First Word

Whenever I get hit with a topic, I like to blog while it's on my mind. Okay, so I have this wonderfully sexy book California Girl Chronicles that is loaded with good, old-fashioned "get it on"! Yep, plenty of sheet time being logged. I noticed this when I shared my booth space at the Miami Book Fair with my new friend Victoria who had a science fiction book and another on zombies. While people flocked to look at morbid pictures of zombies, when I asked a simple question, "Do you like romance books?" You would think, in some cases, I was asking some of the women to strip off their clothes, find the nearest guy, and do it right in front of me. The horrified looks were stunning and priceless. Some (not all) Americans are so uptight about nudity and sex, while violence is A-okay. Parents will let Johnny watch a good head ripping or a nice gunshot to the head, but goodness no, don't let Johnny see ... a butt cheek! Oh, bad, bad, bad. What is wrong with this pi...

Today's question comes directly from one of the discussions started on my Facebook page. I am nearing 2,000 connections via Facebook, which is where most of my marketing energy is vested. I have found two schools of thought. One being that you should keep your connections paired down to only true "connections" and the other being that you should cast a wide net because you never know who you're going to "catch". Let me address each point. The first theory will never work for me. I am not on social media for fun. I know some of my friends who use it strictly for personal reasons. When you use it for personal connections and to stay in touch with friends and family, it makes sense to keep it restricted. If you use social media, though, for your business or business in general, why would you restrict it? Here is why not restricting has paid off for me. I had no idea who were all of my connections. Turns out I'm connected to some serious movers and shakers. ...

I LOVE great dialog. The wittier and more clever, the better. So, for the sake of imparting great wisdom on amazing dialog, I'm going to post some segments of dialog that just, in my less than humble opinion, rocked! This little bit comes from the amazing HBO mini series, Generation Kill. Enjoy! Lance Cpl. Harold James Trombley : Sergeant, I didn't get to shoot! Cpl. Josh Ray Person : That fucking sucks, Trombley. Did your recruiting officer tell you you'd get to shoot people? Lance Cpl. Harold James Trombley : Fucking A he did! Cpl. Josh Ray Person : See, Trombley asked about shooting people. I asked about pussy. The guy told me I'd get to go to Thailand, get all kinds of strange. What'd you ask about, Brad? Brad probably saw that T.V. commercial, the one with the knight that fucks up the dragon then turns into the Marine. Cpl. Walt Hasser : Woo woo! Dress blues with a sword! Cpl. Josh Ray Person : Fucking dress blues commercial man. That got so many fucking guys...

Sometimes all you have is your sense of humor. A fellow writer friend reminded me the other day of the time when our company was hiring a writer and the human resources person said the only necessary skill one needed to be a writer was the ability to type. I believe the quote went something like this, "It's just typing." Well said HR lady! Yup, just typing. I think that line needs to go in my Hall of Infamy. What are some other professions we can reduce to (a-hem) a "fundamental" level. Okay, here we go ... Fine art ... it's just painting. Accounting ... it's just adding and subtracting. Electrician ... it's just a light switch. Teacher ... it's just babysitting. Manager ... it's just a job. Chef ... it's just food. Publicist ... it's just hype. Acting ... it's just pretend. I could go on (and I hope you found that list entertaining). All of these professions require skill and talent albeit different skills and talents,...

INT. CHAZ’S HOUSE - EVENING The room is loaded with guys, all drinking beer, and TALKING. Two more of Chaz’s buddies -- LITTLE FRANKIE, a true short black guy who wears swim trunks like shorts with a wife- beater T-shirt, glasses and low-cut, afro-style hair; and AUSTIN, a lanky, tall, dark-haired geek who wears jeans and a T-shirt with an actual tie around his neck; both stand out. CHAZ  Guys! You ready? Little Frankie let’s out a GROAN as soon as his butt hits the seat cushion and leaps back up. LITTLE FRANKIE  What the fuck?! He smells his wet hand. LITTLE FRANKIE (CONT’D)  Is that mother-fucking piss? He looks down at a wet spot. Bo comes in and tosses down a towel. BO  Yep, Lemur took a whizz. Sorry man. CHAZ  Shit, Bo, you said ... BO  Yeah, man, OK all right. It’s just a little ‘wetty’. LITTLE FRANKIE  Fuck off! Did you just say ‘wetty’?

