Sherrill Joseph's Blog, page 12

Coloring It

Dear Kids and All Readers,

I just approved the final color version for the cover of Walnut Street: Phantom Rider, Book 3 in my Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries series, launching November 9. I must say that it’s stunning!

The cover is being finalized by Dane, designer from eBook Launch, who has done the covers for my other two books. Dane captured the essence of Walnut Street  with eye-catching and intriguing details that include the Phantom Rider and horse. That’s all I’ll say accept . . .  I think it will absolutely appeal to you, too!

So, get a clue, Readers. Please mark your calendars for September 9, 2021. On that day, you can judge my book by its colorful cover at its big Cover Reveal. Until then, Happy Summer Reading with the Botanic Hill Detectives!

 

 

 

Covering It

Dear Kids and All Readers,

Today, I approved the sketch for the cover of my next book, Walnut Street: Phantom Rider, Book 3 in The Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries series.

Next step: The designer will color it in and present it to me for the thumbs up or thumbs down.

Just from the sketch, I can tell it’s a winner. It has the drama and dynamism I was after. More important, I believe you will be intrigued by it enough to want to open and read the book.

So, get a clue, Readers. People do judge a book by its cover. May you like it enough to explore inside when the cover is revealed on September 9. Stay tuned!

 

A Blessed Addition

Hello, Kids and all Readers,

I have just returned from Virginia where I helped welcome and care for my second grandchild–a baby boy, this time. Whoohoo!

My daughter, son-in-law, granddaughter, granddog, and I welcomed Baby Flynn on May 29.

He’s a happy, healthy little guy who already has us wrapped around his tiny fingers and in love with him, especially his big sister. She had requested a brother. Sometimes, wishes do come true.

One photo I’ve enclosed shows my dog Jimmy Lambchop admiring a sidewalk message chalked by my neighbors in San Diego the day after Flynn’s birth. Thank you, neighbors!

So, get a clue, Readers. It doesn’t take an addition to the family to make us pause and give thanks for our blessings, but it surely helps. Joy to all!

 

Keeper Habit #5

We’ve arrived at the fifth and final installment of my Post-Pandemic Keeper Habits. Last time, I discussed “Remain Good Friends with my House.”

Here is Number Five:

5. Embrace the Writerly Solitude. I have gotten comfortable with the stereotypically solitary writer, holed up at my desk, with my dog and my house cheering me on. Ever hear of FOMO—“Fear of Missing Out”? I had a bad case of that pre pandemic as I stayed home to write while simultaneously wondering what fun I was missing by doing so. Not anymore! The stay-at-home orders were a blessing. I could hunker down guilt free because everyone else was doing likewise! That may sound self-centered, but it came at just the right time to teach me a valuable lesson: Be happy where I am, with who I am, doing what I want to do. Embracing this lesson also gave me more time to write, learn new technology (like Zoom), and save gasoline and the environment. What writer doesn’t need or want all of that?

As the pandemic ends, I know I will continue to fine-tune my new habits. But for the most part, I believe they’re here to stay. The process has been an evolving lesson for me in finding the good in the bad; and, turning sour to sweet. Lemonade, anyone?

Keeper Habit #4

I present to you the fourth installment of my Post-Pandemic Keeper Habits. Last time, I discussed #3, “Revamp the Exercise Routine.”

Here comes Number Four:

4. Remain Good Friends with my House. I’ve loved living in my nearly one-hundred-year-old house for three decades. But did I really know it down to its nooks, crannies, and floor boards? No.

The stay-at-home orders were such a gift for me! The house wrapped its vintage arms around me and hugged me tightly, gifting me with comfort, security, and calmness. We have become great friends.

I have found that I am cleaning more often, not just because my cleaning person disappeared due to the shutdown, nor merely to ward off the virus. It’s to love my house back, making it shine, and filling it with flowers, smiles, and gratitude. It’s almost as if my house, now a Home, has become a member of the family, along with my dog. Now, we are three.

So, get a clue, Kids and All Readers. Please share the good, new habits you’ve embraced from the pandemic. You can tell me about them HERE. And watch for my fifth and final Keeper Habit on June 3. Thanks!

Keeper Habit #3

Here is the third installment of my Post-Pandemic Keeper Habits. Last time, I discussed “Practice Ethical Actions and Random Acts of Kindness.”

Here comes Number Three:

3. Revamp the Exercise Routine. I used to go to the Y twice weekly for yoga, strength training, and cardio. Then, it shuttered. Undaunted, though it took me a while to figure out, I joined a group of neighborhood women in the nearby park for outdoor, socially distancing workouts. I also upped my walking route, adding miles and hills for a thorough workout. And to experience the lovely fresh air, trees, birdsong, flowers, and sunshine while doing so!

I doubt that I’ll return to the Y. Exercise takes on new meaning and with a blue sky, not a plaster ceiling, overhead.

So, get a clue, Readers and Kids. How has your life changed for the better due to the pandemic? Please share with me HERE. I’d love to hear from you!

Keeper Habit #2

Dear Readers,

Here is the second installment of my Post-Pandemic Keeper Habits. Last time, I discussed “Making Do.”

