Thanks all!

Wow! What a great day yesterday at Appleumpkin in Wyoming, NY!

First of all, a perfect Autumn day in Western New York. Sunshine, and 68 degrees.

Add to that some gently falling yellow leaves, a constant flow of foot-tapping country music my perfect perch on the porch of the Middlebury Academy, and it couldn’t get much better. But it did!

I met some wonderful people, who love ghost stories, history, books, quaint villages or a combination of any or all of the above! Not only did a bunch of people leave with copies of Relic, but I left with a great number of topics to research. Some will be future fodder for plot lines, while others will just be some great items to read about.

Some authors say that events like this make them feel less like authors – it’s not time spent writing. But I say otherwise. These folks, who share the excitement of my story – they’re the reason I write.

Thanks all who came out to meet and talk!

Book Signing Set!

I am mega-excited!

On Sept. 24 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., I will be signing copies of Relic at the Middlebury Academy in Wyoming, NY, as part of the annual Appleumpkin Festival!

This is truly a special occasion for me because the village of Wyoming was the inspiration for Willowbend, the setting of Relic. Many of the line drawings that begin the chapters started out as photos from the village.

And I'll be sitting on the porch of the building you see here, the Middlebury Academy -- the academy on the hill -- which served as the inspiration for the school that Abigail attends.

So, Relic really will be coming home to the setting of inspiration. If you've read Relic, come down and see the beautiful village first-hand. While you enjoy Appleumpkin, make your own scavenger hunt. See if you can spot the places that head many of the chapters!

And, please, find your way to see me on the porch of the Middlebury Academy! I'll gladly sign your copy of Relic. If you haven't read it yet, come down, buy a copy and get it signed!

I can hardly wait!

Good fun!

Summer Inspiration

One of our last summer trips was to Sonnenberg Gardens in Canandaigua, NY, which is serving as the inspiration for my second novel.

Like Relic, the plot in Eye of the Peacock will be totally fictionalized and will not resemble the real story of Sonnenberg at all. At 26,000 words in, I needed a little renewed inspiration. I needed to walk the paths my characters are walking, look out the windows they are gazing out, and hear the sounds they would be hearing. It did more than serve the purpose. We also took a formal tour of the property – something we have never done. I got some good basic information and also a neat nugget that might serve as the novel’s big twist.

Not only that, but I was after some photos that might serve as the basis for the cover of the novel.

Quite a productive and enjoyable day!