It's a Party!

Some authors are shy, quiet things - rivers that run deep. And then there's, well, me, the shallow rushing stream, the queen of the ham bones. You will not see my face next to the word "shy" in the dictionary.I love to do book signings, love to party with readers.

I've had so much fun this month, visiting bookstores and hanging out with a lot of wonderful people. It's really a thrill for an author to meet people who love to read and appreciate what we do. (Speaking of writers, I'm pictured here with my great writing pals Anjali Banerjee, Elsa Watson, and Kate Breslin, all wonderful authors.) We've enjoyed contests on how to simplify your life (the theme of my new book THE COTTAGE ON JUNIPER RIDGE), given away gift baskets and sampled lavender cookies. Now I'm down to my last signing of the month, which will be tomorrow (Sat, 4-29) at the Bellevue Barnes & Noble at 2 p.m. And that will be it for the fun until I return to Leavenworth, WA, the inspiration for Icicle Falls, in May. I'm a little sad to see the fun come to an end.

But with the end of the book signing parties comes time to do something else I love: write. After all, it's hard to have a book signing if you don't have a book to sign! So, a public thank you to all the great people who have showed up to support me this month. I hope you had a good time. We'll do it again soon!