Q&A with Martha Rodriguez discussion

Welcome to my Q&A group! I'm so glad you're here! Please introduce yourself so everyone will know who is joining us. I'll go first.

I am a wife and mom to the real Joey, Danny and Jacqui in my picture book, A Reel Cool Summer. Joey is my oldest son and the illustrator of the book. I'm such a lucky mom!!

I started Read To Me Publishing, LLC in order to self-publish this wacky picture book for ages 6-9 that follows three young siblings on an adventure to turn a boring hot day into A Reel Cool Summer.

I look forward to your questions and comments. Let's get started!

Hi Martha and family,

Thanks for the twitter invite. Though I've never met you I feel as though I know y'all through the Internet. I know however there is probably lots that I don't know so am glad to have this opportunity to learn more.

I'm a co-author and spokesperson for David McKoy. We co-wrote, Call Sign: Wrecking Crew, which is recommended for Mature Audiences. We originally placed it on Amazon Kindle e-books back in January 2011 and the locations for purchase has grown over the last few months. Any one interested in learning more about us can visit: http://www.callsignwreckingcrew.com

On a personal level, I'm a mother of two grown children and I currently reside with my Godchildren. They keep me hopping.

Have a great one!

Lynn Hallbrooks

Lynn wrote: "Hi Martha and family,

Thanks for the twitter invite. Though I've never met you I feel as though I know y'all through the Internet. I know however there is probably lots that I don't know so am gla..."

Hi Lynn,
I'm so glad you're here. Folks, Lynn is a great friend and awesome retweeter. I'm glad she left links to her website and book (remember, for mature audiences). Please take a moment to stop by and check out her book!

Martha wrote: "Lynn wrote: "Hi Martha and family,

Thanks for the twitter invite. Though I've never met you I feel as though I know y'all through the Internet. I know however there is probably lots that I don't k..."

I'm glad to be here Martha. You're great at Re-tweeting yourself. Thanks for kind words.

I meant to say earlier that because I'm a mother and a Godmother, I tend to be sensitive to issues of a mature nature and forewarn those that might be unaware.

Well, the Godson is calling. I'll chat more later.

Lynn Hallbrooks

Lynn wrote: "Martha wrote: "Lynn wrote: "Hi Martha and family,

Thanks for the twitter invite. Though I've never met you I feel as though I know y'all through the Internet. I know however there is probably lots..."

Lynn,
I'm glad you made that point in your first post. It's very important to me as well that little ones only read age-appropriate material, that's why my rule for this discussion is "mind your manners" in case little ones are reading along with their parents. Thanks for going that extra mile!

Martha wrote: "Lynn wrote: "Martha wrote: "Lynn wrote: "Hi Martha and family,

Thanks for the twitter invite. Though I've never met you I feel as though I know y'all through the Internet. I know however there is ..."

I totally agree with that policy. You're welcome.

Lynn Hallbrooks

Hello Martha! The book sounds awesome! I love that you wrote it about your children.
I am the mom to 4 wonderful boys and my house is always active. I love every moment though.
I admire your starting a publishing company to publish the book. I will have to check out the book more. I love the goodreads giveaways, I have learned about more authors and books this way. What a fun way to spread the word about your book.
I love the creative touch and this sounds like a must read for summer in our home.

Christina wrote: "Hello Martha! The book sounds awesome! I love that you wrote it about your children.
I am the mom to 4 wonderful boys and my house is always active. I love every moment though.
I admire your star..."

Hi Christina!
I'm so glad you are joining us! Wow, 4 boys? I know you're busy, but I know what you mean about loving every moment. You can imagine how fun it was to write the book with my kids as the characters and with my son illustrating it! The kids even voiced the book trailer for me. So much fun!

Goodreads is so great. I had not heard of it until I started promoting my book but I'm glad I found it. I hope you'll stop by our website, http://www.readtomepublishingllc.com to learn more about the book and publishing company (the book trailer and many reviews are there, too).

Look forward to chatting with you and the kids can join in and ask questions, too.

Martha

Folks, this comment was left by Jeremy Emling and I clicked on "delete" in error. Luckily, I was able to recover it and I'm reposting it below. Sorry, Jeremy!

Hi! Thanks for having me! My name is Jeremy Emling and I am the Author of "Memories Lost In Heaven's Tears" Right now I am working on a huge 8 Novel Series called 'The Diary Of Destiny' With the first being self-titled.I invite all to stop by one of the many places where TDOD can be found!http://www.facebook.com/#!/TDOD2012
http://tdod.wordpress.com/
http://twitter.com/#!/JeremyEmling
http://www.wordsmithsinkscribblers.spruz...
There is lots to see and read! Great artwork! Fan art! Free 1st draft chapters and so much more!!! The all new TDOD blog has new back story of how I found and rewrote the first Diary for the World to enjoy! Be sure to let me know how I can find your works of art as well! Thanks!!!


Hi Jeremy,
Nice to have you here. Hope you'll help us spread the word about our Q&A session and about our book, A Reel Cool Summer, to any friends or family with young children ages 6-9. We'd love to get some questions from the kiddies.

