tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89327299368591043112012-01-29T10:01:39.964-06:00Authorial MomsWe're moms. We're authors. But that doesn't necessarily mean we're crazy.Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.comBlogger2111100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-89445724136696505182012-01-27T09:26:00.000-06:002012-01-27T09:26:49.280-06:00Welcome Back Genevieve Graham!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ucKAcwSgr_8/TdA5aqTAP5I/AAAAAAAAJZI/gId5c_ZcG5o/s1600/Gen-19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ucKAcwSgr_8/TdA5aqTAP5I/AAAAAAAAJZI/gId5c_ZcG5o/s320/Gen-19.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="Body"><i>Today I'm thrilled to welcome Genevieve Graham back to the Authorial Moms Blog--her debut book, Under the Same Sky, is out and I have to tell you, I loved it! Take it away, Genevieve!</i></div><div class="Body"><b><br /></b></div><div class="Body"><b>I’m Proud Of All My Babies<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="Body"><br /></div><div class="Body">As a mom, there’s nothing on earth as moving as watching your child do something truly wonderful. It can be something as fantastic as performing on stage or something as sublime as holding a door open for someone. Or it could be when your toddler first switches from “no” to “please”. Baby steps, right?<o:p></o:p></div><div class="Body"><br /></div><div class="Body">Then one day, someone comes to you and says something like, “I just wanted to tell you how much I like your child. She’s so respectful/funny/happy/smart/polite/whatever.” The first time someone said something like that to me I thought I might burst, my grin was so big. Once I got over that incredible high, the realization settled into something even more satisfying, though on a different level: <i>I had something to do with that.</i><o:p></o:p></div><div class="Body"><br /></div><div class="Body">Sure, there will always be someone who says your kid is too noisy/mopey/whiney/wild/whatever. Critics, right? Everyone’s a critic.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="Body"><br /></div><div class="Body">In my editing business, I regard everyone’s novel as if it were their “baby”. I understand the love, the pride, the connection that exists between an author and their book, and I know that submitting a novel to an editor is scary—like the first day of school. Will my kid be popular? Will they be a wallflower? Will they fit in or is the teacher going to call me about their bouncing uncontrollably outside the box?<o:p></o:p></div><div class="Body"><br /></div><div class="Body">My husband and I have two beautiful daughters, 11 and 13 years old. They’re hardly babies. But I have an announcement: I have a newborn, too.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="Body"><br /></div><div class="Body">No diapers, no 2 a.m. feedings, but this one has me almost as excited. Like our girls, they were created from nothing but love, though the labour was hard work and took a little longer. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="Body"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hMmQDBT3cnI/TxwvXj_cUCI/AAAAAAAAJxA/XF0_pJf2SbI/s1600/FINAL+trade+COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hMmQDBT3cnI/TxwvXj_cUCI/AAAAAAAAJxA/XF0_pJf2SbI/s320/FINAL+trade+COVER.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><div class="Body"><i>Under the Same Sky</i> is my debut novel. And all of a sudden people are coming to me saying things like, “I just wanted to tell you how much I love your book.” I’m so proud of the book: the characters I love, the story that raked me over the coals, the settings that made me long for a vacation … and I’m proud of myself.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="Body"><br /></div><div class="Body">Sarah knows what I’m talking about. Her debut novel, <i>A Man Of His Word </i>met with terrific reviews! Congrats, Sarah!<o:p></o:p></div><div class="Body"><br /></div><div class="Body">I didn’t write <i>Under the Same Sky</i> until after I turned forty. I was so busy with our kids that I didn’t even read much until a few years ago. I’d never imagined myself as an author, but having started, I can’t stop. I love to write, to create, to bring new characters and stories into the world. When readers connect to those stories then feel compelled to recommend the book to a friend … well, I don’t think the thrill will ever fade.<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Body"><br /></div><div class="Body"></div><div class="Body"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Genevieve Graham graduated from the University of Toronto in 1986 with a Bachelor of Music in Performance (playing the oboe). While on a ski vacation in Alberta, she met her future husband in a chairlift lineup and subsequently moved to Calgary to be with him. They have recently settled in a small, peaceful town in Nova Scotia with their two beautiful daughters. Writing became an essential part of Genevieve’s life a few years ago, when she began to write her debut novel, </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman Italic';"><i>Under the Same Sky</i></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Body"><br /></div><div class="Body"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">CONNECT ONLINE<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Body"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><a href="http://www.genevievegraham.com/"><span style="color: #000099;">www.genevievegraham.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Body"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GenevieveGrahamAuthor"><span style="color: #000099;">www.facebook.com/GenevieveGrahamAuthor</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Body"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4505583.Genevieve_Graham"><span style="color: #000099;">http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4505583.Genevieve_Graham</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Body"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><a href="http://twitter.com/GenGrahamAuthor"><span style="color: #000099;">twitter.com/GenGrahamAuthor</span></a></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-8944572413669650518?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-17344632500013694312012-01-23T16:28:00.000-06:002012-01-23T16:28:50.379-06:00Emma Lai Guest Post<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: Georgia;">Today I'm welcoming author Emma Lai to the Authorial Moms blog! Emma is a super Twitter friend--I highly recommend following her. Take it away, Emma!</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oIjd-LB7U7Y/TxwtiMvOz3I/AAAAAAAAJw4/ne8LIpkt82c/s1600/HisShipHerFantasy_w3783_300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oIjd-LB7U7Y/TxwtiMvOz3I/AAAAAAAAJw4/ne8LIpkt82c/s1600/HisShipHerFantasy_w3783_300.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I’m one of those women who thought she’d never had a child. Then at thirty, we decided if we were going to be parents, we had to give it the old college try. A couple of years went by, jobs changed and the end of grad school was in sight, but still no baby.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br /></span></div> <span style="font-family: Georgia; text-align: center;">I took a year off to study for comprehensives, got bored and decided to write a story. After much encouragement and pressure from my wonderful family, I submitted, and lo and behold, I received an offer for </span><i style="font-family: Georgia; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/His-Ship-Her-Fantasy-ebook/dp/B0053HPDSY/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1327007500&sr=8-7">His Ship, Her Fantasy: Mates of the Guardians Book 1</a></i><span style="font-family: Georgia; text-align: center;">, a short launched by the image of a woman talking to a space ship. Oh, the possibilities.</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Wonderful news quickly eclipsed by finding out I was pregnant. (Of course this occurred the week after I accepted I wasn’t going to be a mother and instead would concentrate on growing my fledgling writing career.)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XL8w1aHk0Oo/TxwthvvMZKI/AAAAAAAAJww/y8_grCOBZ3A/s1600/HisHopeHerSalvation_w3939_300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XL8w1aHk0Oo/TxwthvvMZKI/AAAAAAAAJww/y8_grCOBZ3A/s1600/HisHopeHerSalvation_w3939_300.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia;">There was no morning sickness, no fatigue or cravings (except for beans, which is no hard thing to satisfy), but there was a horrible fog that seemed to keep my bottom firmly ensconced on the couch while an endless stream of movies played out on the television.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Somehow I managed to write another short, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/His-Hope-Her-Salvation-ebook/dp/B0053HPB9A/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1327007500&sr=8-3">His Hope, Her Salvation: Mates of the Guardians Book 2</a> </i>(inspired by the image of a desperate woman walking in on a couple in the throes of passion), but then baby was here, and the fog became impenetrable. I have only the vaguest of recollections of the first five or so months of my little one’s life. During a lucid moment, I managed to crank the following out.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Superwoman, I am not.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Baby needs <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Changing, feeding, play.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Rinse and repeat.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Breakfast? Lunch? Dinner?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Oh yeah, a mom must eat, too.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Dishes pile up.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Laundry never stops.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">What is dusting?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">What is sweeping?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">What is vacuuming?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Do the chores never end?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Time.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Where does it go?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Oh, that’s right.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Baby needs<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Changing, feeding, play.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Rinse and repeat.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Then after the fifth month, the lights came back on, the “nobody’s home” sign was put aside, and I started writing again.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The funny thing is that though baby is now toddler the above poem still applies. So, when do I find to write? Sometimes it’s only thirty minutes here or there. Other times, dear hubby takes charge and I get hours. There’s no happy formula for me. No actual “rinse and repeat” for my daily schedule. But I have somehow managed to make it through the first couple of years with only a few additional gray hairs, a healthy and happy son and multiple published shorts and novellas under my belt.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_pRocDNiqXE/TxwtfKuJYhI/AAAAAAAAJwo/HES4xSR4poQ/s1600/HisCaptureHerRes_w5122_300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_pRocDNiqXE/TxwtfKuJYhI/AAAAAAAAJwo/HES4xSR4poQ/s320/HisCaptureHerRes_w5122_300.jpg" width="212" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Coming in April, <i>His Capture, Her Rescue: Mates of the Guardians Book 3</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Masquerading as an American, Eallair, a Guardian Steward from another world, is searching Victorian England for the kidnapped mate of a fellow Guardian. When he meets Miss Harriet Cartwright, he knows her for the spirited, intelligent mate he has longed to find.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Since the death of their parents, Harriet has used her intelligence and sharp tongue to guard her sister from fortune hunters, but now that Prudence is close to choosing a husband, Harriet can consider her own future—one hopefully filled with adventure. When she meets Eallair, an American rancher who likes to travel and isn’t put off by her outspokenness, she is intrigued.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">But before Harriet and Eallair can explore their attraction, she and her sister are kidnapped. While Eallair scours the countryside for them, Harriet discovers Eallair’s off-world origins. Now she must decide: just how much adventure does she want in her future? <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Website: <a href="http://www.emmalaiwrites.com/">http://www.emmalaiwrites.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Blog: <a href="http://emmalaiwrites.blogspot.com/">http://emmalaiwrites.blogspot.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Twitter: @emmalaiwrites<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-1734463250001369431?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-52506855637997660212012-01-19T09:22:00.003-06:002012-01-19T09:45:49.654-06:00Firestarterby Andrea<br /><br />Brrrrr...baby, it's cold outside!<br /><br />Here on the Lakeshore in Western Michigan the current temp is 14, which has fallen from our morning high of 25. Add the wind chill and we are at a chilly -1 degree with temps to continue falling today.<br /><br />So with temperatures so brutal, I decided it was the perfect day to have a fire in the family room as I cuddle up with my laptop and write some romantic scenes. Great idea, but two problems. First, we have no newspaper in the house. I mean, who actually gets a newspaper delivered anymore when everything is online? Second, my wood was still outside under the deck, covered in snow and ice. We never brought any in yet this year.<br /><br />But this would not deter me as I set out to execute the image in my mind of sitting toasty and dry next to the fire with my tea at hand.<br /><br />After several trips up from the basement with the wood (we reach out the basement window and grab it from under the deck) and the fireplace tools, I realized it was time for the annual clean out of the old ashes. (I did mention that we hadn't had a fire yet this year, right?) I scooped the old stuff out and looked up to check the chute. Uh, oh. It had been left open all year. I diverted my thoughts and refused to estimate what that had cost us in heating and cooling expenses.<br /><br />So I had my wet and frozen logs, a bucket of wood scraps from hubby's workshop for kindling, and...no newspaper. I looked in the recycling box under the kitchen sink and grabbed a couple of pieces of white paper. On the way back into the family room, I caught sight of the school's newspaper that my eldest had brought home the other night and left on the coffee table. Thank you, Andrew! Real newspaper.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hkxvJkqmS-0/Txg5ZzpZ4YI/AAAAAAAAAPg/-iuIeZD9g-w/s1600/firestarter.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 317px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hkxvJkqmS-0/Txg5ZzpZ4YI/AAAAAAAAAPg/-iuIeZD9g-w/s320/firestarter.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699368443960746370" border="0" /></a>At this point, I really wanted my hubby home. He's magic with kindling... Anyway, I get everything set up and light the paper.<br /><br />I love the flame of paper. It gives me such hope that my logs will catch fire and all will be right in the world. But alas, no. Once the paper and the kindling burned out, I had no roaring fire. It took another twenty minutes of futzing with kindling to get something even close to resembling a true fire. I'm hoping as the logs dry the rest of the burning will go better today.<br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087262/">Firestarter</a>, I am not.<br />I could really have used some Drew Barrymore help.<br /><br />If you haven't seen this oldie, but goldie movie, circa 1984, first read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Firestarter-Stephen-King/dp/0451167805/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1326987533&sr=8-10">the book by Stephen King</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-5250685563799766021?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Andrea Dickinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03260750109606531773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-72221220965583271842012-01-12T10:15:00.005-06:002012-01-12T10:39:54.370-06:00Tools to help with Resolutionsby Andrea<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Happy New Year!</span><br /><br />This year I'm keeping my resolutions simple:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Write more - Eat less!</span><br /><br />And I've got two tools to help me succeed because isn't it always more fun when we have a new toy...err tool to work with.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-quJef0knQOs/Tw8JqGnlVHI/AAAAAAAAAMs/LZpOiLgWiEg/s1600/scrivener.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-quJef0knQOs/Tw8JqGnlVHI/AAAAAAAAAMs/LZpOiLgWiEg/s200/scrivener.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696782672582759538" border="0" /></a><br />For my writing resolution, I've recently purchased <a href="http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php">Scrivener</a> for my Mac. It is a project management tool for writers. It does so much more than a word processing program. I can keep all my chapters, scenes, character profile sheets, setting profiles, inspirational pictures, research files, etc. altogether in a single project file.<br /><br />It has a really flexible window arrangement so I can customize what information I want on screen while I write. If I don't want any distractions, I can enter the Compose mode where I have my page and a serene background of my choice. I've uploaded my favorite picture of the Grand Haven lighthouse for my background. Lovely!<br /><br />One of my favorite features of the program is that it remembers where I left off during my last writing session. So when I open my project, the blinking cursor is exactly where I left off - no more scrolling through hundreds of pages to find my spot.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Klaei0uILHM/Tw8Ml5LgUpI/AAAAAAAAANE/s_DfB38xnwU/s1600/myfitnesspal.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Klaei0uILHM/Tw8Ml5LgUpI/AAAAAAAAANE/s_DfB38xnwU/s200/myfitnesspal.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696785898790736530" border="0" /></a>For my resolution to eat less, I've returned to an app I found last year. It's called <a href="http://www.myfitnesspal.com/">My Fitness Pal</a>. It can be used online or on a smartphone, iPod, iPad, etc. It's a great way to track the food I've eaten because it counts calories for me. It suggests how many calories I should eat a day based on my goals, and I can customize the number if I want. It tracks exercise too and let's me know how many extra calories I've earned. :D<br /><br />But it's more than just a calorie tool. It also has a Community tool to allow you to reach out to other people striving to eat less and reach a healthy weight. Currently, my mom and I are "friends", and we can see if the other hasn't logged in for a few days and send a message of support or congratulations for pounds lost.<br /><br />So what are your resolutions this year? And what tools are you using to help yourself achieve them?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-7222122096558327184?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Andrea Dickinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03260750109606531773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-39473673508491545302012-01-01T12:54:00.000-06:002012-01-01T12:54:50.078-06:00Winner!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LsSrqtuNErY/Trkc_qjmM5I/AAAAAAAAJvc/NDBbaXMVzeQ/s1600/lovelocket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LsSrqtuNErY/Trkc_qjmM5I/AAAAAAAAJvc/NDBbaXMVzeQ/s200/lovelocket.jpg" width="172" /></a></div>I'm thrilled! The <i>A Man of His Word</i> Blog Tour is over (yes, that is thrilling!) and I've chosen the winner of the custom-made Locket of Love by <a href="http://www.jade-orchid.com/www.jade-orchid.com/Home.html" target="_blank">Artwear from Wanaree!</a><br /><br />And the winner is....<br /><br /><b>Laurie G</b>! Laurie commented on several blogs, but the winning number (which, if you're curious, was #170, chosen randomly by random.org) was on <a href="http://writingplayground.blogspot.com/2011/12/guest-blogger-sarah-m-anderson.html" target="_blank">The Writing Playground</a>!<br /><br />Didn't win a copy of <i>A Man of His Word</i>? Never fear! There are still copies to be had! My cousin, author David Alan Lucas, is giving away a copy on his blog, <a href="http://davidalanlucas.blogspot.com/2012/01/first-of-month-book-giveaway-comment-to.html" target="_blank">Coffee with David</a>, so be sure to comment there, too!<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8jwgcwe6AsE/TsVVOHu_2OI/AAAAAAAAJwM/n2RT0yhEXRw/s1600/AManofHisWord+Cover+Sarah+Anderson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8jwgcwe6AsE/TsVVOHu_2OI/AAAAAAAAJwM/n2RT0yhEXRw/s1600/AManofHisWord+Cover+Sarah+Anderson.jpg" /></a>And, of course, you can still buy <i>A Man of His Word</i> online at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Man-His-Word-Harlequin-Desire/dp/0373731434/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_t_1,%3E" target="_blank">Amazon</a> and <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-man-of-his-word-sarah-m-anderson/1103858071?ean=9780373731435&itm=14&usri=sarah%2bm%2banderson" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a>, as well as a few other places. It won't be available in stores (that's just the nature of the game, folks), but it'll live online for a while longer!<br /><br />As for me, it's time to dig into a new story. After this extensive blog tour, I'm going to take the month of January off from blogging and get to work on the next story--you're going to LOVE J.R. and Thalia!<br /><br />And don't forget <i>A Man of Privilege</i> (click <a href="http://www.sarahmanderson.com/Sarah_M._Anderson/A_Man_of_Principle.html" target="_blank">here</a> for a preview) and <i>A Man of Honor</i> (click <a href="http://www.sarahmanderson.com/Sarah_M._Anderson/A_Man_of_Honor.html" target="_blank">here</a> for yet another preview!) will be here in July and September--it'll be here before we know it!<br /><br />Thank you so much for joining me on this wild, fun ride. You've made my writing debut a special, wonderful time, and I'll never forget it!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-3947367350849154530?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-50444713472101416782011-12-22T11:21:00.000-06:002011-12-22T11:21:57.278-06:00The Last Leg!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8jwgcwe6AsE/TsVVOHu_2OI/AAAAAAAAJwM/n2RT0yhEXRw/s1600/AManofHisWord+Cover+Sarah+Anderson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8jwgcwe6AsE/TsVVOHu_2OI/AAAAAAAAJwM/n2RT0yhEXRw/s1600/AManofHisWord+Cover+Sarah+Anderson.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Award-winning, you know! Buy <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Man-His-Word-Harlequin-Desire/dp/0373731434/ref=tmm_mmp_title_0" target="_blank">now</a>!</td></tr></tbody></table>Does anyone else see that bright light? The one at the end of the tunnel? I do!<br /><br />There's still time to win one of two copies of <i>A Man of His Word</i>! Yesterday, I was at <a href="http://romancebandits.com/guest-author-sarah-m-anderson" target="_blank">Romance Bandits</a>, and on Dec. 30th, I'll be at Romance University. These are also the last two times to enter to win the custom-made Locket of Love from <a href="http://www.jade-orchid.com/www.jade-orchid.com/Home.html" target="_blank">Artwear by Wanaree</a> (worth $185!). I'll be drawing for that on New Year's Day, so hurry!<br /><br />Below is an almost complete list of winners! Thanks to everyone who entered!<br /><br /><br /><div class="paragraph_style_5" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;">November 8: Thoughts from a Writer’s Block</div><div class="paragraph_style_5" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"> <<a href="http://michelestegman.com/writing-tips/sarah-m-anderson" style="color: #797979;" title="http://michelestegman.com/writing-tips/sarah-m-anderson">http://michelestegman.com/thoughts</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_6" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> GENEVIEVE GRAHAM WAS THE WINNER!</div><div class="paragraph_style_5" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_5" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">November 9: Emma Lai Writes </span></div><div class="paragraph_style_5" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> < </span><a href="http://emmalaiwrites.blogspot.com/2011/11/thankfulness-by-sarah-m-anderson-author.html" style="color: #797979;" title="http://emmalaiwrites.blogspot.com/2011/11/thankfulness-by-sarah-m-anderson-author.html">http://emmalaiwrites.blogspot.com/</a><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_5" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> LYNNE HARTZER WAS THE WINNER!</span></div><div class="paragraph_style_6" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_6" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">November 17: Book Pushers </div><div class="paragraph_style_6" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> < <a href="http://thebookpushers.com/2011/11/17/debut-author-feature-sarah-m-anderson-giveaway/" style="color: #797979;" title="http://thebookpushers.com/2011/11/17/debut-author-feature-sarah-m-anderson-giveaway/">http://thebookpushers.com</a>/></div><div class="paragraph_style_6" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> CHRISTINE VANDERFORD WAS THE WINNER!</div><div class="paragraph_style_6" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_6" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">November 27-30<span class="style_5" style="font-size: 11px; vertical-align: 4px;">:</span> Romance at Random </div><div class="paragraph_style_6" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> <<a href="http://www.romanceatrandom.com/romance-and-realism-giveaway/" style="color: #797979;" title="http://www.romanceatrandom.com/romance-and-realism-giveaway/">http://www.romanceatrandom.com/</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_6" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> SHANNON VALENTINE WAS THE WINNER!</div><div class="paragraph_style_6" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">November 28: Ramblings of a Chaotic Mind </div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> < <a href="http://nikkibrandyberry.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/sarah-m-anderson-guest-post-and-giveaway/" style="color: #797979;" title="http://nikkibrandyberry.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/sarah-m-anderson-guest-post-and-giveaway/">http://nikkibrandyberry.wordpress.com/</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> HEATHER MCKENNA WAS THE WINNER!</div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">November 30: Musings from the Slush Pile </div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> < <a href="http://blog.juliealindsey.com/julie-lindsey/writer-wednesday-welcomes-sarah-anderson/" style="color: #797979;" title="http://blog.juliealindsey.com/julie-lindsey/writer-wednesday-welcomes-sarah-anderson/">http://blog.juliealindsey.com</a><span class="style_6" style="text-decoration: underline;">/</span>></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> ASHLEE SWIFT WAS THE WINNER!</div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">November 30: Novel Thoughts</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LsSrqtuNErY/Trkc_qjmM5I/AAAAAAAAJvc/NDBbaXMVzeQ/s1600/lovelocket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LsSrqtuNErY/Trkc_qjmM5I/AAAAAAAAJvc/NDBbaXMVzeQ/s320/lovelocket.jpg" width="276" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still time to enter!!</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> <<a href="http://novelthoughts.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/whats-in-a-title-by-sarah-m-anderson/" style="color: #797979;" title="http://novelthoughts.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/whats-in-a-title-by-sarah-m-anderson/">http://novelthoughts.wordpress.com/</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> IVETTE VIGNAU WAS THE WINNER!!</div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">December 1: Kaki Warner’s Blog</div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><a class="class1" href="http://kakiwarner.wordpress.com/2011/12/01/virgin-no-more-sarah-anderson/" style="color: #797979; text-decoration: none;" title="http://kakiwarner.wordpress.com/2011/12/01/virgin-no-more-sarah-anderson/"> <http: kakiwarner.wordpress.com=""><br /></http:></a></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><a class="class2" href="http://kakiwarner.wordpress.com/2011/12/01/virgin-no-more-sarah-anderson/" style="color: #797979;" title="http://kakiwarner.wordpress.com/2011/12/01/virgin-no-more-sarah-anderson/"></a> MELANIE SAXTON WAS THE WINNER!</div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">December 4: Romancing the Book </div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> < <a href="http://www.romancing-the-book.com/2011/12/playlist-man-of-his-word-by-sarah.html" style="color: #797979;" title="http://www.romancing-the-book.com/2011/12/playlist-man-of-his-word-by-sarah.html">http://www.romancing-the-book.com/</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> DEBORAH R. WAS THE WINNER!</div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">December 5: Musings From the Peanut Gallery</div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"> <<a href="http://musingsfromthepeanutgallery.blogspot.com/2011/12/welcome-sarah-m-anderson.html" style="color: #797979;" title="http://musingsfromthepeanutgallery.blogspot.com/2011/12/welcome-sarah-m-anderson.html"><span class="style_7" style="color: #ff2600; opacity: 1;">http://musingsfromthepeanutgallery.blogspot.com</span>/</a>.</div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"> FEDORA CHEN WAS THE WINNER!</div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 6: Writing Playground </span></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> < </span><a href="http://writingplayground.blogspot.com/2011/12/guest-blogger-sarah-m-anderson.html" style="color: #797979;" title="http://writingplayground.blogspot.com/2011/12/guest-blogger-sarah-m-anderson.html">http://www.writingplayground.blogspot.com</a>/<span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> LORI YOST WAS THE WINNER!</span></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 8: Romance Novel News</span></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> <</span><a class="class3" href="http://www.romancenovelnews.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=464:debut-author-sarah-m-anderson&Itemid=60" style="color: #797979;" title="http://www.romancenovelnews.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=464:debut-author-sarah-m-anderson&Itemid=60">http://www.romancenovelnews.com/joomla/</a><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 8: Get Lost in a Story</span></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> <</span><a href="http://getlostinastory.blogspot.com/2011/12/debut-desire-author-sarah-m-anderson.html" style="color: #797979;" title="http://getlostinastory.blogspot.com/2011/12/debut-desire-author-sarah-m-anderson.html">http://getlostinastory.blogspot.com/</a><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> STACIE.D WAS THE WINNER!</span></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">]</div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">December 11: Joyfully Reviewed: </div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="color: black; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"> <<span class="style_8"> </span><a href="http://www.joyfullyreviewed.com/interviews/author-spotlight-sarah-m-anderson" style="color: #797979;" title="http://www.joyfullyreviewed.com/interviews/author-spotlight-sarah-m-anderson">www.joyfullyreview.com</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">December 13: Sisterhood of the Jaunty Quills </div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"> < <a href="http://jauntyquills.com/2011/12/13/a-hat-tale-by-sarah-m-anderson/" style="color: #797979;" title="http://jauntyquills.com/2011/12/13/a-hat-tale-by-sarah-m-anderson/">http://jauntyquills.com/</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">December 15: Limecello: </div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"> <<a href="http://limecello.wordpress.com/2011/12/15/guest-sarah-m-anderson/" style="color: #797979;" title="http://limecello.wordpress.com/2011/12/15/guest-sarah-m-anderson/">http://limecello.wordpress.com/</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">KIM FROM HAWAII WAS THE WINNER!</div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 21: Romance Bandits </span></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> < </span><a href="http://romancebandits.com/guest-author-sarah-m-anderson/" style="color: #797979;" title="http://romancebandits.com/guest-author-sarah-m-anderson/">http://romancebandits.blogspot.com</a>/<span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-5044471347210141678?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-87079245563253414712011-12-15T10:19:00.000-06:002011-12-15T10:19:33.303-06:00The Home Stretch of the Blog Tour!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8jwgcwe6AsE/TsVVOHu_2OI/AAAAAAAAJwM/n2RT0yhEXRw/s1600/AManofHisWord+Cover+Sarah+Anderson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8jwgcwe6AsE/TsVVOHu_2OI/AAAAAAAAJwM/n2RT0yhEXRw/s1600/AManofHisWord+Cover+Sarah+Anderson.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Man-His-Word-Harlequin-Desire/dp/0373731434/ref=tmm_mmp_title_0" target="_blank">STILL available</a>! Go!</td></tr></tbody></table>Boy, it's been a heck of a ride here in Authorial Mom land--and we aren't done yet!<br /><br />As always, A Man of His Word is available at most of the general -Marts--Wal, K, and more, in addition to being online just about everywhere. You've not only gotten your *own* copy, but several for all of your friends and family, right? Good!<br /><br />I'm at two blogs this week.<br /><br />First, there's still time to comment on my guest blog at the <a href="http://jauntyquills.com/2011/12/13/a-hat-tale-by-sarah-m-anderson/" target="_blank">Jaunty Quills</a>, where I actually put up the photo of me in The Bad Hat. *shudders*<br /><br />Today I'm at <a href="http://limecello.wordpress.com/2011/12/15/guest-sarah-m-anderson/" target="_blank">Limecello's blog</a> talking about the *awesome* Book Release Party I threw myself--complete with Book Cake! You've got to see the photos, so go! Check it out!<br /><br />After today, there's only two stops left on the A Man of His Word Blog Tour--two more chances to win a signed copy, two more opportunities to enter and win the Jewelry Grand Prize!<br /><br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LsSrqtuNErY/Trkc_qjmM5I/AAAAAAAAJvc/NDBbaXMVzeQ/s1600/lovelocket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LsSrqtuNErY/Trkc_qjmM5I/AAAAAAAAJvc/NDBbaXMVzeQ/s320/lovelocket.jpg" width="276" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still time to enter to win!