Archive for the ‘books’ Category
Winner of The Go-Getter Girl’s Guide…and a Macaroon Teaser
After a weekend full of making cookies (14 different kind!) with my mom, I’m ready for a long winter’s nap. And yet today is the shortest day of the year. Doesn’t that just figure?
Anyway, do come back Wednesday for a recipe for one of my mom’s newest and most delicious cookie recipes ever–the Chewy Coconut Macaroon. She only started making these last year, and I wasn’t here for that, so this is my first experience with these bad boys. Whoa. LOVE.
But now, what you’ve all been waiting for. I’ve randomly chosen the winner of The Go-Getter Girl’s Guide by Debra Shigley, and the lucky commenter is:
Catherine of Passage to Italy
Congratulations Catherine! I’ll be in touch.
To the rest of you, get out there and get your copy for your favorite go-getter girl!
And come back Wednesday for those macaroons!
Book Giveaway: The Go-Getter Girl’s Guide by Debra Shigley
Debra Shigley is a journalist, speaker, and author of the book The Go-Getter Girl’s Guide: Get What You Want in Work and Life (and Look Great While You’re at It). Debra went to Harvard undergrad and then got her law degree at Georgia State–and now she writes books and, not surprisingly, looks great doing it.
The Go-Getter Girl’s Guide is a comprehensive resource for career women who want to succeed in the workplace but not lose their own sense of self. The book covers strategies in the following areas, among others:
- Cultivating mentors
- Handling office politics
- Schmoozing
- Dressing for Success
- Maintaining a Healthy Physical and Emotional Lifestyle
Debra sent me a copy, and I flew through this book. It’s full of great advice for women in all stages of their careers, but especially for those just starting out, which makes this a fabulous graduation gift — or, of course, Christmas gift. On top of all that great advice, though, you’ll find the reading easy and enjoyable with Debra’s casual, funny writing style.
And it really does cover so much of what women should know before stepping foot into a workplace; one of my favorite parts is about tips on how to ask for a raise. Many, many of us women struggle with that, but Debra makes it look easy peasy. And it is, once you learn how it should be done.
Now, I’m going to give you a chance to win my copy of the book; all you have to do is comment on this post by 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, December 20, 2009. I am, though, limiting the contest to those with shipping addresses in the United States or Canada.
If you live abroad, why not enter and then have the book sent to an American or Canadian friend or relative as a gift — or you can even pick it up sometime on a visit? All you need is *some* address in the U.S. or Canada; it doesn’t have to be yours!
Now, here’s a guest post by Debra to give you a taste of her writing:
I’ve been thinking about some new studies that suggest women are gradually becoming unhappier than we were 40 years ago. Of course, the research reflects a snapshot and not the complete picture of modern women’s experiences. I’m happy, and I speak to women all the time who are living happy and fulfilled lives, personally and professionally. But, I think the research prompts us to consider a few things.
First, happiness is such a relative term, and how you personally define it — e..g, ‘feeling good’; joy; fulfillment; professional success; being in love; even having a good hair day!– affects whether you feel you’re achieving it in your life. But second, women fundamentally have more opportunities than we did 40 years ago, and I think with so many options and choices, happiness can also become a choice. Happiness—however you define it– doesn’t just happen by accident! It’s something I became very aware of interviewing so many women who are making their dreams happen (and looking great too!)—Go-Getter Girls, as I came to think of them. These are women who are fun, sassy, savvy—and who are also generous and want to share their advice on everything from finding your perfect job to your perfect pair of jeans.
As a women, I think we almost have to ask ourselves on a daily (hourly?!) basis, am I doing things in my life to make me feel happy? Do I even know what will make me happy? Am I taking ownership of the choices I’m making—whether it’s my relationships, career, health? Am I traveling? Trying new things? Working out? Treating myself to a manicure? Creating joy in my own life, and others’ lives? Finding fulfillment sometimes takes a lot of work! That’s sort of the essence of Go-Getter Girl-ness: taking charge of and responsibility for your life and career—instead of waiting for life – and happiness- to just happen to you.
Now, get after it!
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Thanks Debra! I’m definitely a fan of not waiting for life to happen…go ladies go!
And remember to comment for your chance to win a copy of the book!
Winner of 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go
Thanks to all 78 of you who left comments to win a copy of Susan Van Allen’s 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go.
I randomly drew a winner from all eligible comments and the winner of the book is:
Lark!
Congratulations Lark!
Please send your mailing address to michellefabio5(at)gmail(dot)com, and I’ll pass it along to Susan.
Hey, is everyone ready for the holidays or what?
Book Giveaway: 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go
Last post, I tried to explain a bit about why I might possibly want to live in Italy–and by the way, thank you all *so* much for all the wonderful, kind, and supportive comments and insights!
Now as good timing would have it, today we have a guest post from Susan Van Allen, author of 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go, entitled:
Thoughts on Why Women Love Italy…
Before we get to the post, though, a contest just in time for the holidays!
Comment on this post on the blog (NOT on Facebook, Twitter, etc.) before midnight EST on Sunday, December 13, 2009 to be eligible to win one copy of Susan Van Allen’s 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go.
