Rejected reviews… and pictures!

Three people have told me their Amazon review of my book, Be a Happier Parent or Laugh Trying was rejected by the inscrutable Amazon police. Since they went to the trouble, I hate for their thoughtful words to be lost in the ethos of the internet. The hilarious, thought-provoking Tref of Trefology, and non-blogger, Theresa, were kind enough to share their efforts with me.

Here’s what Tref wrote:

I am a long time reader of Betsy’s blog, Parenting Is Funny. I am not a parent, or a pediatrician, a Franciscan, or a retired early-childhood mental health counselor. I do have a turtle. And it’s a very naughty turtle, but, really, I am just a guy who likes funny things. And Betsy Kerekes is very, very funny. She is also very wise. In classical philosophy she would be called a sage. But fortunately for us, classical philosophy does not enter into it. Nobody ever put down a copy of Schopenhauer’s Parerga and Paralipomena and said, “That is hilarious!” But with this book, you will do just that.

Golly, thanks, Tref!

And Theresa said:

Mrs. Kerekes writes a book about parenting that is very helpful with good advice and very entertaining, making me laugh— which is something highly needed at this time in my life as I have 2 teenagers and one young adult in college. My previous life was as a registered nurse in a neonatal and pediatric ICU with many challenging children to take care of, but I must say, parenting trumps that job and is the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do. Taking the attitude and humor that Mrs. Kerekes recommends is what gets me through this parenting job….. All I can say is thank you, Betsy, for making me a happier parent!!

Garsh, Theresa. That was swell of you.

And now for the non-related pictures, because I did promise pictures.

It’s that time again

Contract signing time!

2012–101 Tips for a Happier Marriage

2015–101 Tips for Marrying the Right Person (I can’t believe I’m wearing the exact same shirt!)

And now…

Action! (TV Debut part 2)

Can this count as action? Since I wasn’t able to take pictures of the actual filming, for obvious reasons, here’s an “action” shot of me getting my nose powdered by the floor manager. He doesn’t look like the type to apply make-up, does he? He gave the host the wrap-up sign and ran a camera, or was it just the teleprompter? I also saw him washing our mugs later. A versatile guy! And a total sweetheart. His accent was as Southern as they come. I commented that he must be local. He said, “I was born six miles from here,” in his fantastic drawl.

It was fun watching the teleprompter scroll while the host read from it and the operator  sped it up or slowed it down according to her pace. Neat to see one in action. I also walked by the sound room. I didn’t take a picture because I was sure the flash would bounce off the glass, but it was accurate to all sound rooms you’ve seen in the movies. Also, being back stage was a hoot: roaming through the wooden sets on wheels, ready to take to the studio when their program time came. Wild!

The floor manager gave us the low-down. It would be casual, just sitting and having a conversation, he said. Through my moderated hyperventilating I asked how much editing they do. He said, “We don’t really, not unless there’s a major flub.” “So, I can’t just look at you and say, ‘Can we edit that part out?'” “No,” he said. Bummer.

So we sat on yellow couches and were filmed talking about 101 Tips for a Happier Marriage and 101 Tips for Marrying the Right Person. The baby in my belly was introduced to the world by the host. “Hi, Joseph,” she said and actually waved to him. (The poor kid’s been on TV before he’s even been born. No pressure.) It will be fun, and frightening, to watch the shows when they air sometime in the fall. We did our quick wardrobe changes between programs and said stuff on the next episode like, “So when we were talking yesterday…” What a riot.

Here I am getting mic’d up, as they say, by a young man who was surprisingly comfortable handling women’s clothing. For each shoot he had to drop the mic down the back of the host’s dress. I saw him hold it in his hands for a minute beforehand to warm it up. What a sweetie! He was very good at what he does, making sure the cord wasn’t showing, etc.

At the end of each program, the floor manager announced, “And we’re clear.” I saw the credits scroll on the tv with the closing song playing over a backdrop. But after one of the episodes, he didn’t say “We’re clear.” I was about to pull off my microphone but looked up to see our faces still on the screen. “We’re still on,” I muttered. The three of us looked at each other. “What should we do?” I said. “I know, let’s pretend like someone said something funny.” And the host and I did an arms-in-the-air fake laugh that will, no doubt, look exactly like people doing fake laughs when they know they’re still being filmed. I’m eager to see how that turns out! Ha!

When the final program was over, we rushed to our guest house to pack up and be ready for our ride back to the airport. I was sad we ran out before saying a proper goodbye to our host. Turns out, she met us at the van. She said her crew enjoyed the program and thought we were funny. Then she said it was a big deal for them to say anything because they’re so jaded from seeing so many of these day in and day out. They normally don’t comment at all. That was the best compliment.

