I'm sorry to hear the news of Borders Books and Music closing all stores and laying off over 10,000 employees. I had numerous book signings at Borders and will miss the great staff and terrific customers I met over the years there.
If you have not visited Hilary Melton-Butcher’s blog titled Positive Letters Positive Letters ….. inspirational stories ….. then please take a moment to do so. She has one of the most fascinating, well-researched topics. Hilary can make anything very interesting.
I just downloaded a copy of Laura Eno’s new release titled Prophecy Moon. It’s on my TBR List and I really look forward to reading it. But first I need to finish up the Harry Potter series first. I’m currently reading The Order of the Phoenix.
A couple note from the world of science:
Happy Birthday Neptune
Did you know the planet Neptune just had it’s first birthday On July 12th? Well, to clarify, Neptune was discovered September 24, 1846. It takes the planet 164.79 earth years to rotate around the sun. Have to admit, I’m glad it wasn’t Uranus’s birthday as I would have to say Happy Birthday to Uranus.
Fun facts about Neptune :
Named after Roman god of the sea, it's the Solar System's outermost planet.
Cannot be seen from Earth without a telescope or binoculars.
There are 13 known moons which orbit Neptune, the largest of which is Triton
Space Shuttle Program
We say good-bye to one of the most truly amazing endeavors of mankind: The Space Shuttle Program. I am saddened by its ending yet happy for all we have accomplished. I look forward to what government and privately funded space endeavors await us.
Finally, Breakthrough is now available through CreateSpace and Amazon at $12.95 (see icons to the left), which is a lot cheaper than iUniverse who priced it at $19.99.
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38 comments:
Two sad items! But hooray for your more accessible book!
Oh, man. I'm so going to miss Borders. Two were within 20 minutes of me. Now I'm not sure where I'll browse and buy! It's just not the same online (though I buy many books online too!).
Borders, sigh, don't get me started. They've been making poor decisions as a corporation for years and it's been frustrating to watch. I like them and wish they could have gotten their act together. They did, afterall, run several local bookshops I used to frequent out of business. I don't have many other places to go to now thanks to them.
Your humor reminds me of Alex!
Sad items, I want to ignore.
Lydia, its been a bitter sweet week.
Kelly, We had quite a few in our area with dozens across the Southland. I'll miss them too.
Rusty, good counterpoint. Poor decisions and muscling out the little guy. Perhaps its Karma.
Gail, I'll take that as a compliment, thank you very much!
I feel the same about losing Borders. They were always so willing to work with the little guys, unlike some places.
This may sound a bit silly, but when I was at university, Neptune was my favorite planet. My Honors Astronomy prof bought me a poster. :)
Congrats on your book!
Aloha from Waikiki;
Comfort Spiral
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It will be very interesting to see what private enterprise does in space. Hope it's more than just launching satellites, although that's pretty darn important in our age.
Lee
Tossing It Out
Very cool smattering of info in this post... sigh, Borders, I'll miss it.
Karen, I agree. It was so easy to line up book signings with Borders.
Suze, Neptune is exciting. I'll refrain from all jokes from this point forward.
Cloudia, long time no see. Thanks for stopping by!
Arlee, this conversation can lead to a year's worth of posts.
Robert, I'll miss them too. So will the entire family.
we still have our Borders here in kuala lumpur (they already said they are not closing them down here because of separate ownership). maybe you could come over and sign your books here in KL!:)
my son came into the room saying what NASA is doing if they had just found a new moon on Pluto :)
Too bad about Borders. Feel sad about it as I feel bookshops have a quaint charm of their own. For you, Stephen there must be so many memories associated with Borders.
Poor Borders!! :-( I do feel for the employees and I hope hope hope they find work asap. I'm truly sorry. What a shame!
Yay for your book!! Congratulations!!
Yes, it was Neptune's 1st Neptunian birthday this month! Woo-hooo! Take care
x
A sad day for book and space lovers. I was devastated when they closed the Borders in Bournemouth. It was the size of a large department store, and you could lose yourself in there for a few hours.
Ellie Garratt
Congrats on your book.
Yvonne.
Sad to see the Space Shuttle program end.
Hilary's blog is amazing and so is yours.
I'm sadden by the end of the shuttle experience as we know it. I think we have much to look forward to in space travel as in private citizen travel. I may never get to go, but I see an opportunity for my grandchildren to go.
