Sunday, October 1, 2023

Mountain Makins Festival 2023

The award-winning Mountain Makins Festival

is an Appalachian Folklife Festival celebrating the unique culture of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Known for high-quality crafts and artisans, the festival features a juried arts & crafts fair, top regional musical talent, storytellers, authors, children's activities, and more. It also includes demonstrations of traditional crafts, such as blacksmithing, basket making, and woodturning. All activities take place at the historic Rose Center.

Mountain Makins 2014


I was invited to be a part of Mountain Makins again, this year, so mark your calendar so you can stop by & say hi!
I'll be in the author's section!




From the acknowledgments of my most recent book, Paranormal Pariah of Prater Hall:

Bill Landry and Janae Mitchell
There’s one more thing before I go…

I’d like to acknowledge Rose Center, which is the historic building that inspired this story. As a kid, I took dance lessons there. Walking down the hallways, it had an air about it that made me want to hold my mom’s hand until we got outside. Even now, that same, somewhat eerie, feeling always comes over me when I step inside. It’s like you can feel the energy of years past floating all around you. At one point in time, from 1892 to 1975, it was actually a school. It’s now a museum and cultural center and, for several years, has been the location for our local Mountain Makins Festival, which features local crafters, artists, musicians, and food. Several years ago, I was invited to be one of just a handful of authors who would be participating in the Authors’ Corner at the festival. I still remember how honored and excited I was, especially when I found out I’d be there with fellow author, Bill Landry, who is an actor, director, and producer of The Heartland Series, which is something I had watched on TV since I was a young kid. I’ll never forget getting to meet him and the fact that I sat right across from him in a very popular area of Rose Center called… Prater Hall.

Tuesday, July 4, 2023

Book Giveaway!

I have a lot of book things going on and in the works, so I thought I'd get it stirred up with a little book giveaway! 



Firstly, my newest release is FREE on Amazon right now (for a limited time) and is ALWAYS free on Kindle Unlimited. 

If you'd like to grab it or read a sample, here you go:

   

Also... 
ALL of my ebooks (yes, every single one) are $0.99, 
but it's only for a limited time! 
You can find them all HERE
or across the top of this blog!


Now, time for the GIVEAWAY!


PRIZES:

🍃 Leaves of Three signed paperback duo (Leaves of Three & Leave Them Be)

💧 Feels Like Rain (signed paperback)

🔥 Ricochet (signed paperback)

👻 Choice of any ebook I've published

WINNERS:

There will be one winner for each (4 total).
Signed copies are available for US residents only due to shipping.

TO ENTER:

There are multiple ways to enter & your name will be entered for EACH one you complete. (Example: Like my page, share, follow = 3 entries). However, you can only win 1 of the 4 prizes. 
Some of you already do these things, 
so that's already an entry for you!

I don't want to miss your entry, so once you've entered, make sure you comment on this blog post or on any of my social media accounts and let me know so I can add your name. If I don't acknowledge it in some way, send me a DM. I don't want to miss you!

Don't forget, Paranormal Pariah of Prater is currently
FREE to download (and always free on KU)
so go snag it while you can! 

If you enjoy it, please feel free to let others know by leaving a review. 
They're always greatly appreciated!

Saturday, May 6, 2023

As a Mom

As a mom, I was rather strict. We did let our kids live life, but we also had rules that we expected to be followed. Even so, I'd be questioned as to why they weren't allowed to do something or get the occasional, "But so-and-so's mom lets them." My favorite comeback for this was, "Maybe so-and-so's mom doesn't love them as much as I love you." That one usually shut them up. How could they argue with love?

As a mom, I've been hated. Neither of my kids ever said it to me, but I'm sure they thought it. And when that happened, especially as they got older, it hurt. The way I see it, though, if you're not hated (or at least strongly disliked) at some point, you're not doing it right. If we try to make our kids happy 100% of the time, we're failing them and ourselves.

As a mom, we learn as we go. Yes, there are numerous books telling you how someone thinks you should parent, but let's get real, here. Every child, family, and environment is different and there's no one right way to do it, only your way. If you truly love your kids and only want the best for them, you're doing it right. Even when it may not feel like it, if it's from a place of love, it is. Will your choices and decisions always turn out the way you expected? No. Even so, if no one was hurt in the process, then high-fives to you! And if someone was, learn from it. The only true mistakes we make are the ones we make twice. The rest are simply mess-ups that we make sure not to repeat.

As a mom, you will mess up. You will. But ya know what? That's okay! Your kids don't want or need perfect, they need you. They need you and all of your imperfections. How else would they be able to learn how to handle life and all the things it throws at them? Not only do we learn from our mess-ups, but so do they. Looking back, my many imperfections taught my children patience, love, understanding, forgiveness, tenacity, strength, and empathy. I was the best mom I knew how to be and, surprisingly, that was enough.
 
