February Newsletter: Doing Something Nice Every Day

 

This blog post is available as a newsletter: SIGN UP HERE...!  It’s February! Today kind of snuck up on me, if I’m honest… I had a productive and inspiring January month, and we even had some snow in Colorado. Snow means moisture here, which we need to ward off those scary fires. Plus, it’s an excuse to have a cup of tea or cocoa by the fireplace—with a good book, of course.         January always has me looking ahead at the year, thinking of what I might want to accomplish. And this time, I want my year to be more than just a list of checked-off tasks, words written, jobs completed. I decided that I’m going to do something nice for someone else every day. During a recent webinar I listened to, presenter Dan Blank called it reaching out with a giving hand. I really like that sentiment. So that’s what I set out to do, all of 2022.         It’s surprisingly easy to do something nice for someone else. You can send a kind message on Twitter or Facebook. You can post a review of someone’s book. You can reach out to a friend you haven’t seen in a while. You can write a letter (so much fun to drop that envelope in the mail!). You can let someone with three items behind you in line (versus your thirty things and all that chocolate, ahem, Fleur) go ahead of you.         The fulfillment of consciously doing one nice thing for someone else, every single day, is unexpectedly great. I’m finding myself being more grateful for what I have. I’m making new friends, and am reconnecting with ones who’ve drifted away in Covid isolation times.         I highly recommend it, this one-nice-thing-for-someone-else daily goal. And what’s nice: all these things are free, or just cost a postage stamp.         It’s especially good to counter the coming months, where I’ll be asking others for help. With my next book coming out, I am encouraging readers and educators to preorder Daybreak on Raven Island, or directing them to Midnight at the Barclay Hotel. But what if you can’t afford to buy books right now, or just not all of them?

I made a handy dandy graphic to show free ways you can help an author—and it doesn’t have to be to help me! But I’ve been so very fortunate to have lots of support for my books, and I want other authors to feel just as lucky. So I’m paying it forward.         And on that note: I should review some books I’ve enjoyed…

A quick addition to brighten your day (it certainly made mine!): with her mom’s permission, here is Grace, dressed up as Penny from Midnight at the Barclay Hotel for Literacy Week at her school. Doesn’t she look amazing? Where to Find Fleur Here in Colorado, we’re carefully dipping our toes into having in-person events again. It’s exciting, although I should probably check to see if I still have pants that fit… This is where you can find me in February: Feb. 2, 2022: World Read Aloud Day  (virtual)   ​Feb. 3, 2022, 6 PM MST Tattered Cover Aspen Grove, CO in conversation with MG author Heather Sappenfield; signing Midnight at the Barclay Hotel (in person)   Feb. 10-11, 2022 CCIRA, Littleton, CO SCBWI panel - Feb 10 at 11 AM SCBWI table in conference hall - Feb 11 at 12 PM (in person)

What I’m Writing I finished what is (hopefully) a good first draft of a YA mystery at the end of 2021. This story had been bouncing around my brain, so it felt good to complete it. Now, I’ll probably be editing this YA mystery next month. Daybreak on Raven Island is moving toward the final stages, which means I get to plan the book launch! It’s a bit like planning a birthday party or a wedding, so I’m hard at work on scheduling fun events, online and in person. Stay tuned… I’m also writing the first draft of a brand new (top secret!) spooky middle-grade mystery and having a blast. This part of the writing is always a lot of fun, especially during winter. I will keep you posted on that!

Your Monthly Cat Picture If you know me a little, you probably know that I’m a bit of a nutty cat lady. So I’ll end this newsletter with a picture of Luna, A.K.A. the Floof. She keeps me working. This blog post is available as a newsletter: SIGN UP HERE...!