July 4th is coming. It’s our 22nd Independence Day in this house, meaning it will be our 22nd family barbecue. The most we’ve ever cooked for is 40, the fewest 15, but any way you look at it, it’s a lot of work for us before the fun starts. Since we’re out here, 150 miles away from the rest of the family, most of that work — both before and after the party — falls on the two of us.

And knowing that makes me want to smack my head. What was I thinking??? I planned a book release during our busiest time of year!

Believe me, I will do Ride to the Altar differently next year. For starters, I won’t wait as long to release it once it’s done!

During the festivals, MSB would tell everyone The Final Ride didn’t release until July 5, and the idea that “the only place you can get it is here” worked pretty well. But the best marketing tools were the cover and the pitch. So my experiment of offering an exclusive at speaking engagements and festivals worked, but not well enough to do it again next year. This time of year is simply too busy for a book launch.

But launch I must! I’m ready for The Final Ride to be out and in your hands!

Schedule:

Friday, July 1: Susan Baganz’s Silygoos

Tuesday, July 5: Ane Mulligan’s Southern-fried Fiction

Wednesday, July 6: Catherine Castle’s Romance for the Ages

Friday, July 8: Speaking engagement with ETWA in Longview, Texas

Saturday, July 9: attending the East Texas Writers Guild Conference, Tyler, Texas

Tuesday, July 12: Betty Thomason Owens’s blog

Friday, July 15: Norma Gail’s 2Me from Him

Monday, July 18: Speaking engagement in Franklin, Texas

I have a post for NovelRocket in there somewhere, too, but they haven’t sent me the date yet.

I’m open for any other engagements if anyone is interested!

Reminder:

The only way to enter the drawing for the giveaway is to sign up for my newsletter, Coffee with Linda! Winner will be announced through the newsletter, Friday, July 8, and on my blog Monday, July 11.

I am both excited and nervous about this release. The Final Ride is definitely a winner, with fun, charming characters, tons of action, and lots of laughs, along with Patricia’s hard-learned lesson that “love bears all things”–even things she’d rather not have to.