8/25/25 It's An Author's Life

Wow! The first full week of school, and the stomach bug is running rampant per the HS counselor. I had to go pick up Miss M from school Thursday morning with stomach cramps (not those kinds of cramps) and slept most of the day until Dad (my son) picked her up after work. He picked up some OTC medication and kept her home on Friday, although she did spend the day at my house. As of Sunday, she was feeling a lot better and is back at school. Now all Dad needs to do is get her flu shot, and she should be set for the rest of the year—hopefully. 

The Chickasha Area Arts Council (CAAC) first annual book signing on Saturday was good considering that it was the last day of the fair and that the downtown area isn’t known to be busy on Saturdays. All 6 authors, including myself, sold and autographed books. Since I’m on the CAAC board, I believe we are going to discuss moving the event next year to the spring and advertise it as a CAAC Summer Author Event, and have it on a weeknight from 5-8. That way, people who work downtown will be able to stop by. 

I’m so excited!! Just this morning, I accepted a publishing contract for my erotic time-travel, Eternally Yours, with Rowan Prose Publishing! It will be published sometime in 2027. This title was on my backlist from back in the day when erotica was a hot ticket. I’m so happy that it has found a home with RPP. 

Well, back to work. This next book isn’t going to write itself! LOL 

Have a great week! Get your pumpkin spice beverage and open a good book to lose yourself in. 

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I haven’t bored you too much with them. 😊 After all, other people's lives are never as glamorous as we may think. 

May your ereader or bookshelf overflow with great books to read!

Maxine 

8/18/25 It's An Author's Life

It’s fair week here! Will I be going? Most likely not, because I don’t have any little ones to take. Plus, it is always hot during this time, AND I have a book signing on Saturday. 

School started here last week as well. My youngest granddaughter, Miss M, is a junior this year. It is also the first year where cell phones or any electronic device, for that matter, are not permitted to be on from the first to the last bell of the day, which includes lunch. She’s not a very social person in school, but has found a way to occupy her time during lunch and free time by drawing in a notebook. The first week is always just going through any classroom rules and what is expected. Once the real work begins, it’ll be interesting once again. She always tends to have to play catch-up to get her grades where they should be each quarter/semester. She must like the pressure because it’s a wash, rinse, and repeat every school year. 

Had a great CROW (Central Region of Oklahoma Writers) meeting on Saturday. The program was on homicide crime scenes, and the speaker was an Oklahoma City homicide detective. She was great and answered all the questions presented. Oh, and the pre-meeting lunch at Clark Crew BBQ was delicious with a full table of 10 authors!! Both the lunch and the meeting were well attended, with new and some familiar faces from the past in attendance. 

Well, back to work. This book isn’t going to write itself! LOL 

Have a great week! Love, laugh, and love like it’s your last time with those you love. 

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I haven’t bored you too much with them. 😊 After all, other people's lives are never as glamorous as we may think. 

May your ereader or bookshelf overflow with great books to read!

Maxine 

8/11/25 It's An Author's Life

I wasn’t sure if I’d have anything earth-shattering to share with you, but here I am giving you the skinny just in case. 

My youngest granddaughter picked up her schedule for 11^th grade last Wednesday. School starts here in a few days. Since she didn’t pick her classes and allowed her advisor to, I was surprised to see she was back in an art class and that she not only has Algebra 2, but Chemistry 1 as well. And there’s PE Wellness; she’s never had a PE class due to her heart, so that’s something my son will have to monitor this year. And yes, the school has all her medical records, so not sure why the advisor signed her up for PE. Even though it appears to be a tough schedule for her, I have the utmost confidence that she’ll get through it. 

What I do wonder about is how the students are going to feel about not having their phones on from the first bell of the day to the last. Miss M is very vocal about the ban before and after it became state law. She wants the option to be able to text either her dad or I when she needs or wants to during lunch, not to mention if there’s an emergency of some sort. I think this might be the biggest challenge of the year. 

I finally got through the re-read of DP yesterday and started to implement the changes/revisions onto the computer. I plan on finishing that up today and then moving on to finish writing this book. I really need to start the next one no later than the end of September for an April 2026 release. Plus, it’ll take a mind reset when I go from the 1890s to modern times. 

