There are a couple of ways you can buy my book. You can order on line at all the usual suspects:
Amazon (also available in Kindle)
Borders
Barnes and Noble
Or straight from the publisher
You should be able to buy it at the Borders or Barnes and Noble stores, but call ahead. I’ve heard stores have sold out or didn’t order copies.
You can also buy them straight from me. This is the only way to get a signed copy. It is also the coolest way (in my opinion) because it helps out a Seattle independent bookstore that is going through some difficult times.
I am currently selling signed books through Elliott Bay Book Company. They are $22.
I can accept checks (made out to Elliott Bay Book Company)
I can accept credit cards (processed through Elliott Bay Book Company)
I can bill you through PayPal
Or I can take cash.
To buy a signed copy from me, simply send payment to:
Shari Storm
P.O. Box 75974
Seattle, WA 98175-0974
Or email me at www.sharistorm@gmail.com and I can take credit cards or bill you through PayPal.
Be sure to include:
- Who it should be signed for
- Where you want the book sent
If you are considering buying a copy – I want to thank you in advance. I appreciate your support and hope you enjoy the book.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Next Stop - Cleveland
Madison was a nice success. I thought the crowd was a little on the light side, but they pulled through. The next morning, I got emails from New York (publicist and agent) congratulating me.**
I’ll be in Cleveland Ohio on Tuesday, November 3. I’ll be reading and signing at 7 pm at the Westlake Borders. Please join us!
*** I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Valerie Breunig, Christopher Morris, and Sarah Dyer. Call outs to Jim Jerving and Bruce Geiger for showing up. Their surprise visits made me feel like a rockstar. And I adored meeting Allison McCarty and Sarah King.
Photos from Madison
I’ll be in Cleveland Ohio on Tuesday, November 3. I’ll be reading and signing at 7 pm at the Westlake Borders. Please join us!
*** I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Valerie Breunig, Christopher Morris, and Sarah Dyer. Call outs to Jim Jerving and Bruce Geiger for showing up. Their surprise visits made me feel like a rockstar. And I adored meeting Allison McCarty and Sarah King.
Photos from Madison
Monday, October 12, 2009
KING 5 News Interview
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Book Launch Party - October 9
It’s finally here. The day I’ve been dreaming about for almost five years – my book launch party. I mean, why bother writing a book if you can’t throw a huge party when you’re done?
Here are a few questions I’ve been asked. If you have any more, please let me know.
When is it?
It is Friday, October 9.
If you have kids, come as early as 5 pm. We’ll have kids foods, some crafts, onsite child help.
If you are sans kids, you can still come as early as 5, but the grownup festivities start at 7 pm. There will be a band, drinks, and food.
Where is it?
It’s on the roof of the Francis Anderson Center in Edmonds. You know that spot with the gorgeous view of the Puget Sound? The one right above a library? It’s there.
What Should I Wear?
It’s a typical Seattle affair. Come wearing your work clothes, or more casual. It’s not fancy (but if you want to get dolled up – knock yourself out) You know how northwestern folks roll. Wear what you want.
Will there be books to buy?
Yes! As a matter of fact, if you are thinking of buying a book, please buy them at the party.
Barns + Noble will be selling them and I can sign ‘em if you want. Both my publicist and the bookstore say I won’t sell 100 copies. But I was at Karen Burns launch party and almost came to fist-to-cuffs over her last copy. They say I won’t sell that many, but they don’t know how my friends come through. I insisted on 100 copies. I also want to prove to Barns + Noble that I can bring it.
Will you be reading from the book?
I will say a few words and read a bit at 7:30 pm.
Can anyone come?
I’m nervous that I have forgotten someone. If you know someone who knows me and didn’t get an invite, please have them contact me and I will send them one. If you are reading this, want to come and didn’t get an invite, just submit a comment at the bottom. I won’t publish it but I will send you an invite.
Also, feel free to bring any of your book-buying friends.
It is just VERY important that you let me know they are coming by September 25.
If I don’t know you or your friends are coming, you will not be on the list at the front door.
Please RSVP by September 25 to shari.storm(at)veritycu.com.
What will you be serving?
We’ll be drinking beer, wine and Lavender Lemonades. As well as sodas and juices.
