A deal on a non-railroad book
#1
OK, this may be a bit self-promoting, but by golly, I’m proud of the fact that my wife has her book published and I want to tell you about it. About 15 years ago, she started on a book about her early life, growing up in a large, very poor family with an alcoholic father in upstate New York. The book is called, “Mama’s Diamonds”. She finished it and put it away, where it sat for 11 years until I was able to convince her that it was worthy of getting published and offering to help her take that last step. From Sept. through Nov. last year, we did the final edit together. Our oldest son (aka: “Hobbs” on the old Gauge) designed the cover while I put the book in its final form for printing. It was released for publication in Dec. Although there’s a steam engine on the cover, the book is not about trains. If you look, there is a single light in the baggage car, and that’s significant to the story.

You can preview the book at her publisher’s site: http://www.lulu.com/content/4942425 If you click on the “>” above the cover you can read several pages of two of the chapters, plus a poem she wrote that is also significant to the book. We are waiting to see if some of the booksellers like Amazon.com and Borders pick it up, we should know sometime in Feb. But in the meantime, the book is available from either the publisher or us. The list price of the book is $21.95, but I’m going to make a special offer to members of this forum that they should find hard to refuse. Send us a check in the amount of $18.00US and we will send you a personally autographed copy by the author. No sales tax and we pay the shipping to the continental US. Just PM me and I will send you our address and who to make the check or money order out to. We will only charge the difference in shipping to countries other than the US. I can let you know what that will be when I PM you back so you can decide if it’s worth it. Amazon will surely discount the book, but they’ll charge for shipping, and their books won’t be personally autographed either.

Oh, before anyone asks, Emcie Day is her pen name, or nom de plum, and is derived from the her first two initials, M and C. Look, you don’t argue with some crazy writer who wants anonymity. Just so you know, all the stories in the book are true, some are funny when you see what the kids go through to help make ends meet, then there are a few parts that will tug at your heartstrings. I love the book, but I also love the woman who wrote it, so I’m kind of biased. You’ll have to decide for yourself.
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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#2
That is absolutely wonderful! Congratulations to your wife! I think its great that she completed the book and is published. That's so impressive! Best wishes with sales!
I like the cover art too. Which town in Upsate NY was she from?

Ralph (formerly of Saugerties)
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#3
I'm not much of a reader anymore, but what I did read of it is very good and you should be very proud of her achievement and you can tell her I said so. The front cover looks fantastic and reminds me of why I enjoy the steam era so much. Cheers
Lynn

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Great White North
Ontario,Canada
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#4
Thank you both.

Ralph, my wife was from Little Falls, not too far from Utica. I was going to computer school in Ilion when I met her. It was very enjoyable for both of us when we went through the final edit. It's a pity, but I don't think she wants to write more books, but we'll see...
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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#5
After reading the preview online, I bought two. One for my wife and I to read and one for my mom. My wife almost immediately sat down and started reading it and could not put it down until she had completed the first chapter. Eek Tonight she finished the second chapter. I guess I'll get to read it when she's done. 357
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#6
TrainNut Wrote:After reading the preview online, I bought two. One for my wife and I to read and one for my mom. My wife almost immediately sat down and started reading it and could not put it down until she had completed the first chapter. Eek Tonight she finished the second chapter. I guess I'll get to read it when she's done. 357
Just got an email from another woman that said she just got the copy she bought and spent all day Saturday, clear up to almost 2AM Sunday reading it straight through... She said it brought back some memories for her. I'm just wondering how one gets in touch with Oprah. Misngth Uhh, maybe not such a good idea right now, you know, TV appearances, book signings, Hollywood parties and all, too much for us. Nope Nope
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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#7
ezdays Wrote:I'm just wondering how one gets in touch with Oprah. Misngth Uhh, maybe not such a good idea right now, you know, TV appearances, book signings, Hollywood parties and all, too much for us. Nope Nope

Money for trains....Some more money for trains......
Torrington, Ct.
NARA Member #87
I went to my Happy Place, but it was closed for renovations.
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#8
Hey, that's GREAT. Congratulations to BOTH of you.

Please, PM me your address so I can get me a copy. I'll take it to read on the plane trip to Jamaica next month (but knowing me, i'll have it read before then Icon_lol )
Tom Carter
Railroad Training Services
Railroad Trainers & Consultants
Stockton, CA
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#9
Don, PM me your address and let me know how to make out the check. I read the first few pages - very impressive!

Sure hope this thing takes off and flies!
Jess

President and Janitor of the Arenac & Southern RR
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#10
Don, save a copy for me and Audre. We'd love to read her story! PM me your address, and who to make the check payable to, please. Thanks, from two of your biggest fans!
I only know what I know, and I don't understand very much of it, either.
Member: AEA, American Legion, Lions Club International
Motto: "Essayons"
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#11
Don, thanks for sending the book, and many thanks to your wife for taking the time to write it.

It is very nicely done, and will certainly bring back a lot of memories for many of us - it sure did for me!
Jess

President and Janitor of the Arenac & Southern RR
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#12
w8jy Wrote:Don, thanks for sending the book, and many thanks to your wife for taking the time to write it.

It is very nicely done, and will certainly bring back a lot of memories for many of us - it sure did for me!
Thank you Jess, the way she describes some of those memories can either put a smile on your face, make your hair stand on end or bring a tear to your eyes, depending on what she was talking about. I'm pleased that you liked the book, I'll let her know.
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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#13
How about an update? How's the book selling? Is she rich and famous yet? Big Grin
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#14
Nope, I don't think we'll ever get rich from this, but we both get satisfaction regardless. One stumbling block has been to get wider distribution. The publisher was suppose to get it into barnesandnoble.com as well as other distribution services but for one reason, then another, had failed to do so. We just got that straightened out and about a week ago, it appeared on barnesandnoble, so I can only assume that it's in other distribution networks as well. You can find the book listed on Google Books, Amazon, Lulu and Barnes and Noble now so I'm hoping that this will make a difference. One thing that caused the delay was that we went through the book one more time and found a few typos and the likes, so we uploaded a revision that reset the clock.

Anyway, now that you've brought it up, the offer I made here in the beginning of the year still stands. We will ship a personally autographed copy to anyone here as stated in the first post of this thread.
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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