I’m currently working on a new children’s book that I hope to publish next year. It’s for elementary school age children. I wrote the story several months ago and I’m very excited about it! Right now, I’m trying to figure out the title.

Before I decide on a title for a new book, I do searches to see if I’ve found a unique title. I learned the importance of doing this the hard way after I published “The Button Box” and found out there were already several books on the market with the same name.

For a while, I was afraid I had lost my ability to write because the words just would not come after the death of my mom almost two years ago. I think I just needed the time to grieve her loss properly before I could get back to writing.

I think there is often an ebb and a flow to life where we must take a pause from certain things before we are strong again and are ready to get back to them. Sometimes in life there is joy and sometimes there is sorrow. I’ve been in a season of sorrow but now I’m feeling joyful again and with that joy, comes writing.

This blog has helped me get back into a regular writing routine and I’m so grateful that the words are back bouncing around in my head. Thank you to all of you who have read and enjoyed my posts and especially to those of you who have commented on the different ones. Reading your comments fuels me.

So, back to the new book. I recently sent it to my son and daughter-in-law to read. They are experts because they read lots of books to their four children. My son said it’s one of my top two stories for children. (He really loves “The Halloween Scare” and so do I!) Every writer’s goal is to get better at their craft and perhaps I have.

If all goes well, I hope to publish this next book in the spring or early summer of 2026. I’m using my same team…Vicki Killion Guess is illustrating, and Crystal Wood is doing the book layout. They both live in Texas. All of us have taken some personal hits during the past two years…with deaths of loved ones as well as some medical issues. I’m grateful that they are both still willing to work with me now that I live across the country from them. I must say, it’s not as much fun to work on a book over the phone as it was to meet and work in person.

This new story involves animals and friendship. My daughter-in-law, Paige, and my granddaughter, Hallie, are the models for the mom and daughter illustrations in the story. Vicki’s daughter, Rachel, is the model for the friend. It’s fun to work directly with your illustrator and have family pictured in your books!

Vicki has completed most of the drawings and they are so charming. I cannot wait to see the painted illustrations! When I began this author journey 12 years ago, I never dreamed I would have the opportunity to publish more than one book. My last book, “Love Hearts” was published in 2023. I’m so excited for you to see what’s coming in 2026!

About a week ago, I wrote a Facebook post with a picture of the garden bench in my backyard with two large Chrysanthemums in full bloom on either side. I said I wished I could sit on the bench with my mom and have a nice long talk. Then, I asked my Facebook friends who they would like to sit and visit with on the bench.

I was so amazed by how many people responded. Almost everyone wanted to sit with someone who had passed away. Like me, many wished they could sit there and have another chat with their moms. Some wanted to sit with other passed away loved ones such as brothers or husbands.

Death often comes quickly and unexpectedly and can leave words left unspoken. The day before my mom died, I talked with her on the phone for about 30 minutes. And, we had the best talk that day. I’m so grateful for that.

I told her about her new great-granddaughter, Claire, who had just been born four days before. My mom was in such good spirits and so excited to hear about this wonderful new baby in our family. She wanted to know about Claire’s middle name and how big she was and the color of her hair and indeed all the things one asks about a new baby.

As we ended our call, she told me she loved me, and I told her I loved her. I said I would call again very soon. I didn’t know that she would die the next day. I certainly wasn’t ready to let her go. How could someone be so full of life and vibrant one minute and then be gone just 12 hours later?

This is my last photo with my mom at Christmas just one month before she died.

It’s so important to say the things you need to say to the people who matter to you while they are alive. I felt like I did that with both of my parents.

It’s been 19 years since my brother, Jeff, passed away unexpectedly after back surgery. He was just 41 years old, and I thought we both still had at least half a lifetime together as brother and sister. He died, and to this day I don’t know if he knew how much I loved him and admired him. We were both in the busy years with kids at home and we lived in different cities. I didn’t call him as much as I could have or should have because I thought I was too busy.

