A flattering invitation...and some advice for readers

I have been invited to be the speaker at the opening luncheon of Women's Ministries at my church, University Christian Church. I found the invitation flattering, and now I find the all-out effort they're putting into publicity even more flattering. I went to the restroom on the way to the service yesterday morning--and there I was, in living color. There are posters on bulletin boards throughout the church, and the luncheon was announced in the monthly journal. Last night at Fall Kick-off there was a sign-up table, with the same poster (Jacob and I posed by it for his daddy). Several women I know made a point of telling me they'd be there that Sunday, and special thanks to Jordan for saying she'll go be my cheering section. And to Reverend Cyndy Twedell for the great publicity.
All this made me think I'd better scurry home and work on my comments--the luncheon is September 9, which isn't all that far away. I have always been one to prepare comments in advance and read them often enough that I almost don't refer to them when I deliver the speech. In fact sometims I get so familiar with it that I bore myself. But this time I noticed several places I could enlarge and embellish. I'll have bookmarks, but I also worked on a handout--something telling ladies where to find my books and me on the web...and on the backside of the handout I'm going to put suggestions for helping your favorite authors.
I'm sure readers don't know to click "Like" on Amazon or cick on tags or even leave a review. I guess my biggest hint to them will be "If you enjoyed a book, tell your friends." They say word-of-mouth is the single most important factor in the success of a book or an author.
So wish me luck. I'm taking a slight break from the manuscript that had my bumfuzzled and doing things like getting ready for this talk, writing some guest blogs ahead of time, and the like. For the time being it makes me sleep better at night but I know guilt will soon kick in.

Fires, memoirs, and a new favorite saying

Authors are always told that the best way of selling books is word-of-mouth. Someone reads your book, likes it, and recommends it and so the network spreads. But it's an elusive thing. Shelf Awareness, a daily online report for booksellers, had a wonderful definition today. Word of mouth is the marriage of enthusiasm and anxiety. I'm adopting that as one of my favorite sayings.
I just read the Facebook page on the Fort Davis fire--heard yesterday from an author there who wanted to let friends and family know that he and his wife and their home are okay but friends on the east side of town lost their homes. There's something mystical/magical about being from that part of the state. The support and offers of donations, from clothes to horse feed, are amazing, as are the inquiries about specific individuals and areas. It's as if everyone in that Fort Davis/Alpine/Marathon triangle knows everyone else. It reinforces my positive feelings about Texas, just when they were having a bit of a hard time in view of the fact that we can now shoot feral hogs from helicopters--what happens when some gun-crazed idiot shoots a person by mistake? And soon we will be able to drive 85 mph on our highways because "Texans have a lot of ground to cover." I rarely admit President Nixon did much good, but he instituted the 55 mph speed limit that saved not only money but lives. Texas will shortly be the state with the highest speed limit in the nation. Such a distinction! And while on the subject of politics, the Facebook Fort Davis fires page says the governor and his office have been noticeably silent and absent from their tragedy.
Memoir class at TCU Human Resources today. In the past this class has been difficult--it's hard to take an hour out of your work day, switch gears and think memoir instead of work. But we had a delightful, hilarious time today. When we prodded the three who presented, stories behind their stories came pouring out. They'd written the surface, and I think they see the difference now. One participant was reluctant to reveal some of the negatives in her family story, but I insisted that if you don't write it all as it happened history will be whitewashed. Not a good thing. We laughed, we joked, we had a good time and yet I think we got serious work done. I came away feeling good about the class. (Oops, I started to write very good--after I just lectured them today about very being a weak intensifier that means nothing!)