Thank you so much to everyone who entered to win three of my paperback books. I sincerely enjoyed reading every word of the emails. Hearing you answer the questions my family answered made my day. What fun it was to find out more about you and what makes your lives special. So thank you to each and everyone of you. I wish I could send ALL of you some books!

That being said, I had to pick a winner... Before my daughter left for school I had her pick a number between 1 and 100. She said 44. Smart girl because my favorite number is 4. :) I knew I had well over 200 emails. So I shut my eyes and scrolled up and down a bit. Then randomly chose a place to stop. From that point, I counted down 44 and landed on... Judy Fritz. You've won! I sent her an email so she should know whenever she gets a chance to check in. I'll send the books out to her tomorrow.

Thanks again for participating and I'll try to do another giveaway for you soon!

.NEED A GIFT IDEA???

It's last minute and you still have people on your list. What do you do?!

As an author, I often talk to people about books. One of the comments I hear is "Oo, I want to read that, but I just don't have time to read!" I get it! I really do! It takes me a month or longer to read a book. When do I read with two daughters and a job? Well, it's not in long segments. My youngest watches about 10 minutes of videos before naptime and bed. I sit and snuggle her with one arm and use my other to read. That's it! Sometimes I get a little in while I dry my hair. It's not ideal, but it's what I have for now.

But think about the rest of the day. Do you spend long chunks or even short amounts of time in the car? I do! We live ten minutes from the school and about 20 or more from other places. We drive often. And my book addiction doesn't leave me when I'm driving so... what's a girl to do?!

Audio books!!! I used to get them on tape, then CD, now  you can get them and put them on your phone. Some people can connect that to your car or just listen with ear buds. I usually don't unless it's a long trip, but I love that it's an option and when I have one, I find that I don't want to "put it down" to drive, so I listen away!

The good news is that I actually have TWO books in audio format. Accept this Dandelion and Mamarazzi. Both books are on audible through amazon. Here's the great think about audible. When you sign up, you get a free book! And you can cancel the program before you have to pay if you cancel within 30 days. So sign up yourself or give someone the gift of audio books for a year or whatever. When you grab your free book, get Accept this Dandelion or Mamarazzi! Cancel if you want to after that or enjoy grabbing other books and listening to them in the car, doing chores around the house, or anytime in between. Life's short! It's hard to get all those books in, I understand! I'm in the same boat. We do what we can!

Find Accept this Dandelion in audio HERE

Find Mamarazzi in audio HERE

Merry Christmas again and drive and travel carefully if you're hitting the road or skies. We'll chat next year, okay? :)

Merry Christmas to you all! One of the most fun traditions is to send out a Christmas letter to family members and friends. As a writer, I enjoy coming up with creative ways to tell everyone what's going on in our lives. I invite you to enjoy the Christmas letter I sent out this year. We took turns interviewing one another and it made for some interesting answers. You can read our family Christmas letter below.

But on to more important items. My Christmas gift to you!! Well, one of you, at least. :) I'd like to giveaway a book pack, would that be okay? The winner receives three titles: Someone Always Loved You, Wrong Place Right Time, and Accept this Dandelion.

It's simple to enter. Just comment below and answer one of our interview questions from below. I'll choose a winner on Monday the 19th after lunchtime so you have the weekend to enter. You can check my blog to see if you've won. I'll email you directly if you do, so if you don't hear from me that means you didn't. But you can check my blog to see who did!

Thanks for your support and good luck! I wish I could give books to ALL of you! Now on to the interview.


A Williams Christmas Interview

 

Brooke Interviews Kaelyn (age 7)
What is something that makes your family special?
We hang out together.
What do you think will be the most useful thing you’ve learned when you are an adult?
I’m learning to be as nice as my mommy.
What would you want to be famous for?
Doing gymnastics or chiming at church.
What would you do if you could be invisible?
Go into Sadie’s room and wake her up.
What five words describe you?
Nice, lovely, kind, cute, cuddly.
If you could make one rule that everyone in the world had to follow, what would it be?
Make sure everyone was nice and not stealing from me.
What’s your favorite subject in school?
Math and PE.
What do you want for Christmas?
I want my two front teeth. J (She recently pulled both out herself!)
What do you like to do in the summer?
Go to Adventureland!!!!!
 
