(The image to the left is Allyson at four-years-old when we took her to Disney World. She’s on the bridge that runs through Canada in Epcot. Isn’t she the cutest?)

The Star Boosters for Floyd Central High School’s Theatre Students will be having a fundraiser at Bearno’s Pizza this Thursday, February 16th all day long.

All you have to do is EAT! Dine in, carryout, or delivery! Each student receives 20% from the sales they bring in and these funds will go directly into the student’s individual account to be used for any theatre-related expense such as theatre trips or costume fees. Allyson will be using hers for expenses related to the Walt Disney World Theatre trip this summer.

Three locations available:

Bearno’s Jeffersonville
700 West Riverside Dr. (812)282-3125

Bearno’s New Albany
3002 Charlestown Crossing (812)949-7914

Bearno’s Floyds Knobs
401 La Follette Station (812)923-4600

Bearno’s has supplied a coupon flyer and I’ve added Allyson’s name for you. Just download the Bearnos Pizza Fundraiser Form and print it. There’s two per page. Share or save the other one. You can use it on March 15th, or April 19th, or May 17th during additional FC Theatre Bearno’s Fundraising events.

ALSO, please DO NOT pass out additional flyers to others dining or walking into the restaurant that day. The thought is appreciated, but it is not allowed. Thanks.

Remember: The Star Boosters will be offering this fundraiser every third Thursday of the month for the rest of the school year. So print plenty, share them (except at Bearno’s locations) and go every 3rd Thursday.

Thanks for your support of Allyson’s theatre trip. Enjoy your pizza.

Tweet

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Second Virgin Birth was unique. The premise of a virgin giving birth to another Jesus Christ through the magic of science is controversial and intriguing. A variety of characters, including a Pope determined to make sure Christ is never born again, make for a complex story. There are many obstacles, some not fully realized (i.e. too little time spent on them), and a host of personal agendas that take place as events unfold. Some of the problems and near-crises could have been further expanded because the idea of them was that interesting. There are many loose ends left to the reader’s imagination and the book’s finale is open-ended, perhaps for a sequel. Overall, the story is well-paced, believable, and invites contemplation on several modern day topics. Could DNA of Christ be found? Could another Christ child be born? What would happen to the world’s religions in this case? Very, very intriguing.

View all my reviews

Tweet

But that doesn’t mean I don’t seek change, especially for the better. So in reflection of the past year, I’d like to share a few things I actually accomplished. Mind you, some of them were not accomplished alone. But having good people in your life can be an accomplishment in and of itself. The good people in my life take part in the joy of my 2011 accomplishments.

I’m not numbering them because that would indicate I need to accomplish more next year, when really the only goal is to keep moving forward in a positive way.

A. I wrote, illustrated, and published four (count them – 4) children’s books. If you haven’t read them, please take the time now. This post is way less interesting than the books.

Camel Lot was a short story that grew too long for a writing contest. Rob suggested I finish it in lieu of finding a job (I didn’t really want a job but had no easy out until he said this) and we’d publish it. New services, like the one I use – Bookbaby, are sprouting up all the time to help authors get their ebooks to vendors. So I finished the story and did some illustrations and (WOW) got it out there to the ether for people to buy and read. And they have. Not millions, but thousands, and maybe one day, millions.

Bermuda’s Triangle, Area 50 Juan, and Santa Monica (which is FREE) came quickly enough. Each new story allowed me to explore other styles of artwork. Area 50 Juan seemed to need something more dark and sketchy. Santa Monica is a modified anime/kodomo style which I thought would be cute. And with each successive title, we learned a little bit more (a drop in the bucket to the ebook industry knowledge that exists) about getting the books completed, adding the illustrations, what people like (and don’t like), formatting, writing software, pricing, and getting books out to the public. It’s enough to make my head spin. Or it would be if I didn’t leave most of the technical stuff to Rob.

So one of my favorite accomplishments of 2011 is becoming a published author. I didn’t get a book deal, but I have books out there in cyberspace and that’s a heck of a big deal to me.

B. I beat addiction*. You were a druggie?! Well, aren’t we all really. In one way or another. Come on, didn’t you pay attention in high school chemistry class when they discussed caffeine? Yes, I realize some of us out there really do treat our bodies like temples, but the fact is, most of us treat them more like trash bags. Dump in whatever garbage we find and tie a bow in the top.

