Taking the Steer by the Horns

I spent the past weekend in the Lone Star state of Texas, working with my partner at Progressive Rising Phoenix Press, Amanda Thrasher. Not only was it a nice treat to experience much warmer weather than what we’ve had during this frigid and snowy Illinois winter, but it was great to get away for a few days. We spent three days crossing action items off a hefty “to do” list, and we did much brainstorming in  between the items on our agenda. We threw out ideas and built on them as we tossed them back and forth.

 

We also met with other PRPP authors who were local to the Fort Worth area, or at least more local than Illinois. It was a great opportunity to get to know these people, whom I had only met via phone or e-mail. Meeting and working face to face sure beats trying to conduct all our business over the phone or e-mail. However, since my partner lives in Texas, travel expenses prohibit us from meeting more regularly. Still, we made the most of our time together. Of course, you can’t travel to another state without having a little fun sightseeing with a local. We spent part of Sunday visiting Fort Worth’s famous Stockyards. In addition to checking out some of the area’s historic features, we also had fun being tourists posing for pictures and purchasing a few souvenirs for our children.

 

Though I grew up on a farm, and we raised shorthorn cattle, it was a novelty for me to climb onto a longhorn steer to have my picture taken. Luckily the steer was tame and used to cooperating for pictures. I wouldn’t have attempted otherwise. After watching longhorn steers parade down the main thoroughfare, we sampled some Texas cuisine – al fresco to boot! Despite having fun during our Stockyards side trip, we managed to continue our brainstorming session. When we left our short visit, we felt revitalized and ready to move forward with implementation of our new ideas.

 

The next morning we rose early to drive to the airport, but the half hour trip turned into a traffic jam, and we were stuck in traffic for two hours. I arrived at the airport as my scheduled flight was ready to depart, so I had to stick around the airport for an extra six hours until the next flight to Moline. I had plenty to occupy me, so I kept busy answering e-mails, reviewing the final, edited manuscript of my first novel, When Nature Calls, and writing my acknowledgments, back cover text, bio, and other items to be completed before layout. Although I was anxious to return home to see my family, the extra time at the airport gave me a chance to concentrate on my tasks, and I was hopeful the bad weather that was hitting home, and the resulting road conditions, would have improved before I landed. The time passed quickly, and my flight was on time. I made it to Moline at dusk. Unfortunately I had left my wool jacket in Amanda’s car in my haste to make it to my earlier flight on time. I dug around in my suitcase and found my lighter fleece jacket, which helped keep me warm while I roamed the parking lot in search of my car. Luckily I’d written down the row and found it relatively quickly. Despite the nasty, frigid temperatures, my car started without problems, and I didn’t get stuck in the pile of snow surrounding my car.

The roads were in decent shape, and I covered the sixty miles home fairly quickly. It was great to arrive home, safe and sound, to my family.  We accomplished so much book work over the weekend. I came home feeling ready to Take the Steer by the Horns. I decided to update all four of my Rachel Raccoon & Sammy Skunk books, fixing some things that had been bugging me for some time.  Since I'm late in posting this, I've already edited them, had the layout changed, and uploaded the new files. I've submitted the manuscript and other items for the layout of When Nature Calls. I’m so excited about my own novel’s imminent release.

New Things for a New Year

 

One morning right before New Year’s Eve I was driving to work. The weather was frigid, and the roads were extremely slick. It was even cold inside my car; my driver’s side window was frosted on the inside, and my front windshield was splattered with road salt. Despite my impaired vision, I was still on the lookout for my favorite winter wildlife, bald eagles. I was headed south out of Wyanet and crossing over the Hennepin Canal, one of my preferred eagle sighting areas. Sure enough, I spotted a black and white beauty, soaring straight above my car. I craned my neck and slowed my speed, trying to keep my car on the road, as I gazed as long as I could at this majestic creature. Often times I’ve seen several eagles at one time roosting or flying near this location; however, this time there was only one. Still, it was enough for me. That lone eagle gave me inspiration not only for the day but for the rest of the year. Okay, there were only a couple of days left in 2013, but it got me to thinking about the New Year.

 

Why would an eagle inspire me? When I was a child it was unheard of to see a bald eagle locally. I saw my first bald eagle in the wild about fourteen years ago. Now I may see several at once during the winter months. I can’t believe how much their numbers have increased in that short of timeframe. We must be doing something right, and that makes me feel more optimistic.

 

I can’t believe 2014 is here already. I’m not one who enjoys ringing in the New Year.  I think the years fly by entirely too quickly, and I’m not enthusiastic about celebrating the end of one. New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day mark the end of a hectic holiday season, and I prefer to stay home and relax. In some regards it’s nice to get back to normal, but I miss all the fun, festivities, and traditions of Christmas.  Taking down the Christmas decorations is a bit depressing. Those lovely little twinkle lights and candles make our house look so pretty, and it looks stark when they’re put away for the season.

 

But once I get past January first and back on a more normal schedule, I reflect on the past year and look ahead to the New Year. I'm continuing to promote my Rachel Raccoon and Sammy Skunk books, but there's something New to add for 2014. Soon my newest work, "When Nature Calls" will be available. It's my first attempt at writing a  novel, and I've learned so much from this experience and have had a ball writing and editing it. I hope to continue writing several more cozy mysteries in The Nature Station Mystery Series. 2014 is also chock full of new releases and submissions at the small publishing firm I own and operate with my business partner, Amanda Thrasher. So while I'm sad to have 2013 behind me, and almost the end of January, I'm optimistic about what the future holds and can't wait to announce the release of "When Nature Calls".  

