May 20, 2013 Hey everyone, it’s been awhile since I have written a blog post and a lot has gone on in the last year and some months.

First off, I went with self-publishing on book 2. I know that I said that I was going to go the traditional way, but the Lord had other ideas for me. I self-published, Epidemic in the Dark Lands, with the help of my friend, Ellen C. Maze. It has been on Amazon since April of 2012. My son graduated from high school in May of 2012. This was huge for us, I guess because I’m a homeschool mom. We belong to a homeschool group called, TEACH, and have been since he was four years old. He graduated with four other students and it was probably the best graduation I have ever been to. There was live music for them to march into to, three montages: one of the group of graduates, their life montage and then one dedicated to the parents. The speaker was Judge Sterling Lacy, a very prominent figure in our area and my son gave the speech for the graduates. He spoke in front of over 200 people, which is a pretty big deal, especially for a kid. I couldn’t have been prouder. Two weeks after graduation was over, he left to go on his mission trip and was gone all summer long.

Summer of 2012 was a time of relaxation. I wanted to write on my books, but found that I just didn’t have any energy. Caleb’s senior year took it out of me. But when school started again, I began working diligently and now I almost have a completed manuscript for book three of my Prince Andy and the Misfits series, called Loombria. I only have about 10,000 more words to write. Simultaneously, I have been writing a Adult Young  novel called, Phoenix, and I have it half done. I am very excited about this novel and am planning on finding an agent. My writing has come a long way, since I wrote Shadow Man and I’m pretty confident that Phoenix will do well.

Fall came and went, so did the winter of 2012. Christmas was very quiet and so was the New Year. January of this year though, I lost my dad to a horrible disease. It was a bittersweet time. I hated to see him go, but at the same time, knew that it was for the best. He was in so much pain. I got to spend his last day alone with him. I read to him from the Bible and from one of my books. I talked to him and prayed for him. My husband, Troy, came and stayed with him for a time as well and also had prayer with my dad. We had no sooner got home, that mom called and said that he had passed away. I miss talking to my dad. He was one of the smartest men I knew. He graduated high school when he was only fifteen years old. Went to college on a full scholarship. But, he found out that he could make more money being a bulldozer operator, than being an English teacher and left school after his first year. He made a very good living for his family and taught me a lot about fixing things. One of the most important things he taught me was, never rely on others, always be self-sufficient.  He was an incredible individual and I haven’t met a person that knew my dad, that didn’t admire him. I can only hope that when my time comes, folks will think as highly of me as they did of my dad.

That brings us to the start of this summer. Caleb has finished his first year of college. He was on the Dean’s list both semesters. I am very proud of him. He worked a job, while he went to school and managed to get very good grades. He leaves in a two weeks to go on another mission trip for the summer and won’t be back until August. Randi and Haylee are finishing up their school year. I can’t believe that Randi will be a senior next year. We have already begun planning graduation, her pictures, senior trip, and what she will wear for graduation. That will just leave me with Haylee. I still have a lot of time with my youngest, (since she is only thirteen) and I’m going to make the best of our time. Life seems to be going so fast in the Gammons household. I will blink, and it will be time for Haylee to graduate and go off to college.

Well, it’s time to wrap this up and start writing on books. I hope this post finds all of my readers well and having a great day. Cheers!

ME!

Sept. 25, 2011

I have put on weight. It’s a fact. I’m not the same girl I was at twenty. That girl is gone and I am now 45 years old. I have noticed that when I walk into a room, that people stare at me. The first thing I think of when this happens is they are thinking of how much weight I have gained. There are reasons why I have gained weight and I will list them.

1. I have had five children–With each child I have gained weight. With some of my children I gained a lot of weight and I didn’t get back to the weight I was before, and then I would find myself pregnant again. God didn’t allow me to keep two of my children as most of you know. I lost my first child, Austin, to a brain aneurysm and I lost the last child when I was six months along. When I lost the last child, I did a lot of emotional eating to make myself feel better.

2. I had to have a hysterectomy at age 38–You would think that having a hysterectomy wouldn’t make you gain weight, but it does. I found that just a few short months after my surgery that I had gained a significant amount of weight. My hormones were all over the place and I was doing a lot of emotional eating.

