"Spicy? I'll Take It!"

Here's a sample of what people were saying about our booth on Saturday. For reference, BB Walter's display is to the right of your screen; mine and Kenzie's is in the middle, and to the left is everyone else's. Sorry I didn't get a better picture of it!

"Hi, I'm BB Walter and if you like kings, queens, wizards, and warlords, you'll enjoy my fantasy novel Sister Light..."

"Fantasy? Oh yeah! Love fantasy!" (Comes over and starts leafing through her excerpt booklet. Asks many questions, gives her $5 and moves onto the next table.)

"And if you like romance..."

"Oh, I LOVE romance!"

"Great! My Arbor University series has a little bit of everything; life lessons, love, and how good kids can make bad choices."

"You wrote both of these?" (Picks up either Love is Sober or Love Finds a Way.) "And is this an audio book?" (indicating Kenzie's CD)

"No; this is my first electronic book, my new 'baby'. It's an Adult Contemporary Romance, whereas the Arbor U series is more Women's Fiction."

"Electronic?"

"Yes. You download it directly from Freya's Bower Website (I hand them the bookmark) and read it either on your computer, e-reader, palm pilot, or even phone. Or, you can buy the CD from me and read it on your computer at home. Would you like an excerpt?"

"You have a sample? Oh good!"

"Would you like tame or spicy? (I pull out the folder) I'll warn you...there are some choice words in here, and it's not to be read by anyone under 18."

"Oh, I'll take spicy! Thank you!" (Looks through it) "How much for the CD?"

I tell her, and she digs out another $5. I also give her Kenzie's business card, as well as Molly's brochure.

She then moves on to the 3rd display.

"Now did you write these as well?"

"No. I've been doing a lot of reading and receiving advice from other authors, so to say 'Thank You' to them, I'm showcasing their print books. Jamie Carie grew up here and writes wonderful Christian Inspirational; in fact, she was at the Rendezvous a few weeks ago, signing copies of Wind Dancer. If you prefer Regencies, Kelly's Marriage series is full of humor...Sandra's Cats of Catarou series is about cats who go to Cat Heaven, but return to Earth to find their Masters (this often brought other comments, especially if the person is a cat-lover!); Carol's cookbook is full of humorous mistakes anyone can make when they begin learning to cook, and she has a new book coming out soon. And in the back, we have some more Adult Romances, all beautifully written."

(Comes around and picks up Bound Brits or Dancer's Delight, and asks questions...usually 'Are these for sale', which I then say no, but are available at amazon.com.)

"Feel free to take a postcard or sticky notepad! And help yourself to the peanut butter M&M's"

"Thank you! And good luck with both of your sales!"

We both wave, and then take a drink of water or tea and wait for the next person to wander over. I try to catch people's eye and offer them a bookmark. Sometimes they take it and come back later; sometimes they immediately venture over; very few actually say 'No thank you.'

Here's a close-up of BB and myself.

Isn't she cute? She always dresses so sweet for these things! Sometimes I wish I had her sense of style. These were taken minutes after Kenzie's 2nd sale, so we were both pretty happy!

Now For Some Not-So-Good News:

Took my daughter for her yearly physical, and hopped on the scale to see how my half-hearted attempt at weight loss was going. I was shocked at the number I saw on the display...it was a number I hadn't seen in 5 years, since about a month before W's birth!

Now granted, it's just a number, and yes, I can still fit into all my clothes...it just shocked me into a slight depression, and caused me not to be hungry. In fact, when deciding what to fix for dinner, I told the spouse I was tired of food in general! Nothing sounded good, not even when I went through the freezer, the cabinets, and the cookbook! But, the toddler needed to eat, so we splurged at the Chinese Buffet. I opted for the rice noodles, rather than the lo mein, and loaded on the veggies. Hopefully my desire to cook again will return. In fact, the only thing that sounded delicious was the pork loin, but there wasn't enough time to prepare it. I'll do it tomorrow night, when I'll be home to enjoy it.

Around 10pm, we discovered W was out of his nighttime diapers, so I made a trip over. And discovered Walmart has decided to contribute to my 'diet' by no longer keeping my favorite candy bar in stock! How do I know? I went into every checkout aisle...no longer there. No no more daily chocolate bar. And I'll be cutting back on the nightly scoop of ice cream again.

Was going to actually get up and walk this morning, but even the weather is against me: It was raining at 6:30 am. But since it's only supposed to get up into the low 80's, maybe I'll go do some laps after lunch. Or after my writer's meeting.

I knew losing 40 lbs from February to July was going to be a long-shot for me; I guess now I'm back to striving for at least the 5 I've put on in the last couple of weeks, and go back to the camouflage plan!

Today's To-Do-List:

-Finish laundry

-Grocery shopping

-Fix something for pitch-in at Laptop Society

-Exercise

-Regain my normal sunny dispostion!

Currently Reading: Finished Mrs. Sato's book and now have 5 pages of questions to ask her. I'm going to write her a letter today to tell her how much I enjoyed it! The book is not for sale anywhere; it was written so she could pass it out to family and friends, which is a shame. I think it should be read by EVERYONE, as it is an exellent peek into the Japanese culture! What I can do is see if I can get a few more copies, if anyone would be interested in reading this book, and send you a copy. Email me at storimom2@aol.com if you would be interested in reading this wonderful memoir, and I will do my best to get it to you.

Also finished Claire Thompson's Diary of a Submissive. It's an excellent look into exploring the lifestyle! I'll get back to the e-books tomoroow.