What do writers do when they’re not writing? They hang out with other writers! This past month my local romance writer’s group hosted a small regional conference. With my deadlines coming closer together these days, I have less and less opportunity to attend our monthly meetings. In order to give back to the group, I decided to chair the conference committee. It’s a lot of work, but a lot of fun as well. This year we invited members of two other groups in our region to attend. We hosted workshops, enjoyed some meals together, watched a movie, and generally had an awesome time. Our very own Mary Connealy and Renee Ryan were in attendance as well as former filly, Cheryl St.John.
I confess, I made my first slideshow for this post…fingers crossed that it actually works!
The movie we watched was ‘American Dreamer’ with JoBeth Williams from 1984. If you haven’t seen the movie, it’s darling. A housewife wins a writing contest and the grand prize is an all-expense-paid trip to Paris. En route she’s hit by a car, and when she wakes up, she believes she’s the main character in a romance novel.
We didn’t have the proper cables to watch the movie on the screen, so we turned our suite into a makeshift theater. We threw a blanket over the tv and used our projector hooked to the computer. Not an elegant solution, but it sure was a lot of fun.
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The Marshal’s Ready-Made Family is almost here! Available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. In February, look for the book on the shelf of your local Walmart 
store. (Barnes & Noble and other retail outlets will order on demand. And if we demand enough, maybe they’ll even stock them!)
4 ½ stars from RT Magazine, Susan Mobley says, “A lovely marriage-of-convenience story, the interaction between the two main characters is a joy to start.”
Gentlemen don’t court feisty straight shooters like JoBeth McCoy. Just as she’s resigned to a lifetime alone, a misunderstanding forces the spunky telegraph operator into a marriage of convenience. Wedding the town’s handsome new marshal offers JoBeth a chance at motherhood, caring for the orphaned little girl she’s come to love.
Garrett Cain will lose guardianship of his niece, Cora, if he stays single, but he knows no woman could accept the secrets he’s hidden about his past. The lawman can’t jeopardize Cora’s future by admitting the truth. Yet when unexpected danger in the small town threatens to expose Garrett’s long-buried secret, only a leap of faith can turn a makeshift union into a real family.
Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy!
A wife and mother of three, Sherri’s hobbies include collecting mismatched socks, discovering new ways to avoid cleaning, and standing in the middle of the room while thinking, “Why did I just come in here?” A reformed pessimist and recent hopeful romantic, Sherri has a passion for writing. Her books are fun and fast-paced, with plenty of heart and soul. Write to Sherri at P.O. Box 116, Elkhorn, NE, 68022, email at sherri@sherrishackelford.com or visit sherrishackelford.com.
I love seeing and knowing what writers do when they get together! Thanks for sharing the slideshow. It looks like a great time was had by all!!
THE MARSHAL’S READY-MADE FAMILY sounds like a great story! I can’t wait to read about this marriage of convenience!
Hello Sherrie. Enjoyed your post. I love the cover on this post. Love old time pictures. It sounds really good and I would love to win it. Bet you authors have some fun times. Please add my name to the drawing.
Maxie mac262(at)me(dot)com
I’m a sucker for stories that start out with marriages of convenience and then blossom into love.
Britney, Good Morning – The conference was a ton of and we did actually manage some learning….
Maxie – I wish I had a better picture of movie night – we were quite a group 🙂
Alisa – Marriage of Convenience Stories and Mail Order Brides are some of my favorites!
Hi Sherri, sounds like you had a great time. Your book looks wonderful. What’s more fun than a marriage of convenience story?
Good morning, Sherri! Might I say you did a FAN-TABULOUS job with the retreat. Lots of fun. It was great seeing you, Mary and all the other writers from the area. I’m so excited for your next release. It sounds aaaa-mazing! Congrats!
This looks really good. I can’t wait too read it.
It’s good to see what writers do when they get together. I want to be able to do that one day. who knows, maybe soon. I would love to have the book. It is the type I love to read. What you think is bad turns to good.
