Time to Say Thanks

Thanksgiving is this week. In fact, it's tomorrow. It's time for family, food and football. It's also a good time to let all of you know, from a writer's perspective, what I'm thankful for.

First, and most important, I'm thankful for my family. I spend a lot of time and money in pursuit of my writing, and they never complain. They're very supportive, and my husband takes that support to the extreme. The man is my web designer, cover artist and computer technician. He's even been known to proofread my romance novels. Now, that's some serious support!

I'm thankful for the readers. All of you who buy my books and take the time to review them mean more to me than I can say. Without you, I have no one to write for. It always makes my day when you reach out to me to tell me how much you've enjoyed my stories and ask for more. I hope you'll always feel that way.

I'm thankful for my fellow writers. Many of you make me a better writer. Some of you do it by sharing ideas with me. Some of you do it by inviting me to take part in your projects. Those of you I don't know make me a better writer by giving me such amazing stories to read. Most writers love to read. It's what motivated us to write in the first place and reading a great story from a fellow writer is often the best inspiration.

I'm thankful for all of you who follow me on social media. Those of you who read my blog, check out my pictures on Instagram and read my tweets give me a way to share my work with the rest of the world. When you like my photos or tweets or my Facebook page, you share it with others.

I'm thankful I'm still inspired to write every day. It's been almost eleven years since Letters from Linc was released. Since then, I've written a lot of books that all of you have embraced and there are still plenty more to go.

I'm thankful to get paid to do something I love. I went to the bank today to cash a royalty check, and I was giddy. Someone paid me to write. I got paid to do something that I used to do for free, and that's a feeling I will never tire of.

Finally, I'm thankful and excited for the upcoming year. There's going to be a lot going on with my writing in 2017, and I can't wait to share it with all of you. Until then, enjoy your turkey with your friends and family!

I Took a Trip to Sapphire Falls...And I liked It!

Earlier this year, best-selling contemporary romance author Erin Nicholas reached out to me to invite me to write a novella as part of her Sapphire Falls Kindle World release taking place in October of this year. Naturally, I said yes. I’m a huge Erin Nicholas fan, and I was (and still am) honored that she would allow me to be part of an amazing group of authors releasing books last month.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Sapphire Falls series, here is a description directly from Erin’s website: Sapphire Falls is the fictitious little town in Nebraska where the bestselling contemporary romance series, Sapphire Falls, takes place. Where people fall in love fast… and forever!

As soon as I accepted Erin’s offer, I was so excited that I immediately started a story and character outline. A day later, I met with my graphic artist who created the perfect cover for me within just a few days. Then I was off and running.

Many of you may not know this, but I started working on my Sapphire Falls novella in April. I threw everything I had into my novella, Going for Wilder. Erin Nicholas has a loyal and supportive fan base who loves Sapphire Falls as much as she does, and I didn’t want to let them down.

In the weeks leading up to the release of our Kindle World novellas, Erin and her team began to coordinate an online release party that would allow each of us an opportunity to showcase our book and meet her audience. Each of us also spent a lot of time on our social media accounts promoting our books as well as each other’s.

Finally, after months of waiting, the day of the release dawned and the excitement was running high. Since I have a day job, I was given a later time slot for the book release, which I decided to take full advantage of. Before my turn was up, I watched other authors interacting with fans so that I could see how it was done. When my time finally came up, it surpassed my expectations. I connected with some great readers and saw an increase in my social media followers. And, best of all, this book ranked higher in sales on its release than any of my other books to date.

I can’t say thank you enough to Erin Nicholas for having faith in me and for introducing me to her wonderful group of readers. I took a trip to Sapphire Falls, and I liked it so much that I will happily do it again.