Why I'm not Having a Launch

In 2005 I had my first launch party and it was an event! I had gotten the idea from the book "Guerrilla Marketing"which talked about artists, authors, singers, etc, having these parties to kick off a new book or tour or album. I had never seen it done in Utah. So I started from scratch and went about planning an event. I had doorprizes, drawings, a grand prize drawing, food, perks, etc. The event cost me about $400 and I spent at least 75 hours coordinating prizes, working out details, putting up posters, printing fliers, etc. It was a lot of work, but it was so much fun!

I had family, friends, readers, and just curious bystanders stop in and see what was going on at the independent bookstore where I hosted it. People had a great time, I had a great time, and while it was a ton of work, it was a very positive experience. I realized that it was easier to promote an event than it was to say "buy my book please" and I found it much more comfortable than a regular book signing.

I have had 13 additional launch parties for the 13 books I have published since then. Over time I did away with the drawings and the doorprizes, mostly because it was so much work but also because people get funny about donating every six months :-) Other authors were doing the same things, organizing events, contests, etc to announce their books. We were all on the launch-party train together. When I started publishing the culinary mysteries, it was a no brainer to use the signature recipe as the treat at the launch party. I stand behind the fact that it was a GREAT idea, but here are some behind the scenes things that made it highly stressful:

*For "English Trifle" I drove to Salt Lake and bought 16 oz plastic cups with lids so I could premake 100 trifles. I spent two days preparing all the different parts I realized that the lids I'd bought were the wrong size. I spent four hours driving all over Ogden, trying to find lids (Yes, it would have been faster to go to Salt Lake) and I finally found them--McDonalds McCafe drinks use the same lid. I begged a manager to sell me a sleeve of lids, she called her district manager and they, blessedly, agreed to the sale. Cost me $20 but, still. No way could I transport 100 cups of trifle without lids.

*For "Devil's Food Cake" I had to make chocolate curls for the 10 cakes I made. I'd never made chocolate curls and ended up doing three attempts before one worked--each one was a jelly roll size of melted chocolate. We had 'chocolate chunk' cookies for months at my house trying to use up the mistakes. I had three left over cakes that I ended up giving away at the end of the night.

*My sister and I juiced--by hand--about 60 key limes for "Key Lime Pie" our fingers were numb by the time we finished.

*A good friend kept "Blackberry Crumble" warm in her oven a mile or so from the bookstore and drove back and forth with pans for me in order to make that one work.

AND then, the kicker that was the beginning of the end of launch parties for me.

For "Banana Split" I made actual banana splits. I bought a case of 500 'banana boat' plastic dishes and we covered the floor in plastic. Mid-point through the evening a couple approached me and asked me about my license. They went on to explain that in order to serve home made food I had to have a special license that could be obtained through the health department. I'd never heard of that and they graciously didn't write me up, but they coyly said they'd come to the next launch and check things out. I was not thrilled by this, but I understand it's their job.

Between books I looked into the license. It wasn't expensive, but I had to get a food handlers certificate and I had to file a document and go through all the hoops to get it. I talked to my publisher and they graciously offered to not only take care of the licensing issues but to make all the cupcakes for "Tres Leches Cupcakes." Without them doing this, I'm not sure I would have done that launch at all. The night went well, the cupcakes were delicious. The health department guys did not show up, thank goodness. And I was off the hook for a few more months. But then I published "Baked Alaska"

Have you ever made baked Alaska? I only have because I wrote a book with that title. The recipe isn't overly difficult, but it's persnickety and the ability to make enough baked Alaska for 100 people and keep it cold but not frozen for the event was not possible. So, I rearranged my expectations and did a five bookstore stop event in one day. I had some chocolates to hand out and got to see a lot of people. It was a good day, but exhausting. The prep was better, but still intensive.

Now I have two books coming out.