</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 21: Romance Bandits </span></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> < </span><a href="http://romancebandits.blogspot.com/" style="color: #797979;" title="http://romancebandits.blogspot.com">http://romancebandits.blogspot.com</a>/<span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 30: Romance University</span></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> < </span><a href="http://romanceuniversity.org/" style="color: #797979;" title="http://romanceuniversity.org/">http://romanceuniversity.org/</a><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="style_4"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: black; font-family: Times; line-height: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;">After the Blog Tour is over and all prizes have been shipped, I'm going to take January off, read some of the other wonderful books that came out the last two months, and maybe knit a scarf. I'll check in every so often with a guest blogger, though, so don't panic on me.</span></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="style_4"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: black; font-family: Times; line-height: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="style_4"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: black; font-family: Times; line-height: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;">And before you know it, the cover for my July release, A Man of Privilege, will be up, and we'll do this whole crazy thing all over again!</span></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="style_4"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: black; font-family: Times; line-height: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="style_4"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: black; font-family: Times; line-height: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-8707924556325341471?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-87625536185379539762011-12-06T09:34:00.000-06:002011-12-06T09:34:02.551-06:00A Man of His Word is Really, Really OUT!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OywsDpfB2Zo/TsRx2TU8EzI/AAAAAAAAJwA/vFFUAdfVp0A/s1600/AManofHisWord+Cover+Sarah+Anderson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OywsDpfB2Zo/TsRx2TU8EzI/AAAAAAAAJwA/vFFUAdfVp0A/s1600/AManofHisWord+Cover+Sarah+Anderson.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Man-His-Word-Harlequin-Desire/dp/0373731434/ref=tmm_mmp_title_0" target="_blank">Available</a>! For REAL!</td></tr></tbody></table>Today's the day, the very big day! A Man of His Word is officially, totally, undeniably OUT, available EVERYWHERE! Yippeee!<br /><br />And you know what that means, right? That means the Blog Tour just keeps on touring! More prizes! More chances to win! More AWESOMENESS!!<br /><br />Recent blogs you still have time to comment on:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.romancing-the-book.com/2011/12/playlist-man-of-his-word-by-sarah.html" target="_blank">Romancing the Book</a>--all about the music I listen to!<br /><br /><a href="http://musingsfromthepeanutgallery.blogspot.com/2011/12/welcome-sarah-m-anderson.html" target="_blank">Jen's Peanut Gallery Musings</a>--an interview with moi!<br /><br /><a href="http://kakiwarner.wordpress.com/2011/12/01/virgin-no-more-sarah-anderson/" target="_blank">Kaki Warner's Blog</a>--entitled Virgins No More (does it mean what you think it means? You'll have to read to find out!)<br /><br />Today I'm at the <a href="http://writingplayground.blogspot.com/2011/12/guest-blogger-sarah-m-anderson.html" target="_blank">Writing Playground</a>, talking about the longest, weirdest books I've read (and when I read them).<br /><br /><br />Be sure to check out <a href="http://www.whig.com/story/16176764/hart-quincy-author-has-a-right-to-be-proud-of-harlequin-book" target="_blank">this column</a> about me in my local paper--what happens when a seasoned journalist sits down to read a Harlequin Desire--while his wife watches?<br /><br />I'll be on the air LIVE on WTAD 930 this Thursday, December 8th, at 9:15, talking with Mary Griffith about A Man of His Word.<br /><br />There are two book signings this week. If you're near Quincy, IL, stop by Great Debates this Saturday, December 10 from 10 until 1. It's going to be a party!<br /><br />If you're near St. Louis, MO, stop by the Fenton Barnes & Noble on Sunday, December 11, from 2 to 3. I'll be signing with Jennifer Anderson, so come show your support!<br /><br />The remaining tour dates:<br /><br /><br /><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 8: Romance Novel News</span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> <</span><a class="class1" href="http://www.romancenovelnews.com/joomla/" style="color: #584d4d; text-decoration: none;" title="http://www.romancenovelnews.com/joomla/">http://www.romancenovelnews.com/joomla/</a><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 8: Get Lost in a Story</span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> <</span><a href="http://getlostinastory.blogspot.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://getlostinastory.blogspot.com/">http://getlostinastory.blogspot.com/</a><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 8: Radio Interview, WTAD AM 930 at 9:15</span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> <</span><a class="class2" href="http://www.wtad.com/" style="color: #584d4d; text-decoration: none;" title="http://www.wtad.com/">http://www.wtad.com/</a><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">December 11: Joyfully Reviewed: </div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> <<span class="style_7" style="color: #ff2600; opacity: 1;"> </span><a href="http://www.joyfullyreview.com/%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://www.joyfullyreview.com/" \t "_blank">www.joyfullyreview.com</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">December 13: Sisterhood of the Jaunty Quills </div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> < <a href="http://jauntyquills.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://jauntyquills.com/">http://jauntyquills.com/</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">December 14: Harlequin Open House</div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> <<a href="http://chat.eharlequin.com/flashchat.php#" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://chat.eharlequin.com/flashchat.php#">http://chat.eharlequin.com/flashchat.php#</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">December 15: Limecello: </div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> <<a href="http://limecello.wordpress.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://limecello.wordpress.com/">http://limecello.wordpress.com/</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 21: Romance Bandits </span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> < </span><a href="http://romancebandits.blogspot.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://romancebandits.blogspot.com">http://romancebandits.blogspot.com</a>/<span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 30: Romance University</span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> < </span><a href="http://romanceuniversity.org/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://romanceuniversity.org/">http://romanceuniversity.org/</a><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-8762553618537953976?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-65576643490527567662011-11-29T09:46:00.000-06:002011-11-29T09:46:07.195-06:00A Man of His Word is Out! I Think!<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8jwgcwe6AsE/TsVVOHu_2OI/AAAAAAAAJwM/n2RT0yhEXRw/s1600/AManofHisWord+Cover+Sarah+Anderson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8jwgcwe6AsE/TsVVOHu_2OI/AAAAAAAAJwM/n2RT0yhEXRw/s1600/AManofHisWord+Cover+Sarah+Anderson.jpg" /></a>I think <i>A Man of His Word</i> comes out today. Or maybe not. I can't tell. I thought it came out on Dec. 6th--but then Amazon lists the release date as today, Nov. 29th. But it won't 'deliver' the Kindle version until Dec. 1st.<br /><br />In other words, my book is out! Or not! But maybe soon!! I'm excited!!<br /><br />The blog tour is on-going. Yesterday I was at <a href="http://nikkibrandyberry.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/sarah-m-anderson-guest-post-and-giveaway/">Nikki Brandyberry's blog</a>, today Wendy the Super Librarian has posted an *awesome* review at <a href="http://goodbadandunread.com/2011/11/29/review-a-man-of-his-word-by-sarah-m-anderson/">The Good, The Bad, and the Unread</a>, and tomorrow I'll be all over the map at <a href="http://www.romanceatrandom.com/">Romance at Random</a>, <a href="http://blog.juliealindsey.com/">Musings from the Slush Pile</a>, and <a href="http://novelthoughts.wordpress.com/">Novel Thoughts</a>.<br /><br />Whew! I'm kind of tired just thinking about it!<br /><br />Here's the rest of the remaining schedule--plenty of more chances to win a signed book and register for that necklace!<br /><br /><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">November 30: Musings from the Slush Pile </div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> < <a href="http://blog.juliealindsey.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://blog.juliealindsey.com">http://blog.juliealindsey.com</a><span class="style_6" style="text-decoration: underline;">/</span>></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">November 30: Novel Thoughts</div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LsSrqtuNErY/Trkc_qjmM5I/AAAAAAAAJvc/NDBbaXMVzeQ/s1600/lovelocket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LsSrqtuNErY/Trkc_qjmM5I/AAAAAAAAJvc/NDBbaXMVzeQ/s200/lovelocket.jpg" width="172" /></a> <<a href="http://novelthoughts.wordpress.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://novelthoughts.wordpress.com/">http://novelthoughts.wordpress.com/</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">December 4: Romancing the Book </div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> < <a href="http://www.romancing-the-book.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://www.romancing-the-book.com/">http://www.romancing-the-book.com/</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">December 5: Musings From the Peanut Gallery</div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> <<a href="http://musingsfromthepeanutgallery.blogspot.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://musingsfromthepeanutgallery.blogspot.com/">http://musingsfromthepeanutgallery.blogspot.com/</a>.</div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 6: Writing Playground </span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> < </span><a href="http://www.writingplayground.blogspot.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://www.writingplayground.blogspot.com">http://www.writingplayground.blogspot.com</a>/<span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 8: Romance Novel News</span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> <</span><a class="class1" href="http://www.romancenovelnews.com/joomla/" style="color: #584d4d; text-decoration: none;" title="http://www.romancenovelnews.com/joomla/">http://www.romancenovelnews.com/joomla/</a><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 8: Get Lost in a Story</span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> <</span><a href="http://getlostinastory.blogspot.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://getlostinastory.blogspot.com/">http://getlostinastory.blogspot.com/</a><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 8: Radio Interview, WTAD AM 930 at 9:15</span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> <</span><a class="class2" href="http://www.wtad.com/" style="color: #584d4d; text-decoration: none;" title="http://www.wtad.com/">http://www.wtad.com/</a><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">December 11: Joyfully Reviewed: </div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> <<span class="style_7" style="color: #ff2600; opacity: 1;"> </span><a href="http://www.joyfullyreview.com/%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://www.joyfullyreview.com/" \t "_blank">www.joyfullyreview.com</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n5AwnZ-fuKg/TqcCmCfVwdI/AAAAAAAAJt4/aqBpUTnyzZs/s1600/Photo+on+2011-10-25+at+13.33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n5AwnZ-fuKg/TqcCmCfVwdI/AAAAAAAAJt4/aqBpUTnyzZs/s200/Photo+on+2011-10-25+at+13.33.jpg" width="200" /></a>December 13: Sisterhood of the Jaunty Quills </div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> < <a href="http://jauntyquills.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://jauntyquills.com/">http://jauntyquills.com/</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">December 14: Harlequin Open House</div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> <<a href="http://chat.eharlequin.com/flashchat.php#" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://chat.eharlequin.com/flashchat.php#">http://chat.eharlequin.com/flashchat.php#</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">December 15: Limecello: </div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> <<a href="http://limecello.wordpress.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://limecello.wordpress.com/">http://limecello.wordpress.com/</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 21: Romance Bandits </span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> < </span><a href="http://romancebandits.blogspot.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://romancebandits.blogspot.com">http://romancebandits.blogspot.com</a>/<span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 30: Romance University</span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> < </span><a href="http://romanceuniversity.org/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://romanceuniversity.org/">http://romanceuniversity.org/</a><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">???? Kaki <a href="http://jenandersonauthor.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://jenandersonauthor.com/">Warner</a>’s Blog</div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://kakiwarner.wordpress.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://kakiwarner.wordpress.com/"> <http: kakiwarner.wordpress.com=""><br /></http:></a></div> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-6557664349052756766?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-21663251499371985582011-11-17T07:31:00.000-06:002011-11-17T07:31:15.067-06:00A Blog Tour In Process<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1155312553"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OywsDpfB2Zo/TsRx2TU8EzI/AAAAAAAAJwA/vFFUAdfVp0A/s200/AManofHisWord+Cover+Sarah+Anderson.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Man-His-Word-Harlequin-Desire/dp/0373731434/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1">*Still* Available for Pre-Order!</a></td></tr></tbody></table>Two blog stops down, a whole bunch more to go!<br /><br />Today I'm being interviewed at the <a href="http://thebookpushers.com/">Book Pushers</a>. And you <b>know</b> I'll be giving away a signed copy of <i>A Man of His Word </i>and entering people to win the Jewelry Grand Prize, just like I'm doing at all my blog stops. There'll be a little breather for the Thanksgiving Holiday, but then I'll be back in full force! December is going to be one FUN month!<br /><br /><b>The Remaining Schedule:</b><br /><br /><br /><div class="paragraph_style_6" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">November 27 -30<span class="style_5" style="font-size: 11px; vertical-align: 4px;">:</span> Romance at Random </div><div class="paragraph_style_6" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> <<a href="http://www.romanceatrandom.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://www.romanceatrandom.com/">http://www.romanceatrandom.com/</a>></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LsSrqtuNErY/Trkc_qjmM5I/AAAAAAAAJvc/NDBbaXMVzeQ/s1600/lovelocket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LsSrqtuNErY/Trkc_qjmM5I/AAAAAAAAJvc/NDBbaXMVzeQ/s200/lovelocket.jpg" width="172" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You know you want to win this. <br />Heck, even I want to win it!</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="paragraph_style_6" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">November 28: Ramblings of a Chaotic Mind </div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> < <a href="http://nikkibrandyberry.wordpress.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://nikkibrandyberry.wordpress.com/">http://nikkibrandyberry.wordpress.com/</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">November 30: Musings from the Slush Pile </div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> < <a href="http://blog.juliealindsey.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://blog.juliealindsey.com">http://blog.juliealindsey.com</a><span class="style_6" style="text-decoration: underline;">/</span>></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">December 4: Romancing the Book </div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> < <a href="http://www.romancing-the-book.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://www.romancing-the-book.com/">http://www.romancing-the-book.com/</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 6: Writing Playground </span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> < </span><a href="http://www.writingplayground.blogspot.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://www.writingplayground.blogspot.com">http://www.writingplayground.blogspot.com</a>/<span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 8: Romance Novel News</span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> <</span><a class="class1" href="http://www.romancenovelnews.com/joomla/" style="color: #584d4d; text-decoration: none;" title="http://www.romancenovelnews.com/joomla/">http://www.romancenovelnews.com/joomla/</a><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 8: Get Lost in a Story</span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> <</span><a href="http://getlostinastory.blogspot.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://getlostinastory.blogspot.com/">http://getlostinastory.blogspot.com/</a><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="style_4">*Just Added* December 10: Great Debates Bookstore, Quincy, IL</span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="style_4"> Booksigning, 10 until 1 (free chocolate!)</span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="style_4"><br /></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="style_4"></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="style_4">*Just Added* December 11: Barnes and Noble Bookstore, Fenton, MO</span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="style_4"> Booksigning, 2 until 4 (more free chocolate!)</span></div><br /><br /><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">December 13: Sisterhood of the Jaunty Quills </div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> < <a href="http://jauntyquills.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://jauntyquills.com/">http://jauntyquills.com/</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">December 15: Limecello: </div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> <<a href="http://limecello.wordpress.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://limecello.wordpress.com/">http://limecello.wordpress.com/</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 21: Romance Bandits </span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> < </span><a href="http://romancebandits.blogspot.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://romancebandits.blogspot.com">http://romancebandits.blogspot.com</a>/<span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 30: Romance University</span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> < </span><a href="http://romanceuniversity.org/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://romanceuniversity.org/">http://romanceuniversity.org/</a><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">???? Joyfully Reviewed: </div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> <<span class="style_7" style="color: #ff2600; opacity: 1;"> </span><a href="http://www.joyfullyreview.com/%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://www.joyfullyreview.com/" \t "_blank">www.joyfullyreview.com</a>></div><div><br /></div><div>*Just added* Kaki Warner's Blog</div><div> <<a href="http://kakiwarner.wordpress.com/">http://kakiwarner.wordpress.com/</a>></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-2166325149937198558?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-8473126426490285552011-11-08T06:19:00.001-06:002011-11-08T18:52:37.689-06:00The Blog Tour Begins!<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LsSrqtuNErY/Trkc_qjmM5I/AAAAAAAAJvc/NDBbaXMVzeQ/s1600/lovelocket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LsSrqtuNErY/Trkc_qjmM5I/AAAAAAAAJvc/NDBbaXMVzeQ/s320/lovelocket.jpg" width="276" /></a>Today kicks off the <i>A Man of His Word</i> Blog Tour!<br /><br />I'm at Michele Stegman's blog, <a href="http://michelestegman.com/thoughts">Thoughts from a Writer's Block</a>, giving plenty of advice to anyone writing a novel this month. I do have to make a last-minute road trip today, so I won't be able to respond to comments until this afternoon, but each comment counts for prizes!<br /><br />At each stop along the way, any wonderful person who leaves a comment will not only have a chance to win an autographed copy of <i>A Man of His Word </i>(one per blog stop) but also this FABULOUS custom-made book locket from <a href="http://www.jade-orchid.com/www.jade-orchid.com/Home.html">Artwear by Wanaree</a>! It's worth $185, so be sure to comment at each of the blog stops--each comment is another chance to win!<br /><br />Here's all the stops (for complete rules and regulations, click <a href="http://www.sarahmanderson.com/Sarah_M._Anderson/Contest_and_Blog_Tour.html">here</a>):<br /><br /><br /><div class="paragraph_style_5" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;">November 8: Thoughts from a Writer’s Block</div><div class="paragraph_style_5" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"> <<a href="http://michelestegman.com/thoughts" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://michelestegman.com/thoughts">http://michelestegman.com/thoughts</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_5" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_5" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">November 9: Emma Lai Writes </span></div><div class="paragraph_style_5" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> < </span><a href="http://emmalaiwrites.blogspot.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://emmalaiwrites.blogspot.com/">http://emmalaiwrites.blogspot.com/</a><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_6" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_6" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">November 17: Book Pushers </div><div class="paragraph_style_6" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> < <a href="http://thebookpushers.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://thebookpushers.com">http://thebookpushers.com</a>/></div><div class="paragraph_style_6" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_6" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">November 27 -30<span class="style_5" style="font-size: 11px; vertical-align: 4px;">:</span> Romance at Random </div><div class="paragraph_style_6" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> <<a href="http://www.romanceatrandom.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://www.romanceatrandom.com/">http://www.romanceatrandom.com/</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_6" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">November 28: Ramblings of a Chaotic Mind </div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> < <a href="http://nikkibrandyberry.wordpress.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://nikkibrandyberry.wordpress.com/">http://nikkibrandyberry.wordpress.com/</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">November 30: Musings from the Slush Pile </div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> < <a href="http://blog.juliealindsey.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://blog.juliealindsey.com">http://blog.juliealindsey.com</a><span class="style_6" style="text-decoration: underline;">/</span>></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">December 4: Romancing the Book </div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> < <a href="http://www.romancing-the-book.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://www.romancing-the-book.com/">http://www.romancing-the-book.com/</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 6: Writing Playground </span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> < </span><a href="http://www.writingplayground.blogspot.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://www.writingplayground.blogspot.com">http://www.writingplayground.blogspot.com</a>/<span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 8: Romance Novel News</span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> <</span><a class="class1" href="http://www.romancenovelnews.com/joomla/" style="color: #584d4d; text-decoration: none;" title="http://www.romancenovelnews.com/joomla/">http://www.romancenovelnews.com/joomla/</a><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 8: Get Lost in a Story</span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> <</span><a href="http://getlostinastory.blogspot.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://getlostinastory.blogspot.com/">http://getlostinastory.blogspot.com/</a><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">December 13: Sisterhood of the Jaunty Quills </div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> < <a href="http://jauntyquills.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://jauntyquills.com/">http://jauntyquills.com/</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">December 15: Limecello: </div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> <<a href="http://limecello.wordpress.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://limecello.wordpress.com/">http://limecello.wordpress.com/</a>></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 21: Romance Bandits </span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> < </span><a href="http://romancebandits.blogspot.com/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://romancebandits.blogspot.com">http://romancebandits.blogspot.com</a>/<span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">December 30: Romance University</span></div><div class="paragraph_style_8" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;"> < </span><a href="http://romanceuniversity.org/" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://romanceuniversity.org/">http://romanceuniversity.org/</a><span class="style_4" style="text-decoration: none;">></span></div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /></div><div class="paragraph_style_7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; color: #411f38; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">???? Joyfully Reviewed: </div><div class="paragraph_style_9" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; background-color: white; font-family: Times-Roman, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px; margin-right: 36px; opacity: 1; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> <<span class="style_7" style="color: #ff2600; opacity: 1;"> </span><a href="http://www.joyfullyreview.com/%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank" style="color: #584d4d;" title="http://www.joyfullyreview.com/" \t "_blank">www.joyfullyreview.com</a>></div><br /><br /><br />GOOD LUCK!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-847312642649028555?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-71997481733505882242011-11-01T09:58:00.000-05:002011-11-01T09:58:57.652-05:00Jake the Three-Legged Wonder Wiener, 2002 to 2011Jake the Three-Legged Wonder Wiener died this morning. He'd stopped eating some time ago, but fought the good fight as long as he could. We think he was 9 1/2.<br /><br />I told Jake's <a href="http://authorialmom.blogspot.com/2008/09/three-legged-wonder-wiener.html">story</a> a few years ago, but I'm going to repost it here. He was a special dog who danced with death more than once and walked (hopped?) away, but it was his time. We gave him the best life we could, and his memory will always be with us. I added some pictures at the end.<br /><br />So here's the story of Jake, and just remember that all dogs go to heaven. I know he's there now. Maybe with all four of his legs back, who knows.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>The Three-Legged Wonder Wiener</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />So, I gathered from everyone's responses last week that the How I Met My Hubby story went over real well. Darn it all, I hate it when my sister Leah is so right all the time.<br /><br />But I thought I'd keep the quirky story thing going this week by talking about my dog, Jake.<br /><br />Jake the Three Legged Wonder Wiener.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/SMkZyI7G9wI/AAAAAAAAAkY/iicc_uSugpI/s1600-h/Jake+sitting.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244751590229210882" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/SMkZyI7G9wI/AAAAAAAAAkY/iicc_uSugpI/s320/Jake+sitting.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;" /></a><br /><br />That's right. Three legs.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/SMkalJvD9lI/AAAAAAAAAkg/glzMJcaj28Q/s1600-h/Scooby7+(2).JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244752466620446290" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/SMkalJvD9lI/AAAAAAAAAkg/glzMJcaj28Q/s320/Scooby7+(2).JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;" /></a><br /><br />This is Jake's story. Everyone has one, even the dog.<br /><br />So Jason and I had gotten married and bought a house. And you know what that means for young professionals on the fence about starting a family right away - yup. A dog.<br /><br />I grew up with wiener dogs and wanted to get one. Jason didn't care a whole lot one way or the other, but he wanted veto power. My mom's wieners were a handful back in the day (known as the terrorists from the family we adopted them from) and Jason didn't want to be sued by people who'd had their ankles broken by a tiny dog with an size complex. And being a frugal bleeding heart liberal, I didn't want to pay $500 for a purebred when there were plenty of perfectly good dogs in shelters.<br /><br />Thus, the quest for a dog began. We lived in Chicago, which had a dedicated dachshund rescue organization. But for every wiener profile I brought home, Jason found problems. Not good with kids (pretty common for wieners). Antisocial. Kills bunnies in the yard. (Although, Jason fondly thinks of Red Fred, the dog who killed bunnies, when Jake sits 10 feet from a bunny and has no idea it's even there. What he wouldn't give for a bunny hunter these days.) Every dog was not right for our family.<br /><br />So I broadened the scope of the search. Wisconsin wiener dogs. Indiana wiener dogs. Missouri wiener dogs. And Jason found problems with each and every one.<br /><br />I kept searching. I enlisted the help of my sister Hannah. Hannah has the unique gift to find the most pitiful animal available and fall in love. So she started trolling Petfinder.com, where she'd gotten her high-strung cat, Dulcie (Love you, Dulc!). And I got an email from her. "He's so cute!" she gushed. So I clicked on the link, and saw a cute little red wiener dog.<br /><br />With no left front leg.<br /><br />"He's missing a leg!" I wrote back.<br /><br />"But he's so cute!" she repeated.<br /><br />So I printed Jake off and took him home to show Jason. And the man went, (and I quote), "Awww."<br /><br />Problem was, Jake was in Tennessee, and this was December. So I contacted Jake's keepers, <a href="http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/TN62.html">Jerry's Rescues</a>, and they agreed to hold him until April (our vacation) if we paid $125 to cover the two for one cost of leg amputation and neutering. Oh, and we had to have a home visit to make sure we were appropriate people for a wiener dog.<br /><br />Jason still rolls his eyes at that. We had to be interviewed by other wiener dog lovers to make sure we we're some sort of deviant wiener dog fanatics. Although he did make them cookies. . . I love that man.<br /><br />Anyway.<br /><br />Vacation time approached. We planned our vacation around a trip to Tennessee. A few days in Nashville, then on to Lewisburg where Jake was at. We ate pralines and saw Little Jimmy Dickens do his thing at the Grand Ole Opry. And then we left the touristy parts behind and headed for the hills.<br /><br />Literally. Lewisburg is a small burg, famous only for the Tennessee Walking Horse Hall of Fame, which is an actual Hall between the lobby of the National Tennessee Walking Horse Association building and the secretary's office. A hallway with pictures.<br /><br />And we had a few more hours to kill. We spent them in the Piggly Wiggly. And then we drove out to The Middle of Nowhere.<br /><br />Cue freaky banjos playing ominously in the background.<br /><br />Jerry's house was way out in the hills, several miles from paved roads. No one but about 100 dogs were home when we got there, and they were all barking. Jerry apparently subscribes to the never-throw-stuff-away philosophy, popularized during the Great Depression, because there was stuff everywhere.<br /><br />The banjos got a little louder.<br /><br />We waited for an hour in our little car, rain pouring (of course rain was pouring). Finally, Jerry showed up. Picture Grizzly Adams holding a chihuahua, because that's what he was.<br /><br />"I'll go get that Jake for you," he said after we exchanged nervous pleasantries. "You don't wanna come in the house . . ."<br /><br />Somehow, I figured. I didn't even want to imagine the carpet stains.<br /><br />So he directed us to what looked like an outhouse with a shower curtain. "You stay here, out of the rain."<br /><br />I swear to all that is holy, there was a chainsaw in there. I knew we were agonna die, all for a three legged wiener dog.<br /><br />But we didn't. Jerry came out with a mildly nervous 12 pound wiener dog and told us the story.<br /><br />A church secretary had found him tearing into the garbage behind the church, his leg dangling useless. He was on the verge of starving. She kept him for the day, but then took him to the city pound. Now, I'm not saying the pound people are heartless, but they have a job to do, and a mangled, half-starved wiener is not high on that to-do list. He was going to be put down that night because he was in bad shape.<br /><br />Enter Jerry. "I stop by the pound every night to see if there's someone who needs savin'" he explained as I only mildly quaked in terror in the shed with the chainsaw. "And, boy, did this one need savin'. Figure he only had another 15 minutes on that clock." As you might have gathered, Jerry is one big softy beneath that Grizzly exterior.<br /><br />Yup. 15 minutes. That close.<br /><br />Jerry's vet took off the leg - "jes' a dangling by a tendon," Jerry explained as my stomach turned - and tossed in the neutering, and three days later, put Jake's picture on the web. Hannah found him two days after that.<br /><br />It seems that Jerry had found Jake's original people, but they didn't want him back. I'm not sure if they dumped him at the side of the road, or if he ran off after the UPS truck (because let me tell you, he's got it out for the UPS guy, bigtime), but he'd been hit by a car.<br /><br />I like to tell the kids who say, "Hey! Did you know your dog's missing a leg?" that he forgot to look both ways before he crossed the street. For the younger ones, I toss in how he forgot to hold his mommy's hand.<br /><br />Jason likes to respond by gasping dramatically and saying, "He is?? OH NO! Where'd it GO!" But he's funny like that.