"Think outside the box."

That has been my motto since I began what some saw as a ridiculous way of marketing my products. 'An art show at the Jackson Medical Mall, McRaes Metrocenter, and a hotel?' 'A hotel? People don't go to a hotel to buy books and greeting cards!!' Those were some of the things I was told when I began my marketing campaign. And to be honest, I probably would have listened to them--- if they had been right.

The truth be known, I average about $300 a month at my two shows a month at the Jackson Medical Mall. My greeting cards, postcards, novellas and calendars have cleared over $300 a month from the front desk of the Best Western Executive Inn, and my monthly art show and poetry reading at the same hotel adds another $400 or so to my bottom line. And that's not including the sales made through my website and (thankfully) through my catalog T.Y.F.M.

So this proves that tradional wisdom is not always the way to go. The same is true about my marketing stradegy for my METAMORPHOSIS project. At the time of this email, my cd is being played in Atlanta, Saint Louis, Jackson, and New Orleans.

Today begins the presale of my Metamorphosis cd at the Best Western Executive Inn. The cd can be purchased from the front desk of the hotel for $10.00-- a $2.00 savings from purchasing it after the "official" release date of Saturday, April 17, 2004.

Eight days from today I will embark on my ambitious five-state tour to promote the cd, returning to Jackson, MS on Monday, April 12, 2004 to rally my hometown around the project before the big event on the 17th of April.

Look forward to seeing all soon.