Andrew Kaplan Viewpoint - Presidential Primary and Social Media - Who is Engaging Best Wins!!

I came into the election season with an independent view of the candidates. I had spent time in the fall looking at ways social media would have an impact on the campaigns in the primary and leading up to the election. When the primaries were just heating up, my consulting and advisory practice as a facebook branding expert was also on the rise.

So I started a group on facebook about politics and then started to really look at how facebook was having an impact on the candidates and the election. I noticed a few things immediately.

Obama has very dynamic groups on Facebook and seem to capture the imagination of the college educated and professional class. His groups on facebook linked back clearly to his websites and also were a place of really connecting with the candidate. Reading further into this, Obama early on had recognized the power of social media and networking and had hired one of the early executives of facebook to be on his campaign staff. Basically, Obama new how to engage and build a grass roots organization.

Hillary Clinton on the other hand faced some challenges. Not much was happening in her Facebook groups. In fact, "Anti-Hillary" facebook groups were popping up every day. there were dozens of these groups on facebook. No one from her campaign seemed to pay attention or possibly contact Facebook to have these groups shut down since I believe it goes against the "culture of Facebook" to make derogatory remarks about an individual, even a candidate.
So looking to help out and gain some experience, I sent e-mails into her national campaign's e-mail address on the main website to see if I might help with consulting. NO RESPONSE. The only messages I received from the Clinton Campaign seemed to do with ACCESS.....send a donation and perhaps then we might talk or have you be a volunteer.

I had seen John McCain in person in January and was at his town hall meeting. His rally was engaging, interesting, humorous and warm. He was connecting with the crowd. He recognized that he needed to reach the independent vote and to bring change to Capitol Hill. He surrounded himself with politicians who were moderate and were well versed on reducing spending and healthcare. He also had a relatively young and maverick US Senator at his side Tom Coburn (R-OK). Coburn is energetic, youthful and charismatic. And when question about Healthcare came up, McCain, called upon Coburn to answer......Coburn is a doctor.....(my sense is that he could be on the McCain short list for VP since he has appeal to independent, educated voters and his knowledgable on healthcare....he also works hard to stop frivoulous congressional spending)...

At the town hall meeting, I had a chance to ask a question....my question was about science and math curriculum in public schools and how he might create a way for the US to compete better on the international level in these areas. I also mentioned technology too. He answered in a "political way". He didn't give specifics...he did however show me he had seen a model for this. McCain answered and discussed Ireland and how he had met with the mayor of Dublin and how they have transformed that city into a technological juggernaut. I liked this answer, because it showed that he had a world view and that he had thought about this. McCain won the South Carolina primary two days later. I was impressed with him. I could feel his sincerity. He wants to engage and bring change.

McCain has a facebook group and in fact, in March, he sent out an e-mail about having a March Madness bracket contest for the NCAA basketball tourney. Someone on his campaign was at least working to engage. McCain also is traveling in the "Straight Talk Express". From my viewpoint he does say what is on his mind. This sometimes gets him into trouble, but I respect that he is a maverick.

In April, Hillary's campaign sent her husband and former President Bill Clinton into North Carolina to campaign. I went to see him at a rally in Salibury, NC and had access in the press section. An e-mail had arrived in my mailbox at around 10 pm the night before giving little chance for others to see him He was NOT in Charlotte, but visiting the small towns of the blue collar worker. He discussed policies on global warming, education, and healthcare. He seemed to be enjoying the crowd, but at the same time, I felt that he was just going through the motions for his wife. He even made a joke about it at the rally...about what would happen at home if he didn't go on the campaign trail. He was accessible after the rally to the small crowd of a few hundred who had attended.

I then decided that I would spend some time trying to figure out the "Obama" mystique. What was he doing that was attracting people to his vision and campaign. Was it his message, his charisma or something else? How did Obama come from having no organization to be the leader in the democratic primary? A few weeks ago, I received an e-mail from his campaign that they wanted help in "Getting out the Vote". The e-mail did NOT ask for money....it asked for time! It asked for "volunteerisim" and "engagement". The Obama National Campaign had secured office space on one of the "coolest new streets" in Charlotte. On the street was a new upscale bar, a new Starbucks, an new home made Ice Cream shop, and one of the top live music venues. It was also about one block from where the first "early voting" was to occur in Charlotte (Mecklenburg County) beginning April 17th.

I stopped in the Obama HQ and immediately was greeted by 3 volunteers at a long table filled with brochures, pamphlets, "woman for Obama" signups, etc. The volunteers were warm, friendly and inviting. You could feel the excitement and energy. I told them I wanted to find out more about volunteering and I filled out a short form and then was sent over to a table to meet Bruce, who was managing this campaign office. Bruce and I spoke for a few minutes about how I can help, where I lived in Charlotte and then brought me over to meet a young woman named Jori. Jori was the coordinator of the campaign for North Charlotte, Davidson and Huntersville where I lived. She was in a small office she shared with another campaign worker. She was working hard on her laptop. She greeted me and then asked me how much time I had. I told her I had just stopped in to see how I might volunteer and didn't expect to be put to work. I told her I could help for about 90 minutes before I had to leave for my next business meeting. She went into some database on her computer and then printed out about 20 sheets of around 500 names. These were a database of registered democrats in Charlotte. She then handed me a 'telemarketing script' to read for calling and asking people to vote early.

Jori handed me a mobile phone and I started to call. So in less than 20 minutes, I went from someone who wanted to see how I could help to being an active campaign worker. To me that showed great organization. What was more amazing to me, was that these staff members were the ones traveling from state to state and this office had only opened a few days before and was a temporary base. They were so organized. It was impressive.

I was in my element..I had spent a good part of my business career bring contact management and customer relationship management systems such as ACT!, SalesLogix and Salesforce.com to Fortune 500 companies and mid-size companies. As a database marketing professional, I saw that they not only were having me call people, but had me circle certain data boxes next to their names. This included where I left a message, had a wrong number, where they were going to support Obama or Hillary. It also asked if they were going to vote early, wanted to volunteer or needed a ride to the polls.

My script also mentioned that we felt there would be long lines due to 200,000+ new registered voters on primary day (May 6th) and we were encouraging voters to use North Carolina early voting at their local libraries starting h. It was an impressive way to organize.

As I finished up about 100 calls, I gave my sheets back to Jori and she told me they would be entered back into the database. She also showed me how each voter was bar coded for easy date entry.

As I was leaving, I learned about door to door canvassing they were coordinating. Even though Jori and these national campaign workers had not been in Charlotte before, she had a large map of her area and was targeting to do a door to door canvassing for "Obama and Early voting" that weekend. Again this was very organized. Although, my schedule did not allow me to participate that weekend, I know that my 12 year old son, told me that someone from Obama's campaign had come to our neighborhood that following Saturday and told him about Obama. From a technology standpoint, they were using geographic mapping systems to plan these.

A few days later, early voting started at our University Libary location. I stopped in at about 6:45 pm Tuesday, a week prior to the official primary day to vote thinking there wouldn't be any lines. The lines were out the door. The majority of voters seemed to be for Obama and energized by the vote. I stopped by the library again on the Saturday (which was the last day of voting) and the line at this point was about 300 people long snaking around...Police where on hand to help with creating extra parking areas. It was no surprise to me that Obama and the early voting initiatives had been effective and he was going to win by a large margine.

Now, here is another thing that separated Obama and Hillary. Hillary's campaign sent me an e-mail that she and Chelsea would be at the 20,000 seat NBA Bobcat arena with Chelsea. I really wanted to see her too, to understand and hear her unfiltered from the press. There was one catch and a "turnoff".....yes I could go see her, but if I wanted to be up close, I would have to fork over $250.00 for a seat up front or $75 for a seat a little ways back....There were also free seats, but I am thinking they are the bleachers....so what is Hillary's message......I will only talk to you or let you close if you have MONEY!!!!.....Seemed to me it resonated in the same way the lobbyist in Washington worked. She is trying for grass roots fundraising, but it seems it is too self serving and too late. Her campaign is out of money.

By contrast, I was invited to two Obama events in Charlotte. One with Obama himself and the other with his wife Michelle. It was open to the public and encouraged us to invite whomever we wanted. He wanted to get his message out. He wasn't looking for a handout.

Hillary did arrive in the state and was supported by our governor. She did make stops in other areas of the state. Yes I guess these were "free"stops, but it wasn't in Charlotte.

