I’m excited about my Christmas novella and I hope you’ll like it as much as I do. I had fun writing this one, and I might try my hand at another novella soon. This short read is a part of a Christmas Cookie Series done with other authors at The Wild Rose Press. Now you can read your way through the holiday season with some great stories and get some tasty cookie recipes too.
Here’s a small taste of Magic and Midnight Mint Bars and how I imagine Blue Cove at Christmas time.
“Sally was warming to her, but she had to make changes gingerly. She didn’t want to scare the girl with an overt use of magic. Sally’s life had more than enough drama to last a lifetime. Gentle reminders were best in her case. The first rule in the Intermediary Manual on page one in bold letters under line one-A says, “the case subject has to believe that any decision made is their own idea.” Sally couldn’t feel manipulated. Hundreds of years made Elida a pro at her job. Heck, she even taught classes on how it should be done, but occasionally even the best could mess up. In her guise as Holly, she wouldn’t leave anything to chance. All her hard work over the years had paid off with many inches added to her stature. She had always been on the tiny size from day one, known among her peers as Little Sprite quite lovingly. But with perseverance and her present rate of growth, she could be human size before long. She smiled wistfully. She hopped into Sally’s coat pocket while she dressed. Oh, how she loved the thrill of a case. Making people see the possibilities in their own life was exhilarating.”
There is nothing like seeing my finished book and holding it in mine hands for the first time. Getting the first peek at a new cover is awesome too. ‘As The Page Turns’ release date is August 8th. ‘Magic and Midnight Mint Bars’ is my first attempt at a Christmas story. It’s a novella and I had a lot of fun writing this one.
For me, these are a few of the small joys of life not to be confused with the most important and key times with family and those you love. After a year of losing some folks I love, I was once again reminded people are what really matter. Their presence fills life with something truly irreplaceable.
Life is often a roller coaster ride of highs and lows. Some highs are amazingly hard to beat moments, and some lows are tough to slog your way through. Thankfully most of life is routine, everydayness, and simply living. There are times when you can experience them all in a single day. Some weeks are filled with special activities and some have nothing new at all. Or as we all now know, a pandemic can change a year and the way we think of normal.
Yesterday I celebrated a milestone of years upon the earth. One that my mother never got to see. It made me grateful to experience this particular birthday. At some point in my life, it may be different for each of us, I quit worrying about getting older and became grateful for each birthday I get to see. This one was especially nice surrounded by people who are important to me. Laughter was the order of the evening, and for a time life was serving up memories and joy all the way around. Add to that a book release, and new cover, grandkids, and a special wedding anniversary coming up and I would say this is one of those high times after several lows.
At times like this I can breathe, take my foot of the gas, and rest being grateful to enjoy the moment before the ride begins again. I still find life beautiful, at times perplexing, and amazing. A wild ride, which I’m grateful to have survived, endured, and enjoyed surrounded by highs, the ordinary, and yes those pesky lows that have a way of changing me. Today I’m taking time to smell my birthday flowers.
A birthday bouquet from my brother. I love flowers.
I’ve always found marketing my books harder than writing them. I get a lot of encouragement and ideas from my publisher, which has helped me to wade out into the social media waters. Like most authors I have a website, I’m on several author’s sites, and have a Facebook page. I have a blog and I’m on Instagram, BookBub, and Goodreads to name a few. And I have found that Twitter works incredibly well for me.
In the beginning, Twitter overwhelmed me but once I figured out the nuances, I found a great writing community that supports one another. You can find people with the hashtag #writingcommunity. You have to search for and follow other authors or people who say they are readers. You have to be willing to retweet their tweets. I follow most people back but rarely answer direct messages unless I know the group. I started by following and thanking people when they followed me. I would then do a tweet asking people to follow them. Here’s an example: #follow@crystalnapolit2@summerb_author@woodcowbooks@SkyWatcher_HL@JessSFrankel@DaisyWo62695811@Kavi59814611@downthelanebook@MarciaLynnPaul1@DerekRKing2@joanne_paulson@LynessaLayne@christinevz@AlamoHapa@jay_burgh@stevenlclifford@CAKennedy6 Often you’ll see #ww or (Wednesday writers) and and a list of people or #ff (Friday follows) There’s also a #writerslift. If you have a particular tweet like a book release coming you can pin it to the top of your profile page and people will often Retweet it in response to a follow or a retweet. I have found my books promoted on sites when I least expected it. (Example) Your daily dose of author news at http://thebookshelfcafe.news is out! Thanks for writing! @ionacrv@lauren_minette@dearsusanbranch
In the past few years, I have built a following of over 19,000 people by following and supporting others as well. I tweet their books and they do mine also. I don’t just advertise my books though, I have built friendships, and with them came book sales and even a few reviews from places like Ireland, Canada, and Wales. I connected with a special group that has someone from Ireland, India, and Rhode Island in it. We talk about weather, send music to listen to, share about our families, or what we’re doing.
