, the week before Halloween last year.

And this year, I sent her the final revisions for my chapter book series, Piper Morgan.

Guess what?

I SOLD THE SERIES!




Simon & Schuster has bought the rights to Piper Morgan Goes to the Circus, as well as three more books in the series (still to be written). I'm over-the-moon excited.

Here's the Publisher's Marketplace announcement. (Those of you who follow me on Twitter already know this news, so forgive the repeat of Friday's excitement!)

Introducing The Attic of Sand and Secrets by Medeia Sharif

Today I'm proud to be participating in Medeia Sharif's blog tour for The Attic of Sand and Secrets. I'm currently reading this book and it's awesome! I'll tell you all about it on November 28 as part of my "Best Books of November" post!


THE ATTIC OF SAND AND SECRETS 
by Medeia Sharif


Amazon| Featherweight| OmniLitVendor links will be updated on Medeia’s site.
Middle Grade Historical and Fantasy, Featherweight Press, November 2014
Lily, a learning disabled girl, attempts to unravel the mystery of her abducted mother using supernatural clues from an ancient stranger, even when it means posing a danger to herself.
Learning-disabled Lily desires to prove herself, although her mind freezes when presented with big problems - such as her mother's abduction. With a French father and Egyptian mother, Lily worries that her mother hid her ethnicity from her French in-laws. However, there's something deeper going on. Lily finds a way into an attic that's normally locked and encounters a mysterious, moonlit Egyptian night world. There she finds Khadijah, an ancient stranger who guides her to finding clues about her mother's whereabouts. Lily becomes a sleuth in both the real world and magical desert, endangering herself as she gets closer to the kidnapper.
The book takes place in 1976. Every host for this book blast is going to post one fun fact for that year. For some of you, this will bring back memories. For younger blog readers, you'll learn something new.
Chicago had a hit with their romantic ballad If You Leave Me Now.
Find Medeia – Multi-published YA and MG Author
Blog   |   Twitter   |   Goodreads   |   Instagram   |   Amazon
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The Post Office: Where People are Paid Well to Be Rude to You

Around a book release, an author spends a great deal of time at the post office, mailing promotional materials, books for giveaways, etc. I've visited almost every post office in the Middle Tennessee area and have found some similarities. One:





Every post office has an old copier with an "Out of Order" sign. Is this the USPS version of a museum? Speaking of museums, there's also the system of swiping your card on a card swiper, only to have to sign a paper receipt instead of signing on the screen.



Then, of course, there are the postal employees who absolutely love their jobs so much they don't want anyone to know about it. So they work hard at making sure they never crack a smile, even as they're handing you a receipt that asks you to give feedback about your visit today.


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As the post office continues to decline in service, competition is heating up. In fact, did you know you can already mail USPS packages at Office Depot? Staples also offers USPS services, but only in select locations. All of this is good news for us. It means during the holiday season, we may be able to mail our packages without waiting in line for an hour. Because funds are low. And they can only afford to pay so many $25 per hour postal clerks to man the counter.



Here's where it REALLY gets interesting, though. You see the post office is protesting the whole Staples thing, stating that Staples will pay workers $9 an hour to do the work it pays people $25 an hour to do. Oh, they also feel that Staples workers are "poorly trained" and that the environment lacks the ironclad security we all know every post office has.



So let me get this straight. I can take my package to a new-ish, nice-smelling building where a smiling, $9-per-hour employee will be more than happy to help me? 



Or I can pay taxes for the privilege of taking the same package to an old, smelly building where the $25 per hour employee will act annoyed that I even walked through the door, then put up a sign saying "LANE CLOSED" the second break time arrives?



How do you feel about the post office's possible demise? Do you know of any other post office alternatives?

The Foaming Fountain

Last week on the way to work, someone snapped a picture of a foaming fountain and posted it on Facebook. I felt a little out of it that I had no idea what a "foaming fountain" was...especially when comments started pouring in, showing everyone else knew exactly what it was.

A foaming fountain looks like this:



Or, if its owner is really unfortunate, this:



Apparently it's a popular prank. It happens when someone pours this:


Into this:


Under the Facebook post about the foaming fountain, there were posts laughing about the prank, along with a few posts about how damaging such a prank can be. I decided to research it. Does laundry detergent damage fountains? What about soap, bubble bath, and shampoo--also popular fountain saboteurs?  How could something so fun be bad?


First there's the fact that someone has to clean the mess up. I drove by our local foaming fountain two days later and the whole thing was completely shut down, so obviously that cleanup effort takes a while.


Then there's the danger to public safety if the foam spreads into an area where people walk and drive. This is especially significant since people tend to like to play in the overflow.


Worst of all, it can permanently damage the fountain, leading it to look like this for years...maybe forever:


What's the funniest prank you've ever seen?

25 Roses Blog Tour Sign-Up

It's almost time!!!

25 Roses goes on sale January 6. (You can pre-order an autographed copy here. Just put in the comments when you order what you want me to write when I sign it.)




To celebrate the release of my second book, I'm holding a week-long blog tour. You can host me for a guest blog, interview me, or just copy and paste the press kit I'm putting together. I'm also hosting a giveaway that will include free copies of 25 Roses, an Amazon gift card, and chocolate roses just like the ones mentioned in the book. Munch away while you're reading about Mia's misadventures!



Each day, I'll link to the stops on the blog tour to (hopefully) send people your way. Want to participate? Just sign up using the form below.


