This page contains a sampling of various articles, reviews, columns and essays written by Susan Reno-Gilliland. Some have been published in various print and/or on-line venues, while others are currently unpublished, except on this site. The author retains all rights to all works presented on this site. Please contact the author with any requests for use, re-prints or re-publications. Be sure to include your full name, the name of your publication, the type(s) of payment or other compensation offered (if any), and the rights you are seeking. Please read the disclaimer for further details.
"Finding Your Personal Style" Garden & Hearth Columnist, 08/05 - present.
"A Southern Belle's Life" Commentary, The Chattanoogan, Columnist, 05/05 - present. (columns may also be read at: A Southern Belle's Works)
Never Underestimate A Southern Belle on-going blog, July, 2004 - present. (previously published bw columns can be found here.)
black_mosquito Magazine Editor & Opinions Columnist, June, 2004 - present (October, 2004) (site temporarily under reconstruction)
+humanoid Book Reviewer, In The Stacks, June, 2004 - present (October, 2004) (site temporarily under reconstruction)
+humanoid Magazine Reviewer, Off The Racks, June, 2004 - present (October, 2004) (site temporarily under reconstruction)
Martha Stewart's Replacement Finally Found, The Spoof News, May 12, 2004
Write, Create and Promote a Best-Seller!
A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Best-Selling Book, Writers Crossing, Book Review, May 1, 2004
The Many Aspects of Mobile Home Living, Book Report, Monthly Backwash Newsletter, April 2004.
Bergdorf Blondes, Contemporary Literature, Monthly Backwash Newsletter, April 2004.
A Southern Belle's Expressions, Photographer, ongoing photo-blog 04/11/04 - present.
Good Girls Don't ... But (sometimes) I Do ... on-going blog, 03/16/04 - present.
"Slice of Life Commentary," North Texas e-News Columnist, 03/04 - present. (columns may also be read at: A Southern Belle's Works)
A Southern Belle's Works, ongoing blog 03/04/04 - present.
The Non-Adventures Of Lump-O-Cat, The Life of a Cat of Leisure, ongoing blog 02/29/04 - 08/30/04, (discontinued by "Bob Roberts" as he preferred lying in the sun to blogging)
Breakthrough, The Backwash Scribble Fest, Part Deux, February 3, 2004
A Southern Belle's Musings, ongoing blog 02/10/04 - present.
How to Really Make a Living as an Editorial Freelancer, Writers Crossing, Book Review, January 15, 2004
Bad Girl O' The Month Interview, Bad Girls Press, December, 2003
Afternoon Tea, The Backwash Scribble Fest, November 2, 2003
Secondary Media Coverage: Knowing When To Give A Little To Get A Lot, Bad Girls Press, Guest PR & Marketing Info, October, 2003
The Mysterious Mass-Transit Syndrome, Bad Girls Press, Guest BG-POV Column, September, 2003
In the Moment (Book Review), Curled Up With A Good Book, August 16, 2003
The Secret of the Shadow (Book Review), Curled Up With A Good Book, August 13, 2003
A Baker's Dozen Tips for Collectors, Garden and Hearth, March 2003
Senior Columnist -- Backwash.com, "I May Be Blonde, But . . . (don't let that fool you!)" - February 04, 2003 - September 24, 2004 (When a writer's integrity and a site's standards no longer agree, it is time for the writer to sever the association to maintain integrity)
For Sale, "Slice-of-Life" Commentary, January 28, 2003
Holiday Celebrations, "Slice-of-Life" Commentary, January 17, 2003
Tree Gypsies, "Slice-of-Life" Commentary, December 29, 2002
Adaptable Martha Stewart, Interiors Newsletter, May/June 2002
Graceful Charm for Modern Times, Interiors Newsletter, March/April 2002
Listmania! Movies - Escape to Celluloid Worlds, Amazon, April, 2002
Listmania! Do You Hide These In The Closet???, Amazon, April, 2002
Listmania! 70's Revisited, Amazon, April, 2002
Listmania! Finding Design Inspiration, Amazon, April, 2002
The Business of Bliss (Book Review), Amazon, April 29, 2002
Romantic Style (Book Review), Amazon, April 29, 2002
Seasonal Home (Book Review), Amazon, April 11, 2002
Duality At Its Best, Retro Reel Reviews, September 2001
Home Is Where The Heart Is, Chattanooga Outlook Magazine, June 2000
Tuskegee Airman, Chattanooga Times/News Free Press, February 10, 2000
always ... In Style, Memphis Women's Journal (MWJ), monthly featured columnist, 1995-1996
This article was featured in the October 2003 Issue of Bad Girls Press. I was the Guest BG-PR & Marketing Info Contributor for the Month. Bad Girls Press http://www.thegreate-scape.com/badgirlspress/ does not archive their Guest BG-PR articles.
