Rock Harvest

Fiorella and Husband went out to harvest their dry creek and ended up with eight rocks up on the road and one husband down in the creek. Luckily a neighbor came along and helped Fio pull him back up onto his feet.  Fio asked, and the woman said she likes to read romances so Fio retrieved a copy of WHAT THE HEART WANTS from the box she keeps in the trunk and gave it to her. The moral is that if you see people by the side of the road in need of assistance, stop and help--you never know what goodies they might have stored in their trunk.

Whoopie!

Friend Jeanell's new book is riding high, wide, and handsome! Yes, Where the Heart Leads is selling, selling, selling, and sales of What the Heart Wants have jumped up also!  Fiorella is happy because  now the messages of both stories are reaching more people. Remember,  Jeanell's purpose is to not just entertain, but to uplift.  She's out to save the world, one sex scene at a time.


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The Latest in Electronic News, New, News

Fiorella was trying to move desktop icons around yestrday afternoon and accidentally lost her blog icon.  She can still create a new blog, but she can't look at the posted versions of her older ones. Nothing to do but throw herself on the mercy of someone with an IT degree. Here birdie, birdie, birdie . . . .
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On the other hand, Fio has learned how to check sales rankings on WHAT THE HEART WANTS, which have been going up lately.  Hoping, hoping, hoping . . . .
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Oh, and Friend Claire shared her book back-up method with Fio: after she finishes for the day, she emails a copy of her manuscript to herself.  Copy, copy, copy . . . .

Aim

You know my name
You know my game--
Fortune and fame,
That's my aim

WHAT THE HEART WANTS--$2.99 digitally, about $15.00 for the print version
WHERE THE HEART LEADS due out on November 11

Full Steam Ahead!

Take notes.  Fiorella has set her writing path for the next six months, first finishing off Lolly's story, then writing up the final Bosque Bend story saga, Carmen's story.  After that, she wants to work out Sarah's story, maybe in the meantime revising her Minnesota story, her Austin story, and her vampire story.

In the meantime, enjoy this passage from WHAT THE HEART WANTS:

"When he'd taken her hand, he'd wanted to hold it forever.  What would she have done if he'd brought it to his lips and touched her palm with the tip of his tongue?"

Which Path?

As per yesterday's epistle, Fio spent most of the day rereading one of her half-finished literary efforts--Lolly's story, for those of you who've read WHAT THE HEART WANTS, which is Laurel's story. Lolly's tale is a good story, Fio thinks, but would take her a couple of months to finish off, months which might be better spent writing a novella and getting it out quick.  A novella for which Fio has no plot whatsoever in mind.

Hmmmm.  Stay tuned for a decision.

Brainstorm!

Fiorella has decided she needs to find an influential public figure or reviewer who will say good things about WHAT THE HEART WANTS.  Oprah?  Why not?

And, in regard to WHERE THE HEART LEADS, Fiorella got together with one of her beta readers, Denney Rodriquez, at Starbucks (where else?), and Denney was very kind to her--especially about the ranching details she herself had supplied.

And now for the next book.  Fiorella has three possibilities she's mulling over--writing a third Bosque Bend book, finishing Lolly's story, or writing a new book set somewhere else about a quilt artist who is the only survivor of a family massacre.

I know--all typical Fiorella.

Meanwhile, if you know of anyone who might be willing to endorse WHAT THE HEART WANTS, let Fio know and she'll send a book speeding that way.

Steppin' Out

Fiorella got out for the first time since she went into isolation to complete the book, and it was glorious.  She stopped by the bank to deposit a check for one of her books, then kept her appointment with her INR nurse, who has read WHAT THE HEART WANTS three times already.  After that, she drove over to Georgetown High School and asked to see the principals' office because she's using one in WHERE THE HEART LEADS and want her depiction to be real  The principal and his people at the school were very gracious and will get a nice than-you note from Fio.

