playwrights Archives - Page 4 of 5 - Trisha Sugarek, Author, Playwright & Poet

Have you worked with an illustrator yet? Here are 12 Tips

I have used several artists, depending upon the project. I have had wonderful response from my illustrators (free-lance) and as a team we get the job done!
David White has done several covers for me, most prominent and recent the newest in the World of Murder series.

The illustrator for my children’s books is brilliant in a different way. He reads the story as I write it with clear instructions (from me) on where I want the illustrations placed in my story book. Then he creates all these different perspectives that I would never have dreamed about. They are truly wonderful.

So I thought I would share these tips, with you, about working with another artist. Hopefully they are helpful as you work with your ‘image-maker’.

Tip #1: Be patient.

Tip #2: They are artists, much like you, so they are sensitive about their art.

Tip #3: Don’t push them; they have a time-table that might not be yours. I do state my time-table in the beginning of a project and get some assurance that they will try to meet it.

Tip #4: Be patient.

Tip #5: Be certain that you give them at least two credits in your publication, book or script. I routinely credit them on the back (exterior) cover and on one of the first pages in the book.

Tip #6: Pay them the most that you can budget. Remember the old adage: ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’.

Tip #7: Because I am on a budget; I state my rates (per size of image) right up front. Be honest.

Tip #8: Be patient.

Tip #9: Don’t be afraid to use students at an art school. I have used them (or graduates) from the Savannah College of Art and Design. They are fresh, have the newest technology, and are the most excited by the project. Do I occasionally meet a ‘prima dona’? Who, without any work history, without any credits of any kind, without any life experience, behaves as if they work for a big city design firm, expecting top dollar and……. are confused when you don’t see it that way. (sigh) Yes, I have!

Tip #10: Try to be as clear as you can on what you want in the image. Don’t be afraid to tweak the work as you and your illustrator work together. My illustrators appreciate the second set of eyes.

Tip #11: Pay the illustrator promptly. As I have my illustrator working as I write; when I receive final images I pay him as we go along. I don’t make them wait until the project is finished to be paid.

Tip #12: Be patient.
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS!
E. Van Johnson will be our January author!

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What Inspired Me to Write a Play? part 2

Let’s see, where did we leave off? As you can see by now truth is sometimes stranger than fiction….why make stuff up when the true stories are just standing there in front of you…waiting for you to write a play about them? Or not….because about this time Cheets, the effervescent elf came into my life!

‘The Fabled Forest Series‘ was brought to me by my friend, Cheets, about three in the morning to be exact. He put his over-sized elf feet in the middle of my back and pushed. Yelling in my ear, ‘Cheets has a story….write about Cheets!’
By the time I crawled out of bed, made a cup of tea and stumbled to my keyboard he was skipping along beside me, telling me about his friends in the fabled forest and about the unicorn that they must save. No, I’m not crazy (or if I am, I’m in very good company) and yes I do hear voices (again, good company). A few years and four children’s plays later ‘Emma and the Lost Unicorn‘ was produced outside of Boston. The little actors in the show pleaded with me to write them story books based upon the plays. That was my launch from playwright to author.

Two summers ago I was talking with some teachers and they were bemoaning the fact that ‘the arts’ budget was non-existent at their schools; anything that they wanted to do in that area; paints, music, scripts, was out of their own pocket I thought, what if I wrote several 10 minute plays for the class room, made them affordable, no sets, no costumes, no props? Twenty-six scripts later and it’s definitely been a hit. While I did write some fun ones, I quickly learned that I needed to write about teen issues in real life. Bullying, mean girls, dating violence, divorce, drugs, running away, cyber-bullies…the list goes on and on.

And as I am not a mystery writer but do love to stretch my creative wings, I thought I’d throw in a murder mystery play into the collection. I knew the kids in the classroom would love it. “The Art of Murder” was born. Then some well meaning friends told me, after reading the play, “But what happened to Monty?” and “Who killed her?” “You have got to tell us the rest of the story!”

