This past weekend we headed to the hills, Big Bear Lake actually, where during the weekend, it’s #Oktoberfest! Our neighbors here in Orange County have the cutest cabin they rent to friends and family. Hubby and I were able to secure it just in time to enjoy the oompah celebrations. The Big Bear community is hauling out all things brimming with German yumminess. Biers are plentiful, delectable plates of wiener schnitzel await, plump sausages are popping–in October, I guess we’re all a little German, at least from an appetite perspective! The music is lively too, encouraging you to shake a leg on the dance floor wearing your dirndl finest. Local vendors are selling their celebration wares, enticing you to get in the mountain spirit and depart with a few of your ‘down the hill’ dollars.
We toured the lakeside and visited some of our favorite haunts, excited for our little weekend escape. The crisp mountain air (a gloriously chilling 30 degrees at night) gets you in the mood for hot chocolate in the daytime and some spirited libations in the evening. The ski slopes are waiting for the first storm of the year, when the town of Big Bear gets down to its main business. I’m sure we’ll be back–I have snow boots to wear. 🙂 Happy #Oktoberfest! It’s Wednesday, time for #DearDiary:
Mistletoe & Mayhem, Yuletide at Castlewood Manor coming soon!
As I mentioned last week, my decision time for what I will do with Mistletoe & Mayhem, Yuletide at Castlewood Manor came due. You always need to have a Plan B in your hip pocket and I’m glad I did. I’ve decided to self-publish the 4th book in my series to be available for the holiday season. Mistletoe & Mayhem is off to BookBaby for production and distribution! I’m good with this decision and have learned a ton of what to do and what not to do this go round in the #querying process. I love this new story in the series and think my #readers will too. Lots of changes coming up for Gemma and the folks at Cherrywood Hall this Yuletide season, stay tuned for #release details!
Pssst: I am loving the #animation and #audio enhancement for my #bookcovers, created by the fabulous Morgan Wright and GeeGee Music Productions. Turn up the volume and have a listen–customized music to make your #bookcover pop! Great for your book #marketing and #promo efforts too. You can find out more on Morgan’s services here:
My 2020 #WIP: An American Hygges & Bisous Mystery©!
I’m into the #writing of my new story for the An American Hygges & Bisous Mystery© #cozymystery series and of course I had to have my new series muse tree set up featuring a little bling, rustic chic, and a good dose of all things in the spirit of #Hygge. It’s been a bit of a wake-up call for me getting to know the new characters–their personalities, traits, likes and dislikes. I’m not in Cherrywood Hall anymore, Toto! I have to say though that I am loving my new MC, Rikkhe (Americanized pronunciation: Rick-ee) Jenson St. Claire—interior designer extraordinaire and a lovely who-dun-nit amateur sleuth. We’re off to the Jackson Hole, Wyoming area for this first story, renovating a manor house with a tragic, maybe even a little haunted past…Dun-Dun-Dun!
An apocalyptic thriller from the #writer’s of Twitter this week…
Author David Collins, Asteria: The last hope for humankind, 5 STARS
Things are not all what they seem on the lunar colony of Asteria. Technician Carla and her colleagues strive to make the planned community designed to rescue the people of Earth a livable space for all. War, famine and natural resource destruction is quickly rendering the planet uninhabitable leaving billions to perish. When one of Carla’s AI enhanced bots goes missing, she unexpectedly learns the secret decisions and cover-ups by those at the highest levels that will have dire ramifications for Earth’s population. Their trust shattered, will her band of newly found renegades be strong enough to circumvent those in power and change the course of events?
Carla and her colleagues decide to take a stand against the powers that be, against impossible odds. The President and his cronies want her defeated using any means. As the final conflict nears, it’s a battle of technical wits that has life or death consequences for the people of Earth–will the passion of the few be enough to defeat those with more nefarious plans?
Author Collins keeps us guessing ’til the very end with this dystopian, apocalyptic tale. In a delightful twist, he’s also provided an alternative ending that will keep you reflecting on what the future might bring…
Next up in the #reading queue:
A few more pics to enjoy from our Big Bear #roadtrip
Crowns and Kisses,
Veronica
P.S. If you’re in the southern California area the next few weeks, the #Oktoberfest celebrations at Big Bear go on ’til November 2nd! Gemma (& Rikkhe) would approve! 🙂
