Travels in a Blue Chair: Alaska to Zambia, Ushuaia to Uluru

A disabled adventurer backpacks the world - alone!! This book makes a great holiday gift or corporate prize! See my TV interviews... http://www.youtube.com/user/bluechairwalt








Monday, June 30, 2008

My first book signing! PARTY in the PARK- Aug 5th !

I have accepted an invitation to attend the "Party in the Park", in Toronto's west end near the lake on Tuesday, Aug. 5th from 5.50-8.30 pm.

I spoke with Sandy from the event committee over the weekend and learned more about the event. They are expecting 400-600 book enthusiasts and are aiming to promote local authors as much as possible. Sandy mentioned that some publishers were likely to attend.

I was hesitant as I needed to recruit some friends to assist me at the table. Sandy had said that it would be nice to have at least one other person to help with the books at the table if I was occupied with a signing.

Many thanks to my buddies Terry and Cyril for answering the call! More on this exciting event as I find out more!

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

If you have the AUDACITY !!

A few months ago I sent out some info about "Travels in a Blue Chair" to a number of online publications. One lady, named Natasha, the editor of Audacity Magazine was quite interested, but when I followed up with some further info, her mailbox was full!

I finally remembered to check back, and there was my note, back in the previous April edition of the magazine...

http://audacitymagazine.com/audacity.php?op=article&y=grfx&v=&i=59&a=663

I see from Natasha's most recent edition that she has just returned from a great trip to Australia. Way to go Natasha!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Speaking to the kids.

A friend of my family, who is an elementary school teacher has contacted me about speaking to his classroom of kids about my adventures. Jeff teaches a combined class of Grade 4 and 5 students, and thought it would be quite interesting and informative for him.

I won't be able to get down to Niagara to speak to this year's class, but I am aiming to speak to next year's group by combining this with another speaking gig for the Rotary, when I am down for the Thanksgiving holiday. Great to be noticed, and I hope I can think of things to say to keep the students interested.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Now over 2500 video views on YouTube !!

It is hard to believe the power of some of these platforms in the internet, for reaching out to the public. Since launching my short videos of interviews I have done, we have surpassed 2500 videos watched!

By far the most popular is my first interview on Breakfast Television, with Dina. I think that most people are probably looking for her, as all my friends were quite excited that I was sitting beside her that morning. Even if they are searching for Dina, and getting my vid....they are learning about my adventures and the book, in the process.

That is what it is all about!

Monday, June 16, 2008

I'm the new twittler on Twitter !

I am now twitting on Twitter, as of the weekend. I still haven't decided how exactly to use this website to promote "Travels in a Blue Chair", but hopefully it will evolve into a useful platform. You can't update your twits, so I will have to watch my syntax and spelling!

http://twitter.com/bluechair

For those not familiar with Twitter, it is really gearing to the younger set (not yet my demographic!), and so you just enter short messages from time to time, either from the web, your SMS, iPhone, BlackBerry or other communications device.

It something new, so just like my blue chair, I'm giving it a spin. Why not be a follower?!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

NPR, CNN and FOX news.

I have been trying for some time to get a bit of extra news coverage, with some of the biggie news agencies. To this end, I have been trying to contact them regarding the book, and hoping to interest one of the editors into conducting and online or audio interview.

So far I have met with little success, but as usual, I am not prepared to give up the ghost just yet. As with most things in life, you can't succeed without giving it a concerted effort.

I just have to hit on the right editor and then hopefully things will fall into place. Stay tuned!

Monday, June 9, 2008

Merry month of May - broke the record !!

The CBC interview really drove a great amount of traffic to the "Travels in a Blue Chair" website (see the right hand side bar for the link). We broke the record with over 12,000 hits!!

I think this confirms that there is a great interest in these stories and judging by the wonderful participation from people all over the world in the online interview, and those reading this blog, this interest knows no borders.

Spreading the word has been a tough slog, but it is paying off with all the positive feedback I have received these last few months!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

"Party in the Park" in Mimico.

I have recently be lucky enough to be invited to the "Party in the Park", here in nearby Mimico. My unofficial publicist, Angela, has been out evangelising about my book and this festival will bring together budding local authors in the west-end and all sorts of book enthusiasts.

The authors are encouraged to do a reading from their book and have some copies available for purchase for those in the audience who may be interested.

The event is on August 5th, just after the long weekend. I am hoping to participate, so I will be looking forward to this exciting, new challenge!

Monday, June 2, 2008

Getting to know the writer! More Qs from CBC.

Usually, when someone is writing an article about myself or "Travels in a Blue Chair", the questions are e-mailed to me and I then write the answers back. Tonight I was host to Elizabeth, a disabled freelance writer and her friends June and Mario, all from Ottawa. They were down attending a genealogy convention in Hamilton and wanted to make a point of meeting me and conducting the interview in person!

It was a nice change to meet people who had read the book, enjoyed it and asked so many thoughtful questions. On the other side, they seemed really pleased to finally meet the adventurer in a blue chair and get the answers in person and meet the character behind the book. It was a great experience all around.

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I received an additional 7 questions on the CBC web interview. I answered them promptly, but as of now they have not been put up on the website. Hopefully the answers will be up soon. Heck, one of them came all the way from Beijing, China!