Hello and Happy May! Today is the day for the monthly meeting of The Insecure Writer's Support Group, founded by our Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh. To view list members and this month's co-hosts, visit the IWSG page here.
April was a fantastic month for me from a writing perspective. I have continued to work on my Polar Night/Polar Day sequel, A Killing in Kennecott, and am making great progress. Even better, I'm really enjoying the writing! I hope I can keep up at my current pace and perhaps finish the first draft in May.
I also had two great writing events that were really fun.
First up, I was invited to be part of a reception honoring Hamilton County, Ohio authors on April 2. I was thrilled to attend and was even more thrilled when I made it up on the stage and back down again without tripping. :D
On April 8 I attended the Ohioana Book Festival in Columbus, Ohio. This was my third time at the fest and it is always a great time.
Puppet Baby Moo came along with me and helped me read his story to some of this kiddos at the event.
Best of all, I sold more books than I ever have at any previous festival. So the day was a success all the way around.
Now for May! I am scheduled to give a talk on my books and writing in Marysville, Ohio on Tuesday, May 9. Marysville is Baby Moo's hometown but the folks who invited me to speak didn't know about Baby Moo's book when they contacted me, so that is a total coincidence. In another strange twist, I used to work in Marysville back in the 1990s. When I left that job I never thought I'd have any reason to visit the town again. But somehow it must have been meant to be that I would!
The Friends of the Public Library hold an Author Series every year and invite four authors to participate, one each month from February - May. I am so honored to be one of the four this year! I am also nervous about it because of my anxiety over public speaking but I am hoping this will go as smoothly as my April events did.
Now I'm looking forward to hopping around and seeing what my fellow IWSGers have been up to over the past month. :)
Awesome on the book sales and all those events! Bet the kids got a kick out of puppet Moo.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you're having a wonderful time in all aspects of writing, right now. Good for you! It's so nice to hear. Love the photos! Seeing you participating in festivals and such makes me want to try to do that more. Thanks for the encouragement & inspiration!
ReplyDeleteGlad you are having such a great month writing and going to all the events to promote your books. That's awesome!
ReplyDeleteAnd still, I kinda miss you on the blogosphere when I hop around mid-month and wonder, "Where's Julie?" But I'm glad you're making so much progress and having such AWESOME experiences. Keep at it, woman! You rock.
ReplyDeleteA hand puppet! That's so awesome. Probably wouldn't work for a dark paranormal book . . . but you never know. Congrats, on not tripping (one of my big public fears!)To enjoy your work . . . ahhh, nothing like it!
ReplyDeleteJulie, congrats on continuing your series, which I love!!! You sound like a very busy lady, enjoy the moments!!! I like the puppet!
ReplyDeleteLove the pics, Julie! So happy your writing is going well and for all of your accomplishments! You are going to rock the month of May and all the upcoming events. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome the writing is going well and you're enjoying the writing festivals and such. Here's hoping the one this month goes just as well!
ReplyDeleteWow! Congratulations on all your activities! I bet reading to the kiddos was lots of fun. Here's to a lovely May and further success.
ReplyDeleteBusy is good. I feel so busy it makes me dizzy sometimes. Congrats on your successful month!
ReplyDeleteYay you! You're on a well-deserved roll. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your success. I'm thrilled for you. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnna from elements of emaginette
What a fantastic month! Love that little puppet. :)
ReplyDeleteHow awesome! What a great month. And I totally appreciate the win going up and down stairs in heels without tripping is.
ReplyDeleteHooray for making it across the stage without tripping! I'm so fortunate that none of my appearances have involved a stage.
ReplyDeleteAnd hooray for selling books!
Happy writing!
What an AWESOME month! I'm thrilled to hear your career is going so well, and I have no doubt that you'll do a fantastic job at all of your upcoming events this month, too. Heck, at this rate you're gonna be president of the local Toastmasters Club before ya know it... Congratulations! (I'm glad to hear you have another "Polar" book in the works!)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the invitation to the reception. I don't think we have anything like that here in Michigan. It'd be a great way for authors to meet each other.
ReplyDeleteWow, you are a busy lady. So happy things are going well, Julie!
ReplyDeleteYou are doing so much fabulous things, living the awesome life of an author. Way to go!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you've had a good month! Good luck finishing your first draft!
ReplyDeleteYou did wonderfully well! And I love that puppet.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on selling so many books at your event. I loved reading how well things are going for you. That did my heart good. The kids must adore Baby Moo. So cute!
ReplyDeleteFYI, I made the big move away from Blogger and can be found at:
Elsie Amata
Woooohooo! I'm so glad for you! That sounds like a great month and I wish you the best for this one too. :)
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the pictures. Glad you had fun.
ReplyDelete' Juneta @ Writer's Gambit
Wow! Way to go with your author events and congratulations on being chosen by the library!!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Writing in May!
You are the cutest thing with that puppet!
ReplyDeleteAnd you are in demand. :) Nothing to worry about for the May event - you're a pro at this. THEY should be nervous about what they're going to say to YOU.
Congrats on a very successful month! I love the pic of you and Baby Moo reading to the children - it's like one of those iconic, but modern day, Norman Rockwell moments.
ReplyDeleteYou sure are busy! Good luck with the writing and future events!
ReplyDeleteGlad things have been going well for you Julie. I'm sure you'll knock your visit out of the park.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your events!
ReplyDeleteYou are really on a roll. That's great.
ReplyDeleteJulie, thanks for sharing your pics very cool! Congrats! on your successes and for many more to come.
ReplyDeleteSounds like success all around, Julie! Congrats! I'm glad to hear the festival went well. I'm hoping to get involved with one one of these days, and it's good to hear that fellow authors have had positive experiences. :)
ReplyDeleteWow, you've been busy! Glad all your events in April went so well. Hope everything you have lined up for May goes wonderfully, too! (Love that Marysville coincidence!)
ReplyDeleteAnd hurray for writing! So excited for that sequel. Best of luck with it!
Friends of the library...I heard of that before. Hope I'm invited as an author to speak at my local library one day.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the success of your presentations. That puppet is adorable.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on a fantastic April! Great photos of your events. I love feel good success stories by writers.
ReplyDeleteHow awesome! You look and sound so happy! I'm thrilled for you!
ReplyDeleteHi Julie - both of these events sound amazing ... while gaining all that experience, selling those books and getting more gigs - fantastic ... loved reading your happy post .. congratulations - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the book sales...and I love the photos, Julie!
ReplyDeleteLook at you - famous up there on the stage! So exciting!!
Reading to kids is awesome! I love reading in the classroom whenever I have the opportunity to do so.