It’s All In The View…

For the last few weeks, I’ve been busy with the family. And when they’re not demanding my attention, I’ve been holed up in my office writing. So the only thing interesting in my life to report is that this …

… has finally turned into this …

… but what I’m really looking forward to is this …

May your spring arrive quicker than mine.

Party on Facebook

Just finished up with my first Facebook Release Party celebrating my new series, Ladd Springs.  It was a lot of fun, but it was my first and what I consider, a “work in progress.”

What I did:

Hosted 5 days of online festivities, beginning on release day (Wed-Sun).  Not sure if days of the week matter, but I wanted to make sure busy working women could stop by and post.

My series is set in Tennessee, so I posted Tennessee trivia questions each and every day for visitors to guess.  It was sort of my way to get into the “region” of the story.

I posted personal pictures from Tennessee, specifically the property that inspired the series.  This was to give readers a visual for some of my scenes in the books, then encouraged them to post their own pics of TN.

“Name that horse” was a post on day two, giving readers a chance to name a foal in an upcoming book.  Visitors posted their favorite horse names which I collected and plan to post on my website and offer up for a vote via Poll Daddy.  Name with the most votes wins and credit will be noted in the acknowledgements.

“Name that southern comfort food” was another day, giving readers a chance to name–you guessed it–a character’s favorite comfort food in an upcoming book.  But I’ll also use this food item on my recipe cards (SWAG) that I create for each and every release.

During the entire event, my street team (Bloomin’ Warriors) were given the chance to win the entire Ladd Springs series if they posted a picture of themselves wearing their bloomin’ warrior T-shirt (included in their sign up package) on my Facebook event page during the party.  I had 10 show up in their garb!

Of course there were prizes throughout.  Each and every comment entered visitors into a drawing for adorable gift boxes filled with flower seeds and garden to-do note pads.  I cross-market between my garden blog and romance writing so garden gifts abound!

What I learned:

Facebook parties are fun!  Really fun when everyone is on and commenting in real-time, though I had to continually refresh my page to keep current.  Unlike Twitter, Facebook doesn’t do that for me.   And I learned how to make a bunch of new FB symbol/icons to add in my comments! Link is here.

Readers loved the trivia questions and enjoyed the camaraderie with other readers.  They also seemed to enjoy the giveaway prizes!

I also learned that a lot of people don’t understand what a “facebook party” is quite yet.  Several people thought it was going to be held at a physical location, others weren’t sure how to interact.  Perhaps I’m more technologically advanced than my kids think!  Anyway, a better, more thorough explanation up front may have helped with that angle.

So that’s my story.  I’d love to hear about your experiences, both writers and readers alike!  What makes a great online party?  Facebook?  Twitter? Something new and improved?

For the Love of Gardening

Gardening is about more than plants and produce, seeds and weeds.  It’s about color and texture, emotional satisfaction and visual pleasure.  Visiting my garden this morning, I noticed more than what’s in bloom, what’s ripe, what needs harvested, what needs weeded.  I “felt” my plants and greens.

Cloudy overhead, the space felt calm, peaceful as I admired Mother Nature in all her glory. She felt rich and sensual…grounding.  It felt good.  I felt good.

Gazing at my lush growth, I notice that my eggplant and cinnamon basil share common coloring.  My pumpkin is plump and round as it ripens to a gorgeous orange and it made me smile.

It reminded me of kids and fun and fall–my favorite season of all. 

With a nip in the air, a stillness in my heart, I enjoyed the moment.  I went on to check my tomatoes.  Beauties in the making, working their way to luscious red.

And speaking of red, my red cabbage are safe and secure beneath their netting (we have cricket issues), appearing more like flowers than food.  How can a gal not love flowers in her garden?

Impossible, in my book.  And as I gaze out over my garden in its entirety, I crave to linger, immerse myself in the leisure of life. 

But I can’t.  Work calls, kids holler, the husband phoned…  I’m needed elsewhere at the moment (another lovely feeling!), so I’ll tuck this memory away and return later.

Am I the only one that looks at vegetables differently?  Do you have a garden to live by?

 

Calling All Gardeners!

It’s fall garden season here in Florida and not a moment too soon, if you ask me.  The temperatures are cooling (sort of) and the humidity is easing.  Why this morning it was downright pleasant as I strolled the rows of my budding beds.  Ahhh….

Though it only takes a minute to kick me right out of relaxation mode — and I’m not talking about weeding or watering, but the bugs.  Those varmints are devouring my tiny blossoms!  They lurk beneath the leaves when I pass only to gobble them up when I’m gone.  I’m sure the swamp behind my house has nothing to do with their presence.  Haven to a mass of blind mosquitoes (speaking of cooler temps, can’t wait for the first freeze), it also provides shelter for the crickets and moths.

UGH.  A little insecticidal soap and those beasts should be dissuaded from ravaging my plants.  But all in all, my babies are doing well.  In the photo below, you may see kidney bean plants, but I see comfort food chili in my future.

As you can see, squash and zucchini look good.

In addition to these, I have peppers, tomatoes, pumpkins, cucumbers, okra, carrots, lettuce, brussels, broccoli and cabbage in ground.  So that’s what I do in the fall when I’m not writing or chasing kids.  How about you?

The Middle of Summer

While Christy faces The End of Summer, up on the Canadian prairies, we’re smack in the middle of our summer season. And it’s been a hot, humid summer with temperatures close to 90 degrees F (30 C).

I know. Some of you are laughing at me right now. But to this Canadian, the 90 degree temperature is as bad as minus 40 in the middle of a winter blizzard.

This year on Seabrook’s pond, there’s no time to dilly-dally and hide from the heat. We decided to spruce up our duck pond by adding a fountain.

Except we discovered the trees we’d planted 19 years ago blocked our view, so we needed to move them. The man with his head in the tree mover is my husband. His self-assigned job was to ensure no branches were lost in the process.

Then we figured we needed a viewing area, somewhere closer to the pond than our back deck, a place we could sit and watch the ducks and their ducklings without frightening them into their hiding spot in the trees. We filled in the tree holes, built a wooden border, and started digging.

The plan had grown from installing the fountain and moving two trees to visions of flowerbeds, benches, and a tiny gardening shed surrounded by cedars and shrubs.

Sometimes in the middle of summer, when the temperature and humidity are soaring, and I’m standing on the top of a ladder sweating my butt off, I really miss winter.

So what do you dislike most about your favorite season that makes you long for the days of your least-liked season?