Chris Keniston's Blog, page 6
September 23, 2024
Well, that was interesting...
As you know I spent last week in Florida for a writer's conference. I got a chance to catch up in person with folks I only see once a year, and I got a chance to learn a lot about trends in publishing. According to the statistics, the new covers I shared with you last week aren't going to be all that popular, let's hope they're wrong LOL.
It started with a visit to a friend's home after dinner in St. Pete's beach. You can see a video I took from the balcony and posted on youtube - you can pop over and see! St. Pete Beach - Florida (youtube.com) - which reminds me, are you subscribed to my youtube channel? I'm making an effort to post more little videos from time to time.
As you know I had to stock up on all sorts of new meds so I wouldn't scare folks to death coughing non stop. Good news it worked, mostly. Bad news, I may have slightly mixed wrong medicines one day and let me tell you, it's no fun having everyone hovering waiting for your BP to come back to normal! Hint - make sure when you think you're buying flavored water that you're not buying an energy drink... just saying lol.
Anyhow, I got to meet the male narrator for the Farradays. Had such a lovely time chatting with him a few times. It was especially fun hearing all the behind the scenes challenges they ran into that we the authors never hear about. It was even more fun to hear all the things he enjoyed about the series and the characters. I'm thinking it's a good thing he remembered so much!
Then of course, there's lots of late night work - Author Susan Warner was a good sport helping me out with a few challenges and we worked late enough to require fruity drinks LOL.
There's not much fun to share about working long days and night - but you can tell when the last day rolls around and everyone is tired and worn out. One of the book distributors asked to take our photograph and my friend author Olivia Sands pulled me into the photo frame, practically knocking me out of my seat. You might have had to be there, but it was hilarious, hence the big smile on my face, just ignore the messed up hair and double chin LOL.
Then, the last day, this sweet bird was nice enough to land on my balcony and let me inch close enough to get a decent photograph. I was a little surprised when he landed. For almost a week all the birds kept flying around, but none stopped to say hello! And the beach below is just so pretty. I wish Texas beaches other than Padre Island looked like that!
The last day, I was able to pop in to the most delicious french bakery across the street from the hotel and came home with five almond croissants in my suitcase ! LOL - the woman thought I was nuts, as did my friends, but who could resist. Y'all know how much I love French food, and seriously good French croissants are hard to resist.
And that about wraps up the week at the annual author's conference. Now it's back to the hard stuff - and implementing what I can from the week. Catch y'all on the flip side!
It started with a visit to a friend's home after dinner in St. Pete's beach. You can see a video I took from the balcony and posted on youtube - you can pop over and see! St. Pete Beach - Florida (youtube.com) - which reminds me, are you subscribed to my youtube channel? I'm making an effort to post more little videos from time to time.
As you know I had to stock up on all sorts of new meds so I wouldn't scare folks to death coughing non stop. Good news it worked, mostly. Bad news, I may have slightly mixed wrong medicines one day and let me tell you, it's no fun having everyone hovering waiting for your BP to come back to normal! Hint - make sure when you think you're buying flavored water that you're not buying an energy drink... just saying lol.
Anyhow, I got to meet the male narrator for the Farradays. Had such a lovely time chatting with him a few times. It was especially fun hearing all the behind the scenes challenges they ran into that we the authors never hear about. It was even more fun to hear all the things he enjoyed about the series and the characters. I'm thinking it's a good thing he remembered so much!
Then of course, there's lots of late night work - Author Susan Warner was a good sport helping me out with a few challenges and we worked late enough to require fruity drinks LOL.
There's not much fun to share about working long days and night - but you can tell when the last day rolls around and everyone is tired and worn out. One of the book distributors asked to take our photograph and my friend author Olivia Sands pulled me into the photo frame, practically knocking me out of my seat. You might have had to be there, but it was hilarious, hence the big smile on my face, just ignore the messed up hair and double chin LOL. Then, the last day, this sweet bird was nice enough to land on my balcony and let me inch close enough to get a decent photograph. I was a little surprised when he landed. For almost a week all the birds kept flying around, but none stopped to say hello! And the beach below is just so pretty. I wish Texas beaches other than Padre Island looked like that!
