Where to Begin?

This is downright embarrassing. I haven't updated my blog since last fall. FALL. I'm surprised I remember how. What in the world have I been doing? A LOT.

Since I can't possibly write about every single item that has occurred, let me give you a quick rundown:

• My daughter and son-in-law had their first child--a boy--right before Thanksgiving. Joy!! This, of course, entailed many trips to L.A. beforehand and my throwing a baby shower. Maybe that's why I was so busy.
• My novelette, SANTA BABY, appeared in an eight-author Christmas anthology, SIZZLE IN THE SNOW.
• I went to Florida and had three book signings in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, and Sanibel. Great fun. I love Floridians. They're so welcoming and THURSDAYS AT COCONUTS is a great fit for the Sunshine State.
• I penned my newest novel, SLEEPING WITH ELVIS over the past several months. More about that in another post. I am a HUGE Elvis fan. I had an epiphany about a plot including an Elvis impersonator and my novel was born. I was busy all winter and spring writing this novel and will share details soon. I promise!
• I received "Best Debut Author" from BTS Books in April at TNEE (The Novel Experience Event) in Atlanta. I was bowled over. This was after six months receiving a 2015 RONE AWARD at the InD'Scribe Conference in Palm Springs. Sigh. Pinch me! Seriously, I could not be more humbled or happy to see my work recognized.
• I've been writing like crazy on my Coconuts sequel. I know. I know. I should have had it out by now. The good news is I have enough ideas for at least two more books! Yippee. More of Hope, Suzy, and Alex--as well as several new characters.
• We had a big family vacation the first week of June. There were 21 of us. Try getting a table for that size group every night for dinner! It's a challenge.
• Now, I'm FINALLY updating my website. I'm only three books behind. Good grief.

I'm sure there's more to add, but I have to get back to updating my site. I wish the summer would slow down but I"m looking at edits the entire month of July for SLEEPING WITH ELVIS before it releases on August 10! Stay tuned for details about a launch party, the cover, blurb, excerpts, swag, and more.

I hope you've had a wonderful time since we last chatted in October. I'll do better with my blogging. :)

Girl Scouts' Six-Word Memoirs - Please Vote!

Recently, I had a book signing at the Believe In Girls Expo to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Girl Scouts. (We promptly went on a two-week vacation the following day, so I'm behind on getting this posted.) One of the activities at my booth was for the Girl Scouts to write a six-word memoir describing why they enjoy this sisterhood.

Nearly 80 Girl Scouts stood at my booth all afternoon, pen in hand, looking upward, shrugging, smiling, and saying how hard it was to write just six words. I overheard one dad telling his daughter, "Just write six words or less." I informed them it had to be six words exactly and explained the six-word memoir project. So, the girls did it. All 78 of them! I've narrowed the entries down to ten finalists. Please help me vote for two winners.

One will receive the book, I CAN'T KEEP MY OWN SECRETS, a six-word memoir book by teens famous & obscure, edited by SMITH Magazine. The other winner will receive a packet of Palace movie tickets. Without further ado, here they are:

"Girl Scouts better than Boy Scouts!" ~ Brianna
"Best memory of my entire life." ~ Emily
"Doing new things with my friends." ~ Kenzi
"Making friends that last a lifetime." ~Amanda
"Nobody can live without cookies, NOBODY!" ~ Dani
"Learning to be a great girl!" ~ Alley
"Girl Scout camping! Fun and Kool!" ~ Kayla
"Camping, friends, 100 years of fun." ~ Kaitlynn
"Thin mints are my favorite cookie." ~ Hannah
"Cooking, camping, cookies, s'mores and friends." ~ Joanna

Aren't they great?! Please vote for your two favorites by Fri., April 27.

Finally, I had a big basket for one lucky winner which included my picture book, nail polish, lip gloss, bookmarks, green and white socks, colored pencils, hair bands, toys and more. The lucky winner was Sierra pictured below. She was a delightful little girl whose dad, Danny, patiently spent the entire day with her around hundreds--possibly a thousand--excited, energetic little girls. She also told me she was going to share the basket contents with her brother. What a sweetie. Congratulations, Sierra!

Book Signing Tomorrow

Tomorrow, I'll be at Hickory Hills Country Club's holiday open house signing IT ALL CHANGED IN AN INSTANT, More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure. Fellow children's writer Brenda Brinkley will join me.

I plan to donate the proceeds to the memorial fund for my niece, Shana. Here's hoping some holiday shoppers will be intrigued by the six-word memoir book which contains sixes by many celebrities, famous authors and obscure authors like me.

