First times are magical.

And this one was a biggie.

Guess where we were the other day, me and my sister and co-author. Just guess. 

You'll never guess so I'll just tell you.

We were selling our books! Printed books. Real books, with covers front and back, and an author picture, and lovely cream paper. Pages that you can fan and smell, which speaking only for myself I have done repeatedly.



Squee!!  Here we are selling honest to goodness books!

In Print hosted a book fair at the Mendelssohn in Rockford on October 25 (which, by the way, was yours truly's birthday, which is why I have a birthday badge on my boob). It was the first time that Jen and I had been able to set up shop with physical books that we could sign and sell.

There were over 30 authors attending that day, and we were right in the thick of it.

We were ready.

It was a very long-awaited, exciting day. Jen, at one point, said that I was so animated that she was just "the string to my balloon." Yes. That pretty much summed it up. 

Can you blame me? It was my birthday. I was selling books with my sister. We had a cool looking, witchy banner. We had (thanks to my media specialist sister) book stands. We had oversized post cards with the names of our books, as well as a description and QR code to scan on your phone. We had business cards and special book signing pens, thanks to Kelly Epperson. We had a beautiful tablecloth that matched the colors of our book covers.

Bull Garlington wandered over and told us how interesting our cover was for Cat, Charmed. (another squee in order here, since he's such a cool dude.)

We also had a Halloween candy dish full of chocolate. That was magical too, in that it kept disappearing.

We had two Whitfield Witch mug giveaways; people who signed up for our fledgling newsletter with their email address had a chance at winning. Winners were Sharon Boehlefeld and Margie Seger (congratulations!) and we also have a great start for an email list.

My son and husband volunteered all day long. My daughter filled in as booth babe for "Birth That Book" Kelly Epperson, who had a prior commitment, and my other daughter and her fiancé came with my granddaughter, who posed for pictures and got to visit and color in the Kids' Zone.



Can I color in this one, Grandma?
No. No, darling, you cannot.
 

We sold a respectable amount of books. We met some cool local and cool not so local authors. We signed, and chatted, and nibbled on Halloween candy and in general, had a spectacular day.

By the time the last table was folded up, we were so exhausted that we headed home for sweatpants and my kids all came over for pizza. And later, there was a whiskey on the rocks.

We know what to expect now for the next one, and we're ready for that one, too, books in hand.

Free for the weekend, Baylyn, Bewitched!!

Hello delightful readers!!

Guess what.  This weekend through Sunday night, Baylyn, Bewitched is free on Amazon.com and Smashwords!  Not only THAT, Cat, Charmed is also 99 cents everywhere.  Continue reading for a little snippet from Baylyn, Bewitched:

“Baylyn, you have to sit down if you want me to put your hair up.”  Cat drawled as she reached a little unsteadily for her wine glass.

Baylyn grabbed the magazine picture featuring her choice and sat down on the chair in her bedroom.  “I wish I had time to get my nails done too.”

“Don’t worry about it.  Your last polish color was too red anyway.  What was that called, Summer Slut?  It’s probably a good thing you didn’t have time.”

Baylyn laughed.  “You are such a bitch.  It was called Poppy Daydreams.  And look who’s talking…you with your Smothered Evening eye shadow.”

Cat paused in her deft movements to tug Baylyn’s hair a little.  “Probably not a good idea to insult me right now.”

“Fine.”  Baylyn grumbled.  “You look wonderful, by the way.”  Cat was wearing a dress a little outside of her comfort zone.  She of dark clothes and straight hair and sensible shoes was actually wearing a fitted royal blue dress and low heels.   

“It’s a pick me up.  Things kind of fizzled out with the paranormal guy.”

“Ah.  His loss, Cat.”

“Whatever.  Not worth talking about.  What are you wearing tonight?”

Cat finished Baylyn’s simple yet elegant hairstyle.  They had decided on a slight pouf with a casual braid around it, and the final result was chic and classy.

“I thought I’d wear that black dress I wore to that thing a couple months ago.”

“Come on, Baylyn.  You can do better than that.  Go for the glamour, girl!  Half the town’s going to be at the Whitfield Gala.  You know all the women love to dress up and show off.”

“Declan’s probably not even going to be there, Cat.  And seriously, it’s the Whitfield Gala.  The most exciting thing that happens every year is that Bob Tucker from Tucker Travel gets drunk and tries to hit on Margaret from Sahara Desserts but she’s too busy pouting over not winning a door prize to notice.”

 

Baylyn, Bewitched excerpt

Below follows an excerpt from Baylyn, Bewitched...the first book in the Whitfield Witch series.

