3/30/26 My Author Life

Dear Friend, 

Allergies are lurking in every corner now that spring is here and the trees are budding out. I had my windows open for a few days, but now they are closed and the a/c is on only because of the pollen. When I have weepy and itchy eyes, sneezing, and a runny nose it’s time to forgo the fresh air flowing in from outside. While I enjoy the spring and airing out the house after a closed-up winter, I don’t enjoy what comes with it—pollen; even though I know it is necessary to the plants. 

Celebrated Palm Sunday in church yesterday. Our Lutheran church usually starts service outside (weather permitting and it was pretty nice yesterday), then with palms in hand, we follow Pastor into the church for the rest of the beginning of Holy Week. 

After service there was a baby shower for the pastor and his wife. They are expecting their 5^th little bundle of joy in a few weeks. Instead of giving gifts, everyone brought freezer meals and restaurant gift certificates. The meal was good in that we had a ramen bar. Think salad bar, only with ramen noodles (from the square block of ramen) and all the fixings to make a bowl of ramen. There was pulled pork, hamburger, mushrooms, green onion, carrots, eggs, corn, spinach, broth and four different sauces to choose from. It was a big hit and something that I may use for a Sunday family dinner sometime. 

Last week Tuesday was the Chickahsa Area Arts Council monthly meeting. Discussion involved upcoming events including an author signing in May, Freedom event in July, and of course Rock Island Art Festival among other events. 

I’ll be skipping the author signing this year but will be at RIAF for the first time in several years! I’m really looking forward to it and hope that the weather is nice—not too hot or windy but just right! Since the event is the first weekend in October, we never know what the weather will be like. This will be the first time I’ve attended since they moved from the Rock Island Depot grounds to the street on Chickasha Avenue stretching from 4^th Street to 7^th Street. 

Writing is progressing along. I’ll be going through the final edits and read through for Art of Deception over the next week and getting it uploaded in time for its April 30^th release. The book will be available in both ebook and print, possibly audio at some point. You can pre-order by clicking on the title. 

That’s about it for the past week. I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I have not 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 delightful books to read! 

Maxine

3/23/26 My Author Life

Dear Friend, 

We just can’t get a break from Mother Nature these days. Last week we went from temps in the 20s to windows open to turning the a/c on. It was actually 99 over the weekend, and records were broken a couple of days. Now today, the a/c is off and we’re looking at morning temps in the 40s and highs in the 70s or 80s, with a couple of 90s thrown in for good measure this week. March is always a tricky month during March Madness and all the high schools have tournaments going on. 

However, I sat out on my front porch most of last week and wrote. It was spring break and it was nice that my time was my own for the week. Probably won’t be sitting outside until the afternoon after I pick up Miss M from school this week. This school year seems to have flown by! She only has about 9 weeks of this school year left before summer vacation. 

It took a week, but my headache finally subsided, thanks to Benadryl and aspirin. I just hope with the roller coaster weather this week, it won’t inspire allergies to return. 

I had our first family Sunday dinner this week. It has been a while since I’ve had my son and youngest granddaughter (Miss M) over for dinner. I’ve decided to try to do it every Sunday after church. It was nice because while my son was on his phone watching whatever or putting out fires at work (he’s a GM), Miss M and I watched Wicked: For Good, then I made dinner, and we watched Death Becomes Her. I was happy that she didn’t mess with her phone for 90% of the time, while I think my son was surprised how engrossed Miss M was in both of the movies.   

The monthly CROW author meeting was cancelled. The scheduled speakers were going to talk about homelessness and addiction, a topic that some authors incorporate into their stories. It’s getting to be that time of year when several authors are either travelling or have other commitments. Rather than have a speaker show up to an audience of 2 or 3, the decision was made to reschedule. 

I think it’s time to put a sweater on, as I refuse to turn the heat back on until next winter. Besides, Simon has pushed his ball under the loveseat and is trying to reach it. 

That’s about it for the past week. I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I have not 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 delightful books to read! 

Maxine

3/16/26 My Author Life

Dear Friend,

Old Man Winter gripped the upper Midwest tightly over the weekend. Here in Oklahoma, we went from 80 on Saturday to a cold front on Sunday that has us at 22 this morning. Because of the high winds, we also have fire watches out, and there have been a few over the weekend. And to make it crazier, it could be near 100 by the end of the week.

No wonder I’ve had a headache since Thursday night. Seriously, though, I think it’s because I added a supplement to my daily regimen; after some research, I discovered this supplement has a side effect of headaches. I’ve since ceased taking it. I read it can take up to a week for a headache to go away. I had to leave church yesterday because everything was amplified. I know it has gotten better because it no longer hurts to brush my hair, praying I’m on the track to feeling normal again. Whatever that is for me LOL

That’s about it for the past week. I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I have not 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 delightful books to read!

