Sunday, December 30, 2012

Nobel Prize Winner dies at Age 103

Nobel prize winner, Dr. Rita Levi Montalcini recently died at the ripe old age of 103. She was very active into her 100s, working in science, and later in politics. She was born in Turin, in 1909, and never married.

Due to the war, she moved around with her family, changing their name. Eventually, she came to the United States and worked in research.

To read more about this wonderful woman, please click the link below:

http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/scimedemail/la-me-rita-levi-montalcini-20121231,0,4732404.story

Thursday, December 13, 2012

10 Tips to Promote, Promote, Promote



Occasionally, I get asked by another Greek American author about promoting books, and I thought I'd compile the steps I took in promoting my books to the Greek American market. If you're not catering to the Greek Market, you might consider organizations that revolve around your market:

1) Make sure you have a website (or wordpress, or blog) that includes your bio, your books, and where to buy the books. An online presence is critical in this time of social media. Update it regularly. Check out my site as an example: http://www.pattyapostolides.com

2) Join Social Media like Twitter, Facebook, and other social media. Make a Facebook Fan Page. If you want to attract likes on your page, go to http://www.worldlitcafe.com  to sign up for more likes. Become active. Get a following.


3) Sell your books through a Greek American organization like AHEPA or Daughters of Penelope (DOP). It would help if you're  a member, too! You can start by sending a book to the AHEPA headquarters in Washington, D.C., like I did, and ask if they'd like to read/review for their AHEPA magazine. Also, the DOP have a book club, and you might want to contact them, too.

4) Contact all the Greek churches in the states with a flyer describing your book. Include ordering information. You can go on the archdiocese website (http://www.goarch.org/parishes/) to find parishes. Ask them to post the flyer on their bulletin, or give to their Philoptochos society.

If your book does not have offending material in it, your chances are better, you can even ask if they'd be interested in buying books for their library. I have sold many books through these outlets. I have also spoken through several church and Philoptochos events this way (NJ, PA,NY).


5) Contact your churches in your local area to see when they'll have their church festival. Sign up for the festival and be there to sell your books! Expect to pay a small fee for your table. You'll need a white table cloth, books, flyers, and a willingness to talk for hours at an end. Also, your local church might have a book club, or over fifties club, or even a cultural group you can talk to. I did book signings at all these groups at my church.

 6) Contact your local community newspaper. Send them a book and ask for a book review. Do the same for local magazine. They're always looking for new material.

7). Contact the Orthodox Observor, a newspaper of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese (http://www.goarch.org/news/observer.) They do post community events, and when you publish your book that is a community event! Also, you can place an ad in there, I did a few times and got sales that way, too!

8) Mail order : This one's a tough one, but if you can get a mailing list, and send flyers to individuals, your rate of sales goes up dramatically. I still get Christmas cards from readers who I've maintained contact all these years. A reader just sent me a Christmas card asking me "when is your next book coming out?" Isn't that wonderful?

9) Contact your local library -  they typically have rooms where your can sign up to do a talk and booksigning. You can list this event in the newspaper and community news.

10) Contact your local bookstore - I left this one for last because they've given me the least book sales, but they do give sales.

Did you notice that the word "contact" has shown up several times here? This is a proactive situation. You need to be very active in promoting your books, and if you don't make that "contact" then your books will just sit there in your closet, collecting dust.

I made a lot of book sales over time using the above methods, and if you are a Greek American author, or even an author interested in different avenues of promoting, I hope you do well, too!

Friday, November 30, 2012

Languid Thoughts


Sometimes I see something beautiful in my life, like this evening sky from my backyard. How wonderful it was to capture the moment with the camera! The colors in the sky were amazing and I wrote a little poem to go along with it.

Our thoughts can reach many heights, and when we capture them by writing them down, anything is possible. Poetry is one avenue of capturing thoughts.

Dare to dream, and you open the door to life.
Enjoy!

Friday, November 23, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving!




We celebrated our Thanksgiving by beginning the day with a prayer of thanks. There are so many things to be thankful for, our health, our loved ones, the roof over our heads, etc. It's not only on this day we should be thankful, but every day of our lives. I consider each day to be a blessing. Having gone through so many losses in my life, particularly through the departure of loved ones, I do not take anything for granted.

After our morning breakfast, the family went and played tennis at the nearby tennis courts. The weather was in the mid-50s, sunny and lovely. It was fun running around hitting and catching the little balls. Afterwards, I prepared the meal while everyone watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade on TV. It was a joyful occasion with nice music and dancing. There were several public schools involved and I enjoyed watching all that young talent on the screen. I particularly liked the elves.

