Sunday Snippet: The Author Life Edition (There’s a Giveaway!)

We have a winner! Linda May, you are the randomly selected winner of the holiday book bundle. I’ll be in touch! Thanks to everyone who stopped by to chat with me! 

So, it’s Sunday morning and Husband and I will be heading home in a couple of hours. We’ve been up at the lake, staying with pal Mo because our cottage is closed up and winterized, but I had a book signing at the winery here in town yesterday, so we needed to be up here. The event was such fun and I got to spend some time with my author friend, J.C. Kenney and his wife, Nancy, who is a peach. We all enjoyed being together with Amanda, the winemaker, meeting new readers, and selling books. It was a good day. (Here we are with a couple of sweet sister readers who were delightful!)

I’m going to tell you the truth, though, I’m tired. I had two book signings this week and they both were amazing and I loved every moment, but I’m ready to wind down a little bit—stop and breathe and just enjoy the holiday season. Grandboy will be with us on Friday for cookie baking with Poppy, and I’m hoping I can focus this week on being a writer. I need to write—cowboy story #3 is grinding away in my head and story #4 is brewing as well. I even have ideas and notes for three more stories for Juniper Falls Ranch, so I need to get a proposal started for my publisher. Plus, I have a couple of editing gigs on deck. So there’s stuff to do…

I’ve gotten a few Christmas presents bought, but I think we’re going to be very low-key this holiday. We spoke to Son and his Christmas wish list is pretty short—more time with family. We’d love that, too, so we’re going to figure out a way to get us all together a couple of times a month for game or movie nights. I think in the current state of affairs in our country, clinging tight to one another is how we survive.

A few words about the book signings. Right off, I love doing them. I adore meeting readers and talking books and story with them. I’m so very grateful to have Mo and Minnie as my “booth babes,” who take care of collecting money, restocking book displays, and helping me unload and pack up. Without them, it would be hard to engage with the dear folks who come by to ask questions and tell me what they’re reading. Readers are almost always great conversationalists and often they, either inadvertently or deliberately, reveal things about themselves and their lives that are just fascinating.

Conversations, either ones I’m a part of or ones that I can’t help overhearing, often spark story or scene ideas for me. I always carry a notebook to jot down thoughts that might be a part of dialogue or a new story. I think most writers get their stories from real life. How could we not? And yes, maybe my novels are more romantic fantasy than real life, but the story inside the romance is always driven by the real life stuff I see all around me. I think that’s the answer to the inevitable question all authors get, “Where do you get your ideas?”

Well, that’s me for today. Tired, but happy. Grateful for Mo and her hospitality and signing assist, to Amanda for her gracious welcome to her winery, to J.C. for being my signing buddy and for bringing his charming wife to be a part of the day. For Husband, who drove up with me, toted books, then came back to do some repair work for Mo while we were working the book signing. To Minnie, who was my booth babe on Thursday and made that event so much easier. To my dear, dear editor, Sinclair who helped me get through a little bit of a rush writing task that had a very short deadline. All in all, it’s been a great week. Hope yours was, too, and that as you slide into the holidays, life presents many moments of pure joy.

GIVEAWAY: I have one holiday book bundle left from the ones we made up for the book signings. I’d love to send it to one of you. So for a chance at all five (5!) signed print copies of the holiday romances from my four River’s Edge series, tell me your very favorite thing about the holidays. I’ll draw a winner at random on Tuesday afternoon. 

Gratitude for This Week: Mo and Min-best booth babes ever; Husband, always so supportive and loving; Son and Grandboy stopped by the Thursday signing for hugs after spending several hours in the bitter cold working the Boy Scout Christmas tree lot; Time with Sis this week; DIL’s amazing organization skills with the Fishers Art Market—Day 1 was a huge success!

Stay safe, stay well—a mask isn’t a bad idea in a crowd right now, always choose kindness, and most of all, mes amis, stay grateful!