Angie Gallion's Blog

December is always a time of reflection for me. Looking back at 2019 feels like stress. I have several blog posts through the year that I started but never felt comfortable sharing. We had a lot happening in out personal lives that didn't feel shareable. It was a year of change and growth. I learned a lot about myself in 2019, what my limits are, what I can tolerate, what I need in order to keep myself whole. I tried some new things with the blog in 2019 and realized I didn’t really love them. I started off trying to monetize or make my blog businesslike. It was stressful and exhausting and felt like I was trying to be something I’m not. I was trying to increase my online presence by building a mailing list and posting promotions on social media. I hated it. Trying to pay attention to "likes" and subcribers and sales felt something like failure to me so I let it go. The blog had always been my way of connecting between strories and I lost that in 2019. I bought into the idea that my sucess as a writer was tied into the number of digits filled in my bank account. That has never been who I am. I never wrote because I wanted to make money, I wrote because I wanted to share something and thought somebody else might enjoy it along the way. Don't get me wrong, I do need to make money from my books or I cannot justify continuing to publish. It costs money to edit, to design, to print books. Byond that, it takes a lot of time to put words on a page in a fashion that others enjoy. So money is important, but I understand now that it's still not a business for me. I don't want to always be promoting or posting about my books. Which is one of the reasons I dropped off of social media in 2019. I burned out, my husband would say. It felt like running on a treadmill and expecting to reach a destination. I was tired and I dripped out.But looking back, I realize how much I have missed talking to you. So let's catch up. Life is mostly good at the Beech House although I feel like I'm endlessly busy. My girls are now ten and full of all that tween attitude that I know I handed to my mom in heavy doses in my day. We're getting through it. My husband changed jobs in August and his travel increased a great deal, just as the girls were heading back to school. I was struggling with my next book and was begining to think that it didn't have an ending, or a middle, for that matter, and really, the more I thought about it, I wasn't all that in love with the beginning, either. Maybe I had just missed the mark on this one. Looking at several long days with me, my words, and two aging dogs for distraction made me think that maybe I needed a littile... well, distraction. So I got myself a little part time job, and then I got another. Suddenly my hours were full and I was squeezing my own writing into small pockets of stolen time. August seems like it was just a blink away and here we are coming through the Ides of December. We had a big loss at the Beech House this year. Our Ruger the Great, Great Dane passed away on November 27, the day before Thanksgiving. I am thankful that he is no longer in pain, but the hole in my heart feels enormous. He was an amazing dog. I cannot believe how quiet the house is without him. We kept him going with medications maybe longer than we should have. We were unable to see a future without him. We still can't quite. Our girls are feeling the loss more than I expected and in both of their Chistmas letters they offered to forego all other gifts if we could get a new puppy. I am not quite ready for a new puppy but recognize that I am the only person in the house that now has a dog. My little dog Bailey is fifteen and feeling every minute of it. He has always just been my dog, so I understand what the girls are saying. Regarding my writing: I have a first draft of a novel that I am slowly reworking. I've come back to it after some excellent feedback and am beginning to see it with fresh eyes. I started a new book in November and am about 30,000 words in. It is shaping up nicely, although I've been pulled away from it by other projects. I am looking for an agent who can help me reach a larger audience, so there may be some delays in my next publishing date. I've been happy working with thewordverve and will continue to be part of their team, but together, we agreed that it was time to consider bigger platforms. In exciting news -- all of my books are now available on Audible. I chose five unique performers to bring Alison and Stacy to life. I am thrilled with the end result. Search Angie Gallion on Audible or though Amazon and all of my books will show up available now in audio.. Finally!

