Celebrate! Celebrate! It's Our Birthday

Hi, I’m Judith Ashley, author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, soul nourishing romantic women’s fiction that honors pagan spiritual practices. My stories show you what life could be like if you had a place like The Circle where you are unconditionally accepted, supported and loved. And where, with this support, you do overcome obstacles and find your happily-ever-after.

Nine years ago, Sarah Raplee and I published the first blog post here at Romancing The Genres (actually it was Sarah who clicked the button). And here we are starting our 10^th year!

Before I share how I Celebrate, here are our some of the highlights from our first nine years.

Almost 500,000 page views

Most of our readers are in the United States but we have a solid following in Canada, Germany, France, Australia, Russian, Ukraine, China, as well as smaller followings in India, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Kuwait, etc.

When Sarah and I brain-stormed creating a group blog we knew we wanted it to be diverse in varied ways so we’ve had male and female bloggers, authors of color, and authors from around the U.S. as well as around the world. Our Genre-istas run the gamut and write in a variety of genres. Romance in its varied sub-genres is represented both in our bloggers but also in our guests.

Last month we featured former Genre-istas and got caught up on what they are doing now. Next month, we’ll feature Children’s Book Authors. Be sure to check out our Action/Adventure/Thriller authors in July.

We had our first Blog-Versation August 2019 and it was so much fun we’re doing it again. Each Saturday one of the Genre-istas will spearhead the Blog-Versations inviting our regular readers and anyone else to stop by and join the conversation. Each weekend will feature a different focus: 05/02 – Indie Bookstores; 05/09 – Holidays; 05/16 – Heritage; 05/23 – TBD; 05/30 – Friendships. Every Wednesday we’ll feature the Genre-ista and topic in our Headline. Follow us each day and be privy to what each of us do to Celebrate the big and small events in life. Be sure to leave comments to help us add to our options.

And here’s how I Celebrate my birthday:

About the right number of candles?

Before the actual date of my 50^th birthday, I decided to celebrate this milestone by doing something more than cake (actually I prefer pie) and ice cream and going out to dinner. Soo…

I chose to celebrate for 50 days. How that worked is each day I decided on one thing I’d do (or maybe not do) that was my gift to me. Sometimes I bought myself something. Other times I might spend the day in p.j.’s or go out to eat or get take out (I’m not a fan of cooking).

That is a birthday I do remember.

I’ve followed that personal tradition ever since even though I’ve made some modifications. The biggest one was changing how I counted my days. My birthday is in November so initially I kept my celebrating within the calendar year counting back from December 31^st. As I approached mid-October, that decision didn’t feel right so after agonizing (yes, my friends will tell you it wasn’t an easy decision for me), I now start on November 1^st and move forward, into the next year.

If I live to be 102, which is my goal, I’ll be celebrating into February!

What do you do that’s special on your birthday? You just might have a way of celebrating the anniversary of your coming into this world that I can add to my list.

You can find all of my books at your favorite e-book vendor. Be sure to ask your local library if you’d prefer to read my books through that resource.

Learn more about Judith's The Sacred Women’s Circle series at JudithAshleyRomance.com

Follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19

Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.

You can also find Judith on FB! 

© 2020 Judith Ashley

Powell's City of Books, World's Largest Indie Bookstore by Judith Ashley and Sarah Raplee

FLAGSHIP STORE

According to their website, "Powell’s City of Books is the largest used and new bookstore in the world, occupying an entire city block and housing approximately one million books. Located in downtown Portland’s Pearl District, the City of Books has nine color-coded rooms and over 3,500 different sections, offering something for every interest, including an incredible selection of out-of-print and hard-to-find titles. Dozens of acclaimed writers, artists, and thinkers visit each month to read in the Basil Hallward Gallery (located upstairs in the Pearl Room), and a one-of-a-kind Rare Book Room draws bibliophiles from near and far to browse an impressive collection of autographed first editions and other collectible volumes." 

They even offer guided tours on Sundays!

POWELL'S AT CEDAR HILLS CROSSING

8 Things We Love About Powell’s

1.    Headquarters in Portland, OR, as is Romancing the Genres, so we have more than one location!

2.    Live events with authors.

3.    Friendly, knowledgeable staff who let readers know their favorite reads

4.    Buy back our books so we purchase more

5.    Places to sit and peruse selections

6.    More than just books. You can find Tarot Cards, games, magazines, t-shirts, and quirky gifts.

7.    If they don’t have it in stock, they order it for us.

8.    SELECTION – books on just about every subject imaginable can be found on the shelves

POWELL'S BOOKS FOR HOME AND GARDEN

Guess what Oregonians say is the one thing not to miss?

"The ONE Thing You Must Do in Each U.S. State" (Huffington Post)

POWELL'S ON HAWTHORNE

POWELL'S AT PDX (PORTLAND AIRPORT)

Partnerships with a Personal Touch by Judith Ashley

By Judith Ashley

Jacobsen’s Books and More is a family-owned and operated independent book store located on Main Street in downtown Hillsboro, OR. I had the opportunity to talk to the owner, Tina Jacobsen, about the importance of independent books stores and their relationships with authors and customers.