3. I admit it, I’m a yo-yo dieter– Up to this last year, I was constantly trying to find some way of getting rid of this weight, which in turn was making me fatter. I have since learned that dieting is not the solution.

4. I am going through the change–It was inevitable that I would go through the change early, with the loss of my innards. lol. I am on an emotional roller coaster that I don’t think will end. I totally understand what my mother is going through. Believe me when I say that, I have been doing A LOT of emotional eating.

5. It’s in the genes–my birth mother’s side of the family is large. I had an aunt that was as wide as she was tall. Those are her words, not mine.  My grandmother was very plump and so on and so on… You can’t fight genes. Thank God I at least have my dad’s height and not my birth mother’s. She was very short. Five foot, I believe.

6. Age–at birth we start our journey of dying. Some of us live long lives and some of us, not so long. As we get older everything slows down. My metabolism has slowed significantly. I home school my three kids, so I’m sitting down for that time. I am writing on another book, and I’m sitting down for that time. The rest of the day is tied up in household chores and running errands. I don’t exercise like I used to and to tell the truth, I don’t want to.

So there it is. I have problems. I am an emotional eater, with a little laziness going on, going through the change. Others out there have the same or different problems that they can’t help. We will NEVER be those skinny little people that others think we should be. Please do me the favor after you read this and look at overweight people through their eyes. There is something going on that they have NO control over that is making them overweight. We as a society view people on Hollywood’s standards and that must stop!

I have come to a conclusion over the past few months, that I wish I would have thought of this years ago. This is who I am now and I’m proud of me. I am a wife, mother and an author. God has blessed me so abundantly and I have wasted so much of my life trying to be who I am not. So I go forward now as a new person. ME! So glad I finally figured it out. I am much happier.

To all my readers, see people as you would want to be seen. Don’t judge your fellow man unkindly, that might be you one day. :0)

A Whole Lotta Stuff Goin’ On

Sept. 12, 2011
Happy Monday!

Wow! Where do I start? I have been extremely busy since I last posted. I finally finished my second novel, Epidemic in the Dark Lands, I turned another year older, my husband and I celebrated our 18 year anniversary, I made myself a new website, you can find it at KarenGammons.com. I had quite a few book signings, I signed up for NaNoWriMo, I started on book 3, (which I’m calling Loombria) and we have started another school year. Whew! That is a lot of stuff in just a few months.

First, I will talk about book 2, Epidemic in the Dark Lands. My proofreader, Mrs. Lenda, read and corrected the manuscript and handed it back to me with her blessings and saying, it was an awesome read. I have been rolling it around in my head as what to do with book 2. I could use Tate, but they want too much money. I talked with several of my writer friends (Patty Wiseman, Lynn Hobbs, Jeannie Faulkner Barber and Amanda Stephens) and they gave me a lot of options to think about. Self publishing or I could go with a traditional publisher. I decided to take a leap of faith and go with a traditional publisher. My manuscript now rests in the hands of someone at TreasureLine Publishing. I am very nervous, hopeful and prayerful that she will like my book.

Book 3, Loombria is coming along nicely. I have had so many ideas for this book, that it keeps me up nights writing in my notebook. I can’t say a lot about it, or I will give away too many details. Just know this, the Misfits go on the adventure of a life time and meet some pretty dark creatures that will test their courage and their friendships.

Next, I signed up for NaNoWriMo month. For those that don’t know, this is an event that takes a lot of time, courage and heart to do. In the month of November, writers from all over the world, will write 50,000 words in one month. Basically you’re writing a novel. I have decided to participate. I just hope my family can do without me for a month, since I will be at the computer a lot. I will have to write 1,667 words a day in order to complete the 50,000 words. I have been practicing on book 3 and I have been FAILING with a capital F. I have only been writing 1,000 words a day. I have decided to try my hand at a murder mystery. To get in the mood, I have been watching shows like Murder, She Wrote, Miss Marple, Sherlock Holmes… and so on. I have been having weird dreams about this though. Maybe, I’m getting too much murder and mayhem. lol. If you could send me any prayers or luck, I would appreciate it.

And lastly, we started school. This is Caleb’s last year. It feels like yesterday I started homeschooling him. He was 4 1/2 years old. I don’t know what I will do without him next year when he goes off to college. I will certainly miss him. I still have my beautiful girls, Randi and Haylee. They brighten my day and that will help a lot next year. Randi is in the 10th grade this year and Haylee is in the 6th.