Please stop by our website http://www.readtomepublishingllc.com to watch our book trailer, created by my son, Joey, who also illustrated the book and voiced by the real Joey, Danny and Jacqui from the book. There's a sneak peek of the book there and more. If you have any questions about our book or illustrations, we'd love to answer them.

Christina wrote: "Hello Martha! The book sounds awesome! I love that you wrote it about your children.
I am the mom to 4 wonderful boys and my house is always active. I love every moment though.
I admire your star..."

Hi Christina.

I have a grown son and a grown daughter. Not sure I could handle more than two children in the household. Even right now, I live with 2 Godchildren and I'm much older than when I raised my two. :) Good luck with your bunch and thanks for visiting here.

Lynn

Martha wrote: "Folks, this comment was left by Jeremy Emling and I clicked on "delete" in error. Luckily, I was able to recover it and I'm reposting it below. Sorry, Jeremy!

Hi! Thanks for having me! My name i..."

Hello Jeremy.

I forget...what genre are your books?

Lynn

TDOD is Really open to all ages but for a genre i guess i would say fantasy and Memories lost is a mix of poetry and prose

Hi Martha

I don't have children of my own, though I do have five nephews and two nieces!

Donna :)

Donna wrote: "Hi Martha

I don't have children of my own, though I do have five nephews and two nieces!

Donna :)"

Hi Donna,
So glad you are joining us. I'm sure you spoil all those nieces and nephews. Aunts are so awesome!

Folks, Donna is having an "Adopt An Indie" Month on her blog. She has been gracious enough to include me and A Reel Cool Summer. You can find that blog here: http://adoptanindie.bookbagsandcatnap.... Please stop by there to meet some great indie authors and to see their books.

Hi all,

My name's Andrea, but please feel free to call me Andi. I've been writing YA fantasy for a few years now. My first book, "The Chosen," was published December 2010. The second book in the series is with my publisher now. I'm waiting to hear back from them regarding publishing it. I'm currently working on the third book in the series.

I'm also a freelance writer, and I write for different online companies, including Gather.com and DailyGlow.com. I look forward to getting to know the group. Take care!

Andi

Hi Andi,
So great to have you with us. Sounds like you have a lot going on. Hope you hear good news on your second book soon!

Martha wrote: "Hi Andi,
So great to have you with us. Sounds like you have a lot going on. Hope you hear good news on your second book soon!"

Thank you, Martha :)

Jeremy wrote: "TDOD is Really open to all ages but for a genre i guess i would say fantasy and Memories lost is a mix of poetry and prose"

Aw that's right. I remember now. Thanks.

Lynn

Hi everyone, and thanks Martha for inviting me to join the group. I'm a romance novelist, so my books are for the parents vs the kiddies, but my Cedar Cove series has a strong focus on family, which is extremely important to me. I am looking forward to getting to know all of you better over the weeks and months ahead.

Hi Patricia,
I'm so glad you're here (Psst, did you bring your sash?) I hope that our group will expand and we'll have some great back-and-forth about books, self-publishing, illustrating, etc.

Virtual cookies and milk for the kiddies and champagne (courtesy of Patricia) for the adults!

Hi Martha!

Thanks so much for the invitation! Although I appear on Goodreads as "J", by actual name is J. Michael Radcliffe - apparently the initial throws the site off.

I am the author of the fantasy novel 'The Guardian's Apprentice' as well as several associated short stories. I am supervised by our five ferocious felines, as well as three kids & my wife. :)

To learn more about me or my stories, feel free to visit my website at http://www.theguardiansapprentice.com (and no worries, it is a family friendly site) :)

Cheers!

Michael

Hi Michael,
Glad you decided to stop by and join us. Wow, you have quite a few supervisors! You must be a handful! Hey don't worry about limited time with your day job, we're always open!

Feel free to ask questions of me, Joey or anyone else in the group or tell us about any upcoming events, sales, giveaways, etc. for your book.

Hey Martha, thanks for the invite. My name is Charity Parkerson and I am the author of 5 novels, 3 contemporary romance and 2 paranormal romance. I am, by day, a pre-k teacher. I have 2 sons and one rowdy husband. I'm a very busy lady but it is worth it to me every time that I a see my name in print. :)

Hey Charity!
So glad you stopped in to introduce yourself. You are a busy lady but you do somehow manage time to be nice to me. Glad to have you here and glad to be on your Q&A, too! Maybe one day your name will be in lights! :)

Maybe one day we all will be :) One can dream

Hi Martha and all - I'm a busy worker, father and author who has somehow managed to produce two fantasy novels, the second of which is due out this week. :-) I really value the help and support people like Charity have given me on this site and the help in marketing/spreading the word has been invaluable.

I pop in and out from time to time so hope to play a part in all discussions.

M J Webb
www.jakewest.co.uk

Awww, M.J. thank you so much!

Hi M.J.!
Thanks for joining the group! I totally agree with you about Charity. I think you'll find that the other folks on here are great, too. We'll be glad to see you whenever you pop in.

Hi Martha,

Thanks for the invite. I see some familiar faces here also. I am an English instructor at a community college by day and a writer and artist by night, so to speak.