I graduated from college the same year Jeff graduated from high school!

I regret the things I never said and especially now that we are both grandparents, there are so many things I’d love to talk with him about.

Don’t miss the opportunity to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you now. Don’t be too busy. Tell them how important they are in your life and that you’re glad they’re your mom, dad, sister, brother, cousin, aunt, uncle, grandmother, grandfather, neighbor, friend…fill in the blank. Tell them you love them. It will strengthen your bond in the present and will give you peace later.

Author’s note: This is a book that helped me tremendously after the death of my brother.

In 1994, Amazon was founded as an online bookseller named Cadabra. In 1995, they launched their website and changed their name to Amazon. In 1999, Amazon began selling music and videos in addition to books. In 2000, Amazon opened their platform to third party sellers. Today, Amazon is America’s store, and we can find all the things online that we cannot find in brick-and-mortar stores. Like so many others, I love to shop on Amazon.

The problem is, Amazon has gotten greedy and forgotten their humble beginnings as a bookseller. Today, authors pay an annual fee to have their books listed on Amazon. And, unless you have published your book through Amazon’s publishing arm, KDP, self-published authors like me receive only 55% of the listing price of my books AND I pay shipping costs to stock the Amazon warehouse with my books. This means I make about $1.00 per book sold on Amazon after I pay my illustrator, my graphic designer, my printing costs, and of course the shipping to Amazon. I’ve never seen a rich self-published author.

So why even be on Amazon, you ask? Well, it’s now America’s store and they make it so incredibly easy to shop. Many authors feel it gives their books exposure and credibility to have them on Amazon.

This week, I removed two of my books from Amazon because they now allow other sellers to come in and sell an author’s books at other prices. Some of the re-sellers say the books are new and undercut my price. (They cannot be new because I’m the only one who orders the new books from the printer.) One of the re-sellers, is charging $31.04 for a used copy of “The Button Box” that I sell new for $19.95.  Another re-seller is selling my book, “The Halloween Scare”  for $16.24 on Amazon when my selling price is only $14.00. This re-seller is saying the copy is new.

I feel the re-sellers cheapen my product and create confusion among potential buyers. This picture may be difficult to see but it shows all the different buying options of my book, “The Button Box” on Amazon.

The other problem I have with what happens on Amazon is people (competitors? publishing companies?) leave low star reviews but don’t bother to write anything. Why does Amazon allow star reviews without anything being written?

If you truly want to help authors and booksellers…people who love writing and books…then buy your books from the author directly or from a locally owned bookstore. Most authors have a website or book selling events where you can purchase their books, and most local bookstores can order books for you if they aren’t already in stock.

In fact, buy local whenever you can and support small businesses and artists and authors like me. We aren’t millionaires or billionaires and we do a happy dance whenever we get a new order or make a sale!

I was still waiting on the coffee pot to finish dripping this morning when I noticed that I had voicemail on my phone. I hadn’t turned up the sound on my phone from the night yet, so I missed the call. I played the message and heard my friend, Rhonda, calling from Texas and singing “Good morning, good morning to you!” She then proceeded to tell me some happy news about an upcoming wedding of one of the residents of the independent retirement community I used to manage.

Rhonda is one of those people who make you feel good simply by being in her orbit. She is positive and kind and supportive and uplifting. She laughs a lot and her laughter is infectious. When I lived in Texas, my office was across the hall from hers for a couple of years. I would hear her coming down the hall singing and saying a kind word to everyone she passed. Sometimes both of our office doors would be open, and she would be singing a hymn. I loved it. Being across from her was like having a daily infusion of positivity.

This past week has been especially difficult for many of us, and I’ve personally been in a bit of a funk. With another tragic school shooting in Colorado and then the violent and unnecessary deaths of Iryna Zarutska in North Carolina and Charlie Kirk in Utah, it’s been difficult to feel positive about the direction of humanity. There’s so much anger and sadness going on in the world right now. Even our United States Congress was in an uproar this week. What ever happened to our congressional leadership having manners and a sense of decorum…but that’s a whole other blog post.

