I am smiling hard because I am honored to be in their December Issue!
Trouble viewing this email? Read it online
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Passion of the Published Highlights a Passionate Author
Passing Along Holiday Savings
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Discussing Rise and Fall of a Track Star with BK Walker
Listen to internet radio with Bk Walker on Blog Talk Radio
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Only Pretty People Sell Books
I would like to first apologize for the irregularness of my blog postings. If you are one of my many readers you will know that I have been book touring for the past year and normally post the day after I return home and another day out the week. Well I think all of the touring as caught up with me and I have been a bit under the weather. Thank goodness this years’ touring has come to much needed end. I love meeting people and the sales are great but this sista needs to rest. Now on to what stood out to me at the Miami Book Fair International.
Miami was treating me well. I had just signed my 37th book when a tall well-dressed older gentleman approached my booth. He smiled and asked me was I enjoying the festival. Of course I was, and I happily told him so. Then, he inquired if I was selling any books. At that moment I knew he had no intention of buying any of mine but yes, I was selling and I told him so. The next thing he said left me standing there with my mouth agape.
“You are only selling books because you are very pretty.”
Now I am a far cry from Angelina Jolie but way better looking than Princess Fiona and not ashamed to admit I get my looks from my mother, but to insinuate my sales were based on my looks rubbed me the wrong way. With one eyebrow raised I informed him that along with good looks I had a winning personality, dressed professionally, had a great book cover, topics readers enjoy, and yes I did learn a few things at Indiana State University while there on a track scholarship. I also told him that by his theory then all of my women readers were either lesbian or bisexual, and the invites I had to speak to young women in middle/high schools and church congregations were only to parade me around. He ducked his head in embarrassment and walked off.
As an author it has always intrigued me how other authors spend more time away from their booths checking on other vendors than focusing on selling their own booth. In this case the not so gentleman was the spouse of an author who had a booth at the event as well. I found out when he came back the following day and tried to strike up another conversation with me. His wife saw me at the booth, stopped in front of it, looked me up and down and then stormed off. With his wife gone the man leaned in and whispered that his wife was not selling well. By his offhanded statement I assumed he felt his wife was not pretty, because remember I only was selling because I was.
In order to sell books we as authors must first check their attitude at the door, dress presentable, be personable, accept that not everyone will buy your book, and know that just because someone does not buy your book doesn’t mean they won’t pass your information along to someone else. I learned this at an early age by watching my mother get dressed up almost every day to go door to door selling Avon. She knew that no one would by anything from her if she didn’t look the part and for those who didn’t buy from my mother, they would gladly inform their friends of her amazing personality and product she was selling.
The bottom line is being pretty will not equate to book sales. Looks may get someone to take a second glance at you but it’s the personality and quality of the book that will make them pick up your hard work and purchase it.
Until Next Time,
Omegia
Monday, October 31, 2011
Making the News
Today's blog is simply a highlight of my book release party for Rise and Fall of a Track Star. Below was pulled from the front page of the Michigan City News Dispatch.
Emotional Reunion
 |
| Omegia Keeys shows her book Saturday to her former coach, Bennie Edwards. Photo by Tim Moran |
Amid book signing, former Elston track star sees coach for first time since 1993
By Tim Moran
Staff Writer
MICHIGAN CITY — There was nothing but smiles on the faces of Omegia Keeys and Bennie Edwards at Sophia’s House of Pancakes on Saturday afternoon.Although Keeys did have a few tears running down her cheek, her run-in with Edwards at the local eatery was a heartwarming reunion.
Keeys, a Michigan City born author and former Elston High School track star, and Edwards, her high school coach and mentor in the early 1990s, were speaking to each other in person for the first time since 1993, the year Keeys graduated and began running track at Indiana State University.
Saturday’s reunion was part of a book signing where Keeys, who now lives in Indianapolis, returned to her home town to sign copies of her latest book, “Rise and Fall of a Track Star.”
“It is so wonderful to see Benny come back and to see the two of them together,” said JoAnn Johnson-Campbell, Keeys’ mother.
Edwards and Keeys took a few minutes, after an emotional hug, of course, to look through an old scrapbook of photos from their days with the Elston track team.
“It is so great to see him,” Keeys said. “It has been way too long.”
A proud Edwards could only smile when speaking of his 1991 state champion in the 400-meter dash.
“It is truly a blessing to hear and know about all her accomplishments,” Edwards said. “It is very enlightening to me to see her become a fantastic author and successful writer.”
It wasn’t just Edwards who came to see Keeys, now the author of six books. Her friends, family and a number of former teammates were on hand as she signed and sold copies of her newest work.
“It’s a great day to be back home,” the author said. “People have come in that I have not seen since high school.”
“Rise and Fall of a Track Star,” which can be purchased online at Amazon.com and other sites, is an emotional tale of how Keeys never gave up on her goals despite being a victim of a rape at 16 that led to the birth of her son.
