Writing on the road

I’m heading up to Portland later today for the local author showcase at The Oregon City Public Library this Thursday night. I can’t wait to meet the teens there and also get to spend some great time with my friends and fellow authors Lisa Nowak, Stacey Wallace-Benefiel and Cidney Swanson. What’s that you say? But, you don’t live in Portland. Well, that’s kind of true. See, I travel a lot with hubby’s work and we spent a great deal of last year in Portland, living at the Holiday Inn at the PDX airport. And, as luck would have it, I met some amazing authors who adopted me and made me feel right at home.

I haven’t been up to Portland in a while. So I’m suffering from some serious doughnut & ice cream withdrawl. Hubby’s work has kept us home these past few months. And we’ll be back-and-forth again soon. Because of all the traveling we do, I get to work in some pretty unique places. Today I’m writing in what used to be on old beauty salon:

Don’t you love the groovy couch? It’s so George Jetson, isn’t it? Here’s a sign I came across on our road trip north that cracked me up….

LOL! Before we catch the plane for Portland today we are attending a funeral. We have real funeral weather today––dreary, sprinkles, cold. You know how busy life is. Everyone has a million things to do. And then you get a call. An email. Everything stops. There’s this other time. Funeral time.

So I’d like to leave you with something a little less serious than what’s ahead this afternoon. Here’s a picture from yesterday when I was at home trying to fit everything I need for the author showcase and, you know clothes LOL!, into my suitcase:)

On the road to Deltona, FL for The Paranormal Plumes YA Book Tour

The Paranormal Plumes Young Adult Book Tour hits Deltona 1/30-1/31

I landed in Tampa last Wednesday night and have been hanging with my family here for the past few days. Tomorrow my sister and I head north to Orlando where we’re going to Harry Potter’s Wizarding World. After Orlando we’re meeting up with The Plumes in Deltona for dinner. We’re SO excited!

Today went WAY too fast We saw my niece play in her B-ball game, that’s my bro-in-law coaching!

Then we all went for a run! Soooo much fun. After that we pampered ourselves….with a Mani-Pedi!

Happy Birthday SIS!!!!

Then we had a FAB BBQ with all the fam But not before I snapped this photo!

Tonight we’re packing our bags and are super excited about losing ourselves in the world of wizards & young adult books

CONGRATS Jessica McLaughlin winner of the kindle edition of Pyxis by K.C. Neal! So excited to have hosted the Ariel-Arson-Pyxis tour, thanks so much to all the people who entered!

 

Wordless Wednesday: New Member of the Family!

Wordless Wednesday : One more scare

San Francisco Story : Inspiration & Purple Leis

It’s not every day that you pick your daughter up from the airport. And today is even more special because my daughter lives a continent away. She’s coming back home and we are going to get to hang out for ten precious days. One of my fondest memories of San Fransisco is when my daughter graduated from San Francisco State University. It was a magical realism author’s dream come true as Isabelle Allende was one of the speakers at graduation. But Gavin Newsom was also an amazing speaker and he had some great advice for the graduates that I’ll never forget–STAY GREEN. Meaning, keep learning. Don’t stop. What great advice. And what I’ve found, and what my debut young adult novel Winnemucca is about, is that so much of our learning takes place out of the classroom. Just like so much of great writing is about what isn’t said. It’s off the page.

I remember my daughter all decked out in her purple graduation robe and purple lei. Here’s more on graduation day: What I Learned At My Daughter’s Graduation from University: Words of Inspiration I can’t wait to see her again and I can’t wait to have another San Francisco Story.

If you want to learn more about what inspired Winnemucca, my guest post about Latinas & Mariachis is on Alicia McCalla’s amazing blog.

The Fairy Truck Driver

What’s a Winnemucca? That’s pretty much the response I get from people when they read the title of my debut novel, a small-town fairy tale about a teenage girl’s enchanted road trip. It’s that or it’s “Oh, I’ve been there.” With a smile. Winnemucca is The Emerald City of the novel. There’s a fairy truck driver in the story too. I liked this video so much that I thought I’d honor all the hard working truck drivers out there. How many have helped wayward travelers in need? So here’s to every day angels.

 

Will we live on a volcano? Maybe.

Part of the fun of being mobile is the adventure. All the new places and people you get to know. Joe and I are about to go mobile again after making a nest after a few years on the road. The road has been good to us. We have journeyed to some really breathtaking spots and lived so many different ways. Today, Joe is checking out places. One was billed The Volcano House.