On the one hand, in regard to Rocky Road, you can't get a much better dessert for a crowd than fudge. I could make it in advance, some with nuts and some without, and do my traditional launch. BUT, what about the food licensing? And what about Shannon's Hope which came out at the same time? Beyond that, did I have time?

The last question is the one that really mattered. The fact is that my life is full of lots of great things but that makes every day intense. Every amount of time I spend marketing, writing a presentation, traveling to an event, answering emails, etc, is time that takes away from my writing. Every amount of time I spend on my writing takes me away from my home and family. As my kids are growing up and leaving home, I am feeling the panic of not having them there any more. It's been hard for me and made me that much more aware of all the time I'm away. I get anxious about the time I spend that isn't writing and isn't family. I have begun charging for events I'm invited to, I've limited the number of things I'll do in a month, and say no a lot. Part of me just hates this. For so many years I was scratching out opportunities. I needed the exposure, the experience, the chance to talk to people and meet readers. It was essential. Now that my series is doing well and I'm not having to work so hard to put myself out there, it feels ungracious to turn down opportunities. But I have to accept that things have changed for me--for the better--and I need to be willing to adapt my life to that. If I said yes, I could do well over a dozen events a month. I can't do that so I have had to draw limits.

And so, I sat down with myself and we had a chat about what to do regarding the launch parties I'd done in the past. We formulated the time that would go into the launch parties for both "Shannon's Hope" and "Rocky Road." We calculated the pros and cons, we admitted that attendance has been decreasing at the events, that many bookstores are limiting events, and we asked ourselves if this was how we wanted to spend our time in the first place. Keep in mind, I have another book due in two weeks. Keep in mind, that I have two daughters in college this year and last year I missed several weekends my oldest came home because I was committed to events. Keep in mind that at some point in the next few months I need to develop whatever idea will become my next book when I finish with Sadie. And so we suggested that we skip the launch. We thought about it, and then we decided that's what we would do.

I will miss seeing those true-blue fans who never miss a launch. I will miss hearing how much people have loved the series. I will miss having a party to celebrate the release. I will even miss the cooking which, overwhelming as it is to bake for 100 people, is something I love. But I feel like I've chosen the better part this time. AND I am doing a handful of signings over the next few months--I'm hoping my readers will come see me there. You can find details about those events HERE

I was also influenced by this blog written by Shannon Hale. When I finished reading her post I was able to take a deep breath and just be okay with putting some limitations in place. It was validating to hear her say the same thing. I do not want to live in the spaces left over from my career--I want my career and my family life to work together to create a good experience for me and my family. And so, this is what I've chosen this time around. Perhaps things will change in the future, but perhaps not. I have stopped imagining that life gets less busy as time goes on.

I appreciate everyone's support and I hope to see you at an event this fall. Happy reading!

Baked Alaska Events!

For the last 7 years and 12 books, I have done "Opening Night Parties" at local bookstores to celebrate when each book is released. These events are published in the paper, advertised like crazy online, and have included food, drawings, door prizes--the whole nine yards. With the Sadie Hoffmiller series, the title recipe for each book has been served at these events. I had 11 triple layer devil's food cakes complete with chocolate curls on top. I made about 30 pounds of blackberry crumble and hired the local high school's culinary services class to make 16 pumpkin rolls. It's been a labor of love, I have loved it, but, dang, if it hasn't required some manual labor on my part. Not only making the items (other than pumpkin roll which I hired out and tres leches cupcake that was made by Lois Blackburn) but also the shopping for the items, the transport, figuring out how to keep cold things cold and hot things hot. I still have 150 banana split boats in my cupboard because I had to order 300 of them, I once had to beg some lids from my local McDonalds because I'd bought the wrong size in Salt Lake and the RIGHT size happened to come on their McCafe's (I searched half a dozen fast food places and gas stations before I found the right size) and I have leftover napkins for every single book; yellow, red, pink, green, purple, orange, blue--you get the idea. It has been fun, I've had fabulous helpers (my kids, my friends, my sister Cindy) but Baked Alaska posed a bigger problem than I'd faced with the other books.

