Geri's Take on... » travel

How Do You Beat the Winter Blahs?

Geri — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 09:08:09 +0000

I went to Scotland. Castles, mountains, wool, history galore. A writer’s heaven.

Where JK Rowling Wrote Harry Potter

As a kid in Western New York I loved winter and faced total confusion as my grandparents complained about the cold and snow. As long as I could make a snow man, ice skate, or even better, go sledding/tobogganing, I was thrilled.

Edinburgh Sun Rise

The years have blinked by and now I “get” what they meant. It’s tough to drive in ice and snow, and worse to walk in it, especially in Russia where the ice can be inches thick on the sidewalks. If it’s hard for me and I consider myself in okay shape, how hard it must be for the elderly who need to walk to get to the kiosk that sells their favorite (most affordable) fruit or bread.

Swan on Loch Ness

My children get a week off at the end of February for Winter Break, and we used the off-season prices to afford a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland. Friends and family in the States thought we were crazy–Scotland, in the winter? It’ll be cold, rainy, miserable! Nope. It was chilly the first few days, but a relative heat wave to us. And the last couple of days were downright balmy. In the 30′s at night, but 40′s, maybe even 50 during the day.

Edinburgh Castle--View from The Elephant House

Enjoy the photos–if you’re still in the grips of Father Frost, wherever you are, I hope they give you hope for the coming Spring. By the way, it’s 9 degrees Fahrenheit as I write, -2 wind chill.

Do You See Any Literary Fairy Dust in the Air?

Manuscript to Novel to Mass-Market Availabilty

Geri — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 17:22:54 +0000

It’s fate that I write for Harlequin. Their distribution center is only a few miles from my childhood home in Western New York. It’s only natural that on a trip home this summer I made a stop by the plant to see exactly how the manuscript in my computer turns into the beautiful product that gets into a reader’s hands. But if not for the thoughtful effort of a high school cross country teammate and the miracle that is Facebook, I would have missed this great opportunity.

They Sang "Name"

It started back in May when Dave Genoccro, Quality Control Manager for HDC, noticed on Facebook that my career is “novelist” and that I write for Harlequin. Dave shot some great photos of my June 2010 book on the palettes in the warehouse and shared them on Facebook. That lead to Dave’s boss and HDC General Manager John Reindl suggesting that I stop by the next time I’m in town. Little did John know I was already planning a trip home. After all, my Dad was having a significant birthday (he still looks 35) and the Goo Goo Dolls were playing Darien Lake the same week. What goes with Dad’s birthday, The Goo Goo Dolls, and writing? A tour of the Harlequin Distribution Center, of course!

Dad's Big Birthday

Before I left for the tour of HDC I thought “how ‘business’ do I have to be?” It was a business appointment, sure, and I usually would wear a suit or equivalent. But I knew I’d be walking through a 400,000 square foot warehouse…still, I opted for my new comfortable pretty sandals. Not the best choice, I found out, as open-toe shoes are not allowed on the HDC production floor. Safety first! Fortunately, one of the many wonderful employees at HDC came to my rescue and provided me with an alternative.

Foot Safety!

We started the tour at the area where Harlequin is now able to print smaller batches of books as needed, to meet or top-off print-runs. Usually the actual printing for the 100 million Harlequin books handled by HDC takes place at a separate printing facility, Quad Graphics, located nearby. In the past it wasn’t uncommon to have an “overage” on the run–meaning anywhere from a few hundred to thousands of extra books printed of a title that never sold. Today Harlequin is able to have a tighter print-run and distribution by using an in-house system that’s not quite “print-on-demand” but enables less waste in terms of paper and time.

Next we walked through the order fulfillment area where dedicated workers sort all incoming mail orders, and where online orders are processed as well. It’s an amazing thing to see so many hands working to make sure each reader gets what they’ve asked for–and often more. Harlequin is known for sending out incentive gifts to readers, like wine glasses or figurines, but more importantly, Harlequin makes efforts to introduce readers to new authors or series they may like based on what they’ve purchased in the past.

Loading Books by the Palette

It was a thrill to see my book on the shelves, and to see where copies of it wait to be shipped out to a waiting reader. It’s one thing to write a book and try for years to sell it. A thrill like no other. But I have to admit that realizing my book is given such attention, right along with New York Times bestsellers Debbie Macomber and Susan Wiggs, and more recently USA Today bestselling author Kristan Higgins, was at once humbling and thrilling. Another affirmation that “yes, I’m watching my dreams come true!”