The last day, I was able to pop in to the most delicious french bakery across the street from the hotel and came home with five almond croissants in my suitcase ! LOL - the woman thought I was nuts, as did my friends, but who could resist. Y'all know how much I love French food, and seriously good French croissants are hard to resist. And that about wraps up the week at the annual author's conference. Now it's back to the hard stuff - and implementing what I can from the week. Catch y'all on the flip side!
September 16, 2024
Another Monday
Well, went to the doctor this morning because I am so tired of this dang cough. I should be used to it after all these years of allergies but it is getting old. Apparently so am I lol. This makes two years in a row that I needed to get an inhaler to make the 'bronchial spasms' go away. Since I'm leaving tomorrow for an annual conference in Florida, I didn't want to scare everyone with me coughing every time I talk more than five minutes. And anyone who knows me, knows five minutes ain't long for me LOL. I guess next year I'm going to have to remember to go to the doctor as soon as allergy season hits! As Bette Davis said, growing older is definitely not for sissies!
It didn't help any that yesterday I had to do an unexpected 8 hour round trip road trip to Houston. A friend came with me and we took care of a few minor problems that turned out to be next to nothing. Again, growing older is not for sissies, thankfully this night owl didn't have much trouble staying up till we got home at two am.
Since I've not been feeling my best, my accomplishments for the week have been slim. We did finalize the covers for the new series:
For those of you who like friends to love and marriage of convenience, I hope you're going to love Sweet Beginnings! I'm trying to find fun tropes for all the books, there will be everything from marriage pacts, to second chances, to girl next door, and a lot more. Do you have a favorite trope?
As for book one, it should have been finished already, but this dumb not feeling well has been making it tough. I did however write a few more words while at the doctor's office this morning so that's progress!
Maybe next week I can give y'all an excerpt as well as share photos from sunny florida! I'm also going to try and remember to take a few videos of the conference to post on my you tube channel. Did y'all see the videos from my trip? Short ones but I did share!
Since I have to get on a plane first thing in the morning AND pack tonight - and get these meds in me sooner than later- I'm calling it a short post today!
It didn't help any that yesterday I had to do an unexpected 8 hour round trip road trip to Houston. A friend came with me and we took care of a few minor problems that turned out to be next to nothing. Again, growing older is not for sissies, thankfully this night owl didn't have much trouble staying up till we got home at two am.
Since I've not been feeling my best, my accomplishments for the week have been slim. We did finalize the covers for the new series:
For those of you who like friends to love and marriage of convenience, I hope you're going to love Sweet Beginnings! I'm trying to find fun tropes for all the books, there will be everything from marriage pacts, to second chances, to girl next door, and a lot more. Do you have a favorite trope? As for book one, it should have been finished already, but this dumb not feeling well has been making it tough. I did however write a few more words while at the doctor's office this morning so that's progress!
Maybe next week I can give y'all an excerpt as well as share photos from sunny florida! I'm also going to try and remember to take a few videos of the conference to post on my you tube channel. Did y'all see the videos from my trip? Short ones but I did share!
Since I have to get on a plane first thing in the morning AND pack tonight - and get these meds in me sooner than later- I'm calling it a short post today!
September 9, 2024
Sad Time of Year
I've been a bit under the weather this week and the only doctor I trust is not taking office hours this week so I've been on my own. I'm still working hard on finishing up the first book of the new series - it looks like we have a cover for it - a real one - and a draft for a few more but are working on the rest of the series - 
what do you think? There's still some tweaking on these but so far they're a good start. Do you agree?
The rest of my time has been spent reflecting on this upcoming Wednesday. September 11th is such an impactful day. I think for those of us who remember 2001, this has more meaning to us than Pearl Harbor because of its having been an attack on the US mainland.
Many of you know I'm a native New Yorker. Grew up in suburbia just north of the Bronx. Went to college at Fordham University in the Bronx. A beautiful campus. But I keep thinking of the first time I took my family to Ground Zero in December of that year - it was so sad to look up for my indicators and see nothing. I had no idea where to go as I'd always used the twin towers as a guidepost to maneuver around downtown NYC. I've not had the nerve to go back since. I've been home to New York several times, but not the Wall Street area of Manhattan. I've been told the memorial is amazing, I'm sure I'll find my way down some day, but not yet.
