We Will Survive Book Reading Christmas Event

Dear Friends and Family,

By now, you all know about We Will Survive... here's the latest on an upcoming event.

(Click on flyer to enlarge)

Christmas Meets Disco and Chicken Soup and Crafts

Dear Friends and Family,

First let me say that the book signing with Cathi LaMarche, Alice Muschany, Linda O'Connell and myself (we four St. Louis writers) who are honored to be in Gloria Gaynor's new release, We Will Survive: True Stories of Encouragement, Inspiration and the Power of Song was a complete success. Thank you everyone!!! We sold out the store's copies in the first hour and had to run to our cars and grab our own personal stash. A good signing I'm told is selling 7-10 copies. We sold 32! Plus the four I was going to pick up for a friend, that makes 36! You can also check us out in St. Louis Today (Post-Dispatch).

I was completely overwhelmed and at one point forgot how to write my name. After the event, I received an email from a grade school friend, Eddie who said, "Lynn, you looked so happy." I felt more nervous than happy, but after I thought about it, I was happy. So many friends and relatives came to support me, it made my heart sing... which is why my head can't stop singing, "I Will Survive"- it's been playing non-stop since.

Here's a few pictures from the event:

Cathi LaMarche, Linda O'Connell, Lynn Obermoeller, Alice Muschany

 Kim Coleman (an amazing survivor herself), Lynn Obermoeller

Here we are again with Donna Volkenannt in the background

I know some of you wanted to attend and had other commitments, so here's another chance only this will be a little different, hence the title of the blog post Christmas Meets Disco. On Monday, December 23 at 7:00 PM head on over to The Gelateria where Linda and I will read our stories and you can also get your signed copies of We Will Survive or bring in your copy to have it signed. And not only that, we're giving away a copy for the best dressed Christmas Meets Disco outfit. Add to the fun, you'll receive a free ornament especially designed by yours truly if you come to the event. The Gelateria has food and drink so come straight from work and relax, treat yourself and have a good time. I heard there will be chocolate too. But remember, if the weather is bad we'll be cancelling, so check back here for updates.


I'm in a critique group with four lovely ladies--Linda O'Connell, Sioux Roslawski, Tammy Goodsell and Beth Wood. They, along with some other local writers, will be signing books from various (new) Chicken Soup titles this Saturday, December 14 at Main Street Books in St. Charles. From 11-1 you can see Cathi LaMarche and Nina Miller. From 1-3 you'll spot Linda O'Connell, Tammy Goodsell and Theresa Sanders. From 3-5 get a look at Sioux Roslawski and Beth Wood. Bring a canned good and you will get a discount on your purchase. A win-win, you're helping feed someone in need and saving a few bucks.

And if you're still itching for some unique holiday gifts to buy, you can also head over to the St. Charles Community College where my daughter will be displaying her hand-made goodies. Lots of other crafters too. That's from 9-4. Make a day of it, that's what I plan to do. And if you can't make the craft fair, but still want some home-made goodies, check out Rita's egabragcrafts.com!

Christmas Meets Disco

The Gelateria

3197 S. Grand

St. Louis, MO

Monday, December 23

7:00 PM

Chicken Soup

Main Street Books

307 South Main

St. Charles, MO

Saturday, December 14

11:00 AM - 5:00 PM

The Handmade Marketplace Craft Fair

St.Charles Community College Gymnasium

4601 Mid Rivers Mall Dr.

Cottleville, MO 63376

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Book Give-A-Way, We Will Survive

Here’s a chance to win your copy of Gloria Gaynor’s new release, We Will Survive, if you haven't already purchased one. But even if you have, it will make a nice Christmas gift.

This copy will be signed by four St. Louis authors—yes, four of us (Linda O’Connell, Cathi LaMarche, Alice Muschany and myself) have our stories of survival in We Will Survive: True Stories of Encouragement, Inspiration, and the Power of Song.

I’m going to pick a winner before Saturday, December 7 because that way if you don’t win, you’ll have a chance to get your own signed copy from us four at Barnes & Noble, Mid Rivers Center Drive, St. Peters, MO from 1-3:00 PM on Saturday, December 7.

And if you cant make the book signing, there’s a rumor that Linda and myself will be reading our stories at the Gelateria on Monday, December 23 at 7:00 PM. Books will be available for purchase, along with other fun give-a-ways. Weather permitting, so check back here to make sure it’s on.

December is a busy month and if you don’t have time for any of the above, hop on over to Amazon and purchase a copy… I’ll still sign it for you, if you want.

Okay, so how do you win a copy? Just comment on this blog post. And if you tell a friend and they comment and mention your name, I’ll put you in the drawing twice!

