Kathleen's List of Splendid Things, Chapter 1

I'm going to give a book away today, and this is a splendid thing.
I have a new book out, and this is a many-splendored thing. The book is splendid, of course, but don't take my word for it. Get yourself a copy and see for yourself. Horse trainer Logan Wolf Track teams up with Army Sergeant Mary Tutan to train a wild horse as part of "Mustang Sally's Makeover Challenge." There's an excerpt on Amazon along with a brand new review to give you an idea of the story. My web site features the book, too.

I haven't had a chance to check the stores--September 1 is the official release date, but Amazon is shipping already--but one of the first things on my list of splendid things is seeing YOUR book with YOUR name on the cover sitting right there in on a bookstore shelf. That thrill never gets old.

ONCE A FATHER is the perfect title for this story. I love it when the editors like the title that I chose for the simple reason that it fits the book. Logan has two adopted sons--both prime candidates for books of their own--and once a father, always a father. We've probably mentioned a time or ten that writers don't always get the final say over their babies' names, er, their books' titles. Marketing gets lots of input, which is cool because we all want to sell books, but sometimes not so cool when you have to tell an audience what the title of your latest book is. Certain words sell Romance, and that fact has become increasingly important as key words become keys to the information kingdom. Father happens to be one of those words, along with cowboy, baby, bride, wedding and like that. Magic words come and go, but the aforementioned, like certain thrills, never seem to get old. Try to jam too many key words into a title and it can get pretty silly, even though they say it works in the marketplace.

But you know what sells non-fiction? Numbers in the title. 10 Ways. 20 Secrets. All too often the "ways" are pretty much common sense, and the book could have been published as a pamphlet, but it makes a catchy title--always catches my eye. Recently I saw a TV interview with Neil Pasricha, author of THE BOOK OF AWESOME. Now, the word awesome is about as tired as I am right now (It's 2 A.M.) but the book grew out of a blog called "The Top 1000 Awesome Things," and it's about small miracles and everyday joys, sort of like the little book "Happiness Is..." from way back in the day. Thinking them up is a feel-good exercise. Totally awesome.

Want to play? Let's play. I'm saying Splendid Things in honor of my son, who likes to say "Splendid!" I'll start.

--watching bats darting to and fro overhead at dusk (vacuuming up mosquitoes!)
--finding the clothes you left in the dryer folded and stacked on the bed
--a good blood pressure reading
--old toys
--the prairie sky on a clear night
--the prairie sky anytime
--exchanging a taste of what I got for a taste of what you got at a restaurant
--a full moon on a warm night
--the smell of cinnamon
--a really good down pillow
--the scent of snow
--a chorus of frogs
--a movie that has you clapping at the end
--a horse's ears
--a baby's feet

Once you get going it's hard to stop, so it's your turn. Splendid Things. I'll send an autographed copy of COOL HAND HANK--the book that precedes ONCE A FATHER in my Special Edition series--to one of our commenters.

P.S. While you're here, scroll down and click the free-mammograms-for-those-in-need button. The site is getting enough clicks to donate an average of 1 1/2 mammograms a day. That's splendid!