Announcing a Winner and a New GiveawayThe Winner of my January giveaway, the very first signed copy of Emergent, is subscriber 714. I used a number generator to select a random number between 1 and 964 (the number of current subscribers) and it gave me 714. I have notified 714 via email of their win and will ship their book to them as soon as I have their address. Congratulations!Enter myFebruary Giveaway to win the Alison Hayes Journey Mug.Megan's PledgeMy good friend, T.M. (Mike) Brown, is hosting Megan's Pledge during the month of February. All proceeds from his books will go to benefit Coweta Pregnancy Services. Their website explains their mission "Coweta Pregnancy Services began serving the Coweta County community in 1988. We perform an average of 1,000 pregnancy tests and 600 ultrasounds each year. Coweta Pregnancy Services is a non-profit, Christian-based organization serving women and men of all ages, who are unprepared for pregnancy. We aspire to bring hope and truth and healing." My Alison Hayes found support in just such a place and without the good work done by the volunteers at the fictional Life House I dare say she might have made less healthy decisions for herself and her unborn child. Mike is a benefactor of many good causes, but this one is something special to me, so I am sharing it with the hope that you will get involved. You can make your donation directly to Coweta Pregnancy Servicesor by buying either of Mike's books during the month of February. His books are Sanctuary and Testament. I hope you'll give him a donation and pick up his books for a very good cause. Overcoming!If you haven't met Alison Hayes, now is the perfect time. Intoxic, book one of the Alison Hayes Journey is featured in the Ovecomers Book Funnel Promotion that begins on January 20th. There are a whopping 45 books highlighted, all featuring protagonists who overcome great odds. I am thrilled to be included in this promotion and even if you already know Alison, take a browse through these other great titles to find something else that might suit your interests. Be inspired by one or more of these books from January 20, 2019 through February 17, 2019.Hometown Novel NightWe have a three author panel each month. This month, February 21, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. will have a poet, a playwright and a mystery writer on tap. I've recently become involved in a local author showcase event called Hometown Novel Night that takes place the thrid Thursday of every month at a local Barbeque joint. Roger's Pit Cooked Barbeque in Hogansville, Georgia invited us to use their banquet room and we've been builidng our audiences for the lat four or five months. The Panel:Although I will not be on the panel this month I will be in attendance to support our area writers. You can follow Hometown Novel Night on Facebook and Instagram. Murder in the Magic City and Murder on the MenuFollowing Hometown Novel Night I will be heading to Alabama to participate in Murder in the Magic City Mystery Conference and Murder on the Menu. These are two separate events in two different cities featuring the same authors. The weekend takes place February 23 and 24, 2019. On Saturday we will be at the Homewood Library in Homewood, Alabama for Murder in the Magic City. On Sunday we will travel to Wautempka, Alabama for Murder on the Menu, a fan luncheon featuring an author at every table. Authors will rotate to several tables and also participate in panel discussions. I am hoping they will be a huge successes. Check out their site and see the great authors I'm going to be joining. The Guests of Honor this year are Lee Goldberg and Sue Ann Jaffarian. The complete list of participating Authors can be found on their website.New from thewordverveThe Three Hares: Reynard's DreamGeoffrey Simpson's second in series is launching soon. This middle grade adventure sseries is written with intelligence and a deep love of puzzles and mysteries. The adventure began in The Three Hares: Bloodline and will culminate at the end of the fifth book. Be on the lookout for more information in my next letter. You can find out more about Geoff at hiswebsite.The Darkest PlaceRick Sanders' new book, The Darkest Place is is departure from his earlier work and we are certain that it will leave you speechless. I'm waiting for final launch dates but wanted you to know it is on the way. I'll give you more details in my next letter. You can find out more about Rick Sanders at his very creative website or at thewordverve, where he is a frequent collaborator.

