​This week has been busy also with babysitting, reading to over 40 children at an author visit at a daycare, and attending the Author Showcase in Sapulpa, Oklahoma. Not to mention, my birthday is fast approaching. I will be an older decade. I will tell you though, I realize I do not have the energy of these children but I thoroughly love “being a kid at heart” and will continue as long as I can to “make a difference in the lives of children” by continuing to provide quality children’s books that  “come from the heart”,  provide the literary elements and themes for children to learn from, continuing promoting being a military Veteran, and encouraging children to read and write more.
 
During the daycare visit, I had the opportunity to read to 3–5-year-olds in the morning. They are so funny and enjoyable to read to. I use a lot of props with this age and interactive activities since the attention span is usually short. I read my book , “Did You Come Home for Lunch” which by the way will be on display in a couple of weeks at the Miami Book Fair which I am excited since it has been to San Diego Festival of Books, Times Square in New York with my publisher , and now on to Miami, Florida Book Fair.

​I came back in the afternoon to read to the school age children which consisted of children from four elementary schools. I really enjoyed the “Ask the Author” segment and reading my book, “Nicoli Picoli!” and “It Happens.”   This group of children was an amazing group to have the opportunity to read to. 

​ The event was held at the Sapulpa Library with 11 other authors besides me. The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (https://www.scbwi.org/) provided a panel discussion for authors and the public who attended.

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​Next, I was up on stage as the first of the 12 authors to read their work for five minutes each. Then, the public was invited to go shopping at each author’s table and speak with the authors. I ended up meeting someone there that I have been collaborating with about coming to speak to their reading group in Feb. 2025. It was a fun event that I thoroughly enjoyed, and it was a road trip since Sapulpa is over an hour away from where I live.

​Next stop is the upcoming “Picklemas” event all about pickles which fits nicely with my themed book, “Nicoli Picoli!”  in Edmond, Oklahoma on November 30th and the final event in December, “Christmas in the Park” at Choctaw Creek Park in Choctaw, Oklahoma on December 14th, 2024. 

​Boy, what a busy year! I have attended close to 50 events this year. I am excited to see what journey lies ahead for me in 2025 regarding events I will attend such as the Virtual Author Festival in February and the Books by the Bay Festival in Pensacola, Florida in March. I better get busy pre-planning the first quarter of 2025.

​What does “collaboration” mean in the author world? For me this week, I collaborated with two vendors and one non-profit Adult Day Care for Veterans. This was a busy week from Sept. 22-28th, 2024. I had two events going on this week. Also, I was collaborating with other vendors online to work on a new logo and formatting my new 11th children’s book which is set to release this month. Authors are always busy behind the scenes working on different projects in writing, editing, formatting, publications, and marketing.

​FRIDAY NIGHTS IN THE PARK
 
I participated in the last Friday Nights in the Park event at Choctaw Creek Park in Choctaw, OK. In addition to selling, I was also promoting “Home Away from Home,” an adult Veteran Administration approved Adult Daycare located in Midwest City, Oklahoma. I was selling ceramics that Veterans had painted.

​SATURDAY CRAFT FAIR AT CHOCTAW UNITED METHODIST CHURCH IN CHOCTAW, OK
 
This was a long but rewarding day of selling my books I wrote and promoting “Home Away from Home” Adult Day Care by selling Veteran made ceramic items. I met so many people at the craft fair.
 
 So, authors collaborate with vendor coordinators, other authors, and other vendors. It is always good to free up my time to focus on writing as other vendors are working on my marketing and publication projects. This is what “collaboration” is all about. In the past, I have also had the opportunity to ‘collaborate” locally with two authors at different book signing events together.
 
The first author that I worked with is Ron Cisneros ( https://www.roncisneros.studio/roncisneros.html). We did an event together at Barnes and Noble. He is an amazing author in Oklahoma. He is also a local actor.

​Another author who is an Oklahoma children’s book author is Makenzi Fox ( https://www.choctawnation.com/biskinik/people-you-know/fox-releases-first-childrens-book/)
 I did a joint author event at Barnes and Noble near Quail Springs Mall in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with her, myself, and another author who is a ten-year-old co-author of “Nicoli Picoli.”

​It seems so long ago that my first book, “Did You Come Home for Lunch?” came out in print in 2021 but was in work in 2020 for nine months. This book is a military story that inspired my writing journey. I never thought I would get past book one. Then, the journey began.
 
In August 2022, I was invited by my publisher to have my book on display with my publishing company, Archway Publishing booth at the San Diego Festival of Books held at San Diego Festival of Books. I was not in person at this event. Over 8,000 people visited this festival.