‘Okay, okay! I’ll write a novella for you.’ Well, it went pretty well and my friends and fans seemed to like it. Just one problem, they came back again and told me, “You’ve got a series here! We want more of O’Roarke and Garcia, your murder cops!” I objected: ‘I’m not a mystery writer!’ Well, apparently I am since I’m currently writing the fifth in the series!

Book 2 takes place back stage on Broadway……so we’ve come full circle!

Want to read more? Click here to read Part 1

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS!

In addition to my twice weekly blog I also feature an interview with another author once a month. So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! An Interview with Loretta Chase on May 29th. Dean Koontz is my June author.

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What Inspired Me to Write my first Play?

In looking at my stats recently I saw a recurring key phrase on my site. ‘How to write a play?‘, and I thought my readers might find it interesting to read about what inspired the subjects of my play scripts.

The short answer is: A true story…. something that caught my attention that was someone else’s story.

The long answer: My first play ‘Lost Child‘ back in 1994 was based on a true story of a Dad dealing with his gay son. Back then HIV and AIDS was a death sentence. The father was homophobic and macho. He rejected his son. To make the story complete I added another set of parents that were totally supportive of their gay son. Sadly this story did not end well and the script was lost on my hard drive ….someday, I may finish it.

Next came ‘Cook County Justice‘ based upon a fifteen minute segment I saw on one of those TV magazines like 20/20. Bill Heirens had been incarcerated for over 40 years (even though his sentence included parole) for a murder I came to believe he didn’t commit. This story took me on a six year journey; letters from Bill (inmate), support from his team trying to set him free and several productions of my play.

While visiting Bill in the Illinois state Prison for Men early one Sunday morning, I sat in the reception area waiting to be ‘processed’ through into the visiting room. I was surrounded by women of all ages and their children. Mothers, sisters, wives, daughters….as I sat there they figuratively took me by the nape of my neck and shouted….’you must write about us…tell our story!’ That was the birth of ‘Women Outside the Walls’ a full length play and later a novel.

‘Scent of Magnolia‘ A Tribute to Billie Holiday was conceived in 2001 when a very talented jazz singer/actress out of Chicago asked me if I would write her a one woman show as Billie Holiday. I used, as my inspiration, the early years of Billie’s career before she succumbed to alcohol and drugs.

NEXT! A Hollywood Tale was based on my own experiences as a young actor in Hollywood and all the story swapping we would do in the green room, waiting to ‘go on’. There was nothing worse than going to a cattle call audition and in the middle of your monologue or reading have the casting director yell: ‘Next!’ That was your cue line to exit right. The razor sharp teeth of the machine known as Hollywood chew up aspiring actors and spit them into the gutter.

I grew up on my mother’s stories about growing up in the forests of Tumwater, Washington with her 13 siblings. Back at the turn of the twentieth century life and its entertainments were simple.

‘The Guyer Girls’ is a cross between Little Women and I Remember Mama. The first act is almost all based upon her stories. The second act was my creation of what happened when the six sisters come back home fifteen years later. With this age of technology I didn’t want these stories to die with her or with me.

‘Sins of the Mother’ was also partly biographical. Again stories told by my mother of her years in San Francisco (1920’s) as a bar owner, women’s basketball player, flapper, and mother. She used to say, “I’d work all day and dance all night!” This full length play developed into a novel, ‘Wild Violets’.

There’s more but this is where I will stop. Every play plot has conflict. The trick is to solve it within two and a half hours.

A Journal/Handbook to Start YOU writing! 275 blank pages for your work; each margin with an inspiring quote from a famous actor, writer, playwright, or poet. Sections on ‘how to’ will get you started.

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS!

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An Idea..A New Mystery Series! “The World of Murder”

Texas, comedy, stage play, Trisha Sugarek, murder — Production photos from “Cheatin'”

I can’t believe that it was just this past September that I wrote this blog about an idea becoming a one act play and NOW I’m writing my fifth book in the World of Murder mystery series. The first four novels are available here and on amazon.com and now are audio books at audible.com So I am thinking it is worth posting this again to let my fellow writers see how an idea can grow into something pretty damn amazing!!