Life in 2019Every year I make resolutions. To lose weight, to be more fit, to cook better meals for my family, to clean out the closets and the junk drawer, to do better at whatever I feel I've let slide while I did all the things I wanted to do in the previous year. This year I haven't even thought about a resolution and here I am half-way through January. It's been that kind of year. All through December I was totally on track. I was focused on marketing, focused on completing projects, focused on planning for participation in future projects, focused on writing. Everything was clicking along at high speed.Then I lost the thread of my current project and everything stopped. The train didn't exactly derail, but it definitely got jarred. The changing of the year put brakes to just about everything I was working on and the launch of Emergent passed with almost no fanfare from me. Life got in the way. I won't say I dropped the ball, because in life, sometimes self-promotion isn't the most important thing. I'm happy to say that Emergent is standing her own, even without me blustering on about her. If you are here, reading this, then you already know something of what I have to offer. You didn't need me to tell you that I think this book is something special. If I am going to ever be well known, it is because people are out there reading and talking about my books, not because I posted on social media. In the last several weeks I've had a stark reminder of how fortunate I am in my life. I am healthy and strong, my children are healthy and strong. My husband loves me, even if I eat too much garlic. I have a charmed life and I should never take that for granted. None of us should. People struggle every day to put one foot in front of the other, to find a light in their own personal darkness, to make positive, healthy choices.If you know somebody who seems to be struggling, be a light for them. Not everybody will be receptive, some people will choose their misery over change and you can't make them do anything different. Some, though, might just need some small kindness and what you offer may make a difference. We all have something positive we can offer. We see it on social media all the time, good deeds offered, the guy who donates his shirt, the woman who buys a meal for the man on the street. That's all great, but seriously, when you do your kindness, leave the camera at home. Nobody wants to be plastered across social media on what may be the worst day of their lives. That's my goal for 2019, to show more kindness. To kick that off (with a small side of self-promotion) I'm giving away the very first autographed copy of Emergent to one lucky subscriber. If you don't already subscribe to my mailing list, now is a perfect time. Enter the January GiveawayLet the Journey Conclude Alison Hayes is antsy—that’s what her mother would have said. The ghosts from her past are walking, and something is coming. She feels it in her bones. Her mother would have made herself a drink and forced the feeling to pass.For ten years, she has stayed on the fringe of society, living a quiet, nearly invisible life, working nights as a nurse at the hospital and sleeping days. When her volunteer work at the Crisis Clinic sets her on a collision course with a pregnant teen, Alison finds herself plunging without a parachute. She must reconcile her own history as her obsession with the girl mounts.Will Alison finally make peace with her mother and with her own role in their chaotic time together? Will she find a way to live outside of the shadows? You can read the Prologue and First Chapter .What are People Saying?"Alison Hayes is not just a character in a book, she is someone who will travel with us through our own journey's until our final chapter. Angie Gallion has proved herself to be a prolific writer of our time, and I'm sure will be a writer for the ages. Well done." --Author T. Lamar Baker "I just finished Emergent and I want MORE!!!!!!!! Fabulous book." --Julie Spiech Collier "The was my favorite book in The Alison Hayes series. I could read it again and again." -- Paula Olmsted "There were several spots where I just couldn't put it down. I ended up reading until 5am one morning and then got back up at 8:30 to finish it because I couldn't wait." --Christy SandersOvercoming!If you haven't met Alison Hayes, now is the perfect time. Intoxic, book one of the Alison Hayes Journey is featured in the Ovecomers Book Funnel Promotion that begins on January 20th. There are a whopping 45 books highlighted, all featuring protagonists who overcome great odds. I am thrilled to be included in this promotion and even if you already know Alison, take a browse through these other great titles to find something else that might suit your interests. Be inspired by one or more of these books from January 20, 2019 through February 17, 2019.Overcoming! If you haven't met Alison Hayes, now is the perfect time. Intoxic, book one of the Alison Hayes Journey is featured in the Ovecomers Book Funnel Promotion that begins on January 20th. There are a whopping 45 books highlighted, all featuring protagonists who overcome great odds. I am thrilled to be included in this promotion and even if you already know Alison, take a browse