I thought Summer was supposed to be the 'slow' time of the year. Remember that song by Nat King Cole?

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Those days of soda and pretzels and beer
Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
You'll wish that summer could always be here

Well, 'lazy and hazy' didn't arrive this year, but 'crazy' showed up in full force. So, here we are at the end of July and I'm still trying to figure out where June went. They say that if you really want something done, give it to a busy person, but I'm here to tell you that whoever "they" are were never this busy. I've got enough to do right now, thank you. And, of course, I got absolutely NOTHING done this weekend with two birthdays, church, and a baseball game all thrown in there.

I'm already planning Fall Youth events, looking at promotion for my next release, trying to finish up some manuscripts, pulling together my Chapter newsletter for August, finishing up judging entries for our chapter contest, and looking forward to the chapter conference in October. Are you tired yet? I am and I've barely started it all.

So, if I disappear for another week or two, you'll know what happened.

Labels: Busy, Fall planning, Writing Progress, Youth

I read a blog last week about all the hats that a writer needs to wear to be more than a book on a shelf in a bookstore (if you're lucky) these days. Of all the hats the person mentioned - no, I don't remember them all - the one I don't wear very well is the "promotion" one. It just doesn't fit well, so I tend not to put it on. But, then something happens, like a new release and I have to dig it out of the closet and balance it on my head for a while. It's a terrible fit.

Regardless, I have to just buckle down and do it. So, this week I will be looking for opportunities for ad space, trying to blog more and read more blogs, becoming more active on my loops, etc. It's a terrible way to do something, but, like many people who tend to put off doing something they don't want to do, I kept putting it off until now there's almost no time left to start any buzz.

On the other hand, I tend to do what I might prefer to see when it comes to promoting yourself. I admit it, I hate it when I see the same promo posts on loops and blogs for the same book for three months before it releases. By the time the book is actually available, I'm already sick of it and have no interest in buying it. Indeed, by the time the book is ready for release, I've probably already stopped reading the promo posts, and have gotten into the habit of skipping over the author's posts if they are labeled "Promo".

So, what's an author to do? It seems to me you're d***ed if your do and d***ed if you don't when it comes to promoting your book and luring potential buyers into checking it out. I don't know what the answer is, but I do know what I do and don't like - and those are the things I don't like to do. No wonder the "Promotion" hat doesn't fit.

So, a friend featured me on her blog last week. If you want to know a little more about next month's release, The Earl, check out Laura Hamby's blog. That may be all there is for another week or two.

Labels: blogs, promotion, The Earl

Today my baby is 20! How did that happen?

Like many mothers, I suppose I remember him as that toddler who had more energy than the sun and seemed to be everywhere at once. So, in honor of my baby boy, here's my version of "I remember. . ."

I remember the funny things - like the two year old who announced in church one Sunday that something was "impossible." What he said had nothing to do with church, but it garnered attention because of the size of the word and the size of the kid who said it. And there are the pictures of him: in the dishwasher, positioning a small chair near the sink and climbing up on the back of it to reach the faucet, "cleaning" the toilet at 18 months (cleaning is relative here - he had the brush and it was in the toilet and he was moving it around with all his might), and riding his first bike with training wheels at three (at breakneck speed down an uneven sidewalk).

I remember the sobering things. Being "kicked out" of two different daycares (he just had too much energy and was stubborn to boot), the kindergarten teacher who really "got" him and showed him that school and learning could be fun, but retired after his kindergarten year and was killed in a car accident a few years later; the first grade teacher who also retired after his first grade year; and the second grade teacher who "didn't get" him at all and caused us to remove him from school and homeschool him for the next four years.

I remember the heart-stopping things. The time I just happened to notice the back of a blood-soaked shirt on a two year old who wasn't crying, and couldn't tell me how he managed to hit his head and end up requiring three stitches; the one year old who had no fear, whether it was heights, stairs, or a swimming pool; and the one day old who nearly inched his way off a hospital bed while the doctor watched.

I remember the heart-warming things. The cuddler, who loved to crawl into bed with me and snuggle in the mornings; the five month old who took out two Christmas trees - with a big smile and could open the refrigerator from his walker ("No, I don't need any eggs right now."); and the four year old who went to a Halloween party as Thomas the Tank Engine (my sister made a cardboard cutout for him to wear over his overalls) and let an entranced two year old stranger wear the costume for most of the night.

So, to my amazing baby boy, I say Happy Birthday!! I love you and wish you all the best.

Mom

Labels: birthdays, Memories, my son

So, I've only been back for a couple of days and it has taken me this long to get into my blog to post the blurb - enjoy!

Gypsy Legacy, Book 3

A panther. A prince. A promise. Can destiny tie the knot?

During a magical childhood summer, a gypsy woman gave Lady Amanda Cookeson a black panther statuette, promising that the man who came to claim it would also claim her heart. Amanda believes the Earl of Wynton is the prince she has awaited. Yet his reluctance to declare them anything more than friends leaves her wondering if she waited in vain.

If he wasn’t the last of his line, Jon Kenton, Earl of Wynton, wouldn’t marry at all. Since leaving his inheritance to the Crown is out of the question, however, he is compelled to search for the statuette his great-grandmother promised him. His quest leaves him empty handed—and secretly relieved. Finding the statuette would mean embracing the gypsy roots he has long denied.

Amanda is perfect countess material: lovely, admirable and—he thinks—statueless. Their passion is unquenchable…until the gypsy magic Jon thought he’d buried nearly destroys his future with Amanda.

Labels: Blurb, Gypsy Legacy Series, The Earl