Maxine

3/9/26 My Author Life

Dear Friend,

Have you been afraid, well maybe not afraid, more like cautious to do something you haven’t done in several years, but know you must do it at some point? This has been me ever since I bought my new car. I haven’t driven, only been a passenger several times, on the Oklahoma turnpikes in several years. Once my beloved Trailblazer hit that 200,000-mile mark, I was hesitant to drive it out of town. Then, as you all know, at 211,000 miles, some major issues were enough for me to start looking at buying a new car. The universe heard my plea, and I got that “new to me” car. And when I say car, I mean car. Going from an SUV to a sporty luxury sedan took a couple of weeks to get used to. I decided to drive only around town until EmBee (my car’s name, because she is a Mercedes) and I became acquainted.

Now, to make a long story even longer, on Saturday I was going to go to a writer’s meeting at a library about 30 minutes away. This would mean getting on that turnpike (which, to my surprise, the speed limit is now 80!) for 90% of the drive. I had decided to attend virtually instead and let a friend I was supposed to meet there know. That is, until I went out to grab lunch. While in the Braum’s drive-thru, I heard the words “No! I’m going to that meeting!” in my mind. A sense of calm determination swept through me, and I went to the meeting.

Was I nervous? Of course, I was for most of the 30-minute drive there. But on the way home, I was relaxed and didn’t notice any anxiety about being on the turnpike with vehicles that sometimes would tower over me. EmBee stretched her legs (so to speak) and took good care of me as I navigated her safely back home. I’m ready to go to another meeting on the north side of OKC in a few weeks; that trip will be almost 60 miles from my home.

It may not seem like a big deal to some, but for me, it was a fear I overcame with flying colors!!

Now onto a fear of another kind. Every time an author finishes a book, she/he always—at least I do—wonder if their audience/readers will like it. Since I finished Art of Deception and it is in my beta reader’s hands, I wonder if there are plot holes I didn’t see. I know she’ll let me know.

Then there’s the fear of starting that next book. Is my idea enough to lead to a finished story that the readers will like? Have I done enough research? Is the cover appealing and conveying the story on the pages? This is where I’m at with my next book, but more on that later.

Then there’s the fear of marketing. Most authors are required to either do their own or help the publisher with the marketing. There’s the cost that goes into ads, promo sites, etc., that the author is required to do almost entirely on their own. Wondering if you’ve hit your target audience. Wondering who your target audience is for each story you bring to life.

Yes, writing is not for the faint of heart. The days of writing a story, submitting to a publisher, getting a contract, and then sitting back to write the next book while your publisher takes care of everything are gone. Even though most days I am sitting back in the recliner in my pj’s, it’s more than opening the laptop and writing; it’s running a business from start to finish and praying you’ve succeeded with something that day.

I don’t know about you, but I totally forgot to change my bedside clock on Saturday when I went to bed. I missed church yesterday because of it. I wish Oklahoma would just stay with one time and stop falling back or skipping forward twice a year.

That’s about it for the past week. I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I have not 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 delightful books to read!

Maxine 

3/2/26 My Author Life

The weather was beautiful through the weekend, until the cold front moved in late Sunday afternoon, when the wind shifted from the south to the north. I’m not complaining, even though it sounds like it. I got to sit out on my front porch both Saturday and Sunday afternoons, finishing up the draft on my April 30 release, Art of Deception. Two-thirds of the book is in the hands of my beta reader, with the final third being handed over on Wednesday before church service.

I’ve started getting my ducks in a row for my next release on November 13. Lighthouse Cove will be another installment in the Friday the 13^th short story series. There are three Friday the 13^ths this year, which means several new scary, horror, and/or paranormal stories for you to read. I am looking forward to figuring out what my characters look like, their mannerisms, and how they find their way out of the dark and into the light. Stay tuned!

Can I just say that I LOVE my new wheels? I’ve finally found my sweet spot where I don’t have to keep adjusting the driver’s seat each time I get in and out. And while EmBee really needs a shower, she’ll have to wait as rain is in the forecast for the next two weeks. No sense in giving her a good scrub down only to get rained on.

That’s about it for the past week. I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I have not 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 delightful books to read!

Maxine

  

2/23/26 My Author Life

Not the way I wanted to start my Monday. I had to go to my bank and get a new bank card and file a dispute on a fraudulent charge on my account dated last Friday. On top of that, it is chilly out this morning, but it had to be done. Now the tedious work of changing banking information on my accounts begins.

Tonight is the Chapter Chat book club meeting I belong to. I tried to read two of the books by this month’s author and couldn’t get through them. I’m not going to mention the author’s name because someone out there loves those books. So, another DNF month for me on the reading assignment.