If you missed the story here it is again:

Let’s see….I think it was 2005 and we were in rehearsals for “Cheatin'” in Port Aransas, Texas. I was the director and we had pulled together a terrific cast. The title pretty much tells you the story line but the fun part and what made it so funny was it was set in….where else?…… Texas and was filled with good ole’ boys and girls. It was the highest grossing play for that theatre in many a year and won Best Production and Best Set Design (thanks to Janis Johnson’s contribution). I was very proud of the cast and crew!
Continue reading “An Idea..A New Mystery Series! “The World of Murder””

Do You Care about your Family history??

A recent review I offered on Maya Angelou’s book, “Mom & Me & Mom” reminded me, once again, of the importance of recording family histories and story telling.

Since man formed his first vocabulary, family and tribal news was carried from tribe to tribe, village to village by a storyteller. They would be welcomed in each cave, hut, and council house as an honored guest and nights would be spent around the fire listening to the latest news from family members living afar. Famine, a good harvest, movement of wild herds, warring tribes, births, deaths, alliances, all were carried by the professional storyteller. After a few days passed the news had been told and the storyteller, rested and refreshed, would move on to the next tribe or settlement.

While growing up in the mid-fifties my mother (certainly a modern day storyteller) would tell me the stories of her and eleven siblings growing up in the forests of Tumwater, Washington (state). The story of my mother’s sister, Ivah, cutting off her eyebrows in retaliation. When all the kids were down with seafood poisoning and a dairy cow wandered into the yard crying to be milked (milk being the remedy for stomach disorders). Another of my mother’s sisters’ panties falling down around her ankles while dancing at her first dress-up dance.

I believe that these oral histories, as told by the elders of our families will soon (if not already) be a thing of the past. Whenever I have the opportunity, whether it’s teaching a class on writing and storytelling or giving a lecture on same, I relate how important it is for each of us to record our own family’s rich history. When grandparents are gone, the stories are gone with them. My family story, whose origin began in Ireland and France, was great material for my writing. I have just published my second novel, “Wild Violets“. It is loosely based on my mother, as a young entrepreneur, flapper and owner of a speakeasy, in San Francisco in the 1920’s.

In this day of television, dvd’s, and computers with games, these stories handed down from elder to child, will be lost forever. Do YOU know some great stories that you were told as a child?

It’s a great place to begin your writing career!

(Photo of five sisters above from left to right: LaVerne, Violet, , Gladys, Ivah, & Lillas)

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Start your month off right!! DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! Join us at the Writer’s Corner!
I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . I have invited such luminaries as: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Robert McCammon, Caroline Leavitt, Sue Grafton, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Mark Childress is our April author. Robert McCammon is scheduled for May. Caroline Leavitt is June‘s author. July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander.
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To receive my posts sign up for my Go to the home page; On the right side you’ll see a box where you can enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

Color me naive…an Expose` of the Publishing Industry (part 1)

Call me naive…but I honestly thought that publishing houses chose manuscripts based on the quality of the writing and then book sales would take care of itself. Au’ contraire. I just finished reading an expose` of the publishing industry and it rocked me to my toes.

First, you know that book you can buy that lists the publishers that accept unsolicited manuscripts? Detailing which genre’ they are looking for, and what age group they represent? And the publishing houses that hype the public (writers) that they are actually looking for unsolicited books? (translation: ‘unsolicited’ = ‘crap’). Well, that’s exactly what it is, hype and not true.

Your manuscript ends up in a ‘slush pile’ and the publisher has a whole storage room for these manuscripts. NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN! No miracles, no happy accidents, no chance of even an editor’s assistant reading your work.

Okay, but say a miracle happens and someone reads your book and likes it. I’m certain that it happens. But the process that a manuscript goes through and the likelihood of your manuscript making it to the store is phenomenal!

Let’s say that an ambitious editor’s assistant’s assistant is told to take a stack of manuscripts to the ‘slush pile room’. Leafing through the top one, as she rides the elevator, something catches her eye and she decides to read on. She tucks it in her briefcase for reading over the weekend. She comes in Monday morning and during a coffee break shares her enthusiasm with the editor’s assistant.

