3/20/23 – Lulu Press is offering a 15% discount off your order from their bookstore. That means you can save on Max’s book or anything from their bookstore. Everyone orders from Lulu which saves trees and I don’t have to stock his book, ship or deal with packaging. It’s a win-win situation. To order Max’s book click here – I am MAX. Don’t forget to use the code – SPRINGREADS15 at checkout. (This promotion is for 15% off when ordering printed products at Lulu.com. Offer is valid through March 24, 2023.)
New Book Format
3/12/23 – I’ve been dragging my feet on informing everyone of Max’s new book format which I created on 12/31/2022. Same book with 159 pages and 400 photos but it’s now a light grey softcover (paperback) with standard color on 60# paper which costs only $22.92. This is a huge savings from the premium edition of $49.95. Don’t fret, the premium is still available. The reason for the drag is that it took three attempts to get the book & author name centered on the small spine. Believe me, it was challenging. I didn’t want anyone to purchase it after being published until I had it perfected. So, I’m told that there’s always a chance that the spine information may be off slightly…the nature of professional printing. So, if you get a copy and it’s not completely centered, not my fault and it’s acceptable by the printer. What can you say? I looked at books in our library and yep, some are not centered. It happens even to the best!
Here’s the link to the my page with both books – I am MAX book versions. When you get there, just click on the version of your choice and it will bring you to another page where you can add it to your cart. If you follow Lulu Press on Facebook, they often offer discounts on print products. You don’t have to be the author to order books or products and receive discounts. You can also sign up for their “Publishing & Marketing tips” which you may not need but they email you discount codes.
15% Discount
Lulu.com is having a sale of 15% discount off products from their bookstore. You can order any books or calendars and use promo code JANUARY15 at checkout. Offer is valid through January 27th, 2023.
For Max’s standard color softcover (paperback) $22.92 USD – I am MAX (softcover) The discount would make this format $19.48.
For Max’s premium color hardcover $49.95 USD – I am MAX (Collector’s ed) The discount would make this format $42.46.
By the way, you can order ANY book or books to receive this discount. Perhaps there is another author to your liking. Lulu Bookstore
DON’T FORGET to add the promo code at checkout!
Cheers!
New Year, New Goals
1/17/23 – Happy New Year!
Oh boy, it has been crazy here… I’ll skip whining about all the negative and get to the positives. Ruby Chin has gained a bit of weight and is getting more friendly. Smokey old kitty is hanging in there. Actually, all the critters and Max are doing fine.
I was given an Owltron security camera to review and I love it. So much that I recently purchased one. Now I can check in on the animals when I’m at work and even speak to them. It’s encrypted, motion detection & tracking, 2-way audio, supports a micro SD card or cloud storage, night vision, panoramic patrol, takes photos or video. I’ve been setting it for local recording of events (motion detection) and then continuous video. I wanted to make sure Ruby was eating but it doesn’t seem to recognize the chin’s movements even though they are about 8 feet from the camera. Whereas my Stealth wildlife cam outside can detect a mouse at that distance. Sometimes the cats don’t trip it either but but the other day I was at work and got one ding after another. I looked at the notifications and all I saw was Tigger kitty sleeping on the couch. Perhaps he rolled over or perhaps Lil Bun was running around his cage. Not sure. It does better in the daytime than in the IR mode. Maybe it’s better at picking up movement from a dog than a cat. It sure picks up my movement! I’ll be creating a video this weekend after I check out a few more features. Downside… no user manual. There’s instructions on how to set it up and that was easy but nothing about what icon means what on each screen and how to use it. They have a couple videos and FAQs that you have to find time to ask the right question for the right answer. I’m not a techy kind of person, so it takes me a bit longer to learn stuff. Plus, I’m busy and it would be more useful to have an online user manual that I can flip through and learn all the stuff. I mean it has a “siren” icon… what the heck? I’m not touching that! BUT it’s a peace of mind for me and I can check in on my home & animals. I mentioned to my contact that they should consider creating one for outdoors. Guess what? They are working on it already! Ok, now I will be able to spy on Max! Although, he sleeps all day. By the way, the videos and photos on the SD card are encrypted and no way of transferring them to your computer. I guess that’s a good thing but what if I want to share? Well, when I playback a recording, I just record it using the app, and then it’s saved to the album on my phone. Yay. Same goes for the photos of events (motion detection). Like this butt you see… Theo 😂 Video: Wildlife Bernie’s little Owl(tron)
And in other news… Remember I told you that I wanted to do another version of Max’s book? I should say, another format. I’m working on the abridged version but it’s taking me longer than I anticipated. I had cancelled my Adobe software for editing pdf files and lucky me they offered me a lower monthly fee. So, I reinstated it for a year. Though, before the end of last year, I published another format of his book. Yes, it’s a softcover with standard color on lighter paper, and identical to the first. The best news, $22.92 (USD) in cost. So, his premium hardcover is still $49.95 but this is more affordable for his fans if they aren’t particular about the quality of the photos. Standard isn’t bad. They are still beautiful photos, just not premium on glossy thick paper. The abridged, of course, will be less than $22 since I’ll be downsizing the photos. That’s the tough part… deciding on which photos to delete. I love his photos! And more good news, my cousin Genevieve’s sister wants to translate his book into French. So, there’ll be a premium, standard and abridged in French. How exciting is that? I had to purchase 10 ISBNs but will need them. Every time you change the format, even if it’s just the cover from hard to soft, you need a different ISBN. Both books can be ordered on Lulu.com. This is what the page will look like when you search for I am Max. They use “paperback” but I prefer soft cover as it sounds more professional. I will update Max’s website with this information shortly.
