New Release Spotlight: Krista Noorman's "Another June with You," Contemporary Romance

She's the wedding photographer. He's the best man. They were high school sweethearts, but she suddenly walked away. He wants the truth, but will it keep them apart forever?

Shannon McGregor never expected to run into her high school sweetheart, especially not as the best man of the wedding she's photographing. But Micah's back, as handsome and charming as she remembered, and pressing her for the truth about why she ended their relationship--a truth she'd rather keep to herself.

Life is good. Micah Shaw has a job he loves, great friends, and a wonderful girl by his side. But seeing his first love again opens his eyes to the charade he's been living without her. He never really got over Shannon or the dreams they had for their future--dreams she seemed to casually brush aside when she broke things off a decade ago without much explanation.

As wedding events unfold, avoiding Micah is impossible, and with their connection as strong as ever, Shannon finds herself battling the desire to tell him everything. How long will they circle the truth before Shannon admits defeat? And what does it matter when he'll be gone by Sunday?

A sweet, clean second chance romance. The first book in the McGregor Family series.

Purchase Another June With You

From the AlzAuthors Blog: Vina Mogg Blogs about Life as an Alzheimer's Caregiver in "Seaglass Life"

By Vina Mogg

Not Alone

At a caregiver’s conference in Orlando I read a poem I had written during the opening assembly. Three things that happened there marked my writing journey.

A Florida State Representative, Mark Pfaford, key advocate for the Florida's Alzheimer's Disease Initiative (ADI), a bill that provides services to meet the needs of individuals and families affected by Alzheimer's disease, spoke to me after the reading, saying, “Your words give a face to the bill we support.”

An elderly man in the audience stood up and asked, “Where can I go for help? Who can help me care for my wife?”

Three women approached me in the lobby, telling me, “Your poem says exactly what I am feeling inside.”

Each cry isolated calls out the same question:

Am I alone?

Who will help me?

At that moment I asked myself, Who will be a voice for these people?

A voice deep inside me answered, “Here am I. Send me.”

New Release Spotlight: D.G. Driver's YA Novel “Ghost on the Water”

One girl’s daring adventure turns into a 

long frightful night lost on the water.

Forced to leave the California beach behind to spend the summer with her grandma in rural Tennessee, Dannie is certain this will be the most boring summer of her life. Things start looking up when a group of local kids, mistaking her short hair and boyish figure, invite her on their ‘no girls allowed’ overnight kayaking trip. Obviously, her grandma refuses to let her go. But Dannie suspects the real reason is that the woman is afraid of the lake, only she won't tell Dannie why.

Longing for freedom and adventure, Dannie finds an old rowboat hidden behind the shed and sneaks off on her own to catch up to her new friends. It seems like a simple solution … until everything goes wrong.

Dannie soon discovers this lake is more than just vast. It’s full of danger, family secrets, and ghosts.

Who is Dannie?

Dannie is an almost 15-year-old girl who likes to keep her hair super short so it doesn't get in her face when she goes skate-boarding. Most of her friends are boys back in California, and that's just fine with her. She hasn't grown much of a figure, and she's okay with that, too. She prefers to wear over-sized T-shirts and boys' jeans. They're more comfortable and better for moving around. She thinks staying in a cabin by a lake would be fun if it were with her dad or her friends, where she could go jet-skiing or fishing. However, she's stuck on this lake with her grandma, and she predicts it's going to be a long, boring ten days of doing nothing. She's wrong about that.

Read this excerpt from Lost on the Water, A Ghost Story

From the AlzAuthors Blog: Barbara Ivey Blogs about Alzheimer's at "The Perfect Thing"

by Barbara Ivey

I never cared for my mother during her Alzheimer’s.

My Dad considered Mom’s care to be his duty as her husband. To Dad’s credit, he took full command of Mom’s care and served her with honor. 

Still, from the start, I knew there were ways I could contribute. My challenge was to figure out how to do so, from where I lived ninety miles away. Having had remarkable results using Lean in my consulting practice, I wondered how I could apply those principles to this situation. 

In Lean, processes can be improved when defects and other kinds of excess are identified. I set my mind to contributing in different ways and learning from the results.

Defects in the contributions I made were easy for my Dad to spot and point out. I overstayed my welcome several afternoons, unaware that Dad was clearing the decks before Mom began sundowning, and Dad exploded in anger. I pushed Dad to consider care options that he had yet to believe would benefit Mom, and Dad pushed back.