In the evening, after the Thanksgiving meal, we played a board game followed by watching a favorite movie, "Sense and Sensibility." I chose this 1995 movie because it has influenced me in so many ways when I was writing "The Greek Maiden and the English Lord." Emma Thompson did a wonderful job in weaving drama, humor, and music into this wonderful, wonderful story by Jane Austen. One of the humorous  parts of the movie, were  the "F Major" theme. In addition, there were several  dramatic parts, or highlights of the story: when Elena realized her sister was dying, when Marianne walked in the rain the second time and stood looking at the mansion of Willoughby, when Elena realized Edward was not married, and so on.  The acting was fabulous and my favorite actors were Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson. How did all this influence my story? Read my story to find out! It is available FREE until January 2013 at the following site:

The Greek Maiden and the English Lord

Thursday, November 15, 2012

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop Coming November 21!

Greetings!

I recently joined what's called The Next Big Thing Blog Hop! I have never done one, and was excited to have been tagged by Maria F. Karamitsos, associate editor of the GreekStar newspaper in Chicago and author at https://fromthemommyfiles.wordpress.com/
and I look forward to participating in it on November 21!

The way it works is like a chain letter, one author answers several questions about themselves and about their writing, and at the end of that session, list five other authors who will be answering their own questions and "tag" five other authors, and so on.

It is a great way for an author to gain exposure, as readers move from one blog to another, reading about their favorite authors as well as learning about new authors....isn't that great?

I hope you return next week to read more about me and get a chance to see what other wonderful authors have to say about themselves and their writing!

See you then!!

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Tips for Authors

 Tips for Authors: 

This is what I learned from the book "Stand Out Social Marketing" by Mike Lewis -
 

Social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter, push content away from the viewer very quickly. In the first hour after you post something on these sites, only 34% engagement was observed in 10 days, as compared to other sites like Flickr, which earned 82% engagement in 10 days. Also, Youtube, Flickr and WordPress
experienced upticks for the first 24 hours, while Facebook and Twitter, dropped dramatically in the first hour of publication.

The best way to get your work out there is to build a landing page (website, blog) and drive traffic to it to maximize exposure. You can sign up for a free blog through Blogger. Directories such as Digg, Reddit, and Stumbleupon help drive additional views to your content.

Also, use Video (Youtube) and Photos to share with your readers.

Thursday, August 30, 2012





One of the things that we often encounter in life is our being treated like everyone else - we go to school like other students, we work at a job like other employees, we shop like everyone else, we all have social security numbers. This can feel demoralizing at times, as we search for our identity. But we are all unique, and even though we feel different at times, remember that there is no one in the world like you. Even twins have differences.

God created each and every one of us to be unique and loved just for ourselves. We deserve the best that life offers.

Do not underestimate your worth.

This poem was written as an uplifting and inspiring moment by Ipatia (me). Enjoy!

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

April musings

Being Greek Orthodox, our Easter was on April 15 this year. This is an intensive week for us. Fasting is the norm as well as going to church daily, if not two or three times a day.

On Palm Sunday, we receive palm crosses in church. On Holy Wednesday, we receive the holy oil which is dabbed on our foreheads and palms. On Holy Friday, we carry lit candles and walk in a procession around the church following the epitaph which is filled with flowers and represents the body of Jesus Christ.
Holy Saturday there are two church services, one in the morning and one just before midnight. That service can last until past one o'clock in the morning. We light our candles and go home to eat a special soup that breaks our fast. Easter is a day of celebration, following the Agape service, which is done in several languages, and where we receive red Easter eggs, at home we cook lamb and have a party all day long. A typical Easter dinner will include roasted lamb, baked potatoes, Greek salad, pastitsio, moussaka, tiropites, spanakopites, olives, feta cheese, wine, fresh baked bread.

Tsoureki is a sweet bread that is very popular during this holiday.

The recipe I use includes :

5 yeast
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tsp salt
Five pound bag flour
2 sticks butter
5 eggs
Anise extract
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

The yeast is placed in a bowl with 1 cup warm water and 1 teaspoon sugar. Let sit 20 minutes, then stir in one cup flour. Let sit.

Meanwhile, the butter is melted in a small pot and milk is added to it. Let cool.


Beat eggs with sugar in a large bowl until light and frothy. Add the milk mixture and anise. Then slowly add the yeast mixture and salt. Finally add enough flour so that the dough is light and not too difficult to kneed. Kneed, then divide into three bowls, cover, and let sit until doubled. About 3-4 hours.