As well as looking back on such a sad day, I'm also trying to get organized for an annual conference in Florida next week. I leave next Tuesday so it will be a couple of weeks before y'all hear any stories from that trip.
Everyone have a great week until next Monday.
what do you think? There's still some tweaking on these but so far they're a good start. Do you agree? The rest of my time has been spent reflecting on this upcoming Wednesday. September 11th is such an impactful day. I think for those of us who remember 2001, this has more meaning to us than Pearl Harbor because of its having been an attack on the US mainland.
Many of you know I'm a native New Yorker. Grew up in suburbia just north of the Bronx. Went to college at Fordham University in the Bronx. A beautiful campus. But I keep thinking of the first time I took my family to Ground Zero in December of that year - it was so sad to look up for my indicators and see nothing. I had no idea where to go as I'd always used the twin towers as a guidepost to maneuver around downtown NYC. I've not had the nerve to go back since. I've been home to New York several times, but not the Wall Street area of Manhattan. I've been told the memorial is amazing, I'm sure I'll find my way down some day, but not yet.
As well as looking back on such a sad day, I'm also trying to get organized for an annual conference in Florida next week. I leave next Tuesday so it will be a couple of weeks before y'all hear any stories from that trip. Everyone have a great week until next Monday.
September 2, 2024
Happy Labor Day
Well - it was a long weekend in North Texas. I was blessed to have lots of family visiting. My daughter and her family - which of course means my grands! - and my cousin and his family. I always love when I have a house full of people, then I need a week or two to recover.
So far today I have been SLOW moving!
We had the most fun with the visiting puppy - my cousin has a six month old dachshund. Cute as a button and he adored the Golden Retriever grand puppy - would not leave the big guy alone - we laughed and laughed for two days!
First photo is the dachshund nipping and nipping and nipping and finally the golden just smooshed him with one paw!
second photo - golden dived into the pool with the kids so we wouldn't let him back in the house and the little guy was so forelorn without his new friend
third photo - well they finally tuckered out!
I'm pretty darn proud of myself for managing to feed the large brood. We made ribs in the oven - a little dry - but when you're hungry LOL. There was twice baked potatoes and mac and cheese and baked beans and hot dogs for the kids. Plenty of food for all.
Not near as much book writing as I would like, but I'm trying!! and the cover designer is working on the real covers for the new series this week! that's exciting, I can hardly wait to see how they turn out!
To take it easy, a couple of friends are coming over and we're going to eat popcorn and watch Top Gun Maverick. One of my friends has never seen it. I really enjoyed that movie - much more than first one. Have y'all seen the newer Top Gun? Did you like it? Which did you like better?
oops - company's here - time to run!
Catch y'all next week!
So far today I have been SLOW moving!
We had the most fun with the visiting puppy - my cousin has a six month old dachshund. Cute as a button and he adored the Golden Retriever grand puppy - would not leave the big guy alone - we laughed and laughed for two days!
First photo is the dachshund nipping and nipping and nipping and finally the golden just smooshed him with one paw!
second photo - golden dived into the pool with the kids so we wouldn't let him back in the house and the little guy was so forelorn without his new friend
third photo - well they finally tuckered out!
I'm pretty darn proud of myself for managing to feed the large brood. We made ribs in the oven - a little dry - but when you're hungry LOL. There was twice baked potatoes and mac and cheese and baked beans and hot dogs for the kids. Plenty of food for all. Not near as much book writing as I would like, but I'm trying!! and the cover designer is working on the real covers for the new series this week! that's exciting, I can hardly wait to see how they turn out!
To take it easy, a couple of friends are coming over and we're going to eat popcorn and watch Top Gun Maverick. One of my friends has never seen it. I really enjoyed that movie - much more than first one. Have y'all seen the newer Top Gun? Did you like it? Which did you like better?
oops - company's here - time to run!
Catch y'all next week!
August 26, 2024
Is it Really Monday?
I'm hoping spending a day coughing and blowing my nose is excuse enough for being so late.
Last week I had the chance to see Barry Manilow in concert. The man puts on quite a show considering his age. I'm way younger than him and I couldn't do it! Hubby and I went with a couple of friends and sang and danced and I started coughing. Thought it was just a tickle. Next day, my nose started running so I loaded up on allergy meds. Day after that I drove to Austin for my niece's bridal shower.
