A Review With Cojones

Blogger Mayowa posted a review of Sometimes That Happens With Chicken today on Pens With Cojones. I’ve written about this blog before and as usual I must comment on the fabulous name. A few weeks ago Mayowa interviewed me for Pens With Cojones and I got another mention in a recent post regarding the future of self-publishing. Mayowa is a big fan of Chicken as you’ll see from his review and he’s rooting for Chicken to win the 2011 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction.

Sometimes That Happens With Chicken: The Cojones Review

By: Mayowa

Mayowa has a lot to say about Chicken, it’s production value, and my indie literature journey but this was one of my favorite parts.

“Wanda’s prose is particularly honest, insightful, vulgar and hilarious. It is this raw simplicity in her writing that allows the reader to follow the gossamer threads of individual stories that form the whole without getting lost. At the end, I couldn’t believe that I had followed all those sinuous twists as easily as  I had, As a writer, I can’t help but think of that as a stunning achievement.”

I have the honor of being in touch with Mayowa and have been able to share many of my indie author experiences with him in late night and early morning emails. He has been endlessly supportive of my plan and I’m greatly looking forward to his first novel.

And yes, I’m very behind on my event blog posts but I wanted to sneak this one in tonight. I am working furiously on three blogs posts which I will most certainly all go live this weekend. I have blogging to do and pictures to post and video to process…and a ton of thank you emails to send. I’m chipping away at my post-event to-do list and trying to catch up on some sleep.

Thanks to Mayowa for the great review and all the indie support!

ttyl

My First Book Event

I had my first book event on Saturday and there are three more right around the corner. The event was a huge success and I was honored to have my first event hosted by Michael Perez, one of the hottest pop artists alive today. It was a great opportunity to connect with friends and fans and the support for Sometimes That Happens With Chicken was overwhelmingly positive. 

Since this was my first book event, it was hard to know what to expect but the evening was full of wonderful moments, the whole list of which would be impossible to recount. I met some interesting new people and had a chance to connect with some big fans of Sometimes That Happens With Chicken. I was surrounded by Michael’s beautiful paintings and despite the NYC heatwave, we all had a great time.

I will share one particularly special moment which happened at the very end of the night. When it was all over, I was outside the gallery with Michael, his publicist, and the last guest to leave, an enthusasitic art and literature lover and resident of the West Village named Mark Herko. His copy of Chicken was the last book I signed that night and as we were all enjoying the slightly cooled off air Mark said, “This feels like the Village in the fifties.”

I posted a few pics on facebook but the majority of the photography and videography is still in post-production. If you’d like to see the pics I posted on facebook you can use the link below and when the photographer and the videographer are finished I will be creating a One Girl One Novel youtube channel and a flickr feed.

http://www.facebook.com/wanda.shapiro#!/album.php?aid=2070778&id=1174526546

Here’s one pic that captured a particularly poignant moment for me. I was at the gallery all afternoon helping set up  and this was my last little breather before I got dressed for the event. The photographer, Paris Bogdanos, arrived early to take some test shots and he got several of me in my pre-event attire. I’m sitting on the stoop of 16 Minetta Lane where the event was held, a breath-taking property in the Village.

I’d like to thank photographer Paris Bogdanos and videographer Anthony Lopez, two dear and talented friends who graciously volunteered their services. I can’t wait to see the whole lot of pics and the video that Anthony is in the process of editing.

I would also like to thank all my friends and fans who came out for this event. I saw many people I hadn’t seen in years and met fans I didn’t even know I had. There are too many of you to list here but thanks to you all; you know who you are. Of that group, a special thanks goes to Alicia Dunnigan who introduced me when it was time to read from Sometimes That Happens With Chicken.

Next, I would like to thank painter Michael Perez for his support of indie literature and Sometimes That Happens With Chicken. By featuring me at one of his own events, Michael gave me an amazing opportunity to spread the word and to be recognized and supported by an artist of Michael’s stature and acclaim is a true honor. Aside from being a talented painter, Michael is a great person whom I had the pleasure of getting to know as we readied for the event.

Unfortunately, Michael’s paintings are way out of my price range (not a surprise since his work appeared on the hit TV show Friends) but he did me the honor of personalizing my trusty Dell XPS laptop at the end of the night with one of his signature motifs. And even though I can’t afford a Perez at the mo, I am in possession of one of two laptops that have been painted by Michael Perez.

