Carol's Sip Wine & Savor a Goodbye Party

Everyone Welcome! Come to Carol Doane's goodbye party.

Online event registration for Carol's Sip Wine & Savor a Goodbye Party powered by Eventbrite

---

New Year's Eve: Tarts and Vicars Party!

Niche Wine & Art welcomes all tarts, savory and sweet,
because tarts always come FIRST at Niche!

Enjoy your champagne cocktail in this comfortable neighborhood gathering spot. Rustic down to the original concrete walls washed with remnants of colors from the past and the rough hewn fir floors, this new restaurant in downtown Vancouver offers 140 wine selections by the bottle, and dozens of selections by the glass and half glass. Prices from $4.
Full menu available for the holiday including tarts, both savory and sweet.

Event management for New Years Eve: Tarts and Vicars Party powered by Eventbrite

---

Social Media for Writers: Speaker Carol Doane

Vancouver Writer's Mixer

Social Media for Authors

Saturday, December 4

5-6:30 pm

Featured Speaker: Carol Doane

Saturday Carol Doane speaks to the Vancouver Writer's Mixer. She's got the internet wired for fun, for feedback and success! She's the doyenne of Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, and many other virtual publicity websites.

Carol will be demonstrating the basics of navigating these treacherous technical waters. Find out why you should dabble, even just a little, on-line. By the time we're finished, you'll be amazed and eager to get out there and start networking!  It's so easy, even Smedley the bookstore cat tweets. Carol will touch on hot social media topics such as Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, YouTube, Plancast and blogging.

Learn quick tips, easy to use shortcuts and what to do if you hate the idea of marketing yourself.

Carol was a top finalist in the 2010 SoMe Awards (Social Media Awards of the Pacific Northwest) for her volunteer campaign for the Southwest Washington Blood Program. Winning campaigns awarded to Air New Zealand, Travelocity, PAX East, Mio Gelato, Portland Fit, Hotel Max, Mio Gelato, a worthy group to be included in!

Carol Doane is also a published writer (chapter in Laughing Nine to Five: The Quest for Humor in the Workplace) and has two completed fiction manuscripts now in the hands of literary agents on both coasts.

Many, many thanks to Angst Gallery owner Leah Jackson for allowing Cover to Cover Books to hold their monthly mixer in the gallery. The bookstore remains closed due to smoke damage until renovations can be completed. Cover to Cover is taking special orders via email: mail@covertocoverbooks.net.

If you want to chat with Carol after the event we'll be taking over the couch in Niche Wine & Art next door.

Online event registration for Social Media for Writers powered by Eventbrite

---

Portland Writers Examiner reports on Hemlock Lake book launch

Karen Gilb of the Portland Writers Examiner gave a nod to Carolyn J. Rose's release Hemlock Lake.

"Hemlock Lake is a departure for Rose who usually likes to inject a generous measure of wit and humor into her books. The characters in her newest novel are still compelling. The action is fast-paced and believable, but fans will find her newest book considerably darker than those which have come before."

The launch party was hosted by Cover to Cover Books, 1817 Main Street, Vancouver, WA‎ 98660.

Hemlock Lake with Cake! A deadly combination

Author Carolyn J. Rose

Meet author Carolyn J. Rose on Saturday, July 31st, 4:00-6:00 pm at Cover to Cover Books, 1817 Main St, Vancouver WA 98660. The open house celebrates the publication of Rose's new novel, Hemlock Lake. She will be on hand to sign books and chat about her Hemlock Lake journey.

From the book's press release: "The mystery, set in the Catskill Mountains, involves betrayal, revenge, love, loss, and redemption, set against the search for an arsonist and killer in a remote community."

Rose, who founded the Vancouver Writers' Mixers in 2006 and teaches a novel-writing boot camp through Clark College Continuing Education, will talk about the decision to write a book far different from the humorous mysteries, such as The Big Grabowski, that she's penned in the past with her husband Mike Nettleton and as solo projects. She will also discuss the book's journey to publication, and serve up Hemlock Lake cake to those who stop by.

Watch the book trailer: Hemlock Lake.