Ice cream needs to stay frozen. Meringue does not travel well. IF the ice cream melts, the meringue slides right off. IF the transport is too bumpy, the meringue slides off. IF the meringue slides off, it's a mess and it can't just be put back on. I would need a way to store ten to twelve frozen baked Alaskas, but not in my deep freeze because that would be TOO frozen. I would have to transport them without destroying them and then keep them frozen enough to serve, and I couldn't stack them on each other. I spent a great deal of time trying to resolve these issues and make a plan, I even developed a baked Alaska cupcake that seemed easier, and is delicious, but so time consuming to make and difficult to store that it too had to be rejected (though the recipe is in the book, and it's really yummy!). In the end, I could not envision a result with the baked Alaska desserts that didn't end in failure. There were a couple other considerations for me as well:

When we served banana splits for Banana Split's release, a couple came to the event who also happened to work for the Health Department. They informed me that in order to legally serve food at such an event, I needed to have proof of a food handlers permit, and I needed a provisional certificate of some kind from the health department that certified that I was following proper technique when serving this food. There's a rather hefty fine associated with not having followed these protocals, but they didn't turn me in, just gave me a warning for next time.

When Tres Leches Cupcakes came out, the woman who had come up with the title recipe offered to make the cupcakes (she has proper certification). But that wasn't available to me this time around.

The other consideration is that my attendance has gotten lower with each opening night. In the beginning I used to get about 200 people, at the last one I probably had 100. I think in part this is because life is just so busy, I think it also has to do with the fact that I'm doing an opening night every six months and it's kind of lost it's 'punch.' Now, having the opening night has never been about selling as many books as possible, it's more about me having a chance to celebrate the book and I get to visit witht readers I only ever see at opening nights. But, still, with attendance getting smaller and circumstances getting more complicated and Baked Alaska feeling impossible to serve to a crowd, I decided to explore other ideas and I came up with something I hope will be successful.

Instead of doing one signing in my local community and serving the title recipe, I'll do five signings in five different stores across the Wasatch Front and have some yummy treats that are easy to transport. Here's a list of where I'll be and when I'll be there on Saturday, February 16th:

UVillage Deseret Book – 10:00 am-11:00 am
1076 S 750 E
OREM, UT

Fort Union Deseret Book – Noon-1:00 pm
1110 FORT UNION BLVD
MIDVALE, UT

Layton Deseret Book – 2:00 pm-3:00 pm
754 N MAIN
LAYTON, UT

Ogden Temple Deseret Book – 4:00 pm-5:00 pm
339 EAST 2250 SOUTH
OGDEN, UT

Brigham City Seagull Book – 6pm-7:30pm
725 W 1200 SOUTH
BRIGHAM CITY, UT

The first four signings are just 1 hour but I get to finish in Brigham City, which is fitting since they have given me such great support in prior openings. I'm looking forward to the chance to see a lot of fans in one day and since I'm doing less signings throughout the year, I'm hoping people will come out for this one. I'm looking forward to doing something new; changing things up and seeing how it turns out. I'll let you know how it goes :-) or, better yet, come see me and find out for yourself!

I started getting emails yesterday (February 8th) that people were finding Baked Alaska in their local stores. You can also order it online at deseretbook.com or Amazon.com or Barnesandnoble.com. The ebook versions for Kindle and Nook are on their way and it will be on audio, both MP3 and CD within the next week. I hope you love it. You can also buy it in paperback AND ebook, as a combo.

If you'd like to read the first chapters, go HERE. Recipes will be posted on the 16th.

Thanks for all the great support, the series has continued to grow in popularity and I could not be happier with where I am in my career. I owe that to my readers who have laughed with Sadie, rolled their eyes at Sadie, and, ultimately, cheered her toward victory! I hope you enjoy her latest adventure.

