Summer Flowers and Adventure Escapes

Gems in the Garden

Summer's unofficially here, which means my garden is bursting with beautiful flowers. I forget how much I miss the flowers and birdsong until I'm able to throw open the windows and welcome spring back to NY. I often go out to the garden with my camera and forget to take photos because I'm enjoying the beauty.

Did you know that even a few minutes a day spent with nature can do wonders for your physical and mental health? Even tending a potted plant is beneficial...further proof that we were not meant to sit at a desk for hours, staring at a screen. Get out that sunscreen and pay Mother Nature a visit! She misses you.

Gems in the Ground

I've scaled back my writing engagements this year to travel with my husband in our travel trailer, affectionately dubbed "Libby" (and maybe collect some new stories to tell). Recently, we went to

Scam Alert for Aspiring Authors

Author Beware

I posted this on my Facebook page, but it's important enough that I feel it should be repeated here.

TO ASPIRING AUTHORS:

There have been a lot of spam emails targeting aspiring (or published) authors lately. It goes like this:

"Hi, I'm [insert name] of [insert entity], and I was captivated by your [insert your book title]. The [insert book details] was so [insert gushing compliments]. I would love to promote your book/publish/edit/whatever your book and get it in front of my audience of [insert astronomical number] readers. Contact me!"

These are ALWAYS A SCAM, made to look credible by the use of AI to get details from your book. Don't answer. Report spam and block them.

No one credible will approach YOU. It's almost always the other way around in publishing. The credible authors, editors, formatters, promoters, and publishers have way too much work on their plates already to voluntarily seek out an unknown quantity (or someone who, if published, isn't already a NYT bestseller). If someone DOES approach you without your prompting them, they're likely to have a credible, verifiable reference (e.g., "Our mutual acquaintance, So-and-So, gave me your name."). You should be able to verify with So-and-So that this is, in fact, the case.

A real editor, formatter, promoter, or publisher will not seek you out. They'll wait for you to send a query letter, then respond accordingly.

Don't fall for it. Please, for the love of that potential bestseller inside you, don't fall for it. These scammers are just looking to steal your money, your work, or both.

Rule of thumb: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.