Well, to all of you that read my blog, I hope you are having good week so far and no murder and mayhem.

Author Interview

April 26, 2011

Hey to everyone, hope you are having a great day. I am in the best mood today and acting extremely silly. I have been going around saying different words like: dire and noodle and bomb. lol. Say those words with me, “Dire, noodle and bomb.” Don’t you just love it when a word rolls off your tongue. Of course the people around you look at you as if you have lost your mind. Anyway…

While I was at my book signing in Longview, Texas, on the 16th of this month, I met an awesome lady. Her name is Patty Wiseman. I had previously talked with her, through messages on Goodreads. It was great to finally meet her in person. We talked for quite a while at the book signing and she asked me if she could interview me. That was so cool! I had been asked before, and even answered questions for another interview. But, being new at this, I didn’t like my answers. So I told the gentleman that I would try again later. I have been thinking more on my answers lately, and I think I did better the second time around. Below is the link to the interview. Hope you enjoy it.

To all my readers, I hope all of you are having a silly day, saying silly words. It will put you in the best of moods.

Since I don’t know how to embed, (I think that is what you call it) you will have to copy and paste the url. Sorry. http://pattywiseman.blogspot.com/

Spring Is Almost Here

Feb. 22, 2011

Hey to everyone. I have been very busy lately and I haven’t been able to post. I finally finished my second book, Epidemic in the Dark Lands. Yea!!! Also, my family celebrated Caleb’s seventeenth birthday. I can’t believe my child is seventeen. He is just a year and a half away from going off to college. (This said with tears in my eyes.) Another thing we have been enjoying is the weather. It has been wonderful here in Texas. It’s hard to believe that just two weeks ago we had snow on the ground for the third time this year. I can’t remember us having so many snow falls. It was nice the first time around, but by the third time, I was ready to see it go. That is one of the reasons I live in the south, I don’t like cold weather.

Yesterday, I was looking at my flower beds and I have so many bulbs coming up. It’s also time to start thinking about a garden. I’m very excited about that. I do square foot gardening in boxes that are already prepared, so all I have to do is pull out some leaves, add a little dirt, stick in the seeds, water and let nature take it’s course.

Back to my second book. I have been doing research online about self publishing. A friend of mine, Ellen C. Maze, who writes the Rabbit trilogy books, told me about CreateSpace on Amazon.com. She highly recommended it. It’s cheap to publish and the return is quite a lot. The only thing would be to make my book cover. This is where it get tricky. I have been looking into making my own and I don’t know if I can do it and it come out as beautiful as my first book cover. I have found templates, but my problem would be trying to figure out what size I would need. Also, page layout. That looks complicated as well. If anyone has suggestions, I would love to have some.

Well, to all my readers, I hope you are enjoying this beautiful spring weather and that you have an awesome day.

 

My Life is Funny

Jan. 28, 2011

I discovered something this morning. I was nominated for a Shorty Award. I’m not quite sure what that is, (it has something to do with Twitter) but I’m happy to know  that someone took the time and thought I was worthy of a vote. I actually received two votes. Out of the 55 pages, of the 1,096 nominees, I was at the top of the page of 48, in the 122nd place. I thought this was a little funny. In general, I think my life is funny. Something weird, funny or strange is always happening to our family. Just look at the last month. Troy broke his leg, I was in a car wreck, killer dogs killed a horse in the pasture behind my house, Troy got our car stuck in the mud and we popped the tire pulling it out. There are other things, but I would get arthritis trying to write them all down.

For the most part, I have laughed at every situation, because that is how I am. I look at life as I would at the glass being half full. I have so many blessings, that they outweigh the bad.

I’m going to look at this award nomination as a promise for this new year. I’m very hopeful that my book will do well and that I will be able to send in my new manuscript. I have been trying to do for God, all of the things I have asked him to do for me. I think I’m getting in his way. So, I’m going to take my hands off the wheel and rely on him more. I have asked him to let my book do well. I believe he heard me and will answer my prayer. I spend way too much time on the computer: tweeting, blogging, and looking at all of my websites. I’m going to start rectifying this situation, here and now, and spend more time with God, my family and working on my health.

