I ducked into Kroger yet again this week, this time to buy the August issue of Shape magazine which features a positive blurb about my book on page 28. Sweet! Not only am I near the front of the magazine, but they named me a “must-read.”
I’m happy to see my book featured next to another Seal Press book, About Face: Women Write about What They See When They Look in the Mirror. I’ve had a great experience working with the lovely ladies of Seal Press and I feel honored to be on an imprint that puts out books by women, for women that hopefully make the world a better place. I’ve also been known to stop by the message boards of the 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet web site, so I’ll have to add their book, 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet: Because We’re All in It Together, to my “to read” list too. That list is getting kind of long, and I’m adding books to it faster than I’m reading. Too bad I never figured out how to read on the treadmill.
Half-Assed in United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and on Kindle!
July 1st, 2008
I’m happy to announce that Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir is now being distributed in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand via Palgrave/Macmillan. If you live in any of these countries, you can go to your local bookstore and request that they order a copy for you. If you’re lucky, they might already have one in stock. Karen already wrote in to report a sighting at the Borders in Auckland. It doesn’t matter what store you go to because my distributor accepts orders from big chains and independent retailers. And yes, Britons, please request “Half-Assed” not “Half-Arsed.”
I want to apologize that I did not have this information for you guys sooner. If I’d known the book would be available internationally, I would have told my foreign readers to wait to buy it locally instead of paying to have it shipped overseas. You could have saved money on shipping and I would have saved my hand cramping up filling out bizarre custom forms. I want you to know that I’m genuinely sorry and hopefully the shipping costs were worth the two month head start you got on your neighbors. If it makes you feel any better, after Helen sent me pictures of her reading the book on a beach in Mexico, it occurred to me that my book has now traveled more places than I have. I wish my body could visit the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, but my words will have to suffice for now.
The entry period for the viral video contest is now over. I will draw a winner as soon as I finish confirming entries. I’ll announce the winner on the blog when I do so. Thank you to every one who participated. As of this moment, my video has 6,566 views!
Free stuff! Free stuff! Now that I have your attention, I thought you’d like to know that the AOL Living blog That’s Fit is giving away a signed copy of my book. Go to their site and read this post to learn how you can enter. That’s Fit blogger Kristen was also kind enough to review the book a couple weeks ago and said I have a “wicked sense of humor.” Thank you, Kristen, and That’s Fit for running the giveaway!
A review of Half-Assed is included in the July/August edition of Women’s Health. If the $4.99 cover charge is too much for you, or you don’t feel like ducking into your local grocery store to flip to page 78, here’s a scan of the article (or at least my part, which is of course the most important part of the entire magazine):
South Bend, IN signing and $25 Amazon contest reminder
June 26th, 2008
You can still win $25 at Amazon.com!
You’ve still got 4 days left to enter my Viral Video Contest and be entered to win a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com, a Burt’s Bee’s gift basket, a free autographed book and a spaghetti scepter. (Do it for the spaghetti scepter.) Details are here.
Catch me in South Bend
I’ll be in South Bend, Indiana, holding court in the Barnes & Noble at 4601 Grape Road at 4pm on Saturday, June 28. I’m sold out of autographed copies on my book site, so this is one of the last times you’ll be able to score a signed copy unless you randomly bump into me on the street while carrying a copy.
Please spay and neuter your pets
It’s important to control the pet population…oh wait, sorry, this has nothing to do with me or weight loss. I’m just flashing back to the prime time edition of The Price is Right last night.
Autographed books are SOLD OUT! Thank you to everyone who bought a copy. It is because of you that the clerk at the post office said “How you doing?” to me three times. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. However, I had fun turning a corner of my apartment into a makeshift bookstore, printing postage labels on my inkjet, buying bubble envelopes in bulk, and filling out a dozen customs forms. (Okay, filling out the custom forms wasn’t fun.) I enjoyed being an entrepreneur and I am very appreciative of your support. Thank you!
From now on, if you wish to get an autographed copy you’ll have to catch me in person or send me a copy of your book with a self-addressed stamped envelope to:
Jennette Fulda
PO Box 90186
Indianapolis, IN 46290-0186
I’ll be chatting on the Maria Sanchez Show on KVTA AM-1520 today at 3:25pm PST (or 6:25pm EST) assuming I get my ass home from work on time. You can listen live at their web site http://kvta.com/ or on the air waves if you live in California.
Tomorrow, you can listen to an interview I already taped at HealthyLife.net with Faith Ranoli from 1-2pm PST (that’s Pacific Standard Time so it’d be 4-5pm Eastern Standard Time). Just click on the “Listen Live” button at the top of the home page at the appropriate time. If any of my coworkers are reading this, they probably just keeled over in shock at the idea that I could talk for an entire hour about anything. I’m sort of a quiet one.
I suspect doing interviews to promote a book is like developing a comedy routine. I keep throwing new material out there during every performance and if something goes over well it gets included in my routine. After awhile I’ve got a well-crafted performance that I can take on the road.
If any of you followed my blog book tour, you probably noticed I touch on many of the same points over and over again. I even use the same wording a lot or make the same little jokes. That’s because I’ve found what works and what gets across my message succinctly. And I’m not so brilliant that I can come up with something new and original for each interview. There’s also no need to. The point of all these interviews is to reach new people. Most of them haven’t heard me talk about my newfound love of rutabagas.
It does get old after awhile, which is why I particularly appreciate it when people do their research and ask me new questions. It sometimes leads me to new points which I can throw into my song and dance routine.
How to lose 192 pounds in 7 seconds: Viral video prize giveaway!
June 9th, 2008
Contest! Woo-hoo! If you enjoyed the video above (and even if you didn’t) you can enter to win the Half-Assed Prize Pack in celebration of the release of my book, Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir. The prize pack includes:
A $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com
A signed copy of Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir
A signed galley copy. (Galleys are early uncorrected proofs that are sent to reviewers.)
A Burt’s Bee’s gift basket
My favorite kitchen gadget, the apple corer and slicer
. The prize pack includes: