Thanks, Good Snowmaritans!

Last Wednesday, the Washington area had a “snow event.” Here’s the recipe for disaster: Combine a fast-dumping snowstorm with a DC area rush hour. Top it off with drivers who don’t know how to drive in snow, then let the ingredients steep for a few hours.

Result: A ROYAL MESS.

My son and I left a doctor’s appointment at 4:20 pm. to travel the fifteen miles home. (It had taken us about twenty-five minutes to get there at 3:00.) Guess how long it took us to get home. (Go on, guess.)

Two hours? No.

Three hours? Not even, uh, warm.

Four hours? No siree.

If you guessed six hours, you’d still be almost two hours SHORT!

That’s right, almost eight hours later, we stumbled through the door into our dark and cold house (yes, the power had gone out).

Eight hours! It would have been faster if we’d walked the fifteen miles.

And the funny thing? It would have taken us a lot longer, if not for the help of six Good Snowmaritans.

We got stuck on three separate occasions. And each time, anonymous, good-hearted people stepped up and pushed us back into the fray.

So, thanks to the two guys on Jermantown Road, who were pushing all the cars up that incline.

Thanks to the guy who practically lifted the front end of our car out of that snowbank on Bennett Road.

Thanks to the lady who kept our car from sliding down the hill on Bennett.

And thanks to the two guys who got us going at the top of the hill on Bennett (Bennett Road has one killer hill, if you couldn’t tell!).

Without your selfless assistance, I think my son and I would still be out there, somewhere, huddled together for warmth, waiting for Spring.

Thanks, Good Snowmaritans!

“Where’s Alan?” Book Giveaway Contest

As I described in my last post, my picture will be riding around the mean streets of MD, VA, and DC. On Metrobus ads (inside, behind the driver, I believe).

To refresh your memory, here’s what it looks like:

To further draw attention to myself have some fun, I’m holding a two-part book giveaway, sort of like a real-life Where’s Waldo? Except yours truly will be playing the part of Waldo.

Here’s how Part A works:

Simply email me a snapshot of my picture in the wild. That is, take a picture of one of the Metrobus ads for The Writer’s Center that has my face on it. (You can send it to alan@alanorloff.com or post it on your Facebook wall and send me the link.) Try to get something/someone else in the picture, so we can get a sense of the Metrobus ambiance. If you can get someone else to take a picture of you next to my picture, all the better. Also, if you want to say approximately where you spotted me (ie, cross streets or bus line), that would be fun, too.

Now, I hear you asking, “What about a picture next to the diorama in the Woodley Park Metro Station? Does that count?”

And the answer is, “Yes. Yes, that counts, too!” I’ll accept a picture of me in the advertisement for The Writer’s Center pretty much anywhere you can find it (See? Isn’t this a fun treasure-hunt contest?).

I’ll put all the people who send me pictures into a hat (or other vessel), and pick a lucky winner. The winner can have his/her choice of DIAMONDS FOR THE DEAD or the upcoming KILLER ROUTINE (but you’ll have to wait a bit, until it’s published).

I reserve the right to post the pictures you send in on my blog, website, Facebook page, or elsewhere. So, please, no nudity!

Now, I hear some of you saying, “Wait! I desperately want to participate in this superfun contest, but I don’t live in the D.C. area. What can I do?”

You’re in luck! I also will be giving away a book to another lucky person in Where’s Alan? Part B. To be eligible for this part of the giveaway, simply email me a picture of yourself holding (or pointing to) a copy of DIAMONDS FOR THE DEAD in a bookstore or library. I’ll put the names of all the people who enter this way into a different hat (I’m a man who wears many hats) and draw a winner. Again, because I may post some of these pictures, please keep your clothes on.

Both parts of this contest will run through the end of February. Be sure to include your name and email address with your entry.

Happy Hunting! (And don’t even think of drawing a moustache on my picture.)

Ahoy, Metrobus Riders!

ATTENTION BUS-RIDING CITIZENS OF OUR NATION’S CAPITAL

DO NOT BE ALARMED by the picture of a scruffy-looking individual staring back at you from an advertising poster behind the driver’s seat. He is harmless.

