Hardest Working Man I Know

Today let me introduce you to the hardest working author that I know. Austin S. Camacho is the hardest working author that I have come across thus far. OK, don't get in a huff; I said MAN...not woman. I can't give you all of the good stuff in one blog; now can I?
I met Mr. Camacho in June of 2009 at Borders in Waldorf Md.
(a moment of silence for Borders please)
Now back to our blog. He came in with his boxes of books, a tray of treats and a burst of energy.
What just happened? I thought to myself. I'm not suppose to be sharing my first signing. I wanted to stomp my feet and act like a three year old, but Mandy (store manager) assured me that I still got top billing. (prime location in any bookstore; being set up at the front door) while Mr. Camacho was relegated to the back of the store, by the children's books.
After witnessing, what I could only describe as a whirlwind of activity, I had to go back and see what was going on and what did I find?
I found a nicely draped table; I had no drape. A nice assortment of cookies; I had no cookies. He had books and was debuting his latest, Russian Roulette that very day. I had one book, Let Me Just Say This sitting on my table. And he had bookmarks, a nice display of colorful bookmarks; OK, I had bookmarks! So it wasn't a lost.
Then it happened. He smiled and talked to me.
Me, little 'ole me. First time author, first time book signing event. He spoke to me and gave me tips on how to keep folks interested. "Never sit down. I never sit down."
Since that meeting, I have been on panels with Mr. Camacho and I have been at events where he is the "Prince of the Novel world" and I am continuously in awe of him.
He puts out a monthly newsletter, he has a fan page on Facebook, he markets like no body's business. He is constantly asked to be on writer's panels and to speak to various book clubs and organizations. Did I also mention, he has a full time job!
Plus,I have it on good authority, that he has a new novel coming out this year!
If you want to know more about Mr. Camacho, pick up his great novels on Amazon.com or visit his website, www.ascamacho.com and you will get to know his characters, just as I have. You will also get to see just how hard working he is.

Books-Kindle or Print?

Today I pose the question: Which do you prefer, Kindle or Print?

Now remember, this is only my opinion and just like everyone; I’m entitled to mine.

Kindle seems to be the instant answer to many of our ‘reading dilemmas”. In a world of instant gratification, the Kindle, Nook, and E-Reader has made life much more instantaneous for a lot of people. If they hear of a book that someone says, “they must have” they can pull out their Kindle and download it and read it within a matter of minutes.

Now, let’s look at the same scenario with a ‘print’ novel. Someone asks you if you have picked up the latest novel from Austin Camacho, The Piranha Assignment, and you say, no but you will as ‘soon as you get home and log into your computer and go to the Amazon.com website and type in his name and then check out all of his books”. It’s not as instant as the Kindle conversation that goes like this, “I’ll pick up the latest by Austin Camacho in five, four, three, two, got it. Wow and on Kindle it’s only $.99 versus the “print” copy of $11.66. Or maybe you just saw Karen Minors, author of It is What It Is and you want to read all about Miya and Milan; you will either go to Amazon.com and download a version for $7.69 or you will buy it and wait for it to ship in a couple of days for $19.95.

See for me, I like the ‘hard’ version in my hands. I like to hold the book, flip the pages, and dog ear them as I pour over the scenes. In a kindle, not so much. Plus, they haven’t found a way for you to get your book ‘autographed’ through Kindle; well they sort of have, but it involves buying software to download to your Kindle and then you have to ‘find’ the author again.

Now, don’t get your Kindle all in an electronic huff; I’m merely saying that for some of us, we like to slow down, sit with a nice cup of Chai Tea or Dunkin Donuts coffee, curl up in our pink Snuggie and read until we fall asleep and the book makes that familiar thunk when it hits the floor. If your Kindle hits the floor, you better be on carpet or be prepared to look at a possible crack on your screen or worse yet; a black one, because it has gone on to electronic heaven (with my beloved GRACIE—the laptop that I wrote about previously, but I digress)

All this to say  what? Whether you are a Kindle reader or Print (book –in-hand) reader; whichever one you chose, stay true to yourself and don’t fall for the fads. Sure Kindle will be around for a while, or Nook or whatever E-reader you choose, but so will books, because let’s face it; until there is a HUGE bonfire somewhere, there will also be Mom and Pop bookstores out there where the rest of us NON E-reader owners can go and get our fix.

Will you join me? (wait…I still want a Kindle; but I don’t NEED a Kindle) don’t judge me! (smile)

Happy Writing!