First Book Publication!

I know I’ve been slow at the start of my blogging, but I’ve been working on getting my poetry e-book out and I’ve succeeded. YAY! It is now on Kindle, Nook, and Lulu.

“SIPPING A MIX OF VERSE” BY DENISE BAER IS AVAILABLE NOW!

No, Kindle or Nook?! No Problem.

If you do not have a Kindle, you may download Kindle for PC or Kindle for Mac for free to read “Sipping a Mix of Verse”.

If you do not have a Nook, you may download Nook for PC or Nook for Mac for free to read “Sipping a Mix of Verse”.

If you would like it in Adobe “.pdf” format, hop on over to Lulu for your copy of “Sipping a Mix of Verse”.

I want to thank all of you for your support and encouragement. It means so much to me, and I couldn’t have done it without you.

Have a great week! But first, don't forget to get your copy of "Sipping a Mix of Verse"!

Forgotten Precious Moments

That’s me—15 years old. Twenty-six years later and I just realized how much I have forgotten some precious moments in my life.

But let me back up a bit and give some background. Part of my heritage is Lithuanian, and like other cultures, we also have a cotillion—a formal evening ball. Our Lithuanian cotillion is called “The Amber Ball”—Amber being the national gem of Lithuania. It began with a dream of the Council General of the Chicago Lithuanian Women’s Club, Josephine Dauzvardis. She wanted a Lithuanian debutante presentation ball (although I’m sure Mrs. Dauzvardis didn’t have “me” in mind as a precious gem). During this presentation, the debutantes are presented by their fathers, and Lithuanian folk dances performed with escorts and post-debutantes. Each debutante comes out to the ballroom floor and bows before everyone.

My mother bowed in the first Amber Ball in 1961, and I bowed at the 25^th Amber Ball in 1985 with my two cousins. This is a picture of me doing part of the bow. 

What prompted me to write about this is that there is a 50^th Amber Ball Anniversary celebration in October. Yesterday, I started looking through the Amber Ball booklet from my year, reading through the pages, best wishes, and pictures. I haven’t looked at it in years, and I guess when I did in the past, I never REALLY saw what was written. My grandmother, who has passed away, left wishes for me, and within them stated, “Continue to follow your dreams…whatever they may be. Your success is my success.” I actually got tears in my eyes reading those words. My grandmother, Genevieve (Getling) Giedraitis was a true lady, and well…I was far from it. I was the type of teenager who argued about everything and defied what every adult said—a “don’t tell me what to do” type teenager. I wasn’t good with authority.

Now twenty-six years later, it dawns on me that I didn’t appreciate the kind of woman my grandmother was and the talent she shared with the world. My grandmother was a professional opera singer—she expressed her words through voice. I express my words through writing. Even though I didn’t REALLY read what my grandmother wrote, or maybe I had forgotten, I did follow her wishes. I followed my dreams of writing…And grandma, if you’re looking down, my success IS your success. God Bless You!

Website, Book Trailer, and Publication, Oh My!

Hello Everyone,

I’m back! First, I want to wish everyone a wonderful autumn season. I know it officially hasn’t started yet, but where I’m from, it has. This is my favorite season of the year because it embodies so much of my favorite things; sweaters, jeans, FOOTBALL, beer, popcorn, burning leaves, mulled wine and so much more. I’m sure some of you are shaking your heads no, dreading the cold that will creep back into our lives soon.

Even though my blog has slept, I have been busy behind the scenes. On a personal level, my Love returned to Germany because he didn’t find a job. I’m still looking for a job too and working on my writing life. *drum roll*

I have officially launched my “author website.” This is a task I’ve been working on for months. It’s amazing how you think you have it completed and then you find a grammatical error, or something isn’t working properly. I’ve tested and tested, but I finally have to understand that it will look different on others' computers.

Stop on by and visit my author website. http://www.authordenisebaer.com/

Along with my website, I’ve been working on my book trailer for my poetry e-book. I have never created a trailer and I wasn’t quite sure how I should put it together. Most book trailers give short synopses of their book. I couldn’t quite do that with a poetry book, so I put in some lines from my poetry. You can find the trailer on my website, but here’s the YouTube video.

This is the beginning of my writing promotion and I would truly appreciate it if you could share my information with anyone and everyone.

Have a great day!

Don’t Call Me, I’ll Call You!

Over the past few years I’ve heard people say how aggravated they get when they text someone and the person calls them back. They’ve said that they text the person because they don’t want to talk to them. Recently I’ve seen a trend in unanswered calls, but responses in text, email or on Facebook. Maybe it’s me. Maybe the people in my life don’t want to talk to me. But if that’s true, then I have to ask, “Why bother contacting me at all?”

I’m writing this post because I don’t understand the whole “don’t call me when I text you” thing, so hopefully someone can explain it to me. Have phone calls already become a thing of the past? There have been a few times, maybe coincidences, when I’ve called someone and they didn’t answer the phone, but shortly afterward I’ve received a text or email from them. Really? When I’m trying to set something up, or even have a quick question, I want to talk to the person. First off, I don’t like text talk such as ‘u’ for ‘you’. I feel it’s making us a dumber and lazier society. Secondly, things get lost in translation when you text and email. For me, nothing is more annoying than going back and forth in several texts and emails to set up the simplest get together when I could get it done within a five minute phone call. Done—no more time wasted.

Technology has given us so many wonderful opportunities, yet it’s also made us strangers even to our closest friends and family. I don’t know if it’s laziness or impatience that makes people want to text or send email instead of hearing the person’s voice. Some people I know say texting and emailing is quicker. I shrug at that argument because I don’t agree. If someone sends me an email while I’m out, I won’t get it until I come home. I don’t have a multi-mobile fetish—my phone allows calls and texting. I’m not a “here, now, know my location and what I’m doing at this moment” kinda gal. I’ll admit that I don’t like talking on the phone for long periods of time, and when I’m not in the mood to talk that pretty much covers all mediums.

This whole “don’t call me, I’ll call you” thing makes me wonder about emergencies. What if someone called a friend or family member because they were in an emergency situation and that person decided not to answer but text? I posed this question to someone before and they told me the person should have called 9-1-1, not them.

Are you a “Don’t Call Me, I’ll Call You” person? Do you think there’s anything wrong with texting and emailing instead of calling? Are you a “here, now, know my location and what I’m doing at this moment” kind of person? Do you think talking on the phone should be a thing of the past?

Let me…but just don’t call.