Greeting Card Campaign: 11-1 Author's Day

Click here to download your Author's Day card for free.

It's Nov 1st - Author's Day.  Author's Day was first proclaimed and adopted by the General Federation of Women’s Clubs in 1929. The idea came from Nellie Verne Burt McPherson, president of the Bement, Illinois Women's Club in 1928. McPherson, a teacher was recuperating in a hospital, when she wrote a fan letter to fiction writer Irving Bacheller, telling him how much she had enjoyed his story, "Eben Holden's Last Day A'Fishin." The author sent her an autographed copy of one of his stories. To thank him, McPherson submitted the idea for National Author's Day to the General Federation of Women's Clubs. The GFWC liked the idea and set aside November 1 as Author's day to honor American writers and their contributions to literature. 

Later, in 1949 the U.S. Department of Commerce followed suit and recognized November 1 as National Author's Day.  Nellie's granddaughter, Sue Cole took over responsibility for promoting Author's Day after her grandmother's death in 1968. Mrs. cole suggests flying the American Flag in honor of American authors on November 1 as away to, as she puts it, "brighten up the sometimes lonely business of being a writer."

To celebrate Author's Day, we suggest you author an Author's Day greeting card to your beloved. We've done most of the work for you. Just click on the caption below the picture of the famous authors above. The link will take you to a pdf file in Google Docs. Remember, instead of printing from Google Docs, click on "File" in the upper left corner, then select "Download" and copy the file to your own computer.  Open it with Adobe PDF Reader or whatever PDF reader you use and print the card from there. For some reason Google Docs doesn't handle fonts well, even though they are supposed to be embedded in the PDF document itself.

This is a top fold card, so when it prints, be sure to tell your printer it's in "portrait" format so you get the whole file. Flip it on the short side to print double-sided. This also flips the inside upside down from the outside when you print in portrait mode, so that, when you fold it over, the inside comes out right side up.  If you're confused, I encourage you to give it a try with a practice sheet.

Then start on a novel of your own. November 1 also is the kickoff of National Novel Writing Month. The goal?  To write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.  That's 1667 words a day or thereabouts so you'd better get rolling. Good luck becoming another great American author.

© 2013 by Tom King

Greeting Card Campaign: 10-31 Halloween

Click here to download Halloween Card

October 31st is, of course, Halloween or Hallowe'en, short for All Hallow's Evening.  This yearly celebration started out as a Christian feast day to remember the dead - especially saints, martyrs and faithful dead believers. The Roman Catholic Church Christianized the old Gaelic pagan festival Samhain, although some academics argue that Halloween originated independently of the pagan Samhain and has solely Christian roots. Whatever the case, the association of Halloween with tricks, treats, pranks, costumes, monsters and general scariness seems to hark back more to the pagan festival which was once celebrated by building fires in the dark and wearing frightening masks in order to frighten away the ghosts of any unsettled dead that might be walking around the evening before All Saints Day.

Nowadays Halloween seems to be more about dressing up and eating candy for the kids and dressing up slutty for adults going to parties than it is about any religious observance. Most churches these days like to offer an alternative "harvest" party for their young people to de-emphasize the "evil" associations that go with Halloween.  Send your sweetheart a Happy Halloween Card to let her know you're willing to scare off any ghosts for her and that she's your "greatest" pumpkin.

Just click on the caption below the picture of the pumpkin.  The link will take you to a pdf file in Google Docs.  Download the file. Don't try to print the file from within Google Docs. I use a lot of fonts and Google Docs doesn't seem to like them very much.  Instead, click on "File" in the upper left corner, then select "download" and copy the file to your own computer. Open it with Adobe PDF Reader or whatever PDF reader you prefer.  Print the card from there and it should be fine.

This is a side fold card, so when you print it, be sure to select "landscape" and if you have two-sided printing, choose "flip on the short side" so that the inside of the card is the same way up as the outside.

Don't forget to write something sweet inside for your best girl - something more than just your name. And heaven help you, don't forget to sign it. 

© 2013 by Tom King 

Greeting Card Campaign: 10-30 Mischief Night

Click Here to download your Mischief Night Card

Want to get an extra day out of that costume of yours.  Then go somewhere on October 30 where they celebrate "Mischief Night".  Well, "celebrate" might be too strong a word, especially if you're in the law enforcement business in the US, Canada and the UK.  The tradition dates back to the 1700s and is also known as Devil's Night, Hell Night, Cabbage Night (because the kids throw rotting cabbages at people), Gate Night, Mizzy Night, Miggy Night or Goosing Night.  The annual tradition turns loose mostly teens and preteens on the community to play pranks and to do mischief in their neighborhoods. Some communities have moved the date, but most celebrate it on the night before Halloween. Many communities combine the pranks with Halloween and create a dual holiday, thus the tradition of demanding "tricks or treats".  Toilet paper manufacturers particularly enjoy the holiday because they move a lot of extra product.

Give your favorite prankster this downloadable Mischief Night Card to show her how much you care. Just click on the caption below the picture of the prank-in-progress. The link will take you to a pdf file in Google Docs. Remember, instead of printing from Google Docs, click on "File" in the upper left corner, then select "Download" and copy the file to your own computer.  Open it with Adobe PDF Reader or whatever PDF reader you use and print the card from there. For some reason Google Docs doesn't handle fonts well, even though they are supposed to be embedded in the PDF document itself.

This is a top fold card, so when it prints, be sure to tell your printer it's in "portrait" format so you get the whole file. Flip it on the short side to print double-sided. This also flips the inside upside down from the outside when you print in portrait mode, so that, when you fold it over, the inside comes out right side up.  If you're confused, I encourage you to give it a try with a practice sheet.

© 2013 by Tom King