Hurry, you only have four days… I’ll announce the winner on Saturday morning.

Oh, and check out the cool letters made out of books that my gradeschool BFF gave me… can’t get much cuter than that. Thanks Susan!

A Few Things You Should Know For Thanksgiving Plus a Bonus

Dear Friends and Family,  
 

Did you know baked pie scraps, when put in your mouth right from the oven causes your saliva to sizzle? Or that tablecloths shrink an inch every year? My table setting has wooden race stripes on each side that grows wider each year. And ‘If you build it, they will come’ doesn’t work for Thanksgiving dinner. Perhaps I need to ask folks over sooner than the day before. And another thing, always, always share your recipes with guests, that way if you are no longer living, the person who is trying to perfect your recipe will not curse you every year. And finally, make sure you remove your hair net before your spouse comes home, unless you like to be razzed silly.  
 

Not on the silly side:  

Gloria Gaynor’s new book, We Will Survive will be released on December 1^st. Four St. Louis writers (Linda O’Connell, Alice Muschany, Cathi LaMarche and myself) have stories in the book! 
   

We’d love for you to join us four St. Louis writers at a book signing event and here are the details:
 

Saturday, December 7, 2013

1-3 PM

Barnes & Noble, Mid River

320 Mid Rivers Center Drive

St. Peters, MO  63376

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving... with love.

We Will Survive

For all you Kindle lovers out there, this month is your opportunity to get We Will Survive in your hot little hands. The book isn’t going to be released until December 1, 2013, but Amazon decided to start a new program by selecting four books each month for early release. Gloria Gaynor’s We Will Survive was the only non-fiction book chosen. You can get We Will Survive on Kindle First for $1.99 or if you are already a preferred member, you can get it free.

But don’t worry – all you folks who love to physically handle a book or if you don’t have a Kindle, you can still purchase a paper copy. You can pre-order or you can come to a book signing on Saturday, December 7, 1-3 at Barnes & Noble  at 320 Mid River Center Drive in St. Peters, MO. 

No, Gloria won’t be there, but four local writers (myself included) will be there. Yes, four of us (out of 40 from all over the world) have stories in this book. I think that says something for us Midwest writers… either that or we love the power of song and we know how to dig in our heels and survive… all kinds of situations.

Mark your calendars now as December is a busy time… and say hello to Cathi LaMarche, Alice Muschany, Linda O’Connell and me!

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures...

Okay, so I have one picture of my big event. An approved picture that was already on Facebook. I'm waiting to make sure all the other pictures are okay to post, so stay tuned. If you are wondering what this picture is about, read my blog posts: YAY, I Survived and I Will Survive Or Will I?

From left to right: Alice Muschany, Linda O'Connell, Gloria Gaynor, me, Cathi LaMarche
Photo taken by Stephanie Gold

Since you were expecting pictures, pictures, pictures... I'm posting some others...

In mid-August, it was my daughter Rita's birthday. She wanted to have a lunch at a tea house. Here's Rita and her boyfriend Terry. He's a trooper for going!

Terry and Rita

In late August, I went to visit my daughter Jessica in Boston. It was a whirlwind visit and we packed in a lot even though we tried to keep it simple as she had just gotten "doored" on her bike and broke her collar bone.

We started off walking down this trail to get to the train.

Before we got on the train, I had to pose for the yarn graffiti.

I can't remember what we did when, but we went to two graveyards. One was the Granary Burial Ground where victims of the Boston Massacre are buried, along with John Hancock, Paul Revere, Samuel Adams and the parents of Benjamin Franklin.

When we passed it after the gate was locked, we spied this crazy looking guy...

One night we went to see Jessica's friends play in a show at Radio. Don't you love how the letters are big Scrabble letters?

The band is called "Eski Esko" and they were really good. Since I've been out of touch with the whole current music scene, I was thinking I wouldn't enjoy it, but they were awesome. I had them sign the CD I purchased... you know they could become big stars some day.

Jessica wanted me to experience the originators of Boston Creme Pie and she wondered why she's never had my Boston Creme Pie... well, I don't know. This was good, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get it again. The presentation was beautiful, and I think that's why there was a hefty price to go along with it.

Jessica and I strolled along the area by the harbor and we saw these entertaining men... one ended up singing right to me... I was glad that he didn't drag me in as part of the entertainment like they did with some others. I thought they were extremely talented and funny.

Then we sat and watched the sailboats. It started to rain and we got under cover and you can see a rainbow popped out (behind the photo that Jessica is in). Everyone that was there took photos with the rainbow in the background.

