A Writer’s Thanks! By Leah St. James

It’s the day before the U.S. Thanksgiving, and if you’re as busy as I am, you won’t have much time for reading blogs, so I’ll keep this short.

When I contemplate my author life, here are a few biggies I am grateful for:
•    My hubby who encouraged me to write after I speed-read every romance novel in our local library;
•    Virginia Romance Writers for that unpublished author contest that gave me hope that I might have something;
•    Virginia Romance Writers for encouraging me to submit my crazy story to The Wild Rose Press; and
•   TWRP editor who took a chance on that  crazy story (and she knows who she is!). :-)

But beyond those, I'm grateful for readers who pick up our stories and give them a chance, especially when you consider the millions of books currently on the market (100 pages of Romantic Suspense alone on Amazon!).

Special thanks to all who write reviews, even the woman who trashed my "Christmas Dance" with a 2-star review and called my characters selfish. She was right, by the way, but that was kind of the point of the story! She said a whole lot more that I have (in selfish, self-preservation mode) blocked from my memory, but the point is that she cared enough about the story to stop and post her thoughts. And thankfully there were other reviewers who reacted a bit less negatively to the story. :-)
                                   
And then there are the readers who don’t like posting reviews but who tell their friends and co-workers about a great book they just read. If that’s you – thank you! Word of mouth is the author’s best friend.

So a big THANK YOU today to those who read. You keep us going.

Wishing all my fellow Roses, all my fellow authors, and all my fellow readers a joyous and blessed Thanksgiving. 

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Leah writes stories of mystery and romance, good and evil and the power of love. Learn more at leahstjames.com, and stop by and visit on Facebook. She loves talking to other readers and authors!

Happy Birthday, George Washington...oh, wait. That's should be...

George Washington

He was the man who led the colonies in revolt against the British during the Revolutionary War 1775 - 1783. The man who refused to be king but ,consequently, accepted the position as our first President of the United States of America. He served two terms where he never ran but was unanimously elected each time.

AKA: The Father of our Country.

As a young student I was dutifully taught the questions and answers to the educational system's approved list of test questions. It wasn't until much later, I learned the majority of anecdotal 'facts' about George were, in fact, wrong.

George, no middle name, Washington wasn't born on February 22, 1732. Though there is some confusion on this, most scholars believe he was born on February 11, 1731. The error in his vital statistic occurred when the British switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar in 1752.

However, we don't celebrate on either day. Why? Because in 1971, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act arbitrarily decided to change the observance of Washington’s Birthday to the third Monday in February; so government workers could have a three-day weekend. It's also the time they lumped all Presidential birthdays (like Lincoln's Feb. 12 birthday) into one holiday. The official name was never changed, though, and remains Washington's Day.

From all reports, George Washington was a man of good judgement, morals, integrity. He strongly believed in the freedom of speech.
15 March, 1783. Address to officers of the army.

If men are to be precluded from offering their sentiments on a matter which may involve the most serious and alarming consequences that can invite the consideration of mankind, reason is of no use to us; the freedom of speech may be taken away, and dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.


He wasn't an Atheist but he also wasn't overly religious. He did firmly believe in freedom of religion.
May 1789. Letter to United Baptist Churches in Virginia. George wrote:

Every man, conducting himself as a good citizen, and being accountable to God alone for his religious opinions, ought to be protected in worshipping the Deity according to the dictates of his own conscience

Still George, gasp, never cut down a cherry tree. Parson Weems made that tale up with the sole purpose of turning our first president into a role model for young children.

However, Washington did write: 28th August, 1788. Letter to Alexander Hamilton.

I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain (what I consider the most enviable of all titles) the character of an “Honest Man”.

And on:

17th September, 1796. Farewell address.

I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy.


That's his real hair, folks. George did not wear a wig.

George didn't have wooden teeth. His dentures were made from human and animal teeth or carved ivory set into into a metal, spring-loaded contraption. Similar to the one below.

That was the real reason George didn't smile. Not only was it uncomfortable but he also had to keep his jaw clenched in order to keep the dentures in.

He might have come to love the 27 year-old widow, Martha Dandridge Custis (he certainly seemed devoted to her)

But his first love was Sally Fairfax - The wife of his best friend, George William Fairfax. In 1758, Washington wrote a letter to her where he calls himself 'a votary of love.'

