Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Can you afford new books?


I feel like a new mommy with these puppies, showing everyone their pictures and gushing, "aren't they cuuuutte?" LOL. Here's a few pictures of them.

Had a busy weekend attending the Hispanic Lifestyle Latina Conference in Ontario and then a book signing event in Palm Desert. My family went to see the Chronicles of Nardnia. Although it's been out for a long while, the kids hadn't had a chance to see it yet. In Palm Desert they have a dollar theater. The kids and my husband got in for three dollars! Can you believe that? Cheaper than renting it a Blockbuster. Got me thinking about how ridiculously expensive it is to go to see a movie these days, and probably why we don't go very often anymore. When most theaters charge about $10 a ticket, you've spent $40 before you've bought soda and popcorn. That could add another $40 to the night. Crazy. But at the dollar theater they had a great time for about $20.

On the other side of town my book event didn't go well. I wondered if the cost of the book was like the movies, simply too much and people could not afford to pay $14 for a book. Maybe. But when compared to a $10 movie a book is still a bargain for me. You actually get to keep it and read it over and over again. Or pass it on to your family and friends and let others enjoy the story.

Still the cost of entertainment is astounding! Buy a couple of books and a cup of coffee and you've easily shelled out $50! Ouch. Does anyone else out there find these numbers crazy!? When I think I've make less than a dollar a book; or less than $100 when I substitute teach for a day, I sure think it's nuts to spend this much on entertainment.

I know that I'm not alone in feeling like this. Which is worrisome because I'm in the entertainment field. I want to be able to afford to buy books and I want other to be able to afford it too. Hopefully, the price of movies and books and music will stay put for a while and our incomes will catch up. Wishful thinking?

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Library Author Events

Hi everyone,

Hope all is cool with you all. I'm finally getting settled into my new mommy-hood with the puppies. They are actually excellent dogs. I'm sooooo happy I got two. They totally entertain each other, and do great when left alone.

Tonight I'm very excited because I'm going to attend a booksigning and talk with Victor Villasenor who is a legend in my book. I'm going to be in the audience for a change so I can sit back and listen and enjoy his talk. Our local library is hosting this event. I love this librarian. She's fairly new, but she's done so much to bring authors from all walks of life to our library. Something that was badly needed in our community where there seems to be a definite lack of stimulating activities and events. Sure we get fairs and NASCAR is really big and we have a AAA ball club, and of course concerts. But the arts seem to be lacking. I remember buying season tickest at our playhouse, and they ended up having to refund my money because of the lack of attendance.

I'm happy to say that the author events seem to be doing pretty well. Let's see how tonight goes. I'll let you know. Now, I'm out the door!

Hugs,

Lara

Friday, April 14, 2006

New Contest Winner & Newspaper Interview

I'm a lousy blogger guys. I get swamped with work and just never get over here. But I've had a couple of great interviews to tell you about. The first was with Hispanic Lifestyle. This is a program that features Latinos in our community. Sometimes you learn about great Mexican restaurants to visit. Other times, fun conferences or musical events. This time the audience was treated to a sneak peek at BECOMING LATINA! My kids got a kick out of seeing me on TV, and I had a great time doing the show. Then today The Sun newspaper had an great article. I've attached the link so you can read it (you have to click on the title of this blog). So lots of media exposure in the last couple of weeks!

That's the news on the book front. At home, my two puppies are doing their best to destroy my carpet. Not that I mind too much. I need to replace the carpet anyway. I'd forgotten how adorable puppies can be, and how much work!

Now for The Virtual Bookbag contest. I never did hear from Rhonda so I'm sorry, but I had to choose a new winner. Shawn was my runner up and will receive Janice Lynn's great JANE MILLIONAIRE! Congratulation Shawn!

Until next time!

Hugs,

Lara

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

LAST CALL FOR CONTEST WINNER!

Ronda, honey, you won!! But you don't have a profile on blogger and I don't know how to get a hold of you.

Does anyone know who Ronda is??? I need an email address and mailing address.

Hopefully, Ronda will check in with me soon.

I'll have to choose a new winner if I don't hear from you by Friday, Ronda. So email me with your info, that way Janice can send you a copy of her wonderful book : )


Thanks! Now I'm off to pick up the new puppy.

Lara

Monday, April 03, 2006

Puppies, puppies, puppies

Last October, we lost our mini-doxie and it was bad. Really bad. She was our spoiled baby, and the household was in deep mourning for weeks.

But at that point we decided (my husband and I both) that we'd take a break from dogs for a few years. As cute and adorable and wonderful as they are, they are also a huge responsibility. You can't leave the house without thinking of them. Who will feed them? Who will walk them? How long can we really be gone? Not to mention the expense. Food, vet bills, leashes, dog beds, replacing broken things.

As much as we miss out doxie, it's been nice to be dog-free for the past five months.

But . . . lately I started thinking that it's not as much fun to live in a house without pets. (okay, we have a couple of fish, but let's face it, they don't do much) Besides, the kids really benefit from growing up with pets. And they've been asking about getting another dog quite a bit.

So, today I took them to a shelter -- just to look. We found what they tell us is a doxie-mix puppy. Doesn't look like any doxie I've ever seen, but what do I know. They took him out of his little cage and let the kids play with him. Of course they loved him. So I decided (probably decided before I walked into that shelter) that we are never going to be a dogless family.

I'll have to invest in a good dogsitter for those times we go on vacation or are away for the weekend, but I hope I made the right decision. Tomorrow we bring him home. He had to get neutered today -- poor thing.

Lara

Contest Winner!

The Virtual Book Bag contest winner on my site is Ronda!!!!

Congratulations Ronda! You won JANE MILLIONAIRE by Janice Lynn.

Please contact me with your full name and address and Janice will get the book shipped out to you.

Thanks to all who participated. Hope you thought it was as much fun as we did. Feel free to offer feedback. We want to keep trying new things, and redoing things that you enjoy.

Hugs,

Lara

Sunday, April 02, 2006

CELEBRATE ROMANCE

Had a great time at the Celebrate Romance convention this past weekend. I got a chance to chat with both readers and writers that I normally wouldn't have had the opportunity to spend so much time with. And we ate constantly! Doesn't get any better than that.

I've got to get better at taking pictures. Sylvia Day might have some so check out her blog.

I always enjoy getting away for a few days and reconnecting with the industry in some way. When you spend so much time behind your own computer focusing on your own stories, you start to lose touch with what others are doing. Conferences and conventions remind you who you're writing for and let you share your experiences with other writers. All that is good for the writer's soul.

This one was particularly nice because it was in Long Beach. I feel like my entire adult life got its start in Long Beach. This is where I moved when I got out of high school. I got my first jobs in Long Beach. They weren't big jobs. One of them was at McDonalds even, but they were jobs I got on my own (and some of the ones after McDonalds were actually nice jobs). Prior to this I always worked for my father or baby sat. I started college in Long Beach and was told by a counselor not to become a writer because I'd never make it, and even if I did I'd be poor all my life. LOL, well she was partially right. I had my first love affair in Long Beach and got my heart broken for the first time here. I met friends that I cherish to this day, and one who is partially responsible for my decision to adopt my children. And met my husband.

So, I spent some time away from the convention, driving around, and checking out old places where so much happened in my life. It was nice to be back.

My next conference will most likely be RWA in Atlanta. I'm looking forward to it already!

Lara