Month: October 2020

My very first book is live! I can hardly believe it. When I woke up this morning I realized that one of my life goals of being a published author had finally come to be. Today Im working on final edits for Beautiful Heart, Book 2 in the Aspen Ridge Holiday Hearts series. I hope to finalize it by the end of the weekend so I can start working on my rough draft for Romantic Heart, which is Book 3.

When I woke up this morning, I made my coffee and danced around a bit with Cooper and CoCo Chanel to let them know we had cause to celebrate. From the attached photo you can see their excitement lasted maybe five minutes and then they started snoozing on my couch. Thank heavens for slip covers to protect them.

I should have recorded the snoring to add to the ambiance.

Tonight my husband and I are going to crack open a bottle of Sparking Pink Moscato Wine, and toast the milestone in my life.

My wish is that you find this book sweet and funny, and want to read more.

I also hope that someone out there that was just like me – wanting to publish a book, but not yet willing to make the jump – will take my bravery as inspiration. I have made the jump knowing it will take lots of hard work to start making a living at this. For now, Im just calling it my side hustle.

The other day I was browsing on Facebook and came across this post on the favorite Halloween candy by state. I was surprised to see that Oregon loves Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Whenever I’ve brought a bag of candy to training, or to the office to share with co-workers, usually Twix candy bars go first. But looking at this map, I’m wondering what the heck is up with California liking Kit Kat bars. Those are not for me.

I’m pleased to announce that my first book has been put to bed. I have read and reread the documents and found as many errors to correct that I could. However, I’m fully aware that I will look at the final one and be ticked when I find the first error. It is sort of buying a new car, and then finding your first scratch on it.

Gingerbread Heart: Aspen Ridge Holiday Hearts (Book 1) will be live on October 31st. In celebration of my favorite holiday, Halloween. As all new authors I can’t help but have a fantasy that my book will be an instant hit and sell millions of copies. But I am keeping myself grounded and realize that building a following and getting my books out there will take time. And I am looking forward to the challenge.

Please have a safe Halloween. Try to create some fun Halloween traditions with your family and friends. Its my favorite time of the year. The days get darker earlier, the crisp air in the mornings, and the sunshine in the afternoon. What is not to love?

So as a new author, about to be published, I’ve been exploring how to market my books. I also consider it research for when my side hustle, Columbia Gorge Publishing, LLC, starts publishing other authors works.

So what have I learned?

So all these thoughts about book promotions stressed me out. What do I do when I’m stressed? I love going for a walk down a country road around the corner from my house that is lined with pulp trees. These trees are grown for a few years and then harvested for the pulp to make paper products like toilet paper or paper towel, and then the land is replanted.

Pulp tree growers out in eastern Oregon put plaques with the year planted along the highways so people driving through can see how quickly these trees grow. I will one day write a horror book involving these pulp tree farms. They are spooky when the sun goes down.

Have you ever caught your pets in the cutest pose ever? I snapped the photo above of my girl CoCo Chanel, sitting pretty as I call it at the top of our basement stairs waiting for me to come up from my home office – or as I am starting to call it – my author’s domain. She is the only dog I’ve ever had that wants to lay down and cross her front legs. She is back lit by all the afternoon sun, coming through our french doors.

The idea of sitting pretty takes me back to my preteens where my mom would instruct me how to sit when wearing a dress in band concerts. I was a tomboy so wasn’t the best dress wearer. But the cross my ankles together and tuck them under my seat to one side, keeping my knees locked together, is pounded into my brain. I had to “sit pretty” when I was wearing a dress.

I’m suffering a failure to launch with finalizing my edits on the first book, Gingerbread Heart. I guess it is my first baby, and I’m reluctant to let go. But I need to shift that focus to finalizing my next book, Beautiful Heart. Maybe my need for perfection will actually make my book worse? I’m not sure. As I’m self-publishing through my own publishing company I can only rely on the words of encourage from my editors.

In my 9-5 job I’ve taken on helping with COVID tracing for my company. I had worked in Human Resources before I got my second degree in Safety, and I realize now how I’d forgotten how much employees need help and guidance when they are struggling to determine their next step forward. I’m starting to see how scary COVID is after someone finds out that they were in close contact with someone who tests positive. And how it can affect their working life and ability to care for their own family. I know masks and social distancing were made political, but I believe that there is anecdotal evidence that small things like that help stop the spread of the virus. Be healthy everyone! Stay Safe!

Happy Saturday! I’m hanging out in my cold home office in our house’s basement. Its cold enough that I’ve layered a maxi skirt over my leggings to add additional warmth. Kitty Girl decided that she was going to make a play to perch right on my shoulder/chest in an attempt to soak up my body heat. She was happy and purring, I was not happy!

This weekend I have have weekend duty for the facility I work with, so I have to carry two phones with me (personal and business). I’m also calling to follow up from a covid tracking standpoint any employees that may have called in sick for their shifts. I realize that I am blessed to have the job I do, but I also realize that I have goals to make income streams from other areas like writing or publishing so I can eventually leave the job I’m in. I believe in making your own destiny, but you may have to scrape, claw or crawl your way there. Never give up.

So I am actually a dog lover, but kitty girl has latched herself onto our family. She has been with us I think 7-8 years, never left while we had to move somewhere near by to rebuild our house after a devastating fire. But she is mean to all of us. I think 97% of the time she hates me and attacks me, and 3% of the time she’s lovey dovey like the photos I’ve posted show. Her name is actually shitty kitty but we tell the vet or post with the names Sheba or Kitty Girl, which is how I call her home from the neighbors llama field. I live for her 3% personality.

I am a fall girl! If there is any season I love, it Autumn. Usually in Oregon we get the beautiful weather in September and early October and the dip in to the rainy months. A few years ago, I went to a local quilt show with my mother and came across this beautiful quilted wall hanging of this moose. I was in love. Since it was a bit out of my price range, I of course had to document it for Facebook. It pops up each year on my Facebook page, and it makes me so happy. The creator was a truly gifted artist.

I’m writing today, but really I want to go out an hike a forest trail with Mr Anderson and the two dogs, Cooper and CoCo Chanel. But instead, I’m typing away in my easy chair with my boy Cooper hanging out snoozing on the couch next to me.

Procrastination, thy name is PK Anderson..

So welcome to October. I think this is a tumultuous time in the United States and it feels like its going to be rocking and rolling through the end of this year. I don’t know about you, but I am very much a home body, so all the uncertainty and turmoil is stressing me out.

So today my goal was to do all final edits on my first book and then bundle it up to send off to my editor. Easier said than done. I haven’t written for two weeks because I was working 12 hours shifts for 14 days straight. I am bone weary. But I know other people do this too, so I’m really not trying to complain or get sympathy. I believe in hard work, and making your own success.

When I decided to start writing and start my own publishing company (www.columbiagorgepublishing.com) it took a lot of people by surprise. I realized that while my truth is that I’ve always wanted to be a writer from when I was quite small, I let my truth be tampered down and really didn’t share my dream with anyone. Most shocking was my sister not knowing I wanted to write. I used to carry notebooks with my stories I was working on with me all the time when I was young. I still carry an old school journal in my backpack to write down inspiration. So this brings me to my message to you, don’t let your truth be quenched. Follow your dreams. Figure out how to achieve them.

And speaking of dreams, I will share this cute video of kitty girl trying to get into the drawer where her kitty treats are stored. Every day I toss some out on the floor for her to scavenge (you know – hunter / gatherer ). She’s fine with the method of delivery, just not fine with the fact that I only give them once a day. She wasn’t dropping her dream so we shouldn’t either.