Hasn’t this been a strange winter! For us here near Greensboro, we’ve seen rain…rain…and then some more rain! But not today. The sun is shining, and the fog has burned off the haze. The day should be glorious. Our northern friends have be buried under snow this year and would be grateful for our soggy ground. I feel for you, cousins, but I need my sunshine once in a while. This girl can get quite cranky without it!
But that’s not what I wanted to share with you. Since the launch of Beyond Shiloh at the beginning of December, life on Scotchwood Hill has been a whirlwind. Thanks to all of you, my dear devoted fans, the third volume of my Shiloh Saga has been my most successful book to date. Beyond Shiloh paid for itself in three short weeks. I was astounded and so grateful that you all were so eager to continue your relationship with Mac and Laurel. Thank you, more than I can say. 
The officers of the library, dear friends from my years at Sloan-Hendrix: Willene Austin, Margaret Matthews, Sharon Murphy, Me, and the president of the Friends of the Library, Roger Eveland.
I have been on the road, doing book talks, book signings and meet & greets across the region. To date I have been to Walnut Ridge, Imboden, Paragould, and Jonesboro. I’ve talked to church groups, book clubs, a school creative writing class, and a few libraries in the area. I have Shiloh books in the Greene County Public library, the Crowley’s Ridge Public Library in Jonesboro, in the Bobbie Jean Memorial Library in Imboden, and in the Poinsett County Library. Two more road trips are on the calendar. March 28 at 4:30 I will be speaking to a group at the Poinsett County Public Library in Harrisburg. On April 9, I will be travelling to Washington County in Northwest Arkansas to visit with some ladies in Winslow, Arkansas. That is the best part of this “marketing” part of being a writer. I love going to meet new folks and answer their questions and tell them about the stories I wrote. Everywhere I go, I am treated so graciously and feel welcomed by people who have read the Shiloh books.
Right now the biggest news is the completion of my website. I am very pleased with the finished site. Linda Fulkerson, a fellow writer and computer guru, designed the site for me. She has done a fine job. I hope you will take a look at it. Having a professional website is the core of a writer’s outreach to her readers. I am grateful for Linda’s expertise because I had neither the time nor the knowledge to do what she did. Her skills have freed up so much time I can use in writing and editing. With your help, I will be able to stay in touch with all of you with information about new books, book talks, book signings, and other bits of information I hope will interest you.
I need you to help me, though. Please visit my site and sign up for my email list. If you will do that, I have a little gift for you. If you’ve never read any of the Shiloh books, the first chapter of In Search of Shiloh is there to give you a taste of the series.
For those of you who have followed the series, I have provided you a teaser of book IV. I am calling it book IV right now because I haven’t come up with a title yet.
I hope you will visit me at patriciacblake.com. Don’t forget to sign up to be a part of my email community. I’d love to hear from you and let me know what you think of the beginning of Shiloh IV.
Leave a Reply