So what did I beat? Well, drugs. Prescription that is. And caffeine, but more on that later. I began taking prescription pain medication when I broke my ankle (5 places – 5X the pain). It seemed absolutely appropriate that I be on pain medication and even when I’d been taking it over a year, it didn’t raise any suspicions in my pain-medication-soaked brain. Curious, I know. Again, it took one of those people in my life to make me even think, “Hey, there might be a problem here.” I was lucky. The process wasn’t horrendous like some cases you read about online. And I’m so glad I (or Rob) realized I needed to clean the pain meds out of my system. I feel so much better and many of the “problems” I was medicating for disappeared when I got clean.

C. I beat caffeine*. Yes, caffeine is a drug, albeit legal. But it gets it’s own category under accomplishments because if you’re a casual user of caffeine there really is no reason to quit using it. So not using caffeine is more of a personal choice rather than a healthy necessity. Remember, some people are more sensitive to caffeine than others and it could be a healthy necessity to them. But, in general, caffeine is nearly harmless in moderate doses even over prolonged use. I however, was not a moderate user. I was a pot of coffee, 4 large Red Bulls, iced tea into the evening kind of user. Seriously, I don’t see how my jitters didn’t set off seismic waves.

So, how’d I do it? Cold tofurky. That’s the vegetarian version of stopping abruptly. Make a note here: DO NOT do it this way. I highly recommend you take the weaning approach to rid yourself of caffeine. Because, YOWZA, that was one really miserable withdrawal. Yep, I could have given in and had a smooth Green Tea Frappe to sooth my butchered temples. But, no, I decided to stick it out. Ultimately I recovered and all is well, but it was a pain I won’t soon forget.

D. I gave up HRT*. For those out there who are young and nubile, never giving menopause a moment’s thought, or of the male gender, therefore never giving menopause a moment’s thought, HRT stands for Hormone Replacement Therapy. There’s a lot of information (good and bad) out there about HRT. You just have to judge for yourself and decide if it’s right for you. I’d taken it for years because of surgically-induced menopause, but now that I’m really at the age of biological menopause, I’ve decided to quit treating my body as if I’m of child-bearing age. Menopause is a natural part of life for a female. So, I’m moving forward in a more natural state, sans HRT.

E. I finally tried juice fasting*. I’ve always wanted to try juice fasting. I’ve read about it numerous times over the years. I agree it’s an extreme nutritional approach, but with all the chemical changes I’ve put my body through, I felt the overabundance of nutrients common to juice fasting would do me a world of good.

The basics of the juice fast are simple. Buy a good juicer, buy the best produce available (preferably organic), and juice as often as you like (or can stand breaking down and cleaning your juicer), while consuming no foods you actually get to chew. Also no sugar, or other sweeteners in your caffeine-free tea. There are all kinds of modified juice fasts out there and a quick Google search will bring up more than anybody wants to know on the subject. But, I was super psyched to give it a whirl.

Now, I didn’t buy a really good juicer. I bought a centrifugal instead. Because of price. It was a fine juicer, if you’re concerned about quantity and speed and price. It made a lot of juice (not so much with green leafys) and it did it quickly. It wasn’t too horrible in the clean up department. And it was cheap. But… centrifugal juicers chop up your produce into fine bits and spin it faster than a black hole in space, thus damaging (with frictional heat) some of the vital enzymes you’re probably juicing to get. And you have to drink your juice immediately (within 15 minutes) because spinning adds damaging oxygen to your juice making the enzymes die off pretty quickly. So you can’t make a great big batch of juice to last you all day and only clean the juicer once. Ultimately you put a lot of fruits and veggies through your centrifugal juicer and get very little nutrition in return. You get plenty of juice, but that wasn’t my entire purpose.

Did I get any health benefits? Yep. But you’re results will vary depending on how unhealthy you are when you start out. I think I was pretty sad in the health department, so I noticed some results even though I wasn’t using a great juicer. I noticed that I slept better almost immediately. The reason for that could be the lack of digestion going on to keep me awake. I also noticed that I could see better when driving in dark, rainy conditions. When I quit juicing this perk seemed to fade. I also had more energy some days and felt like a sloth on others. No idea what caused either situation.

Will I juice again? You betcha’. I’ve already got my eye on a great juicer touted by many juicing aficionados as one of the best in it’s price category. The Omega J8006 is a single gear, masticating (means chew) juicer which produces great quantities of juice with no spinning (thus no oxygenation) and no heat (thus no cooked juice). I can’t wait to see how the better nutritional quality juice will effect my health.

Oh, I almost forgot. When I juiced, I lost nearly 20 pounds. That’s a perk too, right?

*Please note: This post is opinion and personal experience. It is in NO WAY to be taken as advice. If you need advice, please see a medical professional regarding addiction, fasting, or any of the other topics. Except book publishing. See Bookbaby about that.

