November, 2015
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Magic Reminder!

Don’t forget from the comfort of your own home (or job. Pesky work!) to take advantage of the monstrous sale of Hazel Twigg & the Hollyhock Hideaway for $9.95 TODAY ONLY on Amazon!
And I hope your Thanksgiving was Amazing!
Thank you!
MAGIC Friday

. . . as opposed to “Black Friday.”
READERS! Tell your family! Tell your friends! Tell your work buddies! Tell yourself! THIS FRIDAY ONLY Hazel Twigg & the Hollyhock Hideaway will be on sale at Amazon.com only for $9.95!
When my brother Kenny proposed it this morning via instant messaging on Skype, there was silence and Kenny wondered if he was typing only to himself. I happened to be outside, chopping ice off my front stairs so didn’t see it until later. Finally, Dennis responded, “Sorry had to pick jaw up off the floor.” Most likely because this is way, way, way below cost. Those gorgeous illustrations aren’t cheap to print!
But it’s kind of like that old woman who swallowed a fly if you contort your mind a bit. Hazel Twigg represents a return to good old-fashioned childhood magic and we need to get the word out. The old lady swallows a fly, then a spider, then a bird, a cat, a dog, a goat, a cow . . . and she gets bigger and bigger each time. We wanna be that old lady!
We’ll start off with flies – although, let us charm this concept up a bit, because the thought of eating a fly sounds like no fun at all. We need lots and lots of fairies to read Hazel Twigg. Then hopefully they’ll tell their furry woodland creature friends about it, and the woodland creatures will tell the handsome princes on horseback, who just happen to be wandering through the forest, and he will tell the random singing maiden, and together they’ll tell the villagers in the nearby town, and…
See what I mean?
So we need to attract those
flies fairies. And how do you attract fairies? With honey! In this case, “honey” is an extra special price of $9.95 this November 27 on Amazon only and I’ll sign them all to whomever you want at your request.
For those of you who have already purchased this book at the higher price, think of it this way: the further we can spread this magic, the more valuable your book will become. Plus, restoring the magic of childhood is a good cause, and nothing to be sneezed upon. We so appreciate you.
So please! Help us spread the honey! Hazel Twigg $9.95 this Friday ONLY on Amazon! Hazel Twigg makes a great gift!
And with that, I leave you! Thank you, you’re my favorite fly fairy!
Happy (Belated) Birthday To US!


My brother Kenny, the birthday boy. Look at that handsome mug! My brother Dennis, who is also a huge part of Hazel Twigg, created this photo for him. Note the two cakes. One for Kenny, and one for Hazel Twigg’s official launch.
After several stops and starts and false alarms, and four years, plus two months and who knows how many days, Hazel Twigg & the Hollyhock Hideaway is FINALLY in print!
How fitting that it should also happen to launch on the anniversary of another important birth, my brother Kennys! He who started this whole thing, those four years, two months, and who knows how many days ago. Heaven knows, I never would have gathered myself well enough to write a book otherwise.

Here’s our little library in Rolfe. It was closed at the time, so only the lights above were on. It’s wonderful that I can now bring the original illustration art, all the way from the Ukraine and Nina with me. That’s gold right there.
The Hazel Twigg Partnership is made up of four people: My brothers Dennis and Kenny, my sister Julie, and me. But in reality, it’s much bigger. It’s all of you! It’s anyone who views my dolls via Ebay or Pinterest, or watches the videos on YouTube, or looks for Hazel Twigg on Amazon. It’s the wonderful local people of this town. The ones that came to the library presentation that happened to coincide with the First Release date of the book. Several ladies from that launch have taken it upon themselves to get me more gigs at more libraries, and articles in newspapers. Local at first, but perhaps from there it will grow. Perhaps at these future presentations there will be other people from farther away, and I’ll get booked there, and so on and so on. It’s the people who have or will soon have my book in their own hands. Hopefully, they’ll spread the word.

Cora came with me for this special day. She kept jingling her bell with each book I sold and signed. I finally had to hide it from her altogether!
I think of it all as being similar to a family tree. This one starts with four people rather than the regular two, and it branches out from there, bigger and bigger as each branch spreads the word. You are the branches!
Our cause is a simple one: to reinstate the magic of childhood the way it used to be. Our ambassadors are these dolls and these books, and you.
Here’s an interesting exchange between my brothers on Skype our second day after being available on Amazon:
Dennis: Yesterday (on Kindle), we were at #21,677 in Fantasy, today we’re at #3,547. We were at 36,138 in hard copy fantasy (today we’re at) 5,658.
Ken: Now that is movement
Dennis: We were 48,414 in contemporary fiction, now we’re at 8,036. At this rate… NYT Bestseller list, here we come.
Of course they’re being a little tongue in cheek, but could you do me a favor? Go to Amazon and do a search for Hazel Twigg, just to see what it does!

