On Saturday, April 9th, I began my signing season. For the next couple of months, I hold signings at various bookstores between here and Toronto. I do this every spring and fall. I don’t do signings in the winter because the weather is too unpredictable or in July and August because bookstores aren’t as busy. Now that I have 5 novels to sell, I wondered if that would help sales. I have been doing signings for two years now. The first year I just sold Locker Rooms and Shall We Chat? No one was interested in my chat book but sold a few of Locker Rooms. The second year, I included That Truthful Place and A Discerning Heart. I sold more of the kids book than the other. But having a bigger selection was better. Some people bought two books. This year, I have added Devouring Time and The Perfect Hand. I found I received more respect from people when they asked, "Did you write all these?" People were also impressed with the range of my novels, such a variety of choices. My first signing was held at the Indigo Burlington from 1 to 4 pm. The store was busy with lulls at times. Quite a number of people were interested in my books but a few said they don’t read fiction or they have a pile of books to read. The only thing I dislike hearing is: "I’ll be right back." Lots of people say they just want to brose a bit more and then they will return. They never return. I wish they would just say, "Not interested," instead of giving me hope that they will return. But I was very lucky Saturday and I sold 9 books making me a profit of $99. (The store receives 45% of the book value.) I was so happy. People responded well and it’s definitely a bonus to offer 5 different novels. Some lovely people bought a book just to support a local author. I love it when people do that. I appreciate it so much. My next signing is on Saturday, April 23rd, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Oakville Chapters, 240 Leighhand, Unit 244, Oakville, Ontario. I hope anyone in the area will come out and say hello. Have fun, Patty
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When someone says, "No," do you accept it? I never have. No to me just means try harder. Just because I’m told no, I don’t give up. For example, I had been accepted at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and hoped to start my school year in January. I don’t remember why but I was late and classes had started. I had a meeting with the dean of the English department. He said, "No, you’re too late. You have to wait until September to begin your studies." I was furious. I wasn’t going to wait 7 months to start school. So, I picked 6 courses being offered. I introduced myself to all 6 professors and told them my problem. I asked if I could join their classes albeit late. I received a note from 4 agreeing to my request. One class was closed and another was studying Beowulf in the original and that didn’t interest me. I returned to the dean with my 4 notes. He had no choice but to allow me to begin my school year. Two years later, I was in Israel learning Hebrew on a kibbutz. Half the day, a group of us studied and the other half we worked on the kibbutz. My favourite job was working in the apple orchard. I loved the trees and the fruit I ate even in their infancy. Two crotchety old men worked in the orchard. Both had survived a difficult past but found peace on the kibbutz. I loved those men and asked to be permanently stationed in their orchards. Both men believed that I couldn’t handle the work and said, "No." My response was, "Give me a chance. Give me any job and I’ll prove to you that I can keep up." For the next week, I had every difficult job. I had to weed the base of every tree, I set up the rows and rows of irrigation hoses and even checked each tree for disease. Those jobs took hours and were back-breaking. But at the end of the week, the old men gave me brilliant smiles and accepted me. We became good friends and I have many happy memories of working with them. They strongly followed the beliefs of the kibbutz and taught me well. It was inspiring. So don’t tell me, no. I will just take it as a challenge. Have fun, Patty Aren’t you tired of repeating plot lines? Boy meets girl. Boy and girl fight. Boy and girl get back together and have hot sex. Or what about a guy who dies at the beginning and you read the rest of the novel trying to determine who done it. Or someone is charged with a crime and he spends the whole novel proving his innocence.
Aren’t you tired of real life? Wouldn’t you like to read something different? Something that varies from your own personal struggles. My novels are fiction. No plot or characterization has been done before. And each novel is different. I write from the heart and enjoy exploring various genres. Each novel has a diverse and distinctive voice. Don’t you want to escape reality for a bit? My novels have nothing to do with real life. I may use real places, but that’s the only realistic thing about them. I want my characters to be imaginary and behave how I wish. There is no possible way you can compare them with a real person. I want you to identify with that person and enjoy following their adventures. Does the life of a mermaid or pirate interest you? Or how about souls and demons? What about being telepathic? Are you interested in the art world? Do you enjoy playing poker? All those are examples of my novels. I want you to enjoy reading a good story and just a story. I don’t want you feeling that what happened to my characters could happen to you. I write to escape reality. Have fun, Patty Do you like Star Trek? I’m a big fan and my favourite character is Deanna Troi from the Next Generation because she is telepathic. I’d love that skill and often wonder what it would be like to read people's minds. If I can’t be telepathic then at least I can write about it. That Truthful Place is a novel about children who develop telepathy. I wanted to create a utopian society of children from many different back-grounds. I wanted to show that it doesn’t matter what race you are. Everyone will find similarities allowing them to work together to create a perfect society. Their 13th birthday seemed the best time for the children to be given telepathy since that time is such a big deal in most religions. I needed a moment when the children are most impressionable. Most children have a big party for their 13th birthday so it seemed like a good time for the change. All the children had to be from North America because I wanted them to be proficient in English. But, they also had to speak a second language and understand a different culture. I love learning about new cultures so incorporated