Tweet

Synopsis: Three siblings, Arty, Lance and Gwen, set off for their Mother’s forbidden flower garden to play. They dream up the grand kingdom of Camel Lot with a courageous king, a daring knight and a princess with a pink magical unicorn. But somewhere else in the garden, trouble is brewing. It’s not their orange tabby, Marlin; it’s the neighbor-boy, Dwayne.

Camel Lot is a fantasy adventure for bedtime or anytime. Written to be read aloud to children of any age or read alone by children ages 8-12. Approximately 3,400 words.

Camel Lot was inspired by a short story writing contest. In the contest, a picture was provided and the writer needed to tell a story related to that picture in 1,000 words or less. Somewhere around 2,000 words it was obvious I couldn’t submit mine so I quit writing. I didn’t finish the story. It just sat there.

When I returned from LA, I couldn’t find work. Rob suggested I finish the story and maybe we could publish it. Ebooks were really taking off and there were many distributors cropping up to help you get your formatting correct and get your books out to the different sellers. So I finished the story and did some illustrations to go along with it. The cover is my favorite, closely followed by the cat, Marlin, wallowing in the flowers on his back.

I hope you enjoy Artie, Lance, Gwen, and Marlin in their backyard adventure. A sequel to Camel Lot will be coming in 2012 called Nights of the Brown Table. Per request, I’ll do illustrations including the kids this time.

Buy Camel Lot for Kindle

Buy Camel Lot for iPad

Buy Camel Lot for Nook

Buy Camel Lot for Sony Reader

Tweet

Synopsis: Screeching violins, rasping clarinets, and drums beaten to death were just the beginning. Bermuda longed to be part of the school band. She tried countless instruments, but couldn’t make any of them produce pleasing sounds. Her parents were ready to give up. Her music teacher was at her wits’ end. But, her friends had an idea.

Bermuda’s Triangle is a musical adventure for bedtime or anytime. Written to be read aloud to children of any age or read alone by children ages 8-12. Approximately 2,200 words with full-color drawings.

Buy Bermuda’s Triangle for Kindle

Buy Bermuda’s Triangle for iPad

Buy Bermuda’s Triangle for Nook

Buy Bermuda’s Triangle for Sony Reader

I hope you enjoy Bermuda and her quest for music.

Tweet

Synopsis: Juan’s goal to save the aliens on Jade Island is threatened by a military search for the downed craft. Juan and his friends; Andy, Davie, and Earl, befriend a young airman named Ziggy who wants to help. With Ziggy on their side, they rush to help the visitors return to their world before the military arrives to search Area 50.

Area 50 Juan is a science fiction adventure for bedtime or anytime. Written to be read aloud to children of any age or read alone by children ages 6-12. Approximately 7,500 words with full-color, full-page illustrations.

Buy Area 50 Juan for Kindle

Buy Area 50 Juan for iPad

Buy Area 50 Juan for Nook

Buy Area 50 Juan for Sony Reader

I hope you enjoy the fun and mystery that Juan and his friends get into. Look for Air Force Juan: A Misplaced Adventure coming 2012.

Tweet

Each of my children’s books currently has it’s own illustration style. I don’t promise that will always be the case, it just has been so far. With Santa Monica, I found inspiration in the anime and kodomo (such as Hello Kitty) artistic styles. I adapted those to suit me and thought the style was perfect for the characters. I hope you enjoy the illustrations.

Synopsis: Monica dreams of playing Santa in the holiday performance presented by her local theater group. But will her theater coach, Mr. Shelley, be willing to cast a girl as Santa? What will her parents think? Will her friends ridicule her for wanting a boy’s role? Will her super talented friend, Eric, get the role just because he’s a boy? Follow Monica on her quest to play Santa Clause as she prepares for her audition, copes with her friends comments and questions, and ultimately follows her heart to be anything she wants to be.

One reviewer says: “As the tale unfolds, the reader learns about compassion, generosity and friendship.”

Get a FREE copy for Kindle.

Get a FREE copy for Nook.

Get a FREE copy for iPad.

Get it for 99 cents for Sony Reader.

Tweet

There’s nothing I enjoy more (okay, a few things, but this isn’t the place for that kind of talk) than a Kinsey Millhone mystery/crime/romance. This one had everything.

Kinsey is hired by a widower to look into the alleged suicide of his fiancé who was recently arrested for shoplifting when Kinsey caught her stuffing a lace teddy and two pair of silk pajamas in her bag at Nordstrom’s. What Kinsey uncovers about the woman’s past leads her to more than she ever thought and pulls the reader through a delicately woven plot of organized crime, dirty cops, blackmail, deceit, and romance.

