Home for Christmas

So last Friday, Home for Christmas officially launched into the world!

This is a standalone novella that belongs in the Ava & Claire universe. I didn't want to write a WWII book, that's why there was a time jump between the end of Coming Together (1935) and French Lessons (1946).

But my people had other ideas. I knew a few things that happened because they came up in French Lessons - that Toby joined the Navy immediately after Pearl Harbor and that his younger brother George (his too younger brother) managed to join up, as well.

I didn't know how that happened, but Toby and George could be counted on throughout the earlier books to create a maximum amount of trouble, so I had total faith that they could do it again.

Home for Christmas was my most successful pre-order so far, which surprised me. I thought Paris would have had more fans, but apparently we (me included) can never get enough of sentimental-without-sappy holiday stories.

If you were one of my pre-orders - or if you decide to purchase now, on the basis of my ramblings - I hope you enjoy the story.

Last year around this time, I banded together with a bunch of other local makers and we set up a pop-up shop in our local makerspace. It went okay. Not fabulous, but worth the effort, and we decided to do it again this year. 

Currently, I'm trying to remember why I thought it was worth the effort, because between trying to get a book out this coming Friday (Home for Christmas - have you ordered?), working on the next one, dealing with a large stack of custom Christmas stocking orders (excellent, but exhausting), and things like my part-time job, my cats, and my husband, I think my head fell off two days ago and I put it back on having the wrong direction. 

I generally deal pretty well with stress. At the moment, I am not. It will get better. 

I leave you with video of the shop and the wide variety of locally made goodies on offer. Because that's all I have the energy to do. 

Better next week. Promise.

Library Girl

Did you grow up in your local library? Did you stagger home under the weight of as many books as you could carry?

Me too.

Which is why it's made me sad for years that I haven't been able to get my ebooks into libraries.

Until now.

Since my books are in Amazon's Kindle Unlimited program, I haven't been able to offer them anywhere else. That recently changed and I just uploaded all my ebooks to a distributor to get them into libraries. Print copies have always been available to request, and audiobooks of the Ava & Claire series will be coming in the New Year.

If you've read my books, ask your library to get them.

If you haven't read my books, definitely ask your library to get them.

You read for free, I still make money... it's a win for everyone.

Skeleton season

It's that time of year again. Even though the leaves are late, just now beginning their shift to gold - orange - red, Halloween is Friday. 

This past weekend I helped out at the local farmer's market. The mayor was running a table with treat bags and gave out prizes for the best dressed pets. The parks department had a pumpkin painting event at the other end of the market. I bopped between the two, helping out and needed but mostly enjoying the day. 

My town is a little over the top as far as holiday decorations are concerned. They really pull out all the stops for Christmas, but this year, thanks to those jumbo skeletons that people bought during the pandemic, we've turned into skeleton town.

These are a few of my favorites. I really love the plague doctor - that one's right down the street from me - and the skeleton on a bicycle is also particularly cute.

In the clear(ish)

Also, it's fall!

Remember last year when I was doing all that deferred medical maintenance? I had a mammogram back in March which showed something they wanted to take a further look at. They didn't schedule the follow-up until April, so that meant I had to go through a month of waiting, including a week in Paris, where they texted me everyday to remind me of my appointment.

At the April appointment, they did a second mammogram and then an ultrasound. The doctor decided that what I had was most likely a fibroadenoma, left breast, high on the left side. So a really difficult location to wedge between two plates on a mammogram machine. 

They told me it was very likely nothing to be concerned about. I had two options: a needle biopsy then and there or, if I wasn't likely to either disappear or spend 6 months worrying myself to death, a further mammogram and ultrasound in October. I decided that I could wait, because needles. 

So that happened monday. Thankfully the University of Pennsylvania Hospital does not observe holidays.

They didn't even do the ultrasound this time, just two views on the mammogram. The doctor said that, if anything, the fibroadenoma has gotten a bit smaller. Which is good. Mystifying to me, but whatever. He said to come back in 6 months for my regular mammogram - the yearly kind that I avoided until last year - and then whatever I have in there simply becomes my new baseline for them to look for changes. 

So I would have probably known that in April, if I'd agreed to the needle biopsy, but I was okay with the wait. Keep away from me with your pointy objects.

Live and in person!

This past Saturday I participated in the 23rd Collingswood Book Festival in Collingswood, NJ. This was an event I'd signed up for last year, then pulled my back out by loading the car. This year, all that was done early, and we spent the night at a friend's in Collingswood so we wouldn't have to run around like maniacs in the morning to get there by 7:30.

Nothing should start that early.

Not that it did, but to get 100+ authors loaded onto the sidewalks, their cars removed, and then the streets officially closed - well, it's not my place to argue logistics. I just sent my husband off for more coffee and swayed gently in the morning breeze until it arrived and I could face setting up.

This is the first time I've ever set up my entire tent for books - usually it's craft show with a side table for books. So the extra time came in handy because I arranged and rearranged things about six times.

The crowds were plentiful all day, and everyone was very into the idea of books. (Obviously, at a book festival, but I've had people come to craft shows with no interest in crafts). I sold a lot of the Tudor books with the old covers, which I was trying to move at a discount because I hate having them just sit in a trunk in the living room.

(In other words, if you're interested in a 4-book series with the older ceiling covers, they're $40 plus media mail shipping and I can get them out asap).

As an introvert, seven hours of talking to people is really draining, but when it's about a topic that I'm passionate about, I don't notice until it's over. Then I folded faster than my tent and couldn't wait to get home and put myself on the charger (i.e,. a glass of wine and my bed).

Exhaustion or not, I've already signed up to do it again next year.

And BTW, not surprisingly, the thing that drew most people into the tent was my vintage typewriter. 

Shifting Stages Cover Reveal

I feel like there should be music with this...

Something sultry, to go with the feather fans...

But instead it's just a blurb and some links. I hope you enjoy:

Beyond the footlights, a new calling

Philadelphia, 1949. For Thelma Kimber, dance isn’t just a passion; it’s the very thing that saved her, a triumph over a crippling childhood illness. She has fought for her place in the spotlight, but when a devastating diagnosis threatens to steal it all, she’s forced to confront a terrifying question: if she isn’t a dancer, who is she?

As her dreams shatter, a bold new opportunity beckons. With a director’s intriguing offer and the unwavering support of her closest friends, Thelma steps onto a different kind of stage, discovering a surprising new talent and the true cost of independence.

But the journey is fraught with obstacles. To build her new life, Thelma must learn to trust her instincts and redefine success on her own terms, even as it challenges her hard-won freedom.

Shifting Stages is a powerful, emotional journey for fans of historical women's fiction. Explore one woman's resilience as she redefines her destiny amidst the vibrant backdrop of post-war Philadelphia and bustling New York City.

US: https://a.co/d/imGQdzS

UK: https://amzn.eu/d/e58Df86

CA: https://a.co/d/2ulhiwg

AU: https://amzn.asia/d/3j8HMDS