Kaelyn Interviews Brooke
Are you happy you have two kids or would you rather just have one?
(Twenty minutes of laughing) I’d never return either of the most precious gifts I ever received.
Do you like being a writer?
I absolutely love it!!!
Are you going to write another book or what?
“The Leftover” comes out in September.
Where do you want to go on vacation?
Disney World!
How much do you love your two little girls?
Bunches and bunches!
Do you like making supper?
No, but you keep getting hungry.
What ARE we having for supper?
Chicken.


Brooke Interviews Sadie (age 3)
What do you like about preschool?
Snack time!
What do you sleep with at night?
My buffalo.
What do you like to do when Kaelyn is at school?
Take a shower! Then the children’s museum!
What makes you sad?
When Kaelyn hits me and when mommy cleans my ears.
What’s your favorite thing to do?
Drink milk and sleeve action!
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Me??
What’s your favorite color?
Green and orange and red and blue and black and yellow and….one more color…
What do you like about your family?
Their noise!
Extras from Sadie…
You’re a girl and Kaelyn is a girl and I’m a girl and daddy’s a boy!!!!! (runs away squealing)
 
Kaelyn Interviews Sean
What’s your favorite game to play with Kaelyn and Sadie?
Wrestling.
What’s your favorite part of work?
Naptime.
What’s your favorite part about coming home?
Getting to see everybody.
What’s your favorite part of Christmas?
Christmas Eve Candlelight Service.
What’s your favorite part of vegetarians?
More meat for me.
Your ideal vacation?
Golfing.
What do you hope for in 2017?
To see 2018.


We hope you've enjoyed our fun little letter. Merry Christmas to you and your family and have a great New Year too!!

Christmas time is upon us and every family has different traditions. When my brother-in-law joined our family, he told us about a tradition his family held. Someone would hide a pickle ornament on the Christmas tree and then everyone would search for that ornament. The person wo found it would get a special prize/gift. Anyone who knows my dad will understand he jumped at the opportunity to put his own twist on this tradition. In order to welcome my brother-in-law to the family, he decided to showcase this tradition. But he didn't use an ornament. He used a REAL pickle. Dill, in case you wondered. It got quite a look from the person who found it. And now, every year since then, a real pickle makes its way onto our tree. Whoever finds it usually does not want the prize because it's just as strange as the real pickle. The pickle (now that we know it's REAL) is easy enough to find. We just sniff it out!!

Last year, "Backwards Christmas" premiered showcasing the fictional town of South Pole, Alaska. This small town was going down the tubes when the mayor came up with a way to bolster tourism....by doing Christmas BACKWARDS. What does that mean? You name it! They hang their Christmas trees upside down from the ceiling (the way it used to be done back in the day). They paint mistletoe on sidewalks. They take presents TO Santa Clause. And the carolers force homeowners to sing to THEM when they visit. The traditions saved the town and they sure were fun for me to create!

Amidst this quaint, charming little town, there is no loss for hurt. Chris Furst lost his parents on Christmas and he has been bitter against the holiday ever since. His former girlfriend, Noelle Freeman, however, is filled with the spirit. It's obvious they still have feelings for one another, but the difference in their beliefs about the holiday are too big of a canyon to breach.

Join a lively cast of characters for this Christmas-filled adventure in the heart of South Pole, Alaska. Find out about their intriguing traditions (that I wish were real because I'd be dying to visit the town myself!) Grab a kindle copy of the book for yourself, or send it to a friend as a gift on amazon! Check out the details on Backwards Christmas HERE.

You can also join my publisher Pelican Book Group (that recently took Prism Book Group on as an imprint) for a Christmas celebration on Facebook December 15th. Just click HERE to join that party!

Merry Christmas and please don't be shy, share your strange holiday traditions with me. Who knows, they may end up in a book someday... :)