BAD GIRLS PRESS, PR & MARKETING INFO
Secondary Media Coverage: Knowing When To Give A Little To Get A Lot
by Susan Reno-Gilliland
Successful public relations plans propel businesses forward by launching and sustaining credibility and visibility within target communities. Without an ongoing plan, your company risks many damaging consequences ranging from mere anonymity to negative reactions among your sought-after clients or customers. But direct media coverage is particularly difficult to attain and maintain, especially for the small business owner with a limited advertising budget. It's even more difficult if you've got a single product - you.
By using what I like to call "secondary media coverage," you can position yourself into television, newspaper and radio spots that aren't primarily focused on your business. Why do this? Because the media coverage will still benefit your business even if it's not touting your services or products as the main story.
Here's an example using my interior design studio:
A few years ago, I went to a Business Expo as a networking opportunity. At one of the booths, there was information about a new outreach of the Salvation Army that ministered to people in our community living with HIV and AIDS. The Community House was open five days a week. Individuals who met the project's criteria could receive transportation to doctor's appointments, free use of the facility during normal business hours, meals, counseling services, clothing, assistance with medical forms, and a variety of other services, as needed.
During my conversation with the Director, I told her I was an Interior Designer. She said they could really use my expertise. The Salvation Army had purchased a 1902 Prairie Schoolhouse foursquare for the project in a relatively abandoned part of town, and had done no restoration to the building. Basically, the house was in disrepair and in need of dire help. Plaster was missing from the walls and you could even see outside in some areas. The floors were water-damaged and warped.
I offered to help renovate the house as much as I could. I also said I'd try to interest other businesses in donating to the effort as well. The following week, I scheduled a meeting with the clients of the house to get their input about what they'd like to see for the building. The main concept they shared was, "A place that feels like home." So, that became my goal: to transform the dilapidated old house into a "home."
I contacted paint stores, furniture stores, blind and window covering companies, plaster repair companies, local artists - anyone I could think of that might want to donate time, money and/or materials. Then I flooded the local media market with press releases - using several different slants - to find even more helpers. Within two weeks, I was featured on all three local television stations (one even featured me twice!). We had articles in the local newspaper in the Metro, Community, and Lifestyles sections, plus I was asked to write an article for a local monthly newspaper.
Of course, the main focus was the renovation project, the Community House and its work. But in the midst of each interview or article, there were always references to my design studio - and the fact that all my services were being donated to the project - along with my telephone number and website address for anyone who wanted to contact me to participate in the project.
As a result, I received several calls from people who wanted to help. A muralist transformed the front room into a garden paradise. And a church offered time, labor and all of the materials to strip, sand, and refinish all of the floors in the whole house.
Guess what? I got several new clients as well.
Don't ever overlook the potential of secondary media coverage for your own business.
As you can see, I didn't set out to get publicity, but ended up benefiting in ways I could have never predicted. But even more important, in the process I got a whole new outlook on the world around me.
Sometimes it's when you stop thinking of yourself, and begin to think of others, that the benefits will come back to you more than you could ever imagine.
© 2003 by Susan Reno-Gilliland
Susan Reno-Gilliland is a professional freelancer, photographer, artist, and interior designer. Her writing appears on several web sites including www.susanrenogilliland.com. To email her, send a note to studio@susanrenogilliland.com.
