Chris Van Dusen's Blog, page 7

A Good Start

Well, Randy Riley's Really Big Hit is off to a good start thanks to a couple of well attended book signings this last weekend. The book is also generating some nice reviews. Here are some recent excerpts:

• "Told briskly in the rhyme scheme and cadence of 'Casey at the Bat', Van Dusen's tale is inventive and humorous. A cunning twist on the heroic home run that wins the game." -Kirkus Reviews

• "In this retro rhyming tribute to mind over batter, Van Dusen casts a wide net: anyone who's a fan of nerds, 'Casey at the Bat', classic science fiction or mid-century design should find something to like in these eye-popping pages." -Publishers Weekly

A good review is a wonderful thing and can help build enthusiasm for a book. If you've seen Randy Riley and you feel like writing a review for Amazon, I'd greatly appreciate it. I think their customer reviews are widely read and can be quite influential to a potential customer.

Thanks for spreading the word!

Batters Up!

With the lack of snow here in Maine (our lawn is almost completely bare!) and with news that the Boston Red Sox are heading off to their Florida training camp, I'm already thinking spring. I know this is dangerously premature, as April blizzards are not uncommon in these parts, but I'm willing to take the risk. So this Saturday, February 25th at 10:30, at Kennebooks in Kennebunkport, Maine I'll be celebrating baseball with my friend, Matt Tavares in the first of a series of joint book signings that will take place over the next few months (for a complete list of signings, click on "Spring Signing Schedule" just over there > in the right hand column).

Matt is the wonderful author/illustrator of the newly released There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived. It's a beautiful book that was published by Candlewick Press who also published my new baseball book, Randy Riley's Really Big Hit. Matt had the idea that since both of our books were released on the same day, by the same publisher and have a baseball theme, it might be fun to do some signings together this spring.

So PLAY BALL and BATTER UP! Hope you can join us this Saturday.

2 Ifs…

1.) If you missed 207 last night (or if you're out of the Portland, Maine broadcast area) you can still catch the segment I taped with my friend Matt Tavares and host, Kathleen Shannon. Just go to WCSH6.com and click on the 207 tab. It should pop right up. If you watch it, see if you can tell which question threw me off!

2.) If you find yourself in the Midcoast Maine area tomorrow morning, please stop by The Owl & Turtle Bookshop in Camden. I'll be there launching my new book, Randy Riley's Really Big Hit from 10:00 to noon. I'd love to see you!

207

Tonight, my friend, the amazing Matt Tavares and I will be on the television show 207 talking about our new books. You can catch it at 7:00 PM on Channel 6 (WCSH) in Portland, Maine. You might also be able to see it on their website, which is WCSH6.com. Here's a picture of me, Matt and the super-nice host of 207, Kathleen Shannon.

Spring Signing Schedule

I have several book signings scheduled  for the next few weeks to promote my new book, Randy Riley's Really Big Hit. I've posted the schedule below. For most of these events, I'll be joined by my good friend and fellow author/illustrator, the brilliant Matt Tavares. It turns out that Matt has a fantastic new book that came out the same day as Randy Riley AND it's with the same publisher (Candlewick Press) AND it also has a baseball theme! It's a beautiful biography called  There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived. Matt had the idea that it might be fun to get together for a book signing and it's turned into a mini tour. Here's where we'll be:

• Sat. Feb. 18th, 10-12:00 – Launch at The Owl & Turtle Bookshop, Camden, ME (Chris only)

• Sat. Feb. 25th, 10:30-11:30 – Reading and Signing at Kennebooks, Kennebunkport, ME (M & C)

• Also Sat. Feb. 25th, 2:00-4:00 – Signing at L.L. Bean, Freeport, ME (Chris only)

• Sun. March 18th, 2:00-4:00 – Signing at the USM Bookstore, Portland, ME (Matt & Chris)

• Sat. March 24th, 10-12:00 – Signing at The Children's Book Cellar, Waterville, ME (M & C)

• Sat. April 7th, 11:00 – Signing at The Maine Coast Bookshop, Damariscotta, ME (M & C)

• Sun. April 29th, 1:00 – Signing at Longfellow Books, Portland, ME (Matt & Chris)

• Sat. May 12th – Signing at Water Street Books, Exeter, NH (Matt & Chris)

We hope you can make it to one of these events. We'd love to see you!