And finally, some things I wish I had done more often...

As a mom, love yourself so it overflows into them. Rest so you have the energy to give them your all because that's what you're going to do, anyway, so you might as well have some saved up. Destress and detox your mind every single day so it doesn't accidentally explode out of you in a negative way. And reassure yourself that you're an amazing mom, especially on the days when you feel anything but.


Share this with another imperfect mom who's doing an amazing job.

Monday, April 10, 2023

Celiac Disease is No Joke!


In March of last year, my daughter was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. On one hand, we're thankful that's all it is and that as long as she doesn't eat gluten at all for the rest of her entire life, she'll be okay. On the other hand, Celiac Disease is no joke! It's not a simple food allergy. It's an autoimmune disease that can affect her entire system, not just her stomach, and it has. Looking back at the problems she started having in middle school, a lot of things make sense, now. Is it all connected to Celiac? We'll never know. However, after doing a lot of research, I'd say it played a role in a lot of it. That's why I wanted to share our experience because, from what I've learned so far, this disease affects everyone differently.

Joint Pain

Around sixth grade, my daughter started complaining that her knees hurt when she bent down and that her ankles sometimes caused her pain when she walked. After talking to her pediatrician about her discomfort, she said to keep an eye on it. If it worsened or continued, she said she'd run some tests to detect inflammation issues, but it would always come and go and never kept her from doing anything, so no testing was done. An underlying symptom of Celiac is inflammation.

Spondylolysis

Since seventh grade, she played both school and club volleyball. She was a hitter and also loved to dive when necessary to save the ball. During her sophomore year, she suffered from stress fractures through the pars interarticularis of the lumbar vertebrae, which is a mouthful to say. The simple term she was diagnosed with is spondylolysis. Whatever you want to call it, she hurt. At night, especially after practice or games, she'd cry because the pain was so bad. Even though she's not played in a year, she still has back pain. 

After doing research, I realized that a complication with untreated celiac disease is the inability of children to develop optimal bone mass, which puts them at risk of having low bone mineral density (BMD), osteopenia, and osteoporosis-related fractures. 

Anxiety

During her junior year, anxiety hit. My daughter, who'd always been happy and outgoing, started having anxiety attacks and had to take anxiety medicine just so she could walk into school. We assumed the change was because everyone had been forced to stay home so long due to Covid and that returning to normal life had triggered something in her. I talked to her guidance counselor, so she'd know what was going on, and we all did our best to help her manage it. Having social anxiety, myself, I completely understood what she was going through. I'd had it since I could remember, though, so it was odd that hers showed up so suddenly. It embarrassed her because she had no idea when it would hit or when she'd start crying, which would also randomly happen, and she couldn't control it. Sadly, that still happens. It's also something that, along with other psychological and neurological issues, can be associated with celiac.

Nausea, Vomiting, Pain, Diarrhea, & Weight Loss

The beginning of last year is when the bottom fell out. January, right when the second semester of her senior year was starting, my daughter started waking up every single morning at around 4:00 a.m. nauseous, sweating, and in the bathroom throwing up. She was incapacitated all morning and wasn't able to function until about lunchtime when the pain and nausea would ease up. This continued for almost three long and agonizing months. It got to the point she dreaded going to sleep at night because she knew what would happen as soon as she woke up. At one point, she even puked a little blood, which the E.R. doctor said was just irritation from her esophagus where she'd thrown up so much. Regardless of the cause, it was all very scary.

It was also relentless. Every. Single. Day. She cried. I cried. It sucked and my heart broke for her because I couldn't make it stop or make her feel better. Neither could her doctor. She gave her acid reflux and nausea medications, which didn't work, and referred us to a gastroenterologist, who increased her acid reflux medicine. When that, too, didn't work, she was scheduled for an endoscopy... on the same day as her eighteenth birthday. 

After being sick for months, losing thirty pounds (when she was already thin), and having depression on top of her anxiety, the testing showed she had Celiac Disease. 

We were thankful and relieved to know what was wrong, but also sad to realize she had a disease that would alter her life forever. Even so, it's manageable. No gluten. We could handle that. Not comfortably or with ease, but together. It was going to be okay.

No gluten means NO gluten!

People with Celiac Disease can't eat gluten or use products (lotions, toothpaste, etc.) that contain gluten at all. None. Not a bite, drop, or even a crumb. If they do, it can set off their immune system and cause damage to the small intestine, whether or not they experience symptoms. Over time, this can cause anemia, a higher risk for infertility and certain types of cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis, heart disease, liver failure, and many neurological symptoms. Sadly, she's learning this the hard way. 

