Category: Slice of Life

A Different Kind of Promo Campaign

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Hello to those I know, and to those I don’t, I’m Kris Fletcher, and I write for Harlequin Superromance. This June, to celebrate the release of my  release A Family Come True, I will be hosting a fundraiser – Authors and Readers for Kids (ARK) – to benefit the Alliance for Children Foundation. At this time, I am asking my fellow authors for donations of prizes that will be awarded to folks who make a contribution to the Foundation.
The Alliance for Children Foundation is a Massachusetts-based international relief organization devoted to improving the physical and emotional well being of orphaned and at-risk children worldwide. As an author of family-centered romances, I wish to support the Foundation as they provide shelter, food, medical attention, and loving caregivers to children who may never know what it is to have a family of their own. As the mother of five children, two of them adopted through the Foundation’s sister agency (the Alliance for Children), I have seen firsthand some of the ways the Foundation enriches the lives of little ones.
Here’s how the ARK will work:
  1. Awesome authors donate prizes. Books are the obvious choice, of course, but feel free to branch out! All authors are welcomed with open arms and tons of gratitude, but I would ask that the prizes themselves be kept to about a PG-13 level. Or PG-16, if there were such a thing J  If you write super spicy or erotic, something like an Amazon gift card, candy, or an item that relates to your story’s setting would probably be a safer bet than a copy of your book (awesome though it is). My 14-year-old wants to share this event with her friends, and I really don’t want to end up as the main topic of discussion at the next PTA meeting 🙂
  2. Awesome readers make donations to the Foundation and are then entered into drawings (conducted by me) for the prizes. Prizes will be awarded throughout the month of June. All prize announcements will be done on my website.
  3. I gather any necessary shipping information from the prize winners and pass that on to the donating authors, who ship the prize directly to the winner.
All participating authors will be recognized on my website, both on a permanent page listing contributors and in the post in which her prize is awarded. There is also a high probability of a mention or two on Twitter and/or Facebook, depending on how many end-of-school-year events I have to attend during June.
If you would like to help make the world a brighter place for a child, please email me (kris@krisfletcher.com) with the following information:
  • Your prize
  • If it is a physical prize, please let me know where you are willing to ship (US only, North America only, worldwide, etc) (Remember, if you’re donating a physical book, the Book Depository ships worldwide for free!)
  • Your website address (and if your website is an 18-and-older-only one, please let me know so I can indicate that)
  • The title of your latest release and, if you wish, the cover. I can’t guarantee I will use all titles and covers I receive (see the abovementioned concerns about the PTA)  but I will do my very best.
And of course, if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Thanks so much for your generosity. Whether you are able to offer a prize, make a donation to the Foundation, spread the word about ARK to your readers and groups – or all three – you can be sure that our combined efforts will make a world of difference for children in need.

Garden/Lawn Update

My landscaper said he’d be around last weekend, but it was too cold. At least, that’s our theory.

In the mean time, spring has finally come to this part of the world, and the posies I planted the first autumn we lived here are now making me cheerful.

2015-05-02 08.06.10

Greek windflowers, grape hyacinths, tulips.

(I’ve never had much luck with daffodils, which I adore.)2015-05-02 08.05.57 2015-05-02 08.05.53 2015-05-02 08.06.10 2015-05-02 08.05.00 2015-05-02 08.04.30And these two items were here when we bought the property.

2015-05-02 08.07.15

2015-05-02 08.06.30The peonies are sprouting, but I believe my rose bush is gone.

Maybe the landscaper will show up this weekend. I’d love to get moving on my outdoor office!

 

 

Me Time

Lately I’ve felt overwhelmed. Too much to do and not enough time. Every day I murmur a prayer of thanksgiving because my children are grown and gone. If I were still doing the mom thing . . . I can’t even contemplate it.

It’s not all bad. I’m realizing my lifelong dream/ambition of being a published author. It’s the peripheral obligations that are getting me down.

One of my goals for this calendar year is a monthly date with myself. Too bad I haven’t had time to do that. I barely have time to get in a weekly session of yoga. My second quarter goal is to add another half hour of exercise into my week. But exercise isn’t me time. It’s a peripheral obligation that takes away from the writing time.

I’m in serious need of not only a date with myself, but some substantial me time.

  • I’d like to go to a baseball game.
  • I’d like to do some real cooking on the weekend.
  • I’d love to go to a movie with my husband.
  • I have several ideas for custom music mixes I’d like to work on.
  • Reading without guilt would be so nice!
  • I’d like to sip a glass of wine and relax when I get home from Day Job.

I would also like writing time. Writing is my dream. Something has to give.

Another one of my goals this year is “say no.” Don’t be surprised when you start hearing me say it more often.

How Will My Garden Grow?

The snow is finally melting. I saw tulips peeking up next to the edge of the snow crust. I still can’t see any crocus.

lawn March 01 lawn March 02

Part of that is because the landmarks in my back yard have changed since last spring. The pool is finally gone, the patio extension was in progress when the weather turned to . . . standard stuff for this part of the world, and I have a mud pit waiting for wallowing. . . under the snow.

Now that April is nearly upon us, I’m thinking about that space again.

One thing I know I want is herbs. Basil, parsley, chives, and cilantro at the minimum. TV Stevie would probably like a tomato plant. I think a container garden is the way to go. I don’t want just a low-maintenance space, I want a no-maintenance space. I want to take my laptop outside and write. I want to sip fruity ice tea and bask in the heat and light. (Yes, I ordered my Celestial Seasonings Cool Brew Iced Teas on Monday; they arrived on Wednesday. I am all set there!)

“Only to the timid is April the cruelest month.” ~Amanda Vail, Love Me Little.

I think April is filled with possibilities.

Slice of Life Sunday: The Madness without Me

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It’s NCAA Basketball Tournament time again. In years past, I would take the afternoons off from work; I would have a tuna sandwich bar party; I would watch men’s college basketball until I dropped.

That habit gradually changed. The tournament was no longer exclusively on broadcast TV (and Superman help you if you refuse to pay your local cable monopoly for the higher tier channels, and I’m cable-challenged anyway.) Last year, my team left the beloved conference (ruined by football), so that dampened my spirit. And this year, my “home team” isn’t in any post-season at all.

This year, all the madness of March means to me is . . . baseball is right around the corner!

I watched college basketball—it’s practically a law in Syracuse—but it was tiring. There was no space or time to breathe the way there was in baseball. Baseball was spiritual, like yoga.

I could really use some spirituality right about now.