Posts tagged ‘Sex and the Zen of Shopping’
Sex and the Zen of Shopping now in COLOR ebook for Kindle Fire
Now available! Full color ebook for Kindle Fire or equivalent.
I’M EXCITED! Technology has caught up!
Now I can offer Sex and the Zen of Shopping in a full color Kindle ebook that looks exactly like the color print copy.
We were able to create this Kindle edition with a new software that will revolutionize epublishing for picture book and how-to authors.
The costs of Amazon print-on-demand for color are steep. I’d say prohibitive in today’s market. I really disliked the $25 we had to charge for my shopping book, Sex and the Zen of Shopping: Live Rich by Shopping Smart.
This is, after all, a book about bargain shopping!
Until this latest Kindle technology, the best solution was to produce a Black & White Bargain print edition.
You can now get the layout, the embedded text and the vivid color of photos in an ebook! You’ll see exactly the same format as the print edition – IF you have a Kindle Fire, an equivalent tablet or Kindle for PC.
Check it out. There are sample pages you can “leaf through” here: Amazon Sex and Zen of Shopping Kindle Version.
Caution: This Kindle Fire edition is for tablets and Kindle for PC only. It will not work on older Kindle readers.
The Red Mirror, Red Sofa and Antinous from the Red Mirror Series
E-books have the advantage of placing links for readers who want to jump to more in-depth information, so I’ve linked these photos of the Red Mirror, Red Sofa, red-shaded lamp and the glorious Antinous taken from my book Sex and the Zen of Shopping.
BTW – I have used the Roman spelling of Antinous instead of the ancient Greek Antinoos, as the former is the most familiar. If you’re wondering how to pronounce this real-life (or rather, now deceased) beauty, you can try the Greek way of ‘an TEE no os’ which is four syllables. My feeling is that even the Greeks sped it up by saying ‘an TEE noos’ – just 3 syllables.
The Red Mirror with Antinous
The Red Sofa that hurts Barb’s back
The red-shaded lamp that burns outside the bedroom
Antinous of Isis (The Red Mirror), Athena (The Emerald Tablet) and Elektra (The Black Scroll).
Sex and Zen of Shopping radio interview Monday July 18
I’ll be doing a fun radio interview on Sex and the Zen of Shopping with Michelle Phillips, radio hostess, celebrity make-up artist, life coach and author. Woo Hoo. We should have a ball talking about the mysteries of the Universe and how they relate to shopping and self-esteem.
Michelle’s radio show is “The Beauty Blueprint”
LIVE at www.hayhouseradio.com
Time and Date: Next Monday, July 18 at 12:35 EDT, 9:35 am PDT
If you miss it, you can listen any time during the week after at this link: http://www.hayhouseradio.com/show_details.php?show_id=216&episode_type=0.
I’d love for you to tune in “live,” but there’s always the archive if you can’t. The show will only be available from July 18th thru the 25th, so if you want to listen, tune in during that week.
HAYHOUSE Radio is billed as “radio for your soul.” Denise Linn, spiritual coach and Feng Shui master, is one of the many turned on and high-level consciousness radio hosts. HAYHOUSE Radio also has outlets in the UK, Australia and India.
Michelle Phillips, radio show hostess, celebrity make-up artist, life coach, author, speaker, wife and mother
Michelle Phillips is just another multi-talented, dynamic, beautiful wife, mother and superstar! Sigh. Are you green with envy yet? OK – Here’s the whammy: Her new book “The Beauty Blueprint” is due out soon. Go girls! We are good!
Check her out at: www.michellephillips.com and Michele Phillips Fan Page.
And don’t forget to tune in to our interview: Sex and the Zen of Shopping. Woo Hoo!
Sandra and Sabrina Writing Space
Sandra and Sabrina writing space
I’ve had several people ask me where and how I write – “how” meaning the creative process. The “practical how” is that I use a laptop connected to a larger screen so that I can work off of two screens at once.
This photo is of my writing space. As you can see, a lot is going on.
Egyptian stuff is part of my getting in the mood to write my novel which takes place in modern day Las Vegas and in Ancient Egypt during the Late Period.
You’ll see:
- colored map of the Nile
- a photo I took of the shore from a boat on a Nile Cruise
- several books, including English translations of ancient Egyptian literature and art books on Pharaohnic Egypt
- the necklace I wear which is a copy of an original Late Period piece
I’m working on a new cover for Sex and the Zen of Shopping.
- You will see a couple of printouts hanging above, plus the front cover on the big computer screen which is displaying Photoshop.
- I’m also considering a slightly new title – something shorter. Sex Zen and Shopping: Live Rich by Shopping Smart
- I’ve been working on the interior and cleaned it up a bit. It will have less of a “homemade scrapbook” look about it.
The screen saver on my laptop is the view from the front terrace of our house in Shell Beach California.
I love boats. That’s pretty obvious from the photo.