Lastly, as it’s getting late and I really need some sleep and I rarely get to bed before midnight anymore… here’s a photo of Max from 1-2-23. My camera has been repaired and is on its way back to me. I can’t wait. I’ve missed it. Hoping to get some good shots of Max. Although, the old one has been suitable.
Merry Christmas
12-23-22: This weekend I plan on unplugging from social media…no Facebook, YouTube, emails, texting (except to my sisters) or anything! I need time alone. I would like to work on Max’s “mini me” edition of his I am Max book as I cancelled my Adobe subscription and won’t be able to edit the pdf after January 6. So, It HAS to get done. That doesn’t mean it will be published right away but the writing has to be completed. My life has been so hectic with work, animals and projects. Yes, this is one more project but it’s a priority. So, today, I created Max’s holiday video and it’s now live on YouTube – Max’s Holiday Greetings. Also, we are getting a flash freeze and I would be a bit miserable in the cold filming this weekend than doing it today. It was low 50’s and extremely windy but better than single digits or even teens as predicted forthcoming. So….Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Season’s Greetings, Happy Holidays, etc…
Glamour shot
Skipper not happy
Max Book – Version 2?
Help me out here…
When I chose to write Max’s story last year and it took me eight months to do so, I was thinking that the book would contribute to his legacy. He is, after all, the only ambassador for his species here in the Northeast. Yes, some zoos have lynx but Max travels our area to educate. He has a YouTube channel. You get a glimpse into his life like no other. So, I thought that a quality book with a hard cover and lots of beautiful photos would be wonderful. However, I’m hearing that the $49.95 price that I set last year is too expensive. Possibly. Owning a book on an animal like Max, I would think it would be priceless. I guess I’m biased. Last year when it published, the printing cost was $37.61 and I made a profit of $9.87. I didn’t believe that a profit of less than $10 per book was too much to ask as an author and as someone who has spent thousands of dollars on and for Max. Now, the printing cost has increased to $41.28. I don’t set the printing cost and Lulu Press is one of the lowest for printing books on demand.
My goal is to share Max’s story with everyone. So, yesterday I began thinking on how I could edit the book to make it more affordable. I would still offer the full version but I thought of condensing it. I can use the same size 8.5×8.5, eliminate the photo gallery in the back, reduce photo sizes and the number of photos per story. IF I can reduce it to only 80 pages instead of 159 pages and have a soft cover in place of the hard one, the cost would drop $20 per book. That means $29.95 retail price. It will still allow me a profit of about $10.
It could be “I am MAX 2.0” with a black cover. The next book after which could be “I am MAX, the Story Continues” which will focus on the 2nd half of his life. If I ever find time, a children’s book…The Loving Lynx.
This is where YOU come in… What are your thoughts about condensing his book to make it more affordable for people? I really want to know.
Thanks and Max sends his purrs.
15% Book Discount
Don’t be afraid to try something new! 💀 Shop unique books from indie authors & creators you won’t find in stores, and save 15% on your order with promo code FRIGHT15. Max’s book “I am MAX” can be found at Lulu Bookstore here. Deadline is October 21st. If you miss this one, you can follow Lulu.com on Facebook.
New Site Design
About a month ago, I looked at my website on my phone and saw that the background was white with yellow text. Well, I designed it to be black with gold text and yes, it was like that on a desktop computer or laptop. It was hard to read on the phone. So, I decided to change the design. However, that meant going through every post and page changing the font color because it doesn’t change automatically. I had asked WP and was told changing the website appearance would change all the fonts but it didn’t. I have completed most of it and if you happen across a page with yellow or gold text, I apologize. I hope to have it fully completed in the next few days.
