Featured writers at 'An Afternoon with Oklahoma Authors' offer tips on writing

           Write from the heart. Don't be dismayed by rejections. Discover your voice.
           These are tips offered by William Bernhardt, Ron J. Jackson Jr. and Cheri Fuller, the featured authors during "An Afternoon with Oklahoma Authors" from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday at Best of Books. They have written at least 75 books, as well as many other shorter stories.
             You will have a chance to talk to the featured authors as well as the other six authors who will be featured during the quarterly event. They also will be signing their books, which will be offered for sale at the event.
            All three have taught writing in their career, with William writing books on the subject and Cheri co-founding a special conference for beginning writers.
             Here are their tips that are written in their own words by each of the authors:
            

William Bernhardt
1) Write every day.
2) Write for the audience, not for yourself.
3) Write from the heart.

Cheri Fuller
     When you get rejections, don’t be dismayed. And don’t take rejection personally. Allow yourself a few hours of disappointment. Then get back to the computer and do what you need to do to revise your story or book and get it back there. In order to succeed, you’ve got to see REJECTION as REDIRECTION, which means you just haven’t gotten the right article or book to the right editor at the right time! Persevere, keep learning your craft, and you will!
     When I was writing my first books, I learned some of my best knowledge and made my best connections at writer’s conferences. Nothing can replace that face-to-face contact and learning from real, working writers, editors and agents!
    So with two other writers, I founded an OKC Writer’s Conference, Write Well Sell Well, and we’re having our 3rd annual this year at the Crossings Community Center, helping new writers get equipped to get their voice out there, whether they are writing fiction, nonfiction, memoir, or screenplays.
     I always share with writers that perseverance and determination is so important if you want to be a working writer! I love what an author said about this, “Never quit. I don’t care if you’re living in Central Park in your little sister’s Hello Kitty pup tent with her three cats. Never quit. Get yourself some emotional security and if publishers tell you that your manuscript is awful, take notes!”

Ron J. Jackson Jr. 
    Discover your own voice as a storyteller by reading, reading, reading, and writing, writing, writing. Write about something you are passionate about. Truth is in the heart. Believe in yourself. The route to the summit will be littered with rejections.

New activity week, Storytime added to Best of Books' summer of fun for children and their love of reading!

          
      

Best of Books is offering special summertime activities for children ages 4 and up during July.

     And, BOB is adding a special Storytime during the week.

     All are part of Best of Books' continuing outreach to children that will encourage their love of reading, especially during the summer when they are out of school. The BOBs, a Teen Book Club, was also added recently for those 12 and up, and will meet five times during the summer at 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays.

     As for the younger children, BOB continues to offer Storytime at 11 a.m. Saturdays with readings and activity conducted by our Master Storytellers or a special guest, usually a children's author. During the summer, BOB is adding a Storytime at 2 p.m. every Wednesday until school begins again in August.

      Then from July 20-24, Best of Books will offer a special activity from 2 to 3 p.m. every day.

    

  The activities include the popular Dustin who will return with his favorite animals from Kickingbird Pets. Other activities will include science experiments, miniature gardens, tie-dye fun, and a special Yankee Picnic with Master Storyteller Victoria Nelson.

       Here is the schedule for the week from 2 to 3 p.m. July 20-24:

   

      -- Monday, July 20: Animal Fun with Dustin from Kickingbird Pets

      -- Tuesday, July 21: Science experiments with Mad Scientist Elena

      -- Wednesday, July 22: Miniature Gardens with Monica Arndt

      -- Thursday, July 23: Easy Tie-Dye Fun with Shelbee (Please bring small white canvas item, shoes are great and only $5 at Walmart!)

      -- Friday, July 24: Yankee Picnic with Victoria Nelson

       Sweet treats will be offered every day. 

    (And, BOB may offer door prizes like was offered during our fun Spring Break Week!)

 

 

LaDonna Kramer Meinders joins Saturday's 'An Afternoon with Oklahoma Authors' at Best of Books!

 