Most fries are naturally gluten-free, however, some fast-food restaurants cook theirs in oil that is cross-contaminated with foods that contain gluten, meaning theirs cannot be considered gluten-free. Simply eating three fries from a restaurant caused her to have an attack that sent her to the E.R. in extreme pain, vomiting, and with brain fog, which scared her. After being put on fluids for a few hours and given pain meds, she felt better, but it was very eye-opening. She can never assume something is gluten-free or that it's not exposed to it if she's unsure. Just because most fries are okay to eat doesn't mean they all are. And if pizza is supposed to be gluten-free, yet it's made on the same line as regular pizza, guess what? It's not 100% gluten-free.

Where we are now...

It's been a year since she was diagnosed and we're still learning. She's not gained much weight back and is self-conscious about it, especially because most of her clothes don't fit, and a lot of people who haven't seen her in a while comment on how small she is, now. People who don't even know her tell her she needs to eat. Yes, she knows this. I guess people don't realize that telling someone they're too skinny and need to eat can be just as hurtful as telling someone they're fat.

It's just going to take time to get back to normal and adjust to a new diet, but she's learning. We all are. As long as she's careful it'll be okay. Thankfully, she has a great support system of both family and friends who help her and encourage her along the way, as well as a new Gastroenterologist. Having a great doctor on your side is just as important. If you're not happy with yours, don't settle. 


For more information, visit the following websites:

Helpful downloads:


Disclaimer:
I'm not a doctor or celiac disease expert; I'm simply the mother of a celiac. This has been our experience and I wanted to share it to raise awareness and possibly help someone else who is sick and grasping for answers. 

Sunday, April 2, 2023

What Nobody Told Me

I often hear parents of newborns say, “It’ll be easier in a few months when they’re on a better sleeping and feeding schedule.” That never happens.

They often say, “It’ll be easier when they’re toddlers and can do more.” Yes, they can do a lot more, leaving you chasing them everywhere and tired for several years.

Then they say, “Oh, I can’t wait until they start school so I can take a break.” And then your baby goes to get out of the car on that 3rd day and starts to cry, not wanting to go and have to leave you, yet again, for what feels like an eternity. You’ll cry, too.

Then it’s, “It’ll be so much easier when they can drive themselves to school and ball practice.” And then you worry yourself sick every time they get behind the wheel or ride with a friend.

During those tough teenage years, they say, “I can’t wait for them to grow up and start living their own lives.” Then, they do.

That’s the part no one warned me about! Letting go, for me, has 100% been the hardest part of being a parent. 

So, parents of small children…

Enjoy those dirty diapers, colicky nights, and tired days chasing a toddler after a night of no sleep. Appreciate the days when all they want is you… while you use the bathroom, take a shower, or try to sleep in peace. Relish in the moments when they climb into your lap or reach up to hold your hand when you’re busy or have your hands full.

Soon—way too soon—they grow up. 

We all know this happens and look forward to the day when our hard work and love have paid off. Even so, I never thought about the moment I’d actually have to let go and let them.

It’s like when they first start to walk and you keep a tight grip on their hands, just in case they fall, you’ll be able to catch them. Then it goes to one hand. Then they just hold onto a finger for balance. Once they get the hang of it, we have them let go so they’ll realize they can walk on their own. They’ll fall every now and again, but we help them up and send them on their way. All we can do is hope they watch where they're going and get back up when they fall.

Or the first time they want to go swimming. It’s so much easier to simply tell them no and not let them get in the pool than try to save them when they start to sink, but that’s part of growing up. They’ll never learn how to swim if they never get in.

And they’ll never learn to walk on their own if we don’t let go so they can.

(That’s what I keep telling myself, at least.)



Yes, I probably subconsciously wrote this post mainly for myself. Whatever works.


Here's to letting go!


Saturday, March 11, 2023

It's been a while...

New Release


Paranormal Pariah of Prater Hall


CLEAN TEEN READ


Fourteen-year-old Amaris McGuire is a pretty, kindhearted girl whose life sounds seemingly perfect—
She lives in a beautiful house in a quaint historic town.
She has a loving family and a best friend she adores.
She makes good grades, even though she despises going to school.
—but her life is far from perfect. 

Amaris feels and senses things that nobody else can.
She’s an outcast at school, where the students call her a freak.
She wishes she could spend every day alone, locked inside her room.
She dreads going to sleep because it only leads to a new day of the same old things.
Unable to take it anymore, she is ready to give up, but her parents refuse to let her. 

That’s when they come across Prater Hall.

Established in 1892, Prater Hall is a school for gifted students, where they can learn about, harness, and grow their unique abilities. Reluctant but hopeful, and exhausted from the life that feels like it’s closing in on her, Amaris agrees to go. And when she meets the other students (and ghosts) of Prater Hall, she realizes it’s where she belongs. 

Unbeknownst to Amaris, she doesn’t simply belong at Prater Hall, it’s her destiny—a destiny that some will fight to protect and others will kill to abolish. 



Currently working on...

Revery
Children's Fantasy Novel

🧚