A Busy Month of May! #amwriting #ALSbenefit

Last day of April 2018. Hard to believe, isn't it?

And May is looking to be a very busy and productive month!

A cover waiting for
its book.

I'm currently working on revising or creating new scenes, dialogue and elements for my series story, StarDog. When I originally wrote the book for the first Pets in Space collection, I was constrained by word count limits, so had to keep the scene-building brief and tight. Now I have the opportunity to explore more of the characters, backstories and politics as tensions soar in the months leading up to events in Inherit the Stars. 

This is Taro and Adini's adventure, and both will make appearances in future books (as well as the title character, my feisty little StarDog). A few familiar faces from the novel also have a part in this prequel.

It's been FUN! to work on these story embellishments, though admittedly, it's also been a challenge.

I also have a couple of other things going on...

Book Fair -- 99 Cent Books

ONLY THROUGH TODAY, there's a huge selection of multi-genre books available in a big Book Fair special -- including Farewell Andromeda -- all at 99 cents! There are Fantasy, Historical, Mystery, Young Adult, Science Fiction / Science Fiction Romance and more.

But it's ONLY THROUGH TODAY, so hurry!

Here's the landing page where you can do a quick scan of the offerings: BOOK FAIR


Blue Book Cover Brigade to Support ALS Research

Beginning tomorrow, May 1st, I'm joining ranks with several other authors, including co-bloggers Greta van der Rol and Pippa Jay, to participate in the ALS Association 2018 Napa Valley Ride to Defeat ALS and Walk.

Author Lea Kirk organized and coordinated the event, and put together a group of dedicated authors for this very worthwhile cause. We're all involved as virtual participants and we'll be donating 25% of our book sales during May to the cause.

But even if you don't want to invest in some great reads, there are other ways you can help. A straight donation can be done through my page on the site. Click for: Laurie A. Green's Page. Here you can make a direct donation via credit card in any amount (anonymously or not) and it will go to the ALS Association for ALS research. You can also designate the name of a person in whose honor you are making your donation.

Check out our Blue Book Cover Brigade Page to see the other authors involved and what books they have in the project.

And here's a special "no fanfare" offer. To get this kicked off, I'll gift a copy of Inherit the Stars via Amazon US to the first three people who comment below and include the words - Blue Book Cover Brigade to help ALS - in their comment. Then I'll donate 25% of the price to the cause.

Learn more about the event on the Blue Book Cover Brigade Site.

Click here to go to our Authors Supporting ALSA landing page.

I have a couple of very special reasons for wanting to get involved this year. And since I'm now dabbling in creating my own videos, I put together this short (1:30) clip on why this event is an important one for me. Let me know how I did.

Thank you all!

Big Week on the Horse Front

And last, but not least, this is the big week in my "other" profession. The Kentucky Derby will be run this coming Saturday, May 5th.

It's Cinco de Derby this year!!!



My Derby T-shirt for 2018

And there's always speculation about which horse is going to win the Run for the Roses. One of the top contenders is a horse named, ironically, Mendelssohn. That's only a couple of letters off from the name of the central family in my series--the Mennelsohns. (Also, one of the actors in Star Wars: Rogue One was named Mendelsohn--just one letter off.)

Our 3YO filly, Inherit the Stars (familiar name? haha), is prepping for her first race after being laid up due to a walker accident (no, not the Star Wars kind of walker--this was a mechanical horse walker) last fall as a 2YO. Another irony. One of the jockeys who frequently rides for our trainer has a first name of Ry--who is also the name of a character in Inherit the Stars, the brother of Captain Drea Mennelsohn, the heroine.

So I'll report back if Mendelssohn (the horse) wins the Derby, and if Ry (the jockey) is ever matched up with Inherit the Stars (the filly).

On the home front, we had two very strong 2nd place finishes in April by horses we own or bred (Endless Thyme and Blazing Away), so we're looking forward to an exciting summer season ahead.

Have a great Derby week!