Moose Tracks on the Road To Heaven

Signing and Book Talk Event!

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Please see the following press release and come on out if you’re in driving distance!

Writers Circle to host M. Reed McCall

GLOVERSVILLE – Novelist M. Reed McCall will be the visiting author at The Writers Circle’s Author Luncheon on Friday, July 17 at 11 a.m. at the Gloversville Senior Center. 

McCall is the author of the recently published “Moose Tracks on the Road to Heaven,” a humorous, quirky, and poignant novel about family, friendship, love, loss, and coming to terms with what it means to keep living when someone you love dies.

The author will discuss her work from 11 a.m. to noon, when a light lunch will be served. Copies of her book will be available for signing. The public is invited. $5 payable at door. For further information, call Ellen DiScioscia at the center, 725-0923.

FINAL COVER MOOSE TRACKSAs Mary Reed McCall, she published seven historical romance novels with HarperCollins Publishers. “Moose Tracks on the Road to Heaven” is her first work of mainstream contemporary fiction. Born in Rome, NY, Mary makes her permanent home in Upstate New York with her husband and children. When she is not writing or involved with family activities, she teaches high school and college-level English.

 

An Unexpected Sale

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PSA:

So, the e-book versions of Moose Tracks on the Road to Heaven was set at a special sale price of $2.99 for the last three weeks of May, in honor of its appearance at Book Expo America 2015 in NYC.

It’s back up to its usual $4.49 price now – BUT, for reasons unknown, amazon is once again listing it for $2.99 for kindle (and showing that it’s a sale from its usual “Digital List Price” of $4.49)!

So if you want to catch the deal for kindle (whether you have a kindle itself, an app on your phone, or on your desktop), go now. I have no idea how long it will last. 🙂 Click on the cover to be taken to the amazon page and its sale price.

MooseTracks_Cover

A Few New Posters – Please Vote!

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So – here are a few posters that have been made for Moose Tracks on the Road to Heaven. I’m asking that you vote in the comments for which you like best; please explain why. I’ll be having more posters done, and I want to incorporate your suggestions and ideas!

That said, if you’ve read Moose Tracks and want to suggest a quote to be made into a poster, please do so as well in the comments! I’d love to hear your thoughts. The quote chosen has to be fairly short, obviously, but it can be several sentences long. 🙂

Okay, here are the latest three posters:

CFoHWhKUgAE-G8b    1.

Forest poster 1    2.

CGJEesxWkAA0pIM3.

 That’s it for now – tell me what you think, please! 🙂

BEA 2015 – and TWO Chances To Win a Free Autographed Book!

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MooseTracks_CoverIs anyone here attending BEA (Book Expo of America 2015) at the Jacob Javits Center in NYC?

CF5bKZFUEAAbuN9Moose Tracks on the Road to Heaven is making an appearance! The book will be displayed digitally at the New Title Showcase…BEA 15

CF5Y-74UUAAD5KvAnd in trade-size paperback at the Foreword Reviews Indie Press Collective (Booth 453)BEA 15 fOREWORD rEVIEWS

So, here’s your TWO chances to win a book!

Chance 1: If you’re attending BEA 15 and take a photo of Moose Tracks on the Road to Heaven at EITHER the New Title Showcase (where it is part of the digital display) OR Foreword Reviews Booth (where it is in trade-sized paperback) and then post it here in the comments, or to my Twitter account @MaryReedMcCall, you’ll be entered to win. If you take a picture of BOTH and post them here or at my Twitter…well then you’ve automatically won an autographed book. I’ll message you privately to get your mailing info. 🙂

Chance 2: Even if you’re not attending BEA 15, you can re-blog this post and by doing so you will be entered to win an autographed book.

CONTEST ENDS Friday May 29th, with the end of BEA 2015, and winners will be announced here, sometime next week!

Foreword Review!

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Moose Tracks on the Road to Heaven

Reviewed by Maya Fleischmann
April 29, 2015

A woman discovers her rich relationships in this exquisite exploration into themes of time and connections, love and loss.

Moose Tracks on the Road to Heaven tells the story of protagonist Elena Elizabeth Wright Maguire, who reexamines her life and relationships after she is involved in a minor car accident.

M. Reed McCall skillfully transitions between different periods with segues that invite further exploration into memories triggered by a comment made in the present. For example, when Pa says he can hardly wait to put Christmas decorations around the house, the narrative flashes back thirty-two years to the Christmas Eve when Elena was almost seven years old. This movement in the narrative not only serves to keep the story flowing but also creates an intriguing and natural flow in the stream of connections that Elena makes as she unravels the journey she has made in her life.

McCall captures the unique voices of different personalities and their relationships with one another with evocative and heartfelt precision. This creates a vivid image, not only about Elena, but also about the people around her and the place she lives. This is clear in Pa’s letters to Elena, which offer wisdom, and in radio disc jockey Willard T. Bogg’s announcements on WGRR FM 103.9 about the events in Moose Junction. Elena’s transformation to a mature woman is contrasted with her past idealistic and youthful eighteen-year-old voice in a diary entry about her love, Jesse: “I can’t wait to give Jesse the card and giant Hershey’s chocolate bar I bought for him. I’m SO in love!!!”

While the narrative itself is deeply moving, the black-and-white photographs scattered throughout further contribute to the story’s heartrending quality by lending a unique sense of reality to the story and giving it the feel of a personal history unfolding, adding to the book’s allure and effectiveness.

Moose Tracks on the Road to Heaven forges a path straight to the heart.

**For a limited time, Moose Tracks on the Road to Heaven is still on sale for $2.99 for Kindle and Nook!

Moose Tracks – a BIG Sale

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MooseTracks_CoverPSA: For the merry month of May, Moose Tracks on the Road to Heaven is going to be priced at 40% off its original price for Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook. That means you can get it from either of those eBook sources for only $2.99 (which is a whopping 79% off its print price)!

Here are the links for Amazon or Nook

If you like a good book deal as much as I do, please feel free to share this info via re-blogging or anywhere else that strikes your fancy. 🙂

Happy shopping…and reading!

How Do You Act When…?

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two things define youThis really resonates with me. I’ve run into people who exemplify this in a good way and other who do not.

Sadly, in the writing business, it seems to lean toward the negative. I saw it occasionally when I was traditionally published, but I realize now that my Big Five publisher served as a kind of buffer; once I took a step out on my own into self-publishing (partly by necessity, partly by choice), that little cushion of professional courtesy vanished.

Lately I have run into some who are in the camp of “having everything” figuratively (whether fellow authors, publishers, reviewers, book sellers, and larger review sites etc) who often do not handle themselves well in this regard. I’ve noticed it in the past few months when I’ve reached out with a request or a submission of my newest book for possible review.

I’m not talking about the need for time-intensive interaction, but rather just simple gestures such as a 30 second email acknowledging a query or receipt of the $14 autographed book with professional cover letter I mailed to those with open submission policies (I did my research!) – even if the answer is a “no thank you”.  A polite reply declining what I’ve queried about is far preferable than resounding silence that drags on, leaving me wondering what, if anything, will happen.

I continue to remain very patient in my relative obscurity…however, I hope I will handle myself better when (not if…when) I attain a level of greater notoriety.

Fortunately, I have encountered several authors, bloggers, and reviewers who have been courteous and gracious, whether or not they felt willing or able to meet any request I made. Those few will serve as my own role models in the future.

Professional courtesy seems to be going out of style. Life is indeed busy and packed full for most of us, but to me, good manners, even in a professional sense, are the lubrication that makes the grinding gears of life grind us down far less.

What do you think about this? Does anyone here have similar experiences (or a different take on the matter)?