An Offer to Moo About
By Guest | October 1, 2011 |
Therese here, turning the blog over to author Liz Michalski, who’s here with a great offer.
A little over a month ago, Therese invited me to talk about my business cards and how I use them. Here’s a quick outtake:
I wanted something fun and different as well — something that seemed like a little secret all on its own. I scouted around and came up with Moo cards. They’re tiny little cards — about half the size of a traditional business card — but they’re gorgeous, and you can print 100 different images in a single pack of cards. People really seem to love them because they are so different.
I put the cover of EVENFALL on the front of each card. On the back, I printed different sentences from the book…
Here’s the deal: Leave a comment here sharing what line from your novel or WIP you’d put on your cards, and Moo will give you a twenty-five percent discount on your first pack just for playing. They’ll also choose their favorite five lines and award them each a free pack of Moo mini cards. You have until Oct. 5th to comment. Winners will be announced next weekend here on the blog, and winners will also be notified privately. Spread the word!
Sadly, I won’t be playing. Instead, I’ll share my next idea for using the cards here: I’m toying with creating mini-profiles for each of my main characters and passing them out to readers as little trading cards — wouldn’t that be fun for a middle grade or young adult series?
Many thanks to today’s guest.
You can read more WU guest posts by visiting this link.
“This innocuous sounding news note set in motion events that were to reverberate throughout England; in Parliament, at Scotland Yard, the media and the foundations of private fortunes.”
From ‘Triangle’ a novella by Alex Wilson.
Liz,
Okay, here goes. It’s the first line from my new novel, Small Change:
“She made sure nobody was within earshot.”
Grea ideas, Liz! I’ve put covers from international editions of the book on Moo cards, but I like your ideas better. You are so creative & thanks for sharing.
What a fabulous opportunity. Thanks to Liz and the folks at Moo!
“Wasn’t a man without dreams as good as a corpse?”
Jeanne- I really like this :-)
Gorgeous idea, gorgeous cards. Here’s my line:
“Unless. The word kept buzzing around my brain, like a fat bee banging against my skull. Unless, unless…”
Oooh. Doesn’t that raise lots of questions. Also gives a glimpse of character. Nice one!
“She looked from the driver to the writhing shadow outside. As she watched, she knew whatever the darkness was, it saw her. Her mouth dried and she couldn’t swallow. Something deep inside her was being slowly unwound like a spool of thread. ”
Cool. I just ordered regular business cards from moo. Would love to have some of these smaller ones as well.
“The very first time I met her, I took offense at her name.”
>:o)
Jett- short and to the point :-) Great line!
Opening sentence of The Baby Who Saved Dr. Cynical —
“She’d done it. She’d sold Dr. Jason Drake’s reputation for three million dollars and a closed case.”
I got Moo cards as a Klout perk and LOVE them! I put all my social media URLS on them. (It’s all I had room for)
Great designs!
“Ever since my sophomore Geometry class I had known that parallel lines spelled trouble.”
Fun seeing the lines people select for the Moo deal. Here’s mine:
“Having the right to do something doesn’t make it the right thing to do.”
I remember your post on Moo cards. This is timely because I’m planning business cards right now. Thanks!
From “Camelot & Vine”:
“Bye-bye, Mrs. Gone,” she said.
Bye the way, Therese and Kathleen, although I don’t always comment I read every post on this wonderful blog. I notice you’ve passed the 1,000 followers mark and I hope you shared a bottle of champagne. Congratulations! Here’s to 1,000 more.
So totally love brilliant ideas, like creating the character cards. It drives me to think that as we move deeper into the digital publishing paradigm (complete with very low-cost books) there will have to be secondary lines of revenue opportunities. Collectible cards like these for one’s books would be awesome! Or perhaps simply creating a limited edition run (numbered? Autographed?) and using them in marketing. So totally stealing this concept–with all thanks & gratitude, of course!
My line from the book’s description:
How a magical notion, born of driven focus without tempering of deep emotions, will reveal those deserving a life of career excellence and true love.
I adore Moo cards and already have some. Mine say:
What if you were someone’s past life?
From ‘My Memories of a Future Life’
And
‘A short book about writing a long one’
From ‘Nail Your Novel’
This is a great opening, I would read on if I picked this up off the shelf, absolutely
I *adore* this concept. (And the EVENFALL cards are stunning.)
Here’s a line from my paranormal romance (as yet untitled) coming out from Berkley Sensation in 2012.
“I know what it looks like, to love you.”
What a great idea for a promotion. This was shared on my Yahoo group, Marketing fo Romance Writers. You might get a run on the comments section!
My line of choice:
“If a Better subjects you to her passion, you’ll be at the mercy of her pleasure forever.” From At the Mercy of Her Pleasure, Loose Id, by Kayelle Allen
How cool!
Here’s mine:
“You need your own answers to the why?”