To all my readers, I hope the Lord is in your life, pouring his blessings down on you. God is so good, faithful and wonderful.

Killer Dogs and Speeches

Jan. 18, 2011

Hey, everyone, hope all is well. Yesterday was a very interesting day. Caleb woke me up to tell me that a pack of dogs were killing a horse in the pasture behind our house. I ran outside, jammies and all, to see for myself. It was hard to say for sure if it was a horse or a deer. I didn’t have my glasses on and couldn’t see that far, but Troy said that it was still moving. When I saw it kick it’s leg, I knew it was one of the horses. Troy and Caleb went down the road to get the owner and I got dressed to see if I what I could do for the horse. When I got back outside, one of the dogs (a pittbull) was there pulling on the horses leg. I yelled at the dog and it ran off. When I got to the horse, I knew it would have to be put down. It’s poor head was so mangled and it had so many wounds, that I knew it wouldn’t survive long. The owner didn’t even have to kill the horse, it died not long after. Such a sad start to my day. I love watching the horses in the pasture behind my house. Last week when it was snowing, the horses were running and kicking up their heels, having a great time.

Here is where I tell you about the leader of the pack of dogs and his owner. The leader of the pack of dogs is a German Shepherd mix. He looks like a wolf. Very black and shaggy. We call him “Demon Dog”. He has killed quite a bit of livestock in our little neighborhood. The owner of the dog told a friend of ours, that when his dog hurt one of his kids, that is when he needed to come and talk to him about his dog. (Isn’t he a wonderful person? NOT!) The dog had killed two of our friends goats and his little dog that he had chained up. Our friend and the owner of “Demon Dog”, have had quite a few fights over the menace of the neighborhood. The police were called, but they said they couldn’t do anything since we live in the country and have no laws for dogs.

I don’t know what the owner of the horse will do, but I can guarantee that the “Menace of the Neighborhood” won’t be living long if he has anything to do with it.

And that is how my day started. Then I had to write a speech, because I was speaking to the Friends of the Library, in New Boston, Texas last night. I think I did very well. I spoke for about twenty minutes. I told them all about how the idea of becoming a writer came to be and then went on to writing Prince Andy and the Misfits and the whole publishing process. I ended with telling them all about the book. There was a book signing afterward and I did really well. I got to talk to several of my high school teachers. Talk about pressure. One of them was my old English teacher. They were very proud of me though. I don’t know if I will ever get used to speaking in public. All those eyes staring at you, like you have a wart on your face or something. (I was going to put booger, but I thought that was a little gross. lol.)

To all my readers, I hope you have a great day, with no killer dogs making it interesting.

Ringing in of the New Year

Jan. 05, 2011

I have been trying to figure out the whole blog thing.  Pages and posts are confusing to me.  I was trying my best to keep the post, Beginning. Karen the Writer?, at the top of the page, so that when everyone logged on that is what they would see first.  I have been looking at other people’s blogs and that is not how theirs is done, so I am changing mine with the Ringing in of the New Year! You will not see any new pages, just new posts.

Yesterday, was my book release date and along with that came an email from my Marketing Representative, Jeff Fisher. He is a very nice person and it sounds like he is going to do a lot for me in the near future. I have to start putting together a list of bookstores that I want to have book signings in. Now, I know that sounds glamorous, but I hear that it is not. Hardly anyone comes to bookstore signings, according to my fellow Tate authors. Which makes me a little sad. The internet has become such a huge deal, that people rarely get out from behind those screens and breathe fresh air into their lungs. Of course, I’m one to talk, here I am sitting in front of one now  and have been for most of the morning.

I may not be blogging everyday, but I’m going to try a once a week thing at least, so be looking for me. To all my readers, have a wonderfully, bright and shiny day.

Beginning. Karen the Writer?