In 2023, Archway Publishing invited me to their conference in Times Square in Manhattan, New York City where over 200 authors were there from age 9-90 years old from the U.S. and other countries. My book, “Did You Come Home for Lunch?”  was on display at the table of books. During the conference, I learned from the many sessions from Simon Schuster from their different departments from editing, marketing, and publishing. This conference really enlightened me and was great for my self-publishing journey.

​I had never been to Times Square. It was a fun time in Times Square but since the conference assumed most of my time, I was at least able to meet my cousin after the conference was over. I met him at Grand Central Station so we could get on a train to travel to his house outside New York City. I enjoyed staying overnight and visiting with my cousin who I had not seen for a long time.

In 2024, my book, “Did You Come Home for Lunch?” will be on display at the Miami Book Fair November 17-24th   (www.miamibookfair.com )  with my publisher Archway Publishing. I will not be in person, but my book will be on display and available for book fair attendees to purchase if they would like.
 
From one book to eleven books with additional stories in two anthologies presently, my journey has been fun, challenging, and full of passion and joy. Book 11 is almost ready for the world to be released to the public hopefully this month, so I am excited to see my book in print.
 
 My next journey is to get out book 12 that has been in the hopper for a while just waiting to be published. This book will be a fourth and fifth grade book. I just need to coordinate with my illustrator this year so I can hopefully publish it in January.

I like to mix up my books in elementary as much as possible, so each grade and child has options. This also helps the teachers at the schools and daycares when I read to the different age levels.
 
 You will probably tell me to “keep those stories coming.” Full steam ahead! I hope to have more exciting books coming out    in 2025. So, be sure to follow me on this website and on Amazon.

It was an eventful day driving to Ponca City Brace Books which was about a two-hour trip north to the top of the state of Oklahoma on I-35. Brace Books was located next to a clinic. It had a great smell and a very homey feeling. This is why it is called Brace Books and More because the store has more than just books. Brace Books has a wonderful and friendly staff attending to your needs to make you feel welcome.
 
  I was like a kid in the candy shop with so much to look at and had lots of stuff I really wanted. I could spend all day in this store with all the books, games, coffee, coffee bar, and cool kids stuff. Deep down, I am still a “kid at heart.” Maybe, this is why I am a children’s book author.
 
I was told to expect maybe just 0-2 years old, so I was highly surprised when various ages of older children came to the event. One little girl’s grandmother came up to me and bought a book before the event. Grandma wanted me and the girl to take a picture, but I knew the girl was shy, so I said, “how about trying to have her take a picture with my book cover (20 x 30 posterboard cover of my book)”. Grandma thought that was a clever idea. I called her the mother which she really appreciated the compliment. I signed the girl’s book with the words “Dream Big.”
 
The girl then joined the other children that began to come into the store for their craft time, snack time, and reading time with me. I was reading my book, “Nicoli Picoli!” So, I got to read to about 10-15 children and their parents. Of course, I had to wear my pickle hat. Before I began to read and share about myself, I asked everyone attending if they liked sweet pickles, sour pickles, or both. Everyone raised their hands for their choice.

It was a wonderful day to be reading to children in a different community and to be a children’s book author. I am incredibly grateful for Brace Books, Ponca City News, and my social media coordinator for putting the word out. We all make a wonderful team. 

This upcoming week, I am off to read to a daycare in another city. Wish me luck!

This week, I switched gears as an author. I participated in the Oklahoma Highland Gathering in Choctaw, Oklahoma on 11th and 12th October at Choctaw Creek Park put on by the United Scottish Clans of Oklahoma (https://unitedscotsok.com/) . I am an Oklahoma Commissioner for Clan MacRae of North America who is responsible for participating as the clan representative at an annual event in Oklahoma.

 People attending the event would come to the booth to learn if they are related to the MacRae’s by looking at the many different septs that fall up underneath the MacRae Clan. I would be responsible for filling the visitors in on Scottish history of the Clan MacRae. In addition, I passed out applications for membership into the MacRae Clan Society of North America (https://www.macrae.org/). Some visitors coming to the clan tent were also invited to march with the clan during ceremonies that were being held at the Highland Festival. These events included an all-clans gathering for a Friday night fire lighting ceremony and a Saturday opening of the Highland Festival with all the clans marching into the athletic field behind the Scottish Military Band with bagpipe players and drummers.

​ The event  had athletic competitions, vendors, demonstrations, clan tents, animals, birds, and activities for the children. The Clan MacRae has a castle in Scotland called, the “Eilean Donan Castle” (https://www.clanmacraescot.org/ ).
 
Many movies have been made at the castle such as Highlander, The World is Not Enough, Made of Honor, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Kuch Kuch Hota  Hai,  Bonnie Prince Charlie, The Master of Ballantrae, and   Prince Valiant.

