CREATE your own colorful, multi-dimensional family history through storytelling. This guide contains advice on collecting, organizing, and recording your family history; sharing your research; a list of helpful resources; and much more. That said, this is not a dry step-by-step manual. It instructs through excerpts from my often humorous, other times poignant family tales of trail blazers, black sheep, soldiers, and peacemakers.
As a storyteller advocate, I believe that when we allow ourselves the time to listen to the stories of those still with us; when we search out and pass on the stories of those who have died, we acknowledge that those lives have value. We anchor ourselves in space and time. And we unroll a tether that stretches both forward and backward to infinity.
My hope is that through this guide you become inspired to tell your own stories. I know you’ve got them. Everyone does.
DETERMINED to reclaim mementos of a childhood cut short by her mother’s terminal illness, Sydney Roberts sets out for El Paso, Texas—the last known whereabouts of the gold-digger who drained her father’s bank account and his spirit. It’s also the location of the nursing home where her grandmother has been living for the last several years. If it’s in her best interest, Sydney will reclaim her as well.
Accomplishing her mission puts Sydney on the other side of the law. It also puts her in mind to reevaluate her life.
Curious about what made Sydney Roberts turn her back on all things familiar and point her Uncle George’s motorhome east with the wind? Find out in this humorous and fast-paced novella – a story of love, justice, audacity – and, of course, a dog.
(Please note, as stated above, unlike the rest of the books in the series this is a short story/novella.)
LIVING, loving, and working in Los Angeles, thirty-three- year-old Sydney Roberts is struggling against the confining security of sameness. The only solution she can settle on is change—of the life-altering variety—and so, setting her sights on New York City, she breaks up with her boyfriend, sells her belongings, and packs her drooling dog and cranky cat into a hand-me- down motorhome.
Just a few days into her cross-country jaunt, however, her beast of a vehicle breaks down. She’s forced to bide her time in the strange town of Harmony, Utah, while the local slow-as-molasses mechanic repairs it. But while Harmony may be small, Sydney quickly discovers it’s brimming with drama, much of which seems tied to the neighboring polygamists.
From a cold case involving two missing girls from the polygamist compound to an unexpected romantic encounter with a strikingly sexy rancher, Finding Harmony tells a truly unique tale of love, laughter, courage, and perseverance. Introducing a vivid cast of characters whose unforgettable stories weave together to create a plot that constantly surprises, you’ll feel like a Dusty’s Diner regular by the time you read the last page.
IN Caught in Traffic, Sydney Roberts continues her journey east on her excursion into self-discovery. Only this time Sydney is in over her head because of a pair of shoes.
To be fair, Sydney didn’t come to New York to be an expert on feet, but stare through a basement apartment’s transom window long enough, and you get good at judging people by their choice of footwear. It’s a way she passes the time while working from home as a copy editor.
One pair of feet worries Sydney—feet she suspects belong to a drug dealer. Turns out she’s right—and, he isn’t just into drugs—he’s part of a cartel involved in far more dangerous crimes. Sydney is advised by more than one person not to get too close. It could be deadly.
When things get desperate, Sydney has to admit she probably should have paid more attention to that advice. Even if she manages to get help, she knows that it may be too late. The cartel’s reach is long and its members are determined to silence any potential threat. How’s Sydney going to extract herself from this latest mess?
If you enjoy that delicious blend of suspense and adventure, heroines with moxie, and themes that make you both laugh and think, then you’ll love following Sydney on her escapade in the Big Apple.
BACK in Harmony, Utah, Sydney has slipped out of her business pumps and into snowshoes and trouble.
Sinister Samuel Vaullie is still lurking out there, his demonic streak growing wider by the day. This time Sydney’s determined to stop him—no matter how far or dangerous the pursuit.
She’s also determined to come to terms with why she would boomerang right back to the parched and dusty one-horse town of Harmony—a town whose idea of culture is round dances and branding parties. Did she miss Cal? V.A.? Buffalo Bolognese? Really? Or was it Noah? A man whose lure is as hot as his branding iron and whose character is as strong as the metal from which it was forged.
LIVING the Little Things is a collection of essays to keep on your nightstand and pick up when you wish to float into dreamland on a good laugh, a warm memory, or a deep reflection. The essays take an often humorous, sometimes poignant, and always thoughtful view of the small moments in life that provide laughter, pleasure, and meaning to our shared journey.
Signs That You Skipped Your Sixties will make you laugh out loud. Following Tequila Trucks will have you ordering up an umbrella drink. A Smile Collection will carry you down memory lane. And then there’s Hell is Not a Place; It’s a Time for those nights when dreamland eludes you
Order your copy, and enjoy!