Naked in Hungary

Posted on by Ashley Harris

This morning I caught Nando on my laptop surfing the internet. Not surprisingly, his search history included terms such as “rawhide,”  “how to catch squirrels,” and “how to cope with a neurotic owner.” All innocent fun but suppose he had been there a minute longer? He did look a little guilty so I hesitate to ponder what other frontiers exist in the canine mind.

As for humans, there are no surprises. WordPress gives bloggers a handy little report that lists all the terms that internet surfers use to stumble upon our blogs. Needless to say, with a novel titled Naked and Hungry, one must be prepared for the tone and scope of search terms you will see. It’s also fair to say that these surfers were not always looking for what I had to offer.

However, I do find quite a bit of amusement in the terms that bring surfers to my blog. One of my favorites has been “Naked in Hungary” which has appeared far too frequently for it to be a mistyping of “Naked and Hungry.” It certainly brings a bit of adventure to the idea of traveling in Eastern Europe and may explain why it’s such a popular tourist destination nowadays. Other gems have been “naked celebrates” which appears so often that I’m thinking it’s probably a mistyping of “naked celebrities.” So if any of my writer friends are seeking a sure-fire title that would bring a steady stream of traffic, I’m offering this term up for your use.

I try not to ponder too long on the kind of person who would enter “caroline I would love to see you naked” in the search engines, but instead I find joy in knowing that so many people share my love of authors William Trevor (“william trevor favorite author”) and Flannery O’Connor (“conflict in a good man is hard to find”). I only hope that these kindred spirits will stay long enough to read a posting or two or perhaps even comment.

Have any search engine stories of your own? Share them here and at the very least, we’ll have a good laugh. As for Nando, I’m going to have to keep a closer eye on him.

A Valentine for the Artists Among Us

Posted on by Ashley Harris

Go into the arts. I’m not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something. —Kurt Vonnegut

This quote comes courtesy of good friend John Graham and it’s my valentine to all of my friends, who are artists in their own way. You make the world a better place.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Welcome to Blurb Boot Camp!

Posted on by Ashley Harris

I had a serious wake-up call last May when my editor asked me if I had any promotional blurbs to print on the outside of Naked and Hungry. You’ve heard of blurbs, right? Those jazzy little snippets kindly provided by more successful writers. Oh, and we had about a month to get these. Gulp!

The good news is that I didn’t have time to panic. So I reached out to friends and other writers, some whom I knew and some who were referred to me by dear friends such as the inimitable John Graham, literary muse and more to hundreds. To be fair, some folks said no but most, surprisingly, said yes. This yielded three blurbs as well as three more proofreaders, all of whom generously pointed out errors in my manuscript that I had missed.

Next, I reached out to a publisher who declined to publish my book but hired me as a copyeditor for his own books. And since every “no” may hide a “yes,” I reached out to an editor who denied my short story (too long for his publication) but had offered to review my novel in his literary journal. And last, I reached out to the editor of my hometown newspaper and a local environmentalist  (another friend’s referral) since my book had an environmental theme. Fini!

Now that I passed basic training for writing publicity (albeit barely, whew!), I thought I’d share these hints as well as my blueprint for the next time. For my second book, I plan a bolder and slightly savvier approach First, I’m starting much, much earlier and reaching a little wider. I plan to reach out to the same kind of writers who inspired me. What do I have to lose? I also plan to reach out to more area journalists and local booksellers whom I’ve met as I’ve promoted my first book.

I also plan to submit more of my writing such as shorter pieces or publication and to contests. Hopefully, this will not only yield more exposure it will introduce me to more influence leaders who might be willing to lend their name to my second book. Worst case, I’ll make even more friends!

Because I’m still learning, I’d be remiss if I didn’t reach out to all of you and ask your thoughts. Referrals, ideas and thoughts are welcome!