Author Accelerator

Author Accelerator interviews Teri Case

Author Accelerator Teri Case Tiger Drive
Click here to read the interview. I’ve used several of Author Accelerator’s services. Over the past year, several people have asked me how they can start writing or establish a routine. I always tell them about Author Accelerator who has a variety of programs, ranging from ones for the writer who doesn’t even have an idea what to write about to those for writers who have finished a manuscript and need to fix it or have it reviewed. Want to write, check them out. In the meantime, enjoy my interview with them.

A Tiger Drive Thanks


Vitality Stories


Tiger Drive Acknowledgments


A Tiger Drive Thanks


It takes a village to write and publish a book. Here are the people and groups who are recognized in Tiger Drive.

 

Acknowledgments

Finishing a book requires soda, licorice, yogurt covered peanuts, magazines, glue-sticks, alligator skin, earplugs, candles, walks, a timer, a door, two saw horses, a fitness ball, The Civil Wars, and olive branches. But mostly, it takes a village of believers, coaches, supporters, and collaborators. Continue reading

Thank You Mr. Tobey

 


Vitality Stories

Mr. Tobey


Alcoholism A Family Problem by Teri Case Tiger Drive


 

In Tiger Drive, Carrie is seventeen years old and desperate to go to college but needs financial aid. She turns to her English teacher, Mr. Hill, to proofread her scholarship essay. He is an honest and candid man, and while Carrie doesn’t fully open up to him, she trusts him. Mr. Hill believes in her, and this makes all the difference to Carrie.

In reality, Mr. Hill was inspired by my ninth grade English teacher, Mr. Tobey, at Carson Junior High School. While Carrie’s story is not my story, writing creates an opportunity to recognize people who have made a difference even when writing fiction. Mr. Tobey is one of those people. But in the past thirty-two years, I’ve never reached out to thank him. In a recent exchange with my hometown high school librarian, I said it was because of people like her that there are adults like me. She made a meme of that comment and put it on her computer to remind herself that she makes a difference. She so does. Our exchange inspired me to reach out to Mr. Tobey, finally, to thank him. To tell him how the following three interactions with him have stuck with me always. Continue reading

My Overhauls: Then and Now

 


Vitality Stories


Teri Case Overhauls


My Overhauls: Then and Now


My Overhauls: Then

Author Cathey Graham Nickell and I recently shared the ways our mothers extended the life of our clothes when we were little. Cathey’s mom would add different colored strips of cloth to the bottom of her favorite jeans to lengthen them–Cathey liked them because she felt very “hippie.”

With my eight brothers and sisters, my mom repurposed our clothes both as hand-me-downs and hand-me-ups. My mom and I had many arguments about fashion once I started kindergarten. The first would be when she tried to get me to wear some used black overalls that were given to us for my younger brother. They were too big for him so my mom said I’d have to wear them until my brother grew into them. “Besides,” she had said, “you need clothes to start school.” But I was having none of her idea. I loved bright colors, skirts, and dresses already. I cried. My mom got creative. She cut out the inseams and sewed bright green polyester triangles to the front and back and voila–the overalls became an overalls dress and I loved my “overhauls”–as I liked to call ’em. I wore the dress all the time until I outgrew it, and my mom turned the dress back into overalls for my little brother. Continue reading

Mom’s Jailbreak


Vitality Stories



Teri Case Vitality Stories


Mom’s Jailbreak


No one puts Bonnie in the corner

Recently, my eighty-two-year-old mom had pneumonia which caused her to lose strength in her legs. She could no longer stand long enough for the staff to transfer her from the bed to her wheelchair, from her wheelchair to a recliner, etc. Ultimately, her pneumonia worsened, and she had to be checked into the hospital. She gets pneumonia quite often, but because she had lost so much strength and mobility, the hospital recommended she be transferred to a local rehabilitation nursing center (non-hospital affiliated) to rebuild her strength rather than discharge her to return to her assisted living center–her home.

What we didn’t appreciate at the time, but do now, is how poorly the rehabilitation nursing home was staffed and managed. My mom was grossly ignored for several days and was not receiving any physical therapy to rebuild her strength. Instead they were performing mental tests and assessments all in an effort to make a case that she stay at their facility for the rest of her life. She was starting to decline under the care of the rehab facility. There was no rehabbing a-happenin’. She’d try to talk to the nurses, but they just spoke over her. She tried asking for her doctor, nothing would happen. Continue reading

Biggest Surprise Ever


Vitality Stories



Biggest Surprise Ever


Dear Friend,

Right now, the above video isn’t going to make any sense because in a completely bizarre chain of events–and while I was writing this newsletter to send out–I received surprising news that the hardcover of Tiger Drive is available for shipping/delivery by January 11th via Amazon and Barnes & Noble!!! My head is spinning. I’m adding links here and sending this to you today because you deserve to know first, however, I thought you might get a kick out of my original message below because, just like that–I’m published. All my careful planning and now there’s nothing I can do about it! I have to laugh!!



