All Sold Out at Borders

Saturday was an exciting afternoon for Rich and I. We signed our books at Borders in Keene and was it busy!Right by the checkout line, we were visited by many local teachers and librarians (thank you!) and got a chance to meet so many sweet kids like Desi, who loves all animals, and Spencer, (pictured with Rich), who's read some of Rich's books already and is getting Sports Camp and Kickers- The Ball Hogs for Christmas. I also met a travelling large animal vet's assistant, who lives the James Herriot life here in New England, and I can't wait to trek along with her sometime next year. Thanks to so many visiters who stopped by, including Sharon from Fast Friends Greyhound rescue and Gilbert, the retired greyhound. Borders actually sold out of copies of Little Joe! What a thrill that was. New Englanders really know how to support their local authors and artists. From parents in the neighborhood, to the USPS mail attendants, New Englanders are buying our books.

Knowing we live in such a nurturing, supportive environment warms my heart. It's the best Christmas present I could ever receive.

Speaking at the Monadnock Writers Group

This weekend Rich and I were guest speakers at the Monadnock Writers Group, a cast of nearly three dozen burgeoning writers who get together once a month at the Peterborough Library in southern New Hampshire. They exchange ideas, sometimes listen to guest speakers and give encouragement. What I liked most about the experience, was that regardless of whether or not they have guest speakers, one member of the group gets the opportunity to read an excerpt from their work at the beginning of the gathering.
It can be pretty daunting stepping behind a podium and reading your work to a group, whether you know them or not, but it's essential. Not only does it force your psyche to accept that you are, indeed, a writer, but it's also important to get feedback from others, as well as their support.
We're all vulnerable and perhaps even more so when we're pouring out our souls on paper, then giving the books to someone and hoping for a connection.
A Writers Group can provide us with an instant sense of belonging, a warm blanket over our shoulders as we struggle or triumph in our work.
I enjoyed reading Little Joe aloud and having a few librarians in the audience who were also raised on farms, comment that my work resonated with them and felt authentic. It's such a thrill to have someone who's read your work comment on specific chapters and characters. Experiences like these buoy you for weeks on end.
Thanks to Laura for inviting us, and to such great questions and feedback from our fellow writers. Happy writing!

Pennsylvania Bound

Little Joe's "Blue Ribbon Tour" hit Pennsylvania the first weekend in November and it was really great for Rich and I to visit our old home state. Kickers, Rich's soccer series, already has quite a fan base and one young reader wore his Bobcats shirt, just like Ben does in the books. Little Joe, set in PA farm country, was bought by parents and grandparents to read aloud and share experiences familiar to some of the generations who were in 4-H.
We were smack in the middle of farm country in Muncy, where Madison, pictured with me, got Little Joe for her Christmas present and promised not to read it until then. Thanks to Joyce at the Borders there, who made us feel special and had our signing table hopping!
We met up with teachers as one of our stops coincided with a book fair and a few burgeoning young writers who have been penning realistic fiction since before they got into double digits.(Can't wait to read their books in the future.)

A Blue ribbon for all the Pennsylvania stores that carry our books and for those that hosted our signings!

Full House at the Toadstool Bookshop Signing!

Our second book signing exceeded my expectations. Last Saturday, my husband Rich and I were at the Toadstool Bookshop in Keene. Thirty-five people were there to listen to us chat about our new novels and to sign our books. Yahoo!

I always love reading aloud and it was great to share the first few pages of LITTLE JOE with the audience.

Rich spoke about his new series, KICKERS and there were plenty of soccer players in the audience, including goalies who loved their soccer bracelet gifts.

We signed 60 books and about the same number of cookies were gobbled up, too.

BEST OUTFIT: Hannah and her tie dye T-shirt, along with her silly bands necklace holder.

BEST COOKIE EATER: Griffin and his insatiable taste for cream filling.

