…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!!

A little background about the winning quote.

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!

Rules:

1. The contest starts today as soon as this blog entry is posted.
2. The deadline for ideas is Sunday August 9, 2009 at midnight (EDT).
3. Voting for the three favorites (picked by me) will commence on Monday August 10 (as soon as I get out of bed and get the poll posted).
4. Voting will end Sunday August 16 at midnight (EDT).
5. Winning entry will be announced Monday August 17 (as soon as I get out of bed).
6. I don’t know legalese, but by submitting an idea for the contest, entrants agree that their idea(s) may be used on products for promotion of RJ Keller’s novel, Waiting For Spring.

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!

This morning I posted the new Publishing Renaissance here on my personal blog by mistake. Then I Tweeted it. Not the smartest thing I’ve ever done. Unfortunately, it’s not the dumbest thing I’ve ever done, either.

The real article, in its correct home, can be found here: http://bit.ly/1KAilE

…you can catch Friday’s JJ Talk Radio chat here.

JJ Talk with RJ Keller.

Thanks to everyone who called in!!!!

A lot has been happening since I posted last, so I’m going to a Pot Pourri entry today.

Just a reminder that I’ll be interviewed on Blog Talk Radio with Dawson Vosburg & Stacey Cochran tonight at 8:30 EDT. You’ll be able to call in with questions or comments, so get them ready! (I would LOVE it if you guys would call in.) I’ll be Tweeting about it throughout the day, and will post the phone number when I get it. Or I’m sure it will be made available during the broadcast.

The Editor Unleashed/Smashwords Anthology is now available to download – for free! – at Smashwords in a variety of formats. You may remember that my piece, “Reflections,” is included. Check it out!

Speaking of checking things out, Waiting For Spring is now available in the Maine State Library system.

And finally, last week I shared my attempts at making an audiobook of Waiting For Spring with you all. The resulting video was a big hit. Unfortunately, the audiobook itself wasn’t. One might even say it sucks. A wise person is able to recognize their weaknesses, as well as their strengths, and – shockingly enough! – I’ve decided to act like a wise person with regards to my weakness in the art of voice acting. In other words, I’m canning the audiobook files I recorded.

Do not dispair! A very good friend of mine, Dr. Robin Altman (who is a child psychiatrist extraordinaire, a stand-up comedian, the author of Shrink Rap – An Irreverent Take on Child Psychiatry, and co-host of Movie Mavens) has VERY graciously offered to do the audiobook in my stead. She’s recorded up to chapter 4 so far, and I am very pleased with the results. She is simply amazing! Last night I was in tears while listening to the latter part of chapter four, which is exactly as it should have been. I’ve been playing around with it a little, experimenting with adding music and crap like that, so it’ll be a few weeks before it’s available to download. Keep in mind that we’re both working with home equipment, not studio-quality stuff…but I still think you’ll be pleased.

I’ll be doing a Blog Talk Radio interview with Dawson Vosburg & Stacey Cochran this Friday, July 24 at 8:30pm EDT. It’ll be live, so you can call in with questions about Waiting For Spring! (I would LOVE that…hint, hint, hint.) More info later on this week.

Here’s the link:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Dawson-Vosburg/2009/07/25/JJ-Talk-with-RJ-Keller