Authorfest 2015

This weekend was incredible.  I was thrilled to be able to participate in the second annual Authorfest in one of my favorite small towns, Denison, Texas.  As a writer, I believe that words are all powerful, but as a photographer, I believe that pictures are worth at least a thousand words.  So here they are.

First, some scenic shots of Downtown Denison.

Preparing for dinner and a reading at Devoli’s!  It also happens to be part of my favorite winery, Homestead.

Photograph courtesy of Tim Malek Photography. http://www.TimMalek.com

Photograph courtesy of Tim Malek Photography. http://www.TimMalek.com

Usually, I prefer red wine, but this Orange Muscat may have converted me.

That night, there was another raffle drawing.  I swear to y’all, I have the BEST luck at these things.

And, of course, there were plenty of books to go around.

I also got to meet the cutest puppy ever.

And I spent all the money I earned on wine and new old books including a lot of vintage Stephen King and an old copy of In Cold Blood by Truman Capote.

Thank you to everyone who made this weekend such and amazing experience.  Thank you especially to James and Claudette Peercy, who organized and made the entire event possible!

You can find James and his wonderful books here: http://www.jameswilliampeercy.com

Books, Wine, and Fish Fry

Yesterday, my sister and I ventured back up to Lake Texoma.  Initially, we’d just planned to attend the Locust Community Volunteer Fire Department Fish Fry (try saying that five times fast), but then we decided, hey, it’s such a cool area, let’s just spend the day there.  She’d never been to Denison before, so I got to show her around and introduce her to the people and places that I’ve been privileged to meet this year. 

We also wandered around a few shops, including an antique store with, according to the people who work there, several ghosts! 

 

The first thing I noticed was this Ouija board.  Now, I do not mess around with Ouija boards.  My friends and I used to, but then something really weird happened with what we think may have a dark entity, so that was the end of that.  Call me crazy, but I firmly believe that if you call something, if you ask it to come, it’s going to come.  To that, I say “No thank you.” 

There is a Ouija board in the new book, however.

Then, we walked over the The Book Rack, where the ladies proudly display books written by local authors.  They are just the best! 

I’ve got to say, seeing your book on the shelf of a real bookstore is pretty cool.  

After that, we meandered over to the local winery for more of their amazing Rose of Ivanhoe wine.  Forget California Wine.  Homestead Winery in Denison, Texas is where it’s at!  We also wanted to try something new, and since my sister isn’t old enough for a wine tasting, I took one for the team and helped myself to four samples.  Their White Zinfandel, while a little too sweet for my taste, was incredible.  It tasted like Honeysuckle!  I told the lady behind the counter that, and she said, “A lot of people say that!”  

We ended up with another bottle of Rose of Ivanhoe and a Cabernet, which is amazing.  I’m telling you, forget all the big corporations and brand names.  Small, local businesses who really love what they do and put their heart and soul into it are where it’s at.  If I do another book release party, I’m buying all my wine there.  Support your local businesses! 

After we had our wine, we headed over to the Locust Community Volunteer Fire Department Annual Fish Fry!  As a volunteer department, they don’t get paid, so they host events like this to raise money.  It’s such a worthy cause and such a fun event!  The food is amazing, you’re right there on the lake (although it’s very low this year), there’s a live band, auctions, raffles, and my sister and I each got a t-shirt!  

All in all, a pretty good weekend.   

 

Road Trip Weekend

My weekend of miniature road trips began last Thursday.  I drove out to Denison (around Lake Texoma) to meet a friend for a celebration of art and wine.  All the stores and art galleries stayed open and had wine and refreshments set out for visitors.  I had no idea what to expect, I just knew there would be art and wine.  That was good enough for me.  

I arrived at Denison’s Main Street about thirty minutes early, so I decided to park my car and walk around a bit.  As I strolled, I remembered that I had been baptized in a church in Denison, so I called my mom to find out which one.  Denison is a pretty small town, after all.  It was probably within driving distance.  She told me I was looking for St. Luke’s Episcopal.  I typed the name into my GPS and lo and behold, the church was exactly one street over from where I stood.  

It wasn’t open, and I’d forgotten my camera battery at home (dumb!), but I did get a few pictures on my iPhone. 

I hope to go back sometime to visit when the church is open.  Maybe I can even attend a service there.  It’s such a cool and apparently historic building!  

After my quick trip to the place of my spiritual rebirth, I headed back into town and explored a few of the stores until my friend joined me.  

