"Every day starts with a blank canvas. What picture will you paint for all to see today?" ~ Dan Waltz

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Gnomeo and Juliet



I took my wife to see "Gnomeo and Juliet" last night. The five o'clock show was sold out, so we bought tickets then for the 7:20pm showing, also a sell-out. 

I didn't expect the crowd, especially since the trailers for the film were a bit on the corny side, but I was presently surprised seeing the film. The story of course, a similar one, one we are all familiar with (hence the name) yet quite different and very unique.  The animation was top notch and the music superb, if you like Sir Elton John that is. If you don't well it could be a painful film for you. It's geared towards kids, but certainly has enough going for it to keep any adult happily entertained.  It was definitely worth seeing and will find a place in my stack of DVD's when it's released.

I absolutely loved seeing the crowds interest in Gnomes as I have a similar story available in an illustrated paperback novel as well as ebook formats for Kindle and Nook.

If you love "Gnomeo and Juliet" you're sure to love my book
"Dragon•Fly, A Gnome's Great Adventure" as well.

Pick a copy up today! You'll be glad you did.


Click here for more information.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Zombie Apocalypse: Redemption


 Zombie Apocalypse:
Redemption

A film that I played a zombie in last year premiers March 31 in Royal Oak, Michigan, during Zombie Invasion. I can't wait to see the movie! It was an experience that I will never forget and one that I probably won't do again, but I'm glad I did it this time.


Here is a link to the event on facebook Click Here!



Monday, February 7, 2011

Marketing Intro

Made my first posting on the Pentalk Blog this morning. It's on Marketing your book.  Take a look if you like. Click here.

Repost from Pentalk......



You've worked hard on your story and it's finally coming to an end. For most of us we're succumbed by bittersweet emotions. Part of us happy the story has been told and part of us sad that it about finished. Writing the book is fun, laborious and tedious. It takes a lot of time, stress and most of all dedication. I hope you enjoyed the ride because your work has just begun.

"So, what do you do now?" Well hopefully you have already started marketing. If you have other books, then your marketing strategy should not have ended when the new book began, but should have simply rolled over into the new book even before you start writing it. It's never too early to start building up hype and letting your followers and readers know what you are up to, how it's coming along, and the joys and the struggles you’re having throughout the process. If you involve your followers/readers in part of the process, even if it's just responding to their comments, their more likely going to want to see and/or buy the final result.

"I believe in the book business you don't
just market your book, you market yourself."

There are many reasons why people buy and read books and it’s not just for the story, although a good story will help bring your readers back. One of the reasons why people buy books is because at one point in time they found you, the author, to be interesting. They'll want to know more about you, and they know there are pieces of you in every story you write. You maybe written clearly in the message or subliminally hidden within, and sometimes you are simply hidden in between the lines.

This is why it's so important now days to be involved in as many social media platforms as you possibly can, and there are plenty of them out there to choose from. Make sure you start with Facebook and Twitter, two of the best and they work hand in hand pretty well. Try and take advantage of all the free advertising opportunities that the World Wide Web (WWW) has to offer. In the past to be successful you had to advertise. Which meant huge advertising budgets. Not anymore. The Internet makes it an equal battlefield for competing against the big shots and best of all it can be FREE. Did I say battlefield? Maybe that’s not the best choice of words. I believe there is room for all writers and every book written and we all should help spread the word about each other’s books and successes. Word-of-mouth advertising is still the number one way to advertise and the Internet makes it so easy to tell thousands of people about you and your story with just a single post. Tell them who you are and what you're up to. They will eventually respond.

I will go into this and a whole lot more in greater detail in future posts. In the mean time go out and make friends, gather some followers, and create some hype. Remember, no one will sell more books than the author.

Believe in yourself and believe in your work.

Dan Waltz
Editor, Marketing/Resources

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Help me paint/build Troy Snowman


Here is a cute game I designed years ago for a book. Your kids will enjoy playing while you're watching the big game today. Play online for FREE here http://tinyurl.com/6crf38y

Saturday, February 5, 2011

What did January bring?

January is behind us already. Where has time gone? It’s been a busy month for me.  As you can see my blog has a new look and I hope to keep it updated regularly now that I like it. I also designed a blog for a writing community, which I’m proud to be a participant of.  Its call Pentalk, and I will be writing a bi-weekly column there about Marketing.  If you like to write I urge you to join, you’ll be glad you did. Check it out here pentalkcommunity.blogspot.com/

 I also have been working on the layout and illustrations of a book called “Stories From The Bog.”  A book on "Madness, Philosophy, & Psychoanalysis.” Written by Patrick Kavanaugh. I have about 12 illustrations to do for it + the cover design. The cover I completed first, now on to the rest.

Speaking of cover designs, I also designed a cover for my short story “Endangered Domain” and a cover for my next book “Viral Bound” an apocalyptic novel. A genre I enjoy the most. I’ve been working pretty steady on it lately and its coming along very well. If all goes as planned, I hope to release it this summer or fall, at least in ebook format if not paperback.

Speaking of ebooks,  I’m excited to announce that my books "Kornstalkers" and "Dragon•Fly" are available as ebooks now, in Kindle and in Nook formats. I’m pretty excited about the ebooks as I got a Kindle for Christmas and I never dreamed it would be so much fun. I see a huge market in ebooks and look forward to keep heading in that direction.

Other things that January has brought us, is a new zodiac sign that I’m sure confused the heck out of you as well as the Zodiac Killer. By now he should be wondering if he had killed the right people or not as most every ones sign has changed.  I know it confused the heck out of birds as around the same time thousands fell from the skies to their deaths across the world.  And, fish and crabs have died by the millions. No explanation I guess is needed, because we never really got one. Not all that sure we should be good with that.

I had the pleasure of Jury Duty this month, hoping to at least get a good story out of it, but the criminals plead guilty before I got a chance to hear the whole thing. 

We also had the biggest snowfall of the year recently, which closed schools for two days, made the roads a mess and I got to spend some quality time with my snow blower. Not complaining, I love my snow blower, and Michigan has been spared greatly this year from bad weather, but it sure has been cold. 

Which leads me to my Consumers Energy bill. They only want an arm and a leg this month to heat my home, so if you need a painting done I suggest getting a hold of me soon while I still have an arm to paint with. At this rate I may only be able to paint for one more month without having to hold the brush in my mouth. Unless, I can convince my wife to volunteer her arm and leg first, she is a very giving person after all.

That was part of my January. I’m looking forward to what February brings.
Follow your dreams folks. I’m following mine.

Dan

p.s. Hoping to start a new painting demo soon!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Pentalk Community: Meet Dan Waltz!

Pentalk Community: Meet Dan Waltz!: "DAN WALTZ author, illustrator, artist Award winning artist, graphic designer, illustrator, and author with works published in and/or on ma..."

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

It's all how you look at things.


Mountain ranges like this one popped-up all over Michigan overnight

and continued to rise throughout the day.