I had my Hometown Book Party Saturday and people actually showed up to hear me talk about my books and writing. Every person who entered the meeting room was like a special gift to me. They even smiled when I asked my son to take our picture.
Some came who had been to almost every one of my book parties since I had the first one way back in 2005 after Scent of Lilacs was published. The best thing about these wonderful people is that they are okay with me sharing some of the same stories of my writer beginnings although I’m thinking if I have another party next year for another book, I maybe should come up with some new writer beginning stories. Or maybe middle of my writing life stories or anything different. But these beautiful people kept listening and smiling. Some family came to support me and make sure the room wasn’t empty. Family is the best.
Some of those who came had never been to one of my book parties. Some came from out of town. I could brag and say one came from Arizona which she did, but it was because she happened to be in Kentucky visiting her family. Still it was great to meet her.
Some of my friends from church came including my preacher and his daughter. She’s eleven and we have Sunday school togther every week. I’d say I am her teacher but she teaches me as much as I teach her. This morning at church, I asked her if my book talk bored her. That was a brave question for me to ask since she will say what she thinks. Not sure if she was simply being polite, but the sweet girl said no, I wasn’t boring. Whew!
I had fun giving out my 8 door prizes. I made them open them to share what they were. That always adds to the fun for me. We did it grab bag style with them pointing to whichever bagged up gift they wanted after their name was drawn out of the basket of names. The last gift was a bit unusual or a little crazy. It was a little bear (Beanie Baby style) dressed in purple with a red hat plus a candy bar to sweeten the gift. The lady who got it was very nice and didn’t look too puzzled by such a strange gift. Even better she gave it to one of the other women there who had been to a red hat ladies meeting before coming to my book talk. She had on red and purple and the lady who won it thought she should have the little bear. I think they both ended up pleased. The lady who won the gift got the candy and found a great way to pass along the little bear.
After I told them about how I had grown up dreaming of being a writer and having people read my stories even though I thought it was a big dream for a little farm girl like me, I went on to tell them about some of my books including, of course, my newest book, In the Shadow of the River. But I shared about other of my books too. Things like how Perdita Sweet surprised me and became a favorite viewpoint character in my book, Along a Storied Trail. And how I used my mom’s memories of growing up during the Great Depression era in my book, Angel Sister.
I guess I could have talked all afternoon, but there was a clock on the back wall that was too hard to ignore. I did enjoy the questions some of the people asked. Q & A is always my favorite part of any book talk. Surprisingly enough, nobody asked me the two questions I hear the most. That is which is my favorite book and how many books have I written.
We had a great time. They ate my cookies so I didn’t have too many left over. I had fun signing books for them to carry home with them. I hope they will enjoy every story.
Now For a Blog Book Party Door Prize
I know some of you would have been at my book party if you lived closer or weren’t already busy.
So for fun, and to keep the party going, I’m going to do a fast book giveaway. All you have to do to register for this blog party door prize is leave a comment. For extra fun, why don’t you pretend you are at my book party? I’m encouraging you, anybody brave enough to raise a hand, to ask me a question. It doesn’t have to be about my books or writing, but it can be. Or it can be what’s my favorite color or how many dogs have I had?
But if you don’t want to ask a question, you can still enter the giveaway with any kind of comment. We’re going to do this one fast. I’ll pick a winner next Sunday and announce the winner on my post that night. We’ll talk about it again on Wednesday. I can answer those questions if anybody asks some. But you’ll get another chance to enter and get your name in the drawing again by commenting on Wednesday’s post. Deadline to enter will be midnight EST on Saturday, July 29, 2023. You have to be at least 18 years old to enter.
Oh, and thanks for coming to my blog book party. You are a gift to me and make me smkile.
What question would you like to ask me?
Comments 51
Hi Ann-I’ve enjoyed your stories so much. Do you have a favorite book you have written? If you do, which one and why?
Author
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed my stories, Penny. Thank you for letting me know that.
Your question asking me if I have a favorite book in those I’ve written is a question I am often asked when I do a book talk. They don’t always ask me why but I guess I always tell them why. 🙂
It’s not an easy question to answer because several of my books can be favorites for different reasons. Scent of Lilacs is a favorite because it opened the door for me to the inspirational market and has led to me publishing 20 some books with Revell Books for readers like you. Plus I really enjoyed Wes and Jocie’s Jupiter talk in that story and the ones that followed. The Outsider brought me some new readers because of their fascination with the Shaker history. I really enjoyed my packhorse librarian book, Along a Storied Trail, because I love books and storytelling. But. You knew there would be a but in here somewhere, I’m guessing. But I have to pick Angel Sister as my favorite because I used the stories my mother and her sisters told me about growing up during the Great Depression as the background for that story. While the story is fiction, I did base the Merritt sisters on my mother and my aunts and gave my characters their personalities and looks. Because of how my mother’s memories are threaded into the story, it has to be my favorite.
Author
So fun to answer all your fun questions. I’m grouping some so you can see some of the answers all together in one comment.
Ashlyn asks, “Where is your favorite place to travel and why?”
I’m not a great traveler. I guess I do a lot of traveling in my imagination instead of by car or plane. But I have two favorite types of destinations. I love seeing mountains and hiking on mountain trails and I also love going to wherever I can see an ocean and walking at sunrise or sunset on the beach.
Patricia winked and asked the question I said no one asked me at my in person book party. “How many books have you written?” That’s the question I don’t know the answer to. I don’t know how many books I’ve written but it’s a lot. I do know how many books I’ve published and that’s 38, I think. I’m pretty sure. Yes, 38. I don’t know why I can’t keep that number straight. I have written several books that never found a loving editor and publisher.
Dana asks, “Are your characters inspired by people?”
