If things were now as they were then – we’d be in Nauvoo

Our family was privileged to be members of the City of Joseph Cast for its last two years (2003 and 2004). Our oldest son, Jamie, was also in the cast in 2002 as part of the Byron Hogan family. The pageant is now just another part of Nauvoo history. But we have reminisced over the past few days – wonderful, poignant, treasured memories. So my blog for this week is about Nauvoo and how the Lord helped me prepare Jamie to go that first year.

But first a little backstory -

My ancestors, Lindsay and Elizabeth Brady joined the Mormon Church in Kentucky and moved to Far West, Missouri and later settled in Nauvoo, Illinois. While there they purchased property, built a house, and buried three children. As part of the Mormon Exodus, Lindsay and Elizabeth left Nauvoo headed west in the spring of 1846. After crossing the Mississippi River by ferry they sat down on the Iowa bank for a picnic dinner. They untied the oxen to let them graze and didn’t realize their mistake until the oxen walked into the water. The animals were headed home, back across the river.

This was a terrible tragedy for the Brady family. Without the oxen they couldn’t continue their journey west. If Lindsay tried to swim the river to retrieve the oxen and drowned, the family would have no means of support. While they were discussing other options, the three teenage sons stepped forward and volunteered to swim across the river and get the oxen. Elizabeth was very much against this idea and begged her husband not to consider it. But it was getting dark and the animals would soon be lost and their trip west ended before it started. So Lindsay agreed to let the boys try. Elizabeth sank to the ground, weeping as her sons waded into the water.

The boys swam across the river, got the oxen and brought them back, so the story has a happy ending. But when I read this for the first time, I wondered why Lindsay and especially Elizabeth had to be tested to such extreme lengths. They had already given up their comfortable home, their property, and they were leaving the graves of three children to follow the saints west. Why did they have to risk their three living sons as well? I tried to imagine myself in that same situation. Watching in terror as my sons walked into the deep water, then seeing them return in triumph, protected by the hand of the Lord.

It seemed like more than one person or family should have to bear, but sometimes the Lord has to lead us to the very edge of our endurance. Because it’s on this edge that we develop spiritual maturity and strength. Where we truly learn to know God.

In the summer of 2002 when Jamie was in his first City of Joseph Pageant, he was at a critical time in his life. He needed faith promoting, testimony building experiences. I was thrilled that he had the opportunity, but in order to participate he had to have a costume and I don’t mean just any old costume. He had to have authentic drop front pants and a frock coat with tails and a work shirt and a vest and a white fake shirtfront (to cover up his work shirt) and a top hat. I had to submit material samples to the pageant costume director for approval. Then she sent me homemade patterns with handwritten instructions like ‘cut out the pattern pieces’ and ‘sew the coat together’.

The pants were one of the hardest things I’ve ever made and when I got them done, they were too small. I considered having a nervous breakdown, but instead I bought more material and put 2 ½ inch inserts on each side. The costume director was very particular and I knew there was a good chance she wouldn’t even let him wear them, but it was the best I could do. The vest didn’t have a lining and seemed flimsy, but the shirt was relatively easy. Then on the Wednesday night before he was to leave on Thursday, while the rest of my family slept, I started on the frock coat.

There were pattern pieces that weren’t mentioned in the instructions and I didn’t know what to do with them. They didn’t even look like they fit and I wondered if maybe two patterns had gotten mixed up. It was too late to call the costume director so I sat there in my quiet living room and thought that I was going to fail. If I didn’t get the coat made that night, Jamie couldn’t go to Nauvoo. But I didn’t know how to make the coat. I cried for a little while. Then I prayed. Then I sat and stared at the stupid coat pieces. And then I got an idea. It didn’t make sense, but I did it anyway. And miraculously – it worked and soon all the pieces were assembled into a frock coat.

Exhausted but encouraged, I started on the fake white shirtfront. I made a mistake early that left it looking like a Catholic priest’s collar and I thought I was going to have to start over. Then I got an idea. What I did broke every rule of fine sewing, but it worked. When I went to bed in the wee hours of Thursday morning his costume was completed. I don’t think I could do it again. But that night, with the Lord's help, I was able to make the pieces fit together.