We visited Harvard and now I can say, "I went to Harvard!" Here's Jessica and her boyfriend, Ingvar (who really did go to Harvard) standing in front of the library that we were hoping to go into, but it was closed.

And here's Jessica and me at the ceramic studio where Jessica graduated from a program she took there. The place used to be an old theatre. It was super cool.

Then there's the place where Jessica works, where we ate dinner on our last night visiting. The food was awesome and I'd recommend going there if you're in Boston.

On the side alley next to Central Kitchen is a graffiti wall that people are allowed to create -- after business hours.

Here's the little stinker, "Kitty" (Jessica's cat) that I had the privilege of sleeping with. She gives the sweetest kisses.

I'll post some more photos when I get the okay. Thanks for stopping by!

YAY, I Survived!

A Charlie horse in my right calf woke me up. I was surprised those two dogs attached to my legs that barked endlessly or the splitting headache didn’t wake me. It’s amazing the reaction one can have because of a four inch platform shoe. It was worth all the pain. I survived meeting Gloria Gaynor.

No, I didn’t faint. I couldn’t keep my mouth shut though because Gloria looked right at me and asked where I was from. Such a simple question, right? I pointed to myself and said, “Me?”

“Yes.”

“Where am I from?”

“Yes.”

I looked around. “St. Louis.” Not being sure if that was the right answer, I then asked, “Or do you mean where I grew up?”

I had to keep reminding myself all night long, “Just own it.” Those were my daughter’s words of wisdom.

Alice Muschany, Cathi LaMarche, Linda O’Connell and myself—us four gals all have stories in Gloria’s upcoming book, We Will Survive. We were invited to meet Gloria before and then be her guests at a private event. We had no idea what the event entailed except to dress in the 70s/80s. Since Gloria’s hit song, “I Will Survive” came out in 1978, I went for that dress attire. I’m pretty sure I was the only one.

The event was a 50^th birthday party—the husband surprised his wife with none other than Ms. Gloria Gaynor. Can you imagine?

Observing the crowd, I felt like I was in the 60s/70s, but hey, they were all having fun and so was I. When Gloria sang, “I Am Who I Am,” I told myself, Lynn, you are who you are. You are quiet, conservative. Crowds, celebrities, the whole nine yards cause you to lose all brain function. Hence unable to answer a simple question. But you didn’t trip. You did your best. You made Gloria homemade gooey butter. It’s okay.

I am who I am.

And Gloria is who she is and it was a delight and honor to meet and talk with her. She’s funny, and sweet, and spiritual, and beautiful. Gloria's manager, Stephanie is sweet too and quite the hard worker. There’s so much behind the scenes one is not aware of… and I’m talking for Gloria too. I was exhausted just watching. I'm sure I only saw a glimmer of what takes place.

It hasn’t all really sunk in yet…

But those writer friends of mine are a hoot. I never laughed so hard when we drove home from the event. If you think my eyes squint when I smile, they shut when I laugh. I didn’t want to tell them, “I can’t see!” because I was driving!

I’m sure there’s more to tell and pictures will be on their way too…

I Will Survive, Or Will I?

If you've read previous blogs, you'll know that my story, “Somehow,” made the cut to be in Gloria Gaynor's book, We Will Survive: True Stories of Encouragement, Inspiration, and the Power of Song.

I've always been a little chilled when it comes to celebrities. Never went crazy over anyone. Sure, I like some more than others for a variety of reasons, but they are people, just like the rest of us. Sometimes I think it must be hard being a celebrity, not knowing if people like you just because of your celebrity status rather than because of who you really are. And if you're a celebrity, does that even matter? I'll never know since I'll never be a celebrity.

The closest I've come to being anywhere near a celebrity, other than concerts, was when I shook hands with the St. Louis Mayor. But I didn't know it at the time. I thought the mayor was a valet parking attendant—a friendly one—telling us to enjoy our event.

During the event, we stood around chatting, waiting for dinner. The subject of politics came up—something I know little about it. The mayor was mentioned and I blurted out, "I wouldn't know the mayor if I saw him face to face."

My husband roared.

"What's so funny?"

"You just shook hands with the mayor when you got out of the car!"

"See. Told you I wouldn't know him."

After that, I decided to keep my mouth shut. And I'm thinking that idea will be a good one come this Friday evening when three other local writers (Linda O'Connell, Cathi LaMarche, Alice Muschany) and myself will be meeting Gloria Gaynor! Then we are invited as Gloria's guests to a private show.  If anyone has any tips on how not to faint, let me know because even though I say I've always been chilled about celebrities—truth of the matter, I'll be frozen in awe.

To preorder a copy of the book, go to Amazon.

To know more about Gloria, check out her website.

Stay tuned for details on whether or not I fainted...