This afternoon I pulled down the cat tree that stood in the front window for the last few years. It’s been dying a slow and miserable death since the day I tripped and crashed into it, breaking the corner of a support. Stupid pressboard wood. I propped the thing up, not wanting to give in quite yet to its inevitable demise, but in the last few weeks, well, not a single one of the cats – not even Earl – wanted to chase to the top of it. Wibbly-wobbly.
I ordered a new cat tree for them and it arrives tomorrow. They have no idea what joy is about to come their way. As I unscrewed the pieces this afternoon and loaded them into a box to be burned at a later date, three cats stayed pretty close, trying to figure out what was happening. They weren’t upset – just curious. I was surprised at how intensely they sniffed the pieces. Uhh, guys, that’s YOUR scent all over this thing.
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One week post book release.
It’s been a good week.
Thank you for your amazing words of encouragement.
Book 21 – A Heart’s Assurance was a story I’ve been working through in my mind for quite some time and was glad to finally get it written. I can promise you right now that Book 22 will be much more light-hearted. Oh, there will still be tears, because I’m mean to you, but I can’t do deep subjects every book – my heart would explode.
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I’ve had several requests for book lists. This week an email request came in and I nearly died laughing. Not at the request, but at her offhand comment about searching (and finding) poorly organized Bellingwood book lists online. Say what? I don’t often Google myself or Bellingwood – I just never think about it. But I did and by golly, there were several sites out there with listings of my books – other than nammynools.com (my website), Amazon, or Bookbub. Those are sites I manage – anything else cropped up on its own. When she told me that some of those sites were just plain wrong in their listings, I had to laugh. I’m fully annoyed by some of the ‘bigger-name’ authors’ book lists that show up on random sites (not their own web pages). Now I have annoying lists out there? Seriously. That’s just enough to crack a girl up.
Be that as it may. If you are curious about the Bellingwood series in order, the definitive list is on my website. You can get there by clicking the “Shop Now” button on the Facebook page or on my website. The tabs at the top of the front web page on nammynools.com are filled with interesting information. The book list is right there. (Click here for it.)
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The cats and I (mostly me) are ready for spring to settle in. Trees blossom, grass grows, the ditches throw off their dirty winter coats and become green again, and planting starts in the fields. When I walk outside, I am overwhelmed by the freshness of it all.
First, though, a few more days of winter. Then some spring and then maybe a little more winter and finally, we’ll hit spring full-on. I can tell it’s coming. Cleaning doesn’t seem like the worst thing in the world any longer (apparently I’m not a winter cleaner. Okay, truth be told, I’d much rather be writing, crafting, sleeping – anything other than cleaning). This last week I’ve reorganized my sewing / crafting space and I’m ready for action.
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I write late every night and even though I published last weekend, this week has been no exception. There are times that I sit at my desk with my arms wrapped around one or the other of the cats and my fingers on the keyboard and am flabbergasted that this is my life … that I am given an opportunity to be the creative that I’ve always wanted to be. How is that even real?
I’ll tell you how it’s real – it’s because of you. I am so grateful.
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Happy Easter.
On this day, joy exploded across the world.
Jesus Christ rose from the dead, conquering sin and death.
For us.
…And this is love.
