Janet fisher

At the Book Launch Party in Elkton, we’ll have background music provided by my grandson, Alex Loznak. Maybe not with the tux. And not with the grand piano. They’re so hard to carry. But he’ll be there with a keyboard to play a few tunes.

This picture shows him at one of the Roseburg High School concerts where he plays piano this year with the jazz ensemble.

The event in Elkton is this coming Sunday afternoon, June 1, from 1 to 3 at the ECEC library in the main building near the butterfly pavilion.

Photo by Robin Loznak

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Fourteen Facebook friends and friends of friends are already scheduled to attend my book launch party June 1st at 1 o’clock at ECEC in Elkton, Oregon. And many more have told me they plan to come. The National Weather Service predicts the day will be mostly sunny with a high near 72. A lovely day to come to Elkton and enjoy the amenities of the Elkton Community Education Center.

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One week until launch day for my new book, A Place of Her Own. We’ve had some great pre-launch excitement. Now counting down to the first book launch party with signing and reading, music and refreshments. It’s June 1, at 1:00 pm at the ECEC library in Elkton, Oregon.

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So, I was in Eugene yesterday putting up posters for my upcoming signing at Tsunami Books scheduled for the 21st of June. And I thought I would also stop in at a few other bookstores to tell them about my book, A Place of Her Own. I had sent postcards out to several stores, but wanted to make some personal visits. My first stop was J Michaels Books downtown on Broadway, just up from Oak Street. I went jaunting up the street, my bag in hand with the now-dog-eared copy inside, ready to pull it out and show it off.

Nice store. I casually glanced into the window at the fine display of books–and stopped. There! Right in front! My book! See? It’s in the lower left of the right-hand window. The cover does stand out. The medallion sort of draws the eye. Well, for me it certainly does. I’ve been enjoying that cover for a while now.

Heart pounding, I looked closer. What a beautiful sight to me. But had I thought to bring a camera? No. I still haven’t gotten used to the fact that I have a nice little camera. I need to carry it for these wonderful surprises.

Anyway, I walked into the store, and instead of pulling out the dog-eared copy from my bag, I pulled out a business card with the book’s picture on the front. Smiling, I told the proprietor I had come in to tell him about my book, but he already had it, beautifully displayed in the window.

He smiled back and told me he also had a stack of them on the table. Ah! Words to thrill a writer’s heart!

I offered to sign them, searched for my signing pen, which took a while, given my excited state of mind and the state of my bag’s interior. He brought the stack. I found the pen, and signed.

Later, I met my daughter, who lives in Eugene. We went back to Broadway, and she took pictures.

So here I am. One of the books, now signed, is back in the window with a little tag letting prospective buyers know it’s a signed copy.

And I am one happy author.

With the one Eugene event already planned for Tsunami, I hope to schedule more in that city.

Getting the word out, one place at a time. Having fun!

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Since my publisher released early copies of A Place of Her Own: The Legacy of Oregon Pioneer Martha Poindexter Maupin, my book has begun appearing in Oregon stores ranging from Portland to Roseburg. The picture shows the conspicuous placement at While Away Books in Roseburg, right in front of the door as you walk in. Nice!

A quick stroll through the Indie Bound list of independent outlets shows online listings of A Place of Her Own in bookstores across the United States, from San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles and more on the west coast, to New York on the east coast, with Chicago, St. Louis, and Denver, among many more between. Wouldn’t Martha be surprised?

Perhaps the most surprising discovery shows listings in France, Germany, England, and Spain through association with information on Maupin, Oregon. Thank you, Uncle Howard. Without the influence of Howard Maupin for whom this small Eastern Oregon town was named, would these European countries even know about my book? Howard was the brother of Martha’s husband Garrett, my great-great-grandfather. And Howard does appear in my book as the colorful character he must have been.

I spent time yesterday showing off the book in bookstores and libraries, and delivering copies to places like the Douglas County Museum. Such fun! I even had to show it to people where I bought a few things for my upcoming signings. And at the dentist’s office. You know how it goes. People get to visiting, and I keep a copy in my bag now—getting a little dog eared but still looking good. The response has been terrific.

Thanks to my publisher, Globe Pequot Press (TwoDot imprint), for getting the word out in faraway places and for putting together a book with great eye appeal.

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As I head into my book launch, new pages are up and running on my blog.

First, I’ve added a “Book Clubs” page with questions and topics for discussion for the convenience of book clubs who would like to choose A Place of Her Own for reading in their groups.

Second, there’s an “Events” page listing upcoming events in more detail than the list on the sidebar. I’ll keep the sidebar for quick checks, but if you need more detail you’ll find it on the new page.

Third, there a “News Briefs” page where I’ll highlight news–sometimes for a quick summary of what has already been featured on a blog post, sometimes news that doesn’t necessarily warrant a blog post.

Fourth, there’s a “Review” page where I’ll post reviews in part or in full as they come in. For now, I’m offering a pre-publication comment that feels like a review to me.

All the new pages have new links from my website pages. Or you can click the links at the top of my blog or at the top of any of the new pages.

As I head into the book launch, I hope this new information will help fans to follow the process.

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Large boxes of books have arrived and are sitting in my living room. Waiting. The release date for my book is in early June, so I can’t sell them yet. But I have a launch party on Sunday afternoon, the first of June in Elkton. I had to be sure the books were here in time. My editor, Erin Turner, said she would see to it, and she did. No worries. No wondering. They’re here, ready to go.

I may be a lady of words, but I don’t know if I can find words to describe how thrilling it is to hold one of these in my hand. I’ve enjoyed many a daydream imagining it. But the reality is sweeter than I’d dreamed. I skim through the pages, and there are the words I wrote. Some came easily. Others I struggled over. What joy to see them in print—in an actual bound volume, wrapped in its beautiful cover.

And so many books! A story to share. Others can read a copy and follow Martha’s journey that touched me so deeply. I hope it will touch them too.

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“I gobbled the book in one sitting, shed some real tears with and for you and Martha along the way, and enjoyed it all tremendously. You are a fine storyteller, and Martha’s story is full of such rich detail . . .”

So said Kathy Westra, a writer for the American Forestry Foundation magazine, Woodland, after reading my book, A Place of Her Own.

An email recently came to me out of the blue from Kathy. She had been assigned to write a feature story for Woodland  (Photo of Autumn 2013 issue at left) about my family’s Oregon tree farm, and about A Place of Her Own, which tells the story of my great-great-grandmother Martha, who bought this farm almost 150 years ago. The foundation, headquartered in Washington, D.C., serves tree farmers across the US, and their magazine, an attractive full-color quarterly, has a nationwide circulation.

I was excited to hear from her, and we had a wonderful phone interview that lasted close to an hour and a half.

Due to her deadlines, my publisher, Globe Pequot, sent her an e-galley of the book. And the above quote is what she wrote to me after she read it. That feels a bit like my first review, and I’m smiling. 🙂

The feature story will appear in the summer issue of Woodland along with pictures. I’m a Certified Tree Farmer, like my father before me, through the American Tree Farm System of the foundation. In fact, to be recertified when I acquired the farm, I had to break away from writing the book about Martha to write a new Tree Farm Management Plan and have a qualified forester visit the property. My thanks to Rick Barnes, local timber specialist, for facilitating all that.

And now, my thanks to Kathy for her story and her positive words.

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