I should know. I am that scruffy-looking individual.

What?!

Yes, it’s true. My picture and quote are being used in an advertising campaign for The Writer’s Center in Bethesda, MD (read past blog about what The Writer’s Center has meant to me).

I take every opportunity to sing the praises of the Center, so when they asked if I’d like to participate in this awareness campaign, I said, “How high?” I’m thrilled (and honored) to be among the authors chosen.

The ads will be on selected Metrobuses in Montgomery County, MD, Northern VA, and Northwest D.C. during the month of February.

A diorama, including me and the three other writers in this campaign, Patricia McArdle, Eugenia Kim, and Glen Finland, also will be in the Woodley Park/Zoo Metro station (subway station, for you out-of-towners).

Come back to the blog on Friday to learn about a fun and exciting contest involving mass transit, cameras, free books, and my face.

Late-breaking news: there already have been sightings!

What’s On Tap

I figured that since I don’t do much enough housekeeping in my house, I should at least do a little here on my blog.

I usually try to post three times a week, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I’ll do my best to keep to that schedule, but this is going to be an especially busy six months or so (I know, I know, I say that often). In addition to my next book being released, and all the promotional effort associated with that, there’s a joyous family event taking place.

Some things to watch for:

In the next week or so, I’ll be announcing a fun and exciting contest/book giveaway. (At least I think it’s fun and exciting.)

I’ll also be holding a book giveaway on Goodreads, to be announced soon.

In a couple months, I’ll be “embarking” on a blog tour to promote KILLER ROUTINE. I’ve already done the most important part, designing the tour logo:

As I finalize more dates, I’ll be posting the entire blog tour schedule in the sidebar.

Also, I hope to host more guests on the blog this year. If you’re interested, drop me an email!

Minutiae

My new business cards arrived yesterday. (I know, the excitement around here never ceases.)

This is the third or fourth version I’ve ordered in the past few years. With prices from the online printers so reasonable, it’s very easy to “upgrade” whenever there’s a change in info (or whenever else, for that matter). I ordered these from Printplace.com. I think I’ve ordered more versions of business cards than I’ve bought new shoes during that span.

My previous business cards were kind of busy. Stuff on the front, stuff on the back, stuff on the edges. I listed a variety of ways to contact me: email, website, Facebook, blogs (2), Twitter. I had book ordering information. I had cover art. It seemed the only thing I didn’t have was a map to my house.

This time, I wanted something a lot simpler.

I already have “fancy” bookmarks with cover art and blurbs and plot descriptions. I figure I can hand those out to interested readers to spark interest for my books. I’ll use the business cards more in their traditional sense, to give people contact info in a form that fits in their Rolodexes and card files.

This time, I also left the back blank, so people can jot down notes.

Boring? I prefer “simple.” (Yes, this is simple compared to my last version.)

And if I grow tired of them, I know where I can get more. Cheap.

Jumping the Snark

The other night, my family and I were watching a movie on DVD. It was a comedy about a high school girl telling a lie and getting ostracized by her peer group and yada yada yada. Pretty funny, if a little more adult than the PG-13 rating.

About two-thirds of the way through the movie, though, it took a sharp turn south (IMHO). We learn that one of the characters, a high school counselor, is having an affair with one of the students. And she transmitted an STD to him. Funny, huh?

Of course, stuff like that does happen in real life, too often. But it sure seemed out of place in this little comedy. My wife and I exchanged glances, a non-verbal wtf. For the rest of the movie, we (anxiously) waited to see what other things might pop out of left field (thankfully, there were no space aliens).

My point? Besides high school counselors shouldn’t have affairs with students?

Actually, I have three points:

1) Writers need to know their audience.

2) Writers should adhere to the conventions set forth in their genres (generally), or risk alienating readers/viewers.

3) Writers need to be consistent within the world they’ve created.

Thoughts?

I Wanna Know

Today’s Marketing/Promotion Question:

Are promotional postcards mailed to libraries and bookstores effective, or are they a waste of time/money/paper?

What say you, blog readers?
(All opinions welcome, but please, don’t throw food.)