That’s it for this week—short and sweet. 

Have a great week! Love, laugh, and love like it’s your last time with those you love. And remember to hydrate before spending time in the heat. 

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I haven’t bored you too much with them. 😊 After all, other people's lives are never as glamorous as we may think. 

May your ereader or bookshelf overflow with great books to read!

Maxine 

8/4/25 It's An Author's Life

Don’t try this at home! LOL Seriously though, I tried to fry an egg last week. Let’s just say after 5 bottles of water, the egg that slid down my driveway was washed away. It has to be way hotter than 101 to try frying an egg on cement. Someone suggested I do it on my car…well, that wasn’t going to happen. My 2007 has been through enough during its long life of service. It has many more miles ahead of it to be disrespected by frying an egg on it. 

BTW, when I told my mom about it, she laughed, and it was the best sound I’d heard from her for several weeks. Praise the Lord. 

I have been re-watching Outlander in preparation for Blood of My Blood, which starts on Friday. I am really enjoying revisiting Clair and Jamie’s journey, as well as the rest of the characters. But I am looking forward to knowing how it all began and meeting the parents who started such a great love story, penned by Diana Gabaldon. 

It actually rained here Sunday morning and in the early morning hours today. It was nice the ground got a drink from Mother Nature. There’s more in the forecast but who knows for sure. The temps are going to be in the 90s, and although there were a few days this past week where I would turn off the a/c until it got too humid in the house, I don’t think I’ll be doing that again for a while. 

A quick note about my mom: she is doing so much better. Thank you for your prayers. 

I know I haven’t mentioned the book club I belong to, Chapter Chat, for a few months. To be honest, I haven’t been able to get into reading lately. This month, the theme is the “David Bowie Reading Challenge.” David Bowie had a list of his favorite 100 books. I was surprised to see titles such as A Clockwork Orange, The Great Gatsby, 1984, and several others on this list. I’ve chosen a few to hopefully be able to get into: 1984, Lady Chatterly’s Lover, and Madame Bovary. The latter is on PlutoTV, so I may cheat and watch it if I can’t get into the story. Stay tuned! 

Now for working on Deceitful Promises. I am re-reading what I’ve written so far before writing the last couple of chapters. And it’s good that I am, because I discovered my hero needed a bit of attention, and a surprise storyline needed to be incorporated into it from the beginning. Oh, the things my characters always come up with that I must go back and write in. But I love it when my characters spring a surprise or two on me; it means they trust me with their stories! 

Have a great week! Love, laugh, and love like it’s your last time with those you love. And remember to hydrate before spending time in the heat. 

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I haven’t bored you too much with them. 😊 After all, other people's lives are never as glamorous as we may think. 

May your ereader or bookshelf overflow with great books to read!

Maxine

7/28/25 It's An Author's Life

I know I teased about frying an egg on the sidewalk, and I was really looking forward to seeing if it would actually work; however, it didn’t get hot enough over the weekend for me to try it. Only one day hit 100+, and the rest of the days were in the high 90s. So, I’m sorry that I won’t be putting that theory to work—or not. 

If you are in the area of the heat wave, remember to hydrate and stay cool. I’ve been in my home cave for over a week, mostly only going out in the morning to run errands. My yard is still greenish, but my mulberry tree is dropping its yellow leaves in the front.     

If you are a person who prays, please pray for my 91-year-old mom as she’s been in the hospital since Saturday night. She’s not happy about it, but knows she needs to recover from what could be pneumonia. She’s on antibiotics, and all other tests and scans were normal. Thank you in advance for your prayers. 

Okay, so other than those couple of things, life has been pretty quiet lately. Just sitting in a dark house to keep the heat out, which, like I’ve said before, is hard for me because I’m one who loves to let the light in. I’m looking forward to fall when I can keep the blinds and windows open. 

Have a great week! Love, laugh, and love like it’s your last time with those you love. And remember to hydrate before spending time in the heat. 

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I haven’t bored you too much with them. 😊 After all, other people's lives are never as glamorous as we may think. 

May your ereader or bookshelf overflow with great books to read!