“After serving the world for over thirty years, the space shuttle's earned its place in history and it's come to a final stop.” - Atlantis Commander Chris Ferguson
Well, we don’t want it to stop! My daughter, 11, and I chose this timing to launch our new ebook, Andromeda’s Moon, to inspire the next generation of readers to be excited about human spaceflight. The story, reviewed by astrophysicist Michelle Thaller at NASA and Constance Adams, space architect for the ISS TransHab module, takes readers age 9 to 12 on a futuristic action-adventure to lunar settlements, as seen through the eyes of a girl named Andromeda.
Sample the first three chapters online at AndromedasMoon.com and please do comment about it! (Full ebook sells for $2.99.)
Boo to both the space program and the closing of Borders. Why is it we lose some of the best things in life?
I was sad to see the shuttle program end too. It will be interesting to see what the next step in space exploration will be.
I love Hilary's blog - it's always so fascinating!
oceangirl, one of my goals is to do overseas book signings. Kuala Lumpur here I come.
Rachna, I'll miss them. Borders was so easy to work with.
Kitty, I wonder how old Neptune is in cat years.
Ellie, that's one of the things I enjoyed most about big Borders stores, getting lost in them.
Yvonne, thanks!
Alex, a sad day to be sure.
Teresa, I would think the private sector would have something available for the general public soon that could take them into space. For a hefty price.
Ben, best of luck to you and your daughter for Andromeda's Moon!
Alleged, I agree. Its a double whammy.
Jemi, there are pros and cons to what this means, but overall I think the outlook is very good.
Hope you are enjoying Harry Potter!
I probably did 2-3 dozen signings in Borders, but Waldenbooks had my heart. I called several on Tuesday and the managers were so appreciative. I'm going to miss them, but at least I have emails for many of the employees.
Have to admit, I’m glad it wasn’t Uranus’s birthday...
I'm still laughing!
Thanks for downloading Prophecy Moon and congrats on getting Breakthrough out there on Createspace!
Yeah, on Breakthrough. HB Neptune. It's where I set my first novel. :) I'm bummed about the space shuttle. WE gripe about it all the time up at the observatory. One of our pet topics lately.
I'm so bummed about BORDERS--especially since they were my writing group's only sponsor. Now we'll have to look for a new place to meet every month. Sigh. I hope a new bookstore crops up in our area soon!
nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com
Neptune looks so good for it's age, lol!
I'm sad about Borders too. My heart goes out to the many loyal employees losing their jobs.
I buy most of my books online as most book and mortar bookstores are 30 to 60 plus miles from me. Still, I love going into book stores--just the smell of all those books and the visual of all those shelves full, the cool little nooks with chairs that invite you to sit and enjoy...
Sia McKye's Thoughts...OVER COFFEE
Liza, I am! Rowling can sure write one heckuva story.
Diane, nicely done. Very classy.
Laura, glad you enjoyed the laugh.
M Pax, a lot of people are upset at the Space Shuttle Program being mothballed, myself included.
nutschell, it was fun to have a cup of coffee and a pastry and flip through a book or magazine there.
Sia, that aspect of a large bookstore can never be replaced.
Sad, sad, sad about Borders. The stores and their lovely books will be missed. I feel for the people who no longer have jobs, too.
Happy first birthday to Neptune!! (Wow, interesting fact there!)
Hi Stephen .. many thanks for plugging my site - wonderful of you - and thanks too to Teresa AKA Journaling Woman and Talli for sayin they love coming by.
I've got my first book - Judy Croome's Dancing in the Shadows of Love on my pc .. via Smashwords and can't believe how easy it is to read - mind you it is Africa!!
Neptune's birthday - happy birthday old chap .. or chappess .. I heard they're thinking of re- categorizing Pluto again ..
The Shuttle has been an amazing programme - I'm sure there'll be more ways of getting into space ..
Congratulations on getting Breakthrough onto CreateSpace .. there's so much to learn with all this publishing for authors -
Cheers and hope you're having a great weekend .. Hilary
Aww, so nice of you to give Hilary a shout out. She's lovely. She and I are planning to get together for a coffee when I go to England in the fall.
I loved our Borders. It is a shame to see them disappear. :(
Hi Stephen and Sharon .. thank you - but won't that be great to meet up .. so looking forward to it .. cheers Hilary
It's very sad about Borders. I always feel so sad whenever I learn of a bookstore closing, let alone a chain.
Neptune is such a pretty shade of purple!
CONGRATS on Breakthrough being available in paperback!
Hi Stephen -
I concur with your opinion of Hilary's blog. She does a wonderful job giving us a peek at her country, wildlife, and many other topics.
Blessings,
Susan :)
I'm really sad for all the employees who will be losing their jobs because of Border's closing. So many people out of work.
Dear,
Congratulations~
karen millen uk
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