A Childhood Cancer Survivor Blogging about the World of Childhood Cancer

Archive for June, 2010

Relay yesterday, Johnny Tan Interview Tomorrow

Relay for Life this past weekend was awesome! Our team, Team Trilogy, raised over $17,000 for the American Cancer Society, and all of the Arroyo Grande teams together raised $93,000! It is remarkable to see what all of these dedicated people do– it is truly God’s work. The feeling of love that surrounds this whole event is something I wish for all of you to experience. Consider joining a team next year. You will truly make a difference and what you receive in your heart will be so much more than what you give from your time and your wallet. Trust me. I speak the truth.

Tomorrow morning, at 8am PST, I will be talking with Johnny Tan:

http://www.frommymamaskitchentalkradio.com/blog/2010/06/25/melinda-marchiano-author-of-%e2%80%9cgrace-a-child%e2%80%99s-intimate-journey-though-cancer-and-recovery-%e2%80%9d/

I would love to have you call in with questions at 347-327-9995. Life is always more fun and more rewarding when we do it together. Please join me!

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Foreign Publication Rights

Part of the thrill of creating and marketing my book is the joy I have from meeting many people I never would have met. Another unexpected part of the thrill is that I get to learn something new every day about publishing. I am not sure where, but I have heard of the term “foreign rights” before and never thought too much about it.

Today, I am thinking much more about it than ever. We received news today that there is interest in foreign publication rights for Grace. I am imagining Grace: A Child’s Intimate Journey Through Cancer and Recovery translated into German and Korean. I am imagining Grace in bookstores on the other side of the world, and this tickles me to giggles. In my most hopeful dreams, my written words would be able to help people who are suffering here in our country. I never, ever imagined that my words might travel to other countries to help people there. But, isn’t this exactly how God works? He loves us so much that He finds a way to help us– even when we are utterly clueless. Wow.

Tomorrow is Relay for Life day in Arroyo Grande, California… hometown of Zac Efron, and also home of highly dedicated and loving people working their tails off to make cancer to take a long walk off a short pier. Thank you to everyone who has given their time in their own hometowns to Celebrate, Remember, and Fight Back! Tomorrow is going to be awesome!

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LIVESTRONG Dedication Pages

Did you know that LIVESTRONG is creating the World’s Largest Dedication Book?

LIVESTRONG Action will present the book to world leaders to impress upon them the immediate attention we need to place toward finding a cure for the global epidemic, cancer. My mom and I are both dedicated to helping others with cancer and to doing all that we can to help find a cure. I am grateful for all that Lance Armstrong and the people at LIVESTRONG are doing to move toward this goal.

Gosh, I feel so loved. My mom wrote a dedication page for me:

http://www.livestrongaction.org/dedication/melinda-marchiano

It just takes a moment to sign my page, and each dedication and each signature will tell our world leaders how vitally important it is that we act now.

Can you guess who Signer #16 is?!!!!!!!  Giggle. Giggle.

Each week, someone I did not know before contacts me to tell me that they are battling cancer. I believe that nearly everyone who will read this post has been touched by cancer in some way. (Some of us have been “hammered” rather than “touched”!)  Let’s all do what we can… working together creates amazing results.

Imagine the result being the cure for cancer. Yes… I will not give up until this happens!

P.S. Please click this link– take a moment to make a difference!  Even better yet, create a page for someone you love.

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Selling 10,000 Books at a Time

Does this post title grab the attention of my author friends?

I imagine your ears are perked as high as a German Shepherd ready to protect his family from danger. I received an email today from my friend, Matt, who wants to assist me in achieving exactly what my title states.  You can imagine that my ears perked up to their perkiest level and my brain started crackling with all that he wrote in his email. Don’t you love when someone shares their wealth of knowledge with you– just because they want to help others?

It seems that authors and publishers would hoard this information, fearing that helping others would result in even slightly higher sales of other author’s books. This just might send them to the poorhouse. But then… there are people like Matt. Without Matt, I would never have had a clue of how to go about getting my book published. And I never would have met Matt if I had not taken a spur-of-the-moment, hour and a half drive to Santa Barbara last February with my mom.

Sometimes the decisions we make, the teensy-weensy little decisions, end up making a huge difference in our lives– and even in the lives of others. More and more, I am learning that we need to reach out to life every chance we get. That “reach out to life” last February has to be one of the best decisions of my life!

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Grace is at the Printer!

Yesterday, Sheila “bulletproofed” the final files for Grace: A Child’s Intimate Journey Through Cancer and Recovery and Bryan sent the files off to the printer. Oh my gosh– I am so excited to see a final copy!

In January, we began speaking with Greenleaf Book Group about designing and distributing the second edition of my book, and on February 15, I turned in my manuscript. Four months later, Grace is now created and ready for her formation into final printed book form. I love Sheila’s cover design, and I cannot wait to see the features, like the silver foil that spells out Grace!

I love Sheila’s balloon design, and I really love the “Happy Quails!”

What I desire most of all is for my words to reach people’s hearts. I am very grateful to Sheila for her cover design that will make people smile. She has been amazing in helping me reach people before they even read one of my written words.

Thank you Sheila!