So here is my take.......
McCain who had little funding during his campaign, won because he engaged the crowds and had a message that was to bring change to Washington, DC. He was accessible and showed he could admit he didn't have all the answers himself. He was self-deprecating...and enjoyable to be around. You also got a sense he was a true patriot and truly loved this country.

Obama was like a CEO of a well oiled startup company ready for great success. His campaign was loaded with energy, youth, technology and a spirit of changing the world. His little campaign headquarters also was very mixed in demographics there were people of all ages and races working there....including a very bright staff member who actually was from Vancouver, CA and a recent political science grad.

Hillary to me was like the old time politician...She wanted money....she said she was listening, but actually made it difficult to get close unless you had money...and never had any one from her website respond to inquiries. She was not creating "relationships" either in the facebook or web community nor in real life. Bill was doing the connecting and probably could win if he ran again, but it was clear that the voters separated Hillary and Bill in style. Hillary is impressive in the battle to break the glass ceiling. Perhaps her appeal is more to the older and woman voter, so I may have not been her target audiene.

Bottom line on the day after the election in Charlotte, NC (Mecklenburg County)....Obama won 70% to 29% ..........His juggernaut is in place and will be very formidable.....He showed that he could beat one of the top and most experienced and respected campaign organizations - the Clintons.

Last looking at loyalty...in this day an age loyalty is priceless. Obama has loyalty from his followers.Hillary does not have high level people loyal to her..people who worked in the White House and in Bill Clinton's cabinet with her are backing Obama. Those are the ones that had "access" and know her best.

My predication, I am seeing McCain pick a youthful VP (perhaps Tom Coburn), and I see Obama choosing a loyal experienced "centrist" democrat (perhaps Joe Biden who can bring the party together at the convention and offset McCain's "experience".

I don't see Hillary as the nominee for many of the reasons stated above. Even though she may be out of money, she had things that were free and engaging to reach an audience ...Facebook and other social media. She didn't do this and I think she lost the youth vote because of this.

MediaMensch Radio Show - Ulf Nilsson - Qbrick - Hockey Legend

This past show with Ulf Nilsson, is one of my favorite shows. Ulf Nilsson is an executive with Qbrick, one of the leading digital streaming companies in Sweden. Ulf is also someone who spent his early life and career taking risks and reaching the highest levels in professional sports. He was one of the first European hockey players to come to North America. Upon his arrival at the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association, the games began to sell out. This continued when he arrived at the NY Rangers. His mentor at the Jets was Bobby Hull.

So our show is a mix of what is happening today in current digital media mixed with great advice on reaching the highest goals in life.

You can find the show on this website and at www.blogtalkradio.com/mediamensch

Please share this show or other programs with your friends. Past shows include the former president of Starbucks and a press conference with George Clooney regarding the movie "Leatherheads" and Darfur.

Media Mensch Expands to Professional Sports

Sports are now going to be part of our future MediaMensch offerings and radio show. In April, we were able to attend a press conference for Lowes Motor Speedway and the Sprint All Star race. There are some new changes to the track. The walls at the race track are now painted Yellow to reflect the Sprint brand. There was also an introduction of a contest before the race to see who can create the best "burnt rubber" among the professional drivers. This contest is modeled after the types of things that are done such as the Home Run Derby or the Slam Dunk competitions at the All Star games. Clint Bowher, driver of the Jack Daniels car and Humpy Wheeler owner of Lowes were interviewed by the various media outlets. After the media event, a lunch in the Time Warner media center was held and I had a chance to meet some members of the local media and spend a few minutes with Clint.

Yesterday, I receieved an invite to attend a press conference for the Charlotte Bobcats where they announced a new coach...the coaching legend, Larry Brown. This was my first Bobcats press conference. Sitting in the 2nd row, I had a chance to see and hear Michael Jordan discuss who he came to hire Larry Brown and talk about the future of the franchise. Many of the people now running the Bobcats came out of the college basketball powerhouse a few houses of the interstate, University of North Carolina. It was interesting to watch the "Tarheel" leadership and coaching arrive at the Bobcats.

Today, I had the opportunity to interview Ulf Nilsson, hockey legend and media executive on www.blogtalkradio.com/mediamensch . We discussed topics ranging from digital media, television, hockey, culture, coaching/mentoring and life lessons.

Small press authors have a hard time gettting in bookstores

A friend went to a coffee shop last night that is next door to a book store. He suggested I try to get a book signing there. I tried a few months ago and it got nowhere. So today I went there and spoke again with the store about my novel, Jen-Zen and the One Shoe Diaries. The clerk tells me that they have very few signings, but the author last night was with a press they recognized and guaranteed a certain number of guests and even provided their names. She says all this in the rudest tone possible. Meanwhile this dear, sweet patron looks at my book and says, "My mother-in-law just loves shoes. The cover is so pretty. What's your book about?" I step over to the side and explain the book, then she says, "Well, can I buy it here?"

I explain that I tried to get in and that the store favors authors with the big presses. She asks for my card, then reads the blurbs and says, "You know I think I want a copy for myself too. I'll call you. And my brother is writing a book and my sister-in-law writes some too. I know my family would just love this book." I thank her and make my way back to the clerk who is watching this whole thing. By this point the clerk apologizes a bit, saying it's very hard to get a book signing at their store. I'm so ticked at her that I say, "I understand, but you have no idea the challenges new authors face...and rattle off some of my awards and stuff," then cut myself off and ask if she knows where my review copy is since the store has no apparent interest and if I could have it back. And then she can't find it.

I leave the store. Twenty minutes later she calls. I hope that maybe they've decided to carry my book since that patron wanted it. But no. She just found my book.

It's so hard out there for authors with small presses. Last month was Small Press Month and that organization complied a list of 31 one ways you can support the small presses.

Things to do for Small Presses:

Contact your local bookstore or library and suggest they put together a special display for National Small Press Month. You can obtain posters from: Small Press Month Coordinator, PMA, Independent Book Publishers Association, 627 Aviation Way, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266; 310.372.2732; April@pma-online.org. Orders come in units of five.

Suggest that your local bookstore offer a discount off Small Press titles this month. Offer a special discount on all of your titles.


Hold a seminar on "How to Get Published" or on a subject related to your books. You might wish to cooperate with other small presses in your area to get this event off to a roaring start. You might wish to charge a nominal fee for the seminar.


Contact the Book Review editor at your local daily newspaper about any events that you plan. Also speak to the Features Editor. The Business Editor is usually interested in a successful publishing story.


Send PMA a list of participating bookstores and libraries. PMA can send them publicity and display material.


Be sure to inform PMA and the Small Press Center about any activities you have planned for the month. That way, we can include your plans in their national database and mention your events when we are in touch with the media. Please e-mail mark.kohut@gmail.com.


Get in touch with weekly papers and magazines in your area about readings or events and submit the information to the Listings Editor.


Approach an interviewer at a local radio station about airing a segment on, for instance, the problems and rewards of running a small press, or set one up for an author.


Make arrangements with any local non-bookstore outlet that is appropriate for any of your books. For example, if you publish cookbooks, a grocery store might display them up near the check-out for National Small Press Month, particularly with a special discount as an incentive.


Try for an interview at your local daily or weekly paper, remember that the media is always pleased to find to find that there are successful publishers and writers in the neighborhood. So pitch not only yourself, but also your colleagues.


If you have a personable, articulate author who is available to speak in his or her area, set up interviews with local television or radio stations.


Schedule an interview for yourself at your local television station for National Small Press Month. Be sure to offer visuals if available. Footage of an author doing research in a foreign country, or a sports book author on the ski slopes, for example, would be helpful to getting TV time. Focus on the unique angles of your books and authors.


Band together with other small presses and compile a combined exhibition of titles in a subject area. Offer your library the ready-made exhibit of locally published books in the areas you choose.


Find a college or university that would be receptive to a roundtable discussion on a topic like: "The Growth of Independent Media", "What is a Free Press?" or "The First Amendment and Mainstream Media"


A talk to elementary, junior high, or high school students about being an author could be a highlight of school programs during the month.


Use excerpts from a current or upcoming book on your website. An entire chapter is more engaging than just a short passage.


Arrange readings and signings from your list to be held during National Small Press Month at your local bookstore and library.


Plan a group reading or event with other local independent presses and make night out of it.


Take National Small Press Month posters to your local bookstore or library and be sure that they are displayed and distributed.


Join with other small and independent presses and take out a co-op ad in your local newspaper.


