Tag Archives: Book Signing

The Best of Realm Central 2023

December 29, 2023 By in Realm Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Well, Realmers, here we are at the end of 2023! I don’t know about you, but it’s been an exciting year, and I’m thankful for the many blessings Adonai has bestowed upon me and my family. Since I’ll be keeping Shabbat and celebrating New Year’s with family, I thought today would be a good day to reminisce the past year.

My debut novel Realm launched in April. After all the writing, editing, beta reading, editing, more beta reading, professional editing, choosing a launch date, ordering and sending invitations, planning the party, and then going forward with the book launch party, all I can say is THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for making my dream of publication come true. I couldn’t have done it without all the love and support I received along the way.

One of the neatest experiences I had with promoting Realm was the creation of an unboxing video, book trailer, and scene re-creation with Heath and Michelle Smith. Be sure to check out the videos on YouTube at HL Gibson.

In May, I held a successful book signing at Thirty-two 8 Inspired & Co. where I made a new friend in baker and chocolatier, Michelle Kostich of Shell’s Confections. What a privilege and pleasure it has been to support each other in our chosen professions, but our friendship really is the icing on the cake, cupcakes, and cookies.

Another amazing book signing took place at Therapy Ice Cream & Coffee Bar in June, and several more people became Realmers that day. Many wonderful beta reading and editing sessions took place at Therapy. Lots of ice cream and coffee were consumed at Therapy. And it is with a heavy yet grateful heart that we bid a fond farewell to Therapy and wish the owners a happy retirement. You will be missed.

I kept writing during this time, but it was mostly blog posts regarding what I mentioned above. One of the best things to occur was the large amounts of positive feedback I received about Realm. I produced a decent amount of monthly marketing by creating my own ads for social media, which were well-received. Then there was a bit of a break for the summer, and I worked a bit on writing toward my current WIP.

My next event was my first multi-author book signing at Kern’s Home & Garden & Christian Bookstore. I coordinated with nursery owner, Heidi Flack, and the authors who participated, to create some lovely advertising for the Fall Open House. The weather was perfect on both days of the event, and the customers enjoyed having us there.

So, we did it again in December for the Winter Wonderland Open House! This time, in addition to lovely headshots, the advertising included a short bio about each author. Again, the day was perfect, and customers picked up some great reading material for themselves and as gifts.

Since I found my groove with creating my own ads, I finished my year with social media advertising because I wanted to focus on my family during the holidays. I also threw myself into working steadily on my current WIP, and while I’m cautiously optimistic, I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel for this one.

The big challenge regarding my current WIP in the coming year will be to stay focused and on track with concluding the novel. “What’s vying for your attention?” you ask. Well, it’s faithful fans and followers who keep asking when the next book in the world of Realm is due to be published. I must admit that I honestly did not expect that to occur quite so soon, and I’m going to have to look at my schedule to decide the logistics of publishing the next book. It’s all rather exciting and scary.

Stay tuned as I manage things here at Realm Central. If you haven’t already become a Realmer, be sure to pick up your copy of Realm today. You’re going to require the info in Realm as a foundation for the next book.

As always, I make the plans, commit them to Adonai, and He gives the go-ahead or adjusts the details as needed before I move forward. This is my secret to success, and it’s worked every time.

Wishing you and yours a Blessed New Year in 2024!

Reaching New Heights in the Realm

September 11, 2023 By in Realm Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

Hello, Realmers! I have such exciting news to share with you. This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending a book signing with three local authors. It was my first experience at a multi-author event, and I’m so glad I participated.

A big thank you shout out to Kern’s Home & Garden and Christian Book Store for hosting the event. Owner Heidi Flack and her crew went out of their way to make us feel so welcome by setting up individual tables decorated in fall colors complete with little baskets of candy for customers.

Another huge thank you to Shell’s Confections for making the most delicious mint chocolate covered Oreos to represent the triple jade moons in the Realm. Owner Michelle Kostich took the time to put the title of my novel, Realm, on each cookie creation! All the new Realmers were quite pleased with the unexpected, tasty favor upon purchase of Realm.

Both days of the event were gorgeous, and we had a good turnout of customers. I learned some new approaches that I’ll be implementing at my next book signing, and hopefully I was helpful to those involved. The best part of the event for me was the lovely discussions and conversations I had with those who came out to support me and Realm. Every moment was truly a Divine appointment ~ Baruch HaShem!

Couldn’t make the event? No worries! Realm is always available at BookBaby. You can also find my novel at Barnes & Noble, BAM, and other online retailers.

Softcover
Hardback

Not the Bread of Idleness

August 28, 2023 By in Lightning Juice Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Summer is drawing to a close, but my desire to learn more about bread baking has not abated in the least. I continued to delve into challah specifically and met up with my friend, Paula Stevenhagen, who I have dubbed The Challah Queen. Our friend, Sherry Goodrich, also joined us, and we had the best day.

Sleepy-eyed Bread Bakers

Paula recently became interested in grinding organic grains, and she experimented with different flours either alone or in combination. Our home fellowship reaped the benefits of her labors and loved eating the challah she made every Shabbat. In no time at all, Paula had her recipe(s) perfected and produced challah that was substantial without being too heavy, flavorful, and delicious. Her challah is so satisfying that I could eat it as a meal.

