January 2014

What an incredible month! With the release RUNNING SECRETS on the eve of the new year, it's been a time of excitement and joy, but also of Facebook and Goodreads, of Google+ and Readers& Writers Connect as I struggle to bring RUNNING SECRETS to as many folks as possible and plea for readers' comments on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Goodreads.

I'm not crazy about any of that. I'd rather be writing, quiet and anonymous in some noisy coffee shop, a new tale unfolding in my head and flowing onto the page. But that's only half the equation. A published writer has to sell, especially if she wants a publisher to continue to push her books into the world. And she has to collect readers' comments. Just as sales are a sign of public interest in a book, reviews show publishers that readers are interested enough to share an opinion.

I didn't expect Booktrope's team approach to publishing to affect me quite the way it has. Because the book manager, editor, designer, and copy editor all share a percentage of sales, I find myself pushing harder than I did on my last book and wanting RUNNING SECRETS to exceed all sales expectations, not just for myself, but for the entire team. I didn't foresee this aspect of the team structure, and I find it fascinating.

As soon as RUNNING SECRETS was released and the wheels of promotion started turning, I was happily overwhelmed with the generous support of family and friends as I sought the perfect location for a book launch party, and I mean party! I booked Richard Hugo House and planning was underway.

Tomorrow’s the big day. The box of books is at the door, the hors d'oeuvres are in the refrigerator, and the drink tickets are waiting to be claimed. I hope you can join me!
 

RUNNING SECRETS Book Launch Party!

Saturday, February 1, 2014

3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Richard Hugo House

1634 11th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 322-7030

For more information on RUNNING SECRETS and the complete ALKI TRILOGY, please visit my other website at: www.AlkiTrilogy.com. You are invited to subscribe to both sites for regular updates.

(a book you should know about) Running Secrets, a novel by Arleen Williams

Here's a recent interview with Booktrope author and illustrator, Jennifer Hotes. I hope you enjoy the read!

Readers & Writers Connect

Are you a reader? Do you enjoy learning about new books and the writers behind those books? If so, you may want to check out Readers &Writers Connect.

This is a new website created by book manager, Tiffany White, to build a bridge between those who write and those who love to read. There's a lot here, something for a variety of reading interests.

This month Tiffany will be spotlighting authors published by Booktrope publishing out of Seattle. I hope you check it out.

Count Down

December has been a busy, exciting month, and not only because of the lights and trees, gifts and treats, family and friends. My first novel, Running Secrets, has chugged along through editing and layout on track to meet the scheduled release date: January 7, 2014. 

The wonderful thing about Booktrope's team approach to publishing is the author's involvement in the step-by-step decisions and process of producing the book. For the past four months I've had the pleasure of working with four wonderful, talented women on Running Secrets.

Katrina M. Randall edited and re-edited the manuscript massaging it into a better read and Pamela Hobart Carter reviewed it with eagle eyes seeing mistakes only the best find.

At the same, Loretta Matson created a stellar cover design and calmly worked through my camera phobia to produce an author photo that even I am pleased with.

Behind the scenes, Tiffany White built a marketing plan. Step one was to create a website for my work. Because Running Secrets is the first book of The Alki Trilogy, she created a website for all three books. The first two chapters are now posted in the Peek Inside Running Secrets tab at the top of the page. I hope you enjoy a bit of a teaser!

The Amazon on-line launch date for those of you with e-readers is just a week away: January 7th!  I hope you enjoy reading the book as much as I enjoyed writing it. But even if you don't love the book, even if you're indifferent to the book, even if you think it's the worst book you've ever picked up, I still hope you'll write a quick little review and post it in all the customary spots (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads). Reviews are important. Quantity, I've been told, is what matters. So if you'd like to give a writer a hand, this writer or any writer - write a review.

And finally, an invitation to a Seattle launch party and reading will be posted soon. Promise.

Collaborative Irony

Fall Quarter 2013 has been tough and not just because of an unusually heavy teaching load I gladly accepted to cover for a colleague on emergency leave. Since the quarter began, I’ve been rear-ended, sick, and sprawled flat in the campus parking, a victim of black ice. I have also learned that the new building promised as the future home of my college division has morphed into a multi-use building in direct response to faculty complaint.

Upon learning the completed design of “our” new building had no faculty offices, we voiced concern about privacy and productivity issues with cubicles and about a decision-making process that included zero input from those who will be using the building, namely faculty and students.

The administrative response to our complaint has been to change not the design of the building, but its designated use, thus allowing them to move those who choose not to be stuck in a cluster of cubicles into the vacated offices of those who are more creative and collaborative than we are. Another decision made in the same vacuum, behind the same closed administrative doors as the cubicle decision. Another slap in the face to those of us who have dedicated lifelong careers to the college.

On this day before Thanksgiving, I count my blessings. I’m grateful for mandatory car insurance and the science of antibiotics. I am grateful to the student who helped me off the icy pavement.  And I am grateful to each and every one of the students from every corner of the world who I have worked with over the past three decades – even those who were less than happy with my teaching style – because from all I have learned to be a stronger teacher, a more aware world citizen, and a better human being.  I am grateful to have a secure teaching position and wonderful colleagues across campus who stimulate my creativity. However, I am not grateful for a current administration that seems to define creativity and collaboration by the number of committee meetings a faculty member attends or how often he or she is seen walking across campus with a colleague from a different department.

Those of us who have been at the college longer than most administrators have witnessed the circular patterns of educational reform. We know that this current focus will fade as soon as another “new” idea comes along. The danger lies in designing and constructing a multimillion dollar building on the basis of limited and constantly changing trends in education. And in alienating a dedicated faculty in the process.

A Literary Evening for a Worthy Cause

Just a quick note to invite you to an evening in support of the YWCA and domestic violence awareness education sponsored by The Seattle Star and New Discovery School.

Friday 22 November 2013
7:30 p.m.

New Discovery School
7219 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Featuring local poets and writers:
Ann Teplick, Anne Sweet, Arleen Williams, Geri Gale,
Jim Teeters, Omar Willey, Pam Carter, Paul Gorman,
Paul Mullin, Priscilla Long, and Samanthe Sheffer

Please, bring a donation for the YWCA and/or purchase Keys to Silence, a collection of poems. Sales benefit local YWCAs.

I'm proud of the work my daughter did at the YWCA Homeless Women's Shelter in Seattle and is now doing at Harborview Center for Sexual Assault and Traumatic Stress (HCSATS). When I was invited to participate in this worthy cause, I jumped at the opportunity. I hope some of you will be able to come out and show your support.