Author Archives: amandamichellemoon

10 random things happening in my life right now

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This is totally normal, right?

1) I chipped a tooth for the first time since I had my crowns put on 10 years ago. If you knew me anytime between the ages of eight and eighteen, you probably saw me at some point with a chipped front tooth. It happened a few times a year. In 2004 I had porcelain crowns put on both of my front teeth and all has been good since. Until…dun-dun-dun…I had to have a root canal. I put it off, thinking they would have to remove the crown, until I was in so much pain I wasn’t sleeping. Then I Googled (neat, huh?) and learned that usually a root canal can be done through a crown. So I went to the dentist and had it done on June 9. The root canal went great, but, unfortunately, my crown was already cracked and the stress of being drilled through was too much. It broke off last night. I was able to get a temporary fix this morning, so I look normal again now. (Side note, our dentist here, Dr. Jakubas, is awesome.)

2) I spent six days in the last week traveling to my other home, Nashville. I was there for the Utopya Conference and got to see a bunch of friends, learn a lot, and play with kittens.

2014-06-24 20.33.163) I’m thrilled to be home. Being in Nashville (which I miss all the time) really helped solidify Minnesota as my true home. I will continue to love visiting the south, but I am a northern girl.

4) The beauty in my neighborhood is insane. I live close to Minnehaha Falls and The Longfellow Gardens (and Lake Hiawatha and Lake Nokomis and all kinds of other amazingness). When I walk Picasso I’m constantly stopping and taking pictures. These are all from last night’s walk.

2014-06-17 12.20.215) I have been mailing out a ton of books lately. It has basically become part of our daily routine to walk to the post office and library (they are across the street from each other.)  On the way, we often stop and say hi to this little guy. Don’t know his name yet, but he and Austin get along well.

2014-06-15 17.14.366) It’s summer and I really haven’t felt like doing my hair. Even though there isn’t much humidity up here, I just am not motivated. But what I have been doing is a lot of braids. Because I’ve been watching a lot of Game of Thrones. I did this to go get ice cream on Father’s Day.

7) I’ve had really bad customer service from several places lately. Places that used to be known for their good service. I’ve sent a few letters to corporate offices, but rather than complain about it here (or on social media) going forward, I am only going to do shout-outs for when companies do things right. Maybe the positivity can effect (affect? I still don’t understand the difference) change, because negativity sure isn’t doing any good.

8) I am in the process of finding a new church. I have gone back and forth on whether to write either a long blog post or an essay about this, and I haven’t decided yet. (I actually typed something much longer here, but then decided to save it for later.) But, just to say…Finding a spiritual home is hard. If you would pray for guidance for us, I would appreciate it.

9) I was approached by a trainer at the gym today and given a free Pilates lesson and a free training session with two new employees (they need to practice.) I felt like I won the lottery!

10) I made cheese curds last night, the first time I’ve ever fried anything in a pan full of oil, ever. They were okay. I made Kale chips today (baked) and they are amazing.

 

Interviews!

I’ve had two interviews this week!

The first was with Charlotte Rains Dixon of Words Trumpet. Charlotte was one of my mentors through The Writer’s Loft (now MTSU Write) and is absolutely an inspiration to me, to be featured on her blog is a huge honor.

The second is on In Libris Veritas, an awesome book blog that I “met” through Utopya. She is doing a summer solstice festival with lots and lots of giveaways (so check out the whole series, not just mine!)

Finally, today is the last day of the $0.99 Kindle sale for Stealing the Ruby Slippers. Tomorrow the price doubles, so get it today!

 

Another interview!

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I had another interview! Michelle Gilmore of In Libris Veritas interviewed me during for her Summer Solstice Celebration (solstice is a really hard word to spell!). She is also doing a giveaway. Check it out here.

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Also, today is the last day of the $0.99 portion of the Stealing the Ruby Slippers Kindle Countdown Deal. Tomorrow the price doubles. It goes back to regular price on Wednesday. Go grab it!

My first interview, and a sale

My mentor and friend, interviewed me for her blog. We talked about both my writing process in general and the process for Stealing the Ruby Slippers in particular. You can read it here.

