James Madison’s Montpelier in Virginia

Posted on March 17, 2012 by MAL

Today is St. Patrick’s Day, and I realize that I don’t have a lot of time to write anything remotely profound about this week. However, this week was pretty damn profound.

On Monday, I was lucky enough to have a client fly me and one of my account managers to James Madison’s (yes, our founding father) Montpelier (over 2,500 acres of land) in Virginia for the first-ever excavation of the grounds. (Evelyn, the account manager, was live-blogging and live-tweeting during our time there. We set up Minelabevents.com for this purpose.)

What was so interesting about this is that my client (Minelab Metal Detectors) partnered with Archaeologists to dig up artifacts only 4-6 inches below ground – this had never been done before. Not a group that typically works together.

However, as Evelyn wrote, “Whether the interests revolve around Civil War artifacts or Native American reservations, everyone seems to have a passion for history and what lies below the ground. The difference, as [Justin] Herbst, Archaeology Intern at Montpelier, puts it is “shovels to trowels.”

Since this was a private estate, no one had ever plowed over anything, so all the finds were just below ground level. I was only there for the first two days, but during that time they found:

a Civil War Officer’s button on a jacket,
a bullet from the Civil War era,
lots of rusty nails (doesn’t sound exciting, but to an archaeologist, this will tell them a lot!)
a wrench from the 1920′s
Metal chains

These guys were so passionate about what they do, and some have been in the metal detecting business for over 30 years. A community that I never really knew about, and here they are working with archaeologists to uncover history about one of our founding fathers.

To them, you could tell that it got emotional while down there. As soon as George Washington passed away, his entire estate was entombed, but that hadn’t happened for James Madison. They were deeply proud to be a part of this part of our nation’s history.

I never really considered myself a city girl, but to them – I was. And after sleeping in a house full of lady bugs, japanese beetles and ghosts, and having to pee in the woods – I realized that the city was definitely where I felt most safe.But these were true blue group of men (and a few women!) – I felt like I was meeting the heart of America.

Not to sound cheesy, but they were so kind, so humble and so passionate about what they do, that I couldn’t help but feel so proud of my country in that moment. There are so many ridiculous things happening in the United States right now – talks of closing (or taking away federal money from) the only nonprofit birth control clinic in this country, Planned Parenthood, bumper stickers that take us back in civilization 70 years, millions of people still without jobs…it’s nice to be a part of something that is positive, and reminds us where we came from.

Three Questions with Toni Hargis, #Expat Mum, Author & #NonProfit Queen

Posted on March 10, 2012 by MAL

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Three Questions: Because a quarter life crisis needs answers (Paperback)

By (author) Meagan Adele Lopez

List Price:	$14.99 USD
New From:	$10.79 In Stock
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(This is the second post in a series of “getting to know you questions” with wonderful women around the world.)

Toni Hargis and I originally met in the blogosphere (Grampy, that means the world in which I’m writing now – and no, it’s not a dirty word!) when I was living in England as an expat. We met in the flesh in London a few years ago, after Melissa from Smitten by Britain hosted a bloggers meetup. She just so happens to live in Chicago, and has become a good friend of mine. Toni’s answers definitely made me think!

Below is a bit more about Toni:

Toni Hargis is the author of “Rules, Britannia; An Insider’s Guide to Life in the United Kingdom” (St. Martin’s Press), and blogs primarily as Expat Mum. In her spare time she runs a charity, Caring Kid Connections, that funds a private school in Ghana, West Africa. She is a Brit who has lived in the USA for 22 years, a wife and mother of three bi-lingual kids.

Toni Hargis

1. How do you define success?

I suppose I have to acknowledge the mainstream definition of “success” which would be – earning enough money from your art or your profession to be at least comfortable. For me, however, I don’t think the humongous houses, multiple cars etc. are much of a measure. That’s more like showing off, which is just tacky; besides, I’m not insecure enough to need everyone else to know what I can afford.