      LaDonna Kramer Meinders has joined the line-up for Best of Books' "An Afternoon with Oklahoma Authors" on Saturday.
       She will read from from her book "What Would You Do If A Kangaroo ..."  at our 11 a.m. Storytime and then will be available to sign her book from noon to 2 p.m. with the other eight authors who are attending. "What Would You Do If A Kangaroo ..." is a collection of her children's poems and published by the Oklahoma Heritage Association.
       LaDonna has published three other books: "Leaves in the Wind" about growing up in rural Oklahoma; "Angel Hugs," a book of devotional readings; and "Angel Hugs for Cancer Patients," a book of encouraging meditations for persons suffering from cancer.
        She grew up on a farm overlooking the Cimarron River in Kingfisher County, and attended school in the small town of Loyal, formerly named Kiel by the German immigrants who lived there.
      She attended Oklahoma City University where she studied piano with Dr. Clarence Burg, wrote for the campus newspaper, and was named Homecoming Queen for the OCU Chiefs basketball team. During college, she also earned the titles of Oklahoma Maid of Cotton and Miss Oklahoma.
      She returned to Kingfisher with her husband William J. Gooden and raised her four children: Mark, Lori, John and Joe. She was the organist at the First Christian Church for more than 20 years. In 1976, she and piano duo partner Ellen Jayne Wheeler performed at the Kennedy Center during America's Bicentennial Celebration.
      In the early '80s, she return to OCU as alumni director. She met and then married Herman Meinders in 1986.
       On Saturday, she will join William Bernhardt, Cheri Fuller, Ron J. Jackson Jr. and five other authors who will be signing their books from noon to 2 p.m. Go to bestofbooksok.com for the complete details.
       

Best of Books announces the release of 62 titles TODAY -- thanks to Andrea!

      
           Best of Books is releasing 62 new titles today.
           BOB employee Andrea Pflughoft has created the list so you can see what's new and available for you. Call us or stop by if you want any of the books.
            Now, thanks to Andrea, here they are:

Audio:
-- Monogram Murders by Christy

Biography:
-- Waiting to be Heard by Knox
-- Quiet Man by Sununu
-- John Quincy Adams/American visionary by Kaplan
-- In My Skin by Greiner

Business:
-- Factory Man by Macy

Children's activity:
-- Paper Ninja by Stark

Children's biography:
-- Who was Woodrow Wilson by Frith
-- Hidden girl by Hall
-- Women who broke rules: Dolly Madison by Krull
-- Women who broke rules: Judy Blume by Krull
-- Women who broke rules: Sonia Sotomayor by Krull
-- Women who broke rules: Sacajawea by Krull
-- Hitler's last days by Bill O'Reilly

Children's baby preschool:
-- Dada by Jimmy Fallon

Children's easy reader:
-- Splish Splash Zoon Borns by Bleiman

Children's juvenile chapter:
-- Hunters of Chaos by Velazquez
-- Land of Stories #3 Grimm Warning by Cofer
-- Star Wars Rebels Battle to the End by Kogge

Children's picture hardback:
-- Ninja Bunny by Olson
-- Duncan the Story Dragon by Driscoll
-- Float by Miyares
-- Eeny Meany Miney Mo and Flo by Molk
-- Putting the Monkeys to Bed by Choldenk

Children series:
-- George Brown Class Clown Royal Pain by krulik

Children's science:
-- Hurricane Watch by Stewart

Children's young adult:
-- Alive by Baker
-- Road Rash by Parsons
-- Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Oaks
-- Last Year's Mistake by ciocca
-- Education of Ivy Blake by airgood

Entertainment:
-- The coloring book by Colin Quinn

Fiction general hardback:
-- Breaking Point by Bass
-- Language Arts by Kallose
-- All the Single Ladies by Frank
-- Sunken Cathedral by Walbert
-- Second Life by Watson
-- Invasion of the Tearling by Johansen
-- Blueprints by Delinsky
-- Truth According to Us by Barrows
-- I saw a man by Shears

Fiction general paperback:
-- Only a Promise by Balogh
-- Juliet's Nurse by Leveen
-- Accidents of Marriage by Meyers
-- To dwell in darkness by Crombie
-- Monogram Murders by Agatha Christie
-- Saving Grace by Green
-- Nantucket sisters by Thayer
-- Girl is a half formed thing by McBride
-- Magicians Land by Grossman

Science fiction/fantasy:
-- Dead Ice by Hamilton
-- World War Moo by Logan
-- Darkling Child Defenders of Shana by Brooks

Inspiration:
-- Preaching by Keller
-- We Make the Road by Walking by McLaren
Nature/pet:
-- The Owl Who Liked Sitting on Caesar by Windrow

Poetry:
-- When you are old by Yeats

Psychology:
-- Do Less Get More by Wasmund
-- I know how she does it by Vanderka

Science:
-- Strange Case of the Rickety Kossack by Patterson
-- A Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons by Kean

Travel:
-- Oregon by Fodors

Coincidence causes fiddling great Byron Berline (who plans to attend OK concert) to record with We Five

              

 Byron Berline, who will be among those attending "The Burgans & Chan Songs & Stories Concert" on June 18, has memories of once playing with We Five when he wasn't even planning to do it.

       Berline, one of the world's premiere fiddle players, paused for a few moments to talk with Best of Books while running his Fiddle Shop and Music Hall in downtown Guthrie.

       While a potential customer tested fiddles in the background, Berline remembered what happened on April 23, 1970. It is also mentioned in his book "Byron Berline: A Fiddler's Diary."