<br /><br />Every year, we send Jerry's Rescues a Christmas Card and a check for saving our dog. They're good people doing good work.<br /><br />Now some of you might think I have a predilection for those who might be termed "special." But it's not just me. My sisters have dogs (and a cat) that all belong on a far shorter bus than Jake does, but we love them anyway. And just because he's special doesn't mean he doesn't get tortured. Just look at the things I have done to my poor dog.<br /><br />He drives.<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/SMkvImzGfTI/AAAAAAAAAko/BiRPdmdV4Zw/s1600-h/Jake+Driving.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244775065949994290" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/SMkvImzGfTI/AAAAAAAAAko/BiRPdmdV4Zw/s320/Jake+Driving.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;" /></a><br /><br />I love his ears. The toddler does, too.<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/SMkvJLVnYbI/AAAAAAAAAkw/lmgCUg834wo/s1600-h/Ears+(2).JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244775075758432690" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/SMkvJLVnYbI/AAAAAAAAAkw/lmgCUg834wo/s320/Ears+(2).JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;" /></a><br /><br />His ears get cold in the winter. I tried to keep them warmer. He hates it.<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/SMkwi-KVJxI/AAAAAAAAAk4/vm855nK7YPY/s1600-h/GrnSausage2+(2).JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244776618409666322" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/SMkwi-KVJxI/AAAAAAAAAk4/vm855nK7YPY/s320/GrnSausage2+(2).JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;" /></a><br /><br />And this is my favorite picture of my dog. 12 inches of snow can be pretty daunting for a pup who's only 8 inches tall.<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/SMkwjBWNUGI/AAAAAAAAAlA/8JZoR4AT1Vs/s1600-h/weiner+wonderland+(2).JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244776619264790626" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/SMkwjBWNUGI/AAAAAAAAAlA/8JZoR4AT1Vs/s320/weiner+wonderland+(2).JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;" /></a><br /><br />We love Jake. My son calls him "Jakey Wiener Dog" and will stop mid-stride to hug and kiss him. Jake's pretty okay with the kid, too, if only as a primary food source.<br /><br />But there was one time he almost didn't make it. And this just drove home the fact that Jake was lucky to have us.<br /><br />Being purebreds, wiener dogs are suseptible to a variety of genetic flaws. They have a lot of back problems, what with being long and low. And we accepted that Jake's problems might be worse after the accident and missing leg thing.<br /><br />And true to form, he slipped two disks. Couldn't walk, couldn't stand, couldn't even pee. I was 3 months pregnant and not exactly rational, but I refused to let them kill my dog. He'd come so far, I just couldn't do it.<br /><br />So we plunked down the $3,000+ smackers to have that dog fixed. So much for vacation that year. And you know you're screwed when the surgical center has a 10,000 aquarium tank and marble countertops.<br /><br />But they fixed my dog. And left him with another scar.<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/SMkzrTyQPWI/AAAAAAAAAlI/MPBD6aY86ec/s1600-h/Jake%27s+scar.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244780060188097890" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/SMkzrTyQPWI/AAAAAAAAAlI/MPBD6aY86ec/s320/Jake%27s+scar.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;" /></a><br /><br />Jake's probably about six, maybe seven now. He's mellowed as he's aged, unless someone rings the doorbell or the UPS guy drives by. (Nothing beats the UPS guy ringing the doorbell, in Jake's opinion.) I don't know how much time he's got left. Maybe he'll live to be 10, maybe 13. But I knew that going in - his time was shorter than a puppy's might have been.<br /><br />But that's okay. Because he will have spent that time with us.<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/SMk3GNVuyCI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/y_XT2ToAPjo/s1600-h/Jake+and+Sal.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244783820849203234" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/SMk3GNVuyCI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/y_XT2ToAPjo/s320/Jake+and+Sal.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I74fK9a_hK8/S8oeTyXmxtI/AAAAAAAAFuk/HuyoCRry1MI/s1600/100_4507.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I74fK9a_hK8/S8oeTyXmxtI/AAAAAAAAFuk/HuyoCRry1MI/s320/100_4507.JPG" width="296" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">First Place, Wiener Dog Races, 2010</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8ZooAI4vC5o/TXZWEkfQU_I/AAAAAAAAJqQ/DYlGY3-ReTk/s1600/100_1172.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8ZooAI4vC5o/TXZWEkfQU_I/AAAAAAAAJqQ/DYlGY3-ReTk/s320/100_1172.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Yin and Yang of Dogs with his buddy, Gater.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bsz7VRQeHkM/TAcMX1lFy6I/AAAAAAAAJsA/GZGEw8QZlfI/s1600/100_0063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bsz7VRQeHkM/TAcMX1lFy6I/AAAAAAAAJsA/GZGEw8QZlfI/s320/100_0063.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">His supermodel pose.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MjUprbEJgeQ/TrAHXl6_4PI/AAAAAAAAJvQ/49PCfpKPTVU/s1600/100_1653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MjUprbEJgeQ/TrAHXl6_4PI/AAAAAAAAJvQ/49PCfpKPTVU/s400/100_1653.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><br />Jake the Three-Legged Wonder Wiener<br />2002 to 2011<br /><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-7199748173350588224?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-69504212076206840572011-10-25T09:00:00.000-05:002011-10-25T09:00:50.812-05:00Contest on GoodreadsAre you on Goodreads? Want to get an early jump on winning a free copy of <i>A Man of His Word</i>?<br /><br /><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51keQmHCIcL._SS500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51keQmHCIcL._SS500_.jpg" width="320" /></a>Well, you're in luck! Starting October 29th, I'll be giving away five copies of <i>A Man of His Word </i>on Goodreads! How easy is it to sign up? Super easy! Just go to the <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/15415-a-man-of-his-word">here</a> and follow the instructions! The winners will be announced via Goodreads on Nov. 29th.<br /><br />Not on Goodreads? Still want to win a free book? I've got you covered. Follow along at home with the <i>A Man of His Word </i>Blog Tour! Check out this <a href="http://www.sarahmanderson.com/Sarah_M._Anderson/Contest_and_Blog_Tour.html">page</a> on my website to find out where I'll be blogging between now and the New Year. At each stop, I'll be giving away an autographed copy.<br /><br />PLUS!<br /><br />Oh, you're going to love the 'plus.' The 'plus' is a custom-made book locket from <a href="http://www.jade-orchid.com/www.jade-orchid.com/Home.html">Artwear by Wanaree</a>. She's still working on the locket--did I mention that it was custom-made?--but you can check out her page to see some of her beautiful, wearable art. More tour dates could be added so be sure to check in.<br /><br />Free books! Free jewelry! Woohoo!<br /><br />Of course, if you don't want to wait for me to get to the post office, you can order your very own copy at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Man-His-Word-Harlequin-Desire/dp/0373731434/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1">Amazon</a> or <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-man-of-his-word-sarah-m-anderson/1103858071?ean=9780373731435&itm=14&usri=sarah%2bm%2banderson">Barnes and Noble</a>. That's fine, too.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-6950421207620684057?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-44307164296132365412011-10-18T09:14:00.000-05:002011-10-18T09:14:30.286-05:00The Official Book SigningMark your calendars! Save the date! Book your hotel rooms early, they'll fill up fast! (Or not. But better safe than sorry.)<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51keQmHCIcL._SS500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51keQmHCIcL._SS500_.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almost here!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Yes, the official book release and signing for <i>A Man of His Word</i> has been scheduled!<br /><br />On December 6th, <i>A Man of His Word</i> comes out! True, Amazon starts shipping it on November 29th, and if you can't wait until December, you can go <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Man-His-Word-Harlequin-Desire/dp/0373731434/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1">here</a> and preorder it now to be the first to get it. Go on, I'll wait. I'm patient like that.<br /><br />But if you are patient or you just have to have an autographed copy, head to <a href="http://www.greatdebatebooks.com/">Great Debates Books</a> in Quincy, Illinois on December 10th. I'll be there from 10 until 1 (central standard time, people!) signing books and handing out chocolate. I'll also be registering people for my grand-prize giveaway, a custom book locket from <a href="http://www.jade-orchid.com/www.jade-orchid.com/Home.html">Artware by Wanaree</a>. As soon as I have a picture of this stunning piece, I'll have it plastered everywhere!<br /><br />So mark your calendars now! December 10th, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (I had to add that part to make my husband happy). Hope to see you there!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;">P.S. Here's the book trailer again, because I can't get enough of the shirtless cowboy. If only there was a way to get him to the booksigning...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Lyy78ZCdJeI/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Lyy78ZCdJeI?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Lyy78ZCdJeI?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-4430716429613236541?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-56517782273620685372011-10-10T08:21:00.000-05:002011-10-10T08:21:40.018-05:00Wallpapering!I know that there's been a lot of Authorial to discuss recently, and trust me, there's going to be a ton more Authorial coming your way in the next few months. But I don't want you to thing that I'm not doing a whole bunch of Mom stuff. Because I am. Boy, am I. Observe:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9t-hwTZSpms/TojdXXL3jcI/AAAAAAAAJtY/nvjELf7lbBY/s1600/100_1597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9t-hwTZSpms/TojdXXL3jcI/AAAAAAAAJtY/nvjELf7lbBY/s320/100_1597.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tdZ61LDsbgs/TojdYZB7tRI/AAAAAAAAJtc/qZrYTN217mY/s1600/100_1598.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tdZ61LDsbgs/TojdYZB7tRI/AAAAAAAAJtc/qZrYTN217mY/s320/100_1598.JPG" width="320" /></a><br /><br />This is our entry way, or, if you're feeling 'fancy,' our foyer. Note the run-of-the-mill cream-colored walls. Boring! (Not the woodwork, though. The woodwork is anything but dull and one of the reasons we bought the house!) (Butternut, for all you wood fans out there.)<br /><br />So, I've lived with the vanilla (literally!) walls for six years. But I bought wallpaper to cover them two years ago. It was my Valentine's Day present. Next time I get wallpaper for a gift, you can bet your bottom dollar that I'm going to get some installation to go with it.<br /><br />Okay, no need to dwell on wallpaper that sat unseen under a bed for multiple years of my life. The important thing here is that we hung it, and now the end result is fabulous!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PEOMmVljMYU/TojdjnDL8cI/AAAAAAAAJts/tryvoVUX71Q/s1600/100_1603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PEOMmVljMYU/TojdjnDL8cI/AAAAAAAAJts/tryvoVUX71Q/s320/100_1603.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />Because I'm what you call 'OCD' and my husband is what you call 'legally blind,' I was in charge of the detail cutting and trimming. I wield a mean utility knife, let me tell you.Yes, I'm on a ladder in this picture. I'm tall, but I'm not THAT tall.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The end result?<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8YEeR40Imbw/TojdanDgRMI/AAAAAAAAJtk/Jmu7FZmqt4k/s1600/100_1600.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8YEeR40Imbw/TojdanDgRMI/AAAAAAAAJtk/Jmu7FZmqt4k/s320/100_1600.JPG" width="240" /></a></div> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T2siLfYzww8/Tojdbpx7FdI/AAAAAAAAJto/Qy3J-s46oP0/s1600/100_1601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T2siLfYzww8/Tojdbpx7FdI/AAAAAAAAJto/Qy3J-s46oP0/s320/100_1601.JPG" width="320" /></a><br /><br />So much more formal and classy, although I'm fully aware that wallpaper may be one of the most subjective things out there, but I like it, and it's my house, so there.<br /><br />BTW, that kind of light is called a pan light, because the body is shaped like a pan (duh!). I knew you'd want to know.<br /><br />Why are we hanging wallpaper? Well, the short answer is that we're weird. The longer answer is that our house is on the <a href="http://www.quincypreserves.org/">Quincy Preserves</a> Behind Closed Doors fall tour this coming Saturday, October 15, from 10 until 4! I'll be handing out some of those 2,000 bookmarks, so stop by and see the wallpaper for yourself!<br /><br />So there you have it. In addition to being published by Harlequin, raising a child that verges on precocious, having my home on a tour, and being a fabulous chef (oh, wait...), I also make time in life to slap some well-aged paper on a wall. It's okay to be jealous. You didn't stab yourself with a utility knife!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-5651778227362068537?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-26926505028156931352011-10-04T09:15:00.000-05:002011-10-04T09:15:27.366-05:00The Call by Jennifer Anderson<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"></span><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 19px; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JWjBxKtodhk/TmjUU89O8OI/AAAAAAAAJos/SOMZ3dZxhV8/s1600/257621_10150220332074324_839654323_7165699_3187218_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JWjBxKtodhk/TmjUU89O8OI/AAAAAAAAJos/SOMZ3dZxhV8/s320/257621_10150220332074324_839654323_7165699_3187218_o.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Author Jennifer Anderson<br />(No relation!)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 19px;">Authorial Mom Sarah here. Please help me welcome Honorary Authorial Mom Jennifer Anderson back to the blog! Today she tells us how she got "The Call." Take it away, Jennifer!</div><div style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 19px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 19px;">About two to three weeks before the Lori Foster Author Reader Get Together in Ohio in June of 2011 (which is a totally awesome get together--I recommend!), I had decided to attend and meet some friends whom I'd actually never met before. We'd connected on Twitter and hit it off immediately. <a href="http://blog.juliealindsey.com/">Julie Lindsey</a> was actually the one to tell me about Honey Creek and <a href="http://www.turquoisemorningpress.com/">Turquoise Morning Press</a> (TMP).</div><div style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 19px;"><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;">So I drove 5 1/2 hours by myself to Ohio. I've never driven anywhere that long alone. I got there and meet Lindsy and her fiery cousin, Nikki Brandyberry, who has a book review <a href="http://nikkibrandyberry.wordpress.com/">blog</a> and we hit it off. (I actually wrote a blog about us meeting called "It all started with 2 Long Island Iced Teas, a Rum and Diet Coke, and a glass of wine."). </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;">I wasn't able to schedule any appointments since I'd waited to confirm I was attending. Instead, I decided to attend an open meeting/class that TMP was putting on where they talked about the company, their mission, and what new product lines they were working on. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;">During the meeting, I raised my hand and asked how long should someone wait after they've submitted to them and was told they hadn't yet decided and were meeting soon. Kim Jacobs, the TMP President, asked my name. I sheepishly told her and she said "See me after this meeting." Around the room everyones eyes were big and round with smiles plastered across my face. Yeah, me too! </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;">So when I found her she said that she was 99% sure they were offering me a contract this week but the person who was in charge had been on vacation the prior week. Without thinking, I leaned into her and hugged her. Yes, I hugged a complete stranger. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 19px;">And she was like, "Oh, my God, is this your first time!" and I bit back tears and shook my head. But I didn't want to get my hopes up because what if there was another Jennifer Anderson or a Jennifer Menderson?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bbHtyiC-y5g/TnywUpRaGWI/AAAAAAAAADU/sRk5ql4Aypc/s1600/Men+200.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bbHtyiC-y5g/TnywUpRaGWI/AAAAAAAAADU/sRk5ql4Aypc/s1600/Men+200.bmp" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;">I still made my calls home and jumped up and down and basically cried myself silly in a corner while I told my husband. Needless to say, two days later after I'd safely returned home I received a contract for <i>Ice Princess</i>. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;">Before <i>Ice Princess</i> comes out, I'll have a story in <i>Men in Uniform</i>, a TMP anthology that will be available on November 21st. You can read more about it on my blog, <a href="http://musingsfromthepeanutgallery.blogspot.com/">Jen's Peanut Gallery Musings</a>.</span></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-2692650502815693135?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-72394161920170494032011-09-28T07:24:00.000-05:002011-09-28T07:24:30.064-05:00Blogging at the Pink Hearts!This week's blog is over at the <a href="http://pinkheartsociety.blogspot.com/">Pink Hearts Society</a>, where I'm talking all about my twisty, turny path to publication. Stop by and say hello!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-7239416192017049403?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-693177501815377832011-09-19T20:33:00.001-05:002011-09-19T20:47:43.870-05:00What is a Book Trailer?This is the question my grandmother (Age: 96 1/2) has been asking me. I seriously think she thinks it's a trailer I attach to my book. So this blog is for you, Gram. Even though you'll never figure out how to read it.<br /><br />What is a book trailer? It's just like a preview for a movie--except it's for a book. Unless Lifetime snatches up the movie rights, this is as close as I'm ever going to get to seeing my work on a big or small screen.<br /><br />How did I get a book trailer? Well, I won it. Last year, when <i>A Man of His Word</i> was known as <i>Indian Princess</i>, it not only won its category in the <a href="http://www.valleyofthesunrw.com/hot-prospects-contest/">Hot Prospect</a> contest, it won the Grand Prize! As it, it was judged the best book in the contest. Yes, I'm still excited about it!<br /><br />For my reward, I could choose some cold, hard cash--or an all-included book trailer from Belle Media that was worth twice as much as the cash. The money was tempting (all the better to buy boots with), but I thought a book trailer would have more brand-name value.<br /><br />I had a year to redeem my prize. Good thing, too, because a book trailer without the book's cover isn't nearly as cool as one with the cover. Finally, though, the cover came down the line. It's at the end of the trailer, so make sure you stick around until the end!<br /><br />I was working with Carol Webb of <a href="http://www.bellamediamanagement.com/">Bella Media Management</a>, and she was very understanding of my complete and total cluelessness on the process. For instance, she told me to find some images that I liked. So I went crazy and pulled all sorts of images from iStock. When she sent me the first draft of the video, Dan the Hero was Native American (he's really white), Rosebud was reclining on a motorcycle (no motorcycles in the book), and there were lots of pictures of cows (no cows in the book at all). These were all things I think of when I write--but they weren't this book. So I found better images, sent those to Carol, and she didn't even yell at me once. What a nice lady!<br /><br />After some more back-and-forth, me getting a youtube account, and (finally!) that cover, the book trailer is ready!<br /><br />And the end result (have I dragged this out long enough for you? Yes? Okay!)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://2.gvt0.com/vi/Lyy78ZCdJeI/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Lyy78ZCdJeI&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Lyy78ZCdJeI&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div><br /><br />So, what do you think? Did it make you want to buy a book? Did it at least make you smile? I sure did. If you want to pre-order the book, go <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Man-His-Word-Harlequin-Desire/dp/0373731434/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1">here</a>!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-69317750181537783?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-32304695708629614062011-09-08T09:45:00.001-05:002011-09-08T09:47:26.433-05:00Authorial Mom Interview with Jennifer Anderson<div class="p1">Authorial Mom Sarah: Welcome to the Authorial Moms blog, Jennifer! Tell us a little about yourself. How many kids do you have? How old are they?</div><div class="p1"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JWjBxKtodhk/TmjUU89O8OI/AAAAAAAAJos/SOMZ3dZxhV8/s1600/257621_10150220332074324_839654323_7165699_3187218_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JWjBxKtodhk/TmjUU89O8OI/AAAAAAAAJos/SOMZ3dZxhV8/s320/257621_10150220332074324_839654323_7165699_3187218_o.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Author Jennifer Anderson <br />(no relation!)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="p2">Jennifer Anderson: Hello *waves*. I am so nervous. Does my hair look okay? First off, Sarah, do you think we should shine light on the obvious question? Yes, we have the same last name but we are not related. We did go to high school together and we do share a love of Jelly Bellys, but our Anderson branches are on different trees. Anyhow, I have 2 kids: my daughter is almost 10 and my son is 7. Not only am I a full-time mom and writer but I have some how found the time to work full-time as well.</div><div class="p1"><br /></div><div class="p1">AMS: What do you write? How many books have you written/published? How old are they?</div><div class="p1"><br /></div><div class="p2"><span class="s1">JA: I</span> write YA, although I recently wrote a sweet romance which will be featured in an anthology due out this year. My first YA novella, <i>Ice Princess</i>, will be out April 29th as part of the <i>Honey</i> <i>Creek</i> line for Turquoise Morning Press (which is an awesome place to be at!!) and my plan is for the following books in the series to follow sometime next year. I do have 2 full YA Paranormal novels sitting in my computer gathering cobwebs but those will most likely remain untouched. Those were the first things I'd ever written and as much as I love them, they need a lot of work. Who knows, I might dust them off one day.</div><div class="p3"><br /></div><div class="p1">AMS: Tell me about a typical day. How do you write with kids around? Or do you have to ship them off to school or grandparents’ houses to get anything done?</div><div class="p4"><br /></div><div class="p2">JA: Well, since I do work full time and my kids are involved in everything I tend to write after they've gone to bed. Sometimes life cooperates and I'm able to write before the vampires (I love Paranormal!) come out to play but that's not as often as I like. My hubs tries, when we aren't running around everywhere, to give me a few hours here and there, especially now that I've given myself a deadline. However, I always have a pen and pad of paper with me and even last week while sitting at volleyball practice, I outlined the entire 3rd book in my series. You never know when inspiration will strike. It's funny, I planned my entire summer to work from home which I'd hoped would allow me time to write more but one thing lead to another and I found myself on vacation writing everyday trying to at least get 1000 words or so at each sitting.</div><div class="p5"><br /></div><div class="p5">AMS: Did you write before you had kids, or after? What changed with your writing when you had kids?</div><div class="p7"><br /></div><div class="p5">JA: I didn't set out on my life's journey planning to be a writer. Heck, it wasn't even a stop along the way. I've always been a creative person and found I enjoyed journalling and writing letters. To me, they were the best way I could express myself. And then a few years ago, a light bulb turned on and I was like "I want try and write a story". At the time I'd just started at a new company, both my kids were in school/preschool and I'd found my love of YA. So I set pen to paper, literally, and took a side road on my path.</div><div class="p5"><br /></div><div class="p5">AMS: How old will one or more of your children have to be before they’re allowed to read your books?</div><div class="p8"><br /></div><div class="p9">JA: Since my books are YA and I don't mention any sexual scenes, I think once she's in high school, I'll let her. Noticed how I said her? My stories are a bit girlie and I think they appeal to females more, although if my son wants to take a go at it, I won't discourage him. I really think it depends on child and whether they can understand the emotions and are mature enough to know what's going on.</div><div class="p10"><br /></div><div class="p10">AMS: Becoming an author means having a public persona. How do you combine motherhood with the demands of a public life? Do you feature your kids, keep them shielded under pseudonyms, or leave them out of the equation entirely? Have they asserted their opinion(s) on this matter?</div><div class="p8"><br /></div><div class="p9">JA: Great question. So far, my kids think Mom's pretty cool for what she's doing. "You're writing a book? A <i>book</i> book!" And I like that they're proud of me. I want them to see that if you work at something you believe in you can have positive results. As of now, I'm writing under my real name but if I feel like taking a whack at writing romance, I might consider changing. It will really depend on how old the kids are and how comfortable we'll all feel with mommy's name plastered across partially bare bodies on a book cover.</div><div class="p9"><br /></div><div class="p9">AMS: Most Moms I know have a limited amount of free time. Give me a few reasons why they should dedicate some of that time to your characters. What’s in it for us?</div><div class="p8"><br /></div><div class="p9">JA: My characters are real. Sure, they're young and in high school and most of their drama isn't as relevant to most moms day to day life, but we were all there once. And fiction is a great place to escape to unwind and just not think. I'm super busy but I always find time to curl up with a book. I can blow through some in a day or two depending on length. Reading, to me, is a great way to take care of yourself. Grab my book on the way to get a pedi or jump on a stationary bike and flip through a few of my pages. Better yet, grab my book on the way to the beach or the park and discover a new town and new people with drama all their own.</div><div class="p10"><br /></div><div class="p10">AMS: Let’s have a little fun with fill-in-the-blanks. “The floor of my kitchen is so ___ you can ___ it.”</div><div class="p12"><br /></div><div class="p13">JA: The floor of my kitchen is so shiny you can see all the wrinkles and gray hairs my children have given me in it.</div><div class="p13"><br /></div><div class="p13">AMS: What’s up next for you? Where can we find you and your books online?</div><div class="p8"><br /></div><div class="p9">JA: A short, sweet romance I wrote will be out November 2011 by TMP in a Veteran's Anthology available through their website. You can visit <a href="http://www.turquoisemorningpress.com/"><span class="s2">www.turquoisemorningpress.com</span></a> and get more info on all the places you can purchase. January marks the launch of <i>Honey Creek</i> by TMP and my YA will be out April 2011. I don't have the dates of the other 2 books in the series but all info will be available on the TMP website. Come check me out on Twitter at JenniA8677, my blog at <a href="http://musingsfromthepeanutgallery.blogspot.com/"><span class="s2">musingsfromthepeanutgallery.blogspot.com</span></a> and soon they'll be links on the TMP website that will take you to the world of Honey Creek, Ohio. Thanks again for having me on the Authorial Moms blog! It was a blast. Hope to see you all at any upcoming conventions or shows.</div><div class="p8"><br /></div><div class="p9">AMS: Thanks so much, Jennifer, for stopping by! Readers, tune in next month to read about how Jennifer got 'The Call!'</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-3230469570862961406?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-46132706657272379932011-08-23T08:53:00.000-05:002011-08-23T08:53:22.002-05:00Represented by Marsal/Lyon Literary Agents!It's official! The paperwork has been signed, sealed, and delivered. I've joined the Marsal/Lyon Literary Agency, and I'll be working with Jill Marsal!<br /><br />Here's how it went down. I had a partial of my single-title novel, <i>Mystic Cowboy</i>, in with another agency. That agency opened up a self-publishing arm, which is a conflict of interest to an agent's position. This caused a huge dust-up on the Internets (and 'dust-up' is a professional term). So I withdrew my partial. The agent in question offered to discuss my concerns about this publishing venture, so on July 29th--a Friday--we set up a phone call for Tuesday, August 2nd. The agent was very nice, and her answers were okay, but at the end of the conversation, I asked what the status of my partial was. She couldn't recall if I had sent her a partial or a full, what the title of the book was, what it was about, or even when I had sent it. In other words, she hadn't taken the thirty seconds to even call up my email to her.<br /><br />Clearly, this was not the agent for me. I withdrew it a second time.<br /><br />So that was Tuesday, and I began to consider my other options. On Wednesday, August 3rd, an agent I follow on Twitter named Kevan Lyon, posted something. I'm not sure what--the exact words escape me. It was along the lines of her having worked through her backlog, or cleaned out her inbox, or maybe she was open to submissions again. I don't know. I do know that I read that tweet and thought, "Huh. I've heard of Kevan Lyon. Maybe now would be a good time to submit." I checked the <a href="http://www.marsallyonliteraryagency.com/">Marsal/Lyon website</a> and saw that I knew several of their clients. And they only wanted a query letter. I can send query letters in my sleep by now, so Wednesday night, I fired that letter off.<br /><br />Then, because so many things in publishing move so very slowly, I sort of immediately forgot about it. If you have ever asked me to get something out of the freezer so it can defrost for supper, you'll know I'm not kidding when I say it floated from my mind. I could try to make it sound nice by saying I decided not to think about the query for another month or so--most likely, the earliest I would hear back, but the simple truth is, I forgot about it.<br /><br />For a whole 24 hours. Thursday night, The Kid had come down with a fever and went to bed way early. My husband and I enjoyed this bonus adult time by watching a movie while I worked on my new website (which, I promise, is coming soon!). Out of the blue, I get an email from Jill Marsal, which, in its entirety, read:<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #1f497d; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Kevan forwarded your email to me. I would be happy to look at your manuscript. Please include the cover letter below.</span><br /><br />The 'cover letter' was the query letter. I sat there in stunned silence for a moment. Had I just gotten a request for a full--from an agent I hadn't even queried--less than 25 hours after I sent the query letter?<br /><br />Yes. So I fired <i>Mystic Cowboy</i> right back to her, making sure to change the query letter to her name. This time, I didn't actually forget about it. But I promised myself I wouldn't slip into that 'gotta-check-the-email-every-five-seconds' mode of hyper vigilance. Honest!<br /><br />So the next day was Friday, August 5th. The Kid was just sick enough that we got to stay home (there are worse things than sick days on Fridays) but not so sick that he couldn't demand cartoons all day long. So we hung out, watching everything except Spongebob (I detest!) and generally just having a do-nothing day. I worked on that darned website some more. I took a break to eat lunch, came back, turned on the computer, and had a message from Jill asking for my phone number and a good time to talk.<br /><br />I had brought my dessert--a small bowl of jelly beans--back to the computer. I sat there, completely stunned, chewing a Jelly Belly. Seriously? It had been less than 36 hours since I'd queried the agency!<br /><br />I blinked a couple of times, ate a jelly bean, gauged how much time is left in <i>Toy Story 3</i>, and sent her an email with my phone number that says I could talk this afternoon, as I was home with a not-so-sick child, or we could set up a time for next week. I was clearly banking on the next-week option, because I hit send, put another jelly bean in my mouth, and the phone rang.<br /><br />Sheer panic is knowing that you've got to answer the phone in your best professional voice and not only do you have to hope that your kid doesn't start screaming about toys in the garbage incinerator, but you also have to get your upper teeth unstuck from your lower teeth. Also, you *know* deep in your heart that you're supposed to have intelligent, rational questions ready to ask potential agents--and all you can think about is the jelly-bean cement gluing your mouth shut.<br /><br />Ah, the glamorous life of an author.<br /><br />So I manage to get my mouth unstuck and answer the phone before it goes to the machine. Jill and I had a very nice conversation in which she told me she liked <i>Mystic</i> and would like to represent it and I made a borderline fool of myself babbling. I mean, I was so discombobulated that I asked for the number of one of her clients so badly that she said, "Why do you want that?" And I said, "So I can talk to someone and make sure you're a nice person." There was a two second pause, and she said, "So you want a reference?" DUH. YES. I tried to laugh off the fact that I work with words for a living and couldn't do a decent job describing a reference.<br /><br />But Jill is such a nice person that she didn't seem to be scared off by my strangeness or The Kid shouting about toys burning up in the background. She emailed me a reference within minutes, and I had a lovely talk with <a href="http://www.robinperini.com/">Robin Perini</a>, whom I had met at the RWA conference in New York a few weeks earlier, right before she won the Golden Heart (for which you should go and congratulate her!). She told me that Jill replied to emails within hours, that she and Kevan worked as a team, and that Jill was an all-around awesome agent. I followed this up with some other emails, but that all dovetailed with my brief experiences with the agency. Those things, plus someone to help me navigate contracts, are what I need in an agent.