To contact Cover to Cover: 360-514-0358

Carol Doane top finalist in Pacific Northwest Social Media Awards

Every two minutes someone in Western Washington needs a blood transfusion. Sean Debutts, Social Media Coordinator at Puget Sound Blood Center, sent a direct message to Twitter follower Carol Doane to secure Doane as a champion to spearhead a blood drive. Carol Doane, the Advertising Sales Manager and Social Media Strategist at The Columbian Newspaper in Vancouver, Washington, quickly agreed.

Doane's social media campaign and resulting blood donation event placed her as a top finalist for the Pacific Northwest Social Media Awards in The Scrappy & Engaged Award category. Winners will be announced after the Portland, Oregon InnoTech Conference. InnoTech is a business and technology innovation conference and expo sponsored by top brands IBM, Microsoft, Integra Telecom, Advanced Systems Group, Smarsh, MSI and others. Besides Portland, InnoTech conferences are also taking place in Austin, Texas; San Antonio, Texas; and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The Scrappy & Engaged category salutes best brand awareness/user engagement for under $500. Doane dubbed her campaign, "Carol's Save A Life Birthday Party," and estimated the cost at $14.99, the cost of a birthday cake. As part of her submission she created a SlideShare to describe the event, http://www.slideshare.net/TheClassicCarol/carols-save-a-life-birthday-party. "A crew of social media enthusiasts in Texas and beyond were the SoMe Awards judges," reports Sean Lowery, Executive Director of the InnoTech Conference which is spotlighting the awards.

"Social media is very personal and this campaign struck a chord for me," says Carol Doane. "I have an innate curiosity to see if I can drive people out from behind their computers to share a cup of coffee and many will, but this project asked them to extend past surface conversation and participate in a needle-in-the-arm way."

Sean Debutts, the initiator of the direct message that launched Doane's participation notes, "Carol deserves the honor after all the hard work she put into her drive and all the visibility she gave the concept."

The Puget Sound Blood Center maintains eleven donation centers in Washington and continues to benefit from Doane's efforts. "For an hour the SlideShare I created to describe the campaign was Hot on Twitter and featured on SlideShare's Health and Medicine category," notes Carol Doane. "It's all these little wins that makes diving into social media fun."

What's next on the agenda for the Social Media Strategist? "The hardest part now," she muses, "Is explaining what a social media award is to my parents." 

Social media is an all encompassing term for the mixing of technology and social interaction to add value to the community. The SoMe Awards honor the best social media projects, programs and campaigns in the Pacific Northwest. The SoMe event takes place at the prestigious Multnomah Athletic Club, 1849 SW Salmon Street, Portland, Oregon 97205, Thursday, May 7, 2010 from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Registration is $20 and includes two drinks and dessert. Event registrations are accepted online: http://ow.ly/1FZ1s

Information about the awards can be found on the SoMe website: http://www.someawards.com/

Award categories include:

• Best Brand Awareness/User Engagement (over $25k) – The Sugar Daddy Award 
• Best Brand Awareness/User Engagement (under $25k) – The People Like Me Award
• Best Brand Awareness/User Engagement (under $500) – The Scrappy & Engaged Award
• Best ROI (over $25k) – The Rich Get Richer Award
• Best ROI (under $25k) – The Keep Your Job Award
• Best ROI (under $500) – The Soon-to-Be Wealthy Award
• Best Social Media App – The Next Big Thing Award
• Best Agency – The House Party Award
• People’s Choice Award
• Best in Show

Congratulations, Carol!

Carol Doane blogs about life and writing on pearlofcarol.com and as @TheFirstCarol on Twitter. She also blogs on business themes at 360Convos.blogspot.com and as @TheClassicCarol on Twitter.

Writers Mixer packed

Ron Gompertz, author of No Roads Lead to Rome spoke at the April Vancouver Writers Mixer. He's an entertaining guy who pokes a bit of dry humor into his presentation to make a point on the pitfalls of self-publishing. “It's hard to talk about money when we're artists, but money is not a bad way to analyze things,” he said, and walked us through slides of math and graphics to demonstrate how many books a self-published author needs to sell to break even with print-on-demand options.

