Fall Festivals and Small-Town Charm: The Author's Life

I'm a small-town girl with a heart for the small-town kind of world. Sure, I've been dazzled during trips to New York City. The rush of people and the constant thrill is exciting.

But I wouldn't want to live there... because I'm a small-town kind of girl.

I like the simplicity of walking down my empty street, waving at a few friendly faces. I like the sometimes humdrum pace of our town. I like walking for breakfast to a tiny cafe down the street, and ambling to a school event on a weekend. I love the friendly, familiar faces at our local haunts. I love the lack of traffic at intersections and the easy pace of our Pennsylvania town.

So, this weekend, when my husband and I were invited to a bookstore in a small town in Pennsylvania for the town's fall festival, I was thrilled. These are the kinds of places I feel at home.

And you know what?

It was one of my favorite author events so far.

It wasn't my favorite because we sold hundreds of books (we didn't) or because we had lines of people waiting to meet me (we also didn't). It was my favorite because of the atmosphere, the people, and the small-town charm that just made me feel at home.

Watching children laughing as they visited the petting zoo and ate way too much caramel corn. The smell of fried foods and the simple chatter around. The dog costume parade and scarecrow contests. It was an afternoon of warmth and simple, true fun.

Sometimes as authors, we lose sight of the journey. We are always wanting bigger, better, faster, more. We are always measuring our paths by how many books we sell or how much money exchanges hands. We try to collect awards and fame. We become so focused on these things that we lose sight of the simple fun, the beautiful memories, and the days like today.

Today, I'm thankful for a chance to meet new readers and to explore a new town. I'm thankful my author career has led me to new places and small towns all over our state. I'm thankful for an afternoon in the sun with my husband, laughing and having a simple, small-town adventure.

The author's life isn't always about big cities and huge tour stops. Sometimes, as I've learned, the best days and events are the ones that make us feel right at home, that remind us what genuine fun is all about, and help us see that the memories we make along the way are so much more important than anything else.

NOW LIVE! GET YOUR COPY TODAY AT https://amzn.com/B01H5KGNUS
What Goodreads reviewers are already saying about Erin Lee’s latest release, When I’m Dead:
This book is worthy of so much more then 5 stars!!! I have never read a book that has touched me and made me feel things that I had a hard time believing were out there....hope, faith, redemption.
I was overwhelmed with emotion and left speechless.
BLURB: Violet Hoffman is a planner. She’s had more than enough time—especially on holidays—to think this through. There’s really no point in turning back. Now, armed with a plan, Violet only needs to pull the trigger. She runs through her list of essentials: Motel room, check. Bottle of pills, check. Razor blades, check. Knife, yup. Purpose, check. Voice ready to be heard. Got it. Revenge, coming right up. Violet is ready. After all, she decides, everyone is born for a reason. For most of her life, she’s been different. Since she was nine years old, she’s carried a secret that made it impossible for her to be normal. For a decade, she’s been torn between loyalties and healing. But now, finally an adult, Violet can let it all out. And it isn’t going to be pretty. But then again, being ‘pretty’ and ‘special’ really aren’t what they’re cracked up to be. When I’m Dead is the story of an eighteen-year-old abuse victim alienated by her family. Ignored by a faulty system and shuffled from placement to placement, Violet is finally old enough to be heard. Sometimes, the best messages are given without words. And Violet’s always been a person of action. Where will Violet’s plan and actions take her? Will she finally get her message across? What will they think of her, when she’s dead? Will they even notice? 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Erin Lee is a hybrid author and therapist chasing a crazy dream one story at a time. She lives with her family in southern New Hampshire. She is the author of Crazy Like Me, a novel published in 2015 by Savant Books and Publications, LLC, reprinted as Her Kinda Crazy in 2016, Wave to Papa, 2015, by Limitless Publishing and Nine Lives (2016). She’s also author of the “Lola, Party of 8 Series,” When I’m Dead and 99 Bottles. Lee has published numerous magazine articles, particularly on the topic of mental illness. She recently contributed to the Anonymous anthology, in support of the Semi Colon Project with her short story “One Good Reason.” She holds a master’s degree in psychology and works with at-risk families and as a court appointed special advocate.

​What happens when good girl Ruby meets lonesome, trouble maker Adam? Fireworks, of course. What started out as an innocent friendship quickly turned into the love of a lifetime. His growing rap sheet didn't scare her away like her mother, the judge, hoped it would. Soon the line between true love and selfishness is blurred. Ruby had an ulterior motive for dating Adam, but did he have one for being with her?
 
Ruby finds out she's pregnant the day that Adam takes a gun into his high school. Instead of staring at the tv waiting for news, she sneaks into the school determined to get answers. Adam's suicide attempt failed when Ruby reached him just in time. 
 
Now, ten years later Adam and Ruby come face to face again at his parole hearing. Will she be able to get the answers she desperately needs for their daughter? Or will the families of his twelve victims get their own version of justice?
 
The question everyone asks after a tragedy is "why?" If You Say So brings light to the issue and how medication plays a part in these events. The story expands past the mental illness defense and touches on how the medicine for these illnesses are not always the right choice.
 
Available for purchase on these sites:
Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01G5NTVB4
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/if-you-say-so-1
My sites:
Blog: https://stephanieelizabethblog.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephanie.allen.75436531
 

igned paperback giveaway and hot new release!
 
REBELLION PROJECT
by Sara Schoen
 
“This book started out kind of slow and rough but then had me in tears while connecting me to the protagonist plight of wanting to be free and understood. Seriously I was caught crying and it was not pretty. The story deals with bullying, self improvement, trust, family and making amends, oh and of course finding love.” – 5 stars from Avid Reader
 
A new YA Romance has just released and been raved about. Rebellion Project, hit #9 in hot releases and #65 in contemporary romance on Amazon!
 

*~BLURB~*
 
Lauren Scott has always been tormented by her peers for being a good girl…
She is viewed as the golden child by her parents—following their rules and allowing them to make all of her life decisions. But after a lifetime of walking the straight and narrow, Lauren feels as though her life is passing her by.
When she catches her father having an affair, she throws the rulebook out the window…
Lauren realizes that even if she does everything perfectly, life can—and will—surprise you. When life throws her a major curveball, she sets out to live for herself, making the rules up as she goes and smashing through everyone else’s expectations, but she doesn't know how to live without a guideline. So, Lauren is forced to ask her biggest tormentor for help—Kayden Daniels.
Kayden is nothing but trouble—which is why Lauren needs him so badly…
Kayden turns Lauren’s whole world upside down with a mischievous smirk and a proposition. But if Lauren wants his help to remake herself, she has to pay the price—her virginity. With no one else willing to help her, she agrees to make the trade. But when her change becomes too much to handle, will she give up or will she keep moving forward with a new reputation and a more adventurous life?
Cliques, stereotypes, popularity contests, and drama.
Some say it’s just another day in high school.
For Lauren, it’s the Rebellion Project…
 
*~ GRAB YOUR COPY TODAY~*
Amazon US:http://amzn.to/245ebSK
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1Pyzyuc
Amazon AU: http://bit.ly/25HZNG4
Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/1RUWYnR
 
Add on Goodreads: https://goo.gl/UGxIaj
 
GIVEAWAY: There's a paperback giveaway going on at Sara's page (www.facebook.com/authorsaraschoen), where if you order an ebook version you're entered to win a SIGNED paperback. So be sure to enter for a chance for a signed copy of the newest romance release!
 
*~WATCH THE TRAILER~*
https://youtu.be/WGzwKrFbshw