New Schedule

With my new book Randy Riley's Really Big Hit being released  soon, I have several book signings scheduled  for the next few weeks. I've posted the schedule below. For most of these events, I'll be joined by a good friend and fellow author/illustrator, Matt Tavares. It turns out that Matt has a book coming out the same day as Randy Riley AND it's with the same publisher (Candlewick Press) AND it also has a baseball theme! It's called There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived. Matt had the idea that it might be fun to get together for a book signing and it's turned into a mini tour. Here's where we'll be:

• Sat. Feb. 18th, 10-12:00 – Launch at The Owl & Turtle Bookshop, Camden, ME (Chris only)

• Sat. Feb. 25th, 10:30 – Reading and Signing at Kennebooks, Kennebunkport, ME (Matt & Chris)

• Also Sat. Feb. 25th, 2:00-4:00 – Signing at L.L. Bean, Freeport, ME (Chris only)

• Sat. March 24th – Signing at The Children's Book Cellar, Waterville, ME (Matt & Chris)

• Sat. April 7th, 11:00 – Signing at The Maine Coast Bookshop, Damariscotta, ME (M & C)

• We will also be signing at Water Street Books in Exeter, NH, but we're still nailing down a date for that event. I'll update this blog once that's determined.

We hope you can make it to one of these events. We'd love to see you!

Kindle Fire

People have very strong and differing opinions about e-readers. Some people love them, some hate them, some think they will spell the death of the traditional book and others think they are just a passing fad. I'm not going to weigh in on the debate, but I was quite surprised and pleased when Amazon decided to highlight my book, The Circus Ship in their advertising launch of the new Kindle Fire. If you go to Amazon and click for more info on the Kindle Fire, you'll see one of the spreads illustrations from The Circus Ship in full display.

Festival Time

This fall and winter, I'll be attending and presenting at a number of festivals and conferences around the country. Special thanks to my publisher Candlewick Press for hosting me at the following events:

• Sat. Sept. 24th – The National Book Festival, Washington DC

• Sun. Sept. 25th – The Baltimore Book Festival, Baltimore, Maryland

• Thurs. Oct. 13th – NEIBA Author's Reception, Providence, Rhode Island

• Mon. Nov. 14th – The San Antonio Express News Luncheon, San Antonio, Texas

• Thurs. Jan. 19th, 2012 – ABA Winter Institute, New Orleans, Louisiana

• Sat. & Sun. March 10th & 11th – Tucson Book Festival, Tucson, Arizona

I hope I get the chance to meet you at one of these upcoming events!

BookshelfBanter Review

I recently came across this nice review of King Hugo's Huge Ego. And no, I did not pay this woman!

My Summer Schedule

With the release of my new book, King Hugo's Huge Ego on July 26th, I have several upcoming events planned. Here's where I'll be this summer:

• Fri. July 8, 2:00 – Library visit at The Patten Free Library in Bath, Maine

• Sat. July 9, 12:30-3:30 – Books & Boothbay at the Railway Village in Boothbay, Maine

• Thurs. July 14, 10:30 – Library visit at The Edythe Dyer Library in Hampden, Maine

• Tues. July 26, 10:00 – Library visit at The Waldo Pierce Reading Room in Frankfort, Maine

• Sat. July 30, 10-12:00 – Book launch at The Owl & Turtle Bookshop, Camden, Maine

• Sat. August 6, 10-12:00 – Book signing at The Children's Book Cellar, Waterville, Maine

• Wed. Aug. 10, 1-3:00 – Book signing at Sherman's Books & Stationery, Camden, Maine

• Sat. Aug. 13 – Book signing at The Maine Coast Book Shop & Cafe, Damariscotta, Maine

• Wed. Aug. 17 – Book signing at Kennebooks, Kennebunkport, Maine

• Sat. Aug. 20, 1-4:00 – The Children's-Bookfair-by-the-Sea at the library in Camden, Maine

• Sat. Aug. 27, 10:30 - The Hope Family Festival in Hope, Maine

And coming up this fall:

• Sat. & Sun. September 24 & 25 – The National Book Festival in Washington DC

• Thurs. October 13 – Author reception at NEIBA in Providence, Rhode Island

• Mon. November 14 – San Antonio Express News Luncheon in San Antonio, Texas

That's it for now. I hope to see you at one of these events.