The story opens on a spoiled college graduate, Phillip, with a penchant for gambling. Can he beat the system and pay back what he borrowed from a “financier” named Dante? Can he go to his parents for help?

Nora is an upscale housewife. When she discovers her husband cheating, she sets out to be prepared for the inevitable. While trying to sell an expensive ring, she meets an intriguing man. But is he a crime boss?

Dante runs his family business with an unusual moral code not common in the crime world. But, he’s under investigation and it looks like they might have him this time. Will Dante throw in the towel for a married women with a wandering husband? Will he leave the family business to Cappi, his bumbling thug of a brother?

How are all these lives tied together? It’s a mammoth web of intertwined lives with a full line-up of characters. Sue Grafton has outdone herself. I’ve loved all of the alphabet mysteries, but this one is by far my favorite.

Tweet

View all my reviews

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A sequel to the hilarious Mercury Falls, Mercury Rises gives readers a insightful backstory on Mercury and his relationship to Tiamat who vows to make Lucifer’s rebellion look like a toddler tantrum. I can see satan kicking and screaming now.

And who would have guessed the ark had a name? Noah makes a wonderful appearance with his big boat and been-cooped-up-too-long family and we learn what really happened to certain mystical creatures.

The apocalypse looms large yet again and much-loved characters return. This installment in Mercury’s story is rife with plot lines moving faster than a particle collider and more twists and turns than a Tawani mountain crevice.

Kroese’s whimsical version of Biblical events is pure genius. But will the world survive his next book? Beware the sparkly apples.

Tweet

View all my reviews

Who doesn’t enjoy a little deception? The third book in the Pink Carnation series was wonderfully entertaining.

The Emerald Ring introduces readers to more characters in the spy world of the 19th century. Letty Alsworthy joins the story in a fun twist on “wrong girl, right time.” Geoff Pinchingdale is the hero of this spy tale. Once in league with the Purple Gentian, he lacks the swagger of the aforementioned and the sardonic humor of Miles Dorrington (book 2), but he has many fine qualities, his poetry writing aside.

Old favorites are also in attendance. Henrietta is impersonating a bobble-head type lady with Miss Gwen in tow impersonating her aunt. And what reader doesn’t want to run out and buy a parasol after a few chapters of Miss Gwen? I’d love to read one of the novels she is forever working on. But, I digress. It seems everyone is someone they’re not in this volume, including our Letty Alsworthy. Is she a spy too?

The plot thickens around Lord Vaughn and the Black Tulip over the course of the book and there seems to be more questions than answers. A trait I love in a book as long as it isn’t the last one.

Things move forward, albeit slowly, for Eloise on the modern-day side of things. Her fidgety demeanor and obsessing about not obsessing over Colin are lighthearted and somber at the same time. This book didn’t give me enough of Eloise’s story, but thank goodness there’s another book.

Tweet

View all my reviews

The final installment in the Pox series is pure torment. You can’t stop yourself from turning the pages as fast as possible, but you fear the end as if Tommy has you by the shoulder. It’s like being shoved back and forth between Tommy and Ashley:

“I love it so much.” *crazy grin*
“I’m near the end!” *scream*
“I can’t stop reading, it’s so good.” *maniacal giggle*
“The end is close!” *scream*

Jenny meets Alexander Death (although they’ve met before) and he sets her on a path she hasn’t trod before. It’s interesting to see a character you already enjoy explore other aspects of who they are. Her behavior may seem a little odd at times, but she is being greatly affected by Alexander Death. As am I.

Alexander has powers like Jenny, Seth, Tommy, and Ashley. He has the power to command the dead. Think zombie puppets and you get the idea. He also has a different outlook on life and uses his gifts in unique ways. This takes our heroine to new life experiences, some good. Will Jenny follow Alexander into a new life full of possibility? Will she return to Seth? Ah, what’s a desirable, plague-infested girl to do?

As for this girl, I’ll just patiently wait for my Pox. There is so much more these characters can do. Let’s hope another trilogy is out there soon.

Tweet

View all my reviews

It was a friend I hadn’t seen in ages. I use “ages” to avoid giving away increments of time that can be compiled to determine my real age.

The funny part of this story is discovering she co-authored a book and she was holding a signing in the coffee shop. On the day my most recent children’s book hits cyber-shelves. It was kismet.

So, obviously, I bought the book, got it signed and it’s moved to the head of my reading list.

You can find it at Live Unbroken.