2nd Annual Local Author Fair at Mysteryscape

Today I had the privilege of participating in the 2nd Annual Local Author Fair sponsored by independent bookstore Mysteryscape in Overland Park, Kansas. The event hosted more than a dozen local authors signing and selling their books. I participated in the inaugural event last year and was pleased to be invited back again. I sold seven copies of my Otter and Arthur books and enjoyed the conversation with other local authors, many of whom I remembered from the year before. It is wonderful to see a local, independent bookstore supporting local, independent authors. While it seems like an obvious fit, there are times when the former doesn't support the latter. I'm grateful for Mysteryscape and its support of local authors.

National Novel Writing Month Winner, 2014

Woo hoo! For the second time, I've become a National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) winner. For those not in the know, NaNoWriMo is, as it says on its website, "a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30."

I first dipped my toe into the NaNoWriMo pool in 2012, successfully scribing my rough draft of what became Otter and Arthur and the Round Table, my sequel to my middle-grade fiction Otter and Arthur and the Sword in the Stone.

I gave it another stab in 2013, but came up just short on my word count as I toiled away on Abigail's Atlantis, a still unfinished middle-grade fiction. The story bounces back and forth between a twelve-year-old girl's summer working with her grandfather at a sea turtle rescue center and a twelve-year-old boy's life in modern-day Atlantis. The latter may or may not be all in Abigail's head.

Although I'm not done with that book, when November 2014 rolled around, I couldn't resist taking another shot. I'd been hit with a recent brainstorm - an adult historical fiction based on the real life of blues singer Robert Johnson. Let's hope that 2015 sees the completion of that book, and/or Abigail's Atlantis. In the meantime, thanks to NaNoWriMo for providing the catalyst for me to jump in and crank out rough drafts of my hopefully someday completed novels.