J is for Jamie and K is for KOA

Getting caught up here with a two-fer post.

J is for Jamie

I can't think of anything related to our trip today that is a J word, so I'm going with a brief, but nevertheless shameless plug for my book, The Christmas Village. If you're new to my blog, you can read down the left side to get a story summary and read some of the reviews. I'm currently working on the sequel, which should be out by the middle of next year. The hero is 12-year-old Jamie, whose wish to live in Grandma's magical miniature Christmas village comes true. Yes, it's set at the holidays, and yes, it's a children's book. But more than that, it's a story about family, friendship and forgiveness, wrapped up in an exciting adventure. Both the young and the young-at-heart are loving it, and it's a story that can be enjoyed at any time of year. There are reviews from both little kids and Big Kids over on the left.

I'm working on the sequel, which will be out next year. I'll be promoting The Christmas Village again this fall, and am looking for folks who would be interested in hosting me or reviewing the book in the September - December timeframe. If you would be interested/willing, please let me know. The book has done very well so far, but word of mouth is everything as you know, so help is greatly appreciated and will be happily reciprocated.

K is for KOA

KOA stands for Kampgrounds of America which is a Kute way of spelling campgrounds : - ). We are staying at a KOA tonight - this is the first one we've been at.  The first two were just privately owned campgrounds, and I have to say that so far, I've been really pleased!

We've got a nice spot (though RVPainter is not happy about all the trees). The nice thing about KOAs is that they usually have a store, and even better, these guys serve food - pizza, ribs, pulled pork, from 4 to 7pm. Since we're all set up here in our little spot (under the trees) and don't want to unhook to drive somewhere for food, we are happy that there will be food Right Here. We are just past St. Louis, Missouri, in a place that advertises Jessie Jame's hiding place in the nearby Meramec Caverns. That sounds pretty interesting to me, and if we were staying longer, I'd want to go check that out. I love secret hiding places!

Tomorrow we continue on our journey back to Santa Fe. We may not get all the way to Tulsa, Oklahoma tomorrow, but we'll get as close as we can. It was a much better driving day today, with MUCH better roads and a lot less wind. RVPainter is a hero in my book, because I'd have been petrified to drive these past two days. He seems to enjoy it - I think he pretends he's one of those big rig tractor-trailer drivers! Hey - whatever works!!