The only other person in the whole world who owns a Michael Perez painted laptop is Michael’s publicist Caitlin Slayback whose thank you I have left for last. Caitlin is the one who introduced me to Michael and she is also the one person without whom this event couldn’t have happened. Michael and I work very hard as artists, but our efforts for this event cannot be compared to publicist extraordinaire Caitlin Slayback. In the days leading up to this event Caitlin was busy every minute, hustling around to make things happen. She is an unstoppable force and an unbelievably hard worker to whom I owe many many thanks.

Working with Caitlin in preparation for this event was particularly meaningful to me because she and I grew up together. We estimate that it’s been 15 years since we saw each other last and it’s a pleasure to see the power-house of a woman she has grown into. We ended up back in touch thanks to facebook and now that Caitlin’s a hot-shot celebrity publicist I get to say I knew her way back when. Michael is a lucky artist to have such a one has Caitlin in his corner.  

Here’s a pic of me, Caitlin, and Caitlin’s mom Sharon at the event. It was a wonderful big city moment for us three Adirondack girls and as she should be, Sharon was beeming with pride.

Now, I have to continue preparing for my second One Girl One Novel event which will be held at the Town of Johnsburg Library in North Creek, NY on Wednesday 7/21 at 6:30 pm. If you live in the Adirondack region and you can’t make it Wednesday, you’ll have a second opportunity on Friday 7/23 at 6:00 at Common Roots in North Creek. And if you live in the Catskill region, you can catch me Saturday 7/24 in Woodstock, NY at the VARGA Gallery for my fourth and final event of this jam-packed week on the east coast.

In addition, I’m squeezing in a live radio interview on WAMC North East Public Radio on the morning of Friday 7/23. I’ll be interviewed by Joe Donahue on The Roundtable, which is an award winning, nationally recognized show that airs weekdays from 9-noon. The show’s hallmark is thoughtful interviews with A-list newsmakers, authors, artists, sports figures, actors, and people with interesting stories to tell so this is a big step for Chicken and for indie literature. I will be posting listening instructions for those in and outside the WAMC coverage area asap.

Thanks again to everyone who helped make my first book event a big success. The support I’m receiving is overwhelming and it’s a pleasure to see so many people excited about indie literature and Sometimes That Happens With Chicken.

ttyl

Wanda

Another Writer Goes Indie

Yesterday, writer Jeff Emmerson announced his indie intentions and thanked me for offering a model to follow. I met Jeff on Twitter and have had a few conversations about various aspects of the indie author process. It’s been a pleasure talking with Jeff and he has asked some interesting questions that forced me to look back on the editing process. Here’s a link to Jeff’s blog post in which he announced his indie decision.

Things Are a Changin’! Traditional Publisher? No Thanks. I Can Do Better Myself!

July 9, 2010

by Jeff Emmerson – My Story of Hope and Following My Heart!

 It’s great to see other authors deciding to leverage available technology and bring their work directly to readers. It’s amazing what’s possible today and I’m honored to have played some small role in Jeff’s decision to go indie.

Thanks for the mention Jeff and way to go my fellow indie author. I wish you the best of luck with your writing and always feel free to reach out if you have a question. We’ll get there, one reader at a time.  

ttyl

Wanda

One Girl One Novel One Big NYC Event

I’m very proud to announce one more event – this one in NYC at the Michael Perez Pop Art Gallery which is opening this month in the Village. The event will be hosted by New York born Michael Perez, one of the hottest pop artists, and will mark the opening of his fourth gallery. I’m honored to have an artist of Michael’s stature excited about indie literature and Sometimes That Happens With Chicken.

Having been featured at the Central Perk Café, in the hit TV show Friends, and in the New York City Cow Parade, Michael’s work can be immediately recognized by his distinctive figures and faces, dancing daisies, and happy nature scenes. His fans include discerning global art collectors and celebrities alike, and his masterpieces can be found in the collections of Billy Joel, Chris Rock, Aretha Franklin and the Hilton Family. His art is extremely dynamic and is distinguished by his use of vibrant, contrasting colors and shapes.

As I previously announced, I’m headed east for my first book tour and this will be the first of four events between Saturday 7/17 and Saturday 7/24. As promised, here are the details for the NYC event and you can find the details for all four events in my Newsroom.

