Who Still Sends a Year-End Newsletter?
And I'm not talking about ones like this. I'm talking about the family kind, the kind that highlights every accomplishment and accident and illness Billy and Jilly and Whiskers and Spot experienced in the previous 12 months.
I've been guilty of sending out pages-long summaries of family highlights over the years, though I didn't last year, perhaps because my Mum had passed away. I still go for my phone every now and then to tell her about my latest adventures. And I thought about writing one this year, but recently decided against it.
I could list many excuses for why I won't be mailing out family news this year (and for why this newsletter is late!), but as I learned on Day 1 of New Cadet Training at West Point 39 years ago, "No excuse, sir/ma'am" is often the best response. It's certainly the easiest!
Instead, I will write the family news recap, but I'll keep it as a personal record. I'd encourage you to do the same, whether or not you decide to share it with friends and family. It's a great way of reflecting on past accomplishments and preparing for a brand new calendar year!
Speaking of calendar years:
UPCOMING (and maybe some past) EVENTS!
- December 1-2 and 8-9: The Bighorn Book Nook participated in the annual Georgetown Heritage Center Christmas Fair, and I was there both weekends. I met many wonderful authors (see links to their work below) and interacted with potential new fans of my work. A special thanks to Jerry Fabyanic (author of Sisyphus Wins), who orchestrated the successful event! Check out the interview I did with Jerry recently on my YouTube channel HERE!
 My display at the Georgetown Heritage Center
AUTOGRAPHED BOOK MAKE GREAT GIFTS!
AUTHOR/BLOGGER/PODCASTER NEWS!
(let me know if you have literary news you'd like to share)
- Author Kathleen Kaska has quite a variety of books...check out her Amazon Author Page for all she has to offer. Her latest book is a Kate Caraway Animal Rights Mystery, A Two Horse Town, and it will be released on December 29! Click HERE to pre-order her new book in e-book format! I just did!
- I met author Michael Kilman at MileHiCon and look forward to diving into his Chronicles of the Great Migration Series. Michael has already given me two great author panel ideas for Denver's 2019 Comic Con, now called Denver Pop Culture Con. Can't wait (but I will)!
- W.J. Cherf was my table buddy at MileHiCon and his book The Magician's Tomb -- a paranormal archaeology book -- is also on my nightstand! Paranormal archaeology? YES, please!
- Author, film-maker Carol Bellhouse continues to create enchanting short films set to poetry or, more accurately, poetry set to short films! Subscribe to her YouTube channel HERE and be inspired!
In addition to authors I've highlighted already, I met many, many new authors this month. As soon as I clone myself I'll read all their work! For now, however, I'd like to list them with links to their author pages and one book title so you may decide which ones you'd like to support. I know all of these authors would love to see a holiday sale or two (that includes ME!), so please consider giving many BOOKS as gifts this year and next! Here goes (in no order whatsoever):
Can you see why I haven't finished writing Waterwight Breathe: Book III yet? So many wonderful reads, so little . . . you know.
BOOKS I'VE READ and WHAT I'M READING NOW
(and what I think about them...I'll just comment briefly on two or three each month)
- Reading now: Todd Fahnestock's Charlie Fiction: A Time Travel Urban Fantasy. I met Todd at the Bighorn Book Nook event this month and his enthusiasm and imagination captivated me (and drew many loyal fans, who flocked his table each weekend!) The book is creative and thought-provoking and I can't wait to see how it ends. Todd's book Wildmane, the first book in his Threadweavers series, is FREE on Kindle now! Why now try something new?
- Also reading: Eric Blehm's The Only Thing Worth Dying For (and it's not about ending titles with prepositions!) This is not my usual reading choice (which is one reason I'm reading it . . . I've got to read many genres if I plan to write in many genres), but my husband, Mike, recommended it highly, and he reads nonfiction almost exclusively. So far, it has kept my attention!
- Have read: Helen Starbuck's No Pity in Death, the second book in her medical mystery series. Helen was my table-mate at the Bighorn Book Nook event and I also interviewed her recently (check it out on my YouTube channel HERE)! After reading The Mad Hatter's Son, her first book, I wanted to know what happened to Annie Collins! Her books are more of a "How done it" than a "Who done it," she writes beautifully, and she's working on Book 3!
MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HANUKKAH,
and I'LL BE BACK NEXT YEAR!
Have you checked out my weekly podcast Alligator Preserves lately? There are stories and interviews and insights galore, and I opened up my December short story to everyone, along with my personal rendition of "The Night Before Christmas" poem. Check it out HERE-- my gift to you!
I've also recorded nine short stories I've written, and if you'd like to hear them--and one new story per month (for as long as I can produce them!)--I humbly ask for your $3/month patronage on Patreon. It's easy and painless to become a patron of my arts, and I will love you forever. I'll love you forever regardless, but I'll love you with bonus stories each month if you become my patron.
:)
Looking for hot Writing Tips? Check HERE
Please send me some of your own and I'll credit you in my list!
The podcast link above is brought to you by ME, and I'm a one-woman operation! Please share it with anyone you think might enjoy what I offer each week, and become my patron. Find out how--and what rewards you will earn for being my patron--HERE! Spoiler alert: Patrons of $3/month or more will have exclusive access to a new short story I'll write and narrate every month! It'll be like buying me one gluten free brownie every month, but you won't have to deliver it (or watch me eat it)!
Please let me know if you're participating in any awesome writing contests and if you have any personal writing/publishing news you'd like to share!
Be kind to yourself.
Laurel
(here's a link to all of my books, available in paperback and Kindle. When you purchase a paperback, you will always get a free Kindle download!) |
