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Friday, October 21, 2011

List of libraries

If you'd like to borrow "Road Wench" from your local library, I've included the list from the www.slwa.gov.au online catalogue below. If your library isn't listed, ask them to order it in for you. The Dewey No. is 914 MEA. Other relevant details are below.

SLWA CATALOGUE DETAILS

Author Meadows, Shannon.
Title Road wench : it's a tour, not a holiday / Shannon Meadows.
Imprint [Perth, W.A.] : S. Meadows, 2010.

LOCATION CALL NO
SLWA 3rd Floor 914 MEA
Mingenew 914 MEA
QUEENS PARK 914 MEA
Nyabing 914 MEA
KWINANA 914 MEA
Bencubbin 914 MEA

Details
Call # 914 MEA
Phys. Description 354 p. ; 21 cm.
Summary TRAVEL WRITING. AUSTRALIAN. Have you ever done a tour of Europe? Shannon Meadows has, about fifty times! No, she wasn't a crazed tourist, it's worse than that. She was a tour manager. Along the way she encountered backstabbers, bed hopping casanovas, nudists, kleptomaniacs, thieving gypsies, disappearing drivers, wankers, four-hour traffic jams with clients asking "How long until we get there?" She slept overnight on a gurney in a psychiatric hospital, and mediated bitch fights between grown women and men. This is the inside story of Shannon's first season on the road. All names have been changed to protect the guilty (the innocent are too boring to write about)! For anyone who has ever travelled and thought that the tour manager had the best job in the world, this is for you.

Subject International travel -- Europe -- Humor.
Tour guides (Persons) -- Europe -- Anecdotes.
Meadows, Shannon -- Travel -- Europe -- Anecdotes.
Europe -- Description and travel -- Anecdotes.
ISBN 9780980835403 (pbk.)

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Price of gas in France

(Received as an email forward - author unknown)

A thief in Paris planned to steal some paintings from the Louvre.


After careful planning, he got past security, stole the paintings, and made it safely to his van.

However, he was captured only two blocks away when his van ran out of gas.

When asked how he could mastermind such a crime and then make such an obvious error, he replied, 'Monsieur, that is the reason I stole the paintings.'


I had no Monet


To buy Degas


To make the Van Gogh.'








See if you have De Gaulle to send this on to someone else.


I shared it with you because I figured I had nothing Toulouse.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Blog Bits - Writing 3

Someone called me a writer the other day. It made me think - if you aren't actually writing something, can you really call yourself a writer? 'Writer' denotes action, the verb 'to write' - doing something. It seems that lately all I've managed to do is to successfully procrastinate. How, you may ask? It's easy. Focusing on publicity and distribution of "Road Wench" is an excellent time-zapper. Before I know it, days, even weeks have gone by without me writing anything new, or anything at all. It's still activity (and yes, it's fun meeting people and talking about the book, and writing, and travelling) and it's inspiring and motivating - but it's not actually writing. So here's my plan, my aim, my pledge - to write more, more often. Starting with the blog. Which isn't really writing either, but I figure it's useful as a warm up activity. I do have another, even more 'cunning plan' to quote Baldrick. I've enrolled in Honours at uni, as a way of pushing me to write more (and in particular, the sequel to "Road Wench"). The only problem is that everything is due in just over a week. But as all good procrastinators know, nothing focuses the mind like a deadline. Here goes...!

Shannon Meadows
www.roadwench.com

Saturday, October 8, 2011

How to buy a copy

I'm pleased to announce that Road Wench is available at the following good bookstores:

Perth Bookstores
the Oxford St Bookstore in Leederville,
Planet Books in Mount Lawley,
Beaufort Street Books in Mount Lawley,
Crow Books in East Victoria Park,
Dymocks in Midland,
Dymocks in Fremantle (High Street Mall),
Dymocks at Karrinyup Shopping Centre,
Dymocks at Joondalup,
MillPoint Caffe Bookshop in South Perth,
Chapter and Page, in Mount Hawthorn,
Westbooks in Victoria Park,
The Well in Shenton Park,
Angus & Robertson at Innaloo Shopping Centre,
and the State Library Shop, SLWA in Northbridge.

Country (Western Australia) Bookstores
Read A Lot Books in Geraldton,
Golden Mile Bookshop in Kalgoorlie,
Lancelin Post Office Shop, in Lancelin,
and now available at The Singing Tree in Albany.

Adelaide Bookstores
Dymocks in Rundle Mall
Mary Martin Bookshop in Rundle Street

Melbourne Bookstore
Readings in Carlton

Sydney Bookstores
Berkelouw Books in Oxford St, Paddington
Berkelouw Books in Cronulla

Brisbane Bookstores
Mary Ryan Books in Milton
Mary Ryan Books in New Farm
Mary Ryan Books in Bulimba
Avid Reader in West End

Online Bookstores
First Edition Books (online bookstore), and
the Australian Online Bookshop (online bookstore).

