Thursday, May 17, 2012

Mother's Day Travels

I had a wonderful Mother's Day trip visiting my sons in Western Mass and Vermont. They cooked me a barbecue and fish, took me canoeing and hiking, gave me flowers and an excellent dinner at Hoagie's where we watched the Celtics, and allowed us some rest at a scenic hotel.




Even after two days sitting in the back of the car the flowers still look beautiful.


Rising clouds eclipse the mountains.



My heart sang with joy to see them both relaxed and planning for the future. I love them and feel so grateful that they enjoyed showing us such a good time.

Blessings and peace to all,
~Shirley~



Sunday, April 29, 2012

New England Chapter - Romance Writers of America

As usual our annual conference was fantastic... the speakers, the workshops, the people. Thanks to the committee for all their hard work.


Here we are relaxing after dinner and the awards presentation.



Here I am with my book display... and that's tea in the cup.

Can hardly wait for next year.

~S~


Thursday, April 26, 2012

Testing My Camera on a Beautiful Scene

In preparing for the New England Romance Writers conference this weekend, I decided to test my camera batteries and thought forsythia, lilacs, and a blue sky would make a good subject. I remember showing you this same corner of my yard blanketed in snow, not so long ago. And now look, spring has blossomed in my little corner of the world.

My camera works and I'm already for the conference. Life is good.

Peace and love,
~S~
www.ShirleyAnnHoward.com


Thursday, April 19, 2012

Book Fair

Mark your calendar for April 28 and plan a trip to Salem, MA. New England authors are gathering for their annual conference and will hold a Book Fair for Literacy at the Hawthorne Hotel. Open to the public at 4:30 p.m.

http://www.necrwa.org/conference/NEC-Book-Fair-2012.pdf

Did you ever see a finer group? Stop by to say hello. Would love to see you.

~S~

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Confession

I have a confession to make. I've used a pseudonym—temporarily so far—but I could resurrect it in the future. Shhhh—it's Carol Stephens. I had originally intended to use this different name for my Young Adult novel, TALES OUT OF THE PSYCH OFFICE, a very common practice when writing in a new genre. But... this book was also part of, and at least somewhat related to, my TALES series. So I had, as they say, a conundrum. Should I use the pen name I'd spent so long deciding on? Or stick with my own? By now you know the answer and I'm not exactly sure why I'm even letting you know this now. I guess it's just a confession, something I've had on my mind, and now I don't. 

Peace, love, and Happy Spring,
~S~

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

A Woman's Tale is coming.....

April 27, 2012.....



Kristina Lansing is a Harvard-educated MBA employed as an executive for the Boston Bobcats, a professional baseball team. As the lone woman in management she struggles to prove herself daily, even though—or maybe because—her family owns the team. To complicate matters, she becomes involved with their 'ace' pitcher due to become a free agent at the end of the season. Shareholders, the media, other players, and rumors of trades produce an atmosphere where business, sports, romance, and family collide in a quagmire of corporate in-fighting. Can Kristina find the skills to succeed? Or will she succumb to the many emotions she feels as a woman?

More info and links when available.

Happy Spring !

~S~

Thursday, March 29, 2012

I am Psyched

The New England Chapter of Romance Writers of America has a fantastic annual conference. Hope my writer friends can make it. There are outstanding speakers and workshops, pretty much all the food you could possibly eat, and the fellowship of like-minded writers.

Registration is still open.  http://necrwa.org/blog1/conference/

We also have a book sale and signing to promote literacy. Open to the public. Come meet these wonderful authors.  http://www.necrwa.org/conference/NEC-Book-Fair-2012.pdf

The winners of the Bean Pot Readers' Choice Award will also be announced.... and TALES OUT OF THE PSYCH OFFICE is a finalist in the Young Adult category. Psyched! Psyched! Psyched!

Looking forward to seeing everyone and meeting new people.

Peace and love to all.

~S~

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Psych Office Receives Recognition

So thrilled that TALES OUT OF THE PSYCH OFFICE is a finalist for an Award of Excellence.

http://crw-rwa.ning.com/profiles/blogs/2012-award-of-excellence-finalists-announced

This mainstream, young adult novel is edgy, poignant, and even a bit humorous... meaningful for readers of all ages.


It's available from Amazon in both print and Kindle editions.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=shirley+ann+howard 


I'd like to thank the judges who showed their appreciation for my work... it makes my heart sing soprano.


Happy Spring!


~S~

Saturday, February 11, 2012

KINDLE

All four of my books are available in Kindle edition from Amazon.
And.... today and tomorrow TALES OUT OF SCHOOL is FREE!!!

http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Out-Of-School-ebook/dp/B004BLJAAK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328978465&sr=8-1

Enjoy on this rainy, cold weekend.

~S~

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Getting Rid of Virus

I have been working hard to rid my beautiful laptop of a nasty computer virus. I seriously can't figure out how I got it. Isn't anti-virus software supposed to prevent viruses? The three tech fellows I've talked to can't seem to give an answer I understand.

Anyway, here I was minding my own business last week, when all of a sudden I got this message: "Win 7 Security Alert" and it would not go away. The more I clicked on it, the more embedded it became. First I lost my Internet, then email, then documents... oh me, oh my. But I didn't cry or fuss. I'm happy to report that I seem to have matured and didn't carry on as if the situation were the end of the world. I ran a comprehensive Norton scan--twice. Restarted--twice. No luck.

Then... I fired up my old computer and did some Googling. "Rogue Trojan," it said. After studying the "how to remove" articles, I decided to bring my sick computer to Staples General Hospital. Carrying it in, I was definitely thinking positively, i.e. this is better than my body having a virus. Two days and $99 later, my beautiful blue laptop was declared cured. However, it would not stop flashing an "Alert" message from Norton. So I called them. Tech fellow said I needed an updated version of Norton, he could do it if I allowed him to remotely take over my computer. I took a deep breath and allowed it. He said it would take twenty minutes; it took an hour and a half.

Then... it wouldn't print. More trouble shooting... I was almost ready to buy a new printer... but then... like five minutes after I pushed the print button, the paper came out of the printer's jaw. Go figure. All happy again.

Then... Pictures wouldn't load from my website www.ShirleyAnnHoward.com
They loaded up on my old computer. They loaded on my husband's computer. What gives???  Took sick laptop back to Staples, and no lie, this young man (couldn't have been more than 18), typed and searched, searched and typed. Then suggested I try accessing Internet from Google Chrome. My son had previously suggested I do that, so I said OK. Voila! Computer worked... website loaded... and it printed too.

Then... yesterday it printed half a page and stopped. Wouldn't print again. And the "mother computer" which controls the printer, wouldn't print either. So.... I got up this morning and did some troubleshooting. Message "A print job in the queue is preventing your current job from printing." Print job in the queue???? I'd cancelled them five times. Go figure. Pressed the cancel button on the printer and shut it off. Turned it on. Finally, we're printing again.

Can you imagine if your other appliances, radios, and TVs operated like this? We'd all be crazy.

Next post I'll tell you about my new book "A Woman's Tale In A Man's World."

Take care.

~S~

P.S. I am not saying anything here about the Patriots or the Super Bowl, because that brought bad luck last time.