The results are in…and on Wednesday I will post a profile of Tess Dyer. It will include biographical information (for example, yes, she has a middle name), writer-y background stuff, AND answers to any questions you have about Tess’ bio or the writer-y background stuff about her. So please post as many questions (or comments) you have about her in the comments section of this post. The more of you who participate, the more fun it will be!
Thanks to everyone who voted!
Did you know that any cell phone with a working battery will call 911, even if there is no service attached to it?
Most domestic abuse shelters/programs accept old cell phone donations and distribute them to women or families who may need them in an emergency. You can donate your old cell phone(s) and help save a life. Get in touch with your local domestic abuse shelter/program (Spruce Run in Maine) or click here for more information from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
I got the first bit o’ feedback on the new Waiting for Spring ‘lumberjack’ shirt. “Got my t-shirt today and it is excellent. But be warned, if you order the women’s “t” it really is cut small.” (Thanks Alice!) So don’t forget that you can choose from a wide variety of styles. Or, if you prefer, you can get the ‘lumberjack’ quote on a mug.
Waiting For Spring ‘lumberjack’ t-shirt.
Waiting For Spring ‘lumberjack’ mug.
Also, the other two finalists’ quotes are now available on mugs:
Other products will be available soon.
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On a different note…
As requested by a reader via email (hi Lisa!!), next week I’m going to start doing more WFS background posts, starting with characters…and you can help to choose which character will be ‘profiled’ first (the choices are in random order):
Voting ends this Friday, August 28. After that, I’ll post a thread in which you can throw out questions about the ‘winning’ character, which I will answer in their profile. The first one will be posted on Wednesday, September 2. If there is enough response, we’ll continue on with other characters in the same way.
Thanks for the feedback and emails, everyone! Please keep it coming!
The moment is finally here! The first ever ‘Waiting For Spring’ t-shirt is now available to purchase. As you probably remember, the quote was suggested by Shannon (who will get a free one) and chosen by readers after a week-long vote.
The ‘default’ design is a Ladies’ Melange Ringer T, but you can select a different shirt style by clicking on “select a different shirt style.” Keep in mind that some styles work better with the design than others, and the design won’t show up on a dark colored shirt. Other than that, have fun!
While you’re there, check out the other products available at the Backword Books Zazzle Store.
UPDATE: Heads up about the WFS t-shirts! You can get $3 off by using this coupon code at checkout time: BTSTSHIRTS09 (Until August 23, 2009 at 11:59pm PT) Thanks to Athenagwis from the Kindle Boards (yes…the very same Athenagwis who pointed me to the MK Suede lipstick!) for the heads up. 🙂
…and the winner, by a large margin, is Shannon from Minnesota! Congratulations! I’ll get to work on the design, then contact you about specifics (style, size, color, etc). Once all of that is taken care of, I’ll post a link to where the t-shirt (and other ‘Waiting For Spring’ items) will be available to purchase. Thanks to everyone who participated in and who voted in the contest!!
Front: I’m a lumberjack
Back: Any person who cares about what I do to earn enough money to afford rent & music & beer & food & jeans deserves to think I spend my days in the wood cutting down trees.
It comes from chapter 3 of Waiting For Spring in which Tess muses on the importance people place on career and money:
The first question people insist on asking a new acquaintance is: What do you do for a living? I hate that. Insecurity, probably, because I’m not a lawyer or a doctor or any of those other professions that make people say, ‘Oh…’ in that reverent, awestruck way. And anyone unlucky enough to ask me that fatal question without preceding it with at least two others–for example, what books have you read lately or who’s your favorite ballplayer–was answered with:
‘I’m a lumberjack.’
Because any person with a greater interest in what it is I do to earn enough money to afford rent and music and beer and food and jeans–rather than in the fact that I think Bill Lee is the coolest guy ever to climb onto the pitchers mound–deserves to think I spend my days in the woods cutting down trees.
I chose ‘lumberjack’ for a few reasons. One, as mentioned in the comments section of the voting post, as a semi-homage to Monty Python’s ‘Lumberjack Song.’ Two, because a friend of mine named Stan (who is mentioned in the acknowledgments) used to joke with me about being a lumberjack (since I live in the boonies of Maine) to cheer me up when I was sick. The joke turned into what you might call a mini writing collaboration that broke me out of a funk and got me writing on my own again. (Thanks Stan! You rock.) Three, because I thought ‘cutting down trees’ was a fitting symbol of what Tess does to herself throughout the book. 
Just thought ya might be interested. 🙂
Stay tuned for other contests in the near future. And, if you haven’t had a chance to read Waiting For Spring, be sure to pick up a copy at Amazon.
I’ll admit it: This was hard. I really liked all of the suggestions for the ‘Design a Waiting For Spring t-shirt contest.’ But I said I was going to pick three of them for people to vote on, so that’s what I did. Here they are, in the order they were posted:
Kari: His eyes were Van Dyke brown
Shannon: Front: I’m a lumberjack
Back: Any person who cares about what I do to earn enough money to afford rent & music & beer & food & jeans deserves to think I spend my days in the wood cutting down trees.
[UDATED TO NOTE THE FOLLOWING: This design was tested, and it does fit on the back of a t-shirt.]
Natasha: Waiting for Spring
(Lori also suggested ‘Waiting For Spring,’ but Natasha’s post came first.)
Voting will close on Sunday, August 16 at midnight (EDT).
A BIG thank you to everyone who made a suggestion. I can’t begin to tell you all how much your support means to me.
My good friend, editor Amy Rogers of Novello Festival Press, will be the guest on tonight’s JJ Talk Radio with Dawson Vosburg and Stacey Cochran. She’ll give us “the insider’s scoop about indie publishing.”
Amy is funny and smart and is an amazing writer herself. She’s the brave and talented soul who edited “Waiting For Spring.” You may also remember that she contributed an excellent three-part article to Publishing Renaissance last spring, “Starting Your Own Indie Publishing Company.”
I seriously recommend tuning in tonight at 8:30 (EDT). Here’s the link to the show.
Here’s the number so you can call in: (347) 843-4375
You may remember that Waiting For Spring was in contention to be the 100th book reviewed at LLBookReview. It came in second, which is still very cool. In fact, I might I like the looks of 101 better than 100. 😉
The review is now live! Check it out.
Tess’s emotions and feelings go far beyond the page and there is something here every reader will connect with when it comes to your own hopes and experiences whether male or female.
I am in the midst of preparing a grand merchandising campaign for Waiting For Spring that will include mugs, keychains, hats, mousepads, and – eventually – tshirts. You can see some examples of this here at the Backwords Zazzle Store and here at my NewMillsPress Zazzle Store.
The reason I say “evenutally tshirts” is because I’m having a difficult time designing one (or possibly more). This is why I need your help.
If you have read Waiting For Spring, and can think of a good quote from the book, or something about the book or characters, that you think would look great on a tshirt, submit that idea here in the comments section. There is no limit to the number of quotes/ideas you can submit. I’ll pick my three favorites (*PLEASE let there be more than three ideas submitted*) and then we’ll put those ideas to a week-long vote. The winner’s submission will go on a tshirt, and the winner him or herself will win a free t-shirt.
Whoo hoo!
Other rules to be posted as needed, or as questions arise.
UPDATE!!!
New Rule 7. No quotes that reference Chef Boyardee due to copyright issues.
In the meantime, you can hear more about the contest – and other exciting stuff – on my newest video blog:
Craig Lancaster, author of “Six Hundred Hours of a Life,” one of my favorite new novels, posted a q&a with yours truly on his blog today. Check it out!
R.J. Keller 