Category Archives: 4RV Publishing

May 2016 at the Prescott Farmers’ and Crafters’ Market

After only having done the market once in 2015 (invited by a friend for Christmas in July), and having fun at the event, I decided to contact the “head honcho”, “grand poobah”, “big cheese” about becoming a regular this year for at least the Saturdays when I’m not already committed elsewhere or it’s not raining. Even with a canopy, books and rain don’t mix.

The first Saturday I went was the grand opening of the market for the season – May 14th.

I swear my car is like Mary Poppins’s carpet bag. You pop the trunk and more and more stuff keeps coming out – plastic totes of books and accessories, weights for the canopy legs, tables. And then there’s the canopy that rides cross-ways in the back seat along with the chairs. See why I refer to my car as a magic carpet bag?

May 14, 2016

May 14, 2016The tartan cover on the table to the left is the one hubby scored in the silent auction at the Friendly Circle Showcase in Long Sault on May 7th. It’s very pretty and if a body had to wrap up in it on a chilly morning, it would be lovely and warm. One small problem tho’ when it’s on the table and there are books and what-not on it… I’ve not quite mastered yanking a table covering out from under what’s on the surface without disturbing things… LOL!

So, on my first outing I sold 1 copy of The Secret of Hillcrest House. I only sold a single book at Christmas in July the previous year so I wasn’t disappointed. It’s fun. It’s social and selling books is a bonus. Mind you, I’d be happy making back the 2016 registration fee.

Things picked up the following Saturday – May 21st.

May 21, 2016

May 21, 2016

I didn’t get the same drive-through stall as the previous week but got the one next to it. I love these spots! They’re so handy for unloading and setting up… and tearing down at the end of the day.

People seemed glad to see I was back (and not just a flash in the pan). And more asked if I would be there all summer. By the time this event came around, I had my bluetooth debit/credit card reader. I don’t have enough fingers to count the number of times I’ve heard ‘if you only took debit’. I have a Square but here in Canada it’s only credit card transactions – and it saved me a few otherwise lost sales over the years.

So this second week at the market, I sold 1 copy of The Secret of Hillcrest House, 1 copy of The Consequences Collection, and 1 copy of Tim’s Magic Christmas.

In the first two weeks of being a regular vendor, I made back the cost of the annual registration. Happy girl!!!

Moving along to the last Saturday in May – May 28th.

Construction work on the light standards in the parking lot meant the loss of a minimum of 4 stalls. But as they’re on a first-come, first-serve basis, I still managed to get one of my drive-through ones.

By now the banner I had created at Vistaprint (a cross between my website header and my business card), my new bookmarks (more like the website in that my picture is on them) and my matching tartan tablecloths had arrived.

May 28, 2016

May 28, 2016

This was a good day, albeit a scorcher. My boots almost match the tablecloths. I wearing the vest bought along with the long one (mid to lower calf length) that I wore at the Long Sault event.

Sales were event better on this day. I sold 2 copies of The Consequences Collection and 2 copies of A Shadow in the Past. So I made my registration fee twice over now! Woot! And I’ve still not used my debit/credit card reader.

The only downer on the day was when we attempted to take down the canopy, the left front corner wouldn’t come down for love nor money. But with help from the vendor next to us, a screwdriver and hammer from another across the way and a Swiss army stocking stuffer, we managed to get the blasted thing down and packed into the car. Now to source just the parts we need for it. Only used 6 times and the plastic centre post cap is twisted as are some of the plastic parts in the roof braces.

Bought another one the following day – less money and comes with a side curtain. We’ll see how much better (if any) it performs. Surely, we’ll get six uses out it. The old one is currently relegated to home use where it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t want to fold down – everything we need is at hand.

Fingers crossed that all the Saturdays in June give us good weather even though we need rain desperately. Overnight and Monday to Friday are my choices, although I don’t have a lot of say in the matter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JOAN’S ELDER CARE GUIDE by Joan Y. Edwards

Joan’s Elder Care Guide: Empowering You and Your Elder to Survive by Joan Y. Edwards

AVAILABLE ONLINE TODAY!