through these other great titles to find something else that might suit your interests. Be inspired by one or more of these books from January 20, 2019 through February 17, 2019.Exciting Review of Verve Flash: The Short Road to big FictionIn 2018 thewordverve collected a series of shorts and flash fiction from some of it's authors and we've officially crossed international boundaries. Ronald Keeler, who has reviewed 680 books on Goodreads.com came across our anthology and was pleased with what her found. Needless to say, I was thrilled that he appreciated our efforts. Several of my pieces are highlighted in his review.Ronald Keeler's review:"Where I live it is already 23 December and I am about to go out on a buying trip for presents. I’ll be going with my family which means there will be a variety of shopping styles. My style is almost slash-and-burn. I know what I want, and I am going to buy it. Shoppers, please forgive my unintentional rude behavior when I do not emulate a deer in the headlights look as I stare at the lights and promos. I pay attention to price, the cashier, and the nearest coffee shop where I can sit down and retreat to a less noisy place while my tribe completes their much lengthier search (although for me, a stop at a bookshop is enough). While I am sitting in the coffee shop, I need a collection like this. VERVE FLASH by Janet Fix (editor). Described as a “multi-genre anthology” that “builds a short road to big fiction,” the collection allows me to complete several thought pieces between bouts of pulling out my wallet to select different credit cards as limits are reached. The collection offers works of seventeen authors contributing from one to five stories each. I won’t even try to list, count, or comment on all of them here but I will comment on ones that meant most to me. There are four thematic divisions: Relationships, Psych, Intrigue, Life, and Death. Each selection is under 2000 words. There is also a helpful “About the Authors” section that includes helpful links for readers to follow their favorite authors. The section takes up about 10% of the publication. I received this collection free through Book Funnel with the accompanying signup to an author’s mailing list. I give this collection five Amazon stars because I believe you can’t miss with a collection such as this. There is something for everyone. I will only look at the one or two I liked best in each selection.RELATIONSHIPS THE HOUSE THAT BUILT ME ***** Angie Gallion** There are two mysteries, one is at the end of the story. The other is a question from the title. Who is Me? SECOND SHIFT ***** Rachel Eliason** For me, this is absolutely the best story in the collection. It has hope, redemption, and a very import social issue of today (the revelation of which would be a spoiler). PSYCH CARISSA ***** Angie Gallion** An excellent multiple personality study and more. Can you guess how many personalities emerge in this story? INTRIGUE THE MONSTER IS REAL***** Rick Sanders** Best story in the Intrigue section. Guess who or what the monster is (and yes, it is real). SPINNING ***** Angie Gallion** This is one of the most depressing short stories I have read. There could be tears here. LIFE AND DEATH THE STAIRS ***** Owen Roberts** The best story in the Life and Death section with a moral lesson for almost anyone of us on the journey. LESSONS FROM A KICKING COW ***** Phil Emmert** This story pulled me back to real life today. It was a wake-up call for those who live only on Twitter. Not mentioning any names like the Twit-in-Chief but just saying. I found this to be a fun read while dashing from store to store. There are many, many selections to read. I found two that I couldn’t understand, and I won’t mention them to avoid my embarrassment. I only found one that I thought was not remarkable enough to include in such a great collection. Same comment. Overall, this was fun, and I highly recommend it."Upcoming Events After A Novel Idea's event in October, I was invited to participate in the Murder in the Magic City Mystery Conference and Murder on the Menu. These are two separate events in two different cities featuring the same authors. The weekend takes place February 23 and 24, 2019. On Saturday we will be at the Homewood Library in Homewood, Alabama for Murder in the Magic City. On Sunday we will travel to Wautempka, Alabama for Murder on the Menu, a fan luncheon featuring an author at every table. Authors will rotate to several tables and also participate in panel discussions. I am hoping they will be a huge successes. Check out their site and see the great authors I'm going to be joining. The Guests of Honor this year are Lee Goldberg and Sue Ann Jaffarian. The complete list of participating Authors can be found on their website.New from thewordverveThe ReprieveThe Reprieve by Phil Emmert is also a book about redemption and Beech House Design worked with Phil and thewordverve to produce the cover. When a man kills and observes killing in war, he is indelibly changed, the trauma stamped upon his soul. How could he ever be at peace with himself? Tommy finds his reprieve through a series of unexpected events and with the help of God, family, a professor, a woman, and a baby.Visit thewordverve.

