It’s Good to be Back Home

Well, this last couple of weeks I’ve been jetting off everywhere.  And one place I landed, I’ve never landed before.  I can no longer say I’ve never been to jail.  And now that I got your attention and maybe even made you smile, let me tell you the real story.

You see, I went to speak to group of women in the SAP program, Substance Abuse Program, in the Etowah County Detention Center.  Do you know that noise you hear of the door clanking shut that you hear on some prison shows? It’s just like that.  And it echoes in that place, reminding you that you are locked up.  I got chills each and every time it sounded.

These women are in for six months to a year and are completely cut off from all family and friends.  No phone calls.  No visits.  They are there to work on getting their lives back on track, and hopefully, finding a new path for their lives. The Gadsden Library works with these women, offering them books and talking to them about literature. And for the women with young children, they have even done video tapes of some of them reading bedtime stories, and then the tapes are sent to their children.

Being there, talking about writing, about facing hurdles, and laughing–yes, we did a lot of laughing–it was a reminder of how easy it is for someone to go down a wrong path.

While I was in Gadsden, I also had a Bleed and Read event.  Wow, that was fun.  Got to visit with some serious fans.  I went to three schools—even my old high school.  What a delight.

I wasn’t home but for a few days and then I packed and left again.  This time I landed in New Hampshire to speak at Another Anime Convention.  Wow, talk about colorful.  And I mean the people and the leaves.  The leaves were gorgeous, and boy oh boy did I meet some really neat and entertaining characters.  I was just crazy enough to fit in. Here are just a few of the crazy costumes there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And there were some really wonderful chalk artists who created these cool drawings. I’m sitting on the first one, so I look like I’m riding on his shoulder. I loved that!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, I’m home for now and back to writing.  Don’t forget I have two releases coming out on October 28th.  I hope you’ve pre-ordered Eternal, the second book in the Shadow Falls: After Dark series. And Shadow Falls: The Next Chapter will be out on the same day.

So, have you ever felt you were going down the wrong path? Did you almost make a wrong decision? Or maybe you did, and now you regret it? I want you tell me about it, and I’ll give away a hard copy of Reborn to one of you who leave a comment. (Sorry, this giveaway is for US residents only.)

WINNERS!!

Lots of great comments last week, and I got a lot of emails with links to Unbreakable reviews. Here are the winners: Crystal Chapman ($25 gift card for Amazon or B &N), Gabrielle Saunders (signed copies Reborn and Eternal), Essie Binder (Shadow Falls t-shirt), Carly Burkard (Shadow Falls poster) and Carly Burkard (Shadow Falls poster). Congratulations! Now you need to send me an email at cchunterbooks.com with your mailing address.

 Kindle Giveaway!

Don’t forget I’m giving away three Kindles the week of Eternal’s release. One to one of my Street Team members, one to a member of my Fan Club and a third one to someone who comments on my blogs. But these aren’t random giveaways this time. No, I’ll be checking social media to see who is posting on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. to see who is working the hardest to spread the word about the release of Eternal.