Ignite Charlotte 5

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Mark your calendars! Tuesday, September 25th is the 5th annual Ignite Charlotte series and yours truly is one of the 15 speakers presenting.

What is Ignite Charlotte? From their website:

"Enlighten us, but make it quick” is the mantra for [worldwide] Ignite talks. During Ignite Charlotte, members from the community will share their personal or professional passions using 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds for a total talk time of 5 minutes.  

How did I become involved? Apparently I decided that having a book due to my editor, traveling to Italy, doing client work and training for a marathon wasn't enough to keep me busy. My friend David Horne sent me a link to the Ignite Charlotte website and--on a whim--I sent in an application. I was equal parts pleased and horrified when I found out I'd been selected. 

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Forgotten BarkWorld Expo Interview

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Googled my name this morning (Oh hush, you do it too) and found this video recorded during the BarkWorld Expo I attended last year as a speaker. I'd completely forgotten I'd done this brief interview. 

What's funny is that if you click on the link above, it takes you to the Barkworld home page which happens to be a big picture of me being interviewed for this very video. Who knew? (Click through the images if mine doesn't pop up right away.)

Note to self: Wear more makeup on camera and quit starting your sentences with "Um." You sound like a moron. 

Cheers,

Dena

I Also Can't Walk & Chew Gum at the Same Time

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I don't know if you've noticed this phenomena, but every time you declare something about yourself, the Universe tests your resolve. To wit: my announcement via blog, FB, and Twitter that I am devoting this year solely to working on my YA novel.

The Universe read my blog post and immediately said, "Oh, how cute are you??" and sent some job offers my way. A client I hadn't heard from in over two years suddenly surfaced with a request for website articles and ghost writing a blog. 

"Nope," I said, not even bothering to look up from my notes on character development. "I'm a novelist. Your job offer does not interest me." 

"Impressive," said the Universe. "But do you mean it?" And sent me what was practically a guaranteed job offer for a full-time position with our area community college. 

I looked up and sighed. "Can't you see I'm busy?" I asked. "Now please, leave me be." 

"One more," said the Universe, and up popped an e-mail from a former employer for whom I love working. It was a small itty-bitty job, just writing some copy for the landing page of a website. 300 words. How long could it take? 

"I'll do it," I said. 

"Ah-HA!" said the Universe. "I knew it!" And notified me that the proposal I'd sent in to be a speaker this fall at a social media expo had been accepted and paperwork, course description, etc. must be submitted, post haste. Which reminded me that to be seen as a valid speaker at a social networking event I might want to invest some time in, oh, I don't know... social networking?  

And so it comes to the fact that I have done no "writing" this week. I've stayed busy. In fact, I am a one-woman marketing machine, churning out press releases and sending out requests for promotional blurbs for WHO MOVED MY MOUSE, all while coordinating details for an upcoming blog tour. But that creative writing thing I said I was going to do every day without fail? It's not happening. And that worries me. 

I'm going to call this week a wash. Spend the next couple of days tidying up all these loose marketing threads I've pulled then regroup and try again. 

And when that Universe comes knocking at my door, I'm just going to curl into a tight ball and pretend no one is at home. 

Cheers,

Dena