Gompertz coordinated the March 5th First Friday Author Event in Camas, Washington. We got a kick out of looking up the news article and noting that the paper gave a shout-out to Carolyn J. Rose and Mike Nettleton, two of Active Qu3st's favorite authors.

Read the entire article here.
Read more about Ron Gompertz from Karen Gilb's article on Examiner.com

Writers mix it up every First Saturday

This post originally appeared February 10, 2010 on Pearl of Carol. It is edited slightly for here.

The Vancouver Writers’ Mixer was intended as a one time event hosted by Clark College Community Education teacher, Carolyn J. Rose. She sought to encourage students from her novel writing boot camps to connect with each other and form critique groups. The first mixer was a hit and Rose believed her job was done.

Apparently, she was mistaken.

Badgered by students who couldn’t break the tie to their favorite prof, she kowtowed to the pressure and planned more gatherings. She recruited Mel Sanders, owner of Cover to Cover Books, who agreed to keep her bookshop open 5-6:30 PM every first Saturday to support the blatant scheme to encourage local authors.

It should be disclosed that at each event a contingent of ringers fill the seats who merely desire to revere authors for the 30-40 minutes they speak, lob questions at them for 10-15 minutes, stampede to purchase their books, and publicly beg for autographs.

Presenters are expected to play along.

Both Rose and Sanders are task masters who have kept the guest slate booked with well spoken presenters. They are also experienced in the art of delegation and have passed the baton to a committee who seeks to continue the high caliber of education and entertainment the mixers have provided. These rabid volunteers insure events are entertaining, fast paced—beginning with a fantastic and very entertaining emcee (our very own Carol Doane)—and of course, the event offers snacks.

People in the Pacific Northwest will go anywhere if someone waves a cookie under their nose.

The monthly events consistently draw 20-30 locals who desire to improve their craft, gain insight into the publishing industry, and garner tips on securing publishing contracts. The tickets to the event are FREE and available NOW. Grab one here: http://vancouverwritersmixer.eventbrite.com/

And if you are published or work in the publishing industry and would like to speak at a future event, contact the Vancouver Writers Mixer's by emailing Will Glessner for more info. Please put 'Writers Mixer' in the subject line.

Carol previews how to party

"I've donated blood before. It doesn't take very long. The needle prick is just that, a teeny-tiny, little momentary sting. It won't even make you blink," reports Carol Doane. "Really, the worst part is sitting through all the questions they ask. Once you've heard them, it's pretty boring."

We wondered why Carol chose to celebrate her birthday by asking her friends to donate blood.

"My heart is truly vested in Be The Match, the National Bone Marrow Registry and especially to raise awareness of people of color registering—half my family is of Asian descent. I would be the un-Asian half," Carol noted, and rubbed the inside of her elbow likely in anticipation of the blood donation adventure. "But @SWBlood sent me a direct message on Twitter and asked if I would spearhead a drive. I am a big believer of accepting the pie on your plate, so I gave them an enthusiastic yes and starting pressing friends and strangers into service."

How many friends have signed up?

"I keep checking the online appointment scheduler and I'm still seeing some open spots, but I'm hoping to fill the day to keep the Puget Sound Blood Center busy. I want it to be successful for the time their staff invests. My other desire is that it will encourage my friends to pause and think a moment about what their gift does during everyday life or disaster.

"It's just incredible how a simple, simple thing changes the world. It costs you your gas, your time to get to the center, maybe a little anxiety, but what you give is unmeasurable."

Carol shared pictures she snapped during her last donation that occurred at her office. The Blood-Mobile drove up, parked in front of their building and opened for business treating donors with juice and cookies, rockin' music and friendly, encouraging smiles.

"I like to engage people in conversation and one of the personnel had worked with me previously, so we spent time catching up. I met another phlebotomists and learned she was married to a youth minister and had just returned from a church retreat. She and I had an interesting conversation in a different way. I talk to everybody who enters my circle."

You mentioned three social media circles where you are promoting this event. What others are you using?

