Vegas is always a good idea

Ahhh... Finally, a little relaxation. It's funny how you have to relax after a vacation... you spend so much time trying to fit in tons of stuff, you forget to relax.

Can't complain. A HUGE shout-out goes to the crew of Borders Rainbow in Las Vegas! It was a great event. Thanks to Shandy the GM, Crystal for setting it up, and Olivia for setting my stuff up.

We sold all the books the store ordered in. How freaking cool is that!

And a ginormous shout-out goes to my sister Mary: she took reserves online and pimped me out to all her friends. So between those orders and in-store purchase, all the books went bye-bye. I am ridiculously pleased about that.

I always love meeting new people, and Las Vegas is no exception. I'm not gonna lie, it wasn't as busy as I'd hoped, but it did the job. Obviously, right? So my little warm bubble continues to carry me along.

Besides, I got to hang out with my family all weekend. Double bonus!

Every time I go there, I always feel reluctant to leave. There are so many fun and exciting things to do, my family's there, and it's beautiful. Well, who knows what's going to happen, right?

Anyway. It's kind of nice to be back home; now to prepare for another week! Thank you, Las Vegas, thank you very much.

~Maggie~

Monday, Monday

Here we go again: a whole other week in the making.

Good? Bad? I don't know. Monday has such bad press, and I wonder why Sunday doesn't. Sunday should have equally bad press as it is the opening act for Monday. In fact, it should have more, as it lulls us into a false sense of security and relaxation only to wax away too soon to reveal the horror! of Monday and all the madness contained therein.

Bad Sunday. You make us believe you are a restful day, when in fact you are diabolically plotting our heinous return to the workforce.

Unless you don't work Mondays, or you have a schedule other than the traditional Monday through Friday.


*grins*

ANYWAY. My son is ridiculously excited about going back to Las Vegas to see his cousins. For the past week, he's been asking to go see them. Gah! Let Friday come already, and then we can be on our way!

I'm anxious and excited about signing in Las Vegas. And I feel, more so than ever, so very grateful for Borders for letting me hop around and do these signings. I know that it wouldn't be quite so easy if I didn't work for them; then again, maybe it would. Point being, I have some great memories already from the people I've met and the stores I've visited. I LOVE meeting the young writers, the older crowd who think they've missed their chance then think they'll give it a shot because I'm doing what I love. It's very heart-warming.

Well, off to rinse off the hair dye and get ready for the day.

Have a fabulous day, all!

Maggie

Changing of the seasons, and other ramblings

I'm ridiculously excited about the coming fall. Not that it's terribly dramatic here, other than the fact that we finally wind up leaving the scorching 100+ temperatures behind. It's more that we wind up with cool mornings in the 50s and 60s, and then the rest of the day is gorgeous.

I suppose that just leads me into the right frame of mind to keep writing. When I don't have to worry about being overheated, or about the electric bill because the a/c is running 24 hours a day, then I can sit down, relax with a good warm drink, and let the ideas flow. Not to mention go hiking in the mountains, where creativity is just waiting to happen!

Where do you guys like to go for inspiration?

I remember when I was younger, and my grandmother would take me and my sister on vacations almost every year. One year we went to Colorado, and I want to say it was at or near the Garden of the Gods. There was a Camel Mountain, and I was an artist back then. I brought my sketchpad and charcoals and colored chalks, and sat and drew. While the others explored, I drew. And then I had a gentleman come over to admire my work and offered to buy it. Excited beyond reason, I offered the bargain price of a mere $25. (I was probably 12 years old, maybe 14, so it was a-freaking-mazing.)

Sadly, the gentleman never reappeared, and I never sold that drawing. However, it now hangs in my hallway as a reminder that great things can happen at unexpected moments, not to mention that inspiration is everywhere.

I promise, there was a point to my nostalgic story.

So my words of wisdom for the day are: look for the inspiration around you. Whether it's glaring at you in a movie that inspires you to take an idea down a road less traveled, or you happen to be out for a walk and find something moving in the air. Take it, and run with it. Keep a notepad with you and jot down your ideas. Or a voice recorder--how outdated, I know! I always keep some sort of notepad with me so I am able to take notes if I need.

A week and a half until Las Vegas! My sister is completely going crazy and promoting me to her friends out there, and so is my brother in law. Love you guys! Can't wait to make a splash!

Maggie

We have a winner...

Well, the contest didn't exactly turn out the way I'd hoped. In fact, I don't think a single person actually completely followed the rules. No comments posted here at all.

In fact, the only method I have to judge a winner is the couple of emails I received.

However, I will totally make good on my word, and will randomly select a winner.

So, the lucky person is...

Nicole Baumgartner!

Nicole, I've got your email, so I'll send you a note and you can give me your shipping address, and the book is yours!

Well, maybe next time things will go a little easier. It was my first. Was it good for you?

Live long and prosper.

Maggie

Inspiration and a Give Away!

It's funny the sort of things that get you going in writing. For instance, I hated Kings of Leon. HATED them. And their stupid songs. I heard the chords on the radio, I flipped the dial.

And then...

One day "Sex on Fire" came on the radio, and it was the inspiration for one of the scenes in my new novel. I tried to write the scene without it, and couldn't do it.

So... now I *gulp* kind of like Kings of Leon. Because one day, one of their songs got me writing again.

Same thing has sort of happened again. I like Katy Perry, I think she's got some good songs. But I haven't been a fan of her new one, "California Gurls."

That's right! Until I was writing a scene and I heard "California Gurls" and it became the perfect song for the scene. *sigh*

This makes me wonder, what else am I going to get into that I didn't think possible? Of course, I appreciate ANYTHING that helps get me through certain sticky points when I'm writing. The truly good news is that I'm 3/4 of the way done with the new one. That makes me happy. I hate the idea that I will pick it to death.

So I have two good things to share with everyone:

1) I'm looking for a beta volunteer to help me go through the new novel and get things sorted. Help me with grammar, plot continuation, characters. My end goal is to make this baby ready to be sent off to agents. So, if anyone is interested, please email me.

2) I am also going to hold my very first ever give away! *holds up applause sign* I'm winding down things for "What Might Have Been," though I will continue to promote the crap out of it for as long as I can. So in honor of this, and of my impending journey to Las Vegas, I am going to be giving away a copy of my book!

How do you win, you may ask? It is ever so simple: Simply share the link with your friends through Facebook, Twitter, or Myspace and leave a link for me HERE, along with a comment and your email address, and you will be entered!

One random winner will be chosen on Friday September 10th. I will notify the winner and get your book to you!

And to repost:
My next book signing for "What Might Have Been" will be
Saturday September 25th, 2:00 p.m. Borders Rainbow in Las Vegas!
2190 N. Rainbow Boulevard
Las Vegas, Nevada 89108
call 702-638-7866 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              702-638-7866      end_of_the_skype_highlighting for details

Good luck to all, I hope you all with enter and have a great time with this. I can't wait to give out a copy!

Maggie