Tag Archives: The Consequences Collection

4RV Publishing, A Shadow in the Past, Books, chapter books, King Park Press, Mallorytown, The Consequences Collection, Tim's Magic Christmas

Not the Foreign Legion…

November 29, 2015 Melanie Leave a comment

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

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?

4RV Publishing, A Shadow in the Past, Books, calendar, Christmas, craft fair, King Park Press, Local Authors, The Consequences Collection

Christmas Craft Show~November 29, 2014

November 22, 2014 Melanie 1 Comment

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Join me and numerous other vendors in the village of Merrickville, Ontario for the 19th Annual Christmas Craft and Concession Show.

I’ll be there signing copies of A Shadow in the Past and The Consequences Collection. In addition, I’ll have my 2015 A Shadow in the Past companion calendar showing various locations throughout Scotland used in the book. And who doesn’t need a calendar to keep track of appointments and such?

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I hope to see you there!

#AtoZChallenge, anthology, King Park Press, short stories, short story, The Consequences Collection

#AtoZChallenge – C is for (The) CONSEQUENCES COLLECTION

April 3, 2014 Melanie 1 Comment

“If you could see the consequences – would you?”

Special thank you to Madliz Coles whose kind permission made it possible to use her evocative photograph as the cover image for my collection.

Blurb:

The Consequences Collection is an eclectic compilation of twelve stories ranging from non-fiction through creative non-fiction to pure fiction, in prose and poetry.

The story of a Scottish Home Child is based on fact and told from the child’s point of view; The Mystery Woman of Kinettles is a non-fiction article on the appearance and subsequent disappearance of a woman’s body near the Wellington County House of Industry (Poor House) in 1879 Southwestern Ontario.

Some of these stories are lighter than others, and some might even beg you to leave the lights on.

Excerpt from the cover story Consequences: But before I get into that, this was written during the one and only storefront writing contest held in Brockville. We all wrote to the same prompt (I think we were thirteen in number) and it was amazing the different ways our stories went.

Splat! The mail landed on the ceramic tile floor of the foyer. Usually, the noise was followed by the snap of the mail slot door closing. Today it wasn’t.

Something must have stuck in it. Sylvia put her coffee down on the counter and walked to the front door. A large white envelope remained suspended in the door. She pulled it the rest of the way through. The flap snapped shut and even though she was used to hearing the metallic sound, it startled her.

She’d expected a letter from her solicitor regarding her divorce from Bill but it wasn’t there. However, that one in particular had piqued her curiosity. Emblazoned on the top left corner was an official-looking crest. The addressee’s name and address were correct. It was her. Why would this person or agency be sending her a letter? She’d never heard of them before.

Sylvia turned the envelope over and worked her thumb under the flap. Those self-sticking envelopes are a bugger, she thought as she tried to rip it open. Finally, she gave up and tore down the side and yanked the contents out.

She skimmed over the letter but it didn’t make any sense so placed it on the small table by the door. It could be dealt with later. In the meantime, she looked at the rest of her mail. Nothing else untoward – just the electric bill, gas bill, and the usual assortment of junk – mail. She dropped them on top of the letter and returned to the kitchen.

The coffee she’d poured earlier had gone cold. She dumped it down the sink and turned the water on to rinse it away before getting a fresh one.

Drawn by some inexplicable force, Sylvia went back to the foyer and collected the letter and the mangled envelope. She returned to the kitchen, flipped on the radio and sat down at her small table. Why had she opened it in the first place? She should have just binned it. That’s what she usually did with unsolicited mail. But there was something strangely familiar about it. The addressee information was on a computer printed label so there was no clue there. The sororities from University had crests or emblems to differentiate one from another. She wracked her brain trying to remember what they looked like. It had been over thirty years since she’d attended. Sylvia never belonged to a sorority because she thought the girls who did were snooty and stuck-up.

She’d call her friend, Laurie and tell her about the letter. They’d been friends since childhood, attended the same elementary and secondary schools and even the same University. She could tell her anything, couldn’t she?

I’m almost Janet Jackson but not quite… but my ‘almost’ reveal was purely accidental. That’s what happens when you sit on the tail of your corset and try to skooch higher up the rock.

Where to buy The Consequences Collection:

Paperback:

Epub:

Kindle:

anthology, Appearances, Authors, Book Launch, Brockville, King Park Press, Publicity, Publishing, short stories, writing style

After the Wedgewood Author Series launch of The Consequences Collection

November 9, 2013 Melanie 3 Comments

The Wedgewood Author Series – The Consequences Collection

The weather on October 26th wasn’t conducive to anyone venturing out yet a few brave souls joined me as I launched my short story anthology – The Consequences Collection.

In the week leading up to my launch, I sold three print copies and one kindle version. These sales were to folks who couldn’t make it to the launch and one person who needed the versatility of the kindle to enlarge the font.

One lady who came to my launch, I found out was a friend of my aunt’s during high school, so we had a lovely chat before things got underway.

I spoke a wee bit about how my anthology came to be, how I got my fantastic cover image, then read from the title story, Consequences, which was originally written for the one and only storefront writing contest in Brockville.

consequences launch 1 — Talking about The Consequences Collection

Afterwards, I fielded questions from the intimate group gathered in the media room at The Wedgewood Retirement Resort.

consequences launch 2 — Working the room during the Q&A session

Then came time to sell books. Like I said, it was a small crowd but everyone there bought a book. And remember the lady who was a friend of my aunt? Well, she REALLY wanted a copy of A Shadow in the Past, so I sold her the copy that had travelled up mountains, to pubs, stone circles and ruined castles on our trip to Scotland (the only one I had with me) and she was happy as a clam.

consequences launch 3 — Signing yet another copy of The Consequences Collection

At the end of the day, I sold and signed eight copies of The Consequences Connection and one copy of A Shadow in the Past. The next day, I sold two more copies at my writers’ group meeting. My end sales – 13 paperbacks, 1 kindle.

Where to buy The Consequences Collection:

Paperback:

Epub:

Kindle:

Coming soon to amazon in paperback and to Barnes and Noble for the nook.

Authors, Blog Tour, book blitz, Book covers, LAHE Lifestyle, Love a Happy Ending Lifestyle magazine, readers, short story

COVER REVEAL + e-launch of The Consequences Collection

November 2, 2013 Melanie 4 Comments

“If you could see the consequences – would you?”

Today marks the cover reveal and the e-launch of The Consequences Collection…Special thank you to Madliz Coles whose kind permission made it possible to use her evocative photograph as the cover image for my anthology.

Blurb:

The Consequences Collection is an eclectic compilation of twelve stories ranging from non-fiction through creative non-fiction to pure fiction, in prose and poetry.

Some of these stories are lighter than others, and some might even beg you to leave the lights on.

Splat! The mail landed on the ceramic tile floor of the foyer. Usually, the noise was followed by the snap of the mail slot door closing. Today it wasn’t.

The coffee she’d poured earlier had gone cold. She dumped it down the sink and turned the water on to rinse it away before getting a fresh one.

And since this piece is about a reveal… well, I have to include this anecdote and photo. Back in early October, hubby and I went out to get some photos of me surrounded by the local fall colour splendour… me wearing my tartan corset that I bought in Glasgow.

I’m almost Janet Jackson but not quite… but my ‘almost’ reveal was purely accidental. That’s what happens when you sit on the tail of your corset and try to skooch higher up the rock.