Day #542 The Principal's Palette

This post has nothing to do with bees.

The first Thursday of each month is a special time at The Principal’s Palette Gallery, a gift shop, art store, and hand-craft haven in Winder GA. On that day each month, proprietor Lynn Hammond invites local (and sometimes not so local) artists, crafters, or writers to showcase their work.

http://www.theprincipalspalette.com/

I was there talking about my books last night, and had great fun meeting people. Debra Gilstrap was there, too, showing her hand-crafted, jeweled eggs, in perfect time for Easter.

And, as always at my book signings, I had with me some copies of my sister’s book Depression Visible: the Ragged Edge. You just never know when the subject will come up. When it does, I don’t particularly care whether or not I sell any of my own books if there’s a chance to give the hope that there is someone who understands.

If you haven’t checked out the Diana Alishouse website http://www.depressionvisible.com, you might want to give it a try. You might not need it yourself, but someone you know might truly appreciate finding out about it.

There is hope. There is help available. But for that to happen, the depression needs to be visible, to be recognized. Diana’s book can help.

BEEattitude for Day #542: 

       Blessed are those who plant native shrubs, flowers, and trees, for they shall help to promote local honey production.

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The teeny details:

my books:  http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart 

Day #406 When Bees Go Robbing

Yes, bees can be larcenous at times. If they find a weak hive, undefended by many guard bees, the stronger bees are quite likely to head inside and rob the stores of honey.

I can understand it in bees. It’s called survival instinct.

I have less tolerance for humans who do that sort of thing. If you’ve tried to buy my e-books on Smashwords any time in the last two days, you’ll notice that they’re not there.  What does this have to do with bees?

I’m glad you asked.

As I said, I can understand why bees would try to get away without paying for the honey they rob. But Smashwords.com has a policy of allowing anyone to download e-books with the understanding that they will be honorable and will pay for the books they download.

I was looking over my royalty statement from Smashwords and found that for every book someone bought (and they were only $3.99), between 50 and 80 people downloaded that same book without paying.

Now, I’m really happy that folks want to read my books, but why on earth would I want to put my books out there just for the few honest people who understand that writing is a job, one that supposedly supports the writer?

If you want to get my books for your non-Kindle, maybe there’s a way you’ll be able to find them, but until I can figure out a way to prevent the piracy, I’m going to leave my e-books off of Smashwords.

I’ll let you know if I solve this quandary.

BEEattitude for Day # 406:

       Blessed are those who act in accordance with the highest thought, for they shall contribute to a better life for all.
 

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The teeny details:
BOOK SIGNINGS
     Nov. 26      Wellspring Treasures, Kennesaw GA     1-4 p.m.
     Dec.   3       Books for Less, Buford GA      1-3 p.m.
     Dec. 10       Peerless Bookstore, Alpharetta GA      2-4 p.m.

my books:  http://www.franstewart.com Please buy print books from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart