Life

Quickie Troop Support Tutorial

This is just a quick, not at all comprehensive, list of tips for shipping items to deployed troops overseas. I just got home from the post office and wanted to get down my thoughts while they’re fresh.

USPS FLAT RATE PRIORITY MAIL SHIPPING

The Large Flat Rate box is a nice size and fits quite a bit. It would be perfect for shipping books. I filled it with canned goods. It is $12.50 to ship no matter what weight so you want to fill it up with all the heavy items you’re sending. If you are sending lighter stuff, use regular shipping.

5-Part Customs Forms

To ship overseas you need to fill out a 5-part Customs Form. Go in advance and ask for a few to take home with you. I had a surprise when I arrived at the Post Office–there are new forms out since the last time I used them nearly 2 years ago so throw out any old forms and get the new ones.

Tips for filling out the form:

  • Be as general as possible. I listed simply “SNACKS” on my form, not the individual items. You can get into trouble with shipping restrictions if you get too specific. That said, there are restricted items so make sure in advance you’re not shipping anything that’s not allowed such as porn, is dangerous to transport by air such as aerosols, or is not going to make it such as chocolate in summer. Also, never ever ship anything scented such as toiletries with food in the same box. The food will pick up the scent and ruin the flavor no matter how you wrap it.
  • Make your contents sound as undesirable as possible on the form to anyone who might want to steal it. Such as, if you are shipping a brand new iPod, I would write “Used electronics” and say its value was $10. Of course, this won’t work if you want to insure the package BUT I’m not sure you can insure it for delivery to an APO so check with your PO. Otherwise, always undervalue. You won’t go to customs jail for lying and it might insure the item actually gets to the intended recipient. In fact, list everything possible as USED. Say “Used Books” even if they’re new. List “Used Media” for new CDs. You get the idea. Undervalue everything in the $ area. Cut it at least in half if not less. These are all tips I got from shipping veterans who have been doing this a lot longer than I have.

AMAZON.COM

My next stop today will be Amazon.com. Items listed for FREE Super Saver shipping will ship to APO military addresses also for free. Given the high cost of shipping, it might be worth it to purchase and drop ship direct to the troop member from Amazon rather than trying to save a few dollars on the cost of the items at a bulk store but then having to ship at your own expense.

That’s all I have for you for now. If I think of more, I’ll let you know. In the meantime, my military muse is always in need of support. Feel free to email me if you’d like his list of needs and shipping address.

Cat

Events

Authors After Dark

Didn’t you know? That’s when authors really go wild. After dark. Anyone who’s attended a romance convention can verify that. After dark is when the devils horns, vampire teeth and faery wings come out, along with usually a good showing of exposed cleavage, funky shoes and wild makeup. Yeah, I’m guilty of it myself. There are even a few pictures around the web to prove it.

So when is the next opportunity to see authors gone wild? Authors After Dark this September 16-19th in Secaucus, NJ, of course. And it’s not too late for readers to sign up to attend.

What will you find there? Authors, Publishers, Book Bloggers, Readers, Editors, and Vendors. What does your $140 registration include?  Reader panels, writer panels, just for fun panels, parties, 5 meals, free alcohol, and the book signing. There is also a goodie bag full of stuff, giveaways through out, lots of swag, TONS of free books, and a silent auction of dozens of baskets donated by the pubs and authors, proceeds from the auction to benefit a local charity.

What will I be doing there? Signing books. Dressing in my fab costume I just bought. Sitting on a few panels. I will also have 2 baskets up in the auction. One for cowboy lovers and one for military lovers. I know my fellow Loves Immortal Pantheon authors and I are giving away a Nook eReader at our party during the con.

Want more info? Here’s how to get it…

Visit the AAD Site

Listen in on BlogTalkRadio Thursday the 15th @ 1pm ET for a special 90 minute AAD show.

Check it out if you’re interested. Registration prices go up Aug. 1st and the last day to book the hotel is mid August.

Romance eBooks

Your Kindle Tutorial~No Kindle Necessary

You don’t need to own a Kindle eReading device to read digital eBooks purchased from Amazon.com in Kindle format. Yes, I am sure about this because I have downloaded and read numerous Kindle books and I do not own a Kindle device.

So how did I read them? Here’s how… I have a FREE Kindle reading application installed on my MAC, on my PC and on my iPod Touch.

KINDLE FOR PC

KINDLE FOR MAC

KINDLE FOR IPHONE (or iPod Touch) Read about it online or in the App Store on your phone

KINDLE FOR BLACKBERRY

KINDLE FOR IPAD

KINDLE FOR ANDROID

So here is the really cool part. No wires! Even if I browse and buy the eBook on my laptop computer, the moment I turn on my iTouch (within a WiFi zone) and open the Kindle app, it browses and syncs to my account, and automatically downloads any new purchases.

Amazon offers FREE Kindle books every day so if you check back often, you can fill up your reading list for nothing. It also allows you to Sample a book by sending you the beginning of the book for free. I’m not sure if the length of the sample is based on words, or characters, or pages, but for my Crossing the Line, the sample I downloaded was nearly two full chapters.

Give it a try. Download the Kindle apps to your device, grab a sample or two, go find today’s free book. What do you have to lose?