It’s finally happened. Kindle Vella stories are now available on the Kindle app for both iOS and Android, meaning you have easy access to not just my Vella books, but a whole slew of other great books. My Vella books available are as follows: Riven City series – Got A Bad Case I Need a Hero Get Your Game On Riven City Holiday Specials series- Drop Them Bones Take Me Home See Me Through Traitors War series – Deceit Big Sky Country series – Fast Horses Also available are my Flying Ponies trilogy and the first book in the Traitors War series, Destiny. 💖📚💫💖📚💫💖📚💫💖📚💫💖📚💫💖💫💫💖📚💫 #kindleapp #KindleVella #vellabooks #indieauthor #indiebooks #amazonbooks #authorlife #lmransombooks #traitorswarseries #rivencityholidayspecials #rivencityseries #bookstagram #newfiction #yafiction #YAfantasy #romance #romanticsuspense #newbooks #thewritingcommunity #writing #vellawriter #vellaauthor #michiganauthor https://www.instagram.com/p/CYrli1XL3qh/?utm_medium=share_sheet
Tag: puremichigan
Charlie Dragon and Goals
Good morning. How is everyone today? I’m taking a vacation day and working on I Need a Hero, book two in the Riven City series I’m publishing on Kindle Vella.
My goal for September is to finish up I Need a Hero so that in October (my favorite month) I can write and publish Drop Them Bones, the first holiday special in the series. It revolves around a recently renovated hotel, a masquerade ball, some supernatural happenings, and a firefighter and his girlfriend trying to survive the night.
I’m still loving Vella. I can share so many more stories with you all there. I am planning to publish Deceit, book two in the Traitors War series, in either October or November, too, alongside my Riven City books.
I also got a new writing friend, Charlie Dragon. He came from Menards, and though a bit pretentious, I’m enjoying him. He does like to offer suggestions for my book, which isn’t always appreciated, and he asks a lot of questions, some of which I don’t know the answers, because I don’t outline or plot out my books. At least, not in any great detail.
Have a wonderful day, friends. And if you want to read Drop Them Bones in October, I would suggest reading the first two books in the series, Got a Bad Case and I Need a Hero, first.
A New Year Cometh
Here we are, on the cusp of a new year. We all have things we didn’t get done in 2018, things we never even got around to doing. Will those go on your 2019 resolutions list? Or did they turn out to be not as important as you thought?
I’ve found that making resolutions rarely works for me. It might for a day or three, or maybe even a week, if it’s something I’m serious about. So I make goals, instead. It might be in the same spirit as resolutions, but it sounds better, at least to me
New author goals include: publishing and selling Tilt; writing Spin, the final volume in The Flying Ponies trilogy; selling more copies of Lift; researching and starting a new novel (more on that later); and learning as much as I can about writing.
I’d also like to ride my pony, BJ, more and take my Jeep Cherokee to the sand dunes more often and go trail riding. And, of course, spend as much time with my family as I can.
Whatever your resolutions are, I wish you well with them. I wish a blessed New Year on you as well. May 2019 be amazing!
Write Your Story
I did an author meet and greet yesterday at Gales IGA in Hart, and I had a ball! I sold some books, but what was more fun was just talking about Lift with the people who came. They were genuinely interested in learning about the process and the inspiration, and I thoroughly enjoy talking about it.
It’s been said that if you can’t find the kind of book you want to read, then you need to write it yourself. There’s a danger in doing that, of course – what if no one else likes your story? Well, to be honest, should a writer care about that? Yes, at least a little. Most working writers hope to make some money, though most of us know we will never make enough to quit our day/night jobs. That’s a reality that needs to be faced.
It doesn’t mean, however, that you shouldn’t write that story that you want to read. Somewhere out there are other people who need your story, too. They might not even realize it until they see it sitting on a local book store’s shelf or on Amazon. Not every person will click with your story, and that’s okay. How many books have you read that didn’t do it for you? That’s no reason to hold back.
I love my story. I love my characters. I can’t wait to share book two of The Flying Ponies trilogy with all of you. It’s a story I would’ve loved to read, but no one had written it, so God gave it to me to write. For better or worse, the Flying Ponies are mine now.
What story do you want to read that hasn’t been written yet? Perhaps it hasn’t been written because it’s waiting for you to do it.
Have a blessed Memorial Day, everyone. Remember our fallen soldiers and what they did to protect the freedom we as Americans enjoy.
(I found this quote on Pinterest.)
Support Your Locals!
I have been frequenting Gales IGA grocery store from the time I was little. Whichever one of us girls went grocery shopping with Mom there got a snack and a pop for the ride home. It’s a friendly place, and easy to find what you need.
Gales has been getting a make over recently, and it looks amazing! Their new cafe spot with comfy chairs, couches and tables is a terrific place to sit and relax for a bit. Another new feature is that they carry home decorations and items made by local people. One of those local items is a new book entitled Lift!
I was super excited to be asked if they could carry my first novel. Of course I said yes! How awesome to have something of mine displayed and for sale in a store that I admire and love?
This writing adventure, which started back in high school, is leading to some marvelous things. I now have Lift available at the Book Nook & Java Shop in Montague, and Gales IGA in Hart. It’s so nifty.
Oh, and I got to meet a fan today at the library where I work. So cool. So blessed. I love this writing life!
Here’s a picture of Lift on display at Gales. Have a wonderful evening!
PS! I’m going to be at Gales on Saturday, May 26th, from 4-5 pm, speaking about writing and signing copies of Lift!