Now, here’s Susan:
I heard a story about a Manhattan shrink that intrigues me. His prescription for female patients who are depressed or suffering from low self esteem is this:
Take one Italian Vacation and call me when you come home…if you come home!
Smart shrink! From my experience, the test results are in: Every woman I’ve ever met (me included) who takes an Italian vacation comes back rejuvenated, strengthened, and often cured of whatever had been plaguing her.
So what is the secret ingredient that Italy has to turn our lives around?
I delved into this question while writing 100 Places In Italy Every Woman Should Go, talking to over a hundred women about their Italian travel experience and remembering my own, that began in 1976. I kept asking: “Why do you love Italy?” Inevitably this answer came: “It feels like Home”.
I understand “It feels like home” coming from someone like me, an Italian-American, who grew up with grandparents, aunts, and uncles who emigrated from southern Italy. I fell in love with Italy at my grandparents’ dining room table in Newark, New Jersey: a loving, abundant, and delicious place. Ever since my first trip there, over 30 years ago, that beautiful childhood feeling from that New Jersey dining room table rushes back at me each time I touch down in Italy.
But what about all those women without a drop of Italian blood who answered, “It feels like home.”
Obviously, we’re talking “Home” in that beautiful sweeping sense—Home meaning “a place that understands us, a place that feeds our soul.”
We feel it as soon as we land in Italy: a deluge of sensual pleasures: We see masterpieces, gorgeous sunsets, fountains, gardens, we smell the ragu, taste the wine and gelato, hear church bells, the lilting Italian language. We feel the Mediterranean sun on our shoulders. It’s such an overload of sensual pleasures, we lose our minds and our hearts melt open.
And then Italy embraces us.
It’s this embrace, I believe, that leads to the answer to my question. Yes, Italy is probably one of the world’s most welcoming country to everyone, but it seems to be especially custom made to welcome women.
Why do Women Love Italy? Because Italy Loves Women.
Women are adored here, from baby principessas to nonnas. And who doesn’t adore being adored?
On the surface, the adoration comes from those handsome Italian men, who in the great tradition of Casanova, have mastered the art of flirting. But in Italy, the adoration of women goes even deeper than that. It’s rooted in this culture that’s worshipped women as divine beings ever since the earth was cooling.
Could this be the secret ingredient? Italy’s long tradition of female worship? You’re surrounded by it everywhere you turn. It comes on most strongly through two deities who reign supreme, side-by-side: Venus, that Vixen Goddess of Love and Beauty, and the Madonna, the Mother of Abundance and Compassion. We come face to face with these females in sculptures and paintings in museums, temples, and churches. Their essence floats in the Italian air, buoying us. Together, Venus and the Madonna embody the complete woman: The Venus side of us that’s the whimsical, adventurous beauty who revels in sensual pleasures and the Madonna side of us—the nurturing, compassionate soul whose generosity is boundless.
Stand back and take a look at an Italian woman striding down the via—she knows those divine Venus-Madonna sparks live inside her. For the rest of us, a trip to Italy fans those sparks. It reawakens us and takes us back to our true divine nature, to our souls. Effortlessly, it takes us home.
So you could spend years on a psychiatrist’s couch. Or, as that Manhattan shrink suggests, you could take a trip to Italy. I say, Go! Buy that ticket. Enjoy every moment. Revel in coming home.
————
LOVE this, Susan. Thanks so much!
Remember to comment for your chance to win a copy of Susan’s book by Sunday at midnight!
How to Launch a Debut Novel in the US from Abroad
Oh don’t I *wish* I was the author of this post and writing from experience? Someday!
As it were, you’re about to read the outstanding advice from Kristin Bair O’Keeffe, author of Thirsty and an American who has been living in Shanghai, China since April 2006. This post is part of the WOW Blog Tour, but, to be clear, I’ve received nothing in exchange for giving Kristin some time here. I just like to show new authors who happen to be from Pennsylvania and live abroad (ahem) some extra love sometimes.
More on Kristin:
Aside from being a debut author, Kristin is also a voracious reader, a happy mom, an engaging teacher who believes in “telling the best story you can…believing in your writing…and working your arse off,” a fierce advocate for the end of domestic violence, and a writer who spends as much time as possible in writerhead.
To find out more, visit ThirstytheNovel.com or Kristin’s blog at KristinBairOKeeffeBlog.com.
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How to Launch a Debut Novel in the U.S. from Abroad
When I signed a publishing contract with Swallow Press in 2008, I (like most first-time authors) was over-the-top excited. I yelped…did a jig…and wore a sh*t-eatin’ grin for weeks. At some point (between jigs) I realized, “Holy schmoly! My debut novel is going to be published in the United States while I am living in China.”
This sobered me up real quick (temporarily, at least). Anyone who has published a novel knows how hard it is to get their book into readers’ hands if they are actually living IN the United States and are able to communicate easily with bookstores, publicists, editors, and most importantly, potential readers. How the heck was I going to do it from the other side of the world?
Good question.
