Another wee break from the coronavirus. Yesterday’s post was pretty heavy, and I thought I’d leaven the blog with something a little lighter. (I’ll be back on Monday with news of the coronavirus from a Maine perspective.)
Here is the second installment of Snow-Gauge Clif, who yearly measures how fast the snow melts from our home in the woods.
This is Snow-Gauge Clif in the front yard. The snow is almost gone! Very unusual for our yard in mid-March. Amazing, actually.
And here he is in the backyard. Note the mud in the foreground. See those footprints? I nearly took a flip once or twice as I went back and forth with a wheelbarrow full of leaves.
Here are a couple of photos of the front garden. For those of you in warmer places, this might not look like much. But this Mainer is very impressed with how little snow is left.
And here is a little acorn that fell on our front porch. It looks as though it has split and is ready to sprout. I am going to throw into the woods where it will have a chance to grow.
To continue on with the theme of amazing…here are some pretty amazing numbers—1,261, the number of e-books that was downloaded during our giveaway last week. To try to cheer up people and give them something do while they were hunkering in place, we offered my two YA fantasy novels, Maya and the Book of Everything and Library Lost, as e-books for free of charge for five days. (Amazon’s limit, not ours.)
Initially, I thought we’d give twenty, maybe thirty, of them away. But, no. There are now 1,261 of my ebooks zinging around the world. Holy cats! I know free is a good price, but I never expected so many people to take us up on our offer.
I hope readers can take comfort from Maya, the main character in both books. She faces formidable adversaries, and although Maya is at times afraid, she faces and acknowledges her fears. Then Maya goes forth and carries on.
May all of you carry on.
Notes From the Hinterland 
How kind of you to give away free books. I’m unable to read that kind of thing online or in a reader–it messes up my epilepsy somehow–but it’s great that many people will have a chance to discover your books this way. Did you give the first one free and then they’d have to buy the next? That might have been an idea–
This winter here near Woodstock NY was very light for snow too. I recall maybe two good solid-foot-of-snow episodes this season, one maybe before Thanksgiving, and some little snow here and there. There isn’t any around here on the ground now except for maybe a few piles that were ten feet high as a result of plowing. It does still freeze overnight and get warmer in daytime, so that should be decent for sugaring.
No, I gave away both books. I wanted it to be a gift. I didn’t want to make money from it.
That’s generous.
And good luck to that acorn!
I downloaded both your books thank you Laurie and look forward to reading them once I’ve finished my current book called ‘The Dreamers’ which is about a mystery sleeping virus which starts in an American college and starts to spread throughout the town sparking off panic buying and intervention by the army. I couldn’t believe how it was developing – it was on offer on Kindle a few weeks ago – and now I’m reading something similar to what’s really happening which is definitely not something I would have planned. I would prefer some light relief but I don’t often give up on books, unless they’re really bad, so I suppose I’ll have to read until the end.
I don’t mind the snow but I hate mud – years of hosing down various dogs will do that to a person – so I’m pleased our ground is nice and dry and verdant at the moment.
Phew! That’s quite a book to be reading now. No viruses in my story about Maya. Mud’s no fun, that’s for sure. Especially when you have dogs.
Glad you have had so many people take up your offer of free down loads of your book. You were very generous.
It really was my pleasure to be able to give something during this terrible time.
Take care in the mud!
Will do!
Wow! Way to go with your e-books! Snow in MA this week…3 to 5 inches…sigh…
We’re due to get snow in central Maine, too. Not unusual for March, but as most of the snow is gone, the snow seems especially unwelcome right now.
It was good that your generous offer was so well taken up. The mud looks very slippery, take care.
Thanks, Tootlepedal. I’ll be careful.
How wonderful so many of your ebooks are cheering up people around the world! I’m hoping to get a few things done in the yard tomorrow and we’ve been lucky to escape the mud so far, but we have rain on the way next week. Stay safe while you’re wheeling around the yard!!
Many thanks! I’ll watch out for that mud.
Hi, Laurie – It looks like Clif’s ‘Snow Stick’ did not get much of a work out this year. Sending warm thoughts that it stays that way.
Congratulations on your 1,261 book downloads. That’s totally awesome!!
Many thanks! No, not much of a work out at all.
As a life long New Englander, it is definitely astonishing how quickly the snow has vanished. I have never been working in my garden this early. I have to keep reminding myself it is March, not April.
Amazing numbers on your e-books. Maya is definitely a good choice for distraction through these challenging times. Too bad Andy isn’t our President for real. 😉
Right? He knows that facts do matter. 😉
Your snow is vanishing quickly! We seem to be entering an unusual dry phase for spring where I am. That does not bode well for the coming fire season.
Oh, gosh! Hope fire season isn’t too bad.
What a wonderful gift to readers, all those e-books!
My pleasure! I wanted to give something during this terrible time.
Although we don’t have that much snow, I do know the difference this year from your previous posts. Congratulations on the books.
Thanks, Derrick.
We’re suppose to get some snow tomorrow, but it’s suppose to be 50 the next day plus we aren’t going anywhere so who cares. 🙂 Good luck to the acorn and congrats on your book download.
Thanks, Judy. As for the snow…we have exactly the same attitude. Plus, it’s not supposed to be that much. And not at all unusual for Maine in March.
Wow! That was a lot of books and so generous of you! Hopefull you will now have loads of new fans eager to buy the next one. Enjoy your early spring and stay safe.
It really was my pleasure. A way to give.
Wow! The lack of snow is impressive, but the number of book downloads is amazing. Congratulations on that!!
Thanks, Jodie!
: )
Thrilled that you got so many takers, Laurie! That is just grand. I know they will enjoy the books.
Thanks so much!
Huzzah for the disappearing snow! Of course, we woke up this am with an inch of fresh snow on the ground here in Chicago. Very impressive numbers on your books!
Many thanks!
I love the yearly snow marker with Snow Gauge Clif. What a fun tradition. I hope the early melt isn’t a bad thing. Having slipped last December, I cringed at the thought of you going down in that mud. Stay safe, Laurie.
I’m delighted to hear that your e-book downloads were such a success. That must feel wonderful! My hardcopies arrived late last week with your wonderful inscription and card. Thank you!
Stay well.
I’ll be careful! My, that mud is slippery. Glad you got the books in good time. Enjoy!
Lovely to see the snow retreating so quickly Laurie and congratulations with the fabulous uptake on your free e-books! 😀 xxx
Many thanks!
Well done, Laurie – that was quite some promotion.
I smiled in recognition at your rescuing the acorn seed and the feeling of wanting to save something. May it make a big, sheltering tree. I had a similar feeling the other day when I saw an exhausted looking worm in the middle of the pavement. Usually my sweetheart picks it up and rescues it, but he isn’t here, so it was down to me. I could see a person on the other side of the street wondering what I was throwing in someone else’s garden.
Thanks, Susan. Well, you knew you were doing a good thing by rescuing that worm.