<br /><br />So I mailed the contracts that Monday, and yesterday got my signed copy back. It's official, in that warm-and-fuzzy legal sort of way. I'm incredibly excited about this new phase of my career and thrilled that <i>Mystic</i> has another chance to make it to a shelf. Jill has already offered me priceless guidance in the few short weeks we've been working together. Good things are happening!<br /><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-4613270665727237993?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-31530455816052250862011-08-11T12:03:00.000-05:002011-08-11T12:03:02.518-05:00My First Book Signing!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DJHvRiul35c/TkQLInqQbiI/AAAAAAAAJoA/Jd_yWB1rRFA/s1600/Eleanore+Grey_Cover5_5x8_5_BW_300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DJHvRiul35c/TkQLInqQbiI/AAAAAAAAJoA/Jd_yWB1rRFA/s320/Eleanore+Grey_Cover5_5x8_5_BW_300.jpg" width="204" /></a></div>I'm being interviewed over at <a href="http://www.thelocalq.com/blogs/altarts/2011/08/robertson-interview-with-author-sarah-anderson">The Local Q</a> today about the upcoming book signing I'm doing for <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Eleanore-Gray-Goldie-M-Lucas/dp/1463523203/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1">Eleanore Gray</a></i> this weekend at Great Debates Books in Quincy from 10 until 1 on Saturday. In addition to signing <i>Eleanore Gray</i>, I'll be answering any questions about the self-publishing process and how that differs from the 'tradition' publication process, so make plans to stop by!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-3153045581605225086?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-33602005459884056652011-08-04T07:32:00.000-05:002011-08-04T07:32:44.278-05:00Pre-Order A MAN OF HIS WORD!I am in a state of thrilled shock.<br /><br /><i>A Man of His Word</i> is now available for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Man-His-Word-Harlequin-Desire/dp/0373731434/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1">pre-order</a> on Amazon.com!<br /><br />Here's a funny story about Amazon and it's rare and wondrous ranking systems. The moment the pre-order went live, my mother (Hi, Mom!) ordered herself six copies. This jumped me out of no ranking all the way to 42 thousand and some-odd change. But more than that, it put me at the following:<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="zg_hrsr_rank" style="display: inline-block; text-align: right; width: 50px;">#3</span> <span class="zg_hrsr_ladder">in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/best-sellers-books-Amazon/zgbs/books/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_1_1" style="color: #003399; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-decoration: underline;">Books</a> > <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/220084011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_1_2" style="color: #003399; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-decoration: underline;">4-for-3 Books</a> > <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/231843011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_1_3" style="color: #003399; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-decoration: underline;">Romance</a> > <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/232248011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_1_4" style="color: #003399; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-decoration: underline;">Series</a> > <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/232263011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_1_5_last" style="color: #cc6600; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-decoration: none;">Silhouette Desire</a></b></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="zg_hrsr_ladder"><br /></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="zg_hrsr_ladder"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So on a sub-, sub-, sub-, sub-, sub list, I was number three! PARTY AT MY HOUSE!</span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="zg_hrsr_ladder"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="zg_hrsr_ladder"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Then my mother (Hi, Mom!) called my Gram (now 96 and 1/2 years old) and told her about the availablity. Gram told Mom to order her six books (both of these kind women overlooking the fact that I was going to GIVE them books). Mom did as requested.</span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="zg_hrsr_ladder"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="zg_hrsr_ladder"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Suddenly, I jumped up to the mid-39 thousands in rank and--get this:</span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="zg_hrsr_ladder"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="zg_hrsr_rank" style="display: inline-block; text-align: right; width: 50px;">#1</span> <span class="zg_hrsr_ladder">in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/best-sellers-books-Amazon/zgbs/books/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_1_1" style="color: #003399; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-decoration: underline;">Books</a> > <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/220084011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_1_2" style="color: #003399; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-decoration: underline;">4-for-3 Books</a> > <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/231843011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_1_3" style="color: #003399; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-decoration: underline;">Romance</a> > <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/232248011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_1_4" style="color: #003399; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-decoration: underline;">Series</a> > <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/232263011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_1_5_last" style="color: #cc6600; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-decoration: none;">Silhouette Desire</a></b></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="zg_hrsr_ladder"><br /></span></span><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="zg_hrsr_ladder"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For a brief, amazing time in my life, I was ranked higher than Brenda Jackson. (Yes, I expect you to know who she is. Look her up!)</span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="zg_hrsr_ladder"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="zg_hrsr_ladder"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">While it is thrilling to say that I'm #1!, the cold, hard facts are, I sold 12 books. Just 12. Not hundred, not thousand. Twelve lonely little books. To my mommy. And in the bigger scheme of things, I was still 39-thousand-some-odd. </span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="zg_hrsr_ladder"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="zg_hrsr_ladder"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But for those of you who are wondering what makes a best-seller on Amazon, the take-away fact is that unless you're in the top 500 on the Amazon Bestsellers Rank, selling as many as two books will significantly impact your rankings, potentially jumping you from 100,000 up to 30,000. What does that mean? That you sold two books. </span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="zg_hrsr_ladder"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="zg_hrsr_ladder"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So if you're new to this whole Authorial thing, like many of us are, don't let checking the rankings be something that takes you away from writing. The book comes first. Rankings come in at about 312th.</span></span></span><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="zg_hrsr_ladder"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-3360200545988405665?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-33141494442235476052011-07-28T09:21:00.000-05:002011-07-28T09:21:40.237-05:00Websites in ProcessBoy, the Authorial Mom (that would be me, Sarah) has been working hard on updating my website. And by "working hard," I mean I have been scratching my head and feeling lost and confused while other people tell me things I don't understand and then take pity on me and hold my hand to walk me through the process.<br /><br />It's exhausting, I tell you. I mean, what the heck IS an FTP, anyway? I haven't found the person who can tell me in English.<br /><br />Which is why I don't have anything else to say today. Nothing funny, anyway. The Kid has been at my folks' house for a week, depriving me of cute Kid-isms to relate to you. The dogs just flop underneath whatever ceiling fan is going. Nothing funny there.<br /><br />I'm busy working on a book that I'm calling <i>The Lawman and the Judge,</i> which is not going well because the hero, Tom Yellow Bird, has been in two books already being mysterious and unpredictable. Why I expected him to do anything different in his own book, I don't know, but he's being highly mysterious and unpredictable. It's driving me (and a variety of loved ones and trusted friends) absolutely batty.<br /><br />And it's hot.<br /><br />So There.<br /><br />Tune in next week (I hope!) when I will grandly unveil my newly redesigned website!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-3314149444223547605?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-73184378842053718952011-07-19T07:48:00.000-05:002011-07-19T07:48:50.211-05:00Taking the Publishing World by Storm (or at least by a light rain)So the Romance Writers of America annual conference began. Time to get to work!<br /><div><br /></div><div>We eased into this whole business thing by having dinner with my editor, Stacy Boyd, as well as Desire editor Charles Griemsman and Desire author <a href="http://catschield.com/">Cat Schield</a>. I'm going to be honest. After two straight dinners with beverages winding up on my lap, I was worried that some sort of fluid would be spilled on someone. This fear got even stronger when Cat let my child--Chief Spiller--play with her Ipad and the deluxe Angry Birds. I owe that woman. Big Time.</div><div><br /></div><div>But we made it through dinner sans spill, thank God. The next morning was the first official Harlequin event, Digital Day. This is where nice people who know about things like Twitter and stuff tell me what to do. Like join Twitter.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--Qqo8wxkruY/Thux3zbH8PI/AAAAAAAAJkQ/CpTGTfdfhsA/s1600/Digital+Day+Workshop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--Qqo8wxkruY/Thux3zbH8PI/AAAAAAAAJkQ/CpTGTfdfhsA/s320/Digital+Day+Workshop.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /></div><div>This was mere moments before I was informed I had to join Twitter. Notice I'm still smiling. Here. Come follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/SarahMAnderson1">Twitter</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>That evening, I had a truly productive, happy meeting with Stacy. She'd just finished reading the first Bolton book and was enthused. This was thrilling, because most of the time, I have no idea what I'm doing. It's great to know when it's working! So, if everything works according to plan, everyone else will have a crack at those Bolton Boy in 2013, with the two follow-up novels to A Man of His Word coming out in 2012. EXCITING!<br /><br />Actually, let's just take a moment to pause. 'Exciting' is not nearly a strong enough word to sum up the happy fruit of my four years of labor. Let's all take a moment to jump up and down and scream "YIPEEE!" as loud as possible, okay? Because, trust me, that's what I'm doing right now.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then I had Junior's cheesecake with Carolyn and Jennifer of <a href="http://www.romancenovelnews.com/joomla/">Romance Novel News</a>. Two funnier, nicer women I'm not sure I'll ever meet--emphasis on the funnier part there. I'm not sure we're allowed back in Junior's, though.</div><div><br /></div><div>The next day I went to some workshops, listened to some speeches, and wore white pants without anyone--including myself--spilling on them. Then I went to a blogger's tea thrown by Harlequin--hey, I do occasionally review books for RNN!--where the lovely ladies made me wear a fascinator-style headpiece. It was a tea, after all. I met fellow new Desire author <a href="http://www.andrealaurence.com/">Andrea Laurence</a>, which was a very good thing. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FId820d4UgU/Thux2b4jOiI/AAAAAAAAJkI/qRb6qELoZsg/s1600/New+Desire+Authors%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FId820d4UgU/Thux2b4jOiI/AAAAAAAAJkI/qRb6qELoZsg/s320/New+Desire+Authors%2521.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>That's me with Andrea on the left and Cat Schield in the middle (sans fascinators). The new Desire Authors!</div><div><br /></div><div>That night, I went to one of only two chapter events I ever make it to--the Chicago-North RWA champagne party. For reasons that are best described as 'insane,' I took my husband and son. I seriously thought my hubby would have a glass of champagne while The Kid cribbed a few pieces of chocolate--and then they would leave. They were still there an hour later. The chocolate was Lindt, so The Kid looked like a chipmunk. I guess he was adorable enough to be allowed to stay.<br /><br />After we all left, I went up, tucked him into bed, and went to the last party of the night--the Harlequin pyjama party--because Harlequin headquarters are in Canada, and that's how they spell it up there. I wore my fascinator.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KSH3OzourX8/Thux3GOJZbI/AAAAAAAAJkM/U-zWZ9Gs1kE/s1600/Pyjama+Party.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KSH3OzourX8/Thux3GOJZbI/AAAAAAAAJkM/U-zWZ9Gs1kE/s320/Pyjama+Party.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>As you can see, I have a twig on my head. Which was good, because Larissa Walker wore hers, too. Even though Larissa and Amy Wilkins made me join Twitter, they turned out to be a fun bunch of women. I won't even talk about how fun <a href="http://viviennecourtoise.blogspot.com/">Vivienne Courtoise</a> was. I think her bunny glasses say it all.<br /><br />Thursday came and went in a rush. I went to the Harlequin Series Toast--where I drank champagne on a mostly empty stomach--and then, that night was the Harlequin Publisher's Party.<br /><br />It was, in a word, crazy. NOT the kind of crazy where nearly nude male models wear fig-leaf briefs and pretend to be classic statues like David. But it was CLOSE.</div><div><br />Here's the funny story about the party. I didn't feel awesome to begin with--see above about champagne on an empty stomach, followed by a too-heavy dinner. I got crammed into a van with seven other ladies. After bobbing and weaving through the crazy city streets, we get to the Waldorf Astoria. That alone is awesome. I go to pay my share for the ride, and the rest of the van laughs at me. Little did I know that the woman who was in the front seat was Brenda Chin, senior editor of Harlequin Blaze. She paid. I was very thankful as I tried to remember if I had said anything embarrassing on the ride over.<br /><br />Okay, no. Disaster averted. Into the Waldorf! Where I promptly discovered I was not on The List. As in, not going to the party. This is the moment where panic set in. "But I write for Harlequin!" I said in a voice that was not even a little whiny. An Official Person was called over, I handed over my business card, and was shunted to the side.<br /><br />Sheer panic.<br /><br />But then my knight in shining armor--better known as Charles Griemsman, Desire Editor--walked up with USA Today Bestselling Author <a href="http://www.dayleclaire.com/">Day Leclaire</a>. "What are you doing over here?" Charles asked. "I'm not on the list." I swear, the hackles visibly went up on Charles' neck. "You're not on the list? Oh, we will see about that!"<br /><br />Luckily, before Charles could go all velociraptor on someone, the Official Person said I could go in. I was given my pair of socks and the green light.<br /><br />Yes. Socks. With Harlequin embroidered on them. Before I could grasp that, I found myself standing with Day and Charles in front of a Harlequin backdrop with the world's Grumpiest Old Man Paparrazi. "They tell me 300, and now they say 500. It's elder abuse, I tell you--Elder Abuse. Now <b>smile</b>!" Trust me--smiling was the only option at that point.<br /><br />So I go in, carrying my socks.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MlHabLNTOjE/Thux4ZUR6HI/AAAAAAAAJkU/nNtrMBGul8o/s1600/Harlequin+Party.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MlHabLNTOjE/Thux4ZUR6HI/AAAAAAAAJkU/nNtrMBGul8o/s320/Harlequin+Party.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a><br />So, it turned out that you need socks because everyone--and I mean EVERYONE--dances. No exception. They fly in the same DJ every year, and he plays the same set list to open. Editors, publishers, NYT Best-Selling Authors--they all take their shoes off and dance. Every single person.<br /><br />So I danced. I wandered past the custom-made cupcake and ice cream bars. I drank Shirley Temples at the open bar. I yawned while boogieing. Finally, after 2 1/2 hours, I had to go to sleep.<br /><br />So I wander down to the street, plaintively asking if anyone wants to share a cab ride back to the conference hotel. Three nice ladies say sure, and ask me what I write. We chitchat back to the hotel, and I get out my money to pay my part. All three women kind of laugh at me. "Honey," the tall one says, "You're in a cab with three editors from the Toronto office."<br /><br />Oh. I was very thankful as I tried to remember if I had said anything embarrassing on the ride over. No, I think. So good to go there. But thus, the major money-saving trip: Always catch rides with editors. They put cab fare on the company tab.<br /><br />Friday was also good. I slept in past the first session--Shirley Temples take a lot out of a girl!--but made it to the session I was moderating, "How to Make Yourself Irresistible to Editors." An editor wound up requesting a partial of Mystic Cowboy after that. And thus, my business trip was complete. Mission Accomplished!<br /><br />So while I didn't necessarily take the Publishing World by Storm, I did manage to take it by a Light Rain. Many thanks go out to Andrea, Cat, Charles, Stacy, Day, <a href="http://www.blythegifford.com/">Blythe</a> Gifford, <a href="http://rafinley.blogspot.com/">Rebecca</a> Finley, and everyone else who helped make my trip insanely productive and fun!</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-7318437884205371895?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-56129585005959972092011-07-12T09:28:00.000-05:002011-07-12T09:28:58.019-05:00New York, New York! (Part 2)So, we made it to New York (after passing through Newark). The RWA annual conference didn't start for three days. You know what that meant, right? VACATION, baby!<br /><br />(Luckily for you, I got my pictures off my camera!)<br /><br />Here's the trick to travelling in a large city with a small child: Plan your trip around things said child has seen in movies. Hence, the first tourist thing we did was have dinner at Sardi's, because Kermit goes there in <i>The Muppets Take Manhattan</i>. I gave The Kid the camera while we were waiting for our tasty food:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tdRT7Quz1m8/ThuKRqTJjlI/AAAAAAAAJiI/k7Bu5fKHY64/s1600/100_1482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tdRT7Quz1m8/ThuKRqTJjlI/AAAAAAAAJiI/k7Bu5fKHY64/s400/100_1482.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Every place I've ever given that Kid a camera, and the first thing he takes a picture of is the carpeting.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4LXFnlrEONg/ThuKT14yf2I/AAAAAAAAJiQ/DcemVXiuvlA/s1600/100_1484.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4LXFnlrEONg/ThuKT14yf2I/AAAAAAAAJiQ/DcemVXiuvlA/s400/100_1484.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here he wanted to remember not the people, but the wall of glasses. "Cool!"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BcY3iTucwpY/ThuKVD4CrtI/AAAAAAAAJiU/HRi9b9lJifE/s1600/100_1485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BcY3iTucwpY/ThuKVD4CrtI/AAAAAAAAJiU/HRi9b9lJifE/s400/100_1485.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And a close of up a glass. Because everything's better when you're on vacation!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Dinner was wonderful, except when The Kid dropped his glass of milk on my brand-new, never-before-worn, first-pair-since-before-he-was-born white jeans. Luckily for everyone involved, it was white milk.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then, once my pants were dry, we went to see the Lion King.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pIQuyj6Tkhs/ThuKYWmeaqI/AAAAAAAAJig/xKRxJKd-Vq8/s1600/100_1494.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pIQuyj6Tkhs/ThuKYWmeaqI/AAAAAAAAJig/xKRxJKd-Vq8/s400/100_1494.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Trust me, I've broken my long-standing rule about putting The Kid's face on this blog. He's there. You just can't see him.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The show was great, but it had been such a long day that The Kid fell asleep during a slow number and no amount of singing, dancing animals could rouse him. Which saved us from having to buy a $20 stuffed animal, so I'm okay with that.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The next day, we got up and hit every Kid's favorite museum: The Guggenheim.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZcTBYOXKaPQ/ThuKaaYUfyI/AAAAAAAAJis/YD42HmXzB-c/s1600/100_1506.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZcTBYOXKaPQ/ThuKaaYUfyI/AAAAAAAAJis/YD42HmXzB-c/s400/100_1506.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This picture is entitled "Mommy telling me what to do."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Despite it popping up in <i>Men in Black</i> and <i>Mr. Popper's Penguins</i>, the Guggenheim is a little, ah, challenging for your average short person. Luckily, they had a Family Fun Sunday going on, so for 1/2 the adult admission, we got to walk around with an enthusiastic young college art student and occasionally color. It wasn't a bad deal, but by the end of three hours, The Kid was about to melt. So, in exchange for him not trashing priceless pieces of art, we went to <b>the</b> destination in New York:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QP1kCQtUjBk/ThuKdC9Q0RI/AAAAAAAAJjI/ZUHkx8yDdKQ/s1600/100_1511.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QP1kCQtUjBk/ThuKdC9Q0RI/AAAAAAAAJjI/ZUHkx8yDdKQ/s400/100_1511.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yes. Lego Land. If you look under the dragon and between the Lego-ized Rockafeller Center, you'll see me and The Kid, reveling in the tiny-block glory of it all. We bought Legos. Of course we did. We even kicked back a little to The Kid for helping us getting us into the Guggenheim cheaper.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then we went to the top of our hotel, which had a revolving restaurant.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jsoD47KjBhg/ThuKgMNLVcI/AAAAAAAAJjQ/C5sK-V0Xrg0/s1600/100_1520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jsoD47KjBhg/ThuKgMNLVcI/AAAAAAAAJjQ/C5sK-V0Xrg0/s400/100_1520.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'll spare you the carpet picture. Please note the sheepish look on my husband's face. That's because about 15 min. before The Kid snapped this picture, he'd knocked his glass of red wine over. Into my lap. Making the family 2 for 2 in spilling on Mommy. At least my skirt was black that night. And I also got to see the Top of the Chrysler Building shine like a song from <i>Annie</i>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The next day was the big one--Statue of Liberty Day.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ykJfcGzPgnQ/ThuKh8bBgqI/AAAAAAAAJjU/eNs31bsxEvU/s1600/100_1529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ykJfcGzPgnQ/ThuKh8bBgqI/AAAAAAAAJjU/eNs31bsxEvU/s400/100_1529.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We were a little excited. Okay, a lot. We were going to check an important item off my bucket list: Climbing to the top of Lady Liberty herself.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-igOammBJEQE/ThuKjZKCPiI/AAAAAAAAJjY/--Q21P0qHtM/s1600/100_1536.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-igOammBJEQE/ThuKjZKCPiI/AAAAAAAAJjY/--Q21P0qHtM/s400/100_1536.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So we climbed.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WXxrWOOnieg/ThuKkdwkVuI/AAAAAAAAJjc/UWl0jUWQhDI/s1600/100_1537.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WXxrWOOnieg/ThuKkdwkVuI/AAAAAAAAJjc/UWl0jUWQhDI/s400/100_1537.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And we climbed.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LUz4gorEYfs/ThuKlTEpe0I/AAAAAAAAJjk/cKJFNyGOeTA/s1600/100_1538.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LUz4gorEYfs/ThuKlTEpe0I/AAAAAAAAJjk/cKJFNyGOeTA/s400/100_1538.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And we climbed. I was bringing up the rear. Please hold all your jokes until the end of the blog.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's 354 stairs to the top. As we went up, the stairs got narrower and narrower, and the air got hotter and hotter. We were in a metal object, after all, climbing up the Spinal Column, as The Kid so aptly observed. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Climbing up the Statue is all about lung power--slow and steady wins this race. Finally, we made it to the top.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2Xe5MGe5qlw/ThuKmgfda1I/AAAAAAAAJjo/C7fUU6TAZMw/s1600/100_1539.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2Xe5MGe5qlw/ThuKmgfda1I/AAAAAAAAJjo/C7fUU6TAZMw/s400/100_1539.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It was a clear day--good for seeing the harbor and the city, bad for sweating. The side of Liberty's head facing the sun was just shy of egg-frying--at 9:45 in the morning. BUT WE MADE IT!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--6Zab-iPYQc/ThuKoCHBuPI/AAAAAAAAJj4/s_QTzy2Cb4w/s1600/100_1543.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--6Zab-iPYQc/ThuKoCHBuPI/AAAAAAAAJj4/s_QTzy2Cb4w/s400/100_1543.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Note the sweaty exuberance on my face. I DID IT! Notice, also, how close our heads are to the ceiling. Yeah, we bumped our noggins several times. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So we made it up! Now came the hard part.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jDL-dBqQ3tc/ThuKqMMSkBI/AAAAAAAAJj8/vanqOFTVlMM/s1600/100_1548.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jDL-dBqQ3tc/ThuKqMMSkBI/AAAAAAAAJj8/vanqOFTVlMM/s400/100_1548.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Getting down. Going up was all about lungs; going down was all about muscle control--one misplaced step, and it was a long 354 stairs until I hit the bottom. I was going very, very slowly--the guys were probably 15 steps ahead of me--when I heard the most ferocious clatter over my head. The ranger who'd been up in the crown was coming down--at full speed! "I'm not going that fast!" I shouted, ever aware that there was still a LONG way down to go. He's a pro at this, though, and I shouldn't have worried. He got stopped with at least two steps to spare. Whew!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dFdzcUg11BI/ThuKrxWT2LI/AAAAAAAAJkA/uvbHFj0uGXs/s1600/100_1556.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dFdzcUg11BI/ThuKrxWT2LI/AAAAAAAAJkA/uvbHFj0uGXs/s400/100_1556.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So we made it down, which was almost as big of an accomplishment as making it up. When we got out onto the pedestal, we kept taking pictures like this one from every angle and going, We climbed all the way UP THERE.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We celebrated in the traditional way:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mHjkw-1SZP4/ThuKteo9oMI/AAAAAAAAJkE/qcnY4wqOGHk/s1600/100_1567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mHjkw-1SZP4/ThuKteo9oMI/AAAAAAAAJkE/qcnY4wqOGHk/s400/100_1567.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We tried on silly hats. Ah, America! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Tune in next week for the exciting conclusion to the Authorial Mom vacation, "Taking The Publishing World By Storm (Or at least by a light rain)."</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-5612958500595997209?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-86135974071781567362011-07-07T19:26:00.000-05:002011-07-07T19:26:24.606-05:00New York, Newark... (Part 1)So, I was gone for 10 days. What did I miss? Yes, I have to ask. My phone is not smart. Some might even call it stupid, because the only thing my phone does is (gasp!) is make telephone calls. And occasionally receive them.<br /><br />Anyway. We went on vacation! I worked like a crazy lady to finish my book, The Last Honest Lawyer, before we left, meaning that for five whole days, I was really and truly not working.<br /><br />Except for that whole Mom thing. And the driving. Yes, I drove to New York with the family in tow. Thus, again, one of the downsides of being married to a man who's legally blind--on long car trips, I'm stuck behind that wheel. No naps for me! But not to worry. The Husband has a smart(ish) phone and read me my email for fun. And because we have a Prius, we entertained ourselves by feeling smug for getting 50.8 MPG on the drive out east.<br /><br />The Kid was there, too--trapped in the backseat with nothing but 100 Legos, 20 books, 4 audio books, 6 movies, 4 coloring books and crayons, and 3 stuffed animals to keep him company. Poor Kid, he nearly died of boredom.<br /><br />The first night was easy. We went to my in-laws' house near Decatur after work. They cooked us food and played with The Kid. We normally are at their house for a large family event, so it was nice to hang out on the small scale for a while. The next day, we got up and headed east. When we hit Indianapolis, The Kid excitedly announced that we were in New York! This became a reoccurring theme--no matter what metropolitan area we approached, it was New York. We stopped that night in Columbus. I had lived in Columbus for two years while earning my snooty Master's in Victorian Literature (snoot, snoot!), and my husband wanted to see where I'd lived.<br /><br />It was the world's fastest tour of Columbus. We did a quick tour of the State House, went down to say 'hi' to the ducks I used to see every morning (well, maybe their duck grandkids--not sure how long ducks live, and it's been 10+ years since I graduated), stopped by the Topiary Garden where, if you stand in just the right place, all the shrubs have been trimmed and trained to look just like A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of the Grande Jatte by Georges Seraut (no, really--topiary garden!) and then we hit Schmidt's Sausage Haus, where The Kid had an epic meltdown--the kind of meltdown where all you can do is say, "Honey, can you sob quieter? You're bothering the other guests," to which the sob-ee replies, "NO! I CAN"T SOB ANY QUIETER!" But the arrival of pretzel nuggets, lemonade, and a guy playing an accordion saved the day.<br /><br />The next day, we drove to Hershey, PA, land of chocolate and singing cows. I will say, the singing cows were cheesy--but they were PERFECT for The Kid, who loved the animatronic show so much that we rode the little Chocolate World ride twice. We also did a chocolate tasting--and are now certified chocolate tasters--and (of course) bought and ate chocolate.<br /><br />The next day we drove to my cousins' house in New Jersey. I hadn't been to New Jersey since they got married a whopping 17 years ago. In case you hadn't noticed this, one of the key ways of knowing your getting old is to visit relatives and have a lovely young woman open the door and realize that you held that lovely young woman when she was 6 months old. That, my friends, is how you know you're getting old.<br /><br />After visiting and feeling old, my cousin took us to the train. This is also known as being cheap: my wonderful relatives watched our car for the week and took us to the train. More money for mini Statue of Liberty figurines, really.<br /><br />So we're on the train, and the conductor people kept mentioning Newark--"Next stop, Newark," and the like. And every single time, The Kid jumped up and down and got very, very excited because we were in New York! Which lead to a 'Who's on First' conversation: Conductor: Newark. The Kid: NEW YORK! Authorial Mom: No, Newark. The Kid: That's what I said--New York!! Authorial Mom: No, no, we're in Newark. The Kid: YIPPEE! We're in NEW YORK!<br /><br />Seriously, this went on for some time. Lucky that Kid is cute, because other passengers were giggling instead of threatening us with bodily harm.<br /><br />Finally, we make it to the real New York. But that's a whole 'nother ball of wax. Hopefully, by next week, I'll have located the cords for my camera (yes, my camera still requires cords. It also does not make phone calls. So shoot me.) So stay tuned for more thrilling travel adventures with the Authorial Mom!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-8613597407178156736?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-87466509114561361432011-06-21T09:39:00.000-05:002011-06-21T09:39:18.351-05:00Eleanore Gray Winner!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We have a winner! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My random number generator (aka The Kid) dug deep into his mind and came up with the number 4--"But not the four with the triangle on top. I like the four with the square on top. That's my favorite number." </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Out of the mouths of weirdos, no?</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, congratulations to commenter number 4, Barbara Weitz, winner of a complimentary copy of <i>Eleanore Gray</i>! Barbara wrote:</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My grandmothers conjure up so many wonderful memories. I can only hope I will leave the same for mine. Sunday my grandchildren ran through the yard, under the pine trees over the wonderful scent of fallen pine needles, around the purple and yellow iris bed, then shimmied up a smooth barked pine tree. "Hi, grandma," they chimed. I wondered if that moment would form a fond memory for them. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Barbara, send me your address and I'll get the book out to you toot suite!</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And thank you so much to all of you who shared such sweet, touching memories of your grandmothers. It was a real treat. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(You knew this was going to happen:) I hope everyone else who left a comment will go find <i>Eleanore Gray</i> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Eleanore-Gray-Goldie-M-Lucas/dp/1463523203/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1">here</a> at Amazon and <a href="https://www.createspace.com/3619213">here</a> at CreateSpace. Thanks!</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-8746650911456136143?