I'm shown here with Anne Beyerle, President of the Vero GFWC

What fun it is for an author to speak to such a delightful audience as the ladies of the Vero Beach Women's Club. Not only did they regale me with lots of applause, laughter, nods of agreement and smiles, but they also provided a delicious lunch with an easy-on-the-conscience three-point weight-watchers cake for desert. What more could I ask?

I in turn, shared stories about my Southern heritage, my always funny, always inspiring Mama, and the events that enable me to create the stories readers so readily relate to their own lives.

I also talked about the true-story behind “Cracks in the Sidewalk” the novel that received the 2009 Royal Palm Literary Award from the Florida Writer’s Association. I explained that this story came to me as a part of a tragedy that took place in the life of a dear friend and how I held the story in my heart for nearly ten years before summoning the courage to write about it. A good part of why I did that is because this is in some ways a sad story, but in the end the tale is life affirming. It’s the type of story that proves how much a single person can change the lives of so many others.

A number of listeners wanted to know what I was working on right now.I  mentioned that  What Matters Most and Spare Change are both ready for publication, but the date has not yet been established and asked who would like to be notified when the books go to press. Lots of hands shot up into the air!

My current project has been and for the immediate future will continue to be the collection of family stories and inspirational thoughts currently being published on the blog. A lot of these are stories near and dear to my heart…stories of my own childhood, my friends, and the things of life that inspire me most. I have been extremely blessed to live the life I live and nothing brings me more joy than sharing it with my readers.

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