Updates

Updates in my quest to get published and get this book on the bookshelves.

TBWRE gets a plug in a Wedding Magazine!

2009 is starting off with a bang! I just received a copy of Real Weddings Magazine…Sacramento to the Sierra…Winter 2009 Issue in the mail today from my good friend, Randy Bartlett. He was as surprised as I was to see my book getting plugged on page 23 under helpful resources for wedding planning.

Here is the cover…

Real Weddings Magazine Cover Winter 2009

Real Weddings Magazine Cover Winter 2009

Here is page 23…

Real Weddings Magazine Winter 2009 Page 23

Real Weddings Magazine Winter 2009 Page 23

And here is a close-up of the plug they gave for TBWRE…

Real Weddings Magazine Winter 2009 TBWRE Plug

Real Weddings Magazine Winter 2009 TBWRE Plug

It turns out that Mike Anderson of Creative Memories Entertainment (a member of the WED Guild®) was the one who told them about my book. Thanks a bunch Mike…and an especially big “THANK YOU” you also goes out to Sharon Penny and the staff at Real Weddings Magazine!

TBWRE on a Billboard!

Naomi Hulme, producer of the Dallas Bridal Show, sent me the following images of a billboard they have purchased to promote my appearance at their upcoming 20th Anniversary show in Dallas, Texas.

TBWRE on a Billboard!

TBWRE on a Billboard!

TBWRE on a Billboard! (Wide Shot)

TBWRE on a Billboard! (Wide Shot)

This will be my third visit to speak and sign copies of my book at the Dallas Bridal Show. I’ll be staying in town for a few day after the show to speak to the local DFW ADJA Chapter on the evening of the 26th, at a luncheon meeting for JWI on the 27th, and at a luncheon meeting for PWG on the 28th.

Brandon Lindsey Wins!!!

Just for fun…I posted a photo recently from my iPhone and used it as a trivia question…

https://tbwreblog.com/?p=58#comments

To make things even more fun, I offered to award a signed copy of TBWRE to the first person to correctly identify the photo. It took several guesses, but Brandon Lindsey was our winner!!! Brandon…your signed copy of TBWRE is on its way!

To give the photo more context, here is the shot turned over with the floor below it as well.

The Entrance to The Beatles LOVE Show

“Best Wedding Ever…We Raised The Bar!”

Brandon and Stephanie got married in Lake Tahoe on August 10th, 2008. They attended a short presentation I gave about my book at the Valencia Wedding Professionals Showcase on October 30th, 2007. They bought a copy of TBWRE and then called me later to see if I was available on their date. Unfortunately, I was already booked with a wedding reception in Santa Barbara. So…I recommened that they get in touch with Larry Williams, who entertains at weddings in the Lake Tahoe/Reno area.

Needless to say, I was completely proud that I had recommended Larry when I saw this video clip featuring comments from Brandon and Stephanie as their reception was ending…

As it turns out…the Santa Barbara reception that I was entertaining at on August 10th was attended by Matt & Janna Mohney, a San Diego couple who had hired Larry Williams for their Lake Tahoe reception back in September of 2007. They couldn’t stop raving about him either. What a small world…

Peter Merry with Matt & Janna Mohney (©Peter’s iPhone)

Catching a Plane!

I am leaving in about 5 hours to catch my flight to Dallas, Texas!

YEEEEEEEE-HAWWWWWW!

Dallas has always been one of my favorite cities to visit and I know I’ll be in for a great time.

I have 3 speaking engagements on Monday at the “North Texas Entertainers Conference” hosted by The D/FW Chapter of the ADJA. But Saturday, I’ll get the opportunity to watch two of my friends in action as they provide the entertainment at their respective wedding receptions. I’ll be observing Chad Wandel with AI Weddings during the afternoon. Then in the evening, I get the pleasure of watching Andy Austin of Lite Dallas while he serves as the Master of Ceremonies.

Updating the Reviews…

I have been meaning to update the reviews listed on the TBWRE web site for quite some time now…but I was finally able to get it done this afternon. In the process of updating them (most of which came from the 26 reviews we have on our Amazon.com listing), I found this letter from someone quite unexpected…

WOW! A letter from Dick Clark...what a huge honor!

As it turns out, my friend and colleague, Larry Williams (a fellow WED Guild® Member from Reno, NV), has a relationship with Mr. Clark and took the liberty of sending him a copy of my book awhile back.

And I also came across this e-mail review sent much earlier this year by Liz…

Raymond & Liz at their 10th Anniversary Wedding Reception

“I want to thank you for the suggestions in your book. I’m Elizabeth Clay from Florence KY and I got your book for my 10 year anniversary wedding. The reception was great! So many people said it was the best reception they’ve ever been too! One even said they felt like they were watching an exciting movie wondering what fun thing would happen next.

The intro of the wedding party went wonderful. We selected a “dream team” of friends and family to be a part of the show. Each person had their own theme music and the bio form you sent me really came in handy for their introduction. The crowd laughed and really enjoyed themselves.

I don’t have a copy of the surprise dance from the videographer yet but I have a few photos from the event. People stood and cheered for us as we danced. Especially when our son’s joined in on the surprise dance!”

Less than a month later, she sent a follow up e-mail with a link to the video footage on YouTube of their creative surprise First Dance routine.

You’ll notice that I have included ALL of the reviews…even the few that were not so glowing. If you would like to submit a review of the book, feel free to contact me with the e-mail address listed on the bottom of the reviews page.

Writer Seeks Agent…

We have been actively contacting several literary agents recently in an effort to get TBWR…E! picked up by a substantial publisher and distributed to the book stores. I finally wrapped up a synopsis submission about TBWR…E! to send out to these various literary agents. You can see it here…

TBWR…E! Synposis

If you know of a good literary agent that might like to consider TBWR…E!, feel free to send them here or forward them the synopsis.

Finally…today we also received our very first response from a literary agent and we couldn’t be more excited about it! We plan on making contact with several more literary agents and gauging their interest and qualifications before making any final decisions.

Keeping those fingers crossed…

Posting from my iPhone!

This is a test…

Can you identify this photo?

I wanted to test the ability of my iPhone to take a photo and then post it on my blog…and it appears to be working quit well.

So…the first person who can post a comment identifying what this photo is and/or where it was taken will receive a free signed copy of my book.

TBWR…E! site gets a facelift!

It only took about 5 days working non-stop with very little sleep to pull it off…but the TBWR…E! web site now has a brand new look!

We’ve added tons of new content and we also finally have a working shopping cart so anyone who wants to can buy the book right on the web site!

Our next chore will be getting the Bulk Order shopping cart set up along with the secure gateway for the Resources section so readers can begin registering online for their Bonus Chapters. We have some really cool stuff planned for the Resources section when it is finally up and running securely.

Be sure to check out the video on the Chapter Titles page. It will give you a virtual tour of the subjects featured inside the book along with the photos and the couple profile pages. The animation was created using Keynote on my MacBook Pro. Keynote is truly amazing presentation software. I’ve been using Windows PowerPoint… but I converted to Mac primarily because of the rich features and animation effects offered by Keynote.

Our first Banner Ad

It’s not as good as it could be…but hey…it’s the first animated gif banner ad I’ve ever created.

We are currently working on several different versions along with a way to track sales from specific banners for the purpose of giving commisions on book sales sent our way by our various supporters.

Until then, feel free to use this one if you’d like.