A Great Trip to the Great Lake!

It’s become a tradition in my family to take a short trip during Columbus Day weekend. My daughters have a four day break from school, so it’s the perfect opportunity to escape for a couple of days. We usually head north to Wisconsin, which was the case for this year’s trip. In a mere four hours we reached our destination of Port Washington, which was perfect, since we got a great deal on a room, and it was close to where we wanted to visit.  Other than getting a late start and having to sit in Milwaukee’s Friday evening rush hour traffic for an hour, our drive north went smoothly. We checked into our hotel early that evening and decided to drive a few blocks east to get our first real glimpse of Lake Michigan. 

We drove around the downtown area, checking for possible dinner destinations, and parked near the marina. Though the evening was cool, with the sun was starting to set, we walked around the pristine park-like paths. My daughters were mesmerized by the fishy smell, boats, people fishing off the docks, and of course, Lake Michigan itself.

Saturday was the day we were planning to explore two state parks to the north, which is what we did, despite the rainy weather. Wisconsin needed the rain as much as Illinois did, so I was glad they received some, but I wished the rain could have waited a few hours! I love Lake Michigan, and all of the Great Lakes.  I never grow tired of seeing the vast blue amazing splendor. I jokingly call the lakes “Midwestern Oceans”, since they seem so endless.

The first park we visited was Kohler – Andrae State Park, located near Sheboygan. If you enjoy camping, this would be a great place to pitch your tent. For those staying for the day, there are plenty of natural areas to explore, including a few miles of lakefront beach and associated sand dunes. While it would have been pleasant to visit the lake on a warm and sunny day, like the last time we visited, the threatening gray skies and white-capped, crashing waves were breathtaking. After spending time on the beach, we trekked inland to explore the sand dune trails and saw more spectacular vistas. Of course, we also saw a variety of trees including various evergreen conifers and stunning multi-hued deciduous trees. 

In retrospect, we should have spent the rest of our time hiking in Kohler-Andrae State Park, but instead, we decided to drive farther north to Point Beach State Park, near Two Rivers. This park contains even more miles of lakefront beach, an original Civilian Conservation Corps building, and an authentic light house. However, as we entered the park, the storm decided to really hit. We spent a short time on the beach and became thoroughly soaked in the process. The girls begged to stay longer, but we’d had enough of the cool, windy, wet afternoon. We ran back to the parking lot and navigated the rest of the park from the cozy confines of the van.

The next day was stunningly bright after the previous day’s stormy weather. Even though we drove the interstate all the way home, the scenery was beautiful, almost as if the fall foliage had become more colorful in the short time that had elapsed from our journey north. Even though we were only gone 48 hours, it was enough time to see some gorgeous scenery, spend some time together as a family, and temporarily forget the stress of our daily lives.  However, one of the best things about the trip was watching my young daughters not only enjoy, but get excited about, experiencing the beautiful scenery, despite the stormy weather. That's an important reason why I write Rachel Raccoon and Sammy Skunk books -- to help children and their families learn about nature and enjoy being outdoors. Maybe my next book will be "Rachel and Sammy Visit the Great Lakes"!

 

When Nature Calls

Vacations are my favorite summer pastime, starting with the first trip I took as child to taking my own children on our annual summer vacation.  I’m often reminded of vacations past, those fun weeks camping with my parents, brother, and sister. We saw beautiful sites, despite a few bumpy roads along the way, and I want my own daughters to experience many of those places firsthand. Luckily, my daughters enjoy travel just as much as me.

As we traveled through Wisconsin on the way to our final destination in Minnesota for this year’s vacation, I was dazzled by the spectacular views of rolling farmland, forested hills interspersed with marshy wetlands, and even a couple of cranberry bogs. The perfect weather made the scenery even more breathtaking, with its resulting bright, blue skies and puffy, white clouds. We sped along Interstate 94, trying to make time, but I knew that the back road scenery would be even more impressive. With pristine rest stops situated every hour up the road, we stopped to stretch our legs, and at one stop, we even took a brisk hike along a trail lined with white pines and several oak species.

My husband drove while I navigated. In between route changes and rest stops, I typed away on my laptop, making use of some rare downtime to review and edit my latest work in progress, When Nature Calls. I’m really excited about my newest book, the first book in the Nature Station Mystery Series. While writing a cozy mystery is a far cry from the Rachel Raccoon and Sammy Skunk educational children’s books I’ve already written, both series focus on nature. When Nature Calls is a fictional book, but hopefully readers will enjoy learning tidbits about nature, while they attempt to solve the murder mystery.

I can’t wait for this book to be finalized and released, but I know I must be patient, as I finish self-editing it before sending it to a professional editor. Layout will follow, and I’m anxious to see the book cover, which will feature two of my own photos. I already have ideas for my second book, A Natural Selection, and can’t wait to start writing it.

Nature’s beauty inspires me to write and photograph, and nature is the main theme of all my books. Everything is connected in the natural world, and there are many natural cycles. The same is true with my life. One thing is relates to another, and what goes around comes around. I believe that life is a journey, and travel plays a large role in my life. I love to see new places and experience new cultures. Reading, writing and publishing books is also a journey, and it’s hard for me to imagine my life without the ability do these things, since they help enlarge my mind and world. I like to think that my appreciation for nature and writing began on those early family summer vacations and hope that my daughters will gain something from our trips as well.