Linda Vigen Phillips's Blog, page 4

Reflections on a Debut Year

My book debut year is coming to an end.  I’m half sad to see it end and half relieved it is behind me. You only have one debut year, just like you only have one first child, and I can’t resist putting these memories into my “baby book” to be savored forever.  If you are a fellow or future debut author some of this might resonate, and if not, well, thank you for putting up with my indulgences.

New Year’s Day, 2014—I can’t stop hopping, jumping,  and dancing around the house, Tweeting and Face-booking and emailing the world that this is MY year about to happen.  After all, in this case, it’s been way more than a nine-month wait!

OneFourKidLit (ongoing throughout the year)—I actually signed on with this fantastic support group of debut authors in July 2013, but I have so reaped the benefits all along through reciprocal blogging, circulating our ARCs, interviewing one another, sharing collective wisdom on the pro-boards, and forming lasting friendships.  Make note, future debuters:  hooking up with a similar support group for your calendar year is a must.

February 7 – Cover reveal, and the first of many roller-coaster days.  As I was writing Crazy I had a real bridge in mind that didn’t look anything like the bridge on my cover.  After a flurry of emails back and forth with my agent Julia Kenny and editor Kathleen Merz, I begin to appreciate the fact that artist Richard Tuschman has created a conceptual bridge that far exceeds in quality and dramatic effect the bridge in my head.  Check out this blog post or this one for the whole story.

February and March-A flurry of unexpected last-minute editing and a rash of nervous-Nellie emails to my agent, worrying that 2014 may NOT be my debut year at this rate.

April 4 – Crazy is finally off to the printer and to my amazement, we are still on schedule.  The reward:  Three wonderful weeks in Italy with my husband.  (We hadn’t planned it that way, but it surely was a welcome respite from book stuff!)

 

May 15- The ARCs arrive in the mail along with postcards and bookmarks.  Wendell loads up his jacket pocket with bookmarks, I start sending postcards hither, thither, and yon, and take the ARC with me from room to room, on errands, even to the grocery store!

June 6 – My daughter-in-law organizes a party on our newly built screened-in porch to celebrate the book, complete with music and costumes from the 1960’s.

September 2 –I receive news that Crazy has been chosen as a Junior Library Guild Selection for 2014.  Makes my day!

Oct. 20 -  It’s launch day in Oregon! After a bout of bad fish (or bad nerves) the night before, I wake up and have a good cry before somehow pulling myself together to make a decent presentation to an Abnormal Psych class at the community college in my hometown.  To those of you who would rather write than speak, I can assure you it does get easier!

Nov. 8 – Park Road Books Charlotte Launch – I speak and read to an overflow crowd, with Charlotte Observer book editor Dannye Romine Powell in the front row.  Park Road sells out all the books they ordered plus extras that I had in my car.

And these were just the high points, but I’ve gone on long enough.  Suffice it to say, 2014 was a very good year and I would like to thank all of you readers and supporters who have helped to make it so!

 

 

POWER TO CHANGE LIVES

 

I don’t know about you, but I can still tell you the names of a couple of teachers who had the most profound influence on my life.  One said I would be a teacher someday, and sure enough, she was right.  One said I would never make it as a writer, and I believed her far too long into my adult life before I proved her wrong.

As a teacher, I can tell you I shuddered on more than one occasion, usually after a bad day when I regretted having said or done something that could possibly have negative lasting effects on a student.  And there were some days when I knew deep down inside that a student and I had connected in a very special way.

The truth is, teachers can do that.  They can have the power to change people’s lives one way or the other.

This week I got my first fan letter, from an 8th grade girl, and she (gulp) gave me that power as a writer.

            I will forever remember this book for the rest of my life. I hope you know you have the power of changing people’s lives.

To be honest, this is a dream come true, an answer to prayer, and the desire of my heart, and it scares me to death!  For one thing, the written word, my written words, are there forever, and I can’t change them or take them back or modify them or make them come out sounding any different.  They are what they are, and if they do, indeed carry any kind of power, I hope the results will always be positive:  better quality of life, better communication, better understanding, better mental health, better whatever needs to be better.

            When I read this book it spoke to me.  In so many ways it inspired me to keep going and told me how to get through some difficult life situations.

Someone asked me the other day how my “numbers” are and how my sales are going.  I told them I have no desire to watch numbers or wonder how many books I’ve sold.  Just knowing that my book “spoke” to a young person, and that it “inspired” her to keep going through tough times is enough payment for me.