 

elder care

SYNOPSIS

Joan’s Elder Care Guide: Empowering You and Your Elder to Survive gives you, the caregiver, ways to meet your physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social needs and those of your elder to promote healing, well-being, and survival. Based on the author’s research and fourteen years of experience caring for her mother, this book provides many resources to find the right place for your elder to live, explains ways to improve communication to help find solutions to problems, and gives organization ideas for medical, financial, insurance, and legal documents. It offers ways for a caregiver to get time away from caregiving responsibilities and contains information substitute caregivers must have to keep their elders safe. Along with all this, the book explains the signs of the end of life, ways to celebrate an elder’s life, and gives duties of an executor of an estate. It also includes ten useful charts to assist in assessing and recording an elder’s needs and capabilities.

What People Are Saying:

“There are several charts in the appendix for the reader to utilize by filling in related information, making it a truly useful, everyday tool for everything from organizational tips to emergency needs that will slide right into a purse or overnight bag. Certainly not one of those books you half-read then sit on a shelf to collect dust.”

“It provides links to online applications and phone numbers, ideas and resources as a starting place to brainstorm easy, meaningful ways to assist you in maintaining your elder’s health and your own…I wish that I had known of it when I was a caregiver. I know that I would have been prepared for everything and possibly paid for it too! If you have a family member who needs your help, don’t hesitate to buy this book. It is a valuable tool for every family, organization, or caregiver.

“This book is a no-frills, very well-researched self-help guide on how to help. The language is simple, saying what Joan wants to say and no more…What is particularly impressive is the logical, step by step way Joan analyzes each problem, so that without talking down to the reader, she presents a guide even a kid could understand and follow…I have worked both as a psychotherapist and as a nurse in nursing homes. My wife cared for her mother for many years, with me on the sidelines. From this personal experience, I can recommend Joan’s Elder Care Guide as accurate, helpful and even inspiring.”

Official Video Trailer for Joan’s Elder Care Guide


Joan’s Elder Care Guide

PURCHASE ONLINE NOW (Thanks) (Prices may change. Find the best deal for you!)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

elder care

Joan Y. Edwards is an author, illustrator, and retired teacher in North Carolina. Joan’s Elder Care Guide: Empowering You and Your Elder to Survive is published by 4RV Publishing. She wrote and illustrated picture book, Flip Flap Floodle, and self-published it with BookSurge in 2004. She is currently working on illustrations for her chapter book, Larry, the Terrifying Turkey.

Her Never Give Up blog, http://www.joanyedwards.wordpress.com has over 340,000 views and 350 subscribers. She encourages writers, illustrators, and others to never to give up. Her website, http://www.joanyedwards.com has a multitude of Gospel-based devotionals, puzzles, and skits.

Joan is a member of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). Her article, “Find Your Creative Edge,” appeared in the July-August 2011 SCBWI Bulletin.

Edwards thrives on spending time with her family and friends. She presents interactive writing and motivational talks and workshops for children and adults. She reads humorous and self-help books. For inspiration and self-acceptance, she heeds the wise teachings of Robert Schuller, Joel Osteen, Maxwell Maltz, and Tony Robbins.

Facebook Page Joan Y. Edwards, Author https://www.facebook.com/Joan-Y-Edwards-Author-111310278911077/

Twitter @joanyedwards

Feel free to reblog this post.

If you would like to have Joan Y. Edwards as a guest on your blog, please contact her at joanyedwards1@gmail.com/.

 

New book, new clothes, new season…

The new show season has arrived!

new book

It’s been some time since I’ve done an event. A bit rusty getting the tartan throw centered on the table. That coupled with having 4 books to display added to the confusion.

The sign I had for A Shadow in the Past got damaged in transit last year so I have to create a new one. I’m looking at getting a banner made for it and getting the stand to put it in. I have an easel and that’s fine but it does take up a lot of space.

So, the new book – The Secret of Hillcrest House – is on the end at the right in the picture. It was quite bright in the hall, but the picture mounted on foam board behind the books has the windows in the attic cut out and battery-operated LED lights behind them.