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-64617706331119025952011-06-13T16:07:00.000-05:002011-06-13T16:07:02.099-05:00How to Self-Publish a Novel<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IG8PMQaYreQ/Teey_htGKDI/AAAAAAAAJgA/UPdcjsF44C8/s1600/bug+bite-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IG8PMQaYreQ/Teey_htGKDI/AAAAAAAAJgA/UPdcjsF44C8/s200/bug+bite-1.jpg" width="148" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sarah M. Anderson,<br />Proud Granddaughter</td></tr></tbody></table>Authorial Mom Sarah here, with a not-exhaustive recounting of how I published my grandmother Goldie Lucas' novel, <i>Eleanore Gray</i>.<br /><br />There's been a lot of heated (and, dare I say, overheated) discussion about self-publication these days. Brand new authors are forgoing the 'tradtional' New York publication routes and putting things out there. <a href="http://www.courtneymilan.com/ramblings/2011/05/31/on-the-self-publishing-horizon/">Established authors</a> are walking away from contracts to self-publish. The e-book world is changing the playing field faster than anyone can level it.<br /><br />This is not a blog about those choices. After all, my own books are coming out with Harlequin--that's pretty traditional. I'm going to go on record here as saying each author has to find the publication method they're most comfortable with.<br /><br />Instead, this is a blog about how I (along with my parents, aunts, and uncles) rescued my grandmother's handwritten novel and brought it out of the closet (literally) and into print form.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1mVNYbqFzp4/Teez-8Cw0VI/AAAAAAAAJgE/Urz_o8fkz8w/s1600/Goldie+Cropped+Author.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1mVNYbqFzp4/Teez-8Cw0VI/AAAAAAAAJgE/Urz_o8fkz8w/s320/Goldie+Cropped+Author.jpg" width="222" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goldie M. Lucas</td></tr></tbody></table>My reasons: Goldie was a poet. Her voice is lyrical and gentle. But the fact is that selling <i>Eleanore Gray</i> to a traditional publisher would be an uphill batte. It's a sweet book--no sex, and any violence happens off the page. The most scandalous thing that happens in the whole book is when Eleanore and her friend Nell make bathing costumes and go swimming. In other words, while this is a book my Gram Frances (age: 96 years old) would love, it's not a book that publishers would be falling over themselves to snatch up. There's just not that much of a market for sweet, historical, inspirational novels. Traditional publishers would also most likely want revisions--to see the climatic fight, maybe the wedding night. They would want more internal monologue or changes to the point-of-view. As these are the only words of Goldie's I have, I was unwilling to make wholesale revisions. (Plus, her voice is so distinctive that I had trouble mimicking it for the small changes I did make.)<br /><br />Second was identifying the market for the book. That's easy--my relatives. The aunts, uncles, and cousins who had heard Goldie had a book 'somewhere' but had never seen it. This is a piece of our family history, so it's important to the Wrights (Goldie's maiden name), the Lucases, and all the other branches of the family. If other people buy and love the book, that's WONDERFUL. I encourage you to check it out <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Eleanore-Gray-Goldie-M-Lucas/dp/1463523203/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1">here</a> and <a href="https://www.createspace.com/3619213">here</a>! But that's just icing on the literary cake.<br /><br />These first and second reasons dovetailed into the third reason: Goldie's children are not getting any younger, and traditional published could take years of rejections and suggested revisions before any publisher made an offer. Time is of the essence here, and even then, it still took a year.<br /><br />So I have a list of reasons that argue against traditional publishing. My relatives were supportive of my choice to do the book myself. However, I had never gone the self-publishing route before, so there was a rather large learning curve. Here's what I did to make this book:<br /><br />1. Editing. Because Goldie wrote this book and my Uncle Jim had already had it typed up, I didn't have to write it. But I did have to edit the heck out of it. I did different readings for grammar (commas, apostrophes, etc.), word choice (ah, 'historical' terms for certain groups are no longer acceptable; repetition), and cohesiveness (Goldie died before finishing the book. The ending needed work to provide closure.). I read the book about five times BEFORE I even started looking at my publishing options. I had a professional editor (the Lovely Mary, Grammar Goddess) read it as well. My parents read it, too, as did Uncle Jim. Everyone caught different things.<br /><br />2. Publishing Options: I made the choice to go with CreateSpace, an Amazon.com subsidiary. I thought at the time that would make it easier to load the book to Kindle format (more on that later), but I found several blogs that said Lulu.com, CreateSpace, and all those other print-on-demand services used the exact same printing technology. The book would look the same no matter who did it; it came down to price. CreateSpace was about $1 cheaper for production costs than Lulu.<br /><br />Side Note: I'm defining 'self-publishing' synonymously with 'print-on-demand.' Using CreateSpace cost me nothing upfront. The only cost I have is to buy the book. Uploading the files and covers was free. (Same with Lulu.) Now, there are a wide variety of add-on options--I could have purchased cover design help, or formatting assistance. I could have also purchased distribution packages. Some of these add-on services were pretty cheap--the Pro Plan distribution package was about $40. Others, like the Total Design Freedom Marketing Pro service--where you give them a rough manuscript and they give you a finished book--can cost up to $5,000 (that's dollars, people). I didn't need any of that junk. I just needed the book printed. Print-on-demand costs are about half of the cover price of the book.<br /><br />3. Services: As I mentioned above, I could have plunked down 5 grand to get a professional looking book. I didn't. While that one-stop shopping can seem easy, the odds of recouping that much money off this book are slim. Studies have shown that most self-published books only sell about 250 copies--which is about how many people the average author knows personally. That's about how many family members I have. If we sell an extra 50, that's awesome. But again, I'm not putting this book out for fame and fortune. I'm doing it for my family.<br /><br />So how did I make the book look like a real book instead of something someone slapped a stock photo on? First--and if you're doing to self-publish, I cannot stress the importance of this enough--GET AN EDITOR. I'm an editor at my day job; I still asked the Lovely Mary to read it. This went through five sets of eyes. Typo-free text is the first sign of professionalism.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YeJXl63JHTs/Teeyv7kcecI/AAAAAAAAJf8/cCFwDwSwkhc/s1600/Eleanore+Grey_Cover5_5x8_5_BW_300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YeJXl63JHTs/Teeyv7kcecI/AAAAAAAAJf8/cCFwDwSwkhc/s400/Eleanore+Grey_Cover5_5x8_5_BW_300.jpg" width="255" /></a></div>Second: I'm not a professional graphic designer. But my friend Leah Hanlin of BlueSky Design is. She was excited to do the book with me. I chose a piece of art that fit the book perfectly from IStock.com and we discussed my ideas. I also brought in a book published by Penguin that was the same shape, size, and theme that I wanted. Leah was doing a book cover for the first time, so she also had a learning curve, but the end result was worth it.<br /><br />I had heard horror stories of people uploading their Word files and getting books back where the pages had been shrunk from 8 1/2 x 11 to 5 x 8, rendering the font size unreadable. When your target market is over 60, you want to avoid minuscule font sizes. So I asked Leah to set the pages. The inside pages printed exactly as she set them, and the cover looked professional, not half-assed. This service added about $500 to the production costs, which may seem like a lot, but remember, that's one zero less than CreateSpace was offering for the same thing.<br /><br />3. Uploading and Proofing: Leah set the pages, and I read the book again (catching about 20 more errors--you can't proof enough). Then we stayed up way past my bedtime to upload the files. The cover was tricky--we had to shrink the file size without losing the quality--something about flattening. (Again, this is why I hired Leah.) Then CreateSpace checked the files and let me know when I could order a proof, which was the next day.<br /><br />The shipping on the proof was about $3.50, and was supposed to take a week. It got here four days early, so my personal experience says the faster shipping wasn't vital.<br /><br />Then I READ THE BOOK AGAIN. You must do this. Because Leah is a professional (and the printing gods were smiling on us all), the book was good to go. I did find one indent that was off, an extra hypen where I don't really need one, and a few commas I'd add back in. But the pages printed in the right order, right-side-up, and the cover lined up. I'm sure that someone will email me with a correction or two, but if you don't read the proof, you won't know if you're putting out a quality product or not.<br /><br />4. Ordering: So the proof was good; ordering copies came next. Uncle Jim had a family reunion coming up, so I ordered him a box at the author price (about $7.50) and had them shipped to his house. I ordered a separate box for myself. The shipping costs for this bulk order were considerably cheaper--about $0.50-1 a book, instead of $3-4. I could get it faster, but that's much, much more money.<br /><br />5. Distribution: Amazon.com is my main distributor, but I have the book stocked at Great Debates, my local independent bookstore, as well as a few church and Christian bookstores. I can also try marketing it in and around the Ozarks in Missouri.<br /><br />But here's the thing about that--marketing and distributing a book takes TIME. If you want to sell more than that 250 books I mentioned earlier, you're going to have to get out there and pound the pavement, press the flesh, and talk the book up to a lot of people who may or may not care a whit about your 'baby.' You have to blog, social network, and beg for reviews. You have to know how much time and energy you can put into marketing, and you have to be prepared to hear that 'no.' You have to be able to deal with bad reviews. (For a lesson in how NOT to handle reviews, read <a href="http://booksandpals.blogspot.com/2011/03/greek-seaman-jacqueline-howett.html">this</a>. And then promise me you won't ever, ever do that.) If you can't handle that, you need to reconsider putting your book out there.<br /><br />6. E-book formatting. One of the original reasons I went with CreateSpace was because I thought it would make Kindling the book easier. That wasn't necessarily true. Leah did a great job with the print version, but she made PDFs on a Mac. When she went to do the Kindle form, she discovered they do not want PDFs. They want some other program that is PC based that requires downloads. Smashwords was the same. This was quite a speed bump in our plans, so we went ahead and did the print version first. Neither one of us has quite figured out how to work this new program on the PC, so I'll have to get back to you on how it turned out.<br /><br />I do know that I want the e version out there--that way, it'll never go away. My son and all potential grandchildren will still be able to find Goldie's book and read it. Putting <i>Eleanore Gray</i> out there on a cloud makes it close to immortal.<br /><br />So that's it. I am still in the middle of the marketing process--sell sheets, cold calls, a box of books in my trunk just in case someone wants one. I hope to recover my costs, but again, this is a piece of my family history. If I sell a million books, great! If not, I've done my best by Goldie and her children and grandchildren.<br /><br /><i>Eleanore Gray</i> can be purchased <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Eleanore-Gray-Goldie-M-Lucas/dp/1463523203/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1">here</a> at Amazon and <a href="https://www.createspace.com/3619213">here</a> at CreateSpace. And don't forget that I'm giving away a copy <a href="http://authorialmom.blogspot.com/2011/06/eleanore-gray-by-goldie-m-lucas.html">here</a> on June 21st! Be sure to leave a comment to be entered!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-6461770633111902595?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-76685271974769371022011-06-07T08:34:00.000-05:002011-06-07T08:34:23.706-05:00Eleanore Gray by Goldie M. Lucas<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Authorial Mom Sarah here, and I'm SO excited! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Eleanore Gray</i> is here!</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you may recall from this <a href="http://authorialmom.blogspot.com/2010/04/eleanore-grey.html">blog</a> and this <a href="http://authorialmom.blogspot.com/2011/03/eleanore-gray-update.html">one</a>, I've been working on my grandmother Goldie's book, <i>Eleanore Gray</i>. This process took a lot longer than I hoped it would (life happens, you know), but I can now safely say that the book is done!</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's the back-cover copy:</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gKiLeiTfc_Y/TeeYylg86lI/AAAAAAAAJf4/sfPHPhG8ed0/s1600/Eleanore+Grey_Cover5_5x8_5_BW_300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gKiLeiTfc_Y/TeeYylg86lI/AAAAAAAAJf4/sfPHPhG8ed0/s400/Eleanore+Grey_Cover5_5x8_5_BW_300.jpg" width="255" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>Eleanore Gray</i> by Goldie M. Lucas</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>When Dr. Bob Gray drowns, he leaves his young wife, Eleanore, and their three children with a mountain of bills. In 1902, there are few options open to a young widow, so Eleanore takes the scandalous step to relocate her young children to an abandoned farm deep in the Ozark Hills in Missouri. There, nestled in the verdant Hill country, Eleanore transforms from a delicate housewife to a self-reliant farm woman. <br /><br />Eleanore struggles to understand the backward ways of the Hill people. Her brother-in-law, Will Gray, tries to shield her from the rough ways of her neighbors, but Eleanore is done being shielded. She makes it her Christian mission to save two girls everyone else has written off, and in doing so, finds peace with her woman’s place in the world. But when Will professes his love, Eleanore finds herself struggling not with the question of what she can do for others, but with what she should do for herself.</i></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">Goldie was working on this book when she died in 1960. It's taken 61 years, but we've finally been able to publish it. It's an inspirational historical novel. There's a touch of romance (a few kisses), but the true love affair is between Goldie and the Ozark Hills of her childhood. Goldie's lyrical voice shines through each description of the Hill country. </span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The book is available online at Amazon <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Eleanore-Gray-Goldie-M-Lucas/dp/1463523203/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1">here</a>, and at Createspace <a href="https://www.createspace.com/3619213">here</a>. Right now, the print version is the only one available, and it's $15.95. The Kindle version will be available soon (read: when we get the formatting issues figured out.)</span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The book will also be available at my local independent bookstore, <a href="http://www.greatdebatebooks.com/">Great Debates</a>. I'm working on getting it into the Crossing churches and see if any place down in the Ozarks will carry it. </span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the coming weeks, I'll be talking a little more about the self-publishing journey I undertook with this book, and comparing it to selling my own book to Harlequin, but for now, I hope you'll order a copy (or three) and leave a review on the Amazon. I put this out there for Goldie's children and grandchildren, the Wrights and the Lucases, but I encourage you to check it out. I've read it about ten times now, and every time, the beauty of her words gets me. It's a good book. You'll enjoy it!</span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To celebrate this joyous event, I'm giving away one copy! All you have to do is leave a comment below telling me about your grandmother. What legacy did she leave you? How did/do you know her? Even a sweet memory will get you entered into this random drawing. The contest ends on June 19th; the winner will be notified here on June 21st. Good luck!</span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">*Contest open to U.S. residents only. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Winner will be randomly chosen by a 6-year-old boy guessing numbers and notified on the Authorial Moms blog on June 21st, 2011.</span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-7668527197476937102?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-28331139430800034852011-05-31T08:57:00.000-05:002011-05-31T08:57:08.154-05:00The Speeding Ticket<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lr3Id3f5N0E/TeRNwLtd7YI/AAAAAAAAJao/OGLGFK5yNMo/s1600/bug+bite-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lr3Id3f5N0E/TeRNwLtd7YI/AAAAAAAAJao/OGLGFK5yNMo/s320/bug+bite-1.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breaker-of-Speeding-Laws</td></tr></tbody></table>Authorial Mom Sarah here. And it's confession time, and I have to tell you something. I'm so ashamed.<br /><br />I got a speeding ticket. While driving.<br /><br />Oh, but that wasn't the worst of it. No, the worst of it was that my 96-year-old grandmother and 6-year-old son were in the car.<br /><br />I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. Well, maybe certain Middle-East dictators who shall remain nameless.<br /><br />So here's what happened. I was transporting The Kid to St. Louis, where he was going to spend a fun-filled week with his Mimi and PawPaw. The benefits of this were obvious--he would get to eat Drumsticks at 9:30 at night and get whatever toys his little heart desired. And when that got old? Water guns in an 89-degree hot tub. The good times never stop!<br /><br />But it wasn't just for The Kid's benefit that this trip was being undertaken. You see, my wonderful sister was marrying a wonderful man on Memorial Day weekend in St. Genevieve, MO (which is about a 6 hour drive for us), and we were all invited. (Details on that later!) My Gram is the only surviving grandparent. Did I mention that she's 96 years old? Well, she can't travel with as much vim and vigor as she used to. So I was also going to take her down to my Mom's house (Hi, Mom!) in order to break the long drive into more manageable stretches. So there was that.<br /><br />But that wasn't the best part. The best part was that I was going to get a little mommy vacation. For four wonderful days, it was just me and my husband. If we didn't take The Kid down, I'd have to take time off of work. That would cost me money. And time is money. It was worth it to me. I was working on line edits for both my own book, <a href="http://www.sarahmanderson.com/ccportals/Books/tabid/170/Default.aspx">A Man of His Word</a>, and my grandmother's book, <a href="http://authorialmom.blogspot.com/2011/03/eleanore-gray-update.html">Eleanore Gray</a>. I needed the time.<br /><br />So there we are. The Kid and I drive down to Gram's house, we load in eight (count them, EIGHT) of Gram's bags into the car, and head out. First, we leave the driveway. Then we turn left, take an immediate right, and find ourselves cruising down a hill. Gram is, um, talking to me enthusiastically (read: yelling at me), and The Kid is demanding I open his water bottle. I'm mentally gritting my teeth about the fact that I have two more hours in the car with this fun-loving pair.<br /><br />Perhaps I just wanted to get to the passenger exchange site faster. Perhaps, in twisting to retrieve the aforementioned water bottle from The Kid, I depressed the accelerator more than normal. Perhaps I just had it coming--I haven't had a speeding ticket since about 2 months before my own wedding, nearly 10 years ago. Some would argue I was due.<br /><br />Whatever the twist of fate, I look up to realized I'm going 42 miles per hour on a residential street as I pass a cop car. Oops.<br /><br />There was that optimistic 10 seconds after the cops passed me where I thought, "Not it," as I brake with enthusiasm. Then I seen them turn around in my rear-view mirror. This is where the delusion sets in--maybe they just got another call and they're responding to it, right? That little bit of madness lasted for about 4 seconds--right until the lights came on.<br /><br />The moment those lights flashed, I knew that I was, in fact, "IT." I pull over and curse my luck. Meanwhile, The Kid is cheering--yes, actually <i>cheering</i>--in the back seat. He thinks this is <i>awesome</i>. Field Trip <b>Cool</b>. He's bouncing in his car seat--hey, at least he was fully buckled at all times--telling me what's happening in real time. "Mommy, the cop is walking up to the door! Hey, there's a second cop! He's walking up on my side!! Mommy, the police are HERE!" Cue excited giggling.<br /><br />At the same time, though, Gram is going the complete opposite direction. She's not quite in tears, but she's getting close. I haven't even handed over the license and registration, and she's 'shoulda, woulda, coulda'-ing me. "I should have made you look at my flowers. You should have gone the other way. I shouldn't have given The Kid that water bottle." And so on, and so on, and so on.<br /><br />The Kid was correct. There were two uniformed officers there to bust me down to brass tacks. Collectively, they weren't as old as I am. I think they were still in Jr. High. Really. The one taking my info was perfectly polite, but his partner stood on the passenger side of the car, legs apart, arms crossed, GLARING at my little-old-lady Gram and happy young son. Apparently, those two had a real dangerous, Bonnie-and-Clyde look about them.<br /><br />So I got my ticket, get back in the car. I hear about how the last time Gram got a ticket--while my grandfather was still alive, so we're talking late 70s here. She had to pay $30. She offers to pay my ticket while I locate the fee list on the darn thing. Turns out that going 45 in a 30 (I was speeding, so I didn't feel that arguing the 3 MPH was in my best interest) will set you back $125 these days.<br /><br />Upon this revelation, Gram gets closer to tears. I decide this is a 'teachable moment' for The Kid and explain that she will NOT pay the stupid ticket. I made the mistake. I will accept the consequences, etc. etc. etc. I will pay my own speeding ticket (thereby negating the monetary gain of taking The Kid down early so I wouldn't have to take the day off). Needless to say, I'm not in an especially good mood.<br /><br />But I'm not going to let it ruin the rest of the trip. We are GOING to Mimi's house, by God, come Hell, high water, or traffic infractions. We get as far as Bowling Green (half an hour south) before Gram reveals that she was so excited about the trip that she didn't eat breakfast, so we stop. While I'm opening honey for The Kid's chicken-like nuggets, Gram cuts me a check for $100 and shoves it in my purse. The rest of the way down, I hear the shouldas, couldas, wouldas. The rest of the trip is uneventful, and the passenger handoff is smooth. Freedom comes with a price, after all.<br /><br />Later, my Mom emails me to say that, during a quiet moment, The Kid pulled her aside and whispered, in a real happy, conspirator whisper, "My mommy got a speeding ticket."<br /><br />All I can say to that is, thank heavens school is out. Otherwise, I'd be the highlight of Show-and-Tell.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-2833113943080003485?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-30272328744684669202011-05-17T09:18:00.000-05:002011-05-17T09:18:55.597-05:00Authorial Interview with Genevieve Graham<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Authorial Mom: Please help me welcome Genevieve Graham to the Authorial Moms blog! Tell us a little about yourself. How many kids do you have? How old are they?</span><br /><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9_wkh3_3uto/TdA9BVrg_CI/AAAAAAAAJZM/EK3-oG5PxJY/s1600/Gen-19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9_wkh3_3uto/TdA9BVrg_CI/AAAAAAAAJZM/EK3-oG5PxJY/s320/Gen-19.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Author Genevieve Graham</td></tr></tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: windowtext;">Genevieve </span>Graham<span style="color: windowtext;">: Thank you, Sarah! I’m honoured to be here - oops, did I spell that wrong? Nope. That little ‘u’ is in there because I’m up in Canada, and I still use British spelling. :) <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been a stay-at-home mom for about 14 years, and before that I was in advertising and marketing, living that fast and hectic life. Before that ... well, I got a Bachelor of Music In Performance, playing oboe at the University of Toronto. How wild is that? No, I no longer play (though I do teach piano to the local kids around here), but it was a great experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My wonderful husband and I have two beautiful daughters: Emily is 13 and Piper is just about 11 (going on 20). We moved to a small town in Nova Scotia three years ago in an attempt to leave the rush of the city far behind. It worked! We love living in the middle of nowhere.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">AM: What do you write? How many books have you written/published? How old are they?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">GG: I write Historical Fiction, with a good healthy mix of romance and adventure. My first two novels, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Under the Same Sky</i></b> and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sound of the Heart</i></b> are being published in January by Berkley/Penguin US. I’d love to tell you where you could buy ‘em, but they’re not out yet! I’m presently working on #3 in that series, and I have another series I’m working on after that.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">AM: Tell me about a typical day. How do you write with kids around? Or do you have to ship them off to school or grandparents’ houses to get anything done?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">GG: I’m up and at ‘em by 5:45 a.m., kids fed, lunches made, frenzy complete by 7 a.m., when they’re climbing on the school bus. They get home around 3 unless they’re at some kind of extracurricular thing.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m extremely fortunate in so many ways. The first is that my husband is incredibly supportive. Since the first time I sat at a keyboard and tapped out a few pages, he’s been behind me, encouraging me every step of the way. He’s at home now, and has taken over the house duties, so I can basically type away uninterrupted for hours! (This is also fortunate because nobody wants my cooking. Really.) The other amazing thing about my family is that our daughters are proud of what I do. We’ve shown them that this is my office, this is where I work, and we’ve explained that in any other business I would have to be out of the house and they’d see me far less. They respect my space, they brag about my books and my editing business to their friends, and they have both become really impressive writers and editors in their own fields!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">AM: Start them young! Did you write before you had kids, or after? What changed with your writing when you had kids?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">GG: The only thing I ever wrote before my novels were notes like, “Please excuse Emily because she has a doctor’s appointment...” About six years ago, at the spring chicken age of 40, I sat down and started typing. I had just finished reading some incredible writing and felt hollow without the characters when the series ended. So I decided I needed to create my own little worlds. That way the characters would always be around.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">AM: Wow, what a great motivation! How old will one or more of your children have to be before they’re allowed to read your books?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">GG: My first series is definitely not for my girls. Not until they’re probably sixteen or so. But I have tried now and then to write a little something for them as well. I wrote them each a silly Christmas book a year ago, and they’ve been demanding more ever since. Guess I’d better get to that ... I have another YA book in mind - my first YA novel. We’ll see ...<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">AM: I think your daughters should win some sort of awesome award for being so supportive. Becoming an author means having a public persona. How do you combine motherhood with the demands of a public life? Do you feature your kids, keep them shielded under pseudonyms, or leave them out of the equation entirely? Have they asserted their opinion(s) on this matter?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">GG: Right or wrong, we have done nothing about the kids with regards to this new life of mine. So far we haven’t really had to make any decisions, since we’re still waiting for the first book to be out. But so far, the girls are fully involved in the process, even though they can’t read the actual books yet. I will open up a separate Facebook page when the books are out so that our family photos won’t be on there, but other than that, we’re not too concerned.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">AM: Most Moms I know have a limited amount of free time. Give me a few reasons why they should dedicate some of that time to your characters. What’s in it for us?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">GG: I’m biased, but I find my characters fascinating. And when they are in my head, I am given the amazing gift of seeing life through their eyes. My characters are people like anyone else you might see (um, as long as you’re living in the mid-1800’s), with insecurities and fears, and it takes extraordinary circumstances for them to overcome those things. I deal with difficult subjects sometimes because I am unwilling to soften up the reality of the times.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don’t write predictable, quick reads. I aim more for the epic, the sweeping drama, but without petticoats - my ladies mostly wear homespun, my gentlemen are wrapped in heavy old plaids. What surprised me most was when my girlfriends passed the books to their husbands, who normally don’t read, and neither spouse could put them down. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">AM: That’s an amazing reaction. Now comes my favorite question: Let’s have a little fun with fill-in-the-blanks. “The floor of my kitchen is so ___ you can ___ it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="mso-outline-level: 1; tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">GG: Really? Um ... The floor of my kitchen is so cold you can skate on it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="mso-outline-level: 1; tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">AM: Funny! What’s up next for you?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">GG: Oh, I’m so glad you asked! While I’m working on Book #3 (and others), I am also a busy editor. I have edited novels for authors around the world, in every imaginable genre, and learn more with every experience. Anyone interested in what I might do for their manuscript can email me their first page and I’ll send my suggestions for free. My email is gsawchyn (at) ns (dot) sympatico (dot) ca.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m also really excited to be going to the Romance Writers of America conference at the end of June. It will be my first ever writers’ conference and I’m hoping to have coffee with the world famous Sarah Anderson ... <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="mso-outline-level: 1; tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">AM: Now I’m blushing! We’ll definitely have coffee—or some other delightful beverage (hint, hint)! Until then, where can we find you and your books online?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.writingwildly.com/">www.WritingWildly.com</a> is all about my editing, and <a href="http://www.genevievegraham.com/">www.GenevieveGraham.com</a> is my writing website. Please come visit!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="FreeForm" style="tab-stops: 11.0pt .5in;"><span style="color: windowtext;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">AM: Genevieve, thank you so much for stopping by and chatting today. Please come back and share about your journey with us!</span></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-3027232874468466920?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-72174347096338344502011-05-07T06:24:00.000-05:002011-05-07T06:24:06.605-05:00Authorial Mom Ann Charles<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Authorial Moms:</span> </span>Welcome to the Authorial Moms blog! Tell us a little about yourself. How many kids do you have? How old are they?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hvrNhvvgZ8A/TcIK0JTpKXI/AAAAAAAAJDY/MI0Ya8r09NU/s1600/Ann+Charles+Author+Photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hvrNhvvgZ8A/TcIK0JTpKXI/AAAAAAAAJDY/MI0Ya8r09NU/s320/Ann+Charles+Author+Photo.jpg" width="223" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Author Ann Charles</td></tr></tbody></table>Ann Charles: Thank you for the having me here, Sarah. A little about me: I’m a full-time technical writer by day and a full-time fiction author by night (almost makes me sound like superwoman, huh? I want to wear purple tights, though!). In between, I am a wife and a mom of two young kids. My husband keeps me fed and my gray hairs colored, and my kids keep me laughing and grounded—there is nothing like having to wipe your child’s hind end to keep you from getting too big for your britches. My life is crazy busy, and my head often spins so much I am unsure which way is up. But each day is full and fun, and all of the insanity makes for great fiction. I’m sure all of you author moms can relate. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">AM:<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>What do you write? How many books have you written/published? How old are they?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">AC: I write humorous mysteries mixed with romance (or “sex,” as I tell the guys) and paranormal. I have written eight full manuscripts, but only the last five are publishable. The first three were all about learning how to write (and how to NOT write)—in other words, they suck and aren’t allowed out in the light of day. I’m currently working on my ninth story, which is book three in the Deadwood Mystery Series. As for actual published books—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nearly Departed in Deadwood</i> is my first published book. Whew! Lots of numbers there. I feel like I slipped into the body of my old math teacher. We should find a way to make this paragraph into a story problem and have a test at the end of the article.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e0Pttj2vgNM/TcILryg0a0I/AAAAAAAAJDc/0PMEPQZQ76U/s1600/Nearly+Departed+in+Deadwood+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e0Pttj2vgNM/TcILryg0a0I/AAAAAAAAJDc/0PMEPQZQ76U/s320/Nearly+Departed+in+Deadwood+Cover.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>I started writing in the mid-nineties. The first three books were written before 2000. The remaining ones came after 2002, when I finally finished with my college degree and had time to write something other than two-page papers on this, that, and anything else my teachers instructed. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nearly Departed in Deadwood</i> was written in 2009. I wrote the second in the series, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Optical Delusions in Deadwood</i>, in 2010. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">AM: Tell me about a typical day. How do you write with kids around? Or do you have to ship them off to school or grandparents’ houses to get anything done?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">AC: Warning—this answer may cause drowsiness. Do not read while driving ... My typical day is pretty normal. I work a full-time day job as a technical writer, so the morning starts out with dragging my butt out of bed around 6:00 a.m., checking email and Facebook/Twitter, and then getting the kids up and moving. My husband gets breakfast going while I get the munchkins dressed and ready for school/preschool. Then I head to work and play technical writer for eight hours, but my brain is constantly dabbling in fiction during long meetings and on “slow” days. I go home in the evening, hang out with the family until the kids go to bed around nine, and THEN I get to start working on writing. I usually stay up until around 1:00 a.m., then crash and start over again when the alarm goes off at 6:00 a.m. By Friday, I’m existing solely on caffeine and sugar and look like an extra from a zombie flick, minus the craving for brains. Saturday morning, my husband keeps the kids busy so I can sleep in and return to looking somewhat human. The weekend nights are major writing time, too. Then Monday roles around and I’m back to the weekday grind. Someday I hope I can drop the day job, but that’s far into the future at this point.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">AM: Did you write before you had kids, or after? What changed with your writing when you had kids?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">AC: I wrote both before and after. What changed was how much sleep I got a night. I used to sleep closer to seven hours a night, but now I average five hours. Also, I have to juggle a lot more, and I find that I deal with guilt issues if I have two writing-related events during a week that keep me away from my family. Since I work during the day, being gone in the evening is tough on all of us, so I have to be very picky about what writing events I attend. I used to participate a lot more in local writing chapters, serving in volunteer positions. Now I just can’t. There is no time for that, which is a bummer, but I figure in time that will change as my kids reach the age when they want nothing to do with me because I’m so uncool. Then I’ll happily be “lame” and hang with my writing friends again.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MFjqZMtnHLk/TcIJ44pRmBI/AAAAAAAAJDU/u9-g0iWz9sI/s1600/Optical+Delusions+in+Deadwood+SMsize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MFjqZMtnHLk/TcIJ44pRmBI/AAAAAAAAJDU/u9-g0iWz9sI/s320/Optical+Delusions+in+Deadwood+SMsize.jpg" width="210" /></a>AM: <span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>How old will one or more of your children have to be before they’re allowed to read your books?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">AC: Twelve seems like a good age. By then, they’ll have heard all of the swear words plenty of times that I use in my stories. But we’ll skip the sex scenes for a few more years after that. Maybe I’ll lie and tell them that the sex scenes are all about their father and my love life and scar them for life. LOL! Ah, it’s so fun to be a parent sometimes. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">AM:<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>Becoming an author means having a public persona. How do you combine motherhood with the demands of a public life? Do you feature your kids, keep them shielded under pseudonyms, or leave them out of the equation entirely? Have they asserted their opinion(s) on this matter?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">AC: I call my kids “Beaker” and “Chicken Noodle” in public, whether they like it or not. <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span> Those are some of the nicknames I gave them as babies, and they roll into my writing life perfectly. I want to shield them as much as possible, which I think most parents understand. They are too young yet to have a vote on how they are represented in public, but I’m sure my youngest, Chicken Noodle, will make her opinion know before too long. She’s a chip off the old block, and I feel very sorry for her poor, poor father. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">AM:<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>Most Moms I know have a limited amount of free time. Give me a few reasons why they should dedicate some of that time to your characters. What’s in it for us?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">AC: Laughter, and lots of it. I love to laugh, and my hope is that I get a smile or a chuckle or more out of you while reading about Violet Parker’s crazy life. Kids make us all a little crazy. In between the yelling and cleaning and snuggling and yelling some more, we all need to decompress and share some laughs. Also, Violet is a mother of twins, so her struggle with raising her kids is something with which many moms (and dads) can identify with, grin about, and shake their heads over.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">AM:<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>Let’s have a little fun with fill-in-the-blanks. “The floor of my kitchen is so ___ you can ___ it.”</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">AC: “The floor of my kitchen is so freakin’ cold you can chill champagne on it. But on a miserably hot summer evening, it’s wonderful to lie on in in your bra and underwear.”</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">AM: <span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>In what way have you turned into your mother? How are you coping with it?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">AC: My mom has always been a kick-butt saleswoman and a wily entrepreneur, so I’m trying to follow in her shoes. She’s been one of my biggest advocates in the writing business, and she’s constantly teaching me lessons on salesmanship, marketing, and promotion. I bow to her skills. That being said, I also now catch myself saying some of the same things to my kids she said to me, and that makes me groan. Things like, “Don’t you talk back to me,” “Give me that look one more time and you’ll be sorry,” and “Keep it up and I’ll give you something to cry about.” Dang my kids for bringing out that side of my mother in me. LOL! </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">AM:<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>What’s up next for you?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">AC: Besides promoting the second book in the Deadwood Mystery Series, finishing with writing the third book, and then plotting book four, I might try to get a few extra hours of sleep here and there. I also have an Arizona Mystery Series—the first one is called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dance of the Winnebagos</i>—that my publisher is working on getting out there in a different format. We’re considering something audio. This book was a finalist in the Pacific Northwest Writers Contest about five years ago, and we decided it would be a good “in between” book to put out while I continue writing the Deadwood Mystery Series.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">AM: <span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>Where can we find you and your books online?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">AC: You can find me at <a href="http://www.anncharles.com/deadwood">www.anncharles.com/deadwood</a>. I am also at <a href="http://www.anncharles.com/">www.anncharles.com</a>, but that site is about to go “Under Construction” while we give it a facelift. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">I am the co-owner of <a href="http://www.1stturningpoint.com/">www.1stturningpoint.com</a>, a website where authors can go to teach, share, and learn about marketing and promotion. Also, I’m at <a href="http://www.plotmamas.com/">www.plotmamas.com</a> once a month and <a href="http://blackinkwhitepaper.wordpress.com/">http://blackinkwhitepaper.wordpress.com/</a> twice a month.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">BUY LINKS: </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">You can either just go to my websites Buy Links page: <a href="http://anncharles.com/deadwood/?page_id=769">http://anncharles.com/deadwood/?page_id=769</a> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">Or click the following links:</div><h3 style="margin-left: .5in;"><span style="color: #3366ff;">EBooks:</span></h3><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="color: #3333cc; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nearly-Departed-Deadwood-Mystery-ebook/dp/B004JF4MME/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=books&qid=1295409253&sr=8-1" target="_blank" title="Nearly Departed in Deadwood on Amazon"><strong><span style="color: #3333cc; font-weight: normal;">Amazon</span></strong></a><span style="color: #3333cc;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="color: #3333cc; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><a href="http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?WRD=nearly+departed+in+deadwood+a+deadwood+mystery&page=index&prod=univ&choice=allproducts&query=nearly+departed+in+deadwood+a+deadwood+mystery&flag=False&ugrp=2" target="_blank" title="NDD on B&N"><strong><span style="color: #3333cc; font-weight: normal;">Barnes & Noble</span></strong></a><span style="color: #3333cc;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="color: #3333cc; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><a href="http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/ann-charles/nearly-departed-in-deadwood/_/R-400000000000000343690" target="_blank" title="NDD on Sony Reader Store"><span style="color: #3333cc;">Sony Reader Store</span></a><span style="color: #3333cc;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="color: #3333cc; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/36543" target="_blank" title="NDD on Smashwords"><span style="color: #3333cc;">Smashwords</span></a><span style="color: #3333cc;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="color: #3333cc; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><a href="http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/item/SW00000036543/Charles-Ann/Nearly-Departed-in-Deadwood/1.html" target="_blank" title="NDD on Diesel"><span style="color: #3333cc;">Diesel eBook Store</span></a><span style="color: #3333cc;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><h3 style="margin-left: .5in;"><span style="color: #3366ff;">Print Books:</span></h3><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="color: #3333cc; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nearly-Departed-Deadwood-Ann-Charles/dp/0983256810/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1298341594&sr=1-2" target="_blank" title="Print book on Amazon"><strong><span style="color: #3333cc; font-weight: normal;">Amazon</span></strong></a><span style="color: #3333cc;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="color: #3333cc; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780983256816" target="_blank" title="NDD at IndieBound"><strong><span style="color: #3333cc; font-weight: normal;">IndieBound</span></strong></a><span style="color: #3333cc;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="color: #3333cc; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/product.aspx?EAN=9780983256816&x=" target="_blank" title="Print book on B&N"><strong><span style="color: #3333cc; font-weight: normal;">Barnes & Noble</span></strong></a><span style="color: #3333cc;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="color: #3333cc; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/61-9780983256816-0" target="_blank" title="NDD on Powell's"><span style="color: #3333cc;">Powell’s Books</span></a><span style="color: #3333cc;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="color: #3333cc; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><a href="http://www.borders.com.au/book/nearly-departed-in-deadwood-a-deadwood-mystery/23988106/" target="_blank" title="NDD on Borders"><span style="color: #3333cc;">Borders</span></a><span style="color: #3333cc;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="color: #3333cc; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><a href="http://romancebooks.warrentsale.com/post/0983256810" target="_blank" title="NDD on Romance Books"><span style="color: #3333cc;">Romance Books</span></a><span style="color: #3333cc;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="color: #3333cc; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><em><span style="color: #3333cc;">(Bookstores & Libraries)</span></em><span style="color: #3333cc;"> <strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">Also available through Ingram</span></strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333cc;"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><strong><br /></strong></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333cc;"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><strong>AM:<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Ann, thanks so much for stopping by today!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></strong></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .75in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333cc;"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><strong><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></strong></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-7217434709633834450?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-50184641204096391272011-04-29T08:18:00.003-05:002011-04-29T08:49:29.876-05:00Change of Scenery<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cri2dsRExoc/Tbq8czlhxkI/AAAAAAAAAKk/9QhuXdNVJ_o/s1600/IMG_4618.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cri2dsRExoc/Tbq8czlhxkI/AAAAAAAAAKk/9QhuXdNVJ_o/s200/IMG_4618.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600996289658603074" border="0" /></a>So, I heard back from 'the agent' and she said she was seriously considering representing my story, Baltimore Heat. Then came the 'but'. She said it needed some fine tuning and recommended getting more critiques.<br /><br />I asked some author friends, and four critiques have since landed in my inbox in the past three weeks... Then I sat on them.<br /><br />Why?<br /><br />Well, I could give you a list of reasons that include: sick children, sick mother, other projects I wanted to wrap up, etc.<br /><br />But when I did a 'gut check' the real reasons felt more like: fear of failure and fear of success. What if my friends hated the book and tore it to pieces in their critiques? What if <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">I</span> no longer liked the book when I read it with fresh eyes? Or worse, what if the agent liked it and asked for what I have finished next? What if I can't ever write another one?<br /><br />Do you know how to avoid such fears?<br /><br />Lay on a really comfy couch and read historical romances for about five days in a row. Whenever anyone asks 'how's the writing going?' Say you're doing research. It doesn't matter that you don't write historical, all romance is research, right?<br /><br />So, during that 'gut check', I also asked myself what I needed to do to get back to work because sitting on my couch staring at my laptop and the pile of critiques on my coffee table wasn't getting it done. I decided I needed to change my environment. Getting out of my house and parking my butt in a coffee shop or the library would put me in the mind frame that I was ready to work. The only problem is that I've been stuck at home with a sick kid all week. Poor puppy has had a fever for 5 days! And that's even with antibiotics.<br /><br />Anyhoo! I looked over at my unused dining room and saw 'coffee shop'! As soon as I got home from taking kid #2 to the bus stop, I dusted the table, the buffet, and even the chandelier (call it procrastination, I'll call it setting the mood). I made a pot of decaf hazelnut coffee, lit a candle, wheeled in my comfy office chair (one of the perks of a 'home coffee shop') and stuck in my headphones. Instant change of scenery.<br /><br />I was upright, focused and ready to get to business. And I had a really productive day. I didn't get past the first three chapters, but I spent a lot of time with chapter one, making it shiny, sparkly, polished. Then after dinner I was able to knock off chapter four.<br /><br />Today, I am back in my 'home coffee shop'. The coffee is brewed, the candle is lit, the music is playing in my ears, the sick kid is parked in front of the TV, and my fingers are itching to make those revisions.<br /><br />Do you ever find a change of scenery helpful when you are battling those common fears of authorship?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-5018464120409639127?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Andrea Dickinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03260750109606531773noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-10179983969436608562011-04-20T11:23:00.000-05:002011-04-20T11:23:52.586-05:00An Authorial Interview with Allie Pleiter<div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -25pt;">Authorial Mom: Welcome to the Authorial Moms blog, Allie! Tell us a little about yourself. How many kids do you have? How old are they?</div><div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -25pt;">Allie Pleiter: I have a nineteen year old daughter and a fifteen year old son.</div><div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -25pt;">AM: What do you write? How many books have you written/published? How old are they?</div><div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -25pt;">AP: I’ve written fiction and non-fiction. I have two parenting books, BECOMING A CHIEF HOME OFFICER, and FACING EVERY MOM’S FEARS. I also have over a dozen inspirational novels for Love Inspired/Steeple Hill, the most recent of which are YUKON WEDDING, MISSION OF HOPE and BLUEGRASS EASTER. Last year was my tenth anniversary as a published author!</div><div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -25pt;">AM: That's amazing! Congratulations. Tell me about a typical day. How do you write with kids around? Or do you have to ship them off to school or grandparents’ houses to get anything done?</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SMKG8Y5dHxU/TakOZtbEXvI/AAAAAAAAI6U/M-tXVK1SmgI/s1600/allie+pleiter+color+photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SMKG8Y5dHxU/TakOZtbEXvI/AAAAAAAAI6U/M-tXVK1SmgI/s320/allie+pleiter+color+photo.JPG" width="254" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Author Allie Pleiter</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -25pt;">AP: Typical day? I don’t think I ever get one of those words. My kids are rather self-sufficient these days, but back when they were little I remember writing from the nanosecond they got on the bus until the nanosecond they got off. My first book was written almost entirely in McDonald’s while my little ones were in the ball pit. Summers, while the teens are underfoot blasting their stereos, are still challenging.</div><div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -25pt;">AM: Did you write before you had kids, or after? What changed with your writing when you had kids?</div><div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -25pt;">AP: I’ve only written with kids. I think there’s an advantage to learning how to write with distractions and kids are fabulous teachers at that.</div><div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -25pt;"><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">AM: </span> </span>How old will one or more of your children have to be before they’re allowed to read your books?</div><div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -25pt;">AP: Love Inspired books are “sweet” romances, without sensuality but definitely with romantic attraction. As such, I’d be comfortable with either of my teenagers (and anyone 13 or older) reading my books---if they ever wanted to. My teenage daughter helped me with social media one summer, and I told her she had to read my current release. She asked if she got paid for that like her other work. I figured I’d have to pay anyone else, so she read my book “on the clock.” I couldn’t resist asking her what she thought of it. Her response was, “Like, if you weren’t related to me?” I told her not to finish the thought. My son says he’ll only read my books if I put zombies and vampires in them. He’ll have a long wait.</div><div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -25pt;">AM: Becoming an author means having a public persona. How do you combine motherhood with the demands of a public life? Do you feature your kids, keep them shielded under pseudonyms, or leave them out of the equation entirely? Have they asserted their opinion(s) on this matter?</div><div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -25pt;">AP: Once I asked my daughter if she was bothered by my public persona. Her response was to roll her eyes and say, “Come on Mom, you’re not that famous.” It’s hard to write parenting books without talking about your kids, but I do try to get their approval, think about what’s out there so it doesn’t embarrass them, and protect their privacy to a certain degree. I’m write about them but never in sensitive detail.</div><div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -25pt;">AM: Most Moms I know have a limited amount of free time. Give me a few reasons why they should dedicate some of that time to your characters. What’s in it for us?</div><div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -25pt;">AP: You’ll come away with an encouraging, laughing adventure that will teach you something significant. It will lift you up, not angst you out. And you have my permission to read my books in the bathroom, because I know it may be the only place you ever get to be alone.</div><div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -25pt;">AM: Let’s have a little fun with fill-in-the-blanks. “The floor of my kitchen is so ___ you can ___ it.”</div><div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -25pt;">AP: “The floor is my kitchen is so carefully crafted in its color and texture you can not tell if it’s dirty.” That strategy is my greatest--or perhaps my only--domestic achievement.</div><div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -25pt;"><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">AM: That's quite an achievement--one that I wish I'd thought of! </span></span>What’s up next for you?</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IHSMvFFqguY/TakOXTGxKvI/AAAAAAAAI6Q/bqyp0XERAvg/s1600/Yukon+cover+final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IHSMvFFqguY/TakOXTGxKvI/AAAAAAAAI6Q/bqyp0XERAvg/s320/Yukon+cover+final.jpg" width="202" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Add caption</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -25pt;">AP: I’ve just had a new release, the launch book of the Alaskan Brides continuity mini-series from Love Inspired, YUKON WEDDING. This story is a grand adventure wrapped around a very tender romance, so it was great fun to write. Then I take a bit of a break and my next book, FALLING FOR THE FIREMEN, launches a new series of mine in 2012 set in the fictional Illinois town of Gordon Falls. I think fans of my Kentucky Corners series will really enjoy the Gordon Falls books, for they’ll have the same small-town cast of vibrant characters. </div><div class="FreeForm" style="text-align: left;"> AM: Where can we find you and your books online?</div><div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -25pt;">AP: Find out all about my speaking, my parenting books, and my novels at <a href="http://www.alliepleiter.com/">www.alliepleiter.com</a>. If you’re a knitter, you can also see my flex a different set of writing muscles at <a href="http://www.destiknitions.blogspot.com/">www.DestiKNITions.blogspot.com</a>, where I have a travel/knitting blog from all my promotion/research adventures (and I do love me a good adventure!)</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-1017998396943660856?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-85370074531684211752011-04-12T11:19:00.002-05:002011-04-12T11:21:14.819-05:00Vacation observation...How exactly does one sum up a trip? Okay. Clarification. Not trip -- vacation. My first true vacation in three years. Just me and my hubby. Likely the last one of it’s kind for a while as the pod (baby), now affectionately called Blue, will make his debut at the end of July. <br /> We hadn’t even left for London (our vacation destination) when I got the ever lovely and encouraging news that I had a total Golden Hearts fail. After a minor meltdown and threats of throwing in the towel with writing all together, I managed to get myself under control enough to pack.<br /> After an all night flight, wandering through a HUGE airport (where it is small marathon to get from the gate to customs; let alone baggage claim); a trip on the London underground with luggage and a three block walk to the hotel; I remembered what drunk felt like even though it’s been 10 years since I had a drink.<br /> SIDE BAR: I don’t know if this happened to you when you were growing up, but: My parents had friends who were world travelers and they loved to take pictures of where they went. Rather, they loved to take slides (for those of you too young to know what a slide is -- NOT the ones on the playground -- go look it up on wikipedia while I take pain medication for my sciatica -- oi!). Anyway, my family, who didn’t travel, was always “treated” to an evening of travel slides with the travelers commentary. <br /> To prevent you from having to walk through my vacation and politely laugh at my antidotes, I will sum up:<br /> Star sighting: we saw Cillian Murphy waiting in the “fast track” lane in customs. Don’t know who Cillian Murhpy is? Go to IMDB. <br /> Words that seemed to come up a lot -- even in advertisements: Darling - euphemism for EVERYONE, but especially women and children. Proper - we even bought dog biscuits that tell us they are “proper dog biscuits.” Apparently Milk Bones are just too vulgar. <br /> I realized that we, in the states, really are a nation of SUPER SIZE. Now, I live in an expensive city, where you pay a ridiculous amount of money for not a lot of space. I’ve also spent some time in New York, where you get even less space for even more money. I knew going to London that hotel rooms were tiny. EVERY freakin’ blog tells you so. However, nothing could prepare me for the elevator, our room or the shower. Again to save you from every detail, I will say that at one point, I had to have my husband come in the closet... er ... bathroom... and pick up the soap I dropped in the shower because I couldn’t bend over to get it. Oh, and the bathroom sink was about the size of the average american dinner plate. Even the produce was smaller. <br /> While we’re on the subject of food... Coke was in a weird label and the bottle shape was strange -- more cylindrical that our hour glass shape. The candy, though it was the same Twix, Snickers and Hershey’s as here, ALL had different packaging as to be almost unrecognizable -- though a jonesing pregnant woman can always find what she needs ... unless it’s Benedryl in the pharmacy in London... but that’s a whole different story for another time.<br /> If you have to go potty in London, you better know how to hover over a toilet because A LOT of the public restrooms don’t have toilet seats. Also, they don’t believe in paper towels ... at all. Only air blowers to dry the mitts.<br /> I keep getting told that I would have to go to the countryside to experience the famous English politeness, which must be true. All I can say is that London was no different than any American city I’ve been in. People are pushy, self-serving and generally in a hurry. The only difference is that when someone bumps you in San Francisco, they don’t apologize or mumble anything to you; they just keep on walking. In London, they mutter unenthusiastically that they are sorry, but they don’t make eye contact and often times you miss the apology ‘cause they are already walking away. <br /> We did have to ask seven different employees, from seven different shops, not including two security officers and a ticket agent, where the Paddington Bear kiosk was in Paddington Station.<br /> The best moment hands down though, was finding that Londoners can watch an hour of Judge Judy every morning from 8am - 9am. Now, I hate to admit that Judge Judy is my secret little television vice -- we all have one, I’m just admitting to mine -- so I was thrilled to find Judge Judy in a foreign land. Then, I realized that THIS was one of the shows that represented the US to the UK. I was torn between amused and sad. <br /> One of the biggest reason that we chose London was the history. I felt that I could glean a decent story out of the place. At the very least, some sort of idea for a character or an essence for a place. I was getting really bummed when, by our last day, I just had sore feet from walking, a bad back from the extra firm bed in our hotel and a really bad cold I caught from my husband. All that and no inspiration. The hubby, as a painter, really wanted to go to the Tate Modern and he’d been nice enough to indulge all my London fantasies, so we went to the Tate. Modern art is hard for me. Often times I just don’t get it and that only serves to frustrate me and make me feel inadequate in some way. It doesn’t help that everyone in my life have been artists and I feel obliged to at least act like I get it. Anyway, wandering through the halls of work, I stumbled upon a series of painting that sledgehammered my brain and gave me hope that story ideas weren’t totally lost in the nether-sphere of writers block. Who would have thought, I a center of epic world history, I find inspiration in the modern art museum. Typical.<br /> So, as a writer, the trip wasn’t a total wash. As a wife and soon to be mother, the trip was a good break from reality - though I could do without the lingering cold and cough. Now, I have to channel that energy into something worth mentioning... like another story ... maybe one that won’t be a contest fail or added to my wall of rejection shame.<br /> Here’s hopin’.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-8537007453168421175?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Laurel Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769446919171382143noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-59631358924868791442011-04-05T09:31:00.002-05:002011-04-05T09:44:35.311-05:00Hop into Spring BreakDaily conversation for the two weeks preceding Spring Break.<br /><br />Matthew: I wish we were going somewhere for Spring Break.<br />Me: I do, too.<br /><br />Finally, on the last day of school before break started, he offered a solution.<br /><br />Matthew: I wish we could at least go somewhere and do something fun for a day, like Michigan Adventure's water park.<br />Me: Matthew, this is Michigan in April. It's 40 degrees outside and the water park is closed.<br /><br />(I said he offered a solution. I didn't say it was a good one.)<br /><br />Me: In the past, we've gone to Crazy Bounce. Do you want to go there again?<br />Matthew: No, they never get any new ones.<br />Me: And you always get bored before the hour is over.<br />Matthew: What about Great Wolf Lodge? Sarah is trying to talk her parents into taking her there.<br />Me: That's a long drive that requires an overnight stay.<br />Matthew: Oh. (Bottom lip sticks out in small pout.)<br />Me: What about going to a movie? We can splurge and get sodas and popcorn.<br />Matthew: And refills?<br />Me: Yep.<br />Matthew: Yay!<br /><br />So, the "Spring Break that was no fun" crisis was averted. On Monday, I took my three boys to see the movie, Hop. (Very good for a kid movie. Kept this Mom entertained as well as the kids.) I even went so far as to stop at the gas station to let the boys each pick out candy to go with their soda and popcorn.<br /><br />On the way to the theater, I had a thought.<br /><br />Me: Has anyone eaten lunch?<br />Threeboys: Nope!<br />Me: Whoohoo! I guess it's popcorn, candy and soda for lunch today. Happy Spring Break!<br /><br />So, by now you're probably asking yourself, what does this have to do with being an Authorial Mom? Well, when I got home at 1:30 pm, I was so full of popcorn, Twizzlers and Diet Coke that I was able to sit down at my desk and write until 5:30 pm without even once needing to stop for a snack break for me or the boys. And that's a miracle!<br /><br />P.S. The downside of this miracle is that all the caffeine (which I don't usually drink) kept me awake half the night. Hopefully, it won't diminish my productivity today. :(<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-5963135892486879144?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Andrea Dickinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03260750109606531773noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-253334460925960862011-03-31T19:50:00.001-05:002011-03-31T19:51:10.131-05:00Where Are We?Sarah here, and here's my question: Where are we? (To be said in what I think of as the 'Lost' tone of voice.)<br /><br /><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2ZeyT1ATZHTJmVAqT026x1OeTnnqdfso-GWMYTxmlRg?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="300" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TZT56a4x_6I/AAAAAAAAI2I/IXkP_iXxZ5U/s400/100_4731.JPG" width="400" /></a><br /><br />I really don't know where we are. Here's what I do know:<br /><br /><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/_FAr1I08WEdXqbEPjb73wlOeTnnqdfso-GWMYTxmlRg?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="300" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TZT5__Ls1TI/AAAAAAAAI2c/JvuuzkyM_iU/s400/100_4736.JPG" width="400" /></a><br /><br />I know that I downloaded some photos my husband took on his recent business trip, and found a treasure trove of photos The Kid took . . . somewhere. At some point. Pictures like this:<br /><br /><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/5iPtWaVepj0SjWqmBJ5W01OeTnnqdfso-GWMYTxmlRg?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="300" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TZT6CGB61uI/AAAAAAAAI2g/UHQ-51tOoSk/s400/100_4742.JPG" width="400" /></a><br /><br />Do you know where we are?<br /><br /><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/GiRlEoYzVxXdCcQ2CLydplOeTnnqdfso-GWMYTxmlRg?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="300" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TZT6FUluigI/AAAAAAAAI2k/mcTy80JY2w8/s400/100_4744.JPG" width="400" /></a><br /><br />Where <i>are </i>we?<br /><br /><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/x9ZYoZvCcz52CnHZ7n1xPVOeTnnqdfso-GWMYTxmlRg?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="300" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TZT6Jzh7YYI/AAAAAAAAI2o/hPS0b4nyZF8/s400/100_4745.JPG" width="400" /></a><br /><br />Because, clearly, we are <i>somewhere. </i><br /><br /><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/r3VDYcKBGW8_d45F-tCYF1OeTnnqdfso-GWMYTxmlRg?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="300" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TZT6NVg_BKI/AAAAAAAAI28/G831lH-3qKw/s400/100_4746.JPG" width="400" /></a><br /><br />I'll say this, though--that boy of mine is really developing an eye for photography, considering especially that all of these photos were taken from the back of a moving vehicle . . .<br /><br /><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/q5-S7_dlJACNIZpfxlz11FOeTnnqdfso-GWMYTxmlRg?