Tina sees part of her mission is connecting authors to readers and readers to authors. Getting to know local authors and her customers is important. She’s found that many of her customers are community members who want to support local authors and businesses.

“It’s important to create a personal relationship with my customers and local authors,” Tina said after helping a customer look for a specific book. Ordering books she doesn't have on hand, recommending books in a genre or on a topic a customer is checking out are all part of the personal touch Jacobsen’s prides itself on.

Another way Jacobsen’s Books and More creates that personal touch is by promoting authors at the Hillsboro Farmer’s Market held Saturdays from May through October. She’s found that two authors work best. She sets up the tent and puts out a table and chairs. It is up to the author to engage passersby, talk about their books, and hopefully sell them.

While independent authors would love to sell at the Farmer’s Market, only those authors who work through Tina are able to take advantage of this opportunity. Jacobsen’s has partnered with the Hillsboro Farmer’s Market to offer this opportunity.

May 23, Don Reichardt will be at the Farmer’s Market. His book Camp Free in the Mt. Hood National Forest is an excellent resource.

May 30, Anna Brentwood, author of The Songbird With Sapphire Eyes and The Mermaid's Treasure; Mercer Addison, author of Even Nectar is Poison,  Five O’Clock Whistle and A Deceitful Bait. Both authors have short stories in the Windtree Press Anthology Gifts From The Heart.

Partnerships are two-way streets. Tina is active in the Chamber of Commerce and other organizations that support the businesses on Main Street, Hillsboro, OR. 

If you are in the area, stop by, especially on a Saturday between May and the end of October so you can meet local authors as well as check out the racks of books Jacobsen’s has available.

And, if you live outside the area, check out a local independent book store, see who your local authors are and show your support for a small business and your local economy. 

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women's Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual traditions that nourish the soul. She is also a co-founder of Romancing The Genres.

Indie Bookstores: Your Book Store By Paty Jager

I was asked to write a post on local booksellers and the Indie author. As an Indie author I like being able to walk into a book store and speak with the owner. If they like my books they add them to their shelves, if my books don’t feel like a good fit for the store, and the owner of the store knows what their customers like, then I thank them and move on.

Having a good rapport with the independent bookstores is the best way for an Indie author to get their books out to the readers. If the store owner and their staff like you and your books they will hand sell them. You don’t get that as much in the larger chain bookstores. Also in the smaller bookstores your book is one in thousands for the customer to see rather than one in millions on a larger venue.

I asked two of my favorite Independent bookstore owners two questions. Here are their answers:

1) How do you see the changing relationship between authors and booksellers?

Mary Swanson, owner of The Bookloft, Enterprise, OR

There are so many more authors who self-publish and so I am approached a LOT more about carrying authors’ own books. Self-published books vary greatly in the quality of writing, editing and production. So I have to be a bit wary until I can see the actual book. A lot of these authors do not understand that they must do the bulk of their promotion. I am asked to host book signings frequently. Authors like you are really good at promoting the event and coming to the event prepared to display their books well and engage with people, but others do not realize the importance of this. And of course, some authors prefer to eliminate the bookseller and do direct sales only or send people to Amazon instead of to their local indie.

Judi Wutzke, owner ….and Books, too!, Clarkston, WA

I have a stronger relationship with local authors and authors who write local history or use the local area as settings in their books. I have never been able to develop a good relationship with authors who do not write about or live in the area. We just don’t draw a good enough crowd nor sell enough of their books.

2) Why are independent booksellers still vital/important in their community?

Mary

As to your second question, we are still the professionals at getting the right books into the hands of our customers. Stores spend years developing good relationships with their communities and customers. We earn the reputation for carrying and recommending good books. In addition, we provide a lot of support back to the community, supporting community events, and providing merchandise or money for fund-raisers. We also provide a physical space for meeting other booklovers, hanging out with friends or just relaxing in a pleasant book-filled environment.

Judi

People want the print copy of books and they want help locating rare and collectible books. We do extensive book searches for our customers and do special orders daily. I have the largest inventory in the region of local author and local subject matter books. I also am the go-to business for help with questions about the local area. Daily I hear the comment, “We are so glad we have a local bookstore.” I have many customers who call my store “their bookstore.” I love that.

As you can see, a local, Indie bookstore is vital not only to the community as a whole but to Indie authors who have books relevant to the areas and that the owners know their customers are interested in reading.

Just as a writer must pick the right publishing house or agent for their work, they also need to do their

homework and select the bookstores that will most benefit the sales of their books. Authors also need to help promote their signings at bookstores. I send the stores flyers and promotional post cards several weeks in advance of my signing date. If they request a press release I send that or contact the local newspapers and news outlets. Sometimes the local news factions will put a story in if it is sent in by the book store and sometimes they prefer the information straight from the author or the author’s press agent.

Both the above mentioned book stores are inviting and cozy. I can see why the communities they serve love them.

www.patyjager.net

Writinginto the Sunset