This sounds like a good book.
I’m going to Paris this summer. I haven’t seen “American Dreamer” with JoBeth Williams, is it on CD?
I enjoyed reading the comments. Would love to win this one since i have yet to read a book by this author. It sounds like the kind I enjoy reading.
Margaret – Thank you!
Renee – our amazing speakers, including you :), made the conference a success!
Cathy – I really enjoyed writing this book, and I hope people like the story.
Connie – it’s never too soon or too late to start writing. There’s no moment like the present!
Lori – I purchased the movie on DVD from Amazon for under $10 (replacing my battered VHS tape) It’s worth the price just to relive those great eighties hair styles and fashions 😉
Joye – I’m new to the business, hope my story doesn’t disappoint!
The Marshal’s Ready-Made Family is a wonderful story of acceptance and forgiveness. Jo Beth and Garrett are great characters. I love how you’re bringing the family connections into your stories. xoxo
Hi Sherri, I love the slide show you used today! Yowzers! And the new book sounds just up my alley: I love marriage-of-convenience stories. Anything where vows are struck before love.
I’m so glad your conference was a a success. I can’t begin to imagine taking on such an endeavor. God bless!
Hi Sherri
Fun to see what you do, when not writing! Loved the slide show and how you invented a way to watch the movie! I don’t think I’ve ever seen it, so I’m putting it down to my To Be Watched list. Great blog!
Sherri, I’d love to have been at that writer’s conference. Looks like you all had a wonderful time. One of these days I want to meet Cher, and Mary, Renee and you. I hope I get to soon. I’ve seen American Dreamer and I remember how funny it was. JoBeth Williams is a great actress. I’m going to have to watch it again because it’s been quite a long time ago.
Congrats on the new book! That’s great. It looks wonderful. Nothing better than a handsome lawman with secrets but a yearning for a pretty lady.
Wishing you much success!
Enjoyed looking at your slide show! Thanks for sharing all of your pics! 🙂
Being an aspiring writer but also a reader/influencer I enjoyed this post and would love to win a copy of this books to read.
Blessings
Linda Finn
Ah, Cheryl, thank you!
Tanya, It took me 1/2 hour to figure out how to make a slideshow. Hopefully It’ll go faster in the future 🙂
Charlene, I think most readers & writers would get a kick out of American Dreamer. Who wouldn’t want to live as their favorite character?!
Sounds like you had a great time at your writer’s get-together. We all need a chance to relax and have fun now and then.
Congrats to Sherri for the upcoming publication of Marshal’s Ready-Made Family!
YOU GUYS WATCHED A MOVIE AFTER I WENT TO BED????
I was so tired, I barely slept the first night. Which is normal for me in a hotel, the first night is always a struggle. So probably just as well I gave up early. I’d have been snoring while you guys watched!
Embarrassing.
Congrats on your new book. It sounds fabulous!
Linda – You’re coming next year! We’ll send out the invite 🙂
Colleen – Thanks for stopping by!
Linda M. – We love aspiring writers around here!! After, that’s how we all started 🙂
Linda H. – We’re actually a pretty fun bunch…really 🙂
Mary C. – Sleep was definitely in short supply that weekend. I don’t sleep well in hotels either, not to mention *lizzie & stayed up later than everyone prepping for the following day, then got up early and made everyone breakfast. I was definitely looking ragged by Sunday.
Yea, it’s Quilt Lady!!!!
I love seeing what writers do when they get together!
The new book sounds great!!
Sherri, Marriage of convenience story lines offer a lot of good possibilities for story development. Secrets are usually involved and we know that can lead to trouble. The West was a great place for people to start over, but could all be jeopardized by their past catching up with them. THE MARSHAL’S READY-MADE FAMILY sounds like it will be an enjoyable and heartfelt story.
I hope the release goes well. I look forward to reading it.