From the AlzAuthors Blog: Mary Edwards Olson and her Memoir "When the Sun Shines Through"

By Mary Edwards-Olson

I wrote When the Sun Shines Through because of my personal journey. I was a caregiver for my mother and watched first hand as Alzheimer's slowly stole her from us.

My mother, Elizabeth Edwards, lost her fight with Alzheimer's on October 23, 2017.

Caring for my mother was a roller coaster of emotions. You go from crying so hard that every inch of your body aches, to being so overwhelmed with joy when a piece of them perks through the mask of Alzheimer's. I was ignorant to this disease and its cruelty until I watched it slowly take my mother, piece by piece. It was hard as a caretaker to understand that Mom wasn't Mom anymore in terms of behavior. There were days I thought she was being lazy or difficult on purpose and I would get so upset. It breaks my heart I ever thought that. It was the disease, in those moments. Please remember it's the disease. Your loved one is in there, scared and confused. Show compassion and remember to take time for yourself. As a caregiver, we often take a back seat, but remember your loved one needs you to be happy, and emotionally and physically healthy. They may not express it but they understand.

From the AlzAuthors Blog: Meet Ann Balcom, Blogger and Author of "The Blue Velvet Drape - Dealing with Dementia"

By Anne F. Balcom

Mom was diagnosed with dementia in 2006. From the moment my parents told my sister and me the news I began losing sleep, a lot of sleep. The worry of “How were we going to get through this?” was eating me up. I would lie in bed at night for hours thinking and crying while my husband and kids were sleeping.

After many sleepless nights, I began getting out of bed in the middle of the night, going to the living room and jotting down my thoughts in a journal. I had so many thoughts and concerns that I could not write as fast as my thoughts were coming, so I began to type them. I would print out what I typed and tape it into my journal.

From the AlzAuthors Blog: Lisa Wingate, author of "Tending Roses"

By Lisa Wingate

The Gap

In every story I write, there are bits of real life, nibblets of sheer invention and sprinkles of serendipity. Readers often ask me which parts are which. Sometimes, it’s hard to dissect. Our way of looking at the world comes from our experiences in it. Our passions, the things we care about enough to examine, do as well. I’ve talked about caretaking and the Alzheimer’s journey quite a bit in my books. It’s an issue I know intimately. 

My first novel, Tending Roses, was in part walking that path with my grandmother. She was a storyteller, a keeper of stories. She could wear you out with her stories, but they always came with a lesson at the end. And then, the stories, one-by-one, piece-by-piece, faded away. The newest ones vanished first. It’s a bittersweet journey, the road of memory loss. My straight-laced, sometimes overbearing grandmother lost some of her inhibitions as she lost those stories. There were funny times, tender times, funny things she said that made us laugh until we cried.

New Release Spotlight: Lia London's " A Bid for Love," a Romantic Comedy

 He got way more than he bid for ...

Ladies' man and mid-tier model, Crawford Andrews has a hunkalicous reputation to uphold. That means working out and making out but making no commitments.

Philanthropic (and very chaste) heiress Maris Conway would rather be passing out warm rolls and words of encouragement than working in her father's swanky real estate development company, but it's hard to be generous without a lot of money and connections.

When Crawford and Maris meet during a publicity photo shoot, they decide to attend a charity auction together. Crawford bids on a romantic getaway using both of their names, hoping to score points with Maris for helping to drive up the auction prices for her pet fundraiser. When they accidentally win, he gets much more than he ever imagined.

Self-absorbed meets selfless sweetness, and both find room to grow in this romantic comedy set in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

From the AlzAuthors Blog: Our 3rd Anniversary and Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month Book Sale, Giveaway, and Raffle

It's Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month, and AlzAuthors is celebrating its THIRD ANNIVERSARY! To celebrate this achievement, and in support of those living with Alzheimer's and other dementias, we have put together a book sale and giveaway, and a raffle, where one lucky winner will win a collection of 14 books from our authors.

Starting today through June 12 you can take advantage of this excellent opportunity to check out some of our books at reduced prices or FREE. We offer a variety of genres, from fiction, children's, memoir, and non-fiction in digital, paperback/hardback, and audiobooks. Our books are written from a deep place of understanding, experience, knowledge, and love. May you find one – or two, or three! – to help guide you on your own dementia journey. And they make great gifts!

Visit AlzAuthors to check out the sale

To enter the raffle click here NOW!

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New Release Spotlight: "The Nameless Soldier," a Young Adult Fantasy by Annie Douglass Lima

The Nameless Soldier is book 4 in the Annals of Alasia young adult fantasy series. Haven't read all (or any) of the others? That's okay! The books can be read in any order, and each one can stand on its own.

Blurb:

What do you do when you’re the only survivor?

Nineteen-year-old Tarvic bears the name of a mighty hero from Alasia’s past. However, the young soldier feels anything but heroic when he regains consciousness to find himself the lone survivor of a brutal attack by invaders from the neighboring kingdom.

Forced to leave his identity behind, Tarvic is thrust into civilian life in the role of protector to three war orphans. When the four of them encounter a mysterious stranger, he must choose between keeping the young girls safe and taking on a mission that could help free his kingdom. Can Tarvic live up to his noble name and find a way to balance his duty and his dreams?