September 15, 2009

The Greenleaf Book Group Distributes The Great Mrs. Claus

Filed under: Book Fair, Book Signings, Bookstore, Christmas gift — Tags: , , , , — Chris @ 5:06 am

The Greenleaf Book Group based in Austin, TX now distributes The Great Mrs. Claus book for The Claus Family Christmas, LLC.

Greenleaf Book Group (GBG) is a publisher and distributor that specializes in the development of independent authors and the growth of small presses. In addition to the books they publish, they distribute select titles from small and independent publishers to major trade outlets, including bookstores, libraries, and airport retailers.

Justin Branch, Senior Consultant with GBG, said this about The Great Mrs. Claus, “We look for the same things in the books we accept that book buyers at national retailers look for: strong marketing efforts, solid author credentials, and above all, a quality product. We see all three in your book. The high-end production quality and the enjoyable storyline make the book attractive to consumers, and the unique addition of activities and the creative illustrations increase its value. We are excited to work with you!”

To date, The Great Mrs. Claus has been purchased by several national distributors including Ingram and Baker & Taylor. Sales have also been made to several regional gift store chains. It looks to be an exciting year! My thanks go out to all the competent and supportive folks at Greenleaf.

My author page is being built at: http://www.greenleafbookgroup.com/author.cfm?AuthorID=103

I’m working on my podcast interview.

Check back later for more exciting details and and as always, thanks for your support.

November 19, 2008

Mrs. Claus Book at Vroman’s in Pasadena (on Consignment – hurrah!)

Filed under: Bookstore — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , — Chris @ 9:04 pm

If you pore over books and have never visited Vroman’s, take a break and fall in love with this book lover’s haven.

Today marks a very important day around here at our humble and independent publishing house. I received a call today from Vroman’s Bookstore – Pasadena. I proposed and they agreed to sell The Great Mrs. Claus “on consignment.” What a thrill! In the pantheon of bookstores, Vroman’s is certainly one of the most respected and venerable booksellers in the country. They won Publisher’s Weekly “Bookseller of the Year 2008″ to prove it!

I am especially honored to be included on their shelves because of the fierce competition in the marketplace for holiday books this year. As I cannot resist, bookstore hopping and sleuthing is a favorite pastime of mine, and several weeks ago when I dropped off a review copy of my book at their store (sometime shortly after Halloween), it was clear their front-of-the-store table was replete with Christmas books. Then I went upstairs near their community room where authors perform readings and offer Q&A’s about their new books, and there was another wall and a half fully stacked with even more holiday books – including those on Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and many other holiday traditions – it felt like one more holiday book in the store would tip and wreck Santa’s sleigh! I wondered if the world needed one more book, and well… I figured it did! (ha)

For me, I truly enjoy the store with its professional attitude, eclectic clientele and superior atmosphere geared at giving visitors a unique book-centric experience. Anyway, it may be a bit of a stretch to hope for a reading there, but Suzanne says she’s up to performing Mrs. Claus if they’ll have us. A live show and a reading of the story (the poem within the story would be an appropriate length) would be great fun – fingers are crossed, but just having the opportunity to sell there is sweet enough!

Though I doubt I’ll free the time, I’d love to hang out for awhile near the store’s cashiers and watch someone actually peruse, pick up and purchase The Great Mrs. Claus book from it’s perch.

cs