Socializing gives positive vibes

Went to a wine-tasting fundraiser for the women's programming of my church this evening. Met a few new people, and chatted with friends and reconnected with former colleagues I hadn't seen in a while. It was fun, not only from a socializing standpoint, but as a budding author.

I guess I should do these things more often because people are so excited to know I'm writing and that I've published books. Most people think it's soooo cool! Even though few readers know my books exist, when I talk to people they are encouraging and impressed!
I had to put this in writing so that on those days when I'm not selling books, and I'm feeling discouraged, I can remember that others want me to succeed and are supportive. Knowing that other people think I'm doing something worthy of excitement and celebration really helps me keep going.

I listened to a webinar on self-publishing all day today, and heard loud and clear how hard this is, and how much time and dedication it takes. Following that up by being around so much positive encouragement was inspiring. Okay, maybe I can get that next book done!

Time to get the photos under control

For the first time ever – in the 23 years since I’ve had kids – I’m seriously behind in my photo albums. Both of my kids have stuffed-until-bulging baby albums. When they started school, I began annual albums, and they both have an album for every year. Until now. The boy kid doesn’t like me to take pictures as much. It’s apparently embarrassing to have a mother who wields a camera in pubic. So . . . I stopped.

Now it’s his senior year of high school. And guess what? He has a total of maybe five photos in his senior album. I hate that!  There are other reasons, of course. He’s an athlete, and it’s really hard to take good photos from a distance. He’s also a debater. No parents ever go to debate tournaments, so no photos exist. I have never seen the kid debate!

I used to be more involved in the PTA and school functions. Used to constantly volunteer for something. But I’m not at the school very often anymore. Still, there was homecoming, and summer vacation, and college visits, and Christmas.

Since my son’s been in high school, I’ve launched a new career. I'm busier. Have to say, my writing gets in the way of my scrapbooking.

And then, there’s Costco. This, I believe, is the biggest reason I’m behind in my albums. There isn’t one close to my house. Every time I go, there’s an issue with their machine. The place is always crazy busy. Unfortunately, it is the cheapest place to have prints made.

But as I look ahead to spring break, and lots of pictures, I’m reminded that I still haven’t done anything with last year’s spring break pictures. If I wait any longer, that puts me a whole year behind, and that begins to sound overwhelming. I’m going to have to set aside some time to deal with this. And though I dread it, I think I’m looking at a trip to Costco in the near future.

Girls weekend . . . fun times to treasure

Ah, it's the last day of my girls weekend at home with my daughter. Dad and the boy kid are off skiing. Of course, we'll be glad to have them back, but it's been a fun -- and too quick -- few days. We've done a lot of eating out. We've watched several movies, both at home and in the theater. We've munched on cookies and popcorn and chocolate. Turns out we're quite compatible in these things.
We've spent quality time together, and also apart, each retreating with our laptops for a few hours.

She's given me valuable feedback on some of my works in progress. I haven't done a lot of writing, but I've done some reading. Was able to finish my book club read for the month, and completely read back through my newly finished romance novel.

Even though we've been at home, it's been like a mini retreat. Staying up late, sleeping in (a little). Being on our own schedule has been nice. Reality will hit tomorrow. And we'll have home issues to deal with, laundry, taxes and FAFSA to get done, and activities to schedule. And in a couple of weeks, she'll be gone again. These little weekends will become less frequent as she moves away, goes back to school and launches her career. I think this one will stick in my mind . . . fun times to treasure.

The Mom in Me . . . gift ideas for 18-year-olds

Most of my posts here have to do with my books and writing career. But I'm also a mom, and have decided to occasionally post a thought or two about that part of my life under the heading The Mom in Me. 

A friend of mine’s son turned eighteen recently, and we were discussing how much harder it is to buy for teenage boys than girls. It made me remember some of the fun gifts we gave our daughter when she turned eighteen. Being me, I had to come up with something that fit the “theme.” :-)

So, with that in mind, I set out to find items that somehow related to her and/or the number eighteen. Thought I’d share a few of them, just in case anyone out there is looking for some inspiration.

