UPDATE: The winner is…Cindy!
*~*~*

I’m not much of a gardener. Neither is my daughter. I do better with house plants or plants in containers. We did buy some butterfly weed and salvia for the butterflies and bees this year—plus, some other hanging container plants (again, for butterflies and hummingbirds), the names of which I don’t know. They’re pretty. My mother planted all kinds of bulbs, and they surprise us every year with a variety of daffodils, lilies, etc. As well, we have flowering bushes like japonica and forsythia, which have already bloomed and gone.

We love the wildflowers that grow every year in our yard and pasture and along the road in front of our property. We have tons of gorgeous crimson clover, plus some purple and yellow wildflowers (my SIL says they are weeds!) we haven’t identified. We mow around them until they go to seed so we have more next year.

I thought favorite flowers would be a fun theme for today’s word search. I finished the puzzle and realized I didn’t include my favorite—sunflowers!

Anyway, for a chance to win your choice of a download of any of my downloadable books, tell me what garden flowers you love!

Why give something away for free?

A reader recently posed that question.  And it’s absolutely valid.  I’ll try to explain my logic – which should not be extrapolated out to other authors as they have their own marketing strategies.

I’ve written a series.  I didn’t intend to.  I had a few book ideas swimming around in my mind for years.  I’d write a couple of chapters for this book, add a scene to another, come up with some random idea for a third.  Nothing ever gelled.  I moved around in that nebulous space for fifteen years.  Then, ten years ago, I decided the time was right to take writing seriously.  I started writing a book, wrangled a secondary character who wanted their story told first, finished a book…then came up with something completely different and wrote that book.

Then, after I sent that one off to a publisher, I kept writing.  Best piece of advice I ever got as a writer: write the next book.  So I did. Then I picked up some of those half-written manuscripts and dusted them off – and actually finished several!  And then I sat down and put all those ideas floating around in my head on paper.  I had exactly fifty stories I wanted to tell.  50 books to write.  And since they were all set in the same small town, I decided to make them into a series.

The publisher rejected my book, but by then I’d written 21 full or partial other books in the series.  I’d gotten a hang for it and had created a world with people who were absolutely real to me.  And I’d created more secondary characters who also wanted books – my series bible was up to almost 75 stories.

Knowing I’d never find a publisher for 75 stories, I decided to self-publish.  I hired an editor (a critical step) and then I set about learning everything I could about self-publishing.  I attended conferences, workshops, met writers who would become mentors, and generally absorbed stuff for years.  Meanwhile, under a different penname, I wrote gay romances set in that world, using characters I’d created.

Finally, this year, I was ready to launch the first few books.  Now, starting a new penname means no one knows me.  The advice given by most gurus is to create a newsletter.  One way to get people to sign up for your newsletter is to give them a book.  Some authors do short stories, or some kind of special content.  I’d written another book for a publisher they’d rejected.  A perfectly good story that required a good edit.  Once I did that, I had a 65k word book that I’d written for fun.  Now, I paid to edit it and get a professional cover, but I didn’t have a lot invested in the book.  I was happy to put it out as a prequel to the series and ask, gently, for people to sign up for my newsletter in exchange for a copy of the book.  People can always unsubscribe, of course, but I try to give them a reason to stick around.  My hope is they’ll read that book.  And pick up the next book in the series.

Today, though, I’m giving away book 1 of the series on Amazon.  Now, I love this book as much as all the others.  Although it’s book 1, I only wrote it last year.  I’ve had time to settle into my small town and had an idea of a series arc I want to create.  A reason for readers to keep coming back.  I also hoped to pull in some of the readers of my gay romance books, so I had a few cameos with favorite characters.  I’m giving away that book today in the hopes readers will pick it up, read it, love it, and want more.  It’s a risk, for sure.  With thousands and thousands of free books out there, what are the odds I’m going to find the right reader at the right time? That they’ll fall in love with my book and be so intrigued by the secondary character that they can’t wait to read her story? (That character was always quite mysterious and although her book was written first, I realized I needed a bigger lead in.)

I hope that explains how I’m trying to launch my new penname.  Delilah’s been great about letting me share the journey with you and I appreciate you hanging in there as I show you how the sausage gets made (or how you launch a new penname/series in 2023…)

To celebrate, I’m giving away not just the free book, but a $5 Amazon gift card.  Let me know – what is your thought of free books?  Do you think they have less value?  Or do they give you the opportunity to try a new author you might not otherwise?  Drop a comment and a random winner will win the GC.

