Blog Entry

Wow – it's fall already. And mid-Fall at that!  (It's very easy to forget this where the average daily temperature has remained in the 80s and 90s until very recently!)        While I haven't been blogging much lately, I have been moving – back once again to Tybee Island. My good friend Betty Darby has suggested I need a tattoo on my forehead reading: "If found, return to Tybee Island." She may be right.         And I'm told there's actually a bet on among my friends and family on how soon I'll be moving again. Be advised, you may safely put your money on the "never" column. I'm done.          Book sales, like the rest of the economy, have been sluggish over the summer, but things are picking up now that Christmas is approaching and I have several parties lined up for before and even during the holidays. If you'd like to hostess a party locally just email me at wakingupmen@yahoo.com - or call me at 912-472-4266. You'll get a free book if you do! J

July 2009

July, 2009     Mid-summer heat has us all tah'rd here in Savannah, but that hasn't stopped many of my good friends from hosting book parties for me. We all had a wonderful time on July 5th at Lisa Callahan's lovely home on Tybee where, among other things, we all ate some of Lisa's delicious homemade bread washed down with sweet, iced, herbed tea. (Lucky us!) And I'm looking forward to just as much fun on July 16th when Peri and Demetre Kyriacos hold the same kind of event at their charming house in Savannah. My friends are all stepping up with parties because next month I'm on the move once again – this time to Florida in the town of Spring Hill near Tampa. I'll be living there with my daughter and her family and settling down to some productive writing on my next book. I admit to dreading the moving part (hard work!), but am looking forward to being settled. I've thoroughly enjoyed my stay here with dear friend Christy Pingel, but it's time to get down to some serious  writing again (as "serious" as I get) and I've learned that I need my "stuff" around me to accomplish that. Back in June I sold books at a Chamber of Commerce Trade Show event at the invite of all the good folks at PressWorks (the same folks who did such a wonderful job at printing my books in the first place.) I also spoke to seniors groups at several different Savannah churches in June and, as always, enjoyed them tremendously. I do very well with seniors groups since now "I are one." And I'm on Facebook now, but I've yet to see much advantage to it over plain email. If you think differently – please share! J Finally, my Savannah "Peeps" need to know that, after my upcoming move and settling in, I fully intend to climb aboard an Amtrak train every other month to come "home" for a visit with friends and family.

May 1, 2009

May 1, 2009   I can't believe the calendar page is already on May. Is it just me - or is 2009 really moving faster than any other year before it? Time flies, whether we're having fun or not, so I'm glad that I'm mostly having fun! There are three book talks scheduled this month so far, one on May 8th, one on May 19, and another on the 22nd, articles to write for The Skinnie magazine, and ongoing work on my new book. Those things, together with working in the garden (you should see my tomatoes!), and visiting with friends and family, keep me happily keep'n on as the weather moves slowly from warm and wonderful toward the annual hot and humid months of summer. I had an absolute blast as speaker for the Tybee Lighthouse Volunteers annual awards dinner last month. What a great bunch of folks they are that contribute their time and talent to make visitors have a wonderful museum experience. The one thing I forgot to mention during my talk was that my mother was a Tybee Lighthouse Museum volunteer back in the day, which gives me a personal connection to them all! We had a huge loss in April, however, with the death of my children's beloved 86-year-old Grandmother – and my second "Mom" - Margy Saunders. Her grandchildren (and many of her great-grandchildren) all attended the funeral held in Warner Robins, GA, driving there from coastal Georgia and Tampa, Fla., or flying in from Pembroke, GA, Seattle, and England. It was wonderful to see my far-flung offspring all assembled in one place, but it was a very sad day for us all.

April

April is upon us and a busy springtime it has been indeed! But not too busy for me to forget how to appreciate the beauty of Savannah's annual Big Bloom! I hope those of you here are enjoying the azaleas, dogwood, wisteria, blossoming fruit trees, etc. as much as I am – and for those of you far away, well, I am really sorry you're not here! J  I recently connected with our delightful Port Chaplain Andrew E.V. Krey and he invited me to the Spring Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church held at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church near Savannah's containerport in Garden City, GA. As I got out of my car that morning I could hear the container cranes working right across the highway!  Before giving his interesting power-point presentation on his port ministry, Chaplain Krey gave Waking Up Men a nice "commercial" plug as I stood there, smiling big, and holding up the book for all to see – kind of like the gals do on "The Price is Right." Also in March I was invited to the Grand Opening party for the new pilot office/base in Charleston, S.C. It's a two-hour drive each way, but I up and went anyway and I'm so glad that I did. I enjoyed being around the river people there (many of whom are very supportive fans of Waking Up Men) and getting to meet, face to face, people I've only talked with on the phone over the years – especially dispatcher Kathi Legette (I quoted her in the 2nd edition), and also their brand new dispatcher, Lee Ann Ward (already doing a great job).The new pilot facility, built to withstand Category 3 hurricane winds, is right in the historic waterfront area of the city. Both building - and view - are spectacular. There are lots of upcoming activities on my calendar, including breakfast with Gordon Varnedoe and the Continuing Education folks at Armstrong this week, a scheduled talk for the seniors group at First Baptist on Isle of Hope on April 8th, lunch at Savannah's Propeller Club with Chaplain Krey on April 9, being guest speaker for the Tybee Museum Volunteer Dinner on April 15th, and several other talks in May and June that I'll report on as they get closer. And finally, I have revisited my copious notes for my next book and have begun the organizational process and writing of "Kids and Other Pets." Look for it in print sometime in 2010 – if all goes well!

Jan.  9, 2008     HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL!               The New Year has barely begun and my personal calendar is already full of special events, both professional and personal. My daughter and her Irish husband and their three little leprechauns have just moved from Ireland to Tampa, Florida and we are busy planning many visits back and forth over the next few months, scheduling them in between book events! But I'll be front and center as an exhibitor at the big Savannah Book Festival on February 7. This constantly expanding annual event is very well attended and I am excited about participating for my first time this year. I'll have all three of my books on display - so if you're in the area on that date, come on by! The festival is free to the public and it's a terrific event.  On March 19 I'm the scheduled guest speaker for the Pilots' Club in Statesboro, GA and am really looking forward to meeting in person some of the very nice women I've spoken with to arrange this event. I have some upcoming book club activities lining up in the Statesboro area, too – more on them as plans jell. And on March 24, from 6:30 .p.m. till 8:30 p.m., and again in that time slot the following week on the 31st, I'll be teaching a workshop on self-publishing at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah. To attend contact Kyle Smith at conted@armstrong.edu