Even though Washington benefited from slave labor, he knew slavery was wrong, and is the only president to free his slaves. On the other side of that coin, however, they weren't freed until his death.

GW loved whiskey so much he had a distillery at Mount Vernon. He also was an avid breeder of hunting dogs.

I think you get a better peek into GW's psyche by reading his own words.

George actually lost more battles that he won. But his purpose never faltered:
2 July, 1776, General Orders, New York Headquarters
Let us therefore animate and encourage each other, and show the whole world that a Freeman, contending for liberty on his own ground, is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth.

17th September, 1796. Farewell Address.Three years before his death, George warned:
Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence … the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake; since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican  government.

It so telling to see the freedoms, we hold dear today, being conceptualized and turned into a mandate for the American people.


So Happy Birthday, First President George Washington. Whenever it really is.


In the end, after all my research for this post, I know the majority of people (me included) consider George Washington's birthday to be a day of big sales while Banks, government offices, and schools get the day off.

As for me? I think of George every day because he's the one pictured on the only bill my wallet ever sees

REMULLINS: author of THE BLAUTSAUGERS OF AMBER HEIGHTS SERIES

                                        
IT'S A WONDERFUL UNDEAD LIFE, VAMPIRE IN THE SCRYING GLASS, A VAMPIRE TO BE RECKONED WITH and also soon to be released COLD-HEARTED VAMPIRE

remullins.com
AMAZON 
WILD ROSE PRESS

Learning by Christine DePetrillo

Last year was my most prosperous writing year to date. I’ve been doing this author “thing” for over fifteen years and finally have some momentum going. I can’t call it a hobby anymore. It’s not just something I do for the fun of it, although I do have a blast most times. It’s gotten to be serious business these days.  

How did this shift come about?

I spent money. Yeah, I spent money on writing. Money beyond an editor and a cover artist. Money on advertising and a small street team. It was money well spent too.

In February of 2016, I took the plunge and paid what I considered an exorbitant amount to have one of my books advertised in Book Bub, a reader newsletter that targets specific readers. I’d heard from more than one fellow author that they’d made back the money they’d spent on this promotional opportunity and then some.

Still I was reluctant. I was tired of always taking a hit in the writing department. I slaved away for hours and hours after the day job and wasn’t seeing any financial rewards for my labor. I couldn’t reach the readers I needed to by just blasting images and links and clever one-liners on Facebook groups that had anything to do with reading and books. I was sick of checking my Amazon rank and finding it to be large, unspeakably embarrassing numbers.

I was ready to quit altogether.

Finally, I decided to go for it as a last ditch effort to make writing a semi-respectable profession for myself. If it didn’t produce some solid sales, I was done. I doled out the cash and waited.

I wasn’t disappointed. The book I advertised was free and the downloads came pouring in. I didn’t make any money off those downloads, BUT those lovely readers were kind enough to buy the other books in the series. A lot of them. Soon I was watching my ranks go down and my earnings go up! I was delighted and refueled to continue spinning tales.

People were really reading my stuff. They were leaving reviews. They were emailing me with kind words that sent me over the moon. My characters were finally getting to meet the world. I was like a proud mom.

I supplemented this tidal wave with establishing a small, 3-person street team of fine women who had liked my books and were willing to spread the word. I promised them a monthly prize, and they agreed to talk about my books to their friends, re-post news about my books on Facebook, and other little things that have helped my sales.

For a few solid months, I saw some wonderful royalties and grew excited about the number of readers I was reaching. Sales tapered off after the summer and then I did something crazy like launch a new series that wasn’t really like the series that had garnered some fans. Things have been slow to pick up on that new series, but I’m gearing up to spend some money again and hopefully put these books in front of the right readers. I’m determined to have another great writing year.

In the meantime, I’m experimenting. I’ve been trying out different sponsored Facebook ads and have found that the ones with images with little text do the best. They are eye-catching enough to get people to notice them in their newsfeeds and make them curious enough to click for more info. I’m also dabbling with promoting the “Shop Now” button on Facebook to see if leading people directly to Amazon works better than providing several links in the ad for various retailers. And finally, I’m playing around with a review service where you pay a fee, your book becomes available to targeted, non-paid reviewers, and those reviewers promise to post reviews at various spots online. I’m figuring if I can get more reviews for my new series, then I can approach Book Bub with more confidence.

