OFF THE LAUNCHING PAD By Catherine Lanigan

           OFF THE LAUNCHING PAD
              By  CatherineLanigan

            Rula and I decided to start the New Year with innovation. That’s what a new beginning is all about, isn’t it? Change?  So, this blog will be my own and in March, Rula will write her own blog when her next smashing book, After the Silence, is published.
            January, as dreary, cold and dangerous weather-wise it can be for many of us in the Northern Hemisphere, this has always been a favorite month of mine. To answer Anna Adams’s post of a few days ago, I don’t do much with resolutions any more. January is too exciting of a month to bog it down with diets and self-inflicted pains of my own broken promises to myself when I am not able to be better organized, more methodically-paced or spend more time reading Greek Tragedies. I will pray more. That I can do.
            But for this particular January, I am enthusiastic because Heartwarming has an “official” one year under its belt.  I have read nearly all of my fellow Heartwarming authors and haven’t been the least bit disappointed yet. Some were down right spectacular and I will continue in the New Year to pat you all on the back. Good job, Ladies!  I also want to say that in my thirty-six years of writing and publishing, I have never met a more cohesive, supportive, understanding, sharing, caring, empathetic group of people in my life. The support I have seen for those who have weathered a tragic 2014 is rare. Because of who we are and the bonding I have witnessed, I believe there is something nearly mystical about our associations. Yes, our stories are unique. Yes, our characters have a great deal of heart and soul, but so do a lot of novels in a lot of lines. Something happened when Victoria gathered us all under her wing and set us on this sturdy path and it is a wonderful gift. 
            That is why I strongly believe our future is glittering. This road may not be gold yet, but with the kind of hard work, attention to details both in our writing and promotion, and OUR support of the line for all, we will reach our goals. This January is just the beginning of good things for us.
            January, too, is the launch of my third book in my Indian Lake series, A FINE YEAR FOR LOVE.  See self-serving photo below.



     My story is set in a vineyard in Northwestern Indiana. We are only six miles from the beach at Lake Michigan and all along the western shore are vineyards. The research I did was a hardship. I just HAD to go to all those vineyards and check them out, right?  Frankly, when I first devised my fictional town of Indian Lake, the story of Liz Crenshaw leveling a shotgun at devastatingly handsome and aggravating Gabe Barzonni, who is stealing samples of her precious soil, sprang to my consciousness like I’d stepped across a dimension.  Gabe DOES want Liz’s land—until he realizes he wants Liz and can’t have her.  It’s a mess---complete with a decades-old Barzonni family secret that finally is exposed. I just love stories like that---everything is far from what it should be. Everybody gets rattled and confused until love cracks things open and illuminates the truth.

     January is the best time for looking forward and making plans. The bigger the better. We can make adjustments later if we have to “downsize” our goals, but for me, right now, we have to rev our engines, supply ourselves with more rocket fuel and shoot for the moon.  For me, I’m re-considering all kinds of approaches to my marketing and publishing plans. This of course, includes writing more hours than there is in day!  But, hey, I really DO think big. We all like and believe in happy endings. I believe in writing the script of our lives, so why not make plans for the best?
   For all you readers out there, I’m giving away three free copies of A FINE YEAR FOR LOVE for your comments to my question:  “Do you prefer to read novels in physical books or on e-pub?
Comment here and tomorrow I will announce the winners. I will need your snail mail address!
Happy NEW Year!
  
  Visit my web site: catherinelanigan.com. I'm on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest. You can also email me at cathlanigan1@gmail.com if you have questions or comments. I love to hear from you all. 
           


Comments

  1. I really enjoyed your post, Catherine. You seem like a sweet person and I agree wholeheartedly with your attitude about continuing to work hard and believe! This is the first time I noticed the offer for free books on the side of this blog. I have read some Heartwarming from the library. I decided to sign up and give it a try. It appears I will miss the January releases, so hopefully I'll win a copy of your lovely book. :) I'm from central Indiana and didn't know we had many vineyards.

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  2. Cathy! Thank you for your response and thank you for supporting our libraries. I'm glad to hear there ARE some Heartwarming books in libraries. And yes, way up here in "almost Michigan" we have vineyards. I love going to the tasting rooms and checking out the local offerings. There are many more vineyards in Southwestern Michigan and supposedly, this climate (I know, we have snow) is very similar --in the growing season...to California's Sonoma County. I will put your name in the hat and let you know tomorrow! Make sure you send me your address at cathlanigan1@gmail.com

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  3. Catherine, I love your cover and look forward to your book. My daughter and family who live in Michigan visited a vineyard in more northern Michigan. They sent me a bottle of wine from there and it was good. The Oregon area where I grew up is now hugely into wine, growing and casking and bottling. Even southern Arizona has vineyards. Who knew wine grapes grow all over the U.S.?