Maxine

7/21/25 It's An Author's Life

You know that saying about the heat, an egg, and a sidewalk? Let me just say...although it was in the 90s and felt like you could fry an egg on the sidewalk, I don’t think it was. This weekend we are looking at 100, so maybe then it might be. We’ll see. 😉 

I love the murder of CROWS I belong to! CROW stands for Central Region Oklahoma Writers, a subgroup of Oklahoma Writers Federation Inc. We meet once a month for lunch, followed by a program/workshop and business meeting. This month we had lunch at Parlor (a warehouse turned into a two-story food court) near Automobile Alley in Oklahoma City. 

I really felt the heat on Saturday, with being surrounded by buildings, and it was crazy busy downtown OKC. Let me start with my lunch, which I had high hopes for. I ordered Pineapple Chicken Fried Rice. The portion was big enough for at least two people, and it seemed I would never get to the bottom of the paper boat serving container. And I never did. I ended up tossing, I would say 75% of it, away after I ate all the chicken and pineapple. It wasn’t bad or anything, just not for me. I’ll try either the pizza or hamburger place next time. 

The meeting was awesome – except for the fact that it was crazy busy downtown because of the Farmer’s Market. Poor Anna drove around the block, I don’t know how many times, looking for a parking spot. She finally gave up, letting me out at the library, and finally found a parking lot that was free on the weekend. But let’s get to the workshop at the OKC Library. 

Kit McKenna and Brooke Taylor presented “Crafting the Modern Female Archetype,” and it was awesome! We were a small group this month, but it’s always great to see everyone and get together. I’ll have to delve into the handouts a bit more to really grasp the presentation. Sometimes an hour just isn’t long enough because there’s so much information given and not enough time to really dig deeper into the subject. Next month will be with an OKCPD homicide investigator and should prove to be yet another interesting presentation. I’ll let you know. 

For those of you who have KU, five of my American historical eBooks are now available: Elizabeth and Vera (books 1 and 2 of Widows of Blessings Valley), and The Cattleman’s Bride, Red River Crossing, and Winds of Change (book 3 of Brides Along the Chisholm Trail and books 1 and 2 of Men of the Double K, respectively). 

Also, blow the trumpets!!! After not writing for over a week, I got "words on paper," so to speak, as I “wrote” on the laptop Sunday night!! This means I can move forward on my next release, which I hope will be before Christmas. 

That’s all the wisdom I have for this week. 

Have a great week! Live, laugh, and love like it’s your last time with those you love. And remember to hydrate before spending time in the heat over the next week or so. 

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I haven’t bored you too much with them. 😊 After all, others’ lives are never as glamorous as we may think. 

May your ereader or bookshelf overflow with great books to read!

Maxine 

7/14/25 It's An Author's Life

Old lady syndrome hit me Saturday (for the record, I am in my 7th decade of life). Yikes!!! I went to Walmart to get several items I needed, put the bags in the cart, loaded them up in the car, hit a drive-thru, and got home just as the storm hit. I grabbed the two bags containing cold stuff, went into the house to put them in the fridge, then ate my Braum's #10. 

After it poured down rain off and on for an hour or so, I called my mom (I talk to her every day, she’s 91) and took a shower as I had a girls’ night out date to get ready for. Well, after my shower, I wondered where the bag with my vitamins and other stuff was. After searching the house in the customary places these items would go, and the car a few more times, I concluded, with a bit of panic, that I had forgotten that bag at the store. Made a call to Walmart, told them what happened, and asked if I could come in the morning. Of course, they said yes. 

I couldn’t go back to get the items as I was getting ready for Carlotta and Amy to pick me and my neighbor Catherine up at 7pm to go to the local community theater. It was the second night of Little Shop of Horrors, and we had a blast! The cast was wonderful, the music great, and we all laughed and laughed. We even got “eaten” by Audrey II! 

By the time I got home, my arthritis was rearing its ugly head thanks to the rain and climbing up on the stage. Thankfully, a couple of the stagehands helped me (and my cane) get up that last step and down on the other side of the stage as well. Anyway, I got home, took two aspirin, and went off to bed. 

