This has been one of the craziest weeks I’ve ever had. So many notable things happened.
First, when I released The Limited Partnerships series a few years ago, I was never crazy about the covers. They just didn’t seem to fit the stories and, since it was a new genre for me, I didn’t want to invest too much into them. I tried making the covers myself but, if you know me at all, you know I have zero skill with graphics.
Rich Bruns has finally captured the overall feel of the series and has created five new covers, one for each of the novellas and this fantastic cover for the Omnibus. I'm thrilled to finally reveal them. I hope you like them too and I’d love to hear what you think.
Then, later this week, I was able to complete the formatting for The Bonding Spell. I will be bringing a limited number of copies with me to the Twin Cities Book Festival and I can’t wait to get them in reader’s hands. I hope you’ll mark October 17 on your calendar and plan to visit my table at the Minnesota State Fair Grounds between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. I’ll be sharing a table with my good friend, Susanne Aspley who will be selling and signing her McKnight Award winning book, Ladyboy and the Volunteer.
And don't forget to nominate The Bonding Spell in the Kindle Scout program. Who knows, maybe Amazon will decide to publish it.
But finally, the thing that capped off the week was something I’d been hoping for, for a very long time. President Obama visited Fort George G. Meade in Maryland where I work. If you’ve ever worked with White House staffers planning an event, then you know that it can be a stressful experience. That was not true for this visit. The media planning was easy, we had zero problems and everything went off without a hitch. When the first thing out of POTUS’s mouth are words of thanks to your boss and praise for the things your installation is doing, as a public affairs professional, I consider that a job well done.
Aside from the work, the hours, the hectic time, just seeing President Obama step off Marine One and share a salute with my boss was pretty damn awesome.
So, it was a full week, both in my writing life and in the work that pays the bills.
Now back to work planning the roll out of The Bonding Spell. I can hardly wait to hear what readers think of it.
M. L. Doyle has served in the U.S. Army at home and abroad for more than two decades as both a soldier and civilian. Mary is the author of The Desert Goddess series, an urban fantasy romp consisting of The Bonding Spell and The Bonding Blade. She has also penned The Master Sergeant Harper mystery series which has earned numerous awards including an IPPY, a Lyra Award and the Carrie McCray Literary Award. Mary is the co-author of two memoirs; A Promise Fulfilled; the story of a Wife and Mother, Soldier and General Officer (Jan. 201) and the memoir, I’m Still Standing: From Captive U.S. Soldier to Free Citizen—My Journey Home (Touchstone, 2010), which was nominated for an NAACP Image award. Mary's work has been published by The Goodman Project, The War Horse, The WWrite Blog and The Wrath-Bearing Tree, an online magazine for which she serves as a fiction editor. A Minneapolis, Minnesota native, Mary current lives in Baltimore. You can reach her at her website at mldoyleauthor.com.
4 comments on “What a crazy week!”
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 2015 16:49:15 +0000 To: lounnashalimxl@hotmail.com
Congratulations on all the great things happening in your writing life! On the Public Affairs side, I understand what you mean about working with the WH staff on setting up a visit to a military installation; and you're absolutely right, having a visit go off without issues deserves a Bravo Zulu! As a Marine in Public Affairs who was at one time assigned to a Joint Service PAO staff, I get it! Having had to work with WH and Pentagon staff on visits throughout my career I know of what you speak. 🙂 Pat yourselves on the back, that was certainly a team effort!
Thanks Jeanette! This was my first WH event. I've done cabinet level events, but never the CIC. Funny thing is, looking at this post, it probably wasn't a good idea to include the presidential picture right next to the cover of my adult erotica! 🙂 What would those staffers think!!
You're welcome and lol, I didn't even catch the "possible" faux pas. 😉