Beth Dolgner, Writer and Editor

On June 26, 2009, I celebrated the launch of my first book, “Georgia Spirits and Specters.” In the one year since that time, my second book, “Everyday Voodoo,” debuted, I revised my paranormal romance manuscript, and I got signed to a literary agent.

Homemade cookies at the "Georgia Spirits and Specters" party.

It seems like a lot to happen in just one year, but there has been a lot of patience involved in all of it. Writing takes a great deal of patience and humility: patience as you wait for your book to debut, or wait to hear back from a potential agent. As for humility, well, you hear “no” a lot more often than you hear “yes.”

Thankfully, it only takes one “yes” to really get things rolling. When Dinah, my editor at Schiffer Publishing, said “yes” to me writing “Georgia Spirits and Specters,” it led to me authoring “Everyday Voodoo.” Having two books already published helped me get an agent at a well-established agency. Now, hopefully, that will lead to my fiction manuscript being sold to a publisher.

My year in publishing has been especially busy when you tally the number of book signings and radio interviews I’ve been fortunate enough to do. I’m glad all those Georgia ghosts got things rolling for me.

In celebration of National Poetry Month, Bound to Be Read Books asked local authors and poetry lovers to read their favorite poems throughout the month of April. Jef at Bound to Be Read suggested I write a Voodoo-themed poem to coincide with the debut of “Everyday Voodoo.” So, I did. I’m not gifted when it comes to poetry, but I composed a piece about Papa Legba, the Voodoo spirit who guards the crossroads. Enjoy!

Last night was my first interview for my new book, Everyday Voodoo. Dwayne and Sarah Claud with Anomalies Paranormal invited me onto their weekly show Anomalies. In case you missed it, you can listen to the poscast here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/anomalies.

I get shy in front of an audience, but I love talking on the radio. In this case, I was talking for almost an hour! Dwayne and Sarah asked great questions and really kept things moving along, so a huge thank you to them for having me on and for making the show so enjoyable. Also, thanks to the listeners who popped into the chat room to ask questions.

In addition to the website for their radio show, Anomalies has a home at http://anomaliesparanormal.com. Thanks for tuning in!

My birthday present from Ed showed up today. He had given me just one hint about it: “It’s really heavy, you’ll probably only use it a few times, but it will be really neat to have.” The 40-pound present turned out to be a Remington Standard Noiseless 6 typewriter. It officially ranks as one of the top three coolest presents he’s ever given me (the others being my Boba Fett painting and my game-worn Jim Slater Thrashers jersey). The typewriter is in great shape: one knob broke during shipping, but I can easily glue it back together.

And why is a typewriter such a great present? Ed’s reasoning was, “Well, you’re an author now.” That really does sum it up. I look at that Remington and picture Ray Bradbury, my literary hero, pounding away on the pay typewriters in the UCLA basement. Supposedly, Mark Twain bought an early Remington model and is credited as the first author to ever submit a type-written manuscript.

What it really comes down to, I believe, is thinking about all the authors who found success after typing away on a machine like that Remington. Sure, technology has changed and I do my clacking on a laptop now, but the sentiment is still valid: if they could do it, then so can I.

October is my favorite month of the year because I get to celebrate Halloween for four weeks. This year, Halloween is even more special because I’ve been promoting my book, Georgia Spirits and Specters. The wonderful folks at the Norcross Ghost Tour had me out for a book signing two weeks ago. The weather didn’t cooperate with us, but we still had fun. And, I got to tell ghost stories to a troop of wide-eyed Girl Scouts.

Things really ramp up this week since we are just seven days away from Halloween itself. On Sunday, October 25, I’ll be signing books at Oakland Cemetery during their nighttime Halloween tours. Oakland is Atlanta’s oldest cemetery, and my favorite spot in Atlanta. Tours are sold out for this year!

On Monday the 26th, I’ll crawl out of bed in time for a 7:35 call-in to the Bill Bailey Morning Show on Fun 101.1. You can listen to me on their website. Catch me again on the air on Friday, October 30, when I stop by the Fun 101.1 studios to hang out at 8:00 a.m.

If you’re in Savannah, stop by Magnolia’s, a fabulous gift shop at 137 Bull Street in the historic district. I’ll be signing books there from 1:00-3:00 p.m. on Saturday – Halloween!

Before all the promos, I’ve got to put on my dancing shoes one more time. Guinness gave the Thriller world record to Mexico instead of DragonCon, despite the fact that they only danced for two minutes and didn’t do the full choreography. Guinness can’t keep us down, though. A lot of the D*Con Thriller alumni are gathering to participate in another record for the most people worldwide dancing at once. I’ll be in full zombie mode!

Happy Halloween, everyone!

My friend Chris, who urged me to write this book in the first place, was at the Border’s in Buckhead on Sunday. He and his girlfriend Ashley spied my book, looking all nice with the cover facing out. It’s pretty cool to see my book in a place like that, and it reminds me what a beautiful job the graphics team at Schiffer Publishing did on that cover.