Michael in the news and on the road

A reporter from Toronto called me yesterday to check facts for an upcoming article that mentions The Lord of the Rings. I doubt I'll be given any credit, but if I can find the article online I'll post a reference here.

In other news, a new book due to be published in August (next week) features an article I contributed. This is the Streetwise Small Business Book of Lists and my article provides suggestions on how companies can save money on their health insurance.

Not as exciting as how long Luthien's dress was in The Silmarillion, I suppose, but it gets you from point A to point B. And I'm still amazed at how much money companies waste on health insurance. I think they should be providing it for their employees, but they just don't understand how to save money on it.

Here is the official promotional copy for the book:

Are you a business owner or manager? Here’s the only book you’ll need! The Streetwise Small Business Book Of Lists (Adams Media; 2006) is a collection of over 500 critical lists of information every business owner or manager needs to know to make decisions quickly and manage more effectively. Painstakingly compiled from hundreds of business experts, publications, government resources and websites, the Streetwise Small Business Book of Lists is a one stop answer book for every business owner's questions. Learn what are the lowest-cost franchises to start up, the ten things to consider before buying a new phone system, the most popular ways to decrease your company's health insurance costs, the top methods for speeding up your cash flow, the most effective steps for reducing travel expenses and much more! For more information and more lists, please visit www.smallbizlists.net!

And you can buy a copy at Amazon. Who lost a recent order of books for me, so that I had to write and ask for a refund. Oboy. Well, that was an anomaly, I am sure.

And later today I'll be taking flight for Spokane, Washington where I'll be the guest speaker at MERPCon II. I'll admit I did not promote this event as much as I should like, but the last couple of months I've just not had the kind of energy I am used to having. Anyway, Hawke Robinson organized the event and I agreed to do something very special. He'll be giving away 10 autographed printed copies of Parma Endorion: Essays on Middle-earth, 3rd Edition.

These are the only authorized print copies of the book in the world. I'm not saying I won't authorize other copies in the future, but it's not like I have a schedule or anything. They are full color copies. I hate to say it, but if you see autographed copies on eBay after this weekend, they may be genuine. But I still don't think you should buy Parma Endorion. It's a free eBook, after all.

Anyway, the fact that I'll be getting on airplanes this afternoon and evening pretty much rules out any more blogging for the week. I'm scheduled to be back in Houston Sunday night, so I guess I'll resume blogging Monday evening. After 3 hours of dance classes.

Maybe it will be Tuesday before I can get back into the game....

Have a great weekend! Don't get smitten while I'm away. I hear it hurts.