Okay, I’ve heard of some stranger-looking creatures in my time, but upside down jellyfish?  I mean, talk about going against the flow—these guys have it locked! But is there a point to their existence I’m missing?

Life can be hard enough as it is.  I couldn’t imagine mine spent stuck at the bottom of the ocean—or an aquarium in Chattanooga, TN—trapped in a sea of confusion.  Odd.  Beautiful, but odd.  And speaking of odd, check out this narrow passageway we traipsed through on our visit to Rock City.  Couldn’t have been more than a foot or so wide in some spots.  Is it any wonder it’s known as the “Fat Man’s Squeeze?” 

It’s no wonder my friend’s father snagged himself in between these gems of nature and remained stuck for a good hour.  And he wasn’t hefty by any stretch of the word but this passage isn’t wide by any stretch of definition, either.  Talk about vacation killer, I think that one takes the prize!  

Speaking of prizes, in the very same neighborhood of Chattanooga, deep within the caverns of limestone we found a gorgeous waterfall.  It’s one of the premier attractions called Ruby Falls and for good reason. 

Located hundreds of feet below the surface and half an hour walk into the core of Lookout Mountain, it’s a wonder anyone found it in the first place.  But adventurous souls like Leo Lambert longed for such thrill and while excavating for an elevator shaft, discovered a swift gush of air.  Lo and behold, they found it.

As our guide was explaining to us why we shouldn’t attempt to drink the water from the falls, I chuckled and thought.  Now there’s a logo for some boxers:   “Don’t drink the water at Ruby Falls.”  High content of magnesium.  Trust them when they say you won’t make it to the top in time.

This photo was captured when the lighting from above showered the falls in shades of rich lavender.  My kids were amazed by this extravaganza and threatened to drink said water to which I kindly replied, “Go ahead, pumpkin.  I too would like to see if our tour guide means what she says.”

Children live in a constant state of temptation when it comes to challenging authority, don’t they?  This time it would have served them right, albeit a stinky lesson to be sure.

Ugh.  All in all the kids enjoyed their trek up to the mountains.  Not only fun, it was educational.  I mean, we listened to Gone With The Wind on CD the entire drive north and south.  Is there anything one need know about the Civil War that Margaret Mitchell didn’t capture in that book?

Though I did find myself longing to see Scarlet stop torturing herself so.  “Oh, Scah-let dah-ling…  How do you suh-vive?”

The kids enjoyed hearing Stone Mountain referenced in the story, as well as a few other towns we drove through along the way.  Brought it all to life for them, knowing that the Civil War was carried on in this very part of the country.  From the memorials at Chattanooga to the last standing Atlanta, our journey crisscrossed that of Scarlet O’Hara’s.

Now that’s drama come to life.  As were the high wires and tight ropes they walked at the park, the laser show that danced across the stone carving.  All in all it was a great week.  How about you?  Any summer plans you’d like to share?

IndieReader.com announced winners today for their first annual Indie Reader Discovery Awards contest. 

The judges on the IRDA panel included top people in all areas of the publishing industry, in concert with IndieReader’s trusty reviewers.  Judging was based on the quality of writing and the originality of the story. There was a first, second and third place winner in each of the fiction and non-fiction categories, in addition to winners in various sub-categories, indicating that each book has received at least a 4-5 star review (out of 5 stars).

I’m thrilled to announce that my debut novel JENNIFER’S GARDEN won Best in Category for Romance!  It received 5 out of 5 stars and was previously featured on USA Today HEA books.

A big thank you goes out to all the readers and reviewers for this one.  I couldn’t have done it without you! 

Writers write the books of their heart, but without readers they’re flying solo.  Its’ connecting with each of you that gives me deep satisfaction.

Haven’t read it yet?  Read an excerpt here.

My daughter went to the spring ball with her cotillion group.  What is cotillion, you ask?  Manners class.  Dance class.  The formal training to whip our youth into shape. :)

I only know of this organization because as a youth, I was forced to attend myself.  My first year was in ninth grade and I didn’t know a soul.  The cotillion teacher happened to be a close friend of my Aunt Jan, a grand cotillion mistress herself, so having my brothers, sister and I join the club seemed to be a no-brainer.  For everyone else but us, that is!  You want me to dance with boys?  Boys I don’t even know?

Ugh.  The horror!  But alas, I must confess, I am forever grateful.  As an adult, this training has served me well.  Through the years there has been occasion where I was glad to know how to follow a man’s moves on the dance floor without looking the fool.  I was glad to be able to reply “yes” when the handsome fellow asked me to dance.  Cha-cha?  Of course I cha-cha!  Who doesn’t?

My daughter is now in middle school and like her parent before her, is forced to attend cotillion.  Do I have to go?  I hate it!

Yes, dear.  Once a month, it’s not going to kill you.  You’ll thank me later.  Good thing I can wait.  The child is not happy, though you couldn’t tell from this image, now can you?  Now slip on those little white gloves and paste a smile onto your face–you’re going.  And don’t forget your dance card!

While she’s no fan of dancing with boys at the moment, she does enjoy the fact that they have to wait on her.  Hand and foot, make sure she’s seated, isn’t thirsty, hungry.  Would you care for more lemonade? (Yea, that was one my favorite parts, too.)

And all of the young ladies looked divine, especially when escorted by their equally fine clad young gentlemen!

The attire for this ball was quite formal, with a black and white theme.  T he boys rented tuxedos and the girls secured beautiful ball gowns.  Most are probably bridesmaid dresses or prom wear, but it was fun to dress up.  Even my child will admit to that.

Next month?  They’ll have a fifties swing-fling. Not sure why we’re still stuck on the fifties.  That worked for my parents–they lived the music!  But me?  I have no poodle skirt stuffed into the back of my closet.  No saddle shoes or hair bows.  Hmph.  Perhaps I’ll be making my way to the thrift store.

Because it is fun.  Just to prove it, the cotillion headmistress allowed her third year students to line dance.

A kid’s gotta have some fun, right?  Absolutely!  Dulls the pain and convinces them to come back next year!  Really it’s not so bad.  Not once you get used to it–kinda like jumping into a pool of cool water.  At first it’s *shriek!* but then, not so bad.  Actually, once these kids get the hang of ballroom dancing, they tend to enjoy it.  Oddly enough, especially the boys. :)

Poor Daddy…  (Get your hands off my daughter.  Where’s my rifle–I need to clean it.  If she cries, you cry.  And so on…)  But he too, will survive.  Besides, everything is more fun when you have friends with you, right?  Our grand scheme for next year’s grand ball?

Enlist some friends to sign up for cotillion, of course!  How about you?  Ever had to endure the dreaded cotillion ball?  Did you enjoy it?  Would you recommend it to a friend?

Could prove to be a memorable experience for them.  Was for me.  And my siblings.  Thank you, Aunt Jan! 

And I’m living proof my daughter will survive her bout with manners school.  Not only survive, but thrive!  Not to mention being the only one at the table who knows where that fussy teaspoon is supposed to go.  Or which way the knife blade should face.  (I can hear my mother now:  Didn’t I send you to cotillion?)

Yes, dear.