Next, Fiorella dropped by Starbucks to buy gift cards for the RWA raffle baskets and to look the shop over for another scene in her book.  Then it was on to HEB for a list of groceries and Target for electrical tape and Walgreen's for hair spray.

Four hours of go, go, go.  The rest of her week will be spent writing, writing, writing.

Selection from WHAT THE HEART WANTS

Jase drove slowly down the road, searching for his old home.  

He knew twilight was a great equalizer, but the neighborhood sure looked a lot better  than it had ten years go when he'd come back to town after Growler drowned in the Bosque River after a night of heavy drinking.  In fact, it looked downright respectable--without a single junk pile, broken-down car or scavenging dog pack in sight,  

Thank God that Lolly would never know the squalor he'd grown up in.  "Poor but honest" was the picture he'd always painted of his family--he'd sugar-coated his childhood and said squat about why he'd left town.

His high beam cut across the front of the house as he turned into the drive, but there was no forlorn teenager sitting on the front steps. 

His mouth went dry and his chest tightened.  

What if . . .

No, he refused to go down that road.  He was Lolly’s father.  He’d know if something had happened to her--wouldn’t he?

He ran his eyes over the shadowed porch again

Goddamn--where was she?  If she wasn't at Kinkaid House, she had to be here.

He backed the Cadillac into the driveway--if there was an emergency, he needed to be able to haul ass.  Easing himself out of the car, he leaned against the side of it for a long moment, gazing into the sky and trying to be logical while his heart raced like the Indianapolis 500.  .

Maybe she'd found a way to get into the house. Girl Child had been an expert at picking locks ever since she was two, when she'd shrieked "Me do it!" and unbuckled her own carseat belt, which, of course, meant he had to spend half the night on the internet, searching for a tamperproof model.   Truth be told, he was proud of her willfulness, even encouraged it,  As far as he was concerned, it was a survival trait.

But there was a big difference between a willful toddler unlocking her seat belt and a willful fifteen-year-old taking off down I-35 on her own.

And, oh God, I love her so much.

He shoved off the  had to car and walked up onto the porch, took one last look around, and flipped on the lights.

"Lolly?"

His voice echoed in the empty house.

Maybe she hadn't heard him.

"Lolly!"

No answer.

He made a swift search of every room, opening every closet, then checked out back.

Nada.

A chill crept over him.

He walked into his old room at the front of the house, raised the blind on the lone window, and looked up at the evening star--the wishing star, as Aunt Maxie called it--and wished his daughter to miraculously appear.

Three's the Charm

Your faithful correspondent had two fabulous, totally unrelated ideas this morning--inventing a miniature hot water bottle that can fit across the nose and posting good lines from WHAT THE HEART WANTS on Facebook. Yes, Fio had a sinus headache, and she's concerned about book promotion.

Invitation

Friend Jeanell is going to be at BookSpot in Round Rock, 1205 Round Rock Avenue, signing copies of What the Heart Wants at 11:00 on Saturday.  You, your mother, your cousins, and your aunts are all invited to join in the fun.  Swag and chocolate kisses will be available as Jeanell and friends Claire Ashby and Carmen Falcone shamelessly hawk their romance novels.

Happy Dance

Fiorella is dancing, Fiorella is singing, Fiorella is walking on air!  Her cardiologist's nurse read the book and loves it!  In fact, she said she couldn't put it down, that Fio had her from the first "Hello," and she read it straight through!

Fio needed that reassurance because she has no earthly idea whether WHAT THE HEART WANTS is selling or not.  There's probably a way to get that information, but Fiorella wants to dwell in possibility (a fairer house than prose) for a while longer. Besides, she doesn't know of anything further she could do to promote the book.  At some point, it's got to develop its own legs.

And Fio hopes those legs can travel.

What Have You Heard?

Panic, panic! Fiorella got involved in composing a love scene for her next book and almost forgot to write a blog!