I don't go to movies often anymore. I either don't have time or nothing seems worth the price of admission. This week, though, I was presented with time and a good movie. I went to see the new George Clooney film The Descendants , a rare adult drama worth the ticket price. Now if you're searching for an uplifting, fun ride, this film is not for you. It is not a popcorn flick by any means. This heartfelt story is about a husband on the eve of being left a widow as his comatose wife lay dying, and he now must rise to the occasion of being a hands-on Dad. He also unfortunately discovers his wife had taken a lover. This revelation obviously turns his world upside down and gives Clooney another vehicle to show off his acting skills. I suspect he might be up for yet another award for this one. The young actresses who play his daughters also deliver the emotional goods and give an organic, realistic and un-self-conscious performance. I particularly enjoy the somewhat stupid boyfri...

Time to myself always means I'm writing. I love to write (can't you tell), so I thought it would be fun since I'm also a complete movie and TV series lover (almost always when it's an HBO show) to share my top five shows and why they made the list. See if you agree or if you're just intrigued by what I'm sharing. It's pretty tough to pick my all-time favorite mostly because it changes with each obsession. I get so into these shows that I watch them until I have often memorized some of the greatest lines in them. I also listen attentively to commentaries to learn from them since I also screen write. I enjoy cast interviews too and love it when you can tell an actor is completely committed to the role. I get it. I treat my characters in my fiction works the same way. They become trusted friends -- and believe it or not they kind of take on minds of their own. If you don't understand that, just ask another writer. So, I think you'll have to read this ...

All right between all of these different blogs and social media with no instructions other than intuition, hope and prayer, how are we supposed to know how to use all of these tools? I'm pretty computer savvy, and I've been using technology and software applications long enough to understand the fundamentals. What cracks my skull is how many of these social media sites pop up with no real instructions, and we're all expected to, well, figure it out. Or like Tumblr.com they have this boring-ass video that we should sit around and watch for a few hours just to learn how to attract followers. I am a busy girl. I don't have time to sit around and watch videos just to figure out how to get followers. Am I complaining? Yes, I am. I also don't know why sites such as Facebook just can't keep it simple. Every time I turn around, Facebook has "upgraded" -- and all this upgrading is supposed to improve it! Huh, now wait! Why does it just seem harder to use. How e...

I now have Apple TV. Yesterday left completely bored by nothing on TV and lethargy (I didn't want to go to the video store), I decided to watch You Tube. Here is what I love about You Tube, you can watch all of the interviews you missed or downloads from festivals and conferences. My favorite show du jour is True Blood so I decided to watch the cast interviews from HBO and Paleyfest from last summer. Caught some great behind-the-scenes comments about Season 4 (sort of my favorite season, but it really waned in writing quality toward the last three shows ... which is why I favor Season 3 for overall consistency). I started laughing when the cast cited some of their favorite lines, which included "Ring, ring hooker" (turns out that one was an ad-lib) and Kristin Bauer van Straten, whose quip, "Pretty much anything Pam says," made me smile and nod. Pam had the great line of the season, "Sookie and her precious fairy vagina." I completely loved that line ...

What a year and it's not quite over! Last year at this time I was struggling to get my former business partner out of the company. The screenplay C-ASS had completely fallen on its "ass" (forgive the pun) after the revelation that our so-called "manager" (and that's a real stretch ... the word "con artist" more aptly applies) was nothing more than a pathological liar. The rest of the year was fraught with so many challenges, but I kept going. I kept working and moving forward. I kept my eyes forward and my attitude positive. Now look where I'm at. Former partner is completely gone and the last of the fallout from her presence has finally been cleaned up. I have a new script Beauty School that has caught the interest of two producers (it has only been given to two producers too), my new book California Girl Chronicles is picking up sales momentum and media interest and just received its first official positive review from the SF Book Review , ...