Coughed and blew my nose off and on all day and was hopeful by Saturday I'd be much better. Since I had no fever, no aches, no sore throat, we all decided I could go but wouldn't get too close to anyone. To my delight, I made it through three hours without coughing or blowing my nose. Yay! On the mend for the win. Well. I got back to my cousin and coughed and sniffled for the rest of the day.
Sunday was time to drive home. I'd slept a bit better and felt a bit better and decided finally on the tail end. Got home Sunday night and was so tired. No surprise there. Not much sleep and four hour drive should do that to anyone. I gleefully climbed into bed at 8:30, did some word puzzles and according to my fitbit was sound asleep by 10:30pm and stayed that way until 9:30.
Instead of waking up ready to go I felt like my head was filled with helium and trying to float away- lol. Felt this way all day. The cough is better, the sniffles are much better but the darn head was not happy. I decided that I was taking an official day off to drink tea and do nothing. And so here I am, very late on the blog. Forgive me.
I've still been pounding out the first book in the new series - hoping to be done soon so I can move on to the next one and see where this new set of characters takes me. Do you know I love writing so I can find out how a book is going to end? I never have a clue when I start, I find out as I go - LOL.
Time for me to head off to sleep - but I leave you with a couple of photos from Barry - so much fun!
Last week I had the chance to see Barry Manilow in concert. The man puts on quite a show considering his age. I'm way younger than him and I couldn't do it! Hubby and I went with a couple of friends and sang and danced and I started coughing. Thought it was just a tickle. Next day, my nose started running so I loaded up on allergy meds. Day after that I drove to Austin for my niece's bridal shower.
Coughed and blew my nose off and on all day and was hopeful by Saturday I'd be much better. Since I had no fever, no aches, no sore throat, we all decided I could go but wouldn't get too close to anyone. To my delight, I made it through three hours without coughing or blowing my nose. Yay! On the mend for the win. Well. I got back to my cousin and coughed and sniffled for the rest of the day.
Sunday was time to drive home. I'd slept a bit better and felt a bit better and decided finally on the tail end. Got home Sunday night and was so tired. No surprise there. Not much sleep and four hour drive should do that to anyone. I gleefully climbed into bed at 8:30, did some word puzzles and according to my fitbit was sound asleep by 10:30pm and stayed that way until 9:30.
Instead of waking up ready to go I felt like my head was filled with helium and trying to float away- lol. Felt this way all day. The cough is better, the sniffles are much better but the darn head was not happy. I decided that I was taking an official day off to drink tea and do nothing. And so here I am, very late on the blog. Forgive me.
I've still been pounding out the first book in the new series - hoping to be done soon so I can move on to the next one and see where this new set of characters takes me. Do you know I love writing so I can find out how a book is going to end? I never have a clue when I start, I find out as I go - LOL.
Time for me to head off to sleep - but I leave you with a couple of photos from Barry - so much fun!
August 19, 2024
Slowly Making Progress
This has been a week filled with all sorts of activity. I'm helping my daughter's friend remodel her kitchen -that is always fun for me; I am prepping for the release next week of Just One Look - which I had wanted available sooner for release on my storefront but it's not back from the department that does all that fun stuff lol; I have been working on the new series -
here's a temporary cover - Wonder what you think we should put on the permanent cover - cowboys? Ranch? bluebonnets or honeysuckle? Thoughts?
I'm fond of the bluebonnets, but it seems to be in contrast to the series name : Honeysuckle Texas. Then again, it may not matter because the cover person may not put any flowers on the final cover -
I'd love to know what you guys think!
Then - alongside of all the book work, this has been a fun long weekend for me babysitting my grands while mom and dad were off at a wedding out of state. It's always sweet to see your grown kids are still friends with all their high school friends. A bunch of folks who haven't seen each other in a while were able to fly in for the wedding and had a great time.
Seeing your grands for a few hours here and there is so different from being with them on your own for days - I feel I've really gotten to see things I wouldn't otherwise notice - like how much my granddaughter loves to climb, and dance! My grandson loves to snuggle, one morning he climbed into bed with me - so sweet. That would never have happened if mom and dad were around for him to climb in with them!
