Done with it

By which I mean Twitter – but maybe more.

I’ve been sitting on the sidelines of the writing business for a while. If I’m perfectly honest, the flop of my last book has weighed heavily on me. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Sidetracked, and based on the handful of reviews for it, readers have loved it too. But I never cracked the visibility code.

Sidetracked is not as trope heavy as most of the successful holiday romances. Romance is a trope focused business. Even though the “Grump and Sunshine” trope is popular at the moment, my “Grinch and Holiday Train fanatic” don’t fit the mold. I’m trying to figure out where my writing fits. The scraps of story I play with these days fall under mystery, fantasy, women’s fiction and more. The only thing I know for certain is I am not writing Amish fiction.

This brings me to Twitter. I joined Twitter years ago because I loved the writing community I found there. Romancelandia on Twitter was brilliant and fun and insightful in 140 characters. Producing a good tweet provided a certain intellectual challenge. You could engage with anyone, but really, the romance authors were the best. But those days are all in the past.

I became disenchanted with Twitter when it switched to longer posts and paid algorithms, but there was still enough fun to be had, insights to be gained, and connections to me made. Then came the hate and haste. It was one thing for people to post content that showed what an idiot they were. Continue to follow the wrong person for an hour after their scandal broke, and you could find yourself blacklisted or blocked without knowing why. Context became irrelevant. Instead Twitter functioned as a social hierarchy so complex, ever shifting, and mysterious that if you missed an hour, much less a day – you could look like an ignorant buffoon, and there was no shortage of people ready to call you out, both publicly and in your DMs. It got to the point where I pretty much quit writing tweets. I just went for the memes.

The assumption on Twitter was you did everything with intent, but intentionality on Twitter went away when the tweet size doubled and bots took over with the sole purpose of getting attention. Accounts you had no connection with would tag your name with their questionable product so it looked like you had endorsed something. I stayed on because Twitter is where the writers are, but I engaged less and less. It didn’t matter. I saw less of what I wanted to see (cute animals, bad weather, clever authors) and saw more politicians screaming, more public shaming (which does serve a purpose, but only when it allows for a growth mentality), and more dick-pics sliding into my DMs. It’s only gotten worse in the last month.

Twitter isn’t fun anymore. Finding photos of Buffalo under six feet of snow should not have so hard. Instead I had to wade past the bot driven irrelevant posts, or worse – ones spouting harmful messages – before getting into the good stuff, like opening garage doors and puppies frolicking in the snow. I have no time or life energy to waste on wading through the anger and hate. I’m deactivating my account -as soon as I archive it. Until I find something better, I’ll be on Facebook.

PS – If you are looking for something fun, Sidetracked is going on sale Nov 25-29th. Pick up the ebook for $1.99.

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A few favorite gifts

Time is growing short to find the right gift for yourself or someone you love. I wish I could say I made money off affiliate links, but I don’t. I’m simply a struggling author sharing some things I love that you might enjoy.

This is my Sphynx Juno. She’s 12. Rather than drinking from the Catit flower fountain like a normal cat, she prefers this pose. She has tried this on other fountains and bowls, tipping them over. This one is Juno-proof!

All our cats love this fountain. We no longer worry one kitty will develop kidney problems from a lack of water.

It’s cheap, cute and easy to clean. I got it from Chewy.

A 2020 Christmas Ornament. Normally we add an ornament to the Christmas tree that commemorates some place we went during the year. But this is 2020. Out of virus concerns, we followed public health recommendations and stayed home. My family hasn’t had the big reveal so no pic yet, but Etsy.com has a delightful variety and you can support small businesses hurt by the shuttering of craft fairs and other in person outlets. If you want to shop local, Etsy gives you that choice as well. Claire of Sidetracked supports Etsy.

Books – ebooks and physical books!

Seriously – feed an author, buy a book, and give the gift of entertainment.

Gift Cards from local restaurants. Support those places you love, but also treat people who don’t live with you to a great meal from some place local to them.

Some local bakeries and ice cream places will ship across country which can be a wonderful taste of home for someone who can’t travel or has special dietary needs.

Personally, I’m excited about the AandJbakery.net gingerbread house kit that arrived at my house this week. As a food allergy family, finding a gingerbread house we could safely build was a challenge until we learned about A&J. The pic is last year’s model. The gingerbread is the best I’ve ever had.

Wishing you peace, Lola

Press Release: Sidetracked: A Small Town Contemporary Rom-Com

MINNESOTA AUTHOR PUBLISHES SIDETRACKED: A SMALL TOWN CONTEMPORARY ROM-COM

October 13, 2020

Lola Karns is pleased to announced her latest Christmas romance. Sidetracked will release on October 13, 2020 and will be available at major ebook retailers including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, and others. A print version is anticipated shortly. Her previous Christmas romance, Winter Fairy, was a best seller and featured in USA Today.

