Monday, April 29, 2013

Catching Up!

Hi everyone.

Sorry I haven't blogged in over a month. Last month I was finishing up book 3 of the Samantha Cain Series. By the first week of April it was off to my publisher. I'm waiting to hear back from her now. The Truth Revealed was a touching tale. I hope you all enjoy it when it's released. I'll keep you posted.

Shortly after my last blog, I spoke to a group of 4th graders. They were a joy for me. Not only did they listen well, but they asked interesting questions. I hope after our talk, they found learning to write well will help them in so many ways in their life. A few already had dreams of becoming a writer. That was exciting to me. I didn't know I wanted to write until I was 33 years old. The school I spoke at teaches the arts in a big way to the students. Their gifts range all over the spectrum and it was a pleasure to see they want to follow their passions. A few days before we left on vacation I received a large manila envelope filled with thank you notes. Some had included drawings. It was a privilege and an honor to receive such heart felt notes. Thank you kids, for taking time to write to me.

view of the sunrise from the portico:


Speaking of vacation. We took a week and few down to Porta Plata. It's in the Dominican Republic. The resort we stayed out was fantastic. A 2 story, 3 room villa, included our own private pool. Of course being on an island, we didn't swim there except in the late evening and night time. In the day time we made a point of sunning on the beautiful beaches.



The resort I believe had 7 or more different beaches, but we were spoiled on Serenity Beach and on NV Beach. I managed to go the full week without burning. 30 block helped me to only tan. My husband and son both burned, but already Scott's has turned to tan. I hope Chris was as lucky. Rosie (my daughter-in-law) kept herself covered in sunscreen as well. And Jerry, well he kept a t-shirt on so as far as I know he didn't burn as well. When you sun near the equator you have to be careful. Also with the breeze off the water, it never felt hot even though it was in the 80's everyday. LifeStyles has entertainment nightly in the different areas of the resort, so we never had a dull moment. I have to say, my favorite was the day we spent on a 32' Catamaran. The skipper of Tip Top took us out in the water, set the sails, and we were skimming across the ocean. We anchored twice to go snorkeling and once to eat. Yes, they had a motor boat come out to us and served hot food. There was music and dancing after lunch. That calypso beat makes you want to tap your feet...even at my age. What a blast we had. Papo, the excursion director, kept everyone laughing. The last night there, they held a BBQ at our villa for us. There were only five of us, but there was enough food cooked to feed an army.



The least favorite part of the vacation was the last flight from Miami to New Orleans. I got food poisoning I do believe. It hit me at about 30000 feet in the air. What a miserable time I had, but the flight attendant let me stay near the back, instead of running up and down the aisle. What a blessing. And when we got home, I slept for almost 24 hours. We've been home 5 days and today is the first day I actually have energy to get up and move around. So I cleaned house. Boy did it need it.

Tomorrow I will be back to writing. I've had a few of my readers ask when I'll write another romance, so that's what I'll be working on. I'd started it over a year ago and set it aside. It's back to being priority, so I hope to have it ready for my publisher in 3 to 4 months. The working title is 'After You're Gone' -- but I'm thinking that doesn't sound very romantic. I'll keep you posted on that as well.

I hope you all have a wonderful summer. It is around the corner. Kids will be out of school soon, so be careful and watch out for them. God bless you all!