Historically Speaking: By Land, Sea & Sky

Hello!

I'm happy to announce that I'll be one of the guest speakers at the Coos Bay Public Library's fall lecture series. I'll be giving a 45 minute presentation on local shipwrecks followed by a Q & A session.

When: Thursday, November 17, 2011
Where: Coos Bay Library's Myrtlewood Room
Time: 7 pm
Cost: FREE!

I hope to see you there!

PS-- A representative of the Coos Historical & Maritime Museum will be there with a selection of historical titles from their book store.

http://bay.cooslibraries.org/foundation/?page_id=299

Update! Florence Festival of Books

Hello!

I'm happy to announce that the Florence Festival of Books was a complete success. More than 60 authors and publishers sponsored tables at the event which attracted approximately 350 visitors.

I was able to "talk shop" with several other Oregon writers, trade business cards and contact information, and even sell a few books. :)

The only negative part of the day was the rain. It was raining buckets when we were taking down our displays and carrying our books back to our cars. My friend and I got soaked. We got to make the hour long trip home with soggy socks and shoes! LOL

Sorry for taking so long to post this update. I've been busy with a new writing project, a science fiction novel, which has been taking up most of my limited free time. I've written more than 45,000 words in 6 weeks on the new project. I've never had a story come so easily! More updates to come!

As always, thank you for visiting my little blog and helping support my writing dreams. I really appreciate your support!

Florence Festival of Books

I'm happy to announce that I'll be participating in the first annual Florence Festival of Books on Saturday, October 1st from 10 am until 4 pm. The event will be held at the Florence Events Center in Florence, Oregon. For directions, please visit their web page (www.eventcenter.org).

The festival will be the gathering place for approximately 60 writers and publishers. It's a place where we can sell books and make connections within the writing community. The event is open to the public.

To read the Press Release, please click here.

I'm really excited about the Florence Festival of Books. This will be my first book fair as an officially published author. I hope to see you there!

Signed Copies of "Shipwrecks of Coos County" Available

I recently had someone ask me where they can buy a copy of my new book, "Shipwrecks of Coos County." Well, you have several options:

1. You can buy a signed (and personalized) copy directly from the author by e-mailing H.S.Contino@hotmail.com. The book sells for $21.99 plus $3 postage.

2. You can buy the book locally (on the Oregon coast) by visiting one of the following businesses:

Books by the Bay (*has signed copies available*)

Barnes & Noble

Best Western Holiday Motel

Bob’s Beach Books

Coos Historical & Maritime Museum

Dad’s Antiques

EZ Orchards

Gold Hill Pharmacy

Oregon Inspiration

Winter River Books

Bay Area Chamber of Commerce

Charleytown Marketplace

Checkerberry’s Flowers & Gifts

Friends of Shore Acres

Oregon Inspiration

The Oregon Connection

Farr’s True Value Hardware

Pancake Mill

Umpqua Discovery Center


3. You can order a copy of the book online. There are numerous online vendors that are carrying the book. They include:

Arcadia Publishing (http://www.arcadiapublishing.com)

Barnes & Noble

Amazon.com


Once again, I'd like to thank everyone for all of their wonderful support during this exciting period of my life. I've dreamed of being a published author ever since I was little girl. It still seems surreal at times to realize that I've achieved my goal.

Thank you for buying a copy of my book.

Sincerely,

H. S. Contino

Book Signing Press Release

The first book signing event for my new shipwreck book will be this Saturday at 1 pm at the Coos Historical & Maritime Museum in North Bend, Oregon. I'll lead an hour long discussion of local shipwrecks, then be on hand to sign copies of the book and answer questions.

The following press release was featured in today's edition of The World newspaper:

Author to Sign Copies of Coos Shipwreck Book

I hope to see you there!

More Publicity

I have two more speaking engagements to announce!

Saturday May 7th Books By the Bay in North Bend, OR 1-3 pm

Tuesday May 10th Rotary Club Meeting at the Red Lion Hotel in Coos Bay, OR 12 pm

I'll be available to answer questions and sell/sign books afterwards.

I hope to see you there!

Publication & Publicity

Wow-- what an exciting week! Shipwrecks of Coos County was officially released last week. Since then I have been selling signed copies of the book, I've been working with my publisher's sales and marketing department to get the book on the shelves of as many local businesses as possible, and I was interviewed by the local newspaper. It's been a great week, and so far it looks like the book is going to be a success (deep sigh of relief)... but, at times it seems surreal-- writing a book and having it published has been my dream for so long that it's hard to believe that it's true. The book is really published. :)

Oh, before I forget, the following link will take you to the newspaper story:

'Shipwrecks' Book Focuses on Local Maritime History

I've also been hard at work on a book talk and Powerpoint presentation. I've scheduled my first book signing event:

Saturday, April 23rd at 1 pm
at the Coos Historical & Maritime Museum in North Bend, Oregon

(Please call (541) 756-6320 for additional details and/or directions).

I hope to see you there!