To Penelope, From Penelope

  Yesterday was full of firsts.  It was my first Gaithersburg Book Festival.  The GBF is huge!  It features many accomplished, world renowned authors every year, and there I was amongst the greats with my little ol' debut novel, dressed to the nines.  Ok, so not the dressed up part, but hey, it was 50 degrees and rained all day- still had a great time!

  I took my first credit card transaction.  Woo-hoo!  If a lack of cash has been stopping you from picking up a copy of INSPIRALED, then fret no more, plastic is fantastic.

  I tried my first Nothing Bundt Cake and was swept away to my own private heaven made of nothing but rich, decadent, fudgy, chocolate magnificence.  I temporarily forgot where I was and that my wet toes had become numb...all that mattered was another bite of that cake.  If you haven't tried one yet, stop what you're doing and go get some Nothing Bundt Cake!

  Finally, my last first of the day was my signing of a book to a beautiful lady named Penelope!  Yes, it was to Penelope from Penelope.  I hope my first Penelope keeps in touch.

  The Gaithersburg Book Festival was full of warm, energetic book lovers (except for the one lady that said she didn't like to read when we asked her what genre of books she likes.  What the...???) and I had an absolute fabulous time making new friends and bonding over our favorite books (and cakes), even though it was a little chilly.  I can hardly wait for next year's GBF!

Don't like to read but still enjoy a good story?  Listen to INSPIRALED instead!  It's easy and can be free at audible.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rUHA6BjxIA

http://www.amazon.com/Inspiraled-Penelope-Aaron/dp/1495422224/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1463945909&sr=8-1&keywords=inspiraled

https://www.facebook.com/penelopeaaron2014/ Click on Shop Now

https://twitter.com/penelope_aaron

Random Pirates and Writing Groups

 

When people find out that I've written a book a lot of them will tell me that they've always wanted to write one.  "Go for it!" I say.  But there is a lot more to writing a book than just sitting down and typing it up.  Even though getting words on the page is a huge accomplishment,  you really need another set of eyes to take a look at it.  This other set of eyes should be able to tell you honestly (and encouragingly- hey we're supposed to be on the same team!) what works and what doesn't, how they interpreted and envisioned the picture you painted, and what just needs to be axed.

For example, I inserted a random kid in a pirate suit swooping in and saving the day in my upcoming novel, Inspirited.  I thought it was hilarious.  My writing group girls (whom I love to pieces and are pictured in this post) said, "What the heck!  You can't just drop him in at the last chapter.  Where's he been the whole story?  Put Big Mike in the pirate suit!  He's been here all along and deserves part of the hero cred."  Why didn't I think of that?  Mike is so big that the pirate suit will be too small.  I think that's hilarious.

So whether you've got pirate problems or a dragon named Montana that can't find a dress in her size anywhere in Shabbywocka County (take a look at The Dragon Dress Hunt by Penelope Aaron on funclassroomprintables.com), you really need to get a group of eyeballs together every week or month or however often works for you all.  But seriously, do it- your story's life depends on it!

Oh, and please check out my debut novel, Inspiraled.  Don't like to read?  Listen to it instead!  It's easy and can be free at audible.com

https://www.facebook.com/penelopeaaron2014 click on Shop Now

 

http://www.amazon.com/Inspiraled-Penelope-Aaron/dp/1495422224/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454881304&sr=8-1&keywords=inspiraled

 

https://twitter.com/penelope_aaron

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rUHA6BjxIA