Hello World!

My dearest readers, oh, how I’ve missed you!

I know I left rather abruptly this past summer, but so much had happened and was happening I needed to step back and figure out my life. It’s been good, but I’m ready to re-engage with the book world again. And, yes, I mean it. I’ve missed you. Social media just isn’t the same without you all.

One thing I wanted to let you know right off the bat, is that paperbacks are now available through Barnes & Noble for the individual Life of Anna books. (Be careful which ones you click on at that link. The ones actually from B&N-not the marketplace-are the new paperbacks.) I tried and tried to get the story into one paperback, but it’s just not possible. Publishers have a page limit well below how many pages are in The Complete Story, no matter how tiny I make the font. I realize the prices have increased, but this was the best choice I had to get them into paperback. I will not be carrying any stock on my website, but I can offer signed stickers (“bookplates”) to place in them once purchased from B&N. 

One thing I did while on my break was to take a creative writing class.

I just finished it and found it a lot more fun than I thought it would be. To be honest, I was terrified of taking it, as I’d never taken a formal writing class in my life and didn’t know if I could write “on-demand.” I learned some new skills I will put into practice and even wrote a SHORT story. I’m contemplating entering it into a short story competition, but am nervous about doing so!  I might publish it on my blog to get some feedback before I do.

Some of you may remember that I volunteered at my sons’ school in the music department last school year. I am doing it again this year and am having a blast helping the kiddos learn their instruments. My 4th grader started playing the cello this year, and my 6th grader is still playing the violin. He also started playing with a local youth orchestra in August and is doing really well.  I’ve even borrowed a violin and am teaching myself to play. I wish I had a French Horn to relearn to play, like I had in high school, but they’re out of our budget right now. Oh, well. Maybe if my next books do well, I’ll be able to get one!

I’m sure you are all dying to know… What’s going on with Sabrina and Chase???

Well, some emotional and spiritual things have happened over the last year and over the last few months, I’ve gone back and forth whether or not I could finish the series. I didn’t know if I had it in me to tackle the story, and I’d started working on something completely different. But about a month ago, I began to think I might be able to finish it and as of now, I’m about two-thirds of the way done with the remaining story. It will likely end up being just one more book, but I won’t know for sure until it’s done. (I never know what my characters are going to do.) If it’s big enough for two books, as originally planned, be assured I will publish them in quick succession. If it’s not, the series will end up just being a trilogy. Either way, I will get it finished. After that, though… Well, you’ll have to hang around and see.

Anyhoo, I’m very happy to be back. Please give me a bit to go through the messages and posts I’ve missed over the last several months. I know there are quite a few. And here’s an all around thank you for all the birthday wishes in September.

They meant the world to me and though I didn’t “officially” get online, I did scroll through and see them.

See you online soon!