Laura Hillenbrand and Me

I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Laura Hillenbrand, who wrote Unbroken and Seabiscuit; yet, I feel like I know her heart. We both have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and we both wrote our books from bed. I did attempt book signings at Costco the summer of 2010, and I sold out my first self-published printing of 2000. But there was a problem: I was unable to function for three days after each signing. In August, just as the book selling season was on the verge of stepping into the best time of the year to sell books, I chose to do something huge: just take care of me. So that’s what I’ve done from then until now.

I June, my doctor ordered that I take a mandatory three month vacation. She diagnosed me with Stage III Final Phase Adrenal Exhaustion, bordering on Addison’s disease (which President Kennedy had. That’s why you see a doctor nearby in many photos. It’s a life threatening illness.) I wanted to sleep in my own bed. I didn’t feel strong enough to travel anyway. So, to avoid making the jump into Addison’s, I was a very good patient. I did Nothing. Nothing. All summer and into September. I slept under the shade of a tree almost all summer. It was great! I put a sign up on the door: Writer at Work. Except I wasn’t writing. I was getting better.

Oh wait, there was that little Adrenal Crisis when I went to the ER on September 11 because I was slipping in and out of consciousness after sleeping for 16 hours. That was after having convulsions and wretching while lying on the floor. (Too much information?)

Other than that, I’ve enjoyed lots of mini adventures from the bench on my back patio under that shade tree the last several months: Watching a family of quail come at the same time morning and evening. So beautiful. Watching the birds at the feeder. Listening to music, and Unbroken, on my iPhone. Feeling the breeze on my skin and getting the best tan I’ve had since high school! Now, I’m ready to see what can happen with Secret Speakers again. I won’t be doing book signings. Author’s visits to classrooms? Maybe. Depends on the day. And I’ll need to tell the teacher that I’m really unreliable, so have a back up plan. But there’s the internet. I figure if I was on the most-viewed profile page of all time on Goodreads and I have 3,000+ friends there, then I can start creeping back to doing promotion from my keyboard. Pray for me. I wrote on another blog to keep a journal of sorts this summer. I just posted from my phone. If you want a peek it’s called Continuous Awakening.

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Mondesa to USA, USA to Mondesa

I have a story to tell you: A delightful email showed up in my inbox this morning from my South Aftrican friend, Sue, whom I met for the first time in August when she flew out from Namibia for her daughter Angela’s wedding. Sue works at an after school program in Namibia, called Mondesa Youth Opportunities. I’ve known Angela since the day she arrived from South Africa four or five years ago, when my husband and I picked her up at the airport after an impossibly long flight in the middle of January and 17 degree weather. She had come to run for BYU after he recruited her at the World Juniors in Beijing. How can it be it was that long ago? My my.

Well, since Angela and her team mates spent so much time at airports during competion, she got her running teammates to knit scarves for her mother’s learners (or students) at Mondesa Youth Opportunities, and that blossomed into letters and emails going back and forth between the athletes and learners at the school.

Before Sue left the states to head home, I gifted her and the MYO school library with several copies and audiobooks of Secret Speakers and the Search for Selador’s Gate, along with a few handmade posters I’d made for the students. Today’s email showing the scarves shows the posters I made in the background, which made me feel like cheering. I feel such a love for those students, and I hope they feel it through the little posters I made. It’s the best I felt I could do without being there in person.

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Who got the Highest Bid at Writing for Charity?

A few weeks ago Secret Speakers was up for auction at Writing for Charity through CLAU, the Children’s Literature Association of Utah. I had a wonderful time sitting in the audience watching Shannon Hale and Brandon Mull’s hilarious banter on stage, and then a skit from a company I wish I could remember the name of. The highlight of the day for me was meeting Rick Walton for the first time. What a gem of a human being. I’m really looking forward to helping out in whatever way is best to help place books in schools that rate on the lowest socio-economic scale here in my fair state of Utah. I felt really sad when I heard someone say that there are many children who don’t even own one book. That has got to change, does it not? I mean, criminently, do we live in a civilized society or not my friends?

I had to leave early, so I’m curious about who got the soft, furry blue blanket and book? If you’re the lucky person who got that furry, soft blue blanket then know I’m dreaming about getting one myself! It matches the blue butterfly on the cover of Secret Speakers so well, too! You can see the book peeking out of the blue basket a bit if you look closely.

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June Events, Signings, Audiobook News

This post gives you dates when and where I’ll be doing signings, news about the audiobook, and the homeschooling convention I’ll be at on June 12 at the Salt Palace. If you want to get the audiobook on CD directly from my husband and me, call 801-362-1549. Ask for Patrick. It’s 8 CD’s, 10.25 hours of listening time, and narrated by the amazing British talent, Simon Vance.

JUNE EVENTS 2010:

AUDIOBOOK: Available on iTunes and Audible June 9th. Available from @ KareyShane on CD now!

SATURDAY, JUNE 12: Utah Homeschooling Education Association Convention

I’ll be signing copies of Secret Speakers at BOOTH 52. You’ll also be able to purchase the CD version of the audiobook.

COSTCO SIGNINGS:

OREM COSTCO

Thursday, June 3–1:00-7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, June 9–1:00-7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, June 16–1:00-7:00 p.m.

LEHI COSTCO

Saturday, June 5–1:00-7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, June 15–1:00-7:00 p.m.

Friday, June 25–1:00-7:00 p.m.

MURRAY COSTCO

Tuesday, June 8–1:00-7:00 p.m.

Saturday, June 12–1:00-7:00 p.m.

Thursday, June 17–1:00-7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, June 30–1:00-7:00 p.m.

SANDY COSTCO

Monday, June 7–1:00-7:00 p.m.

Friday, June 11–1:00-7:00 p.m.

Monday, June 14–1:00-7:00 p.m.

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