Teachers and writers beware.  You hold more power than you might realize, and with that comes the responsibility to be accountable and available, and the best that you can be within your craft. Of course, this being my first such letter, I took great pains to answer it to the best of my ability.  I hope I won’t ever become too busy or distracted to stop and acknowledge the heartfelt communications from readers. 

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Hey READERS, I would love to hear from you.

Is your MIND FULL of old thoughts or new?

 

 

Better Late Than Never

 

An article in the Oct. 2014 Writer’s Digest caught my attention.  It was titled, “The Late Novel” and it set about to prove, by a healthy list of famous authors, that it’s never too late to write your first novel.

Since I’m not the youngest debut author on the block, I found great comfort and encouragement in this article, and for those of you who might be in my same “autumn” boat, I hope you will be encouraged, too.

Here is a thumbnail sketch of some of the late bloomers, and it includes authors of both adult and young adult fiction:

Laura Ingalls Wilder was in her mid-60’s when the first Little House book was published
William S. Burroughs and George Eliot were 40 at the time of their debuts.
Jacqueline Susann wrote Valley of the Dolls while recovering from a mastectomy when she was 44.
Bram Stoker, an Irishman who worked as an assistant to British stage star Henry Irving, wrote his first novel, The Snake’s Pass, when he was in his mid-40s but seven years later, in 1897, he made his name with Dracula.
In his mid-40s Ian Fleming, a U.K. naval intelligence officer, wrote Casino Royale, the first in the series of James Bond stories.
After a successful career writing for Good Housekeeping and Cosmopolitan magazines, Judith Krantz wrote the 1978 bestseller, Scruples, in her late 40s.
In 1937 a certain philologist named J.R.R. Tolkien had this thought:  “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit….” and it resulted in his epic that was published when he was 45.

So, fellow late-blooming authors, take heart and keep on following that dream. There is no reason under the sun why your name shouldn’t be added to the above list.  Write the best story you can write.  To quote Hemingway:   “All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.”

I would love to add to this list if you know of any other late-in-life author success stories!  Or, maybe you are currently working on that first book while being sorely aware of the ticking clock.  Does this list help ease your angst?

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Hey READERS, I would love to hear from you.

Is your MIND FULL of old thoughts or new?

 

Breathing the Rarified Air

With Dannye Romine Powell, Book Editor at the Charlotte Observer

Last week I was honored to be invited to rub elbows with four NY Times bestseller authors at the Charlotte Observer Holiday Author Event  (http://tinyurl.com/me2n7ke) held at the Mint Museum.  The bad news is that I only sold one book (hey, cut me some slack, I’m still a beginner). The good news is I got to breathe the same air as Kathy Reichs of the Bone Series; Lisa Leake, (100 Days of Real Food); Jason Mott (The Wonder of All Things), and Charla Muller (Pretty Takes Practice), all “local luminaries” who shared their collective wisdom at a noontime panel moderated by Dannye Romine Powell, the book editor of the Observer.

In no particular order, here are some nuggets I picked up while trying to snarf down a box lunch so securely fastened and wrapped that the lady in front of me surely thought I was hooked up to the mic and was there to secretly sabotage the program.

Kathy Reichs:  (18 years on the bestseller list)

writing is hard
if you write one page a day, by the end of the year,  you’ll have a book
polish, polish, polish
get an agent; they take care of you and are your best friend; use Agent’s Market (used to be included in Writer’s Market, but now is separate book)
it took roughly two weeks to work through her first editorial letter and she rarely gets them these days
“I don’t deal with writer’s block.  Anytime I have a free day, I write all day.”
making up names is fun; use the obituaries and mix and match first and last names

Jason Mott:  (TV series, “Resurrection” is an adaptation of Mott’s debut novel, The Returned)

his agent shopped The Returned to TV during final editing of the book
the hype and buzz around the TV project helped in promoting the book
being on the bestseller list doesn’t guarantee becoming a millionaire (you shouldn’t be writing just to become a millionaire anyway, because writing is an art)
writing is “hell, miserable, terrifying everyday, and also the most fulfilling thing I do”
easy never happens (with writing)

Lisa Leake

her blog helped build an audience
her publisher wanted her book to include 50% new material that was not from her blog
she finds it easy to write “because I have a message to get out”

Charla Muller

first stop, build a good proposal (she writes nonfiction memoirs)
in your proposal, focus on the marketing (who is going to read this book?)