I was also disheartened to learn that someone destroyed the Little Free Library in my neighborhood that I just wrote about last week. Who destroys something so innocent that is for the common good?

So, how do we lift ourselves above it all and keep moving forward amid all this negative emotion and turmoil?

We do the best we can to do good and be better however we are able. We surround ourselves with people like Rhonda who feel like human sunshine. We do random or not so random acts of kindness. We practice gratitude. We focus on things that give us purpose and meaning. We practice mindfulness. We exercise. We listen to uplifting music. We pray. We spend time in nature. Perhaps we take a break from social media and from watching the news on TV.

And, if you would like to escape into a charming book about joy, try reading “The Alchemist”. This is a book I wasn’t aware of until my son, Ryan, gifted it to me a few years ago.

Joyful blessings for the week ahead!

Just down the street from my house is a park with the most interesting Little Free Library. I often walk through the park on my daily walk, and I always stop and peek inside to see what’s new.

Being a rather conventional person, I would expect there to be books and only books in a Little Free Library. Fortunately, there are lots of creative and unconventional people in this world who don’t have trouble thinking outside of the box and who see the value of putting other, interesting items that people might want in the little library near my house!

Yesterday I had a stack of books I wanted to donate, so I walked to the little library in the park. I was not disappointed! Besides the usual books for both adults and children, there was a very old college algebra textbook, copies of Highlights for young children, some DVDs for kids, and several wonderful stacks of baseball, basketball and football cards. How fun!

In previous visits to the little library, I have seen friendship bracelets, puzzles, bookmarks, art supplies, and small toys inside. One time, there were stacks of green paper restaurant order pads, and I wondered if someone had given up their waitress or waiter job!

If you aren’t familiar with the Little Free Libraries, they were started in 2009 by Hudson, Wisconsin resident, Tod Bol. Tod built a model of a one room schoolhouse (as a tribute to his mother who was a teacher) and put it on a post in his front yard and filled it with books. It became so popular with his neighbors and friends that he built several more and gave them away.

In 2010, Tod partnered with another Wisconsin resident, Rick Brooks, and the two men established the Little Free Libraries to share books and bring communities together.  Their effort spread like wildfire and as of 2022, there were over 150,000 registered Little Free Libraries in more than 120 countries worldwide.

If you have books you wish to donate, there is probably a Little Free Library near you. You can use the Little Free Library mobile app to find one. The beauty of these little libraries is that they are accessible 24/7.

If you wish to establish a Little Free Library yourself, you can design and build your own or purchase a kit for one of the three designs the organization has created. Libraries may be placed in front of houses, apartment buildings, schools, churches, businesses, parks, and community centers. Once established, you can register your library with the Little Free Library Organization.

Today, there are more than 200,000 Little Free Libraries worldwide. How amazing is that? For more information:  www.littlefreelibrary.org

I miss the days when Labor Day Weekend was the traditional end of summer.  School used to begin the Tuesday after Labor Day.  When I was growing up, schools weren’t air conditioned, so starting later would often make it a bit cooler and more comfortable for everyone in the classrooms. 

Labor Day, which is observed annually the first Monday in September, is the day we celebrate the achievements of the American labor movement, and the contributions that our American workers have made to the strength and prosperity of our country. President Grover Cleveland made Labor Day a national holiday in 1894. This means schools and banks and all government offices will be closed and there will be no mail delivery.

What will be open on Labor Day are the stores and many will be having big sales.  Labor Day is an important sale weekend for retailers since so many people are off work and able to shop.  Some retailers say it is their second biggest sale weekend after Black Friday and Thanksgiving weekend. I was in Hobby Lobby yesterday and not only are they having some nice sales but they already had Halloween, Thanksgiving and CHRISTMAS decorations out!

