"Author Night" Bandon Public Library

Hi!

 Last night I gave a 45 minute presentation at the Bandon Public Library as part of their monthly "Author Night" series. It was an honor to be invited to speak. I'm happy to report that the event had a good turn out. I also received a lot of good feedback on my presentation. Rather than simply talking about my books, I also spent a few minutes discussing the act of writing and my own personal writing journey.

 

Perhaps the best indication that the night was a success, I received numerous queries during the Q and A session at the end of my presentation. The questions were engaging, and I really enjoyed the group discussion that followed.

 

I also happy to report that I was able to send several copies of my books to happy to new homes. :)

 

I'd like to take a moment to thank the Bandon Library for inviting me to come speak. In particular, I'd like to thank Maureen Haggerty since she was my personal contact with the library. I'd also like to thank all of the people that attended last night's event. I really appreciated their support.

 

Writing and trying to get published is hard work. I feel so validated when I get invited to events like the one last night. I also enjoy meeting and chatting with my readers. Honestly, visiting with them is one of the best parts of being a writer. I love receiving their feedback-- both good and bad-- because I can then take that advice and apply it to my future work. After all, writing is a practice. No matter how much time I spend putting words on the page, I'll always know that I have room for improvement. I can only hope that my writing will continue to improve and evolve as I continue on my literary journey.

 

Thank you again!

 

~ H. S. Contino

Bandon Author Night

Hi!

Just a friendly reminder that I'll be the guest speaker at the Bandon Library Author Night this Monday at 7 pm. I'll be giving a 45 minute long discussion on my two books, my writing experience, and then hosting a Q&A session with the audience. Signed copies of both of my books, Shipwrecks of Coos County and Paw Prints, will be available for sale.

See you there!

"Paw Prints" Update!

Hi!

Just a quick update-- my latest book, Paw Prints, is now available in both print and e-book (Kindle only) formats. It was published through Create Space, which is owned by Amazon.





The books are available here:

http://www.amazon.com/H.-S.-Contino/e/B005JGPM58


Or, if you would prefer to purchase a signed and/or personalized copy, please feel free to e-mail me at H.S.Contino@hotmail.com.




As always, thank you for your support!

Have a great week!


~~ H. S. Contino

"Paw Prints" Update!

Hello everyone,

Yea! My new book, "Paw Prints: A Charming Collection of Pet Stories," is now available on Kindle. You can check it out here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B62FAN8

I'm taking pre-orders for print copies of the book. To celebrate the new publication, I'm offering free shipping for the first 50 orders. The print copy is $14.99. Please e-mail me at H.S.Contino@hotmail.com is you're interested.

Thank you! :)

"Paw Prints" Available Soon!

Hi!

I'm thrilled to announce that my latest book will be available for sale soon. I've submitted the final draft to the publisher. I'm just waiting for the proof to arrive so I can do one final read through. I'll have one last chance to catch any sneaky typos or other mistakes. After that I'll be able to release the book into the world. Yea!

My latest project is called "Paw Prints." It's a collection of short stories about pets and animals that either myself, my friends, or my family members have known over the years. I've included quite a menagerie. There are cats, dogs, guinea pigs, fish, horses, a donkey, a goose, goats, crabs, a rooster, crayfish, and even a chimpanzee-- just to name a few! The stories are as diverse as their subjects. There are funny stories, sad ones, and a few that are "stranger than fiction."

For fun, I invited a few friends and family members to contribute stories to the collection. I'm happy to announce that Debbie Newman, Brenda Salzano, and Mindy Mallory-Newman chose to participate. Their contributions help to add depth, diversity, and a different perspective to the stories in the book. Thank you all for participating!

The Kindle version of the book should be available by the end of the week. The print version will take a little bit longer. I'm hoping to have both on the market prior to Valentine's Day. I'll be sure to update this blog as soon as I have more details.

Shop Special!

* Shop Special: In honor of the post holiday shopping lull, I'm offering 25% off all purchases with the coupon code "StarvingArtist." Simply enter the coupon code while checking out to recieve the discount. Thank you for your support! *

 

www.etsy.com/shop/ReprievesCorner

 

 

New Year, New Projects

Happy New Year! Here's hoping we can all have a lucky '13!

 

I'm happy to report that I've been hard at work on a new project. I'm in the process of editing a manuscript that I'm calling "Paw Prints." It's a collection of touching and funny pet stories. Most of the stories come from my personal experience but I've also invited several friends and family members to contribute stories of their own.

 

"Paw Prints" is a laid back collection of stories. My goal is to write the stories as if I'm sitting down having a conversation with someone. I've had animals my whole life and I can't ever imagine a time when I wouldn't have at least one pet sharing my home with me. The animals have been a constant source of companionship, amusement, and (at times) exasperation. There are funny stories, sad ones, and stories that are "stranger than fiction."

 

Although the majority of the stories are about cats and dogs (my two favorite pets), there are also stories about pet snakes (my brother's), horses (my mother's), tarantulas (which we caught as children living in Arizona), and more!

 

At the moment, my plan is to self-publish the book through a print-on-demand publisher. I'm hoping to publish the book by March. I divide my time between writing and crafting (www.etsy.com/etsy/ReprievesCorner). The craft fair and festival season begins in April, so I'm hoping to have "Paw Prints" already published so I can bring copies of it with me to the Farmer's Market and other events to sell.

 

Since the stories are focused on pets and animals, I've decided to donate a portion of the sale of each book to one of the local non-profit organizations, Pacific Cove Humane Society. Although they're a small group, their devoted volunteers work hard to find homes for animals. They also provide vaccinations, low cost spaying/neutering, and foster homes for animals that need rehabilitation. It's a great organization. To find out more, please visit their webpage: www.PacificCove.org.

 

Well, I'll keep everyone posted. I'm really looking forward to hearing the feedback on "Paw Prints" once it's published!

The cats doing their best to prevent me from working-- they're sprawled across my desk chair. ;)