I certainly wouldn’t compare my sewing experience to sending sons into a river to face possible death. But I do think that in our own trials and struggles today, sometimes we are pushed to the limit of our faith. And we grow. So as bad as that night was – I’m thankful for it.

If things were now as they were then, I hope I would have been courageous like Lindsay and Elizabeth.

And while I wish that we were in Nauvoo right now, sitting in the auditorium at the old Academy, listening to orientation, singing the pageant songs, and visiting with friends we only saw once a year, I've accepted that sometimes good things - even very good things - come to an end. Now  we have to be content with our memories and be grateful that we were there. Although I doubt that any of us will ever be able to think of a place we’d rather be . . .

Recipe of the Week
Easy Apple Turnovers

2 tbsp butter

3 medium apples, peeled and finely chopped

½ cup brown sugar

½ tsp cornstarch

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp lemon juice

½ tsp vanilla

1 pkg ready made pie shell (or make your own)

Vanilla ice cream

Topping

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

3 tbsp melted butter

In a large skillet melt butter over medium heat, add apples and cook for 5 min. Mix in brown sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon. Cook and stir for 7-8 minutes until apples begin to caramelize. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice and vanilla. Cool.

Preheat oven to 400. On a lightly floured surface roll out pie crust to 1/8 inch thick. Cut out 5 inch circles. Re-roll until dough is used. Put about 2 tbsps of filling in each circle. Moisten edges of pastry with water, fold over and press closed with a fork. Transfer to lightly greased baking pan. Prick each turnover with a fork. Bake for approx. 20 minutes until lightly brown.  Allow to cool slightly. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with combination of sugar and cinnamon. Serve warm or at room temperature with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

This recipe is so good and easy enough for kids to do!

The Girl Within

This week we had the rare opportunity to attend a Brown family reunion (my mother-in-law was a Brown before she became a Green). She is the only surviving sibling of eight and her parents were some of the first members of the LDS Church in north Alabama. So they planned a short program to discuss family history and made (in advance) a video showing how the family had grown. We were all asked to contribute some pictures and I sent this one of Butch and myself at the airport in the summer of 1977 while we were waiting for him to board a plane to Korea for his mission. His cousin, Rhonda, who was collecting the pictures, said she cried when she saw it because that is exactly how she remembers us. I told her I still felt like that girl – until I looked in the mirror. To which she replied, “You are still that girl.”

I’ve thought a lot about those words during this past week. I love the idea that young Betsy, idealistic, confident, and thin – still exists. Many years have passed and many things have happened – good and bad, wonderful and terrible, special and mundane – the fabric of my life. I reflected on what I hoped my life would be and how reality compares to those dreams I had at nineteen.

I wanted more than anything to marry Butch Green in the temple. (That happened in the Washington DC Temple in August of 1979 just a couple of months after he returned from his mission.)

I planned to work Butch through veterinary school and then begin a family. (Butch never made it to vet school. He found out he was allergic to almost all animals and I found out I was expecting our first child – Cathy. We moved to Birmingham and he got a job with UPS that has provided not only a good income but excellent benefits for our family.)

I wanted to have ten children and already had names for them – Faith, Hope, Charity, Jeremy, and Joshua are the ones I can remember. (We had eight wonderful children and didn’t use any of my names although Laura married a Joshua so maybe that counts!)

I wanted to graduate from college. (Still a goal.)

I drew out plans for my dream house. (My home does not resemble the plans I drew, but it has provided safety and refuge for me and my family for almost 25 years – if that’s not a dream house I don’t know what is!!!)

I wanted to write books. Actually this was more of a dream than a goal. My high school friends (who read my spiral-notebook novels) would tell me that one day I’d be an author, but I never seriously thought it would happen. (20 books and counting!!!!)

If I look at every day of the past 30-something years I see many, many things that I wish I had done differently. But taken as a whole, I am very thankful for the years between the day I watched Butch get on that plane for Korea and today. We have worked hard and we have been blessed. And just as Rhonda said – deep down, underneath the wrinkles and extra pounds, Young Betsy is still there – looking to the future with idealistic, confident optimism. And just think, 30 years from now when I look back on today – this pudgy middle-aged woman will be a Young Betsy!!!!

Works in Progress

I’ve been working hard on my re-write for Danger Ahead. It’s taking shape and I’m confident that I will have it finished by the end of the month and that it will be better for the revisions (even if that means it won’t be published when I wanted it to be).

