Whew! It's been a while since I posted, but July has been busy!
We started the month off with a literal bang as we celebrated the Fourth of July. Our holiday tradition includes a tried-and-true schedule:
- Sweating and sunburning as we camp on the side of the road to watch our local parade and watch our children collect candy they don't need
- Retreating inside to relax in the air conditioning and watch The Sandlot
- slowly making our way into the still-humid evening by hanging out with neighbors and letting the kids run around while we enjoy food, drink, and conversation
- Setting off fireworks in our driveway while our children range from Nervous Nellies to Pyromanics
- Watching the city fireworks from another neighborhood yard as we are assaulted on all sides by competitive firework shows from households that invest way too much in explosives
Two days later, we embarked on our family vacation. A ten-hour car trip led to our first night in Nashville in which we walked Broadway (busy even on a Sunday), explained the plight of homelessness to our children after seeing so many unhoused people on the streets, and woke up every hour to the sounds of sirens. I'm glad we experienced Nashville but might want to try it sans-children next time.
Then we drove another four hours (five actually after an hour of standstill traffic on the interstate due to a RV that caught on fire) and we finally reached our resort in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The Smoky Mountains are beautiful and our favorite part of the entire vacation was swimming in the salt water pool with a picturesque mountain view. Three days of touristy excursions and my husband and I realized that all we need to do next year is find a closer vacation spot with a pool and the kids will be happy.
Anakeesta Park in Gatlinburg, TN
I mixed in a bit of work during our week of play when I donated a copy of my book to the Anna Porter Public Library in Gatlinburg. I was nervous they wouldn't want it, but my husband reassured me that libraries would love a free book, and, spoiler alert, he was correct. The ladies there were lovely and I hope to find a few Tennessee readers that might enjoy Another Dance.
We then proceeded on another ten-hour travel day, and spent the night in Hannibal, Missouri (which has changed/declined in the twenty years since I was last there) in a hotel that smelled of marijuana and curry. We woke up to find that ants had invaded our snacks, including our son's prized cotton candy. He was devastated; my husband and I were secretly happy to get rid of the sugary confection. Sadly, we did not take the time to go visit the Mark Twain cave since our daughter was on her seventh day of complaining about stomach pains (which ended up being travel-induced constipation). Oh the joys of traveling.
Once home, we had a week off in which my daughter went to Vacation Bible School with her best friend and I tried not to lose my mind when picking them up in the busiest church parking lot imaginable. It was like leaving a concert venue every day, which is appropriate because they ended each day with a full-on rave in the sanctuary. It was a bit overstimulating, however, the church-approved version of LMFAO's song "Shots" changed to say "March" did make my Monday.
Since that week of respite, it's been work, work, work. Along with six other authors from Bookpress Publishing, I sold books at the Waukee Arts Festival. I learned a lot watching the other two fiction authors calling out to passers-by like carnival barkers. It might not be my preferred style to holler out to potential customers, but those guys sure did sell a lot of books---more than me. So when I traveled up north to work the Plymouth County Fair, I applied my lessons and asked occasional patrons if they were readers or enjoyed romance books. More often than not, it would engage them in conversation and end up in a sale. I learned a very important lesson: as a no-name author, I have to engage if I want to sell. And I need to be confident. If I believe in my story, then I should believe others will enjoy my story and should buy it. (That's become part of my daily affirmation). It was a fun, but very hot, week of manning a booth with my wonderful mother-in-law. I sold my books and she sold her beautiful door hangers and leaners. It ended up being the most successful event for both of us, and we look forward to returning next year. My kids also had the best sleepovers ever with their cousins, and they were able to soak in loads of family time. I didn't mind the morning swims at my parents' place, either.
The fair was bookended between a Ladies' Night Out program in Hospers (small but fun) and a Meet the Author Event in Newton at Alta House. I felt like a real star getting interviewed "on stage" in my red jumper and shiny boots. My favorite part was pulling tickets for the prizes...but selling quite a few copies of Another Dance wasn't too shabby either.
Even though I'm back home, the fun hasn't stopped. I've reviewed and submitted the first proof of my next novel Road Maps, have received positive written reviews from The US Review of Books and professional actress Nana Visitor, and was declared cavity-free at my dentist appointment today.
I've also read six books this month and can hold my head high as a productive reader. (The high expectations are completely self-imposed).
August is almost here and I'll soon be going back to work. But even though the month went by so fast, I can look back fondly on the good and sometimes not-so-good-but-humorous-in-hindsight memories and know that it was a month well spent with my children, my family, new and old friends, good books, and new readers.
