Good News

I’m sorry to get this blog up late, but it’s been a big weekend. 

I spent all day Saturday at the Saucetoberfest at Schaefer Farms (Flemington, NJ) where I was selling and signing books. Good news! I sold five books! I was surrounded by other vendors who were friendly and fun, got to listen to a great live band, and heard about the results of hot sauce and pepper tasting contests. (Sadly, I don’t have the stomach to participate in the tastings!)

That was followed by another all-day event at First United Methodist Church (Somerville, NJ). It had nothing to do with book sales, but with my other vocation. Every year, our congregation has a day that starts out with the usual worship service and then shifts into a day of hands-on service. I spent the day outside at our “free rummage sale.” Basically, it’s a “here, have some free stuff” thing aimed at helping those who may not have the expendable cash to buy clothing, household goods, etc. Good news! We met some lovely people in our community, hoped we did some good during disruptive times, and got a chance to enjoy one another's company. All this despite the occasional occurrence of light rain. As you can see, we put most of the items under a bunch of canopy tents and carried on.

​My exploration of how Maggie Blaine Smith stands up to people and the world in general will have to wait until Wednesday because my last beta reader submitted her edits to me and The Great Central Fair will be published this week. So more good news! 

I am very excited because the release of this novella signals new possibilities for my characters. Maggie’s daughters Lydia and Frankie are entering womanhood and the likelihood is very strong that they will be moving into full novels of their own.
 
I want to thank my beta-reading team of Dan Bush, Laura Wimbrow, Carol Brosen Drews, Carl Suk, and Laurie Doscher. They make sure my characters stay in character, look for problems in the story, and uncover grammar and usage errors, as well as typos. We don’t always catch everything, but we’ve finally got things down to a science, and I am so grateful to have them on board!

​Until Wednesday!