Love in Cedar Valley Series

What’s better than love in the beautiful Cedar Valley in British Columbia, Canada? Find small town romances with a touch of angst, a bit of heat, and a lot of heart…

Each novel is a standalone, but they are best read in order:

The Luminosity of Loriana Harper (A small town interracial romance)
The Making of Marnie Jones (A small town enemies-to-lovers romance)
The Redemption of Remy St. Claire (A small town single-father fake-marriage romance)

The Luminosity of Loriana Harper
FREE READ!

Loriana Harper is the head librarian of the Mission City Public Library. She considers herself a matchmaker in this little town in British Columbia—especially for her employees. When a gorgeous technician arrives to update their computers, she can’t help musing about who might be his perfect match. Except, the more time she spends with Mitch, the more she wants him for herself.

Mitch Alexander left in disgrace from a good job in California. He’s come to this small town to make a new start where no one knows him. Although he has no plans to get involved with anyone, he’s drawn to the nosy, vivacious librarian who makes him smile. The local matchmaker might go overboard, but she has good intentions. Except he’s not in the market for any match, unless it’s with her.

When Mitch’s past catches up with him, and the police come calling, he has to decide if he’ll stay with Loriana or leave to save her from the taint of being associated with him. Loriana’s not ready to let her new man go without a fight—but maybe this is a match that wasn’t meant to be.

The Luminosity of Loriana Harper is an older-woman age-gap interracial romance with a touch of angst and a large cat named Plato. The book is the first in the Love in Cedar Valley series set in a small town in British Columbia, Canada.

UBL: https://books2read.com/Loriana
Amazon US:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVL3X4JZ
Add it to GoodReads:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/122872288-the-luminosity-of-loriana-harper

About the Author

Gabbi Powell has been a lover of romance since she first put pen to paper in the eighth grade to write her first romance.  She writes her novels while living in Beautiful British Columbia with her trusty ChinPoo dog a as companion.  She also writes gay romances as Gabbi Grey and contemporary dark erotic BDSM novels as Gabbi Black.

Personal links:
Website:   https://gabbipowell.com/
Newsletter sign-up: https://sendfox.com/gabbipowell
Bookbub:  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/3142441314
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/authorgabbipowell/
Facebook (personal): https://www.facebook.com/gabbi.powell.9/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/powell_gabbi
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Gabbi-Powell/e/B08T8NTQNY
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21065056.Gabbi_Powell

UPDATE: The winner is…Sara D!
*~*~*

Solve the puzzle, then tell me a little story for the chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card! What would you wish for?

UPDATE: The winner is…Gail S!
*~*~*

This is the last day of March! Where does the time go? Without any further ado, I’ll dive right into my recap…

March

Work-related:

1. I completed work on my latest Montana Bounty Hunter story, Mica! And I published it!!!
2. I’ve been doing minimal work on the Silver Soldiers anthology, which comes out May 9th! Mostly, working on a promotional calendar with the authors in the anthology.
3. I completed only 3 editing projects for other authors in March. The injury to my hand severely impacted my ability to work at my usual pace, at least for the first half of the month.

Health-related:

1. I continued wearing the brace on my hand until March 17th. The break is healed, but now I have to work on physical therapy to improve my hand’s function. My hand aches after I use it for a while, and my fingers get numb when I hold a paintbrush or pen for very long.
2. I had a visit with a cardiologist this month. He has me wearing a monitor stuck to my chest for a week to see how it functions day to day. It’s beating a little slowly and has a slight arrhythmia. My blood pressure is still way too high, but the cardiologist adjusted my meds, and we’ll see how that goes.
3. I haven’t been dieting like I should, what with my heart and blood pressure issues, and I haven’t been great about cutting my salt intake. My weight loss is stagnant! I think I was a little depressed by my hand injury. I could tell because I wanted to sleep way too much and didn’t want to go out at all. I don’t like to wallow in negativity, but it has been hard to motivate myself to move forward.
4. As for physical activity, I’m not doing enough. Again, I’m feeling tired all the time. Which I know has to do with my weight, meds, and inactivity. All my issues are interrelated. I just need to get my fat ass off this chair and move more often.

Happiness-related: 

1. I’m back participating with my local art guild or humanities council. We had some planning meetings for upcoming exhibits and programs. It felt good to get out and mingle again.
2. I am still participating in the #the100dayproject art online art challenge. As of today, I’m on Day 38. Here are a few of my March pieces…

April

 

1. To complete my short story for the Silver Soldiers anthology.
2. To compile all the Silver Soldiers stories into the anthology and get it formatted for release on May 9th.
3. To begin work on Cold Hard Cash, the first of the We Are Dead Horse series.
4. To complete 4 editing projects in April!