First off, in doing a little research, we discovered that Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th president of the United States, and that his image just happens to grace the cover of a fifty-dollar bill. That was a no-brainer!

After cash, jewelry almost always works for a girl. She got 18k gold earrings and an 18-inch strand of pearls.

From there we had to get the creative juices going. I think we came up with 18 different shades of blue, and gave her a blue shirt or socks or something like that. We found 18 kinds of candy that she liked, and wrapped 18 individual little gifts. That was a fun box to open (and watch her open).

In Kansas City, 18th & Vine is a famous historical jazz district. She likes jazz music, so we gave her a jazz CD featuring some local artists.

I can’t remember everything, and that’s probably about the extent of it, but you get the idea. We did some online searches and spent time brainstorming. It took some effort and thought, but it made for a fun and memorable birthday.

Feel free to share additional ideas! What creative gifts have you given?

Crime in Literature

Was looking through some reading lists the other day, and was reminded of one of my all-time favorite college courses – Crime in Literature. English was one of my concentrations in college, and this was an elective. We read some awesome books that stick with me to this day (uh, yeah, that was a while back).

I can’t remember the whole list, but here are some:

The Godfather

Crime and Punishment

All The Kings Men

Red Harvest

The Onion Field

I wish I had the full list and the syllabus for the class. And I’d love to know how the list has changed in the past twenty-some years. Couldn’t find that same class in the university course book, though.

What would you put on such a list? Can you think of crime novels (not mysteries) that made a lasting impression? I know I’ve read Murder on The Orient Express, but I can’t recall if it was for this class. Possibly. It’s another good one.

The two of these that stand out the most for me are The Godfather and Crime and Punishment. Oh, my. There’s something about reading The Godfather that makes it even more horrific than the movie. I thought I would never get that scene with the man and the head of his dead horse out of my mind.

And I can remember silently screaming at Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment not to do it, and later being fascinated by the psychology at play in his guilt and ultimate incrimination of himself.

Some of these are still read in colleges and high schools. The Godfather is probably more well known as a movie. All are worth reading and discussing. If I were choosing today, I'd add The Shawshank Redemption.

Would love to hear your thoughts!

Limited time offer!

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Chatting with Readers is Refreshing!

Today I had the pleasure of meeting face-to-face with a group of readers who belong to a book club at the local library. It was so much fun! I needed this. I needed to connect with real people, people who enjoy books, but aren't authors.
I've met some wonderful authors in the past year, as I've joined the publishing industry. But so many of them have been in cyberspace only. And often I've felt that I was caught in an endless loop of authors promoting to authors.

It was good to meet people who enjoy reading and were willing to spend a few minutes listening to me talk about my books. They happily took bookmarks and asked question. They thumbed through the books and declared them to be interesting and well-written!! YAY! This is a big deal, because, I'm sorry to say,  several of them mentioned having seen self-published books that were embarrassing in their lack of professionalism. That, I'm afraid is an uphill battle.

The other big battle for a self-published author is getting in front of readers, finding an audience. So, I'm very grateful to the library for inviting me, and to the lovely ladies for indulging me. I think I've got a second wind now! Maybe this would be a good time to tackle that next chapter! :-)

Anniversary sale . . . celebrating publication!

In honor of the first anniversary of my debut novel, Unexpected Legacy, I'm putting the digital version on sale for just 99 cents. Hope you'll take advantage of the price reduction and check it out!
The novel is a contemporary romance/young adult crossover about people, relationships and real-life situations. It was a quarterfinalist in the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, and has five-star reviews from librarians!
You can buy the book, read the awesome reviews, and get a sneak preview on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/Unexpected-Legacy-Darlene-Deluca-ebook/dp/B00AW5NTC4/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1388898469&sr=1-3&keywords=darlene+deluca

For other digital formats, please use Smashwords, coupon code GD47C.
Thanks, and happy reading to all!