Come Sunday morning, I was waiting for the Walmart Customer Care center to open up so I could get my items. It was 6:45 am, and I had to stand there with a cart waiting for them to open at 7. The woman who was working behind the counter this morning had me come up a few minutes before she actually opened, which I greatly appreciated. Long story short, well, I guess it’s not so short after all, she checked my receipt and "the book." She told me to get the missing items and come back, which I did. By the time I left the care center, we had concluded that since I used self-checkout, which I normally use, the forgotten bag was probably picked up by a customer since they weren’t in “the book.” By the time I got done walking around Walmart from one side of the store to the other and then home after stopping at McD's drive-thru, my arthritic knees were not happy. 

So, I took two aspirin and went back to bed, after letting someone know why I wasn’t at church because “they worry” when I’m not there. It was around 12:30 pm when I woke up. 

Old Lady Syndrome – LOL 

Other than those 24 hours over the weekend, the rest of the week was rather uneventful, including not one single word written. There’s always this week to change that. LOL 

That’s all the wisdom I have for this week. 

Have a great week! Love, laugh, and love like it’s your last time with those you love. 

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I haven’t bored you too much with them. 😊 After all, others’ lives are never as glamorous as we may think. 

May your ereader or bookshelf overflow with great books to read!

Maxine 

7/7/25 It's An Author's Life

As I sat writing and wondering which one of Simon’s hiding places he was in, I was thankful that I was safe from the chaos that took place during the fireworks on Friday night. The pain of getting to your care afterwards. The crowds of people who have celebrated a bit too much all day. Trying to maneuver your way to the bathrooms, or to a food truck, or even to just stretch your legs.

Staying home didn’t keep the celebration from disturbing my peace of mind. It sounded like my neighborhood had turned into an artillery field once it started getting dark and continued until around 11:00 pm. There were at least two organized fireworks displays in town Friday night. Combine that with the neighborhood ones, and you’ve got what sounds like cannons being fired. Simon stayed hidden until around 2:00 am when I got up to go to the bathroom. I’m pretty sure I got a good night’s sleep after things quieted down.

Don’t get me wrong. I love that we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence and declaring freedom from the King of England (even though my ancestry has royalty in it). In my younger days, I attended them as well with family and friends. I only ask that my 1950s house not shake and rattle at all hours of the night. 

I have at least 99% of the rest of my WIP, Deceitful Promises, mapped out Saturday night! A phone call with an old friend, Debi Sullivan, was what I needed, even though we didn't talk about this book. Instead, we chatted about the flooding (she lives in the high country of San Antonio) and laughed about her cats and my cat. It's always good chatting with her. Thanks, Debi, for the distraction! 

Two of the guilty pleasures have been broadcasting their new seasons. The Gilded Age’s third season has had a few apple carts upset in just three episodes. I’m not taking any bets on who wins control of the van Rhijn household between Ada and Agnes. Or whether Marian and Larry will make an official announcement. And poor Gladys! Is she really stuck marrying the Duke of Buckingham, whom she doesn’t love? And will Jack’s partnership with Larry move him up the social ladder with his clock patent? 

And Just Like That, Carrie is walking around her home in bare feet so as not to disturb the intriguing British author who lives in the apartment downstairs, while poor Aidan is finding that being there for his youngest son and spending time with Carrie isn’t working out so well. Not to mention the new love interests for both Seema and Miranda, as Charlotte learns to deal with Harry’s cancer. 

Now, if only Bridgerton and Outlander would release their new seasons, everything in the streaming world would be perfect. Until then, starting in August, Blood of My Blood will have to tie me over while getting me hooked on yet another historical series. 

I submitted another one of my books that has been out of print for several years to a publisher last week. It’s an erotic time-travel. So now it’s a game of wait and see. 

That’s all the wisdom I have for this week. 

Have a great week! Love, laugh, and love like it’s your last time with those you love. 

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I haven’t bored you too much with them. 😊 After all, others’ lives are never as glamorous as we may think. 

May your ereader or bookshelf overflow with great books to read!

Maxine 

6/30/25 It's An Author's Life

As I pulled laundry out of the dryer on Saturday, I was thinking how much my life has changed. During those earlier days, in my 20s and 30s, I realized that I wasn’t as fussy with whom I spent time with as I thought I was. I’m not talking about my girlfriends back then because they were my rock. I’m talking about looking for that special love and how many times I thought I’d found the right one, when in fact, he wasn’t ready to be found yet. The only wonderful event from those days was the gift of my son, two beautiful granddaughters, and two precious great-grandbabies I wouldn't give back for anything.