Each bowl represents a loaf. Kneed each dough from each bowl, split into three balls, elongate each ball until it looks like a rope about 8 - 10 inches long and 2-3 inches thick, and line the three ropes on pan covered with parchment paper. Make a braid from the three ropes, crossing each rope over the other, starting with the right over the middle, then the left over the middle, and so on. At the top of the braid, can place a baked egg for decoration.


Beat small egg yolk with 2 tsp water and brush each braid. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top if you'd like. There should now be 3 pans with 3 braids. Let sit for 20-30 minutes.

Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown on top. Cool before cutting.

These breads freeze well.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Copyright Infringement

Recently, I perused the internet in search of several articles I had written since 2003. My search found several of my articles on different sites, and unfortunately, they did not give me credit as the author. My name was nowhere on the article!!

Recently, I added one of my articles "Writing Tips for Novice Authors" on this blog, which was originally written on Writing.com in 2003. I will be adding more of my articles.

I have written to Google regarding the above article which was posted on blogspot without my name, and let's see if they will respond.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Writing Tips for Novice Authors

   If you are reading this article then you probably have asked yourself at some point in your life, "Do I have what it takes to become an author?"
   I believe that successful authors, those who actually write and finish that novel, or book of poetry, or even that book of short stories, and see it all the way to publication, have certain characteristics.

Characteristics of Authors

1. They like to sit for hours in front of a computer screen (or with pen and paper), typing (writing) away.
2. They think about their book, even when they're not writing.
3. They are motivated to finish their book.
4. They are motivated to proofread, edit and revise their finished book until it is the best it can be.
5. They are motivated to publish their book.
6. Once they publish the first book, they are already working on the next one.

   If you answered yes to anyone of the above, then you have a good chance of attaining your dreams of becoming an author. Don't listen to those people who say it's a competitive market out there. Don't listen to those people who say they've written five books and haven't had one published yet. And don't listen to those people who send you back your manuscripts! Listen to yourself. Listen to that inner voice, the one that is whispering now. But wait until you get started. Once your book is written and published, that inner voice will be roaring! And the whole world will hear about it.
   I know, I know. I tend to be the optimist. But we have so many pessimists in the book business, we sure need some more optimists around!
   For you, the novice writer who would like to start writing that first book, the best way to begin is to start writing. Yes, just sit down and do it. Stop the other activities, the television, the reading, the shopping, the chatting on the telephone, and find the time to devote at least one hour a day to writing.
   What's one hour a day in the scheme of things? It comes and goes like this, poof! What do you have to show after an hour of television? A lazy yawn? If that same hour were spent on writing, then there would be a product in your hands, something that will be shared, hopefully, one day with others.
   So, go ahead, shut the door to the rest of the world for one hour (or more) and make yourself comfortable in front of the computer screen (or pen and paper). Let's take the first step to becoming an author.

How To Begin

Foundation

   Just like a construction company which builds a foundation to a home, you also need to prepare a foundation for your career in writing. Don't skip this step, it's important.
   Your "foundation" will consist of basic writing skills. Remember those English courses you took in high school and college? If you don't remember anything from those courses, then it wouldn't be a bad idea if you found your old English textbooks, dusted them off a bit, and looked through their pages to refresh your memory.
   If you haven't taken any courses in creative writing, you might consider signing up for one. Check with your local community college. They often offer weekend and evening classes, and sometimes even online classes. If you're on a budget, then visit the public library and sign out books relevant to writing.
   In addition, it would be very useful to join a writing group (online or in your local area) that critiques your work and gives you the opportunity to critique also. The group provides wonderful support and an avenue to sharpen your skills as you gain experience in writing, as well as exposure to other people's writing. For example, Writing.com is a good example of an online resource that provides many opportunities to share your writing, and get your work rated and reviewed. If you want to join a critique or review group, it offers that also.
   The second step to becoming an author, is to have the right tools.