Recipe of the Week

Lemon Icebox Pie (perfect for a hot summer day!!!)

1 (6 ounce) can frozen lemonade (softened)
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
½ pkg cream cheese (4 ounces) softened

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 TBSP sugar
1 graham cracker crust (ready-made)

Lemon slices (very thin) for garnish

Combine lemonade, condensed milk, and cream cheese with an electric mixer until fluffy. Pour into ready-made graham cracker crust. Refrigerate until firm – overnight if possible. Just before serving whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form (but don’t over-whip or you’ll have a bowl of butter!!!). Fold in 1 TBSP of sugar. Then spread whipped cream on top of the pie and garnish with a few lemon slices. Serve immediately.

What are the chances?

I hate to post another WalMart incident – but since I spend so much time there it’s only logical that many of my experiences would happen there! Premature gray-ness runs in my family. Both my father and my grandmother grayed early but they have beautiful hair and I never planned to color mine (although it had been suggested several times by my beautician). But when I went on a Kindergarten field trip with Tommy (my fifth child – I still had 3 more Kindergarteners coming) and someone asked if I was his grandmother – I changed my mind. I think I bought a package of Miss Clairol on the way home. And I have been coloring my hair ever since (nearly 20 years) without a single problem. Then I bought a package – just like always – took it home and went through the procedures (that by now I could probably do in my sleep). Once I got the dye on my hair I noticed that it was kind of a maroon color – not the way it usually looked. Slightly panicked, I studied the box. There was the same picture of a girl with lovely light brown hair and the right name Medium Dark Blonde. So I looked at the bottle of dye more closely. It was not my usual color – still a light brown – but definitely a different name. Now I was REALLY panicked.

I washed the dye out of my hair immediately. It was a little darker than usual, but nothing terrible (thank goodness!!!). Then I called the 1-800 number on the box, assuming that there had been a mistake at the factory. The very nice customer service representative asked if the box had opened easily or if I had to break a seal. I thought back and didn’t remember a seal. She said that occasionally someone will switch the dye from a cheaper brand so that they can save a couple of dollars. I only had to deal with the hair color for a few weeks and the Clairol people even sent me a coupon for a free box. But this leaves me with two questions. What is wrong with people (switching dye to save a couple of dollars and nearly giving people a heart attack)? And . . . What are the chances that I would be the one to buy that particular package????

Have a great week!!!!

The Week in Hindsight

Good News/Bad News

Well, I have two items of good news and one item of bad news. When faced with this option I usually ask for the bad news first but since I have an odd number of ‘new-es’ I think I’ll present it good, bad, good.

Good News #1 – I am recommitting myself to making a weekly blog post. Now keeping in mind that I’m out of work for the summer, I’m just back from a trip to the beach, and I’m in between books so my outlook is optimistic! In a few months the world may cave in on me and I might give up again. But I have received many requests and so I am going to try. In looking at my life – searching for a way to make it work – I realized that I find time every week to email my missionary son. So if I plan to combine that process with a blog update and I plan to include a few new features. I’ll give a little family update (The Week in Hindsight), a little something funny (What are the chances????), a progress report on books that are in the works (cleverly called In the Works!!!), and a recipe each week. I hope that these features will make it worth the while to come check out my blogspot weekly.

Now for the bad news

Covenant has decided to delay the release of Danger Ahead (the sequel to Proceed with Caution). SO, even though I have been promising for months that it will be coming out in October – it will not.

I accept responsibility for the delay. I got the manuscript to them late and they want some changes (which will almost certainly translate into a better final product) and they don’t think there is time to make the changes and then push it through the publishing process in the few months we have left. So, all I can say is that I’m sorry and I’m working hard on the re-write. Hopefully it will be out at the first of next year.

Good News Again

Covenant asked me to make sure that the release dates of my self-published books don't overlap the release dates of  my Covenant books. Since I thought Danger Ahead was coming out in October and I am working on another book that I was hoping would come out next spring (sneak peek next week) I wasn’t sure when I could release the sequel to Pivot Point. But since I will not have a Covenant book out in October, as soon as I finish the re-write for Danger Ahead, I get back to work on that sequel. I plan to have it ready for publication in September (or October at the latest) filling the empty spot in my book release schedule. So while I can’t wrap up one storyline – I CAN wrap up another.

