In the News...

A quick update of my media appearances:  this Thursday evening (October 25) at 7:00 PM, I'll be the featured guest on the Uvisualize blogtalk radio program to promote my new book, A Call to Magic.  And Next Wednesday the 31st (it's both Halloween and National Magic Day), I'll be a guest on the morning news program on WEEK-TV 25, probably sometime between 5:30 and 6:00 AM.  That same day, both WEEK and WTVP-TV 47 will be featuring my photo slide for ArtsPartners' All About the Arts campaign, as their featured ArtsPartner of the Day, rounding out the campaign for National Arts and Humanities month.  Here's my arts slide.

Event Trends

Here's an interesting article I just found on the latest trends in business events: 4 Event Trends You Need to Know About. I found the part about content versus experience interesting, especially in light of making entertainment a key part of events.

Looking For a Few Voracious Readers...

...or at least some book lovers.  If you love to read, if you enjoy learning about self improvement, personal development, and expanding your potential and your horizons with a more inspired approach to life, I could use your help.  And I think you'll truly enjoy it.

I need at least 5 or 6 more reviews on Amazon for my new book, A Call to Magic, before the official launch two weeks from now.  The Kindle version is on a special $0.99 download (and no, you don't need a Kindle to read it) from now until right before the launch.  The paperback version is about 246 pages, just to give you an idea of the length.

If this sounds like something you'd enjoy, please feel free to download the book, have a look, and give a review on Amazon.  (To review, just go to my product page and scroll down to "Customer Reviews".)  I'd love to hear any feedback that you have.  Thanks for your support!  Enjoy!

Arts Alive in Central Illinois

Last night I attended the annual meeting of ArtsPartners of Central Illinois, and I'm thrilled to announce that my good friends, Doug and Eileen Leunig were named 2012 ArtsPartners of the Year.  Most recently I've been working on an arts marketing committee with the Leunigs, along with Tracey Frugoli, Craig Stocks, Kathy Chitwood, and Suzette Boulais of ArtsPartners, helping to promote events in the Peoria area during National Arts and Humanities month in October.

One of the main projects of the campaign has been a series of images of local artists and arts enthusiasts which are airing daily this month on both WEEK-TV and WTVP-TV and which you can see HERE.

My slide, from a photo by Craig Stocks, was also featured at the meeting last night, and another picture of me appeared in the ArtsPartners annual report booklet, for my Marketing and PR for Creative Professionals seminar that I conducted at the Peoria Art Guild earlier this year.

I'm really inspired and grateful to be a part of the thriving arts community in central Illinois.

It's Live on Amazon

Both the paperback version and the Kindle version of my new book, A Call to Magic, are now live on Amazon and ready for purchase.  The Kindle version is temporarily priced at a special $0.99 until my official launch a couple weeks from now.  I'm hoping to get a few reviews on Amazon before the launch.

Thanks so much to everyone for your encouragement.  I can hardly believe it's finally coming together.

Pre-Launch

Yes, the paperback is now available on Amazon:

The Kindle version will also be ready soon, and I'll be planning a special free promotion for anyone who'd like to download, read it, and give me a review on Amazon.

For the Beer Drinkers Among You

If you've been following me here for long, you know I try to share any resources I find that are useful for anyone planning special events. Well here's a fun one I just came across for anyone who's planning a party for a beer drinking crowd. It's a handy online application that calculates how much beer you should purchase for a party based on the number of people and how much each of the people are likely to drink.Just in time for your holiday party planning!!!  Just click on the link below.

Just Had to Share This...

I quote Einstein a lot in my book.  I loved this one:

Holiday Entertainment Article

I just discovered that my article on How To Use Entertainment to Make Your Holiday Party a Smashing Success is currently ranking number 3 on Google for the search term "Holiday Party Entertainment".  Not bad, eh?  Of course I have been helping companies and other groups make holiday parties unforgettably fun and entertaining for over 25 years.  (OK, it's actually considerably more than that, but I'm starting to give away my age here!)  If you haven't read the article yet, it has some great tips for planning entertainment for your party.

Anyway, the holidays will be upon us all too soon, and it looks like yet another of those "hot dates" in December is about to fill up.  If you need entertainment, don't wait too long.

On the publishing front, my book, A Call to Magic: the Artful Science of Transforming Self and World, is in the final formatting for the paperback and Kindle versions, and I should have news of a release date sometime soon.  Stay tuned!

Family-Friendly Meetings

Here's something that will be of interest to my corporate and meeting planning clients.  It's an article I just found that notes a rise in popularity of "family-friendly" corporate meetings.  According to the article, many companies are seeing the benefits of holding meetings that include activities and events for employees' families.  They can be a strong factor in employee job satisfaction,company loyalty, and productivity.  Here's the article:  The Rise of the Family-Friendly Meeting.