Gift Store Extraordinaire!

2nd Annual Book Signing at Ma Maison

Friday, NOVEMBER 27th

10 AM – 1 PM

Near Starbucks at the corner of McBean Parkway and Valencia Boulevard.

Day after Thanksgiving on Black Friday (but there is nothing Black about Ma Maison!, possibly one of the cheeriest and brightest gift shops in the entire Santa Clarita Valley).

Ede and the ladies make this a very special event indeed.  They also bring in a selection of holiday cookies and healthy drinks for the kids.  See you there!

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Greenthumb before the SNOW!

A Second 2009 Book Signing at Greenthumb Intl. – Newhall

Friday, NOVEMBER 27th

2 – 5 PM

After signing at Ma Maison, I’ll be jumping in a sleigh to quickly fly across town to Newhall, back to a magical nursery that really transforms into Santa’s SoCal workshop away from the North Pole!  Thanks to Bryan and Kirki for having me back a second time this year.  With more cookies and cider than you could possibly partake in, come and enjoy a wonderful sampling of the Christmas Season.  Signing here is really fun, so come and join us all!

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Even the Palm Fronds folded up for this Christmas event!

Four Book Fair Signings at the B&N – Valencia Location:

DECEMBER 4th (Friday)

DECEMBER 8th (Tuesday)

DECEMBER 9th (Wednesday)

DECEMBER 14th (Monday)

DECEMBER 23rd (Wednesday) – Added Date

Evenings, 5 – 8 PM

My special “Thanks” to Lori Christian for including me this year.

I’ll be happy to Personalize and Emboss all books for that special someone’s Christmas gift.  Hope to see you there.

Semper Ferians! (Always Keeping Holidays)

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The Great Mrs. Claus at

THE GREAT INDOORS

A unique book signing with author Chris A. Shoemaker and a SPECIAL APPEARANCE by Mrs. Claus herself!

Sunday, DECEMBER 6th

1 – 3 PM in the afternoon

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to meet the author and get your (and your children’s) photo with the incomparable and very delightful Mrs. Claus.

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An inviting view of this charming tea house. A great place to escape to and indulge the tastebuds!

2nd Annual Book Signing and a Special Appearance by none other than

The Great *Mrs. Claus herself!

THE TEA GARDENS

Friday, DECEMBER 20th

3 PM until Closing

Bring your camera and family for this fun event.

We had such a marvelous time last year, I just had to return.  Elda and her family run a first-rate tea house, and they have a fantastic menu that makes The Tea Gardens much more than a place for a spot of tea and a scone.

*NOTE:  This is the real Mrs. Claus that inspired the book!  You won’t want to miss her.

Mrs. Claus takes a Trolly ride in Beverly Hills. She gets around too!

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At the heart of The Valencia Town Center

The Great Mrs. Claus Book Signing at

Valencia – Borders Book Store

Saturday, DECEMBER 19th

Time:  11 AM

We are planning that I’ll read an excerpt from my book and do a signing afterwards.

The poem in the book will be fun to share with the kids.  I’ve blown up the illustrations that relate to the poem on big boards.  It’ll be my first public sharing of that.  Hope to see you soon.

The Mom’s Choice Awards® Names The Great Mrs. Claus Among Best Products of 2009

Today is a wonderful day.  Although raining in LA, the sun is shining at the North Pole!  The Great Mrs. Claus received the Mom’s Choice Gold Award and is among the best in family-friendly media, products and services of 2009.

The Mom’s Choice Awards® (MCA) is an annual awards program that recognizes authors, inventors, companies, parents and others for their efforts in creating quality family-friendly media, products and services.

Parents, educators, librarians and retailers rely on MCA evaluations when selecting quality materials for children and families. The Mom’s Choice Awards® seal helps families and educators navigate the vast array of products and services and make informed decisions.

An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of our panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of PBS’s Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times best-selling author, Priscilla Dunstan, creator of the Dunstan Baby Language; Patricia Rossi, host of NBC’s Manners Minute; Dr. Letitia S. Wright, D.C., host of the Wright Place™ TV Show; Catherine Witcher, M.Ed., special needs expert and founder of Precision Education, Inc.; and Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, founder of the Mom’s Choice Awards.

MCA judges are bound by a strict code of ethics that ensures expert and objective analysis free from any manufacturer association. The evaluation process uses a propriety methodology in which entries are scored on a number of elements including production quality, design, educational value, entertainment value, originality, appeal and cost.