Many Americans will fly their flags and attend parades on Labor Day.  Some will celebrate this end of the summer holiday by having cookouts or picnics with family and friends.  Etiquette rules used to say that Labor Day was the cutoff date for wearing white pants, summer fabrics, and open-toed shoes, but those fashion folkways seem to have gone by the wayside.  This is especially true in the south where it’s still hot in September and flip flops are worn well into the fall.

In the northern part of the United States, Labor Day is traditionally the last weekend to have pools and lake houses open.  After Labor Day, it begins to get too cool for water activities.  Last summer, we used our pool heater and kept our pool open until the end of October. 

I’ve been really sad this week about the church school shooting in Minneapolis and I really didn’t feel much like writing a blog post. I don’t have answers for what is happening in our country or for why people are having so many mental health issues. What I can say, is love your family and friends the best you can and make them feel valued and appreciated. This holiday weekend is the perfect time to do that!

We will be doing a little traveling and a lot of relaxing over the next four days. I received a big stack of books for my birthday and I hope to fit in some good reading time. Whatever you are doing this long holiday weekend, I hope it involves some fun and relaxing time with family and friends.

There’s change in the air. Can you feel it? Here in the Midwest, the temperatures are going down and yesterday I saw chrysanthemums for sale at my local plant nursery. I also saw Halloween decorations and when I commented on them to one of the sales staff, he said, “Oh, we started putting those out right after the 4^th of July.” I’m not a fan of the blurring of the timelines of the holidays and seasons, but that does seem to be what the stores do these days.

As a writer, I love fall or maybe you call it autumn. For some reason, I seem to be more inspired to write, and I write faster. Perhaps it’s because I’m not distracted by all the fun outside activities and the relaxed nature of summer. People seem to want to get back to business in the fall…and so do I. Of course, fall leads to winter and winter is good for writing as well.

Normally my book sales pick up in the fall as people begin buying gifts for the holidays. I didn’t intend to write holiday specific books, but some of them just are. This year, in the middle of July, I began getting orders for “The Halloween Scare” and I received one order for “The Christmas Church”. Those orders were earlier than usual and of course, I did my normal happy dance when I received them.

If you aren’t familiar with “The Halloween Scare”, it’s a very sweet and fun book about Halloween for the younger crowd, ages two to eight. It’s about what scares all the spooky characters of Halloween. If you have any little pumpkins in your life, you might want to order one for them. When my grandson, Graham, was five, he took it to school to share with his class. He told his classmates it was his favorite book, and his grandma had written it. I cried happy tears  when I heard he had said that.

“The Day The Turkey Came To School” is based on a true story about something that happened with a turkey at my daughter’s elementary school right before Thanksgiving. I began writing about the turkey showing up at her school and it evolved into a story about how unexpected events in our lives sometimes bring people together in the nicest of ways. Because there just aren’t a lot of books that involve turkeys, it sells well in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.

“The Christmas Church” is a very special book to me. It’s the story of a real Christmas church decoration my great-grandfather built more than 100 years ago. It’s been passed down in the family (kind of like the button box I wrote about) and I have it now. It’s fragile, but sometimes when I do readings and book signings, I take it with me. It’s a Christmas gift book and the first book that Vicki Killion Guess and I did for adults. Vicki painted the illustrations in watercolors instead of acrylic paints so the pictures would look like memories…and they do. After “The Button Box” it’s my best-selling book.

So, as we turn the pages from summer to fall, I’m looking forward to brisk writing mornings with a hot cup of coffee beside me and the leaves turning a rainbow of colors on the Maple tree outside my window. What are you looking forward to in the next season?

When my two grandmothers were born in September of 1914 and March of 1920, they both entered a world where women did not have the right to vote.  In fact, at that time, women were not allowed to own property in their names and were considered the property of their fathers or husbands.

On August 18th 1920, the 19th amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified by Congress.  This amendment gave American women the right to vote.  It’s hard to believe that women have only had this right for 105 years.