As a newbie, I’ve already moved beyond the disheartening reality of low sales, and I’m trying to focus on taking something beneficial from each event in which I participate.  Along with the rarified air of best sellers, this one put me in touch with fellow children’s authors, and a mix of both self-published and traditionally published.  I’ll be sharing more of that in future blogs, but suffice it to say, it was all part of my continuing education in the book business, and while my coffers didn’t bulge, I certainly came home with a bag full of new connections, supportive ideas, and collective wisdom.

Meet Becca Kurt, another Teen-acious Teen

LP:  Hi Becca and welcome to my blog.  You come highly recommended by your friend, Eliana Franklin, who tells me you like to read and are into lots of activities.  First, tell us a bit about yourself.

BK: I was born in Charlotte.  I’m fifteen and in tenth grade.  I have one brother named Robert who is twelve and I think he is very creative.    My family is fun and always joking.  One time we were driving to Myrtle Beach on a rainy day and we were following a big truck.  My dad made up a whole ridiculous story about the truck driver in front of us, his family, how he got his job and everything. We all started laughing so hard we almost cried.

LP:  Your email address is intriguing.  There must be a story behind the choice of “motormouth” for your user name.  Can you elaborate?

BK:  When my mother was a kid she never stopped talking so they called her motor mouth.  When I was born I started talking fairly early and never stopped so I also became motor mouth.

LP:  I understand you are homeschooled.  Tell us about that.

BK:  I have been homeschooled all my life.  Next year, though, I will do dual enrollment with CPCC so I will still be homeschooled but taking college classes at the same time.  What I like most about homeschooling is I get to participate in more extracurricular activities than I might in public school.  My least favorite part is I don’t get to see my friends every day.

LP:  What is your favorite subject in school and how long has it been your favorite?

BK:  My favorite subject is Language Arts.  It’s been my favorite since 6th grade because I love reading and writing and those activities have always been interesting to me.

LP:  What is your favorite genre of books to read and can you name a few of your favorite books?

BK: My favorite genre of books is probably realistic fiction; it’s a hard choice though, because I also love dystopian, fantasy, and true stories.  Some of my favorite books are The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. Of course I liked The Fault in our Stars as well, and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin.  I have always loved to read.

LP:  What activities are you involved in?  Is there one in particular that is your favorite, and if so, what makes it so?

BK:  Venturing (a co-ed Boy Scouting program for fourteen to twenty-one year olds) Key Club, Odyssey of the mind, Matthew’s Area Secular Co-op, youth choir, and youth group.  My favorite is Venturing.  Last Summer we got to go to Summit Betchel Reserve, the new high adventure Boy Scout camp.  We also participated in our area Camporee.  We broke into two patrols and together got 1st and 2nd in our division.  It was exciting because it was the first year girls competed in our area.

LP:  Do you like to write like your friend, Eliana, and if so what do you love to write the most?

BK:  I love to write stories, mostly about kids somewhere around my age. Right now I’m trying to write a story called “American Dreams.”  It’s about six boys who are friends and there are seven parts to the story.  One is about each kid and the last is equally about all of them.  The story spans the four years they are in high school and is mostly a coming-of-age story.  I’d say there’s not really one climax because each character has their own.

LP:  Have you thought about what you want to do for a life work when you finish school?  If so, tell us why you are heading in that direction and what you see your future looking like.

BK:  I would like to be involved in humanitarian aid and missions work possibly in Latin America, and I plan to pursue Global Studies in college.  If I continue wanting to go to Latin America I will take Spanish.  I have been on two mission trips though neither left the country.  On one I went to South Carolina, and the other was very local, just a few miles from my house.  I am looking into more for the future. I would also like to pursue a career in writing and would love to publish the story I am writing now one day.

LP:  If you had the power to change one thing in this world, what would it be?

BK:  If I had the power to change one thing about the world I would probably take away poverty.

LP: Becca, it sounds like  you have a great start towards a future that holds many opportunities. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us today, and I wish  you well in whatever you choose to do.

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Hey READERS, I would love to hear from you.

Is your MIND FULL of old thoughts or new?

 

It’s Off to Schools We Go….