BEST FACIAL EXPRESSION: Connor, when hearing Eli in LITTLE JOE gave CPR to baby Little Joe.

BEST GROWN UP SMILE: Randy, who enjoyed being read to as much as the kids.

Thanks to "The Toad" for hosting the event, especially Robin, for finding more chairs like magic and Don, who runs a great bookstore.

Hurray for Water Street Books!

This weekend was quite exciting. I had my first book signing for Little Joe at Water Street Books in Exeter. Rich, my husband, was right along with me, signing his KICKERS soccer series and hand-selling Little Joe, too. The blue ribbon bookmark giveaways and soccer bracelets were a big hit. Young Owen put his on right away! And I don't think anyone minded getting sticky fingers from the apple tarts-- they were too yummy to resist.

Much thanks to Stefanie Kiper (with me in the pix) and owner Dan Chartrand for organizing the event. Water Street is the largest bookstore along the seacoast of New England and they are well stocked, super-helpful and supportive of new and local authors. It's a beautiful store, as is Exeter, New Hampshire, which truly is a picturesque New England town with great architecture and cuisine.

I especially enjoyed meeting young Julia from Rochester, who told me about her 6 tabbies--all marmalade! I hope she enjoys reading about Spider, the mackarel-striped barn cat who befriends Little Joe and becomes his stall-mate.

A blue ribbon for Water Street Bookstore!

Little Joe Book Signing at Water Street Books

The first book signing for Little Joe is this Saturday, August 28th, 11 am at Water Street Bookstore in Exeter, New Hampshire. I'll be signing along with my hubbie, Rich Wallace, author of the soccer series KICKERS among many other books for young readers with Knopf and Viking.

Come join us and have a chat. Maybe even purchase a book. There'll be apples and apple tarts and giveaways after our presentation. Maybe I'll get you to take a picture of me alongside my novel- the first time I'll be seeing it on a bookshelf!!

Should be fun. See you there!

Sandra

Out Pops Little Joe- Or So I Think

This week Little Joe launched in bookstores. I was so excited I couldn’t sleep the night before. When I got up earlier than the dawn, somehow I’d expected things would feel different-- that the world might rumble-- at least for a second or two. But our dog, Lucy, was fast asleep hogging all the covers and my husband Rich kept snoring.

Having a book published and seen on the shelf in bookstores is a surreal experience, I’m told. I know when I first got a bound copy of Little Joe it became real for me-- now I couldn’t wait to find out what feelings would overtake me upon seeing it on a store bookshelf. But when I got to our local bookstore in the morning, they hadn’t had time to put the book out yet. My monumental citing would have to wait. At least I could email all my friends to let them know. When I get home, our neighbor girl, Emily-- the only female kid on the block-- comes racing up to see as me fast as she can on a bright pink bike. She remembered! I think, while six-year-old Emily skids next to me.

“I got a new pink bike,” she says. “I’m gonna ride it up and down the street all day.”

Then the boy kids come out and show me their painted faces, already practicing their ghoulish looks for Halloween. Avery, the four-year-old, keeps drooling. He points to his cheek and shows me the inside of his mouth. “Gum!” he says. Then he closes his teeth and smiles.

“He’s learning how to chew gum,” his brother Jake says to me. “That’s why he’s got slobber all over.”

“Little Joe’s out in bookstores!” I tell them, wishing I could point to the book, lying on a shelf. It comes out loud and forceful, but I don’t care. I imagine the novel showcased, surrounded by rave reviews and plucked from the shelves by the hands of eager readers. A bestseller, no less. And it’s not even been out a week.

“Finally,” Dennis moans, rolling his eyes and shaking me out of my dream-state. “It’s taken forever!”

Sometimes it seems that way. But when I go to my first signing this weekend and see that book on the shelf, I know it will have been worth the wait. Maybe you’ll be there; Water Street Books, Exeter, New Hampshire, August 28th at 11 AM. If so, you can join in my delight and maybe buy a copy of the book, too.