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October
2003
Newsletter
Wow! Being a grandma is great!
But it does have disadvantages when grandbaby is 3 1/2 hours away.
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Savannah Elizabeth
September 24, 2003
24 hours old |
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Happy Halloween to ya'll.
It doesn't seem like the end of October here. We've been setting
heat records in Oklahoma. And I still can't get over seeing all
the Christmas displays in September. Speaking of Christmas,
check out the Romance Authors Main Page. The giveaways are
fantastic!
http://www.romanceauthorspage.com
Sandi Price
By the time you read
this, Halloween will be upon us. I have such fond memories of this
day. As a child, our entire grade school would sponsor a big carnival
that night, complete with a haunted house, cake walks, throwing darts
at balloons, bingo, musical chairs, and so many other fun events that
always gave such great prizes for the winners. My mother was a teacher
in the same school, so my sister and I always went. Later, when we
were older, we went trick or treating in the rural community where
we lived. I never did trick or treat in a town in my life. Never
participated in the shaving cream and egg throwing stuff that some
kids thought were so much fun. And you know what? I didn't miss a
thing.
My most scary memory is of walking the half mile up the country road
from my house to my grandparents house with my sister, Diane, and my
best friend, Loretta. We had already trick or treated at Loretta's
house, which was a mile away from mine and my grandparents' house was
last. Oddly enough it was a full moon and by the time we arrived, we'd
managed to scare ourselves silly with stories of werewolves and
vampires,
so when we finally knocked on my Grandmother's front door, we were
already jumpy.
My grandmother came to the door laughing at our makeshift costumes
which were usually hobos and ghosts, handed out the most delicious
homemade popcorn balls and molasses cookies and gave all three of us a
big hug. As we were coming off the porch, the cellar door to the
basement beneath the house (which was just to our left) was
suddenly flung open and out came a big floating ghost, moaning and
groaning and floating our way. Of course we all screamed bloody murder
and headed back to the porch and the safety of my grandmother's arms.
She was laughing so hard she could hardly talk, but she was also a bit
irked at the ghost, who turned out to be my grandfather, Chris. He
kept moaning and groaning as he came up the steps and all three of us
were so hysterical we couldn't talk. In the back of my mind, I knew it
had to be Grampy, but until I saw his face, I couldn't make myself
stop screeching. Finally, Grand pulled us all in the house, slammed
the door on
the ghost and made him take off his sheet before she'd let him in. My
Grampy came in laughing and laughing, slapping his leg and whooping as
to what a good scare he'd given us. By then, we were ready to laugh,
so we did so, again hysterically, still straddling the line between
fun and panic.
Finally, we calmed down and Grand sent us on our way. Only the trip
home wasn't nearly as much fun in the dark. After the scare Grampy had
given us and our previous discussion of werewolves and vampires, we
were hysterical all over again. We ran all the way home. That night my
sister and I slept wrapped in each other's arms with the pillow over
my head, just in case something did come sneaking in the night.
My grandson, who is two, is going to be Tigger, from Winnie The Pooh.
My two youngest grandaughters are going to be princesses. I don't know
if my oldest granddaughter is going to dress up for Trick or Treat
this year. She's straddling the fence between still being a kid and
behaving as a young lady should. Being twelve is difficult. Not quite
a
teenager. No longer a child. I regret the loss of her wide-eyed
innocence, although it was inevitable. It's one of the side-effects of
growing up.
So, my dear reader friends, while you're sneaking goodies out of your
kids Trick or Treat bags, take time to check out my latest release,
OUT OF THE DARK, which was released new this month.
Have a happy holiday season and be safe,
Love,
Sharon Sala
aka
Dinah McCall
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OUT OF THE DARK
Mira Books
October, 2003
ISBN:
1551667401 |
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HAPPY
HALLOWEEN! Pumpkins, witches and ghosts, oh my! Love to decorate and
can't wait for those trick or treaters to come a-knocking. I have a
life-size Frankenstein that sings "Who Can It Be Knocking At My Door"
Just hope I don't eat more candy than I give out!
CONGRATULATIONS TO KATHY WERT, the winner of my Aloha Basket. Thanks
to everyone who came and signed my guest book--you are now entered
forever in any contest I hold, books and baskets and any giveaways and
you'll also receive my own newsletters I send out every few weeks. I
DO LOVE TO GIVE STUFF AWAY. I'm working on my next basket and should
have it up on my website in a couple of weeks. Check with me and see
what I come up with. I never know myself when my mood will take me.
