The End!

At 8:34 PM on Sunday, July 19th, sitting in my RV in Walnut Point State Park in Oakland, Illinois, I penned the magic words every author loves to write: THE END.

Adam’s Daughters is finished and ready for the final rounds of editing, which include editing by my editor Lillie Ammann, a read-aloud edit by the two of us, and feedback from advance readers.

Although I do extensive research, I take this extra step to ensure the history, genealogy, and geography in the story are as accurate as possible. My advance readers are people who have knowledge of those topics, and I appreciate their input.

Adam’s Daughters will be ready for sale in the fall. I hope you’ll be reading it then.

On the Road in an “Awesome Rig”

Lulubelle and I travel in an RV. There are three great reasons we travel the most expensive way there is (especially with today’s gas prices):

• We never have to worry about whether a hotel will welcome Lulubelle—she’s always welcome in our home on the road.
• We can stop in places like the Davy Crockett Birthplace State Park for me to write on Adam’s Daughters until we’re ready to move on to our next stop, in this case, the 103rd Galbreath Family Reunion. The descendants of William Galbreath are also descendants of Adam Mitchell, the hero of Spring House.
• We get to meet friendly people and their wonderful pets, and Lulubelle and I just love that.

We’re very proud of our rig. We’ll have to take some pictures of the trailer to show later, but for now, you can see the back window of the truck in this autographed picture of Lulubelle.  

The trailer has Westward Sagas on the front back, 8′ wide x 5′ tall, so even driving at highway speeds, folks can’t miss it coming or going. A picture of Lulubelle and me decorates the spare wheel.

Just in the few days we’ve been on the road this trip, several people have contacted me as a result of seeing us. Judy left a comment on an earlier post after she and her jack russell met us at a campground, and Doris e-mailed:

Just wanted to say Hi. Passed your awesome rig today near Greenville SC. 

One time when we were traveling, I got a call on my cell phone from a man who said, “Do you have any books for sale?”

I answered, “Yes, I’ll be glad to ship you a book, but I’m away and won’t be back in my office for a few days.”

He said, “I know. I’m in the RV parked next to you. I got your office phone number from your rig, and the lady who answered the phone in your office gave me your cell phone number. Can I come over and buy a book now?”

Most times, folks just come up and knock on the door. I’ve sold a lot of books to fellow campers and people I’ve met while traveling.

So if you see a rig with Westward Sagas in huge letters across the front and back, wave to Lulubelle and me, comment on the blog, send us an e-mail … or just walk over, knock on the door, and say “hi.”

Interview at WhoHub

Do you know about WhoHub?

Whohub is a directory of interviews with professionals in the fields of communication, arts, humanities, technology, marketing, and any other activity with a creative flair.

You can read individual interviews, or you can read all the answers to individual questions, for example, all the answers from writers about their creative process.

I hope you’ll stop by and read my interview. You just might learn something new about me.

Happy Independence Day!

Lulubelle and I are ready to set out on our Fourth of July adventure.

Lulubelle loves Independence Day. She even marched in a Fourth of July parade in Canyon, Texas  when she was only six months old, and she’s always proud to wear the colors of our country.

This year I’ll be participating in a patriotic event at Fort Sam Houston. Being president of the San Antonio Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution gives me the opportunity to show my patriotism in a variety of ways.

Lulubelle and I both come by our patriotism and love of this country naturally, I guess. My family have loved and lived in this country for generations. My ancestor Adam Mitchell fought in the Revolutionary War. You can read the whole story in Spring House: Book 1 in the Westward Sagas. Imagination, poetic license, or wishful thinking, Lulubelle’s ancestor, also named Lulubelle, is part of the Mitchell family in Adam’s Daughters: Book 2 in the Westward Sagas, coming soon.

Lulubelle and I hope you’re enjoying a safe and happy Fourth of July weekend and that you remember what we are celebrating: The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America, IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776.

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.