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Wednesday, January 18, 2017

FAVORITES, FAILURES & FRUSTRATIONS WITH GUEST AUTHOR STEPHANIE QUEEN

USA Today bestselling author Stephanie Queen is a romantic at heart and a writer by nature. So of course she loves creating stories where the good guys always win. Although she's lost count of all the jobs she had before she settled on being a novelist, her favorite was selling cookies as a Keebler Elf. Learn more about Stephanie and her books at her website.  

The Top 10 Favorite Things I Did in 2016

Besides everything to do with books, I have quite a few favorite things that I do or that I did throughout the year in 2016. Maybe it’s because I’m getting to an age where I’m thinking of the bucket list, and the phrase “no time like the present” is particularly relevant. That someday I used to talk about is TODAY! Now I try to spend my time very wisely on what I love most.

So here are the Top 10 Favorite Things I did in 2016: (in no particular order)

Attended my grand-niece Rose’s Christening—the first baby girl in two generations!

I went with some college friends to Indianapolis to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four to see my alma mater, UConn win their record-setting FOURTH STRAIGHT Championship!

I went to the Award Presentation for the New Hampshire Social Venture Innovation Challenge competition to see my son Tom win First Place!

I autographed books at my first Romance Writers of America Literacy Book Fair in San Diego

With my two sisters, I crocheted a baby blanket for my new grand-niece, Rose (she’s a cutie!)

Went to the Jimmy Buffet concert and spent the day with fab friends tailgating in the sun and dancing to JB music.

Wrote Let It Snow a dark and edgy Christmas novella a little bit outside of my usual story.

I participated in a Christmas box set with some of the loveliest authors on the planet: Love, Christmas was a labor of love.

Took my mother to visit my aunt and cousin in Florida. My mother hadn’t seen her sister in several years (they’re both in their mid 80’s). Naturally, we went in January and enjoyed the warm weather since we live in the northeast.

Spent many Sunday afternoons with my family watching football

As a writer and book lover, I had to include book things because how could I not? But you know I could have made this list stretch to 20 or even 50 without too much trouble because I am a very lucky person and I’ve had many treasured moments throughout the year.

Only a couple of these things were bucket list type items (can you guess which two items?), but the rest were wonderful, some unplanned, unanticipated, and then some in the category of simple pleasures and no less wonderful for it.

What were some of your favorite things you did in 2016?

Let It Snow: Beachcomber Investigations Series Novella

An old friend sends a stranger to visit Dane to help wrestle him from his soul-crushing despair. His life of righting horrific wrongs has cost him a very high price, and worse, it cost someone he loved her life. But how can a stranger help when even Shana, his partner and lover, has failed. Can the stranger use a Christmas Eve snowstorm to create the ultimate test for Dane and Shana?

4 comments:

Stephanie Queen said...

That's my little grand-niece rose on a quilt that my mother made. One of my favorite things was watching my 85 year old mother stitch the quilt and enjoy the progress as it turned into that beautiful finished product for that lovely little baby!
SQ

Carol said...

Your grand-niece is a little beauty! The quilt your mother made is a treasure for future generations. 2016 filled your calendar and emotions. May 2017 treat you well and thrust you forward into bigger and better events.

Angela Adams said...

That baby is adorable, and her photo made my day. Three cheers for your mom and her talent for quilting!

Stephanie Queen said...

Thank you Carol and Angela!