One Crazy Summer...

By: Maegan Beaumont

Six months ago, I made a prediction. I boldly proclaimed as fantastically awesome as 2013 had been (and for me, it really had), 2014 was going to be even better.

As it turns out, I'm psychic.

Six months in and 2014 has managed to blow 2013 out of the water!

Book 2 in my Sabrina Vaughn series, SACRIFICIAL MUSE, will be out in a few weeks. Here she is, side-by-side, with her big sister (who's wearing her shiny gold seal from Independent Publishers).

In 5 days (5!!!) I will be attending ALA, my first "real" writer's conference in Las Vegas. I'll be signing books for both Sisters in Crime and Midnight Ink. If you're attending, stop by and say "hi"!

After I get home, I'll be hosting a signing at the world-famous bookstore, The Poisoned Pen, for SACRIFICIAL MUSE, along with my fellow MInker, C.J. Carpenter, who will be signing copies of her debut release, NEVER ALONE.

http://www.poisonedpenevents.com/?ai1ec_event=beaumont&instance_id=198

I'll be handing out some pretty cool prizes, so if you like free stuff, show up and you just might get some!

At the end of July, I'll put on my traveling shoes (they're Birkenstocks, just in case you're wondering...) again. This time I'll be heading to Kennewick, WA for the weekend to sign books at Tri-cities Books with Patricia Briggs, author of the Mercy Thompson series.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bookworm-Tri-Cities/124742419618


AND THEN...

At the end of August, I'll be taking my long awaited research trip to NYC/Boston! I'll spend a week soaking in as much local color as possible so that I can start my new stand-alone crime novel, set in South Boston, about a bartender who gets mixed up with the local crime boss. (not to worry... Sabrina will be back!)

Just thinking about all the traveling and excitement in the coming months has got me feeling like a kid at Christmas! It's gonna be crazy... and it's gonna be FUN!

Maegan Beaumont is the author of CARVED IN DARKNESS, the first book in the Sabrina Vaughn thriller series (Available through Midnight Ink, spring 2013). A native Phoenician, Maegan's stories are meant to make you wonder what the guy standing in front of you in the Starbucks line has locked in his basement, and feel a strong desire to sleep with the light on. When she isn't busy fulfilling her duties as Domestic Goddess for her high school sweetheart turned husband, Joe, and their four children, she is locked in her office with her computer, her coffee pot and her Rhodesian Ridgeback, and one true love, Jade.

SUMMER IN THE CITY

Public Library, Newark, NJ

Hot town, summer in the city
Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
Been down, isn’t it a pity
Doesn’t seem to be a shadow in the city

The Lovin Spoonful sang those lyrics back in the summer of 1966. For those of us who grew up in the city, the song certainly rang true.

Today marks the first day of summer, and as I thought about a topic for my Inkspot post, my thoughts drifted to those hot summer days of my childhood.

I grew up in Newark, NJ back before community pools or recreational centers. Swimming involved families either sending their kids to camp, driving down the shore, or paying to belong to either a private swim club or the local Y. My family had no money for any of these luxuries. Six of us were crammed into a tiny two-bedroom apartment. My parents slept on a sofa bed in the living room. My sister and I shared one bedroom; my brothers shared the other.

Summers in the city were brutal. Fans were nearly useless. All they did was blow around hot air. Eventually, my parents bought a small air-conditioner for the living room, but it did me and my siblings little good since we were all sent outside first thing in the morning and only allowed back in the apartment for lunch and potty breaks.

What I remember most about those summers were the hours and hours I’d spend at the library. The library was such a magical place for me that I never thought twice about having to walk over a mile in 90+ degree heat to get there. Once I arrived, I was transported to far away places, sometimes wonderful, sometimes not so wonderful, but always an escape from the realities of summer in the city.

What did I read? Everything. Back then the librarians ran summer reading programs and kept track of the books we read. After finishing a book, we’d give a brief oral report to the librarian. She’d record the book and hand out certificates at the end of the summer. I don’t know what happened to my certificates. My parents probably threw them out when we finally moved to the suburbs. What I do remember, though, is that every summer I read the most books of anyone taking part in the summer reading program. Perhaps those long ago summers of reading at the library played a role in me becoming an author. I’d like to think so.

How did you spend the summers of your youth?

Lois Winston writes the critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries series. The first book, Assault With A Deadly Glue Gun, was a January 2011 release and received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist and has been nominated for a Book of the Year Award by ForeWords Reviews. Death by Killer Mop Doll, the second book in the series, was released in January. Visit Lois at http://www.loiswinston.com and Anastasia at the Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog, http://anastasiapollack.blogspot.com.