 

Through my late 30s and early 40s, I had a dear friend from high school, you know who you are, who told me without skipping a beat that I was being too fussy. Well, by that time, I’d seen too many friends and family go through divorces, and I told her so. My “being too fussy” paid off when, in my mid-40s, 46 to be exact, I married the man I’d been waiting for since high school, only didn’t know it. We had a wonderful and loving marriage and partnership for almost 17 years. He had my heart and soul, and I believed we’d be together forever.

 

When he passed in 2018, I had no intention of ever wanting to date or having a man friend again. But in recent years that intention has been re-evaluated, and I’d like to have a man friend in my life to do things with; you know what I mean, go on day trips together, take me out to dinner and the movies (even if he doesn't care for what I would like to see), open doors for me (including car doors even if I’m driving), walk me to my car, spoil me with little unexpected surprises, is romantic, and have fun with all the while treating me like I was someone special in their life and deserved to be treated as such. That being with that person feels like you're home.

 

There have been a few men in the past couple of years who were interesting and, on the surface, had possibilities. When one in particular was a little forward one night when a group of friends gathered for an evening of wine and conversation (we were and still are in the friend zone, and as of this writing, I don’t see things changing, but life can always throw you a curveball, so who knows), I abruptly left as soon as I could. The next day, I was then told I was “being too fussy” in not-so-many-words by a different friend, who knows who they are. Note: this friend has since re-evaluated their opinion of that night.

 

Being a widow or widower is not for the faint of heart. Finding a partner who treats you the way you deserve is not easy. Everyone seems to be “looking for love in all the wrong places,” but I’d rather say they are looking for it in all the wrong ways. Maybe I expect too much out of men my age but damn it! I’m worth the time and effort. And so are you! Follow your gut and don’t settle; being too fussy has its rewards! Second chapters are possible, and I’m looking forward to opening mine when the time is right and he is ready to be found.

 

The weather is dysfunctional again. It’s hot, humid, and rain is in the forecast for the next 10 days. I miss having the windows open and the fresh air filtering through the house. I am already looking forward to fall.

 

Since my WIP took a turn last week I wasn’t expecting, I have been contemplating how to proceed. I love the plot twist, and even though I may not have been putting words to paper, I have been thinking about it. I’m a writer who is character-driven more than plot, so I must go where my characters take me, after all it's their life and story I'm telling. LOL

 

That’s all the wisdom I have for this week.

 

Have a great week! Love, laugh, and love like it’s your last time with those you love.

 

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I haven’t bored you too much with them. 😊 After all, others’ lives are never as glamorous as we may think.

 

May your ereader or bookshelf overflow with great books to read!

Maxine 

6/23/25 It's An Author's Life

Happy Summer Solstice. Unless you live in the mountains, the summer heat has arrived. At least it has here in Oklahoma. I haven’t even opened the window blinds in a week, and I’m a person who loves to let the natural light in. However, this time of year, it’s better to keep them closed to help keep the house cool.

I live in a brick 1950s Craftsman home with original windows. So, the brick retains the cool of the night to help keep it cooler for a while in the morning, but also the heat of the day, so by 9 or 10, for a little while at least, it feels warmer than it had all day. I don’t have central air, so anything I can do to help the window a/c units work less hard, I’ll do what I can to help. 

I am hooked on The Traitors, which is streaming on Peacock. I’ve watched all three seasons of both the US and UK versions, two seasons of the Australian offering, and have started the New Zealand one. Each version has its own host, and while they are similar in some ways, I prefer the US and UK versions. I think that these two hosts are dramatic in their own right. I may have said before that these contestants are cutthroat and so deceiving, it’s great to watch for me as an author since my current WIP is titled Deceitful Promises. Deception is the name of the game in The Traitors, and when it backfires, you may lose all the money in the end. 

The past two Sundays have marked the return of two of my favorite programs: The Chosen on Prime and The Gilded Age on Max (HBO). As for The Chosen, it is Season 5, and they have called this season The Last Supper. I was tearful at the end of the first episode, and I have a feeling this season is going to require lots of tissue. 