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This article was featured in the September 2003 Issue of Bad Girls Press. I was the Guest BG-POV for the Month. Bad Girls Press http://www.thegreate-scape.com/badgirlspress/ does not archive their Guest BG-POV articles.
BAD GIRLS PRESS, POV
The Mysterious Mass-Transit Syndrome
by Susan Reno-Gilliland
I was born with a peculiar magnetic gene. No one can explain it. After many consultations with specialists, no one has been able to pinpoint the defect; therefore, it can't be eradicated. This gene has the ability to draw total strangers to me, like "moths-to-a-flame," and cause them to instantly begin to tell me their life story, beginning from DNA conception and ending with what they had for breakfast that morning.
I've termed its effect, "The Mysterious Mass-Transit Syndrome (MMTS)." The syndrome, you see, at least periodically, happens to others. But (I'm assuming that) it isn't genetic, as it only occurs in instances when these unsuspecting people are traveling, and are sitting next to people who never expect to see them again and feel free to unload their personal history as cheap therapy to a captive audience on a bus, plane or train.
Me? It happens anytime, any place, anywhere. In line at the grocer, sitting at a restaurant, in public restrooms, even when I telephone a company with a question or complaint - I suddenly become a confessor as others seek release or absolution from the situations in their lives.
I've attempted looking unapproachable, not making eye contact, or talking on my cell phone. Nothing deters these people from seeking me out - alone or in a crowd - and dumping their woes upon me as if:
(1) I want to hear them;
(2) I can do anything about them; or
(3) I care.
The problem is, I do end up caring; thinking about the problems of people I don't even know, people that I'll probably never see again, and that I'll have no way of learning if their problems were ever resolved.
I suppose this genetic defect wouldn't bother me so much if I didn't end up caring. It's like some kind of overloaded tele-empathic being. A creature that is so bombarded with the emotions of others it has no ability to cope with that barrage of sensations, and no ability to shut them out, and must, therefore, attempt to process the sensations in whatever ways possible to deal with the information that has been received.
For once, I would like the tables to turn, to hear someone honestly ask me how I'm feeling - someone who sincerely wants to take the time to listen to what my answer might be. But so far, the barrage of self-centeredness continues to assail me.
Am I the only one who truly suffers from genetic MMTS? Am I the only one who possesses this particular inherent anomaly?
© 2003 by Susan Reno-Gilliland
Susan Reno-Gilliland is a professional freelancer, photographer, artist, and interior designer. Her writing appears on several web sites including www.susanrenogilliland.com
To email her, send a note to studio@susanrenogilliland.com. And watch for Susan's guest BG-PR article next month!
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For Sale
A "Slice-of-Life" Commentary
We took the plunge and listed our house for sale last Friday. Sure, we knew this was Super Bowl weekend but, in knowing this, we felt we had a few days to "de-personalize" the house before Realtors started wanting to show it. By de-personalize, I mean, start packing away all the family photos, the smaller family heirlooms, the eye-catching collections that all detract from the potential homebuyer being able to envision their own belongings in the house.
We received a call from a Realtor who wanted to "preview" the house. She has prospective buyers who live several hours away, and she is compiling a list of potential houses for showing so they can make the most of their trips into the city. We agreed on a time for her to preview the house and she arrived, card in hand, and elitist attitude in tow.
As a Designer, I have worked with a lot of Realtors and know that brokerage firms generally require their brokers to add their photo to their business card. Well, Ms. So-n-So must be using at least a fifteen year old photo because she is well into the mid-forty-something range at the very least (not the glamour chick in the photo) and, *sheesh* what is with this "Esquire" tag?
In my good 'ol Merriam Webster, it reads, and I quote,
1. A man or boy who is a member of the gentry in England ranking directly below a knight.
2. Abbr. Esq. Used as an honorific, usually in its abbreviated form, especially after the name of an attorney or a consular officer:
3. In medieval times, a candidate for knighthood who served a knight as an attendant and a shield bearer.
4. An English country gentleman; a squire.
Correct me if I'm wrong - did any of you see "she," as in the female sense, mentioned anywhere in those descriptions. I mean, I could, quite possibly give you Esq. after an Attorney but, last time I checked, Realtor and Attorney are not interchangeable titles.
