We're all atwitter... in Germany!

When I received a pitch for a book with the premise "what to expect when your spouse wins the Nobel Prize" I laughed and wondered, How big could this market possible be -- spouses of Nobel prizewinners? But I loved the idea, knew there was a bigger market for this extraordinary story and envisioned a beautiful gift book.

So -- who'd a thunk our book would be gifted to every Nobel Laureate this year in Lindau? Here's the first page of the programme, author Anita Laughlin gave a reading earlier today in Germany...

We're all atwitter!

I confess, I only recently learned how to really use twitter to communicate -- and this morning I am having a dialogue with participants in Lindau! One little #hashtag and one little @message and there I am on the Nobel homepage getting feedback about author Anita Laughlin's reading earlier today. Wow. 

We are awaiting photos from tomorrow's Opening Ceremony Dinner, where guests will all receive a copy. I'm doing a dance in my little ole office in Deadwood, Oregon... and today Wyatt-MacKenzie added our 116th title to Amazon!

  

First Half of 2010 - 12 Highlights!

Check out Wyatt-MacKenzie's latest press release with the highlights of the first half of 2010!

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Gustaf's daughter, Princess Victoria, Marries Her Love

I wonder if they served REINDEER at the wedding...!? 

I was enamored by the beautiful images of Swedish Princess Victoria's wedding this weekend. Seeing her father, King Gustaf, walking her down the aisle, and knowing he read and endorsed OUR book was a thrill!

REINDEER WITH KING GUSTAF: What to Expect When Your Spouse Wins the Nobel Prize will be gifted to every Laureate and guest this weekend at the Lindau Nobel Anniversary ceremonies! (Can you believe it!?) Author Anita Laughlin will be reading an excerpt at the festivities in Germany on Saturday. Here's an announcement in one of the German papers...

Anita emailed me this weekend that she is still a bit in shock, but she confirmed -- she found a dress for the reading, so all is well! The Nobel Committee translated the excerpt to German, download it here: Buchpassage Laughlin.

Soul to Soul Publishing

Last week our new title SOUL TO SOUL PARENTING, by Annie Burnside, officially released! It's a powerful book with a big message. When someone asked me this weekend, "How do you find the books you take on your traditional roster?" The thought "soul to soul publishing" flashed through my mind. Annie writes about connecting soul to soul with people, not role to role. And, as much as I question my role in this world (as do the big literary agents!), for some reason I can't question the way the Universe delivers amazing souls and their manuscripts to me which resonate in a way that is beyond the marketing plan and author's platform. That's the answer to how I get our most amazing titles... Wyatt-MacKenzie authors who have enjoyed their journey become the catalyst to new connections... soul to soul to soul! A new connection we made a few weeks ago was with one of the strongest, most resilient souls I have ever met. I received the email below from one of our authors...

"I also want to tell you about an amazing autobiographical manuscript I read, All the Pretty Shoes by a very unassuming writer, Marianne R. Klein who, at 12, saved her life from the Nazi's by inserting herself into a pile of her executed neighbors and friends. As an orphaned fugitive of WWII, she was exposed to rape and murder. On the way to America via Montreal Canada, she became a teenage mother, a dance instructor and a fashion model. What's extraordinary about Marianne is that through all this turmoil, she never stopped believing in and looking for true love. How many people could hold such an ideal in their hearts given the life she lead. And yes, she found her soul mate! Against all odds and reason! It's a lovely book, not grim at all and about so much more than war and oppression. Only a valiant and determined woman could keep ideal love as the goal of her life. It's well written. Marianne has studied creative writing at UCLA where this ms has been very highly praised and has, lately, done UCLA's Writer's Boot Camp for Screenplays. You'd be the perfect publisher for her, Nancy. Your insight into the writing of women would make her very comfortable. As I said, she's unassuming. And funny, and still beautiful."

I read the manuscript the Friday night I received it... brought it to bed with me and fell asleep after closing the last page, with tears in my eyes. I signed her immediately as our first 2011 release, and found a brilliant UK artist's painting for the cover. 

This weekend I received the author's photos. I was breathless, and actually shook as I flipped through generations of sepia photos, the actual photos. I smelled them, I held them, I can't believe the Universe brought this experience to me, this writer, this book, this journey...

Wyatt-MacKenzie Signs Wild Bobby Kennedy Book!

We have signed our third novel! Humping Credenzas with the Late Bobby Kennedy: A Convict's True Account. It is the re-release, revised edition of an absolutely wild, very adult, story. Not for the faint of heart, the author Robert Gordon masterfully crafts a tale of reincarnation and redemption. Read more about Robert in Huff Post essays "Letter to Obama from a Dying Friend" and "Life Lessons from a Dying Friend" - you will be as awed as I am by this amazing man. And, having grown up outside of Boston, anything Kennedy perks up my ears. Wyatt-MacKenzie Imprint Naomi Baltuck introduced Robert to us, and has been instrumental in working with the author on the final manuscript up in Seattle these last few weeks.  

Originally published as "When Bobby Kennedy Was a Moving Man" - here is our new cover design. Robert took the photo of Bobby Kennedy himself when he was a child, sharing the story with me: "In Washington D.C. with my father in 1967. My father urged me to go and take a picture. Kennedy spent 5 minutes showing a scared little boy how to use his own new Instamatic camera! It is my most prized possession."

The major review rags went nuts over the first edition in 1994 and this one has been polished to the point of international, award-winning, film-worthy shine. New York Times Book Review: "Audacious. Full of wicked humor and compelling forays into the dark side of the Kennedy myth." Booklist called it a "Whimsical Fantasy." Kirkus: "A nimble, electrifying debut."

Represented by the prestigious Donadio & Olson, Inc., I worked with Neil Olson, who was fantastic, and I am so honored that Wyatt-MacKenzie is in partnership with this respected NY agency.

Stay tuned for a quick Fall 2010 release!