Honestly, I’m thrilled!   I can’t think of a more appropriate organization to affirm the quality of The Great Mrs. Claus than mothers.  Mrs. Claus would certainly approve!  It’s a great bit of fuel to stoke the creative fires as my wife and I are in the thick of writing our follow up to “Mrs. Claus.”

What could be better than starting off the Holiday season at the beautiful and quaint village of Carmel-By-The-Sea?

On Monday, November 9th from 3 – 6 pm, I’ll be signing The Great Mrs. Claus at Kris Kringle of Carmel, a most charming Christmas store tucked in the Doud Arcade off Ocean Avenue in downtown Carmel.

Shop proprietress Carol Montana and her able staff have put together a unique and tasteful selection of Christmas gifts and ornaments.  I’m delighted they will also offer The Great Mrs. Claus this year.

Nestled along the California coastline on the scenic Highway 1, Carmel is a truly outstanding destination that might just become your favorite seaside village – and it’s full of the holiday spirit.  I hope to see you soon, swap a few Christmas stories and simply have a good time.  Cheers!

If you made it, a big thanks for attending this event and hanging out with a bunch of book people, hearing some festive music, funny storytellers and eating some delicious but bankable unhealthy fair food!!

I signed books beside Alva Sachs, first time author and fun creator of Circus Fever, a really cute young readers picture book about discovering the circus, met a lot of new folks and saw a few friends from the past. Hart Park, the venue for the signing, is the homestead of the late great silent picture cowboy/film mogul William S. Hart whose mansion (now a museum worth a visit to) sits atop a hill that borders the park. A small bit of trivia – there is a herd of buffalo that roam a field adjoining the Hart Museum in the hills of Santa Clarita just 25 miles north of LA! Isn’t Los Angeles full of surprises?

Hanging out in Hart Park in Mid-December without a jacket!

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

Sheridan looks like “Santa’s Workshop” in the evening. The lighted trees and ornaments are mesmerizing. See you there!

I’m looking forward to working with Arlene and her courteous staff at this open house event. The city of Burbank creates a wonderful atmosphere for shoppers to breeze in and out of shops in this Magnolia area of Burbank just a few blocks north of Warner Bros. studio lot. Sheridan Gardens has done a fantastic job with the decorating this year. I hope to meet you and make your “The Great Mrs. Claus” a heartfelt keepsake book for years to come. cs

Green Thumb shopper checking out the book's Magnifying Bookmark

What a great day we had a Green Thumb International in Newhall, CA. First off, the weather was absolutely picture perfect – cool, clear, crisp and full of autumn. It was a football Saturday and UCLA was playing ball, but thank goodness everyone didn’t go to the game. Plenty of folks showed up for Green Thumbs “Open House” for the Holidays, and they surprisingly I think saw this author with a children’s picture book standing at a potting table near the store’s entrance.

This was my first book signing ever, and it was a thrill to do. I’ve attended many trade shows for my various companies over the years, but this day was special. It was hard to sleep Friday night – “Did I remember everything?” I had some wonderful old friends and neighbors show up, and I made some new acquaintances too. I stayed the entire day (9 – 5pm), and frankly speaking, it zipped by in a flash.

One of the funnest aspects of the book signing was affixing a gold seal to emboss in the book with some of the kids. The scrapbooking part of me kicked in and I let the kids do the handiwork with the seal. It always amazes and surprises me how much pleasure kids get out of “doing” something so simple as putting a sticky seal on a sheet of paper and pressing it with an embosser… cutting, pasting or threading – it doesn’t matter, kids love it!

My thanks goes out to Kirki, Bryan, Evelyn and all the wonderful people that make Green Thumb such a special and personable place to shop. I hope to visit the store for a second book signing soon!!

My friend Rich Samuels drops by for a "bud" shot

Hope to see you on the Sat., Nov. 8th! Think Green. Think snow!! (in southern California?)

My first book, The Great Mrs. Claus of “The Claus Diaries” series has finally arrived to the book shelves! Well… actually to a truly awesome gardening center table to be exact – but this place is full of holiday spirit and awesome decorations.

I couldn’t think of a better place to hold my first public book signing. I’m told there will be drink, cookies (Otis Spunkmeyer no less – taste the butter?) and a place packed with good cheer and fun people.

I’ll arrive at 9 am and stay until 5 pm, so if you are within commuting distance, do stop by. I’d love to meet you!