Thank you for visiting my blog. I’m not sure how the whole blog thing is supposed to work, so bear with me. I’ve always wanted to be a writer ever since I was a kid. My sixth grade teacher told me I had a weird imagination and that I should go for it. So I told myself that when I grew up I would be a writer. I guess I’m finally grown up, since I’m about to be published. Prince Andy and the Misfits, Shadow Man, is my first novel and I’m very excited about it. I started writing Prince Andy and the Misfits in 2001 and finally finished it in 2007.  The book will be coming out soon. I can’t say when the book will be out. I’m hoping that it will be around Christmas.  I sent the abridged version to Tate about two weeks ago for the audio portion. Next is marketing and then book signings.  I can’t believe summer is almost gone.  Since I am a homeschool mom, school is right around the corner. I had every intention of writing 2,000 words a day on the second book until school started. That is just not happening. I have been sick quite a bit this summer. My goal this summer was to have book two done and book three started by the time book one came out.  I laugh at myself for the impossible goals that I tend to set.  I have always thought that reading a book was like I was traveling through another person’s mind. I do hope you enjoy reading the books that I will be writing, but mostly I hope you enjoy taking a trip through my mind. The first stop will be Filligrim.

August 29, 2010

I got the draft copy of my book three days ago.  I was very excited.  It is absolutely beautiful. I can’t believe I got to hold my book finally. This has been such a long process. I took it to church with me on Sabbath. Everyone seemed to love it.  Then I took it to Lenda Selph (my proofreader).   She was just as excited as I was, which I don’t understand, since she has read the book nine times already.  She practically kicked me out, so that she could get started on her tenth time.  She will go over it with a fine-tooth comb and see if there are any changes to be made.  Then, I have to read it and see if I can find problems.  I don’t get to keep this copy, I have to send it back.  If any changes are needed, then Tate will fix those and then it will go off to print.  After that, marketing will call me and the fun stuff will begin.

Sept. 3, 2010

Well, today I sent my book back to the Tate Publishing.  This was the last time that I could fix any mistakes.  I’m sooooo nervous and very excited at the same time.  It will only be a short time, then everyone will have access to my book.   Mrs. Lenda reassures me that everything is fixed in the book. Bless her heart, I just love that woman.  She brought me flowers in celebration of the completion of my book.  In a way, she has gone on this journey with me and Andy.  I can see her being Gladiola Misfit (a character in my book).  Filligrim is such a neat place in my head.  I just hope I have described it well enough that you see it too.

Oct. 2, 2010

Hey everyone.  Sorry I haven’t posted in a while. I have been trying to find different ways to sell my book.  It’s official! I am now a TATOR. That means, I am a Tate Publishing Author. This is a very exciting time in my life.  I have become friends with Tate Publishing and Enterprise Authors group on Facebook.  A website made by Elaine Littau and several others, that help first time authors with the sale of their books, by giving advice, letting authors post their book covers, trailers and so forth.  It’s not part of the Tate Publishing website. Also, I have been researching other FB pages with similar goals.  I have found quite a few. I have met and become friends with so many authors on the Tate  website. They are an inspiration to me.  Very helpful with how to go about doing things.

Troy and I have also been discussing ways to go about selling my book.  I came up with the idea of sending an email to every library in the United States, with a short explanation about me, the backmatter of my book and a link to my book trailer. My dad told me that if every library in the US bought my book, I would do very well indeed.  I looked at the list of libraries and there are thousands.  I have a lot of work to do.

I have also been thinking about my display table for when I have book signings. I’m going for a royal theme, since the book is called Prince Andy and the Misfits.   I’m thinking about a beautiful red tablecloth with a purple table runner trimmed in gold. Also, I’m going to buy some toy dragons that look realistic, to set on top of a stack of my books.  I thought about buying a toy castle, but that might take up too much room. I will have a poster for the table and maybe some bookmarks. I’m also going to have a portable DVD player, playing my book trailer.  I think it will look very appealing when I get done.  It’s amazing how much you have to think about when trying to sell your book.

Oct. 07, 2010

I can’t believe that I’m at the point of ordering books to sell.  This has been a very long journey.  Troy and I sat and looked over all the paperwork involved in getting through this stage of the process.  It’s not too bad.  I can’t wait until I’m actually at a book signing, talking to folks about my book and getting hand cramps from signing so many books.  lol.  Also, last night Caleb and I stayed up really late putting my book on a website called the Author’s Den. This evening when I went to the site, my book was in the favorites section and I had had eighteen hits. Needless to say, I’m in a very good mood right now.

