Books and Photographs

The first draft of my latest book, Williamsburg Hill, is nearly complete.  Since I've been focused on finishing it, less time has been given to blog posts and updates.  So this one is a little short and simply a reminder that I have books and photographs still for sale.

Daniel's Esperanza, Funny Pages and Billy's First Dance can be purchased through various online retail sites.  All can be found in paperback form and for Kindle readers on Amazon.  I appreciate all sales, and if you're interested in giving one a shout-out, please do.  Many thanks in advance.

I also have over 300 photographs on Fine Art America for sale in canvas prints, posters, framed and unframed photographic prints, greeting cards, canvas totes, t-shirts, cell phone cases, shower curtains, duvets and more.  Any purchase is given a 100 percent guarantee; if you aren't satisfied you can return the item(s) for a full refund.  Included here are some screen shots of some of my latest work, but you can visit www.veronica-batterson.pixels.com for higher resolution viewing.

As always, thanks for any and all support, purchases, reviews and sharing on social media. Word of mouth works wonders.  Now back to that draft...hope to have it finished in a couple of weeks.

Holiday and Christmas Lists...Shop Amazon and Local Businesses

Thanks to those who purchased a copy of my book, Daniel's Esperanza, on Cyber Monday. Amazon started a sale that day for the paperback and it is still running. The Kindle version is available, too, with a free app to those who don't own the device. You can find the direct link for my book on Amazon by clicking Daniel's Esperanza on Amazon. If you don't like clicking links, just do a Google search of my name on the Amazon site. My book can also be found on numerous other online retail shops.

My deepest gratitude to all who have bought the book and read it, thus far. Thanks also to those who have given me positive feedback. It is very encouraging to hear from readers. Too often, a writer spends years on a book only to hear crickets chirping once it is published. It's a lot of work, we love to hear from people who have read the book, especially if it is liked. Reviews help, too, along with giving shout-outs on social media and to your friends. Believe or not, all of this helps with potential sales.

Please remember to shop locally and frequent small businesses in your hometowns. However, please don't get caught up in the craze of boycotting Amazon. Some of us can only be found online, which includes Amazon. We're hard-working business people, too, trying to sell our work.  While I won't get into specifics as to the war between Amazon and booksellers (along with traditional publishers), if you boycott Amazon, it hurts us. Perhaps, I'll reserve all that drama for a future post.
 

Finally, I have to say the following. Self-published = self-produced = independently done. Independents can include authors, local businesses and bookstores, plus musicians, singers, actors, movie makers, dance companies, theatre companies (community theatre, too), museums, visual artists, photographers, etc.  If you buy the tickets, goods, CDs, paintings, photography, go to the shows and concerts, and give the business all in the name of supporting the indie (or local, or start-up, or unknown), why not buy the indie book?  If you go to an indie movie or promote an indie musician, do the same for an indie author. Don’t judge a book by its publisher. Art in any form is subjective…it shouldn’t matter how it comes to be.  

Happy Holidays to all.

Goodreads Giveaway for DANIEL'S ESPERANZA and Excerpt

I'm hosting a book giveaway for my new novel, Daniel's Esperanza, on the Goodreads site.  Twenty autographed copies will be given away...all you have to do is be a Goodreads member and sign up for a chance to receive one of them.  I have nothing to do with who will get the copies.  Goodreads does this randomly, but if you're interested, check it out under Giveaways.

Daniel's Esperanza is now available in paperback on Amazon.  The Kindle version will be available within the next few days.  The direct Amazon link is Daniel's Esperanza and excerpts are available there, which Amazon provides by allowing you to read inside.

I hope you enjoy the story and please leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads and wherever the book is listed.  I'd appreciate it very much.  Thanks for taking a look.

                                                            

Finally...There is a Cover

I've been waiting a long time for this.  There is a beautiful cover to share of my third book.  Daniel's Esperanza is literary fiction written for the adult reader...I specify this because my two previous books were middle grade/young adult works.  I'm told that the book will be available very soon (within days) for purchase in paperback and for Kindle, and I'll provide an excerpt shortly.  Sharing the cover for now.

More Fine Art America Photographs While We Wait

I'm using this post to share some more of my photographs from the Fine Art America site.  My next book, Daniel's Esperanza, is close...very close...to being published.  It's been a long wait and I see myself dedicating a post at some point in the future to this whole process.  I'll be posting excerpts soon.  However, I shall be happy to share these photos from a hobby I enjoy.  These images, and many more, can be found in greater resolution at veronica-batterson.artistwebsites.com.  I don't specialize, but take photos of things that interest me.  Nature, landscapes, travel, side trips, dogs (particularly golden retrievers)...there's a bit of everything.  Browse and if you decide to make a purchase...many thanks!  As always, I appreciate all who read this stuff.

Daniel's Esperanza

I thought I'd give an update regarding the status of my latest novel, Daniel's Esperanza.  It is complete but I'm researching new publishing options, which takes time.  The manuscript is out and being reviewed by several sources and I hope to have some news soon.  However, if I do go with a new publisher, it could still take awhile before the book is published.  I'm impatient but there isn't much I can do at this point.

Since I've revealed the title in this post, I would like to say Daniel's Esperanza is written for the adult reader.  I've strayed from my previous books, which were middle grade fiction, and tried something new.  I'm very proud of the final product, which I wrote with a sequel in mind.  I'm now outlining the continuing story and can't wait to begin writing.

Being rather superstitious, I'm not comfortable revealing the plot before publication even though the copyright is secured.  I have mentioned research for the book took me to New Mexico and a wild horse sanctuary, but that's all I will divulge now.  Hopefully, waiting will make the story that much more enjoyable.