Let the Journey ConcludeWe have all been anxiously awaiting Alison's fourth book. My publisher and I have scheduled her official launch date for January 18, 2019. We want it to be perfect and we are in the final stages of preparation to send Emergent to our advanced readers and my publisher is working on making preorders available. Where is She Now?It has been ten years since we last saw Alison, the day she left California, heading home to face all the ghosts from her past. She had to return to finally understand who she would be. She has come a long way in this book. I don't love prologues, but I really felt this book needed a refresher at the beginning for those of you who didn't have the opportunity to read the whole series again. You can read the Prologue.The Giving ContinuesMy Holiday Giveaway is still running and because I am feeling the love I have teamed up with the book distributor BookFunnel to run an Identity Crisispromotion offering you not just my psychological thriller but books from 37 other authors. All of the books in the promotion contain a main character who suffers an identity crisis. I am working my way through this list to give the participating authors fair and honest reviews and I hope you will select a few to do the same. Upcoming EventsAfter A Novel Idea's event in October, I was invited to participate in the Murder in the Magic City Mystery Conference and Murder on the Menu. These are two separate events in two different cities featuring the same authors. The weekend takes place February 23 and 24, 2019. On Saturday we will be at the Homewood Library in Homewood, Alabama for Murder in the Magic City. On Sunday we will travel to Wautempka, Alabama for Murder on the Menu, a fan luncheon featuring an author at every table. Authors will rotate to several tables and also participate in panel discussions. I am hoping they will be a huge successes. Check out their site and see the great authors I'm going to be joining. The Guests of Honor this year are Lee Goldberg and Sue Ann Jaffarian. The complete list of participating Authors can be found on theirwebsite.New from thewordverveI am glad to be working with the team at thewordverve not just on my own books, but on other books that have a certain verve. The last quarted has brought three books that I am proud to have a hand in, even in a minute way. Stop bythewordverveto find out more about these books and other books in their catalog.Buster the Dumpster PonyBuster the Dumpster Pony by Leslie Cronkhite Armstrong is a lovely story about a rocking pony that is discarded after his children have grown. He is discovered and rescued and resurrected by Mima, who sees all of his possibilities. Beech House Design worked with Leslie and thewordverve to pull this book together and it's message of redemption and second chances hit a powerful chord for me. The Captian & the QueenBeech House Design worked with Phillip Vega and thewordverve on the cover of his The Captain & the Queen. This is the follow-up novel to his award-winning The Last Exit to Montauk. Vega's charactors populate the same universe as his first book and he even nods to B, who I'm still not over losing. Vega proves that sometimes lightning can strike twice.This is the story of the “captain” and the “queen,” a coming-of-age romance set on Long Island. The passions of a daughter of a Greek tycoon and a Hispanic boy from a middle-class family are tested against all odds as they become more than just friends. The question is: how long can it possibly last?The ReprieveThe Reprieve by Phil Emmert is also a book about redemption and Beech House Design worked with Phil and thewordverve to produce the cover. When a man kills and observes killing in war, he is indelibly changed, the trauma stamped upon his soul. How could he ever be at peace with himself? Tommy finds his reprieve through a series of unexpected events and with the help of God, family, a professor, a woman, and a baby.

It's a Holiday Giveaway As a thank you to everyone who has joined me on this journey I am giving a free (digital) copy of any one of my books to you. Simply select the book you want and I will send it on its way. I first started publishing The Alison Hayes Journey in 2016 and here we are at the end of 2018 looking to close out the series with a fourth book, Emergent. My books consistently rank five-star reviews and I value every single one of them. In two years I have completed five books, including one psychological thriller, Off the Dark Ledge, that kept me guessing all the way through the writing process. I have a really great start on my summer 2019 release, another psychological thriller.Thank you for reading. Thank you for leaving reviews. Thank you for telling your friends. It's word of mouth that is going to make these books known, so please keep on talking. Enter the GiveawayVote for the Legacy CoverRemember to stop by and vote for your choice for the Emergent Legacy Cover. This cover will be offered for a limited time and will only be available directly from me or from my publisher thewordverve. Vote for Emergent Legacy CoverBe PatientWe will be rolling out a staged release of Emergent, to give readers a chance to get back up to speed on Alison in preparation. We are really excited about where this book takes her and where she finally ends up. I think it's the perfect close to her series and admit that I'm a little sad that it's done. I will keep you updated as we move forward with the launch.