The women’s suffrage (right to vote) movement in the United States began officially with the first women’s rights convention in the world which was held in 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York.  The convention was organized by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who were also both active members of the abolitionist (anti-slavery) movement. 

In 1851, Stanton met Susan B. Anthony and the two women formed a life-long friendship and collaboration focused on obtaining voting rights for all women.  Once slavery was abolished after the Civil War, the two women founded the “National Woman Suffrage Association” and began campaigning for a constitutional amendment for universal suffrage and for other women’s rights.

Another organization, the “American Woman Suffrage Association” was formed around the same time by Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe, and Josephine Ruffin.  They focused on trying to win the women’s right to vote state by state.

In 1890, the two organizations merged in order to be more effective.  The new organization was called the “National American Women Suffrage Association”.  In the early 20th century, the NAWSA held parades and rallies to draw attention to their cause, and allied themselves with local women’s clubs and some labor unions. 

At the time, marching in parades and giving speeches on street corners was considered by many to be “unladylike” behavior and there was a wave of hostility against the suffrage movement by both men and some women.  Many women wanted the right to vote and believed in the work of the suffragists, but were too timid or afraid to openly join the effort.

On March 3, 1913, the day before Woodrow Wilson’s presidential inauguration, 8,000 women suffragists marched up Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. demanding the right to vote. The parade turned into a near riot when the crowds of mostly men surged into the street grabbing, shoving, tripping, and jeering at the participants.  Police who were there to protect the marchers, stood back…and in some cases joined in. Photos of men manhandling and dragging women hit newspapers around the world. The events of the day were in the papers for weeks and created an outrage which helped the cause of women’s suffrage.

In 1916, Alice Paul and Lucy Burns organized the National Women’s Party (NWP) and began a more militant campaign for women’s suffrage.  The NWP picketed and held demonstrations in front of the White House and all over the country. 

Many suffragists were arrested for “obstructing traffic” and thrown in jail where they went on hunger strikes and endured force feedings.  Women kept marching and demonstrating and believing in the cause of suffrage for three generations until their efforts finally paid off.  The 19th amendment was ratified by a margin of just one single vote in August of 1920.

The 19th Amendment reads:

Section 1. The right of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

I’m proud to say that I have a family connection to the women’s suffrage movement.  My great-grandfather’s sister…who would technically be my great-grandaunt…was a suffragist and according to family stories, hosted women’s suffrage meetings at her home in Elkhart, Indiana during the early 1900’s.

I’ve read a number of books on this subject and it’s horrifying to me what women went through and put up with before they had the right to vote. In my opinion, the best book on this subject is “Not For Ourselves Alone” by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns. You would think it would be written by a woman, wouldn’t you?

I’ve never understood poetry and Lord knows, I’ve tried. It always seems so vague and unclear and as if the poets simply write secret words and symbols for themselves. I’ve bought or borrowed multiple poetry books over the years thinking if I just found the right one, I would be able to understand poetry. Even in high school English classes when the teacher would explain poems I would think, How do you get that meaning from those words? I just don’t get it.  I even wrote a poem once and after that, I retired as a writer of poetry.

Recently, I was scrolling through social media, and I came across several people who were writing or saying what they would say if they met their younger selves for coffee. They were borrowing the idea from a poem written by Jennae Cecelia. Of course, I had to look up the original poem. Have you read it? It goes like this:

i met my younger self for coffee at 10:15.

she was late.

i was early.

i wore my dark brown hair in slick back bun

her hair was faded red and in her face.

i had dark blue jeans on.

she wore sweatpants with a few stains.

she lets out a sigh and has a good cry.

i tell her to release her feelings one at a time.

the scars on her have now faded on me quite a bit.

i want to tell her it won’t always be like this.

but I don’t.

she doesn’t need to hear

that things will be better.

she just wants a hug and reassurance of her feelings

during this uncertain season ahead of her.

we leave the aroma of coffee beans and baked goods.

i walk her home to our old neighborhood.

we won’t meet again for 15 more years.

but each day she thinks of the woman

who acknowledged her tears.

