Tomorrow, December 5th, I will be doing a book signing at the Talbot's Store in Lake Forest, Illinois.  There will be sale items, a drawing for a gift certificate, cookies, wine, juice and of course copies of THE LAKE. This will be your opportunity to get a signed copy for your friend, sister, mom or aunt, all wrapped up in festive paper.

Indie Author Book Fair:
Here is what is coming up!  This event will feature many books and many writers.  It will be a good chance to get some Christmas shopping done early.

Book Signing at the Glen Ellyn Bookstore - 475 N. Maine st.

Don't you love September?  I do.  I think that kids shouldn't have to go back to school until the end of the month.  The weather is still summery and there is a special, shimmering light that presages fall.  On the other hand I think that kids should stay in class through most of June.  Where we live that's often a cool,rainy month.

This September will be a busy one for me.  On the 14th, I will be doing a book signing from 1-4 in the Glen Ellyn bookstore located at 475 N. Main Street.  If you're in the neighborhood, stop by. I hope to chat with new and old friends.

Enjoy this sun-drenched day! 

Book Signing and Talk

Happy Labor Day!

My father used to get tears in his eyes on Labor Day, a day we take for granted.  But for someone who experienced the great Depression; LABOR or WORK or HAVING A JOB was a precious thing indeed.

On Friday September 6th, at 7 PM,  I will be doing a book signing at the Lake Forest Book Store.  I hope to see many of you there.  It will be my first experience at a book store.  I have had previous presentations at the Stevenson Center for Democracy where I spoke on writing and publishing in the digital age.  I also spoke at some book clubs and to a good crowd at a women's club.  All of this is very exciting.  I'm having a ball!

Enjoy your work!
Debbie

FACE BLIND

Here is the beginning of the second mystery novel in the Banner Bluff series.  It's titled FACE-BLIND.  Please read it and tell me what you think.  Thank you.

Face Blind - Prologue

Martin got out of the car and pulled up his hood. He was glad the parking lot was empty.  He didn’t want to have to face anybody.  The tension he felt in public was exhausting.  Here he could let down his guard and breathe free.  

             It was getting dark and the air felt cold and damp.  They’d had a surprisingly mild fall but now in November, winter was looming.  Overhead trees creaked as they swayed in the wind.  Leaves spiraled away like miniature helicopters. He took a deep breath and felt the cleansing power of the cold air fill his lungs.     

            He opened the back door of the car and Jack, his golden retriever, bounded across the parking lot and into the undergrowth.  Undoubtedly he was onto the scent of a rabbit or squirrel.  Martin pulled on his gloves and headed down the dirt path whistling for Jack to follow. 

            He had had to get out of the house for a little while.  This had been one of those bad days.  That morning, after Kate had left, he’d hustled Rosie upstairs to get dressed for school. Meanwhile eight month old Stevie had spilled water from the dog’s bowl all over the kitchen floor.  After he’d mopped up, Rosie still hadn’t come down. So he’d picked up Stevie and gone back up to check on her.  She was sitting on the floor in her underpants and socks playing with Lego.   He glared at her and she glared back.

            “Come on Rosie, we have to get going.  You’re going to be late.  Here, put on these striped leggings and your pink daisy dress.

            “Those leggings are too tight and that dress scratches.” She scowled at him.

            He reached into the drawer for another outfit. “How about these polka dot tights?”

            “Daddy, I don’t have a dress that matches them.”

            After extensive negotiations, he’d finally got her dressed.  They had barely arrived at Banner Bluff Elementary on time.

            Then he’d gone over to Appleby’s to pick up a few groceries.  They were going to have tacos for dinner and he’d found the box of taco shells and the taco seasoning packet.  Stevie was sitting placidly in the grocery cart mouthing an animal cracker.  Martin left the cart in the aisle for just a second to run back and grab some grated cheddar and a gallon of milk.   When he came back, he smiled at Stevie and started to push the cart towards the checkout counter.  Just then a woman came up behind him screaming,

            “Hey!  What are you doing?  That’s my cart.   That’s my little boy.”

            He turned as this woman pushed him away and grabbed the shopping cart.  Her cheeks bore bright red spots and her mouth formed an angry slice across her face.   “What are you anyway; some kind of pervert?”

To be continued.....

THE LAKE free on Amazon

Hello all,
So much for waxing poetic.  Today is the day my book is offered free on Amazon.  At first I was a bit reticent  to do this.  Why give THE LAKE away for free??

