Today was Library Day! I LOVE Library Day! Even when I’m not getting anything for myself, I love going in and picking out some new books to read to my sons. I love carrying around that glossy stack of books…so much potential for memorable characters, fascinating storylines, and outstanding voices. So much to study as a writer.

Well today was more fun–I got some books for myself. Basically I’ve devised a strategy. I buy the new releases from my RWA chapter members, and I buy my favorite authors, and I buy books I’ve heard/read really great things about…as long as they’re in paperback. I don’t buy hardback books. I tend to do most of my reading lying down and a hardback is just too hard to hold up with one hand and the spine pokes rather uncomfortably into my stomach). What I do is get them from the library. I put a hold on them, sometimes while they’re still on order. Then if I really enjoy them and think I’ll re-read, I buy them in paperback when they’re released that way.

Today I checked out Secret Society Girl by Diana Peterfreund (sorry, Diana…hardback), Do They Wear High Heels in Heaven? by Erica Orloff (an author I’ve never read, but heard good things about), and Fingerprints The Origin of Crime Detection and the Murder Case That Launched Forensic Science by Colin Beavan. I’m just interested…

So now the books I’ve actually purchased will have to wait while I hurry through those that are due in two weeks. I also have Donald Maass’s Writing the Breakout Novel on hold. It’s in transit from another library, and I think I’m lucky not to have it. This way I can read the pleasure books first with no guilt.

Sometimes it’s great to live in a big city–the libraries are priceless gems.

I switched my blogger photo from my book cover to a recent picture of me. And despite the fact that the original picture is huge–we’re talking megabytes, the little cropped headshot of me looks so weird and grainy. I’ve asked my husband if it can be fixed…he says yes…and then followed this question with the obvious, “Will you fix it?” In all likelihood, I’ll be grainy for quite a while…

Today I took the kids to Kemah for one last summer hurrah. Mondays in July offer half-price kids’ all-day ride wristbands. So my mother-in-law and I got wristbands too. Let me just say that carnival rides wreak havoc on already existing headaches. So do loudspeakers, screaming preteens, herds of children with seemingly no manners and no notion of where there appendages are ending up. But…we had a good time. It was good practice for DisneyWorld…if we’re ever brave enough to make the trip…

I found this Wild Mind blog several weeks ago, and (because she’s a little spotty about her posts) finally checked back today. In her latest post, she writes about not really knowing anything about press releases and subsequently reading up. While I was attempting to write a press release for my first book, I was searching for any little bit of information that would spark the media’s attention. I wrote several varieties, all touting different aspects of my life or the book. Evidently I wasn’t very successful–to my knowledge my book was mentioned only in one paper of rather limited distribution.

My next book is contemporary and set in Texas, so maybe the local angle will help a little (since I was born here and live here still). But just in case it doesn’t, I have another plan… In her latest blog, Wild Mind talks about a free 89 tip tutorial for writing press releases, given by Joan Stewart of Publicity Hound. After reading the promo, I signed up….I should be receiving my first tip shortly. I also plan to surf back over and read some of her other articles. I can use all the help I can get…