Blog tours, book trailers, and online parties never seem to work so I’ve cut those out of the cycle. I’m devoting my time and money to new ideas or things that have worked for me in the past.

In other words, I’m still learning. Over fifteen years doing this writing “thing” and there’s still so much to figure out.

What’s something new you’ve learned that works for your books? Or if you are a reader, how do you find those new books you grow to love?

Toodles,

Chris

www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com

SAFE, Book One, The Shielded Series, FREE in ebook!

PROTECTED, Book Two, The Shielded Series, available now!

SECURE, Book Three, The Shielded Series, coming soon!

A Glamorous Day In The Life...

Hiya peeps.

I’m new here. Yay! My name is Mackenzie Crowne. My friends call me Mac and I hope you will, too. I’m a desert rat, living in Arizona, a wife, mother, really young grandmother, ;-) and a breast cancer survivor. I’m completely humbled to be joining the Roses of Prose. I mean, not only is there some heavy duty talent here, but these ladies are sharp! I can’t believe they invited a weed like me to come frolic in their lovely garden.

Mac

Since this is my debut post, I thought a glimpse of who I am would be appropriate. That's the real me on the right, enjoying the outdoors at my mountain hideout. The following is a peek at a normal day around my house. Yeah. I’m an author, which means my life is soooooooo glamorous…

7:38 AM: Wake to discover I’d neglected to set my alarm. (I’m behind on a deadline and stayed up much later than usual because the words were flowing) Realize my granddaughter, who stayed the night, is already late for school.

7:39 AM: Race to grade school in a ponytail and pajama sweats – sans makeup – face the office staff, only to realize I’m wearing two different shoes.

Mac's Office

7:50 AM: Enter my office to start my day. Pick up laptop. Curse as cord tangles with coffee cup.

8:00 AM: Finished cleaning the coffee stain from rug, open emails.

8:01 AM: Panic upon learning publicist has set up blog tour for upcoming release, and I have 5 blog posts due in 3 days.

8:02 AM: Ignore publicist’s email to commiserate with critique partner in meltdown over first edits from publisher.

8:02 AM: Simultaneously begin working on manuscript. (I’m seriously behind on this deadline)

8:30 AM: Pause in writing to deliver e-book flashgiveaway prizes to members of my street team. Spend several minutes on FB chatting with readers and retweeting author friends’ promotions.

9:10 AM: Visit author friend’s website. Steal information on her new release, and post a release day shoutout on my blog. Post several promotional tweets and share links with street team.

9:40 AM: Finally slip into writing vortex with manuscript.

11:00 AM: Dragged from writing vortex by husband asking if there is any food in the house.

11:20 AM: Return to manuscript after politely showing husband where kitchen is, then spending 20 minutes preparing food myself because I have an aversion to kitchen fires.

11:50 AM: Dragged from writing vortex by hacking sounds from puppy, who apparently charmed husband into sharing the food I’d prepared.

12:00 PM: Finished cleaning the dog puke from the office rug (not the same spot as the coffee) return to manuscript.

12:30 PM: Partially dragged from writing vortex by husband kissing me goodbye as he heads to work.

2:20 PM: Realize I’m still in pajamas. Take a speed shower (singe retina with shampoo). Speed to grade school with one eye shut to pick up granddaughter.

3:20 PM: Return to manuscript after settling granddaughter with snack, posting exclusive tease from manuscript to street team, and several minutes spent popping between FB and Twitter.

4:10 PM: Dragged from writing vortex by granddaughter sharing funny meme on her phone. Fight off panic attack after checking word count. (Did I mention I was behind on this deadline?)

4:25 PM: Return to writing vortex after DIL picks up granddaughter.

Freeway

5:10 PM: Dragged from writing vortex by ripping sound in back yard. Find puppy on top of hot tub. Scowl at two-inch hole in cover.

5:40 PM: Return to manuscript after failed attempt to scold puppy. 

(Seriously, she's just too cute to be mad at. I took her for a walk instead)

7:30 PM: Eyes blurry, settle for 2000 words typed. Realize I haven’t eaten all day. Settle in front of TV with peanut butter sandwich and a martini to catch up with the day’s events.

9:00 PM: Jolt awake on couch from a wet tongue as puppy delivers a present. Toss chewed flip flop in trash, do a search for all chewable items, and stumble to bed to toss and turn as plot lines and dialog echo through my mind.