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="300" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TZUffJZyjAI/AAAAAAAAI3I/q7Kp-GCK758/s400/100_4728.JPG" width="400" /></a><br /><br />Would ya look at that. Gas is only $2.86. How <i>old </i>are these photos?? Anyone? Anyone? (Bueller? Bueller?)<br /><br />Tell you something else I know:<br /><br /><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/forppIfQUrkJqZKdgyHIB1OeTnnqdfso-GWMYTxmlRg?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="267" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TZUgiP_QCXI/AAAAAAAAI3g/61mjQDT8jGI/s400/100_4726.JPG" width="400" /></a><br /><br />Wherever The Kid was, Pooh Bear was with him.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-25333446092596086?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-83053668865889502842011-03-22T09:41:00.000-05:002011-03-22T09:41:22.110-05:00Introducing Authorial Mom Laurel Levy<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lkPloJdqaMk/TYIpQ6bRolI/AAAAAAAAIyc/BPcVpcQMQOU/s1600/Laurel+Levy+headshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lkPloJdqaMk/TYIpQ6bRolI/AAAAAAAAIyc/BPcVpcQMQOU/s320/Laurel+Levy+headshot.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laurel Levy</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="Body"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> So I sit in the Boise airport, where the floor vibrates with every passing plane, and contemplate all the new things that are happening. First, and the reason you are being subjected to my ramblings, is that I somehow got picked up by some awesome ladies that wanted me to play in their sandbox. Now, I have the lucky task of explaining the bumps in the road the comes with being a writer and a mom. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Body"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> The second newness is that I even consider myself a writer (for real, like) and actually kinda-sorta believe I belong in the ranks of “real” writers. I sit, looking around at the other waiting passengers and am stunned that there are so many people reading rather than talking on the phone like they do in CA. It makes me excited to see the readers and have a secret thrill that maybe someday I will see one of my own titles in the MUST READ racks in the airport—if for no other reason than I would be making some sort of living at what I dedicate a crazy amount of time to. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Body" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">I write Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy. Only with the limitless support of my loyal reader and good friend, Sarah, would I have pushed myself last year to move past a project that I was married to and attempt three new books, two of which I am keeping my fingers crossed in the Golden Heart writing contest. Join me in jittery anticipation, won’t you?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Body"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> The biggest newness is that I achieve the rank that this pack of writers have already realized. Later this year, I will become a mother for the first time. Now, I’m a late bloomer to the whole motherhood thing, but what I have noticed is that, so far, pregnancy with all the fear, paranoia and anticipation, has caused my creative knackers to go on vacation. Sure, I had all the incredible pregnancy dreams, a few that even led to story ideas, but have I written anything? I’ve made attempts. I’ve outlined a new story. I’ve hemmed and hawed over paragraphs, perspectives, and locations. I’ve tossed around follow-ups to stories I’ve written. I’ve contemplated research for said stories. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Body"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> What have I really done? Surfed the web regarding the size and shape of my growing baby. Found out from those websites what I was to expect from my body. I have fought morning sickness, fatigue, and a sort of crankiness that would have otherwise had me incarcerated (we won’t discuss the two times at Christmas I almost divorced my husband for not being nice to a raving lunatic). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Body"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> I have been reassured by my cheerleading squad that, having written four manuscripts last year and being newly pregnant, I was entitled to have a break in maintaining my writing zeal. But see, the conundrum is that telling a pregnant woman not to worry is sort of like asking a wall for advice about your marriage. Of course I worry. I worry because I read stupid blogs by great, amazing writers that say junk like, “I write every day, no matter what.” Then I pull out my whip for a good dose of self-flagellation. I have been told that the distraction I feel now is nothing compared to what happens with a new baby and frankly, you might as well push me right over the Cliffs of Insanity... Oh wait. Already did that... Okay. The Canyon of Freak-the-H-Out. If I don’t write, then I’ll loose my muse and then I won’t ever, ever write again, right? Or, I’ll decide that I have managed to write books. Okay, books, if nothing else, and now I can move onto my next thing (see the filmmaking, jewelry making, quilting, and cooking that went before—though I still cook, ‘cause a girl’s gotta eat). I panic because I don’t really want to give up on writing like I have all those things before. I enjoy writing. I just wonder if this “new” distraction is gonna be the mother of all distractions—oh, poo! That’s a bad pun. Sorry.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="Body"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> Ultimately, there is no real choice. I don’t anticipate giving up writing because of my need for it. I’m obviously not going to give up my child for the sake of writing. My only option is to muddle through, as best I can. With role models like the women that have invited me into their clan and the support of those around me, I might just be able to juggle this, work and all. <o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"> Like my husband keeps reminding me about our impending parenthood—it’ll be an adventure. Are you up for an adventure?</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-8305366886588950284?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-23428386531847182752011-03-15T09:16:00.000-05:002011-03-15T09:16:25.872-05:00Authorial Moms Interview with Therese Kinkaide<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Authorial Mom: Welcome to the Authorial Moms blog, Therese! Tell us a little about yourself. How many kids do you have? How old are they? </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-X_Jz5GuAq0w/TX6rlWTeoRI/AAAAAAAAIxo/iE2lkwdSdSU/s1600/Tracy+%2526+family+2009+072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-X_Jz5GuAq0w/TX6rlWTeoRI/AAAAAAAAIxo/iE2lkwdSdSU/s320/Tracy+%2526+family+2009+072.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Therese Kinkaide</td></tr></tbody></table>Therese Kinkaide: Thank you, Sarah. I used to be a pre-kindergarten teacher. I love music and love to watch my kids play sports. I learned last year it is very cool to be a golf mom. And I love to read. I have two kids: my daughter is 15 (very soon to be 16) and my son is 10.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">AM: What do you write? How many books have you written/published? How old are they? <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">TK: I write women’s fiction and young adult fiction. I have three women’s fiction novels published: <i>Betrayal </i>(1998) <i>Luther’s Cross</i> (2008) and <i>Fairytale </i>(2011.) I also have three young adult books: Crush (a collection of short stories from 2009) <i>Vocab. 101</i> and <i>Gun Metal Gray</i> (both 2010.) I’ve written others, some of which I hope to publish someday and some of which will never see the light of day.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">AM: Tell me about a typical day. How do you write with kids around? Or do you have to ship them off to school or grandparents’ houses to get anything done? </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">TK: My typical writing day is their school day. My husband takes my daughter to school, and I take my son. I drop him off around 8:10 and then come back home and make coffee and park in my office. I spend twenty to thirty minutes checking email and checking in on Facebook. Some days I write up until the moment I leave to pick the kids up from school, and sometimes, I have to stop and do real life things, like laundry or grocery shopping. If the kids are home, and I want to write, I close my office doors, turn on my iTunes playlist and use my earbuds and write. If I’m far enough into a manuscript, nothing bothers me.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">AM: Did you write before you had kids, or after? What changed with your writing when you had kids? <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">TK: I have been writing since I was in 5<sup>th</sup> grade. I wrote several books by hand from eighth grade all the way through high school. I didn’t write as much or as often when the kids were little. But now that they’re a little older, I find it easier to make time for writing. Also, with each book that comes out, the kids tend to take my writing a little more seriously, so they do try to give me time to work, especially when the manuscript is working well.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ym72uQGLX4M/TX6rmjIpkpI/AAAAAAAAIxs/DmNYOBxC49k/s1600/Fairytale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ym72uQGLX4M/TX6rmjIpkpI/AAAAAAAAIxs/DmNYOBxC49k/s320/Fairytale.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">AM: How old will one or more of your children have to be before they’re allowed to read your books? </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">TK: My daughter has read all of my young adult work, both published and not. My young adult books are available at my son’s school library, but he has only read <i>Crush</i>, the short story collection. My daughter just read a women’s fiction novel by an author I like, therefore, I guess she’s old enough to read my women’s fiction. However, she wasn't enthralled with that book, and I think that’s partly because she’s not interested in reading about an adult’s life and worries and stress and job. I’d guess she wouldn't care for my books yet either, and I think it might feel a little awkward for her at this point<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><br /></div><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent"> AM: Becoming an author means having a public persona. How do you combine motherhood with the demands of a public life? Do you feature your kids, keep them shielded under pseudonyms, or leave them out of the equation entirely? Have they asserted their opinion(s) on this matter? </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">TK: I write women’s fiction under a pen name. I made that decision when I first wrote <i>Betrayal</i>. My daughter was very young, and I was teaching in a pre-kindergarten program. I felt it was best to keep my personal life separate from writing. I’ve stuck with that decision, and I do like keeping it separate. I write young adult under my real name, and I’ve dedicated those books to my kids. Other than that, I don’t feature my kids, and no, they don’t really seem to have an opinion on any of it.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">AM: Most Moms I know have a limited amount of free time. Give me a few reasons why they should dedicate some of that time to your characters. What’s in it for us? <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">TK: I write character-driven fiction. My characters are always a mix of women I really admire and respect, women I know, who inspire me. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=8932729936859104311&postID=2342838653184718275" name="_GoBack"></a>I love my characters like they are my children, though I put them through hell. I am fascinated by relationships of all sorts, and I focus on those relationships in my books. My characters are very real, very much like you and me, and they love and give and laugh and cry and hurt just like you and me. I want you to meet my characters and love them as much as I do.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><br /></div><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent"> AM: Let’s have a little fun with fill-in-the-blanks.“The floor of my kitchen is so ___ you can ___ it.”</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">TK: “The floor of my <u>dining</u> room is so <u>dusty</u> you can <u>write a book</u> in it.”</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">AM: In what way have you turned into your mother? How are you coping with it?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">TK: My mom is a very giving, very compassionate person. I believe I’m a giving, compassionate person, and I thank her for raising me that way. She was also involved in my life and somewhat strict. I like to think I am that involved in my kids’ lives. I’m my kids’ mom, not their friend.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">AM: What’s up next for you? </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">TK: I just finished a women’s fiction Christmas novel called <i>Small Hours</i>. And I am currently writing a women’s fiction novel that is…nameless. I keep changing my mind on the title. But I can tell you I love it. I love these characters so, so much, it pains me to be away from writing them for any length of time. I also have 3 other WIPs: a disco time travel romance (very different for me, but so much fun, ) a light-hearted young adult romance, and a sequel to the <i>Gun Metal Gray</i>.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">AM: Where can we find you online? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">TK: I'm on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1416623133&ref=ts">Facebook </a>and <a href="http://www.myspace.com/theresekinkaide">Myspace</a>. Readers can find my books at <a href="http://www.wingsepress.com/">Wings Press</a> and at <a href="http://www.lldreamspell.com/ThereseKinkaide.htm">L & L Dreamspell</a>. And, of course, please visit my <a href="http://www.theresekinkaide.com/">website</a>. Soon, I'll also have <a href="http://www.broemmerbooks.com/">Broemmer Books</a> up and running, so be sure to check back for that!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">AM: Therese, thanks so much for stopping by the Authorial Moms blog today. I enjoyed chatting with you (but then, I usually do anyway) and I hope you'll come back soon!</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-2342838653184718275?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-15144561653271815802011-03-10T09:27:00.000-06:002011-03-10T09:27:52.714-06:00Kid with CameraWarning! The following post has nothing to do with anything. Proceed at your own risk.<br /><br />So, we went to a shower last weekend. As my wonderful husband had to work, I took The Kid with me, and I put him to work. Is it normal for a five-going-on-six-year-old-boy to be so darned handy with a centerpiece?<br /><br />Anyway, at one point during the festivities, my mom's camera (hi, Mom!) had a technical issue, and I handed her mine. The next thing I knew, The Kid was darting hither and yon, snapping off some truly great* pictures like these:<br /><br /><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9P5keNzQHFkuD7d6vOha2ToY20ybV3qcAyVQMqtqcTs?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="300" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TXZjrdi7rvI/AAAAAAAAIk4/LDsUiZ6jQpc/s400/carpet%20one.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br />Apparently Ansel Adams down there decided that one photo of carpeting wasn't enough, so he also took this one:<br /><br /><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/RXKLHq-b-jun2SYgVEoY7DoY20ybV3qcAyVQMqtqcTs?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="300" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TXZjxbK9EFI/AAAAAAAAIlA/h1bWyinD9TA/s400/carpet%202.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br />In case I needed to remember the different carpet styles the hotel was sporting. He's awesome like that.<br /><br />But there was much more to this shower that *just* carpeting. Oh, yes. There were also windows:<br /><br /><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/wtHc8t-blocA3sfJtSvZVjoY20ybV3qcAyVQMqtqcTs?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="300" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TXZjtSYx8BI/AAAAAAAAIk8/0zUG8vLFDIg/s400/window%201.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br />And I quote: "Ooh, pretty!" Yes, he's quite the tasteful young chap.<br /><br /><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/8u9saKy7VpPyGFLWJDNu-DoY20ybV3qcAyVQMqtqcTs?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="300" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TXZjzPG5VeI/AAAAAAAAIlE/t1IpNPU5tSU/s400/potted%20plant.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br />That potted plant sure knew how to strike a pose.<br /><br />Yes, it was a day of documenting every surface:<br /><br /><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/8mQMHSVrI2LBuB2Q3rdZJjoY20ybV3qcAyVQMqtqcTs?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="300" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TXZj2Rp5VRI/AAAAAAAAIlM/Nhw3D2UXSBU/s400/mirror%201.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br />Even the reflective ones. I named this one "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Goofball."<br /><br /><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/geER0tixgdCluslDeX5YOToY20ybV3qcAyVQMqtqcTs?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TXZj3zyI7lI/AAAAAAAAIlQ/Xv-9CZcgMNI/s320/mirror%202.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />Seriously, he took this picture of the ceiling;<br /><br /><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/X3Qe_FyLV4dxMM7-tK2i5ToY20ybV3qcAyVQMqtqcTs?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TXZj52rMIKI/AAAAAAAAIlU/U27AbOVztqk/s320/ceiling.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /><br />and said, "Oh, that's a good one." He's a little off, that boy of mine. As you can see, The Kid should stick to stills.<br /><br />Now, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, But Authorial Mom, didn't he take any pictures of <i>people</i>? And the answer is yes. Yes, he did. But in at least one sister's opinion, they are the kind of blackmail shots that will get one or more of my kneecaps broken if I post them. After all, The Kid is only 4 feet tall--you have to look down at him. Not the most flattering camera angle. Toss in blurry, like this:<br /><br /><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/OIS_j03jOdlm1W0xq6PyKToY20ybV3qcAyVQMqtqcTs?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="300" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TXZj9HhOUCI/AAAAAAAAIlY/AB1PK91d4_Q/s400/mommy%20camera.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br />and, well, you get the idea. This shot is entitled, "Run Away, Mommy Wants Her Camera Back." A three-minute chase ensued. This is what I get for encouraging the boy's artistic tendencies.<br /><br />*not really<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-1514456165327181580?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-79526171073689375922011-03-01T10:08:00.000-06:002011-03-01T10:08:04.907-06:00Eleanore Gray UpdateBefore we get to today's blog, I want to let everyone know (who doesn't already) that my book Indian Princess will be released in March of 2012--just one year away! It'll have a new title by then, but the countdown has officially begun!<br /><br />Now, back to this blog in progress.<br /><br />Remember this <a href="http://authorialmom.blogspot.com/2010/04/eleanore-grey.html">blog </a>from last April on my grandmother Goldie's book, <i>Eleanore Gray</i>? Well, it's almost done!<br /><br />Here's what's been happening. I expanded the ending. When I got to the original ending, it glossed over the happily ever after in favor of a recap of the local townsfolk. To me, it felt like it was not only cheating the readers out of closure, but that Eleanore deserved better. The poor woman had suffered a great deal--she deserved a little happiness, too. Upon conferring with my Uncle Jim, Mom, and Dad, we also added a section about how Eleanore's children were a vital part of the happily ever after, too.<br /><br />I made some editing changes, too. I am one of those obnoxious people who believes you need a comma before the 'and' in a list of three things. I believe it's called an Oxford comma. Goldie did not subscribe to the Oxford comma theory. I added a lot of commas before Dad also told me he didn't like those commas, to which I told him, 'It's too late. I'm not taking them back out." We're in a tense, comma-based détente.<br /><br />I also took out a few 'historical' terms for African Americans. Times have changed since Goldie was working on this book. Let's just leave it at that.<br /><br />Beyond that, though, the major addition to this book is what I'm calling "The Collective Biography of Goldie Lucas." You see, people who remember important things about Goldie, like where she was born and how old she was when she married my grandfather, are harder and harder to come by. I asked Dad to do an 'About the Author' for me, and he only had so much to work with. And with three of Goldie's children already passed on, tracking down stories was a challenge, to say the least.<br /><br />So we dug deeper. Mom found a folder labelled 'Reminisces' that my Uncle Luke, the oldest of the nine kids, had typed up four months before he died. Mom and I emailed various cousins in an attempt to find other memories. It took months to track something for everyone, but in the end, we had each of Goldie's nine children represented. I added my own part about working on this book, too.<br /><br />After that, it went through line edits, where the Lovely Mary, Grammar Goddess, read the whole thing with a red pen in hand. I missed a lot of commas, and while I don't mess up 'which' and 'that' in my own writing too much, I missed it in this book entirely. Plus, I will never, ever get the hang of 'toward' versus 'towards.' The Lovely Mary has explained this to me several times--with increasing levels of firmness--and I still blow it. Every time.<br /><br />Up to now, this has been a project where I've been familiar with all the steps. But with the text now edited and finished, I'm about to head right on over to 'clueless.' Yes. It's time to actually publish this baby!<br /><br />I've got a cover image picked out, and the back cover text ready to go. I'm hiring my dear friend Leah Hanlin of Blue Sky Design to format the book into trade paperback size and get the cover set up for me. One of the problems I've seen with self-published books is that the 8 1/2 x 11 inch Word Document page gets shrunk down to fit whatever page size the author chooses, leading to a 7 point font. Needless to say, 7 point fonts are not going to win the hearts and minds of seniors, who would be my target audience (esp. those to whom I am related).<br /><br />After we get the formatting done and the cover finalized, I'm going to run Eleanore Gray through Amazon's self-publishing arm, CreateSpace. I'll also have it up as a Kindle e-book, so any time you want to get a copy of it, it'll be there.<br /><br />In a few weeks, I'll tell you more about the actual book--who these people are, who would enjoy reading it, etc. But, like all good things, you have to wait for it!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-7952617107368937592?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-80207450801169490962011-02-23T07:49:00.002-06:002011-02-23T08:09:48.530-06:00May I introduce myself?Aloha! It's me, Andrea!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t9-r10OuQqg/TWUU_9UkLdI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/haLAdFCF1gE/s1600/IMG_4618.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t9-r10OuQqg/TWUU_9UkLdI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/haLAdFCF1gE/s200/IMG_4618.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576886802593361362" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Thank you, Sarah, for inviting me to join Authorial Moms as a regular contributor. I've been a fan since we met in 2008 at Chicago North's RWA Spring Fling Conference. It was the first public appearance as writers for both of us, and I fondly remember much mutual hand holding as we practiced our first pitches. I've loved traveling this crazy publishing road along with you. Thanks for your support and cheerleading!<br /><br />My body of work consists of a small handful of contemporary romance manuscripts. An agent in NY has a revised copy of my latest, Baltimore Heat, literally sitting on her desk. (I know because she requires hard copies snail mailed to her.) She has promised to read it as soon as she finishes with her clients' work.<br /><br />My fingers cramped long ago from keeping them held crossed for so long, so I've shaken them out and only keep them crossed in my mind now. Waiting for agent responses is an excellent exercise for building the patience muscle. After three years of submitting, I'm pleased to say my muscle is strong and healthy. I hardly remember anymore to check my inbox for 'her' name. ;D<br /><br />On a personal note, I'm a mother of three boys, ages 12, 9 and 7, and the wife of a math professor. I'm blessed with lots of time during the day to write as the three kids are off at school, but the irony is that I get more writing done on days when I'm pressed for time than on the days when my schedule is wide open.<br /><br />Oh yeah, in regards to my opening salutation. Nope, I'm not writing from Hawaii (only in my dreams). Instead, I'm sitting here at my kitchen table, looking out at a very snowy, but sunny backyard in West Michigan. (Yep, we capitalize the 'w' in west here!) It's great to be only 12 minutes from the beaches of Lake Michigan in the summertime, but in the winter it means LOTS of lake effect snow and at least four snow days off school every year for the kids. I love those snow days.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-8020745080116949096?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Andrea Dickinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03260750109606531773noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-13761927007545878592011-02-10T09:48:00.000-06:002011-02-10T09:48:54.652-06:00Changes are A'ComingThe Authorial Mom blog is undergoing some changes, and I think you'll like them.<br /><br />I'm going to be teaming up with a few other moms who are authors. Andrea Dickinson and Laurel Levy will be joining the Authorial ranks, posting once or twice a month (assuming no one is on deadline and no children have the stomach flu, of course).<br /><br />In addition, we're going to start having guest bloggers, other moms who are authors who want to talk about getting their books published while managing family life. If you'd like to set up an interview or guest blog, just email me!<br /><br />Why am I teaming up with other Authorial Moms? There are a couple of good reasons. First off, I have less time to devote to my random musings. As a Harlequin Desire author now, I'm going to have real deadlines. Plus, I'm reviewing novels for Romance Novel News. And my son is, shall we say, an energetic kindergardener who requires lots of monitoring.<br /><br />But beyond that, the fact is that I'm essentially a boring person. Really. I do the same things all the time. I walk the dogs, make The Kid do homework and pick up toys, sit at my desk and write down imaginary conversations. I'm not a jet-setting, scandal-producing, drama queen. My name will never make a CNN Entertainment Headline, and that's okay with me. Sixty percent of the blogs I've written over the last few years could be recycled this year without anyone noticing the difference. (Look! My flowers are blooming! We ate turkey for Thanksgiving! I had a birthday! Christmas came again!) I like the comfort and familiarity of predictable routines, but frankly, they don't make for exciting blogs.<br /><br />So I'm going to open this up by bringing on two women whom I've become close Authorial friends with. I'll let Andrea and Laurel introduce themselves to you in the coming weeks. They are wonderful women and I couldn't make this Authorial journey without their love, support, and honest feedback.<br /><br />So stay tuned for the new and improves Authorial Moms blog!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-1376192700754587859?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-49895475073299522722011-02-03T13:32:00.000-06:002011-02-03T13:32:39.576-06:00What I've Been Doing Instead Of Writing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So, how have you been?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TUnThSyDOII/AAAAAAAAIfw/cc9ACFRCoqo/s1600/100_1065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TUnThSyDOII/AAAAAAAAIfw/cc9ACFRCoqo/s320/100_1065.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />Good. Good to hear. And how have things been going?<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TUnTWuudwJI/AAAAAAAAIfg/RW1WJHpL6TY/s1600/100_1061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TUnTWuudwJI/AAAAAAAAIfg/RW1WJHpL6TY/s320/100_1061.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />Good. Glad that's been working out for you.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TUnTe_sO9BI/AAAAAAAAIfs/ydgnjdzxTd4/s1600/100_1064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TUnTe_sO9BI/AAAAAAAAIfs/ydgnjdzxTd4/s320/100_1064.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />What's that? Oh, what have I been up to?<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TUmei9EICYI/AAAAAAAAIeQ/WzUJZ1BEKWA/s1600/100_1072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TUmei9EICYI/AAAAAAAAIeQ/WzUJZ1BEKWA/s320/100_1072.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">Oh, not much.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TUmen3hxOzI/AAAAAAAAIeg/enqFGC2UZ8c/s1600/100_1075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TUmen3hxOzI/AAAAAAAAIeg/enqFGC2UZ8c/s320/100_1075.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The usual, really.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TUmeroHk2TI/AAAAAAAAIew/7hZrjoZYF5A/s1600/100_1079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TUmeroHk2TI/AAAAAAAAIew/7hZrjoZYF5A/s320/100_1079.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Same old, same old.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TUmexdw8LBI/AAAAAAAAIe8/E5Vwe23jlq4/s1600/100_1082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TUmexdw8LBI/AAAAAAAAIe8/E5Vwe23jlq4/s320/100_1082.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">School, work, laundry, dinner.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TUme0UB5nfI/AAAAAAAAIfE/QIsbuDNjYlk/s1600/100_1084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TUme0UB5nfI/AAAAAAAAIfE/QIsbuDNjYlk/s320/100_1084.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Nothing new to speak of, really.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TUme3-SmePI/AAAAAAAAIfQ/AtW-Dh1WvQA/s1600/100_1087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TUme3-SmePI/AAAAAAAAIfQ/AtW-Dh1WvQA/s320/100_1087.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Same as it ever was.<br /><br />Well, thanks for checking in!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-4989547507329952272?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-44177209667471978782011-01-25T09:53:00.000-06:002011-01-25T09:53:38.389-06:00How To Become A Romance AuthorHow did I get here? Contrary to popular belief, I did not wake up one morning and decide I was going to write romance novels for Harlequin. If anything, the opposite happened. Let me walk you through my patented* steps to arriving at a career as a Harlequin Author, results guaranteed*!<br /><br />1. Decide to write a novel.<br />2. Get busy for the next 20 years with schooling, jobs, marriage, family, and home-ownership.<br />3. Picture a scene with two people arguing. Wonder who they are.<br />4. Figure out who they are. Wish they would stop talking in your head.<br />5. Give up trying to get the imaginary people to be quiet. Decide that writing down what they say will get them out of your head.<br />6. Write a 537 page novel. Decide it's brilliant and New York Publishers will be crawling over each other to get to it first. Envision six-figure advances to honor your awesomeness.<br />7. Realize you have no idea how to alert New York Publishers to your awesomeness. Discover things called 'query letters.' Start writing them.<br />8. Get your first rejection. Rationalize that that person wouldn't know literature if it bit them on the tush. Send out more query letters.<br />9. More rejections. Conclude that, while your novel is brilliant, query letters are hard. Dig a little deeper into what goes into a query letter.<br />10. Discover your supposed to know what genre your novel is. Realize you have no freaking idea, because you haven't read a full-length fiction novel since you burned out on 70 of them in three months as a part of your Masters defense, and those were all Victorian novels, anyway.<br />11. Figure since your brilliant novel has people who fall in love and live happily ever after, you might be somewhere near a romance novel.<br />12. Refuse to label your brilliant novel as a romance because everyone knows romances are trashy, crappy things passing themselves off as literature.<br />13. Finally settle on 'women's literary fiction with strong romantic elements.' Decide that sounds serious and literate, just like your book.<br />14. More query letters. More rejections. Rationalize that if someone would just read it, they'd see its awesomeness themselves. Write different query letters.<br />15. Meanwhile, as this process has taken more than a year, also continue to write other novels. Three, to be exact.<br />16. Enter a contest with your first novel--contest wins will get your work read by agents and editors!<br />17. Come in dead last in your category. Read the comments and sob hysterically.<br />18. Decide to put that first novel away. Rationalize that, when you're rich and famous, people will want it then.<br />19. Write a novel in six weeks because it was so much fun. Because the characters are different, they wind up having a lot more sex and saying funnier things.<br />20. Have your readers tell you they actually ENJOYED reading this novel.<br />21. Decide to skip sending out the middle two novels and go straight to the one people seem to like.<br />22. Get a request for the full within three months, followed by a request for a partial three days later.<br />23. Get really, REALLY excited. Finally--someone is going to read your writing and discover your awesomeness! Go back to envisioning six-figure advances.<br />24. Get the partial rejected.<br />25. Get the full rejected, with the comment "I normally love western romances, but the characters just didn't work for me."<br />26. Realize you write westerns. And romances. And there's nothing wrong with that, because you like them and you have good taste, so they can't be bad.<br />27. Send that novel back out.<br />28. Find an agent who loves it.<br />29. Sign with the agent. Begin to think about what you're going to do with that six-figure advance.<br />30. Struggle for a year and a half with editor rejections on two different books.<br />31. Decide to write a category book to 'break in' and 'establish your brand name.' Sure, categories tend to be a little trashier--not that you know from first-hand experience, because you haven't read that many. But everyone knows that, so it must be true.<br />32. Read some categories. Discover a few stinkers--but a lot of them are really good, and easier to fit into your busy writing schedule because they're shorter than full-length novels.