Kids Dinner:
- Mini Corn Dogs
- Homemade Mac & Cheese Cups
- Tater tots
- Jello cups
- Coconut Shrimp with Tropical Dipping Sauce
- Spinach Feta Triangles
- Caprese Salad Skewers
- BBQ chicken sandwiches
- Homemade chips and salsa
- Guacamole dip
Chocolate Fountain served with:
- Variety of fresh fruit
- Marshmallows
- Pound sake
- Pretzel sticks
There is some parking below the center and a lot of street parking. It’s typical suburb parking.
Is there anything I can bring?
No, but thank you for asking.
Will I need to bring cash to buy the book?
B+N will have a credit card machine there.
Will there be music?
Heck yeah! There is a Celtic band that sometimes plays at the Edmonds Market, called A Well Known Stranger. They will be playing from 7 to 10 pm.
Are you so excited?
Yes. Yes I am.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Some people call themselves a “morning person”. When that topic comes up, I never participate. I don’t know if I’m a morning person or just crazy.
I am hard wired to get up early. I wake up full of energy and I do my best work from 4 am to 7 am. That is how I published a book while working full time and raising three kids – 4 am to 5 am everyday but Friday.
A few years ago, I convinced my boss to let me work from home on Fridays. I was the first person to make such request. I’ve been doing it for almost five years. I cherish my Fridays.
On Fridays, I get up at 4, pour a cup of coffee and go straight for the computer.
First I empty my email box. I love answering emails when I can give each message my full attention. I know the responses I give are more helpful and add more value.
Then I turn to the things that require uninterrupted brainpower. I plow through those with short breaks for breakfast, lunch and sometimes a trip to the gym. And then, around three, I turn off my computer, take a shower and I’m done for the week. I put in nine hours on a Friday, yet walk away from the day two hours to the better because I didn’t waste time on the commute or the morning ritual of putting on a suit and make-up.
I get more done on Fridays than I do any other day of the week – hands down. It makes my weekends feel less stressful and it makes Mondays more bearable.
Because of my Friday set-up, I was quite interested when Kristi Larsen, of Microsoft, told me that she was recently appointed to the board of Microsoft’s Flexible Work Committee. The committee is focused on providing resources and support for workers to work remotely, work flexible hours, and find other ways to thrive in today’s hectic world.
She and I sat down a few weeks ago to talk about the types of things she does for the committee, I was instantly jealous of their technology. They have several different ways for employees to link in – including video communications.
“We have to,” explained Kristi. “Not only does Microsoft want their employees to be using the technology the company builds, we also need to consider the fact that the Microsoft campus employees tens of thousands of people. Traffic to and from work is a real issue.”
In my opinion, traffic is one of the major detractors from quality of life. Even though I only live seven miles from my office, I relish Fridays when I don’t face any traffic. To me, driving in a car is the ultimate waste of time.
I also found it fascinating that the Flexible Work Committee at Microsoft is a subset of the company’s Diversity Committee. That makes perfect sense.
As a hardcore morning person, I sometimes feel like the outcast minority in my office. Not only do I raise eyebrows when I work at 4, 5 and 6 in the morning, I’ve also experienced disapproving looks when I sit back with a coffee and read the newspaper at 3 pm. It’s clear that our culture thinks newspapers should be read in the morning. But to me, my most productive hours of the day shouldn’t be wasted on reading papers (or driving to work for that matter). By three, I’m close to useless. So for me, it’s the best time to catch up on reading.
“It’s not only when you work,” Kristi explained to me, “It’s where you work. We are striving to help employees work when and where they can be most successful. For some, that is their home, for others, it’s a coffee shop.”
As coincidence would have it, I had just visited the Office Nomad space in Seattle. It hit me, as I was talking to Kristi, that has got to be the wave of the future.
I mean, you take any big company like Microsoft, they could build satellite locations to accommodate their growing employee base, or they pay the rent for a desk in one of these types of places. Not only would it be cheaper to pay desk rent, it also offers tremendous business development opportunities. Since most of the people who rent space at places like Office Nomad are small business owners, it stands to reason that there would be lots of instances for networking.
All in all, I am just happy that there are people like Kristi, working at places like Microsoft who are striving to make jobs more manageable for working moms and people who don’t work in the same way as the mainstream. It makes me hopeful that our society will continue to evolve our beliefs about how we should work and how we should live.