​I am now preparing for the upcoming book signing event in Ponca City this weekend. I noticed I was in Ponca City, OK news. This bookstore was one of the independent bookstores that reported in March 2024 that “Nicoli Picoli” was in the Top 10 Best Sellers in Children’s Fiction. I am looking forward to Reading Time and setting up a book signing table.

​This week I attended the craft fair in Wellston, Oklahoma held at the Assembly of God Church. The day started out good except I had to leave early due to sickness . However, the craft fair was a success. I enjoyed visiting with all the great customers. Many children were in attendance at the craft fair with their parents just enjoying the fun day. Children make you feel young again with their great smiles. It was also good to see parents coming to the table telling me how their child really loves reading . I was so happy to hear this since reading is so important. It was good to hear that many children were going to the library and reading at home . Some parents were even reading at home with their children. To be better in reading, one has to practice just like you would riding a bike or any new adventure.
 
I have heard it said many times, “Practice makes Perfect”. I agree with this statement. I will endeavor to make it my mission to encourage literacy .
 
On to take a break from book events to switching roles as an Oklahoma Commissioner hosting a booth for the Clan McRae  for the upcoming Oklahoma Highland Festival at Choctaw Creek Park in Choctaw, Oklahoma October 11-13th. This is always a fun and interactive event with lots of vendors, athletic events, celebrations, clan events, and much much more for adults and children to participate in.
 
Next event on my agenda after that weekend is going to Brace Books in Ponca City , Oklahoma October 19th, 2024 for reading to children and a book signing table. This was one of the stores selling “Nicoli Picoli” that was in the Top 10 Children’s Fiction Book with lots of sells in March 2024 as reported to Tulsa World  by this store and other independent bookstores in Oklahoma.
 
Stay tuned for Book 11 which will be released this month.

​It was a wonderful time participating in a book signing event at Full Circle Bookstore on Saturday, 21 Sept. 2024. Eight other authors and I came together from 3-5 p.m. to a Meet and Greet with book sales and marketing.
 
The amazing collaboration we had together in between our conversations with readers was great. Many authors that were there have been at other events in the past with me at this event as well as other venues.
 
At the very end of the event, I had the opportunity to be in a photo with other Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc. members which was posted on the O.W.F.I. website. It was so impressive to have so many of us author members to be at the event together.
 
I got crazy with my pickle hat on which apparently ended up a little lopsided on my head. I was promoting, “Nicoli Picoli”

I am on to my next adventures next week at a vendor event at Friday Nights in the Park in Choctaw, OK at Choctaw Creek Park from 6-8 p.m. and on Saturday to a United Methodist Church of Choctaw, OK for a craft show.
 
 The life of an author is remarkably busy but rewarding. You too can go on this journey with me as I progress daily.
 
Stay tuned for the next blog. Feel free to tell me what you think.

​It was a busy day, Friday, Sept. 6th, 2024, as I was nervously awaiting my turn to read two upcoming unpublished manuscripts that I wrote for a competition held at my local Veteran’s Administration Hospital. The competition was called, “The National VA Creative Arts Festival.” This competition was for the local level.
 
Winners go on to the national level competition with results to come out at the end of the year from participants who entered across the national VA Hospitals and Clinics.
 
I happened to be competing in the Creative Writing Division. There are other divisions such as the Art Division, Dance Division, Drama Division, and the Music Division.
 
During the local competition, I entered two categories of the Creative Writing Division – Humor and Short, Short Stories. The story I read first was in Humor then Short, Short Stories.
 
The story I read in Humor was about my son’s boys. I had hoped that my son would be able to attend the competition so that he could hear me read the story that would someday be published.
 
As I approached the microphone, I realized I was being videotaped as well. I just focused on my reading and the audience paying no attention to the camera as anxiety might start in. When I looked in the audience, I saw my son also taping me which I thought was impressive. This made me feel not so nervous. I happened to be the eighth person up and the 14th person up to perform my task of reading my stories.
 
I could now wipe my brow from sweat and nervousness; the contest is done for the day. I waited in anticipation of the announcement of the winners.
 
I was happy to have won two first place ribbons in Categories: Humor and Short, Short Stories. Now, the stories go on to national to be judged.
 
 
Now I am off to Choctaw Creek Park in Choctaw, OK to set up an author table at the Pepper Festival held from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. To say I was super exhausted is an understatement.
 
Nevertheless, this is the life of an author on the move!

​I am happy once again this second year to be participating locally in the Creative Writing Division Competition of the National VA Creative Arts Festival to be held at the Oklahoma City, OK Veteran’s Administration Hospital. I will be reading two manuscripts which I am excited to be reading for an audience.
 
This contest is for the National VA Creative Arts Festival. Winners of the event go on to the national level.
 
Competition is in the air as many Veterans will be participating in divisions for Art, Dance, Drama, Creative Writing, and Music.

​https://department.va.gov/veteran-sports/national-veterans-creative-arts-festival/