Be sure that every local organization to which you belong to displays a poster about National Small Press Month and has your catalogue available as a handout for Small Press Month.


If you have one, keep your alumni magazine up to date about you and your small press.


Host a wine and cheese party in your office for the press, booksellers and other friends of your publishing house. Celebrate National Small Press Month!


Gather together all your press cuttings and document the successes of National Small Press Month and please send to Mark Kohut for use next year. Send care of the Small Press Center, 20 West 44th Street, New York, NY 10036.


Link to the Small Press Month website from your own: www.smallpressmonth.org


Send out e-mails to your customer mailing list announcing the approach of National Small Press Month, and the events you have planned. A weekly digest of news would be an effective way to keep the momentum going throughout March.


Contact other small and independent arts organizations in your area- record labels, theaters, and art galleries, for example- and link to each other's websites, promote each other's events, and support the independent arts community!


Run a contest through your e-mail newsletter, asking for ten titles of famous independently published books. The winner can receive one of your books, or a collection of them.


Contact other independent publishers and set up together a small book fair during the month at a local college or community center


Evaluate authors' pitches - offer to set up a program at a bookstore or library where authors, on the understanding you are there to give general advice, can make a five minute pitch to you about their manuscript.


Look over the previous 30 suggested ideas and let us know which ones provided the most response.

Tyler Perry's Success Journey and Time Magazine Top 100 People

In March, I had the opportunity to travel to Atlanta to work as an extra on a movie called "The Family That Preys" (Oct 2008) with one of the hottest producers and directors in the country, Tyler Perry. He is a rags to riches story and pure American dream. He is also thankful and appreciative of the abundance he has received. Many of you may not know him or have watch his programs, so I thought I would include his most recent message. It is clearly a message and story of fame, fortune and thankfulness.

" Hi Everybody,

Okay, I know that I haven’t written in a while but I’ve been dealing with
a situation.

I’m trying to be careful how I say this without inciting this person, but
I have a stalker. This person sends several hundred emails a day to my
office and has planned our wedding and bought rings and such. She has
showed up at my house several times. What’s crazy is I’ve never met this
woman nor have I even responded to her emails. I’ve had to increase the
guards at my house as well as travel with body guards and I hate that. I
hate to have big guys following me around. Anyway I’ll try to keep this
positive. Let me breathe....

Okay I’m back, on to the real reason I’m writing. Can I just say thank
all of you for making MEET THE BROWNS such a success? The great thing
about it for me was all of the emails that I got from single mothers who
needed to see it. I know this movie wasn’t for everybody, but for the
people that it spoke to you let me know how it touched you and that lets
me know that I’m still on the right track.

I just finished another movie and for all of MY “Why Did I Get Married?”
fans. This one is going to blow your minds. I’ll tell you more about it
later. Also the ratings for HOUSE OF PAYNE are through the roof again.
Yes, Janine is pregnant and I know that you think you know who the father
is but just wait and see. Hasn’t the show gotten so much better?

I’m trying to make this short, but when I start to think about how much
you guys are with me all I can say is “Thank you God for Favor!” I’ve got
to write a book about this. I’m telling you, you inspire me so much. You
make me want to be a much better human being. Thank you again.

If you can do me a favor, TIME Magazine is having their top 100, people
issue and my name is on the list. Don’t ask me why (smile). And I was just
told that YOU have to vote for the person that you like the most. You can
vote as many times as you want.

I don’t know what this means or why they selected me for this list but
since they did I’d sure like for you to have a voice in this contest. It’s
pretty easy to do. Here’s the link

http://time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1725112_1726934_1726935,00.html

Please read the instructions before submitting your vote.


God bless,


Tyler Perry"

New Literary Magazine Emerged from Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Contest

Conclave - A Journal of Character

This is going to be an exciting journal to watch and read. Publishers take note! If you want to see some great fiction stay tuned for the upcoming print journal. I'm honored to be a part of it.

Here's how Editor, Valya Dudycz Lupescu described this new literary magazine:

"In January and February 2008, writers from around the world came together on the Amazon.com forums because of their shared status as entrants and finalists in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. What began as a contest evolved into a community.

In order to create a permanent home for that writers' community, Semifinalist Valya Dudycz Lupescu and her husband Mark created www.ABNABooks.com, an online network and showcase of the published and unpublished works of the ABNA writers. ABNABooks.com is a place for writers to present their work, get the attention of publishers and agents, and help each other in the process of publishing and promotion.

Eager to showcase some of the talent already in their ranks, as well as to promote the writing of talented authors around the world, Valya with the help of the other ABNA writers and editors, decided to create Conclave: A Journal of Character.

Conclave is annual print journal that focuses on character-driven writing in contemporary literary fiction. We hope to share with you our delight in well-told stories: stories that make you laugh, think, feel, or remember. We hope that our stories challenge and entertain, but most of all, we hope they introduce you to unforgettable characters that stay with you long after you've finished reading.

Bookmark this Web site and visit us often. If you like what you read, we hope you will subscribe, or send a gift subscription to a friend or relative.

And let us know what you think about our journal and Web site. http://www.conclavejournal.com/index.html We may post your comments online in a the upcoming “Letters to the Editor” section."

===
Check out the new editors of the magazine (yours truly is a flash fiction editor).

EDITOR, Valya Dudycz Lupescu

MANAGING EDITOR, Scott Markwell

SENIOR FICTION EDITOR, Michael von Glahn

FICTION EDITORS: Enrico Antiporda, Vicki King, Jarucia Jaycox Nirula, Gae Polisner

FLASH FICTION EDITORS: Julie Ann Shapiro, Bret Wright

SENIOR CREATIVE NONFICTION EDITOR, Becky Kyle

CREATIVE NONFICTION EDITORS: Melissa Conway, Stephanie Feuer, James Noll, Meg Write

SENIOR POETRY EDITOR, Leah Davidson

POETRY EDITOR, Tom Gill

DRAMA EDITORS: Karen Joan, Mary Anne Rooney

PHOTOGRAPHY EDITORS: Megan Fergus, Jarucia Jaycox Nirula, David Stanley

COPY EDITORS:

EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE: Mark Lupescu

Leatherheads Debut with Andrew Kaplan

It was almost a year to the day that I stepped foot on the Leatherheads set thinking I would be a fan in the stands and make $100.00 for one day. A year later, I have had the opportunity to have built long lasting friendships, learn about film production and be in 3 other movies (Gospel Hill, Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys, and Insignificant Others.).

On Friday, April 4th, I attended the screening with Maurice at the theatre at Concord Mills, actually the same mall where I went to the open casting for Leatherheads in March 2007.

As the movie opened, I sat with anticipation to see how this movie would turn out. It is very difficult to describe the differences in being on a film set and what comes out of the editing and sound process in post production.

I remember talking to many of the people show in the film such as Tim Griffin who is the black football player on the Bulldogs. I remember meeting his girlfriend who had flown out from LA to visit with him. I just had Edd Robinson on my mediamensch radio show and he told me he was a scorekeeper, so it turned out he had about 5 seconds in the movie as a clear shot. Maurice, whom, I had met on my last day of filming had also told me he was on the scale in the athletic club. When that scene came up with Clooney running through the athletic club, Maurice had is 5 seconds of fame as well. There was a man on a "belly machine" who was clearly shown. I had been cast that day for that role and was costumed and then on the day of shooting another gent with a much better belly...showed up and had that role...

Personally, I am in the movie for about 1 or 2 seconds with a closeup during the Chicago-Duluth football game. I also made the background talking for about 10 seconds behind the bench holding my camera. My hand and camera, also had a closeup for about 5 or 10 seconds holding the camera directly behind the coach....(great for my new career as a hand model)...then there was a camera on the sidelines on a tripod, I used that for a while.

The scenes that made the cutting room floor with me were when they took a player off on a stretcher and I was the cameraman almost on top of him. I am not sure if they erased me or just had another angle. I also had been in a closeup talking with Coach (Wayne Duvall) during the game and that also did not make it. The other scene which I thought would have been in was the concession stand. About 50 extras spent about an hour on that scene with George directing. I had been waving dollar bills in the scene.

Well...all I can say is that Leatherheads was an incredible journey which continues to have made changes in my life which were unforeseeable. This included last week when I attended the Leatherheads press junket and asked Clooney two questions. He joked about my memorable acting.

I couldn't have written a better script for this life journey!