One of the stores I stopped in was called The Book Rack, a huge independent book store that sells both new and used books.  I got to talking to the two ladies working there, and, long story short, they want Cemetery Tours for their store!  I’m so excited!  They also offered to have me come back sometime in the summer to do a book signing!  I really hope that happens, because that would just be so cool!  

After finally meeting up with my friend, we perused a few more galleries and stores.  I ended up with three new books, one from The Book Rack and two antique books to add to my collection.  I met several artists and witnessed some incredible works.  I didn’t sample any wine, sadly, as I had a long drive home, but that’s alright.  My friend and I also stopped in a huge antique store.  We are both big believers in ghosts, so we had a fun time exploring and searching for spirits amidst the artifacts. 

Around that time, we began to hear thunder rumbling in the distance, so I decided to head out before the weather got too hazardous.  I did get some pictures of the small town sunset, though.

Saturday was another busy day.  I was up uncharacteristically early, 7 AM, to help with my friends’ yard sale.  It was fun, but oh my goodness, I am so sunburned.  I didn’t even think to put on sunscreen!  It’s still March and it was so early!  Alas, two days later, my poor skin is still simmering.  Lesson learned. 

I also spent some time planting sunflower seeds.  Unfortunately, the next day, I went out to water them and discovered several little holes where an animal (okay, a SQUIRREL) had dug up the seeds and left behind their empty shells!  How are you supposed to protect your poor baby seeds from squirrels?!  I’m going to have to get clever, I think.  

Later Saturday, however, my best friend texted me and asked, “How do you feel about the lake?” 

There is only one appropriate response when a friend asks you to go to the lake, and that response is “Yes.”  So, we drove out to the lake. 

As much fun as I had, however, yesterday, everything caught up with me.  I slept 12 hours straight before finally dragging my achey, sunburned self out of bed.  Then, I really didn’t do anything except watch Catching Fire and color.  It was pretty nice.  

Today, however, I am very ready to hit the ground running.  I’ve received my first copy of my rough draft from one of my beta readers, so I need to go over her notes.  I also need to get back to writing the new manuscript.  Then, of course, there are emails to answer, reviews to post, and goals to set.  I’ll tell you this much, the life of an indie author is NEVER boring!  

I hope you all are having a fantastic Monday and last day of March!  Beware of April Foolers!  

 

 

Feels Like Home

This entire week has been kind of strange.  Although I’ve gotten a lot done, I’ve also had a lot to worry about and I haven’t been feeling very good myself.  I’m very ready for it to be the weekend.

However, this afternoon, I stopped by my friend’s house to drop off a copy of the new manuscript (she has graciously volunteered to be one of my beta readers).  To my surprise, I saw several cars lined up outside her house, but they’re doing a bunch of construction around her neighborhood, so I didn’t think anything of it.

I know on the door, however, and she answers it to reveal a bunch of friends that I used to work with at my summer camp up at Texoma!  I was so thrilled!  I hadn’t seen several of them in so long!  I got to stay and visit with them for about an hour, and even though I hadn’t seen several of them since last summer, it was like no time had passed at all.

Over the years, Camp All Saints has become like a second home to me.  I began working there as a counselor in 2009, but I’d actually been there once before, in 2002, back when it was a Lutheran retreat.  No offense to the Lutherans, but I did not enjoy it at all back then.  We had to eat at an outdoor pavilion filled with wasps and the water in the fountains was yellow and disgusting.

Today, the camp is absolutely beautiful.  I didn’t even know our church’s diocese took it over until I received a flier in the mail about it.  I applied for a job there on a total whim and ended up working there for three summers.  I’m going to go back in May also for a labor of love weekend.  I honestly can’t wait.

I grew up in the suburbs, about a thirty minute drive from Downtown Dallas, so big cities have never been much of a thrill for me.  To be honest, I really don’t enjoy them all that much.  I’d much rather spend my time in a small southern town, outside, in the fresh air, on the lake, running barefoot through sprinklers.

Before camp starts each year, the small town of Locust throws a local fish fry.  It’s probably one of the most small town things you could ever hope to do.

I also love hiking.  I need to find more friends who will hike with me.  Most of my friends are married and boring.

Just kidding, I love you guys.

Even if you are married and boring.

The Texoma skies are incredible.

And the wildlife is abundant.

And then of course, there’s the camp itself.

It was good luck to kiss the fish you caught, okay?

Finally, this is a picture of me and Kit Kat, my beta reader, at the fish fry.  Kat is seriously the sweetest person I’ve ever met and this June, she will be leaving for the Peace Corps for two years!  I don’t know what I’m going to do without her!  I guess I’ll just keep writing.