Opening NIght Party in Review

Thank you, thank you to all of you who came to the opening night, it was such a great turn out and I was pleased to only have a couple cakes come back home with me :-)  In case you weren't here, this is the recap:

First off, yesterday was I-N-S-A-N-E. I'd been up til 3:30 writing at the office, and then up at 6:30. I was sure I'd have time to take a nap. Nope. Being that I am 4 days from a deadline, I finished up a reader evaluation (Thank you Annette!) and then got to work. I finished the frosting, frosted the cakes, and swore as I made about 200 chocolate curls. We were doing a total 9 cakes--I spared you the intermediate photos since my kitchen was far from pretty at that point.

I tried to make some dark chocolate decorating frosting, to make the cakes look two toneed and super fancy. It looked like wet coal dust and my kids thought it tasted like black licorice. So the triple batch of frosting went in the garbage. BUT, there was no time to cry about it so we carried on. Thank goodness I'd made the actual cakes over the weekend and for my fabulous helpers who came home from school and got to work so I could take a shower and run to piano lessons and a final trip to the store.

The one benefit of being a little bit late, is that people are waiting. And I wasn't really late, but I was only 5 minutes early, which is late when you're doing an event. But I have to wonder if part of it isn't psychological in that I like having a crowd when I get there. That doesn't say much about my character does it?

It's overwhelming to me when people come out to these events. I almost feel guilty that they took time to come see me, but I enjoy being able to catch up with everyone that I get over my guilt pretty fast :-) Reflections of Utah set up a whole corner of the store with tables and chairs, which was really fun.

My good friend Melissa (denim) came, as well as Becki and Ronda (Ronda's new book, Missing, is great, BTW) are part of my writer's group, which has been such a great blessing for me in many ways. They already had the book, but came out just to support me, which was so sweet of them both.   Though not in the picture, my step-sister-in-law came with her little girl, Hannah. Her dad and my mother in law got married just a few months before Lee and I got married and so being as how all of us were grown, and our parents moved to New Orleans a few years after that, we don't see each other much, but it was great to see her and I was touched that they came out. Fellow author Frank Richardson came up from Fruit Heights and it was fun to catch up with him.

We had a steady stream of people coming throughout the night--my friend Heather B. came and about made me cry when she gave me a hug and told me how proud she was of me. She's been to every opening night party I've had and is always such a great cheerleader and friend. I didn't get a picture of her either :-(  but it was highlight. Lee brought the two little kids toward the end--they get a little ballistic if they're there for too long, and it's always so nice to have them come and be all excited (it helps that I let them both have two pieces of chocolate cake). I had several other people stop in--Anna, Michele, Tiff, Denice, Marion, Tana, Pam, Jodi, Bonnie, Ashlea, McCall, Brenna, Wesley, Kate, Ilean, Leda--and several others.

Just as the evening was winding down, I got a couple more surprises. First, Julie Wright and Karen Hoover came all the way up from Provo. They'd been at a conference and must have flown out of it as soon as their panel was over in order to get there. Julie is...well, she's my Julie and is always front row to my life and career. And Karen is a solid, inspiring, and oh-so-positive person. I'm so glad to know her and so excited for her book which will be out in 32 days (check back on March 3 for my review--The Sapphire Flute) I did get a photo of them, but it was crappy. My camera isn't so good. So, if anyone has a better copy, please send!

Then, I look up and this guy walks in. My first thought was "Boy, he looks a lot like Don Carey. That's weird since Don lives in Texas." Then about .8 seconds later I realize it IS Don Carey! Don is a good friend, an inspiriting husband and father, and one of my test kitchen cooks. He just had his first novel accepted for publication and I couldn't be happier for him. Apparently he was up for work this week and so he made the drive from Provo to come be a part of the opening night. Is that not so cool? His mom came with him, and what a sweetheart she is--putting up with Karen, Julie and I and all our book and writer talk. The event was supposed to go til 7:00, but we were there to almost nine just chatting and catching up. It was such a great end to the night.

