bookstore Archives - Patti Diener / Author

Spreading the Joy

Bookstores, Podcasts, and Wineries too!

Lucky for me, I’m not a shy person. I love talking with folks, learning about them and having deep conversations. Because I am good at this you’d think that marketing a book and doing all the PR that is involved would come easy to me, right?

WRONG!

I have a helluva time knowing what to say about my work. I’m great at promoting other people’s work. But for some reason, when I’m asked about my latest release, I find it hard to wrap it up succinctly. It is always the toughest job for me, writing the summary. Making the pitch. But I’m getting better.

As a little girl, I dreamed of writing books for a living. As an adult, I found it hard to etch out time to get any writing done. I dove into adulthood as the responsible person I always was. I had the job, and soon after the husband, and the kids. I then took to marriage and parenting in the same manner. Everything else was first, and my writing was a “pipe-dream.” I would get to it one day.

Then I finally wrote my first book, After the Fire. It was a well received first novel, and I am still very proud of it, mostly because it was honoring my community after the devastating Valley Fire of 2015. But years later, and with many writing classes and workshops under my belt, I’ve found I’ve grown and improved my writing chops. It was high time I wrote something new.

Since my new book’s release this past July, Wildflower, has done really well. I’ve had, and continue to get, many opportunities to promote the book. Many bookstores have been very welcoming in putting my book on hand, and I’ve been invited to speak on both podcasts as well as Instagram, and Facebook live events. These are huge promoting opportunities. I’m very grateful.

The thing that continues to excite me is the upcoming events. I’m fortunate in that I’ve been welcomed to do book signings at store tables, and do readings at some stores as well. I’ve been invited to author panels, where multiple authors speak, and this is a great opportunity for me to meet other authors, which is one of my favorite things about the writing industry. The relationships you build in the writing world.

But in order to get these things to happen, I have to reach out. As an indie author, all the footwork and PR is up to me. And sometimes, it’s still hard to ask, but I do it anyway. Like I’ve said before, the worst people can do is say no. And we never get what we don’t ask for.

I think some of you know, but in case you don’t, I joined a classic rock band last year. It’s fun, and something I think lots of people dream of doing at some point in their lives. I’m fifty-seven. If not now, when? It’s a blast! One of our gigs coming up is at the Fults Family Vineyards Winery, in Lower Lake, California. They are so kind there, and because I know the owners, they are encouraging me to also sign my books on the night of our gig. A two-fer! I’m stoked about that. If you read this on or before September 4th, come on over for Thirsty Thursday, and see us there. Again…it’s the connections. I love people.

The main reason for me making the post today is to let you know that my new book it out there, but also that I’d love to talk with you. The best part of being a writer is talking about books, about writing, and the writing process. The WHY we write, and what drives us. If you love stories, if you love to read, or have ever thought you might want to write a book…PLEASE… come to one of the events on the schedule, or look me up! Email me at pdienerauthor@gmail.com and in the subject line write: Let’s Connect.

In the meantime, I hope your summer wraps up lovely. Can you believe it’s September now? I hope you enjoy your friends, the good weather, and the little things that add up to big things. Like, a great cup of coffee in the morning. A quiet moment, or a walk in nature. A belly laugh with friends over wine or your favorite cocktail, or the beauty of a spectacular sunset. I hope you know how very much you do matter, and that your contribution to the world only asks that you show up. In any way that you can. Some days it’s in bigger ways, and some days it’s just that you got out of bed. Just do your best, and know you are enough.

With all my love, I’m sending you wishes of happiness. Happy reading my friends.

Xoxo ~ Patti

Living for These Moments

Being Brave Enough to Risk Rejection

You never get what you don’t ask for in this life. That has been my motto before it was even a thing. It is the truth though, and sometimes it takes enormous strength and courage to ask for not only what you need, but for the things you truly want. Right now, I want for my book to be successful, and that takes a village.

I remember back when I had my day spa in the small town where I live in Lower Lake, California. I was a young mother with small daughters, but wanted to work outside of the home again. It had been a decade of staying at home and I was thirsting for human connection with adults who ate things other than PB & J sandwiches, and wore clothes other than sweatpants.

So I started a business in a little 1940’s bungalow that sat on Main Street. I got the landlord to lower the rent, tear out the carpeting to refinish the hardwood floors, and install a more efficient heating/cooling system. When the previous tenants came into my shop and saw the improvements, they were surprised to find out the landlord paid for it all. A bit pissed off, they asked, “How did you get him to do that?” I simply said, “I just asked.”

If you have a compelling enough argument, or kind enough request, you’d be surprised at how people truly want to help you. With the launching of my book, Wildflower, I’ve asked people to not only buy the book, but recommend it to their friends, leave a review or rating, and share pictures of it online. As an indie author, (this means I’m not traditionally published or represented by an agent), I’m the whole show on my own. So I literally need to ask for help wherever possible, and this means I have to get over myself, when it comes to feeling awkward and vulnerable.

My current event schedule at the time of this post.

Going into independent bookstores, or any retailer, to ask the management if they would be interested in carrying my book is still very intimidating to me. I get nervous and worry of the sting of rejection, should they turn me down. It could happen. Luckily for me, so far it hasn’t. Still, I know that day will come when I’m met with a, we just aren’t interested, comment. But it won’t stop me. Because a NO, only means it’s not a good fit. And afterall, who wants to be partnered with someone that’s not a good fit?

The other thing that is scary is putting yourself out there for interviews on podcasts, book groups, and social media events. It’s crucial though in this day and age, to be open to all kinds of platforms that could possibly get your book circulated. I mean, let’s face it… we don’t want to just sell a dozen copies to our closest family and friends as authors. And readers are literally everywhere, but you gotta know where to look. There has to be some kind of risk involved in order to get a return. That means, you have to get uncomfortable, and I’ve been willing to do that for quite some time now.

