Facebook, Newsletter & Updates

Where do I begin? The summer has flown by and, since my last post, I haven't had the chance to stop in here. In fact, this year, I won't be posting my annual RWA National pictures.

You see, about 24hrs after arriving in NY for Nationals, I found out that my mother-in-law passed away. She was the dearest, sweetest person who loved to cook and feed anyone she could and she gave everyone the benefit of the doubt. She really had a genuine heart and was loved by all. Needless-to-say, I booked the next flight home to be with my husband, kids and extended family. So if I missed seeing any of you in NY, you know why.

I did go ahead and attend the Literacy Signing (though my mind and heart were elsewhere), since it's for such a good cause and I couldn't fly out until the following morning. It was wonderful to see both familiar faces and new ones. It was also great to see some of my Harlequin Heartwarming author buddies and many wonderful people from Harlequin, including Senior Editor Victoria Curran, before I had to leave.

As it turned out, since I was out of town, my poor husband had to take my eldest to the orthopedist to get a cast put on his leg (runner's stress fracture), literally while on route to the hospital where his mom had passed away. It was just all around a stressful time and things are just settling down a bit, but we'll feel her loss forever. May she rest in peace.

And in bittersweet news, right when I landed back home (after Nationals) and took my cell phone off airplane mode, I saw a tweet from editor Victoria Curran, letting me know that she'd just accepted the National Reader's Choice Award for Best First Book (The Promise of Rain) on my behalf. Talk about having your emotions pulled in different directions!

Anyway, I have to thank my incredible writer friends Jeannie Watt and Jamie Steinman for being so awesome and for standing by me when the bad news came at Nationals and for helping me book a flight home. And many thanks for helping me get started on Facebook too!

Yep, I'm actually on facebook now! You can find me at: https://www.facebook.com/RulaSinaraAuthor. I even managed to put a link in my sidebar (trust me, I'm so not technical that was a feat). And...if anyone is interested...I'm taking part in my first FB party tomorrow! I'm a little nervous. It's a pre-launch party being held by 12 authors for an upcoming anthology called A Heartwarming Christmas. You got it! I'm one of the authors in the anthology! I'll post more details soon, but for now, you can find out more on Amazon or my website or the party! The FB party link is: HERE and since I'm new to Facebook and kinda lonely on the likes...I'd love it if anyone wanted to 'like' my author page :). Oh, and the party will include giveaways so check it out!

I've also started a newsletter sign up and have a link in the left margin or on my website (Newsletter). I haven't sent out my first one yet, and I promise they won't be the spammy type. But if you'd like to hear about a new release and maybe some fun stuff from the home front, then I'd love to have you join my mailing list!

Okay, that's all for now. I'd say that was long enough for a catch-up post! I'll see you around :).