Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Most often asked question - "When is your next book coming out?" Want the answer?

I've been asked a lot lately when my next book is coming out. I need to answer that with a somewhat lengthy explanation. There has been a lot going on with our family. And when I say a lot, I don't mean a lot, I mean A LOT!!!!!! I don't mean to sound a like a drama queen, but our family has been slammed with stuff, both fabulous and heart wrenching. I realize that you, as my friends and family and fans, deserve an answer to the oft-asked question. So, here is my attempt to answer the question. I'll start with my son and what's been going on in his life. My son, Wes, is 28 years old, 6'5", good-looking, athletic, smart, and funny, and my oldest child. He is married to a gorgeous, awesome, amazing woman and has two of THE CUTEST, smartest, sweetest little girls in the world! On March 1st he was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer. Our world flipped upside down and we are still hanging on by our fingernails. How did this happen to my son? Why did this happen to my son? When you think of Laman and Lemuel, ya, that was me for a while. I did my fair share of murmuring and rebelling. I have since repented and am back on the straight and narrow path, I think. He had to have his entire colon removed and part of his rectum. He is now in chemo and will have 12 rounds of it which will consume the next 6 months of his life, our's too. We're all in this together and we will fight like dogs to beat this. As a young boy Wes loved superheroes. I never thought he would one day actually become one. But he has. He is my Superhero!
Here is my son after surgery, getting some sunshine and fresh air. After losing 45 pounds in a month, he has really been through heck, but he's doing much better and one day we'll look back and say, "What the crap?" Sorry, this is a PG-13 blog entry, shoulda warned you earlier. This alone would be sufficient reason I haven't been blogging. But nooooooooo, we're throwing in some super-excitement to make it nice and crazy and totally off-the-hook! My daughter was crowned Miss Utah USA in October. She is now, right now, at this very minute, in Las Vegas, competing in the Miss USA pageant. It has been quite a journey as she's prepared for this "dream-come-true" "once-in-a-lifetime" moment. She has worked hard. She has sacrificed much. She is going to be amazing! You can watch her compete on NBC, June 3rd. BUT you can VOTE right now for her to be a finalist that night by going to HERE PLEASE take some time to vote for her. You can vote 10 times from one email, every day! I want her to know how proud I am of her. She has proven that dreams really can come true!
Next, is my amazing daughter, Andi. She has spent the last three years at the School of American Ballet in NYC, working her tail off. She recently signed with Los Angeles Ballet and will be moving to Santa Monica. I am so freaking excited for her I can hardly stand it. Things were intense as this audition/decision process was going on but LAB gave her an offer she could't refuse and now I can go watch her dance!!! She's close enough I can actually drive there. In fact, friends and family can go visit her more often and come with me. Road trip!!! Congratulations to my sweetie pie, Andi. I am so excited for her and what the future holds.
I have another daughter and right now all I can say is that she is like sunshine to my soul every day. I've never seen anyone wake up as happy as she does. I love how goofy and upbeat and extremely funny she is. How grateful I am for her.
With the support of incredibly wonderful family and friends, and an extremely amazing husband who keeps us all afloat, somehow all of this is working. But, I realize I still haven't answered the question. The answer is . . . I don't know. Pathetic, huh? I am actually making revisions on a manuscript and hope to have it sent in to my publisher in the next few weeks (ROFL - if you knew how many times I've said that). No, I mean it this time. So I ask you, my fans, to not give up on me. Great things are coming. If you knew what I had in the works it would blow your minds. And I promise to blog more and up date often to let you know of the the progress. Writing is a joy and therapy I have missed and I'm ready to hit it hard again. Thanks for listening. If you think about it, send a prayer heavenward for us. I know they are helping. I have felt the prayers of many. I have the best fans in the world and I love you all!