I'M GIVING AWAY FIVE BOOKS THIS MONTH, too. I'll announce the winners
in a few days.
Just got back from the GRAND CANYON. There are no words but AH-SOME.
It was my first time there and I am so in awe. What an amazing country
we live in, so many incredible wonders to see. I felt like a little
kid standing there looking out at all that magnificence. I'll have
pictures up on my website soon, so come take a look. And if you
haven't been, do everything you can to get there. You won't be sorry!
I'm busy working on my next SECRETS! book. THE PRIVATE LIFE OF MISS
MARCY PRUITT. When quiet, shy Marcy Pruitt (a character I introduced
in FORTUNE'S SECRET DAUGHTER) comes to Wolf River, hoping to escape
the insanity of her life as a public figure as a home and garden
expert, she's not looking for a man. And with her plain jane image,
men haven't exactly been looking for her, either. But once Evan Carver
(Jacob's brother from THAT BLACKHAWK BRIDE) picks Marcy up at the
train depot and sets his sights on her, he wants to do a lot more than
look! Can't wait to see myself what happens between these two...
Thanks to everyone who has signed my guest book and all your kind
words about my books. Please keep in touch and have a Happy Halloween!
All the Best,
Barbara
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THAT
BLACKHAWK BRIDE |
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Halloween conjures up all kinds of scary things, but Jill Marie
Landis is finding out that everyday life can be just as wild and
crazy as that night of Tricks and Treats!
While doing a bookseller luncheon and signing in the San Diego area,
Jill Marie was so excited to be out of the house and finished with
her revisions for HEAT WAVE – her next big Ballantine hardcover, on
sale next May – that she jumped into the car . . . and shut the door
on a bookseller's fingers! Way to go, Jill Marie. Luckily, there was
plenty of rubber stripping inside the frame, and the bookseller was
a big strapping male with a great attitude and fine sense of humor.
The next weekend, she was brave enough to go back to San Diego
again, where she hung out with Debbie Macomber at the La Jolla
Writers Conference. Looking for a protein-packed dinner, they
decided on a traditional Brazilian Bar-B-Cue restaurant, where
handsome young men in gaucho pants circulate past the tables
(nonstop), offering beef, chicken and turkey delicacies wrapped in
bacon and cheese – on skewers that look like hefty swords! (Jill
Marie wished they'd passed out dental floss afterward, and Debbie
was sure they had polished off a full side of beef between them.)
You never know where the thrills and laughs will come from in life,
but you can bet as long as you have good friends and family around,
things will never be boring. Whenever you need a break, though, be
sure to pick up a good book for some quiet time. Check out Jill
Marie's website and make sure you’ve read all of her backlist while
you're waiting for the paperback of LOVER’S LANE and its sequel,
that next hardcover, HEAT WAVE.
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LOVER'S LANE |
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Dear Friends,
The rains have hit Seattle, and you won’t hear a complaint from me.
I’ve got my knitting projects all sorted out and am ready to plant
myself next to the fireplace and watch those incredible Seahawks play
football. Does that sound like a plan, or what?
Okay, okay, for all of you who wrote to ask about the next Cedar Cove
book, 44 CRANBERRY POINT, your faith is being rewarded. The book is
now completed and about to be mailed into my editor, right on schedule
for release in September 2004.
THE SNOWBRIDE, my Christmas romantic comedy, is currently available.
As you might have guessed Christmas is my favorite time of year. I
wrote this book set in the tundra of Alaska while in Florida and
laughed all the way through it. I promise you’ll laugh when this
Internet bride-to-be lands in a one-woman town and encounters a town
full of bachelors.
And for all of you who’ve been asking for more Shirley, Goodness and
Mercy, here they come! THOSE CHRISTMAS ANGELS will swoop into your
favorite bookstore on October 28. I can’t wait to hear what you think
of their antics as they respond to another prayer request. As most of
you know, I got my start in publishing by writing romance novels, and
this book is a tribute to those beginnings. It is being published by
Harlequin as a Superromance, and a super romance it is!
I’ve saved one delicious bit of news for the last (it pays to read
these things). Hundreds of you filled out the reader survey on my
website and answered a resounding, “Yes!” when I asked if you’d like
to be able to purchase Debbie Macomber promotional products. I’m
pleased to announce that I’ve launched Debbie’s Store on my website
with some Cedar Cove products I think you’ll enjoy. Just go to my
website and click on “Debbie’s Store.” And visit often. I’ll be adding
more goodies from time to time. Of course, I worry, did I order
enough; did I order too much? I’m beginning to learn what challenges
storeowners face!
