Reader's Choice

 
Here are a few favorite quotes readers have selected:

For the next twenty minutes, there was no haunting past and no ominous future to cloud her thoughts. There was only right now. Left on the Edge

Pulling her arms back, she couldn’t find any courage to share the truth. Words couldn’t really do justice to the horrors she had just experienced. Taken in the Woods

“I am done living my life with secrets.” Speaking to her reflection, Autumn spoke the words that set her free. “I have nothing to fear from telling the truth.” Drowned by Fear

Finding friends is hard enough; losing them is even worse. Drowned by Fear

What is your favorite quote?

Where to buy the Woodmere Trilogy?

Word has reached me that knowing where to buy the Woodmere Trilogy is unclear. This simply will not do. With the third and final book in the trilogy in it's final stages, knowing where to purchase the first two books is essential.

Only the new edition of the paperback is currently available:
It is important to note that new editions of Left on the Edge and Taken in the Woods are making their way through cyber hoops to major retailers right now.

Taken in the Woods (Woodmere Trilogy | Book Two)

Left on the Edge (Woodmere Trilogy | Book One)

Where to buy Left on the Edge:
Get a Paperback - Amazon | Createspace | Barnes & Noble

Get an eBook - Book Country | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | Scribd | Kobo | iTunes

Where to buy Taken in the Woods:

Get a Paperback - Amazon | Createspace | Barnes & Noble

Get an eBook - Book Country | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | Scribd | Kobo | iTunes

Check back for information on where to buy Drowned by Fear once it is released!

Tentative release will be in September 2014.

Barnes & Noble selling paperback!

Having just celebrated my birthday, I had received one of the best gifts ever. 
A gift card to Barnes & Noble.
I have been gifted with the option to choose for my self the books I wanted to get for my birthday.

Browsing online I randomly check on my books. 
What I saw made me more excited than when the knight I was cheering for on my birthday, gave me a flower after he won his joust.

Taken in the Woods is now sold in paperback through Barnes & Noble!

I squealed...a lot!
Check it out for yourself by clicking here.

As the polar vortex continues to drop and snow and cold on my doorstep,
I encourage you all to stay warm and read!

Drowned by Fear

Photo taken by me,  Sarah Richards in Northern Minnesota

In the first book of the Woodmere Trilogy, Left on the Edge,
Autumn is haunted by memories. 
She believed her Uncle Mason was the culprit. 

Then in the Taken in the Woods,
she is faced with the reality her memories lied to her. 
The man she should be hiding from is called Nic Blaque. 

Lies also affected Craig life. 
Lies told by his own father, Hank and readily believed by his closest friends and most of the town. 
By telling the truth to Autumn he earned her trust and respect, and
Autumn finally told Craig the truth about her dark past when it caught up to her in the woods.

Can she learn to do the same with her parents before it is too late? 
Will her life have a happy ending or will she be Drowned by Fear?

Book Release!

"What?"
"That's it?"
"You can't just end it like that?"
"I want to know more about the secrets!"

All these responses I have heard in response to the ending of Left on the Edge.
Followed closely by
"When is the next book coming out!".

The answer is...
drum roll
NOW!

Taken in the Woods
has been released!

The formats available are paperback and eBook.
Retailers it is available through include the always popular Amazon.

For a complete list and corresponding links please visit the book's page.

Personally I find this second book more fast paced and exciting than the first.
But don't take my word for it. Read it and share what you think!

Lunch with an Author!

What can be better than books? 
Books and coffee.
Books, coffee and pizza!

Come have lunch with me.
On Wednesday, 17 July 2013 at 1 pm, the Elk Grove Public Library has asked me to chat about my writing, illustrating and what motivated me to self-publish.

There will be a drawing for a giveaway of a paperback edition of Left on the Edge.

If you already have a copy of Left on the Edge, I will be willing to sign it if you want just bring it with you.