Book Review of Jen-Zen and the One Shoe Diaries

Book Review of Jen-Zen and the One Shoe Diaries

Published in Between the Cracks

Review by Kim McDougall

"Bradley was influenced at a young age by his free-spirited grandmother. She taught him to see the wonder in details, the color of a bird’s wing, dust floating in the air. She set him up to be a photographer, a job that uses his creativity and quirky nature to good effect. He shoots the usual commercial photos for clients, but indulges his whimsy on photographs of ripples in the lake and lone shoes forgotten by civilization. For Brad, “It wasn’t about the camera. But inspiration that left one feeling parched, going through life wandering around in the desert like a mad man thinking you’re seeing mirages about some oasis that’s just around the corner – you dream it so. And when it appears, you’re so parched you’re afraid of that first sip of water. But still you drink it, knowing maybe it’s your last and you savor the drops on your tongue, rolling them back and forth in your mouth until you’ve memorized how they feel falling down your throat.” (Pg 127)

Brad’s grandmother also set him up to fall in love with a girl who is more spirit than human at times. Jen Zen is a poet, with all the images that word connotes. She is nebulous, mysterious and sometimes infuriating. When her mother tells Brad that she’s dead, he discovers only the first mystery about the woman he loves. Jen Zen’s mother is a hard woman, who has no time for her daughter’s eccentricities. She says that her tea leaves make more sense that Jen Zen’s poetry, an attitude that prompts Jen Zen to write (pg 253):

Mother’s Sanctified Tea Leaves
You said, “Your tea leaves made more sense than my words.”
A poet sees tea leaves as shortened branches from a tree.
Sensing the whole; sensing the connection.
The existence you ignored.
Preferring to see soggy twigs; flavoring your water.
You’re right tea leaves make sense.
Keep your flavored water.
I’ll keep my flavored tree.
Where my words know the whole, making me whole.

Jen Zen’s mother chases Brad from the hospital and refuses to let him say goodbye. This lack of closure leaves him restless and unsatisfied. Months later, he is still unable to shake the shadow of Jen Zen and he begins to wonder if she haunts him. Along with her ephemeral presence, the discarded shoes turn Brad into a man on a mission. He is convinced that the piles of shoes mysteriously appearing in a small town have to be connected to Jen Zen. Is she really dead? Is she haunting him? Is he finally going crazy? His camera and his mind won’t rest until he answers these questions.


Jen Zen and the One Shoe Diaries is a far-reaching story full of lyrical beauty—a true Between the Cracks novel. It’s part mystery, part poetry. It has elements of magic realism and surrealism. Author Julie Ann Shapiro has a knack for capturing the essence of relationships and all their uncertainties. At times, Brad’s relationships (with Jen Zen, his grandmother, mother and sister) are a comfort. Other times they are a web, ready to ensnare him. In the end, he learns to see life from his own perspective, without the comfort of a camera’s lens to distort it, and he realizes that the challenge of a relationship is what makes it worthwhile.

Julie Ann Shapiro is a freelance writer, novelist, short story author and Pushcart Nominee with over seventy published stories. Julie's novel, Jen-Zen and the One Shoe Diaries is published by Synergebooks.com. Her second novel, Three Drop Pennies was recently a semifinalist in Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Contest.
http://www.julieannshapiro.com.

MediaMensch - Leatherheads - George Clooney - Blogtalk Radio

On blogtalk radio today, we will be featuring stories from behind the scenes of Leatherheads, plus the Leatherheads press conference held at the Salisbury Train museum with George Clooney and Renee Zellweger.

Andrew Kaplan, Host of MediaMensch, was fortunate to have been an extra on the film and what he thought would be 1 day on the set turned into 10 days, 5 different roles, 3 different cities and 3 different costumes. He blogged about the experiences almost a year ago on MediaMensch.

The first half of the show will be the press conference, followed by live interviews with actors who were extras on the film.

You can listen to the show by clicking here

or you can paste the following into your browser
www.blogtalkradio.com/mediamensch

a direct link to the show will be
http://tinyurl.com/2c9xtb

Promoting 'Leatherheads' a Clooney Family Affair

Here is a red carpet premier for Leatherheads in the Clooney's hometown in Kentucky.

MediaMensch Exclusive Pics - Bill Clinton at Hillary for President Rally in NC

Preparing for Bill Clinton's Arrival

Kaplan talking to Alex Reed, TV journalist/reporter for NBC Affiliate WCNC Charlotte, NC.
Alex was discussing the life of a reporter in a top 25 city. We agreed how great it is to be able to cover events like Clooney and Clinton and have such access. Reed also was an extra in the Clooney movie Leatherheads and reported on it as well.

We will have Alex on a future MediaMensch radio show discussing his life and career as a mid-market tv journalist. The MediaMensch show is a live talk show (also becomes a podcast) where we interview people in media, sports, politics, technology, and entertainment about their life and careers and their current ventures.

We welcome any suggestions for guests for our future shows.

My first Press Coverage Bill Clinton Campaigning in NC

What a week....I came in at around midnight last night to find an e-mail saying Bill Clinton was going to be in the area...turned out he is at the same Train Depot that George Clooney was at on Wednesday. This time we were outside the station.

There was a crowd of a few hundred people. We were in the press area behind the crowd on a platform so we had a clear shot of the crowd. Bill's speech had humor and was direct and pointed about plans to really turn this country around. He discussed the need for 100 mph cars which can run on Lithium, to pulling the troops out of Iraq, to schools and getting rid of all of this national testing for No Child Left Behind and to really look for true success not just test scores.

He also praised the McCain and Obama and this election has being historical no matter who wins.
The main theme was the Hilary has always been a 'change agent'. Not just in talk but in deeds her entire life. She thinks about the individuals, not just those with wealth and has been an advocate for children and families.

On the economic side, he made a great point about our trade deficit.
China, Japan and Korea are our largest trading partners, followed by the oil producing nations. They are also the countries who own our debt and lend us money to fuel our economy...his quote was that dealing with fair trade is tough since China is our banker...and "You don't go up to your banker, punch them in the face and then ask them for a loan".

He also joked about Not being able to go home, if he didn't campaign for his wife...

One of my highlights for the new mediamensch networks venture was meeting ABC News Producer for the US Senate Zach Wolf..we had a brief discussion of his feelings for the personalities and effectness of Senators Clinton, Obama, and McCain's surrogate, Sen. Tom Coburn (whom I believe may be on the VP short list..just my gut feel)....
More later....

Amazon to Force POD Publishers to Use BookSurge

This move sounds horrid. It's going to hurt small publishers and authors.

Publishers Weekly Daily:


"Amazon has notified publishers who print books on demand that they will have to use Amazon's POD facilities if they want to sell their books directly on Amazon.com, the Wall Street Journal reported.

"The move signals that Amazon is intent on using its position as the premier online bookseller to strengthen its presence in other phases of bookselling and manufacturing," the Journal continued. Amazon "has evolved into a fully vertical book publishing and retail operation. Most recently, Amazon acquired audiobook seller Audible Inc. Amazon also sells its own ebook reader called the Kindle."

Publishers will have to use Amazon's BookSurge POD subsidiary. Among competitors are Ingram's Lightning Source and lulu.com."

Read the whole article in The Wall Street Journal


From Writers Weekly:

