I had two book signings over the weekend and I think all the Christmas gifts are wrapped. Now to get ready to go watch my granddaughter dance in the Nutcracker, I'm told she will be a snowflake.  The last two Sundays I've watched the Nutcracker ballet on T.V.  There is supposed to be seven different productions before Christmas Eve, I hope to watch them all.  I love the story with the beautiful young Clara in the staring roll. I'm so looking forward to watching my granddaughter dance and I remember a FEW years ago when my daughter danced in a production of that beautiful Christmas ballet. Isn't it great watching our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren grow up, the Christmas holiday is such a magical time and I am so blessed to have my loved ones close enough to spend some time with all of them. Well it is late and I wanted to write more but it's bedtime. Good night all, hope you have sugar plum dreams and all those wonderful dreams come true.

THE HAT BOX MYSTERY IS AT THE PUBLISHER

THE HAT BOX MYSTERY is getting the finishing touches at the publishers now and I'm so excited.  All afternoon I've been making arrangements for book signings and I'm hoping to get the book out there before Christmas.  Yes, I said CHRISTMAS! I didn't say before the winter holiday, I said Christmas!!
    I think when you see the cover you will really like it too. I wanted to keep it as much like the first one as possible, it's been changed from red to purple. I hope you'll let me know what you think.
    The Hat Box Mystery will soon be on Amazon.com so you can order the book there and get it on your Kindle or other e-reader. 
    I feel so blessed that I have been able to get my books published. I hope you will enjoy this one as much as you enjoyed the the first one, The Hat Pin Murders. Here is my schedule for signings.

Friday, November 30th.  4-7 p.m. Shadle Hastings Book Store, Spokane, WA
Saturday, December 8th.  2-4 p.m. Dessert Pals, 1831 - 1st street, Cheney, WA
Sunday, December 9th.  1-3p.m. Aunties Book Store 402 W. Main, Spokane, WA

I hope to see you on one of these dates.  The book will make a great Christmas gift.

My son set up a link from my web site to my Blog so I guess I'd better post something on it.  The election is over and Pres. Obama will continue for the next four years.  I'm glad all the T.V. ads are over and maybe now I can answer my phone without hearing one of those recorded messages telling me to get out there and vote.  I like to make up my mind early in the campaign and get my ballet to the box at the library, then I don't have to worry about it.  Here in Washington we no longer go to the polls to vote.  We receive our ballets in the mail and we can either mail it in or take it to the county library, which is what I do.  I am such a conservative that I am disapointed with the outcome of the election. So, yes, Laura I'll be listening to Johnny Cash for the next 4 years. Life goes on and I'm excited about the future.  My grandson, Matthew is in a high school play and I'm thrilled to be able to see him in it.  I'm told he has a big part.  I'll report on that soon. Then Natalie, my granddaughter will be in the Nut Cracker Ballet in December and I'm thrilled to be able to see that and I'm praying the weather will hold through Christmas.  This will be my first Thanksgiving and Christmas without my dear husband, George, so the holidays will be bitter sweet.  God bless you all and let us continue to pray for our country. 

 Yesterday evening I attended the Inland Northwest Christian Writers Group. I believe a writing group is a real must for any of us who are interested in doing some serious writing. There are many groups  out there and if you are just beginning your writing or if you've been published many times, I hope you will find a writing group that suits you. Beginners need the help that experienced writers can offer and experienced writers can find a great deal of satisfaction from helping those of us that haven't been around very long.
  I'm working on my second novel and I need all the help I can get. I try to give what little advise I can to those that are even less experienced than I.  Many thanks to all of you that have offered your knowledge and experience to me. The Spokane area is rich with many talented authors. I'd love to add a little more to this Blog but I've got to paint my nails so they will dry before bed time. So good night all you bloggers. Sweet dreams.
 

Fall is here.

     I've got a 1935 Charlie Chan movie on TV, staring Warner Oland, he was the real Charlie Chan.  I love these old movies. They don't air them nearly enough. I need to spend more time on my writing these days, especially the editing part. If only I had a degree in English Lit.
     I had a great day with a good church service this morning, then went to see my Great-granddaughter, Penelope's blessed, then a picnic in the park.  It was a beautiful fall day, warm and breezy. And tomorrow it will be October, unbelievable!