Two key pieces of information given by the Senior Editor of The Wild Rose Press are, if you what to sell more books write more books and don’t flood social media with your books all the time, but let people get to know you the author. I have used that advice as my guidepost for all my social media. I spend time writing and on social media each day. On any of my accounts you’ll find statements, and ideas that are important to me, or things that bring me a smile. A post might be as simple as sending music, answering questions, or using a gif. Here’s an exmaple of a non-book post. Happy Sunday! #bekind#enjoythejourney#lovewins with the poster below added to the tweet. I spend time in the morning thanking, following, and responding to people and a few times in the day. The hardest part is sticking with following new people and following folks back who have followed me. Our Marketing Director encouraged us to find one format that works for you and work it the most. There are so many out there you can be overwhelmed. I liked the quick movement of twitter and how many people I can reach from other countries but I don’t get Pinterest even though I’m on it and have several boards. The key is to find out what works for you, build it up, and continue to write your books.
I’m happy to follow you on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram and will be happy to encourage others to follow you too. Look me up if you’re out there. #socialmedia #author #writingromance #mystery #bookseries
I was excited to learn that Key To The Past is a finalist in the Colorado Author’s League Awards. I feel honored to be named among so many great authors. The winner will be announced on July 17th. Searching For Closure is a Firebird Book Award Winner in the Urban Fantasy category.
Coming August 8th, is As The Page Turns.
“Peyton awakened with a start. An odd scraping sound sent her imagination into overdrive. Was it outside? The scratching seemed loud enough to be coming from inside the cottage. Trying to focus in the dark, her eyes searched the room while she strained to hear the noise. The scraping sound came again. Nails on a chalkboard, tree branches against the cottage, or someone trying to force open a lock, back and forth it went, pausing only to begin again. She sat up quietly, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. Did Jessie hear it too? She reached for her phone. Slipping on her robe, she tiptoed over to the bedroom door to listen while reaching for a heavy vase on top of the dresser.”Ouch.” She heard Jessie yell out. Followed by something she couldn’t hear. Without thinking Peyton opened the bedroom door and raced toward the lightened living room, ready to go battle and save her cousin. Suddenly she was propelled backward when her body slammed hard into a solid object standing right in the way. The vase in her hand fell to the floor with a loud crash sending shards of glass in several directions. With the wind knocked out of her and no air to scream, she sprawled out helplessly on the floor imagining the worst. She was afraid to open her eyes.”
Sometimes we have to take the time to be grateful for the small suprises that come our way. This life has a way of reminding us of what’s really important and then ever so often handing us a gift. I am learning to enjoy those moments and gifts when they come along.
Your journey is not the same as mine, and my journey is not yours… But if you meet me on a certain path, may we encourage each other.~*~ Author Unknown ~*~
Words help us describe our emotions, say our goodbyes, and express our love for someone. Sometimes they come easily, and other times the only way they flow is through our tears. It takes strength and vulnerability to care about others. Being authentic, compassionate, and kind takes work. Sometimes it is simply being able to weep with those who weep or. being happy for others‘ successes.
t’s easy to be tempted to believe that what we say and do only touches us. The truth is we impact and are impacted by others more than we understand. We hold each other’s dreams and hopes in our hands and with a few words can dash them or build them. We have the power to touch or break each other’s hearts. Be careful out there someone may be counting on you.
“It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. We are made to live together because of the interrelated structure of reality.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
I was thinking today of something I read awhile back “A long life is not good enough, but a good life is long enough.” What constitutes a good life? I have come to believe it is the way a person lives. How they treat people, and their actions toward others. I have met people who have little faith with great love and people who declare great faith with little love. Love is the greatest of all and everything hinges on it Our actions do speak louder than words. I started out wanting to change the world but I found what changed was me, which in turn impacts the world. It’s just the long way around.
“The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul.” Elder Uchtdorf
I’m always amazed at the talent of people. I’m also impressed by my friends who are trying new endeavors and creating new things. Paintings, quilts, and amazing sculptures to name a few. None of us come to our tasks with instant perfection. There is always room to grow and the biggest competition is often with the person looking back at you from the mirror. Recently I finished writing a Christmas Novella with a magical twist. The story presented a new place to take my writing and stretch to my thinking. There are many different kinds of mysteries in this world and not all have to do with murder. I’m never sure when inspiration will hit me or what will stir my imagination. These two photos inspired my two Manuscripts that are under contract now.
I find solace in my happy place. A place where my imagination is free to take flight. It doesn’t make my problems go away it simply gives me a break. A chance to think of new ways of making sense of the world around me. Writing is a good way to express my emotions and to learn about what I’m thinking. I may lose myself in the pages I write but I can discover many things about myself there too.
My happy place gives me a imaginary world to retreat to if only for a few hours each day. Thankfully, new ideas continue to sprout up along the way. And there are times that I simply have to let the ides keep coming and do my best to write them down. It makes for a magical day and word count. Sure reality returns soon enough, but for a moment I’ve traveled to a new place and found a small reprieve.
I’m thankful for my dreams that were always one size bigger than I thought was possible. And for the songs in my heart that kept those dreams alive when life said they were impossible. I’m grateful for the little voice inside me that has asked me many times over what do you have to lose? And for the knowledge that failure isn’t the end, but only an invitation to keep trying. How sweet is the moment when I can finally write the words, The End!