I am hard wired to get up early. I wake up full of energy and I do my best work from 4 am to 7 am. That is how I published a book while working full time and raising three kids – 4 am to 5 am everyday but Friday.
A few years ago, I convinced my boss to let me work from home on Fridays. I was the first person to make such request. I’ve been doing it for almost five years. I cherish my Fridays.
On Fridays, I get up at 4, pour a cup of coffee and go straight for the computer.
First I empty my email box. I love answering emails when I can give each message my full attention. I know the responses I give are more helpful and add more value.
Then I turn to the things that require uninterrupted brainpower. I plow through those with short breaks for breakfast, lunch and sometimes a trip to the gym. And then, around three, I turn off my computer, take a shower and I’m done for the week. I put in nine hours on a Friday, yet walk away from the day two hours to the better because I didn’t waste time on the commute or the morning ritual of putting on a suit and make-up.
I get more done on Fridays than I do any other day of the week – hands down. It makes my weekends feel less stressful and it makes Mondays more bearable.
Because of my Friday set-up, I was quite interested when Kristi Larsen, of Microsoft, told me that she was recently appointed to the board of Microsoft’s Flexible Work Committee. The committee is focused on providing resources and support for workers to work remotely, work flexible hours, and find other ways to thrive in today’s hectic world.
She and I sat down a few weeks ago to talk about the types of things she does for the committee, I was instantly jealous of their technology. They have several different ways for employees to link in – including video communications.
“We have to,” explained Kristi. “Not only does Microsoft want their employees to be using the technology the company builds, we also need to consider the fact that the Microsoft campus employees tens of thousands of people. Traffic to and from work is a real issue.”
In my opinion, traffic is one of the major detractors from quality of life. Even though I only live seven miles from my office, I relish Fridays when I don’t face any traffic. To me, driving in a car is the ultimate waste of time.
I also found it fascinating that the Flexible Work Committee at Microsoft is a subset of the company’s Diversity Committee. That makes perfect sense.
As a hardcore morning person, I sometimes feel like the outcast minority in my office. Not only do I raise eyebrows when I work at 4, 5 and 6 in the morning, I’ve also experienced disapproving looks when I sit back with a coffee and read the newspaper at 3 pm. It’s clear that our culture thinks newspapers should be read in the morning. But to me, my most productive hours of the day shouldn’t be wasted on reading papers (or driving to work for that matter). By three, I’m close to useless. So for me, it’s the best time to catch up on reading.
“It’s not only when you work,” Kristi explained to me, “It’s where you work. We are striving to help employees work when and where they can be most successful. For some, that is their home, for others, it’s a coffee shop.”
As coincidence would have it, I had just visited the Office Nomad space in Seattle. It hit me, as I was talking to Kristi, that has got to be the wave of the future.
I mean, you take any big company like Microsoft, they could build satellite locations to accommodate their growing employee base, or they pay the rent for a desk in one of these types of places. Not only would it be cheaper to pay desk rent, it also offers tremendous business development opportunities. Since most of the people who rent space at places like Office Nomad are small business owners, it stands to reason that there would be lots of instances for networking.
All in all, I am just happy that there are people like Kristi, working at places like Microsoft who are striving to make jobs more manageable for working moms and people who don’t work in the same way as the mainstream. It makes me hopeful that our society will continue to evolve our beliefs about how we should work and how we should live.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
Response to My First Bad Review
I found this blog post regarding Motherhood is the New MBA: Using Your Parenting Skills to be a Better Boss (aka my book) yesterday.
Her basic message is summed up here:
Any book, blog, newspaper article, or bunco game conversation about how mommies make better managers and parenting skills are easily transferred to the business world always pisses me off. Why? Because children aren't adults and parenting children isn't the same as managing employees.
This isn’t a surprising sentiment, nor is this the first time I’ve heard something like this. I’ve actually had several conversations with folks who are put off by the premise of the book for this reason or others. As a matter of fact, when Ron Shevlin, one of the first people to edit the manuscript, read it, his response was something to the effect of, “I was fully expecting to hate this book. I thought you were going to go off on how moms are better than other people or someone other type of women’s lib crap.”