Has she told you about the wonderful time she had at her RWA meeting on Monday?  And that THREE people asked her to autograph books?  And that she wore her T-shirt with the cover of WHAT THE HEART WANTS on it?  And that she showed off a print edition of WTHWs?

Has she told you that Forever Yours is starting a publicity campaign for WTHWs this week?  Has she told you she has the promise of another review from a friend?

Has she told you she is going stark raving bonkers--or can you figure that out for yourselves?

Time Is Precious

Fiorella and Husband are hitting the road today to attend Fio's medical appointment in San Antonio.  They've plotted out their course with MapQuest, laid in supplies, and gassed up the car.  Fio's planning to take not only her medical record and cell phone, but also promotional bookmarks, her RWA identification tag, and a copy of WHAT THE HEART WANTS because she's attending a meeting of her local chapter this evening and may not be able to make it home between times.

Your Fio's on the go.  But then, she always is.

Delivery

Friend Jeanell has a copy of her book in her hands at last. The UPS driver, ever sensitive to the importance of the delivery, put the box on top of Jeanell's trash can, which is what happens when one lives out in the country and one's house is a good city block from the road. Jeanell is lucky he didn't suspend it from a tree, as often happens.

Back at the house, Jeanell paused in reverence and exaltation for several minutes before slicing the tape, then slowly opening the box and lifting one of the precious books out of it.  It was so beautiful. The covers were so bright and shiny, with Jeanell's name across the top of the front cover in blue letters, and the blurb on the back cover was perfectly displayed.  As she ran her hand across the smooth surface, she could feel the life within. er knees went weak, and there was a song in her heart.

Yes, it had been a long time coming, but it happened.  Jeanell is now a published novelist.  And she has twelve beautiful print books to prove it.

Emily Wins

With a romance novel out, Fio considered closing up her blog shop, but decided she needs to keep it going. The blog is Fiorella's outlet for all the thoughts and theories her strange brain throws at her.  It is her letter to the world, that never wrote to her, which is a restatement of Emily Dickinson, which is ironic because  What the Heart Wants is from Emily also.

Friend Jeanell writes fiction, but Fiorella writes facts

Happiness

Let's make one thing clear: Fio has been published since she was five, when her art appeared in the Akron Beacon Journal.  Later, she wrote for school publications--her elementary school newspaper, her high school literary booklet, Latin booklets.  She put in a stint as editor of the state Latin publication, had some poetry published, and wrote a doctoral dissertation. She self-pubbed more  little booklets, wrote for the American-Statesman, for her own neighborhood newspaper, and for local magazines.  She had more poetry published, plus a short story.

But she's never had a full-length novel published till now.

WHAT THE HEART WANTS--on Amazon, published by Forever Yours, Hachette Book Group.

WHAT THE HEART WANTS

Houston, we've got lift off!  The good ship WHAT THE HEART WANTS has been launched!  Check out Amazon for your copy--$2.99 digital, $17.00 trade paperback.

Shameless Hustling

Fiorella's romance novel comes out on Tuesday.  As you know, it's called WHAT THE HEART WANTS, and Fio's pen name is JEANELL BOLTON.  The reason she tells you this is that there are nine--count'em, NINE--other novels on Amazon with the same title.

Anyway, she hopes you'll give her book a try.  Like most of her stories, it involves a woman living in shadow.  The digital edition of WHAT THE HEART WANTS will be available for $2.99, and the trade paperback will cost $17.00.

Wish Fio well.

Bookmarks of Love

Fio was a little nervous about asking people to give out promotional bookmarks for WHAT THE HEART WANTS.  She couched her request in phrases like "Would you consider ..." or "Would be you be comfortable ..." because she truly didn't want to impose on anyone.

But no one has turned her down. Minnesota Son and wife, Austin Son and wife, Daughter, Brother and wife, Fio's cousins in Ohio, Tennessee, and Georgia, old friends, new friends--everyone has leapt on the bandwagon.

Fiorella is humbled and grateful. Thank you.