Oct. 21, 2010

Time is sure flying. It was just a month ago that I was complaining about time dragging and now it’s flying.  I’m crazy!!!   Last week I heard from marketing.  My release date for bookstores is Jan. 4, 2011. Yea!!!  I can’t wait to walk into a bookstore and see my book sitting on a bookshelf.  We ordered extra books to have on hand to sell to friends and family.  Also, extra books for any book signings that I might have that aren’t in a bookstore.  You can also buy my book  at the Tate Publishing bookstore.  I’m putting the link to where you can buy the book on my blog.  Troy is a machine when it comes to selling my book.  He has sold so many already that we’re trying to figure out how many more books that we’re going to need in the near future.  This is the best time to be buying my book. Christmas is right around the corner. Don’t forget that the book comes with an abridged audio book, as well.  To all my readers, have a great day.

Nov. 1, 2010

Well, it is almost the end of the year.  What a journey I have had!  To think that in January my book was just in the editing stage and now I have books coming to me.  Such an awesome experience.

If you looked at it just right, it would almost be like I was giving birth to a child.  Months of it getting better and better with fine tuning.  Being covered with a bright, beautiful cover.  And then, at the end of nine months, out pops a book, with you written all over it.  It was exactly what you had hoped for.  You take it and show it off to everyone who will look.  Some will OOO and Ahhh over your child.  While others will simply look and then keep on walking.  But what do they know.  How could they possibly know all the love and work you have put into the beautiful words within.  The labor it took to get it here.

My only hope is that people will stop, look and appreciate what I have accomplished.  Because, not everyone can write a book.

Nov. 20, 2010

Yesterday I heard from Jeff Fisher, my marketing rep.  He told me that my books were being shipped out to me on Monday.  WHOO-HOO!!!  At last, I’m going to be selling books. (Hold on while I pinch myself.  Nope! I’m not dreaming.)

Family will be here in a few days to celebrate Thanksgiving.  My favorite holiday, (this said with my best Texan accent).  I will hit each of them up to buy my book.  Cha-Ching! Just kidding.   On Dec. 4th, I’m traveling to the great state of Oklahoma, to do a book signing.  I’m excited about that.  My mother-n-law is going to do face paintings of my characters, which I think, is so cool.  The weekend after that I’m having a booksigning at my church and hopefully, the Hooks library.  I’m going to ask the New Boston Texas Library if I can do a book signing on the 18th of Dec.   PHEW!  Boy, is this a busy month or what!  Well, that is all I have to say today.  I haven’t been feeling well and my brain is a little fuzzy.  To all my readers, have a blessed day. Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving. (Don’t gain too much weight.)

Dec. 1, 2010

Well, tomorrow night I’m having my first public book signing. It will be at my homeschool group meeting. I am really looking forward to it. I have had a lot of the moms tell me that they want a book.  Then on Saturday I will be in Wilburton, Oklahoma for a booksigning.  It will be at the Choctaw Community Center from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. My mother-n-law put a really nice article in the Wilburton newspaper about me.  So hopefully I will do really well.

Yesterday, I entered a DecNoWriMo, which stands for December Novel Writing Month.  It was made up by a friend of mine, who wasn’t able to participate in the national November one.  I have to write so many words in the month of December. I’m going to finish book 2, Epidemic in the Dark Lands.  Around 16,000 words is all I have left. Wish me luck.  I’m afraid I won’t make it.  First of all, it’s just about the busiest month in the year, with Hanukkah starting tomorrow night and also Christmas being right around the corner.  Second of all, I really don’t know if I have that many words left in my head. (I think I have stated this once before.)  Hopefully, I will make it so, number 1! (This is a Star Trek phrase, in case you didn’t know.)

To all my readers, have a good day and Happy Hanukkah. (One of the best times of the year for our family.)

Dec. 9, 2010

Yesterday I had a complete meltdown. My husband’s co-worker gave him a list of all the problems that my book had.  OMGOODNESS!!! Needless to say, I spent the day crying, because I thought I was a failure, looser, and horrible at grammer! Come to find out, not the case.  I am a child of God,  so I’m none of those things.  But, when you are having a meltdown, your self esteem goes out the window.  I sat down with the list, my book and the copy of my book that the layout department sent me. Come to find out, none of the mistakes were in the layout copy.

Here is where I tell you about the layout copy. When the layout department is done with your book, you have to sign a piece of paper saying that you approve. The copy that I signed off on, was perfect, save one word. (That word is now corrected.)