"Oh, my gosh. I am leveraging everything! I posted on LinkedIN, Plancast, created a 'poster' and uploaded it to Twitpic. I'll be writing about it on Blogger, and I'm asking friends to blog about it. I've got a steady chirp of tweets happening, too.

"We made event pages on local social media spots like Guerrilla-Media, and national hubs like Meetup and Upcoming. We actually have two Facebook pages, one through my Facebook fan page and another Facebook event page that the Blood Center set up, which is a lot cleaner than mine. I tend to get too wordy. Oh, and check out my Schmap! What else..." Carol scanned her open laptop to aid her memory, but before she got distracted with gmail, we asked what happens after the event. Her head bobbed up and a big grin covered her face.

"I'm taking a few days off and enjoying spring break with my daughter. Hoping to get a little travel time in. I'm always up for adventure. I'll post pictures either on Twitpic or Flickr and you can watch us on the road via Foursquare. And, of course, if anything extraordinary happens we'll upload it to YouTube!"

We think Carol should pace her social media pursuits, but this project is too good not to throw your whole heart into.

Join Carol on Wednesday, March 31, 2010 for

Carol's Save a Life Birthday Party

Puget Sound Blood Center - Vancouver
9320 NE Vancouver Mall Blvd
Suite 100, Vancouver, WA 98662

Follow the Schmap to the Blood Center
Follow Google map to the Blood Center


Make your appointment online: http://bit.ly/9MBoxg


Want to, but can’t on the 31st?
Call 360-567-4800 for an alternate date.

EACH DAY Western Washington needs 900 people to donate blood.

1. Eligibility: http://www.psbc.org/programs/blood.htm

2. First Time Donors: http://www.psbc.org/programs/drives_first_time.pdf

3. Donation FAQs: http://www.psbc.org/programs/faq.htm

If you would like to see the lives that are touched by blood donation visit the Puget Sound Blood Center patient videos page.

First Friday Artwalk is a HIT!

Flight Over Hydra

The big show at Angst Gallery opened Friday with March's featured artist Jason Wade Phelps. Phelps welcomed First Friday Artwalk guests with an intriguing collection that demonstrates how the creative process makes sense of time, memory and experience. Response was overwhelming for this transplant from Southern Oregon.

Phelps work is on display now through March 31.

From left to right: From Where Crow Found Us and The Archer and 9 Suns.

Mending, Jason Wade Phelps.

Stop in at Angst Gallery Wednesday through Saturday, noon to 5:00 pm to encounter thought provoking designs, materials and impressions by Jason Wade Phelps.

You can view more of his work on his blog Jason-Wade-Phelps.blogspot.com.

If you are an artist and interested in discussing your work on display at Angst Gallery contact gallery owner, Leah Jackson. The gallery includes a broad array of media from canvas to ceramic, to fine jewelry, handmade cards, and books.

Gmail: Leah.AngstGallery@gmail.com
Phone: 360.253.1742.

Book Signing with Carolyn J. Rose & Mike Nettleton

Carolyn J. Rose and Mike Nettleton will be signing copies of their first book in the Devil's Harbor Mystery series, "The Big Grabowski" on March 5th from 5PM – 8PM. Follow the trail of salad croutons left by the duo to Navidi's Olive Oils & Vinegars, 322 NE Cedar Street, Camas, WA 98607.

The First Friday “Arts & Letters” event celebrates local authors and student artists at select locations throughout downtown Camas. Authors will sign, sell, and read from their books, and a collection of signed books has been donated by the authors for a raffle to benefit Friends of the Camas Library, a nonprofit.

In addition to the literary offerings, participating Downtown Camas businesses will showcase the art of local students. Paintings and drawings will be juried with prizes for People’s Choice, Judge’s Choice, and Honorable Mention for both middle school and high school students. The event is intended to feature the depth of artistic talent of the students in the Southwest Washington community.

For more information on Downtown Camas and Camas' First Friday visit DowntownCamas.com or contact Carrie Schulstad at 360-834-5445 or 360-834-5445.

Rose and Nettleton teach writing skills through the Clark College Community Education program. More about the mysteries they write can be found on their Web-site: Deadly Duo.