March 2019 – Writing Into The Sunset

The winter seemed to lag and while I was busy writing and doing some kid sitting and book signings, it is now spring and I’m looking forward to late spring and early summer. I have some great opportunities for me as a write, you as a reader,and you as a writer. (I know I have people who are one or two or all three of these following my blog. 😉 )

First! Book 3 of the Gabriel Hawke series is releasing this week. I’ll put up the info here when it is live. This book while fun to write took a lot of brain power to keep in tradition with my twists in a mystery and to make it work with the title I’d already given the book. I usually wait until I have written part of a book before I title it but for some reason, with the Hawke books, I feel compelled to have the title and then make the book conform to the title. Weird- but it’s working. LOL

I’m excited to be a guest at a book club the end of April. It’s two hours from where I live. They picked Spirit of the Mountain as the book they are reading. There will be so many things I can talk about when I’m there not only about the book but other books they might like if they liked Wren and Himiin’s story.

May has two in-person events, I’m doing. On is May 17th in Asotin, WA. For part of a Cowboy Poetry and Country Music event. Four authors who write about the west, (me along with Kathy Moss, Lauralee Northcott, and Carmen Peone will be at the Asotin County Library from 10am – noon with a program tentatively called, Women Writing the West. I’ll have 15 minutes to talk, so I have to come up with something good and brief. 😉

Later in the month- Memorial weekend to be exact, I’ll be set up at the Sumpter, OR Flea Market with Mary Vine for our usual book selling event. We have a new tent this year to help keep the wind and rain out, should the weather not be hospitable.

June is another busy month! I”ll be giving a workshop and signing books at The Frontier Writers Rendezvous a 2 day event June 7th & 8th in Canyon City, Oregon. There will be writing workshops, readings, and books. You can go to this link: https://oregonguidespublishing.com/fwc/ to see the great workshops and the times and authors who will be reading from their works. The workshops are $20 and the readings are free. I’ll be giving a workshop on Characterization- Making Your Characters Come to Life.

The other thing I am most excited about in June…. I’m going to Iceland!! The Authors Guild I belong to has a 6 day excursion to Iceland. It was a decent price and I could see Hawke going there for an international law enforcement conference and teaching a class on tracking. Not only will I be able to go to all the fabulous places the trip has included, I’ll be scoping out places to have Hawke venture to while ??? That’s what I’ll have to figure out while I’m there. Who dies and how he can use his tracking skills to help.

That’s what I have coming up in the next three months. What are your plans?

Wallowa Mountains- where I grew up and where Gabriel Hawke series is set.

Wow! Just Wow!

I started the month watching two of my granddaughter’s while our daughter and her husband went on a much needed vacation. As their parents were leaving it started snowing and by the time it stopped we were under two feet of snow.

One of the several times my granddaughter removed snow from the patio.

The oldest and I dug paths for small dogs to potty and so I could hopefully turn around and get out the uphill driveway. There wasn’t any school for four days, then Friday I had to transport the girls around to school and events. We hunkered down over the weekend and they had school on Tuesday and I was able to come home on Wednesday when their parents returned.

I arrived home to laundry, cleaning up after a husband and three dogs, and packing for a two stop book signing trip. I was home a day and a half and headed back out on the road for the signings.

I was able to spend several hours with my dad who is in a senior living facility before my first event in the county where I grew up and where I’ve set my Gabriel Hawke series.

After a good night’s sleep there, I set off to Clarkston, WA for my signing from noon to three on Saturday. I had a beautiful drive with sunshine and snowy hills.

Rattlesnake grade: the only way in or out of the county to the north.

I met up with my brother and his wife, to see where they live now and learn more about his new job. After a night and morning with them, I headed to Pendleton, OR. I wanted to go to the Tamástslikt Cultural Center, but while everything in the Casino/motel where I stayed, that is next door, said it opened at 9 am, I arrived and found it wouldn’t open until 10. I’d already sat around for two hours waiting for 9 o’clock to roll around and decided to just head for home.

I had great roads on the drive home and stopped off at Ontario, Oregon to do some grocery shopping before arriving home around 3 pm. And that’s when I realized nearly half of March had gone by while I was watching granddaughters and traveling for book signings. My hubby was on the phone to his mother wishing her a happy birthday. I said, “It’s the twelfth already?”

I came home to sunshine and thoughts of riding my new horse, but now…it is snowing again. Not sure when winter will decided it’s over and spring can lighten everyone’s moods.

I hope you are having a safe winter and jump into spring with both feet when it finally arrives.