Hello Everyone,
I have been excited to post a new blog for some time now. I have been having some technical problems with my blog, but, I think we have ironed them out.
I have alot to get to so if this post becomes to long, then I will add another right away.
I will still start out with a Duke update. He is officially becoming my husband’s dog – Friday afternoons and weekends they are pretty much glued to each other. As you can imagine, it did not take long for Duke to take a dip in the family pool. He has learned how to get out of the pool by the steps in the shallow end, and has also figured out how to use the ladder in the deep end, which really makes us laugh.
He is a beautiful, fearless swimmer
Next up is a photo of Duke with his older, fussier brother, Polo. A jack russell/beagle mix. Polo is 8 years old and loves the water too. They fight endlessly over who get’s to the ball first.
Polo waiting for Duke to give it up.
Now for the down side of owning a puppy.
My new summer shoe, worn twice.
The mate to that shoe, also worn twice.
Another painful lesson learned: Put Your Shoes away.
May has been a very busy, fun month for me and my family. The first copies of my book arrived on my front porch, literally, 10 minutes before I was supposed to leave my house and head to my first speaking and book signing event. I really didn’t even have time to savor the moment as I hurried to put some copies, bags and bookmarks in my car. Arrived at Bonefish Restaurant on the by-pass in Surfside Beach, SC on time to set up for my talk. I was just so excited and a bit nervous to actually show the book for the first time to my friends, especially to the people who are actually IN the book. The Women’s Life Recovery Network luncheon and meeting is a great way to get together for a wonderful buffet lunch and relax and hear one woman from the community come forward and share their life story. This month was the one I had signed up for and it worked out perfectly with the publication date, even if it was a bit too close for comfort.
I think I only wept once, and that was before the meeting had started. In the back of my book I have written a tribute to a good friend who passed away just as I was writing the first draft of the ms. His name is Charlie McBride, and I wept when I saw his lovely wife, Julia come over and take a look at what I had written for the first time. It was of course, very important to me that she was ok with what I had written. She was. It was a very moving exchange between the two of us.
After my talk, I did my first official book signing at a table. Such a real thrill. Most of the women that attended that day were my friends and have been so very encouraging and supportive throughout my recovery and writing life. A great first experience for this first time author.
So, that happened on Monday, May 2nd. We then had to shift focus off the book and celebrate the college graduation of our third child, Chelsea. It was a wonderful couple of days, planning for the big day. Thankfully, it wasn’t too hot in the morning so we were quite comfortable for the outdoor ceremony. We then went out to lunch in Murrell’s Inlet with a couple of her friends’ and family members. Sat at a long table on the porch, over-looking the inlet. Just Beautiful.
Yeah, our third college graduate, and third child, "Chelki"
Chelsea and Hannah, loving sisters, best friends
Next up for me, being a presenting author at the South Carolina Book Festival, in Columbia, SC. Also, home to the real USC – University of South Carolina! Go Gamecocks. This was my first experience even attending a book festival, much less participating on a panel with other authors. It was a great learning experience. I met a lot of other authors, most had written multiple books, some were best-selling authors, all from different areas of writing. The first night there was a reception at the USC library for author’s only and it was so much fun. I met USC’s President, who was there to support his wife’s publication of a cookbook. My panel was not until Sunday afternoon, so I just relaxed and walked around the convention hall and attended other author’s panel discussions and presentations. It was really interesting to see how different authors talked about their books and the writing process. The panel that I was on was called “Issue Driven Writing : Life’s Challenges. What a great experience this was for me. Our panel was moderated by Reba Campbell, who did an excellent job in keeping the panel conversation fluid and balanced. Other’s on the panel with me were Stephanie Benbenek, author of ” ….keeping Clarke.” One son. One day. One Mom’s personal journey through grief. An amazing woman with an amazing story to tell. And G. Scott Middleton, author of “Parent Talk”, The Nine Conversations to have With Your Aging Loved Ones, such a wonderful, timely topic for all of us facing the aging of our parents.
One of the first authors I met was Susan Vreeland, who was a keynote presenter. Her latest book is “Clara and Mr. Tiffany”. She writes historical art-related fiction – has been on the NY Times Bestsellers list for previous works, and lives in California. She was a real no-nonsense, funny women to talk too. I couldn’t believe someone as accomplished as herself, took time out to talk to me about the world of writing and promoting your book. I actually had the chance to speak with her a number of times throughout the weekend and she couldn’t have been more gracious. Same goes for Mary Alice Monroe, who was presenting her newest novel, “The Butterfly’s Daughter”, Eleanor Brown, NY Times best selling author, promoting her new work, “The Weird Sisters”, Tatjana Soll, NY Times best-selling author “The Lotus Eaters”, and Rose Rock, author of “Mama Rock’s Rules”, ( yes,she is the mother of Chris Rock), all of these women, and more, were just so NICE and welcoming me to this whole new world of writing. I wanted to introduce myself to Robert Dugoni, best selling author of “Murder One” but chickened out. There always seemed to be people around him so I gave up. I went to one of the panel’s he was on and thought he was a very engaging speaker.
My next post will be about what happened to me at the end of the month. Very surprising and exciting!