I suppose all characters are inspired by people. Everyone a writer has ever met or read about or seen on a movie or television program takes up residence in a way inside the writer’s head. Then when we are ready to start a story and pull people out of our imagination to bring that story to life, we might borrow a little from this or that person we’ve known. I don’t think that’s exactly what Dana is asking. She’s asking, I think, if I’ve ever dropped a person I’ve known down into my story. And I have in a fictional way. The Merritt sisters in my story, Angel Sister, were based on my mother and her sisters. Well, at least their personalties were and som eof their character. The old guy in my kids’ story, Freak of the Week, was inspired by one of my father’s friends. So, in ways some of my characters are inspired by people.
Peggy asks, “Who is our favorite writer?”
I can never narrow down a favorite writer to one. At the same time, I have happily read every book some writers wrote. When I was first writing books, I remember enjoying Mary Stewart’s books and Phyllis Whitney’s books. I loved reading James Michener’s historical stories. Barbara Kingsolver is a writer I admire for her ability to bring characters to life and Chaim Potok wrote a couple of books The Chosen and The Promise that inspired me to want to make my characters as real as his characters are in those stories. So, I have many favorites. In the inspirational market, I like reading Laura Frantz’s books. Susie Finkbeiner tells great stories. Lori Benton too. Karen Witemeyer ‘s stories make me smile. Amanda Cabot can bring history to life. And there are so many more. Too many to name. It’s a great time to love reading inspirational fiction.
Please keep spilling words onto pages!
Author
Thank you. I’m still trying to spill some of those words. I appreciate your encouragement.
I’m reading In the Shadow of the River now and enjoying it. I have two questions.. When will your next book come out and have you ever owned a horse?
Author
I’m so glad you are enjoying being out on the river riding along with my characters on my showboat, Lee. I had fun doing the research for that story.
You’ve asked some easy questions. That’s good. First when will my next book come out? The Song of Sourwood Mountain will release early in May 2024. I’ve gone back to the Appalachian Mountains for this story and called my fictional community, Sourwood. I’ll be sharing the cover and more information in the weeks and months ahead.
Your second question is have I ever owned a horse. I have never had a horse of my own although I bought my husband a horse as a gift shortly after we married when my uncle had one for sale. I never rode Brownie or the colt she eventually had. My husband didn’t really have time to work with the colt the way he needed to and the colt was a terror to the cows – always wanting to chase them. I think he just needed somebody to play with. Anyway, after a few years with the horses, my husband decided he didn’t need a horse and we sold them. I do have some cute pictures of my young son on Brownie, but I never got on her. I did like petting them and feeding them apples. I’m not a horse woman and have only ridden a horse one or two times. I had to do a lot of research for my Frontier Nursing stories with the midwives riding horses up into the mountains to care for their patients and for Along a Storied Trail for my packhorse librarian.
I’ll look forward to your Sourwood Mountain book. And now that song is running through my head. Hey de ang dang diddly alley day. We used to sing it in music class in grade school. I never had a horse either, although I always wanted one growing up. But one of our sons grew up to be a cowboy with a couple horses of his own.
Dear Ann, How about another Hidden Springs book? I enjoyed all your books, but my favorite is that series.
Author
Thank you so much for reading my stories, Karen. I’m always happy to hear from readers who have enjoyed going to Hidden Springs to help Michael figure out who did what. For a peaceful little town, a lot of people end up dead by unnatural causes. 🙂
So how about another Hidden Springs book?
I’d love to go back to Hidden Springs for another story. I even already have an idea and a victim to start things off. I love my title, Murder at the Wedding, too. But so far my publishers aren’t onboard with the idea. My mysteries must not have sold enough copies. But who knows? Maybe I’ll get to write that book yet. I just need to carve out some extra time to head back to Hidden Springs and figure out who done it.
How many hours a day do you write? Do you ever get ideas and have to jot them down in the middle of the night? I love your books and reading is my favorite hobby.
Author
Reading is my favorite hobby too, Joan. If only I had an extra hour a day to enjoy that hobby. Thank you for making my books part of your hobby of reading.
How many hours a day do I write? When I’m working on a book after I’ve done my research and thinking about the characters and setting and etc. and actually type Chapter 1 to begin, I probably spend 5 or 6 hours every day actually writing. I don’t usually write on Sundays and not often on Saturdays unless I’m in a deadline pinch and need to get the book finished by a certain date. That happens to me on almost all my books. So then I spend more hours writing. I try to write a certain amount each day. Since I started writing on a typewriter, I think in pages. A good pace for me is five pages a day, but sometimes I struggle with that much writing especially when I’m beginning a story.
I spend more hours doing publicity things and talking to readers on social media and writing newsletters and… Well, there’s always something not exactly book writing related but still something writers need to do to get their work out there in front of readers.
Do I get ideas in the middle of the night and jot them down? I can’t remember getting many ideas at night. I guess I sleep too soundly. 🙂 I do sometimes get ideas while I’m walking my dogs or doing household chores. Sometimes I might jot those down or just try to remember whatever I thought up. It’s best if I make a note. Ideas can be slippery and sometimes hard to keep hold of until you’re at the keyboard ready to write about them.
I would love to be at a book party with you. Do you think you would ever come to Minnesota?
Author
It would be so fun to take a book tour and stop at places where I know I have reading friends like you, Una. But while I’d love to do that, nothing is in the works right now. Sadly enough.
Author
Thanks for joining in with my blog book party, everyone. Love your questions. As I said, Q & A time is always my favorite part of a book talk. I will answer all your questionfs, but I think I’ll skip around a little and answer the easiest questions first. 🙂 I might save a few of them for my post on Wednesday. We’ll see. But thanks so much for coming to my party and asking such fun questions. Now, let’s see if I can come up with fun answers.