Last fall I wrote a short story as the result of a contest held by Echelon Press for its readers. When it debuted, I was immersed in the edits for POINT SURRENDER and didn't give the story, or rather the marketing of the story, as much effort as I should have.


WHEN HARRY MET SOLI is the story of Harry Wilson, a seven-year-old boy whose recent loss of his mother has pitched him into a fantasy world filled with muggles, wizards and flying broomsticks. Yes, Harry believes he is that Harry, the quidditch-playing, wand-wielding boy wizard of Gryffindor House fame. His newly reintroduced biological father is lost when it comes to steering the boy back to reality; he can barely handle a grilled cheese sandwich on his own. Yet a chance meeting with children's fantasy author Soliza just might produce a ticket home from Hogwart's for Trey Wilson and his young would-be warlock.


A quick and entertaining read, WHEN HARRY MET SOLI is the perfect interim reading matter while waiting for THE DEATHLY HALLOWS to release - still more than a week away!


You can pick up WHEN HARRY MET SOLI in multi-formats at Fictionwise, along with all my other books. You will enjoy it -- I guarantee!

~Anne

Whether you choose to (financially) support this event or not, you should try to attend the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life when it is held near or in your hometown. I know of no one whose life has not been touched by this horrible disease. To witness the Survivor Walk is something that stirs your very soul. I will never forget the young people, elderly, handicapped and healthy-looking people; wheelchairs, crutches, arms helping arms, toddler riding on parents' shoulders, all wearing that deep purple t-shirt identifying them as survivors.

I'm going tomorrow morning. It will be my second year. I have lost 4 family members (my mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and father-in-law) to cancer, and I will do everything I can to help beat this monstrous affliction.

Go. Help if you can, but just go and show your love and support. It means everything to these courageous people

~Anne

You may not consider yourself a gambler or a risk-taker. You find yourself saying to others, “I don’t take chances.” We all try to play it safe, most of the time. We stop at red lights, don’t pick wild mushrooms and always unplug the iron.

But we do waver now and again, if the risk isn’t too high. For instance, a new restaurant opens, and the sign intrigues you. You pass it several days in a row before finally venturing into the place for dinner. It could be great food, exemplary service, or it could be mediocre fare served cold by indifferent waiters. You are risking a bad experience and several dollars, but you don’t have to go back, right?

So we take chances all the time, make choices that may or may not result in good opportunities. It might be a new breakfast cereal, a haircut, a color change for your bedroom; a music CD, a resort hotel, even a date with a new acquaintance. All choices, chances we are willing to take in return for possible reward.

What’s my point? Simply that now is a great time to choose a new book to read, to take a chance on a new author. If you like a good, romantic mystery, a benign ghost or two, and are ready for a change, take a chance on me! You won’t be sorry. Ask for Point Surrender at your favorite bookstore, or order on-line at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-a-Million, Fictionwise (ebook) or direct from my publisher, Echelon Press.
Yes, there are thousands of new books appearing in your peripheral vision every day, crying out for your reading-matter dollars. I’m just asking for a chance, a chance to be one of your new favorite authors.

And by the way, this choice won’t cost as much as the haircut, the dinner out, the resort hotel or even most CD’s. But you might be able to buy two boxes of sugar-laden, high-carb cereal if you’d prefer…