I am working very hard on the second draft of Alison's fourth book, Emergent. I have thought all along that this was the end of Alison's story, but as I was out on my walk this morning I started thinking that Emily Ann may have some things to say. I'm just going to let that percolate for a while and we'll see if anything comes of it. I anticipated a launch in late November, just in time for Christmas, but after a lengthy conversation with my publisher I realize that it may be available for digital preorder by month's end but due to printing crunches at the distribution center this time of year, the book may not be available for shipping until December at best and even then will most likely not arrive for the holiday. I would rather it be good than fast, so I am not going to worry about the dates. I know that if you love Alison, you will love her in the new year, too. Keep an eye open for my Black Friday sale coming up, it will involve a bundle sale for the Alison Hayes Journey and will ship as soon as Emergent is printed. I'm still working out details, but I hope it will be worth paying attention to. My publisher, thewordverve, has been busy busy busy in 2018 with new books by Phillip Vega, Phil Emmert, Bruce Blackman, Heather O'Brien, Geoffrey Simpson, John Nuckel, Elena Stowell, RJ Simon, Leslie Cronkhite Armstrong, and many others. It has been a big year. I hope you'll stop by and see what is happening over at thewordverve.Cover ContestMany of my most enthusiastic readers have been with me since the beginning and purchased Intoxic, Purgus, and Icara before I joined thewordverve and relaunched the series. My first edition covers are very subtle and simple and my second edition covers are not. In honor of all my early readers I am going to offer a limited edition cover that will only be available directly from me or my publisher. If you would like to vote on the "legacy" cover, stop by the legacy cover page.Upcoming EventsOff the Dark Ledge is garnering some exciting attention. After an event in October, I was invited to participate in the Murder in the Magic City Mystery Conference and Murder on the Menu. These are two separate events in two different cities featuring the same authors. The weekend takes place February 23 and 24, 2019. On Saturday we will be at the Homewood Library in Homewood, Alabama for Murder in the Magic City. On Sunday we will travel to Wautempka, Alabama for Murder on the Menu, a fan luncheon featuring an author at every table. Authors will rotate to several tables and also participate in panel discussions. I am hoping they will be a huge successes. Check out their site and see the great authors I'm going to be joining. The Guests of Honor this year are Lee Goldberg and Sue Ann Jaffarian. The complete list of participating Authors is:J.D. AllenStella BixbySusan BolesV.M. BurnsEmily CarpenterSteven CooperMatt CoyleHank EarlyAngie GallionDebra H. GoldsteinTonya KappesToni L.P. KelnerJ.R. Ripley (a.k.a. Marie Celine)Linda SandsJason B. SheffieldCarrie SmithChristopher SwannJoseph TerrellVisit MMCStay in TouchI hope to be better about staying in touch over the course of the next months. If you'd like to know what's happening with me or with the great folks over at thewordverve, join the mailing list.Join the List

I have received several emails in the past two weeks asking if I have fallen off the face of the earth. My Facebook and Twitter activity has dropped to almost nothing; I'm not posting reviews like I was, I'm not touching base! Well, I am still here, and still doing my thing, but more quietly. This post is to let you know about all the new and exciting things happening here at the Beech House and why I am where I am, communication wise.Why Have I Stopped Social Media?To be honest, I'm burnt out with self-promotion. There are a thousand pages and websites that target indie and small press writers, promising them increased exposure by posting their books on their sites, for a fee, of course. I did a little of that when I was starting out, but what I've realized is that the audience for all of those sites is other writers, trying to promote their book. As my friend, Mike (T.M. Brown), author of Sanctuary and Testament, said: "Writers aren't buying books, their writing." It's true. I've stopped the self-promotion. The best promotion is word of mouth anyway. So if you read my books and like them, I hope you are telling somebody. Why am I not posting Reviews?I'm not reading. It's as simple as that. I do have a review to go out this week, but it has taken me a long time to find minutes to read the book, which was good, and typically would have taken me a couple of days. I'm just not reading. Why am I not Reading?At the beginning of 2018, I launched BeechHouse Booksto help other indie writers find a path to publishing. I haven't done anything to promote it but have just let it be there. I started learning the elements of interior layout and design and have completely redesigned the Alison series, I've learned the aspects of building a cover, and while I am still learning, it's a way for me to use my creative eye, which is very satisfying. It's also an income stream to supplement my writing, which is fantastic. Am I still Writing?Oh my gosh, yes! All of this creativity has inspired me and kicked my writing to another level. My next book, Off the Dark Ledge, is due out in July, from thewordverve. It is a psychological thriller, and as I was working through the second draft with my editor, I enjoyed it and saw a lot of growth in my writing. I'm nervous about it because it is something different, and that's always frightening. I am also working on and nearing the end of the fourth book in the Alison Hayes Journey, and I thought it was going to be the last of them, but, I woke up this morning and had the first line of book five running in my head. So, stay tuned. Book ClubsThe past two months have been a lot of fun with book clubs. If the club is too far away, I can join the conversation via Skype, but if the club is relatively local, and if I can work it into my family life, I am willing to travel a bit to join those conversations. It has been exciting to see that when the book selection is Intoxic, most participants continue with Purgus and Icara. The thing I hear most often is: "Tell me there is a fourth book!" That's the highest praise you can give me, that you want me to keep writing. I love book clubs. If you have a book club and would like me to particpate in your discussion of any of my books, contact me. I would love to join you. It's one of the best things about writing, knowing that what I've done has some value to somebody beyond myself. Thanks for the emails. Thanks for following along on my journey.

