Hello out there...

Just dropping in for a minute to say hello to anyone who may have stopped by the blog and think I've totally skipped out. I haven't.

Our family is very much caught up in real life right now, and my opportunities to escape to Magdalenaville are few. I hope to get back here occasionally, and return to some sort of normal schedule in the not-too-distant future. I do miss sitting here by the sunny window and visiting with you.

Magdalena

Fantasy, anyone?

I love a good fantasy, don't you? When life is difficult, I've often escaped for a while into a book.

Cait London posted a great blog December 3, discussing, among other things, "finding" time to write. I really enjoyed her blog, as I always do. But even better (for me) in the comments section Cait said this:

"Writing can also be a handy, brief, safe mental spot when life is churning really badly around you and you need a break. Somewhere to go when times are just too tough."

I am really, really not good at this. It's much easier to lose myself in the pages of a novel written by someone else.

So. Writing through Adversity--yet another thing I need to work on. I am such a project.

Magdalena

GARDEN SPELLS by Sarah Addison Allen

I just finished this book, and wanted to let you know about it--Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen.

This story is so beautifully told, I never had a moment of wishing it would move more quickly, or a moment in which I lost interest. (These things happen a lot when I read. Call me impatient if you must.)

This is romantic women's fiction--there is a romance or two (or three) but so much else going on, and we get the points of view of several characters. I love that. There's also a bit of suspense, and a large dollop of magic to bind it all together into a lovely package. To read the book blurb and an excerpt, click here for Fictionwise, or here for Barnes & Noble. Click Ms. Allen's name above to go to her website.

And just in case you're judging the book by its beautiful cover, stop that! You know we shouldn't do that!

Isn't it gorgeous?

Happy weekend... and happy reading!

Magdalena

Books sold, given away, and... Ahem...

Jan Scarbrough and I were pleased to have a nice turnout for Saturday's booksigning. (I forgot to take pictures, so I'm making do with these lovely clip art people. I'm sure they want to read Three Decades of Love, too.) It was fun to visit with people, spend some time talking books.

After the signing I called the winner of the day's drawing, and delivered her prize--a copy of Jan's Kentucky Cowboy and a copy of The Blank Book. I also delivered some of the author copies I had earmarked for certain people. What fun it was to sell books on Saturday, but it was also lots of fun to give those away!

BUT. It is not fun to give books away unintentionally. Darnit, some of my ebooks have been pirated (also known as stolen), and I am both surprised and frustrated. I think author Shiloh Walker always does a great job of talking about ebook piracy, so if you want to learn why it's such a bad thing, click her name.

Many thanks to everyone who made Saturday's booksigning special--including whoever created that yummy minty hot chocolate the soda fountain was serving. Mmmm!

Magdalena

Reason #4 that You Have Not Read THE BLANK BOOK

Aha! It's that time again! Time to discover yet another reason that you have not red The Blank Book. To read all the previous reasons, just type reason # into the search box at the top left of the blog.

So, Reason #4?

"I only read mysteries."

This is your lucky day! Because there is definitely mystery in this book...

1. Where did the mysterious Blank Book come from?
2. How can Alice and Robert get the book to leave them alone so their lives can return to normal?
3. How does the Blank Book control its owner's life? (Or is that really what it is doing?)
4. Why are people in small towns so gossipy?

Just kidding on that last one. The novel is only about 68,000 words, so I sure didn't have space to dissect a huge topic like small town gossip. It's in there, as we discussed in Reason 7.

Interested in learning more? Click on either of the book covers at the right--ebook or paperback--and read an excerpt.

Magdalena

Hey--Saturday, 1:00-3:00 pm, booksigning at Salem Apothecary, Salem, Indiana. Jan Scarbrough and me, signing Three Decades of Love. Christmas parade begins at 2:00 PM, and local shops are participating in Christmas Around the Square, 2:00-6:00 PM.  Be there. Aloha.   :)

Sheesh. Is it Wednesday already?

I spent part of Tuesday napping, and the rest of it dragging myself from place to place--mostly inside the house--sneezing, and blowing my nose. And yes, I popped a couple of Echinacea to try to nip this thing in the bud. Not a great way to spend the day off, but better than being sick at work.

I finished reading a really good historical romance the other day, The Borrowed Bride by Elizabeth Lane. Maybe I'm losing it, but the ending genuinely surprised me (in a good way). Very enjoyable read! Click either the title or the author's name to learn more. And boy, do I love this cover!

If you're a writer and interested in a challenge, the deadline has been extended for The Writers' Digest Short Story Competition. You have until December 10 to write and submit a great story that is no longer than 1,500 words. I'm much too verbose for something like this, but more power to those of you who can be succinct.

As you may know, my author copies of Three Decades of Love arrived Monday. They are so pretty! I have hugged and admired them, and need to deliver to people who won them in drawings, etc. Going to wait until I know I'm not delivering a cold virus, too. Bleh.

Really looking forward to Saturday's booksigning with Jan, at Salem Apothecary. It's very likely I'll mention it again Friday. Just so you know.

Did I tell you the dishwasher broke? So spoiled was I for twelve years,
but now I'm hand washing. The upside is I get to listen to the radio. While I was listening (and washing) the other night, I heard about a new CD--The Definitive Vince Guaraldi. Love the music from the Peanuts Christmas special? This may be music you'll enjoy. Click on the title to go to the B&N page and learn more and/or listen to some of the tracks.

What's new and exciting in your part of the universe?

Magdalena

Back to the grind

Back to the grind this morning after four days off work. May I share a secret? I know, I shared one Friday and it's hard to remember too many secrets... Okay, you don't have to keep this under wraps.

I'm glad to be heading back to work this morning. (Hey, this surprises even me!) I'm glad the alarm went off at 6:00 and I couldn't ignore it and roll over for an hour or so. I function so much better within a routine...a schedule. Ah, blessed organization!

Try not to notice that my slippers are mismatched. We're not perfect around here, you know.

And I imagine that by 4:00 I'll be glad to head away from work...

I'm going to try to curtail my blogging in December, and only post three days a week. We'll see how that particular schedule goes, shall we? It seems every time I try to cut back, important (to me) things happen and I feel the need to share them with you.

Happy Monday!

Magdalena

Shhh... It's a secret!

On the morning of Thanksgiving Day, I took a walk. This isn't unusual for me. What was unusual was that I saw two city police vehicles in the first few blocks. I met the first one and waved; the officer waved with more animation than I expected. The second police vehicle was following me. (Did I mention I was walking?) I heard the sound of an engine running, and when it didn't go by me after fifty yards or so, I looked around and saw the second cruiser. This one had its lights on.

Usually one pulls over when a police vehicle has its lights on and is following... But. Did I mention I was walking? The officer's window was down and I asked, "Are you looking for something?"

"Oh, no." He kept up with his very slow progress, finally passing me and then pulling off to the side.

The thoughts that went through my mind were that perhaps there was a desperado, or a rogue white tail deer, terrorizing our town, and these guys were looking...

But the officer said he wasn't looking for something. Huh.

As I trudged up a hill, two teenage girls in running gear trotted past me. Well, this never happens. I seldom see even one walker when I'm out, let alone a runner. Another half mile and I headed toward home the same way I had passed originally. I met dozens of walkers and a few runners. Some greeted me by name, others said Happy Thanksgiving.

That's when I realized I had thrown off the police escort for the YMCA walk. Those officers thought I was the leader of the pack! And guess what! It'll just be a secret between you and me that such was not the case.

Mags

Just FYI--Wednesday I posted Reason #5 that You Have Not Read The Blank Book.

Happy Thanksgiving!

May your holiday have a little romance!

Magdalena