I belong to KDP select which is a branch of  Kindle publishing.  I promised to  sell my ebook only on Kindle for 3 months.  In return I get 5 promotional days where I offer my book for free. Some of my marvelous ex-students explained to me that name recognition was more important than making more money at this stage. I've been selling the mystery novel pretty well in my geographic area (the north shore of Chicago); but what about all those folks in Wyoming who are missing out? Or California?  Or Maine?

Anyway, I'm having fun watching the downloads on Kindle.  I'm averaging 10 downloads every 15 minutes so far.  Is that cool or what?  Now I need to get book two ready for all these happy readers.

THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO HAS CHOSEN TO READ MY BOOK!

Precious Moments

They say that a picture speaks a thousand words.  A special moment can crystalize in your brain like a picture snapped on your iPhone. It will remain with you and perfume your life.  A bouquet of such moments can relieve the tedium of your everyday routine.  Here is one such moment:

Serendipity at Starbuck’s    

Our morning’s plans had run amok.  My daughter, MJ and I took refuge in Starbuck’s.  It was a week or two after Christmas and the post-holiday doldrums had set in.  We ordered coffee and then looked around for somewhere to sit.  The comfy armchairs were taken by newspaper aficionados. Intense couples were hunched over two-some tables solving life’s problems. Busy worker-bees were tapping away on their computers.  The only spot available was a long rectangular table that could comfortably sit 8 or 10.  We sat down on hard chairs at one end.  Shards of winter light pinged off the shiny surface as we faced each other across the table.  We were oddly disgruntled.

             MJ frowned, looking over my shoulder.  I turned and followed her gaze.  A woman with curly, dark hair was at a table by the window. She was studying a thick book with graphs.  She looked up under our scrutiny. There was a pause.  Then her eyes lit up.  “MJ?”

            My daughter responded, “Tally?”

            The woman got up and came over to our table.  Smiling, MJ stood up and reached out, cupping the woman’s face with her hands.  “I would recognize your sweet, little face anywhere,” she said.

             In that tender action thirty years fell away.  Back then, MJ had been an ultra-conscientious fourteen year old baby sitter and Tally, her ten year old charge.  Now they were two women in the fullness of life with children and jobs.  Through their interaction the day took on a new identity.  Such simple moments are pearls in the tenuous strand of life. 

Maybe you have one such moment to share? 

           

 

Here is something I wrote last year that was published in the Chicago Tribune  on Father's Day.  For all the wonderful fathers out there:

A Father’s Smile

            Hundreds of books have been written about the proper way to raise children.  There’s the need for consistent discipline, attendance at every soccer game, quantities of organic vegetables and the eradication of all sweets. It’s hard to be a parent and meet all the criteria.  Parenthood is a minefield of missed chances and blind hope.  On top of that we experiment with each and every child.    

            Last Sunday I attended my granddaughters’ piano recital.  Five year old Emilia played a careful performance of Jumping Frogs while nine year old Olivia executed a rousing rendition of When the Saints Go Marching In.  At the completion of their performances, the girls looked back at their Dad whose eyes glowed with pride and delight, whose smile was warm with love and admiration.   They fairly beamed in response.

             It struck me that one glorious, loving smile could do much to assure the future success and happiness of a child…certainly more than completing that tedious algebra assignment or finishing that last bite of yucky spinach.

A taste of Cyrano

I was thinking about the French play Cyrano de Bergerac by Rostand.  At one point Cyrano visits  Ragueneaux's pastry shop for a secret meeting with Roxane, his beloved.  The baker has put the recipes for his delectable treats to poetry.  This got me thinking and waxing poetic.  Here's my recipe for beef stew.  It might be fun to try this with barbequed ribs or maybe lemon meringue pie! Don't hesitate to add your favorite recipe in verse.  

 

                                                                                                                                                                      Hearty Beef Stew

To make a stew has little merit:

Slice an onion, chop a carrot,

Mince the garlic, sear the beef

Add some thyme, a sweet bay leaf.

Salt and cayenne make it glow.

A pint of wine, the best you know.

A little broth, tomato paste,

Stir around, now have a taste.

Braise the whole on low, low heat.

Enjoy with bread, a hearty treat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                             

Writing and Publishing in the Digital Age

My book cover

Up, up and away.

This is my first post and I'm feeling pretty excited.  We've got a heavenly spring day.  The birds are singing and the flowers are blooming.  I've been writing most of the morning but my eyes are constantly drawn to the spectacular spectacle of the flowering tree right outside my window and the dancing bees among the pink petals.  I just want to drop everything and go outside.  Oh! to be a bee and nuzzle all those sweet blooms.