A long goodbye...

Years ago, I lost my dear little grandma to Alzheimers. She slipped away from us by inches, losing bits of herself each day. She sort of folded in--losing interest in those she loved and forgetting how much we loved her. It broke my mother's heart when she didn't know her at the last.

Our family is not unique. The Alzheimer's Association reports 5.3 MILLION Americans suffer from this disease--and over 200,000 of them are under age 65. It's the 6th leading cause of death. It has no cure. A lot of people know the pain of this long goodbye.

That's why I'm glad to announce I'll be part of a boxed set of stories to benefit Alzheimer's research. One of the great things about going to RWA Nationals was catching up with some of my writer buddies. Like the amazing Tammy Falkner. She writes the wildly popular young adult series based on the Reed brothers, who are tattoo artists. When she asked me to join her in this project, I jumped at the chance to contribute a short novella.

Here's the premise: My story is about Michael Evans, a character from the Coldwater Cove series, who finds himself in NYC getting a tattoo at a parlor where they're doing a reality TV show. He's Lacy's blacksheep brother. (You'll find Lacy's story in THE COLDWATER WARM HEARTS CLUB.) Michael will be the unlikely hero of MY BIG FAT COLDWATER WEDDING. Writing this short gives me a chance to explore a little of his backstory and learn why he left town. . He got into trouble--at home, in school, & with the law--almost constantly, but his grandmother was the only person who believed he'd amount to anything. Getting the tat is Michael's way to remember Gran and to mark a change in him.

The anthology, titled FORGET ME NOT, will be available in November and ALL proceeds will be donated to Alzheimer's research. I hope you'll enjoy these stories of remembrance and help us raise money to fight this horrible disease. Be sure to sign up for The Coldwater Warm Hearts Club newsletter to be notified when the set is available. 

Visiting the Big City

Can a hillbilly from the Ozarks find happiness in the Big Apple? 

I recently went to New York City for RWA Nationals and managed to answer that question. The visit started with a wonderful dinner on Wednesday with my hubby, my agent and my editor at The View, a rotating restaurant at the top of the Marriott Marquis at Times Square. It was on the 48th floor, so sometimes we were surrounded by taller structures, like the gleaming Chrysler Building. And sometimes, we had long views of the Hudson River with the green hills of New Jersey fading into the horizon.

The food was delicious and the company delightful. Spending time with Kensington editor, Alicia Condon and my dear agent Natasha Kern was a highlight of the whole trip. Writing is such a solitary activity, it's easy to lose perspective. It was wonderful to spend time with two souls who wholeheartedly believe in my Coldwater Cove stories!

The rest of the week was a blur of activity--workshops, networking and signings. Then on Saturday, I played hooky and the DH and I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I LOVE art, even if I don't always understand it. It nourishes something inside me.

Then later that evening, we went to see Penn & Teller's show on Broadway. They were just as entertaining as you might expect and a little more disturbing at times than I anticipated. I mean, they sawed a lady in half and didn't put her back together! (Don't worry. She did reappear in one piece later in the show.)

 That little mute guy can pull an audience in with just a smile. He made me laugh and I can't explain why.

Anyway, even though the city is an exciting place, by the time Sunday morning rolled around, we were ready to head for home. I found myself longing for a sky dark enough to see the stars. It was light enough to read outside on Times Square at any time, day or night. I wished I could hear individual footsteps on the sidewalk instead of the constant tramp of thousands of feet. I wanted a breath sweetened with the scent of freshly mown grass.

So can a hillbilly find happiness in the Big Apple? Yes. But only in small doses.

How about YOU? When you travel, long does it take you to become homesick?

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Because traveling with all my breathing gear is a little outside the box, I posted some of my experiences on Second Wind, my personal blog. If you're interested, pop on over. My goal is to encourage others who may be dealing with health or mobility issues.