This memo marks a milestone for us here at ShortHand Publishing – we’ve been here for two years!! My, time does fly. So much has happened in the last two years. We’ve certainly come a long way. When our Web site was created, I’m not sure I had any idea of where we’d be in two years.

We’ve published three children’s books and now, on the eve of our second anniversary, we’re getting ready to publish, Too Many Speed Bumps: A Journey of Healing, which is the second half of my autobiography. I can tell you, it’s an exciting time for us.

Earlier in the month, I received the first draft of our new cover. I was a little surprised to see my vision materialize. I told Bob, our extremely gifted artist who is doing the cover, what I had in mind, and he made it a reality. Because Bob knows I love Corvettes, he jokingly asked one day if he should put a small one on the back cover. I’m pleased to announce, I’m now the proud owner of my very own Corvette!! Well, at least on the cover.  J  I suppose it’s the only one I’ll ever own.

I’ll share a sneak peak of the second draft of our cover here. To see my Corvette on the back, I guess you’ll just have to order your copy of the book. (Be sure to take note of the special pre-order price) The book should be ready by the end of June, but I’ll say July to just to be on the safe side. I’m going to post it on the Web site already, so anyone wishing to pre-order your copy may certainly do that. Because we are doing our printing a little different than we did with the first book, pre-ordering will ensure you’ll be one of the first to receive a copy!

On May 3^rd, to my surprise, I received a book by Lynn Austin called, God & Kings, in the mail. I’d forgotten I’d entered an on-line contest she was running on her Web site. If I remember correctly, it was the first ten people to send them an e-mail. I never gave it another thought, until the mail arrived. Nice surprise.

Speaking of books, I finished Leading Lady, by Lawana Blackwell early in the month. I was going to post the review as soon as I finished the book, however, editing my own book took priority. Although I wrote the review, I never quite got around to posting it, until now. Be sure to check it out here.

On the subject of Lawana Blackwell, one of my favorite authors, I had a chance to speak her this month! I received an invitation via e-mail to join Arm Chair Interviews for a teleconference with Ms Blackwell. I’m not sure how they got my address, but I’m glad they did. Maybe it’s because I signed up for Lawana’s newsletters.

Anyway, I called in a few minutes early, just as they had asked us to do, and the lady from ACI answered and asked my name and where I was calling from. Then, she asked Ms Blackwell if she’d like to say hello. Wow! Another nice surprise. After a few words, I called Mom, and put the call on "speaker phone" and we both listened to the interview for the next 40 minutes.

Ms Blackwell was talking about her new book, A Table by the Window, which I don’t have yet. This book will be a little different from those she has been writing, so I’m looking forward to reading it. She also mentioned she’s been writing for 13 years, starting when she was forty years old. One of the questions had to do with her early writing, and she replied her first two books were under the name, Kate Blackwell and are out of print. However, I did find them on Amazon.com and of course, ordered both!! I’ll let you know more about them, once I’ve read them.

My reviews are going to be put on hold, just until my own book is finished. The next stage of editing is to read through the book on paper, as you see it differently then you do on the computer monitor. I’m not sure I want to be reading anything for pleasure, until this is done.

In the meantime, if you’ve read a great book and would like to share it with others, send me your review and I’ll post on the Web site for all to enjoy!

On May 6^th, when the first Joshua plant was 3 months old, we transplanted him into his very own pot. He seems to be doing well, at least he hasn’t dried up! Until we see how he does, we’re leaving the other plant attached to its trunk.

Also on the 6^th, we had a water softer installed, as our water is very hard! If you know about that kind of thing, our water was 16 grains hardness, I’m told that’s a lot. It only took one week before we could feel the difference in the water. It was strange, I was washing up a few dishes and they were slippery. A little later when I was washing my hands, the soap seemed to lather more and they didn’t feel slippery really, just different. They almost felt softer, if that makes any sense.

Either way, I’m sure we’re going to enjoy having softer water, and at least our taps and fixtures will last longer now.