View this email in your browser.

The Word Business

Writing better at work and in life ...
Because words still matter

June 2018

Three Ways to Add Fireworks to Your Writing

There is no shortage of ideas to help bring color and crackle to your words.
Here are three of them.

Focus on Your Writing:
Rock the Out-of-Office Reply

So you're not going to check your email while on vacation?
Give the sender something to remember.
(Via Yesware.com)

What's Going On?

As some of you know, I am writing a novel. Part of my research included visiting the Julien Dubuque Monument high above the Mississippi River on the edge of Dubuque, Iowa. This photo, which I took last summer, inspired a pivotal scene in the book. No publication date yet, but progress continues. — Michael Popke

Words & Music: Books on Vinyl

First, there were books on tape. Then came books on CD, followed by downloadable audiobooks. Now authors are going retro and opting for books on vinyl. Joe Hill, Stephen King's son and The New York Times bestselling author of Heart-Shaped Box and NOS4A2, recently debuted a short story titled "Dark Carousel" as a "vinyl first" work — even before print!

Narrated by actor Nate Corddry and featuring a cover version of The Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses" by Matthew Ryan, the "Dark Carousel" package includes two colorful “splattered” records and a full-length download of the audiobook. Entertainment Weekly describes it as "the tale of four teenagers out for an evening of fun on the boardwalk who take a ride on the 'Wild Wheel' — an antique carousel with a shadowy past — and learn too late that decisions made in an instant can have deadly consequences."

Words from Two Lakes Media Group Clients

"Michael Popke really immersed himself in my project. He met with me multiple times to get a feel for what I was looking for. In the end, he wrote a bio and press release, and designed a MailChimp promo email. He knocked it out of the park with everything. Michael is professional and delivers when he says he will. On top of all that, he is a really nice guy and very easy to work with."

— Dustin Sisson, Musician/Recording Engineer