"BREAKING DEVELOPMENT: We were notified by a PublishAmerica author that her book was available for purchase through Amazon on Tuesday but today the "buy" button for her book on Amazon is gone. We researched some other PublishAmerica books and it appears the "buy" button on Amazon has indeed been removed from the vast majority of their book pages.
PublishAmerica issued a press release today that states: "PublishAmerica will not comply with Amazon's ultimatum, and will not allow that company to dictate who will print PublishAmerica's books, and at what conditions."

~~~~~

Some Print on Demand (POD) publishers are privately screaming "Monopoly!" while others are seething with rage over startling phone conversations they're having with Amazon/BookSurge representatives. Why isn't anybody talking about it openly? Because they're afraid - very, very afraid.

Amazon.com purchased BookSurge, a small POD publisher/printer back in 2005. Amazon also lists and sells titles for the largest POD printer, Lightning Source, which is owned by Ingram (the large book distributor). According to their website, Lightning Source serves more than 4,300 publisher clients and has more than 400,000 titles in their system.

You'd think Amazon's purchase of BookSurge might have made things a bit uncomfortable between the two companies. However, they continued to work together, getting books on demand to Amazon.com's loyal customers. Things appeared to be cruising along just fine, but perhaps not anymore.

Reports have been trickling in from the POD underground that Amazon/BookSurge representatives have been approaching some Lightning Source customers, first by email introduction and then by phone (nobody at BookSurge seems to want to put anything in writing). When Lightning Source customers speak with the BookSurge representative, the reports say, they are basically told they can either have BookSurge start printing their books or the "buy" button on their Amazon.com book pages will be "turned off."

The book information would remain on Amazon, and people could still order the book from resellers (companies that list new and used books in Amazon's Marketplace section), but customers would not be able to buy the book from Amazon directly, nor qualify for the coveted "free shipping" that Amazon offers.

Don't believe it? I didn't believe it either. I am Angela Hoy, the co-owner of POD services company BookLocker.com and publisher of WritersWeekly.com. I am well-known in the industry for my activism performed through WritersWeekly Whispers and Warnings. Over the years, we have helped writers recover tens of thousands of dollars in fees from deadbeat editors and publishers, helped them negotiate better contract terms, assisted writers in obtaining payment after their copyrights have been violated, and even assisted police in collecting evidence to prosecute criminals who have preyed on writers. I am also the author of 11 non-fiction books.

Still doubting the reports could really be true, I emailed an Amazon/BookSurge representative who's been trying to get us to talk to him by phone. John Clifford of Amazon/BookSurge called me at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 26, 2008.

My first comment was to tell him we heard a rumor that POD publishers who didn't use BookSurge would have the "buy" button on their Amazon.com book pages turned off.

He said, "What? Who told you that? That's not true!"

I told him I'd heard some rumors from the "POD underground."

He said he'd previously tried to talk to my husband, Richard Hoy, the President and CEO of BookLocker. I explained that we had a very bad experience with BookSurge in the past and that he was, naturally, hesitant to do business with them again. (Google the words BookSurge complaint without any quotes to see other customers' comments about them as well.)

He claimed the people who worked for BookSurge back then are probably all gone (but that didn't explain the more recent complaints). He made his sales pitch, talking about percentages and such, and said many POD publishers are resisting their attempts to convert to BookSurge. Mr. Clifford also said BookSurge's aim was to help Amazon customers get their books faster.

What he didn't say was that Lightning Source not only packages books for Amazon customers in boxes that feature an Amazon.com return address label, but also drop-ships those orders directly to Amazon customers at Amazon's request. Hmm...

He stated several times that books not converted to BookSurge's system would be "taken down." Since that wasn't exactly what we'd heard, I asked about books that perhaps weren't selling well, that aren't good candidates for converting to BookSurge (books that would remain for sale through Lightning Source, but would never be converted to BookSurge due to the time/expense involved).

Contrary to what he stated at the very beginning of our conversation, Mr. Clifford finally admitted that books not converted to BookSurge would have the "buy" button turned off on Amazon.com, just as we'd heard from several other POD publishers who had similar conversations with Amazon/BookSurge representatives.

Mr. Clifford said authors of those books could participate in the Amazon.com Advantage Program, meaning they would have to pay Amazon $29.95 per year PLUS 55% of the list price of their book, as well as buy and then send those books to Amazon directly for them to warehouse and ship to customers.

I explained to him that we had more than 1500 books in print and that it would take quite awhile to convert all of those over to BookSurge's system. He said as long as the relationship was "moving forward" that the "buy" button would remain active on our authors' books that had not yet been switched.

Another comment Mr. Clifford made was that their eventual desire is to have no books from other POD publishers available on Amazon.com.

WHAT ARE THEY THINKING?!

I have to wonder if Jeff Bezos is even aware of what is going on within his organization. Here is Amazon's Vision Statement, taken directly from their website:

"Our vision is to be earth's most customer centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online."

What it doesn't say is, "Our customers can buy any print on demand book they might want online...as long as we also get paid to print it."

Nobody likes being backed into a corner, and saying "do this or else" naturally breeds angry rejection and hostility. If we did agree to sign the contract, pulling and transferring files to Amazon/Booksurge would take an enormous amount of time and money. From the POD publishers we've talked to, and from our own experience at BookLocker, we could all be looking at a dire and immediate threat of revenue cuts if we refuse to sign the Amazon/BookSurge contract. Most importantly, there could be an outcry from and potential financial hardship on the authors, who are completely innocent in all of this.

In BookLocker's opinion, and the opinion of all the fellow Lightning Source customers we talked to, the Amazon/BookSurge proposal does not appear attractive at all (yes, we obtained the contract and the file submission specifications). Amazon/BookSurge would make money two ways on Amazon.com sales - first the fee for printing the books, and then 48% of the list price of each sale through Amazon.com. Lightning Source allows its customers to set their own discount rate for Amazon and other retail sales, and does not force POD publishers or authors to pay "48%."

Furthermore, it could take the larger POD publishers months to submit their book files to Amazon/BookSurge, at a considerable cost and number of man-hours. This makes the deal even less attractive. Finally, while the initial list of books submitted by POD publishers could be submitted to Amazon/BookSurge for free, the contract states future books would cost $50 each to process. The cost for individual authors to publish through BookSurge is considerably more, with an average publishing package cost of more than $1,000.

Since Amazon/BookSurge does not offer Ingram distribution (Ingram distribution is considered imperative in the industry for bookstore sales), any company that accepts the Amazon/BookSurge deal, who desires to keep offering Ingram distribution, may need to maintain two copies of the book files. Since the Amazon/BookSurge current specs don't match the Lightning Source specs, future book files, both interior and cover, may need to be formatted separately. So, they would have to pay double the setup fees and might have to do double the formatting work as well...or pay designers to do double the formatting work.

Likewise, self-published authors who believe they must have Ingram Distribution AND an active "buy" button on Amazon to be successful may need to pay double the setup fees (to a POD publisher AND Amazon/BookSurge), and also may need to create two separate sets of formatted files.

In the event where two versions of a book might be available, Mr. Clifford said the Amazon/BookSurge version of the POD book would trump (override) the version offered by Lightning Source on Amazon.com.

AMAZON WAS BUILT BY BOOKS....That Were Written By AUTHORS

When authors get wind of this, we believe they are going to be livid. Authors are also readers. They love books. We suspect they buy from Amazon in droves. I, myself, have been an Amazon junkie for years, not only heavily promoting Amazon.com in my non-fiction books for writers and on our very popular website, WritersWeekly.com, but also listing my own books for sale there, ordering other authors' books, DVDs and numerous other products as well. I pulled up our Amazon customer account and looked at our receipts. We've spent $1508.81 at Amazon.com in the past six months. Multiply that by the number of authors this will affect...authors who, like me, have a multitude of websites to choose from when doing their shopping online.

In addition, authors participate in the Amazon experience, via blogs on the website, by posting reviews about other books, and more, activities that help to continually make Amazon bigger and better. Authors are a loyal bunch! For years, they've been faithfully sending their readers to Amazon.com, again and again, even when they earned lower royalties for doing so.

It's not inconceivable to think that this group, if shoved against a wall like this, won't simply pledge their allegiance elsewhere. Let's face it, BarnesandNoble.com offers free shipping on orders of $25 or more, too. Authors can change the links to their book pages on their websites, in their ezines and press releases, and even in their email signatures to their book's page at BarnesandNoble.com. Authors can spend their own money elsewhere as well (as I plan to do). I imagine BarnesandNoble.com will be very happy to process the extra book sales that could result from all of this.