As a writer success would obviously be having lots of people buy my work; that would bring some money but the real shine would be that people enjoyed or learned from my work. Accolades and respect from other writers wouldn’t go amiss either; I can see why the Grammys and Oscars are so beloved by actors and musicians. The respect of others in your field would be a big measure of success to me.

As a human (and now we’re getting deep) I think success is being able to look in the mirror and know you’re being the best (ie. kindest and most genuine) person you can be. That can come in many forms, but there’s a satisfaction that can come with doing a lot for others, that you won’t find in a new car, or an expensive pair of jeans. Being comfortable in your own skin – that is personal success.

2. If you could be an animal, what would it be?

I’m not sure I’d want to be an animal given that they have so little control over their lives. Pets are chattels (even when they’re loved), and wild animals worry every day about eating or being eaten! However, if forced to choose, I would come back as my dog Dusty. We got her at nine months as a rescue from Paws, a Chicago shelter.

She didn’t seem to have been physically abused, but was nevertheless confused and a little nervous. She is a very pretty collie/husky looking dog, and we often get stopped by people on the street to ask what breed she is. She now has a great life, is loved by the whole family and her best dog friend Coco lives two doors away. (Her best, best friend is my 8 year old son and the love is mutual.)

3. What is one moment in your life that you would want to relive over and over again, if you could?

Hmm…this is really hard. I don’t think I’ve had one single ecstatic moment that I can think of (perhaps the best is yet to come?) – but lots of great moments.

HOWEVER, THE ONE I WOULD WANT TO RELIVE WOULD PROBABLY BE THE LAST TIME I SAW MY FATHER.

I had just turned twenty, just returned from six weeks in Greece and was on a flying visit home before going back to college. In fact, I was supposed to go straight from the flight from Greece to college, but something made me decide to take the 300 mile detour. It was just a normal weekend, and there’s a photo of me somewhere, clowning around with him and sitting in his lap.

While I wouldn’t have wanted to know that he would die suddenly, less than two weeks later, it would be nice to go back and see him one more time.

Book Trailers – what is the point?

Posted on March 8, 2012 by MAL

The first time I saw a book trailer, I knew I had to have one for my own novel. I had never seen one before, but it made me think that this book I was about to read was going to be turned into a film. It intrigued me because I felt like I was one of the lucky few who got to read the book before the movie came out and ruined it.

(The book was “One Day” by David Nicholls. He actually created a total of four “One Day” book trailers, from what I could find. This was before Anne Hathaway was commissioned to play the title role, and from what I hear – the movie did indeed ruin the book.)

Here is one of them:

What the *&%$ is a book trailer?

Good question. A book trailer is essentially the same as a movie trailer. Its an advertisement for the book in a visual form. For me, a book trailer was another way to reach my audience. It was another way to inspire and motivate potential readers to read the book.

It’s not to be confused with an author reading from their book in a video. Book trailers are generally scenes, or splices of scenes acted out from the novel.

I knew that the production value had to be high quality, and that it had to leave a cliff hanger of an ending. If no one wanted to know more, then what would be the point? That same token, if it looked like a cheaply made home video, no one would care to learn more. The hope is that inevitably, if its high quality, people will want to share it with their friends over and over again.

Why spend money on a book trailer?

This all ties back to a few points that I made above, but most importantly – there has to be some kind of ROI (return on investment). I spent $1500 on my book trailer (used from the money that I raised on Kickstarter). I researched how much the big companies were charging compared with the indie companies, and got my number.

To be honest, from the research that I did, no one knows if there is a return on investment for book trailers. Similar to billboard advertisements or TV commercials, there is no solid way to measure why people bought your product or how many took action after seeing an ad. As one of my favorite author bloggers said, “No one knows what the hell sells books.” In fact, I can’t see any demographic data (besides the country they are from) on the purchases made on my novel. (I wish Amazon would change that).

