Inner Diva cover

Summer’s almost here, and I absolutely LOVE to have new books out in the summer.  So here’s a little announcement:  if you wanted to read Inner Diva, which was my new release last summer, but you don’t have a Kindle or Nook, you will be able to get your hands on a copy THIS summer.  I’m working on re-releasing Inner Diva as a paperback!  As much as I love e-books, I know there are a lot of you that savor the feel of a “real” book in your hands.  So stay tuned for a release date.  Of course, I’ll announce it here, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

I’ve also turned my attention to a new title I can release this fall.  Today, I put some finishing touches/polishing on a new book and have sent it off to some trusted readers for critique.  That little teaser is all I can give you right now.  But stay tuned for a new Laurie Larsen title, following closely on the heels, of the Inner Diva paperback re-release.

Spambot adding comments to my posts

One of the great things about my new website is that I can post about a topic, and then hear back from readers with their thoughts and ideas.  Back in the olden days (pre-internet) writers had to hear from readers the old-fashioned way — a letter written by hand, mailed to the author’s publisher, forwarded on to the author.  It must’ve taken months to get feedback.  Now — instantaneous!

So I happily awaited my first reader response to a post.  I believe I posted three or four before I got a comment.  And it was very, very friendly:

“Excellent post. I was checking constantly this blog and I am inspired!  Extremely useful info specifically the final part   I care for such information much. I was seeking this certain info for a long time. Thanks and good luck.”

I was pleased, but I thought it was a little over the top, considering the post was just a couple pictures of my Harry Potter collection, and a question about what you guys collect.  I noticed also the response was from a business — an auto repair shop …???

After that first comment, the floodgates opened!  I received a variety of responses, all very complimentary:

“It’s truly a nice and useful piece of info. I am satisfied that you shared this useful information with us. Please stay us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.”

“Spot on with this write-up, I honestly think this amazing site needs a lot more attention.”

And so on.  A girl could get a big head!  All positive, all complimentary, all from places of businesses!  On closer examination, I see the majority of them are from San Diego!  A construction company, a chiropractor, a preschool, etc.  Wierd.

Oh sure, I have the ability to spam the comments — send them right to the trash.  But … they’re so nice and encouraging!  I think I’ll keep them and read them over when I’ve had a rough day.

Ellen always makes me laugh

I absolutely adore Ellen Degeneres’s Dance Dares.  They are hilarious and make me laugh every time I watch.  And she keeps gathering new ones.  I “dare” you to watch Dance Dares and not laugh out loud:  here ya go. 

JK Rowling of Harry Potter fame

Oh, my! I will admit to being one of the world’s foremost Harry Potter fans. Well, fanatics is probably more the appropriate word. I have every book and movie (of course), have read them all and watched them all numerous times. I have a paraphernalia collection that I’m particularly proud of, full of unique and fun doo-dads. While the books and movies were still in production I was a frequent visitor on all those HP fan websites, keeping up on all the latest gossip.

So of course I wondered with the rest of Potterdom what JK Rowling could possibly release next. Rumors abounded for years that she’d use a secret pseudonym and not reveal that “Joanna Smith” (for example) was really the infamous mastermind behind the most successful series of books in not just recent, but probably all of literary history!

I couldn’t really blame her if she’d done that. I mean, how can you come back strong after such a phenomenal start? It’s been done before … does the name Richard Bachman ring a bell? No? That was a secret pseudonym that Stephen King published under, briefly. He wanted to know if people were buying his books because they were good, or was it because his famous name was on the cover? Considering the “RB experiment” ended as quickly as it started, I have to wonder.

But anyway, here it is: The Casual Vacancy

The announcement of J K Rowling’s first non-HP book! Out in full glory with her very marketable name. Will you buy a copy? I will! Of course I will! And I’m sure I’ll love every syllable. The premise sounds somewhat intriguing, but it’s the real-life information in the About the Author in the link above that real dreams are made of. Go ahead and read it. It’s just phenomenal.

I’m happy to unveil my spiffy new website! I hope you like it, come in and look around. I had my old site for twelve years, can you believe it? And although I loved it, I just needed a change. Something a little cleaner, less cluttered, more modern. I feel like I just cleaned out every closet in my house — keeping only those things that are important and useful, and cleared out a lot of sentimental favorites, but overall, useless items. I hope you’ll find that everything you liked about the old site, is here as well. Just … different.

So, with one of many new features that this site offers over my old one, leave me a comment! Tell me what you think! Do you like the new look? Is it welcoming? What do you want to make sure I carry forth from the old?