Publishing Date!

I know you've all been listening to me talk about my book for three years now.  Most of you know that within the last few months, I made the decision to pursue independent publication.  I've been working hard to do final story edits, line edits, formatting. . .all leading up to this:  my first book is set for e-publication this Thursday, December 1st.

I am really excited.  FEARLESS is the first in a series of four books, and I hope the next titles will be out in the coming months.

What I need right now, more than anything, is lots of publicity! In the old days, publishers sent their new authors on book tours and worked with them on advertising.  Those days are over, and now every writer has to maintain her own platform, including social media and cyber tours.

Word of mouth is the key!  I would appreciate any words you all can pass around. . .tell friends and family that FEARLESS will be available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. . just search under my name.

Thanks for any help you can give me.  I'll keep you all posted.

So Very Thankful!

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you all had a fabulous day of food and fun and family. 

November was full of birthday fun, as Haley turned 20 on the fifteenth and Catie had her sweet sixteen on the twenty-first.  For Haley's big day, we went to De Leon Springs.  It was a beautiful day; the kids were even able to swim in the springs after we ate our delicious pancakes.

Devyn and Haley threw Catie a surprise sweet 16 party.  They did a fabulous job! Pictures of both days are below.

Clint absolutely loves his job!  He is able to minister to so many people who truly need him, and he likes being part of a team of compassionate people.

Enjoy the pictures.

Beach Day at New Smyrna for the Nov. babies!

David and Catie heading for the surf. Like the speed limit--ON the beach??

Yes, they really did go in the ocean! This was Nov. 12th : )

De Leon Springs. . Sis, Catie, Colin and David. That water is COLD!

But they all went in!

Our Thanksgiving table

Everyone is ready to eat.

Centerpiece from Catie's sweet 16 party-the theme was the Beatles

Daddy made the cake!

Sis and Colin

The newlyweds!

Let's eat!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is one of those holidays that has been a tough transition down here in Florida.  Each year we do something different, but we've yet to come up with something to replace the unique experience of sharing the day with family and trick or treating in Pitman.

Every year, fewer and fewer people participate in traditional trick or treating, and we just couldn't find a spot where it felt like 'home'.

This year all that changed.  First, on the Saturday before Halloween, we drove down to Bok Gardens in Lake Wales.  They were offering a night-time special tour of the gardens and trick or treating.  Everyone enjoyed wandering the spooky paths and getting some candy. 

Then on Halloween itself, we went down to Winter Garden, which is a small town about fifteen minutes from our house. The town was having a Halloween Festival, which in and of itself was lots of fun.  But we also found that the houses in the town were closer to our historical idea of trick or treating than anywhere else we'd experienced. The kids were in hog heaven, walking from house to house and meeting people on their porches or in their yards. . they hauled in more candy this year than in any other Florida Halloween!

So we've finally found our Florida Halloween tradition.  It felt good.  Here are few pictures from the night. . .just to be clear, Greg was Brock (from Pokemon), Haley was hip vampire, Catie was Nurse Joy (from Pokemon), Sarah was Pikachu and David was Ash (from Pokemon).  Devyn and I were just along for the ride (although Dev technically was a woodland nymph!). Po Po was a bat--he LOVES Halloween!!