And really –  two pieces of good news and only one piece of bad – I can't complain!

Works in Progress 

Danger Ahead (Sequel to Proceed with Caution) - This story picks up where the first book ended - but that was part of the problem. The evaluators and my editor all felt that I dropped the reader too quickly into the action without any back story. They felt that it would be difficult for people who read Proceed with Caution to remember all the details and impossible for people who didn’t read the first book to know what was going on. We don’t want to discourage new readers and we don’t want everyone to have to re-read PWC in order to understand the sequel. But I also hate retelling the old book in the new one. So we have compromised with the addition of a preface (or possibly a change to the prologue) that will be a brief summary of past events so that by Chapter One – everyone has all the information they need to understand and enjoy the book! There was also some concern about the split plot (I just can’t seem to get away from too much going on at once). But by rearranging the events I can pretty much finish one plot before I begin the other one. So that's what I'll be working on for the next few weeks. I will have this re-write in to Covenant by the end of July for a release date early 2014 (I hope).

Side Track (Working title for sequel to Pivot Point) – Planned release date September or October 2013.

 

Recipe of the Week

Layered Ranch Dip

2 cups (16 oz) sour cream

1 pkg ranch party dip mix (salad dressing mix is okay)

1 medium tomato chopped

1 can ripe olives, chopped

¼ cup red onion finely chopped

2 cups Monterey jack cheese

Tortilla chips

Mix ranch dip packet with sour cream. Spread mixture in casserole dish or on a small platter. Sprinkle on layers as follows - tomato, olives, red onions, and cheese. Serve with tortilla chips. Refrigerate until time to serve.

This is a new twist to an old favorite of ours that has refried beans as the base layer and taco seasoning mixed in with the sour cream as the second layer. My husband is a diabetic so I particularly like this one because it is relatively low carb – not the chips, but the dip!

What are the chances...

I was in our local WalMart recently and while checking out at the Express Lane my cashier was acting kind of strange. She was muttering under her breath and with every new step in the purchase process she would act like she wasn’t sure what to do. I thought she was new and so I was waiting semi-patiently for her to finish my few items. All of the sudden she turned around, heading away from the register, and passed straight out in the floor. It was a pretty graceful fall, thankfully. I looked around but there was no other cashier or WalMart employee anywhere nearby. So I went over to the fallen cashier. She didn't appear to be hurt and was kind of moaning – not completely out. I was pretty sure that she wasn’t having a seizure and very sure that she needed more help than I could provide. Still no one else has noticed or come to help. Not a customer, not a manager, not a custodian, nobody. So I had to leave the poor woman and go running up the line of registers calling for help. I got some strange looks, even from the WalMart folks, until I finally got them to look and see the woman lying in the floor. Then they came running. It was determined that the cashier’s blood sugar bottomed out and she didn’t feel it coming on until it was too late. They offered to call an ambulance but she declined. Once they had her up and drinking orange juice, the manager completed my transaction and I left. When I got home and told my kids they didn’t believe me at first. Then my daughter said, “You know that kind of stuff only happens to you, right Mom?”

 

Time keeps FLYING!!!

I don't know what happened to 2011 - it seemed to just disappear. And 2012 is off to a quick start too! We welcomed in the new year at Smith Lake. We rented a nice house with plenty of room so all of us could be together for a few days. The grandchildren loved playing with each other. Banx was hugging Harrison and his mother told him to let go. He said, "But I LOVE him!" Harrison was running around the island in the kitchen and his mother told him to stop. He said, "But I'm really SUPER fast!" Andie brought her tricycle and was very nice to share it with her cousins. As she would take off down the driveway with either Banx or Harrison riding on the back she'd say, "I'm going to college like Emily!" I told Abbie that I was so happy to have everyone together but hated that we weren't in Nauvoo (where we've gathered for the past two years). She said, "Let's pretend like we're there!" Atticus and Scarlett and Thad don't say much but they give lots of sweet kisses. I enjoyed every minute of their company.

My children and their spouses had a good time together too. They flew kites and watched ballgames and played charades and set off fireworks and made gingerbread houses and ATE. My father came and visited with us for awhile on Sunday and brought lots of University of Alabama memorabilia. It was wonderful - but like Harrison - it went by SUPER fast. Laura and Harrison and Emily and I went down to see my grandmother at Extendicare one day while they were here. Then they went home and Tommy went back to BYU and school started here. I'm sorry it's over but so thankful we had the chance to be together for a little while. I am related to some really great folks!!!

