On Sale!

The wonderful advertising department at Melange Books has put Becoming a Randal on sale for $2.99 until it’s release date of February 15!

The folks at Melange and their YA division, Fire and Ice, have been wonderful to work with through the entire process of publishing this book. 

When fourteen-year-old Samantha West and her younger brother, Tommy, are placed in a foster home, Sam feels as if she’s been thrown into a Hallmark movie, full of perfect looking people—actors. The only person not acting, is Spencer Randal, her sixteen-year-old foster brother who hates her. By way of a broken leg, getting hauled home by the cops, and a haunted house, Sam and Spencer each learn what it truly means to be a Randal—Do your best, don’t give up, set goals and work towards them, be a good person, and make things right whenever you can. However, just when Sam’s life has become as perfect as a Hallmark movie, she and Tommy are returned to their mother, where nothing has changed. As the cycle of living on the streets returns, Sam decides it’s time to make things right.

 

The creation of this book came about when I’d received author copies of one of my Harlequin books, and because they are targeted for audience over 18, my granddaughters asked when I was going to write a book that they could read. I told them that they would have to help me, and they instantly agreed. We plotted out a story, and spent a lot of time discussing characters and what sort of conflicts they would need to overcome to create a happy ending. That was important to both of them. They are both avid readers and we talked about books they liked and disliked all because of the endings. Once we had an outline, we began writing on a shared Google Doc, and when in person, we made additional notes. 

These are a couple of pictures of Hayley’s notes as we wrote.

Once the story was completed, I sent it off to a beta reader, but then, must admit, that I’d set it aside for a few months because I had other deadlines. With urging from the girls, I then looked into YA publishers, and after a discussion with Nancy at Melange, sent it off to them. We were all excited when Fire and Ice asked to contract it, and the girls were very excited when I told them that all three of our names would be listed as the authors!

Both girls helped through the editing process, and their mother, my daughter-in-law, read the story at that time. She sent a text stating that she was crying during the last couple of chapters, and my two-year-old granddaughter patted her hand, saying, “It’s okay, Mommy, here, I give you kisses.”

This has truly been an amazing journey to share with Isabelle and Hayley and we all hope that readers of all ages enjoy the story.

Buy links for the book:

Books to read: https://books2read.com/u/4NylaY

Amazon ebook-https://amzn.to/3ANQuHl

Amazon print-https://amzn.to/3KVSulx

Nook Press-https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/becoming-a-randal-lauri-robinson/1140947512?ean=2940160970073

Kobo-https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/becoming-a-randal

Apple itunes-https://books.apple.com/us/book/becoming-a-randal/id1607704452?ls=1

  

Life is a journey. Enjoy each moment.

Gotta Love a Sale!

In celebration of ten years of publishing books in the digital format, Harlequin is having their biggest sale ever! 10,000 books are on sale for only $1.99! I’m excited that nineteen of my books (long and short stories) are included in this sale! You can find them here on Amazon. They are also on sale at Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Itunes, Google, and the Harlequin website!

The sale will run from November 11^th to the 17^th so shop now!  

Typing hasn’t been easy lately. I managed to tear a tendon in my right hand. It’s getting better every day, and I hope to be done with the brace very soon. Despite all that, I did meet my deadline for the Colorado lumber baron story. The manuscript is now with my editor, and I’m onto my next story.

Make your day a great one!!

The Adventures of Potty-training

First I need to mention, A Wife for Big John is on sale at The Wild Rose Press! Set in the woods of northern Minnesota in the lumber boom days, this was a fun book to write, and I’ve heard from many that it’s a fun one to read. 

I’m recuperating today…no I haven’t been ill. I had two granddaughters spend the night on Friday. Let’s just say sleeping is next to impossible with that many in one bed. 

The younger of the two is working on potty-training.  I posted on facebook a while ago how I took her shopping for ‘big girl panties’ and she wanted the Spider Man ones. After explaining those were for boys, she said take the Superman ones. In the end she settled for Dora panties, and I had a hard time not buying her the ‘boys’ ones—I wasn’t sure how her mommy and daddy would react to that. As a grandma you do have to be cognizant of those things.  Well, eventually her parents bought her Captain America underwear, which she loves—mainly for the ‘pocket’ on the front. She’s been known to store a crayon or two in that nice little pouch. All in all, she’s doing a wonderful job, and loves exploring new bathrooms. We visited the one at K-Mart twice yesterday. Of course we were on the opposite side of the store each time the ‘urge’ overcame her. Let’s just say, if there was a NASCAR for shopping carts, I’d have taken home the trophy. 

We’ve had some rainy days lately, and true to course, it made my flowers pop! The Lilies of the Valleys are blooming and they smell so good! They are planted below our bedroom window which increases the pleasure of sleeping with the windows open. 

I got back the edits on my story set at Fort Sill in the Oklahoma Territory, and I’m anxious to get started working on them. My editor is so wonderful about finding the little things I sometimes overlook while getting the first draft down on paper, and she picked out some amazing things to amp-up in this story. 

That’s all for now. Take time to smell the flowers this week! You’ll be glad you did.

Release Day!

For a Sister’s Love is now available, and it’s only .99 cents! This book about sisters, Loralei and Maggie Holmes, is two stories in one. I wrote the younger sister’s story, Loralei, and Paty Jager wrote Maggie’s story, the older sister. It was a fun experience to collaborate with Paty on creating the back stories, settings, characters and research.

Blurb:

Lorelei and Maggie Holmes make a desperate vow to reunite after an Indian raid on their wagon train leaves them orphans. Eight-year-old Lorelei is taken in by an impoverished family headed to a Colorado mining town and ten-year-old Maggie finds herself on the way to Portland, Oregon to live with a woman widowed during the Indian attack.

Ten years later, Lorelei’s adoptive father gambles away her birth mother’s locket and her only connection to her lost sister. Believing she needs the locket and to find Maggie, she sets out after the gambler and ends up in the company of a citified lawyer searching for the same man.

While cleaning a hotel room, Maggie discovers her mother’s locket in the possession of a gambler. Fear for her sister increases Maggie's determination. Never one to give up, she dogs the gambler until he agrees to help her find her sister.

Two sisters, two adventures, will they find one another or will the men helping them be their destinies?

An April to Remember is still on sale for .99 cents, too. I’m not sure how long it will stay at that price, but it’s been fun to offer a story at a discounted price.

Life on the home front has been busy as the summer winds down. Family will be arriving from Iowa next week and we’ll head up north to enjoy the woods and some fishing.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone, and stay safe!