I love that people are kind enough and excited enough about my books that they share their pictures with me on social media. The love they share just makes my heart grow. I would write no matter what, because I cannot keep myself from writing. But knowing people are out there anticipating my words, brings me a kind of joy that cannot be properly expressed. There isn’t vocabulary that describes that kind of feeling, but it lights me up, and fuels my spirit.

If you haven’t read Wildflower, it is about a young woman finding her worth in the world. It’s about mothers and daughters, about addiction and redemption, and forbidden love and romance. It’s about stopping at nothing to build a better life, even when it feels like the world is trying to tear you down. I love Charlie Kane and Jack Connors, my two main protagonists. But there is a whole cast of characters that I am in love with, and some I love to hate. I hope you will grab a copy from either Amazon (in both paperback or ebook), or from one of the retailers I’m holding an event with. Look at the above list. Soon there will be an audiobook out, and I’m always making new contacts with stores, so follow me on Instagram or Facebook for current details on where else Wildflower will be sold.

Thank you so much for all your support. And if you have already read either of my books, please leave a review on Amazon, or Goodreads, because that helps the algorithms put my book higher in the lists online, making them easier for others to find.

Here’s hoping I see you out there at one of my events. Cheers to the last part of summer.

Xoxo ~ Patti

* Feature photo is mine, along with schedule pic. Photo credits of shared book shots are from Yvette Sawle Guillory, and Darcie Jordan.

Launch Day Countdown

…and there’s not enough time in a day!

So much to do and not enought time. That seems to be on repeat in my brain lately. But I’m also trusting that everything will work out. Somehow. And you can help. I’ll tell you how in a minute.

There have been endless things to do in preparation for this book launch, and that is on top of writing and editing the book. There are so many balls in the air, multiple steps that have had to happen in a particular order, just so this book could see the light of day. But like anything I do that is hard, I look back and wonder how the hell I did it all. Launching a book isn’t so unlike delivering a child. We forget the tough parts as a means to allow us to do it again.

Back in September of 2023, I started writing a book called Wildflower, inspired by a 1972 Skylark song of the same name. I’d always loved the song and could envision the girl it was written about. But something that August of 2023, made me feel more connected to the lyrics, and as I drove my two grown daughters along the winding coastal Hwy 1 in Northern California, towards Bodega Bay, I told them about my idea for this book.

We’d just come from spending the morning in Sebastopol, having had our nails and toes done for my oldest’s wedding that coming weekend. We meandered through shops, like Copperfield’s Books, galleries, and grabbed coffees at Retrograde. This coffee house found its way into my book in a big way. The experience made me feel like I should set the book in this charming town, that I’d loved visiting since I was a kid.

But when you listen to the lyrics of this haunting song, you will understand that my protagonist doesn’t come from the best upbringing. She carries the weight of the world, seemingly alone, on her shoulders. Anything good she has in life she has had to fight for it, and it is a long haul.

As I explained to my two girls about my thoughts for developing this book, we listened to the song in the car while winding through the eucalyptus trees with the sun roof down. The coastal breeze filled our senses and I thought...this would be how she escapes her troubles! I knew the setting, and my main character had to live in Sebastopol, and drive the twenty minutes to Bodega Bay when she felt trapped or upset.

So, after the August wedding, I started my journey into figuring out just who my characters were. Lots of deleting, many revisions later, I allowed, sheepishly, for my friends from the Kick-Ass Writers Group, to read the manuscript. It wasn’t always easy. These are tough and talented people. I owe so much to them for their care and honesty. And then came hiring an editor, which was also difficult for me, as my first editor, who I worked with on After the Fire, had since shifted her career from editor to writing coach. Jen Graybeal is your go-to-gal if you need advice or coaching in this field. But I was fortunate enough to find a great editor, Tamara Hughes. The combination of these women helped me mold this book into something really special.

I won’t bore you with all the minutiae of each step to publication, but with me working part-time in a book store in Calistoga, (Copperfield’s Books-come see me there), and joining a classic rock band with five guys, (we just acquired the 5th recently) that make me laugh til my belly hurts, life is busy. Just writing and publishing a book is a full-time job. Something of which I know some other authors are far better at accomplishing than me. But my main goal at 57 years old is to have the most fun I can. Of that, I know I’m killing it!

I don’t know many people who are enjoying what they do each day as much as I do. So if that is the real goal, then I’m slaying. I’ve even dropped almost twenty pounds since I retired, just because I’m not feeling anxiety and stress like before. Now when I get worked up or anxious, it’s because I’m nervous but excited. Very different feelings.

But there is something you can do for me. Remember at the beginning of this post I said you can help? Well, you can.

I need help reaching as many people as I possibly can about this book. That means you can share this post, my website, my Facebook posts or Instagram. I’m on X as well. TELL PEOPLE about Wildflower and here’s the most important thing. Are you Ready?

BUY MY BOOK! Ha! It’s available for pre-order on ebook from Amazon, and on July 8th, the paperback releases to order as well. After that, Wildflower, will also be available at select retailers, such as bookstores, wineries, and coffee houses. I’m pleased to announce that I’ve just hired a very talented voice actor to read for the audiobook as well, which will release in a few months. I’ll be sharing details on my author events on my social media accounts (please follow me on Instagram and Facebook) as well as my new website that will be pattidiener.com. It’s currently under construction. I’m still keeping this website for my blog.

Thank you all for your support, and if you’re just now finding me, I am so happy you are here.

Xoxo ~ Patti

*All photos provided by Patti Diener, except eucalyptus trees and beach photo provided by pexels.com.

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