Yesterday was the first Sunday in Lent. Our service was longer than usual, as was the sermon. I know it’s the season leading up to Jesus’ resurrection during Easter. One of our members had a baby the Sunday before and we all can’t wait for little Wyatt to be brought to church so we can all wrap our arms around this little family.

I have about 4.5 chapters to go and the book to be released on April 30 will be done. Then I’ll start writing my Friday the 13^th story for November. Mindset will need a reset from cozy mystery to horror/paranormal.

That’s about it for the past week. I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I have not 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 delightful books to read!

Maxine

 

2/16/26 My Author Life

Whew! I had forgotten what buying a new vehicle is like. After all is said and done, I’m very blessed to have my “new to me” car in the driveway. It was a process of two cancelled transports, with the third one being the charm, and my car was delivered to my driveway at 12:38 am Sunday. And yes, I stayed up and waited for her arrival. If not for the persistence of EmBee’s previous owners, she’d still be in New Mexico. They know how much I appreciate all their phone calls, text messages, and emails to get EmBee to me. 

After only a few hours of sleep (too hyped up to sleep), I drove EmBee to Walmart, then Braum’s drive-thru (remember when you were a kid and the candy counter seemed way above your head? Well, that’s exactly how I felt when I went through it), then off to church. I was so tired that I had a hard time keeping my eyes open during Bible study, so I skipped the service and came home. Got a short nap in before the people who bought my now old Trailblazer wanted to come and pick it up. I ended up going to bed really early and slept pretty well all night. 

In case you haven’t figured it out, I’ve gone from an SUV to a sporty sedan. I’ve had her for a little over 24 hours, and I love her. I haven’t taken her out on the highway yet, but I’m sure it won’t take long before I do. One of my intentions for this year was to get back to my old self, and maybe getting a sportier car is one step on that path. At 70, I am still figuring out the best way to get in and out of it with the least discomfort, but I think I have the getting-in part down. LOL 

Now I just might be able to settle down and concentrate on writing. Well, when the Olympic figure skating isn’t on, that is. I felt so bad for Ilia Malinin on his final skate. He’d performed beautifully until the universe decided otherwise. What doesn’t kill ya, only makes you stronger. Where have I heard that before? LOL 

And then there’s The Traitors on PeacockTV! OMG, I can’t believe Rob hasn’t been found out yet. Come on Faithfuls, get your act together and start analyzing things. I think a couple of people are doing that, but who knows? I’d love to see Mark, Johnny, or Tara win in the end. 

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I have not 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 delightful books to read!

Maxine

 

2/9/26 My Author Life

It was a pretty quiet and uneventful week as I sat back and waited for a delivery date for the “new to me” car. I’m happy to report it should be in my driveway by the end of the week! 

I’ve been watching the Olympics—mostly the ice skating. There are some very talented young people on all the teams this year. The competition over the next several Olympics is going to be amazing. 

This is the first year I didn’t watch the Super Bowl, and I think it is because of the Olympics. Oh well, I hear I didn’t miss much and I’d already seen the amazing Budweiser commercial. 

Well, like I said, it was a quiet and uneventful week. Stay safe and warm, my friend. 

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I have not 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 delightful books to read!

Maxine 

2/2/26 My Author Life

There’s nothing like the smell of a new car, even if it is a “new to me” vehicle. After almost putting 100K on my 2007 Trailblazer, I am going to be getting a different vehicle altogether and handing over the TB to a family in need. I’m going from an SUV to a very nice sedan that is classified as a sports car. It’s not only senior men who have a mid-life crisis, LOL Seriously though, I couldn’t be more blessed, happier, and I’m excited to have Merci (that’s what I’m calling her) delivered to my driveway soon. 

We are in thawing out and melting snow phase this week. The temperatures are going up, and I was finally able to turn off all the faucets in the house yesterday (Sunday). Now that Phil has predicted six more weeks of winter, I pray that it is not so where I live. I think all of us in the southern states have had more than our fill of winter weather. 

My granddaughter was out of school for nearly a week (including the weekend) because of the snow and freezing temperatures. School went back into session on Thursday last week, and she wasn’t too thrilled about it, but she survived. 

Well, it is time for me to start engaging my now thawed-out brain here at Quillcote and get some writing done. Stay safe and warm, my friend. 

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I have not 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 delightful books to read!

Maxine 

1/26/26 My Author Life

I don’t even know where to begin. What started off as a quiet and usual week of weather turned into a massive snowmageddon storm for most of the country. Here in Oklahoma, the snowstorms are over, but the frigid air is hanging on for a few days. We are blessed not to have had the sleet and freezing rain like so many others. Prayers going out to those who got hit with freezing rain across the southern states. 