The Gilded Age, for those who don’t know, takes place in New York City during the 1880s. It’s all about the robber barons and new money vs. old money, i.e., the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers. This season delves into the effects of divorce for women in society, women’s suffrage, servants moving up in their status and becoming more than just a servant, and mothers bargaining their daughters to English aristocrats for titles. It’s a prelude to Downton Abbey, and there might even be a reference to a younger version of one of the Downton characters. Julian Fellows is marvelous when it comes to writing these historical dramas, as many of you who are Downton lovers know. 

That’s it for now. Have a great week! 

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I haven’t bored you too much with them. 😊 After all, others’ lives are never as glamorous as we may think. 

May your ereader or bookshelf overflow with great books to read!

Maxine 

6/16/25 It's An Author's Life

Sometimes life just throws you a curveball, and boy, did it throw me one yesterday. After going through all the hundreds of pictures that I received last summer when my mom went into assisted living, last week I shipped one box back to her with the ones she asked for. Then yesterday (Sunday), when she went through them, she decided she wanted some others back. So instead of going through all those pictures again this morning, I shipped a 23# box filled with photos and albums back to her. Now, I know that at some point in my life, I’ll get these all back, but for now, she wants them. And the fact that she knew exactly which ones she wanted is amazing and a blessing that she remembers them. And yes, the specific ones were there just as she described them. I’m happy that getting all her pictures back makes her happy.

Happy 30th Birthday to my eldest granddaughter, Courtney. Although several states and miles separate us, my love for you is as strong today as it was the day you were born. I love you always and forever.

I’ve just been working on my next book, doing promo for the book that released last Friday (6/13/25), and preparing for the heat of summer that is on its way to Oklahoma. I’ll be going into what I call my “winter mode” soon, which means I won’t be sitting outside to write and will be staying indoors most of the time until fall. So, the a/c is on for the next several months until I can open up windows and let fresh air in the house in the fall.

That’s it for now. Have a great week!

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I haven’t bored you too much with them. 😊 After all, others’ lives are never as glamorous as we may think.

May your Kindle or bookshelf overflow with great books to read!

Maxine

 

6/9/25 It's An Author's Life

It’s hard to believe that my youngest granddaughter is going to be 18 this weekend! This girl, who is growing into a young woman in her own right, was born with several health issues ranging from having open heart surgery at eight days old to finding out she has Hirschsprung Disease to other issues she deals with daily, including losing her mom last summer to Huntington’s Disease. Looking at her, one wouldn’t know there are internal physical issues at play. She’s a great student, intelligent, and is a young lady full of her own opinions, and boy, does she express them! My son has raised her the same way I raised him…speak your opinions, but be respectful about it.

Thirteen Reflections releases on Friday the 13^th! If you are one of the lucky people to read it, I hope that you enjoy it. I haven’t written a paranormal in several years, so I may be a bit rusty. Be sure to check out the other Friday the 13^th stories that are available in KU on Amazon. This group, releasing on Friday, is the 7^th group of stories, so if you like scary or paranormal reads, be sure to grab a few. Links were posted in the May 26th posting.

It was rainy most of last week, making it gloomy outside. Like a growing plant, I thrive on sunshine and being outside. However, once the rainy season is over, the summer heat will arrive, which means spending most days indoors. And while I hardly got any writing done this past week, it was still productive with doing promotional stuff. With a self-inflicted deadline of September 1, I need to crack the whip and get to it!

I attended a small local writers group last Wednesday at Shakespeare Wine Company, which is one of my favorite places to go to and relax. While there were only three of us in attendance, it was nice just to talk about writing without an agenda. Not to mention the wine and appetizers are always great at Shakespeare!

That’s it for now. Have a great week!

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I haven’t bored you too much with them. 😊 After all, others’ lives are never as glamorous as we may think.

May your Kindle or bookshelf overflow with great books to read!