Book Signings Are Fun

While I may not have had a maze of long lines (or people camping out the night before) like fans did for Sarah Palin and Dog the Bounty Hunter—both of whom were at our local Borders recently—I did have a strong, loyal showing for my first-ever book signing. Forty friends, colleagues and family members stopped by Borders on April 10 to receive an autographed copy of IT ALL CHANGED IN AN INSTANT, More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure. My sweet husband bought a special engraved pen for the occasion, which unfortunately (or fortunately) ran out of ink in one hour. Thirty books sold in two hours. I was touched and humbled by the support from so many. Kathy and Sharon, two Ozarks Romance Author friends, adorned my table with balloons and cookies. Shirley, president of Sleuths' Ink, took tons of pictures. Another writer friend, Jill, served as an I-reporter and put updates on Facebook. My parents gave me a beautiful bouquet of colorful daisies. Many attended--family members, writer friends, co-workers, as well as classmates from high school and even one from second grade! I felt so loved and humbled. I created a “Movies & Memoirs” gift basket and had a drawing for the basket (my marketing ploy to get a mailing list for future books!) The basket contained movie tickets, four popcorn containers, large candy bars, microwaveable popcorn, bookmarks, six-word memoir postcards, and naturally, the book. Opfer Communications graciously loaned a flat screen television for the event and even hauled it in and out of Borders. One of their directors downloaded the Smith feed/loop thingy (see why I needed technical assistance?) onto a disk. Several chairs were set up in front of the TV so onlookers could see excerpts from the book. Denise and Gary from Borders were extremely helpful and agreeable (even during the days prior to the signing when I was a bit anal). I know. Hard to believe. I gave away chocolate candy bars, six-word memoir buttons, post cards, and magnetic bookmarks featuring my memoir that appears on page one: “Zip. Zero. Zilch. Nothing published. Yet.” It’s interesting how everyone’s perception changes once you’re published. Seriously, it all changed in an instant.

Our New York Adventure

After a couple of unfortunate blips with luggage, my husband, parents, father-in-law, his girlfriend and I had a great time in NYC. We took in several sights--Ground Zero, 9-11 Memorial, Empire State Building, Statue of Libery, Rockefeller Center and Times Square. We walked along Broadway and tried until the last minute to get Jersey Boys tickets--and found some at almost $300 each. With six of us that was too much. We strode by the former Ed Sullivan/David Letterman Theatre and Radio City Music Hall where Lady Gaga was playing. We drove by Trump Tower and Carnegie Hall and ate a huge sandwich at the Carnegie Deli. (I swear it would easily serve four people.) We dined at the Rock Cafe where we watched ice skaters zoom by as we enjoyed a glass of wine. The three women shopped at Bloomingdale's where a makeup artist told me he was "very concerned about my eyebrows." He immediately grabbed a brush and started adding makeup until my eyebrows appeared thicker and more arched. When he was finished, he told me my new eyebrows made me look ten years younger. Of course, I couldn't get my wallet out fast enough. We drove by Central Park and visited the Museum of Natural History which is amazing every time I go. The dinosaur exhibits alone take your breath away. You could easily spend two days and never see it all. I took a gazillion pictures. On the last day, my parents and I went to the Today Show and stood in the cold sipping coffee while we watched Kathy Lee and Sharon Osborne, who was filling in for Hoda. We called several people and they could see us on air. I hit the NBC Store and bought a Conan shirt (not a huge fan but feel sorry for him and it may be a collector's item some day). Also bought some 2010 Olympic gear. Drum roll...The big event--the book release for IT ALL CHANGED IN AN INSTANT at the 92nd Street Y was exciting. I was lucky enough to find out right before we left (via an email from the editor of Smith) that one of my New York memoirs was selected as a winner! They chose six winners and I was asked to read mine on stage as well as one of my memoirs from the book. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures in the auditorium. There were about 200 people in attendance. It was great to meet the friendly editors of Smith, Larry and Rachel, and to hear about the background of the six-word memoir project. Also, the impressive speakers talked about the brilliance of brief writing, their magazine or newspaper columns, as well as their own best-selling novels. Larry gave me a Smith tee shirt which I'll wear proudly. My winning NY memoir: "Does the naked cowboy get cold?" They thought that was pretty funny. I've seen the guy several times in NY and he only wears a cowboy hat, boots, and whitey tighties while he plays his guitar. I do have the green light to have a book signing so I'll work on that soon. Thanks for all your support.