The assistant agrees to read it ‘when she has time’. Months go by and now she has read it and thinks it’s worth taking it to her editor. Said editor is buried in work, with the authors that she has been assigned, but she doesn’t want to discourage her young, bright-eyed assistant, so she agrees to read it ‘when she has time’. Months go by….you see where I’m going with this.

Okay, the editor liked your book enough to take it to the monthly editorial meeting. Each editor must ‘pitch’ the new books that they are excited about to the other editors and (probably) an associate publisher. They have to ‘sell’ even known authors at these meetings so you can imagine how difficult it is to ‘pitch’ an unknown author like you and I. The book makes it through this meeting. Now comes the bi-yearly sales meeting, attended by not only the editors but the publisher and associate publishers. Also, and most importantly, the sales reps, who will in turn try to ‘sell’ the book to their accounts. (book stores and retailers).

I will forever be grateful to my publishing house (Samuel French, Inc.) for having faith in the plays that they chose to publish. But what about the other 40 scripts that I have written? The ones that they passed on? Are they just not good enough? Are they terrible? Too politically incorrect? Too dark? Too light? Too….something?? NO! They just didn’t fit what the publisher believed would make money! I asked my editor about this and he made a very profound statement: “Trish, there is only so much ‘real estate’ in our catalog.”

Knowing what I now know about publishing, I did indeed experience a miracle with French. They picked me up, an unknown playwright, and published four of my scripts. See?….miracles do happen! But don’t sit around waiting for yours! Take action!

See Part II and the solution in today’s publishing world coming on February 28th.
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Start your month off right!! DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. The NEW SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner” INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS!

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and plan on featuring an interview once a month . I have invited such luminaries as: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Robert McCammon, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Walter Mosley, Natasha Solomons, Nora Roberts, Jeffrey Deaver and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create!
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To receive my posts sign up for my Go to the home page; On the right side you’ll see a box where you can enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

What was that old song from the ’50’s?

Remember that song from the ’50’s? It was in the Broadway musical, Happy Hunting. “We Belong to a Mut-u-al Ad-mir-a-tion Society”. Best known rendition by Judy Garland. That’s how I feel about Adato Systems and more specifically, Leon Adato.

Last year I took a long hard look at my web site and realized that it was static, lifeless and way behind the times. Absolutely NO one visited it! And I had loved it for so long! So began my journey looking for a web consultant that could bring me into real time with shopping cart, shipping, animation, and far better communication with my readers!

I began by asking an old friend in the computer software industry for a referral….and found Leon. What a treasure! He’s clever, funny and patient! As an added bonus he has a degree in theatre from NYU, so he really gets me. Now that my site is completely finished, I am able to come on-line and ‘play in my cyber sand box‘! And BLOG! Which I have grown passionate about.

The new software is friendly and easy to learn. Did I mention what a good teacher Leon is? I think it really shows off my books and scripts with beautiful illustrations (a nod to my wonderful team of illustrators) and is easy to navigate. I hope my readers and theatre family enjoy it as much as I do!

And now I am a success story on Leon’s site. “………she showcases the work of others. Leveraging her own experience and insight, Trisha is creating reviews of and interviews with other authors, which creates a wonderful sense of community……..”
Click here to read it.
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Start your month off right!! DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. A NEW SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner” INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS!

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and plan on featuring an interview once a month . I have invited such luminaries as: Anne Purser, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Tasha Alexander, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, Lisa Scottoline and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create!
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To receive my posts sign up for my Go to the home page; On the right side you’ll see a box where you can enter your email address. Click on “join my blog“. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

‘The Life’…..how do I know so much about it?

prostitution, research, short plays, monologues

I’ve been asked by several of my readers how can I write so accurately and make it so ‘real‘ when I write about prostitution and ‘the life?‘ Experience, my dear. How else?