Now I'm getting ready for the four hour drive back to my house and then back to working long days again. At least before leaving home, I had time for new tires and an oil change so I no longer have to worry about blowing out a tire on the long drive! Though I didn't have time for a wheel alignment and need to do that as soon as I can so I don't muck up the new tires!
We're also working on a few things for the youtube channel. If you haven't popped over, do so now and sign up!
Okay - it's time to pack up and head home! I will however leave you with these two delicious photos of dessert when I dined out with my lawyer last week - SO delicious. I adore a good coconut cake and my lawyer had the most interesting bread pudding! Oh darn - I accidentally deleted the bread pudding photo - oh well - all you get is my cake - AND a photo of me working at the mechanics shop while waiting for my tires - I really do write anywhere LOL
here's a temporary cover - Wonder what you think we should put on the permanent cover - cowboys? Ranch? bluebonnets or honeysuckle? Thoughts? I'm fond of the bluebonnets, but it seems to be in contrast to the series name : Honeysuckle Texas. Then again, it may not matter because the cover person may not put any flowers on the final cover -
I'd love to know what you guys think!
Then - alongside of all the book work, this has been a fun long weekend for me babysitting my grands while mom and dad were off at a wedding out of state. It's always sweet to see your grown kids are still friends with all their high school friends. A bunch of folks who haven't seen each other in a while were able to fly in for the wedding and had a great time.
Seeing your grands for a few hours here and there is so different from being with them on your own for days - I feel I've really gotten to see things I wouldn't otherwise notice - like how much my granddaughter loves to climb, and dance! My grandson loves to snuggle, one morning he climbed into bed with me - so sweet. That would never have happened if mom and dad were around for him to climb in with them!
Now I'm getting ready for the four hour drive back to my house and then back to working long days again. At least before leaving home, I had time for new tires and an oil change so I no longer have to worry about blowing out a tire on the long drive! Though I didn't have time for a wheel alignment and need to do that as soon as I can so I don't muck up the new tires!
We're also working on a few things for the youtube channel. If you haven't popped over, do so now and sign up!
Okay - it's time to pack up and head home! I will however leave you with these two delicious photos of dessert when I dined out with my lawyer last week - SO delicious. I adore a good coconut cake and my lawyer had the most interesting bread pudding! Oh darn - I accidentally deleted the bread pudding photo - oh well - all you get is my cake - AND a photo of me working at the mechanics shop while waiting for my tires - I really do write anywhere LOL
August 12, 2024
We Have a Name!
The new series has a name: Honeysuckle Texas Series.
We've tossed lots of names back and forth - the Lone Star Ranch, Sweet Dreams Ranch, Honeysuckle Ranch. The only thing we knew for sure was that the small town is Honeysuckle. In the end - the town name won out for the series name!
How do you like it?
As for the titles. Well, it looks like the name is going to be based on the family name - Sweet. So book one will be Sweet Beginnings, and the tropes will be Girl Next Door, and Friends to Love, and Fake Dating, and Marriage of Convenience. How's that for a bunch!
I'm hopeful to get back to writing soon, life is crazy busy. Had the granddaughter here for almost two weeks, then next weekend I'm off to babysit while my daughter goes to a wedding, then the following weekend I'm off to a niece's bridal shower, then the following weekend family will be gathering here to celebrate my hubby and grandson's birthdays. And that's just August. In September I have a week's conference in Florida and then my niece's wedding out of town as well. Maybe October will slow down LOL.
In the meantime, I've had other surprises. Had the pleasure of reconnecting with an old friend I haven't seen or spoken to in about twenty years. One of the challenges of life prior to social media is that when you marry and have kids it was too easy to lose touch with your single friends, well, now it was fun to catch up.
I wish I had more fun news to share, but this week has been run, run, run from one thing to the other - Did I mention I'm helping a friend's daughter with her new home kitchen renovation? Thankfully today I stopped by to check on the sheetrockers and noticed they were only putting R13 insulation in her attic. The things people try to sneak by with when they think no one is looking is infuriating. I took photos and after she called, the contractor agreed to use the appropriate R-30 insulation. Tomorrow I will have to climb up into the attic to make sure it was actually done.