Amazon.com might also upset countless companies that have Amazon Affiliate bookstores on their websites (many authors have these, too!). If Amazon/BookSurge were to follow through with turning off the "buy" buttons for thousands of POD titles, customers following those links from other websites could be confused and annoyed. After clicking on a link, they would find no easy way to purchase the book directly from Amazon, and no way to obtain free shipping on that book, even if they're willing to buy more products to meet the $25 free shipping threshold. One would think Amazon must know the free shipping strategy works to upsell customers on additional products. That's why they offer it. Without it, these customers could have no incentive to buy more products because the product they surfed in to buy does not qualify.

One has to wonder if traditional publishers will be next? Will Amazon eventually require all books sold through Amazon.com to be printed by BookSurge?

Let's all hope and pray this situation is one huge, misguided idea from some mid-level management person and not corporate policy being dictated from the office of Jeff Bezos.

What can you do? Let Amazon know what you think about this "offer" by Amazon/BookSurge.

The names of their Officers and Directors are here: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=97664&p=irol-govManage

Amazon's Investor Relations Team email address appears near the bottom of this page: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=97664&p=irol-faq

Their address is:

Amazon.com, Inc.
P.O. Box 81226
Seattle, WA 98108-1226

Next, tell your author friends, your book buyers, your website visitors, your ezine subscribers and everyone else about this situation. Amazon.com was built on books. Books are written by authors. Unfortunately, it appears authors may ultimately be the innocent pawns in this power struggle."

Click here for even more at Writers Weekly.http://www.writersweekly.com/the_latest_from_angelahoycom/004597_03272008.html

Photos from Leatherheads Press Conference

Exclusive Photos Copyright 2008 MediaMensch Networks. All Rights Reserved

Cameraman in Salisbury Press Conference

Exclusive Photos Copyright 2008 MediaMensch Networks. All Rights Reserved

Clooney Signing Autographs in Salisbury, NC

Exclusive Photos Copyright 2008 MediaMensch Networks. All Rights Reserved

Hundreds of fans turned out today to see George Clooney and Renee Zellweger on their press tour for Leatherheads. Clooney and Zellweger arrived on a train which was used for filming in the movie. As they pulled up into the station, Clooney and Zellweger were waving from the window inside the train. As they exited the train a roar came up from the hundreds of fans who had been waiting for them for as much as four hours. The film was shot on location in Salisbury and the train museum and train were used in multiple scenes in the movie.

George and Renee were decked out in the 1920's attire. At the press conference, George and Renee both agreed is was so much fun to be in such a friendly small town. Renee actually thought being nice and smiling was a prerequisite. In real life Clooney grew up in a small town in Kentucky, while Zellweger grew up in a small town in Texas. This reminded them of home.

Clooney and Zellweger -- Audio Clip of Press Conference

Well, here is copy of the press conference with George Clooney and Renee Zellweger. I had the opportunity to ask two questions during the press conference and had a fun time with George kidding with me about my role in the movie.

Click here for Audio Clip of entire press conference from Radio Station WBT in Charlotte.

Exclusive MediaMensch Pics - Clooney on a Train Arriving at Leatherheads Press Conference

Exclusive Photos for MediaMensch Networks. Copyright 2008. All Rights Reserved

Charlotte Observer - Clooney and Zellweger at Salisbury Train Depot

Here are pictures of the Leatherhead's Press Conference from the Charlotte Observer. I had the opportunity to sit next to Lawrence Toppman who is the film critic for the Charlotte Observer at the Press conference.

Tomorrow on radio station WBT Charlotte with Al Gardner morning show the audio version of the press conference will be played and posted on their website. Click here to listen live.

Whistlestop Tour of Leatherheads with George and Renee

Today was one of those surreal days...I interviewed George Clooney and Renee Zellweger at the Leatherheads Press Conference in Salisbury NC today. The press conference was held at the same train depot and they rode in on the same train seen in the movie. Renee and George were dressed in the 1925 outfits they wore in the movie. They are the Hepburn and Tracy in this romantic comedy. Prior to the press conference there were over 1,000 fans outfitted in Leatherheads t-shirts and with other promotional items for autographs.

More later...

News from Amazon Breakthrough Novel Semifinalist

Julie Ann Shapiro's first novel, Jen-Zen and the One Shoe Diaries just had it's first major reorder from Amazon. This comes on the heels of being mentioned in USA Today. This article has been picked up by at least 20 major media outlets, if not more.

The author's second novel, Three Drop Pennies was recently a semifinalist in Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Contest. In a clever marketing development many of the semifinalists have come together to create a forum and a literary print magazine to which Julie will be serving as a flash fiction editor.


The ABNA Books Forum has united the semifinalists in the hopes of marketing their novels and attracting major attention from the publishers. For more information on the forum check out their recent press release.

****

Amazon Semifinalists Launch ABNABooks.com

Community Creates Literary Site for Networking and Promotion

ABNABooks.com, an online showcase, network and marketplace for writers, was launched on March 1, 2008. ABNA Books is a place for writers to present their work, keep track of fellow writers’ news and publications, and get the attention of publishers and agents.

What began as a group of entrants and semifinalists in the “Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award” contest, evolved into the Association of Breakthrough Novel Authors on ABNABooks.com. Through the Amazon discussion forum, participating writers grew into a community, working together to improve their writing and promote their books.

Brainchild of semifinalist Valya Dudycz Lupescu, ABNABooks.com establishes a more permanent home for ABNA writers and their works.

“Several writers and reviewers mentioned that they wanted a way to stay in touch and to find out about the publications of other entrants,” said Lupescu. “ABNABooks.com provides us with the place to do that. The general public can also subscribe for a free monthly update about news and publications.”

Selected as a semifinalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, Lupescu's debut novel, The Silence of Trees, gained more than 200 positive reviews from customers and reviewers. Lupescu and her husband, Mark, decided to create ABNA Books to maintain the community started during the contest, while at the same time providing the public with a place to track the manuscripts and publications of this talented group of writers.

"Since the manuscripts in ABNABooks.com have been pre-screened in Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award competition and most have received positive reviews from Publishers Weekly, I can see it as a legitimate source of good literature,” said Enrico Antiporda, author of the Top 100 Semifinalist entry, A Light in the Cane Fields. “I foresee literary agencies and commercial publishers mining the website to add to their catalogue."

Julie Ann Shapiro, author of Jen-Zen and the One Shoe Diaries, who’s second novel, Three Drop Pennies is an Amazon Breakthrough Novel Semifinalist has been an active participant on the Amazon forum. “This community of authors have novels that are top notch, peer-reviewed of the highest caliber and ready to be published. Book publishers should take a serious look at these manuscripts.“

With short synopses, lengthy excerpts, and prior publications, ABNA Books provides agents and editors a snapshot of writers’ projects and potential. The site also provides a place for comments and reviews, so that an author’s following and marketability may be glimpsed.

For more information about ABNA Books please visit www.ABNABooks.com

###

About ABNA Books.com:
ABNA began as a group of entrants and semifinalists of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Through the forum, they grew into a community of writers working together to improve their writing and promote their books. ABNABooks.com is the next step in their evolution, a place to maintain that solidarity while promoting their work and perfecting their craft. ABNA Books is an online showcase, network, and marketplace for writers. It’s a place for writers to present their work, get the attention of publishers and agents, and help each other in the process of publishing and promotion.

A Place of Hopes

This is a moving video for orphans in Cameroon..I am on the advisory board. Our group led by Abong Farkham and Barney Barnum...the spent two weeks.. see www.placeofhopes.com ...the next trip is planned for July 2008

Media Mensch Radio Show - BlackTurtle Media - Neal Thurman

Today's guest for the show on March 21, 2008 was Neal Thurman, VP, Audience Relations for www.blackturtlemedia.com.

Andrew Kaplan, host of MediaMensch, and Thurman discussed the development of the site for the young creatives, the creation of a citizen journalist blogging site for soccer which was sold to Yahoo. and his past non-profit project for linking inner city children with books called www.in2books.com

Listen to the Radio show at www.blogtalkradio.com/mediamensch

Independent Film - Insignificant Others

The last two days, I spent time as an extra working on a film called Insignificant Others. We filmed at the old courthouse building in Charlotte. My roles included a police detective or lawyer, and a police officer in full uniform.

Here is a blurb about this project:

In/Significant Others" is John Schwert's follow up feature to "Among Brothers" (www.amongbrothers.com), which played 17 film festivals in 2005-06 and was just featured on Dateline NBC (www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18619158/). Although it's a low-budget project, the script is strong and will be a top-tiered festival piece targeting the 2009 Spirit Awards.

Story line: Blurring the lines between drama, comedy, mystery and crime, In/Significant Others is a modern thriller that voices a unique narrative by trailing an eclectic ensemble cast of characters through their unpredictable daily lives. The film peeks inside personal, intimate moments of these unknowingly-linked character’s lives, including glimpses of drug addiction, stand-up comedy and murder. The character’s parallel storylines converge and we build to the climactic finale with a captivating and visceral series of reveals.