The bookcase contains:
- My library of cookbooks in English, French and Danish. You might be able to just see Julia Child’s “Mastering The Art of French Cooking.” I bought my copy in 1973 at a garage sale in Los Gatos California!
- copies of “Life Choices: Navigating Difficult Paths.” This is an anthology of great stories put together by Judi Moreo and published by her new publishing company Turning Point International. She’s already at work on the next anthology which will be about putting the pieces back together again. My contribution to Life Choices is the story of how I met my husband and shamelessly pursued him. It’s a true story of hitchhiking on land and sea, taking chances and going after what you want.
- My many copies of the I Ching
- Books by female authors written for the female market which I have read in the last few months. The genre is pretty much romantic fiction of all kinds. This is part of my research for my new novel.
- On the top shelf I have copies of books of authors that I know or have met.
- The small orange book with black binder that’s turned on its side is the scrapbook I kept of my world travels – especially North Africa, Paris, England and Mexico/Central America. Most of the entries are from the early 70’s. I’d like to put it into a memoir form. But right now I am really loving writing fiction.
Non-book items on bookcase:
- The stone statue on the bookcase is Toltec and over a thousand years old. It was a wedding gift when we married in Mexico City the first day of spring (March 20) 1975.
- The briefcase on the top of the book case was a gift from my First Reader (Sex and the Zen of Shopping) Barb Johnston which she gave me at the book launch of Life Choices in January in Las Vegas.
- The name plaque Sandra Nielsen is from my days as a School Board Trustee 1994-1998. It reminds me that trying to do good can be very costly personally. It keeps me from getting involved. It’s time for someone else to play Joan of Arc. I admire all politicians even though their politics can make me crazy. I once heard it said, “In the world of politics, friends come and go, but enemies collect.” Amen.
You probably didn’t miss my Japanese Zen priest who sits directly over my head and hopefully guides my spirit. I bought him at a little “antique” shop in 1999 in Shell Beach. The owner loved his stuff so much and had so much of it that you had to stand at the doorway and point to what you wanted to see. He also wanted a $20 deposit before he would bring it to you! Needless to say, he didn’t make a lot of sales. He was found dead at his desk one morning by his son. He hadn’t come home the night before. 89 years old and he died of a heart attack in the midst of his beloved treasures. From the position of his body, it seemed that he put his head down and went to sleep, never to wake up again. We should all be so blessed!
Life Choices Las Vegas Book Launch Celebration
Most of the 26 authors, publisher and editor with friends and family celebrated the successful launch of Life Choices: Navigating Difficult Paths in the Nielsen suite at Palace Station Las Vegas. After a memorable day of book sales and mini-talks by each of the authors, the Life Choices group relaxed and debriefed with wine and goodies – a great way to top off a great day.
Contributing authors Bob Walker and Sandra Gore Nielsen
Contributing authors Sandy Kastel and Andrea Chestnut
Contributing author Deborah Clark with Paulette White
Host Rex Nielsen, Jesper Nielsen of Tajine Publishing with contributing author Stephen Philpott
President Ange Milburn, Sandra Gore Nielsen Fan Club
First Reader and featured shopper, Barb Johnston - Sex and the Zen of Shopping
Interview for Life Choices Pump Up Virtual Book Tour
Thank you to Pump Up Your Book. Here is the interview I did for their virtual book tour promotion of Life Choices: Navigating Difficult Paths published by Turning Point International.
My Wichita Southeast High School graduation picture 1965
Do you remember writing stories as a child or did the writing bug come later?
A: I daydreamed constantly as a child, inventing whole new worlds for myself. This lasted well into my teens when my device for falling asleep each night was a cinematic adventure I played out in my mind with myself the beautiful and desirable heroine in some far off place in another time.
Creative writing was always my forte in school. I especially remember one short story in high school about a football player scoring a touchdown which, when read aloud to the class, was declared by all that it could only have been written by an athlete. That was never me. I’m afraid of balls.
Do you remember your first published piece?
A: I certainly do remember my first published piece. It’s “A True Love Story” in Life Choices – Navigating Difficult Paths.
What do you consider as the most frustrating side of becoming a published author and what has been the most rewarding?
A: The most frustrating part is getting noticed. The most rewarding part is getting noticed.
Jesper, my husband of 35 years
Are you married or single and how do you combine the writing life with home life? Do you have support?
A: I am most happily married for 35 years. Of late, my home life has become my writing life and vice versa. My husband is my biggest supporter and has become a publisher and publicist to help both publish and promote Sex and the Zen of Shopping, my first book. He is also encouraging me to write my memoir and says to put in all the good sex – and not just with him.
What do you like to do for fun when you’re not writing? Where do you like to vacation? Can you tell us briefly about this?
A: I love to shop, travel and entertain. Basically I need to be on the move constantly, whether physically or intellectually. I can be alone and write for days on end; then I explode and have to cook an elaborate meal, set a beautiful table and enjoy the company of good friends.