Well folks, now I'm back to working on the new series - will share covers as soon as I have something!
and feel free to post here what you think of the titles. Are they too cute?
We've tossed lots of names back and forth - the Lone Star Ranch, Sweet Dreams Ranch, Honeysuckle Ranch. The only thing we knew for sure was that the small town is Honeysuckle. In the end - the town name won out for the series name!
How do you like it?
As for the titles. Well, it looks like the name is going to be based on the family name - Sweet. So book one will be Sweet Beginnings, and the tropes will be Girl Next Door, and Friends to Love, and Fake Dating, and Marriage of Convenience. How's that for a bunch!
I'm hopeful to get back to writing soon, life is crazy busy. Had the granddaughter here for almost two weeks, then next weekend I'm off to babysit while my daughter goes to a wedding, then the following weekend I'm off to a niece's bridal shower, then the following weekend family will be gathering here to celebrate my hubby and grandson's birthdays. And that's just August. In September I have a week's conference in Florida and then my niece's wedding out of town as well. Maybe October will slow down LOL.
In the meantime, I've had other surprises. Had the pleasure of reconnecting with an old friend I haven't seen or spoken to in about twenty years. One of the challenges of life prior to social media is that when you marry and have kids it was too easy to lose touch with your single friends, well, now it was fun to catch up.
I wish I had more fun news to share, but this week has been run, run, run from one thing to the other - Did I mention I'm helping a friend's daughter with her new home kitchen renovation? Thankfully today I stopped by to check on the sheetrockers and noticed they were only putting R13 insulation in her attic. The things people try to sneak by with when they think no one is looking is infuriating. I took photos and after she called, the contractor agreed to use the appropriate R-30 insulation. Tomorrow I will have to climb up into the attic to make sure it was actually done.
Well folks, now I'm back to working on the new series - will share covers as soon as I have something!
and feel free to post here what you think of the titles. Are they too cute?
August 5, 2024
Last Trip Log !
This was our last stop on my recent road trip with my travel buddy of twenty years !
My friend is a photography buff and she wanted to take a handful of night photos in a few places, the last on her list was at Arches National Park in Moab Utah. Honestly, for me, once I've seen one big red rock, I'm done LOL. But, I always enjoy new places so off we went.
The first thing I learned is that Arches is where opening scenes from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed - WOW! Boy did I have fun with that tidbit! You can see a short clip of the movie scene here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6iXP...
but here are my photos of some of those same places!
Connections like that make things SO much more fun for me - I was giddy with delight LOL. The downside of the trip was that at the end I had to pay an insane price for a new windshield on our rental car that was struck by flying debris - though we never figured out where the debris came from!
Now i have to plan a new trip - though I have no idea when or where - although - I'm thinking it would be fun if my hubby really retires later this year to go spend some time in Ireland. Hubby's mom is of Irish decent. His grandmother and grandmother migrated to the US so they still have lots of second cousins in Ireland who would be fun to meet and visit with. But that's a big far and I'd have to sell a heck of a lot of books - so everyone tell all your friends about me! (just don't mention I want to go to Ireland LOL)
For those who are waiting on Just One Look, the final revisions are being done now and it should release as scheduled end of August. I'm hopeful to get it done a smidge early so some of you who like getting your copy early can purchase it at a discount on my storefront - we'll see how that goes!
I have been watching my granddaughter for the last ten days who is just waking up from her nap - so I'm going to have to sign off - but next week I'll share all about my time as Oma :)
My friend is a photography buff and she wanted to take a handful of night photos in a few places, the last on her list was at Arches National Park in Moab Utah. Honestly, for me, once I've seen one big red rock, I'm done LOL. But, I always enjoy new places so off we went.
The first thing I learned is that Arches is where opening scenes from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed - WOW! Boy did I have fun with that tidbit! You can see a short clip of the movie scene here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6iXP...
but here are my photos of some of those same places!
