Lexa Cain

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Celebrate the Small Things!

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly celebration created by VikLit and now hosted by Lexa Cain to celebrate the happenings of the week, however small or large. You can learn all about it and sign up for it here. CelebrateSmallThings_Badge

We’re settling back into the school routine, and I’m getting over the weirdness of having both kids in high school. This week I’m celebrating:

  1. End of summer fun at the Champlain Valley Fair! We went on lots of fun rides and had our traditional ice cream cones and maple donuts. I took my son to the Double Figure 8 Race/Demolition Derby event, and he loved it. I have to say it was quite entertaining.
  2. I donated copies of my book to 8 more libraries. On my way home, I stopped at a country store/deli for a sandwich, and after talking to the owner about my book in casual conversation, he bought three copies to sell in his store! Boy, was I surprised. You never know where opportunities will pop up.
  3. Went to my local library and couldn’t resist checking the online catalog to see if my book was back. I discovered it had been checked out again. Yay!
  4. Had my traditional IHOP back-to-school breakfast. Yum! 🙂

What other celebrations are going on out there?

 

 

 

 

© Lori L. MacLaughlin and Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams, 2015. All rights reserved.

by

Celebrate the Small Things!

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly celebration created by VikLit and now hosted by Lexa Cain to celebrate the happenings of the week, however small or large. You can learn all about it and sign up for it here. CelebrateSmallThings_Badge

I went to Barnes & Noble today, the first chance I’ve had to go back since my book signing on July 24th. I wanted to see if they’d put my book out on their shelves. When I had first approached them about stocking my book, they had said they made decisions about stocking books based on how book signings went. They ordered 30 books for my signing event, knowing they could return the leftovers to the distributor.

I don’t know what they consider a successful signing (I sold 8 books), so I’ve been watching the sales/returns at Ingram to see if they’d send the books back. As of this morning, they hadn’t.

So, what did I see on their shelves?

BarnesNoble_8282015

A dream achieved. Whoo, hoo! (Happy dancing!)

 

What other celebrations are going on out there?

 

 

 

 

© Lori L. MacLaughlin and Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams, 2015. All rights reserved.

by

Celebrate the Small Things!

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly celebration created by VikLit and now hosted by Lexa Cain to celebrate the happenings of the week, however small or large. You can learn all about it and sign up for it here. CelebrateSmallThings_Badge

We had an official heat wave this week. It’s been so hot and humid I just wanted to curl up in the refrigerator or find some place air-conditioned. Celebrations for this week:

  1. Having fun go-karting and indoor rock climbing with my brother and his family, up from PA.
  2. My Dad and I successfully installed new parts and fixed my clothes dryer!
  3. We’ve almost got all our back to school stuff ready to go. School starts Wednesday! (I’m the only one in my family celebrating this.) 🙂
  4. My son finally got his braces. (I’m the only one celebrating this, too.)

What other celebrations are going on out there?

 

 

 

 

© Lori L. MacLaughlin and Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams, 2015. All rights reserved.

by

Celebrate the Small Things!

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly celebration created by VikLit and now hosted by Lexa Cain to celebrate the happenings of the week, however small or large. You can learn all about it and sign up for it here. CelebrateSmallThings_Badge

It’s been another busy week! I can’t believe how fast the summer is flying by. I’d like to celebrate:

  1. Visiting with my brother and his family up from PA.
  2. Getting my car fixed.
  3. The local Artist’s Guild chose me to be the featured artist for their upcoming newsletter!
  4. Someone has already checked my book out of the library!

What other celebrations are going on out there?

 

 

 

 

© Lori L. MacLaughlin and Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams, 2015. All rights reserved.

by

Celebrate the Small Things!

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly celebration created by VikLit and now hosted by Lexa Cain to celebrate the happenings of the week, however small or large. You can learn all about it and sign up for it here. CelebrateSmallThings_Badge

Wow, this week went by in a whirlwind. Up for celebrations this time around:

  1. My first TV interview promoting my book! You can read about it HERE.
  2. My Dad and I took my dryer apart, and I think we can fix it with a couple of new parts. I would sooo rather not have to replace it.
  3. I joined the local Artist’s Guild, an active group of amazingly talented and very friendly people! I’m looking forward to working with them to promote the arts.
  4. We went to a local production of the Broadway hit “Cats” and really enjoyed it. The entire cast did a super job!

What other celebrations are going on out there?

 

 

 

 

© Lori L. MacLaughlin and Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams, 2015. All rights reserved.

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Celebrate the Small Things — Weekend Edition!

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly celebration created by VikLit and now hosted by Lexa Cain to celebrate the happenings of the week, however small or large. You can learn all about it and sign up for it here. CelebrateSmallThings_Badge

This has been one of those good news/bad news weeks.

The Good:

  1. Celebrating my son’s birthday with family and good friends.
  2. Family outings to the beach and Shelburne Museum.
  3. The Vermont Book Shop, an Indie bookstore in Middlebury, VT, said they would order and stock my book. Yay!
  4. My local librarian finally entered my book into the library database, so it’s now available for everyone to read. I don’t know how she did it, as I haven’t seen her to ask her about it yet, but it’s in the system and on the shelf!