So, I’m itching to get out into the classroom and use CRAZY as a teaching tool in reading, writing, or counseling classes.  If you are a teacher, school counselor, parent, or student,  I hope you will take a look at the following form and give me your input.  I will love to know how I can best use CRAZY to start the discussion about mental health or in the broader sense, any topics that are potentially life-threatening for teens.  On the lighter side, I love to teach writing workshops that pertain to any kind of verse for adults or teens.  The following format is a work in progress, so bring on your suggestions!

CLASSROOM AUTHOR VISIT  

1.What are we going to talk about?

This is entirely up to you. I am open to just about anything, but here are some ideas:

Meet the Author:  life before, during, and after a book is born
Literature Can Save Lives:  an overview of books, including Crazy, that deal with difficult subjects
Writing From the Heart in Verse:  hands-on writing workshop that focuses on  books written in verse
What is Bipolar Disorder?  power-point presentation on facts about bipolar and mental illness in general, and author’s personal experience

2. How might the schedule work?

Again, this is up to you, and here are some possibilities:

Full day, beginning with “Meet the author” assembly (20-30 minutes), followed by maximum of three classroom visits (45-50 minutes) or two 90-120 minute blocks for writing workshops
Single class or multiple class visit without assembly
Single class visit
Any combination of the above tailored to your specific needs

3.  What age range is Crazy targeting?

Crazy is listed as being appropriate for ages 13 and up
Writing workshops can be tailored for sixth grade and up
School Library Journal says:  “It {Crazy} should be in the hands of anyone—teen or adult—who has ever felt powerless at the hands of mental illness.”

4.  How should we prepare for your visit?

Author visits work best when the students have read all or part of the book
Teachers may want to download a free copy of the discussion guide on Eerdmans website: http://tinyurl.com/nhsqysv
Sign and return Author Appearance Contract thirty days prior to visit

5.What about ordering books?

Books may be ordered through your local bookstore or from Eerdmans (cbridge@eerdmans.com or 616-459-4591) Discounts are available depending on numbers and usage.
Be sure to allow 7-10 business days for shipping

6.What equipment might you need?

Micro-phone for large auditorium presentations
Screen and computer with PowerPoint access (depending on presentation)
A glass or bottle of water is always welcome
Lunch if it’s an all day visit, and I’m happy to sit with teachers or students

7.How much do you charge?

$150 for two hours or less
$350 for whole day
If I travel over 40 miles, I will ask you to cover expenses for gas, transportation, and lodging (schools in the same city may find it advantageous to team up to share expenses)
Free:  30 minute Skype Q & A for any classroom that has read Crazy

 

ATTENTION TEACHERS:  If something on the above menu strikes a chord, the Author Appearance Contract is ready to go here:

Author Appearance Contract

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Hey READERS, I would love to hear from you.

Is your MIND FULL of old thoughts or new?

 

 

 

The Crazy Business of Book Promotion

 

 

I’m just in off the road from my maiden voyage, a two-week tour of the Pacific Northwest, peddling my debut book, CRAZY.  And boy, am I full of wisdom, the kind earned the hard way by jumping in feet first and totally blind!  In no particular order, here are the nuggets, some silly and some dead serious. I’ll let you figure out which is which!

I have a wonderful publicist at Eerdmans who has been over-the-top helpful, but road trips like I just did are pretty much up to the author.  I didn’t count the hours that went into the planning, but I know that writing time got bumped by promotional details for six to eight weeks prior to the tour.  In other words, if you think you are going to need the help of an outside publicist, get them on board early in the game, so they can help manage the juggling act!

Assuming you opt to go it alone, be prepared to be totally ignored by bookstores and libraries.  Get used to calling and/or emailing each contact (and that’s probably after having sent a postcard) at least three times.  Be sure to include clips from the best reviews, a good picture of yourself that doesn’t clog email, and a humble attitude.  Persistence pays off.
Dry-run the wardrobe.  It needs to travel well, feel comfortable, and be photogenic.  Be sure to wear those new shoes around the house for a couple of days to assure the comfort level you bought them for.  Always pack a back-up pair, just in case.  And consider that both the room temperature and your body temperature will fluctuate wildly during events.

                        

Anticipate the detractors, especially if your book deals with anything controversial.  Trouble shoot your title, the story line, the characters, the theme, or any other facet that might cause a reader to express negative concern.  If you have written a memoir or anything semi-autobiographical, choose your words carefully and toughen your tongue so you can bite it regularly during interviews and presentations.
Always bring a dish of candy, a bottle of water, extra deodorant, lots of Kleenex, a flash drive, extra cords to connect to screens, talking points, a sleeping pill if necessary, and a sense of humor.

