Up and Down Week

This has been an up and down week.
First the ups…
I received the cover for my latest book, Kendra’s Choice. It’s a short story, so will only be released in e-book, and I love the cover the artist created.
Today I spoke to at a workshop for Foster Grandparents. Years ago while I was teaching, I had a couple of foster grandparents in my classrooms, and the children loved them. As did the teachers! They are so much help and really provide students that ‘one on one’ time they need. There must have forty or more at the meeting, and I sold several books. Overall it was a great meeting and the grandparents were a fun crowd.

Now for the down…
My dog, Chance, passed away yesterday. He was thirteen, and had gone down hill very quickly the past two weeks. He died peacefully, just went to sleep. I’m very thankful for that, but will miss him an awful lot.

Fun Events and Company

We woke up to a dusting of snow yesterday, but by afternoon a full-fledged spring rain fell and melted several mounds of the snow filling our yard. It didn’t completely dissolve all of the winter white, but it did assure us spring is on its way! The rain seemed to brighten everyone’s spirits. I’ve had company from Nebraska this week, and ‘us women’ visited several antique stores yesterday. The stores weren’t bustling, but everyone was so cheerful. Even though we had to run across the parking lots to keep from getting drench, we had a wonderful time, and found some unique treasures.

I’ve been invited to participate in a Mustang Run on May 16th, and have decided to display my car as the “Romance Car”. Yesterday, I found a wonderful little bookshelf for the trunk to display my books, a fun picture frame to display information about the car, and the material to make pillows for the backseat. I will use several pieces of my Elvis memorabilia in the display as well. (Picture a life-size cardboard cutout of Elvis standing beside my car.) My two teenage grandsons are going to the event with me, and I’m really looking forward to it (we all have matching Mustang t-shirts). I’m also getting very anxious to get the car out of storage. Last week I swore I could hear her nickering for me to let her out. But my husband said not yet because she’d sink up to her hubcaps in the spring mud. My grandson and I have been planning the display, and are still looking for ideas, so if any of you have thoughts for the car display, send them my way.

Our company left today, and tonight we are attending the Wild Turkey Federation Banquet, which is always fun. This week I’m attending a self defense class, mainly for research, and a Taste of Spring event put on by local caterers, it's great time and the food is outstanding!

On the writing side…I’ve signed a contract for Kendra's Choice, a short western historical, and am looking forward to receiving print copies of An April to Remember. I’ve sold several advance copies, and people are waiting for them to arrive.

Countdown to Release Date

An April to Remember will be released on April 3rd!

The tale of the Sultana Riverboat struck me deeply when I first heard about it. I was amazed a story so tragic was buried in history almost from the moment it happened. During months of research, I was surprised by the supply of information I found as well as the amount of controversy that still hovers over the incident.

The hero, Jerek, and the heroine, April, are complete figures of my imaginations, two characters I created to survive the accident, but I worked hard to keep much of what happens to them as close to actual events as possible. Throwing April into the raging, swollen, Mississippi River in the middle of the night was hard since I’m deathly afraid of water. The night I was writing that scene for the first time, it was quite late and my husband asked if I was coming to bed. I told him I couldn’t—not until I got April out of the water. It was about four in the morning before I went to bed. LOL.

Here's the book trailer.

This and That

The newest addition to our family is home and everyone is doing well. We feel very blessed everything went smoothly. I thought of my daughter-in-law often while writing Badland Bride. The heroine of the story travels back in time and is pregnant. It is her fear of delivering without modern medicine that keeps her focused on getting back to the future.

Speaking of Badland Bride, the final galley has been sent to production and the release date set for November 2009! A wonderful author, Mallary Mitchell, read the story and offered this pre-review: “Badland Bride is an amazingly well-woven story. Lauri Robinson has created not only a wonderful couple, but also a believable family. Skeeter is a charismatic, charming hero, and Lila is a great match for him. These characters are colorful, vibrant, and full of life. They surround you with their wit and realism.”

Other notes: Joyfully Reviewed just posted this review for A Wife for Big John, and don’t forget the Sony E-Reader contest at the Wild Rose Press ends March 17th.