Connections like that make things SO much more fun for me - I was giddy with delight LOL. The downside of the trip was that at the end I had to pay an insane price for a new windshield on our rental car that was struck by flying debris - though we never figured out where the debris came from! Now i have to plan a new trip - though I have no idea when or where - although - I'm thinking it would be fun if my hubby really retires later this year to go spend some time in Ireland. Hubby's mom is of Irish decent. His grandmother and grandmother migrated to the US so they still have lots of second cousins in Ireland who would be fun to meet and visit with. But that's a big far and I'd have to sell a heck of a lot of books - so everyone tell all your friends about me! (just don't mention I want to go to Ireland LOL)
For those who are waiting on Just One Look, the final revisions are being done now and it should release as scheduled end of August. I'm hopeful to get it done a smidge early so some of you who like getting your copy early can purchase it at a discount on my storefront - we'll see how that goes!
I have been watching my granddaughter for the last ten days who is just waking up from her nap - so I'm going to have to sign off - but next week I'll share all about my time as Oma :)
July 29, 2024
Oregon Trail
Stepping back to share more travel pictures. After leaving the booksigning in South Dakota we needed to return to Salt Lake City in order to return the rental car and fly home. We could have cut straight across Wyoming to get there, but, I have never been to Nebraska. Honestly, I used to tease "do people really live in Nebraska?" lol.
Anyhow, I didn't really care what I saw, I just wanted to set foot in the state. Well, thankfully another author mentioned Scotts Bluff was worth visiting. I had no idea what Scotts Bluff was, but once I looked it up I realized it's a national park and the start of the Oregon Trail. I truly enjoy history and was thrilled to detour to visit.
Of course we first stopped at a fast food joint called Runza. It was very interesting. Instead of burgers or sandwiches they are sort of hot pocket type food and worth the stop!
From there we reached the start of the Oregon Trail. So very interesting!
Honestly, the more we see about what the pioneers endured in search of a better life, it boggles my mind how they did it. The determination, will, and strength needed is almost overwhelming - Looking inside that little wagon - wow. The thought of mom and dad and children living in that thing for months and months puts all of our modern world into perspective. I hope to get the chance someday to use all this historical information I've gathered into my books.
After Nebraska we had to cut across Colorado. Now I've been there many times when my son played travel ice hockey as a little boy. My daughter learned to ice skate at Evergreen lake near Denver. We saw Goldi Hawn at our hotel when my son played in Colorado Springs, but this time we cut through Vail. I got to see three of the more popular mountain resorts: Sun Valley in Idaho, Jackson in Wyoming, and Vail in Colorado. My favorite was Vail. Probably not a cheap place to spend a lot of time, but the views were great, and the village was adorable. I would have liked to have more time to window shop, but I'm sure there will be another chance some day.
okay - I'm done for today - helping my daughter's friend map out a kitchen remodel and enjoying time with my 2 year old granddaughter while she visits and working on the new series that I have yet to find a good name for!
catch y'all next week!
Anyhow, I didn't really care what I saw, I just wanted to set foot in the state. Well, thankfully another author mentioned Scotts Bluff was worth visiting. I had no idea what Scotts Bluff was, but once I looked it up I realized it's a national park and the start of the Oregon Trail. I truly enjoy history and was thrilled to detour to visit.
Of course we first stopped at a fast food joint called Runza. It was very interesting. Instead of burgers or sandwiches they are sort of hot pocket type food and worth the stop!
From there we reached the start of the Oregon Trail. So very interesting!
Honestly, the more we see about what the pioneers endured in search of a better life, it boggles my mind how they did it. The determination, will, and strength needed is almost overwhelming - Looking inside that little wagon - wow. The thought of mom and dad and children living in that thing for months and months puts all of our modern world into perspective. I hope to get the chance someday to use all this historical information I've gathered into my books. After Nebraska we had to cut across Colorado. Now I've been there many times when my son played travel ice hockey as a little boy. My daughter learned to ice skate at Evergreen lake near Denver. We saw Goldi Hawn at our hotel when my son played in Colorado Springs, but this time we cut through Vail. I got to see three of the more popular mountain resorts: Sun Valley in Idaho, Jackson in Wyoming, and Vail in Colorado. My favorite was Vail. Probably not a cheap place to spend a lot of time, but the views were great, and the village was adorable. I would have liked to have more time to window shop, but I'm sure there will be another chance some day.
okay - I'm done for today - helping my daughter's friend map out a kitchen remodel and enjoying time with my 2 year old granddaughter while she visits and working on the new series that I have yet to find a good name for! catch y'all next week!