The new clothes. I bought the long ‘suede’ vest (as well as a short fringed one) and the white sweater from simons.ca. Ever since being in their store on a trip to Quebec City, I fell in love with their clothing.

new book

new book

new book

The only drawback with the long vest is static cling. And when a body walked, the fringes wrapped around the legs. That’s just a minor detail. The tartan boots were brought out of retirement from last year.

While sales at the Friendly Circle Showcase on Saturday were slow, it was fun to see everyone again and make plans for other events later on in the year.

So a recap of the day. I only sold 2 copies of The Secret of Hillcrest House. When I went through my spiel, I described it as supernatural with ‘spicy’ romance. One of the women said my comment made her giggle.

Before Saturday’s show, I had sold 14 paperbacks of The Secret of Hillcrest House and 10 kindle copies.

If you want to find out more about any of my books, you can find them on my website’s books page.

 

Once Upon a Time… It’s Tell a Fairy Tale Day

Once upon a time

there was a day specifically dedicated to telling fairy tales. Today is that day…

Tell A Fairy Tale Day!

Never heard of it before? Well, you can read more about it here. The stories can cover everything from Grimm to urban legends.

Scottish legends, myths, and mystery are found in A Shadow in the Past, so what better time to celebrate it?

time

Even the cover exudes fairytale mystery. Once upon a time…

Nineteen-year-old Sarah Shand finds herself thrust back into the past. There she struggles to keep her real identity from a society that finds her comments and ideas strange and her speech and actions forward, unlike Victorian women. When Sarah verbally confronts confining social practices, including arranged marriages, powerful enemies commit her to a lunatic asylum. After falling in love with the handsome Laird of Weetshill, Robert Robertson, she must decide whether to find her way back to her own time or to remain in the past with him.

 

If you have a favourite fairy tale, leave a comment telling which one it is.

 

 

 

 

My wishlist for 2016…

wishlist

and things I’m looking forward to this year

 

1.  My husband being cancer-free for a year. It’s been a battle since his initial diagnosis in 2013 so fingers crossed this is the year.

2.  Having the sequel to A Shadow in the Past accepted for publication. I know if I want that to happen, I have to get my skates on and get the synopsis and back cover blurbs done.

3.  Reading the 40 books I’ve committed to reading in the Goodreads 2016 challenge.

4.  Curling up with my good friend, Chris Longmuir’s, 2016 release which will knock 1 of the 40 books off the list *grin* She’s put it in writing that there will be a book out this year, so I’m holding her to that.

5.  Spending evenings with my hubby on our new reclining sofa being delivered on January 9th (doesn’t it look comfy?) in front of our new fireplace. We didn’t buy each other Christmas presents in 2015 but rather these instead.

6. Having my #NaNoWriMo project completed and released this spring… again this is something I have to commit to. It’s coming along so I’ll keep my fingers crossed (although that does make it rather difficult to type) and will need occasional kicks up the backside to keep me on track.

7. Another trip abroad?

Well those are things on my wishlist. What do you have on yours? I’d love to hear about them so leave me a comment.

 

The 2015 season has ended…

The Merrickville Christmas Craft and Concession Show marked the end of the 2015 season, well for me anyway. There could be others this weekend or next but I’m so far behind in everything, I think I’m ahead… I’m not exaggerating.

December 12th – Community Centre, Merrickville, ON

appearances

My display with multi-coloured battery operated LED lights to make it look festive.

This was my last event of the 2015 season. It’s hard to believe it’s less than two weeks before Christmas. Yikes! Where has the year gone?

It was a good day on the sales front for me starting before the official opening time of the show when I sold 1 copy of A Shadow in the Past. Before the day was finished, I added sales of 1 copy of The Consequences Collection, and 4 copies of Tim’s Magic Christmas.

I’m looking forward to the 2016 season and hope to attend even more events next year.

 

Christmas on the Clyde in Lanark, ON

It’s been ages since I’ve been to Lanark. I’ve been close twice this year when I did shows at McDonalds Corners but never quite made it here. Christmas on the Clyde has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?

