And another thing . . .

Marcia and I were emailing this morning about The Secret Life of Bees and I told her I sometimes like to look up the narrator on the internet to see what they look like, after I've read the book though. So I Googled the narrator of Bees, Karen White, but I wasn't sure which one was the right one. There was one site for an author and about 50 sites about porn star Karen White. So I emailed the author Karen White.

Are you the Karen White that read The Secret Life of Bees for the audiobook version? I'm thinking it's either you or that porn star that came up when I Googled your name but I was too chicken to click those other links. ;-)

Dear Stefani,

I'm sitting here laughing as I read your email. No, I'm not the audio book narrator--and I'm definitely not the porn star, either! <g> But believe me, you're not the first to be confused.

I am familiar with the audio narrator Karen White (she did an excellent job with ENEMY WOMEN) and am looking forward to listening to THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES (everybody says it's wonderful).

However, I _am_ the author Karen White and if you enjoy books with a southern setting (such as The Secret Life of Bees) you might enjoy my last two books, Falling Home and After the Rain. They're not on audio (yet), but there's nothing like the experience of actually turning pages, right?

Thanks again for your email, and happy reading (and listening).

Best regards,

Karen White (the author--not porn star)

www.karen-white.com

Another reason I love the internet? Yesterday I decided I should email the two stores I've mentioned previously see if they think my cards would be a good fit for their store. One is on (50/50 I believe they told me when I stopped in one time) consignment and the other is a co-op and I don't know how they work. (Maybe another store I get to work in?!)

So I emailed them both this morning, including links to my Pine Tree Designs website and the Valentine's Day page in particular. I just had to do it before I chickened out. I wanted to rule in or rule out those places so I could stop thinking about them if that's how it turned out.

I'm better via email than I am in person. Plus I thought this was a good way for them to check me out without wasting the time of either one of us. If they wanted to see the cards in person, then we could set up an appointment.

The owner of the consignment shop emailed me back today. She said my work is beautiful and asked me if I'd be interested in framing some of my work. She said the cards are nice but she'd have to mark them up so high they'd be pretty expensive. She said she has tons of frames and that maybe we could combine our talents. She would do the frames up any number of ways and I could supply the art work.

How freaking fantastic is that?? I've seen her frames in the shop - they are adorable. They are shabby chic or funky colors and designs - all really neat. And you know I've been babbling about wanting to frame some more stuff! I've had ideas floating in my head for a while now - things to try!

I can't believe this! Just goes to show you, you never know until you try. One simple email could lead to all kinds of new things for me.

And the above news is what I received on top of two new orders I received this afternoon - from wonderful repeat customers. And I'll be able to ship the orders tomorrow. I love the internet.

The not-so-good news is I'm out of one of the components for one of the cards and the store where I buy them is out now too (after I left today that is). So spent the afternoon on the internet looking for another source. I started to sign up as a retailer for the company since I have a tax ID number but they have a $350 minimum first order. Yikes. So I emailed the New York rep, who forwarded my email to the upstate NY rep, who emailed me. I just emailed her back, explaining my predicament and asking if she knows of any stores that would have these parts in stock and would ship to me. And I asked if she has any other ideas because - you never know until you ask, right?

Listening to in the car: ...And Never Let Her Go, by Ann Rule. In looking up this Amazon link I read the synopsis. I remember following this story in the news! When I reserved this on the library website, I didn't really read what it was about because I pretty much like all Ann Rule books. (And I'm keeping the tapes in the house except for the one or two I'm listening to, which I will take into work with me so I don't have the problem with the ultra cold weather again.)