Now time for the throwaway comments: Those of you only interested in valuable information, stop here. The rest of you, hang on. Here are some travel tips. When going to a popular tourist restaurant (particularly in South Beach) and the waiter offers the day’s special, do make sure to ask the price. It may not be even close to the other entrée’s prices. A $52 chunk of sea bass and two prawns may mean those last five book sales you worked so hard to earn were spent on crappy fish. Don’t let the stupid waitress at the Clevelander take your credit card to start a tab when you know better. You will suddenly awaken in the middle of the night and realize that while you were dancing the night away and fending off greasy Canadian Bob in the ridiculous feather cowboy hat, your card got abandoned only to be retrieved the next evening, which forced you back to South Beach for another expensive meal. Don’t hail a cab late at night when your driver may be nuttier than a can of Planter’s Peanuts. ...

Brea Harper is a classic California girl: blond and beautiful, but smarter than the rest. When her job as an editor at a local magazine disappears, she moves to Los Angeles on a whim to pursue her lifetime dream of becoming a scriptwriter. But more adventures await her than just a struggle to break into the business. Brea also gets sucked into a series of romantic mishaps with three men. Lance, who suggested she move in the first place, is her “roommate with benefits,” whom she shacks up with until she can get her own place. Drew is the singer in a local band, with whom she has intense chemistry, but for some reason, can never get any kind of relationship off the ground. And Kale is a Hollywood producer who mentors Brea and truly loves her, but can't save her from herself. Naturally, the combination of these three men is a catastrophe waiting to happen, and when her romances collide, life really gets complicated. Michelle Gamble-Risley's debut novel,  California Girl Chronicl...

Let me share a brief, but ridiculous commentary on "packing". Yes, packing for travel. Now most of you were expecting I might comment on something relevant, important or even trendy. No, not today. Today it's about the bag and the clothes. I am off to the Miami Book Fair to meet new authors and sell books. I was super pleased to procure a non-stop flight too. Don't you just hate it when you're going to Vegas and your flight stops twice, and one stop is in Utah. Those of you not map-challenged that should resemble half of a triangle. Do you think the trip planner sat around and just threw stops up in the air and picked two just to ensure it's LONG trip? Ah, sorry, I digress. P.S., I once took an American Airlines flight that did make two stops -- and yes, one was in Utah. Well, to continue my most ridiculous and inconsequential blog on packing. Here is the best tip I ever learned in the entire world about packing! Roll your clothes. Don't fold them, roll th...

The difference between being a writer and not being a writer is ... writing. One of the questions that always makes me laugh, "Are you really a writer?" or "What have you written?" I'll address each one in order. Am I really a writer? As opposed to what? An elephant? An accountant? (Ew ... I could never in 10 trillion years be an accountant.) What qualifies me as a writer? I wrote a paper in 6th grade ... all right I'll quit being sarcastic. Hapless and well-meaning folk ask me that question. It's okay, I forgive you. Next time you tell me you're a manager, I'll ask you, "Do you really manage something?" Now I'm messing with you. Yes, I am really a writer, and lions and tigers and bears oh my! I am a publisher too. I once had a gal say to me, "You know a real publishing company." I started looking around and wondering if I was invisible. Then I looked at all of my "fake" books ... hmm ... the Invisible Publis...

Remember that episode of Sex in the City where the girls admitted to their super secret single behavior ? Charlotte studied her skin up close; Miranda let her hands marinate in Vaseline-glazed gloves; and I can't recall what Carrie and Samantha did, but I am sure it was funny. So, as a work-at-home CEO who will never glide into another office building unless it's for a meeting, here are my super secret work behaviors. You telecommuters may appreciate so of them as true for you. You office workers may groan and spit envious words of "just shut it already." Uniform choices of the day -- my favorite blue bathrobe . Yes, my uniform is a blue bathrobe combined with last night's pajamas. I don't shower or dress until noon. Tis true. What's the point in wasting valuable time getting dressed when I'm not going anywhere? I've heard other telecommuters confess that they don't even shower. I draw the line there. Must feel clean at some point during the...