The conversational tone he used belied his words.  “I couldn’t stay away.  I tried.  I turned off the radio so I wouldn’t be disturbed by songs that made me think of you.  I forced myself to work on dry, boring contracts.  I did sit ups.  I did pushups.  But Baylyn…” He let go of the chair.  “I couldn’t get you out of my head.” 

He advanced toward her.  “I kept hearing your voice.  Your voice, saying my name.”  He took another step, catlike, stalking her.  “Over, and over, and over.  Softly.  Declan.  Declan.” 

Her mouth went completely dry and the thudding in her chest sped up to complement the roaring in her ears. 

“As a matter of fact, I could feel you, calling to me.  Beckoning me.  Drawing me here.  Well, I listened, Baylyn.  I’m here.  I had to come.  What, exactly, do you want with me?”

Halloween can't come fast enough for this gal.

Beach read: Baylyn, Bewitched!

Local authors Christine Collins Cacciatore and Jennifer Collins Starkman have recently completed and self published their first novel:  Baylyn, Bewitched.  It's the first in the Whitfield Witch Series.

Baylyn, Bewitched is the whimsical tale of an unlucky-in-love, quirky librarian named Baylyn.  She falls hard for the sexy Declan Hughes, but is hiding a pretty big secret:  she's a witch!

Their ebook is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords, and they're currently working on the second novel in the series:  Cat, Charmed.  They can also be found on the web with their author page on Facebook or their blog, Cacciatore and Starkman Authors.

Cat, Charmed

Cat Hendricks is a bossy little thing.  She's an energetic little redhead who likes to be in control for everything and has almost made me late to get back to work from my lunch hour, simply because she won't let me leave without getting to a certain point in her story.

I like Cat.  Cat has a little bit stronger of a personality than Baylyn, although it's probably because she's hiding behind a façade of control in order to shield herself from hurt.  She definitely plays yin to Baylyn's yang; the two balance each other out quite nicely.  It's probably why they've been friends for so long.

Cat has a lot to learn about her new skills, but luckily she's got Baylyn and her mother, Elise, to guide her along the right path.

Our new book cover...Baylyn, Bewitched is here!

In our search for the perfect cover, we worked with Tugboat Design.  They were really great to deal with.  They have these cool things called "ready to go" covers.  There are several tiers, the $40 covers, $50 covers, and the $60 covers.

Well, once I saw this cauldron I was absolutely in love with it and sat on Jennifer until she agreed with me.   We simply sent Deborah at Tugboat an email with our choice, told her what we wanted it to say, and she did all the other work, even sending us several different sizes, one for Amazon, one for Smashwords, and one for Barnes & Noble.  We ordered it on a Friday and had it by Sunday.  She works fast!

At any rate, here's the cover:




Couldn't you just DIE?????

Our new book launched approximately a week ago today.  It's available here at Amazon.com for your Kindle, here at Barnes & Noble for your Nook, and here at Smashwords.  
Cat, Charmed is the next in the works, and I'm happy to say we're hard at work on that one as well, and it should be out by the end of the summer.

Stay tuned!

Meet Bay Travers!

The Whitfield Witches, Book One

Baylyn, Bewitched

Hello!  My name is Baylyn Travers.  I have to tell you something right off, so you can get to know me. 

I'm a witch.

I have been looking for someone to tell my story for quite some time, and wouldn't you know it...right about the time I was going to give up two sisters were discussing writing a book.  When I heard what subject they wanted to write about...witches...well, you can see why I immediately made myself known to the two of them.

You see, they were looking to write about witches and love, and I'm a witch, looking for love. 

Serendipity.  Coincidence.  Synchronicity.

I am also a librarian in the town of Whitfield and like some of you, or maybe even most of you, I have good friends, a good job, and a lovely little home.  The only thing missing?   A good man.  I've dated, sure.  Even had a relationship or two.  And like you, I have had my share of heartache in the romance department. 

Technically, because I'm a witch, I should date a witch.  Marry a witch.  The only problem?  I am not so sure I want to date another witch.  I'm not even sure I want to be one, myself.

Me, at Halloween?  Mebbe.

I poured out my heart to Jenny and Chris.  They are very, very good listeners and funnier than hell.  They are almost finished writing...tying up the loose ends now.  Crossing the t's and dotting the i's, so to speak.

They are telling my story so other people will know that maybe, someday, they will find happiness too.

Like Waldo says, life is a journey, not a destination.  

The journey is what is interesting.

Join me.