I came home and spent an hour making stupid valentines for stupid valentine's day, but that's another blog post so I'll refrain.

Over all it was a great event--thank you to everyone who came, everyone who sent good vibes, and thought about me last night. I have to say that this whole writing thing has been a remarkable journey for so many reasons. I love the Opening Night parties for many reasons, but one of the best is the reminder I have of how many people I'm connected to in this life of mine. It's a powerful realization, to see just how un-alone I am. The support is priceless; thanks for sharing these moments with me any way you can.

Updates and Stuff

JULY 30: The opening night for English Trifle went great--I'm bummed I didn't take more pictures of the trifle--it was impressive. This photo was only because my sweet husband thought to take a picture. I don't know why I never do. I saw some great friends, and even had a lady drive up from Salt Lake. She brought some of her other books for me to sign and was just oh so sweet. Another friend brought me a mini 'birthday cake' to celebrate my book's birthday--cute huh? We ended up with half a dozen left over mini-trifles, which I took to some neighbors, and a full trifle that we took to my husband's home teaching family. Sweet! I'd have been in trouble if I had to eat them myself.

JULY 31: When I was 13 my parents bought a time share at Snowbird, about 20 minutes from where we lived. In the winter, Snowbird is skiing extraordinaire (or so they say). In summer, it's an amazing vacation spot. About ten years ago, Lee and I bought a time share too. Each year all of us siblings try our darndest to make it to Snowbird and it's awesome. We headed up here last Friday and it's been such a great time. I get to hang out with my family, some of which I don't get to see very often, enjoy the mountains, listen to the river and just have a good time with my own kids. Those of you that know me well, know that just having fun doesn't come easy to me. Life is mostly about getting stuff done and working--but Snowbird forces me to let go and I have such a fabulous time. For those of you in Utah, if you're ever looking for a 'day trip' in the summer, come to Snowbird and get their ride pass. You can take the tram up to Hidden peak, do the alpine slide, ziprider, bungy tramp, mechanical bull, climbing wall and Peruvian lift as much as you want from 11-7. Costco sells 4 adult passes for $79 (adult price is $32--I know, steep) or you can use a Diet Pepsi can and get $10 off. It's a FUN day, really, for all ages and it's just beautiful up here.


Lee-aka, Husband Extrodinaire, has also given me writing time since I'm on a deadline and stressing out about it. Because of that, I've written 8,000 words since we got up here, which is a huge relief. I've only got 30,000 to go by September 1st. Oy.



(Do you love this photo? Just call me forehead girl)

AUGUST 5: Today, I'm taking some time off the mountain to go to LDSBA, which is a closed expo show for all things LDS--books, art, music, etc. I get to sign copies of English Trifle, which is so beyond awesome I can't even tell you. First of all, the books I sign are free to those that attend the expo (mostly retail store owners) which means I get a line--authors love lines and they don't happen at a signing. Second, those retail owners know me and most of them have read my books so they say all kinds of sweet things. AND, I get to see some of my most favoritest people. Then I get to come back to snowbird and have a couple more days of good, simple fun.

So, there you have it. That's what's going on with me. I'll take photos at LDSBA and post them tomorrow--really, I will. have a great day.

Book Signing TONIGHT!

For books past I have done rather elaborate opening night parties where I have prize drawings, refreshments, door prizes, and other kinds of hoopla. They really are a lot of fun--but they are also rather labor intensive to put together. Lemon Tart was released early, which means I didn't have time for much labor intensive shanagins--and life is crazy enough that I'm actually a bit relieved :-)

BUT, I am having a local book signing tonight and though it won't be as big as others have been in the past, there will be discounts and Lemon Tarts. I cleared my day so that I have nothing else to do but bake and bake and bake today. Honestly, I'm quite looking forward to it. I love to cook and I love this particular recipe and so it's happy smiles all the way around. Here's a look at my kitchen so far:













So, if you are in northern Utah and would like to come to the opening night--I would LOVE to have you. If we don't get a lot of people showing up, you can bet the sisters I visit teach are going to have lemon tarts coming out their ears :-)

Here are the specifics:

Date: Thursday, February 5
Time: 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Place: Reflections of Utah Bookstore
47 So. Main St.
Brigham City, Utah

It's Opening Night!

