Counting down to Saddlehill Academy!

 

Hii, friends!

I'm so very thrilled to remind everyone that NEXT MONTH (!!!) is the release of my first novel in eight years! Ahhhhh!! That's right—SWEET & BITTER RIVALS (Saddlehill Academy #1) is out on May 30th. That means you still have time to grab some preorder goodies! If you order before May 30 from a bookstore listed on my Website, you'll get a signed bookplate AND a bookmark with your order!

Here's what the book is about:

From the author of the Canterwood Crest series comes the first book in a middle grade series about an equestrian boarding school following a girl who struggles to keep her eyes on the prize while receiving anonymous threats.

Abby St. Clair can’t wait to start another season with her elite riding team at her boarding school. She has something to prove after literally falling on her face during the biggest competition of the year the previous season. And she could really use a win after her mom left her family, her dad remarried, and Abby’s new stepsister, Emery, proved to be a strong rider and stiff competition.

Abby wants to return to some semblance of normal but is hiding a secret: she accidentally cost her biggest rival, Selly, a chance at team captain. Then Abby begins to receive anonymous messages, threatening to expose her unwitting sabotage and a video that makes it look like she’s trash-talking Emery. With an important competition on the horizon and the knowledge that someone in her circle knows way too much about her, the pressure is on.

Abby tries to put on blinders and have the perfect meet with her horse, Beau, but she’s about to find out the hard way that secrets don’t make friends at Saddlehill Academy.

I'm soooo excited to get the word out about Saddlehill! It's full of Canterwood Crest Easter eggs and future books might just contain meet-ups with your OG CC faves! 👀

I hope you're as ready as I am! 

xo

Come play STOLEN DREAM on StoryLoom!

I've been posting a little about this on other socials, but I wanted to add here that I've got a free for now interactive horse story game on StoryLoom!

Visit www.StoryLoom.com and look for STOLEN DREAM in the action/adventure/drama section. Eight chapters are ready for you to play and more will be added soon.

It's my first time writing interactive fiction, and I'd love to have y'all check it out! The game's in open beta so there are bugs, and it works best on a computer/iPad. It DOES work on mobile, too. (Most of the time, haha.)

Here's what it's about:

Cassidy Cole is going for her dream job as an assistant racehorse trainer at Windswept Farms. She’s determined to focus on the horses and make sure they become the best in the world. But when the local mob steals her prized steed, Cassidy has to team up with her hot new boss to get her horse back… no matter how dangerous it might be.

Note: this story has mature themes and dialogue! See you at the races! xoxo

Book Lovers Unite for World Suicide Prevention Day 2020

September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day. Authors, readers, and bloggers are uniting again his year to fight stigma, spread mental health awareness, and support the prevention of suicide. To encourage participation, we're giving away a $50 Amazon gift card and a Book Lovers Unite for World Suicide Prevention Day t-shirt to one lucky winner.

Two kinds of stigma continue to persist: public stigma and self-stigma. Public stigma occurs when other people view a person with a mental illness in a negative way. Public stigma feeds into self-stigma when people with mental illness internalize the negative talk they hear from others.

Well-meaning people say things like, "Suck it up," "Choose to be happy," "Turn that frown upside down," or "Focus on your blessings," as if mental illness were a mood, a frame of mind, or an attitude that can simply be overcome at will.

Often, people who suffer from mental illness blame themselves instead of seeking help. Just as a diabetic needs insulin, a person with mental illness may need treatment.

People who contemplate suicide don't want to die; they just can't fathom how to live because they are so miserable. They can't see past their pain and misery, and they see no point in going on.

According to the International Association for Suicide Prevention, "Every year, suicide is among the top 20 leading causes of death globally for people of all ages. It is responsible for over 800,000 deaths, which equates to one suicide every 40 seconds."

IASP explains that "[e]very life lost represents someone’s partner, child, parent, friend or colleague. For each suicide approximately 135 people suffer intense grief or are otherwise affected. This amounts to 108 million people per year who are profoundly impacted by suicidal behavior. Suicidal behavior includes suicide, and also encompasses suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. For every suicide, 25 people make a suicide attempt and many more have serious thoughts of suicide."

If you're contemplating suicide, please don't do it! Instead, seek help. You might be suffering now, but you never know what tomorrow brings. Reach out to a friend or family member. See a doctor. If that doctor doesn't help, try another. Please don't give up.

If you're in crisis, please reach out to the toll-free hotline in your region. You can find your hotline here: https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/.

If you are grieving the death of a victim of suicide and need help, here are resources that can help: https://www.iasp.info/resources/Postvention/National_Suicide_Survivor_Organizations/.

If you suspect that someone you know may be contemplating suicide, please reach out. We often hesitate because we're afraid we might make things worse by saying the wrong thing. According to IASP, "Evidence suggests that this is not the case. The offer of support and a listening ear are more likely to reduce distress, as opposed to exacerbating it."

