Book #2 and Other updates

I met with the publisher the other day to talk about my second book. They are prepared to publish the book in May of this next year. I have quite a few things to do by the end of the year, like pick out the cover and get the final manuscript to them. It's a very exciting time.

One thing I would like to do differently this time is have 2-3 people proofread the book before I send it in, and then again before agreeing to the final proof. Extra eyes are beneficial, and there might be a free book in it for the readers.

I've also put in an application to join a fire department. I am very excited to see how that goes, and hopefully get accepted. The longer I have been around people on various departments, the more it has interested me. Can you tell? I've written two books connected to the industry now :) The initial training might take me away from doing so many events, but once I get my certifications, I'll be able to do more again.

Long time, no see

I didn't realize how long it's been since I've updated here. This is my favorite time of year, and I tend to stay rather busy. We just got back from a nice little vacation. Brian and I went to Vegas for a few days. I don't think the boys missed us too much, but they were happy to get gifts :)

This weekend starts another round of book events for me. Saturday I am going to be at the St. Cloud Armory for a fall craft and vendor show. I hope it's a good sales day. The next weekend, I am going to be at Generations Ballroom in Kimball for another show. I also have 3 library events in November. Richmond on the 3rd, The White Rabbit Cafe (Cold Spring Library event), and the St. Cloud library on the 17th.

I haven't done a whole lot of writing, but plan on working on the next story some more. I think my 'writer's block' is a little show called True Blood, and once I finally finish the series, I will be able to focus. I've been thinking about the story frequently, so I do have some ideas to work with at least.

Birthday Weekend Special!

I am celebrating my birthday on Saturday and wanted to offer a sale on my book. This weekend only, you can order my book for $10 instead of the usual $14.95. I will also honor this at my events this weekend. I will add the link for the sales price tonight when I get home from work.

*Updated @ 6 pm. This little button below was a bugger to get on here. I will keep it available until Monday morning, and then my special price will be gone :)

Fall is here!

This is by far my favorite time of year. It's getting cooler out, the leaves are falling and it's time to think about those hearty fall/winter foods. I have been craving chili for a few weeks, and with the temps getting back to the 60's this week, I might finally make a batch.

I have a few more events lined up for October. This upcoming weekend I will be at the Millner Heritage Winery Grape Stomp. I've never attended in the past, but have heard great things about it. Saturday is also my birthday and a good friend's wedding, so I will have to make it a short book event. After a nice vacation, I am also going to be at the St. Cloud Armory on the 25th.

My aunt sent me a nice little message this morning that the Hutchinson paper had an article about me and my first book. Back when I interviewed with the Litchfield Leader, the person interviewing me had mentioned sharing it with their sister paper in Hutch. I guess I knew it was a possibility, just wasn't sure if or when it would be published.

This past week also added one event to January. I will be back at the Waite Park Library for an author round table. I am also considering a ladies night out in Annandale in December. I have also gone back to doing some more writing, and will continue as it gets cooler outside. There are few things that beat wrapping up on the couch with a quilt and my computer.

Back in Action

Tonight I had my first event in just over a month. I was at the Litchfield library. The nice weather and sporting events may have kept some people away, but I had the opportunity to chat with a young writer. She was full of questions, and it was fun to talk about our craft. The librarian from another library I have been at also met me there, and had a gift for me. She made a bag with a fire truck fabric. She said is spoke to her at the quilt shop. As a quilter, I know the feeling.

There's lots going on around home. The garden is just about done. I'm waiting for my tomatoes to finish up so I can make some salsa before I pull everything out. All my practice with my bow can finally be used now that the deer bow season has opened. Brian has even helped me make a ground blind and gave me a camo jacket. The boys are excited with the idea of Mom getting a deer with her bow :) I've got a lot to live up to!

My next event is next weekend. I will be at the Westwood Church in St. Cloud. After that, I am back to around 4 events a month until December. It's hard to know how much I want to plan when there are so many holiday events I would like to be doing with my family. It's kind of sad to think Christmas is only 90 so days away now! My book makes a great gift (I had to add that).

Week of Interviews

I spent two of my lunch breaks this week on the phone doing interviews about my book. The first one was with 1420 AM out of Litchfield. I spoke with Tim, the news guy, who recorded our phone call and will be airing it at about 8:20 on September 10th, and advertising/mentioning my event at the Litchfield library scheduled for September 18th. It was strange being on the phone, pretending we were live. I'm sure I said 'so' a lot more than I normally would.

Today I talked to Andrew at the Independent Review in Litchfield, also to talk about my event with the library. He's going to run an article on me and Moving On, but I need to find out when it will be published. I'd like to get a copy when it comes out. It was a long interview, and he asked a lot of questions. I just hope my answers made sense.

I'm thinking about adding another event to October, and look ahead to December. The holidays will be here before we know it and my book makes a great gift- just had to throw that out there :)

Next week, I am taking a few days off of work and going on a ladies' retreat. Most of the people at camp are into scrapbooking, but my mom and I bring our sewing machines. I've been trying to decide what projects to bring. It would also be a good time to do some writing and editing. Some time away to unwind is long overdue.

Not the Labor Day Weekend I was Expecting

It has been a sometimes long, stressful weekend. We finally had our house warming party, about a year later. Friday night I had to get the food, Saturday we had a birthday party and kept getting things ready. Yesterday was the party and it rained! Thankfully, Brian was able to patch the holes in the sheet rock in the garage and paint it (he started that project Thursday night) so we had a nice clean garage to party in.

I was mad about the rain, not only because we couldn't be outside, but I have been looking out the window at a huge pile to burn, and yesterday was the day but it didn't happen. We had about an inch and a half of rain just yesterday afternoon and evening. Knowing there are plenty of critters making the pile a home, I really want to light a match and get it burnt so they don't decide to move in with me.

I didn't have much planned for today, and the way it turned out, that was a good thing. I wanted to get some quilt pieces cut for my weekend away in 2 weeks, and shoot my bow a bit. About 8:20 this morning, the pager went off, and I listened to the page- a garage fire. The address: my brother's house. I was a little more alarmed, because their attached garage is a tuck over (part of the garage is under their living room). It scared me more that my sister-in-law had talked about going shopping and leaving my niece and nephew home with my brother. I tried calling and texting them both, and she called me back to let me know she was at the neighbor's house with the kids.

After Brian came home from the call, I loaded up the boys, and we went to their house. It was truly a sign of how wonderful our small-town community can be. One of the neighbors was dropping off coolers of food, another was helping pull things out of the garage. Another was watching the kids of the families there to help. Someone else had let my sister-in-law shower at their house. Many of the guys from the fire department had returned to the house to help tear out the water soaked drywall and insulation.

The fire was along the back wall of their two stall garage, right in the middle. A few more feet to the right, and it would have been directly under their living room. They were sleeping when someone passing by knocked on the door and told them about the fire. The smoke alarms in the house didn't go off, but the one in the garage was completely melted. There is no doubt, it could have been much worse. By the end of the afternoon, a new garage door was in place, the melted and burned items were in a dump trailer, and the items they might be able to still use were also loaded up.