I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th!  It was a hot one, but after a soaking water war the temperature was manageable.  We played baseball, cooked dinner on a bonfire, kids played, adults socialized,  smores were consumed, and fireworks were watched!  All the great Traditions of living in America.   Our 4th of July is a bit of a tradition (54 years, my family has been getting together to celebrate America) we have things that are set (the baseball, the bonfire, the smores) and then things that change from year to year (the fireworks, sometimes we play soccer and/or volleyball, the water wars) but the one thing that I love most is every year, rain or shine, people gather and fun is had! 

I was even able to get a little writing in (the day is not complete without writing).  I've been a bit obsessive about this new story that I started.  It's already over 80,000 words.  I cannot wait to finish it! Not so I can start the revising process, which, happily, isn't as long as it was, but it'll be another adventure that I can share with you.  But I'll blog about this book another day - I just wanted to let you know that my ideas haven't run dry. 

I am also happy to report that my youngest boy is reading Solace: Uncharted Territory and loving it.  He read for two hours and still didn't want to put it down.  My oldest boy is reading a "not quite ready" version of the book I'm going to be releasing in October!  So far he is very satisfied with it.  This in itself makes me proud!  Proud because my boys are reading.  Proud that the books they're reading and enjoying are books that I've written! Proud because they are witnessing first hand that when focused amazing things can happen!