The Cover Contest is Closed! We have chosen our covers and will Highlight them when they are ready to Release. I am very excited about the new look for Alison. Thanks to all the great artists who participated, there are many more covers to come. I have three books that I am working on new cover images for. I have found many great works on Pixabay and a few that are not original and therefore do not fall under the Creative Commons. I am attaching samples of what excites me; please see what you can create to make my covers rock. I will give credit in the acknowledgments and highlight your work on my blog at www.angiegallion.com. Email your original works directly to me at angie.gallion@yahoo.com.https://www.angiegallion.com/cover-co...

I have three books that I am working on new cover images for. I have found many great works on Pixabay and a few that are not original and therefore do not fall under the Creative Commons. I am attaching samples of what excites me; please see what you can create to make my covers rock. I will give credit in the acknowledgments and highlight your work on my blog at www.angiegallion.com. Email your original works directly to me at angie.gallion@yahoo.com.https://www.angiegallion.com/cover-co...

When Peter Davidson contacted me to review his book, Marital Advice to my Grandson, Joel, I had not quite gotten geared up for reviews, but after reading the synopsis, I accepted the book, with the promise to get to it as soon as I could. I was instantly drawn in by the natural style of the writing and felt like I knew Davidson from his words. I could hear his conversation with his grandson, in the words of this book, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Davidson is a skilled writer, who uses comedy to his advantage. This book is indeed a kind of a letter to his grandson, offering wisdom passed down from generations of men. It's, of course, mostly common sense, but common sense is sometimes tough to come by in marriage. I laughed out loud, more times than I can count, often because I was seeing how very hard my own husband tries. I wonder who offered him these pearls or if he learned the hard way before I came along. One of my favorite aspects of this book are the "truisms" Davidson speckles throughout: "As the Marital Bus rumbles down the highway of life, there cannot be two people wrestling for the steering wheel, or surely the bus will crash. Know when it is your turn to drive, and when it is time to quietly sit in the back seat," or "Be careful what you confess to in a weak moment - women have a memory like an elephant." It's just one of the beautiful touches that make this book so infinitely readable. It is not a dry listing of cautionary tales; it is a hilarious walk through the pitfalls of marriage, and how to handle it when you happen to find yourself in one of the pits. Marital Advice to my Grandson, Joel is a quick read with many marriage saving tips. While some of the advice felt old-fashioned, from an era when women ruled the home and men ordered the workplace, it was still very pertinent, and so lovingly offered that it made me long for that time when the roles were more clearly defined. When I was in college, I dated a young man who was very attached to his mother's cooking. We had dated for several years, and he had dropped a few hints about engagement rings and the like leading up to Christmas. I was set with high anticipation, thinking, naively, that this was meant to be the next step in my life. Christmas morning came, and my gift from the young man was a skillet. No doubt he thought it was hilarious, suggesting that I'd have to learn to cook before he'd consider leaving his mama's house. That was probably the beginning of the end for me. That next fall, when I finished my coursework for my master's program, I packed my car and moved to California. Had I stayed, I probably would have cracked that man over the head with that skillet somewhere along the way. Davidson, in his infinite wisdom, cautions his grandson to "never give a woman an implement of work as a gift." Thank heavens that young man didn't have this book back then. Marital Advice to my Grandson, Joel should be on the reading list for every person heading toward marraige, not just men. It's the perfect engagement gift. I learned a lot about myself, as a woman, in reading this book, especially in the chapter about "The Look," and perhaps I'll be a little less opaque in the future. Nicely done, Peter, I enjoyed it emmensely.