Also, Stealing the Ruby Slippers is on sale for $0.99! The price goes up on Monday, so grab it now!

I’m in Nashville at the third Utopya conference this weekend, learning all about writing and publishing. I’ll post some insights over the next few weeks on the Ruby Slippers blog. But I’m going to leave you with this picture- the clouds out my airplane window. The brightest spot in what turned out to be a miserable challenging day of travel.20140621-074449-27889929.jpg

It’s ON! 99 cent sale through the weekend

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveway last week! The winners have been chosen and emailed. If you didn’t win, don’t worry:

Stealing the Ruby Slippers in just 99 cents through the weekend!

It’s part of Amazon’s Kindle Countdown Deals program and only available in that format. But don’t worry, if you don’t have a kindle, you can download a free reader here.

Please help me spread the word! You can use this short link for tweets/Facebook posts: http://ow.ly/ycHhW

BTW, I found The Ruby Slippers last weekend. They’re right here. (More pics from my trip to come.)

 

The

The Ruby Slippers

Fun first day at The Wizard of Oz Festival

I am in Grand Rapids, Minnesota for the next few days, visiting my family and attending the Wizard of Oz Festival. Yesterday I went to the Ruby Slippers Breakfast and met some awesome readers and learn more about the investigation into the actual theft (they’re really close to finding the culprits!)

Angela & I

Angela & I 

Then I headed over to The Village Bookstore to sign the books I have on display (I’ll be doing a signing there on Saturday!)

Window Display at The Village Bookstore

If you’re in the Grand Rapids area, you should come out and say hi. Also, on Friday, you can be a part of a Guinness Book of World Records event— dress up like any character from the movie and help us break the record!

Since the Goodreads Giveaway went so well, I thought I’d do another one. This time, it’s just on my own. Details are here, enter below!

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Upcoming Giveaway and Promo Prices

Box of booksIn honor of International Crime Month, Judy Garland’s birthday (and The Wizard of Oz Festival), Oz-stravaganza and the fact that I sold through my entire first order of books and just got two new boxes, I’m finally having a giveaway! From tonight through 11:59pm EST on June 16, you can enter to win one of five autographed copies of Stealing the Ruby Slippers. There are lots of ways to enter, so have fun!

If you don’t win, don’t worry! I’ll be running a sale for the Kindle version soon. Be watching for details.

Enter Giveaway Now
 

Last day to enter Goodreads Giveaway

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Stealing the Ruby Slippers by Amanda Michelle Moon

Stealing the Ruby Slippers

by Amanda Michelle Moon

Giveaway ends June 07, 2014.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

First day of Summer

Okay, so I know today isn’t actually the first day of summer. But my daughter graduated kindergarten yesterday, my son graduated preschool last Thursday, and I’m planning on taking both of them to the pool to bask in their accomplishments (and splashing water and sunshine) today. So, for me, today is the first day of summer.

In Tennessee, summer began much earlier. Our subdivision pool opened in early to mid May most years, since by then the temps were constantly in the 80s-90s. Here, in a lot of ways, it’s still very much spring. My husband is dealing with terrible allergies. The creek near our house is flooded, covering some of my favorite greenways (aka dog walking paths). The baby ducks and geese are just learning to swim.

This is my first summer as a full-time self-employed mom, juggling kids and writing and creating. There is a TON going on. But I have made a commitment to be present. During my time with my kids (basically, from 9:00am until they go to bed) I am going to be present with my kids. I won’t be perfect, there will be times when my morning writing spills over and there is something I have to get down on the page, but, for the most part, I am planning on making every effort to not have to tell them “Just let me finish this up,” while looking at a computer. In July, there will be three weeks where both of them are in programs at the same time. That will be my sneak peak of what life will be like in the fall when both of them are in school. I’m sure I’m going to love that time and the productivity. But I promise to enjoy the time I get to spend with them even more.

What are your plans for the summer? Do you have kids? Are they home in the summers?

 

Photo by Alexhuertamarro.