A Small Success

I wasn't home last night so I've got to report on my Author Spotlight yesterday at the Caramel Crisp Bookstore. I decided to set up indoors since it was a bright sunny day so I would have fried outside. There wasn't steady book-buying traffic but there were a few people and I spoke to everyone trying to lure them to my table. I managed to sell two copies of The Seaview and I think I might have sold an eBook to another woman. I, of course, took too many books along but better that than to have run out. I foolishly thought I'd sell enough of Horizon and Better Than Mom's so I'd run out of the original covers but I didn't even sell one of those titles. Oh well.

From the bookstore I went down to Wauwatosa which is a Milwaukee suburb to visit a writing friend who I haven't seen since December. We spent yesterday visiting and today we wrote a prompt and did a little drawing. It was so good to see her.

I sent her a set of fancy colored pencils last month and got to try them out on today's drawing. I had the Draw 20 Butterflies book (she used Draw 20 Trees) and I filled the page with, well, things with wings. One of these days when I'm feeling flush I'll probably order myself a set of those colored pencils. They're Prismacolor and they color like silk.

Then I pulled out her copy of The 15-Minute Artist and tried my hand at drawing a frog. It turned out better than I thought it would.

I managed to capture a blurry picture of a Bluejay that went hopping through the grass this afternoon. I hoped that it would hop toward me but, of course, it veered off to the side.

Then this pair of juvenile squirrels came to gobble up some of the fallen seed. They're not brave enough to jump up for a drink. They just stand and look longingly up at the birdbath.

Since it's Father's Day I searched for a picture of Dad to put on here and came across this shot of him and DD when she was a tiny thing. I love the looks on their faces; they're just so pleased to be together.

But then I found this one of him in his navy uniform from WWII. I think he looks like a young Elvis, or maybe Elvis looked like Dad.

I have to say thank heavens for audiobooks. I have a car charger for my phone so I hook it up and play a book when I drive. I'm not the most confident on the highway but having something to listen to while I drive helps me stay alert. On the way down I finished listening to The Wind in the Willows and on the way home I started listening to Blood Card by Elly Griffiths. It's about a police detective and his magician friend in post-WWII England and it's pretty entertaining but not too engrossing so I lose focus on my driving.

--Barbara