Note: hardcover is $27 compared to the ~$11 paperback sales price Amazon and B&N are offering.


The Ugliest Baby (originally intended newsletter)

Happy New Year, my friend!

I missed emailing you this past month–really I missed hearing from you. Whenever I send a newsletter, several of you respond with the most interesting stories and experiences. I’ve learned so much from you in 2017, and I hope to return the favor in 2018.

This was the first holiday since I started writing full-time three years ago (yes, I know, three years and I’m just now publishing Tiger Drive–Egads!) that I unplugged and took the holiday off. Writing is no different than running your own business. It sounds romantic going into it–this idea that you will work for yourself–and then you quickly realize that you need to work 24/7 to support yourself, keep the business alive, and get everything done. It’s important to realize that just like any job, one needs a vacation from time to time. A vacation where you give yourself permission to do absolutely nothing or catch up on your non-business life. Work life balance!

So I tried to shut my brain off and stop thinking about everything that should or could be done before Tiger Drive flies out into the world on Valentine’s Day. I talked to my author friend, Cathey Graham Nickell, about it. I was telling her how I couldn’t stop worrying about everything that needed to be done. I’m a process-oriented person, and so I get a bit obsessed with checking boxes (similar to Carrie in Tiger Drive) and if I don’t check all those boxes, Tiger Drive might suffer for it. I’ve put so much of my life into this book. What if I don’t catch any final typos? Making changes and ordering proofs takes time (even though I’ve already gone through two proofs and feel pretty good about it). What if I take vacation when I could save one more typo from assaulting my readers (I’ve hired editors and proofreaders to avoid this, but I still worry)? Cathey and I have talked a lot in the past about letting the project go, that we can’t control what happens once we release our books. But this time she said,

“Now you sort of know what it feels like to have a baby.” Continue reading

December’s Inside Scoop


Vitality Stories



The past four weeks have been hectic and thrilling. I’ve been experimenting with different social sites to find a balance between the marketing side of this whacky writing business and the joy in the process without feeling like I’m vomiting sales pitches all over my friends. I’ve been posting on Instagram (@terilcase) and on my Facebook page (tericase_author), and since I don’t expect you to track me down on all these sites (I’m supposed to find you!), I’m going to start sharing a monthly “inside scoop” video of what my new friend, TIGER DRIVE, and I have been up to. Here is  December’s Inside Scoop. And until 2018, I’m wishing you the happiest holiday and a satisfying finish to 2017.

Thank you for being you.

Teri

If a friend shared this newsletter with you, and you’d like to subscribe for future newsletters, that’s excellent! Just click here (and you’ll also get the first four chapters of my novel TIGER DRIVE).

Inside Scoop on Tiger Drive

It Takes A Village


Vitality Stories


Giving Thanks Tiger Drive


It Takes A Village


I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I reflected on the six-year journey to write TIGER DRIVE and wrote the Acknowledgments page(s). I am so blessed and lucky to know so many wonderful people, and I’m glad that I had a moment of clarity several years ago and thought, I should start a list now of all the people who will contribute to TIGER DRIVE. The list came in handy, because it truly takes a village of people to write and publish a book. With gratitude, I present the best villagers ever:

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thank you for being you.

Teri

To subscribe, click here.

Good Stuff Is Happening


Vitality Stories



Good Stuff Is Happening


I am just back from a cruise through the Panama Canal. Next week, I’ll share some photos and a time-lapsed video. It was an inspiring trip in more ways than one, and I look forward to sharing more details with you.

But right now, I can’t wait to tell you some awesome news! As you know, I recently rolled out the landing page for my novel Tiger Drive. It’s being released in February 2018, and I will be sharing pre-order options, holiday gift cards, and bonus material soon.

I am officially now able to share that a portion of the proceeds of my novel will help fund the annual Tiger Drive Scholarship fund!

Thanks to generous friends, family, and strangers, we have been able to help eight students go to college in the past three years. They are now Dean’s List students 🙂

When I think about all the people who helped me change my life and attend college or when I think about the village of folks who have helped me become an author, I am overwhelmed by the fact that this scholarship and my dream to be published can now come together. And as a subscriber, you are one of those people who have helped make this all possible. I am beyond grateful to you.

I look forward to writing you next week. Until then, thank you for being you.

Teri

Was this email shared with you? If you’d like to subscribe for future newsletters, click here, and then give our mutual friend a big hug for me for spreading the word about the Vitality Stories newsletter and the  TIGER DRIVE Scholarship.