Hello 2014! It’s so nice to see you.

I have to admit the year has been more than screwy so far. I was working on a ship out of New York the whole month of December, and on January 5th, I tried to board my hour-long flight from New York to Detroit to get home…but…2 cancellations, 3 delays, 1 missed flight, 3 states, 42 hours, and a partridge in a pear tree later, I finally arrived. Yes, I’m complaining, but not as hard as the folks I spoke with on Monday night in Minneapolis (don’t ask me how I got there) who were trying to get home to Toronto since Thursday. I hope everyone finally made it to their destination and is recovering from the experience. P.S. I’m still searching for my luggage. 😛

The most exciting part of the trip was a medical emergency on the ship in the middle of the Atlantic, which caused the Coast Guard to fly out and airlift someone. If you look under the helicopter in this photo, you’ll see the Coast Guard guy coming down onto the ship on a rope. Just another gig for these guys. They are amazing! I’ll tell you what though…they lifted the sick person into the helicopter, strapped on to a stretcher. If the person didn’t already have a heart attack, he probably did during that lift. Note: I spoke with a Coast Guard person while sitting in the airport (see above paragraph) and he said there is no cost for a person to be rescued at sea. Thank goodness. That would probably cause a heart attack also.

So, in December, my book Okatibbee Creek came out on audio. It’s available at Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. It was narrated by the amazing actress Margaret Lepera. If you’re not familiar with the story, it’s the life story of my third great grandmother, and hearing her voice come to life takes my breath away. You can listen to a sample clip at any of the above links. Check it out.

Also, my cover for An Orphan’s Heart, created by Elite Book Design, moved into the finals at AuthorsdB Book Cover Contest. It is in the Top 10 in the ‘Overall’ category. That’s like ‘Cover of the Year’ or something. The winners will be announce in February. Wish me luck!

While I was away, I finished writing Savannah’s Bluebird, which is coming out in February, and I’m very excited about it. I had tea every Tuesday morning at Port Canaveral with the dolphins in the inlet. You can’t see them in the photo, but trust me, they’re there. I also partied for five weeks with the casts of Rock of Ages and Second City and am enamored by those awesomely talented people. It was a great trip. I’ll be sailing out of Miami to the Caribbean the month of March. I’m hoping for a better flight experience. 🙂

I may not post a lot this month as I’m opening a new dueling piano club in Grand Rapids, Michigan starting TONIGHT, then working in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for a couple weeks. I promise I’ll be back full time in February.

Stay warm! and I’ll talk to y’all soon. ♥