If you bring your significant other along, make sure he/she has a good book to read, some money to buy a another good book to read, good walking shoes, directions to the nearest coffee shop, an understanding of when you need his/her help and when you don’t, and a signed agreement to stay outside the recording studio during interviews!

 

Think about and practice what you will write at the signings, keeping in mind you will have friends and strangers from all walks of life, and one phrase doesn’t fit all.

Watch what you eat and keep it light before the event. Bring along your favorite antacid, headache reliever, foot powder, sanitizer, hand lotion, and massager (now this is where your significant other can really find his/her niche!)
Keep breathing.  It’s one of the best antidotes of fear known to man.
Remind yourself that this is your dream-come-true, and when you post that picture on social media, no one really has to know that you had a zero turnout.  Be prepared for it, as it WILL happen!

 

Even with all the ups and downs, taking a book on the road is a trip of a lifetime.  If any other authors out there have wisdom to share, I’d love to hear about it!

 

 

Five Favorites from CRAZY

Today I’m lingering over a second cup of coffee, savoring the memories of the past three weeks.   It started with release day (October 20) and a whirlwind tour in the Pacific Northwest, culminating in the launch that saw twelve events over twelve days, and over a thousand miles traveled up and down I-5.

I’m thanking God for safe travel and wonderful, enriching dialogues with readers all along the way. And then there was the launch on my home turf here in Charlotte this past Saturday that exceeded all my expectations.  Thank you to ALL my loyal friends and family who turned out to create a “line,” something I thought only happened to best-sellers!

I’ll share more about what I learned along the way next week, but today I am taking a break.  I hope you will hop over to Rt19Writers blog, where Dave Amaditz and Marcy Collier have a unique and supportive thing going called First Friday Five Favorite Things.  If you read down one notch below today’s post you will see their five favorites after having read CRAZY.  Today they gave me the opportunity to respond with my own.  It was fun, and I’d love to hear from any of you who have read the book by now, and might have a favorite this or that from the book that you’d care to share.

 

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Hey READERS, I would love to hear from you.

Is your MIND FULL of old thoughts or new?

 

Meet Rema, another Teen-acious Teen

Today I am pleased to welcome Rema Kodaimati, a Junior at Independence High in Mint Hill.  Her former teacher and fellow author Melissa Carpenter recommended her as a Teen-acious Teen.

LP:  Rema, you have a unique story.  Fill us in on some of the details.

RK: I  was born here in Charlotte, NC. However, my dad left Syria because he had to. He was a rebellious teenager and was against the regime, so he was forced to leave to avoid being taken by the government. He married my mom 10 years later and brought her to the United States. My father’s side of the family was able to escape early during the war but my mother’s side of the family, being with the government, stayed. Right now, I live with my parents and 2 of my 5 siblings.

LP:  Are there plans for your other siblings to join you here in America?

RK:  We wanted to arrange for them all to come and seek asylum in the United States and then apply for Naturalization. However, they cannot afford to pick up all of their families, which are quite large, and move here. There is also the issue of leaving the country. It is almost impossible. There’s not much we can do other than pray they make it out safe.

LP:  Does the fact that your mom and dad are on opposite sides of the conflict pose any difficulties in your family?

RK:  My parents do tend to argue about the situation frequently and it’s hard for them to respect each other’s family. My mother’s family is pro-regime and her brother is very high up in the military, while my father’s side of the family are anti-regime and are rebels. My father tends to blame my mother’s side for the deaths of many innocent civilians, while my mother blames my father’s side for the war to begin with. It’s all to be expected in this situation and my parents try and hope for the best.

LP: You have had some interesting school experiences here in America.  Tell us about that.

RK:  I did attend Arabic schools  on the weekends for 7 years (the Islamic Center of Charlotte and the Muslim American Society), and those do greatly differ from American schools. Arabic schools both here and overseas are more religious and community oriented. Classes on Islam, the religion in Syria, were required and if you didn’t memorize certain scriptures you couldn’t pass. Another difference is that at the end of middle school you were tested, and if your grades were not what they wanted, you couldn’t move onto the next level. For example, if I wanted to become an engineer or chemist, I would be tested and if my scores weren’t high enough, I would not be allowed to pursue that career. Here in the United States, they push for students to go to college. In Syria they don’t.

LP:  What is your favorite subject in school and why?  What do you like to read?