Each time, I improved on the defects that Dad identified, and tried again. Each time, the lessons I learned by identifying and addressing the defects were treasures. I learned that at times my father knew best. I learned that at times I knew best. I learned that Dad needed more patience, more compassion, more forgiveness, and more love during caregiving than I ever imagined. And I learned that at times I needed the same from my husband as he supported me in my unique brand of Caregiving.

The Perfect Thing blog is for you if you are in a similar place in your life. If you have a parent diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and a parent who is a Caregiver. In the blog, I share true stories of my family events during my Mom’s Alzheimer’s. I share my defects and what I learned by identifying and improving on them. I offer questions you can ask yourself to challenge your assumptions. I share things that improved my family’s journey, or that would have had they been available back then.

From the AlzAuthors Blog: Dr. David Davis and Joko Gilbert's "Support the Caregiver"

By Dr. David Davis and Joko Gilbert

As anyone who has walked in our shoes knows, there is a vast hole in the heart of a caregiver who, by a twist of fate, must tend to the needs of a Loved One suffering from Alzheimer’s. A hole that has the power to reshape and redefine who we are, for the rest of our lives. So, if we can approach this incredibly difficult challenge with the awareness that caregiving can be an opportunity for healing and growth, it allows us to step back from the precipice, where frustration, sadness and exhaustion await.

My sweet wife Linda was diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer’s in 2009 at the age of 51 years old. She survived for 7 years until her death last year. We are simply not given the tools and strategies to deal with the burden of caregiving and the toll it takes on every aspect of our lives. Having practiced chiropractic for  many years, I had a strong grasp on the principles and practices of healthy living, which was the fuel for my desire to come through this experience as a better version of myself, and to embrace the profound lessons as a caregiver, allowing me to more fully integrate into the world.

The thought that we can bring insight into the community of caregivers to ease our collective burden, as well as  provide inspiration and information to elevate the conversation from one of support to one of empowerment was the motivation to create our book, Support the Caregiver, 9 Strategies for turning the stress of ALZHEIMER’S CAREGIVING into Transformational Growth.

From the AlzAuthors Blog: Catherine Hodder. Esq. and "Estate Planning for the Sandwich Generation"

By Catherine Hodder, Esq.

I was a corporate and banking attorney when my father began experiencing mini-strokes and having difficulty with his memory. We didn’t know at the time he was embarking on a ten-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease. And what a battle it was.

Even though I was well versed in law and finance, it wasn’t until I faced my father’s illness that I understood the importance of having proper estate planning documents. The more I learned, the more I realized there is a great deal of information most people (even attorneys) don’t know.

Great Summer Reads Blog Tour: "Love on a Limb" by Laurie Lewis

This week I'm participating in Lovin' The Book's Great Summer Reads Blog Tour. I chose three books to feature and here is the third and last. I chose them because they looked interesting to me or because I'm friends with the author and admire her work. I hope you like them too. Scroll to the bottom to find the link to enter our Giveaway. Lots of great prizes! Happy reading!

Matthew Grayken is young, successful, and dying, which is why he’s about to propose to a total stranger. He isn’t interested in love. He needs a caregiver, a companion, and someone to be his legal voice when he can no longer speak for himself.

Lonely, compassionate nurse Mikaela Compton is intrigued by Matt Grayken’s tender request, but when their friendly marriage turns into love, she rejects the inevitability of Matt’s death and prays for a miracle instead.

Great Summer Reads Blog Tour: TJ Amberson's "Love at Lakewood Med," Romantic Suspense

This week I'm participating in Lovin' The Book's Great Summer Reads Blog Tour. I chose three books to feature and here is the second. I chose them because they looked interesting to me or because I'm friends with the author and admire her work. I hope you like them too. Scroll to the bottom to find the link to enter our Giveaway. Lots of great prizes! Happy reading!

Savannah Drake would be thrilled about starting her final year of medical school if it weren't for one thing: she has to spend a month working in the emergency room with cold, aloof Dr. Wesley Kent as her mentor. 

From the AlzAuthors Blog: Meet Minna Packer, Blogger, Artist, and Filmmaker Living with Early-Onset Alzheimer's

By Minna Packer

I was a teacher, professor, artist, filmmaker, mother of two adult children, a wife, a former American Fulbright, and an active member of my community. I am now 63. I was diagnosed twice, first in September 2016 with a Spect scan, then again in January 2017, when another neurologist ordered an FDG Pet scan. Twice I was told the pattern of the images was that of Alzheimer's. The changes and symptoms of what appears to me to be a rapid form of the disease have been radical.

The neurologist recommended I retire. I pushed myself to continue through the term, and then resigned from my twenty year teaching career last summer. There was no recognition for my many years of service. People I had known for decades, friends and colleagues, disappeared.