Katrina

Good evening, Thank you for the invite Martha. I have three grown children and three grand-daughters. I spent 25 years in road construction. Started writing back in 2010. I have two books about coaching baseball, two personal biographies and just released a WWII/Vampire thriller.

I'll be popping in and out. Doing a lot of marketing with the current book. Tried something different. Liked the cover so much had it turned into a poster.

Hi Katrina,
So glad to have you. Our little group is growing by the day. Yay! One of my best friends is like you, she teaches by day (and some nights) and writes on her free time. I'm going to see if I can get her to join us here.

I'm going to interview my book's illustrator next week. He also happens to be my son and one of the characters in the book. I hope to have a link to the interview soon after so you can all hear what he has to say about working on this project. He'll probably say I made him do it! ;)

Hi Jeff!
So glad you stopped by and joined our group. I love that you write in several genres. It's funny because I've recently "met" (on Twitter) two other authors who have written sports books. One a volleyball book and one a wrestling book.

We'll look forward to chatting with you when you're here. We're always open! :)

Thanks Martha, it will be great to read your interview. It must be so fun to work with your son on this project.

Katrina

Katrina wrote: "Thanks Martha, it will be great to read your interview. It must be so fun to work with your son on this project.

Katrina"

We truly enjoyed the crazy ride that was our little book!

That is when it is the most fun. The promotion afterwards can be draining, but I am constantly telling myself to make it fun so that I will continue to do it for a long time to come.

Yes, the promotion is draining. It's a 24/7 job and it's hard but it's also a lot of fun! I wish I had a few extra hours every day!

Thank you so much for offering to list my giveaway on your FB page, All Things Kindle. I'll send you an email about the giveaway now. And this is me encouraging others in this group to do the same and spread the word about your page!

Thanks for the shout out. Looking forward to receiving the info. Katrina

Hi Martha!
Thank you for the invite. Although I don't write books appropriate for children in this age group, I believe the experience I can gain from this group will be educational and enlightening.

Ironically, it was my eldest son of three who encouraged me to begin publishing my books, so here I am. It's always great to meet new friends/family in the industry.

~waving to everyone~

Hi Martha.

Thanks for the invite.

I'm the author of several short stories; my latest release being that of one titled Stuck.

It's a pleasure to be here.

http://www.simplistik.org

Valerie wrote: "Hi Martha!
Thank you for the invite. Although I don't write books appropriate for children in this age group, I believe the experience I can gain from this group will be educational and enlighten..."

Hi Valerie!
I'm glad you decided to join us. No matter what genre you write, it's always great to meet new authors and share experiences. I hope we will all learn a little something!

Waving back.

Lissette wrote: "Hi Martha.

Thanks for the invite.

I'm the author of several short stories; my latest release being that of one titled Stuck.

It's a pleasure to be here.

http://www.simplistik.org"

Hi Lissette!
Glad you're here with us, too. I've got an idea for a book of short stories for kids that's rattling around in my brain. I may pick your brain about it once I've figured it out. There are some other folks here who write short stories so maybe some of you can read and critique them as I go.

For sure. Please do. I'd love to read and critique them for you as you go along.

Lissette wrote: "For sure. Please do. I'd love to read and critique them for you as you go along."

Thanks! I'll keep you posted.

Welcome. Looking forward to it. ^.^

Hi Martha,
Thanks for the invite! I'm Deb & I'm a children's author. I've been published a few times on the internet & now am in the process of marketing for a publisher for my first picture book. I review books for both children & adults. I also run an online critique group for children's authors.

Just stopped in to say hello and check what was on people's minds. I'm spending the day reading my ms out loud to try and guage the pacing, and to catch errors and awkward dialogue. What's everyone else up to?

Deb wrote: "Hi Martha,
Thanks for the invite! I'm Deb & I'm a children's author. I've been published a few times on the internet & now am in the process of marketing for a publisher for my first picture book. ..."

Hi Deb!
Glad to have another children's author on board! Wow, you are a busy lady. Can you post a link to information about your critique group and your review service?

Best of luck with your marketing to publishers! Keep us posted.

Patricia wrote: "Just stopped in to say hello and check what was on people's minds. I'm spending the day reading my ms out loud to try and guage the pacing, and to catch errors and awkward dialogue. What's everyone..."

Hi Patricia,
Okay, so I'm not the only crazy who reads their writing outloud? That's good to know!

Today I'm starting a knew writing project. Right now I think it will be a book of short stories for kids (elementary school age) but who knows what it will be after it's done. I'm thinking of making it an ebook (Kindle, Smashwords, etc) of stories but making it "interactive" with my website where I will post photographs that I take that relate to the writing. We'll see how that works out. Thoughts?

I like the interactive part, and I'd bet readers would too. Good luck with it.
It doesn't matter how many times I read a manuscript, when I "talk" it out loud I always pick up things I missed, or discover things I thought sounded fine when I read them, sound goofy or unnatural when I say them out loud. I'm a firm believer in craziness!

I agree that it's a great way to catch those boo-boos! Crazy is cool in my book!