Lola’s penchant for making things up began in childhood. As she went through school a number of teachers encouraged her to pursue writing. Although many of her jobs involved writing everything from marketing copy, encyclopedia entries, and technical manuals, she didn’t pursue fiction until after her children were born. Many of her stories feature children or adults acting like mischievous children.

A lifelong interest in miniatures and model train displays informed Sidetracked. Because Lola never could reassemble her doll house properly after a move, the idea of relocating an elaborate train display fueled a series of “what if” and “why” questions in her mind. Through the years, she hid in the crowd shouting lot of questions at the engineers and stewards of models both across the country. They gave facts and she made up the rest.

Sidetracked retails for 3.99 and will be available first in ebook with print to follow. For more about Sidetracked follow this link. Ready to get Sidetracked?

Available for ebook pre-order at selection locations. Wide release on October 13, 2020.

Ready to get Sidetracked?

Big-city businessman James Fordham has a giant problem – small town artist Claire Evans and her tiny trains.

The rumors are true – I have a new holiday themed rom-com book coming this October.  This story makes me smile and I hope it will bring a dose of joy to you as well.

When out of town corporate raider, James Fordham, cancels an Ohio energy company’s holiday train display as a way to cut expenses and turn a profit, he has fire Claire Evans, whose kisses are the best entertainment he’s found.

Claire Evans, miniaturist artist wants nothing more than to protect her grandfather’s legacy – the annual small scale train display. To save their trains and the town, Claire and her fellow citizens must prove to James the real value of the miniature trains has little to do with the bottom line and everything to do with heart.

Inspired by screwball comedies, Sidetracked readers should expect a little sizzle, poor decisions, mischief, a few train puns, and a whole lot of heart. To get release day info, follow me at Bookbub or sign up for my newsletter.

Rethinking the calendar

Over 15″ of snow fell on my driveway this weekend, and I’m not counting the drifts. This would have been welcome and fun in December, but in April, not so much.  We barely had snow in December, the month when we sing songs celebrating the joy of snow. Something is wrong.

I blame our collective attachment to the Georgian calendar, the one predominately used today. The Georgian calendar has been kicking around since the 1580s.  Prior to that, the Roman Calendar provided dating in Western Civilizations. That problematic calendar had only 10 months and was about 60 days too short for Earth’s journey around the Sun. Adapting a new calendar is not out of the realm of historical possibility.

Change is tough and I suspect song writing is too. But something is not matching up. Those lazy hazy days of Summer are not likely to roll around until September.  We need a new system with different names. Now, I’m not a scientific expert, and I really like the handy way of remembering how many days are in each month by counting on the knuckles, so I’ll keep the dates the same, but the months get new names. Any holidays deeply tied to a specific month will move to appropriate “new” month.  Also – this is a bit North-hemisphere -entric. My brain is too cold to fully think through all the consequences, that’s because my foolish brain still associates April with Spring.

February becomes “Newano.” By starting the calendar on the old Feb first, we will better align with the traditional Chinese New Year.

March becomes “Midwinter.” I would suggest moving Groundhog’s day to Midwinter, but some of us are ready to choke the little rodent so maybe not.

April becomes “Stillwinter.” St. Patrick’s day brightens up the snow with a bit of much longed for greenery.

May becomes “Frostend.” You can begin to put out garden plants, but chances are high your crocus will end up covered in snow.

June becomes “Junette.” It’s a light name befitting long hours of sunshine and springlike warmth against your skin.

July stays July.

August becomes “Highsummer.” The temperatures soar during this peak summer month.

September becomes “Lingersommer.” The long summer has become stale. Parents are counting the days until back to school.

October becomes “Threeano.” The month has been misnamed so long, why break with tradition. School starts.

November becomes “Plantend.” Harvest the last of your tomatoes before Halloween night.

December becomes “Monthopause.” The calendar year is transitioning. The linguistic gymnastics burn an extra calorie or two so you don’t need to feel guilty about that extra slice of pie on Thanksgiving.

January becomes “December.” Just because I’m reinventing the calendar, I don’t have to throw away all our mental associations with December. Let’s keep the last month the same, except with more snow and a more realistic expectation of how long we have to wait until spring.

 

Books to give – teens and tweens

As in years past, I want to help you give books to the children in your life. Hook ’em young, and keep ’em hooked on reading. This year my recommendations are not as organized as some years. My medical saga gave me quite a bit of brain fog, but I have a few scraps of paper collected through the year and I’ll share them here.