I’m not sure I know what a vacation is. Traveling is how I live in the now. I used to require traveling to a place where they speak another language or I didn’t feel like I had been anywhere. I certainly don’t want to see the same restaurants and eat the same kind of food. But of late I enjoy reconnecting with old friends, who may or may not live in exotic places.
If you could be anywhere in the world for one hour right now, where would that place be and why?
A: I’d be back in Egypt on the Nile in the Rose Suite at the Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan, sitting on the balcony overlooking Elephantine Island, watching the boat traffic and listening to the sounds of the river. Do I really need to explain why?
Who is your biggest fan?
A: My husband.
Where’s your favorite place to write at home?
View from my house
A: At my dining room table with a view out the picture windows onto the Pacific Ocean.
Library of Alexandria
What’s your favorite library and why?
A: The New Library of Alexandria because of the wonderful coalescence of ancient iconography with modern architecture.
What’s your favorite bookstore and why?
A: Any used book store. I love getting books for cheap, but I especially love finding all those eclectic, out of print treasures that you didn’t even know existed.
Do you have any pets?
A: Not now, but if I did, it would be cats – black ones.
Max
What are you reading right now?
A: Just about any book written by women for women that is a best seller or close to it. I’m reading all genres, but particularly romance and memoirs, trying to figure out if I can write something that will actually sell.
Tell us a secret no one else knows.
A: I don’t think so. It wouldn’t be a secret any more. If it’s worth telling and at all interesting, I want to put it in my next book.
What’s the first thing you notice when you meet someone?
A: Their energy field. Sometimes I feel like I see right past the body, although body language tells you almost everything.
Have you ever won anything?
A: Do elections count? I garnered a big percent of the vote out of a field of candidates for School Board. After that, I lost more votes (on the School Board) than I won. That’s what happens when you are on the side of the students.
What’s on your to do list today?
A: Complete this Interview Form. Continue working on the Press Kit for my website http://www.sandragorenielsen.com to promote Sex and the Zen of Shopping. Work on my next book which will be a memoir recounting my travels in North Africa, including a 6 month hitchhiking adventure across the Sahara. Post an article on my blog www.sandraoffthestrip.com. Make a lamb and bean tajine for dinner. Take a walk along the raging ocean. Take a long bubble bath.
I understand that you are touring with Pump Up Your Book Promotion in February/March via a virtual book tour. Can you tell us all why you chose a virtual book tour to promote your book online?
A: You have to have a presence everywhere you can, but the internet is where it’s happening. It will only grow. Virtual book tours are one of the ways that you have a chance to break through if you’re not connected to one of the big publishing houses that have things sewn up in the conventional channels of distribution and publicity.
My Inspiration for Sex and the Zen of Shopping: Live Rich by Shopping Smart
Sex and the Zen of Shopping author Sandra Gore Nielsen with bargain purchases: BCBG pants $11, Victor Costa jacket $25, Nine West knee-high faux python boots $30, Chinese vases $10
I’ve been shopping in exotic places most of my adult life. But what used to be just a fun and adventurous addition to “normal” shopping turned to necessity when our world suffered a financial meltdown. It’s the same story being told over and over again by hard-working, smart people who carefully researched their investments and never considered themselves wild speculators. We were lied to and we got robbed.
But we were “lucky” to sell a furnished high rise condo in Las Vegas with only a $90,000 loss. We made it out on the beginning of the slide, but before the fall over the precipice. We rented a 1,000 sqft condo, moving in with clothes, coffee table, kitchenware, artwork and air mattress.
With a budget of $2500, I furnished the condo in style and comfort. I was surprised that everyone didn’t know how to do that. I was more surprised there are people who think buying “used” or “discount” is beneath them. I suspect those numbers are dwindling. Reality is that we all have to change the way we live.
“Why not write a book about surviving the economy in the style we deserve?” In fact, the first working title was “Surviving in Style” because that is exactly what I feel I’m doing – surviving. My Saturday mornings were spent on shopping safari’s with my shopping sister Esperanza, always with a strict budget and always coming home exhilarated. I felt especially poor one weekend and took only $15 to the Swap to return with a silk kimono, silk peignoir and a flat of fresh, ripe mangoes.
I began to carry my camera. I wrote my ideas, not only about what you could find where, but about the mindset to let go of inhibitions and hang-ups –to get over yourself! Sex and Zen of Shopping: Live Rich by Shopping Smart grew from a hope that I could help others, that I could share a fun (and practical) alternative to feeling down and broke. That’s not a state that I enjoy and don’t think is a place anyone should ever be. I do sincerely hope that Sex and Zen can help you live rich, look good, have fun and be happy.
New cover for Sex and Zen shopping book
David is really Tony (Antinous)
Bust of Antinous in Berlin
David in Sex and the Zen of Shopping
The real identity of “David” is Antinous, lover of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. If interested in knowing more, go to the daughter page under “Sex and the Zen of Shopping.” Use sidebar for navigation.
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March 29, 2010 at 4:25 pm Leave a comment