From “The Mystic Knot”
Great idea. I saw the original post it was very good.
“She can’t change her past; can she change her future?”
From the cover of my novel; “Call me Aphrodite”. :)
“Just because he’s dead doesn’t mean he wasn’t an asshole.”
Aack Amy! this story smacks of sarcasm, I love it already
This is a line from my work-in-progress.
“The story of the Krakoki Apocalypse had been told again, lived again, to be repeated year after year, to be handed down from generation to generation, never to be neglected, never to be forgotten, until the end of time.”
The Dragon Universe: The Fellowship,
Volume 1: Contact
Become a fan of The Dragon Universe on Facebook.
Visit The Dragon Universe web site.
What a great idea! I’m always looking for ways to promo my books, and this sounds very interesting. Here’s a sentence from my new release, Cat Burglar in Training, which is due out in Feb 2012.
You see, I don’t know the identity of my daughter’s father.
This line comes from my WIP, To Die For:
“There were no lights in the barn, but it went deeper than that–a cold both bottomless and relentless. And it stayed with you wherever you went, even in the warmth of the New Mexico sun.”
I actually have that post flagged in my reader so I wouldn’t forget about the moo cards!
My line describes one of my favorite contagonists from my current WIP.
“She looked as if she’d been squashed by some giant compressor, causing her chin to sit squarely on her chest.”
Oooh, what a great idea. I did make snazzy business cards with the URL for the trailer of my book, (about to go on submission). http://www.faintpromiseofrain.com.
Brilliant idea to put a line from the book on the other side. I would put the following one:
“They named me Adhira, born of lightning and rain.”
Love these cards, and the creative ideas for using them. Thanks!
First line of my novel, “Flight”:
“Caney Gentry was dead because of Redmond Johnson, and though there weren’t too many things Redmond ever felt guilty about, he knew the man had a wife and baby back home.”
I also like this, tho it’s technically two lines:
“Can we ever know true what the good Lord intends? Can we ever know our part in making it so?”
first sentences seem to be popular:-) “Itiapa was known as ‘a featureless island inhabited by people more boring than sand,’ which was a fine thing to be when you hid the world’s greatest secret.
From Intensive Care an April 2012 release from Carina Press:
“You don’t mean…have a normal conversation do you? Where we discuss current events and, God forbid, the weather?”
I love Moo cards! I’ve been using them as my business cards for a couple of years now.
I love the idea of MOO CARDS! Very different, and I am so excited to think of having all the different covers I have on them. I’m enjoying seeing everyone’s lines.
Here’s a line from my latest release from Western Trail Blazer Publishing, TIME PLAINS DRIFTER:
No matter what happened to him now, he had lost his brother forever.
Lovely cards, Liz, and a terrific idea! Okay, here’s my one line:
Mothers … they only saw and heard what they wanted to see and hear and ignored the rest, which was why, on the rare occasion Marla felt it necessary to have a serious conversation with her mom, she usually didn’t bother.
Thanks!
I just had to pop in and say I am so excited by all these fabulous lines!
I’ve been planning to get some full size Moo cards once I have a few different templates lined up. In the meantime, here’s a line I might use for some of them.
“Defector. That’s what they branded me. The Guildmaster wouldn’t have done it, but he’d been voted out of power by a knife in the back.”
great idea! must make time to come up with a good enough first line!
What a great idea! I’ve looked at Moo cards–Liz’s card is awesome. And I’m really interested in this idea.
From WIDE OPEN, out March, 2012 from Tor (and for which I really do need to start doing something like this):
She felt raw and sharp-edged as she walked off the plane and up the Jetway, like rusty barbed wire, like she would snap if someone twisted too hard.
Oooh! I am just sitting down to do page proofs on my next book. I will be on the lookout for a particularly good line…
Love this idea for a promotion!
Here’s from a story I’ll have published thru Muse in December:
“Terri, what the hell? Christmas present? You could have just bought me some candlesticks like last year!” Susan cried out.
these business cards look so pretty, Liz! It’s one of those images that I want to fall into; there’s something happening in there that needs to be unravelled. It also looks like it would make a great bookmark in that format, which is just an added bonus!
My line:
“Please,” he said, and tripped over the word. It was like watching a prize thoroughbred trip over a twig.
I learn something new everyday. Had never heard of Moo cards but they seem just the thing I’ve been searching for instead of business cards. Thanks so much.
Here’s my line. My favorite.
“However, he didn’t like to ponder such astute observations, he was, actually, quite a simple man.”
“I’m a grown woman; if I want Vodka-Tonic number four, I’ll fucking have Vodka Tonic number four.”
or
“I’d been manipulated into submission with extra bags of pretzels and sleep. ”
Both are from my WIP. Thanks for doing this–those cards are lovely!