E-book
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/33369
(Abridged version $12.99USD)
http://http://www.amazon.com/Road-Wench-Holiday-book-ebook/dp/B004EPYVGQ

Author Direct
Alternatively you can buy online with Paypal/credit card by from http://www.roadwench.com/.
Prices: Perth (collect in person) 24.99; Australia 32.99; NZ 34.99 including postage/packing.

Spread the word!
Thanks,
Shannon Meadows

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

89.7FM Radio Interview at 12.30pm today

I'm being interviewed about the book today on 89.7FM Twin Cities Radio (it covers the northern suburbs around Joondalup). If you're in the area, tune in from 12.30 to 1.00pm. I'll be talking about music on tour (and my favourite daysongs...)

Favourite daysongs:
Time of Your Life (Green Day)
Dancing in the Moonlight
Mama Told Me Not to Come (Tom Jones)
It's My Life (Bon Jovi)
I Got a Girl (Lou Bega)

and so many more. Just hearing a former daysong transports me right back to that tour!

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Blog Bits - Travel

Following on from my last blog, I found this neat link that gives you a virtual tour of Pere Lachaise Cemetery:

http://www.pere-lachaise.com/perelachaise.php?lang=en


Enjoy the tour!

Shannon Meadows
www.roadwench.com

Monday, August 29, 2011

Blog Bits - Travel

Top five places to revisit in Paris: Point Zero, Pierre Lechaise Cemetery, Sewer Tour, Buddha Bar, Sacre Couer steps...

1. Find the brass plaque for Point Zero out front of Notre Dame cathedral. Legend has it that if you step on it, you're destined to return to Paris. The ultimate travel insurance!

2. Pierre Lechaise Cemetery - Jim Morrison, Chopin, Oscar Wilde, all the cool cats are here. Just make sure you buy a map, it's money well spent.

3. Sewer Tour - for a different view of the city.

4. Buddha Bar - just to feel tres chic. Why the name? The enormous Buddha inside is the clue.

5. And for lovers...go sit and canoodle on the steps of Sacre Couer, thinking of the movie Amelie. Romance is in the air! (Be warned - at the base of the hill is the red light district...a different type of attraction is in the air there).

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Blog Bits - Writing 2

All my life I've kept a diary. Until I'd been overseas three months and stopped. The great irony - when I finally had great material to write about, I was having too much fun to jot it down! If only blogging had been around in 1999...

One good thing that I did, however, was to write about 50 pages of detailed notes when I returned to Australia at the end of my first season touring Europe. These notes were written while the events were fresh in mind, and I added to them every time I told a new story to my friends and family about what I'd been up to. It took another 9 years until publication, but these precious notes cocooned my memories until I was ready to develop them -and they developed into my book Road Wench.

Writing tip: jot down notes at the time. A few words, a sentence, will do.
It's amazing what it'll help you recall - but beware, it is so easy to forget details and even entire stories over time that these jottings are essential.

Shannon Meadows
www.roadwench.com

Friday, August 5, 2011

Blog Bits - Publishing

Thanks to Chris at Avid Reader Books, 193 Boundary Street, West End in Brisbane for stocking Road Wench. Chris tells me that he has put it on the bookshelf already.

Shannon Meadows
www.roadwench.com

Friday, July 29, 2011

Blog Bits - Publishing

One of the best books on self publishing is by Euan Mitchell. If you can't find it to buy, you should be able to get it at the local library. Euan has his own website and has taught in the area.

Recently I was asked for my advice about getting published. I did most of my learning by trial and error, and ended up self-publishing, but I learnt a lot along the way. Here's my top three tips:

1. Hire an editor (but not just anyone - they must match your needs) - and edit, edit, edit
2. Don't submit to publishers until your work is ready - you only get one chance
3. Beware vanity publishers (read up on this)

Shannon Meadows
www.roadwench.com

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Blogging Bits

After receiving some helpful advice, I plan to take action -with more frequent blog posts. These will be in three categories - Travel, Writing, and Publishing. The latter will include my experiences with printers, distribution and marketing, including new bookstores.

My first brief blog bit is below (try saying that 3 times quickly).

WRITING

Many people have asked me how I wrote Road Wench. I will answer that in this blog, but as a starting tip, I'd highly recommend the following books:

The Writer's Guide by Irina Dun
The Australian Writer's Marketplace by the Queensland Writer's Centre.

I read the first while grappling with a two thirds completed first draft, and found it had useful advice for the stage I was at as well as the stage I was heading for.