7:00 AM Next morning: See yesterday…

Mac writes contemporary romance with a side of sass. Check out her latest releases in the Players series from Kensington/Lyrical, and find her at the usual haunts.

Face Book ~ Twitter ~ Newsletter Signup ~ Crowne’s Crew Street Team ~ Amazon

     

Who am I? by Barbara Edwards

I’m Barbara Edwards and I write novels. Paranormal romance, historical romance and several sweet romance Christmas Stories. Everyone at one time or another thinks they can write a book. I know I did. I had a story I wanted to tell and joined a writer’s group near my home. 

How hard could it be? I bet I could finish it in a month. Then a New York publisher would pay money to sell it for me.

Ten years later, after writing several manuscripts, and a lot of painful self-discovery, I got my chance. Harlequin Historicals asked for my book. I went through the whole process and they wanted me to change the villain. I refused and they didn’t publish it. Would I do it again after all I’ve learned since? No, but I would have sent them other books until they caved beneath my efforts.

Instead I went the ebook route. I was with one of the first publishers, Romance Foretold in 2001, and what a ride its been. They went under, but I didn’t. The next two publishers failed, too. Failure was more common than  success. Then I found WingsEpress. Nice people who are still in business and

have Another Love and Annie’s Heart, my two historical romances.

I tried writing romance with humor and had them rejected. Funny is not easy. And after the third or fourth edit, it doesn’t even sound like English any more. So I moved on to Romantic Suspense with Rachel’s Rescue. You won’t find it for sale. I pulled it since the electronics were so dated even though it wasn’t ten years old. 

Not wanting to put all my eggs in a fragile basket, I looked for another publisher for my paranormal romances. I found one and then hesitated signing the contract. The company was new, I didn’t know any of the main editors and I got worried. So I jumped ship and they went under within three months. Maybe I had learned to judge better. 

This time I looked for a publisher who has great editors, listened to my ideas for the cover, and

helped with the horrendous weight of publicity. I won’t call it luck. I submitted to The Wild Rose Press. I went through the regular editing process. I signed a contract. They’ve won the prestigious

 “Predators and Editors” award for best publisher for four years in a row. 

So here I am, working at being an author. My fourth and fifth books in my Rhodes End series are in the works. And Dixie's Gift, a Christmas love story, is waiting for it's cover.

Please follow, friend or like me. I love to hear from my readers.

My Blog http://barbaraedwardscomments.wordpress.com/

My Website http://barbaraedwards.net

Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/BarbaraEdwards.Author

Twitter  https://www.twitter.com/Barb_ed

Amazon Author’s Page http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003F6ZK1A

GoodReads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/496095.Barbara_Edwards

Contibutor at http://paranormallovefeatures.blogspot.com

Conform or Be Unique?

“Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.” ~ Margaret Mead

This quote really resonates with me as an educator as well as a writer. In teaching, we strive to individualize instruction and cater to the needs of all students. We see the unique talents each student has. We also see the unique struggles each student faces. Our goal is to make the curriculum accessible to all students regardless of their different circumstances. We do this on a daily basis for 180 days a year.

And yet, with all these specialized plans and accommodations and modifications and juggling acts and scripts and what sometimes amounts to a theater-level production, we eventually expect these children to grow into citizens who will be treated pretty much the same when it comes to getting a job and functioning in society. There’s a certain level of conformity that we expect them to be able to tolerate. Current trends in education with Common Core State Standards support this notion. While the standards don’t tell us how to teach, they do tell us what to teach. They strive to make sure every student masters the same information. It’s not a bad idea, however, it does squash that uniqueness. It does sort of shout, “You will learn exactly what everyone else is learning! You will be the same.”

Sometimes it all gets a little stuffy. I try to balance my classroom with some room to be different, to explore, to find the sheer joy in learning something that interests you. Unfortunately, time is short. One hundred eighty days goes by in the blink of an eye.

In the way of writing, authors love to think we’re unique, but pick up any book off the actual or digital shelf and you’ll find common themes, plots, settings, and characters. We’re probably just writing different versions of the same five stories. Another writer once told me, “There are no new ideas.” Sometimes I believe that.

Other times… I don’t.

