Books
Summer affords me some additional time to read, and here are some of my favorite recent releases from this summer.
I am grateful for prolific authors, especially ones who write series with interrelated characters. If you pull me in with the first book, I’ll buy them all. And I’m a fast reader, averaging a book a day, so please, keep writing.
Read more “My Top Five Recent Release Romance Novels in a Series”
ARC Opportunities
Love free books? Especially from authors in your favorite genre? There are several ways to read free books and support your favorite authors.
Every author needs reviewers; it’s all part of the marketing plan, but not every author, especially those just starting out, can get their book reviewed by a famous book critic at a major newspaper.
And that’s not what gets you noticed on Amazon. Readers want to know that if they’re spending their money on a book, other readers think it’s worth the time and expense.
Read more “Help a girl out and read books for free”
Books
I love book cover reveals. For me, the cover art is important for visualizing what my characters look like or, in the case of The Painting, what the actual art looks like.
I’ve been kicking this book around for years. It started out as a screenplay and morphed into a novel, which meant there were significant rewrites. Which led to major character changes, entire scenes being scrapped, and renaming characters to the point that none of this book is like the original script.
I also had a specific style of painting in mind for Liz, so the book cover art was problematic. I’d love to be able to commission a painting for the cover, but that’s a little out of my league. So I was thrilled when we found a stock image of a painting that met all of our requirements.
Thanks to TwistyOneFifty Designs for the book cover design using an image by Zhanna.
Read more “Book Cover Reveal—The Painting”
Books
The novel I’m currently writing, Not So Convenient, has been a difficult book to write. More so than the other novels I’ve written, it’s tied to a specific place, and the catalyst was a single event.
On the morning of Thursday, November 8, 2018, I woke up at my usual time to get ready for work. At the time, I was teaching two days a week at a community college about one hundred miles north of where I live. I started getting ready but wasn’t feeling well, so I canceled my classes.
Read more “Not So Convenient Sneak Peek”
What's On My Mind
I love hiking, and the 26 counties north of San Francisco, with more than 50,000 square miles of sparsely populated mountains, fertile valleys, and rugged coastline, provide plenty of amazing places to visit in Northern California.
I grew up running wild in the woods of southeastern Missouri. The landscape and topography were part of my soul. Even as an adult, it’s where I felt most at peace.
I moved to Northern California when I was 37 and felt like I was on another planet. New plants and trees, real mountains, and animals to be aware of because humans aren’t necessarily at the top of the food chain here.
I also hadn’t considered anything north of San Francisco. Like many people, San Francisco was Northern California to me. But there are still another 300+ miles to the Oregon border.
Handsome Husband and I have tried to visit as many places as possible in Northern California.
Here are some of my favorite easy-to-visit places.
Read more “Visit Northern California— Three Off the Beaten Path Places to Hike”
What's On My Mind
There are lots of lists out there for day hiking, and you should look at as many of them as possible to get an idea of what will work for you on the kinds of trips you’re planning. Day hiking is a great way to experience the outdoors and is as safe as any other outdoor activity if you plan accordingly. Here’s what I carry in my backpack.
Handsome Husband and I do mostly day hikes, but given where we live, we need to be self-sufficient on the trail. Most great places to hike in Northern California are relatively remote and sparsely populated.
Read more “What’s in My Backpack—Northern California”