Saturday July 17, 2010 – 5:00 pm

The Michael Perez Pop Art Gallery

Vernissage

16 Minetta Lane

between 6th Avenue & MacDougal Street

Greenwich Village, New York, NY 10012

 

This book event, unlike the other three, is part of a larger event to celebrate the opening of Michael’s new gallery in the Village which makes this a great opportunity for Chicken and for indie literature. When I was looking for venues in NYC, I was thinking on a smaller scale but thanks to facebook and serendipity, Michael and I were brought together by his publicist Caitlin Slayback. 

Caitlin and I grew up together in a tiny town in the Adirondack Mountains of northern NY, which for me, gives this big city event a very hometown feeling. Coordinating with a fellow Adirondack-girl-turned-big-city-girl has been a real pleasure albeit slightly surreal. It’s the same voice on the phone as when we were kids, but now we’re all grown up and she’s the publicist for one hottest pop artists of our time and I’m an indie author getting ready to go on my first book tour. We couldn’t have imagined this twenty years ago but we’ll drink a proper toast to all of our success in July.

My trip will begin in the city with this event which will be a perfect kickoff to my first book tour. It will be great to be back in the city where my novel is set and where I lived for several years. Then I’ll head to my hometown for two more events and I’ll end my trip in Woodstock with an event at the VARGA Gallery. It’s going to be a busy eight days but I’m looking forward to every nostalgic minute of this road trip back to the three places I called home before moving to Los Angeles.

If you live in the NYC area or have friends there, be sure to spread the word.  Here’s a link to a pdf of the invite which you can pass along.

http://www.onegirlonenovel.com/NYC%20event%20flyer.pdf 

Many thanks to Michael Perez and his publicist Caitlin Slayback. It’s been a pleasure coordinating this event and talking to you both. For more information about artist Michael Perez and the Michael Perez Pop Art Gallery at 16 Minetta Lane, please contact publicist Caitlin E. Slayback at info@michaelperezgallery.com.

I would also like to thank all my NYC peeps who offered up great venue suggestions and who graciously offered the use of their homes. I’m looking forward to seeing you all at the new Michael Perez Pop Art Gallery in the Village where we can celebrate Chicken and a lot of great art. And to be fair, I must also thank Caitlin’s Mom who had a copy of Chicken at her house which sparked a conversation which prompted a facebook message which set in motion the planning of this event. The world works in mysterious ways, but I’ll take it.

I believe there’s hope for indie literature if a world-renown artist like Michael Perez is excited about it. See you in NY! 

Wanda

Bit Torrent Explained

Here’s a great post one of my twitter friends wrote for me re: bit torrent. Dino Dogan reached out to me and suggested that I leverage bit torrent technology to distribute the free pdf of my novel. I’m fairly tech savvy, but I have never bit torrented and when I googled it I ended up confused, not educated.

Thankfully, Dino Dogan graciously offered to educate where google had failed. He wrote a completely off topic post on his dog related blog for me and all my indie pals for which I will be forever thankful.

Totally Off Topic: How To Distribute Your Words and Music Using Bit Torrent 

By Dino Dogan @ Dogan Dogs Video Blogs

Dino is a dog trainer who is currently working on his Human-Dog Problem Tree, a thesis in human-dog relationship. You can follow him on Twitter @dino_dogan and if you have any kind of content you would like to distribute, I highly recommend this post. He tells you everything you need to know to get started with bit torrent and he makes a compelling case for using the technology.

I’m sure I would have missed bit torrent if it weren’t for Dino Dogan and I’m glad he had the time to assemble this valuable post. I’m bombarded with technology that might help me spread the word about Sometimes That Happens With Chicken but it’s often hard to separate the wheat from the chaff.

The other hard part is finding time to set up (and manage) all the various technologies available. IMO you can’t spread yourself too thing and you can’t do everything. Honestly, I was skeptical re: the suggestion, but I am now thoroughly convinced. Unfortunately, I probably won’t have time to actually get started until after my NY event trip, but I now have a new thing on my list, waiting there in the queue.

Many thanks to Dino Dogan for this post and for opening my eyes to wonderful world of bit torrents. I have another thing on my to do list but I couldn’t be more grateful.

ttyl

Wanda