So, I wrote an email to Mr. Tate, the president of the publishing company. What a email it was! I was not tacky or hateful, just straight to the point.  I’m very proud of it, actually. I told him what I had found and also how disappointed I was with Sean Kilgore. (The narrator of my book.) I have blogged about him under, Audio Book For Shadow Man and Other Posts.

This morning, I got a call from Sean Kilgore.  He was very polite, and has redone my prologue.  Also, my editor called me a while later and apologized for the mistake. They are going to reprint my order and also, overnight me enough books to get me through this weekend.  I have a book signing at the Hooks, Library.

So, I am now a happy camper, (even though I can barely see through my swollen eyes) and I’m going to go and write on book 2.  To all my readers, have a spectacular day.

Jan. 01, 2011

Well, Happy New Year to everyone. A lot has happened since I last posted. There were more booksignings, (which I blogged about in the post “Book Signings and Other Posts) Christmas and New Years. We went to Oklahoma for Christmas. Had a great time, (when I wasn’t sick).  Christmas Eve was very exciting. Troy went out hunting in the afternoon. I knew something was wrong when he didn’t come back and we couldn’t get hold of him by phone. Around 7:30, my father-in-law rang a large school bell that they have in their back yard.

Here is where I tell you about our land.  We own 70 acres in Wilburton, Ok. It butts up against my in-laws property, (they have 40 acres) and is mostly all hill. (Not much shorter than a mountain, by my perspective.) The hill starts at my in-laws yard and then goes straight up to the top, where we have about 10 acres that is flat.  There is a mobile home, dubbed “the cabin,” and a barn. Then it goes steeply down on the other side. The view from the top is beautiful. The hill is covered with briers, pine trees, hardwood trees and lots of rocks.

After my father-in-law rang the bell, he heard Troy yell out that that he had broke his ankle. So six of us took off up the hill (the small mountain) to retrieve Troy. I have asthma and I was already sick, the night air did neither one any good. After 30 minutes of falling on rocks and trudging up the mountain through briers, we finally came to the top. (I felt like I was in the movie, The Last of the Mohicans, with me yelling, “I will find you!” and having an asthma attack at the same time.) Troy was in the cabin. The funny part of this whole story was, if we would have known he was in the cabin, we could have driven to him and I wouldn’t have spent the whole weekend in bed sick.  My in-laws drove my brother-in-laws Rodeo, a five passenger car, up to get all of us. We squeezed eight people into that poor car, along with a crippled man. Someone said they knew how Mexicans felt when coming across the border, crammed into a small truck. lol.

When we got to the hospital, they got Troy in right away to be x-rayed. The doctor waltzes in and cracks terrible jokes and tell my husband that all they were going to do for him was put a splint on his broken leg and that he could take the splint off, to take a shower, if he needed to.  I didn’t think that sounded right, but he was the doctor after all.

I took Troy to my doctor here at home. Dr. Paul had a fit over Troy’s broken leg and the way doctor in Oklahoma treated it. Troy now has an appointment to see an orthopedic doctor and they may have to rebrake Troy’s leg and put it in a cast.

New Year’s Eve came and went, with no special events planned. I was in bed by 10:15 and never even knew when it turned 2011. I’m hopeful and excited for the new year. Hopefully, I will be able to send Book 2, Epidemic in the Dark Lands, to Tate Publishing.  Prince Andy and the Misfits: Shadow Man, comes out in bookstores tomorrow, which is a dream come true. Yea! To all my readers, hope your New Year is wonderful and blessings to all. I want to share a beautiful verse from Psalms 30:11-12 in thanks to my father in heaven for all the blessings of this past year!

“You turned my wailing into dancing, You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, THAT MY HEART MAY SING TO YOU AND NOT BE SILENT!O Lord God, I will give you thanks FOREVER!”

Jan. 04, 2011

Well, my book went into bookstores today. This is so exciting. I haven’t stopped grinning all day long. Also, the orthopedic doctor said that Troy’s leg was doing just fine. He did turn his nose up at the splint though, which I knew he would and he put a cast on Troy’s leg. Praise God he didn’t have to have it re-broke.

To all my readers, I hope you are having as wonderful a day, as I am having.