The Bad:

  1. My vehicle needs a bunch of expensive repairs before it will pass inspection. Hopefully, at least some of it will be under extended warranty.
  2. My clothes dryer quit working. I felt like a college kid as I took my wet laundry to my parents’ house.
  3. The mixing valve on my furnace/hot water heater is leaking and will require a plumber to fix.

Ah, well. It could be a lot worse. None of it is health-related, and we still have a roof over our heads.

What other celebrations are going on out there?

 

 

 

 

© Lori L. MacLaughlin and Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams, 2015. All rights reserved.

by

Celebrate the Small Things!

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly celebration created by VikLit and now hosted by Lexa Cain to celebrate the happenings of the week, however small or large. You can learn all about it and sign up for it here. CelebrateSmallThings_Badge

It’s been another busy week in the book marketing and selling departments, and it’s going to be a busy weekend, too. Things I’m celebrating:

  1. I did a fun interview on Celine Jeanjean’s blog, Down the Rabbit Hole.
  2. I sold five books in 2 ½ hours at the local Farmer’s Market Craft Day! Whoo hoo! Three people paid cash, and two paid with credit/debit cards. The Square worked perfectly and was quick and easy to use. Thank you to everyone who suggested I get one!!
  3. I sent press release/calendar event info to the surrounding newspapers and put flyers up around town for the Barnes & Noble book signing coming up. I don’t know how many of the papers will actually include the info, but it was a good exercise in publicity.
  4. In a fit of madness, I called the local WCAX TV news station and got myself on their Books Over Breakfast program, which is a brief segment where the news person talks to authors about their books. It’s scheduled to air on August 5th at 6:55 AM. Eeep.
  5. On Saturday, I’ll be going to the League of VT Writers Summer Retreat and Member Showcase in Albany, VT, to attend some interesting workshops and hopefully sell more books.
  6. On Sunday, I’m taking my son, the NASCAR nut, to the Sprint Cup race in Loudon, NH, as an early birthday present. My daughter gets to spend the weekend with grandparents, and she’s excited about that.

I also enjoyed some lovely weather this week.

What other celebrations are going on out there?

 

 

 

 

 

© Lori L. MacLaughlin and Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams, 2015. All rights reserved.

by

Celebrate the Small Things!

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly celebration created by VikLit and now hosted by Lexa Cain to celebrate the happenings of the week, however small or large. You can learn all about it and sign up for it here. CelebrateSmallThings_Badge

I’m celebrating big news this week. I scheduled a book-signing event at Barnes & Noble! It’s coming up on July 24th. Whoo hoo! I’m excited and nervous and wondering what on earth I’m going to wear. B & N is ordering my books to have on hand, and the event is listed on the store’s website: http://stores.barnesandnoble.com/store/2776?page=1&size=10&month=Month&day=Day&type=all

How cool is that!!

I’ve also signed up for three more book events coming up: a local Farmer’s Market Craft Day on July 16th, the League of VT Writers Summer Retreat and Member Showcase in Albany, VT, on July 18th, and the Bookstock Literary Festival in Woodstock, VT, on July 25th. It’s going to be a crazy month.

More celebrations for the week — spending a Sunday afternoon swimming and visiting with good friends, cooling off at Sandbar beach on Monday, and celebrating IHOP’s birthday on Tuesday with 57-cent pancake stacks!

All in all, a pretty good week.

What other celebrations are going on out there?

 

 

 

 

 

© Lori L. MacLaughlin and Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams, 2015. All rights reserved.

by

Celebrate the Small Things!

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly celebration created by VikLit and now hosted by Lexa Cain to celebrate the happenings of the week, however small or large. You can learn all about it and sign up for it here. CelebrateSmallThings_Badge

Some great things to celebrate this week, not the least of which is sunshine!! June was such a rainy month here that it hasn’t felt at all like summer.

My first book event last Sunday, The Craft of Small Publishing in Vermont at the River Arts Center, went well. It was a small venue, which was great for me for a first event. I wasn’t half as nervous as I thought I’d be, and I sold a book! Yay! I know one book doesn’t sound like much, but for me it was a success. I like to set small goals, so I’m less likely to be disappointed.

I visited Bear Pond Books in Stowe, VT, yesterday and dropped off two copies of my book for their shelves. Hooray for independent book stores!

We stopped at the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream factory on the way home from Stowe and got ice cream cones to celebrate. I can personally attest to the fact that B & J’s salted caramel blondie ice cream is delicious!

Looking forward to the Fourth of July parade tomorrow and good times with friends at the fireworks. Happy Birthday, America!!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

What other celebrations are going on out there?

 

 

 

 

© Lori L. MacLaughlin and Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams, 2015. All rights reserved.

by

Celebrate the Small Things!

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly celebration created by VikLit and now hosted by Lexa Cain to celebrate the happenings of the week, however small or large. You can learn all about it and sign up for it here. CelebrateSmallThings_Badge

Sad to say, I missed last week. I keep finding myself going in too many directions. I guess I can say I’m never bored! 🙂 This week, I’d like to celebrate:

  1. My first book event coming up this Sunday at the River Arts Center in Morrisville, VT: The Craft of Small Publishing in Vermont! If any of you are in the area, please stop by and say, Hi!
  2. Two books sold from the local independent Phoenix Book Store! Yay!
  3. Summer vacation! No school for two months.

What other celebrations are going on out there?

 

 

 

 

© Lori L. MacLaughlin and Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams, 2015. All rights reserved.