Tools Needed

   Besides a comfortable chair, plenty of lighting, and a quiet room, you will need a computer with a word processing program (e.g., Microsoft Word), a printer, and plenty of paper.
   Why a computer? First of all, publishers typically will request a copy of your files sent to them on a floppy disk. More importantly, working with a word processing program will aid you in many ways towards becoming a published author. It will provide the opportunity to save your work as a Word file, without having to use up tons of paper (as with a typewriter).   
   This greatly aids you in keeping your work organized. It also gives you the flexibility to edit and re-edit large sections of your work quickly by allowing you to utilize the copy and paste functions.
   Other advantages of using a computer word processing program is that it provides spell check capabilities, and also helps you count the number of words per page. In addition, when you want to spice up your vocabulary (For example, if you like to use the word "walk" often, and are getting tired of that word), place your cursor on the word "walk", hit shift F7. It will give you a list of synonyms you can choose from - like stroll, amble, etc.).
   The time saved by using a computer is very valuable. It gives you more time available to write! Of course, if you don't have the above materials, don't let that stop you from writing that book! Using a pen and paper is perfectly fine. Books were written with these two basic tools for centuries.
   Let's assume you are using a computer and a Word processing software. First of all, before you begin writing, form a subdirectory that you can add all your chapters to. Maybe you know the title of your book already. Fine, then form a subdirectory using the name of the title. After you finish writing that first chapter (oh joy!), just save it as Chapter 1 under the subdirectory. If you are writing a book of poetry, then you might want to save each poem as a separate file.
   When I write my chapters for my novel, I format them in double space mode, with a Times New Roman 11 font. All the margins are at least one inch. This way it will be ready for manuscript submission.
   Try not to add your page numbers until the very last revision. Page numbers constantly change when you're revising, so wait until the end.
   Finally, another reason for having a computer is for Internet access. As a writer, you will have opportunities to submit your fiction online, such as http://www.Writing.com, or even your articles online for e-zines, such as http://www.articlecity.com. Any chance you can get to write online, do it. As long as it doesn't take too much time away from your book. It's also a free way of promoting yourself before the book is even published.
   So you need to balance your time in writing that book, honing your writing skills, submitting your work along the way for others to critique, and promoting yourself. Can you do it? Of course you can!
   The third step to becoming an author is:

What to Write

   If you are planning to write a novel, it would help to know what general category your book is going to be in. Will it be in the romance, mystery, or science fiction category? If you don't know, take some time and think about it. Read some books in those genres. Which books seem to attract you the most? It's highly likely that you'll be writing in the category that you like to read. My preference is romance because I read those types of books the most. Once you decide the category, then you are closer to writing that novel!
   For poetry, you might start by writing a poem and submitting it to a poetry journal, or a poetry contest.   Gain exposure for your poetry. Join a critique group so you can sharpen your poetry skills. A chapbook usually consists of about 25-35 poems. For a poetry book, you'll need at least 60 pages of poetry, if not more.

Types of Novelists

   I have found over time, that there are two types of novelists. The first type is the writer who prefers drawing up a proposal or plan of what they will write about. The second type prefers to write whatever comes into their mind at that moment.
You decide which writer you will be.

Type 1 Novelist

   They begin by describing the characters, their names, personalities, and sometimes their motives. Then they decide when and where the setting will take place. When will it take place? If it takes place before the 1900's, then it will be considered historical. Also, will the setting be in the country, in a city (which city?), in a house (whose house), on a cruise ship? That needs to be defined also.
   Once those decisions are made, they write brief sketches of each chapter. It could be a page or two long. Once all this is done, then the real writing begins. If this method works for you, then feel free to use it. It may take some time, but you will become more confident about what you'll write once you go through this initial process.

Type 2 Novelist

   What if you're the type of person who doesn't want to spend all that time writing proposals and character sketches? What if you're like me, who prefers to just write whatever comes into your head? Then do it! Sit down and start writing. Write anything.
   As the story develops, something wonderful begins brewing in your mind. Something called creativity. I've caught myself hours after I finished writing a chapter, and I'll be preparing dinner, or walking somewhere, and a scene from my novel will begin to unfold. It's called creative problem solving. My mind is working to solve the problem that the writing presents it, even though I'm not actively writing. When I get those urges, I immediately stop what I'm doing and jot down my thoughts. It's helped me many times, particularly when everything clicks together.

How Long Will It Take?

   It took me almost two years to write and find a publisher for my first novel, Lipsi's Daughter. For other people, it may take longer or shorter, depending on the amount of time they allow for writing and how many pages they are writing. I know of authors that took six, seven, up to twelve years to write their first book. I also know of a famous author who writes two novels a year!
   So unless you begin writing that first page of your book, you'll never know how long it'll take you to write it. Go ahead, make that first step, and good luck!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Here is the youtube of the St. Petersburg College event:
"Florida's Energy Future: What's at stake?"

I got a chance to ask a question. I'm the second person asking the question. You'll see me around 20 minutes before the end of the video. Good information on nuclear power. Please watch and pass on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSbh6b8rrCI

Sunday, January 08, 2012

TV Interview

I spoke with Angelos Aggelatos from the Greek TV station in Tarpon Springs, FL. and he will be doing an interview with me next month regarding my books. I will keep you posted on the news!