When I was trying to get a book deal, one of the editors of the biggest publishing houses sent me a note and said that, while he did get the green light to bid on my proposal, his marketing team thought the idea was condescending to employees. He didn’t want me supported by people who didn’t get the concept, so he passed.
The theme of the book is not that you should treat your employees like your kids. The message is to take the best skills you are learning as a parent and apply them to your management style.
Good parents are singularly focused on building a world in which their children flourish. A good parent is relentless in their quest to ensure their children thrive. Imagine if a boss did the same for her employees.
Further, human nature is human nature, whether you are two or sixty-two. We still have the same basic needs – to be understood, to be appreciated, to live in an environment that is safe and predictable, and to have clearly set boundaries. Parents get a lot of practice dealing in human nature because with a child, those needs are more pronounced. As you practice dealing with the needs of your children, it would serve you well to consider if you are doing the same at work. You will get better results from the teams you manage if you understand human nature and how to use it to motivate your employees to do their best work.
For the most part, I do not take issue with snarkwife’s post. Except for one sentence in which she makes fun of the fact that I interviewed a barista for my book.
The barista I interview manages a very large Starbucks store. I met her because another woman in her 60’s, who was forced to return to work to get health coverage, told me, “You must interview my boss. She is the best person I have worked for in my entire career.” This barista manages over 15 people and has for a long time. She gave me some of the best advice in the book. She was smart and funny. Starbucks knows well that much of their success or failure depends on the quality of the people in the stores. Keeping good baristas often means keeping good customers and hence maximizing shareholder value.
Oh, and one other thing. She also said, “I'm still unclear as to what the "magic word" is...profitability? Accountability? Stakeholder?” In my book, the magic word is “please” and sometimes “thank you.” That chapter is on good manners and how the simple act of being nice (and hence likable) can reap unexpected results when you are trying to get something done.
Her basic message is summed up here:
Any book, blog, newspaper article, or bunco game conversation about how mommies make better managers and parenting skills are easily transferred to the business world always pisses me off. Why? Because children aren't adults and parenting children isn't the same as managing employees.
This isn’t a surprising sentiment, nor is this the first time I’ve heard something like this. I’ve actually had several conversations with folks who are put off by the premise of the book for this reason or others. As a matter of fact, when Ron Shevlin, one of the first people to edit the manuscript, read it, his response was something to the effect of, “I was fully expecting to hate this book. I thought you were going to go off on how moms are better than other people or someone other type of women’s lib crap.”
When I was trying to get a book deal, one of the editors of the biggest publishing houses sent me a note and said that, while he did get the green light to bid on my proposal, his marketing team thought the idea was condescending to employees. He didn’t want me supported by people who didn’t get the concept, so he passed.
The theme of the book is not that you should treat your employees like your kids. The message is to take the best skills you are learning as a parent and apply them to your management style.
Good parents are singularly focused on building a world in which their children flourish. A good parent is relentless in their quest to ensure their children thrive. Imagine if a boss did the same for her employees.
Further, human nature is human nature, whether you are two or sixty-two. We still have the same basic needs – to be understood, to be appreciated, to live in an environment that is safe and predictable, and to have clearly set boundaries. Parents get a lot of practice dealing in human nature because with a child, those needs are more pronounced. As you practice dealing with the needs of your children, it would serve you well to consider if you are doing the same at work. You will get better results from the teams you manage if you understand human nature and how to use it to motivate your employees to do their best work.
For the most part, I do not take issue with snarkwife’s post. Except for one sentence in which she makes fun of the fact that I interviewed a barista for my book.
The barista I interview manages a very large Starbucks store. I met her because another woman in her 60’s, who was forced to return to work to get health coverage, told me, “You must interview my boss. She is the best person I have worked for in my entire career.” This barista manages over 15 people and has for a long time. She gave me some of the best advice in the book. She was smart and funny. Starbucks knows well that much of their success or failure depends on the quality of the people in the stores. Keeping good baristas often means keeping good customers and hence maximizing shareholder value.
Oh, and one other thing. She also said, “I'm still unclear as to what the "magic word" is...profitability? Accountability? Stakeholder?” In my book, the magic word is “please” and sometimes “thank you.” That chapter is on good manners and how the simple act of being nice (and hence likable) can reap unexpected results when you are trying to get something done.
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