Festivities

I had my second book signing yesterday.  This time at Mediacom Ice Park during a MSU Ice Bears v. KU Jayhawks game.  We won - oh, yeah!  What a gratifying experience, though, to be able to talk about No Penalty for Love with team members and staff and fans.  I hope everyone who bought a copy enjoys reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.  It was a challenge for me to get the technical aspects of the game on the page and let the thrill of it come through in the writing.  I never would have been able to pull off some of the scenes if not for the Ice Bears.  So, thanks again, Guys!

I'm feeling partied out this weekend - festivities abound.  Though, I did manage a Saturday morning at home yesterday to make some Christmas candies and cookies.  I found a recipe (another good one) in Grandma's recipe box - 4 Chips Good Fudge, it was called.  Rich!  Oh, my!  Made that and also some Maple Nut Brittle which didn't "brittle" so became a new and oh, so wonderful Christmas delight - Maple Nut Clusters.  Also some plain, but simply wonderful sugar cookies - not the frosted kind - icky - but just a touch of colored sugars to give them a little sparkle.  I wore my Snoopy Christmas apron and played Christmas music on the radio in the kitchen, sang to Natalie (she's the only one I sing to besides God because neither of them are critical of my tunes), and had a jolly good time.

Speaking of festivities, here are some romantic suggestions for December in case you  need a little Christmas right this very minute:

1.  Find a movie house showing one of the classics and go - It's a Wonderful Life, White Christmas, or Miracle on 34th Street (which Bruce took me to see at the Gillioz last night).  Barring that, dvr one and make a point of watching it.
2.  Gotta watch A Charlie Brown Christmas.  Other specials to revive your childlike enthusiasm for the season are Rudolph the Red Nosed Reineer, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, and, if you can find it (which I haven't) Mr. Kreuger's Christmas - apparently I remember a 1/2 hour long made-for-TV special from the '70's with amazing clarity.  It stared James Stewart.
3.  Burn a pine scented candle, light the fire and watch the tree blink lazily.
4.  Make a fireside supper - that's what I plan to do next Saturday night before the actual holiday week is upon us.  One of the great things about vegetarian cooking at Christmas is that there is an abundance of red and green food to choose from.  Makes for festive and lively plating!
5.  Sing - even if it's just to your dog.
6.  Get quiet and remember Jesus - if that doesn't make you happy and grateful, you're a lost cause.
7.  DON'T make any resolutions or bemoan the year past - just make sure you remind yourself that every moment of every day is a new beginning and nothing stays the same - good or bad - and plan to make the changes you want to see sooner rather than later.
8.  Make a Christmas treat for the birds - airpopped popcorn tossed out by the handfuls, or something more adventurous like backyard tree decorations made with peanut butter and bedecked with seeds.
9.  Read a great Christmas book:  The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson; A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens; anything Christmassy by Debbie Macomber.
10.  Count your blessings - as Bing sings - it's better than counting sheep by far.

Blessings to you and yours this holiday season -
Shellie

What's My Line?

Today is my book signing at Borders. After much kerfuffle! However, all this book promotion has provided for my education in some things I'd never imagined I'd need to know. Things like business licenses, tax certificates, self-employment taxes (oh, my! 15 3/10 % of the NET!) and the invaluable advise of a tax preparer. Thank you, Jean! This is not the fun part of having a book published. I think what I'm worried about most is what to write in the books I sign. If it's someone I have a relationship with, then that's fine - it's personal. But, I need a signature line of my own for people I don't know or don't know well and I'm drawing a blank. I guess there's the ever-popular Red Green sign-off: "Keep your stick on the ice." I am looking forward to this afternoon, though - 1:00-3:00. And then tonight . . . more hockey!

Last night's game against Lindenwood U was intense. The Ice Bears prevailed in overtime, though, and it was pretty! Tonight's game is the last home game until mid-December. Bummer! When they're back on home ice, though, I've been honored with an invitation to do a book signing at the December 12th game against KU. The people involved with the games and the team there at the Ice Park have been so terrific to promote No Penalty for Love during the games these two weekends. I nearly laugh every time they announce it. I'm really a shy person, so this kind of thing, while very welcome - and I am so grateful for their interest and kind attention - is hard for me. I'm just a fan cheering the home team. Go Bears!

Perhaps the upcoming holidays will spark some inspiration for writing. I've been suffering through too many false starts ever since I submitted my last manuscript. I need a new interest. It seems all of my manuscripts, novel and play, grow out of a passion for something. Usually it's something new I've become intersted in. Welcome to Joe's came out of spending so much time at Mudhouse (it's one of my favorite places to be). Related Spaces from a fascination with historic architecture. No Penalty for Love, obviously, hockey. My newest out of my infatuation with Dr. Who and branching off into reading sci-fi (although it is NOT a sci-fi book). I think I need a new fad.

If you're in the Springfield area, be sure to swing by Borders this afternoon and pay me a visit. I promise by then I'll have something pithy to write in your book! In the meantime, keep your stick on the ice!

Launch

Tonight is my launch party. I'm excited and, truth be told, a bit nervous. Almost everyone we invited is coming. Because No Penalty for Love is a hockey-themed romance, the party is at the local ice park during a college hockey game. I believe for most of my guests it will be their first game.

What fun it has been planning all this! I think I started brainstorming ideas for the party the same week I heard from Chelsea that Avalon wanted my book. It's been just over a year in the making, so it ought to be good.

My book signing at Borders is still on for next weekend, though there were some snags in getting copies of the book. Snags I do not understand at all. But, I guess things are bound to happen that way sometimes. I'm thinking of asking Victoria's Secret let me do a signing there near Valentine's Day. (For those of you who've read the book, that will probably make sense to you.)

It's November now which is my second-favorite month. It always puts me in mind of Robert Frost's poem, My November Guest - My sorrow, when she's here with me thinks these dark days of autumn rain are beautiful as days can be. . . However, I think it's supposed to be 72° today and I'm going shopping for a new outfit for upcoming Christmas parties. Funny to think about Christmas on a 72° day.

This past year has been really a great one for me. I didn't know how different life would be when I turned 40 and if I had guessed it I wouldn't have dreamed of all that has happened. Besides the book, I lost 38 pounds. Since turning 41 I've lost 14 more for a grand total of 52 and am at a normal weight and BMI for my height for probably the first time in my entire life - seriously. I wonder what new and wonderful things the next year will bring? I should write a memoir.

I keep hoping to hear soon about my second submission to Avalon. I've got another started, but keep stalling out. This was parent-teacher conference week which required late nights at school. With the holidays coming it gets more and more difficult. But, I'm determined.

Meanwhile, since it's still early November, I have the opportunity to relish the season. Romance is all around this time of year!

How about:
1. Pumpkin Butter on toast for breakfast
2. Watching Planes, Trains and Automobiles
3. Don't forget A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
4. Light your pumpkin spice scented candle every evening once you're home to stay
5. Crunch through the leaves before you mulch them
6. Read Robert Frost (how often has he shown up on my Romantic Things To Do lists so far?)
7. Buy a new pair of soft gloves (no leather, suede or fur, please!)
8. Go to an art gallery or, if your town has one, attend a Friday night art walk
9. Try dinner at a quiet restaurant if you can find one
10. Go see something live on stage - The Importance of Being Earnest is my favorite one to watch for. If you live in a college town someone's bound to be doing it.

And, because November and December bleed together as far as holidays go - grab your tickets now to some wonderful, not-to-be-missed Christmas event. Around here that would be the Missouri State University Elizabethan Dinners!

Blessings!
Shellie