Have a wonderful month and watch out for those candy-grabbing goblins.
(One of them could be me!)
Debbie Macomber
All you readers who fell
for the rascal McKettrick brothers in Linda Lael Miller’s HIGH COUNTRY
BRIDE, take heart. The second book out of the chute, SHOTGUN BRIDE,
will arrive in stores across the country November 1.
This time it’s Kade who’s determined to marry up and sire an offspring
so he can beat out his brothers in the race to win their father’s
ranch. But woman who turns the newly appointed marshal’s head is . . .
a nun? You’ll find an excerpt on www.lindalaelmiller.com, along with a
picture of the knockout prize in Linda’s SHOTGUN BRIDE contest. If you
haven’t joined her mailing list by signing her guestbook, better do so
now.
On the contemporary side of Linda’s career, she recently learned that
her romantic thriller, THE LAST CHANCE CAFÉ, had won the Reviewers
International Organization award, against such stiff competition as
“The Lovely Bones” and a Nora Roberts title. She is honored and
grateful to all who voted!
Meanwhile, Linda has lost the equivalent of a whole person – more than
eighty pounds over the past year, thanks to Weight Watchers. Soon
we’ll post before and after photos on her website. Way to go, Linda!
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SHOTGUN
BRIDE |
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Bring on the
mermaids! That’s the message Deborah Smith is getting loud and
clear from awards she’s recently won for ALICE AT HEART, the first
in her
fantasy-and-romance mermaid series for BelleBooks.
The
January 2002 trade paperback earned the Reviewer’s Choice Award for
Best Fantasy Novel from RT BookClub magazine
and the Maggie in the
Paranormal category from the Georgia Romance Writers of America.
Not only that, but in their Book of the Year and Editor’s Choice
Fiction Awards, ForeWord
magazine gave ALICE
AT HEART the Silver Romance Award. Established in 1998, ForeWord's
Book of the Year Awards program has become one of the most
prestigious honors for independent presses and their authors.
Not
one to ignore success, Deborah will bring on Book Two in the series,
DIARY OF A RADICAL MERMAID, in July 2004.
Deborah recently launched her "Deborah Smith Folk Art, Books, and
What-Nots” booth in a collectibles mall right in the heart of
Dahlonega, GA’s historic tourist district. And she’s working with a
local candy company that makes sinfully delicious fudge to be used
in promoting her February hardcover, CHARMING GRACE, which is set in
Dahlonega. Watch
www.deborahsmith.com
for an excerpt and contests with fudge prizes, coming soon!
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ALICE AT
HEART |
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October
starts out with a bang! I’ll be heading to Kansas City to give a
program for my friend’s book club. The timing couldn’t be better
because MY NAME IS NELL (Harlequin Superromance, #1162) will be out
mid-month. Hopefully I can entice them to buy the book by teasing them
with the story of Brady Logan and Nell Porter, two “lost souls” who
find one another, only to have a secret, belatedly revealed, threaten
to tear them apart.
More fun in later October when my Kansas City friend and her husband
will join us for a trip to Jessieville, Arkansas, for a leisurely few
days at our favorite bed and breakfast, coincidentally the site of the
inspiration for MY NAME IS NELL (see the reader letter in the book).
Besides the inn’s hospitality, there should be some Halloween fun
afoot!
I have a sneaking suspicion that October will also find me busy with
the line-edit of THE WRONG MAN, my March Superromance. Still, I plan
to find lots of time to enjoy the clear blue skies, sparkling waters,
and brilliant foliage of Northwest Arkansas.
Laura Abbot
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MY NAME IS NELL
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October
Book Winners |
Sharon Sala -
OUT OF THE DARK
- Chanda Meas - Providence, RI
Georgina Gentry -
TO TAME A TEXAN
- Elizabeth Caparoon - Gardner, KS
Barbara McCauley -
WHERE
THERE'S SMOKE - Randy Mell - Gruetli-Laager, TN
Dar Tomlinson -
UNBREAK MY HEART- Teresa
Wagner - Florida, NY
Hardcover (Autographed)
Jill Marie Landis -
LOVER'S LANE - Amy Leach - Columbus, OH
Debbie Macomber - CHANGING
HABITS - Jean Howerton - Malvern, AR
Linda Lael Miller -
DON'T LOOK NOW - Susan Carey - Gainesville, FL
Deborah Smith -
SWEET HUSH -
Debi Sullivan - San
Antonio, TX
That's All for
this month,
Sandi Price
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