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 

5/19/25 It's An Author's Life

I am writing this post as we prepare for a severe weather day today. Hopefully, it will wait until after school is out and the kids are home safe and sound. The prediction is tornadoes and hail up to softball size that could start after 2:00 p.m. (CST). Right now, the humidity is so thick out there that you could cut it with a knife.

I am late in posting as this morning I attended an award ceremony at the high school. My youngest granddaughter received an award for English II! I am so proud of her and all her accomplishments recognized or not.

As for last week, I attended the monthly CROW lunch and meeting in Edmond on Saturday.  Cameron Sutter, the creator of Plottr, did a presentation on the software. It is a tool authors can use to keep their stories organized, especially good to use as a series bible. Cameron also said it is good for both plotters and pantsers (which is what I pretty much am). There is also another tool called StorySnap, which when you upload your completed manuscript it will sort out all the beats, etc., and the results can be downloaded to either Plottr or as a Word document. I’m on the fence as to how it would work for me, but I might try the 30 day free trial to plan my next book.

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 

5/12/25 It's An Author's Life

I hope you had a great Mother’s Day, whether you’re a people mom or a fur baby mom. The weather here was beautiful, and the day was pretty quiet all around. I sent my HMD wishes to my sisters-in-law and my mom. It was the first Mother’s Day without my DIL, and while my son had to work, he still felt it. The first holidays after the death of a loved one are always hard, but with time, things get easier.

I’ve delved back into the book I put down to write Thirteen Reflections. And I also am scheduled to do another Friday the 13^th book in November of 2026, plus I am in a series called Lilac Lane Mysteries set in northern Wisconsin. There are around 20 authors in the series and I *think* the first one comes out in January 2026. My contribution, The Art of Deception, is scheduled for April 2026. More on that as it gets closer.

My youngest granddaughter, Miss M, will start summer vacation at the end of next week. I know she is looking forward to the break. I remember when I was in school, I was always looking forward to summer vacation, but by the time it was over I was ready to get back to school to see friends I missed over the summer.

I’ve been taking advantage of the beautiful weather the past several days and will continue for most of this week. Been writing outside, the windows are open, and the screens on the doors are lowered to let the fresh air in. Once the heat of summer hits Oklahoma, the a/c will be on.

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 

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

I have the best friends in the world here in Oklahoma. After getting several phone calls, and both text and FB messages from friends and family in Wisconsin, I celebrated my 70^th, yes 70^th, birthday on Friday at my favorite place, Shakespeare Wine Co. (DJ and Cheri are the best) with seven girlfriends and three of their hubbies. We laughed so hard at times, drank the best wine (3 or was it 4 bottles we emptied) around, ate way too many appetizers, and engaged in a ton of girl talk around the table; it was great. I also got a portrait of Simon, my cat, my friend Dana painted for me. Also, I received a beautiful thermal cup, a glamour key chain, hand lotion from Carlotta, a handmade pen set from Amy, a wine glass from Anna, a gift card to Starbucks from Angie and Doug, and fabulous cards. Not to mention the band and customers sang Happy Birthday to me as I was getting ready to leave for the night. I love these ladies and the crew at Shakespeare; they made walking into another decade a blast!

I finished writing Thirteen Reflections Saturday afternoon. That night, the birthday fun continued with attending the play “Parlor Games” with Carlotta and Amy. Another friend from church, Terri Sutton, played the female lead. It was so darn funny. It was another great night of laughing with friends.

Come Sunday morning, I was done with peopleing (is that even a word 😊). I slept in, missed church, grabbed lunch from Braums, used my Starbucks card, and drove over to the local park where I chose a parking spot by the water and started giving Thirteen Reflections a final read-through. As more families started to arrive to fish, etc., I left and came home, where I went out into the backyard and finished the read-through. After sending the final draft to my editor, I spent the rest of the day vegging with Simon.

So, what’s next on the writing agenda? I’ll be reading the draft of Deceitful Promises to get back in the story so I can finish it up. My target date to send to the editor is August 31. There is another story in the hopper that will come out in 2026, that I’ll be working on setting up after DP is written.

And for the next decade? Have fun and to keep surrounding myself with the love of family and friends. And to keep bringing fabulous stories to life for you to experience.

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