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Julie, Nikki, and Squishy People

Today I met a woman named Julie. Julie is a nurse, and she is a beautiful, loving, caring woman who radiates love all around her. Do you know what I am talking about? I love when I meet someone who exudes so much warmth and love that their life vibrations  go straight through me.  I left her three hours ago and I still feel the glow from deep within her.

I call people like Julie “Squishy.” Imagine poking your finger into the Pillsbury Dough Boy and how soft, supple and tender he is. Well, Julie is one of those tender people walking this Earth, and she is not doughy because of any excess skin or fat. She is so tender that she “squishes” when touched. And her Squishiness is a direct result of being filled to the brim with love!

I am adding Julie to my handful of people in this life who I consider Squishy. Nikki, from the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation is quite possibly the Squishiest of the Squishies!

Are you Squishy? Why not give it a try? It makes people around you feel incredibly loved:)

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Grace Final File Approval and Summertime!

WooooooooHooooooooo! What could be more exciting than summer beginning and Grace nearly ready to send to the printing press? After a few minor edits, Grace: A Child’s Intimate Journey Through Cancer and Recovery will be complete. Seriously????? Complete?????

Let’s see, today is Flag Day, June 14th. I began writing my book in February of 2009. After one year and four months, over 90,000 words, and countless hours of effort to put it all together, my second edition of Grace is fully formed, lovingly created, and so close to being ready to share that I can almost hear that printing press rattling.

Perhaps tomorrow I will declare the day, “Balloon Day,” tape a balloon to my head (ouchy on the hair,) dance a major happy-dance, and sing a made-up song about gleeful authors completing their labors of love. Yes, what a celebration it is to complete an enormous project! Since my project comes straight from the depths of my heart, I believe that a Paul Bunyan-size celebration is absolutely appropriate, and entirely necessary.

WoooooooooooHooooooooo!

Completion and Summertime… Life is precious. 

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The Children Authors Show

On June 14th and 15th, my interview will be available for listening on The Children Authors Show.

http://www.wnbnetworkwest.com/WnbAuthorsShowChildren.html

Guess what incredible, amazing, unbelievable day it was today?

The very last day of my sophomore year of high school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whoa, I don’t believe there are enough exclamation points stored in my computer to express my tremendous relief. It has been a long and grueling 10th grade year. The overachiever in me nearly did me in. The bright spots have been dance, of course, my AP World History class with Mr. Houchin and my AP Biology class with Ms. Toshach. I would love to take AP Biology next year again– yep, I’m a “Bio-Nerd!”

And then, another huge highlight of this past school year has been working on Grace and Grace: A Child’s Intimate Journey Through Cancer and Recovery. It never seems like work when I am doing things for Grace. Today, yes, today, I received the final PDF pages to approve so that Grace can take her trip to the printing press. I will be spending my first free weekend from homework proofreading.

Also, the Civic Ballet is having their final performance of this season on Sunday night. Dress rehearsals, proofreading, more rehearsals and more proofreading. Ahhhhhhhhhh… isn’t summer wonderful?

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Grace is Going to Paris!

Giggle Giggle. I will not name any names because I respect the privacy of these kind people, but I have to tell you that there will be two Advance Reader Copies of Grace: A Child’s Intimate Journey Through Cancer and Recovery on a plane to Paris this Friday. Gracie-poo in Paris! Now I really feel how writing a book is like birthing a child– I feel like I  am going to Paris because I am so excited for Grace to go!

What is even more wonderful than Grace in Paris is that I have found a friendship in corresponding with these people that delights me so much I feel I am glowing in the dark. You know what I am talking about– when people gush love and kindness, it feels like sunshine inside of me. Grace is going to Paris with “Sunshine!”

For more news that excites me, my sophomore year of high school will end in two days…

And…

Grace  showed up on Greenleaf’s website today:)

http://173.203.240.190/publication/grace/1331

One more thing that is most important of all. I know a teenager named Logan who will be having surgery tomorrow for throat cancer and I would love to have anyone and everyone who believes in prayer to offer one or two or three or… for Logan.

Thanks for your love, for your care, and for your prayers.

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Wendy Robards, The Tribune, and ARCs

Bunches of Advance Reader’s Copies of Grace: A Child’s Intimate Journey Through Cancer and Recovery were sent last week, and there are more ready to be mailed this week. I heard back from Wendy Robards, awesome book reviewer and even more awesome dog lover! (Do you know anyone else who loves dogs?!) She even shared a photo of Raven with me, and I think I sent her a photo of Rowan and I, or maybe Echo. Anyway, Wendy wrote a couple of posts about my book, and she will review it in September when Grace gets closer to “her” publication date.

Links to Wendy:

Sunday Salon post

Mailbox Monday post

This was my last full day of school for my sophomore year– I am ready to rest my brain a bit. It feels like some jiggly and weary jello up in the ol’  cabeza! Also, I am so excited to have more time to devote to sharing Grace.

Today I signed a print rider to order final copies of Grace: A Child’s Intimate Journey Through Cancer and Recovery. Any guesses on how many books are being printing for this first printing? Just after I signed, we received an email from our local paper, The Tribune. I am grateful for this opportunity to share. When we share those rough roads we have driven down with others, it always seems to help. That is what I really, really want to do. 

Rowan Giving me Therapy

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