Join me at my new website wordstothinkabout.com where I hope to continue the conversation. My old posts will be there and I've already written some new ones just waiting for you to jump in and comment on. 

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I look forward to seeing you at my new home!

~Jennifer

The web-based software I use to create this blog stinks. It makes posting each entry as hard as it possibly can be. Like today for instance, the add-a-link feature isn't working which is why you see the links in the text next to the name. For this reason and a thousand others, I am getting a new website with a much more functional blog and I have temporarily stopped blogging as I prepare the content.

I immediately called her to get the details—it's the hardcover nonfiction list (which is the big one!) and it's for the week ending July 11 which means it will be printed in the Times on the 26th (they print them two weeks behind).  

I felt like a school girl. I was all smiley and giggly. But I don't think the person sitting next to me was all that happy about my news. I called my husband, I tweeted the news, I Facebooked the news, I called a friend or two and somewhere in there I apparently knocked my water over and didn't notice. 

So if you were the young woman in seat 2A on flight 864 - uhm, I so sorry and I'll try not to talk with my hands in the future, but this was really big news for me and I had to share it.

~Jennifer 

This week, a new book was released called "First Things First" by Kurt and Brenda Warner. I was fortunate enough to collaborate with them on the book. 

It all happened very quickly. On a Thursday night in February, I got a call from my publisher asking if I thought I could write a book in a month. I told her it depended on the topic but I had previously done one in six weeks or so a few years back. Then she told me it would be with Kurt Warner and his wife Brenda. After five or seven more phone calls that night, including one with the Warners, I found out the next day that I was chosen to work with them on the book. Four days later I left for a week in Phoenix and spent six days interviewing the Warners and their kids. I returned to Atlanta and took the 569 pages of transcripts and in nineteen days helped them turn their words into a book.

We all know that  what you hear in the media isn't always the truth—especially when it comes to celebrities. This was also true in the case of the Warners—they're even better in person than the media makes them out to be. 

Here's a video from Greta's show that gives you a good feel for the book and for the couple.

Chances are you may think you know Kurt's story, but you probably don't know the true story. And most people have no idea of Brenda's story which in many ways is more inspiring than Kurt's. The Warners are really terrific parents and very intentional about the way they parent. And their kids? They're pretty exceptional too. 

So that's my secret. When I disappeared earlier this spring, I was working on this book.

~Jennifer

Tonight I will be at Eddie Kirkland's CD release party. I can't wait to see what he's done. Check out his website for more info.

Join me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter. I'll be uploading commentary and pictures. 

Not sure it will be all that interesting, but then how will you know unless you follow me?

My twin nephews came to my book signing and they wrote and illustrated books to give me because they're authors too. Here's one nephew telling my brother about the books he wrote:

I didn't get to spend as much time with him and his twin brother as I would have liked to have because there were a lot of people at the signing, but I did spend get to read the books they gave me on the flight home. 

One of the books was called "All About Money."  

My favorite line from the book, comes from the page above. You'll notice on the left is a picture of a money factory and mints. The text on the page says,  "Money is made in a mint, not the mint that makes your breath smell better."

In case you're interested, the book also has a notes page in the back so you can write down the important facts you find as you read. There is also a reading level assigned to the book so you know whether it is a book you can read by yourself, read with a parent, or is a chapter book.

The answer to the question you're thinking is 5. 

Yes, he's only five years old.

~Jennifer

B&N had a nice display of books, great signage, and did a fabulous job of making announcements through the store while I was there. Each of those things helped bring in customers. As a result, I sold more books here than my previous signings combined!

I had a great turn-out with lots of family members, Bob Geuder (and his wife Alo) my drama director from high school, friends from high school, and a couple of people who knew me through the Quad-Cities Christian Writer's Conference that I taught at earlier this year.

Even the paparazzi came. (Okay, it was David, my husband.) This picture explains why the video he took was so nauseating to watch. I think he's checking out the sports books next to him.

I think this is my favorite picture. My fourteen-year-old son took it. It was also a very special day for him. I don't want to write about it now because it's his story to tell, but perhaps someday if all the parties agree, I can tell you more.

Overall, I met a lot of really interesting people and got to see a few friends and some family. Though we were only in town less than 48 hours due to Air Tran canceling our flight,  it was well worth the trip!

~Jennifer

It was great to catch up with each of these women. All leading very different lives but each was inspiring in her own way.