Many, many years ago, I was staying on the beach in Honolulu and late one night, I went down to the hotel’s coffee shop for a cup of Joe. Across the street I noticed tall, beautiful, well dressed women, (there were dozens of them) walking up and down. Where were they going? It was close to midnight. My waitress arched an eyebrow as she informed me that ‘they were….you know….’ladies of the night‘. This was in the 90’s and ladies did not throw out words like, ‘whores‘ or’ ho’s’. So I paid for my coffee and dashed across the street and started following these high class hookers up and down Kalakaua Avenue, on Waikiki Beach. They were well dressed, provocative but not cheap. Hair and makeup was perfect. As a writer, this was my chance to observe up close and personal. But not too ‘up close’, I hoped. The part I found hysterical was the girls would pick up Asian men and take them, not to a hotel, but down the boulevard to a park bench several blocks away from the busy sidewalks. The men would sit, all lined up, and wait patiently until the girls came back and got them. Later I noticed that the girls took their ‘breaks’ in an all night ice cream shop. I followed a few in, got in line behind them and introduced myself. I told them I was a writer and I asked if I could talk to them and ask questions. They cheerfully agreed. They told me that their biggest, best paying customers were Japanese business men. I asked about the ‘johns’ lined up on the park bench. They laughed and explained that the girls stored them there until they had enough men to take to the hotel. Kind of like a holding pen. The girls actually knew a little Japanese so that they could ‘negotiate’. Which act for how much??

They seemed almost as fascinated with me as I was with them. They fired away with their questions: why do I write? (a hard question to answer) would their stories be in a movie or on the stage? They laughed so hard when I told them how much (or how little) I make as a writer. They told me, “Girl? You gotta get into the ‘life’ and make some real money!’
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In 2005 I directed “The Oldest Profession” by Paula Vogel. It is a funny, bitter-sweet story of several old (over 60) prostitutes and their long time Madame. Again, RESEARCH!! This time as a director I needed to research prostitution so that we could do justice to Vogel’s script. I Googled the Chicken Ranch, a famous (if not the most famous) bordello in Nevada and then I called the Ranch. They put me right through and the manager was kind enough to answer all of my questions. We were so cordial that by the end of the call she said she was going to send me a ‘grab bag’ of goodies for my ‘girls‘. The funniest item she sent us was a menu that the men (customers, Johns, tricks) receive while waiting to pick a girl. ‘Nuff said! She seemed entertained by our conversation and she was very curious about our end of the business, that is, portraying old hookers on stage. We had a good laugh together!! Managing a stable of prostitutes wasn’t that much different from ‘directing’ a bunch of actresses!

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Start your month off right!! DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. A NEW SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner” INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS!I have had a wonderful response from other authors and plan on featuring an interview at least once a month . I have invited such luminaries as: Anne Purser, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Elizabeth Gilbert, Tasha Alexander, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.
So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To receive my posts sign up for my Go to the home page; On the right side you’ll see a box where you can enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

Hey! Remember….?

….how I’ve been talking about my post-it notes, writing down ideas, thoughts, never throwing away anything that you’ve written? Having a special ‘place’ where you create and write?

It’s so bizarre to read recently that Roald Dahl (1916) espoused the same tenets that I have found to be true for my writing process. Dahl is the author of dozens of brilliant books for young people, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda.

I have discovered elements of his process that are as important for writers today as they were for him when he was writing his books more than 60 years ago. Here are some tips from the legendary writer Roald Dahl …

1. Capture every idea

Roald Dahl was never without his notebook. In it, he constantly wrote down ideas for stories, characters, and plots. Sometimes he would hear or read something interesting and he’d record it in case it might be useful for a story. Carrying something to record notes wherever you are is a great lesson for all writers. It needn’t be a paper notebook, but the principle is the same.

