Family Literacy Month in November

     As part of Family Literacy Month in November local authors were asked by Dr. Darlene Rittel, Chair, ACEA-R  Family Literacy project, to read to the preschoolers at the Freedman Parenting Center.  As a former teacher I was more than happy to read to the children.  But I had never been to this particular school and had no idea what to expect.  What an amazing experience it was!  I was totally impressed with the outstanding staff who welcomed me with open arms and a group of kids that were so sweet and wonderful!  I am not sure who gained more from the experience.  When I left I felt like it had been a priviledge to have been there.  I can not thank them enough for asking me to take part in such a great program and for introducing me to some wonderful people!  I had such a great time.  Take my advice, if you are ever asked to read to a group of kids, do it.  It will warm your heart!  It was one more thing to be thankful for in this wonderful holiday season.

A Thankful Day!

     This Thanksgiving I have many things to be thankful about!  Friends and family like you are the best!  I truly appreciate your support and encouragement.  This week I have an extra special thing to be thankful for too.  I just finished the rough draft of my next book.  It is a second adventure for Kiska and one I hope you will enjoy just as much.  It is called Message in the Skye
Hopefully it will be out by March.  I will keep you posted.

Aiken Standard e-reader article

     This week a reporter for the Aiken Standard newspaper called me to discuss e-readers and self-publishing.  As an author I always enjoy talking about books and reading; so it was exciting to have someone interested.  But, when the reporter called I had to literally drag myself back to reality to answer her questions.  You see, when the phone rang I was totally zoned out and writing a suspenseful  murder for my next book.  And, as my husband will be quick to tell you, when I am writing I am completely focused in another world.  Fortunately I made it back to reality, but I had to laugh at myself for being so involved with the book.  Needless to say Kiska is having another wild adventure in Scotland.  I will keep you posted with more details soon.

Currently Writing

     My original intent was to make The Pictorial Adventure a one time book, but during the process I fell in love with the characters.  Currently I am hard at work writing Kiska's second adventure.  This time she will have a totally different kind of adventure and her journey is both physical and emotional.  All the old characters are back, but there are some new ones that will surprise and delight you.
     Scotland is truly an amazing country.  There are so many beautiful places in the highlands and the next adventure will take you to one of the most unique and mystical places you will ever find.  At the moment the book is about a third of the way finished, but hang on it is coming.  Trust me it will be another roller-coaster ride for Kiska.

The Kindle

     I am happy to report that The Pictorial Adventure is now on the Amazon Kindle.  Yea!  That is very exciting!  I have had so many people asking me when they would be able to find it there.  Thanks to my wonderful husband it is finally there.  Thank you so much for being patient while we figured it all out.  I hope you can find it now.

What comes next? Striving to be on the Kindle!

     Since this is my first book, formatting has been a big process and a major struggle for me and my husband.  Fortunately for me my husband has taken over most of that responsibility, because to me it is equal to learning a foreign language.  For those of you not familiar with formatting it is the process of converting the book to the acceptable format for its publication.  My e-publisher, Smashwords, requires a certain format in order for it to be accepted.  Once accepted Smashword reformatted it into other formats and send it to other ebook sites.  Along the process we learned by trial and error.  In my early attempts I failed to properly save some of my corrections which resulted in some typos in my book.  But, I am slowly learning how to do things on a computer properly.  Unfortunately Smashwords is not able to send it to the Kindle.  So, now we are in the process of reformatting to meet the Kindle specifications.  If all goes well it will be on the Kindle soon.  I will keep you posted.

You can find it on THE NOOK!

Even though I knew it might be coming someday soon, it was still a thrill to find The Pictorial Adventure on my Nook yesterday morning.  I don't know if anyone will find it and read it, but it is certainly a dream come true for me just to be there.  Thank you in advance if you happen to stumble upon it and decide to read it.  Please be sure to let me know what you think if you read it.  It is one thing for me to believe in a story and feel in my heart that it is good, but it is quite another for someone else to agree or disagree.  So let's hear it...good or bad?  I'm listening...

The Pictorial Adventure is on the Internet

     I am thrilled to announce that my first book, The Pictorial Adventure, is on the Internet.  The e-publisher had informed me that it was shipped to many of the e-reading sites such as Barnes and Nobles, Apple and many more.  I do not know how long it will take for those sites to have it available for e-readers, but in the meantime it can also be found at the e-publishing site.  Please check it out at the following:
http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/AliceWRoss

The Dream of Writing a Book : The Pictorial Adventure

     For as long as I can remember my first dream was to be a writer.  In elementary school I wrote short stories with my best friend.  In college I continued the dream by studying journalism and English.  After college I became a teacher and eventually became busy with the joys of being a wife and mother.  Time passed faster than I realized, but the dream never died.  Finally I came to the realization that it was now or never.  I have put a lifetime of thoughts into this first book, The Pictorial Adventure.
     In the next few days the book will be sent to the e-publisher.  Hopefully it will be flying through the Internet by August.  I will keep you posted as to where it can be found as soon as it is available.  I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.  Please keep in touch and tell me your thoughts about it.