Getting Back to Business

     I opened this blog site and was astonished at what I saw. I knew it had been a while since my last post. But nearly 2-1/2 years? Really? Yes, really. But, why?
    As I reflect on those missing years, I understand why my heart was not interested in blogging. I kept up Twitter and Facebook, but not blogging.
    If you are amongst those who had followed my blog in the past, you may remember that I wrote posts from the heart. Travelling and writing. Riding and writing. Writing and writing.
    Sadly, my heart was broken 2 years ago when my Dad passed away. He left an enormous hole in my heart, for he was not just my Dad, but my mentor, my teacher, my cheerleader, my confidante, my boss, and my friend.
    Five months after his passing, my Mom suffered her first stroke. It affected her speech center and she was led on the road to rehabilitation. We moved her from "their" home to my city and placed her in assisted living. The stroke exacerbated dementia, but she was beginning to get over her depression from losing her husband of 62 years, when another stroke smacked her down. This time worsening her dementia and her speech once again.
    I have been her caregiver in all things medical and financial. I spend a great amount of time with her. Not because I have to, but because I want to. She is my Mom. She's always had my back and she would've done the same for me.
    I am a caregiver for my Mom, my 28 year-old daughter who has special needs, myself as I cope with multiple sclerosis, my husband's office where I am the manager, and my household (in general). Whew!
    So that is my excuse and I ask you to forgive me.
    Now that I have sufficiently depressed you all, let's concentrate on the good stuff.
    Last September, I visited Italy with a good friend. That was a great vacation and it gave me an idea for my third book.
    Last October, THE GOLDEN PEACOCK became available to the reading public and I have received a lot of positive responses. I also have a literary agent who works diligently to get a mainstream publishing house to contract with me.
    In June, I made it available in paperback because people complained (and rightly so) that they did not have an eReader.
    On a very personal note, I hit a BIG birthday year and went on a Caribbean cruise with my husband in April. We combined it with what will become our 30th anniversary in October. One of the islands the ship docked at was where we honeymooned - St. Lucia!
    We've added a new member to our family. An adorable terrier-mix pound puppy named Ozzy.
    My son is now living 9,000 miles away from me (sigh!) in Prague. But he is happy, so I am too. Kind of (you mothers know what I mean).
    This post is already too long, but I wanted to get you up to speed. I promise I will now get myself up to speed and start blogging again.
http://www.laurenbgrossman.com/

   

    Okay, as promised, I am celebrating MS Awareness Week by offering a FREE download of “Once in Every Generation” through Amazon’s Kindle program. The offer will last five days.

   Here are the links to the USA and UK Amazon sites, but I know it’s available in whatever country Amazon books are sold. http://amzn.to/d0MUEz (USA) - http://amzn.to/V8PX9S (UK).

   I’m not computer-savvy enough to know how it works, but I’m told you don’t even need a Kindle to download it. Do it for you, or mention it to a friend. Hey, it’s FREE!

    The caveat is that it is not about MS. It’s about relationships and learning how to face challenges (it just happens that a main character gets diagnosed with PPMS, so the reader learns about the disease). It can apply to any physical or mental challenges one may face.

   Enjoy! And, please remember that I love to get feedback. Read on!

CORRECTION: The ebook version of "Once in Every Generation" is NOW downloadable for FREE on Amazon for 5 days beginning today. You do not need a Kindle to download it. You can download it to your PC or other e-devices (Kindle for PC is free - and I have no doubt that Apple devices have their own version). This is in CELEBRATION of its two year anniversary of publication! After the free 5-day period, it will be available exclusively to Amazon Prime Members and their Lending Library for 90 days. Maybe by then I will be ready to launch my second novel. Here's the link: http://amzn.to/d0MUEz.

Amazon's Lending Library

Okay, I have succumbed to something I swore I would never do. I joined the Amazon Kindle Select Program. Although my book is on Amazon as a paperback and as an ebook, and I felt it was pompous of Amazon to expect exclusivity. That meant shutting down Smashwords and Barnes & Noble.com and any other avenues that distribute "Once in Every Generation" electronically. But, in the past few months I have been hearing from other authors that there have been major downloads of their books through this program. While readers have been buying my book steadily since it's publication, and I have on occasion offered it discounted, I have wearied of promoting it. Ugh, the business end of the book business. So, when I hear that authors can get their books into the hands of 400-1000-plus readers, who might then suggest it to others, I decided to give it a try. This affords me two important "shot-in-the-arms." 1) I don't particularly care if a reader gets it for free (without royalties coming to me), because it means a reader is reading it. My message is getting out there. And that has been my greatest wish for my novel. 2) This gives me uninterrupted time to concentrate on my second novel which has been moving along quickly. Perhaps, those readers of my first novel will then want to buy my second novel as well. In the industry this is called "building a platform." Though I must warn all my readers that this second novel is vastly different than my first: Suspense/mystery/thriller/historical fiction - it has it all. So, there is a 5-day window of FREE downloads through the KDP Select programs and the link is below. After that it gets put into the lending library for 90 days. I'm giving it a try. At least, I will have 90 days to work exclusively on my new novel. ONCE IN EVERY GENERATION - For 5 days only for Amazon Prime Members: $0.00 (borrow for free from your Kindle). http://amzn.to/d0MUEz. Please share this with your friends.

I'm No. 1! I'm No. 1!

Yea! Please, tell your friends. "Once in Every Generation" is No. 1 on Amazon in this category:
Books - Literature & Fiction - multiple sclerosis.