Shade Tree Mechanics; or, Putting My Jeep Back Together.
So back on January 4th, someone pulled out in front of me and we had a fender bender. We elected to put my XJ, Bernadette (named after a character on The Big Bang Theory), back together ourselves. It took nearly two months to get the insurance money, so we had to wait to buy the parts, and then wait for the time to do it.
Today was the day! My hubby and I took off the busted fender and front end, and put her back together again. He did most of the work; I’m pretty good with a screwdriver, lol, and holding parts in place. Now the old girl needs paint, and her 3″ lift. After that she’ll be ready to hit the sand dunes and the trails.
Here are a few pictures during the process, and what she looks like now. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!
A Summer of Jeeping Starts Now!
One of the best parts about the weather turning warm in May is getting our 1995 Jeep Wrangler (a YJ in Jeep terms) Shifty, back on the road. Last Sunday we as a family took his soft top off and headed a few miles north of our town to the next, where we got ice cream. Well, I got sherbet, which I was informed is “not ice cream.” I’m okay with that. It tasted amazing!
If you follow me across my social media, you know that my 1999 Jeep Cherokee (an XJ) was smashed up in an accident on January 4th. Bernadette is in my author photo with me at the back of my YA novel, Lift. I love my Jeep. We are fixing her front end ourselves; this Saturday we intend to replace the bad parts with her new ones. Once that is done, in June we are taking her to my hubby’s younger brother’s place where she is getting a 3″ lift kit installed. This will make it easier for her to navigate trails and the Silver Lake Sand Dunes.
And, you know, it will make her tough(er) 😏😎
So let the summer start, because this Jeepin’ family is ready!!
Launch Day!
It’s finally here: Lift officially releases! This day has been a long time coming; I’ve wanted to be an author for a long time now.
If you’re in the vicinity of Montague, Michigan this afternoon, I will be at the Book Nook & Java Shop from 4:30-6 pm, talking a little about Coney Island carousels and the inspiration behind Lift. I will also be selling and signing copies of the novel, which is the first in the Flying Ponies trilogy.
This picture was taken at the Grand Rapids Museum this past March. The horse is an armored charger from their 1928 Spillman carousel. They are one of my favorite types of carousel horses. This particular one will serve as inspiration for one of the Flying Ponies in the second book in the trilogy, Tilt.
Have a blessed day and hope to see you this afternoon!
Launch Day Approaches…
We are now T minus four days from launching Lift, first in the Flying Ponies trilogy. It is a great feeling to be here, this close, but I have to admit to you – a little frightening, too.
As an indie (independent) author, my book isn’t debuting with all the fanfare a Big 5 book would get. There are no ads in glossy magazines, no write-ups in the New York Times, and no appearances on Good Morning America. It is, however, getting a launch party at the very cool book store, the Book Nook & Java Shop, on Saturday. It has three very nice reviews on Goodreads, and it has a KILLER cover. I mean, have you seen it?? So what is so frightening?
The fact that it might not sell well.
You see, indie authors, unlike Big 5 ones, pay for different book services. I have an outstanding editor and publisher, but I also pay them for their help. Now, when my book sells, I don’t owe them anything, whereas a Big 5 author owes money out of their sales to both their publisher and their agent. It is a big decision whether to go indie or Big 5; I have been nothing but happy and content with my decision to be an indie.
However, this also means that Lift needs to make back enough to publish the next book in the series. And so on and so forth. To be completely honest, I’m not really that worried, though. Or at least, I try not to be. I have felt blessed by God from day one of this journey, from the first inklings of the story up to right now as I write this. Still, it’s good to remember that I want writing stories to be a business.
So, overall, I’m super excited about Saturday. I’m excited to share Lift with others. I’m excited that God has blessed me with some writing talent.
And I hope to make some money. Oh and by the way, the gorgeous carousel horse below? He is a Charles Looff original, circa 1900. He was once part of Marianne Stevens’ carousel collection, and is now for sale since she passed away. You could own him, if you have $49,500 lying around.
He is also the model for Penumbra, the lead horse of the Flying Ponies Grand Carousel, featured in Lift. The photo is not mine, unfortunately. It is borrowed from a carousel website.
Hope to see you on Saturday!
Slippery When Snowy, or, Jeeps are Tough
Here in west Michigan, we are in the thralls of a real winter. That means our roads, if not full of snow, are sheets of ice. Yesterday morning, on my way to work at the library, a person pulled out directly in front of me. My Jeep’s left front met her Buick’s right rear. Not the way either of us intended to begin our mornings.
The person said they didn’t see me and pulled out, catching a glimpse of my Jeep as they committed to going. Neither of us were hurt, but now my beloved Bernadette will look as she does until spring, when we can get a new front clip and fender on her. I am quite happy and relieved that she is drivable, though.
In short, beware pulling out onto a slippery winter road. The snow banks are high at the ends of several local roads here, marring visibility. It’s best to go slowly, and please, for every other drivers’ sake, put your phone away. Nothing is so important that it can’t wait when you are driving on icy and snowy roads. We would all like to make it safely to spring! And no, the person who pulled out in front of me was not on their phone.
As a point of interest, this the second Jeep Cherokee I’ve owned and been in a front-end crash with. Both took it like champs, but my dark blue one never drove again. That was a much more serious accident, and a blog post for another day. I suggest driving a Jeep, though. Subarus are not the only safe vehicle in a crash, and Jeeps are just plain cooler.
A Scribe's Life 