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