RUNNING SECRETS on Tour!

Home from France ...

... and very happy to announce a virtual tour RUNNING SECRETS along with a special $0.99 price on Amazon and some giveaways at Closed the Cover! I hope you'll check it out!

Trepidation

As a child, whenever I got frustrated by failure, my mom would repeat the old refrain: the third time's the charm.

My empty suitcase sets in the corner of my writing room. Unopened travel guides cover the dining table. My husband's computer holds flight and hotel confirmations.

We leave for France in three days and I am not ready. Sure, I've leafed through Rick Steves, asked a few friends their Paris favorites, booked rooms recommended by other friends, but detailed reading like Tom is doing - zilch.

And then it hits me. Maybe I really don't believe the third time is the charm.

The first time I didn't go to Paris, I was traveling through Europe alone, visiting friends here and there, when I ended up in a Swiss hospital with internal bleeding from a ruptured ovarian cyst. After two transfusions and a nasty surgery, I learned I was pregnant. I canceled the French leg of my journey and flew home to Seattle as soon as I could travel.

Today that speck of life is almost twenty-five years old, and I'm headed to Paris to celebrate - yes, you guessed it - my 25th wedding anniversary with her daddy.

My second attempt to experience Paris in June 2010 also failed. I met two friends I'd known when we were all ex-pats in Mexico City, married to Mexican nationals. Judi was British, Leandra is Bahamian, and me, Seattleite through and through. For three days, we explored London together, reminiscing about our shared life in Mexico almost thirty years earlier. We called ourselves the ex-Mexican wives club and joked about writing a book of our exploits.

All too soon, Leandra left for Greece and I hoped to be on my way to Paris with Judi. She wasn't up to it. Instead we returned to her home in Cheltenham and then enjoyed a road trip through northern England and Scotland, ending in Birmingham where we stumbled across a Bob Dylan art exhibition. Who would've thought?

Nine months later, Judi succumbed to the cancer that kept us from crossing the channel to France. I will always cherish our last adventure together.

So now I sit and stare at my unpacked suitcase. Doubt lingers. Will I make it to Paris this time?

I Love My Job(s)

February passed in a blur of teaching and writing. My classes at South Seattle Community College are terrific. I have one group of beginning ESL students who researched their homelands and gave class presentations: seventeen students, eleven countries, community building through sharing. I am so grateful for work that nourishes my soul and informs my writing.  

Community support for Running Secrets and the Alki Trilogy continues to grow. The Association of Writers and Writing Programs conference was in Seattle last week and I was thrilled to see Running Secrets on the Booktrope table!  

I'm immersed in the final edits of Biking Uphill, the second book in the Alki Trilogy and determined to send it off to layout before leaving for Paris with my husband to celebrate our 25th anniversary. Yes, it was in mid February, but teachers get school holidays, so spring break was our closest travel option.

Biking Uphill is scheduled for a spring release! Then on to the final novel in the Alki Trilogy: Walking Alki.

Busy, exciting, glorious times!

January 2014

What an incredible month! With the release RUNNING SECRETS on the eve of the new year, it's been a time of excitement and joy, but also of Facebook and Goodreads, of Google+ and Readers& Writers Connect as I struggle to bring RUNNING SECRETS to as many folks as possible and plea for readers' comments on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Goodreads.

I'm not crazy about any of that. I'd rather be writing, quiet and anonymous in some noisy coffee shop, a new tale unfolding in my head and flowing onto the page. But that's only half the equation. A published writer has to sell, especially if she wants a publisher to continue to push her books into the world. And she has to collect readers' comments. Just as sales are a sign of public interest in a book, reviews show publishers that readers are interested enough to share an opinion.

I didn't expect Booktrope's team approach to publishing to affect me quite the way it has. Because the book manager, editor, designer, and copy editor all share a percentage of sales, I find myself pushing harder than I did on my last book and wanting RUNNING SECRETS to exceed all sales expectations, not just for myself, but for the entire team. I didn't foresee this aspect of the team structure, and I find it fascinating.

As soon as RUNNING SECRETS was released and the wheels of promotion started turning, I was happily overwhelmed with the generous support of family and friends as I sought the perfect location for a book launch party, and I mean party! I booked Richard Hugo House and planning was underway.

Tomorrow’s the big day. The box of books is at the door, the hors d'oeuvres are in the refrigerator, and the drink tickets are waiting to be claimed. I hope you can join me!
 

RUNNING SECRETS Book Launch Party!

Saturday, February 1, 2014

3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Richard Hugo House

1634 11th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 322-7030

For more information on RUNNING SECRETS and the complete ALKI TRILOGY, please visit my other website at: www.AlkiTrilogy.com. You are invited to subscribe to both sites for regular updates.

(a book you should know about) Running Secrets, a novel by Arleen Williams

Here's a recent interview with Booktrope author and illustrator, Jennifer Hotes. I hope you enjoy the read!

Readers & Writers Connect

Are you a reader? Do you enjoy learning about new books and the writers behind those books? If so, you may want to check out Readers &Writers Connect.

This is a new website created by book manager, Tiffany White, to build a bridge between those who write and those who love to read. There's a lot here, something for a variety of reading interests.

This month Tiffany will be spotlighting authors published by Booktrope publishing out of Seattle. I hope you check it out.

Count Down

December has been a busy, exciting month, and not only because of the lights and trees, gifts and treats, family and friends. My first novel, Running Secrets, has chugged along through editing and layout on track to meet the scheduled release date: January 7, 2014. 

The wonderful thing about Booktrope's team approach to publishing is the author's involvement in the step-by-step decisions and process of producing the book. For the past four months I've had the pleasure of working with four wonderful, talented women on Running Secrets.

Katrina M. Randall edited and re-edited the manuscript massaging it into a better read and Pamela Hobart Carter reviewed it with eagle eyes seeing mistakes only the best find.

At the same, Loretta Matson created a stellar cover design and calmly worked through my camera phobia to produce an author photo that even I am pleased with.

Behind the scenes, Tiffany White built a marketing plan. Step one was to create a website for my work. Because Running Secrets is the first book of The Alki Trilogy, she created a website for all three books. The first two chapters are now posted in the Peek Inside Running Secrets tab at the top of the page. I hope you enjoy a bit of a teaser!

The Amazon on-line launch date for those of you with e-readers is just a week away: January 7th!  I hope you enjoy reading the book as much as I enjoyed writing it. But even if you don't love the book, even if you're indifferent to the book, even if you think it's the worst book you've ever picked up, I still hope you'll write a quick little review and post it in all the customary spots (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads). Reviews are important. Quantity, I've been told, is what matters. So if you'd like to give a writer a hand, this writer or any writer - write a review.

And finally, an invitation to a Seattle launch party and reading will be posted soon. Promise.