However, I knew that I wanted a book trailer in my arsenal of marketing weapons – I knew that it was an added component to everything else I was doing (guest blogging, email marketing, social media marketing, book signings, giveaways, PR, etc).

I had a secondary reason for making one as well -I figured it would be a great way to get the eye of a publishing house or agent – all they have to do is click “Play” and watch for two minutes to see if this is a story that intrigued them.

If I were measuring purely on book sales, I can tell you that my book trailer currently has 272 views so far (on the Youtube channel – see below to watch). If every single person who watched the trailer bought my paperback book (not the ebook, since I only charge $2.99 for that), I would have just broken even. Of course, we know that hasn’t happened.

So, I want to ask you – what do you think the point of a book trailer is? Do you see value in having one?

My book trailer is here:

Buy Three Questions, the novel, by clicking

Announcing… the Second Edition Paperback & Book Trailer

Posted on March 5, 2012 by MAL

Thanks to Kickstarter, I was able to produce a high quality book trailer that is finally available for your viewing! Some of you got a sneak peak on my Facebook page, but this is the official announcement. I hope you enjoy. Leave a comment and tell me what you think!

If you don’t know what “Three Questions” is about, perhaps this will help you figure it out:

Finally, the newly edited, newly formatted paperback is available! Click on the Amazon link to purchase or the image above!

I have my first book club reading it as we speak, and a second possibly by the end of the month. If you are a member of a book club, don’t hesitate to get in touch (we’ll work out some kind of group discount).

Also, click on this Paypal button below to order a signed edition of the new version.

Three Questions with Kara Lipson, Casting Associate Extraordinaire

Posted on February 29, 2012 by MAL

I introduce to you the very first “Three Questions” interview (based off the premise of the novel, Three Questions). (See here for an explanation as to why I am conducting these interviews).

I was lucky enough to work with Kara Lipson on and off for a couple of years when I lived in Los Angeles. She is one of the most hard working women in show business that I know. See below for her brief bio:

Kara Lipson is a Casting Associate working in Los Angeles for 13 years, first in television on ‘Ally McBeal’, ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ and ‘Two and a Half Men’ and in the last eight years in feature film. Feature credits include ‘Drive’, ‘Crazy Stupid Love’ and ‘Juno’.

1. What was your favorite food when you were a child?

Kara: My favorite food varied between cream of mushroom soup and steak, though Jello 1-2-3 was definitely a favorite while it was available in the 80s. My dad owned a deli when I was a kid so lox, Dr. Brown’s Cream Soda and matzo ball soup were also at the top of my list.

2. Who is a woman (real or fiction) that you admire most, and why?

Kara: The answer to this question probably changes daily, but I’ll go with Lisbeth Salander (from the Dragon Tattoo books or Swedish movies, not the American version). She is one tough woman, physically – she’s at the top of her game professionally (if hacking and defrauding banks can be considered a profession) and she does not apologize for who she is. She’s far from a role model but I admire her guts and strength and smarts and quick-witted sense of humor.

3. What is the memory that you look back on that always makes you smile?
Kara: Another good one. This is a recent memory, something that happened only last week, but I have a feeling it will be making me smile for years to come. I exceeded my own expectations for myself by taking part in a CrossFit competition and doing a workout alongside an elite athlete. Just she and I doing as many burpees (it’s like a push-up where you jump up and hit a target after the push-up) for 7 minutes straight. I thought I’d get around 85, but I got 113. She got 135, which ranks her in the top 10 nationally. After we finished, we were on the floor gasping for breath together and laughing and it just felt amazing to have been even CLOSE to keeping up with her. Someone snapped this photo of the moment and I feel it will be my “go-to” for whenever I need a smile.

(Meagan here: I absolutely ADORE this photo, and if we could only have more moments in life like this – where you can’t help but fall over laughing. Brilliant. Thanks Kara!)