Your Book Is Published, Now What?

Your book is published, now what? Are you doing a second book, Kelly? Are you relaxing into Spring and gadding about, or finally hunkering down to the woefully neglected garden and house?

Folks have been asking me these questions and more ever since I published Never, Never Hardly Ever on March 20th.

Your Book Is Published, Now What?

First up?

The laurel hedge in our backyard. It was last trimmed in 2019? 2020? I like it to be the same height as our carport. So do the neighbors behind.

Check out the roofline on the right. Now have a look below.

Much better, no?

Next up? Poppy’s nails.

Our 13-year-old dog’s hips are sore and the pads on her feet are smooth. If she slips on the hardwood floor, she flops into flat-as-a-pancake mode and can’t get back up without help.

We dodged a bullet recently. One February frosty morning I noticed her marked hesitation over navigating the three wooden steps to the backyard. I clipped on her leash and led her to the front. One confident step and she shot off like a manatee: flat out, spinning in circles on her belly down the concrete steps, thanks to the sheer ice. I watched in horror as she got half way down, scrabbled for a foothold and took off again. It was a living nightmare as I crept down, inching sideways and clutching onto the railing as if I was 95.

Thankfully, Poppy didn’t panic but waited patiently for me to haul her upright.

I’ve never had a dog make it to 13 before. It’s very different. The aging came on suddenly. This time last year, Poppy could pass for six. Now, our girl is almost tone deaf, she’s sporting suspect ping pong ball-sized lumps, she startles easily and loves to sleep away the day. However. She still greets me happily every morning and loves her food. She reappears every afternoon at 2pm looking for dinner. Uh huh. Every afternoon. It’s a delicate dance until 4 when I finally cave.

We got to the vet’s nice and early this morning for the nail clipping as I was worried about getting her into the car. She’s 58 pounds and can no longer leap effortlessly into the back.

And yes, she is shedding! How on earth do you know?

So, that’s two important, must-do’s done.

Up next?

Cleaning and waterproofing our deck. Good thing my son is coming home for a day or two soon. He so enjoys our endless bickering as we undertake that arduous, backbreaking slog.

And my plans for the book?

Someone asked if I hired a PR person to do the marketing

Uh no. It’s all just me. I’ve never published a book before so I’m learning everything one page at a time.

My official book launch is later in the week. My sister and my niece are kindly hosting over 25 of their friends. Do wish me luck; I’m both nervous and excited to chat with folks in person about the entire process. I hope it’ll be fun. It’s such a relief to get the manuscript off my laptop and out into the world.

I’ve also got two book clubs booked. One for May and another for July. They’re in person. However, I would love to do an online one. So, if you’re in another country or in Ontario and are looking for an author to join ya, I’m up for it. Give me a shout. I’d love to pop in and chat about how Francine and I survived working together for a decade. Honestly, there are even more stories than in the book …

Also in the works? I’m hiring someone to help me transition this website from a blogging base to an author site. Yes, it’s time.

Mother’s Day is May 12th

Guess what? I picked up some wonderful books at the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop in Dayton, Ohio. Several of them would make great Mother’s Day gifts. I’m excited to share the titles with you in the next post.

Thank you to everyone who has ordered Never, Never, Hardly Ever. Yet to get your copy? It’s available  here   Go on – have a read of the several pages on offer to see if it’s your cup of tea.

If you’ve read my book,  I’d love it if you’d leave a written review on Amazon. A huge thanks to those who already have. I’d also be most appreciative if you’d subscribe here and follow me on Instagram.and Facebook, too!

Okay, enough blathering. What about you? What are you reading? Knitting? Streaming? If you’d care to share, I’d love to hear.