I’m starting a new series and I’m hoping it is unlike anything I’ve written before. I’ve been studying up on different components of the writing craft, trying to reach new levels, dig deeper, expand my thinking. This series will still be romance (I’ve tried NOT writing romance and I simply can’t do it), but I’m delving into sci-fi and thriller a bit. I thought about the characters I would normally write about and am making a conscious effort to change it up. I’m leaving the present time and shooting to the future. I’m getting out of the woods and away from mountain men heroes. I’m tossing aside the sweet, feminine heroines. I’m looking to fashion a villain that isn’t a jealous ex-wife, crazy business partner, or evil mob boss.

I’m looking to be unique and not like everyone else. We’ll see how it goes. Don’t worry. There’ll still be a happily ever after, 100% guaranteed. I don’t want to go too different. Readers come to have certain expectations from an author.

I guess this rambling post has led me to conclude that you need to decide when to conform and when to be unique. There’s a place for both, don't you think?   

Toodles,

Chris

www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com

The Maple Leaf Series

More Than Pancakes (Always FREE!)

More Than Cookies

More Than Rum

More Than Pizza, Coming Soon!

Relaxing, No Stress Vacations? NOT!

Jena with Jenevie 2008

by Jena Galifany

The family vacation is not something that I've taken many of. We took one when I was eleven or twelve years old. We drove four hours to Las Vegas and spent a day there. My sister and I spent all day in the pool. By that evening, I was so burned I couldn't wear anything except the bathing suit. OUCH! The next morning, I developed tonsillitis. Oh, joy.

We moved on, taking the next couple of days to roll through Reno and Carson City. Nothing spectacular to report there. We cruised through Lake Tahoe and ended up visiting friends in Sacramento. This was nice. They had a pool. My burn and tonsils had both mellowed. We went to a zoo. Now, I'm like totally terrified of snakes. I don't even like pictures of them. Guess where my dad made me go with my sister? You got it, the reptile house. Joy of joys. I was so thrilled to get home and prayed we'd never take another vacation. Fortunately, we camped instead.

Fast forward, I was now 50 years old and my youngest daughter is the only kid at home. She has never been to Disneyland. I decided it would make a nice Sweet Sixteen/First Family Vacation gift to her before she grew up and left home. I planned it all out in secret. We'd stay at the Disneyland Hotel for two nights and have access to Disneyland and California Adventure. This was going to be awesome.

I didn't want her to know where we were going, other than spending the night at her grandmother's home in Huntington Beach, a two and a half hour drive from home. That way we could see my in-laws and be within thirty minutes of Disneyland instead of driving the couple of hours to get there. I decided to tell her that we were going to Los Angeles to get her braces. The dentist had mentioned that she could use them to straighten one tooth that is a quarter of a turn around so I thought I'd use that idea to cover our true destination.

Jena, Steve, & Jenevie @Disneyland 2008

Mr. Mechanic Husband (no sarcasm here. He's the best mechanic in the valley) checked the car over the day before, and made sure everything was ready for the trip. Tune up, doughnut size spare tire, clean windows and all. The next day, we were ready to roll at 1pm. Moping all the way, Jen climbed into the back of the car and we were on our way. Being a nervous passenger, I drove. We made it ten miles and blew a tire. I pulled over on the side of the freeway and Steve jumped out to take care of the problem. He had the tire changed in no time but when he let the car down, the spare went flat. (really?)

An officer pulled up and called roadside assistance for us. We waited fifteen minutes for the man to come air up the spare. Husband apologized profusely for the flat spare. I knew he had checked it. I'd seen him do it. No problem. We could stop in the next town, about nineteen miles down the road.

A forty-five minute wait gave us two new tires and a one hundred twenty dollar expense I hadn't planned on. I decided to let Steve drive. I'd had my fun already. (not!) So back on the road. Twenty miles later, the car died. It just died. Now, this isn't usually a problem. It does it all the time. I simply have to drop it into neutral, hit the key, it fires up, pull it back into gear, and on we go. It's been doing this for years. It's such an intermittent problem, no one can find out what it is. It's why we got the car cheap. Only, this time, it decided not to start again. Luckily we were traveling down hill and were able to coast the last couple of miles to the off-ramp and into a Denney's parking lot. So far, it took us an hour and a half to travel forty miles.

We sat in the parking lot until the car cooled down. Steve looked it over and couldn't find any problem. After careful consideration, we decided not to go on into the heavy traffic on the 5 freeway. We decided to roll down the windows, turn off the air conditioner, and take the car back home. We'd rent a car and start over. After twenty minutes, Steve tried the key and she started up. Praying, we had no problems all the way back home.