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How Bad Does a Celebrity Have to Be to Lose Your Support?

Stephen Collins' career was completely derailed recently when a tape was released of him admitting to child molestation. He even claims the tape has destroyed all future earning potential.


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But will he never be able to work again? Not necessarily. In fact, the public has shown that just about anything is forgivable, especially if you have the power to avoid it ever going to court.

First there's Woody Allen, who married his live-in girlfriend's adopted daughter (age 19). In the early 90s, there were allegations that he'd abused his seven-year-old adopted daughter Dylan, which Dylan herself confirmed in an open letter published earlier this year. Despite the scandal, Allen continues to prevail, winning four Oscars, two Golden Globes, and numerous awards and accolades over the course of his career. The 19-year-old he fell in love with and later married? They're still married today.



Then there's Bill Cosby, accused of raping 14 separate women--in some instances after drugging them. He paid to make the allegations go away back in 2006, but with a little help from a comedian and Twitter, it's all coming back on him. But despite all the bad publicity in 2006, Cosby has been honored with awards and multiple degrees over the years and is currently staging a comeback. In addition to being cast in a 2015 NBC TV show, he's in the middle of his own comedy tour called Far From Finished.



Sean Connery once famously told Barbara Walters it's okay to slap a woman, as long as you've tried everything else and she still won't shut her yapper. Since originally saying that in the 60s and confirming it with Barbara Walters in the 80s, women (and men) have packed theaters to admire the guy's work. 



Mel Gibson...is just a mess. Yet still he makes money. He's no superstar, but he's doing just as well as all the other actors who peaked in the 90s in spite of racist rants and alleged girlfriend-beating.




I think we all know that with a lot of cash and a great PR firm, celebrities can make just about anything go away. But do we, as the viewing public, have an obligation to not let them get away with that? After all, movie studios will only keep giving them work as long as we keep paying to see it. Or is it "innocent until proven guilty," even if the celebrity pulls some strings to make sure no trial ever happens?

Protecting Your Smartphone

I once spent six months as a ghostwriter for an iPhone site. During that time, I repeatedly emphasized the importance of protecting your iPhone from this.




There are crazy expensive cases that keep it safe from every drop of water.



There are ridiculously bulky cases that promise to keep it safe if you drop it.



Then there are the screen protectors that are almost impossible to install without getting a smudge or fingerprint or bubble somewhere underneath it. That smudge, fingerprint, or bubble drives you crazy, by the way.




I fell for it all. I've had the Otter Box in almost every color available. (There aren't many.)  I've tried every kind of screen protector imaginable. I launched a search for a case that helped safeguard my phone without turning my tiny iPhone 5 into something from the 90s.



There are cases that combine silicon with a hard shell. Those are said to be the best for shock absorption. But there's still the issue of the screen. You wouldn't want it to get scratched. That can happen...or so I thought. Before I could bother with it, though, I happened to be in an Apple Store, where one of their self-proclaimed geniuses told me my iPhone has Gorilla Glass.



No screen protector necessary, he said. When I didn't believe him, he pulled out his keys and proceeded to vigorously scratch the screen of his iPhone. Not a single mark. Still...my research shows that a robust screen protector like the one made by Zagg can protect the screen from looking like a spider web if you should ever drop it.




How do you protect your smartphone from damage?

An Exciting Interview...and a Great Marketing Blog

The reviewers over on The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow interviewed me. Check it out! We're even giving away a signed copy of 25 Roses.


The release date of my second book is rapidly approaching, so I'm spending a lot of time preparing postcards, mailing out bookmarks, and doing blog interviews. I love every minute of it! Especially now that I (kind of) know what I'm doing.

But, here's something you might not know: most of us really have no idea what we're doing. You just throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks.

Here's a great marketing blog that might help, though:



This timeline has been especially enlightening. There's a Part 2, as well. It covers what to do with your author copies, where to send postcards, and more. It's mostly geared toward children's/young adult authors, but it can be useful for someone marketing any book, to be honest.

What marketing blogs/tips have you found helpful?

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a signed copy of 25 Roses!

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Does Sugar Really Make Your Kids Hyper?

Today 25 Roses is featured on The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow. Check it out!




Now for today's blog...

Halloween is over, but the candy still remains. In most houses, at least a few pieces of sweet stuff stick around in the days and weeks after the big night.



Moms cringe when they see their children downing those morsels of candy every night. Do they really want a houseful of hyper children?



For decades, there has been one prevailing thought about children and sugar. It was passed down from our great grandparents to our grandparents to our moms. And we just keep passing it along. Sugar makes us hyper, right? Our moms told us so.




Since kids get hyper after eating sugar, adults therefore assume if they're feeling tired in the afternoon, a little office birthday cake will do the trick.



Wrong. Sugar doesn't make kids or adults hyper. At all. Separate research studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and Journal for Abnormal Child Psychology showed that sugar had no more impact on a child's behavior than a placebo. In fact, in one instance researchers found moms rated their children as more hyperactive when they thought they'd had sugar and they actually hadn't. To be technical about it...



"If you’re energy depleted (i.e. an elite athlete), fructose can be converted to glycogen (liver starch) as a storehouse for ready energy, which can then be fished out of your liver if your body needs glucose in the future (for more exercise or if you’re starving). But most of us aren’t energy depleted, so fructose gets turned into liver fat, driving insulin resistance."--Time Magazine.

What myth have you found still persists in our society today, despite scientific evidence to the contrary?