Time to Start Thinking About Those Christmas Titles

It's beyond Christmas in July and not quite autumn, but I'm ready to pull out my Christmas titles and finish writing the new book I plan to have out later this year. The working title is Necklace in a Christmas Rain. I seem to have a fascination with the holiday season, with necklaces, and, of course, with angels.

Last year's book, Daddy's Christmas Angel, recently received third place in The National Press Women's 2013 Communications Contest. I couldn't go to Salt Lake City to attend the conference and pick up my award, but it came in the mail today. The judge called my book "a heart-warming story of love and hope." That's the kind of story I want to write, especially for the Christmas season.

My publisher is featuring Daddy's Christmas Angel, A Rainbow for Christmas, and my "Snapshot in Time" books at the Virginia Library Association Conference in Williamsburg next week. On Saturday, September 21, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., I will have those books available along with some of my other titles at the Williamsburg Book Festival . This first annual book festival will be in the Community Building at 401 N. Boundary Street. The William and Mary Barnes and Noble is the bookseller for the event that will feature dozens of authors and a variety of featured talks throughout the day. An anthology Harboring Secrets by members of the Chesapeake Bay Writers will be available at the festival. My memoir essay about living in the shadows of Civil War battlefields and my poem about a Revolutionary War patriot are part of the book.

Autumn appears to be the busiest time of year for authors, book festivals, carnivals, and more in Virginia. I suspect it's like that everywhere. For the writer/marketer, it's already a little late to plan for Christmas and new book releases for the holidays.