My son, Parker, drove over yesterday and shoveled out my driveway. If he hadn’t, it would have taken me a lot longer to get it cleared. My drive is a small hill, and my footing isn’t as sure on snow as it once was. After 15 years in Oklahoma, this Wisconsin girl has lost all sense of how to deal with winter and all that it entails. My hope is to get out today at some point, just to get the TB moving if nothing else. 

School was called off today, so all the kiddos are safe at home, where I’m sure at some point a few might venture out to their backyards. As for Miss M, I know she’ll stay inside and either play games or watch movies on her phone. 

I am looking forward to the warmer temperatures that are on the way for the rest of the week, especially at night, so I can turn all the faucets off in the house. They’ve been “dripping” since late Friday afternoon to prevent the pipes from freezing. 

I think I suffered from brain freeze, not the kind you get from ice cream either, all weekend. I didn’t accomplish any writing or getting my business records in order for my tax appointment this week. However, I’m feeling a bit more with it today, so there’s still hope. 😊 

Well, my friend, it is time for me to start engaging my brain here at Quillcote and get those thinking things done. Stay safe and warm, my friend. 

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I have not 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 delightful books to read!

Maxine 

01/19/26 It's An Author Life

Amazing, isn’t it, how one little thing can make you forget what day it is? That’s me today. It’s MLK day, and I totally dismissed the fact that it is Monday since there is no school or mail today. So here I am, scrambling to give you a peek into what the last week has been for me. 

Not a whole lot happened this past week, but I’ll give you a quick snapshot. 

Saturday was the month CROW lunch and meeting in OKC. There were 8 of us for lunch at SanMarcos on SW 59^th St., and they were very busy. The food was great, the staff friendly, and the company at the table even better. Once we all filled our bellies, we headed down the block to the Almonte Library for our monthly meeting. Fellow CROW member, MarkJones, led a presentation on writing slow-burn tension versus sudden shocks, and how those techniques work across genres. After Mark’s program, we had our usual business meeting to discuss upcoming programs for 2026, the status of the NEST writing competition, and financials. 

Sunday was my church’s quarterly meeting and potluck. Dang! There was so much food that I never did get to sample a little of everything. I may be biased, but First Lutheran Church does have several marvelous cooks and bakers in our little family-friendly congregation, where the children are starting to outnumber the adults. After lunch, the quarterly meeting went off without a hitch, with several items on the agenda voted on and passed. 

Well, my friend, it is time for me to start making preparations in Quillcote for the arctic blast and wintry weather expected this weekend. Stay safe and warm, my friend. 

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I have not 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 delightful books to read!

Maxine 

01/12/26 It's An Author's Life

We are all creatures of habit, aren’t we? I know I am more so in my retirement years. I have a routine every morning that sometimes hampers me from doing anything that starts at 8am. I know weekdays are when I pick up my granddaughter from school. I set aside the evenings for working on my latest book, which I am currently so far behind on. I have time set aside for household tasks (i.e., laundry, cleaning, paying the bills). Then again, there are times when I have the urge to do something that isn’t on my schedule, and I do it…If it isn’t too early in the morning. Hahaha 

The past several weeks have been dedicated to getting things in order after the holidays. After getting the Christmas tree down, packed up, and put away, I couldn’t sleep the night of January 6 (the last day of Christmas) and kept thinking about moving furniture. So, I got up a little after midnight (which was January 7) and moved the furniture around my living room. Well, it was just putting things back to their usual places. After 45 minutes, I took two ibuprofen and slept like a rock the rest of the night. 

I am so proud of my community, which can be critical of what is happening in and around town, for coming together the past week in the search for a missing 12-year-old boy. It took a little over a week to find him, but with the help of the United Cajun Navy on the last couple of days, he was located near his home on Sunday, where he was hiding. His mother and stepfather are both in jail awaiting charges. There are so many unanswered questions, but for now, he was found safe and is currently in state custody until a suitable family can be found for him. Continuing to pray for this boy as he puts his life back together with the help and love of those around him. If you are interested in learning more, you can find the story on Facebook and any news station in the Oklahoma City area.

Even though it may get into the 60s today, it’ll still be cool enough at night to keep the heat on in Quillcote. I know you are wondering who or what Quillcote is. As 2026 began, I decided to give my home a new identity that defines the household. I did a search asking if and what people named their homes. Quillcote came up, and after following the link, I decided I would also call my home by that name. The original Quillcote was the home of author Kate Douglas Wiggin in Maine. I also found out Quillcote means “home of the pen,” so I asked ChatGPT to give me a tagline and logline based on that definition. I absolutely love what it came up with, so I made this design on BookBrush:

Well, my friend, it is time for me to open the front door and welcome the day into Quillcote.

I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I have not 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 delightful books to read!

Maxine