Magical Memoir Moments

The Shenandoah Valley last Spring

Entering Lent and Leaving Social Media Behind: Welcoming a More Passive Life

What do you get when you cross Lent with Sabbath? I’m about to find out. The last four years of moving to Virginia, living in Brooklyn as a “granny nanny,” writing a book, and traveling, have been wonderful. You might call this period of time The Active Life. This style of living has been a…

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What's the Best Way to do a Book Tour? A Hybrid Approach Between Virtual and "Live"

Book tours have gotten a bad rap lately. Publishers seldom sponsor them except for their A-list authors in A-list venues in large cities. In fact, back in 2011 Anne R. Allen advised authors to celebrate their demise in a post titled  RIP the Author Book Tour.  She preferred BLOG tours and social media, which, three…

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Adventures with eReaders: The Kindle Part 3

Here’s what Amazon calls “Shirley’s 2nd Kindle.” They gave me this one because I called their customer service department when my first one, an earlier model, died. Pretty impressive, eh? How many other companies offer you a newer model of a product valued at $149 for free without kicking and screaming? A more cynical person…

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A Twitter Post-Script: How Online Can Lead to Offline Memoir Connections

Just have to share a lovely experience because it continues the conversation about social media and “real” writing that began with this post about social media and continued when Kathy Pooler did a guest post about Twitter here last week. As I write my own memoir, I am learning to know many authors who have…

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Using Twitter Strategically: It's All About Making Meaningful Connections

Two weeks ago I wrote about balancing two kinds of writing — memoir and social media (Facebook and Twitter). Kathleen Pooler wrote a comment on that post, which prompted my invitation to her to share what she has learned about Twitter. I tend to use Facebook more than Twitter, but I see the advantages of Twitter when…

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How to Balance Writing with Facebook, Blogging, and Twitter

While I draft memoir chapters about growing up Mennonite, I am also writing to you, the friends of this blog, and to others on my facebook page and twitter feed. Is it worth it to spend my time this way? Sometimes I wonder. A few weeks ago, I was asked by a friend of this…

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24 Memoirs in 28 Days: Check These Out as We Build the Top 100!

For those of you searching the web for “top memoir” reading lists, here is a new resource. Angela  Kelsey, a Twitter friend, is challenging  herself to review 24 memoirs in the next 28 days. She has reached Day 4 already, and the quality of both the books and reviews will reward your reading effort. Check out…

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