Even clients who I have worked with for a long time sometimes don't understand the value of exposure. The question inevitably leads to, "But where are the sales?" Building a brand involves a lot of exposure. Exposure leads to awareness. Awareness leads to recognition. Recognition leads to sales. Have you ever heard someone say, "I know that name?" or "I think I've seen this before." When promoting your book, you build your platform by working on exposure. Did you know it takes at least 3-6 times before it will register with people what is your book? I recently gave away a bunch of California Girl Chronicles book to help gain exposure. I want as many books out in the marketplace as possible. In the beginning, you sometimes have to do the giveaways to spread the book around. My goal is to cement the brand. The sales will come later. If you fixate simply on sales you will prohibit opportunities to gain exposure. The more places and times people see t...

This quote comes from True Blood News :  But during an interview in September, no demons were displayed, not even a hint of a shadow. Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgard (he goes by Alex) was born and raised in Stockholm, but unless he’s pronouncing Scandinavian words, his accent is husky American, and his conversation is a steady burble of positivity, all about luck and gratitude and the “great energy” he’s feeling around him . And that attitude and outlook is exactly why I want my script Beauty School and my series California Girl Chronicles to get to him. This is an actor who has every reason to let his ego run wild yet he gets the big "spiritual" get! I'm not sure I agree with the idea of pure luck (I think we make our own luck happen), but this very outlook on life is why I want him for my projects. Bringing all that "great energy" right along with him -- and I promise I'll bring my own ;). And funny enough, if things go as planned, we'll be one deg...

I just did a response for Blog Stampede to promote my book California Girl Chronicles . The question was why hire a publicist and not do your own PR? Yes, I could do my own PR just fine since 3L Publishing provides those services, and we use Vocus to access all of North American media. Here is why I am not doing it on my own and I hired my staff member Justine Brown to do it for me. Because I immediately become uncomfortable telling the media it's my book and this is why it's hot ... Justine, on the other hand, has no vested emotional stake talking me and the book up. It's like when you're out with a friend. It's easier and more self-effacing to allow them to share your accomplishments than for you to brazenly tell the world.  You want to put your best foot forward, effortlessly and comfortably. Also, you don't want the appearance of amateur hour. Doing your own PR makes your product or book lose credibility. Now in the case where you're a general business...

We're diving in and getting the book moving fast with the trajectory of a rocket for sure. First up, on November 15, I will be on KFBK with my favorite local radio personal Kitty O'Neal discussing California Girl Chronicles evolution from a book that has just barely been released to a TV series that we are pitching and working with producers and others to develop. A review is also set to go in the San Francisco and Sacramento Book Review in December. We've also got books out to dozens of national media outlets including GQ , Maxim , Allure and many others. We are now in the follow-up stage with these writers to get them to post a review by the time the book releases on the national scene to the bookstores in January. You can now get a copy on Amazon, and it's available for Kindle, Nook and iBook. Now since it's Saturday, I want to have a little fun and share what I'm enjoying most about this process. Creating fans of the book! When I was out at an event the...

I am in talks with multiple producers and a major agency to represent California Girl Chronicles as a TV series. My first pick is HBO. I LOVE HBO! I came up with my dream cast too. Tell me what you think after you read the book: Brea -- Evan Rachel Woods Drew -- Adrien Grenier Kale -- Alexander Skarsgård Denise -- Sonja Fisher Hey! Always state your goals! And we already know from Evan Rachel Woods' short-lived stint as Sophie Anne, Queen of Louisiana in True Blood , that she has hot sex appeal with Skarsgård. Check out Season 2 where she lands on top of him and hisses her warning for him not to reveal she's behind the whole dealing of V. Also, the episode in Season 3 where she flies at him again and grabs his, a-hem, manhood as yet another warning. She is also tall and not blond but that can be changed with a good bottle of bleach. Just saying ... As for Grenier, his Entourage days just ended,  and he's already affiliated with HBO and in a band to boot. He wo...

