Six Sentence Sunday

Hi Readers:

It's been busy around here.  Last Saturday, I attended St. Teresa's craft show.  St. T's is my home parish, and it was great to meet so many people who stopped by to learn about my novel St.Anne's Day and my soon-to-be released Christmas romance, A Shepherd's Song, which will be released on November 23--in time to get you into the holiday spirit.   Keep monitoring this site for more information and be sure you are signed up for my newsletter so I can notify you of the events (think fun and prizes!) associated with the novel's release.  

St. Anne's Day is selling well and gathering great reviews.  To my delight, I just discovered some great reviews of it on Goodreads.  Here is a snippet to satisfy your St. Anne's Day Sunday craving.  It is the scene after Peg's birthday when she is giving Anne one of the gifts she received that she doesn't like.  In addition to not liking the present, Peg does not like the idea of Anne considering marriage to her old friend Dr. Craig Love because she thinks Anne is the girl for her son.  Here is a scene of passive-aggressiveness if I've ever one seen one.     Rather than stating her true feelings, Peg makes her point wrapped in concern for Anne.  Enjoy!

Peg tossed it to her.  “Put it in your hope chest.  Save it for your honeymoon with Craig, dear.  That is if you get to take one.  You know those doctors are never home, and I understand they have a very high divorce rate.  That’s something you should consider before you marry him.”

And the winners are . . . .

Hi!

The Goodreads Giveaway for St. Anne's Day is over and the lucky winners are Shelly from Georgia, Esmeralda from NYC, and Beth who is also from Georgia.  I sent out the signed copies of your books yesterday.  I thank all who entered, and if you'd like to read St. Anne's Day, it's up on Amazon (paperback and Kindle version), Smashwords, and Barnes & Noble Nook Store. 

For those of you who may not be aware, there is a way to have your Kindle copy signed through Kindlegraph.  On this page look for the button that says Kindlegraph My Copy.  What will happen is that Kindlegraph will send me an email telling me that my autograph is requested.  I will then send you an electronic signature that you can download on your Kindle.

Isn't technology amazing!

As always, if you enjoyed St. Anne's Day, please post a review for it on Amazon. 

Thanks again and happy reading.

September Song

Hi Readers!

If you are a Northern Connection magazine reader and you saw the piece on the release of my novel, St. Anne's Day, in this month's issue and decided to visit my blog, thanks for stopping by.  I'm very grateful that the novel is getting great reviews--many from people I didn't even know were reading it.  Thanks so much to anyone who has posted a review.  If you are interested in learning more about the book or how to purchase it, click on the links to the right.

Also, if you are a member of Goodreads, I'm hosting a Giveaway on the site where you can register to win one of three signed copies.  If you are a reader, but have never heard of Goodreads, you may want to check it out.   

This time of the year always make me feel a bit melancholy.  School is back in session.  Daylight grows shorter and the carefree days of summer are reduced to nothing but memories or photos in an album or postings on Facebook.

However, I always remind myself about something I learned in September of 1978.  I had graduated from high school that previous May, but my first semester at Duff's Business School didn't commence until September 25.   It was the first time in my life that I could remember that I wasn't in school come September.  And you know what?  Summer really doesn't end when we flip the calendar on August.  There are many days of glorious sunshine left, flowers are still blooming, and the oppressive heat has diminished.   

So take heart, summer doesn't end until later this month and even then, fall is also beautiful.  Life is too short to be sad.  Enjoy reading St. Anne's Day!

Books--Sharing is Caring!

Hi Readers:

There is a little phrase I heard from a preschooler a while back that was so pithy, simple and wise, I just couldn't forget it.  Sharing is Caring.   What do you share with others?  A smile? A joke? Your bad attitude--I hope not!  I like to share books. Sharing books is one of life's little pleasures.  I've shared books with many people during my lifetime.  At present, I regularly share recommendations and swap books with my mother, sister, daughter, sister-in-law, neighbors, and co-worker.  Sharing books is a great way to strengthen a relationship.  I can still remember being in my grade school library and perusing the shelves of Nancy Drew books with my best friend and recommending my favorites to her.

Studies show that most people find their books from recommendations made by others.  Sharing books has undergone great changes over the last ten years with the rise of the Internet.  Sites like Goodreads, Shelfari, and LibraryThing allow readers to recommend and review books with thousands of people.  If you are a reader, you should really check out one of those sites and join in the sharing fun.

 BookCrossing is another fun way to share books. I've never done this but a fitness instructor told me about it.    You register on the BookCrossing site where you print out and place an ID label in your book.  Then you release that book it into the wild.  (I'm singing Born Free now!)  You can then check into the BookCrossing site and track where your book is.  More than 1.2 million book lovers around the world participate in this book sharing community.  Perhaps I will release a copy of St. Anne's Day into the wild and track it like it is a migratory bird!

The sharing of St. Anne's Day has already begun, and I thank all of you who have read the book, recommended it to others, or have posted a review about it. 

To date, I know that people in the following states are now reading it:

Washington
Oregon
Florida
California
Georgia
North Carolina
Pennsylvania
Kansas
New York
Ohio

I know of one person who has read it in Canada, and yesterday I shipped my first copy to Spain! I hope it goes viral.  If you are reading St. Anne's Day in a place other than those mentioned above, please send me a message.

Thanks again for getting the word out and for posting reviews.  I hope to put up photos from the launch party in the next few days so be sure to check back.

Remember, sharing is caring!