We headed to the first car rental place we found. They wanted a credit card. I didn't have one. I'd paid them all off. They wanted a utility bill to prove where I lived. I get all my bills via email (going green has its drawbacks, I've found). They wanted a $300.00 money order. Hmm. Off to the house to dive into the shred bag for an old utility bill. Found one! Off to the bank for the money order. Back to the rental office. They decided since the utility bill was from three months previous, it wasn't good enough. I offered to pull up my account on their computer to show them, but they didn't want me to touch their computer. (sheesh)

Before I totally lost my cool, my husband pulled me gently out of their office and we headed for another rental company.

It was after 5:30pm by now, with all of the running around. I was afraid everything would be closed and we'd not get a car that evening. Our reservations at Disneyland were for the next morning. I didn't want to be driving instead of checking in. Jen still didn't know. She was sitting in the waiting area when we got to the counter at Car Rental Office #2. I made sure she was not in ear shot and prepared for battle. I had to have a car.

"We have reservations for Disneyland and need a car. I don't have a credit card and I don't have a current utility bill. What can we do about this?" I was firm. I wasn't going to take no for an answer. I needed to give Jen a nice vacation and so far it wasn't working out so well.

The tall gentleman behind the counter smiled at me and said, "No problem." It took the wind right out of my sails. He continued, "Let's see what we can do. And if I can't get you a car, I'll drive you down when I get off work at 6." WOW! I like this guy! He tried to run every VISA debit card  I had but none were accepted because they were not "credit" cards. I was losing hope. He was positive. "Do you know anyone that would lend you a card since it's only to get it, not to pay for it? You can pay with the debit but I need a credit card to let you have a car."

"My mother, but she's twenty miles away."

He handed me the phone. "What's the number?"

"She couldn't get here before you close."

"What's the number?"

We got my mother on the phone. I explained the problem to her. She agreed that she wouldn't be able to get there before closing. It was already 5:45. I relayed the information to Mr. Gentleman. He held out his hand for the phone. He spoke to my mother for a moment, pleasantries and such. He shocked me by asking for my mother's permission to use her card. He assured her no charges would go on it. I don't know what Mom said but he started writing. He filled out the information, told my mother what a wonderful person she was, and gave me back to phone. My mother said, "Sign my name," and she hung up.

I stared at the man as he turned the papers to me and handed me a pen. He smiled. I smiled, signed and gave him back his pen. "We didn't do this," he said. "Now, let's get you on the road." He lead us out to a nice economical, clean, wonderful car. Again, WOW! We shook his hand and thanked him over and over. (Sidenote: I've rented all needed cars from this man for the past five years, with my own credit card I might add.)  We dashed back to the house to drop off my car, switch the luggage and were back on the road by 6:30pm. We arrived at my in-law's home a little after 9pm. It took us eight hours to make a two and a half hour trip. Gratefully, my mother-in-law had prepared a nice meal for us.

Jena with Jenevie California Adventure 2008

Jen was still grousing the next day when we got into the car to go to the "dentist". She was sulking in the back seat right up until we stopped in front of the Disneyland Hotel. Her eyes popped and she got a Minnie Mouse voice for a few moments, squealing her excitement. We spent the first day exploring Disneyland. She and her dad rode the rides and I found near-by shade to sit and read. I have MS and can't ride the rides but they love rides and I love reading, so it all works out. Steve developed a migraine halfway through the day but he rode all of the rides with her anyway... except Small World. He didn't think he could handle that one with a migraine.

Day two, we explored California Adventure. Day three, we shopped Downtown Disney and then drove to Huntington Beach for dinner and swimming with my in-laws. After the terrible beginning, our first family
vacation turned out to be a batch of wonderful memories. We went again the next year, but Jen keeps asking when she's getting those "braces" again.

Sidenote: Steve hates to go to the dentist so Jen suggested that I tell him he's going to Disneyland!

I hope all of your vacation adventures are filled with wonderful memories, relaxation and no stress.

For your reading pleasure, please hop on the bus and travel with ShadowsForge, the 80s British rock band as they travel the U.S. and the U.K. finding love and adventure in the series by Jena Galifany available at Whiskey Creek Press.  Three Times a Hero, Trials on Tour, and Retaking America are currently available for $2.99 each.

Cheers!
Jena