that into the novel. I hope That Truthful Place portrays these elements and that the message is clear. I don’t believe an utopian society is possible but I like to write about them. You’ll find that theme running through my novels. Have fun, Patty Do you like to travel? Where do you like to go? Do you travel to the same resort? Do you like cruises? Or do you prefer visiting different countries? Unfortunately since I have no money and two very old pets I can’t bear to leave behind, I can’t travel at the moment. This is very difficult for me because I love to travel. I enjoy seeing new things, smelling new smells, hearing new sounds and experiencing new experiences. When I am able to travel again and it’s March or April, I plan to visit South Africa. There are many reasons for my interest in that country, the main one being two very special friends reside there. While living in Israel in the 80s, I completed my Bachelor’s degree in English Literature. While studying there, I met a wonderful woman named Dorit. We became great friends. But after we completed our degrees, she married a really nice South African guy and moved there. For many years, I tried to find Dorit. When I met someone from South Africa, I would ask them to look for her but no success. Then one Christmas day 3 years ago, I received an email from her asking if I remembered her. She had googled me and found my website and email address. I wrote back right away and told her how I had been looking for her and I was so glad to connect again. So, after 30 years, Dorit and I are friends again. We keep in touch through Skype. She has invited me to visit them and I would love to, but I need at least $7,000 for that trip. If I’m going that far (it’s a 20 hour flight), I’ll stay for at least a month so that I can see everything because I’m only going there once. My plan is to fly into Cape Town and spend a few days there. Then I’ll fly to Johannesburg and spend a couple of weeks just following Dorit around. I’ll bring my laptop so I can work when she’s busy but I just want to hang out with her. That’s the best way to enjoy a visit. Of course, if I go to Africa, I’m going on safari. I’ve always wanted to do that because I love animals and nature. I can’t wait to see all the animals in their natural habitat and not in a zoo. I plan to take as many pictures as possible. But going on safari is very expensive. My friends have been and enjoyed it immensely so I’ll probably get a recommendation from them. I’m also fascinated by South Africa. How do the people really live there and what it’s like. I can’t imagine any reason to want to live in a country with so much violence and prejudice. My friends live in a gated community and describe the possible dangers. I look forward to experiencing their lives if even for a few days. But I love travelling to new places and encountering new ways of life. Where do you want to go? Have fun, Patty Sleep is of the utmost importance. It’s the most essential part of your day. After a good night’s sleep, you can accomplish anything, even write books. But without sleep, nothing will work out because your body feels like rubber and your mind is muddled and cloudy. If I don’t sleep, I get sick. I’m Bipolar. Sleep is so necessary for people with any illness or disease. Anyone in pain whether it be emotional or physical needs sleep in order to recuperate. Sleep recharges your batteries. I always had trouble sleeping. I started taking sleeping pills when I was 13 years old. Every morning, I’d wake up exhausted. I was irritable and couldn’t concentrate so my day was hell. This lasted years. The doctors just gave me more and more sleeping pills but nothing worked. A couple of years ago, I did a sleep lab and was diagnosed with sleep apnea. Who knows how long I’ve been suffering with that. Now I use a CPAC machine which blows air into my nose as I sleep. It’s natural and works great. What I love about it is no side effects or any more medication. Because of that simple treatment, I sleep great now. I wake up feeling energized and excited to start my day. I’m capable of writing which obviously I was incapable of due to my exhaustion. In the last two years since using the CPAC machine, I have written and published 5 novels and 1 non-fiction. See what can happen with a good night’s sleep. Have you received my free novel That Truthful Place? Check out the Welcome page and sign up. Have fun, Patty I’m always early for everything. When I have an appointment, I make sure I’m at least 5 minutes early. I always bring a book to help pass the time. I can’t stand being late. I don’t think it’s fair to keep people waiting. I’d rather wait for them then have them wait for me. If you have an appointment with someone or just meeting a friend, you should do your best to be on time. Of course, things happen like traffic or something out of your control, but you should plan for those possibilities. If it’s an appointment and you are late, you are going to keep the rest of the clients waiting for the rest of the day. It’s a ripple effect. I’ve had friends in the past and my brother years ago who were famous for arriving over an hour late. It got to the point that if we were to meet at 6 pm, I’d tell them the meeting time is 5 pm so I was guaranteed they’d arrive at the appropriate hour. But I hate waiting. When my hairdresser moved to Calgary, she didn’t recommend any of the women in her salon because they would all keep me waiting and she knew I didn’t like that. My friends also realize my propensity for being early and always show up up on time or are early as well. I so appreciate it. Sometimes you have no choice but to wait. My cable company who handles my TV, internet and phone make you wait all day for a service call. They inform you that the service guy could arrive at any time between 8 am and 5 pm. That’s crazy. Contractors can also give great ranges of time when they will appear to fix something. Many people admit that their doctor always keeps you waiting. I saw a family doctor years ago who would make me wait for 30 minutes to an hour for an appointment. Didn’t remain long as her patient. But doctors are notorious for keeping you waiting. A book is a simple solution but it can be annoying if it’s a serial thing. What are you like? Are you early or late for appointments? Is there anyone you are tired of waiting for? Leave a comment and let me know. Have fun, Patty I will be publishing blogs here every Monday. My next blog will be posted on Monday, February 29th, 2016.
If you'd like to check out my past blogs, please go to www.pattylesser.blogspot.ca |
Patty Lesser
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