In addition to her WonderMill grain grinder, Paula treated herself to another cool kitchen toy—The Ankarsrum, known as Sweden’s Iconic Kitchen Mixer. You must check this thing out online to appreciate it.

Paula does have a recipe, but I must tell you that she’s one of those bakers who just knows by sight and touch when to tweak her bread dough. In short, her recipe is not for the novice or anyone who hasn’t worked with freshly milled flour. In fact, while she was away for the past two weeks, I asked her for the recipe (I’d forgotten to get it the day we baked), and she texted three different recipes with inclusions and exclusions, and in the end, I told her we’d talk when she returned to which she texted back Amen.

Giving myself the summer off from writing while exploring other creative outlets recharged my muse, and as I sensed the approach of fall (I can feel and smell autumn in the air!) story ideas have started to surface in my mind.

I suspect I put up a writing roadblock for myself under the pretense of needing to research a particular issue. I wanted to portray sailing as accurately as possible in one portion of my current WIP, but as new ideas came to mind, I found a way around this detail and came to realize that it wasn’t truly about sailing. At least not as specifically as I had originally thought.

For now, I can let the sailing go and jump back into writing. No doubt, I’ll need to re-establish some writing goals and structures for myself and set some writing boundaries where others are concerned. It’s a balancing game, but it’s a challenge I’m up to with Adonai’s help.

But it is definitely time to start writing because the characters in my current WIP are starting to talk to each other again, which means I must get them out of my head and onto the page!

In closing, come join me and my fellow authors at Kern’s Home & Garden & Christian Bookstore at 2438 Canton Road, Akron, Ohio for a book signing! There will be food trucks for the Fall Open House and gorgeous mums as far as the eye can see as well as lovely autumn décor. See you soon!

Fall Open House & Book Signing

August 16, 2023 By in Realm Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

I am excited to announce a Fall Open House & Book Signing. Join us Friday & Saturday, September 8 & 9, 2023, from 10 AM until 4 PM at Kern’s Home & Garden & Christian Bookstore, located at 2438 Canton Road, Akron, Ohio. There will be food trucks, a great selection of fall plants, and a wide array of books for sale by some of your favorite local authors.

I’ll be presenting coupons for Kern’s Home & Garden & Christian Bookstore with the purchase of Realm.

 

August – The Sunday of Summer

August 7, 2023 By in Lightning Juice Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Hello, Realmers! I flew solo this past Shabbat preparation while making Robin Luton’s challah recipe. If you haven’t tried your hand at challah, Robin’s recipe is a great place to start and can be found as a link in my blog post My Summer Vacation by HL Gibson.

So, the first lesson I learned when making challah is to never be too busy with other stuff. Neither a well-organized list of things to do nor past bread baking experience kept me from making a crucial mistake with my challah. For next week, I’m going to eliminate any activity and errand that isn’t Shabbat specific and guard my time with Adonai. The experience reminded me that when I make mistakes, I serve a gracious God who is patient and compassionate, who wants me to learn and succeed.

The verse in Torah about man not living on bread alone instantly came to mind, and I understood the lesson that just as I need to become familiar with the challah recipe so that I don’t make mistakes, I need to become familiar with Adonai’s Word so that I don’t make mistakes. Repetition leads to familiarity and familiarity produces understanding and understanding leads to wisdom.

Other exciting things taking place during my vacation from writing include two concerts performed by the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Music Center, tickets courtesy of my Aunt Mary Alice. The first was Debussy followed by Sibelius. Both evenings were absolutely magical, and the hubby and I are seriously considering season tickets next year. We had forgotten how peaceful and civilized such performances are and cannot wait to attend again.

I received my new book, The Way of Life by Toby Janicki, but before I allow myself to even remove the shrink wrap, I’ve made the promise to myself to finish with my study of The Rivkah Remnant. Several friends also ordered The Way of Life, and from what they are already saying about it, I’m getting excited to read it myself, and I can see another book study on the horizon!

If you follow me on Facebook, you’re probably aware of my drama with stray guineafowl that are wandering in our neighborhood. There were eight originally, but one has gone missing. I’ve taken to feeding the high-strung buffoons, and while they sound like a cross between a turkey, crow, and velociraptor, they’ve captured my heart. I worry they’ll be hit on our busy road or that our neighbor’s mean dog will attack them. My goal is to secure them in some sort of pen before winter sets in. Wish me luck.

I didn’t choose the guinea life; the guinea life chose me.

More exciting news—I’m getting ready for another book signing in September! A friend who owns a florist shop/greenhouse/giftshop and bookstore agreed to host me and other local authors. The event is going to be great with food trucks, and of course, gorgeous, colorful mums for purchase in the greenhouse. This is one event you won’t want to miss.

That wraps up this week’s report. Enjoy your summer, stay cool, and remember to grab your copy of Realm. It’s not your average beach read.

Book Signing – Thirty-two 8 Inspired

May 22, 2023 By in Realm Tags: , , , , , , , 4 Comments

CLEAR YOUR CALENDER, REALMERS

I am excited to announce the first book signing since my book launch celebration for Realm. Join us this Friday, May 26, 2023, from 11 A until 2 PM at Thirty-two Eight Inspired & Co., located at 328 South Prospect Avenue, Hartville, Ohio for a fun-filled day of book signing and local shopping.

I’ll be presenting coupons for Thirty-two 8 Inspired & Co. with the purchase of Realm in softcover and gifts with the purchase of Realm in hardcover.