2012 IN REVIEW

I wrote a blog about 2011 Year In Review. We are a week into 2013! Last January began with a trip to Quartzite, Arizona boondocking, no electric or water, only my trusty generator and my friend, Vicki, her dog Tika, and hundreds of thousands of other RVers in the desert. A myriad of groups converged for their annual get - togethers; the WINS (Wandering Individual Network), The Elks, The Geocachers, The Escapees and their many individual chapters and the Good Sam RV Club with their various groups. Hundreds of families and friends gathered on Bureau of Land Management Land (BLM land), as they do every year, to experience this annual mecca to indulge in friendship and shopping.

I spent a day at the Oasis Bookstore’s Book Fair whose tanned nudist owner, Paul Winer, sports a big reputation not only for his collection of books in this small town, but mainly for his lack of attire.

Add There is another "side" to Paul Winer besides the obvious. In his younger life Paul was a male stripper in Canada and the US who performed boogie woogie music and was known as "Sweetie Pie." caption

Darlene Miller and me showcasing our books.

I was drawn to Stu Campbell's table because he had a hat bigger than mine. His "voice " in the series of short stories about cowboy life in Colorado is as true to life as his stories. A humorous look at the western side of life, I found his book "HORSING AROUND A LOT" not only funny but made me feel like in was in the saddle riding along. I can't wait to read the rest of the series. He has a new book coming out, "COMEDY IN THE CORRAL."

Inside the Oasis Bookstore

 

 

Steady traffic flowed through the bookstore that typical sunny day in January 2012. I talked shop with many talented authors and members of the Penwheels Club another RV club of wandering writers. One member, Darlene Miller, author of RV CHUCKLES AND CHUCKHOLES became a dear friend.

In February I attended a huge Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA) Rally in Indio, California and presented my writing workshop. An attendee of my workshop, Mark Sickman, became another acquaintance and asset to my writing career eventually writing a raving review of my book, COAST TO COAST WITH A CAT AND A GHOST that appeared in the Roadtrek Magazine.

I spent the entire month of March on the road, traveling to Yuma, Arizona to conduct two seminars at a Good Sam Rally and another at a Gypsy Journal Rally. It was there I met Nick Russel, author-editor and owner of the GYPSY JOURNAL who became instrumental in jump starting the sales of COAST TO COAST WITH A CAT AND A GHOST by mentioning the book on his blog. Until then it had been on the market almost nine months and the sales only trickled.

 

I got to watch the Air Force demonstrate their military dogs.This dog was the sweetest dog until it got out on the field and went to work, then you better not be on her bad side.

I learned how to make a "Whatdinger" at the Yuma rally.

A "Whadinger" is dough mashed around a wooden dowl and cooked over coals, then stuffed. . Here they were stuffed with strawberries and cream, but I imagined scrambled egss and bits of sausge would be good too.

After Yuma I traveled to Pahrump, Nevada with a stop-over at Parker, Arizona. My new friend, Darlene Miller became my tour guide of the area since she called it her home in the winter.

Parker Dam, Parker, Arizona

The London Bridge, Lake Havasu, Arizona


 

 In Pahrump I conducted two more seminars at another Good Sam rally and a Winnebago Rally, adding to my wealth of readers, authors and friends.  By the time I returned at the end of March, book sales were gaining in momentum.

At home, throughout the rest of the year, several libraries and bookstores invited me for book signings and workshops. Meanwhile I worked feverishly on my second book, GOING HOME WITH A CAT AND A GHOST, while working at my grooming shop, the CANINE BEAUTY SALON in Sun City, California.

Attending the Santa Barbara Writers Conference in June was an invaluable experience. I participated in pirate workshops, listened to inspiring and entertaining speakers and seminars. I  had my manuscripts critiqued by agents from the big publishers and met countless editors, teachers and aspiring writers I will always remember for their bits of wisdom and camaraderie.

I took my first kayaking lesson on my sixty-sixth birthday.

 

INVISIBLE HEROES now consumes my time like the others did in their infancy. I don’t have the luxury of drawing from my past or inventing a pretty story for this book. Researching the subject of this book is critical.  Although fictional, it will be based on the real life of veterans and their dogs as well as the trainers. Anxiety for getting the story right looms over my shoulder, but I write on.

 

And now as I write this I gaze out my motor home window at the  I have traveled once again, with the ghost and the cat from the Pacific to the Atlantic and will be heading home soon. The ghost is quiet and content and the cat is a seasoned traveler. The people and adventures will probably settle within the pages of some future book, because I write about what I love.

Because of all of you, my readers, fans and friends, both books are doing very well on Amazon. They zigzag but maintain their ranking in in the top ten percent amongst the two million books in Amazon’s book store. I keep on writing hoping to make the next book more memorable and more meaningful than the last.

Happy New Year. Thank you.