Sharon Sala

This is a really exciting time for me. I’m beginning a new trilogy for MIRA books called the Rebel Ridge trilogy. First book out is NEXT OF KIN, on February 1st. And…my next big news is my first self-published book! It’s a work of women’s fiction called A FIELD OF POPPIES…. I’m getting some great feedback on it which makes me happy happy, and hope everyone loves it as much as I do. It’s about families, and all of you know how much family means to me. Give both books a try. If you like those genres, I promise you won’t be sorry.

As of today, the second book in the continuing series of my Young Adult Lunatic Ghost series is out. LUNATIC DETECTIVE is on the market, both in Kindle format and in paperback from Amazon.com or the paperback from the publisher, BelleBooks.

Enjoy,
Sharon Sala

June is the month for Father’s Day, but my father has been gone since 1985. It’s a time to remember him. June was also my Bobby’s birthday month. But he’s been gone since 2005. It’s a time to remember him. I used to listen to my Mother talk about how the longer she lived, the more people she lost and missed. I’m beginning to understand what she meant. And at 91, everything and everyone she talks about is from the past because her life now isn’t a life of participation. It’s about being on the sidelines observing.

At the end of this month, I’m going to New York City to the National Romance Writers Convention. There I will be presented with RWA’s Lifetime Achievement Award. It’s a big honor. But I don’t want people to think that means my writing life is over, because it’s not. Far from it. I’m still making memories with each book that I write, and sharing them with people who love to read. I’m always seeing life from a new perspective, and looking for a way to tell my stories in a fresh new voice. Memories are wonderful. They keep the past alive. But making new memories is just as important, because we’re in the present and always moving toward the future. I like that. It’s what I’m doing this month – in this month for memories – I’m remembering to live life without regrets.

Check out the new book cover to your right. It’s still in the tweaking stage, but it’s the cover for my first YA novel, due to be released July 1, with the second novel in the series, LUNATIC DETECTIVE, coming out August 1. I’m really excited about the series and can’t wait for it to hit the shelves. It’s about a teenage psychic named Tara Luna who’s gypsy life with her Uncle Pat is complicated by always having to change schools and the fact that she’s grown up with two ghosts who move with them every time Uncle Pat gets the urge to travel. The fact that she constantly gets herself in trouble because of what she can “see” doesn’t make life any easier. But when the head cheerleader at her new school goes missing, it’s Tara and her new boyfriend, bad boy, Flynn O’Mara, who wind up helping the police find her just in the nick of time. And in the middle of all that drama… there’s this other problem – trying to find the body of a long-dead girl who’s buried in the back yard of their rent house so her spirit can be at rest. So you think you have problems? At least you don’t have Tara Luna’s Lunatic Life.

So it’s a little overcast today…looks like it might storm later on. Weather forecast has storm warnings already in the western third of the state. Mother has been changing clothes for the better part of an hour. Last count, 4th outfit she’s changed into and all because she thinks she’s getting her hair done today. But she’s not. That’s tomorrow. What is happening is that today is the day that my pest control service comes to the house to spray. Every time she gets a new outfit on, she comes to tell me she’s ready to go to the hair salon. And every time I have to tell her that today is not the day she gets her hair done. Today is the day for pest control. She frowns, goes back in her room and changes into yet another outfit, then a few minutes later, hunts me down again and tells me that I might as well take her on to the beauty shop before the bug man gets here, at which point we repeat the conversational cycle that points out she’s mistaken, which makes her mad. It’s not her fault. This is just what age has done to her brain. But I’m feeling a little nervous for the bug man. I hope when he gets here that she doesn’t tell him that she needs a trim before he gives her a shampoo and set. Poor Mother. Poor me. Poor bug man. Today is a day of confusion.

That big sigh of relief you heard might have been me after taxes were over. The days leading up to the deadline are always painful for me. I worry and fuss as I dig through all the papers, sorting and filing like a mad woman. Even though I KNOW I’m always going to pay, it doesn’t make it any better. Such are the joys of the self-employed. But don’t get me wrong! I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else. I love this job. Making a living at writing books is a gift and I don’t take it lightly. Have you ever followed through on an impulse and had it turn out great? That’s how I got into this business, you know. An impulse. I had a job I hated and came home one night, pulled the electric typewriter out of the closet and rolled in a sheet of paper. The rest is history.

On another note, I planted some basil in my two big pots out on the back patio. They’re growing like crazy and I love having fresh basil to use in my cooking. Made Caprese salad tonight, that’s fresh mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, olive oil and basil. Add a hunk of Ciabatta bread and you have me at Yum. LOL

So do any of you guys plant gardens or little mini-gardens like that? When I lived in the country, I had a huge garden. In a way I miss having the fresh stuff to eat, but I don’t miss having to take care of the garden. That was hot hard work. Going to Farmer’s Market and buying the fresh stuff now has me spoiled. We have a great one here where I live. It’s open two days a week and I try to get there at least once a week for sure. My daughter brought me some fresh broccoli and asparagus Saturday that she’d bought there. It was SOOO good.

I have a busy week ahead of me, so I need to finish up on copy edits for one of my upcoming books. Have a great week and remember to take care of yourself as much as you’re taking care of others.

