Friday, October 24, 2014

Felicity~ A Sparrow's Tale

I am so excited!  My newest book, Felicity~ A Sparrow's Tale has just been published, and is available on Amazon as an ebook here, or as a hard copy, here

It's a different genre than my other books that have been published this far, and so it was a new yet extremely fun experience to write. 

Felicity is a young sparrow who is a lot like other sparrows except for one thing:  She can read.  Her elderly friend, Augustus, an Ivory-Billed Woodpecker taught her to read when she was just a chick, and while she hasn't seen Augustus in a long time, she still enjoys the books he gave her. 

She often imagines going off on adventures like the heroes and heroines in her books, but adventures are in short supply, especially for someone who's just an ordinary sparrow.

Until the day an unexpected visitor shows up at her tree with an unusual request... 

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Alvin E. Salima

It is nearly two o'clock in the morning right now, and I need to get to bed after crying my eyes out for over an hour.  I just found out that one of the best human beings who has ever walked this planet passed away several days ago.  His funeral was today, (actually, yesterday now) and I didn't know about it until just now.  I wish I had been able to go.  His wonderful wife Candace, who is also an author, was also a good friend, and my thoughts and prayers are with her. 
Alvin was one of those people who made the world better by being in it.  When my trainer from my mission, Valerie Akau Meli passed away, I discovered, only then, that she had also known Alvin.  While I had been acquainted with Alvin for years before this, I didn't know about their knowing each other until after Valerie Meli had died.  I contacted Alvin to let him know this, and we messaged back and forth; I had said that I wanted to honor my trainer by leaving a short memorial at the end of my book, he told me it was a great idea, and he'd send me her family's address when my book was finished.  Now, he's mentioned at the end of my book, too.  Ironically, I was just getting it ready for publication today when I learned the news of his passing.   
People like Alvin could see the good and the wonderful in nearly everything.  People like him are wonderful, beautiful souls that make this world a worthwhile place to be.