Monday, December 26, 2011

Emails from the Edge #3 at AmazonUK!

Emails from the Edge: When Friendship Spans the Distance is #3 in Relationships and #10 in Memoirs at the AmazonUK Kindle Store.

After Christmas Sale - 12/26-29/11 - FREE DOWNLOAD
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Back Cover Blurb:
Saipan is a tropical island with clear blue waters, sandy beaches, tropical flowers, swaying palm trees, gentle breezes and warm and friendly Micronesian South Pacific natives - plus the added bonus of being a U.S. territory with American goods in the stores and with American money as the local currency. What more could a girl ask for?

All of the Japanese people on the tour were oooohing and ahhhhing over all the duty free shops and souvenirs. I was in the local version of Wal-Mart, oooohing and ahhhhing over shampoo and conditioner, body lotion, Pepto Bismol, Tylenol and Motrin - and generally running wild through the aisles like a crazy woman!

I got up before dawn each day and sat out on my balcony by myself while my husband slept. As I watched the sun come up, peace flooded my soul. That old church song, "Precious
Memories", kept playing itself in my mind like Daddy used to sing it in church. I sat out there and watched the colors tint the clouds and the ocean waters while the refrain of "Precious memories, unseen angels, how they ever flood my soul, in the stillness of the midnight, precious memories scenes unfold" played over and over in my head.

I was reborn. I found myself again. I knew that I was on the edge but I had not realized how close I had come to losing myself till that moment.

Kristie Leigh Maguire

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

FREE Kindle Title - One Day Only Sale!

FOR ONE DAY ONLY
(midnight to midnight - 12/14/11)
Emails from the Edge: A Friendship that Spans the Distance
by Kristie Leigh Maguire
FREE KINDLE DOWNLOAD




*This book is a must read for women of all ages. It helps you to remember the true value of friendship and come to the realization that distance is nothing but space between friends.
Reviewed by (WOW) Women on Writing

* Email from the Edge
is the actual correspondence between an expatriate wife and a Houston housewife who laughed and cried as they shared each other's life on-line almost every day for seven months. You will laugh and cry also as you read this story of deep friendship and understanding. I highly recommend Emails from the Edge to anyone who has at any time dreaded grocery shopping or spending time with family, friends, and neighbors.
Reviewed by Joan Moore Lewis, Southern Fiction Author, Georgia USA

*If you want to know what friendship is all about, this is a truly a delightful read. Both the good and the bad are brought out in this non-fiction story of true friendship. These two women are tough. They are true survivors. A must read book that will leave you laughing and crying. Ms. Maguire's book is definitely a wake-up call to the many spouses of those who move to foreign countries. Military personnel and travel agents should recommend this book to all parties who intend to move their families to a foreign country.
Reviewed by award-winning author, Bobby Ruble, author of "Have No Mercy" and co-author with wife, Kam, of "Black Rosebud: Have No Mercy II."

Product Description

Email from the Edge defies today's world of political correctness where every word is carefully censored so as not to offend anyone. Kristie Leigh Maguire is open, honest, and sometimes over-the-top funny in her email correspondence with her friend back in the States with whom she shares her thoughts and feelings while living overseas as an expatriate wife during the decade of the 90s. Emails from the Edge, gives the reader the feeling of being a voyeur, pulling back the curtain of friendship, and finding out they are not just talking about milk and cookies.

USA Today Bestselling Author Rebecca Forster had this to say, "A bold, honest look at how two cultures collide and lessons learned. Some may think KLM politically incorrect; I say she is courageous to share her honest feelings and inner thoughts. It is really gutsy and fascinating."

Back Cover Blurb:
Saipan is a tropical island with clear blue waters, sandy beaches, tropical flowers, swaying palm trees, gentle breezes and warm and friendly Micronesian South Pacific natives - plus the added bonus of being a U.S. territory with American goods in the stores and with American money as the local currency. What more could a girl ask for?

All of the Japanese people on the tour were oooohing and ahhhhing over all the duty free shops and souvenirs. I was in the local version of Wal-Mart, oooohing and ahhhhing over shampoo and conditioner, body lotion, Pepto Bismol, Tylenol and Motrin - and generally running wild through the aisles like a crazy woman!

I got up before dawn each day and sat out on my balcony by myself while my husband slept. As I watched the sun come up, peace flooded my soul. That old church song, "Precious
Memories", kept playing itself in my mind like Daddy used to sing it in church. I sat out there and watched the colors tint the clouds and the ocean waters while the refrain of "Precious memories, unseen angels, how they ever flood my soul, in the stillness of the midnight, precious memories scenes unfold" played over and over in my head.

I was reborn. I found myself again. I knew that I was on the edge but I had not realized how close I had come to losing myself till that moment.

Kristie Leigh Maguire

Amazon Review:
4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating & Brave, May 16, 2011
By
Rebecca Forster (Palos Verdes Estates, CA, US)
Amazon Verified Purchase
This review is from: Emails from the Edge: When Friendship Spans the Distance. (Kindle Edition)
When the author opens this book with a lighthearted look at an American compound in Saudi Arabia for the wives of American workers, I thought what a fun read. However, like any good author, Kristie Leigh MaGuire took no time and slapped me upside the head with a plot twist that kept me glued to the pages. No longer was she going on shopping trips, sipping tea and playing cards in relative luxury, her husband's next posting to Japan left her lonely, a little frightened, a lot frustrated and clinging to a lifeline provided by emails to a friend back home. What is truly unique about this book is that it is incredibly honest to the point of being courageous. MaGuire did not sugar coat her experiences, she did not choose more politically correct assessments of her host country to keep herself from criticism. Indeed, this is an incredible tale of when two cultures collide. I felt as if I was listening to the author's most private and unguarded moments as she is brought to tears by the simple act of trying to find the grocery, by perceived - and real - slights to her as a foreigner. I could feel her loneliness as well as her continuous hope that things would get better. This is a testament to human spirit - good and bad - and how we all react when thrown into a situation that leaves us no touchpoint of normalacy. Ms. Maguire's observations were harsh at times, but read between the lines and you will find a story that will make you wonder how you would handle yourself in the same situation. For my part, I live in an area where we often have Japanese families come to live for a year or two. Emails From The Edge has made me think twice about how welcoming I am to those who do not speak my language, cannot navigate my city and are lonely for their homes.