Other works by the former stellar athlete include ones centered on preventing bullying and peer pressure.
“They are all for good causes,” Keeys said.
Edwards also was reunited with Keeys’ sister, Teresa Brown, who ran at Elston in the 1980s and qualified for the state tournament three times in the 200- and 400-meter dash events.
“It’s great to have the whole family here,” Johnson-Campbell said.
Need I say any more about my book signing? It was a blast! I would like to thank one of my closet and life long friend Stacey for being a part of this journey and Veronica, my ISU friend and track mate, for making the trip from Chicago.
Until Next Time,
Omegia
Friday, October 28, 2011
Featured Author--Chris Lindberg
What inspires you as a writer?
More than anything, it’s the things I see and hear every day. A conversation I might hear, a random thing I might notice, will sometimes make me stop and think, “could there be a story in that?” It’s amazing how much source material is out there if you just keep your eyes and ears open to it.
When did you have that ah ha moment when you knew you were a writer?
I think it kind of happened over time, where I just kept writing, and what I was creating kept getting better, and then before I knew it, I had a whole novel put together.
What is your writing process?
The most important piece to me is finding a space to write: not only in the real world, but also in my mind. In the real world, it just has to be a quiet space, where I can concentrate, without a lot of distractions. In my mind, I have to clear space first: if I have too much on my mind with other matters, the writing doesn’t come well. But going out for a run or bike ride does wonders for that.
Tell us about your favorite character and why you chose to write about them?
This is probably like choosing a favorite child, but I’ll do it anyway. One of the two main characters in Code of Darkness is a vigilante named Rage. I honestly can’t remember what inspired me to choose that name, but over time I found that it fit the character better than any other name I could’ve given him. Rage is a loner, an outsider who doesn’t know much about his mysterious past until it catches up with him. He’s the archetypical anti-hero: he doesn’t want to be a hero, but he ends up being one despite his best efforts not to. I chose to write about him because I always enjoyed stories about darker, misunderstood figures who in the end wound up being forces for good: you probably shouldn’t have been rooting for them, but you found yourself doing it anyway, and in the end you wound up being happy that you did.
What are you currently working on?
I’m bouncing back and forth between two projects: a coming-of-age space opera, and an apocalyptic thriller. But I’m getting some welcome feedback from readers that I should be doing a sequel to Code of Darkness, so I suppose I’d better get working on that, too.
Any upcoming events?
I’m working on some local book signings in the Chicago area, no firm dates as of today, but please check the Code of Darkness Facebook page as well as www.codeofdarkness.com for updates.
If you could be anyone you like, who would you be?
Wow, fun question. In reality, I think I would want to be George Clooney. He’s someone I really admire, and he just exudes coolness and confidence. If it could be anyone fictional, I’d probably choose Superman. It’d be cool to fly and lift heavy things.
Do you have any advice for new writers and something that a seasoned vet can learn?
For new writers, just keep at it. Keep writing. We’ve all heard the whole “your brain is a muscle” spiel, but we’ve heard it because it’s true. The more you do it the better you’ll get. And have fun with it -- it’s your own world you’re creating. I’m not sure I have anything new for a seasoned vet, so I’ll just give a reminder to keep helping other writers out. This space can be very competitive among writers, but it doesn’t need to be – we’re all creative minds, and we should support each other. We can leave the competitive stuff for the agents and publishers to deal with.
Where can your followers find you?
I have a Facebook page for Code of Darkness, just log onto Facebook and search the title – you’ll see the image of the cover (right before or after a listing for a European band of the same name). I also have a Twitter handle, Chrislindberg7. And finally, you can always check for updates at www.codeofdarkness.com.
Any last words?
Thanks for having me on your blog! For any of your readers that are interested in taking a closer look at Code of Darkness, there are previews of the first few chapters on both Amazon and on www.codeofdarkness.com for you to check out. It’s getting good reviews so far, so if you like thrillers with a touch of sci-fi, I’m hopeful you’ll give it a try!
Thank you for stopping by Chris. Please leave Chris a comment for your chance to win a signed copy or ebook!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Omegia Keeys' Visit To Mississippi: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
I would like to thank Conversations Book Club for hosting me this past weekend. It was a busy day but I had a great time!
Omegia Keeys' Visit To Mississippi: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
The day began with "Breakfast with Books" at Subway Crossgates in Brandon, MS where book club President Cyrus Webb met the author for the first time.
From there it was on to the Pearl Public Library in Pearl, MS where Keeys was able to meet patrons, discuss her titles and give them the opportunity to purchase the books she had available.
The last stop of the day was at Appetizers Restaurant in Pearl, MS where Webb interviewed Keeys for the November/December issue of Conversations Magazine and where others had their final opportunity to meet the author and take home autographed copies of her books.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)