Thursday, August 2, 2018

Oh My Disney, Our Shorts Are Showing!

Thespiana 2018 was well received with sold out shows featuring one of our works, And the Winner Is..., among its six plays and many musical numbers. Thank you all for making it a success!

But we're not done yet. Another of our works won a spot in Craft Production Resource's Our Shorts Are Showing 6. Snow White - Alternate Ending will be staged with costumes and everything over eight performances in August. The venue this time around is Springs Ensemble Theatre (SET), 1903 East Cache La Poudre St., Colorado Springs Colorado 80909.
Our Shorts Are Showing 6 opens August 16 and runs through August 26 and will feature 7 different short works by local authors. More show information can be found at Craft Production Resource. Online ticket sales are at Brown Paper Tickets.

We hope to see you there!

Friday, June 8, 2018

It's Time to Play!

Thespiana, the short play festival, is back for 2018 with all-new play readings and music to entertain and enthrall you. New works from Sue Bachman, Chuck Cabell, Warren Epstein, Phil Ginsburg, Judith McKay, and Jeff Schmoyer will be read and new songs from Lauren and Mark Arnest will echo from the stage of the Cottonwood Center for the Arts.



This marks the third year of Thespiana performances for Colorado Springs audiences. Play lengths run from 5 to about 15 minutes, ranging from one-man performances to a stage full of actors playing multiple roles. It is sure to be a good time.

There are two show times: Saturday, June 30 at 7PM, and Sunday July 1 at 2:30PM. Tickets, play, and actor information are available at Thespiana.com.

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Let 'em Know You're a Writer!

Show the world whether you're a Pantser or a Plotter.


Or maybe the middle of your books just don't quite have it, yet.


Or where you are along life's plot line?


Shirts and mugs and much more are available on Jmars Ink's Zazzle store. Just click on Merch to check them all out. They can be created for men or women in a wide variety of colors and styles. Our blog post on How to Zazzle, below, makes it easy for you to choose the perfect combination.

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

How to Zazzle

Among other things, Jmars Ink creates POD (print on demand) items like shirts and mugs. We use Zazzle.com to produce those items once they have been ordered by a customer. That way, there is not a pile of unsold inventory laying around waiting for someone to order them.

While there are many companies that make POD goods, we have chosen Zazzle to produce ours, as they offer a wide variety of high-quality products along with good support. However, their prices may not the lowest you might find for a T-shirt, for example. To offset the price, there are almost always coupon codes to be found that offer between 15% and 50% (!) off a given category, like those T-shirts. These discount codes are sometimes shown on the front page of their web site and added automatically to the items in your cart. To get the best deals you probably want to join their mailing list (yeah, I know, one more set of junk mail).

There are other things that are beneficial to know when purchasing items on Zazzle, the biggest of which are color selection and changes to the item itself. For example, let's say you found T-shirt that has a cute saying on the front, but you don't like the style or color. Don't Panic! You can fix it! First select the item (click on the pictures below to make them bigger).


Cute, but you don't wear red. Click on the black square on the lower right to change the color.


Nice, but maybe a tank top would be a little cooler. Click on "More (100)" in the "Style" section on the right.


A window pops up on the right with lots more styles to choose from. We'll pick a basic tank top.


And there we are. No longer a red T-shirt--now a black tank top, unique to you. Press "Add to Cart" or choose yet another color. Note that colors are dependent on the particular item chosen. The first item was only available in three colors while the tank top offers several more. You may need to scroll down to see all the colors. A further note is that some images will look better on a light shirt versus a dark shirt. Finally, you can see a discount offer below the price. I'm sure that particular one will no longer be valid at the time you are reading this.

"But," you say, "I'm a GUY. How do I get this awesome shirt for me?" Remember that "More (100)" in the "Style" section? Click on it and then the "For" drop down and select "Men".


Now we can pick a nice warm, men's sweatshirt in navy blue.


One final hint. Once you add an item to your cart, Zazzle doesn't make it easy to get back to the store you were shopping in. Towards the lower right of the screen you can find a small link that will take you back.


See that tiny "View their Store" above? Click on it to return to where you selected the item in the first place. And that's it--Zazzle made easy! Well, maybe not easy...

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Write? Right!

The 26th annual Pikes Peak Writers Conference at the Colorado Springs Marriott starts next week! It is two and a half (three and half with the Thursday Prequel) days of opportunities for learning and interaction with authors, editors, agents, and your peers, along with food and fun in the foothills of Colorado.




The Pikes Peak Writers Conference kicks off April 27, 2018. All the deets, including registration, are at PikesPeakWriters.com.

See you there!