Rachel in the OC

If you’re at all familiar with @RachelintheOC via my Twitter feed, my blog, or my new book A Walk In The Snark, you probably know me as that redheaded Queen of Snark in a sea of blondes (OC does stand for Orange County, CA, home of the Tragic – I mean Magic – Kingdom), after all. Essays like Stupid Pants Syndrome, Men are from Seinfeld, Women are From Friends (Mancode), and I’m Fine. Deconstructed. (Chickspeak) certainly cement that fact. But who am I and why should anyone care what I have to say?

Those were questions I asked myself as I wrote my Mancode essays, expanded into Chickspeak, and added in some poignant pieces that dealt with the death by suicide of a past love. As my blog and Twitter feed grew, I realized I had really hit a nerve in deconstructing male/female relationships. My own experiences as a wife of nineteen years combined with some rather unique work experiences (read the book to find out!) helped give me some interesting insights into men.

About the same time my blog became popular, I also cofounded the Indie Book Collective with Carolyn McCray aka @craftycmc and Amber Scott aka @amberscottbooks, both amazing indie authors. We wanted to provide a place where writers could learn both about indie publishing and how to harness social media to sell more books. We have great promotions for authors and I needed and wanted to be published so I could take part! So I added about 25% additional new material and put together this collection of essays.

The reviews have been all positive and I believe that it’s this combination of my own growing social media presence as well as working with the IBC and our promotions that has really helped spark some terrific interest in my book. ( @2morrowknight aka Sean Gardner recently profiled me, A Walk In The Snark, and the IBC in the Huffington Post Books section.)

One lovely unexpected outcome has been all the raw, honest feedback from men. Sure, I write humorous Mancode blogs but it’s really out of the requests I’ve received from my male fans who really wanted to understand chicks better that Chickspeak rose from my brain. When she says “I’m fine,” do I believe her? (no) Is she really tired? (no) What is shoe math? (sigh) Why are all the clocks different in every room? (even my tween girl already knows this one)…

Read the book.

I also feel truly honored by the people who’ve shared their own poignant stories of coping with suicide. This man was someone I once loved deeply, who had recently reconnected with me after many years. Yes, I’m married – it wasn’t like we were going to run off together. But to have him come back into my life and then leave in such a violent way so suddenly after only three months…well, it was definitely a blow. Those are what I call my “D-List” essays, simply because his name started with a “D;” I realized only in editing that they all had a “D” in the title. #subconsciousisafunnything

So that’s me. My eBook is available on Amazon for only $2.99 (no Kindle required). I’ve risen to #3 on the Humor/Parenting & Families list and #11 on Humor/Essays on the IBC’s Bestseller For a Day promo (4/6/11) and even unseated Jenny McCarthy and David Sedaris for a few hours from their cozy perches! That rocked.

Every little bit of support helps an indie author: LIKE our Amazon pages, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, shout us out, and please leave a review after you’ve read us – so important. We don’t have the budget of a house, so we count on you for word-of-mouth advertising. If you want to learn more about how to grow your own social media presence, follow the Indie Book Collective on Twitter or Facebook; and sign up for our FREE Social Media for Writers one-hour webinar (I teach it J). The next one is Tuesday, May 10 at 5:30pm PST.

Thanks to Orlando for having me here today and to all your readers for visiting and participating in your contest! Any questions for me about taking my blog to book or social media, feel free to email me at RachelintheOC@gmail.com or hit me up on my Twitter stream. Peace. I hope you enjoy the book.


Please don't forget to enter the contest which ends April 30. You can find it on this blog, click on Contest on the sidebar and look for the April 15 blog post.