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