Summer Fun

The heat of the desert has descended fully upon us, and Arizona - especially the Phoenix area - has gone into winter mode... that's what I like to call it anyway. This is the time of year where us residents hide indoors. Even our pools are too warm to enjoy unless you swim really early in the morning. With another week or so before the monsoon hits, we have to suffer through days over 110 degrees. People, it's just hot!

With my lament passing, I thought I would talk a little about what I've been doing while hiding in the house. Of course I'm writing every day, but with my children home on summer break I have to come up with fun and exciting things to keep them from strangling one another. Yesterday was the opening day of Transformers: Dark of the Moon. This third installment of the movie series is a must for my family. It starts back in the 80's. When the cartoon came out, my little brother (who is no longer little!) was completely hooked. My treat to him was to take him to the movie when it first came out in 1986. In 2007, he repaid the favor by taking my children to see it. The Transformers are just a part of our family now.

So we have faithfully watched them all. In fact, my youngest has been watching the DVDs non-stop for the past week, and she wants to see the movie again. The idea of sitting in a cool, air-conditioned theater suddenly didn't seem so bad, even though the movie is well over two hours.

So how was the movie? Better than the second but still not as good as the first. That's my take on it anyway. The big hype, of course, is how Megan Fox was replaced. Well, they made the replacement feasible - after all, he lives back east now and just graduated college - but her replacement just seemed better suited to Patrick Duffy's character than Shia LaBeouf's. Just my opinion... and I, of course, am a woman. Did the kids like it? Sure. Would we see it again? Most likely.

When I told my brother that we were watching the movie without him, he made a comment that seemed to completely fit with what the Transformers franchise must be banking on. The cartoon was geared for those kids of the 80's. In 2007, they came out with the re-make. Those kids were now enticed to see their favorite cartoon characters (and Megan Fox too!) as adults. Now it seems their kids are coming out too. Will Transformers last forever? If they keep making these movies with such spectacular special effects, I can't see why not. With such great driving, entertaining robots, amazing special effects, and of course the pretty woman to entice male movie-goers, it's bound to be a hit. Would I recommend it? I already have!

Forever Sunshine Book Signing at Camelback Toyota a Success!

Forever Sunshine Book Signing at Camelback Toyota a Success!

When most people think of an automobile dealership, they think either of buying a new/used car or taking their existing one in for service. Either way, the experience is not always high up there on the list of things most people want to do on a Saturday morning. It’s more of a chore! For those of you not from the Arizona area, you may not be used to the size of the newer dealerships. Camelback Toyota, for instance, has a child’s play place, a café, a private lounge upstairs with massage chairs, and now even author visits to entertain their customers! How cool is that? Now Camelback Toyota wants to show their support to the community, and boy did they ever yesterday! Supporting me, a local artist, a neighboring restaurant, and of course their favorite charity. It was quite a day!

I have to say that I had a blast meeting everyone yesterday. It was a great turnout, with employees as well as customers coming to say hello. There was a lot of interest, and I answered a ton of questions about the story and my future projects. All in all, successful! However, the biggest kudos still must go to Camelback Toyota. They went all out in putting this author appearance together and making it such a success. I want to extend my deepest thanks to them. First for hosting me and allowing me to show my work; second, for inviting Bluewater Grill to serve up clam chowder; and third, for accepting donations for my book to give to the Crisis Nursery – their charity of choice.

I have to say that the day itself was a frenzy of activity. Not just on my part, where I met and signed for plenty of people in the five hours I was there, but also for the hardworking employees there. The Café started even before I got there, giving away free coffee and Danish. At 11 am the barbecue started. One of the sweetest customers actually ran out front to get me a hot dog (thank you for that!) and drink. Then at noon Bluewater Grill arrived and served up free clam chowder from noon to 2 pm. At 2 pm, I packed up and made my way home. Talk about a party!

My biggest hope is that we can do it again. A lot of customers commented to me that chatting with me was more fun than just sitting in the waiting room waiting for the work on their car to be done J. I tend to agree too! Instead of going into a dealership and waiting, how about going into a dealer and meeting an author, or a painter, or a sculptor, or a photographer? Hmmm, maybe there’s more work to do. Maybe that’s a great idea! We’ll just have to wait and see…

To view the photos from yesterday's book signing, please click below:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.122835837801155.31688.100002242193470&l=b50460ba7c

Attention all Phoenix book lovers!

On Saturday, June 18th, join me in a meet and greet at Camelback Toyota!

Location:

1550 E. Camelback Road
Phoenix, AZ 85014

Time:

9 am to 2 pm

Camelback Toyota has asked me to join them for a day, and they are even giving away the first 50 copies of Forever Sunshine for free!

I look forward to seeing some friendly faces on Saturday!

Family Vacation

I just had to take a side trip down a personal path this week. I have neglected my blog recently because I have been on the most incredible vacation ever! Whoever has not yet been to Colorado should try to make a trip out this way. It is so beautiful here, and I am enjoying every minute.

With that being said, I also have to say that during my family vacation, I have been spending time with my family instead of writing (shame on me!), but it has been well worth it. When they say a picture is worth a thousand words, they were not kidding. I’ll post some of the lovely photos to prove my point.

When I do get back home, I’ll definitely write more about the book. In the meantime, enjoy the photographs of what one friend called “God’s country”.

We have the Rocky Mountain National Park. The road was just opened Monday to travel across the peaks. In some spots the snow was easily 10 feet deep! However, it is melting quickly, and the lower meadows are more bog-like than summer-green. That does not seem to bother the wildlife, though. We have had a blast seeing fluffy mountain goats and scruffy elk. An occasional moose as well as the 'whistling pig' (a marmot) have made this trip educational and awe inspiring.