I was fascinated by the mail sorting area where a computer and conveyor belt join through space-age technology and sort boxes of books into the correct bins in order to place the books deeper into the US Postal system. John pointed out that the deeper Harlequin can get the books into the postage (e.g. sending them to the right USPS center first, instead of just out locally) it saves Harlequin money. And that in turn, to me, could mean that the price point of the books stays lower and readers can get more for their money. I’m not an economist, but as a business woman it makes sense to me.

Mail Sort

SASHA's DAD for other Markets

I was especially impressed by the massive recycling effort run by HDC for returns and books that don’t make the quality control cut. Each novel produced in the HDC is touched by at least one set of human hands if not more. Special stickers like WalMart or KMart discount prices are put only on books that make the quality cut–everything from the cut of the cover, pages, and book inserts are checked for accuracy. The employees affectionately refer to the paper recycle machine as “The Tin Man.” I apologize for the poor quality of the photo, but I think it gives you the idea of the scope of HDC’s positive environmental impact nonetheless.

The Tin Man

View from the Top

Another positive community innovation at HDC is the Suburban Adult Services which involves giving employment to mentally challenged or disabled adults in Western New York. I met the group working the day I toured as they were loading books into huge cardboard containers for future shipping. It makes me proud that my publisher isn’t only about global romance and passion, but also passionate for the community in which it does business.

Dave Genoccro, Me and John Reindl

Community Minded

Istanbul is for Writers! And if you want to buy a Turkish Rug…

Geri — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:40:57 +0000

Explosion of color and aroma at the Spice Market

As much as I love Moscow I decided to take my first adventure outside of Mother Russia. My daughter and I went to Istanbul, a short 3 hour flight from Moscow. It’s like going to FL if you live in NY–how different could it be?

Completely. Totally. Amazingly.

Istanbul is a feast of color, spice, and most of all, warmth from the Turks. I have never met such friendly, heart-warming people. Of course I “get” that many of the Turks I met wanted to sell me something, be it a great meal or a beautiful lamp. But the warmth of Turkey goes far beyond the vendor and the product. It’s in the heart of the people.

[We covered a lot of ground for the 4 short days we were there. The highlights of the trip included the Hag Sophia and Blue Mosque. But let me get to the important part--the shopping.

Sun Break in Istanbul!

Shopping is the local past time in Istanbul. Do you want to find vanilla beans or saffron at great prices? Go to the Spice Market. A lamp or rug? The Grand Bazaar. Forget to get something when you were at either? Then hit up one of the dozens if not hundreds of gift shops that line the main drag, along which a super-modern tram runs at regular intervals.

The sights and sounds of Istanbul fed my writer’s muse, but the food, oh the glorious food, fed my earthly stomach in a wonderful way. Of all the delicious plates served to me, I still can taste the couscous “meatballs” that appeared to be held together with tomato paste and chili sauce.
The rug-buying experience for me was exceptional. I did my research before I went. I knew what kind of rug I’d want and what I absolutely did NOT want. I knew that the first price offered by the vendor would most likely be 2-3 times the value of the rug. You can find many tips (I especially appreciated the article at National Geographic.com) on the Internet.

Visiting the Blue Mosque--head scarves and no shoes

What sold me on the vendor I chose was that I chose him, he wasn’t one of the many who approached me first in the Grand Bazaar. I was walking with my daughter and saw the type of rug I liked hanging above the doorway of a shop. When I did meet the vendor, I made it clear that I was in the market for something quite modest, and I wasn’t going to “b.s.” him. He in turn offered me the same respect, and from this initial base of understanding we were able to work together to find a deal that would please us both. Of course the most important thing is that I fell in love with the rug! There are many vendors and many styles of rug in Turkey. My suggestion is to be well-informed but then also be ready to enjoy the entire experience and savor the Turkish Chai (tea) with whichever vendor you choose. What worked for me was the Galeri Tanboga owned and operated by Emre Topuz. He’s located at Hahcilar Caddesi No 41 in the Grand Bazaar, and for more information you can email him at tanbogaist@hotmail.com. I’m reading this off of a business card, so please understand that some of this information can change by the time you travel to Istanbul. But I wouldn’t wait to go–Turkey is now my top travel place, and I’m wondering if we can move there after Russia…