        The date was five years after We Five had recorded its huge hit "You Were on My Mind."

 Jerry Burgan is co-founder of We Five and will be in concert with We Five alums lead singer Debbie Burgan, Jerry's wife, and bassist Tholow Chan at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 18, at the UCO Jazz Lab.

         Berline remembers accompanying banjo player Doug Dillard to a recording studio where We Five was recording a new album "Catch the Wind." Dillard played for one song "Never Going Back." However, when it came time for the group to record "Milk Cow Blues," Dillard suggested Berline should play the fiddle for the song. Berline went into the studio to play and thought he was just playing for the producer and not recording.

          According to the book, Berline felt comfortable with the song and said, "I like the song and I'm ready to record." The producer replied, "No, we were rolling and that's it."

          "They had already recorded the fiddle track," Berline wrote in the book. "One take and they were happy with it. Sometimes session work came in the most unusual ways."

          Berline thanked Jerry Burgan for "jogging my memory" for the book. He will be able to see Burgan again in Edmond on June 18.

           (You can buy tickets by clicking on Best of Books' website or calling 340-9202. THOSE BUYING TICKETS ONLINE CAN USE THEIR EMAIL CONFIRMATION TO GAIN ENTRANCE TO THE CONCERT.)

 

The BOBs starting Teen Book Club at BOB; YA authors to speak to group first two weeks

             Just call them The BOBs.
             That's the name Best of Books' new Teen Book Club has decided to call itself this summer.
             The club will be hearing from YA authors and discussing YA books during programs at 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays during five weeks this summer.
              They also will be doing a special service project in collecting good used and new children's books to give away to those who need them. A box will be placed at BOB's entrance.
              Giveaways are also planned during the events on June 9, June 16, July 7, July 21 and Aug. 4.
              Teens 12 and older are invited to attend the events.
              Here are the plans thus far:
              -- 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 9: Heard from Author Jenny Martin of Dallas about her book  Tracked. Four attendees received door prizes, too.
              -- 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 16: Author Debra Docker will be discussing her book Deadly Design.
              -- 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 7: Co-leader Daxon Harmon will lead the discussion of Sylo.
              -- 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 21: Andrea Pflughoft will lead a discussion of Incredible Journey.
              -- 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4: Co-leader Charlie Warren will lead the discussion on Stargirl.
              All book club members receive 15 percent discounts on their books, too!
              For more information about The BOBs, call BOB at 340-9202 or email us at bestofbooks@sbcglobal.net.
              

            

You are invited: BOB's third 'An Afternoon with Oklahoma Authors" planned for Saturday, June 13

       

 William Bernhardt and Cheri Fuller have written more than 70 books. Ron Jackson Jr. is considered an expert on the Alamo.

       The three Oklahoma authors will be among at least eight featured during Best of Books' third quarterly “An Afternoon with Oklahoma Authors” from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 13. You are invited to the signing as well as have the opportunity to talk to the authors individually.

       Two-time Oklahoma Book Award winner Bernhardt has written more than 30 books and most recently published “The Black Sentry.” Berhardt is the only person to have won the Southern Writers Gold Medal Award, the Royden B. Davis Distinguished Author Award and the H. Louise Cobb Distinguished Author Award.

Fuller has written more than 40 books. She has been featured as a keynote of parenting conferences and has been a frequent guest on "Focus on the Family," "FamilyLife Today," and other national radio and TV programs. Her most recent books are “What a Girl Needs from Her Mom” and “What a Son Needs from His Mom.”

Jackson's third book “Joe, the Slave Who Became an Alamo Legend,” published by the University of Oklahoma Press, was co-authored by Lee Spencer White, an independent researcher, preservationist, and consultant for the History Channel, Dearg Films, and the BBC. Its foreword was written by singer-songwriter Phil Collins. Jackson is a former award-winning staff writer for The Oklahoman.

Other featured authors at the event will include Duane Cummings, “The Sensational Salesman/A Second Chance Story: Providing a Simple Path to Improving Your Relationships, Career, and Life;” Dr. Brad Robison and Margaret Hoge, “If the Fence Could Talk”; Arlie Isley,  “A Lens on America: Arlie’s Journey Across 50 States”; and Meredith Shafer, “My Pink Champagne Life.”

Joe Hight, president of Best of Books, said the previous two events were successful and shows how much Oklahoma’s literary talent is appreciated in this state.

“The store was packed for our last event in early March, even though a snowstorm postponed it one week. I was amazed,” Hight said. “We are thrilled to have the level of talent for this third one. Each author brings a different type of work and perspective to the event.”

Hight said more authors may be attend the event.

For more information, call Best of Books at 340-9202 or go to www.bestofbooksok.com.