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    1. Roz,
      In addition I lived in Scottsdale, Arizona and I LOVE the Page Springs Winery in Southern Az. I think it's wonderful...so many beautiful places to visit.

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  4. Don and I planted grapevines. They died. We planted an orange tree, too. In all the years we had it, we got one orange. LOL
    I am still thinking about making a goal. Maybe my goal should be to make a goal.
    I love both ebook and print, but my favorite authors, I buy in print.

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    1. Pam,
      I have always had a green thumb until it came to grapes and fruit trees. I killed them all. I don't get that. Thanks for your input. My favorite authors, I have to have the print book. The house is getting so FULL!

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  5. Catherine, happy endings and big plans sound like the perfect recipe for the year ahead!

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  6. Catherine, you have such gorgeous covers on all your Shores Of Indian Lake series! Makes me want to go to the locale :). We have a lot of vineyards in VA and they make for beautiful scenery. As for books, I still prefer to hold a physical/print book and see it on my shelf. I'd say that 99% of the friends and family I have say they prefer print too and don't even own e-readers!

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    1. Rula,
      As you know, my granddaughter is just the same. She's just got to see those titles. I still LOVE the feel of a library one at home, and the lovely institutional ones, wherever they are. There's something magical about libraries and rows and rows of books on the shelves. However, my husband adores his Kindle. He must have well over a thousand books on his Kindle.

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  7. Catherine, what a lovely post! I have fallen in love with the Heartwarming books. I've probably read 10 or 12 of them, and I've enjoyed each and every one. In fact, I recently tried to read something a little more humorous and sexy, and although I enjoyed the banter and the steam, there just wasn't enough substance or heart and I ended up skimming toward the end of the book. It's back to Heartwarming for me! I've also enjoyed some of the Super Romances as well. As far as physical book versus e-book, I'm the opposite of Rula. I'm on my third Kindle and I love it. I love the portability of it, and I love that I have an entire library at my fingertips. I also love the fact that if I want to buy a book, it's practically instantaneous. Thanks for sharing your post and for the giveaway opportunity. Happy New Year!

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    1. Christy,
      THANK YOU for posting. What lovely thoughts and compliments for us all. I'm with you. OUR stories just have that "something special". I'll put your name in the hat for the drawing!

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    2. Christy. Please send your snail mail address so I can send you a book! Cathy just won as well!

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    3. I'm thrilled to win a book! Woo hoo! Check your email for my address, please.

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  8. Having had the nearest bookstore for 30 miles close, I've converted to ebooks. :)

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    1. Sadly, it's 25 miles for me, too. I think that's just awful!!!

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  9. I'm with Melinda, plus I love being able to carry a whole library in one little Kindle. I still love bookstores and libraries, though and I love paperbacks simply because it's such fun to pass them on--to say, "try this author and see what you think." Love your cover, Catherine, and I'm thrilled with Heartwarming.

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  10. Thanks to everyone for the compliments for the cover! Isn't it terrific? But honestly, all our covers really standout! I see ours against other lines and other publishers and I think, gees...those guys look so the same...boring. Or is that just my prejudice? Even now I see some of our covers in my head and know what? They STICK in my head. That says something, doesn't it????

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    1. I agree with you--I love our covers, and I think they get better all the time!

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  11. Catherine, great post! You have such a lovely way with words and you always inspire me! I love my Kindle. It's the old kind that only does books and looks like paper. I would never have believed it or even purchased one, but my nephew got it for me as a gift. It took me a couple months to even turn it on--and then I only did so because I knew he would be asking if I liked it. I do like being able to hold so many books in my hand (and always knowing where a particular book is--saves me time having to hunt it down) but I will never give up on print either!

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  12. Beautiful cover! And I'm not good at New Years' resolutions or One Word or anything else that smacks of organization. I didn't know Heartwarming was only a year old! May it live to see a ripe old age. lol

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  13. Love your cover and look forward to a wonderful read.

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  14. Catherine - love your cover, love your attitude, love Heartwarming! Am resolved to write as well as I can this year. You're right - our connection as authors and sisters is magical.

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    1. Thanks, Muriel! I love your books, too and can't wait for your next one!

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  15. What a lovely post! Wishing you all continued success in 2015! While I enjoy the convenience of an e-reader, I do prefer a physical book. A Fine Year for Love is beautiful and I am eager to visit Indian Lake!

    texaggs2000 at gmail dot com

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  16. Lovely cover. I absolutely prefer physical books to ebooks. How else could I look at that beautiful cover resting on my nightstand?

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