I’m so grateful to have found a place like All Saints that will always feel like home to me no matter what, and to have made the friends that I did there.  Seeing them this afternoon was exactly what the doctor ordered!

In writing news, I started on the new book last night.  I swear, the hardest part of any book is the very first sentence.  Do any other authors feel that way or is that just me?

Feel free to sound off in the comment section!  Good night, all!

The Middle

I love the song “The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World.  I first heard it at an amusement park while waiting to ride the Batman ride. You know, the one where your feet dangle and you go on all those crazy loops and twists and turns.  Every time I ride it, I think, “Oh my God, what am I doing?!  Am I crazy?!”  But then I actually ride it and remember how much I love it and that it’s actually one of the most awesome roller coasters ever.  

Anyway, the song is really great, especially for those of us who are still in the process of really finding out place in the world. 

“It just takes some time, little girl, you’re in the middle of the ride. Everything, everything will be just fine.  Everything, everything will be alright.”  

It’s a very encouraging song, especially for anyone in between where they’ve been and where they hope to go.  

I’m only a few chapters away from being done with the first draft of my new manuscript, the sequel to Cemetery Tours.  For a while now, I’ve been a little worried that maybe it won’t be as good, or that people won’t like it as much as they do the first one.  What if people don’t like the plot?  Or what if I’ve ruined their favorite character?  I never thought about any of these things until I got close to finishing the sequel.  

Writing this one hasn’t been the same as writing the first one.  With the first one, I went back and fourth, started it about four or five separate times, renamed characters, changed the plot, took out entire chapters and went back to rewrite them.  With this one, I’ve worked straight through, start to finish, maybe taking out and rewriting a paragraph here or there, but overall, it’s been a pretty straightforward process.  That might just be a sequel thing.  I know the characters, I knew what I wanted out of this one before I knew what I wanted out of the first, and I’ve known all along how this one was going to play out.  Honestly, I wrote the first book just so I could write this one.  But still, the fears persisted that it just wouldn’t be as good, especially since I felt like I haven’t corrected as much on this one. 

The other night, however, I decided to scroll back and reread a few chapters.  I am happy to report that I like them just as much as I like Cemetery Tours.  I’ve come to learn that sometimes, when you’re writing a chapter or a scene, you often think to yourself, “Wow, I really just kind of blew that off.  That was not my best effort.  I just pulled all of that out of the air.”  But then you go back, read what you wrote, and think, “Hey, that was actually pretty okay.”  That’s pretty much the entire book for me.  I know I will find things to change when I go back and do the first official read through (with the glitter markers for editing and what not), but overall, I am very happy and I finally think that readers will enjoy it just as much as they did Cemetery Tours.  At least, I hope they will!  

I’m really looking forward to finishing the manuscript, not only because I’m ready to get back into the publishing process, but because I’m really looking forward to starting something new.  I love Cemetery Tours and my characters, and I know I will write more books about them, but I have other ideas that I’m really excited about and that I want to get started on.  Right now, I’m totally committed to the sequel and that’s a good thing, but other stories in my head are getting antsy.  They want to be written too!  

Speaking of stories, my friend and I went to see Winter’s Tale last night.  It was really a beautiful movie, and I’d love to read the book.  I’d actually never heard of it until the movie was announced, but the book sounds amazing.  I’ll admit, it wasn’t what I expected, but I really liked it.  I’m very grateful that I got to see the entire thing, because my friend and I got lost twice on our way to the theater.  She and her family recently moved about forty five minutes away, and neither of us knows the area very well.  We ended up making a loop, and we arrived at the theater about ten minutes after the movie was supposed to start.  Fortunately, we only missed a few of the previews.  And the sunset was also really pretty, so you know, getting lost can sometimes be a good thing. 

 

That’s one thing about living in Texas.  It doesn’t matter if you live in a big city, you’re never more than half an hour away from the typical, small country town scenery that most people envision when they think of Texas.  I love that.  However, it also means that you take one wrong turn and you’re suddenly on this small country road with no lights, no signs, and a lot of creepy old houses.  Or cows.  All I can say is thank God for the GPS, because it is so easy to get lost on those roads.    

In other news, Cemetery Tours has shown up in the “What are you reading” section of the UK’s The Guardian!  Check it out! 

http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/feb/10/tips-links-and-suggestions-what-are-you-reading-this-week?commentpage=1 

 

Have a good weekend, everyone!