Maxine

6/2/25 It's An Author's Life

As I start a new week and reflect on the past week, a lot of what I do is wash, rinse, and repeat. Yet, don’t we all do the same in some aspects of our lives? Certain days are meant for certain daily tasks. Like Saturday may be the day you clean your house. Or you do one room a day to give yourself more time on the weekend for playtime. For me, it’s getting up in the morning and turning on GMA, having my youngest granddaughter walk in the door around 7:40am, and then it’s on the computer with other tasks sprinkled in during the day. Such is the life of this author. 😊

The book club I belong to, Chapter Chat, met last Monday. The theme was American Historical/Gilded Age, and one of the participants did two of my books! I was braced for some bad news because we all know not every book is every reader's cup of tea. But she surprised me and said she enjoyed them; they were easy to read and well written. And she liked that she felt as if she learned bits of history while reading. It pleased me to have someone choose them to read last month.

It has rained off and on all last week, and the trend continues this week as well. Right now, as with every morning, the windows are open to let the fresh air in. If it gets really humid, I’ll close up the house and turn the a/c on, which I really try not to until July or August when the summer temps peak.

I have the story idea for my November 2026 Friday the 13^th story! I also have the covers done as well. All I can say is I’ll be watching a lot of pirate shows once I start writing it. This is what is planned for 2026:

That’s it for now. Have a great week!

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I haven’t bored you too much with them. 😊 After all, others’ lives are never as glamorous as we may think.

May your Kindle or bookshelf overflow with great books to read!

Maxine 

5/26/25 It's An Author's Life

A moment of silence in memory of those men and women who fought for the freedoms we enjoy today. They were/are the true heroes we sometimes forget about.

It has been several days of stormy weather, yet again here in Oklahoma. With all the high humidity, I’ve had to keep the A/C on. Hopefully, humidity will decrease along with the temps once we are out of the stormy season. At least until the heat hits in a month or two.

This weekend is also the official start of the camping season. I know my family in Wisconsin are always gone this weekend to their favorite spots. If you are camping, I hope you have had a safe and great time. There’s nothing like the smell of a campfire.

Miss M’s (youngest granddaughter) last day of school was Thursday. She got all her exams taken and is more than happy to be out for the summer. The plan is for her to help me get my office and what my craft room, aka Simon’s room, in order and organized. It’s a long time coming.

Thirteen Reflections has been completed, edited, and uploaded onto Amazon. It has been several years since I wrote a paranormal story. I watched a lot of Kindred Spirits as research for this story. It will be available in both ebook, including KU, and print on June 13. Here is a sneak peek:

On the night of Friday the 13th, in the eerie halls of the infamous abandoned Firestone Manor, a dead body is found in front of an antique mirror, shattered into countless jagged shards.

Because some mirrors don’t just reflect the world. They trap souls. And once you look in... something else might be looking back.

Ravenclaw Manor

Friday the 13th

Late 1800s

 

E

ighty-year-old Felicity Firestone dipped the tip of the brush into the watercolor for the last time, smiling at the reflection in the mirror. The tear slipping down her cheek reflected the lie of her smile. Nothing would ever be the same now that love had broken her heart for the last time.

Like the others before Samuel, Felicity only had to look in the mirror to see the reflections of those who broke promises of loving her forever.

“You’re all mine forever and no woman will ever come between us again,” she chanted repeatedly with each brush stroke.

As the last bit of color on Samuel’s image glided across the tarnished surface, the antique gold mirror crackled into thirteen pieces, each broken section a reflection of one of the twelve man who had broken her heart.

The well-used horse-hair brush slipped from her fingers and Felicity’s soul faded into the thirteenth broken piece, her reflection alongside those she loved and were betrayed by.

KU / 99¢ : https://bit.ly/3EO7W4Z / Print Coming June 13, 2025

13Stories13Authors#7: https://bit.ly/45kabaP / Add to Wishlist: BookBub / Goodreads

I am back to working on Deceptive Promises. It’s coming along nicely, and I am looking forward to having it ready in time for Christmas. I also saw several who had done animated covers, so I asked one where she did it. After she told me, I decided to try it and this was the result. I think it looks pretty good.

In addition to DP, I have a cozy mystery set in Wisconsin, and another Friday the 13th story for November is planned for 2026. I have a story idea for the cozy, but am still mulling over the 13^th story. I think I will be emptying a lot of ink from pens and wearing out my fingers.  😊 

That’s it for now. Have a great week!

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I haven’t bored you too much with them. 😊 After all, others’ lives are never as glamorous as we may think.

May your Kindle or bookshelf overflow with great books to read!

Maxine