WRITING SEMINARS & BOOK FAIRS

Reminiscing about 2013 occupied so much of my thoughts I forgot to give everyone heads up about upcoming events in 2014.

I will be giving a FREE seminar Monday night, January 6^th, 7pm at the Ovitt Community Library in Ontario, Ca. Don’t miss an opportunity to emerge from isolation out into the world of other writers. Even if you are only thinking about writing, this seminar will inspire you …get the creative juices flowing. There will be handouts and autographed books available.

 

 

Are you an RVer, or a wanna be RVer? Check out the Family Motor Coach Association Rally at the Indio fairgrounds in California January 8^th through the 12^th. You don’t have to be a member or own an RV in order to attend. The rally is open to the public.  Everything for and about RVs and the RV lifestyle will be available at this rally. It is one of the largest rallies in the southwest region. It is not a sales lot, though there will be plenty of RVs to drool over. There will be seminars and demonstrations covering any questions you might have about recreational vehicles and the RV lifestyle.

Have you ever thought about writing?

That’s the title of my seminar I’ll be presenting at the rally on Thursday January 9^th at 9am.Did you know that 20% of the population has thought about writing?  I’ll cover the basics of how I became entrenched in this career and became a top ranking Amazon author, earning money on the road. When I presented this seminar two years ago and it was a hit. The seminar is FREE. I hope to see you there.

And finally, whether or not you have the RV fever, come to Quartzite, Arizona after Indio. Quartzite, Arizona is the RVer’s mecca. Once a year, the little town whose population is less than 2000, becomes a BIG, little town during January boasting  a temporary population of over a million, mostly RVers.

 

Quartzite is a shopper’s mecca. If you like to shop for anything or everything, this is the place to be. The phenomenon is undescribable…it must be experienced.

 Experiencing The Readers Oasis Bookstore is a must. The owner, Paul Winer was known as “Sweetie Pie” in his younger days as a strip dancer in Canada. These days Paul is known as the desert’s naked bookstore owner and operates his bookstore as naked as the law will allow.  Click on the link below to watch the video of his store. Nakedness aside, Paul has an amazing collection of rare books and hard to find editions.
the Readers Oasis Bookstore

 

Paul hosts an Authors Fair every year in January. I participated two years ago and  enjoyed meeting  many other authors. The attendance was great because many come by to see the “main attraction.”  I hope to spend a day or two at the Authors Fair.

 

So there you have it. January 2014. Stay tuned because in March I will be in  the Authors Pavilion   at  the  TUSCON FESTIVAL OF BOOKS.

WRAPPING UP ANOTHER YEAR.

Happy Holidays to one and all!.

Wow! Another year is wrapping up. One of my favorite things this time of the year is gathering  up the memories of places I’ve visited and people I’ve met along this exciting road I’m traveling.

 

 Christmas Eve 2012. I fixated on the weather channel and thought of other childhood Christmas Eves when I listened with anticipation for the clatter on the roof top to see what was the matter. No hint of peppermint candy or stockings hung with care flavored my excitement this night, only dread clogged in my head. Santa was riding   on the winds of a tornado that night but   missed our campground in Summerdale, Alabama by thirty miles, touching down in Mobile instead.

Whoever or whatever controlled the winds and tides, spared Sportster and me the tornado experience saving it for a future date, perhaps?  2013 arrived on well paved roads and blue skies.

I consumed over fifteen hundred hours of 2013 researching and writing my next book, Invisible Heroes. I began, gung ho, ready to interview vets with service dogs and post-traumatic stress disorders, never considering these obvious facts: Most veterans acquired a service dog because strangers are discomforting and strangers wanting to discuss their personal feelings and wartime experiences are the worst. And I knew nothing about the military. Up until now, perhaps like many Americans, I had not given much thought to our veterans. When the subject came up, of course I was grateful for their sacrifice, just not aware of how great.

No matter how difficult the task, those who know me will say, “Judy’s no quitter.” Like the winds of fate amazing people have led me along this path of discovery.

In the beginning, Luis Carlos Montalvan , author of, Until Tuesday, affected me like a funnel cloud.

 Luis swept me up into this intense, heart wrenching subject and fused my determination to bring to the public’s attention   to this tragedy that is killing over twenty veterans a day after they return home.

I initiated my research, spending hours at The Laundered Mutt and Training Center. The owners, Kat and Mike, allowed me access to   hours of training classes. They introduced me to Mario Borregos, a veteran who had just acquired his service dog, Sierra.

 

 So honored to meet them, my emotions choked me and I was speechless.

Traveling in Florida I met Kevin Crowell and his dog Bella at an Elks club in St. Augustine. Kevin, like Mario, was eager to spread the word about the benefits of a service dog. 

 

 

 

 

 Now a year later, as a team, Kevin & Bella pose at their graduation.

 

 Kevin received Bella through the phenomenal efforts of Shari Duval, president of the K9s For Warriors  in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

During my endless hours of research, I attended an open house for the Canine Companions For Independence  located in Oceanside, Ca. Everyone knows New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz . Koontz jumped away from his normal genre and wrote A Big Little Life the story of Trixie a dog from Canine Companions For Independence or CCI for short. Koontz has donated millions over the years to CCI. Above is a photo of Jeanne and Heather, a hearing dog and graduate of CCi.

My book, Invisible Heroes,   is nearing completion. As the publishing date approaches, like every author I know, my stomach clenches with doubts and insecurities. Whoever said writing was easy?


My “service cat” Sportster, soothes my nerves and pushes the laptop lid closed when he senses I need a break from my own mind.  Whatever winds and tides sweep through these final months of completion, Sportster and I weathered 2013 and we
will persevere.

We are a team.