abby

Once in a while you see a person that just leaps out at you and demands to be put in a book. This is one of them. When I first saw this little colonial reenactor I said, "Abby!" She's the little girl in my third book coming out August 2011 - the one you helped me pick a title for. You know, The Colonel's Lady vs. The Locket debate. And despite all the great feedback, I'm still undecided! It will be fun to see what my publishing team comes up with as I have a feeling it will be very different than anything mentioned here. I'm so glad The Frontiersman's Daughter won out over Dogwood Winter and Courting Morrow Little beat out Red River Daughter. So it's fun to imagine what the book to be will be named. Kind of like a third baby:)

That's the funny thing about publishing. Just about the time your second book is released they're already hard at work titling your third book and meeting about cover art. I should have another cover for you once October rolls around. And I'm already excited as it's my favorite part of publishing.

But back to little Abby here. My husband thinks she looks grumpy. I think she's perfect. The tousled red hair. The intensity of her expression. She looks stormy and with good reason. But I'd best not say anymore lest it be a spoiler. And I want you to meet Abby on your own terms, not mine:)

You can never read your own book with the innocent anticipation that comes with that first delicious page of a new book, because you wrote the thing. You've been backstage. You've seen how the rabbits were smuggled into the hat. Therefore ask a reading friend or two to look at it before you give it to anyone in the publishing business. This friend should not be someone with whom you have a romantic relationship, unless you want to break up. -Margaret Atwood

Only bad writers think their work is really good. -Anne Enright

salmon, anyone?

I never thought I'd be blogging such, but this week a man approached me with 20 pounds of fresh salmon in exchange for a book! What could I say but yes? I didn't tell him if he'd had halibut I'd have given him two books:) So now I have oodles of salmon in my freezer. Randy is thrilled. I officially have more fish than books! To complicate matters, my oldest son, Wyatt, is out on the ocean fishing today. I hope and pray the salmon aren't biting, at least around his boat:)

August is rolling by and I need to get out in our garden. Past years I was knee-deep in canning jars and green beans, beets, and all the rest, but now I'm immersed in book 3, tentatively titled, The Scrivener's Daughter. And no, don't think for a minute that title will get past the titling committee. They'll think of something better. I love the story and I hope my readers do, too. It's set in Kentucky at a fort along the Ohio river and the male lead is quite appealing. At least my female protagonist thinks so. But there are forces at work to keep them apart - Tory spies, Indians, and past heartbreaks, among other things.

Thank you so much to those readers who have left such great book reviews!! It's such a treat finding them on Amazon and Barnes & Noble and other sites! What a gift! Hearing what people liked about the book, or didn't, helps authors craft better novels. I certainly take every word written to heart.

On the home front, we're making a big leap from homeschooling to public school with our oldest son in a couple of weeks. Washington state schools start September 2nd, at least in our area. Wyatt is very excited to be in "real school" for the first time ever so will see what happens. I'm more nervous than he is! I'll continue to keep Paul homeschooled as he has a pretty tight fiddling schedule. It will be so quiet with just the 2 of us during the day.

Get ready for a girly-girl post as my evening wear for the Denver conference just arrived and I can't wait to show you:) Am waiting on the shoes then will take a pic. 33 days till conference time. I've never attended a writer's conference and promise to take my laptop and keep you posted!

Please stop back by here Saturday for another book giveaway. It's not too late to enter the drawing for a freshly printed copy of The Frontiersman's Daughter. Just leave a comment below and I'll post the winner this Saturday and then additional winners the next two Saturdays. Bless you all!

housekeeping

As you can see I decided to do a little housekeeping here. Just like a woman, I guess, to want to paint and rearrange even on a blog! Hope you like the new format and colors.

I was thinking that besides all that leftover turkey and stuffing and pie, I really appreciate Thanksgiving because it has none of that let-down feeling I get at Christmas. Thanksgiving unwraps a very merry month of Christmas carols, snow, eating Cranberry Bliss Bars and those little Reese peanut butter and chocolate trees, wrapping gifts, mistletoe, and all the rest. But January ... If you think you're really hardy, I welcome you to a northwest January:)

As I write this Randy and his dad and Paul are up in our last apple tree shaking the branches to get those apples down so they can make a last batch of cider before winter sets in. It's so wet and dreary today I'm in here by the fire typing this rather than outside shaking down apples. They usually pick instead of shake so I think they must want to come back in by the fire.

On the book front, I am up to page 184 of The Scrivener's Daughter and I think, for once, that I'll be able to keep this one to about 350 pages. I am learning so much about the Revolutionary War and have the best possible teachers - Alan Eckert and James Thom. It you want a wonderful winter read, run to your local library - no, better yet, go to Amazon.com and buy a very inexpensive copy of Long Knife or Follow the River. Then curl up by the fire and forget where and who you are!

Here's a Sabbath thought by Oswald Chambers: "The will of God is the gladdest, brightest, most bountiful thing possible to conceive."

Have a blessed Sunday.