Tornado Warning: Raising Funds for Joplin

It's finally a reality! Tornado Warning is out!

I'm so excited for this. The book represents a culmination of a dream: my opportunity to use my talents to help Joplin.

The book is for sale on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, for Nook and Kindle, and in many bookstores throughout Missouri and Arkansas. Your bookstore can get it in for you, too.

I was interviewed on the Great Day St. Louis morning show. It's a five minute clip, but the video explains so much. I would love it if you would share this with friends and family! I've donated my time and resources, but if people don't know the book is available, that's as far as it gets. Help me help Joplin!

Book to benefit tornado victims

Even though the Oklahoma tornado is all over the news right now, those who have been affected by previous disasters shouldn't be forgotten. And so I'm very   excited to share with you the cover to my nonfiction book about the Joplin tornado and its victims. 

Though the book doesn't come out for another year, this is my contribution to those affected by the tornado. they are still in recovery, two years later. This is a benefit book, a fundraiser. The profits will go to relief funds and those who contributed their stories. 

The more books I sell, the more Joplin will be helped. So now my job is to select the right charitable groups and start getting press attention. 

You can help too! Start spreading the word and remember that while our lives move on, those affected by the tragedies will bear the burden for years to come. Don't forget them!

I'm Grateful for a Dirty Kitchen

My kitchen did not get cleaned last night.

Waking up to a mess is one of my biggest pet peeves. I hate the smell and the dirty dishes and not having what I need for breakfast.

But last night I spent close to three hours in the bathroom with my three children while we endured a tornado warning. We read books and watched Netflix on my computer and tried to entertain the baby. I checked on my laundry room, which always floods in bad storms and flooded again. I checked on family and friends to make sure people were okay. And I followed along with the news story of Joplin, and the hundred who died in this sister city not even an hour away.

By the time I put the kids to bed at 12:30am, I didn't care about cleaning my kitchen.

But I am filled with gratitude that I still have one.