Magical Memoir Moments

Ten Steps to Doing a Book Cover Reveal: How to Build Community as You Prepare Your Book Launch

During the holidays, when my tech-savvy adult children were visiting us, we had a blast with an event called a Cover Reveal. It brought my publisher, my audience, and me together for the first time in a formal way. So, using the holiday theme, I’ve concocted a recipe for the event to share with you….

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Cover Reveal Live Stream

The live streaming of my cover reveal will begin at 2:15 P.M. Friday, December 28, 2012. Just press play in the video above and you will be connected. Thank you for joining the party!

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The First Peak at Blush: Cover Reveal Coming This Friday

Did you know my book-to-be book has fans? I’m blushing here, because I didn’t give them this name, but that’s what Facebook calls the special pages you “like,” in contrast to the personal pages where you “friend” each other. I place blog posts on my website and on the Shirley Hershey Showalter page. The page…

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You Are Invited to a Cover Reveal!

One of the most important decisions that publishers and authors make about a book is its title and its cover. This decision has been made for my memoir. I used Rosy Cheeks: A Mennonite Childhood as a working title when I proposed the book to Herald Press. But the title has changed. I want to…

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Coverings and Bonnets, Amish, Quaker, and Mennonite Stories: Part Two

When BLUSH launched at Lititz Mennonite Church September 19, 2013, I, like any new author, was excited. But I was also a little worried, as any memoir writer with extended family in the room will be! My family’s response filled my heart with joy that night. I will always be grateful for their amazing support….

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Screen shot from the campaign website store: https://store.peteforamerica.com/collections/gear/products/pete-2020-embroidered-hat

In Defense of Iowa Caucuses and an Explanation for Mayor Pete’s Popularity Among Seniors

  My best friend in Iowa is a country girl. Like me, Carol Bodensteiner grew up on a dairy farm in the 1950s. She wrote a childhood memoir, which brought us together. We are both writers. For the last two years, Carol and I have talked with each other once a month, discovering that we…

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Rhoda Janzen, First Lady and Hottest Chick of Mennonite Memoir

There’s news from Rhoda Janzen, author of Mennonite in a Little Black Dress. Her sequel memoir Does This Church Make Me Look Fat? is available for pre-order. Here’s a short blurb from USA Today to whet your appetite. Now is that a catchy title or what? The subtitle comes back to remind the reader of her…

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Cheryl Strayed's Wild Reviewed by Her Mentor Paulette Bates Alden

Have you ever been named in the acknowledgment section of a book? If so, you know how thrilled and tender you can feel. How about being named in the hottest memoir of the season? That’s what happened to my guest today, Paulette Bates Alden, who was lucky enough to have Cheryl Strayed as a student…

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Daisy Hickman: Interviewer and Reviewer (of Jonathan Franzen's The Discomfort Zone)

There’s an art to interviews. First of all, it helps to be a great observer and listener and to know something about the person and subject under inspection. Most of all, it helps to care. Daisy Hickman fits that bill perfectly. Last week she placed her questions and my answers on her great blog Sunny…

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An Exclusive Love: Author Interview

Here’s another memoir author interview of a memoir that’s been translated into 15 languages and is soon coming out in paper after a successful hardcover run. Learn from the author directly! 1. Please describe the plot of your memoir briefly. It’s the story of my grandparents, who commited suicide together hand in hand in their…

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