Lynnwood Rotary

Yesterday I visited the Lynnwood Rotary and had such a fantastic time. They are a great club. Everyone I met was so nice and I was really impressed to hear about the outstanding work they are doing in the Edmonds School district. I am lucky to have them as part of my community.

After my presentation, a few people bought some books. The club's Program Co-Chair, Bob Fuller, sent me this photo later in the day and I just love it. I don't know why. It's not a particularly good photo, but it makes me smile nonetheless.

Rotary

When my book first published, I visited several cities for book signing events. When I travel, I always contact the Rotary club of the town I am about to visit and ask if they want me to speak at their meeting. I've had such a good time doing these presentations that I’ve started hitting up Rotary clubs in my own state.

So far I’ve presented to 18 Rotary clubs. I speak about how anyone can be a better boss by employing some of the skills we learn as parents. It's good advice for anyone - whether or not they are a parent. Since most people in Rotary are advanced business people, the topic is relevant.

I love it. I spend an hour with good people, I get to practice my presentation and try out new material and I usually sell a book or two (Oh, and I always get a delicious meal – what’s not to love about that?)

Are you a member of Rotary? Book me to speak. My presentation is short, funny, and perfect for the audience. I’ve been a member of Emerald City Rotary for several years so I know about the organization and the values they hold. My message is very Rotarian-esque.

Here is the list of places I’ve been and places I’m going:

Emerald City Rotary
Olympia Rotary
The Huron Rotary
Richland Rotary Club
Rapid City Rotary
Palm Desert Rotary
Northshore Rotary
Vashon Rotary
Mansfield Rotary
Ballard Rotary
Redmond Rotary
Mercer Island Rotary
Rotary Club of Seattle Northeast
South Center Tukwila Rotary
Edmonds Rotary
West Seattle Rotary
Oak Harbor Rotary
South Everett Mukilteo Rotary

On deck:

Lynnwood Rotary (March 1)
North Seattle Rotary (March 20)
Rotary Club of Centennial Hill - Las Vegas (March 28)
Las Vegas Central Rotary (March 28)
Bellevue Overlake Rotary (March 21)
Rotary Club of Kingston – North Kitsap (April 18)
Bellevue - Overlake Rotary (April 18)
Des Moines Rotary (May 2)

National Youth Involvement Board

I've just been invited to speak at this conference in August.

What Michigan Thought of Me

In September, I visited the Michigan Credit Union League and gave a presentation on the ten most intriguing products for 2012.

Here are the ratings I received:



If you can't read it:

23% "Greatly Exceeded Expectations"
64% "Exceeded Expectations"
9% "Met Expectations"
5% "Almost Met Expectations" (otherwise known as - "there's one in every crowd")

Amazon’s Author Central

It’s been months since I looked at my Author Central page. I pulled it up today and was delighted to see that I sold 66 books in the past 8 weeks – in 25 different locations. I’m ranked 465,591st out of 8 million.

Many authors would laugh at my quaint little sales numbers (465,590 authors probably would, actually), but my book has been out for over two years. That seems impressive to me. I like to look at that map and wonder what two people in Detroit bought my book last week? And what does Harrsbrg-Yrk-Lncster-Lbnon mean?

I wonder other things too, like why Amazon doesn’t list Kindl sales numbers? And why does it say that I have three editions of my book – Hardcover, electronic and what else?



I love this sales graph. If you tracked my mental and emotional state as an author, I'm sure it would trend quite similarly.

Lewisville - October 18

I'll be in Lewisville, Texas on October 18 at 6:30 pm. See the flyer below for more info. If you are in the Dallas area - stop by!

The Best of Days

September 30 has become a day that is consistently fabulous for me.

In 2008, I was swimming topless in the Aegean Sea.

In 2009, my book had launched the day before and I was preparing for my book release party.

In 2010, we welcomed our beautiful niece, Thea, to the family.

And in 2011, the trend continued. The night before, The Woodmark Hotel hosted an author’s event for me and then the next morning, I spoke at Camp Korey at a strategic planning retreat for a program at Costco Wholesale called Journeys. The women I met there were impressive and engaging. It was a nice way to spend a Friday morning.

I’m looking forward to what 2012 will bring.

Words @ The Woodmark

I had a fabulous time with some of my bestest friends at the Woods@The Woodmark event. Thank you Samantha Vamos for snapping the photo.