July 22, 2024
Why does time fly by so fast?
I feel like it was just a few hours ago that I wrote last week's blog. I also feel like I should have a lot more to show for my week!
there are a few announcements today - If you like reading box sets, we're finally putting the barons into box sets - The first one - books 1-3 goes on sale Tomorrow Tuesday! As usual, you'll get a 10% discount if you buy directly from my website - if you already own the three books, tell all your friends about the discount!
I am getting ready to turn Just One Look into my editor in a couple of days- the final moment has been tough on this book - I hope y'all like how it turns out!
I was blessed today when I came to a stumbling point in the book, could not get out of it, couldn't get around it, just not working. So I called my friend author Susan Warner and the sweetheart that she is - she got off her zoom to help me, and while we were talking she had to tell her mom and old friend to go away she was busy LOL. It's always a blessing to have friends who you know you can count on to bail you out (Or bury the bodies LOL) -
There are more stops in my summer road trip to share - but today I'm going to hit pause and catch everyone up on my life LOL.
We'll start with my supervisor. Lately my son has been dropping the grandpuppy off for us to babysit - which means I have a new supervisor LOL
Then, I got to play hooky from writing and spent the day at the racetrack with some friends - I grew up near Yonkers raceway and in high school we enjoyed going to watch the trotters race. I liked it because if you bet on the longshot every race, at least once he'd win and you'd recoup your betting money. It was much cheaper than a movie with popcorn and a drink! Well, thoroughbreds are different but I still enjoy the time with friends and placing whopping $2 bets on horses to show (someone's bound to win LOL) - with this strategy I can leave without losing any money or only losing a couple of dollars. After all, it's not a get rich quick scheme, it's fun with friends!
And of course - only at a Texas racetrack can you get yourself custom made cowboy hats. I probably should have but I was pretty sure they were out of my budget LOL
Then of course there's the weather - it has been nuts around here - hot in July were used to, 80 degrees in July, not so much. That's been kind of nice, but we've also had some interesting sunsets - isn't this one gorgeous - and it was even better in person! 
And that's it for now! Good night everyone - Go Forth and Read ! :)
there are a few announcements today - If you like reading box sets, we're finally putting the barons into box sets - The first one - books 1-3 goes on sale Tomorrow Tuesday! As usual, you'll get a 10% discount if you buy directly from my website - if you already own the three books, tell all your friends about the discount!
I am getting ready to turn Just One Look into my editor in a couple of days- the final moment has been tough on this book - I hope y'all like how it turns out!
I was blessed today when I came to a stumbling point in the book, could not get out of it, couldn't get around it, just not working. So I called my friend author Susan Warner and the sweetheart that she is - she got off her zoom to help me, and while we were talking she had to tell her mom and old friend to go away she was busy LOL. It's always a blessing to have friends who you know you can count on to bail you out (Or bury the bodies LOL) -
There are more stops in my summer road trip to share - but today I'm going to hit pause and catch everyone up on my life LOL.
We'll start with my supervisor. Lately my son has been dropping the grandpuppy off for us to babysit - which means I have a new supervisor LOL
Then, I got to play hooky from writing and spent the day at the racetrack with some friends - I grew up near Yonkers raceway and in high school we enjoyed going to watch the trotters race. I liked it because if you bet on the longshot every race, at least once he'd win and you'd recoup your betting money. It was much cheaper than a movie with popcorn and a drink! Well, thoroughbreds are different but I still enjoy the time with friends and placing whopping $2 bets on horses to show (someone's bound to win LOL) - with this strategy I can leave without losing any money or only losing a couple of dollars. After all, it's not a get rich quick scheme, it's fun with friends! And of course - only at a Texas racetrack can you get yourself custom made cowboy hats. I probably should have but I was pretty sure they were out of my budget LOL
Then of course there's the weather - it has been nuts around here - hot in July were used to, 80 degrees in July, not so much. That's been kind of nice, but we've also had some interesting sunsets - isn't this one gorgeous - and it was even better in person! And that's it for now! Good night everyone - Go Forth and Read ! :)
