We can have our ebooks and support local stores, too!

When I founded Reina Books, one of the cornerstones of the business was to make books available through independent bookstores. First, I like visiting small bookstores. Second, they are an author’s best friend. Bay Books in Coronado and New & Recycled Romances in Costa Mesa were my first big supporters in that they shared all the gossip about who was a diva and who wasn’t, as well as hosted well-attended book signing events. But as I was planning Lost in the Light, I was concerned because my initial plan was to launch it only as an ebook. But family and friends urged me to try print-on-demand not only for those still devoted to print books, but also for local bookstores to carry. So even if it meant delivering stock out of the trunk of my car, I was ready to do it. But then Kobo Books and Indie Bound launched a partnership that saved me gas money, not to mention countless bookstore staff from the harassment of an independent author!

If you love the convenience of ebooks but you’re devoted to supporting locally-owned bookstores, check out this list of participating booksellers on Indie Bound. Through the Kobo eReading Program, you can purchase and read ebooks on Nook*, iPad, Sony Reader and Android Devices. Participating bookstores receive credit for your purchases.

Here’s the how-to:

1. Click on the bookstore of your choice and from their website, set up your Kobo account.
2. Or, purchase a Kobo Mini or Glo eReader bought from the store.
3. Download the Kobo app onto your device. You can then designate your participating independent bookstore in the settings. (*With Nook, you need to side load your Kobo titles onto the reader. It’s easy and I’m happy to share. Just leave a comment at the end of the post.)
4. Through your Kobo account, browse, search for, and buy ebooks with a clean conscience!

If you have questions,ask away in the Comments.

Disclosure: I am not a tech expert. But I do love to play with gadgets. I own a Nook device but also carry the Nook, Kobo and Kindle apps on my smarty-pants phone.

It only took five years...

But I'm taking my first big step forward with the release of the extended excerpt of Lost in the Light!

Get the sneak peek at Scribd: http://www.scribd.com/doc/104223344/Lost-in-the-Light-Excerpt

Lost in the Light will be available at eBookstores on October 1, 2012!

From the back cover:

No one remembers…

One October morning in 1932, Vicente Sorolla entered the white house on the hill and was never seen again .

Now, Detective Dori Orihuela helplessly witnesses his brutal murder in her nightmares.

Settling into a 120 year-old Edwardian mansion, Dori restores her dream home while recovering from a bullet wound and waiting to go back on duty.

But then one afternoon, Vicente materializes out of her butler's pantry and asks her to find a woman named Anna. Dori wonders if she's not only about to lose her badge, but also her sanity.

Dori and Vicente's unlikely friendship takes us back to the waning days of Prohibition in San Diego and the dusty barrio of National City. Mary Castillo's new novel, featuring the wild Orihuela family that first delighted readers in Names I Call My Sister, weaves romance, history and a mystery into a humorous, touching and unforgettable story.

What Lent Has Taught Me

"Therese Martin as a Carmelite Nun" @ Art.com

Lent has not taught me that I'm weak or full of sin. It's taught me how to be here not way over "there."

When I was a kid, Lent was a time when I gave up candy, TV and meat on Fridays, which was cool because mom would sometimes drive to McDonalds for fillet o'fish meals! But somewhere in my 20's I would realize I'd forgotten Lent when Easter sprang out of nowhere. In my 30's I resurrected (oh, bad word choice!) ... where was I? In my 30's I practiced Lent differently. Instead of denying myself the physical and edible pleasures of life, I practiced presence.

Instead of seeing a piece of chocolate and screaming no while making the sign of the cross at it, I decided to catch myself caught up in thoughts or emotions. On the rare occasions that I did, I took that time to breathe, to hear the plane just flew over my house or what my son was saying; to smell the newly blossoming jasmine that grows by our front door or the trash that we'd forgotten to throw out the night before. Without judging the trash or the jasmine (which by the way, really needs a hair cut) or myself for not listening to my son, the 40 days and 40 nights of Lent are a good time to be here.

As a writer, I'll be abstaining from self criticism and doubt, which are the demonic sisters of self-centeredness. During Lent I won't be meeting page counts or finished manuscripts; I'll be here with the work and letting it develop and grow. When those shrewish voices start hollering in my head, I hope for the presence of mind to breathe and let the voices go quiet on their own and return to the writing.

A post everyone should read...

The link to Deborah Schneider's courageous and inspiring story, "Long Time No See" landed on my Facebook feed this morning. It's a gift I'd like to share with all of you!