The Jennifer Blake Newsletter - June 2011
Greetings:
What a month. Tornado warnings were issued for our area three different times. We had high winds, lost a tree or two, but dodged the real bullet each time. My husband and I traveled to two high school graduation ceremonies, one in Louisiana and one in Mississippi, with the valedictorians in both cases being our grandchildren. I also flew to New York for BEA, otherwise known as Book Expo America. This is the annual convention for the biggest association of booksellers and librarians in the country. For it, publishers set up booths on the convention floor to display upcoming titles, and authors are brought in to sign ARCs, or advance reading copies, of their books. These ARCs are free to member-attendees willing to stand in line for them. I was there to sign Book 1 of my Three Graces trilogy, BY HIS MAJESTY’S GRACE. Among those in line was a nice gentleman who wanted a book autographed to his wife who is a fan. An email thank you from her, next day, revealed the identity of this hero: Tom Wilson, creator of the Ziggy cartoons. How great is that?
My companion on this New York trip was my daughter, Delinda Corbin. Being a super-organized type, she found special express tickets to the Empire State Building online, a huge timesaver as we were waved past all the long lines and whisked on and off elevators. She also got third row center seats for us for “Mamma Mia!”, so we were practically on stage with the cast of this long-running show. It was a fantastic production, and I enjoyed every minute, still have “Dancing Queen” running through my head. Other than this, we walked all over the city, visited the Metropolitan Museum, took the ferry out to see the lady in the harbor, and had a lovely lunch with my agent at a French restaurant on the corner of Lexington and 75th. It was a special trip—but gave me no urge whatever to live in New York City.
What I’ve been doing since my return is reading and correcting the AAs, or page proofs, for Book 3 of the Three Graces trilogy, SEDUCED BY GRACE. Its release date is listed as October, but copies will show up on shelves at the end of September. Page proofs for Book 1 were corrected at the end of January, a rush job so copies of this August title would be available for BEA, while those for Book 2, BY GRACE POSSESSED, were done last month. With these tasks behind me, I’ll be able to concentrate on promotional activities for the books. That is, after I get back from a week in Ft. Myers, FL, where I’ll be attending the graduation of another granddaughter. Oh, yes, three grandchildren born in the same special year—and it seems only yesterday that they were all crawling babes. Where does the time go?
The summer is heating up here, with a temps hovering at or above 100 degrees this week. That’s hot for June, even in Louisiana! Such sultry weather makes me start thinking of Colorado and our summer place in the mountains—cool breezes, distant blue vistas, white-water rafting, wildflowers and hummingbirds. Plans are in the works for a family gathering there in a few weeks. I think I’ll be ready.
With warmest wishes for special events in your summer and your life,
Jennifer
What a month. Tornado warnings were issued for our area three different times. We had high winds, lost a tree or two, but dodged the real bullet each time. My husband and I traveled to two high school graduation ceremonies, one in Louisiana and one in Mississippi, with the valedictorians in both cases being our grandchildren. I also flew to New York for BEA, otherwise known as Book Expo America. This is the annual convention for the biggest association of booksellers and librarians in the country. For it, publishers set up booths on the convention floor to display upcoming titles, and authors are brought in to sign ARCs, or advance reading copies, of their books. These ARCs are free to member-attendees willing to stand in line for them. I was there to sign Book 1 of my Three Graces trilogy, BY HIS MAJESTY’S GRACE. Among those in line was a nice gentleman who wanted a book autographed to his wife who is a fan. An email thank you from her, next day, revealed the identity of this hero: Tom Wilson, creator of the Ziggy cartoons. How great is that?
My companion on this New York trip was my daughter, Delinda Corbin. Being a super-organized type, she found special express tickets to the Empire State Building online, a huge timesaver as we were waved past all the long lines and whisked on and off elevators. She also got third row center seats for us for “Mamma Mia!”, so we were practically on stage with the cast of this long-running show. It was a fantastic production, and I enjoyed every minute, still have “Dancing Queen” running through my head. Other than this, we walked all over the city, visited the Metropolitan Museum, took the ferry out to see the lady in the harbor, and had a lovely lunch with my agent at a French restaurant on the corner of Lexington and 75th. It was a special trip—but gave me no urge whatever to live in New York City.
What I’ve been doing since my return is reading and correcting the AAs, or page proofs, for Book 3 of the Three Graces trilogy, SEDUCED BY GRACE. Its release date is listed as October, but copies will show up on shelves at the end of September. Page proofs for Book 1 were corrected at the end of January, a rush job so copies of this August title would be available for BEA, while those for Book 2, BY GRACE POSSESSED, were done last month. With these tasks behind me, I’ll be able to concentrate on promotional activities for the books. That is, after I get back from a week in Ft. Myers, FL, where I’ll be attending the graduation of another granddaughter. Oh, yes, three grandchildren born in the same special year—and it seems only yesterday that they were all crawling babes. Where does the time go?
The summer is heating up here, with a temps hovering at or above 100 degrees this week. That’s hot for June, even in Louisiana! Such sultry weather makes me start thinking of Colorado and our summer place in the mountains—cool breezes, distant blue vistas, white-water rafting, wildflowers and hummingbirds. Plans are in the works for a family gathering there in a few weeks. I think I’ll be ready.
With warmest wishes for special events in your summer and your life,
Jennifer
posted by Jennifer Blake at 5:39 AM
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