this week's featured authors, Dave and Lillian Brummet
Dave and Lillian Brummet, a husband and wife writing team presently have
published three books in a variety of formats and have used several
different publishers over the years.
The first book, "Trash Talk" based on a column that Lillian wrote between
1999 and 2007. The book covers the 4-R's of waste management and the proper
order for them, with a focus on the 3rd R: Reuse. They also discuss other
green issues that can be impacted by the individual from organics and water
conservation to energy consumption. The purpose of the book is to inspire
readers, empowering them to feel more positive in life and leave a lasting
legacy.
www.brummet.ca/trashtalk.html
This book is currently published in soft cover and hard cover via
www.publishamerica.com
However, they have plans of releasing this book as an e-book through
www.booklocker.com
in the upcoming near future.
The second book that they have produced is "Towards Understanding"
www.brummet.ca/towards.html
which has just recently been revised to include 5 more poems and a few other
updates and released as an e-book through
www.booklocker.com
The original edition is still available through
www.publishamerica.com
in paperback and hardcover formats. This book depicts a true story of a
young pre-teen female growing up on her own after surviving a broken home
life and abuse from her stepfathers. Witness the journey of recovery and the
dawning of becoming aware of a purpose in life, and finding understanding of
the value of life.
"Purple Snowflake Marketing How To Make Your Book Stand Out in a Crowd" is
their most recent release. It is a reference guide for self-marketing
authors who want to be noticed in a snowstorm of writes without spending a
fortune. They offer nineteen chapters filled with step-by-step information
guiding the reader to create a unique marketing plan for each piece they
produce. Following this they offer twenty-six appendices, and resources in
the chapters, that list more than nine hundred opportunities for book
promotion. This e-book was originally released in June 2007, and since then
has made the recommended reading lists of over a dozen writing courses. The
revised and fully updated revision was released in June 2009 through
www.booklocker.com
Lillian Brummet loves to garden. It is a huge passion of her's. She has a
great love for pristine nature, and she adores animals, especially dogs!
(she smiles) "I do love to read... I am a voracious reader, reading when I
am stirring a pot on the stove, when I'm getting ready for bed or brushing
my teeth ...or when I am eating meals or during the commercials of a
favorite TV program. In the past, especially when I was able to do more book
reviewing projects, I read as many as 457 books per year. Now a lot of those
books might have been children's books for very young people and so are
not that large, but that really is a true number. Now, I read as time
allows, and probably consume as many as two novels a week. (She laughs) It
seems funny to look at that and realize that I consider that a greatly
reduced amount of reading!"
Looking back," Lillian says, "now nearing 40, I can see all kinds of signs
from when I was very young right up to the point I decided to pursue writing
as a career that implied writing might be for me. As a very young child I
would write deep, emotional short stories ? such as one about a very old,
lonely widowed woman who dressed in bright, gaudy clothing to ease her
emotional pain and brighten her day. I wrote that story when I was 7 or so
and it brought my teacher to tears. I couldn't understand her reaction at
the time and was kind of scared that my writing could invoke emotions. At
the same time I was awfully proud to have my work read to the whole class
and sent to other english teachers in the school. That was really cool and
I'll never forget that. But I kind of clung to the pen ? it helped me
survive a tumultuous youth, being on my own at under 14 years old and having
to survive the big-bad-world. Even
winning a few literary awards didn't spark the idea of pursuing writing as a
career ? it was after a really bad vehicle accident that the idea came to my
mind. The accident was a catalist for me to follow my passion ? to make a
difference in the world, to give reason to the fact I live and breathe
today, to find purpose and value in life."
There are two places Lillian looks when deciding on a project: 1) what
inspires her or interests her on a deep level, and 2) what she already knows
or has a desire to learn about. The marketability of the project is
determined by doing enough research and evaluation of the genre so that she
knows what is missing out there, What information or angle can she provide
that people reading this material are not receiving elsewhere?
"So, what makes your books so special? What will readers get out of reading
them?" I asked, Mrs. Brummet.
She answers, "That is a very good question and is the very question that
should be used to scrutinize each piece a writer produces. What is it about
this piece that makes it so special, so unique? Often there are several
angles that are unique. For instance, "Trash Talk" was written to counteract
several issues facing today's society ? reduced finances, fewer resources,
stressed environment and emotional baggage from apathy to being overwhelmed
and depressed. The book is written in such a way as to provide real tools to
deal with these issues while educating the readers about their power to
impact the health of this planet. "Towards Understanding" was written to
reveal the journey and wide array of emotions a victim of violence, abuse
and neglect will undergo as they learn about themselves and come toward some
form of understanding their personal value and purpose in life. I tried to
share the raw emotions while providing a postive guide for both the care
giver and the individual going through similar issues. The poetry will
appeal to anyone who loves nature and introspective, conscious thought and
contemplation about the real issues in life ? and society itself. "Purple
Snowflake Marketing" provides resources authors can click on and access
opportunities immediately ? which is fairly unique in its genre. It offers
up-to-date information on every step of a marketing guide, and then offers
information on how to organize the office, manage contacts, how to do follow
ups and deal with family members and friends. These are all the points that
we felt were so lacking in other marketing books. We also aim in all our
work to keep the voice fresh, postive, uplifting and leave the reader with a
?can-do? attitude.
If someone wishes to become a published author, Lillian suggests, "Write a
few articles and get some immediate experience with your local print
publications and try to get a few online publications to take a chance on
you before going straight into book writing. You'll want to have at least a
few things to show publishers to prove that you have been in print before.
Do a lot of research about
the publisher and your genre in particular. Know the business side of things
well, be very organized, always follow up with your contacts and keep good
records.
"So, Lillian, is there anything else that you would like to share with us?"
"I'd love to invite your readers to drop by my blog:
http://consciousdiscussions.blogspot.com
where they can find eco-news, writer's resources, fun and green family or
youth activities and all kinds of stuff ? including weekly prize draws where
people can enter to win things like books, or magnetic fridge note pads, or
posters, or herbal tinctures... there is something new each week and all the
prizes have to do with conscious living. Also, if your readers have time,
I'd encourage them to drop by
my radio show where I've interviewed dozens of professionals from a wide
array of experiences in the world of writing ? from publicists and
publishers, agents and book reviewers, coaches and educators, and leaders of
writers organizations. I'm sure your readers will find this a wealth of
information ? and it is all free:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/consciousdiscussions
If your readers want to contact me, find excerpts of my books or want to
find out how to help us raise funds for charity by purchasing a copy of our
books, they can go to:
www.brummet.ca
this is our main site and it has links to, and examples of, most everything
we do."
Thank you for joining me once again for another edition of Author Fridays.
Please come back again next week and read about Arlington Nuetzel, our next
week's featured author!
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