A couple days ago I was up in SF visiting friends and stopped at a Shell station in my old neighborhood to get gas. My car was in the shop, so I was driving my mom’s, which has car seats in the back for the grandkids, a license plate with the word MOM in it, toys all over the floor, the classic Grandmamobile. Just as I was about to pull away this nice guy named Jefrey (yes, with one F) approached me to give me a demo of some special combo car cleaner/wax product. I was in a huge hurry and really didn’t need the cleaner, but I didn’t want to be rude, and he was super friendly. I noticed a few copies of my book sitting on the passenger seat of the car, so I randomly told him I’d swap him a copy of my book for a can of the cleaner. With a smile he agreed, so I signed the book for him, took the wax, and took off in a much better mood than when I’d arrived just moments before.

Jefrey, if you’re out there reading this, your smile is contagious. I doubt you will ever read my book, but if you do, I hope you enjoy it. Happy Near Year!

Super exciting news! After receiving many many requests from readers to make the “Honey Notes” that appear throughout Perfect on Paper available for sale in real life, I finally decided to do it! It’s been quite a learning experience, but I’ve enjoyed (nearly) ever minute of the past few months as I figured out 1) how to get the cards designed, and 2) how to set up the infrastructure to sell them. Today I am so excited to announce that Waverly’s Honey Shop is officially open for business! Here’s the link:

www.honeynote.com 

Please take a look and let me know what you think. I hope you love how the Honey Notes turned out as much as I do!

Hi everyone! Very cool news – Amazon is now allowing authors to upload amateur video to their individual author pages on Amazon.com, and the powers that be chose ME to create the sample video Amazon is using to promote this cool service! Given the multitude of authors out there, I’m extremely flattered to have been selected as a poster girl for grassroots book marketing. I just hope I don’t look too silly (or shiny) in this fun but very homemade video about Perfect on Paper… yikes.

Click here to take a look!

I just got back to New York after four days of super fun book events in the Washington, DC area. When I arrived it was 60 degrees and sunny, but by the time I left, it was a snowstorm! It was gorgeous, but it was also COLD. It’s been a long time since my Chicago days, so we’ll see how I handle my first East Coast winter … ack.

Anyhow, the trip was amazing, and I met some really cool people while I was there. One of the groups I spoke to is a social club for women called the Little Black Dress Club, and I wanted to blog about it in case anyone reading this is interested in joining an existing group OR starting a chapter. The club’s mission is “to create a worldwide community so as women move or travel there will always be a friend to share an occasion.”

Click here for the LBDC Web site!

ALSO, on my trip I heard an amazing dating story that I just have to share. A woman,  who shall remain nameless, signed up for Match.com, and she was soon sent profiles of several potential suitors. One of these possible future husbands  turned out to be the CEO of her company, who she knew was a married father of three.

AWESOME.

Bye for now!

That’s a great question, and I honestly don’t know the answer! Yesterday someone sent me a link to a blog post on the topic, so I wanted to share it here.  Basically it says that my book (and the other AmazonEncore titles) clearly should have been published in the first place — which is pretty nice to hear. So THANKS to whoever wrote the post! 

Click here to read the blog.

Hi everyone! AmazonEncore officially announced my book today…to be launched with a new cover in February!!

Click here to read it!

Yahoo! Can you believe this is finally happening? I sorta can’t!!

I still have a bunch of “first edition” copies in my living room, so if you’d like to buy any signed copies as holiday gifts (or for yourself), please let me know and we can make arrangements for me to send them to you. I would sincerely be grateful for your business! You can reach me by clicking here. (I have to use a link because if I put my email address on this site I’ll get flooded with spam!)

And speaking of business, exciting news on what I have planned next for Ms. Waverly Bryson is coming soon. Stay tuned…

Bye!!

-Maria

Hi everyone! Today I am *officially* able to announce that I JUST SIGNED A PUBLISHING CONTRACT FOR PERFECT ON PAPER!!

I am still in shock, but yes, it is true! The book finally landed on the desk of someone who loved it and who also had the power to do something about it, so at last I got THE CALL I’d been dreaming about! The plan is for the book to be released with a new cover in early 2010.

I’ll share the details as I get them (the publisher will be putting a press release together in the next few weeks– yahoo!), but I wanted to let you all know now because this is such an exciting day for me…and for Waverly!!

Thanks for all the encouragement along the way, and please please keep telling your friends about the book! Word of mouth is the only way it will ever take off, so thanks so much for your help!

Btw the book is still available on www.amazon.com right now– so think HOLIDAY GIFT ha ha ha!!

-Maria

I’ve got three fun trips coming up and am excited! On Monday I’m headed to Indianapolis for a few days to speak to a Young Presidents Organization (YPO) group, and I’ll also get to see my super fun cousin Greg and his family, plus my cool friend Steve from the good ‘ol days at Northwestern. Then I’m off to Boston to speak at a women’s leadership conference at Harvard, which should be an interesting and fulfilling experience because the topic is “following your passion in life.” After that I’m headed up to Maine, where I’ve never been, to speak to a mix of Delta Gamma and UC Berkeley alums right on the water. I can’t wait!! All the events will be great exposure for my book, and it’s just so fun to speak to groups of bright, accomplished people who actually seem to enjoy listening to ME talk for an hour. My sisters would laugh at that idea.

Bye!

Hi Waverly fans! In somewhat of a “life imitating art” moment, I was recently invited to donate 50 copies of “Perfect on Paper” for the goodie bags of a bachelor auction in San Francisco on June 25. Yes, that means many attractive men up on a bidding block. Gotta love it.

It’s for a great cause (at-risk children), so even if you don’t live in San Francisco, please forward the link below to anyone you know who does and might want to attend. I went last year, and it was super fun! The guys range from professional football players to hot surfers to ex-models to Harvard MBAs. THREE weddings have come out of this event in five years, not to mention two kids (I’m not sure the kids were related to the weddings though…cough cough.) 

Price of admission includes bottomless champagne and cosmos, plus a new Skyy Vodka drink called “Guardsamania,” whatever that is. VIP ticketholders can also attend a private champagne reception with the bachelors before the auction starts, so you can chat up your favorite(s) ahead of time.

Last year I was truly impressed by the quality of guys up for auction, and the organizer told me that this year’s lineup is even better (photos and bios are on the site). So please spread the word!!

Click here for the link! 

BY THE WAY, this event is great for single men to attend, because there are so many women there looking for a date….

Thanks for your help!

-Maria

The word is spreading about my book! The alumni magazine at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism recently asked me to write an article about the success I’ve had publishing and marketing ”Perfect on Paper” on my own. Click here if you’d like to read it!