The Elk Grove Library has a copy of Left on the Edge in their catalog to be borrowed. (EGVPL Catalog)

So check it out and I hope to see you there!

Event Registration

Book Preview!

What secret is Craig hiding?
Will Autumn finally confide her's?

Everyone has a Secret
in Left on the Edge, but
the Past becomes the Present
in Taken in the Woods.

Here is the first glimpse of the official cover and summary for the second book in the Woodmere Trilogy, Taken in the Woods.

Returning to Woodmere after Becca’s high school graduation in California, Autumn discovers restoring friendships is more difficult than making them. In the small Minnesota town, where knowing everything is everyone’s business, a surprisingly small amount of truth is actually known. When the past becomes the present, more than one life is in danger.

Will Autumn gain Craig and Kenzie’s trust in time, or will she be Taken in the Woods?

Taken in the Woods will be release as a paperback and an eBook in October 2013!

Morning has Broken & Snow has Fallen.

The groundhog might have gotten it wrong this time!
Winter has finally arrived and I can't say I am sorry.

Denali in his natural habitat!

Really, I am delighted and so was my dog who jumped into the snow bank and disappeared for a moment into the depths of the snow.

I was so excited to shovel the driveway because it meant there was enough snow on the ground to require it. This lasted until a third of the way up half the driveway.

In the time it takes me to mow the back, sides and front yards, I had almost managed to shovel the entirety of the drive. There was still the sidewalk to do though.

I finish covered in more sweat than reading in the bayou when the air conditioning is broken, but I was still deliriously happy. Thirsty and tired, hoping my son's nap is extra long today so I can type this post, but happy.

I love snow as much as my sister loves the ocean near her home in California.

And let me tell you, like a self propelled lawn mower or the ruffle on the bottom of a swim suit, the little metal strip on the front of a snow shovel makes all the difference!

But know that I am back inside, a cup of Lady Grey with a splash of milk awaits me next to the manuscript for Taken in the Woods. With a pink highlighter and a pencil I plan to continue my studious evaluational of the second book in the Woodmere Triology, so I can pass it off with a green highlighter to another editor

Sooner than later.
*fingers crossed*

Starting Background.

Up until today I have been focusing on Autumn.
Now it is time to begin the background.

Like many growing up, I watched Disney movies. Robin Hood, 101 Dalmatians and Beauty & the Beast are still my favorites. What I remember the most though was watching the extras for Sleeping Beauty. The way the backgrounds were drawn, painted and filmed fascinated me.

Taken in the Woods cover art copyrighted to Sarah Richards

I was thinking of this as I started the background for the cover of Taken in the Woods.

This sketch is the preliminarily drawing for the first stage of the background. (Emphasis on preliminarily!)

I envision a few layers of background. This layer will most likely be the foreground. (Still technically a part of the background.) Autumn will obviously be the primary focus, and then there will be the next stage as the actual background.


Check back later to see the next layer of the background!

Second Look.

Taken in the Woods cover sketch

The flu has struck my house.

Work had called my husband away for a week. In the middle of the second night he was away, my son walks into my room to say, "Mom, I threw up."

While I cleaned his bed, he made himself comfortable on mine, and then I heard it again. After stripping my bed too, I made a slumber party in the living room. Needless to say I didn't get any sleep.

It was the same the next night.

Being a mom comes before anything else in my life, so my writing and drawing had to be aside, but now the germs are being banished!

As incomplete as the cover sketch is right now, at least I am able to devote some time to its production again.

Check back later to see more.

Sneak Peek at the Next Cover!

Taken in the Woods Cover Sketch

Today has been a great day!

James Blunt, Josh Groban and The Canadian Tenors are playing off my computer.

A never empty coffee cup is sitting next to freshly sharpened pencils and a new eraser.

The cover for the second book of the Woodmere Trilogy has begun!

Here is the primarily sketch I am preforming for Taken in the Woods.

The progress of the cover production will be documented here. Be sure to check back for more sneak peeks!