For health related, I plan:

1. To restart counting those points for my Weight Watchers diet (I hate that word) and hopefully shed at least another 5 pounds, remembering, as always: Slow is good!
2. To continue to reduce salt, processed food, and incorporate foods good for blood pressure (spinach, broccoli, bananas, red wine).
3. To get the pool cleaned up—as soon as the weather cooperates—so that the minute the water is warm enough, I’m swimming (hopefully by end of April).
4. To begin walking and counting my steps.
5. I’ll re-dedicate myself to doing more housework, too, because my art room is a disaster. And cleaning is exercise, right?

For happiness-related, I plan: 

1. To continue producing some small piece of art every day as part of #the100dayproject. I’m volunteering several times a month to sit in the Art Center to keep it open. I use those quiet days away from my computer just to paint!
2. Try to complete one of the many already paid-for online art classes I’ve lined up to do.
3. To blog about art (on my Emerald Casket site) just to keep myself honest!
4. To work toward re-opening my Etsy store!

Contest

Comment on anything you’ve read in this post. Tell me what you’re doing to make yourself happier and healthier. Tell me what you plan to read in April…

Like I said, comment on anything for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

The Redemption of Remy St. Claire was the third book I ever typed ‘the end’ on. Really, though, it should’ve been the first.  I had a story in my mind – two single people, responsible for toddlers, finding their way to each other.  I was so new to writing that I didn’t even know what a trope was.  Truthfully, single-parent was big a decade ago and remains so today.  With more than half of all marriages ending, it’s inevitable people wind up parenting solo.

I realized early on that this story would have a bit of angst – another thing I inherently understood but had never put a name to.  Most of my books have some degree of angst.  I’ve also learned a lot about warning people what might be in my books.  I won’t get into the debate about trigger warnings.  As an author, I’ve been called out for not warning people against things I didn’t even realize could be hurtful.  Sometimes those mentions in the synopsis give away the critical plot points – but I don’t want someone to read the book who might be hurt by it.

Now, because of this book – and several others – I’ve learned to be careful what I name secondary characters.  To me, Rusty’s wife was a throw-away character.  A drug addict who’d endangered her baby. Someone who needed to be kept as far away from their daughter as possible.  I even gave her what I considered to be a throw-away name.

I was so so so wrong.  I was barely a chapter into Remy and Rusty’s book when Rusty’s soon-to-be ex-wife stood up and said hey, over here!  Notice me!  You need to tell my story! I’m not a throw-away. I have reasons why I am the way I am and I want you to tell my story. Right now, goddamnit!

I’ll admit I was at a low point in my life and, frankly, had never had a character talk to me like that.  I pivoted.  I tucked away Rusty and Remy and endeavored to write Sissy’s story.  You want angst?  I went there – prostitution, on the page drug use – I sank her as deep as I was.  And then sank her lower.   Even as I wrote her story, though, I knew she’d survive.  That she’d find love. That she’d be redeemed.  I don’t know if that book will ever be published.

Moving on, a story in the headlines caught my attention and I wrote the book that wound up as book 2 in the series.  Finally, I was ready to move on to Remy and Rusty’s story.  Sissy plays an integral part in the story, and I feel like her character is better fleshed out for having written her book.  I rarely do that anymore – write out of sequence.  But I’m glad I did, and I hope readers enjoy Remy and Rusty’s book.

I would love to give away a $5 Amazon Gift Card.  How much angst do you enjoy in your stories?  Is there such a thing as too much?  A random commenter will win the prize.  And thank you, Delilah, for hosting me!

The Redemption of Remy St. Claire

What’s better than love in the beautiful Cedar Valley in British Columbia, Canada? Find small town romances with a touch of angst, a bit of heat, and a lot of heart…

Each novel is a standalone, but they are best read in order:

The Luminosity of Loriana Harper (A small town interracial romance)

The Making of Marnie Jones (A small town enemies-to-lovers romance)

The Redemption of Remy St. Claire (A small town single-father fake-marriage romance)

Love without limits…

Remy St. Claire is engulfed in grief, overwhelmed with caring for her three-year-old sister Calleigh after the death of their parents.  As an assistant crown prosecutor, she works to put monsters in jail. She can go toe-to-toe with the most hardened of criminals, but a distraught toddler might be her downfall.

