2019 B-day Wish list

 

It’s been several years since I’ve re-learned to celebrate my birthday. For the longest time, I had a hard time celebrating during the month of August because 3 family members have passed away in this month. I used to be mopey and not the best company. But a while back, I decided to retake birthday celebrations and have since had some pretty fun outings to say the least.

I’ve also developed the habit of putting out wish lists because who knows? Maybe some of those wishes can come true. So here’s my wish list for birthday #39.

1. If you want to get me anything, make a donation using the hashtag #CheersMamaEstrada. At the end of the year I’ll probably do a #Humans4Humans effort in her honor, but for now, if you want to channel her spirit through your good will, I can think of no better way to celebrate.

2. Tell people about my books. One of the hardest things as an indie author is to get the word out. If you’ve ever read anything by yours truly and you think someone would enjoy it, talk it over coffee or tea.

3. If you know any booktubers, readers, podcasters, blogger, or fellow authors in Atlanta (or anywhere in the world actually), let me know. Always love getting in touch with good people and wouldn’t mind making an appearance in their shows, blogs, or bookshelves.

4. Whether you loved or hated something I wrote, drop a review. Although a rating is nice, a review is 1,000 times better in making a case to read or avoid a book. Reviews also happen to be one of the hardest things to come by and so you know, the magic number on Amazon is 50. With fifty reviews, I start appearing in more searches and recommendations thanks to how their algorithm works. Otherwise, I’ll be someone’s favorite barely known author. :)

5. If you see a post of mine that you enjoyed on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or Facebook, like, share, and comment. A like is good for morale, a share is amazing to reach more people, and a comment works with those pesky algorithms that make being an indie creator so challenging.

6. Get someone an Estrada Crate. I have books, I have boxes, and I’d love to be on more bookshelves. So if you know someone in the US or Puerto Rico who loves books AND you’d like to support me, you can make two birds happy with one book… or a couple.

7. If you are or know any English teacher that would like me to do a chat for a classroom or think your students might enjoy one of my books, drop me a message. One of the most important things to me is encouraging people to read and write. In addition, if you have Hispanic kids or teens you’d like to encourage to write from the perspective of a multicultural and bilingual hooman, I’d love to help in any way I can.

8. If you are or know any librarian and think one of my books would make a good addition to your collection, please let me know. I dedicate books to patrons and am always happy to help out.

9. If you are or know an artist who’d love to share their vision, get in contact. I recently released the book version of my Blanc Comics and although I’ll write more about this later, right now what I want is to take the next step with this project. More on this later, including a YouTube video or two.

10. Join me in saying #CheersMamaEstrada. Through all the month I’ll be toasting to Mom. It’s my way of celebrating her and keeping her near me and share the brightness she is in my life. You can toast with tea, milk, juice, ice cream, wine, milk shakes, soda, beer, sushi, soup, cocktails, or whatever you want. There are no rules except to smile when you toast. And if you have anyone you know who is going through a rough time, let us know so we can say cheers to them as well.

And I’ll leave it at a cool 10, because if not, who knows what else I’ll ask for? My thanks to you for reading and supporting in so many ways and bringing a smile my way so often. My best to you and til next time…

Peace, love, and maki rolls.

JD