The QWC book has lists of publishers, editors, magazines and competitions, which helped me plan ahead for the next stage. You may notice this as a form of procrastination - why worry about publishing before finishing writing? However I found it gave me some mental space so when I returned to writing I had the end game in mind, and was more focused and motivated to write.

Shannon Meadows
www.roadwench.com

Friday, July 22, 2011

Brisbane Bookstores

I am enjoying the sunshine and the nightlife in Brisbane this week - and can announce that Road Wench is now in stock in two bookstores here. Visit Mary Ryan in Milton, or Mary Ryan in Merthwyr Village in New Farm to get your copy.

Shannon Meadows
www.roadwench

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Cake, coffee and couches











On Tuesday 12 July I was invited to talk to a group of coffee, cake and book lovers in Moora. Imagine my surprise to discover the venue was the funkiest coffeeshop I have ever seen in Moora. Just off Dandaragan Street, past the Newsagents, is the Wheatbelt Picture Framing Gallery (Denise's Coffee Shop). Inside are comfy couches and the cheapest coffee in town. We went down a long corridor to a private outdoor area on wooden decking, and enjoyed the sunlight that had emerged after a day of rain the day before. I read an extract about my Turkish bath (with spectators), spoke about life on the road, and had questions from other writing enthusiasts and bloggers.




I will endeavour to take on Margaret's advice and write a range of posts - and more often - but I'm a bit slow at present with a hand in a cast! I'll try to upload some photos too.

Thanks again to Bron and Margaret for organising a fun, informal and yummy event.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Coffee Cake and Author

An event for country readers - come along to meet the author and hear tales from the road. The wheatbelt town of Moora will be hosting a Coffee, Cake and Author event on 12 July 2011 at 10.30am at the Wheatbelt Picture Framing Gallery.

RSVP by 8 July. Email me for more information.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Dymocks Garden City

Road Wench will soon be available at Dymocks bookstore, Garden City. Stock will be in store by the start of next week.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Emerging Writers Festival 2011 (#ewf11)

I'm excited to announce that I'll be attending the Melbourne 2011 Emerging Writers Festival. On Sunday 5 June I will be part of the Fifteen Minutes of Fame event in Federation Square. Come along at 12 noon to hear the interview (I'm on during the first half hour). Books will be on sale after 1pm. For more details of the week's festival events, visit www.emergingwritersfestival.org.au

Road Wench comes to Rundle Mall

I'm pleased to announce my first two Adelaide bookshops:
- Dymocks in Rundle Mall
- Mary Martins Bookshop in Rundle Street.
Stock should be available in store within the next few weeks.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

89.7FM Radio Interview: Today 12.30-1.00pm

89.7FM is the ECU Joondalup Community Radio station. It broadcasts to Joondalup and Wanneroo areas - if you're in those areas tune in today at 12.30pm to hear Robyn McClure-Holmes interview Shannon Meadows.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

WA Library Technicians' Group - Book talk

On Monday evening I attended Mill Point Bookcaffe as a guest speaker for the WA Library Technicians' Group. I had a ball telling tales from tours, reading excerpts from the book, an informal question and answer session followed by book signings and some interesting conversations. Being in the old cottage of Tom Collins added to the atmosphere. Thanks again for your kind invitation and for being such an enthusiastic, on the ball audience.

Monday, February 28, 2011

Road Wench goes for gold...

I'm pleased to announce that a very cool and friendly bookstore in the mining town of Kalgoorlie is now stocking my book. If you're in Kalgoorlie, visit the aptly named "The Golden Mile Bookstore" if you'd like to get a copy of Road Wench.

Monday, February 21, 2011

First Melbourne Bookstore!

I'm pleased to announce that Readings Bookstore, Melbourne will shortly have Road Wench - It's a Tour, Not a Holiday in stock. How exciting - my first Melbourne bookstore!

Spread the word!

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Road Wench joins Twitter

Okay guys, I'm experimenting with Twitter at last. If Liz Hurley and Warnie can do it, how hard can it be? Feel free to follow @roadwench on twitter...I need tweet-buddies!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Bookstore Author Talk - 27 January 2011

Event - 27 January 2011 (starting 7.30pm) at Chapter and Page Bookstore, The Mezz, Mount Hawthorn - come along and meet the author. More details available instore. All welcome!

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Available in Freo!

I'm pleased to announce that Dymocks in Fremantle (129 High Street - in the Mall) is now stocking copies of Road Wench - It's a Tour, Not a Holiday.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

6PR Radio Interview - this Sunday

If you're in Perth tune in to 6PR (882AM) radio station on Sunday 9 January around 2.30pm. Ted Bull (country listeners will remember him fondly) will be interviewing me about the book. It will be a live broadcast.
:-)