Was 2018 a crazy roller coaster ride for you? Smooth sailing? Milestone events?
My author pals and I are remembering the happy moments as well as lessons we learned from challenges this past year in our blog hop: The Ups, Downs and In Between Times on our 2018 Writing Road.” Check out our personal reveals, then visit the other #Gr8Blogs linked at the end of this post for more shared recollections and lessons learned along the way. We hope you’ll be inspired to dive into your own special memories of 2018!
January 2018 through the summer months were busy times here at “Books by Rose.” In August, I released my 8th children’s book, “Moonshadow Mae.” Leading up to that, I had to work on setting up an all new website. Whew! It took me five weeks to figure it out, but with the help of all my tech savvy friends, I made it! This is my third time transiting websites. The first and second time, I painstakingly replaced everything. This time, I started fresh and new. Did it bother me that I lost all my content? Yes it did! The only thing that got me through was looking back and realizing all my posts would of required updates on those I interviewed and posts I created that had changed. So, as sparse as it may look at the moment, I hope to fill it fast with all new content in the coming months.
Getting back to “Moonshadow Mae.” This is my first hardcover and our goals are to see this sweet story in bookstores and libraries across the USA and then some. It’s full of wonder as Mae loves the moon and the glowing shine it leaves behind. Fun facts, a recipe, and a really cool craft is in the back of her book. I hope you will share it with your friends in your hometown. Click on this link to see her 5 star reviews: Amazon
Rosie Russell
Summer was filled with birthday parties, BBQ’s, reunions with friends and, of course, BASEBALL. If you have followed me by now, you know we are a huge baseball family and love supporting our home team and our little league teams.
In November, I was ready for a fair I signed up for. Lots and lots of work went into making crafts to go along with my books. I would also like to add, the work involved turned out to be a good thing, as it got me away from the computer with hands on activities. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it was the healthiest thing I could have done for myself. I really have a hard time not working on writing and illustrating more books. Since the crafts all pertain to my stories, it was the perfect time for me to give myself permission to take a break. I really recommend this for all you writers and illustrators to take breaks from time to time. It’s so good for the soul. In the long run, it will make you more productive.
If you would like to see some of the crafts I made, check out my November blog post here.
Now friends, are you ready to see what our other author friends have been up to in 2018? I hope you will click on their links below to read their stories. You may find some new authors you have not heard of or known before. You are in for a treat when you see all their wonderful books and blogs.
Don’t forget to leave a comment letting us all know how 2018 went for you. We would love to hear from you!
If for some reason a reply form does not show up on your side, please go to the top of this page and click on comment under the title of this post. Thank you for your patience as I’m still learning this new website. 🙂
Happy Holidays!
Rosie
Hi Rosie, I changed websites this year too, it’s not easy, thankfully for me I rely mainly on my son Alex to do most of the tricky techie stuff. Glad you were able to call on help, we all need that, we are writer’s not techies. Thank you for allowing me to help you this year with editing your new book Moonshine Mae, I love the book and was so pleased to help in any small way. I also agree that it is important to have other avenues of creativity, and time outside of writing. The soul needs to breathe inspiration from many avenues. Good luck with 2019, I look forward to continuing our journey together.
Hi Sandra, I’m so glad you have a place to turn to as well with all this techie business on websites. It’s one thing I know little about, but am learning.
What fun it was to work with you on your new story you released this last year. I still plan to get a copy someday, I haven’t forgotten.
I can’t tell you how much I have enjoyed and appreciated your help this past year. Thank you again.
Yes, getting away to do something different, even for a few days, helps clear our thoughts. After taking a break, I was able to think more on what’s to come in 2019. I really will have to do that more often.
Looking forward to more to come for 2019.
Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season.
Happy New Year!
Rosie
Oh gosh, my heart SANK when I learned of your website troubles. I cannot imagine losing your Website and having to start over from scratch. So happy you stuck it out instead of giving in to frustration. We look Moonshadow Mae I cannot wait for schools all over your area to meet her.
Here’s to a tech glitch free 2019!
Thanks so much Carmela! Yes, it was tricky at times. I hope this next year will go smoother with this new software I’m using.
I too hope “Moonshadow Mae” will be well received in the school libraries. Lots of fun learning, activities, and fun discussions.
Enjoy the holidays and the best to you and yours for 2019 Carmela.
Rosie
So proud of you and all your accomplishments. Not only are you continuing to grow and learn but to are providing a forum for your friends and other authors to show their accomplishments as well. 😀♥️🤗
Thank you so much for stopping by with your sweet comment.
Our author group is so supportive and we worked together well. They inspire me everyday.
Wishing you a wonderful holiday and the very best for 2019 Robin! 🙂
Rosie
Kudos to you for defeating tech gremlins (Cannot imagine losing your author website, with all its juicy info, and starting from scratch) and formatting your first hardcover. Mae will rock on library shelves! Jelly of your crafting ability -:D.
Your rich family life makes me smile. Nothing brings people together like baseball and good food. All the best to you and yours for a joyous holiday!
Thanks so much for your kind words Cat!
Hopefully things on this new website will get ironed out soon. That, or I’ll learn how to manage it better. 🙂
Looking forward to some upcoming projects coming for 2019. I may revealed those in the next post…we’ll see how it goes.
Our family and friends are my deepest treasures as I’m sure yours are too. So grateful for you all!
Have a wonderful holiday season and the best to you and JM in 2019!
Rosie
Hi Julie! Your comment worked this time! Thank you for trying again! Maybe there was a lag somewhere…whew. These websites, huh? Yippee, it worked though!
I loved your sweet note and thank you so much for your kind words. I may go and take a break right now in fact. Ha!
Thank you for your support with “Moonshadow Mae.” I was even able to talk about her book on a podcast with “Reading With Your Kids.” Her book is being well received and we are so thankful for that.
Yes, the fair experience still gives me smiles and warm feelings in my heart. You know how exciting it is to be able to help a child with reading and the love of books. I hope “Beasley’s Journey” made that little guy enjoy learning our language, and more importantly, the love of reading.
Thank you again Julie and have a wonderful evening.
Rosie
Kudos to you for persevering with battling tech frustrations and getting your website up and running. Looks great! Congrats on the hardcover book – read and loved Moonshadow Mae! And totally agree, sometimes you need to step away from the computer and take a break so you can come back to writing refreshed and ready to go again. Such a heartwarming experience you shared from the fair. Thanks for sharing your year with us and best wishes for 2019!