The Hat Box Mystery

I'm here at my mothers in Sacramento, CA. This is the town I grew up in, graduated from Sacramento High in 1959. I visited my sister-in-law today in Rocklin, she is writing her memories. We were reminising about old times, the good old days. But with my mother celebrating her 99th birthday next month and she is as sharp as a tack, I figure there are some good old days ahead. I finished writing my 2nd book in my Red Hat series, I brought the manuscript with me so Mom and my sister Jane could read it. Jane did some editing for me and when I get home I'll look it over and make any corrections I like and then I'll decide what to do with it. Should I stay with Gray Dog Press, that published The Hat Pin Murders or should I look for an agent and see if I can get with a larger publisher? The thing I really need is some comments from some of you that read and liked the book. If you didn't like it, please don't tell me, I need positive remarks to give to an agent or publisher. So If you would respond please do so by sending your comments to my e-mail address: thecaudels@centurytel.net. I will need your full name and title if you have one especially if you are a Red Hat Queen, or an author with your books title, etc. I'd appreciate your help. We will be leaving Sacramento on Tuesday, Aug. 28th and heading north on I-5. My daughter-in-law, Kim, is making the trip with me. She is a good driver and a lot of fun. We will stop in Salem, OR to visit with my son and family then we will hit the road again. When we get to Cheney, WA our first stop will be to be our newest family member, Penelope. Pictures on Facebook are great but just do fill that grandma urge to hug and cuddle. The days are getting shorter and a little cooler at night, I know I complained about the hot weather but I really want it to last a little longer because we do get snow in Cheney. HaHa.
Hugs to all of you wonderful people that read my blog. Oh by the was I didn't mention that the next book will be called The Hat Box Mystery.

Life is worth the living.

Hello to all my friends out there, at least the ones that read my blog.  Life has delt me a blow with my husbands long illness and his death on the 8th of this month.  My kids and I will take his ashes to the cemetary tomorrow morning then at 1 p.m. we will meet at the church for a memorial service.  I'm so greatful to all the wondeful friends and family that have sent card and e-mails and messages on Face Book.  What a blessing to have people around that love and care for us.  George was a wonderful husband and father.  I'm so glad that all the kids were able to spend some time with him before he passed on to Glory.  Yes, I know that he is in heaven with the savior that he knew and loved.  That is our hope that we will all be together again some day.  I have many things to take care of in the next weeks but I'm determined to spend a few hours each day to finish my 2nd book. I know I've been  promising to finish it but life really does take over and we have no control over it, but life is really worth the living.

Joyce's Little Blog: Stormy weather - stormey lives.

Joyce's Little Blog: Stormy weather - stormey lives.:    It was raining this morning when I got up, the sky is gray and I'm trying not to feel as miserable as the weather.  It is supposed to be ...

I've finally recuperated from my weekend at Northern Quest Casino, The Silver Spur Gathering, Author's Corner.  This was the first year for the Gathering and it was a lot of fun.  The Author's were given an opportunity to talk about our books and do a reading.  A guy named Kelly was there to film it all, so hopefully I'll be able to see how I look in the movies.  There were vendors with all sorts of goodies from jewelery to makeup and clothes.  We not only listened to readings from the authors but there were poets and musicians that played instruments and sang their songs, most of them original.  Meeting and talking to some very talented authors was a highlight for me.  A real treat was that several actually wanted my book so we traded. 

There were concerts both Friday and Saturday evenings, which we could attend free.  The weekend ended with Cowboy Church Sunday morning.  One of the really fun things for me was to meet Miss Teen Rodeo Washington, Maggie Little.  She is such a beautiful young lady and she promised to wave to me when she rides in the opening ceramoney at the Cheney Rodeo.  Maggie gave me a picture of herself that she signed with a personal note.  What a doll!  I guess it shouldn't surprise me that there are a lot of talented and wholesome young people.  The ones that are not so nice get noticed and the really great kids go about their business unnoticed.  And Cowboys?  Life would be a little easier if there were more of them around.  I spent two full days with a whole lot of cowboys and cowgirls and I couldn't have asked for better company.  Yes, there were Indians too, after all we were at a casino.

The Casino had good hot coffee and bottled water on ice all day long with muffins and sweet rolls in the morning.  I was very happy!  Oh yes and I took advantage of the valet parking.  Very nice!  I'm really encouraged to finish my second book, no name yet, just 'Another Red Hat Mystery'.  I have the beginning of the third one.  Holy cow! I'd better finish the second one.  So I'll post this blog and get to writing.

Happy New Year - 2012

Happy New Year, 2012! I'm looking forward to the year ahead as I'm getting close to completing my 2nd book. Writing is hard work but it is very interesting, you see you can do all kinds of things, be any one you want to be. You can be rich, beautiful and really smart, although I haven't figured out how to accomplish that last one even on paper. You can even commit a crime, even murder, yes indeed, but even on paper you probably won't get away with it. As in my next book I've killed a guy, well not me exactly, and I've got a few things to figure out yet. There are a list of new characters that I'm growing fond of. I hope you will all wait around for me to finish this one. Oh silly me, I just looked at my watch and yes it is Sunday, January 1, 2012. Good night, bloggers. Happy New Year.