So, I’ve been so preoccupied with my trip to Lubbock and seeing my sister’s first professional production (it was AWESOME by the way) that I haven’t really been keeping y’all up to date with a lot of the really cool things that have been happening lately.
So first, a few pictures from the trip. Lubbock wasn’t quite as awful to me this time around, but I did suffer some nasty hay fever and my friend totally burned the back of my hand with a fresh-out-of-the-oven baking sheet. Thanks, Rachel.
Seeing my sister, though, was absolutely the best!
We caught up on a lot of important issues, like final exams, The Hunger Games, and the new One Direction music video.
There were also several Christmas decorations around, which I loved.
There was also tea and and an awesome Lubbock sunset.
Then I hopped on a plane and flew home. I had a great time, but now that it’s over, I’m so excited for Thanksgiving week, I can’t even tell you!
Okay, finally on to the other cool updates.
First of all, I got to meet one of the most iconic writers of our time and a fellow Texan, Anne Rice!
My friend and fellow writer (soon-to-be published author) Savannah graciously accompanied me and we had a lot of fun browsing old books, enjoying White Rock Coffee, and of course, fangirling over writing. We really lucked out too, because I didn’t realize we needed a ticket to meet Anne Rice. A very kind and thoughtful man overheard our conversation, walked right up to us, and gave me an extra ticket! What a cool guy!
Ms. Rice, in case you were wondering, was very polite and soft-spoken. She signed my copies of The Vampire Chronicles and Prince Lestat, which I am very much looking forward to reading. Then, I gave her a copy of Cemetery Tours. I’m not sure if that was a gutsy move, or a very presumptuous one, but I wanted to give it to her A) because I admire her work and B) as a way of saying thank you. I have no idea if she’ll read it or not, but she was very gracious.
The next cool thing to happen is I finally ordered a dragon from Donna’s Dragons!
This is Simon the NaNo Dragon.
For those who don’t know, Donna is an independent artist who makes polymer clay dragon statues. Ever since I stumbled across her on Facebook, I’ve been in love with her dragons! You can find her on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/DonnasDragons
Cool thing number three is that Cemetery Tours is featured in Pose Magazine’s December Issue as Book of the Month! I am so humbled and honored and I want to send a huge thank you out to editor Tiffany Jones for including my book in this month’s issue!
You can find the issue here: http://www.joomag.com/en/newsstand/pose-magazine-december-2014-pose-magazine/0457396001416541990
Another really, really cool thing is that I recently joined Ancestry.com. I’ve always been curious about my ancestors and where I come from. I have found a lot of Yankees, Sons of the American Revolution, Swiss people, and Scots. It just so happens, however, that one of those Scots is Robert the Bruce.
This is a picture of Robert the Bruce I took at Stirling Castle in Scotland a few years back. I had no idea at the time that he is, in fact, my 22nd Great Grandfather.
It turns out my dad is a direct descendent of Kings Robert I (the Bruce), II, and III of Scotland. This is a really cool thing for me, not only because of how much I love Scotland (I love it a whole lot) and Robert the Bruce is remembered as being one of its greatest heroes, but because growing up, I wanted nothing more in life than to be a Princess. Well, maybe I just have a minuscule fraction of Robert’s DNA swimming around in my veins, but you know what? It still counts. Childhood dream is officially a reality.
Finally, and perhaps this isn’t as cool as all of that, but after taking a few days off, I went back and reread my NaNoWriMo project. Y’all, I really love it. I love Cemetery Tours also and I’m still so excited and proud of it and the third one is definitely coming next year, but I am really enjoying this new book. I can’t wait to finish it and get it out there. Granted, I’m not sure the same crowd that liked Cemetery Tours will be as into this new one as I am, but that’s okay. There are a lot of readers out there. And I love you all.
Enjoy your weekend! Mine is rainy and cold, but that’s okay, because I have warm pajamas and a kitty.
A Platform of Sorts 
Congratulations on meeting Anne Rice! 🙂 You and your sister look great in that picture. I haven’t been to Scotland, and Bruce sounds like a hero. I have been on vacation to Italy and Paris, France. It was an awesome vacation like seven years ago. Congratulations on your vacation to Scotland. Awesome!!! 🙂
Thank you so, so much! I would love to see Italy and France, but I’m also dying to go back to Scotland. It’s the most amazing place in the world… 🙂
So glad you got to visit with your seeeester! And Anne Rice, OMG!
Right?! I think I was shaking… Hopefully I didn’t sound too dumb!!!
I don’t know which part of this is the most awesome part,lol
Hahaha, thanks! Anne Rice was pretty stinking cool… What an honor it was!
Everything in this post is crazy happy grin worthy!
Awesome account of your genealogy! I’ve traced mine via ancestry.com and was only able to go back to the mid to late 1880’s. I did find things like my great-great grandfather’s WWI draft card and also learned a multi-x great uncle was Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy under Abraham Lincoln. That’s on my Mom’s side. My dad’s side is from south of the border and I understand they don’t keep very detailed records, I would literally have to go from town to town going off the stories I’ve heard, which are conflicting with every source. Just a thought; you mentioned a desire to be a princess; should you ever return to Scotland, might I suggest first contacting possible descendants of his? I think it could open up a whole new world for you and of course, inspire a whole new body of work! I had a friend who was descended from royalty in Portugal and she was given quite an experience when she visited.