Clyde
My display

The Civitan Club isn’t right in Lanark but just on the outskirts. Lovely big hall and my table was front and centre as people came in the door. I thought that would be the perfect place and I’d sell books hand over fist. Nice thought… but it didn’t quite turn out that way.

I had asked for a place where I could set up my easel and not affect foot traffic. The way the hall was set up, it worked perfectly.

Still, I met lots of interesting people and sold some books. Gotta like that part of it. By the end of the day, I sold 2 copies of Tim’s Magic Christmas and 1 copy of The Consequences Collection – the woman who bought it didn’t have enough cash with her in the morning and made a point of coming back in the afternoon before the sale ended so she could snag a copy for herself.

I’ll be back again next year… that is, if they’ll have me.

 

Not the Foreign Legion…

Yesterday, I took part in the craft show at the Mallorytown Legion.

Legion
My display

It was slow on the sales front despite plenty of foot traffic. But that’s to be expected when there are two other events taking place on the same day. Still, it was fun to connect with vendors and customers I’ve not seen since the last time I did this show (2 years ago).

When it was all over (but the crying – not really), I sold 2 copies of Tim’s Magic Christmas and 1 copy of A Shadow in the Past which is going to be in-flight reading on a trip to BC. My girl, Sarah, really gets around, she does.

Next Saturday I’m off to Lanark for the Civitan Club’s show. Maybe I’ll see you there?

 

 

 

Bath time! and not in the tub

Ho Ho Ho! Yesterday was the Christmas Bazaar and Silent Auction at the Bath Public School

Bath**********

It was a great day in Bath yesterday. Cozy in the primary hall but lots of foot traffic nonetheless. Because of the width of the hall, it was difficult to get a good picture of my display. Some of the things that are visible in this photo are usually hidden by the magic of camera angles.

Bath
my display
Bath
Me with my display looking festive (?)

Another thing with it being so cozy was anything close to the edge of the table had to be constantly straightened up. But that’s a minor detail. I did get lots of compliments on my display which is always music to my ears.

So how did I do, I hear you ask. Could I have a drum roll please…

Day 1

I sold 7 copies of A Shadow in the Past and 7 copies of Tim’s Magic Christmas! One of the sales of Tim was using my Square credit card reader.

We weren’t to pack up until after 3:00 and if we did, we wouldn’t be invited back next year. I couldn’t have packed up at that time if I tried. I still had customers at 3:00. One was a young man who stood quietly in front of the table so as not to interrupt the woman who was buying a copy of A Shadow in the Past at the time. He was very polite and asked a lot of questions about writing and publishing a book and wanted to know if he could buy a copy of Tim’s Magic Christmas. This young man was in the target age group for the book (his mum was at the table beside me) so with money he got from his parents and grandparents, he bought the book which I gladly signed for him.

I’ll be back in Bath next year and I hope I run into this polite young man again. I’d love to know what he thought of Tim’s Magic Christmas.

Oh, and I even managed to stay on track writing every day for #NaNoWriMo. It was longhand and I didn’t get it typed up until this morning but I managed 316 words.

 

 

Chesterville ~ November 7th

Today’s stop on my fall/winter tour was at the Royal Canadian Legion in Chesterville, Ontario.

This is the second time I’ve done this event and it was so much fun the first time around last year, that I had to come back.

My strings of battery-operated LED lights are wrapped around the books although they don’t show up well in these photos.

The plan was to bring along my inspiration board for A Shadow in the Past – I packed the easel in the car, but wouldn’t you know it – I forgot the inspiration board. I realized that shortly after getting on the highway and wasn’t about to come back for it. Oh well, I’ve got plenty more shows remaining this year so I’ll just have to remember to put it in the trunk of the car.

Chesterville
My display
Chesterville
My display
Chesterville
Me with my display

All in all, it was a great day. I met many interesting people, including a friend of my mum.

I sold 3 copies of A Shadow in the Past, 3 copies of Tim’s Magic Christmas and 2 copies of The Consequences Collection.

I’ll definitely be back here again… that is, if they’ll have me.