Haggerty Christmas Story - 2011

As a gift to all my readers I've posted a new Christmas story on my website. If you'd like to read it please go to www.betsybrannongreen.net. Thanks and please have a Merry Christmas!!!!

Human Nature versus Miracles

I like to get a good deal as well as the next person.Coupons and discounts and bargains are fun. But I think we have to be careful because sometimes a 'deal' for us comes at a price for someone else. I'll use two personal experiences as examples.

A couple of years ago - right at Christmas time - Grace and Aaron were living in an apartment and they had to pay their rent with a money order. Aaron went to Walmart and paid cash for a money order. He was in a hurry to get to the rent office before they closed so he didn't take the time to write the name of the apartment complex on the money order while still in Walmart. And he put the receipt in the envelope with the money order. It was cold and raining, so he rushed out to his car and drove home. He stopped at the office to pay the rent and when he got out of the car he had the envelope in his pants pocket. But somewhere between his car and the office, it fell out. By the time he got into the office - realized he didn't have the envelope and went back out to look for it - the envelope and the money order were gone. He said another guy was getting out of his car at the same time and he figures the guy saw him drop the envelope and picked it up. Then instead of giving it to Aaron - he kept it. And since the receipt was in the envelope - there was no way to cancel it. Of course we were all sick about it. They had to pay a late fee since they didn't get the rent there on time. Aaron's mother loaned him the money to pay the rent and then they paid her back with Grace's Christmas bonus. Grace said for weeks after that when driving through the apartment complex she would look at each door and wonder if the person who stole the money lived there. Even though it was a bad experience, it's in the past. It was just money and we have all moved on. But I wonder sometimes what the guy who took their money did with it. And I wonder how different things would have been if he would have given the money order back to Aaron. If he could have been a part of a Christmas miracle instead of a little Christmas tragedy.

Another story. Emily is leaving Rexburg after the Fall term and she won't be going back until the Spring term. Almost two years ago she bought a 1988 Honda Accord with a lot of miles on it. The car is nothing to look at and it's a stick shift - but overall it has been a good dependable car for her. Since Andy has a newer, somewhat nicer car that she will inherit while he's on his mission, she decided to sell her car. She's been living on about $50 a week since September so the prospect of having a lot of money all at once was wonderful. She has been dreaming of all the things she would do with the money - rent a storage room to store her stuff until Spring, buy a few new clothes including a heavy coat, and buy lots of Christmas presents. She was asking $650 - which was below the blue book value - and hoping for a quick sale. Yesterday a man came to see it. He test drove it and then proceeded to tell her what an awful car it was. Finally he said he would not pay one penny more than $500 for it. She needed the money and so she took the $500. Maybe the car wasn't worth any more than that or maybe the man couldn't afford more than that. If he couldn't afford more, I wish he had said that so she could have gone away from the experience feeling like she helped someone. If the car wasn't worth more, I wish he had just said that - in a nice way. But I'm afraid that he saw an opportunity to take advantage and probably drove away proud of himself for getting such a good deal. Emily still has enough money to accomplish most of the things on her dream list, but it could have been such a different experience for her if the 'buyer' had used a different approach. Emily could have concentrated on the miracle of having $500 instead of feeling like she'd been cheated.

Praying that miracles will overcome human nature in your life this Christmas season!!!!

NO PROMISES!!!!

My new goal is to post every week. But I know myself (and my life) well enough not to promise!

The year is almost gone and I have no idea where it went! Since it's been a year since I posted - I'm going to run through the highlights. In February we were able to have the whole family together for a few days in Nauvoo, Illinois.