<br />33. Write a category. Embrace a feminist point-of-view that because romance novels focus on a woman's happiness and sexual satisfaction, they are dismissed as being 'unimportant' and 'sleazy.' Briefly feel bad for having once thought the same thing, but get over it.<br />34. Find an editor who loves it. Win and place in several contests.<br />35. Feel a great deal of personal and professional satisfaction with writing a book that you like and other people--people who are not your mother--also like.<br />36. Realize that, while you won't be seeing any six-figure advances any time soon, you're being paid to write novels, and it only took three and a half years!<br />37. Celebrate!<br /><br />*not really<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-4417720966747197878?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-59583958114013550222011-01-13T10:19:00.000-06:002011-01-13T10:19:37.058-06:00Snow Day Clues for the CluelessNow, I know that some of you out there are not parents. You may have decided that Mom-and-Dad was not for you, you may be looking for the 'special' someone with the right combination of genes and income, or you may be six months pregnant (Hi Leah!). Whatever the reason, you're an adult who's a long time removed from snow days.<br /><br />So, you may be wondering, 'Gosh, there's four inches of snow outside. How can I tell if it's a snow day, versus just a day with a lot of snow?' Have no fear. In my capacity as Authorial Mom, I've come across a few key things that will tip you off to the mythical snow day in action.<br /><br />1. People who do not normally watch the morning news are glued to the television at 5:42 a.m.<br />2. Youthful, exuberant shouting fills the air at 6:02, usually immediately preceded or followed by a phone call.<br />3. Several hours of silence as children normally enthralled by their daily lessons either go back to bed or watch an amount of cartoons only seen on summer Saturdays. (Tip: The age of the youngster in question will dictate this. Older youths will go back to bed. Younger ones will demand one more Phineas and Ferb.)<br />4. Around approximately 10 a.m., the doors to homes will fly open and creatures vaguely recognizable as children--only lumpier and with more colorful heads--will emerge like a Picasso butterfly from its snow cocoon. This beautiful scene will be marred by whooping, hollering, and, in the case of the youngest revelers getting a snowball in the kisser, sobs of "Cold! COLD!"<br />5. Children will throw snow--sometimes in ball form, sometimes just by random handfuls--at anyone and anything (including inanimate objects) that happens to be in line of sight. Occasionally, if the precipitation has occurred at just the right humidity levels, they will construct things known as 'snowmen,' taking far more pride and care with this 'man' made of snow than they do any of their studies. They will demand perfectly good licorice sticks and chocolate-covered almonds for use in constructing facial features for this 'man.' They may even name him 'Snowy.'<br />6. Exhausted and finally aware of the bone chilling cold that has you shivering in your Snuggie, they will trudge back indoors to demand marshmallows lightly steeped in cocoa that is not hot, but is not cold.<br /><br />Yes, this are the classic signs of a snow day. But wait! Say you live in sunnier climes, such as Texas or Florida, where snow dare not grace the ground. How can you tell if it's a snow day up where your siblings have chosen to whelp their offspring? Look for these signs:<br /><br />1. Telephone your sibling and listen for key clues, such as, "This is the last time I'm telling you, Timmy--get out of the dog's crate and stop eating his food!" or "No--DON'T drink the sea-monkey water!" or even, "Wait--where are you going with those eggs? Put them back this instant!" all while you are attempting to ask your sibling if they have a snow day.<br />2. Instant Message, Tweet, or Facebook said siblings and watch for vital clues that may include text such as, "WHY DON'T WE HAVE SCHOOL TODAY! THE ROADS ARE CLEAR!" or "THESE KIDS ARE DRIVING ME CRAZY!" or the dead-giveaway, "WHAT? 6 more inches tonight?? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"<br />3. Call your mother or grandmother and ask if your siblings are at home today. Even if they don't know, these senior ladies will be more than happy to do a little 'reconnaissance work' on your behalf, with the added bonus of you not having to listen directly to disturbing shouts of "I said NOT to lick the chair!" in the background.<br /><br />Yes, with just a little leg-work and the powers of your keen observation skills, you too can deduce if there is a snow day going on near you or your loved ones.<br /><br />Or you could look outside, watch the news and check the web like everyone else. This isn't rocket science, people!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-5958395811401355022?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-59298765066003350932011-01-11T06:51:00.000-06:002011-01-11T06:51:52.683-06:00We Have a Winner!Big News!<br /><br />I WON!! Not only that, but I also took Second and Third!!<br /><br />Maybe I need to back up.<br /><br />Way back on October 14th, back when there was no snow on the ground, the trees were clinging to the last of their leaves, and I could send The Kid and The Dogs outside for the entire afternoon without being deemed a poor mother, I was notified <i>Indian Princess</i> had finaled in the Golden Rose, which I wrote about <a href="http://authorialmom.blogspot.com/2010/10/all-at-once.html">here</a>. The next week, I got word that both <i>Indian Princess</i> and <i>The Wannabe Cowboy</i> had finaled in the Hot Prospect contest, which I'm sure you read all about <a href="http://authorialmom.blogspot.com/2010/10/double-finalist.html">here</a>.<br /><br />So, I just bet you were wondering how that turned out, huh?<br /><br />I found out that Princess had gotten second in the <a href="http://www.rosecityromancewriters.com/2010contest-winners.html">Golden Rose</a> a few weeks ago. No one-of-a-kind, handcrafted gold rose pendant; no gold-plated rose. Not even an editor request. I consoled myself with the fact that I had actually sold this book a week before the announcement. Oddly enough, this fact was quite consoling. I took my second place and called it a day.<br /><br />I was going to blog about it, because I know that you, loyal reader(s), like to, as my mother says, "Wallow in the good news." (Or maybe that's just her?) I had every intent of blogging--but I was going to wait until I got the Hot Prospect results.<br /><br />Sadly, this little thing called 'the holidays' happened, derailing contest announcements until everyone had gotten tipsy off of eggnog (seriously, who drinks that stuff?) and finished the panicked last-minute stuffing of Christmas Cards with the wrong year on them (not that I did that!) (Okay, maybe I did. I'm, uh, wishing you holiday greetings a year in advance!).<br /><br />Finally, last week, word came down: <i>Indian Princess</i> had not only won its category, but it had been named the <a href="http://www.valleyofthesunrw.com/vos-hot-prospects-winners.htm">Grand Prize Winner</a>! I get STUFF! A book trailer, active banner, and static banner from Firebird Web Designs! I'll be talking with Carol of Firebird some time today (assuming that The Kid having a snow day doesn't derail my every waking thought, because very little writing happens with The Kid spinning in my office chair). Leanne Morgena of Wild Rose Press invited me to send in a partial, but again--I've already sold this book. I'll have to pass.<br /><br />I don't want <i>Wannabe Cowboy</i> to feel bad--it did get third, and there's nothing wrong with that. Actually, I kind of like being able to say I got First, Second, and Third!<br /><br />Next up is the Golden Heart, which is the national contest through the Romance Writers of America. I sent both <i>Princess </i>and <i>Wannabe </i>off, as well as my single-title book, <i>Mystic Cowboy</i>.<br /><br />I'm even more excited about this at the moment because I just got my judging packet in the mail today, and the first entry was pretty good. In every contest I've judged, I've had a finalist entry--<a href="http://elizabethessex.com/">Elizabeth Essex</a> and <a href="http://www.heathersnowbooks.com/">Heather Snow</a>. Both sold soon after. I've become friends with both. It's exciting to think there might be another kindred spirit in my packet, just waiting to be read. Or that someone else has my stuff and is thinking the same thing.<br /><br />Will I final in the Golden Heart? With which book? Will the dress I'm going to be wearing for my sister Leah's wedding work for the reception ceremony? Will I have a winner? Will any of my friends be finalists with me? (You know who you are, Laurel and Rebecca!)<br /><br />Can I wait the three months to find out about finaling? And the six month to the awards ceremony???<br /><br />What was that New Year's Resolution? Oh, yeah.<br /><br />Patience.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-5929876506600335093?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-34211861983967397852011-01-06T09:01:00.000-06:002011-01-06T09:01:19.205-06:00A Preview of 2011Hi! How was your break? Crazy? Mine, too! It's been a while, so let's do a super-fast recap of 2010 so you, loyal reader(s), are all caught up.<br /><br />1. I sold my novel, Indian Princess, to Stacy Boyd at Harlequin. It'll be out sometime in 2012.<br />2. She'd like me to do three or four books a year.<br />3. I'm going to be busy.<br /><br />Yes, it was a wild n' wacky Authorial year around here. In other Mom news:<br /><br />4. The Kid started kindergarten and lost three teeth two weeks before Christmas. I think he grew about four inches, developed a serious fascination with art (and an artistic flair for drama), and discovered superheroes in a big, bad way.<br />5. My sister Leah got pregnant and is due in three months; my sister Hannah got her adoption paperwork approved. The Kid is ecstatic about forthcoming babies he can play with.<br />6. My husband's company relocated 'global headquarters' to Philadelphia. We spent about a month wondering if that meant we would have to relocate, too. The answer appears to be no. For now.<br />7. Jake the Three Legged Wonder Weiner got older. He's now on regular medications to keep his poor little three legs working. Beat the alternative, though.<br />8. Gater the Four Legged Mutt got mellow(er). Things get chewed in our house at a significantly reduced rate.<br /><br />Yes, 2010 was a special kind of crazy. Will 2011 be any different? A Preview:<br /><br />1. The Kid will struggle and resist learning to read and write. And after the hysterics have passed, he'll demand I read him a story. He will also refuse to learn to tie his shoes or ride a bike without training wheels. No word on if he'll figure out how to use his inside voice while actually inside. He will, however, master memorization and the use of gauche as a medium. He's weird like that.<br />2. I'll go to lots of baby showers and hopefully meet multiple babies. My sister Leah will also get married to a swell guy. The family parties will be loud and fun, and Thanksgiving next year will be a whole new world.<br />3. The whole family will load up in the car for a road-trip to New York City for a family vacation/RWA Conference. I hope, hope, hope to be a finalist in the Golden Heart Contest, which will give me the chance to wear my bridesmaid dress a second time (see #2 above).<br />4. I'll write at least two more books for Stacy Boyd. Maybe three.<br /><br />So, as you can see, 2011 will be its own special kind of crazy. Part of what makes it fun is people like you. I hope you'll keep making this journey with me!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-3421186198396739785?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-5393569872613864592010-12-16T09:10:00.000-06:002010-12-16T09:10:41.435-06:00An Annual Christmas Tradition<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">It's that time of year again, Loyal Readers--the time of year I'm too danged busy writing a new book, addressing Christmas cards with the wrong ZIP codes, and hiding presents from The Kid so well that I can't find them either. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Yes, that's right--annual traditions abound! And what's becoming one of my favorite annual traditions here at the ol' Authorial Mom blog is "How to Wrap A Present in 29 Easy Steps." I first posted it on Dec. 4th, 2008, and again on Dec. 17th last year. And I <i>still </i>think it's just about the funniest thing I've written. And I don't have anything else to blog about, so we'll just go with the classics. After all, I've been watching <i>Charlie Brown Christmas</i> for decades now without complaint!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Without further ado (as if this hasn't been <span style="font-style: italic;">enough </span>ado!), I present "How to Wrap a Present in 29 Easy Steps" for your reading enjoyment!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">In my capacity as Authorial Mom, I thought I would offer these 29 steps to easier, more beautiful presents. Just follow this easy program to achieve the same kind of Christmas Satisfaction that the Authorial Mom basks in practically year-round.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">1. Buy awesome gifts that your child(ren) will love, like the aircraft carrier complete with die-cast planes and helicopters, real aircraft sounds, and a control tower.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/cHxYepceHTrP9BGHJMd5VA?authkey=Gv1sRgCLqfwcSO4Kmbeg&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/SymlCLpQkUI/AAAAAAAAD40/KWLfH-pLb-Y/s400/christmas%2008%20058.JPG" style="cursor: move;" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Yeah, like that one.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">2. Hide it in the garage and pray your child(ren) won't notice it.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">3. Assemble your wrapping supplies: Festive paper, sharp scissors, and clear tape.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">4. Realize someone used your best scissors to mutilate crayons. Decide to forge ahead anyway.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">5. Heft aircraft carrier out of garage. Realize that it's 2 1/2 feet long and 9 inches tall at the tower. Not exactly regularly shaped. And because you bought it for a song at a thrift store, it did not come with in-store wrapping, or even a box. Its only covering is a garbage bag.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">6. Begin frantically tearing through your insane stash of boxes accumulated over a lifetime of hording for something big enough to fit an aircraft carrier.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">7. Repeat process with festive holiday bags. Again, come up short - literally.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">8. Decide to make your own box, just like your father-in-law does.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">9. Mutilate six boxes trying to find enough matching parts to encase an aircraft carrier.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">10. Give up trying to match box sizes after giving yourself the mother of all paper cuts. Go get a glass of wine and a band-aid. Several band-aids.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">11. Newly fortified, return to the battle scene. Begin taping box parts around aircraft carrier.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">12. Realize control tower isn't removable. Remove it anyway (using the tips of your ruined scissors) and tape it to the side.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">13. Run out of tape.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">14. Get another glass of wine while tearing the house apart for more tape. Settle on packing tape. It's still clear, after all.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">15. Return to the battle scene. Experience a pang of liberal guilt for giving innocent child a war toy for Christmas. Finish wine and get over it quickly.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">16. Begin wrapping festive paper around jerry-rigged box-like covering.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">17. Run out of festive paper, leaving a three inch gap between edges.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">18. More wine as you debate how to cover the gap.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">19. Settle on using different festive paper. Reason that Santa has to improvise, too.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">20. Another paper cut.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">21. The secret to beautifully wrapped presents is the crisp creases on the edges. Realize that there are no edges on your aircraft carrier you can crease the paper on without poking the tower out through the side.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">22. Poke the tower out through the side.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">23. Begin rooting around for Christmas ribbon to wrap over the hole the tower made.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">24. Find acceptable ribbon. Begin wrapping around carrier.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">25. Run out of ribbon.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">26. Realize that all children like bows. Dump out whole bag of bows and apply liberally.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">27. Stand back and, glass of wine in hand, admire your dedicated handiwork.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">28. Overcome by holiday spirits, go lay down until Christmas is over.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">There! Wasn't that easy? And the true reward for all your hard work will come Christmas morning, when your child(ren) will rush down, see the highly festive package under the tree, demolish the whole thing in under three seconds, and spend the rest of the day building sheds for trains he already has out of the mutilated box parts and bows, leaving the aircraft carrier to collect dust in the corner. Finally arrive at:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">29. Next year, all the presents will be in garbage bags. With a bow.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Update: The child 'drives' the air-craft carrier around the dining room, landing planes, trains, and occasionally automobiles on its deck. Despite the scars left from wrapping the damn thing, it was still the best five bucks I ever spent at a thrift store!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The Authorial Mom will be taking next week off and spending it with as many of the child's grandparents as possible. So, let me take this moment to say, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-539356987261386459?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-4008412826356596002010-12-09T08:55:00.000-06:002010-12-09T08:55:02.575-06:00The BEST Christmas Pageant EVERSo, a while back, The Kid--my baby!--was in his first every big-league theatrical production.<br /><br />Okay, so it was my sister Leah's high school show, but still. (Leah is the teacher/director, not a student.) Being on a big stage in front of a lot of seats with people sitting in them is not something that my boy has experienced before. I think the closest he's gotten to performing for a crowd is the daycare Christmas parties, where the children would stand up as a group in front of their mommies and daddies in their normal daycare room and mumble their way through a three-song holiday medley.<br /><br />Yes, it was as bad as it sounds. Of course, since that was my baby up there mumbling, it wasn't bad--it was a priceless piece of performance art (read: awful).<br /><br />But this was different. Rather than 17 other little children singing different songs at the same time, this was 25 teenagers performing lines that they'd memorized. While following stage directions. And navigating costume changes.<br /><br />Let's pause and take a moment to give thanks to my sister, Leah--a dedicated woman who manages to make directing plays look less like herding cats and more like the youth of today actually doing something productive and artistic with their time. How do I know? <i>Not one of the cast members texted during the whole performance. </i>Yes. I'm just as shocked as the next person.<br /><br />Anyway, Leah decided to do <i>The Best Christmas Pageant Ever</i>, based on a movie with Loretta "Hot Lips" Swift back in 1983. <br /><br /><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ac/Bestxmaspageantever.png" /><br />Yeah, that one.<br /><br />Well, Leah needed shepherds and angels, and she didn't have enough to go around. So she wooed The Kid with big talk of fame, fortune, and ice cream after the show, and he jumped on board. There were two other children, aged 5 and 7, who were also going to be in the play, so my boy wasn't going to be all alone up there.<br /><br />But here's the catch--we live almost 3 hours away from Leah's school, which is just a shade over two hours too long for commuting to practice. Leah told us to work on "Silent Night," pack a bath robe, and get to the play as soon as possible on opening night.<br /><br />Yes. My kid made his stage debut cold. NO practice. NO planning. NO idea what the second verse of "Silent Night" was. NO clue what was going on.<br /><br />And you know what? It wasn't awful. It bordered on cute--good, even.<br /><br />Leah, as I may have mentioned, is a wonderful woman, and planned for this improv performance. The other two little kids had their parts down pat--all my boy had to do was stick with them. Leah also assigned The Kid a handler for each scene--a chorus member who was in charge of making sure my boy got where he needed to go.<br /><br />He had an hour of prep time. Half of that time, he was learning stage direction while eating a hot dog. The highlights:<br /><br />First Scene: The Kid is holding the little girl's hand. When he gets to where he's supposed to sit, she jerks him back into his seat and he lands with a plop. Five minutes later, everyone on stage is supposed to 'agree' and nod their heads 'yes.' The Kid misses the cue entirely, so the little girl reaches over and nods his head for him. Two minutes after that, everyone is supposed to freeze during a soliloquy. My boy sits up there and looks around, wondering what the heck everyone is doing until the lights go out.<br /><br />Second Scene: All he has to do is walk onto stage, see the 'bad guy,' turn, and run the other way. He fails to do this--he's too busy watching the bad guy stuff someone in a locker--so his handler jerks him off so hard he drops his pretend books--which works perfectly for the scene.<br /><br />Third Scene: The children cower in pretend fear from the bad guys at the edge of the stage. My boy looks out, sees me in the front row, and gives me the smallest, cutest little wave. It's the only time he broke the fourth wall all night.<br /><br />Fourth Scene: He's in his bathrobe now, and since all the other shepherds have crooks or canes or whatever, they've clearly scrambled to get something he can hold. Ergo, he's walking around with a carpenter's "L" square. There's some running back and forth in this scene--and a lot more yanking and hauling that goes on.<br /><br />Final Scene: All the other shepherds are so busy remembering where to go that they leave my boy behind. He wanders around the middle of the stage for a few moments until someone realizes he's lost and come gets him. His lips appear to be moving in time with the song.<br /><br />End: He bows out of rhythm--but smiles the whole time.<br /><br />The second night was much smoother. He managed to nod at the right time, although he forgot to freeze for the soliloquy. All was well until the bad guys came out, dressed as Wise Men. These Wise Men come out like secret service guys, defending the baby Jesus with imaginary guns and bazookas. Well, The Kid decided that this gun thing looked more fun than being a shepherd, so he started firing at the audience with his "L" square. The other little shepherd saw this, hooked the "L" square with his cane, and yanked my boy clean off the stage.<br /><br />So, to sum up, Leah's cast and crew put on a heck of a fun show, The Kid will one day pay for my retirement will all of his movie paychecks, and everyone had a good time--especially my 95 1/2-year-old Gram, who giggled through the whole show--both nights.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/vTx6xRD1glctTV1vZPbhulOeTnnqdfso-GWMYTxmlRg?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="241" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_pHdSwI_4_CA/TQAq6kL6aCI/AAAAAAAAIIc/_1PI7gd9Mmw/s400/100_0793.JPG" width="400" /></a><br /><br />Thanks to the Bayless Theater Company!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-400841282635659600?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-72492938797472735652010-11-30T09:21:00.000-06:002010-11-30T09:21:14.646-06:00My EditorI blush to even say that out loud.<br /><br />My.<br /><br />Editor.<br /><br />*chills*<br /><br />The following is a super-condensed version of the conversation I had with the lovely Stacy Boyd, Senior Editor of the Harlequin Desire line. Super-condensed, that is, because it happened two weeks ago, and I had enough turkey during the course of the last week to render some parts of my brain permanently soporific. Plus, the parts of my brain that are not in a continuing turkey-coma are toting up a to-do list that is stunning--as in, I keep walking around with a stunned, I-can't-believe-it's-almost-December, do-you-have-any-idea-how-much-crap-I-have-to-do? look on my face. Do they make a concealer for that?<br /><br />Whoops. Just realized that what followed "The following" in the previous sentence was not actually the super-condensed conversation with My Editor. Did I mention the soporific stunnedness going on over here? My apologies. Onward to the highlights!<br /><br />1. Stacy said, and I quote, "If I don't write it down, I don't remember it," as she worked her way down the long list of things she had to tell me. This is the exact moment when I knew Stacy and I were going to work together well, because I say that about once a week.<br /><br />2. Stacy needed a list that long because she's used to working with published authors. I'm the first 'new' author she's signed in some time, and there's a lot to know.<br /><br />3. She was going to pitch <i>Indian Princess</i> to a different line at Harlequin--but on the second read, decided to keep it for herself.<br /><br />4. It won't be called <i>Indian Princess</i> for a lot of really good reasons, including but not limited to the fact that there's no actual princess in it. The title will be determined by a lot of factors, most of them out of my control.<br /><br />5. <i>Indian Princess</i> won't be out until 2012. This is an eternity to anyone not familiar with the publishing world, but here's the two main reasons--it takes time to get a book ready for publication (I could be off, but I counted about seven hands/departments it's got to pass through), and they already have the 2011 releases lined up.<br /><br />6. <i>The Wannabe Cowboy</i> is a great concept--but wrong for the Desire line (because my hero is dirt-poor). Stacy wants to build me up as a Desire author first, so the Wannabes are going to have to wait a few years before they make it to the great wide world.<br /><br />7. If I can do it, she'd like to release two books from me in 2012.<br /><br />8. Since she liked the ideas I'd been kicking around for two weeks, maybe I could plan on three books for 2012.<br /><br />9. I should go ahead and send her the first three chapters and a synopsis for the next book.<br /><br />We talked about a lot of stuff--over an hour of me pacing and her going down her list--but those are the highlights. I'll have more details as I either remember them or as they crop up.<br /><br />Now excuse me, but I've got some chapters to crank out.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-7249293879747273565?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-32500358606772617012010-11-18T09:06:00.000-06:002010-11-18T09:06:14.074-06:00ThanksYes, this is a week early, but Thanksgiving week is kind of crazy around the ol' Authorial Household, so HAPPY THANKSGIVING a week early!<br /><br />Thanksgivings are a time of comfortable, familiar traditions. For instance, if you read my blog from last Thanksgiving <a href="http://authorialmom.blogspot.com/2009/11/thankful.html">here</a>, or the one before it <a href="http://authorialmom.blogspot.com/2008/11/giving-thanks.html">here</a>, you'd know exactly what I am and continue to be thankful for.<br /><br />This year, I'm going to flesh out the list of things I'm thankful for a little more:<br /><br />1. Patience. Not so much in me, of course--patience is one of my revolving New Year's Resolutions, something I always need to work on. No, I'm more thankful for other people's patience. I'm thankful for my husband's patience when I babble on about imaginary people's lives at dinner. I'm thankful for the Lovely Mary's (Grammar Goddess) patience to put up with me at work, and willingness to read every single book. I'm thankful for my family's patience (and willingness to bite their tongues) when I do something they think is stupid--but they support me anyway. And I can't begin to tell you how thankful I am that The Kid has a wise, patient kindergarten teacher. Patience. It's a wonderful thing.<br /><br />2. Those who are here. Gram is now officially 95 1/2. Every year we get with her is another year to be thankful for. Similarly, my great-aunt just broke her hip at age 90--but is improving every day. I didn't go to a single funeral this year. In a time filled with war, terror, and random acts of violence, I'm thankful that my family has been spared from tragedy.<br /><br />3. Those who aren't. A large part of my free time (HA!) recently has been spent on my other grandmother's manuscript. I never knew her, but she raised my father and his eight (count 'em) brothers and sisters. After living with her written words for so long, I feel closer to her now than I ever have. Similarly, I've been talking about Gram's husband, my grandfather, to The Kid a lot recently (he likes the pictures of Grandpa holding all the fish on the wall). Even though these people and others have gone on before me, I'm thankful for them nonetheless. They make me more whole as a person.<br /><br />4. Those who are coming. This upcoming year, I figure to be an aunt, twice over. The Kid is dying to be a 'big brother,' and cannot wait to meet his future 'little bears.' (We read a lot of Berenstein Bears.) He's got big plans for those babies, just as soon as they can sit upright. I think racing Hot Wheels and trains figures prominently into his plans.<br /><br />So, remember--there's a holiday that comes between Halloween and Christmas, and that holiday is called Thanksgiving. Make sure you stop and give thanks.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8932729936859104311-3250035860677261701?l=authorialmom.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Sarah M. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058833643184375985noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932729936859104311.post-43279248355396958962010-11-09T09:13:00.000-06:002010-11-09T09:13:54.827-06:00The CallI got The Call! Here's how it went down:<br /><br />Thursday, approximately 1 p.m.: Laurie McLean emailed me to say that she had a phone appointment with Stacy Boyd, Senior Editor at Harlequin Desire, scheduled for Friday, and when would be a good time for Laurie to call me?<br /><br />Thursday, approximately 1:15 p.m.: Screaming and dancing occurs. Gater participates with barking.<br /><br />Approximately 1:17: I suddenly become paranoid that I'm counting my chickens before they hatch, and therefore jinxing the whole thing. Maybe Stacy just wants to say 'hi' to Laurie, check on the weather in San Fran.<br /><br />1:19: I start emailing people. I call my mother. Various levels of screaming and dancing occur with me in the background yelling, "don't jinx it!"<br /><br />1:27: I email Laurie back that I'll be home from work and picking up my son at 3:15.<br /><br />Thursday Evening: I spend the rest of the night not counting my chickens, fighting a massive sinus infection, and trying not to panic.<br /><br />Friday morning: Wake up going "Today's the DAY!" Sing loudly until my head tries to explode. Spend rest of morning trying to get The Kid to STOP singing loudly. Fail.<br /><br />Side Note: Sinus infections are a mixed blessing for those of us who are a little OCD. I spend the day getting really excited, really nervous--then getting really tired and puny for half an hour or so. Once I rest up a little bit, I get really excited, really nervous--and then puny again. This semi-vicious cycle goes on all day long.<br /><br />Friday, 2:57 p.m.: Leave work, race to get The Kid from school.<br /><br />3:02: Inform any mom within listening distance that Today's the Day! The mother of one of my Kindergarten Mom friends goes home and tells her daughter (that would be my mom friend) that I'm "cute."<br /><br />3:07: Inform the kindergarten teacher that while I'd love to chat, I have to get home to get a call from my agent about one of my books. The lovely woman latches onto my arm, demands to know what I write, and when I tell her I've GOT to go for a call--The Call--she hugs me. That woman is getting a hell of a Christmas present.<br /><br />3:09: Buckle in The Kid. Just as I get in the car, my cell phone rings. The Kid blithely informs me my phone is ringing. (You may well wonder why this matters--well, I'm a luddite who rarely uses my cell for anything. I don't even text. The fact that it rang and scared the heck out of me was entertainment for a good five minutes for The Kid.)<br /><br />It's Laurie--but I'm driving. Here's a 'fun fact' about me (and by 'fun,' I mean 'weird')--if I'm nervous and I have to talk on the phone, I simply must pace. Not operate a several-ton vehicle with my son in the backseat and a audio book blaring on the radio. I tell Laurie I must go home and will call her back.<br /><br />3:11: Arrive home. Of course, I now have to let the jumpy dogs out, get The Kid a snack and get the heat going in his toy room so that he will leave me be for 20 minutes, and--this is important--change my shoes. I was still in my cowboy boots. No sane person paces on hardwood in cowboy boots. It's just not done, darling.<br /><br />3:14: Call Laurie back. Commence pacing.<br /><br />Laurie has great news! Stacy Boyd is going to buy <i>The Indian Princess</i>! Plus, she'd like to build a career for me. She wants me to write four books a year--two for her in the Desire line, and maybe two for the Special Edition line.<br /><br />I have to be honest--Laurie said a lot of stuff, but my brain and my mouth completely disconnected--I'm not sure what my ears were doing. All I said for maybe 15 minutes was, "O-okay. Um, o-okay. O-okay." At some point, Laurie realized I'd apparently checked out and asked if I'd like her send a sum-up message. To which, of course, I said, "O-okay."<br /><br />3:27: Stand in stunned silence for a moment, until The Kid demands more pretzel sticks. Realize I need to do a load of laundry, and that the dishwasher is full. Do two minutes of mom stuff.<br /><br />3:29: Commence calling people. My mom (Hi, Mom!) starts crying; I'm still in a stunned, non-functional moment. Pacing re-commences. Alternate between cell phone and land line. Drop land line when cell phone rings again. The Kid laughs. Again.<br /><br />At some point, I start crying. I think I was on the phone with my husband at the moment.<br /><br />7:00: The Kid's first Slumber Party (see last week's blog) begins. Thankfully, The Kid's guest, The Friend, his mom Leah and I go way back. Thankfully, I say, because this is the kind of emotional sort of day that can often overwhelm hu