Adventures with Meps 'n' Barry » News in Verse

Meps on KCBS for National Talk in an Elevator Day

meps — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 00:11:07 +0000

When you get on the dull workday lift,
Where you always give strangers short shrift,
Just this once, say hello,
And then see how things go,
It’s the day to give strangers that gift.

Friday, July 31 is National Talk in an Elevator Day. For Meps, that means San Francisco Talk on the Radio Day, as she’ll be interviewed by KCBS morning anchors Stan Bunger and Susan Leigh Taylor about talking to strangers.

The brief interview is scheduled for 9:30 am PST. You can listen on the internet using the KCBS Live Audio Stream (http://cbssf.com/listen). If you are in the Bay Area, tune into KCBS at 740 AM or 106.9 FM.

The Autographed E-Book

meps — Sun, 28 Jun 2015 19:26:21 +0000

For readers who must save a tree,
Thereâ€™s now an e-Book, and itâ€™s free,
It’s a little bit newer,
And the drawings are fewer,
But you’ll find that it still sounds like me.

The Kindle Edition of Strangers Have the Best Candy is now available! The download is free today, June 28. Since I cannot autograph your eBook, I’m offering an autographed Happy Spot to anyone who downloads the eBook before July 10! Put your request in a comment on this post, and I’ll contact you for the mailing address.

Although this edition doesn’t have the full quota of illustrations, the best ones are included. Frank Lloyd Bear and I have also included a teaser for our next book, The Joyful Bear.

Candy. Crushes. Competition.

meps — Sat, 28 Mar 2015 23:55:10 +0000

I am glad to have worldwide acclaim,
In the self-published, dog-eat-dog game,
It’s my title, thank god,
That is prize-winning odd,
Not my writing, my looks, or my name.

The BBC ran a teaser with “Candy crushes competition” as the headline

I don’t know whether to be excited or embarrassed.

WhenÂ The Bookseller announced that Strangers Have the Best Candy has received the Diagram Award for the Oddest Book Title of the Year, they said there was no cash award, just a “passable bottle of claret” awaiting me in London.Â However, their news release said that agents and publishers “are tipping it to be the ‘hot book’ at the forthcoming London Book Fair.” Is this an example of British humour (sic), or are they serious?

Oddest book title in the world?

meps — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 18:37:46 +0000

Strangers Have the Best Candy relies
On its title to catch readersâ€™ eyes,
Now the Guardians claim,
That it’s found worldwide fame,
And it might win the Diagram Prize.
I woke up on Saturday to a Google Alert, saying that my name had appeared in The Guardian. “This must be a mistake,” I thought, as I clicked on the link to one of the best-known online news sites in the world. To my surprise, the shortlist had been released for the Diagram Prize for the Oddest Book Title of 2015, and Strangers Have the Best Candy was one of the seven books!

According to The Bookseller, “The prize was open to self-published authors for the first time in its 37-year history, and the self-published Strangers Have the Best Candy by Margaret Meps Schulte (Choose Art) completes the shortlist.”

Being on the shortlist hasn’t translated into any sales or calls from publishing houses so far. Actually winning the prize might do the trick, so here’s my shameless request: Would you please go to the voting site and cast a vote for me? It will take less than a minute, if you use this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/diagramprize2014.

After that, please share this and tell your friends you know a Diagram Prize nominee! Anybody who votes for me gets a hug and a piece of candy!

Book-Marketing Mobiles

meps — Sun, 07 Dec 2014 21:26:26 +0000

I have picked up another used car,
For the orange one would not go as far,
As it needed to go,
In the rain, ice, and snow,
That’s between “way up here,” and “down thar.”

My first book-marketing mobile

My new book-marketing mobile, with cruise control!

Sweet Strangers in Ballard

meps — Sun, 21 Sep 2014 06:44:20 +0000

I hope to see your smiling faces in Ballard tonight, sometime between 6 and 8 pm. If the rain stops, we can make Happy Spots on the sidewalk in front of the store! If it doesn’t, we can make paper Happy Spots inside!

When I walked in right off of the street,
The two strangers I happened to meet,
In their colorful store,
Full of candy galore,
Booked an author appearance there — Sweet!

If you’re in the Seattle area, come see Meps on Tuesday, Sept. 23 from 6 to 8 pm at Sweet Mickey’s Candy Shoppe in Ballard (next to QFC on 57th). An autographed copy of Strangers Have the Best Candy won’t rot your teeth. And the fabulous candy and fudge Sweet Mickey’s carries is worth a trip to the dentist!

Sitting in the Library

meps — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 00:30:18 +0000

Rows of books on the shelves should allay,
My immense fears of failure each day,
For an author like me,
Published each one, you see,
And I hope my book joins them — by May!

I hope to have my book, Strangers Have the Best Candy, illustrated and ready for publication before my 50th birthday! If you want to be alerted when it comes out (as well as receiving my limericks and essays in your in-box), be sure to subscribe to the Meps’n’Barry mailing list.