You Say Tomato, I Say Tomahto–What Are Reviews Really Worth?
The subject of this blog? Oddly enough, not the reviews for Fortunate Harbor. Yes, the book’s out now, and yes there have been lots of reviews, the vast majority, I’m happy to say, good ones like this from Publishers Weekly: “A juicy, sprawling beach read with a suspenseful twist. . .” Or this from Randall Radic at Basil…
Read MoreLast Day To Use Your Fortunate Harbor Coupon
Just a reminder that today is the last day the $1.50 coupon for Fortunate Harbor will be honored. Just remember to ask your bookseller first so you won’t be disappointed at the register. Individual stores differ on what they will and won’t accept. Once again, here’s the coupon link for printing. Thanks to all of…
Read MoreOh Say, Can You See?
Fireworks over Asheville, North Carolina last night, courtesy of photographer Galen McGee of Peak Definition and Two Rings Studio. How absolutely glorious.
Read MoreHow Many Ways Can We Say Hello? Pat Sloan’s Creative Talk Radio Show
I’ll confess, much about promoting a book is simply exhausting. Saying “no,” for instance, when I’m asked to speak–the exhausting part comes from deciding what I can manage each year and what’s just one thing too many. Book signings can be exhausting, too. Not the kind that should be, when a hundred readers are standing in front…
Read MoreThe Glamorous Life of the Touring Author
Mix five authors, eight stops and three states, and you get one exhausting, exhilarating book tour.
Read MoreWanda is REAL and she’s living in Toronto: Lemon Meringue Pie from an Expert
Sometimes life is stranger than fiction. And sometimes it’s strange because of fiction. Take Wanda, for example. Not Wanda of Happiness Key and Fortunate Harbor. The very real Wanda of Wanda’s Pie in the Sky in Toronto. And had I never written about a pie shop named Wanda’s Wonderful Pies, I never would have “met”…
Read MoreA Gift From My Publisher: A Coupon for Fortunate Harbor
Enjoy a coupon for $1.50 off the price of Fortunate Harbor, good for the first week on sale from June 29, 2010 through July 6, 2010.
Read MoreGreat Expectations–The Chapters That Did NOT Get Written
I had great expectations for my time here, but the reality was even better. Sometimes it’s important to let go of expectations, to see what transpires without them. Some of life’s finest gifts arrive that way. My gift this past month was making new friends and learning to appreciate this remarkable community in a whole new way. I just bet, in the long run, Tracy, Wanda, Janya and Alice will all be better off for it when I settle in, once again, to tell their story.
Read MoreI Am Fortunate Because. . .
Just as writing Happiness Key made me think extra hard about what makes me happy and why, writing Fortunate Harbor made me think about all the ways I’ve been fortunate in my life. Taking a blessing inventory, if you will, is a thought-provoking discipline, and I’ve found the more I think about this, the more fortunate I…
Read MoreThe Pollyanna Syndrome: Finding Things To Be Glad About
As a child, Pollyanna was one of my favorite movies. I loved everything about it. The setting, the acting, the story. I ached for the unloved little girl who played the “Glad” game to deal with a difficult life. I’m all for having goals. I’m all for working on them. But maybe what most of us need even more is to be glad about the things we already have, to count our blessings, because isn’t there the possibility that if we don’t, when we reach that long sought goal, we won’t even notice? We’ll just screw up our faces, tense our muscles, and start concentrating on the next one.
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