RK:  My favorite subject in school is Science, more specifically Anatomy and Physiology because it’s something that came naturally to me and because I’ve been able to apply what I’ve learned into my life. However, I am an avid reader. Reading is something I’ve always loved. Growing up, it was a way for me to escape the real world, full of expectations and decisions. I like to read anything from YA fiction to autobiographies and memoirs. I think reading is all about connection, so if I come across a work that I can connect to but I don’t necessarily like the genre, I’ll still read it and enjoy it.

LP:  How has the recent conflict in Syria affected you and your family?

RK:  One thing I can tell you is that Syria, before the war that started around the Spring of 2011, was completely different. By that I mean the atmosphere of the country. It was not chaotic, poor, and unstable like Middle Eastern countries are often stereotyped to be. There was order and peace before the war. People were happy and lived their lives in unison.

Syria is a very strict country, but the people didn’t have a problem with it. The rules they follow are the rules of the Islamic faith. The people all followed the same rules, and there was peace. It’s not like the U.S. where someone is always fighting for something. Syria is a country built on traditions and, until the war, the people followed them and were happy. My parents’ memories of Syria are all good. They believe the people of Syria would’ve continued to live in harmony if it hadn’t been disrupted, for it was all they knew.

LP:  What do you think you would like to do as your life’s work?

RK:  As a culturally diverse person, I’ve been a victim of stereotypes and prejudice, both of which I am very passionate about. Just by letting people get to know me, they see that what they’ve always been told isn’t true, and that is, Arabs are not all bad. I want to be the voice of so many people like me that can’t let the world know who they are due to their situation. I want to bring the views of myself and the other 500 million Arabs in the world into the light.

I also want to contribute to the world in another way. I want to become a doctor.  Due to all the wars that have ruined the Middle East, many civilians have been injured or killed. Children are having their limbs blown off right outside their homes and are dying from hunger and the lack of resources that have resulted from the chaos. I would like to help them and provide them with the healthcare they need by either creating a program where they can come seek refuge in America and receive the treatment they need, or establish a practice in the refugee camps.

LP:  What parts of American life do you love best and which do you love least?

RK:  One part of the American life that I love best is the freedom and the opportunities. In America you can really accomplish anything regardless of who or what you are as long as you take full advantage of everything that is offered, which not many countries have. One thing I like least about America is the amount of corruption and the system that we have all become a part of without even knowing.

LP:  If you had the power to make one big change in the world, what would it be?

RK:  If I could make one big change in the world it would be to make each country self-reliant. If each country depended on itself we wouldn’t have to create conflicting relationships. Every country should focus on itself. The United States should focus on the people, the land, and everything that goes on in this country and not worry about others. This isn’t very realistic considering how much it would cost and that we would need full agreement and cooperation to achieve such a large thing. Also, with the population growth rates increasing, soon there won’t be enough space or resources within certain countries to sustain the needs of the people, which increase everyday as well. It’s not exactly world peace, but I think that doing this would impact the world drastically.

LP:  I wish you all the best in your future life in America, Rema, and I thank you for sharing your views and ideas with us today. Readers, here is an opportunity to ask questions or leave comments for this very articulate young lady who is seeking better dialogue between two cultures.

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Hey READERS, I would love to hear from you.

Is your MIND FULL of old thoughts or new?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE LAUNCH TOUR

This whirlwind book launch tour is winding down, with two more events and a few days of R & R on the Oregon coast before heading home. What a learning and stretching experience it has been, so full of wonderful people and places!

Thanksgiving dinner in October with my wonderful western family!

A great reunion with my sister,

and meeting the newest member of the family, my great great niece!

We stopped at one of my favorite childhood places, Lake O’ the Woods, on the way to my hometown, Klamath Falls. Oregon is experiencing drought which is evident in this picture.  My husband is standing where the water should be.

First morning out we had a rainbow out our motel window.  Can  you think of a better way to start?

Speaking to a Psychology 201 class in a large lecture hall was one of those “growing and stretching” moments, but I did it with God’s help!

Meeting so many lovely people at every stop along the way,

 

watching the dialogue take off,

and visiting lifelong friends!

Thanks to ALL my friends and family who have followed me and supported me along the way!  Looking forward to the Charlotte launch on Nov. 8 at Park Road Books at 2:00!

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Congratulations to Glenda Blaisdell-Buck, winner of last week’s drawing for Phillip Shabazz’s wonderful book in verse, When the Grass Was Blue.