Goodbye August
9-8-22 – I’m not sure where August went. First it was my sister’s birthday, then a program on the 10th with Max, Smudge Hedgehog and Burt Parrot. The program went well but everything went downhill from there. Smudge started leaving her fruit untouched but would still come out for mealworms but that stopped on the 13th. I got her into the vets on the 15th because I had scheduled the chinchillas for an initial exam. So, I was able to bring her instead of them. Thank goodness I did or perhaps she would not have had a good last week. Seemed she caught a cold. I don’t believe from anyone because she was held with gloves and people only touched her spikes. I could have missed her slight behavioral changes before the 13th but she was always greeting me, so maybe not. She could have caught a chill when I started leaving the windows open at night for the fresh, cool air. It had been wicked hot for weeks and when we finally got a cool front, I was delighted. I took her outside on the 14th for sunshine and took photos. She seemed slow, wobbly but interested. Anyways, she first sneezed at the vets. Okay, we can give her fluids and antibiotics. She was a trouper. However, the vet noticed her heart was beating irregularly and surmised that she had heart disease and was missing teeth too. How could that be? She was only maybe 2.5 years old. I got Smudge in January of 2021 and was told she was “about a year old.” Hum, evidently that was wrong. Smudge’s cold got better but her heart seemed to be overworking. I thought she was taking a turn for the better when I caught her drinking water on the 19th. I guess not. On the 20th in the evening when I tried to medicate her, she refused. So, I held her and was talking to her asking why she didn’t want to take her medicine. She looked at me and took a breath. It was her last. I just stood there looking dumbfounded and kept calling her name. My head could not wrap around the fact that she was gone. Being the curious person that I am, I looked at her teeth and yes, many were missing or worn down. Smudge was an old hedgehog. Had I known she had heart disease from the beginning, perhaps, I would have prevented educating with her due to the stress and always have a warm pad for her to help with circulating. But darn if she didn’t move off that pad when I put it in that week. So, what the heck? Little prey animals mask their illnesses so not to look weak. I created a video of all my beloved animal ambassadors over the years and posted it on YouTube – Loved and Lost. It was sad and wonderful remembering all my little pals.
I got to meet a 1st cousin on the 22nd for the first time. However, she gave me Covid, and I came down with it on the 24th. I had to find coverage for me at the museum and had little interaction with the animals including Max. I was fearful one of them would get sick from me. I handled the cold part of it but the fatigue and muscle weakness wreaked havoc. However, since I had animals to care for, there was no lying around feeling sorry for myself. I continued to do my animal care as best as I could and took multiple breaks. I did catch up on my sleep which was a good thing! I lost my taste and smell 4 days into it, but it slowly came back a week later. As of this writing, I’m still coughing and have sinus issues but am negative. Heck, I was having those issues before Covid.
Let’s see. While I was out mowing the lawn on the 27th, I noticed my car in the garage leaking. Called for a tow that Monday and it went to the shop without me. Seems my power steering sprung a leak. It was probably a mouse! I hadn’t driven it since the 10th. I’ve been using mom’s car since it has less mileage. Well, that got fixed and I picked it up once I was out of quarantine.
On the 30th, we had a major rainstorm, and my house was hit by lightning. I don’t think it was a spike but more of an electrical flash. It sent the cable out which also works the phone line and three of my outlets went dead. Lucky, I flipped the breaker, and that took care of the dead outlets. It was a couple days for Spectrum to get to me to replace the fried DVR and Wifi router. My new phone/answering machine arrived on Friday but what I didn’t know was that the lightening killed the old phone, not just the power cord. I was listening to a message yesterday and it was all static. So, I’m thankful I didn’t send the new phone back when I purchased a new power cord. Though I now have an extra power cord! It also fried the power cord to LED lights in the kitchen. I know it could have been worse and for that I’m truly grateful. Imagine the cost of replacing Max’s meat freezers? Phew.
At times like this, I tend to forget that there have been good times, too.
I look back at some of my messages & photos to my sisters and friends. The 19th was a beautiful day when I sat on a bench at the nature preserve where I work and watched the bees pollinate. I watched a butterfly make it’s rounds to the plants and then stop for a drink of water in the bird bath. I remember thinking how lovely and wonderful nature is.
The morning of the 20th, I gave Lil Bun new flooring. Yep, I don’t get new flooring, but the rabbits do! This will make it much easier to clean up after them. I still need to do Poppy’s flooring which I will get to this weekend. It’s a bit time consuming with the cleaning the wood, cutting, and placing the vinyl squares and kneeling! I love the results. It will help preserve the wood base too. What you don’t know is this is my 2nd upgrade on their living quarters. Lil Bun would run and scatter poo, hay and litter outside his bars. So, I created a baseboard around the cage to keep in the mess. Poppy is not as messy. Lil Bun is a joy. Sometimes in the evening he runs circles in his cage. I usually put him on the porch to help him with his energy. I would put Poppy as well but he was neutered at the beginning of August and will still try to hump her. No, I’ll wait another month before I combine their cages into a larger one. Though I might have to get rid of the couch and rocker!
Max…last photos I took of him were on August 1st. On the 21st, I got a photo of him carrying around his purple puff ball like a baby and mewing. He then tried to hump it. OMG, that cat is so funny!
Good news, Ruby will sit on my shoulders and be okay if I don’t touch her much! Progress! The photo is from August 31st.
See, not all of August was a bust!
Smudge 8/14
Smudge 8/14
Bees pollinating
Eastern Comma underside
LiL Bun’s mess
Eastern Comma
Baseboards added
Lil Bun
Lil Bun
Flooring prep
New vinyl flooring for Lil Bun
Happy Lil Bun
Max 8/1
Max 8/1
Max sleepy 8/1
Max & his puffbaby 8/21
Ruby on my shoulders 8/31
Wildlife Education by Bernie 
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