We All Love Squirrels

Perhaps you are thinking, “huh, I thought Elisabeth’s daughters were younger than that” yes they are. I assumed I’d have a few more years before facing orthodontist bills, but as my college music theory teacher told me many times, to assume is to err and whatnot.

Anyhow, it was a very nice office. My daughter—hereby designated Not-So-Little Miss Cello1—got to take funny pictures of her teeth, play foosball in the waiting room, and watch some very educational Jaw Development Videos. And she got a cookie, which she ate as we walked back home.2

Later, my husband asked her how it went. I thought perhaps she’d tell him about the funny tooth pictures, or the foosball, or the cookie, or even perhaps about the Jaw Development Videos, but that is not what she answered. Instead, her immediate reply was “I saw TWO SQUIRRELS while we were walking!”

And I immediately felt that this was, in many ways, a great illustration of why I write the stories I write.

Ok, it’s only two ways. Not “many.” But let us not get overly picky, friends.

(Except my in-laws, who have a persistent problem with the cute critters getting into their car engine, or something like that.) Look, we need a variety of experiences in our reading lives. Some stories are educational & make us think, like the aforementioned videos. Some are grand & adventuresome, like … foosball. (Ok, that might be a stretch. Let me have this.) And some are the literary equivalent of watching squirrels.

To clarify, yes, this is a good thing.

You need to take a little break occasionally, have a respite from the trials of life, and laugh at squirrel antics. Or, in more bookish language: you need to take a little break occasionally, have a respite from the trials of life, and laugh at a very silly story about a girl who keeps insulting everyone and her reluctant husband who should have avoided the fairies but it’s too late now, whoops.

The other way this orthodontist-squirrel anecdote illustrates my writing is more self-explanatory:

You get it.

Thank you all so much for your warm reception of Lady Agatha Speaks Her Mind! Releasing a book feels a lot like sending a child off to summer camp (I am guessing; I haven’t actually sent my children to summer camp yet): will she be OK without me? will she make friends? will she have fun?

I’m pretty sure Lady Agatha is having fun and doing OK without me because of you, her new camp friends, and that is a great relief. 💕 Please do leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads if you read & enjoyed (or didn’t enjoy; negative reviews are also welcome here); this helps more readers find my books, which, as you know, will help with the dentist business.

Also, if you’d like to get a couple of very short bonus scenes that were fun to write but didn’t make it into the finished book, you can access them here.

This time in audio! Mark your calendars for May 19th—Rachael Beresford & Christopher Tester are bringing Hester & Lucas to life. I’d especially love if you request that your library add this to their Libby or Hoopla catalogues; I love the way libraries & audiobooks make stories accessible to so many people who might not be able to enjoy them otherwise.

Speaking of libraries …

I’m excited to be participating in a Lady Agatha-themed tea party at the Four Star Public Library in Mendon, Illinois, on Saturday, June 6th! I’ll have more details on that in my June newsletter, but wanted to give you a heads-up in case you’ll be in the area & would like to stop by. (Also, my friend Kelly pointed out that I’m not always timely with newsletters, so if I didn’t share this until June it would probably be too late. 😅)

Lyrielle has one purpose in life—to heal others. Kept in a tower by her aunt and only allowed to interact with those who need the healing power of her hair, she has lived the last ten years separated from the world. Finally forced to escape the only way she can, Lyrielle begins her climb down the tower—but loses her grip.

Instead of falling to her death, she falls from her tower and out of her world, crashing into the waves of an ocean she’s never seen before. Now she must learn to trust the prince who pulled her from the sea, but she’s terrified to reveal too much of herself lest he use her the way everyone else has.

A spellbinding and heart wrenching mashup of Rapunzel and The Little Mermaid, Tangled Sails explores the weight of our gifts and the strength of accepting help.

I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by Annette K. Larsen, and this book looks just as enjoyable! Plus, the weight of gifts & the strength of accepting help are precisely the types of things I like to write about, too. 😉

Leave a comment

have you done any squirrel-watching recently? (you should)