It's official--Her Good Name is in stores and ready to go! It actually came out earlier than I expected, which is nice in that it cuts down on my heartburn caused by wondering if it's going to show up in time for my Opening night--what? You don't know what an Opening Night is? Well, let me learn ya sometin:

Four books ago (how cool is it to say that!) I had my first Opening Night where I basically hosted a party to announce the release of my newest book. I'd heard of people doing things like that in their homes for friends and family, and Harry Potter parties were selling a bazzillion copies on their opening night, but I knew mine would be nothing like either of those. Instead, I sent out postcards (i.e. invitations) announcing my book and the date and time of my first signing for that book. I gathered items to give away in a drawing and baked to my little hearts content. It was hands down the best signing I'd ever had. I sold about 40 books, I got to chat with friends and family that came, I went to dinner with several out-of-towners that came up to celebrate with me. It was awesome.

I did it with the next two books as well and now it's time to have a party for Her Good Name. I sent out postcards a couple weeks ago, I've updated my website and I should have sent the info to my e-mail list weeks ago--but I didn't. So I'll be doing that shortly, but I thought I'd make a mention of it here as well--just in case you're in northern Utah and haven't heard about it. So, here's the specs:

When: Tomorrow night, Thursday September 11 5:30-7:00
Where: Reflections of Utah Bookstore, 47 S. Main Brigham City

There will be door prizes for the first 75 attendees (The Mint candy cups), refreshments (crab ragoon puffs, cookies, fresh fruit, veggie tray, fancy drink) and a Grand prize drawing (Reflections of Utah gift certificate, Idle Isle chocolates, The Mint candy, Vouchers for free entrance to the Utah Chocolate Show, and a few do-dads) for those that buy a copy that night, and there will be a discount on books sold that night. If you are on my snail mail list you would have recieved a postcard that entitles you to an even better discount.

For those of you out of town and interested in buying a copy of Her Good Name, please contact me. Deseret Book has updated their website and Her Good Name and Sheep's Clothing got lost in the shuffle--which makes it nearly impossible to find online. But if I can help you out, I'd love to do so.

Off we go . . .

Farworld Winner & other updates

So, it's only been, what, 3 weeks since the contest? What with summer winding down I'm grateful to know where my computer is these days, let alone work on it. School starts MONDAY! Yes, I'm shouting.

Okay, back to buisness. My daughter picked up my ARC of Farworld and the next morning came to me, slapped it down on the desk and said "There's going to be another one right?" she then eyed me with that look that makes parents worry their kids might start building bombs in the basement if they answer incorrectly. I assured her there would, in fact, be another one and she relaxed significantly before asking me "When?" So I'll have to ask Jeffy if he will kindly reply here and let me know so that I can pass the information on.

and the winner of the ARC of Farworld per this bloggers blogtour contest is . . . . Jenna Consolo, who runs one of my favorite blogs Cranberry Corner. I know she'll love it and so will her kids. Jenna, if you will send me your address privately I'll forward it to Jeff and he'll send the book out to ya. Thanks everyone that played, it really is a fun book you'll really love to not only read but then reccomend.

So, other Updates.