And, as if that isn't bad enough - I know there are certain things that both mothers and realty companies teach . . . "if you open it, close it" -- "if you turn it on, turn it off." Evidently, Ms. So-n-So never listened to her mother, and was absent that day at the realty company - every closet, every bedroom door - even the door to the basement was left open. Lights on, everywhere. As we say in the South, "were you raised in a barn?"
I'm sure her clients are very nice people. And, if they can cough up the list price of the house, they're welcome to it - but, hopefully, she won't be bringing too many clients by for showings . . . I can't afford the utility bills!
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Holiday Celebrations
A "Slice-of-Life" Commentary
Again, let me just state, for the record, before anyone starts tossing insults such as "Holiday-Hater" my way, I'm all for the joy and tradition that the Christmas holidays express. In fact, I'm rather fond of a multitude of holidays - I enjoy finding reasons to celebrate the major holidays, the minor holidays and, many of the obscure holidays as well.
I find pleasure in seeking out a holiday for EVERY day of the year - did you know that January 20th is "Penguin Awareness Day?" Or, that February 7th is "Wave All you Fingers at Your Neighbor Day?" (I guess it IS important that you use ALL of your fingers!) March 1st is one of my personal favorites - "Peanut Butter Lover's Day!" Well, as you can see, the unique, special, and even bizarre, can happen practically any day of the year, so why not celebrate, right?
My problem lies with my neighbors across the street. It is January 17th, for goodness sakes! Christmas has come and gone, and so has New Year's Day. We've even seen the Feast of the Epiphany, Three Kings Day pass. But, still, night, after night, after night - as soon as it is dark, they turn on their Christmas lights. They have red lights on every tree, bush and shrub across the whole front yard. Yes, I did say "red." Not a "Winter-Snow-Festival" of twinkling white lights to glisten off the snow-covered ground. Not a simple Northern tradition of a single white candle in each window. But, red - as in RED! - Christmas lights strung from one end of the yard to the other.
Can someone explain this to me? I just don't get it? Are they planning ahead for Valentine's Day, perhaps?!?
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Tree Gypsies
A "Slice-of-Life" Commentary
Before anyone starts tossing insults such as "Mrs. Scrooge" or "Christmas-Hater" my way, just let me state, for the record, I'm all for the joy and tradition that the Christmas holidays express. My problem arises from the commercialism and excessive waste perpetuated by those eager to capitalize on the consumer's desire to try to recapture that age-old tradition of chopping down their annual Christmas tree.
Even before we've stuffed the bird for Thanksgiving, suddenly, overnight, vacant lots are filled-to-the-brim, overflowing, with freshly cut pines just waiting to be strapped to the tops of cars throughout the city.
And, for those who wish to venture out and choose the perfect tree from one of the hundreds of look-alike lots on every street corner, I say - good for you! Merry Christmas! Enjoy the smell of fresh cut pine. I'm sure you don't even mind the occasional sweeping up of dropping needles throughout the season.
My beef - the reason for this rant - is aimed at those tree merchants - those pine-choppers - those purveyors of Santa's Forest Trees for every household! What happens to those unsold pines the day AFTER Christmas?
Well, around here, those trees are piled up, abandoned on the spot where the bright search lights beckoned, and the tents with ringing cash registers, spools of twine, and helpful assistants secured your perfect tree to the top of your car in record speed as late at December 24th. Abandoned! Piles of pines left to rot away on the sides of the road.
These pines could be recycled into many useful things - mulch, potpourri, even kitty litter. Instead, they've been left as an eyesore, a waste of a precious natural commodity, a reminder that the holidays are over, and we're back to the same 'ole routine, under gray, snowy skies and dark, dreary days.
There are laws that govern littering but, for these pine-choppers who obtain a license to sell trees during the holiday season, are there no regulations to require them to leave the vacant lots as they found them? They simply vanish, like gypsies in the night - leaving a trail of abandoned pines behind.
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