 

For the TWEENS in your life:

You can’t go wrong with a book by Chris Grabenstein. He taps into silliness like no one else, but also goes deeper. He understands the emotional life of tweens. Even reluctant readers will connect with his books, including the terrific Mr. Lemoncello’s Library series.

Both my kiddos (the tween and the teen) enjoyed the graphic novel Real Friends by Shannon Hale. Don’t let the cover fool you – this is a book for boys and girls. 

 

 

 

TEENS

My teen is cranky – the authors she loves are not producing books as fast as she can read them.  I think she has already marked the 2018 release of the next book in the Talon series on her calendar. Julie Kagawa is a masterful storyteller. Legion, book 4 in the saga, came out this year. Fortunately, Julie Kagawa has a number of other books to keep her busy.

 

She’s also read a lot of Michael Crichton and Douglas Adams this year. Unless there is a hidden manuscript somewhere that will magically appear this month, I have no new recommendations from them.

Do you have any recommendations for me? I need an excuse to run to the local bookshop.

First Friday: Five great games!

I’m a huge fan of games, note I did not write board games, or card games or video games. I love them all. In this season of giving, whether to a loved one or to a toy drive, here are five games I highly recommend because not only are they fun, but they can also be adapted to accommodate a range of ages. I’m not part of any affiliate program. The links are there for your convenience.

1. Labyrinth – The original German title translates as “the crazy maze.” Why? Because with each turn, the game board changes. As you race to collect treasures, you can work with or work against the other players to reshape the routes to the various treasures. It says 8 or up, but we started playing it when my son was 5 and he not only kept up with the adults, he usually beats us. This is a great game for spatial reasoning. Available at Toys R Us and other retailers.
2. Perpetual Commotion – This is basically the card game I grew up calling “Nertz.” It’s a high-speed game with elements of solitaire that can easily be adjusted for younger players by dealing them fewer cards. You could also play in teams where one person is responsible for watching the feeder pile and one person flips the deck. It’s available at Amazon and other retailers.
3. Richard Scarry’s Busytown Eye Found It! In this cooperative game, the highlight  is spinning a Goldbug, when sets off a timed search for objects hidden throughout the game board. Cards indicate if you will be looking for kites or hot dogs or something else in the overstuffed and often comical drawings of Richard Scarry. Unlike Hi-Ho-Cherry-O or Candyland, I have no urge to stick a fork in my eye to avoid playing this game. Available at Amazon and other retailers. 
4. Apples to Apples – This game comes in myriad versions. I’m partial to the kids version, especially when playing with family because it contains cards such as “My mom” and “under the bed.” While the former should always be paired with “beautiful” or “nice,” the latter is best played on the person with the messiest room. Available at Creative Kidstuff and other retailers. 
5. My last game I recommend this year skews older and is the newest one in my household, but also one became a quick favorite. Evolution: The Beginning. Even though the instruction book almost as overwhelming as those for King of Tokyo and Settlers of Catan (two other games our family loves), the card-based game play is straight-forward and fun. The artwork is beautiful and the structure of the game allows for multiple strategies to victory.  The action is low-key and it takes less than a half an hour making it a great way to wind down before bedtime. I believe it is a Target exclusive, but may be available through resellers.

So there you have it – some awesome ways to spend the time with friends and family throughout the winter. With these games, your only awkward discussions will involve what to play next.

If you have a favorite game, please share it below. Thanks.

Spotlight on Denise Devine

Now that October is over, my life returns to the normal level of chaos and I can once again operate my spotlight. This time it found author bestselling author Denise Devine and her newest release A Merry Little Christmas.

Merry Connor is struggling to feed her two children, pay heat bills and fix her secondhand car. Though she’s barely making it financially, life is good. That is, compared to two years ago when she lost everything—thanks to her lying, deceiving ex-husband. She’s come a long way since then and doesn’t intend to look back. Even so, it’ll be a long time before she trusts anyone with her heart again.

Tony Lewis hasn’t had a merry Christmas since his wife and son perished in a car collision three years ago. The holidays are lonely without his family, but his heart begins to mend when he meets Merry Connor and her two rambunctious kids. He can’t stop thinking about her and yearns to get closer to her. Will she turn him away once she learns of his connection to her ex-husband?

For a limited time, A Merry Little Christmas is on sale for $.99.

Buy Links:

Amazon USA

Amazon UK:

Amazon CA: 

D2D – iTunes:

Denise Devine is a USA TODAY bestselling author of romantic comedy, contemporary romance and she also loves to write inspirational fiction. She wrote her first book, a mystery, at thirteen and has been writing ever since. She writes about true love, happy endings and stories that touch your heart.

Presents or Gifts? Choose your #ChristmasTreats

What are our favorite Christmas Treats? Books, of course! Stop by each blog for a chance to win fabulous books & gifties for the Holidays!  