First, let’s look at my challenges:
GEOGRAPHY: Now, pull out that globe you used in high school geography class. That’s me in Shanghai, over there on the east coast of China. I’m waving! “Hello! Ni hao! Ni hao!”
And over there…yep, spin that globe…all the way on the other side of the world in the United States…that’s where my debut novel Thirsty was published on October 1, 2009.
TRAVEL: To get from Shanghai to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (where Thirsty takes place), I have to take a 13.5-hour flight from Shanghai to Newark. Then a 3.5-hour flight from Newark to Pittsburgh. That’s 17 hours in the air, PLUS an endless number of hours spent taxi-ing on runways and eating awful food in various airports. That doesn’t even count the time spent getting to and from airports. Total travel time? With no glitches, at least 24 hours. (Tired yet?)
CHILDREN: I have a 21-month-old daughter who goes everywhere with me. She is energetic, chatty, stubborn, hilarious, prone to kicking the seat in front of her on an airplane, and at the age when all she wants to is RUN. Enough said.
TIME ZONES: Right now (as I write) it is 6:35 a.m. on Friday, November 13 in Shanghai. At this same moment, it is 7:35 p.m. on Thursday, November 12 in New York City. (Yes, it’s the day before. Weird, huh?) We are 13 hours ahead of the east coast.
INTERNET ACCESS: Because I live in a country that does not allow free access to the Internet, I am blocked from all the sites I need in order to interact with potential readers, including Facebook, Twitter, my own blog, YouTube, and many other writer-related sites. (Gggrrr…grumble.)
Hhhmmm. That’s a pretty comprehensive list of the challenges I faced. Here’s how I managed them:
STAY AWAKE! In the months leading up to the launch of Thirsty, I had to set up readings and book signings in the United States. To do this, I had to talk to events coordinators and bookstore managers from Shanghai on U.S. time. That means I was calling them at oh, say, 11:00 AM their time, which was (while Daylight Savings Time was still in place) 11:00 PM my time. Inevitably three out of four would say, “Oh, I’m interested, but can you call me at 2:00?” Yes, that meant 2:00 a.m. my time. (And I did. How did I stay alert? By hopping up and down and chomping into a lemon slice just before making each call.)
CLOSE THE GAP: Early on I decided that the only way to properly launch my debut novel was to be in the United States at the time of publication. So despite the cost, the debilitating jetlag, and the time spent, I (along with my husband and daughter) flew to the U.S. in late September.* My daughter and I stayed for about six weeks; my husband flew back to China after two weeks.
SAY YES! While in the U.S., I did as many events as possible. I attended a convention of independent booksellers. I did readings, book signings, and radio interviews. I even spent two days at my high school alma mater (shout out to Bethel Park High School!) chatting with the creative writing students about writing, publishing, life in China, and other cool stuff. My motto? If someone offers an opportunity, say yes.
HELP? If you can, hire a publicist. I did, and it gave me a voice in the U.S. I wouldn’t have had otherwise. This can be expensive, but it’s worth it.
SHARE THE CULTURE: When I hosted an online giveaway of cool bookmarkers created by a Shanghai artist, I got loads of visitors to my blog and to the Thirsty website. It was a great way to share Thirsty and a bit of China.
“HI! I’M WWW._________” Have you heard? These days an author needs a strong Internet presence no matter where she lives, but because I live so far from my target readership, it’s even more important for me. By using a VPN (Virtual Private Network), I’m able to access almost all sites from which I am blocked in China. (Of course not all VPNs work here…I’ve been through a number of them.) Check it out:
BLOG At “My Beautiful, Far-Flung Life,” I write about Thirsty, writing, my path to publishing, motherhood, wacky things in China, cool things in China, and more.
THIRSTY WEBSITE: I found a terrific website designer in the U.S. and together we designed a pretty cool site. (TIP: Writing copy—good copy—for a website takes time. On each page, you are telling a story—about you, your book, etc. Give yourself loads of time to write before launching the site.)
TWEET, TWEET: Via Twitter @kbairokeeffe I’ve connected with lots of readers and writers. I’ve made friends, hosted giveaways of Thirsty, and built up a fun community.
VIDEOS: Guess what? People love to watch stuff. Luckily I love to create stuff. Thus far I’ve done a video interview, created a book trailer, and said yes when the books editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette asked to do a webcast interview with me.
BEST FRIENDS FOREVER: Yep, I’m on Facebook, too. (Are you catching on to the theme here? Connect, connect, connect.)
Whew. I’ll stop there. Yes, there are lots more ways to get your novel noticed (Good Reads, Jacketflap, blog tours, etc.), but you get the picture. My final bit of advice to writers launching books from overseas? Do the celebratory jig, get ready for a hell of lot of wonderful work, and keep the lemons close.
Now…off to recover from jetlag.
*I’d like to offer a formal apology to the man who sat in front of my daughter on the flight from Shanghai to Newark on September 26. I realize that she kicked the back of your seat at least 2,858,367 times over the course of the 13.5-hour flight. Good karma coming to you for only scowling, not yelling or throwing your shoes at us.
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Thanks Kristin, and best of luck!
If you have any questions or comments for Kristin, please leave them here!
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
Calabria Guidebook
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