Sharon

So. It’s finally April and we’re hot and DRY in Oklahoma, which is not good. Usually by this time we’re going through stormy days and nights with thunderstorm and tornado warnings right and left, but not this year. At least not yet. We are living through the dryest period in our recorded history which isn’t good. No rain. Just a lot of wind and wildfires. I’d try a rain dance, but I don’t think I have enough Indian blood to make it work. It’s too diluted. Even if my heart is with The People, my skin’s too white. Sooo, I’m seriously thinking about putting in a pool. My grandkids are all finally old enough not to drown if they happened to fall in. They can all swim like little “and big” fishes and range in age from almost 20 to 8. It’s still up in the air about whether I do it or not, but I know if I do it’s going to be quite a project and a lot of mess. However, the end result will be great!! I’m writing a new book called NEXT OF KIN that will be out sometime next year. The second book in my Searchers trilogy will be out the middle of May. The digital version on the 1st of June. It’s called BLOOD TIES, the book that comes after BLOOD STAINS, which was out in February/March. I hope all my readers are enjoying the stories as much as I’m loving writing them for you.

Later, Sharon

It was sunny when I woke up and now it’s cold and gray. Wind is blowing just enough to keep the house chilly. Gotta go turn up the heat to keep my Mother’s feet warm. LOL So neat things have happened since last week. I received news that I am being honored at the RWA national convention in NYC this summer. I’ve been named the recipient of the RWA Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award. I am sooo excited, and so honored. Already bought a new red blouse to go with my fancy black skirt. Kick up my heels time for sure.
I had lunch today with two good friends, both writers. Quite a treat. Oh. And yesterday, I was in Wal-Mart and happened upon the Easter aisle. Can I just say, OMG! I bought two little boxes of Peeps. One yellow. One pink. They’re both gone now, but I didn’t eat them all by myself, I swear. I love Peeps. Brrrr, that gust of wind just made the window screens rattle. I think I’m going to go make some hot tea and find a blanket to snuggle under. Talk to you later.

Okay… so it’s been a really long time since I’ve posted anything here. I swear I have a really good excuse. I was taken by aliens and they just brought me back. Turns out they didn’t want me after all. They thought I was Paula Deen. When I couldn’t make her Gooey Butter Cake, they realized I’d been telling the truth and dumped me back here in Oklahoma. I have to say I’m glad to be back. Nothing like a little red Oklahoma dirt between my toes to make a girl feel right at home. So what have you guys been doing while I was gone? I see you haven’t straightened out that mess over in Afghanistan yet and now the whole Middle East is in an uproar. I turn my back and look what happens. sigh. Anyway… I do apologize for the absence. You don’t really want to know what’s been going on, but I will say I was not in jail. LOLOL No… truly…life with Mother and her dementia continues to unravel. Between that and work, I let stuff slide. I had the first book in a new trilogy come out in February. The book is BLOOD STAINS. The second book is BLOOD TIES, which will be out middle of May/1st of June for ebooks. Last book, BLOOD TRAILS, will be out middle of Sept/1st of Oct for digital on that. Hope you like them. If you’ve already read Blood Stains, let me know what you think. I promise I’ll make regular visits back here from now on.

It’s officially summer here in Oklahoma. Kids are sporting sunburns and zinc oxide on the bridge of their noses and Moms and Dads are running around in tees, shorts, and flip-flops. Even the ones who shouldn’t. LOL When I was a kid, we didn’t have a pool to swim in. We swam in the pond. With the ducks and the snakes and the fish and turtles and the occasional cow that would wander down to wade in and get a drink. Didn’t have the good sense to be scared. It was too hot and the water felt too good to get out. Someone asked me today what was one of my favorite summer memories and I immediately thought back to when we made homemade ice cream with the old crank ice cream bucket. It was a great big production. Daddy had to go into town to the ice plant and buy a great big chunk of ice…usually a thirty pounder. Brought it home wrapped up in burlap, driving as fast as he could. By the time he got there, Mother would have had the ice cream mix made and in the can it went. Then the can went in the bucket. Daddy clamped that handle across the top of the bucket, then we began filling the space around the can with chips of ice sprinkled with salt. If you didn’t have the salt to make the ice melt, it wouldn’t get cold enough. My job was to sit on the crank so it wouldn’t pop off when Daddy turned the handle. They either folded up some old burlap feed sacks, or a couple of mother’s old towels as a pad for me to sit on, but it didn’t change the fact that I was sitting on ice. So freaking cold. I couldn’t wait for the ice cream to freeze so we could eat it. I think my favorite was when the peaches would get ripe and Mother would make fresh peach ice cream. Lord. I can still remember how sweet and cold and creamy that was in my mouth, sitting in the grass beneath a big old shade tree. Temperature about 95 degrees in the shade and that wonderful cold treat in our bowl, melting almost faster than we could eat it. I miss those times. I miss those people. Everyone who was a part of that life is gone now except for my Mother, who doesn’t remember much of anything. But memories are a funny thing. Even though I can get ice cream now any time of day, any time of year, in almost any flavor, without having to sit on the crank and freeze my behind numb, the ice cream we eat now isn’t quite as good. Maybe it’s because Daddy’s big laugh is missing, and my little sister isn’t sneaking pieces of ice from the bucket, licking off the salt before popping them in her mouth. Maybe it was the ambiance that came with making it that made it taste better. At any rate, it’s hot outside and although I’m not sitting on a bucket of ice, I’m still yearning for that first bite of homemade peach ice cream, and the sound of my Mother’s voice, asking everyone if it tasted all right. Good memories. Good ice cream. Good times.