Finally, a poem I could understand! Well, for the most part. I want to know why the first stanza is written in past tense and the last two are written in the present.  Why is it all written in lowercase letters? Since I read it though, I’ve been thinking about what I would say to my younger self if I met her for coffee.  And isn’t that what makes for good writing…when you keep thinking about the words you’ve read?

Jennae has a poetry book coming out on August 12^th and I cannot wait to read more of her writing! I’ve pre-ordered it. Because writers are also readers and like to support other writers.

Here is the one and only poem I’ve written.

Ode To The Dog Walker

By Janet Sever

At my house, we only walk the dog with a yo yo

and we look out with pity at the poor dog walker

who must embrace all kinds of weather,

to ease the bulging bladder of her canine friend.

We go about our pedantic routines each day

hurrying to our far-flung destinations

while the dog walker,

she knows the rhythm of the street.

She knows the quiet, sleepy homes with their blinds pulled low

she knows the caffeine infused homes,

bright with the lights and the music,

that is the sound and the rhythm of daily life.

The dog walker sees the seasons change on her daily journey,

with the nuances in the weather

in the holiday decorations that adorn the homes

and the trees who dress and undress like an indecisive woman.

She knows the people on the street around her,

their rhythm, their fire, and sometimes their pain

and takes comfort in the steadiness,

of the predictability of life.

Perhaps I should acquire

a dog of blood and bone and fur,

so that I too can have the wisdom of the dog walker

and know the rhythm of the heartbeat of the street.

Today is my birthday and it’s kind of a big one. I usually try to ignore birthdays as much as the people around me will allow, but not this one. I’m Medicare eligible and the celebration began months ago with mailing after mailing reminding me that I was turning 65 this year.

When you’re turning 65, you’re required to sign up for Medicare within 90 days of your birthday…unless you wish to pay a fine.  And there’s a bit of a loophole in the rule if your birthday falls on the first of the month like mine does. If your birthday is on the 1^st, you’re eligible to begin your Medicare coverage one month sooner. I’m not making this up.

I was happy to begin a month sooner because we had been paying those lovely COBRA premiums since we moved from Texas to Indiana a year ago. No more COBRA but now we get Medicare premiums.

Did you think it was free? I did. Remember that old saying, There are no free lunches? I had no idea they charged for Medicare. I thought you only paid if you decided to get a supplement. Perhaps I should have attended one of the 86 invitations I received to go to a Medicare talk. If you receive one, make sure you go and learn about it so you aren’t shocked like I was to find out there is a monthly premium for Medicare.

In honor of my new “senior” status, I’m going to tell you about an important book I read five years ago when I turned 60. You knew I would get around to the topic of writing, didn’t you?  Remember, writers are also readers. The book I’m talking about is called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying by Bonnie Ware.

I’m not planning to die anytime soon but I do suddenly hear a clock ticking in my head telling me time is not an infinite resource.  I want you to know about those five common regrets whether you are 65 (or older) like me or are 35 and years away from Medicare premiums. Nobody wants to die having major regrets about their life.

The author, Bronnie Ware, was working as a caregiver for hospice patients. As she sat with her clients, they talked about their lives and many of them shared their regrets. Over the course of several years as she listened to person after person, she began hearing the same regrets repeated over and over again. The one she heard the most frequently and the one that caused the most frustration for people is #1 on the list. Here they are:

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish I had let myself be happier.

Do any of these regrets resonate with you? The one that most resonates with me is #4. I wish I had stayed in better touch with my friends. When you move around in your life like I have, it becomes more challenging. That’s the one I’m going to focus on beginning on this my 65^th birthday…because I don’t want to have that regret at the end of my life.

I’m grateful to be here at age 65 still pursuing my dreams and spending time with the people who are important  to me. I hope to do more of that in the months and years to come!