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September 23rd, 2015 | Posted by Sara in Uncategorized - (Comments Off on Blogs)

Hi all,

I will not be blogging this week as I will be away from my desk most of this week.

More news next week!

Sara

Happy Friday!

September 18th, 2015 | Posted by Sara in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

Fall is coming!  Today our high will be in the 60s! I can feel fall in the air!

To celebrate the coming season,  here are a few of my Fall Book Recommendations:

1. City on Fire-Carth Risk Hallberg

2. Career of Evil-Robert Galbraith

3. Magnus Chase – Rick Riordan

4. Make Me – Lee Child

5. Tricky Twenty-Two- Janet Evanovich

The Martian

September 17th, 2015 | Posted by Sara in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

I love a great success story!

Andy Weir is the author of The Martian.  This is a great article about his road to getting a book and movie deal.  For all the aspiring authors it is a great lesson to learn.  Don’t go into publishing to make a million. Write what you love and success will find you.

http://www.thepassivevoice.com/09/2015/the-martian-how-a-self-published-e-book-became-a-hollywood-blockbuster/

September 11

September 11th, 2015 | Posted by Sara in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

Everyone remembers where they were when the Twin Towers came down. It is our generation’s Kennedy Assassination or Challenger disaster.

I was a just out of college and with almost 2 years under my belt at a research and consulting company in Iowa.  I was at my desk editing a presentation for a TV consultant when coworkers starting whispering about what was on the TV.  Then I got a breaking news alert on my computer from CNN about a small prop plane crashing into the towers.

This had happened in the 1930s so the media were not shocked, then the second plane hit and the world went crazy.  I remember saying, “We are at war.”  So many people were in shock and crying.  I went into my routine and worked until 4.

The next few days were surreal.  Planes did not fly, Americans were very patriotic and strangers talked to each other and embraced.

It was peaceful and at the same time very scary.

No one knew if we were being invaded or if we would be attacked again.

In the 14 years since 9/11, so much has changed but so much has stayed the same.

1. We have not been attacked since but we continue to be at war with the Middle East.

2. We continue to be complacent about war and being targets.

3. However, we are much more connected. The Internet has made an attack easier and more personal.

In the end, we must continue to look back at 9/11 and remember how we felt that day.

Remember today and always.

News stories that need more attention

September 10th, 2015 | Posted by Sara in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

Whenever I feel we are getting way too much Kardashian news, I begin to search for news stories with real meaning.

It’s my own little way of taking some control in our too fast, media hungry world. 🙂

This week I saw a posting about how to look more like Kylie Jenner.  My first thought was, “Why would I want to look like an 18 year old.”

So, today I give you my list a stories that need more attention:

1. New human species found in South Africa:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/10/africa/homo-naledi-human-relative-species/index.html

2.How to stop suicides on college campuses: http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/09/health/suicide-prevention-college-campus/?iid=ob_homepage_deskrecommended_pool&iref=obnetwork

3. Also, make sure to keep updated on the migrant issues going on in the Middle East and western Europe. http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/10/europe/refugee-crisis-questions-no-answers/index.html

Books to get you through Labor Day

September 4th, 2015 | Posted by Sara in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

I’ve always dreaded Labor Day.  As a child it meant school started the next day. As an adult, it is the ushering in of fall and soon winter.  However, this year I’m turning over a new leaf. (Did you see how I did that!)

I am welcoming fall.  I look forward to heavy sweaters, corn mazes, bon fires, and fall TV.  With the end of summer comes a new crop of books.

Here are a few I am looking forward to:

1. Chrissie Hynde’s biography Reckless

2. Purity by Jonathan Franzen

3. The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz

4. Ruth Reichl’s new cookbook

5. Danielle Steel’s Undercover

I’m picturing myself under a warm blanket by the fire…

Welcome Fall!

Self-Publishing Sensation

September 3rd, 2015 | Posted by Sara in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

Last week I mentioned the book,  The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep.”  It has become a sensation and was just acquired by Penguin Random House. It is by Swedish psychologist Carl-Johan Forsses Ehrlin. It is a book that gives suggestions to a child’s unconscious mind to sleep.

It is a watershed moment in self-publishing and traditional publishing.  If you are a self-published author there are many lessons to be learned her.

1. The book was published in 2011 and translated to English last year.  This is by no means an overnight sensation.

2. It was word of mouth that made this popular.  Get reviews and more reviews.

3. Have a professional looking web site.  His web site is simple but very sleek.

4. Tell a story with a good hook.  This is a children’s book but its hook is it uses methods to tap into the unconscious to help a child sleep.

5. Finally, never give up.