Hi friends, I hope you are having a happy new year. California has been hit with a crazy amount of rain, such a blessing to end the drought, but stormy messes to clean up too. In the midst of all this wild weather, I’ve been wrapping up my new novel River of Mercy. It releases March 7th on Amazon! That is just around the corner, and there is still so much to do! Yikes!

Many of you have joined me before on book launches. I appreciate your help so much! I won’t be using a private Facebook page for our group this time, as I’ve done in the past. I’ll use email to keep in touch. I can send you an early reader ebook, or if you don’t read ebooks, a PDF file to read on your computer or iPhone.

One of the biggest things that helps an author are Amazon reviews. I’ll like you to leave an honest review on Amazon after River of Mercy releases on March 7th. To leave a verified review, you’ll need a verified purchase of the book. River of Mercy is up for preorder on Amazon right now for $2.99. I’m hoping you will preorder the book. On release day, the kindle price jumps to $9.99. There will also be a paperback available by launch day. Send me an email if you’d like to be on my team, and I’ll get a kindle ebook or PDF file to you, hopefully in the next week or two.

I’m praying readers will love this story set on the Sacramento River. When I took this photo below from a bridge in Colusa this past autumn, I didn’t know it would eventually grace my book jacket. Our farm is just a few miles down the road from here.

I enjoyed bringing small-town football to life in River of Mercy. All of our boys have played football in Sutter. It’s a special place with special people. The town of Berry Creek is loosely based on Sutter. Of course, the twists and turns in the tale didn’t really happen, they came out of my imagination, but I love setting my stories in real places in California. In the photo below, Sutter’s flag riders are running the track during the National Anthem. I love this tradition in our town and wanted to write about it, so I have flag riders in River of Mercy.

I hope all of you are doing well and chasing your dreams. I often tell myself life is short; make it sweet. I focus on things I can do to sweeten the lives of those around me along with my own life. One of the greatest things I’ve found to make life sweeter is to give thanks. Each day I think about things I’m thankful for, and then I say a little prayer thanking God for these things. Scott’s word for the year is THANKFUL, so we have been sitting down to tell each other what we are thankful for each day. This time practicing thankfulness lightens our hearts and brings us joy.

Another thing that sweetens life is being open to new growth. My word for the year is GROW. I want to learn new things, experience new adventures, and get to know God better so I can grow in my relationship with Him. It’s easy as we get older to fall into ruts. Just doing the same old thing the same old way. I want to try new ways of doing things this year.

A few days ago, for the first time, we took our boys snowboarding; it was Christian’s first time and Garry’s second time surfing the snow. John took up snowboarding last year, and he took Garry snowboarding in November. That hooked Garry. For Christmas, Garry wanted snowboarding equipment. So for his fifteenth birthday, we took the boys to Squaw Valley after Scott returned from flying search and rescue missions during the flooding around New Year’s. The boys are loving their new hobby, and I’m enjoying their joy and delight, along with learning how to write in a busy snow lodge with skiers and snowboarders tromping back and forth all day long.

I took a break from working beside the lodge fire, and Scott and I rode the gondola. I can’t tell you how pretty Tahoe is with all the new snow. I had never ridden this gondola before, and though I don’t enjoy heights and felt some fear being up so high in a glass fishbowl, I was also in awe of the breathtaking beauty of this winter wonderland. This new experience I enjoyed so much.

I hope you enjoy new experiences too in 2023 and find yourself feeling thankful. I know the past couple of years has been hard for many of us. But I hope things are looking up for you. And even when things aren’t looking up, we can look up and ask God to change things or change us so what we are going through becomes something good in the end.

Thank you so much for helping me spread the word about River of Mercy coming soon. If you plan on joining my launch team, I look forward to connecting with you in the days to come via email.

Peace, love, and hugs,

Paula