I had a woman last night at event say something to me about California Girl Chronicles that actually was kind of funny when I thought about it. She said, "Now we know what you think about," and then she got flustered that she had made that comment. Later on she apologized, which at that point, I didn't even know what she was talking about. She repeated what she said, and then I laughed. I told her (and this is the truth), "If you're going to write a book that is sexy what do you expect?" She smiled and nodded that I made a great point. I mean come on Friend-Os. Like I'm going to get all sensitive about what the book is about after the fact ? I mean surely this might have crossed my mind before I published the book, right? So here is the deal. If you're an author or even an artist and you're publicly putting yourself out there in some personal way, it makes no sense to get all uptight about it later. I expect I will be hearing a slew of comments...

Great photography is art. When you go to select a photographer to do your head shots for social media (because "yes" you need a nice head shot), you naturally want to look your best. I have great shots taken and I've had photos done where I wanted to hide the image in the garbage can. Here is what can make a perfectly attractive human being look perfectly unattractive (great looks or not): bad lighting, horrible angles, poor exposure, and just pictures snapped at the worst possible moment. Technically speaking that photo of me taken by Gail from Quintessence Photographic Art in Rescue, Ca. took a lot of effort on Gail's part. She was hanging out the window to get the glare off, taping down curtains, and using all sorts of techniques that I as a non-photographer know nothing about. Later when we did other photos in the series, she went to great effort to get the lighting right. She had her assistant at one point shining the light on me a certain way and turning it up a...

I have been a spectator watching the ball bounce back and forth between our former distributor Atlas/Bookmasters, a client and my operations manager. Our former distributor's level of incompetence is absolutely mind-blowing. Of course, it was shocking the entire time we worked with them, but the level of just pure stupidity is really astounding. Even though they made a shipping mistake on their end, they forced us to pay it or they would not close our account. They even admitted they made the mistake, but under the guise of "doing us a favor" (I think I need to look up favor in Webster's and send them the definition ... and it doesn't include making us pay for their mistakes), they insisted we pay the extra roughly $150. I don't know about you, but $150 by most American's standards these days matters. And this on top of the already couple thousand dollars we were forced to pay, which include inane charges such as a $5 "handling" fee just to move ...

Guys, guys, guys! I feel a burning need to instruct you on the proper way to try and meet women on social media. First, I am not available (for the record) so don't waste your time trying to get my attention that way. For the rest of you, I just have to tell you something. Are you ready? When you send me strange, sappy or just cheesy pick-up messages, what do you think I'm doing? Here are your choices a. rolling my eyes b. cracking up because your message isn't romantic it's ridiculous or c. writing a blog about it. If you chose all three you would be correct. I ask you! Do you honestly think writing women these creepy and sometimes just cheesy notes works? Maybe I'm wrong, but any woman worth her weight in intelligence would never in a million years fall for that. And any woman who would ... really ? Here are some social media "socializing" tips: If you don't know the woman, do NOT ask for her private information on social media. No, no phone numb...

The one thing that my brother's passing this year did was get me to stop for a second. He was only 18 months older than me, and now he's gone. I started really getting the sense about mortality and the horizon of my life. It made me re-evaluate a few things. Life's short, and I want regret-free living. I already confronted part one of my reinvention process. I stopped working the corporate assembly line that I hated so much. So this next phase of confronting how much time is left and how do I want to spend that time. I know one thing: I don't want to put my life in cruise control till the end. A friend of mine said her husband had done that -- hit the button and took the foot off the gas. It's just cruise to retirement -- that sounds just depressing. I'm not cruising right into my grave -- no thank you. It's now or never is how I look at it. Now or never to live out every single dream. You can't keep putting it off. I talk to so many writers who want t...

One of John Gamble's friends sent me this story about him. If you know me at all then you're aware I have my own funny bone too. It runs in the family I guess. I thought this story was very funny and very typical of something John would have said. Here is the story:  I just think of the time when we all ended up in a lakefront bar, the day after Christmas, celebrating my son's 13th birthday. We had been ice fishing and riding snowmachines all day (a post-Christmas tradition), and this was the only place to get some food and warm up as it got late. There was this obnoxious, drunken a-hole dressed in the most obnoxious snowmobiling gear. His coat was literally covered in these dorky patches representing the companies that made snowmachine speed parts. He was in an argument with another self-proclaimed badass about who was a better snowmachine rider. The debate got heated, and this guy got really loud.  John looked at the guy, and yelled out: "Calm down there, 'Sticke...

