Guest Posts & Happy Stuff

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All this plane flying has given me some time to write a few guest posts on other blogs (stay tuned for another one on Smitten By Britain‘s blog as well).

First up, I got to thinking more and more about why British actors are on our airwaves, and are seemingly better actors than us, the American counterparts.

This is what I came up with on Michelle‘s blog, The American Resident: Are British Actors Better than American Actors?

Then, a year ago, Toni Hargis, a British expat who now lives in Chicago and who met up with us in London during out expat bloggers convention (I’m exaggerating, there were about 6 of us), asked me to write about my repatriation experience.

Finally I got around to writing it: Repatriation: An American’s Story.

She also finished my novel, and wrote a smashing review! (You can read all my current reviews here – be sure to leave one if you haven’t already.)

“Don’t be fooled into thinking this is just another “girls-gone-wild” or chic-lit debut novel. Not only is “Three Questions” the delightful love story of American Adele and an Englishman named Guy- it asks surprisingly searching questions of both the characters and the reader.
From the simple – “What is your favorite meal?” to the scary “How would you describe your mom?”, Lopez delves deep into her characters’ hearts and souls. You’ll be rooting for the lovers throughout the book, and you won’t be disappointed with the denouement.”

8 days left before my Kickstarter ends – help me turn my novel into a screenplay through your contributions, and some great rewards (if you haven’t already). Email everyone you know, tweet out to the world, and post on Facebook! We can do this together!

 

Dreamers vs Realists

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I was watching a “Modern Family” episode the other day that perfectly described my relationship with Jock. Bear with me for a moment if you’ve seen it.
One half of the family (we’ll call them the “dreamers”) believed themselves completely able to lodge a pumpkin across the length of a football field. The other half (the “realists”) guffawed at the sheer idiocy of such a ridiculous idea.
The dreamers, not willing to give up their, well, ‘dream’, went to the football field with a rubber launching gadget and a pumpkin while the realists stood back waiting to be proven right.

Of course, the idea was ridiculous, the pumpkin barely got a few feet and splattered all over the ground, and the realists gloated for a few seconds while the dreamers were embarrassed and shamed. That’s when the magic happened (says the dreamer, and smiles).
The realists realized their cruelty (I like to call it “stomping on a poor, starving kitten after he rushed to get the last sip of milk”)…ah hem, anyway…and rushed to help figure out why it didn’t work and figure out a solution.

Now, if I weren’t a dreamer, I would never have written a book, left my job at Kelly Services to start working for a new startup nor would I always want the window seat on a plane simply to finally know what it was like to fly. But if Jock weren’t a realist to bring me back to earth, I would have spent all our money already, I would have published my book many months earlier when it wasn’t ready and I would have made countless other mistakes. Plus, we never have to argue about who gets the window seat. He prefers the aisle with extra leg room.

I like to think that I remind him that amazing things can happen if you let them and that sometimes dreaming makes life that much more exciting.

Here’s to the Ying balancing the yang.

Getting to know someone

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Sometimes the simplest ideas are the most overlooked.

I titled my book “Three Questions” based on the simple concept that Jock’s friend came up with while they were out and about. His friend, Darrell Kingsbury, used to sit in a pub and go around asking silly questions to the boys – “if you were an animal, what would you be?” “If London Bridge is standing why is there a song about it falling down?” or “Who would you rather…”

When Jock and I met for those 8 hours, we knew that there wasn’t much time to get to know each other in Las Vegas, while drinking and dancing. So, he took his friend’s idea, and brought it to our letters while he was traveling through Africa. He randomly chose “three questions” and the rest is history.

At my book launch, I created these great Moo.com Mini Cards where I took three questions from my book, and created conversation starters.

It was such an integral part to the beginning of Jock and my relationship, that I never really appreciated how special it was. Maybe couples that have long-distance relationships actually have more time to get to know each other because they’re not confused by all the physical and everyday stuff that sometimes gets in the way.

There’s just something so intensely romantic about getting to know someone through letters. Of course, the challenge is making sure that you aren’t projecting false information onto that person.

So, do you think you can get to know someone better by being long-distance, or is it better to be in the same town?

Kickstarter Project Launched!

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Phew – it’s been a busy last couple of months, and I can’t believe how much work goes into getting a book out there – this is certainly a project of love (in more than one respect). I’m ready to take it to the next level, but I need your help – but you get cool rewards for helping! Click here to find out how.

As I mentioned in this previous post, Kickstarter is a funding platform for artists of all kinds – just like in the Elizabethan era when artists were funded by patrons, Kickstarter is using that same premise. Not everyone is a JK Rowlings, or a Lady Gaga. Putting art out there costs money.

Getting a Kickstarter campaign up means hours of research – making sure you’re creating the right kind of rewards for the right price, getting your video edited and just right, and being as transparent in what you will do with the money as possible. I spoke to two different people who successfully funded their Kickstarter campaigns – my friend Naomi Kline who did it for a short film she produced, and David Kadavy who is currently touring his book due to his campaign. I’m hoping I can be one of those people!

My research is finished, the project is launched, now it’s time to get funded. I either get it all or nothing – so any donation would be SO helpful! See below for my video explaining the process:

My novel is already published, so why do I need Kickstarter, you may ask? 

It’s to take my novel to the next level. I could only afford so much, and like an interior decorator designs your home (thanks Courtney for that analogy), my book needs some interior love – the formatting needs a professional’s help, as well as the back cover (which I did myself originally).

Also, a book trailer. For the same reason that Kickstarter urges its users to create a video for their project, book trailers are becoming more and more important in the publishing industry. Visual sells.

Finally, I need money for marketing and promotion of the novel, as well as pre-ordering copies for my book signings.

THANK YOU in advance for sharing this with your friends and family.

Also, if you had a moment to tweet this, I would be forever indebted.

Sample tweet: My gal @TheLadyLunches finished her novel, #ThreeQuestions, & is taking it 2 the next level. Here’s her @kickstarter http://t.co/VhrNmvc