When my colleague left me in the Houston airport, I was jealous that she’d be home soon, but I still had about five hours before I’d be back in my own bed, around midnight. That’s when the fatigue finally hit, but, despite that and other discomforts on the way home, I knew they were hardly worth mentioning since there’d been more than enough blessings to make up for it. And I had so much fun. It was a great experience. Maybe next time (if there’s ever a next time) I won’t be so nervous!

P.S. Since I’m clearly such an exciting person, you can’t get enough of me, I’m trying to get better about marketing, and if you’re on Facebook, please like my parenting is funny page. I would appreciate it! 🙂

Lights, camera…

Here’s some of them. Thank goodness none came loose! And that I didn’t consider that possibility until after the fact!

Although I was, on the whole, very satisfied with this trip, it wasn’t without its slight hiccups, starting with arriving at the airport around 9:30 at night and having NO driver waiting to pick us up. Also, culture shock: stepping out of the airport and being enveloped by second-hand smoke. It was unavoidable, with still smoldering cigarettes in ash trays every several feet. I’ve taken for granted CA’s smoking laws. And me being pregnant. But aside from that, my colleague got on her phone and found our driver who arrived about 20 minutes later while the airport kept thinning out more and more, leaving us the last poor schleps waiting to be picked up. At least the temperature was fine.

When our driver arrived and opened the back of the van, I rolled my suitcase up and hefted it into the trunk, not seeing him make an immediate move to do so. Then my co-author rolled hers up to his feet and stepped back to let him take care of it. I was like, “Oh, I guess that’s what experienced travelers do–let the driver do the heavy lifting. I’m a total newbie.” I was hoping there’d be a man with a cap and uniform of some sort waiting in the terminal holding a sign with my last name on it–How cool would that be?! I would’ve totally gotten a picture with him, but no. Maybe next time. 🙂

Turning in my introvert card

Carrie Rubin, prepare to be amazed.

So y’all know of my great D.C. adventure where I gave a speech to some 200 people, right? You can read of my airport pat-down debacles here and here.

Well, guess what? I need to prepare for the frisking yet again! But it’s not for a talk this time. Oh no. It’s for television!

Well, I survived.

I started throwing stuff in my suitcase days in advance and at one point thought, I rather like how that looks. I think I’ll take a picture. You’re welcome blog world! (Those aren’t the actual books, just hard-backed blow ups, in case you were wondering.)

I’ve returned from my cross-country trip to D.C. where I, Betsy Kerekes, spoke at a conference and have lived to tell the tale.

When I whined about having to give a speech in front of a boatload of people, many of you said, “You’ll be great!” And I thought, “How do you know?”

But in truth, well, you were right. 🙂 It went really well, and the feedback was warm and positive. As I walked back to my book table, several people said nice things to me along the way. I forgot to turn my recording device off right away, so my husband was able to hear proof of that.

The man who spoke ahead of me and who does this sort of thing all the time, gave me the best compliment. He looked at me in all seriousness and said one word: “Fantastic.” That was validating, y’all.

Let me back up a bit. We’re talking months of nerves leading up to this one hour of public speaking. As my dear friend who volunteered to accompany me and I pulled up to the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, MD, I said, “What am I doing here? I can’t do this!”

Launch day!

I was not planning to post about this, especially after the news I shared last week of my author copies arriving. It just feels kind of awkward, but then I saw that there are already two 5-star reviews on Amazon. I am so tickled pink that I have to share, and the reviews take two totally different perspectives, which I thought was cool.

And yes, today is the official day that the book goes on sale. What book, you ask? Pish. This one, of course!

Here are the kind reviews:

I originally read this book with the intent of hopefully helping my brother to find a good person to share his life with. Not only does this book offer real life, easy to read, quick and applicable tools to follow as you navigate through a relationship, it also serves as a perfect parenting tool. I have two young boys at home. This book has great advice and principles that should be shared with your children BEFORE they near dating age. Why wait until your children are out of the house, or until your child willingly chooses to purchase and read this book on their own. I suggest parents read this and begin teaching these principles to their children. Then when old enough, give the book to your child for them to read on their own. Also, don’t be afraid to give this book to people already in a relationship either. How I wish I could go back in time and share with close friends those “gut” feelings I had about their chosen future spouses. Now that some of my dear friends and family members have divorced, I find myself saying “I didn’t think he/she was right for you in the first place.” Don’t be afraid…give them the book. Let them read and make wise and clear decisions for themselves BEFORE marriage. This is a GREAT book! I highly recommend it!