Here is Number Two:

2. Practice Ethical Actions and Random Acts of Kindness. I’m a bleeding heart. For me, it’s incurable, but that’s fine. I had just released my first book right before the Lock Down occurred last year. No book signings, no school visits, no traveling to conferences. Instead of feeling sorry for myself that my debut book was missing vital exposure, I devised a plan. Kids were out of school and needed books! I put a huge poster in my front room window and wrote a message in colored chalk (a product that enjoyed renewed popularity) in my driveway: FREE books for kids and teachers! I gave away hundreds and had the joy of safely meeting and talking with neighborhood children, their families, and teachers as they picked up their bagged books and book swag from my front porch. It was synergistic: I gave to them. In turn, they gave my dog and me valuable human interaction and my book a chance. I still get young visitors knocking on my door, asking when the next book will come out. Ah, music to any writer’s ears. And those sweet, innocent faces make my day.

So, get a clue, Readers. Do you have a list, mental or written, of some habits you developed during the pandemic that you plan to keep? I’d love to hear about them. You can click HERE to share with me.

 

Keeper Habit #1

Dear Readers,

All of us have spent over a year now dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic in our own ways.

Perhaps like me, you have watched others—from a safe distance—in order to gauge how they have coped compared with yourself. I know I have learned some new, beneficial habits from admirable neighbors, family, and friends. These people and habits have helped anchor me amidst the chaos and tragedy that have unfolded worldwide.

Thankfully, this past year has also allowed me to rediscover my inner strength and develop some good habits, just by going about the business of living healthily day in and day out. And most of us have been so lucky because we’re still here. What’s that saying? When the going gets tough, the tough (and the lucky!) get going.

Over the next five news blogs, I would like to share with you my sweet habits, one per blog, that I plan to keep post pandemic.

I’m interested in yours, so I hope you’ll share by clicking HERE  Do we have some overlap? I suspect so.

Here is Number One:

Make Do. The images of empty food shelves are etched into my brain from scary visits to the grocery store last spring. Masking, disinfecting, distancing, and panicking are words that describe those times for me. We were like ghosts, weren’t we, floating among the aisles, looking for our favorite brands of whatever that weren’t there? And such joy when during the next visit, there they were on the shelf! But I didn’t starve. I adjusted. Ultimately, there was plenty. Those events taught me never to complain again when the store is out of something. Better yet, I will never take a grocery store or its employees for granted again. I have learned to compensate and be happy doing so. There is some nobility in such sacrifices, I feel. This must be what my parents and grandparents did successfully during World War II.

So, get a clue, Readers. What new habits will you keep post pandemic? Please let me know by sharing HERE. Such habits can help the tough keep going.

My Upcoming “Quar-Retreat”

Dear Kids and All Readers,

In May, I will be traveling to the East Coast for the birth of my grandson.

Even though I’m fully vaccinated, I have to quarantine for ten days at a hotel before the big event. (I’ll spare you the good reasons.)

Instead of fretting about the isolation that some experience in quarantine, I’m embracing the idea. I’m even looking forward to it. Why? Because time away from my daily responsibilities should give me an opportunity to carve out space just for myself. This “retreat” within quarantine, or my “Quar-Retreat,” will provide a welcome chance to walk, story plot, recharge, and get some serious writing done–purely on my own schedule. Ah, solitude. Isolato as the Italians call it, remember?” What a welcome gift for any writer!

So you know, I have been busy here at home. Publishing activities for my Book 3, Walnut Street: Phantom Rider, have ramped up as I work with my editor and built an advance reader team in anticipation of the book’s November 9, 2021, release.

Then, there’s Book 4, Saffron Street: Island Danger. The first draft is about twenty percent finished–only. For me, this has been an itch needing scratching for a number of months as I’ve been constantly pulled away to do other things. I’m counting on changing that during my Quar-Retreat. I will drift away blessedly to Botanic Hill at my computer and help my detectives solve their fourth case.

So, get a clue, Readers. With inspiration and hard work, I hope to report by late May that I have been productive while Quar-Retreating. Specifically, I want to made a very serious dent in my Book 4 writing. We all need to get away occasionally for some “Me Time.” Where is your favorite retreat spot? May you get to spend time there soon.

 

 

Neighborly

Dear Kids and All Readers,

I hope all of you are as lucky as I am to be surrounded by kind, cheerful neighbors!

In my neighborhood, about thirty of us of all ages gather on the First Friday of each month for a potluck dinner and good conversation. One family hosts per month. Usually, it’s indoors, but we often spill over into the backyard on warm evenings.

During the pandemic, we’ve had to get creative in order to to stay together. A couple times, we Zoomed. Another time, we gathered with social distancing in the street and sang Christmas carols to an ill neighbor. Others have brought us together by gathering for a sunset group photo while social distancing and masking. Another couple delivered treat bags to everyone.

I’m copying the treat bag idea for my turn on May 7. I will deliver goodies to each neighbor’s door, whether they’re home or not. If they come out, great! Perhaps, we can chat a while. Then, I will invite them to fall in behind me and caravan on foot to the next house.

So get a clue, Readers. Is there anyone in your neighborhood who could use a treat and a chat? Or maybe now, you have an excuse for a monthly get-together! May you enjoy the harvesting of your neighborly intentions.