4/27/26 My Author Life

Dear Friend,

It’s a sunny Monday morning here in Oklahoma, regardless of the chaos around the world. After several red panel days, a tornado event in northern Oklahoma, the sun is shining, the sky is blue, and the humidity is already at 85% this morning, which means it’s going to be a day with the a/c on. They say it’ll get in the 90s today with the 70s and high 60s the rest of the week. 

Because of the red panel days last week, I spent most of my time reading entries for another contest. My judging assignment is 6 books, and I’ll start book 3 today. I have until sometime in June to get them done, however that means my writing is put on the back burner for a while. Is this a good thing? Maybe. Maybe not. I do know that I’ll have to re-read everything I’ve written so that I can get back in the flow of this November 13^th story. 

Tonight is Chapter Chat Book Club, and I actually got the assignment read this month. I’ve not read Sidney Sheldon before but found this book entertaining. I put my review up here: Simon's Book Treasures: Book Review ~~ Sidney Sheldon Next month the assignment is to read a Lucy Glass book, an Oklahoma author from Lawton. 

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

  

ART OF DECEPTION

(a Mystery on Lilac Lane story)

Every masterpiece tells a story—this one whispers murder.

A sound outside—a soft scrape, barely there. “Did you hear that?” she asked stiffly.

Lucas stepped in front of her again, heart pounding. “Yeah.”

Seconds stretched unbearably as they waited. Even though nothing happened, the feeling didn’t fade.

Skye hugged herself. “Lucas… what if this doesn’t end with a photograph?”

His eyes softened, fear bleeding into resolve. “Then we make sure it ends with the truth.”

“And if that puts us in danger?”

He reached out, thumb brushing her knuckles, steady and warm. “Then we face it together. No secrets. No turning away.”

Her breath hitched. “You really think someone in this town did this?”

Lucas nodded grimly. “Wisteria is full of people who know how to smile while hiding painful edges.”

She gave a shaky laugh. “You make it sound so comforting.”

“I wish I were wrong,” he said quietly. Outside, the street remained empty, but Lucas knew better now. Someone was watching. And this time, he wasn’t going to look away.

~ ~ ~ ~

Pre-order today for the April 30, 2026, release!

Amazon US: https://tinyurl.com/32yxznv2 / Series: https://bit.ly/4pCtfrJ

Amazon UK: https://bit.ly/4pEsZst

Add to want to read list:

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4/20/26 My Author Life

Dear Friend, 

I’m watching Meryl Streep on Good Morning America talk about The Devil Wears Prada 2 as I'm writing this. I am so looking forward to seeing the story of these four characters continue in our current modern world, and how Miranda navigates her way through the social aspects that have changed. The World Premiere Red Carpet is tonight at 5:30 (eastern) on Disney+ and Hulu (I think). I’ll be tuning in, will you? 

I’m going to bring this up, not to cause distress but to only convey my feelings. The latest Outlander season 8 episode was a tearjerker for me. From Janey telling the story of her and Fanny’s mother, Faith, to Fergus saving his sons and then falling through the roof. Both of these storylines were emotional. I’ve always been one who cried watching movies or TV shows. 

I’m glad they tied up the Faith storyline, and I have a feeling, or at least I hope, Raymond is going to show up in one of the last episodes to further explain what happened. Although if you’ve been paying attention, Claire did bring a baby back from the dead. And, if I’m remembering right, Raymond did say that her aura was blue. 

As for “killing off” Fergus, I can understand how they didn’t want to follow the book. I am thinking, and I could be wrong, but they didn’t want to sacrifice a child. I saw an interview with César Domboy, and he was pleased with the way his time on the show ended. And more importantly, he understood it. You can read that interview here: Outlander Star César Domboy Discusses Fergus's Shocking Death in Season 8 Finale 

When our favorite books are adapted to the big screen, we all want to see them exactly as written. However, that isn’t always possible. If you look back on some of the books to movies films, they aren’t filmed exactly as written. Some examples are The Horse Whisperer, Game of Thrones, and maybe even the Harry Potter books. 

I finished reading unpublished entries for RWA (Romance Writers of America) Golden Heart contest. And now I’m into reading a group of published books for the CROW (Central Region Oklahoma Writers) NEST published contest. I was assigned 6 books, and I’ve got one down. I’ll start book 2 today. 

My publisher, Rowan Prose Publishing, is having a BIG sale. I am lucky enough that my book, Simply to Die For, is part of this limited-time sale. I hope you head on over and check things out: https://books2read.com/u/4Nl9GJ  

I attended the Friends of the Chickasha Public Library meeting on Thursday. This organization does a number of events to help support/promote not only the library, but also the community. Lots of good things are in the works. 

Miss M is spending a couple of nights with me this week again, so I’ll be getting up earlier than normal to take her to school a couple of mornings. My son is finishing training a new shift manager this week. Also starting this week, the schools here are on a 4-day week until the end of the school year next month. 

Art of Deception is up for pre-order as an ebook. Both the print version and the ebook versions will be released on April 30. 

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

  

4/13/26 My Author Life

Dear Friend,

It’s a 4 out of 7 red panel weather week here in Oklahoma. If you’re thinking, “again?”, you are right. It is spring and here in Oklahoma, red panel days are numerous. This is our spring tornado season, so through June there could be a number of days/weeks like this week. 

How was your Easter week? I pretty much took it off for the most part. Although I did have to get Art of Deception formatted and ready for it to be released on April 30^th. I don’t have the software to format eBooks, so I usually source that out to my good friend, Maria. The print version is ready to go, while I am waiting for the formatted ebook version it is available for pre-order. 

Last night (Sunday) was the monthly meeting of Chickasha Makers at the Chickasha Area Arts Council. This is for crafters of all kinds, including writers (like me), get together and work on their individual projects. There is always tons of laughter and chatter, as well as yummy snacks. Even if you are only coloring in a coloring book, you are crafting and more than welcome to attend. It’s more about getting together with each other, than it is about crafting. Last night both Cassie and Laura were crocheting, Christy was working on a small diamond art project, Megan was sewing, Cathy was working on granny squares, Sue was creating some fabulous necklaces, Adam came in to work on the pottery wheel, and I was writing. It’s fun to see how their projects have advanced since the last meeting, and whether they are working on something new. I may just pick up my crochet hooks again since I have a ton of yarn in my sewing chest. 

Miss M is spending the next few nights with me since dad is still training a new shift manager on closing the store. So, no sleeping in for the next couple of mornings as I have to take her to school. Only 5 ½ weeks before summer vacation for her. 

I am currently reading Sidney Sheldon’s Tell Me Your Dreams. To be honest, I really thought about putting it down after about 3 or 4 chapters. I’ve not read him before and had no idea how dark this book was. But I continued to push through since Sheldon is this month’s Chapter Chat Book Club author to read. Now I’m invested in these characters, particularly the main character, and need to find out how it’ll end. 

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

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