JAZZ TOWN

The historic Kansas City American Jazz Museum came alive with activities last Friday evening, November 30th. Several events happened all at once. It began with my book signing in The Changing Gallery. Special thanks to Barbara Thomas, Director of Visitor Services, and Linda Richter, my marketing manager and unfaltering cheerleader, for making it a standout event.

Kansas City’s premiere vocalist Millie Edwards performed in the Blue Room and internationally known jazz harpist Lori Andrews made a guest appearance sponsored by John Buford, CEO of Truman Medical Center. The Kansas City Convention and Visitors Association brought in busloads of excited people for guided tours of the beautiful facility.

The museum rocked. It was an exciting night. If you haven’t been to the American Jazz Museum for awhile, don’t miss an opportunity to spend time at one of their events. Check out their website at http://www.americanjazzmuseum.com. It is definitely a top Kansas City entertainment center.

While you’re there, don’t forget to visit The Swing Shop where you can purchase JAZZ TOWN. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Museum.

BTW, have you been to The Kansas City Store on the Plaza at 314 Ward Parkway or at the Union Station, 30 West Pershing Rd? They are fun places to shop and both carry JAZZ TOWN, a fictionalize but true to life story of Kansas Citians in the jazz era of the 1920’s and 30’s.

Write Brain Trust, the e-pub group spawned by the Kansas City Writer’s Group, gave a panel discussion at the Lawrence Library last week. I was honored to be on the panel and the only presenter who had never written or given a power point presentation before.

Someone told me to be sure and look at the audience when talking, not the screen. I had a time handling the microphone, the gadget to advance the slides, my book, and my notes but managed to get through it okay. Later, one of our members reminded me that it would have been a lot simpler had I just looked at the computer in front of me. Ah well. All this modern technology but I’m catching on.

Kudos to the Lawrence Library, Rachel Malterhall and the library personnel for providing us with the perfect place to discuss the challenges of publishing and doing it all yourself. That includes writing, formatting, and marketing, plus all the technical stuff in-between.

Time Magazine, Newsweek, and the New York Times have reported that the Indies (independent writers and publishers) are changing the book publishing business. Self publishing is no longer looked down upon. It is cutting edge and the wave of the future. Last week, four Indies were on the New York Times Top Ten Best Seller book list.

Don’t forget you can order your copy of JAZZ TOWN from Amazon.com and on e-book readers.

Only 16 more shopping days ’til Christmas.