We were able to participate in the commemorative walk to the River representing our pioneer ancestors and it was fun to be together - although it almost got cancelled before it even started because of weather. Most people would be nervous about trying gather 20 people from Idaho, Utah, Alabama and Mississippi in Nauvoo in February because of possible weather problems. But I am an optimist (and we had done it for the past 2 years without any problems). So we invested a small fortune in plane tickets and rented the Hyrum Smith Farmhouse and rented vans and bought groceries and then - the worst blizzard in a long time (maybe FOREVER) hit. It was predicted to really hit the St. Louis area - which was where we were flying our college kids in, thinking we could save them a lot of travel time by picking them up on our way through. So we changed their plane tickets to Birmingham which meant they missed an extra day of school, had to fly all the way here from Salt Lake, and then drive all the way to Nauvoo. Laura and Josh were leaving from Idaho and they were behind the storm. Our hope was that they could stay that way and follow it into Nauvoo. So after some soul searching and discussion and tears and praying - we decided to delay one day (not really a choice since the interstates were closed) and then head out and hope we made it. My prayer was that the St. Louis area might be spared so that we could travel through. I knew that 20 people and their vacation plans were not the most important consideration for the Lord. People died in the blizzard. But it was very important to us and for our family. Vacation days had been taken, school excuses given, money spent - if we didn't go now, we couldn't go. As we were packing to leave we saw a weather report from St. Louis. The reporter was standing in about a foot of snow, the night was clear and calm behind her. And she said that while St. Louis had been predicted to bear the major brunt of the storm, it had been amazingly spared and most major roads were open. I'm sure many people prayed during that storm, but when she said those words I knew the Lord had heard and answered my prayer. My husband looked at me and said, "You got your miracle." So we all headed out and all had our share of scares and adventures - but finally we all made it to Nauvoo. Because of the snow we had to make some alterations to our schedule. The kids got to walk out on the frozen river and they got to go sledding (Alabama-style with tubes). The snow and the cold and even the adversity we faced just getting there made the walk to the river, thinking of our ancestors and all the other pioneers who made the original trip, extra special.

In March we were able to rent a house on Smith Lake during spring break and all our 'local' children and grandchildren were able to spend at least part of the week with us there. With every spare minute I had to be working on the re-write of Proceed with Caution - a semi-sequel to the Duty Series. I should have enjoyed the vacation more and written the book less because when I submitted it - the readers weren't thrilled with it (for the second time) and I was told they were going to shelve it and for me to start working on something else. I had an idea for the 3rd Kennedy Murder book - but it is very hard for me to shift gears like that. And my confidence was shaken - I'll admit. I wondered if I had finally reached the end of what had been a wonderful and wild book-writing ride.

In May Andy graduated from McAdory High School and had been accepted to BYU-Idaho, so he was working 2 jobs and preparing for that.

As soon as school ended for the summer Cathy and her family moved to Mississippi. I had been promising my grandmother for weeks that I would come to Headland and bring Grace and Scarlett with me. So in the middle of June we went down and visited for a few days. Then on June 28th Thad was born.

Two weeks later I was at Jamie and Paris's house babysitting when I got the call from my father saying that my grandmother - who was 91 years old at the time - had been taken to the hospital for emergency gall bladder surgery. She spent the next two months in either the hospital or an extended-care facility. There were times when I thought she was not going to survive the ordeal and there were times when I thought she might never see her home again. But she fought a difficult battle and is now home and doing almost everything she was able to do before the surgery. She turned 92 in September and is unquestionably one of the greatest blessings in my life. The only good thing about her ordeal is that it gave me a lot of opportunities to be in her company and I treasure every moment.

I'm sure that I am forgetting some important things that have happened. My job changed at school - I am now the Library Aide and loving that.

In October Andy submitted his mission papers and got a call to the North Carolina Raleigh Mission. We are all so excited for him and the people he will meet and serve! He reports to the MTC on February 15th.

And somewhere in the middle of my duties and opportunities as wife, mother, and granddaughter - I have been trying to write a book. It seemed that the harder I worked the farther I got from being finished. I just couldn't settle on some of the major aspects of the plot. But finally - at long last - I completed the manuscript I am calling Murder by Association. I submitted it to my editor at Covenant this past Tuesday (and I will give more updates on how it is received by the 'test readers' and whether or not it will be coming out in the spring/summer!) Then I had a root-canal on Weds...and I'm fixing Thanksgiving dinner today (in between website posts...) Tomorrow I'll be babysitting for my children who plan to be out all night tonight getting Black Friday deals... But on Sat I plan to start working on Proceed with Caution again and hopefully can get it reworked so that it can come out next fall. We'll see.

Thanks to all of you who read my books and care about me and my life! Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!!!