The leather surrounding her was a gift from our dear Janey. That and the fact that this O.L.D. was scheduled to start before Thanksgiving gives you a clue as to what her role will be. I’m still going to go there. I didn’t learn to bead for nothing!
And now it’s back to work for me on the next O.L.D. I blithely thought I’d perhaps have enough time to work on her a little before my library presentation, then swoop my way down there, do the presentation, and come back home and get her done enough to put her up for adoption that very night. I’d forgotten how exhausting giving birth can be. Even as it was exhilarating. There was a tangible magic in the air in this little ol’ library in the middle of nowhere.
So now the next O.L.D., originally designed for Thanksgiving, will wait for next Wednesday. Rolfe is bracing for its first winter storm, which is predicted to be a doozy. Eight to twelve inches!!! That’s a LOT for a first snow! Goodbye, grass! See you next spring!
Because of the coming storm, a neighbor friend Sarah, along with the mayor and I and anyone else who can make it have moved our noodle-making extravaganza for the homemade chicken soup to be served at the Community Center for the Turkey Bingo event taking place tomorrow night up to early this afternoon. THAT kind of storm. THAT kind of town. THAT kind of old-fashioned goodness. It’s a perfect place for the birth of this particular tree.
And with that, I leave you! Happy weekend, you’re my favorite!
Message In A Bottle

Usually, I’ll do a post about the current O.L.D. (Once-Loved Doll) several days after she’s put up for adoption on ebay. Frequently, even after a doll is listed, I have copious amounts of things still to do. Such especially was the case with Cora the Town Crier, she of the Special Announcement.
She was put up for adoption three days ago Wednesday with minimum information. You can see her page HERE.
At the time, I could only post one photo because of the dark and stormy afternoon. Also, she wasn’t anywhere near done. I worked hard and finally finished her Friday night. Took her pictures, edited them, uploaded them onto ebay, and . . . POOF. Nothing. After several tries, I called ebay. They’re having technical difficulties! Which wouldn’t be so bad if I could let people know there were technical issues, but I can’t! Nothing’s working. Ebay said to give them 24 hours. I check every now and then to see if the problem’s fixed, but still no go. So this post here is my message in a bottle to those prospective adopters of Cora the Town Crier.
She’s here to make a very special official announcement:

Here’s her scroll! Note the time on the watch. See what I did there? I was given a bunch of watches of all kinds by Jennifer Trenary from her grandmother. They’ll be popping up here and there with future dolls. One in particular! Can’t wait.

The bell was a gift to Cora from The Mayor. It jingles ever so prettily – unless you’re doing a fitting with lots of moving about.
This fellow here was my main inspiration:
Here he’s announcing a royal birth. In a way, Cora’s doing the same thing! Not a royal birth by any means, but this is my baby, and I did labor on her for over four years.
I noticed that over his coat he was wearing a cape that had several different gew-gaws on it. So I made one for Cora.
And of course, she has street clothes!
And there you have it! Cora the Town Crier! I hope this bottle floats to more than parts unknown.
And with that, I leave you! Happy weekend, you’re my favorite!
AT LAST.

I have done it. I have finally held in my own two hands the culmination of a journey that began four years, one month, and nine days ago. Or thereabouts. The Proof copy of Hazel Twigg & the Hollyhock Hideaway! Once this copy is approved (and *Mayor Julie is going over it right now. I’m a little too close to it), then whoosh! The order for the limited First Release printing will be made!

Pinky becomes lost when a cat chasing a mouse knocks her out of a barn loft and she gets buried in the hay. She’s the first O.L.D. to come to Hollyhock Hideaway.
I’ll give more details later, but for now we’re planning on November 18 – also my brother Kenny’s birthday AND the date of my local library presentation, where there’s a good chance I’ll have actual books there for sale – as our official release date, including on Amazon.com.
I was looking over past emails from back in the day trying to find the exact date of when this all started. I wasn’t able to find it, but what I did find was somewhat amazing. This book has gone through so many changes. So many towns and characters and settings. But here’s an excerpt from an email to a friend I wrote less than a month after this all began back in 2011:
I was thinking that since dolls come and go here, my house could be the place that dolls who are no longer played with or who have been forgotten and neglected by their little girls escape to in the hopes of some day being loved again. An orphanage of sorts, and in the meantime we have adventures!
Whether it’s bats in the attic, or a creature in the basement, or we explore an abandoned house looking for treasure or even just take our dog for a walk and the people that we meet. In the meantime, I clean them up and make dresses for them and one by one they’re adopted out to happy houses. Before you know it, ANOTHER lost little girl appears needing attention! Wouldn’t that be fun?
After all the changes, this beginning kernel of an idea is what the book ended up being about. So many things have come together in its creation. But the most important thing to remember is that this isn’t just a book. To me it’s a movement to a new O.L.D. way of life. A back to the future in reverse. A return to the imagination that you create yourself, free of gadgetry. I’ve seen several memes along the lines of, “I’m so grateful I had my childhood before technology took over.” That’s the gist of the Hazel Twigg world in a (hazel)nutshell. More to come soon.
*In the meantime!
If you’re lucky enough to live in Reliance, aka Rolfe, Iowa, don’t forget to VOTE FOR JULIE FOR MAYOR TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, at the ROLFE COMMUNITY CENTER. Don’t assume! She loves this town as much as I do and has its best interests at heart and has worked so hard and been so involved with everything, and not just these past two years. She truly cares. PLEASE VOTE!
Thank you! You’re my favorite!