I’ve been so busy lately! I’ve had a ton going on during the past month or so. It’s been a while since I updated you, so I thought I’d share some highlights with you today.
The most exciting and biggest personal accomplishment for me was emailing my manuscript to my publisher last week. I hit the Send button at approximately 1:00 a.m. last Friday morning. This book is the first one to contain solely my work. I’ve enjoyed publications in many anthologies and magazines, but I haven’t had a book of just my own work yet. That’s about to change.
Moonbeams and Ashes: Tales of Mystery, Love, and the Paranormal is a collection of 15 of my favorite short stories. I wrote some of them within the last year or so, but some of the others date back several years. This is a multi genre book, meaning it contains stories that fit into different categories. I have a variety of stories including contemporary mysteries, ghost stories, and even a tale of Bigfoot love. I don’t have any publication details yet, but I will let you know when I do. I’m so excited!
You may remember me mentioning my novel and wonder about that. It’s still in the works. I’m nearly finished with the final edits, and I hope to have it published by Christmas this year. It would certainly mean a Merry Christmas for me to have it out and available for the world to enjoy before Santa hitches up his sleigh.
I chose to publish my short story collection first because I want someone dear to me to be able to enjoy it before the holiday chaos begins. Right now, this person is staying home in order to stay safe from the pandemic. I thought perhaps he’d like something new to read.
Speaking of books, my group, Sleuths’ Ink Mystery Writers, is having a series of book signings. The best part is they’ve included me! Our first signing was July 31st in Springfield, Missouri. I shared a table with my friend, Author Lois Curran. We used her table cover because it matched my shirt so well. Surrounded by other authors and so many wonderful books, we all had a great time and enjoyed meeting new readers.
If you missed it, don’t despair. We’ll be having another signing on Saturday, September 18, 2021 at my favorite bookstore, Always Buying Books, just outside of Joplin, Missouri. I’ll be sharing more about that signing, about which I’m super excited, in a few weeks.
At the moment, I have a few anthologies in which I was published that I sell, including one of the ever popular Chicken Soup for the Soul books, but I’m anxious to be able to place Moonbeams and Ashes center stage on my book signing table. Will it be published in time for our next Sleuths’ Ink Mystery Writers signing? I don’t know, but I sure hope so.
Finally, I need to slip into proud nana mode for a moment. My oldest grandchild, Urijah, turned 5 years old a few days ago. It doesn’t seem possible that child should already be 5! My step-daughter threw him a nice party with people he loves. He and the other kids in attendance had tons of fun. After playing for all he was worth for a few hours, we cut into this beautiful cookie cake. Yes, he loves Spiderman. He was one happy kid.
He is the one who made me a nana. His bright eyes and warm smile have melted my heart since the day he was born. The boy is intelligent, rambunctious, and fun-loving. Even though he’s at the age where he just wants to run and play, he still stops to hug me every now and then. I’m a blessed, blessed nana.
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