Late Xmas Wishes & #COVERREVEAL

Do you remember? Those Christmases when you still believed. When you just knew you heard reindeer on the rooftop. A good snowfall meant a chance to get a ride on that old sled in the garage. Cookies, not calories, mattered. And the biggest problem you had was choosing which new toy to play with first. Do you remember what it felt like when your mind was innocent and light? My wish is that - if only for a moment - we each find that innocence again.

It isn't too late - is it? Another Xmas has come and gone. The New Year is in sight. I'll saddle up those wishes and cart them along as the calendar changes - as January bears down, and along with it a fresh set of ideals, hopes, expectations.

With that in mind I want to introduce you to the NEW and IMPROVED cover art for THE MAKING OF NEBRASKA BROWN. Have a look-see:

 

I'm super-pleased with how it turned out! Pick up your copy today at Amazon  and where all fine books are sold.

 

Peace and joy to all.



 

Best of 2014 Giveaway Hop

As we near the close of 2014, I'm excited to take part in this awesome giveaway celebrating the best books of the year! As a reader, I found some terrific new novels to add to my list of faves. And as a writer, I was fortunate enough to have three of my own books join the expansive literary landscape. I met lots of great people, made new friends (both real and fictional) and had a blast. The fun, as they say, has only just begun. In a few short weeks we will be revealing brand new cover art for
The Making of Nebraska Brown. So I do hope you will all stay close.

For those of you who haven't had a chance to pick up a copy of the story being called "Oz meets Tuscan Sun" we have TEN copies up for grabs! Check out some of what the readers have to say: http://getbook.at/nebraskabrown. Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter below (read more) for your chance win.

Have fun visiting all the other blogs participating. See here: http://www.linkytools.com/basic_linky_include.aspx?id=245387

Thanks for dropping by :)

Going Back to Peace

It has been nearly impossible to avoid. All the news stories, the headlines, the op-eds and the rants. Our nation is in turmoil. Folks are screaming about racism and rights, justice and brutality. In all, the unsettling nature of these past few months is cringe-worthy.

I'm not here to choose a side. Nor do I wish to shake my head in contempt.

I just want to go back.

Now more than ever, I want to be a child again. Maybe five or ten years old. When I didn't know the way things worked when things didn't work in this world. When I believed everyone was equally kind and intelligent. When I was ignorant to the ignorance. Back when I couldn't have imagined the subjective divide. Or the depth of the differences.

I just want to go back.

Some might say this shows a lack of empathy. Some may think my wish is a head-in-the-sand answer that won't solve anything. Yet I look around me at all the anger raging out of control. What good will come of it? I see fear disguised as false bravado. Accusations made without fact or merit. Furious voices pinned on high. What use is another? In this battle of who can shout the loudest - I'm whispering:

I just want to go back.

It would be dishonest of me to claim to be neutral. My feelings are very much engaged. I see a sad set of circumstances being contorted to fill a simmering pot of prejudice stew. In my mind, none of the events of the past few months is about any one particular hatred. Though I can understand that thinking. I can open my thoughts enough to see that clouded emotions and overwrought tensions are calling the shots.  But my heart insists that violence isn't an earned response. It's a prelude to an even greater divide. Wishing alone won't bring change. Asking people to choose their own words and actions with care won't mean that they will. Phrases like "respect for all" and "peace on earth" mean nothing if they aren't enacted. It's terribly frustrating. Scary, even.

I just want to go back.

But I can't. I'm fully grown. An adult. A mother. A shaper of two young minds that I brought into this mixed-up world. And those young minds are grown up now, too. I've heard many parents crying out in concern for the safety of their children. Yes, we are all worried. This anxiety isn't exclusive to any one race or religion. It's a human fear. Remember- if you will - if only for a moment - that the enforcers of the law have parents, too. In our quest for equality, please let us not stop short of any man or woman - even those who have chosen to protect and serve. Let us see each person without their labels. Just long enough to take a breath.

Because going back is not an option. We can only ever go forward. Not in disgust. Not with disdain or discord. So for now, in the spirit of all that is hopeful, and perhaps, sadly, just as unattainable -  I'll make a new wish..

I just want peace.