Spring Break's Over... and Another Award Nom!

Wyatt and MacKenzie went skiing -- at Willamette Pass -- for the first time over Spring Break! Watching the video of Kenzie going down the hill faster than fast, in an unswerving straight line, reminded me of the first few years of publishing. You fly by the seat of your pants, optimistic you'll make it to the end without getting too badly injured. To hell with the snow plow, who needs to stop? But now, if I were skiing instead of publishing, I think I'd be gracefully slaloming down the hill, avoiding pitfalls only visible to the keen, experienced eye, and not choosing hills that look too good to be true. Okay... so there's my segue.

Meanwhile, back in the Wyatt-MacKenzie offices we are thrilled to announce another ForeWord Magazine Book-of-the-Year nomination! Deb Dunham's (self-esteem guru!) TWEEN YOU & ME. It's one of MacKenzie's favorite books we've published -- the first specially for the tween market.

2009 ForeWord Finalist Juvenile Nonfiction

Launch Party for THE SAVANNAH PROJECT

I can't tell you how happy this video makes me! This is the release party for Chuck Barrett's thriller THE SAVANNAH PROJECT. Note the t-shirts (LOVE 'EM) the posters and the title page Chuck is signing... seeing each little piece of his branding package made me squeal.  

CONGRATS Chuck! 
By the way, Chuck was also my cheerleader for starting this blog, so thanks Chuck!

Wyatt-MacKenzie Signs with Sony

We've signed with Sony for distribution of our eBooks thru Sony eReaders! Watch for our first collection of Wyatt-MacKenzie titles to be available in the eReader Store this fall!




From the SonyStyle website: Together with Google Books, the Reader^™ Store brings you access to over 1 million eBooks. That's twice as many as the Kindle Store.

Wyatt-MacKenzie Signs with Audible

Wyatt-MacKenzie has signed with Audible.com for the distribution of our Audiobooks! Audible is the exclusive distributor of downloadable audiobooks through Amazon, iTunes, and their own membership program at audible.com.

Stay tuned for the downloadable audiobook releases of Pam Leo's CONNECTION PARENTING and Sharon Ellison's TAKING POWER STRUGGLE OUT OF PARENTING. And... we are thrilled to announce the acquisition of the downloadable audiobook rights to Dr. Larry Cohen's PLAYFUL PARENTING!


MORE ABOUT AUDIBLE
Audible, Inc., an Amazon.com, Inc. subsidiary, is the leading provider of premium digital spoken audio information and entertainment, on the Internet. Audible specializes in the spoken experience, providing digital audio editions of books, newspapers and magazines, original programming, and TV and radio subscriptions. Audible has over 60,000 audio programs from more than 600 content providers that include leading audiobook publishers, broadcasters, entertainers, magazine and newspaper publishers, and business information providers. Audible is the preeminent provider of spoken-word audio products for Apple’s iTunes® Store.

My New Book Nook!

So often I am inspired by the authors I publish. I spent last week working with Annie Burnside's manuscript for SOUL TO SOUL PARENTING and was left with an undeniable desire to nurture myself and my space. As I read Annie's beautiful book, I kept recognizing books she mentioned that I have loved over the years, and I was compelled to collect them all together after two decades of being boxed, stored, or forgotten, and create a space for them, and for my kids and I to discuss why they have meant so much to me. This past weekend we made my new Book Nook!

This space in the corner of my office used to be filled with boxes and boxes and boxes of RETURNS. (Bookstores work on consignment - books spend two months on the shelf and if they do not sell, they are sent back.) The difference in the energy of the space now is absolutely unbelievable – and it has worked to attract my kids to hang out while I work, and inquire about the books I have been collecting since high school.

It was a "Sell This House" project – one of my favorite weekend joys is watching Tanya Memme and Roger Hazard spend $200 and two days to make a house look amazing. Taking their lead, we painted the walls and an existing white bookshelf in a luscious moss green. The old bricks, which were originally on the outside of our little farmhouse and looked pretty bad, were painted with "Boston Brick Red" and I pulled out a wonderful old poster from 1992 signed to me by cartoonist Jim Borgman. We hung some inexpensive shelves and found a gorgeous wandering jew for $4.99. The seat is an Ottoman from an on-sale sectional for a fraction of the regular price and the reading light was $11.99. Pillows were from St. Vincent DePaul (6 for the price of one from Pier One) and a new dogbed for "Book" also from St. Vincent (helping homeless families). We did it!

So this is where you can picture me... reviewing book proposals, sketching cover designs, and brainstorming branding campaigns... or taking Wyatt and MacKenzie down my own memory lane of books that have shaped their mom's life.

Stem-Cell Transplant Memoir Holds Key to Curing M.S.

March is M.S. Awareness Month and Sandi Selvi celebrates the ten-year anniversary of a successful stem-cell transplant and remission from M.S. in her humorous memoir WON'T DO STAND-UP IN A WHEELCHAIR (Wyatt-MacKenzie, Mar. 31, 2010).

After being diagnosed with M.S. in 1995, Sandi Selvi began to decline rapidly and quickly became frustrated with conventional medical options. The drugs had nasty side effects, and in her case, the drugs stopped working. So, in March of 2000 Sandi joined forces with the brilliant doctors at Scripp's in San Diego for a $100,000 autologous stem cell transplant. 

During the two-month medical procedure Sandi came pretty close to death, but a $10.99 box of comedy tapes she bought at Costco helped her through recovery, and changed her life. Sandi now shares her journey, and her medical miracle, through stand-up comedy, and through inspiring, yet humorous, keynote speeches.


Lynn Ruth Miller, author of STARVING HEARTS, reviews, "Spell-binding-rings true on every level. Inspiring and empowering for anyone facing challenges they think are so insurmountable that they cannot be overcome." 

Sandi Selvi has since been delighting audiences with her wit and insight at places like the Improv, Rooster T. Feathers, the Comedy Store, Caroline's on Broadway and many other venues since her transplant. Her keynote speeches are in-demand at corporate and professional association events. Based on her incredible medical journey, magazine and newspaper articles have been written about her life and sense of humor, and Sandi was also featured in the movie Comedy, Ain't for the Money.


For Sandi’s performance dates, video clips, or inquiries about her keynote speeches, visit http://www.SandiSelvi.com.

Thriller - Out Tomorrow!

We're thrilled to announce our first nail-biting thriller THE SAVANNAH PROJECT by Chuck Barrett has hit stores. 

“An intense, heart-pounding St. Patrick’s Day thriller!” 

THE STORY: An NTSB investigator is called to Savannah to investigate what appears to be a routine aircraft accident during the St. Patrick's Day celebration. Ensuing suspicions of sabotage launch a deadly chain of events. He must elude an assassin if he is to expose the cause of the crash. Secrets surface that could bring down governments and the search for the truth draws him to Ireland and a race against the clock before the killer strikes again. 

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR After growing up in Panama City, Florida, Chuck Barrett received a degree in Aviation Management from Auburn University. Five years spent flying charter, air ambulance, and flight instructing in Mississippi was followed by 25 years as an air traffic controller in Northeast Florida.The Savannah Project, Barrett's first novel, interweaves his aviation expertise, a long-held passion for writing and a keen sense of suspense. For more on Chuck visit www.chuckbarrett.org