As part of the Christmas Treats giveaway hop, I’m giving away an ebook copy of Tidings of Love: 7 Holiday Romance Novellas, which contains my Winter Fairy, AND a $5 gift card to Starbucks so you can treat yourself to a yummy coffee drink.

As the end of the year giving season grips so many of us in its clutches, I’m often struck by the absurdity of the Christmas morning ritual of ripping off piles of shiny wrapping paper to unearth items I bought for myself a month ago. Since reaching adulthood, I tend to get a lot more presents rather than gifts. What is the difference you ask? I’ve given this a lot of thought. Probably too much thought for the relative weight of the issues, but here goes.

A present is presented to you. The giver gives you something you requested. They spent the money to buy a specific item on your list. Or maybe, they wrote you a check or gave you the cash to buy the item for yourself for the express purpose of having something to unwrap on Christmas morning. There is not much thought behind a ritual presentation of an item you want, but a present shows the giver listened.

A gift is an item given from the giver’s heart. It is unexpected but thoughtful. The gift can be big or small, useful or not, but it expresses the relationship between the giver and the recipient.

I love giving gifts, but find it hard this time of year when I am under the obligation to shop and buy specific items for so many people. I spend a lot of time buying presents, but I try to include a few gifts as well. I shop for gifts year round, or more to the point, gifts shop for me. I can be purchasing the most banal household items and something will catch my eye. It could be a goofy paper napkin pattern or a sale on a flavored coffee that a dear friend loves. A gift something that will bring joy to a recipient, which in turn gives joy to the giver.

Books make terrific gifts and terrific presents. There are loads of books and other goodies up for grabs in the Christmas Treats hop. Enter my rafflecopter here to be entered for the ebook and giftcard and be sure to visit all the authors through the linky-list.

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First Friday Five: Picture Book Bonus

The last two weeks, I’ve treated you to book recommendations for Middle School readers and for Elementary aged readers. This week, I’m sharing five terrific picture books.  I’ve given priority to books that have been released this year. As before, I’m including buy links to Amazon and Barnes & Noble for your convenience. I do not benefit financially in these recommendations, I just want to share books I love to help those who are looking for a book to give to a child.

1. The Book with no Pictures by B.J. Novak. Yup, I’m starting a list of picture books with a book that has no pictures. Trust me on this one. B.J. Novak, previously a writer for The Office, has a tremendous way with words and a wicked sense of fun. This is the book the kids in your life will want to spring on unsuspecting parents, grandparents, babysitters, aunts, uncles and well, anyone as a bedtime story. The sense of mischief and fun appeals to kids all ages, including those of us experienced kids who have the gray hair to prove it.  Amazon and Barnes&Noble 
2. The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers Have you ever looked at a child’s box of crayons and wondered what on earth happened to those once pristine pieces of wax? Jeffers’ playful illustrations are spot on and new readers will be surprised at the emotional depths Daywalt finds in the crayons. This is a terrific gateway for talking about emotions.  Amazon and Barnes&Noble 
3. I Will Take a Nap! by Mo Willems. Mo Willelms is the mastermind behind Knufflebunny, the Pigeon and Elephant and Piggie, stars of I Will Take a Nap. Elephant and Piggie don’t look alike and possess many opposite traits (cautious versus impulsive) that can cause some conflict between the two, but friendship always prevails. Amazon and Barnes&Noble 
4. Ninja Red Riding Hood by Corey Rosen Schwartz, illustrated by Dan Santat. This came out last year, but it didn’t cross my radar until my ninja loving son brought it home from the library. As I’ve said before, I think Dan Santat is a terrific illustrator and his vibrant images bring this twisted fairy tale to life. This is a fun book to read alongside an original version of Little Red Riding Hood and can lead to great conversation about empowerment and bullying. Amazon and Barnes&Noble 
5. What Pet Should I Get? by Dr. Seuss.  It’s not every year you get a new Dr. Seuss Book! For me, it’s no Fox in Sox (my favorite Dr. Seuss), but it is a fun book to read aloud and share with the children in your life. A lot of children will relate to the problem of picking a dream pet and in this book, there are no real life consequences, so bring on the silliness and help kids spark their creativity. Amazon and Barnes&Noble    

 

Kids that are read to from day one are kids who grow up to be readers. Study after study shows the benefit of reading with children. From building vocabulary to creative problem solving, to building empathy, to creating a passion for knowledge, few tools on this earth are more powerful than a book. Please share the joy of reading this holiday season, whether with a special child in your life or by donating a book to a school, shelter, library or program like First Book.

I hope you have enjoyed this extended Friday Five series. If you have books to recommend, or thoughts on this list, please share in the comments.