Read Between the Lynes Bookstore is a gem found on the square of Woodstock, Illinois—the famous square where the movie “Groundhog Day” was filmed. As a resident of McHenry County Illinois, I am so grateful to have this beautiful independent bookstore in which to escape as a reader and to feature my novels as an author. 
    On November 24th, Small Business Saturday, I was privileged to conduct my first bookstore book signing at this wonderful store along with McHenry County historian, Sandra Machaj. We called ourselves Mystery and History. It was wonderful to get to know Sandra Machaj with whom I shared a table. People of all ages stopped and talked to us. One customer had found a photo in one of Sandra’s books that looked very much like her husband. She decided to purchase another of Sandra’s books and purchase Perfidy for her daughter.    
    As I watched owner, Arlene Lynes, and her staff work with their customers, I couldn’t help but have warm feeling of home. Each of these individuals knew customers by name and by their preferences in reading material. Many of the customers I spoke with told me they’d rather come to this store and pay full price than order a book online with a discount. They love this special place.    
    Woodstock knows how to throw a “party.” Friday, November 23rd, the square was brought to life with Christmas lights and Santa’s house. Saturday, we even had some 19th century carolers come into the store to serenade us. It was a special, fun day for me and the book sales were good as well. 
    If you have the opportunity to visit Woodstock, please stop at the Read Between the Lynes Bookstore. It’s beautiful, it’s friendly, and if they don’t have the book you are looking for they know where to find it.

Until next time.

Today is the day after Thanksgiving and I've decided to put in writing what I am thankful for.
       1.      This being Black Friday, I am grateful to be sitting here writing rather than 
                being crushed by shoppers anxious to grab a bargain--if there are enough of 
                these so-called bargains to go around!
        2.      I am grateful for two wonderful children who are supportive of me and love me
                 no matter what.
        3.     I am grateful for a husband who believes in me as an author and who stands by
                 me through thick and thin. (I know that phrase is cliché, but it tells it like it is.)
        4.      I am blessed with four wonderful grandsons who are a joy. No matter how old
                 they are, they still say things that make me laugh. And I confess, some of those
                 things I may not have tolerated from my children. It’s just different when you 
                are a grandmother.
        5.    The fact that I am a published author is amazing. I accomplished this in only
                 four years, when it often takes authors much longer. For this, I am grateful.
        6.    I am grateful for all of those independent bookstores who have given an 
                unknown author the chance to be introduced through their stores.
        7.    I am thankful I moved here ten years ago to a place where I could find groups 
                like Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. The members of these 
                groups have been very helpful in educating me in the world of publishing and 
                supporting my efforts.
    Of course, I could go on and on, but these are the things that are most prevalent in my mind at the moment. We should all stop and think about the positive things in our lives more often than once a year. I am not only grateful for those things, but for the hardships as well. Everything that happens in our lives, good or bad, shapes us. It is up to each of us to decide whether we use these occurrences positively or negatively.

Until next time.

    I'm sure many of my literary colleagues would agree with me when I say that there is nothing like opening that box containing the first copies of your very first novel.  My first copies of Perfidy arrived today, and yes, I cried.  

    Seeing a real live book with my name on the cover is a dream come true. I thoroughly loved writing Perfidy. I may never see a monetary return that equals the time and effort I've put into my writing, but this accomplishment is worth more than gold to me. Seeing my words in book form is a true blessing and I hope my readers enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
    The book launch is just two days away and I hope to see many of you there. Keep an eye on my Schedule for future appearances. 
    Until next time.

True Grit Publishing's “mother” company, Weaving Dreams Publishing, sponsored “A Day with the Authors” on Saturday, November 3, 2012, at the Naperville Public Library, 95th Street Branch.

A special thank you to the library for making sure all of our tables and chairs were set up and that the audio/video equipment was up and running. They did a marvelous job and the facility was beautiful.

We started out with a wonderful pitch-in lunch organized by Sue Myers and Annie Hansen. Then we set up our author tables and got ready for the fans.

I was privileged to participate in the Ladies of Mystery Panel along with Helen Macie Osterman (Emma Winberry and the Evil Eye) and Lydia Ponczak (Who's After Samantha?) with moderator Susan Myers (Deception coming in 2013). It’s always great to be with these three wonderful authors. They all made me feel comfortable as I am not used to speaking in front of an audience. I guess I’d better get over that, huh?

Scot Savage and Eric Bieche (Have Vampire Will Travel-Case File: Ruby of the Rails coming in March 2013) gave a very interesting presentation "Using Actual Cities and Local Sites in Fiction". They spoke about their collaboration in creating their novel and the research they conducted around the area, scouting out locations for their book. The most interesting part for me was their research on hobos, who are primary characters in this horror novel. I didn’t realize how many hobo gangs there are. Apparently, this is so they have a means of protecting themselves. Some of these gangs can be as vicious as any inner-city gang.

Annie Hansen gave us a sneak preview of her murder mystery Give Me Chocolate coming in April 2013. She also shared some of her life experiences with the audience and what led her to become an author.

Sue Myers presentation dealt with how authors can “Get Your Life Back”, dealing with the attempt to juggle our everyday lives with our need to write. She gave helpful hints on organizing your life in order to accomplish everything you need.

Other Weaving Dreams, True Grit and Magic Dreams Illinois authors attending included the Publisher, L. Sue Eggerton who wrote Life is Like Making Chocolate Chip Cookies (non-fiction); Caroline Bezik - BooBoo's Wish (children’s picture book); Diana Boone - Growing Up Black in the Jim Crow South (non-fiction); and Anna Grob - A Coyote Who Wished He Lived in a Zoo (children’s picture book).

AND, my wonderful husband, Paul Banasiak and fabulous friend, Barb Dworak, came along and volunteered to take care of the book sale table. This freed up our authors to do their presentations and be available to speak with fans. A huge thank you goes out to them for their help. Barb has also volunteered to help with this task at my book launch for Perfidy on November 17th. She is always anxious to give a helping hand.

All in all, it was a successful day. I met many people who are very interested in purchasing my book. I hope to see them at one of my upcoming book signings (see the My Schedule portion of my website for details).

Next week, Murder & Mayhem in Muskego! 

Until next time.