The Family That Preys - Day 1 - Arriving in Atlanta

I drove down to Atlanta for the role as an extra in the Tyler Perry "The Family that Preys" movie. We arrived outside the Atlanta Civic Center after maneuvering through downtown Atlanta which was just recovering from a tornado a few days before. When I arrived at the parking lot I was met by some of the production assistants on the film and then went to line up. I was to be in group "B". My call time was at 5:30 pm. As I went to the back of the line, I heard someone call my name. It was Edd, who was in Leatherheads and Gospel Hill. He had driven down from NC. We talked about the movie and also that as I stopped by at the Greenville, SC Starbucks, there was a poster for a "premiere" party for Leatherheads being organized. With Ed was Gina and Alisa who also were in Leatherheads.

Since it was about 4:45 when we arrived for our bus, the earlier groups to go over to the set were band members and the "A" group. We were going to the Bank of America Building (31st Floor) for extra's holding. On the 31st floor were racks of the tuxedos we were to where for the scene. I finally met Tiffani-Mishell who I had spoken to numerous times on the phone. I was given my tuxedo and then went into the dressing room which was really someones empty office.

We then were asked by different groups to take the elevator to the lobby...dozens of production people were there and it looked exactly like a real black tie gala. We had a 20 piece orchestra, dance floor, bars, and tables with 4 ft high centerpieces.

At our table, I sat next to Joe and Tiffany. Our waitresses name was Hope. My "wife's" name was Ylian. We started to film at about 10 pm and spent the next 6 hours filming the party scene.
I had sushi (real) and champagne (sparking apple juice). the red wine was cranberry and the chardonnay was white cranberry. I even had a "scotch" placed in my hand.

During one of the scenes Robin Givens (actress) comes to our table and talks to a couple sitting across from me. A large camera on a boom is being used to film this scene. I had seen a similar large camera in Leatherheads. It is on a crane about 40 ft high/long.

The others on the scene included Jennifer Hudson and other actors and actresses. Here is the IMDB Listing http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1142798/

Starbucks Post for "In Your Face" Column

This picture above was created and is property of businessweek.com. The comment below was the original comment posted on businessweek.com's website for an article called "How to re-energize Starbucks". After posting this comment, businessweek.com selected this comment for their "In Your Face" feature for readers. Businessweek.com is moving quickly to become a website which is embracing its readers and engaging them in conversation.

andrew kaplan Feb 21, 2008 4:11 PM GMT
Starbucks ideas
1. Focus on a niche for non-coffee drinkers as well such as moms with small kids. They have organic apple juice,milk and also really their cream based frappucinos are really close to milk shakes..(no caffeine)..

2.They also should get rid of the merchandising and focus on teaching the customers about coffee. Most customers and coffee drinkers do not realize each coffee is paired with a cake/food they sell and can eliminate the need for pouring milk and sugar into regular coffee as it sweetens the taste. Many of their bold coffees have better taste when paired with chocolate.

3. They really should have some type of community bulletin board in all stores.

4. They should have a permanent counter with stools and a barista teaching...and attracting single customers.

5. They should hire "public speaking baristas" who can go out to the community

6. GO GREEN - Have real mugs and encourage use of travel cups (give a large discount to "Green Customers".

Tyler Perry, Kathy Bates and Me

A new adventure is about to unfold in my 'career' as a movie extra/actor. About two weeks ago, I applied to be an extra in a new film called "The Family That Preys" starring Kathy Bates, Tyler Perry, Alfrie Woodard and others.

Tyler Perry's personal journey has been featured on Oprah and is a "rags to riches" story with its core being "belief that anything is possible" and "Not to Listen to Naysayers".

A few days after applying for a role as an extra, Tiffany, from Tyler Perry called me and told me about the scene. I would be shooting a scene for a Gala Event. I wasn't sure what that would mean right away. That is, until she called back a few days later to tell me to come to Atlanta to be measured for a tuxedo. Since I live 4 hours away and they were not paying me "Feature Actor" pay, I asked whether I could have an alternative place to be fitted for this "costume". She told me I could do it locally and to call her on Monday with the sizes. So last Sunday, instead of driving to Atlanta, I drove to my local Men's Wearhouse store to be fitted. The salesperson filled out a card with all the measurements and on Monday, I faxed them to Tiffany.

Meanwhile, my friend had just returned from Atlanta from his shoot and told me he was up on a large construction site in high winds for 10 hours of filming. He was cold and his lips were chapped. Tyler Perry was in the scene with him. I thought about the luck of being inside at a Black Tie Gala. Hope the hors d'oeuvres and champagne are good.

I believe 'The Family That Preys" will be out in theatres in October 2008.

Businessweek.com - "In Your Face"

This week was an amazing media week. A comment I wrote about how to re-energize Starbucks was featured at the top of Businessweek.com's new In Your Face page which was added to their home page yesterday. They created this picture.

I also had the opportunity to kick off my new MediaMensch radio show with an interview featuring Howard Behar, former president of Starbucks North America and International and current board member. The show can be found at www.blogtalkradio.com/mediamensch.

In addition, I was introduced to an "experimental" Starbucks drink this week which was a "Mint Chocolate Chip" frappucino. It is not on their menu and tastes exactly like the ice cream. We submitted the idea to Starbucks this week as well and thought they could do a "Green Day" on Earth Day with Green Teas, Green Lattes, and test this new Mint Chocolate Chip Frappucino.

Crystal Shawanda - "You Can Let Go Now"

Crystal Shawanda is a client of a good friend of mine from Lake Norman Toastmasters...she is now on the Canadian billboard 100. Gorgeous song!...she is Canadian Native Indian...so the journey to Nashville was somewhat amazing.

MediaMensch Radio - Author and Executive Howard Behar of Starbucks

We are excited that our MediaMensch radio show is off to a great start. We are featuring stories in media of people, authors and musicians who might be new to you.

Our next show will feature, Howard Behar, the former President of Starbucks International and long time board member who has published a book entitled "It's Not About the Coffee". Howard will be appearing as a guest on the new live MediaMensch radio show on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 from 12 to 1 pm. We will be discussing his views on Starbucks culture and successful leadership practices and observations such as "The Walls Talk" and "The Person that Sweeps should pick the Broom". We also will discuss the changes taking place at Starbucks since Howard Schultz returned as CEO.

You can listen to this show at www.blogtalkradio.com/mediamensch

This show can be listened to live from your computer. You can also call in a special phone # as well. This show and future shows will be archived and available via this link and on iTunes.

We also have a sister show for the Facebook Economy called "Facebook Enthusiast", one of MediaMensch Networks new brands. You can listen to this show at www.blogtalkradio.com/facebookenthusiast We have an interview with the incredible young and prolific Anastasia Salter, a college professor and reader of over 5,000 books at age 23. She is one of the top reviewers for the facebook applications, Visual Bookshelf.

Turning a Dream Into Reality

(Note:Here is an real life inspiring story of a daring woman, a disability and a dream). MediaMensch will be featuring authors from now on both on our blog and on our new radio show at www.blogtalkradio.com/mediamensch).

Jeanne May's Inspiring Story and Journey To Outer Mongolia

When did you decide to live your dream of visiting Outer Mongolia?
Wednesday, November 10, 1993 -- at dinner with a friend and a woman I had only met once before. Early in the evening, Sally (we were at her place and I had only met her once before) was talking about her recent trip to Tibet... one thing led to another and at some stage I mentioned something about Mongolia and Sally immediately said " Why not go there??" my immediate response was: no way... I thought she was kidding and would leave it at that -- but Sally is into dream analysis and has been for many years. She kept saying “why don't you?” After a couple more drinks, my protests faded and the three of us that night decided to go to Mongolia. And at that point... I knew my life would never be the same again.

What was the most empowering aspect of having a life long dream become a reality?
It broke through my limiting beliefs about what I was capable of doing. It also broke through many other people's limiting beliefs about me – many of my family and friends and doctors were very vocally opposed to me going -- I even got told I was irresponsible, and I should not be contemplating it given my physical challenges and enormous breathing problems.
The most empowering thing about it is that I know anything you really want to do badly enough... you can do it, no matter what your circumstances are.
If I can turn my dream into a reality... anyone can

What delightful surprises occurred, and what unforeseen obstacles presented special insights that you might not have otherwise encountered?

Many delightful surprises -- our guides and the people who looked after us (drivers, interpreters, tour guides) in China and Mongolia -- took us into their hearts as we did them. We built up incredibly strong and trusting relationships very quickly with them.My 40th birthday celebrations (by the Mongolians) -- that was so exquisitely beautiful. Touching the Great Wall of China -- it was one thing I never anticipated I would actually do. Managing really well without speaking the language.

We were our own group -- we were not part of a tour group because we needed to have as many things wheelchair accessible as possible -- our needs (my needs) were very different to what tour guides/travel agents were used to! Part of the delightful surprises were that we were taken to places regular tourists didn't go to and experienced things that were not on the tourist itinerary.