Thanks to everyone for providing such a fabulous opportunity. I just received some Victorian-style keys that I was going to hang from something, but didn’t know what. Moo cards would be perfect.
Here’s the first line from my April 2012 debut historical thriller A LADY’S REVENGE.
Guy Trevelyan, Earl of Helsford, stopped short at the sharp smell of burning flesh.
Thanks again!
Tracey
Gotta get in on this. Liz is right, seeing the lines is fun.
Here’s mine, for my Historical Fantasy, The Bonds of Blood:
“His mother’s visions could not be unseen. In knowing, she fed herself to his father’s lust, that he would be born of their mingled royal blood, bonding him to a fated prophesy.”
Good luck to all my WU FB page friends! Thanks to Liz and the sponsors!
Hi Liz. These are great little cards. I actually have two of yours and they are beautiful.
I’m gonna jump right in to play. This is a line from my recently released romantic suspense, A Just Deception:
“Mom, this is Izzy. I think she might be the love of my life.”
Thanks for a great post.
The Moo cards sound great, but more than that, I’ve really enjoyed reading all the favorite lines. Thanks everyone!
Lemon meringue pies, Nolan Ryan and spontaneous combustion occupied Marian’s thoughts this lovely June morning.
Ooh. I want to play! From my WIP titled: The Trouble With Henry
She somethinged him.
Thanks
Shelton
Great post. Love Moo cards — use them for my theatre work, too.
From “Alice Bliss:”
“So on this night, when Alice pours out her grief for her father and her love for her father, and the ending of her time on earth with her father, it is Henry she chooses, Henry she pours these feelings into, Henry she blesses and burdens with her tears, Henry who has the strength of ten men as he stands up and stands steady beneath this onslaught that has knocked lesser men and boys to their knees.”
She screamed at me, swore at me, and whacked me. Everything I’ve ever done wrong in this life, and in the last one, came out.
You call me, because I’m not afraid of the dark.
-from Shades of Faith: Minorities in Paganism
Love the moo cards and the character card idea is brilliant.
I really like the moo cards and your character card. It would be a great promotional tool for middle grades.
Here’s a sentence from my debut novel, Knight of Runes, that releases November 14
He saw intelligence in her eyes, and passion. The intelligence was a surprise. The passion, well, he stirred that in many women.
Thanks,
… Ruth
“The best art is always an emergency.” The Only True Genius in the Family.
I love these moo cards!
Great idea. Never heard of MOO cards before, but they sound clever.
Courtney sighed. “The knob came off in my hand and I couldn’t open the door. So, I climbed out the window.”
Derek held out his hands to indicate the small rectangle. “A small, high window.”
Jimmy looked from his sister to Derek. “I still don’t understand what happened.”
Courtney snapped, “I got stuck, okay?”
Moo cards are so beautiful. I have an artist friend who has them for her business and she has pictures of dozens of different pieces on them. I want to steal them all and stick them on my walls :)
Here’s my line:
“If the standard is simply ‘not in hell’ we’re gonna be FINE.”
— from “The Path of the Monster”
“How could I get rid of the sun? Of the wind? How could I get rid of the smell of coffee, or the existence of music? There would be no erasing him from my life.”
From “Poison and Wine”
“We gather at the new town square.” My work is based at the farmers market. I’ve got gorgeous shots I’ll put on my Moo cards – what a great perk!
This is from the first in my “Dr. Ally Skye, Sex Therapist” comic romantic mystery series:
“Mr. Baumgardner, can you explain to your wife your reluctance to fulfill her jungle fantasy?” Dr. Ally Skye prodded.
Cool Moo cards!
— Marcia James
The words would be from one of my poems:
A single leaf
Golden yellow
Freckled amber
Landed on my car window today
The first line from the first book in my Josephine B. Trilogy:
I am fourteen today and unmarried still.
From my WIP, a middle grade time-travel:
He waited, and the forest seemed to wait with him. A branch cracked behind him. He dropped the clay fragment and whirled.
And I really love the idea of collecting character cards for MG novels – thanks!
From the WIP (editing), THE FALL, AND FURTHER FALL, OF MIRIAM BRONSKI:
This is why they shouldn’t let 16-yr old girls into bars; this is why teenagers shouldn’t drink shots even if they’re not driving. I swear if I get out of this alive, I’ll never get buzzed again. (Remember this pledge, you will see it frequently).
“I was at a crime scene! With dead people!”
“Only in our sleep can we read the pages of our dreams”
The Mighty Moo has spoken! The five winners, who will receive a free pack of mini Moo cards, are:
Porter Anderson
Amy Sue Nathan
Dirty White Candy
Lulu Ghost
Sandra Gulland
Everyone who entered will get a code for 25 percent off an order of mini cards. Thanks so much for playing, and a big thank you to Moo and to Therese!
Thank you, Liz! Off to play with Moo right now!