Rusty Stevens has his hands full raising his three-year-old daughter Miracle on his own.  Applying for the job to be Calleigh’s nanny solves two problems at once—more time with his child while still earning money, and a playmate for Miracle. He worries his new boss works too hard, but he’s proud to be able to provide a stable home for all of them.

Then Rusty’s wife appears, and secrets from both Rusty’s and Remy’s pasts threaten the fragile relationship that has developed between them. When all the secrets are laid bare, will their trust survive, or will the truth drive them apart forever?

The Redemption of Remy St. Claire is a second-chance, single-parent, marriage-of-convenience romance with a touch of angst and two adorable three-year-old girls. There is mention of a previous sexual assault. The book is the third in the Love in Cedar Valley series set in a small town in British Columbia, Canada.

Links:
UBL:  https://books2read.com/RemyStClaire
Amazon US:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVL2HMZH
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-redemption-of-remy-st-claire-a-small-town-single-father-fake-marriage-romance-love-in-cedar-valley-book-3-by-gabbi-powell
Add it to GoodReads:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/122782130-the-redemption-of-remy-st-claire

About the Author

Gabbi Powell has been a lover of romance since she first put pen to paper in the eighth grade to write her first romance.  She writes her novels while living in Beautiful British Columbia with her trusty ChinPoo dog a as companion.  She also writes gay romances as Gabbi Grey and contemporary dark erotic BDSM novels as Gabbi Black.

Personal links:
Website:   https://gabbipowell.com/
Newsletter sign-up: https://sendfox.com/gabbipowell
Bookbub:  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/3142441314
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/authorgabbipowell/
Facebook (personal): https://www.facebook.com/gabbi.powell.9/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/powell_gabbi
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Gabbi-Powell/e/B08T8NTQNY
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21065056.Gabbi_Powell

UPDATE: The winner is…Liz Underdown!
*~*~*

Why don’t you turn your old ermine coat into a bathrobe?
~ Diana Vreeland

I collect quotes. Especially motivational ones. I read them like a mantra in the morning to put a fire under my butt to get some work done. This quote confuses me. I read it, and I think it says one thing. Then another day it says something else to me. For example…

An old ermine coat denotes a luxury you wear once in a great while… A bathrobe is something I can lounge in every day. So, to me, it says, Don’t save your luxuries for a special occasion. Treat every day like it’s special.

Or, thrifty me, hoarding me, hates to throw away anything dated if I can figure out another use for it. For instance, if I have a blouse that has some gorgeous lace along a cuff but I’ve ripped or stained the blouse, I cut off the lace to reuse it somewhere else. An old ermine coat as a bathrobe seems like a good (okay, maybe ridiculous) reuse.

For a chance to win a FREE book, a download of your choice from my backlist, tell me what this quote means to you! Yes, you have to think!

UPDATE: The winner is…Joy Boutwell!
*~*~*

It’s finally Spring here in Central Arkansas. And with Spring, we have new animals here on “the farm.” With the egg prices soaring, we decided to take the plunge. Keep in mind, we already have quite a menagerie of animals: 9 dogs, 4 cats, 1 betta fish (my Loki!), 3 goats, and 1 35-year-old horse. *Eeks. I forgot about our rabbit, Oreo!* Now, we have a ton of chickens.

Our first batch of 14 chickens are teenagers now. This week, we got 7 new baby chicks, and my dd had some fun with photos. They represent a bunch of different breeds because we love the variety of colored eggs they’ll produce. These eggs aren’t real, of course.

They are adorable, right? But my dd and SIL had to do quite a bit of work to get chicken house ready for them. We had an old unused tin shed they cleaned out and built a box for the babies with a light above it to keep them at the proper temperature until they grow their feathers. We have nesting boxes ready. In the meantime, my dd, the 14-year-old, and the 9-year-old are the “bird masters,” and they constantly clean up after them and check them several times a day—and play with them. (Here are Jesus & Alana! Jesus is my granddaughter’s boyfriend’s name.)

They assure me they have distinct personalities. And they have names. (I don’t know all the names.) Below is one of the teenagers from the first batch. This one’s named Barbara.

And another. They’re not pretty at this age, but they will be!

In a week or so, they’ll be adding guinea hens–not for eggs, but because they’re great “guard dogs”—they SCREAM when they’re upset, so hopefully, they’ll alert us if critters get into the pen.

I have one more picture to share—the cutest she took—but you have to solve the puzzle to see it!

So, solve the puzzle and tell me whether you’ve ever raised chickens or any other kind of farm animal. And let me know what you think of her photos for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!