Update #1: Dogs--I'm trying really hard to love them, I really am, but they make it difficult. They run away from home, they go nextdoor and sit in the neighbors horse water trough before coming back and jumping all over me, they dig up dead animals and chew on them, they poop all over the place, and last Saturday they both jumped into the Canal. I had to jump in and save them--I really did--cause the walls are angled and they couldn't get up. My 6 year old was crying on the side, sure we were all going to die. She did not have the trust in her father that I had, and so with the help of some bungee cords in the back of his truck he rescued us. The upside of having dogs is that they are super cute, the kids love to play with them, and I feel and added measure of security having them. But they are a lot of work and I don't know how to 'fix' their bad behaviors or train them into good ones. I've been watching the Dog Whisperer and It's me or the Dog, and I read a book Mother Knows Best: The Natural way to Train your dog, but it seems that simply reading such things doesn't cure much. Anyone know of a good video or something? Husband is even less thrilled than I am, which does not bode well for the dog's future. I'm at a loss and wish I'd stuck to chickens.

SPEAKING OF WHICH, we hatched chicks! Update #2. We bought some new hens in June and the seller told us they were very 'setty' which means they like to sit on eggs. When chickens sit on eggs they go into a funky kind of trance. They don't move, they just sit there and stare at nothing. They do this for about a month. And so we had one doing that, so I figured I'd see what happened. We now 6 of the cutiest chicks you've ever seen. I'll get some pictures, but it has been so much fun. The kids and I go out a few times a day to see if we have more. AND, another hen started setting, so both hens were setting on the same clutch of eggs, one on top of the other hen. Super funny stuff.

Update 3: Isagenix. So I've been doing Isagenix for 90 days. I did the two shakes a day thing for 30 days and then I've done the 1 shake a day thing for the last 60. I'm still six pounds down from where I started, and I've lost several inches, but I gained back a few pounds I lost initally and haven't noticed dramatic physical changes. That likely has to do with the fact that I'm back into my old habits of snacking all the time and hiding candy. It's not good, and I need to curb all that stuff, but still, I'm 6 pounds down and that's pretty good. Emotionally I feel much better. I am definitely more balanced, I'm not feeling so scattered and I'm sleeping better and have more constant energy throughout the day. Basically I FEEL better, and that's my main reason for doing the program. I plan to continue doing it and might try the kid shakes for my daughters that don't take the time to eat breakfast--we'll see how it goes. all in all, it's been a success for me and I'm glad to have done it. It runs me about $120/month now and I have not had my budget thrown off by that since I'm still buying less impulse foods and snacky stuff--so that's all good too.

Update #4: Her Good Name comes out next week! I'm so excited. I got my author copies today and it's super cute. It's a little smaller than the typical trade paper back; To have or To Hold was the same size--and I like the smaller size, it makes it look more like a mass paperback. Because it's coming out in stores a little early I'm only doing my pre-orders up until the 26th so that I'm not directly competing with the retailers. If you wanted to preorder a signed copy, you've got a few more days to do that.

Update #5: Opening Night Party for Her Good Name will be at Reflections of Utah Bookstore 47 So. Main in Brigham City, on Thursday, September 11 5:30-7:00. I won't have prize drawings like I've had in the past, the economy has been hard and I don't want to ask people for donations, but there will be door prizes for the first 75 people that show up and there will still be a grand prize drawing for those that purchase a book that night. If you're local, I'd love to see you there.

I guess that's about it . . . well, until next time.

Opening Night & Salt Lake Signing

Last week is over...can I hear an Amen! My signings were wonderful--Glory Hallelujah!

A hundred bazillion thank yous to everyone that came out to either the opening night or the Salt Lake signing. I couldn't tell you before how badly I HATE signings, but I HATE them. They are miserable necessary evils that keep me awake at night. So getting to see old friends, new fans, and life long cheerleaders makes it possible for me to do them. Above is a photo from my Opening Night party, to which many people came. Pictured here is Eric Swedin (the killing of Greybird, CFI), Janet Jensen (The Booklover's Cook book, Putnam) and Carole Thayne (Question of Trust and False Pretenses, Covenant) which were a few of the people that came out. Much thanks to Janet who actually had batteries in her camera :-) It's nice to have friends that are prepared.

Anyway, it really was a great week and I so appreciate the wonderful support. I hope those of you that have the book are enjoying it--though I'm totally open to suggestions, really. And thanks again for making my book's debut truly an event!