Amazon Review:
4.0 out of 5 stars A Fun Glimpse into Life Abroad, February 17, 2011
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Emails from the Edge: When Friendship Spans the Distance. (Kindle Edition)
This is a fun glimpse into a private conversation between two women, talking about Japan, Saudi Arabia, and the United States and touching on friendship and what it means to live abroad. It's quick, interesting read with an intimate feel, like finding an open email box when you're in a cybercafe somewhere abroad and snooping in on someone's interesting conversations. You know you shouldn't, but you keep reading, curious to find out where the conversation turns next.


Amazon Review:
5.0 out of 5 stars Legal Eavesdropping, December 1, 2010
By
Doobie Doobie (Alabama)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Emails from the Edge: When Friendship Spans the Distance. (Kindle Edition)
Have you even wanted to eavesdrop on a conversation between friends just to see what they are thinking?
Well, Kristie Leigh Maguire gives you that opportunity.

This is the real life conversations that occurred between friends when one of them was in Japan. It carries you through all the drama, hardships and laughter that the author went through in trying to adjust to life as an American in a foreign country.

If you ever thought it would be fun to "hack" into someone's email to see what makes them tick, this is your chance.
You will laugh, cry and laugh again at the trials and tribulations that an American in Japan would go through.

I recommend that you join the author and her friend in their lives.....well, just eavesdrop on them.


Amazon Review:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Profound And Compelling Story of Survival In a Foreign Country and The Dynamitics of True Frienship.., March 23, 2011
By
Sunny (Columbia, SC) -
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Emails from the Edge: When Friendship Spans the Distance. (Kindle Edition)
This was a very compelling story of how a woman survives having to live in a foreign country with all the difficulties of not being able to communicate with the local people and not understanding the new culture or being able to fit in. Especially, since this was a civil job in another county without the benefits of living on a military base and without the company of other Americans. It is a total foreign world where you feel closed in because you are unable to communicate with anyone. Can you imagine having to shop and not be able to read the labels on the food? Or not being able to know what kind of meat you are buying?

It was a very thought provoking story of what it means to experience real friendship between two people who met and becames friends while their husbands worked in Saudi Arabia. I enjoyed the personal relationship between Marge and Sandy. After leaving Saudia Arabia, Sandy went back to her home town in Texas and Marge having gone to Japan with her husband as a contractor. Marge is feeling so isolated and alone. Sandy becomes the person, Marge has to confide in and talk to and it reflects such an intimate relationship.

It was very profound just how lonely you could be in Marge's situation. She was so fortunte to have found such a loyal friend in Sandy. It goes beyond a superficial relationships. These two became like family when they met in Saudi Arabia and their friendship continued to thrive after they had parted. The ironic part is that if Marge and Sandy had met in the United States they probaly would not have been firends due to such differences in personalities and backgrounds. But, it shows how we can reach out beyond our own walls when in need of a friend. And what a wonderful and unique bond these two women found in each other.

The conversations by email, phone and letters were those of two real people who shared their personal lives with all of the joys and sadness. It was the only way Marge had to remain connected to anyone while living in Japan. I found it very interesting at how these two people developed such a excellent bond and relationship. It is rare that we ever meet and are able to an make such a deep committed friendhip. It is a excellent insight of the importance and values of real frienship. I also enjoyed a lot of humor in this story.

A new insight on an age old problem of loneliness and friendhips. A voice from the real world. The bonds that we build can be of the moment or a lifetime. However, it proves that we all need someone and especially a friendship that binds as these two did. A terrific and fast paced book of a real life story. A unique Story of frienshsip and courage. I recommend this heartfelt and well written story by Kristie Leigh Maguire.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Dean Wesley Smith on The New World of Publishing - Agents?

Why Bad Agent Information Gets Taught

For decades, the business of publishing fiction didn’t seem to change much. In fact, for a major industry, it stayed stuck solidly in practices decade after decade, with only slow and often minor-seeming shifts. But now something changes daily in this business.
The point of this blog is to try to explain why some myths exist and why some bad information gets taught still by very smart people. And I hope the best way to show this is to just show the changes in agents over the years.
So let me take on once again the biggest and most powerful myth of all: Agents. And how we writers got into this mess.
Follow along with the changes in writers and agents from 1940 until today.

1940

In the era around 1940, literary fiction agents existed, but only in a minor way. Fiction writers still dealt directly with editors, often going to their offices. Some agents worked with writers for Hollywood and some agents worked with a few writers to deliver manuscripts to New York editors for writers who lived outside of New York. But agents did very little else. And they took 10% when they did manage to place a story for a writer.
95% or more of all writers sold their own manuscripts directly to editors.
Read the rest of the story.
Every aspiring writer needs to read this ... and some experienced writers as well!