Obstacles -- it seemed every country we went to there were many obstacles. But that's what

travelling is all about!

Many obstacles I had to resolve long before I went e.g. getting a suitable wheelchair for travelling, getting portable breathing equipment, getting an alternative to electricity. Also obstacles related to people's negative reaction to me going.

While away... some of the obstacles included:
our visa to Mongolia was not available in Beijing -- we thought this was all organised before we left -- but it was a major hiccup which put the rest of the trip in jeopardy.My breathing equipment spat the dummy bigtime in Inner Mongolia which again threatened the rest of the journey.
Not being able to travel the Mongolian border by vehicle... coupled with my breathing equipment problem, meant that we had to catch the train which meant our schedule pickup at the other end had to be changed at very short notice -- fairly dubious few hours I can tell you!
In Outer Mongolia our tickets to leave the country were not in our name.

Wheelchair access was difficult all throughout.
Electricity going off at our Hotel in Outer Mongolia for an unknown length of time -- we were on the 8th floor! My bell I had bought was confiscated at the airport as we were leaving Mongolia -- caused a major drama! But all obstacles were faced and dealt with... and it was all part of the journey. It made us stronger.

Is there any advice you give someone who’s stuck listening to the inner voice saying…dream on…you can’t do it?
Make a stronger inner voice speak "I can do it!"... quiet all the negative talk -- listen to it and see if it is guiding you to plan more carefully, to do things more deliberately, and thoroughly. But the overriding advice is to use the negativity as a learning experience not as something that says I can't do this!

All of the negativity I gave myself and heard from others just made me stronger.

For the sake of readers, could you give a brief synopsis of Outer Mongolia—specifically describing ways that demonstrate fulfilling a life long dream and how fulfilling that is?
In essence, this book is about a journey to Outer Mongolia. It tells of a fantasy which became a reality. For many years, Outer Mongolia had been a place I would retreat to in my mind when I wanted to get away from the hassles and demands of daily life. It represented a real spiritual haven for me.

My fantasy was going to Mongolia but my reality is that I was born with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), which left me dependent on a wheelchair, with limited strength and significant breathing problems. Travelling such a long distance from Australia to a relatively closed country like Outer Mongolia should not have been considered an achievable goal given my health and mobility challenges, but the beckoning of Mongolia was far too strong.

OUTER MONGOLIA...No longer a fantasy has an important message for everyone: that if you truly believe in doing something, and if it is meant to be, then anything is possible, whether you are disabled or not.

Contrary to what seemed to be the logical and sensible thing to do... on July 15, 1995, Ro, Sally, Pat, Fred and I embarked on a fantastic journey... to Outer Mongolia. Together we flew eight times, travelled on the Trans Mongolian Railway, drove through and over the Gobi Desert in a bus, slept in tents on the steppes of Mongolia, touched the Great Wall of China, slept in a yurt, and saw a yak. We visited countries, saw places, met people, and experienced things we never thought possible.

What is your next big dream?
I have two big dreams:
1) provide information, inspiration, guidance and support to others to turn their dream into reality.
http://www.aspirationsplus.com/
http://www.goalsnaspirations.com/

2) Mongolia did so much for me and I want to give back to them. The best way I can do this is to donate every dollar I receive from the sale of my book to the Developing Countries Aid Fund (DCAF) Asia -- Mongolia, which is administered by the Red Cross.
So my big dream is to sell 10,000 copies of my book -- for the people of Mongolia.

Links to ordering your book:
http://www.synergebooks.com/ebook_outermongolia.html

Facebook Enthusiast Radio Show #3

This was an interesting show with the brilliant, young Anastasia Salter, who is one of the most prolific reviewers and readers of books. At age 23, she is a PhD candidate and has read more than 5,000 books. She reads an average of a book a day.

Come hear her insights on social media, books, gaming and digital media.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/FacebookEnthusiast/2008/03/03/Facebook-Enthusiast-

Why You Should Take Digital Fiction Seriously

The book publishing world is a hard if not brutal business. I know 50 outstanding writers that don’t stand a chance of getting published by the mainstream industry and of this group each writer in turn probably knows another 50 and so exponentially we’re looking at 1000 writers with books that under regular circumstances wouldn’t stand a chance of making it. But the good news is there’s a whole world of opportunities opening up in the digital publishing arena. Before I go into that I want to tell you the typical cycle from writer to literary agent to a mainstream publishing house.

The average literary agent gets 150 queries a day from writers hoping to get their book published. The agent chooses to represent roughly 1% of these books. Agents pitch these books to the publishers who get thousands of manuscripts a year to review. An editorial committee at the publishing house then decides what books to take, but that’s not the end of the cycle. The committee still has to convince marketing that the book will earn out its royalties and advances. One naysayer at a publishing house can literally kill the book’s chances of getting published.
Novels by the established, the well known, the trendy and celebrity types with ghost writers have a greater chance of getting a book published than many talented writers.

Fortunately, digital publishing has arrived on the scene and with the potential to revolutionalize the publishing industry. This means every word, image, sound, animation, and movie can be delivered as a series of digital ones and zeros. In a word, digital publishing has changed our definition of books.

Today digital publishing is anything from an electronic (e-Book), CD-ROM, to a paper-based book or hybrid with Internet inactivity. Many of you have heard the term print on demand. This utilizes digital technology. It’s a means many independent and small presses have adopted to get their books out there and so have the likes of Harper Collins. Often times when book stores today purchase books they are printed on demand to keep costs of production down. It’s a little known cost saving secret and how the publishing industry is evolving.

What digital publishing has done for the book world is to level the playing field and give independent presses a chance to publish the kinds of books they want. More importantly it gives readers a chance to read books beyond just what the mega-conglomerate publishing houses produce.


Most of the mainstream publishers go with what’s safe and proven to make money. It’s less and less about art and more and more about dollars. This is where small digital presses have a chance to offer readers something different and to in turn give new generations of talented writers a chance.

Yes, talent, that’s what you’ll find in the digital realm in my not so humble opinion. It’s fast becoming a home for bold fiction that’s not afraid to take chances much like independent films. As more and more legions of writers are shut out by the main stream publishing conglomerates they will have no choice, but to seek out other avenues. For this reason some may liken digital publishing to self-publishing. While it’s true that anyone can publish something digitally, it doesn’t mean that by association digital book publishers are places to shun or disrespect.

This neglects the marketplace and the recognition that there are a plethora of well respected independent publishers such as Double Dragon Press, Zumaya, Mundania Press, SynergEbooks, New Concepts Publishing, Boson Books, C & M Online, Samhain Publishing, Echelon Press, Silk’s Vault and countless others who choose to offer books digitally. Not to mention the major distribution channels established for ebooks, including Fictionwise, and Mobipocket.

Even the mainstream publishers recognize the dynamic medium that digital books offer. Most of them now have ebook divisions and are seeking to capitalize on the vast Internet audience, the massive amounts of people using PDAs and other mobile devices that support ebook readers. Last fall, Harlequin announced that 40% of its new titles would be issued as ebooks.

The September 5, 2007 article in the New York Times, Envisioning the Next Chapter for Electronic Books, talked about Amazon.com’s Kindle, an electronic book reader priced at $400 to $500. It mentioned that the Kindle’s ability to wirelessly connect to an e-book store on Amazon’s site is a significant advance over older e-book devices, which must be connected to a computer to download books or articles.

Google also has plans to start charging users for digital copies of books in their database. Despite these two major Internet leaders’ plans to further their reach in the digital publishing market along with the respected publishers in the ebook marketplace, legions of consumers still don’t view digital books as real books. Many consumers in turn are hesitant to purchase ebooks, even though they are vastly cheaper than their paperback counterparts, not to mention the environmental factor of saving trees. In turn many traditional book reviewers will not consider reviewing a digital book. The authors of ebook, digital produced print on demand bookss and even epublishers at times feel like Rodney Dangerfield uttering his famous refrain, “I don’t get no respect.”

It’s time to recognize digital books as real books and applaud digital publishers for giving talented authors a chance. Let’s recognize that they are entrepreneurs living out the American Dream and carving a niche in a difficult market. After all, thousands of very good books are turned down by the mainstream publishers every year for the basic reason that they are not commercial enough…i.e. they won’t generate enough cash.

If you love books, support a digital literary writer by reading and reviewing their books. Good books deserve to be given a chance. This is your literary future, your legacy.

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Written by Julie Ann Shapiro

Freelance writer , flash fiction writer and author of Jen-Zen and the One Shoe Diaries