Thanks to all who take the time to read my blog posts.  It is appreciated.  I do hope publication isn't delayed too much longer.

A New Year and No More Reluctance

Yesterday marked my blog's first anniversary.  This is quite an accomplishment considering I never had any intention of starting one in the first place.  Blogs (one of the most unappealing words, I think) did not interest me and I didn't really feel I had anything of narrative substance to offer readers.  I also didn't think I could keep up with the world's multitude who feel they do have a lot to say.  But I took advice and reluctantly started one, never thinking I'd keep it updated.

I began 2012 as "The Reluctant Blogger" thinking I must be the only person keeping a blog who did so unwillingly.  Clever, even.  Boy, was I wrong.  There are a lot of reluctant bloggers out there lending a voice to everything under the sun...diets, recipes, special interests, writing, acting, music, non-profits and businesses.  And I realize that each one of them do have something to say, however reluctant they may be, to those who are willing to listen.  If readers found them, then certainly I must have a minuscule place in the blogger world, I rationalized.

So the year's posts consisted of an eclectic and varied bit of "accounting" on my life, ideas and thoughts, in general.  I strayed from living in a haunted house to what Peyton Manning meant to me.  I mulled over time spent in Rome, Italy and the need to save our wild Mustangs, to funny things my kids said and living through the death of a pet.  My former antiques' business was the subject of a post, along with some short stories I'd written and an endorsement for visiting Tuckahoe Plantation in Virginia.  Of course, I plugged my books whenever possible.  A diverse subject list filled 2012 for me.  This blog didn't have a theme and I'll probably keep it that way.

So gone is that "Reluctant Blogger".  I've removed the title and probably should've researched a bit before naming it a year ago.  At the very least, I would have found just how many of us "reluctants" are out there.  For lack of a better idea, I just replaced the old title with my name.  Simple and nothing spectacular, but it is mine.

I look forward to continuing this as best as I can in 2013.  My goal is at least one post a month, something I accomplished in 2012 until December rolled around, then the holidays got the better of me.  Plus, completing the first draft of my next novel was a goal attained in December.  I'm certain I see a post or two about that in the coming year.

So if I don't meet that monthly target, the world won't end and the sun will rise tomorrow.  This blog will still be here and I'll continue to post when I feel like it.  Happy new year, everyone.  Thanks for reading.
    

Monero Mustangs Sanctuary

Research for my next book took me on an enlightening journey to New Mexico last year.  Driving up from Santa Fe, my husband and I stopped in Tierra Amarilla, a small town off US Highway 84, near Chama.  The route took us through Georgia O'Keeffe country and some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen.  With steep mesas that stretched as far as the eye could see, it was no wonder the artist chose to live her life there.  Add white clouds on the horizon and a deep blue sky free of pollutants and the view is breathtaking.

It was in this setting that we found Monero Mustangs Sanctuary, a haven dedicated to the preservation of the American Mustang.  Located on approximately 5,000 acres at Yellow Hills Ranch, the sanctuary is operated by Sandi Claypool.  Sandi and her late mother started the sanctuary in 2000 and it is now home to over 120 wild horses.  And the number continues to grow.

It is believed that horses roamed North America 10,000 years ago.  At some point, however, they vanished from the landscape and no one knows why.  Considered part of the American West's heritage, mustangs are believed to be descendants of horses imported here from the Spanish Conquistadors in the 16th century.  For various reasons, the horses eventually escaped into the wild or were "freed" by Native American tribes who resented the Spanish conquerors' ways.  Those surviving the hardships of living in the wild were the progenitors of the feral horse of today.

The mustang's (mesteño - from the Spanish word meaning "wild") plight is heightened by the number of horses grazing public lands and the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) need to control the herd population.  When settlers started moving west in the 1900s, cattle ranching operations often competed with the mustang for grazing space on public lands.  Horse slaughter was too often the solution.  But in 1971, Congress passed the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act to protect the wild mustang and stated in part that "they were living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the west".

A few years later, the BLM began a program which allowed wild horse adoption.  Controversial in part because of the cruelty associated with the roundups, the BLM asserts the necessity of its actions in controlling which and how many horses remain wild on public land.  The organization also insists this allows an environmental balance to the landscape and prevents depletion due to over foraging.

Enter Monero Mustangs Sanctuary.  Some of the horses found at Monero Mustangs Sanctuary were acquired by this adoption process, while Sandi has also taken in horses through other means.  Allowed to roam freely, the horses remain wild.  They naturally group and live within bands or herds.  They graze off the land but are only fed hay to sustain them through the winter months.  This keeps the horses healthy and also contributes to conserving the landscape.  Over 3,000 bales of hay are used during this period and most are obtained through financial donations, which are tax-deductible.

Visiting the sanctuary was a unique experience for us.  The day was spent locating and viewing several bands of horses, seeing them interact with each other, learning some of their mannerisms and the reasons behind them.  My new favorite word for that day was "snaking", a movement the stallions make with their heads to keep their herds in line.  We were allowed to take as many photos as we wanted and Sandi was more than happy to answer our questions.  The day was relaxed and informative.  While not finding all of the bands in residence (some were people-shy, some avoided humans altogether), we still left feeling it was well worth the cost of the tour.  In fact, as a Christmas gift, our family sponsored one of the foals born on the premises in December.

Monero Mustangs Sanctuary is a non-profit organization and is one of several wild horse sanctuaries located around the country.  Good work is performed there everyday but there is always need.  They appreciate any and all donations and if you live nearby, they're happy to have you as a volunteer.  Tours are available by appointment.  For more information, visit their website at www.moneromustangs.org.