Warning signs to look for include severe anxiety, agitation, hopelessness, rage, feelings of being trapped, a strong urge for vengeance, engaging in risky activities, excessive alcohol and/or drug use, withdrawing from people, trouble sleeping, and dramatic mood changes.

THE TOUR

Book lovers from all over the world have joined together to share their stories and spread mental health awareness. Please follow this tour guide to find our posts and to enter our giveaway for a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card and a Book Lovers Unite for World Suicide Prevention Day 2020 t-shirt:

 

P.D. Workman, Author

Triple A Book Blog

Jessica Burkhart, Author

Here Is What I Read Blog

Crossroad Reviews

Jazzy Book Reviews

Book Corner News and Reviews

I Love Books and Stuff Blog

Luv Saving Money

Debbie Manber Kupfer, Author

Ash Ineski, Author

Allie Burton, Author

Book Butterfly in Dreamland

Sara Crawford, Author

Tawdra Kandle, Author

Quinn Loftis, Author

Kat's Indie Book Blog

Day Leitao, Author

Steph Weston, Author

Lanie Bynum, Author

L.B. Carter, Author

Holly and Mistletoe

Eva Pohler, Author

 

THE GIVEAWAY

From September 1-10, enter for a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card and a Book Lovers Unite for World Suicide Prevention Day t-shirt. There are lots of ways to enter below--choose one or all. You can also tweet daily for extra entries. We'll email the winner by September 11th.

OTHER WAYS YOU CAN HELP

1. On September 10th at 8 p.m. your time, light a candle to remember all those we have lost to suicide and to represent the hope of preventing suicide. People all over the world will be participating. You can send an ecard in 63 different languages to invite others to participate. Find the ecards here.

2. Purchase a Book Lovers Unite for World Suicide Prevention Day 2020 for $20. For every shirt sold, five dollars is donated to the International Association for Suicide Prevention. Order yours here.

3. Spread the word about this giveaway, to encourage more people to read our posts and tweet about overcoming stigma. Use the share buttons at the bottom of this post, and

Click to tweet: #EntertoWin a $50 #giftcard and #Tshirt while fighting #stigma and spreading #mentalhealthawareness for #suicideprevention #WSPD.

 

PokemonGO Safari Zone

Ahh, I am so excited!! I’m going to my first ever PokemonGO Safari Zone in March!  

Last June, I was lucky enough to attend GOFest in Chicago, but Safari Zone seems to be a lot more lowkey without the insanity and pressure of GOFest. 

I’m super excited to be able to add Chatot to my Dex. That’s not a mon I would have been able to get, otherwise. 

I’m crossing my fingers for good weather, too! We shall see. It’s St. Louis at the end of March sooo who knows what kind of weather we’ll face! 😂

SOKY Book Fest

I'm sooo excited to come to Louisville in March for the SOKY Book Fest! The full author lineup will be announced in February, but if you don't have plans on the weekend of March 20-21, come see me.

Here's the link and I'll blog about my specific events when they're announced. Oh, btw? Louis Sachar is going. Yeah, That Famous Author. So if you're eh on coming to see me, definitely go to see him! :D

Hope everyone is having a great New Year so far.

xoxo

Halloween comes to AC Pocket Camp & gaming rambles

I’m in such a spooky mood that I started playing Pocket Camp again just to trick out my camp for Halloween. 😁

Except since this morning, I’ve added this fab top hat to my ensemble.

Just too cute! Does anyone else play Pocket Camp? I’m psyched for Animal Crossing for the Switch coming in March 2020, I believe. I don’t own a Switch yet, but the Switch Lite looks pretty great. I want one for the new Pokemon game coming next year, too. Lately, I haven’t been gaming aside from games on my phone though. I play Pokémon GO daily and Pocket Camp on and off in spurts. I played Pokémon Masters a ton when it first came out, but not nearly as much recently. Mario Kart Tour dropped yesterday and that’s fuuun! 😍 I’m kinda obsessed with it. I've linked my account to my Facebook, so if we're FB friends then I might just see you on the racecourse. 

Happy fall, y’all!

I’m so, so glad it’s fall! 🍂🎃 Finally! Well, sort of. This part of Tennessee is going to have record breaking heat the first week of October. Yup, we’re gonna spend six days in the upper 90s, so it will feel more like July than fall. 

Smh. 

But that hasn’t stopped us from getting in the fall and Halloween spirit around the house! 

The decorations are looking pretty spooky! 

Oh, and Halloween isn’t complete without the family skeleton, Fred. It’s a running prank from now until Halloween that we set him up and try scare someone or outdo each other by sticking him in creative poses. Here’s his first look . . . 

Happy first week of fall, indeed! 🎃🍂🎃