You never know where you’ll be when you get your next great idea for a post, a complete outline for a book, or just a seed to develop — and you can guarantee that when you do get these ideas you won’t be sitting at your desk waiting for them, pen poised. As I have mentioned before, I use post-it notes. I also carry a little notebook in my purse. I have a tablet in my car also. I know other writers who use their Evernote app on their phone. It doesn’t matter what you use, toilet paper and a crayon, a bar napkin, an electronic app, use SOMETHING! Did I lose ideas before using this? Definitely! I’d get an idea for a post with a few strong points, but by the time I’d get to writing it down, I’d forget some — or all — of it. I often mull a story over for days or weeks until I reach the point when I’m ready to sit down and write. I thought about my latest short play, “If We Break Up, I’ll Die!” for a couple of weeks and then wrote it in four hours.

Dahl kept a secret diary from the time that he was eight years of age. To keep it out of the hands of his sisters he would keep it in a waterproof tin box and hid it high in a conker tree in the back garden. Every day he would climb up and, sitting in a high fork in the tree, would write his day’s thoughts.

2. Create a place to work (where have you heard this before?)

Roald Dahl built a writing shed in his back garden. He referred to it as his “womb” and “nest.” He positioned his chair and heater, had a table with various memories and artifacts, and even made a special table for his lap so that everything was just right for him to go there and get lost in his writing.

Many writers head to a specific “nest” to do their writing. J K Rowling has talked about getting her writing done in the cafes of Edinburgh. I believe it’s very important that you have somewhere you can go to work and write. This place separates your writing and your work from everything else that’s competing for your time and attention. The important thing is to have a place that’s got everything you need laid out around you, so you can focus on the writing. As I described in an older post, my studio is the spare bedroom where only my art and my writing co-exist.

I am surrounded by art on the walls, some of my books and a few framed quotes like: “the most creative force on earth is the menopausal woman with zest!” (Margaret Mead)

Watch for part two of this series

A writer’s gratitude

Last Saturday was my book signing at the iconic book store, E. Shaver’s Book Sellers. (shaversbooks.com) What a special day! The staff at Shaver’s made me feel so welcome. They had a nice spot all set up where the first thing the customer saw when they walked in was my table displaying my books.

The store is a collection of cozy little rooms filled to the rafters with BOOKS! Old, original hardwood floors that creak when stepped upon. And outside the occasional clip-clop of horses’ hooves as carriages drove by the front door. I wouldn’t have been half surprised if Charles Dickens and his good friend, Edgar Allan Poe had walked in.

Both my illustrators stopped by to show support. Lori Smaltz, the photographer, was there with her gorgeous coffee table book of celebrated cemeteries of Savannah (Bone Garden Enchantment). She has done most of my photo-collage covers for my books. Jefferson O’Neal, a wonderful artist and the illustrator for all of my children’s books, stayed and signed kiddie books with me.

During the three hour event we enjoyed meeting new people; tourists dropping in, regular customers that shop at Shavers all the time, and a few of my personal friends. I met a lady from Sri Lanka, in remission with stage four cancer. What a beautiful spirit she had…her outlook was so loving and positive. Then there was Celia (a realtor with Sotheby’s) who marched in, came straight to my table and ‘browsed’ my books. She quickly picked out two; one for her granddaughter, Mimi, and my novel for herself. The staff told me later that she supports whatever is going on at Shaver’s and is very generous. What a nice lady! My hair stylist came by with her son, Cameron, (a sweetie) and they bought all of my children’s books. Thanks! Andrea!

And then there were the four-legged shoppers! E. Shaver’s is pet friendly and in they paraded, knowing they would be welcomed. A beautiful springer spaniel with the sweetest face. An Airedale with a harness that said, ‘service dog’. But you could hardly take him seriously with his one cocked up ear; making him look like he was always asking you a question. It was a hoot! And then little ‘Evie’, a mutt with chihuahua, wire-haired terrier and probably six other ingredients; Evie is a bounding, jumping, bundle of pure joy!

The funny, human observation that I made was that some customers would NOT look at me. As if they thought, “Oh no. If I look at her, I’ll have to buy something!” Very funny, but that’s just me and my weird sense of humor. I was just so grateful to the owner and staff at Shaver’s Booksellers. They have taken me in, supported my work and are willing to share their limited shelf space with my books! I am blowing them kisses!

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