Everything is really blowing up around my new book California Girl Chronicles . I met with someone yesterday who is interested in becoming an executive producer. My other producer friend is supposed to call me sometime today to discuss where the book is at and getting representation with Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Then one of my clients, who works with financiers, offered to discuss management and coming up with funding on our end so we could come at this as true producers. I am really impressed with the power of intention and momentum. As we have been promoting the book and networking (mostly on social media mind you ... nearly 2,000 connections pays off), we have connected with people who can connect us with the right people to make this project move forward. Sonja Fisher has been working the LA angles as well and met with a mover and shaker who loves the book too and is going to help us pitch to HBO and Showtime. And so it goes. It's all about working the scenes. Set your in...

I am so excited at the reception that California Girl Chronicles is getting from readers. Just this week in one day 11 reviews posted on Amazon. I've also been working with some contacts in Hollywood to move the book through the process. Two different strategies are underway. We are working with a contact who said if he liked it he would take to his agent at Creative Artists Agency (CAA). I got a text from him the other day in which he confirmed how much he liked it. Then my associate Sonja Fisher is working with another guy who is tied to Lion's Gate. He got 47 pages into the book and sent her a note that it's a real page-turner. The "page-turner" comments have been echoed by the early reviewers on Amazon too. Mind you, the soft-cover edition isn't even in Amazon's inventory yet. Kindle version is available, though. Now we're going to create what is called the TV series Bible. We had our contact send over samples, and I looked it over -- all good an...

Did you know you are a reflection of the people you keep around you? The "inner circle" (the people you associate with regularly) should reflect back your positive energy. They should be movers and shakers and people who would take action and not play the role of the victim. If you want to be successful align yourself with successful people. If you want to stay positive and keep your energy flowing in the right direction align yourself with people who reflect that same attitude. If you have someone in your life who is critical, negative and full of insecurity and doubt and reflects that back to you then keep that relationship out of your inner circle. I had a good friend the other day tell me her family isn't supportive. Her brother questions and mocks her success. I told her you cannot talk to your brother about these things anymore. He is not your ally. He is a naysayer. You don't want naysayers as allies. Talk about the weather or the day's events but do not ta...

Authors whose books aren't selling need to get out an ax and shovel. Time to build from the ground and up. Your book (and this applies to products) requires a platform. What is a platform? Your business or book platform is your viewpoint or message. You build a platform using marketing and public relations practices. What do you include tactically? Your website , blog, social media, newsletters and mass media. Each effort ties to another effort. Your website ties to your blog; your blog ties to your website and newsletter; your newsletter ties to your blog and website; and everything in your media kit and press releases ties back to your website, which ties back to your blog, newsletter and social media. You see it's connected in a circle. Then you get to work. For my brand new book California Girl Chronicles just out on Amazon yesterday, here is what I am doing. 1. I went back to my pre-reviewers and asked them to post reviews on Amazon . The results were amazing and than...

I know The Secret is passé. Fad over, right? Wrong. The Laws of Attraction are always at work and when you learn to use them, you will be nothing short of amazed at the results. Sonja Fisher, my friend and actress, and I are working on several different angles to move two critical projects forward -- Beauty School , my comedic script, and California Girl Chronicles , my new book series about the romantic misadventures of young woman trying to break into Hollywood as a screenwriter. Both projects are moving forward very nicely. Remember, your goals are a part of a journey, and it's a process to achieve your goals, as I have been taught be the amazing and great Wayne Kurtz, author of Beyond the Iron . Hey, if the man can participate in an ultra-deca triathlon, he knows what he's talking about. Well, Sonja and I have been pursuing some key avenues to get the film and book produced. We're making some amazing strides each and every day. One of our goals is to attach my favorite...