Not All Angels Look Alike....

On this journey with Tonight You Are My Baby, I have been enormously blessed to encounter angels. They may not look alike or even do the same things, but surely they are angels to me. These are some of the angels that believed in Tonight You Are My Baby: Mary's Christmas Gift. This is, by no means, a complete list. I am blessed with an abundance of angels in my life. Hugs to all my angels who helped Tonight You Are My Baby fly !

* Angel - my husband, Peter, who took over childcare , laundry, cooking and a myriad of other every day household duties. Every successful author/mom needs a partner to cheer her on and pitch in when times are crazy.

* Angels - my children, Shane and Quinn, who helped me design a Powerpoint presentation, asked me about my school visits, helped sell books and understood when I had to miss their special events for December.

* Angel - my editor, Catherine, for taking a chance on a first-time author and lending me support every step of the way.

* Angel - my friend, Annmarie, who sold close to 150 books on her own through literally knocking on doors.

* Angels - the schools who donated the book sale proceeds to At Least Kids. Your generosity is overwhelming and greatly appreciated by the At Least Kids Foundation. 100% of the proceeds go directly to CHOP for pediatric brain tumor research and financial assistance to needy families. Your donation makes a huge difference in the life of a child.

* Angels - the coordinator at each school that worked darn hard to organize the Author Day. Every school, without exception, was gracious, prepared and organized. A true thrill for this author. The coordinators included teachers, principals, librarians, directors and curriculum coordinators.

* Angel - my dad who worked with me at MMR school on his birthday and was so proud that his daughter was following in her mother's footsteps.

* Angel - my sister, Dee, who was the first to go on a selling spree - literally selling books out of her car.

* Angel - my sister, Maliz, who made the long, early morning trip to watch Quinn in the Christmas pageant - to alleviate my mother's guilt for missing it myself.

* Angel - my brother, Bill, a very successful author himself - for his constant, unbridled enthusiasm.

* Angels - to all those friends/family who sent out emails encouraging others to buy the book and spreading the word - literally around the world.

You are all angels to me.

ANNMARIE - Great friend, literary agent and book angel !

My friend, Annmarie, is my book angel ! She hosted a book signing party, coordinated a visit at her church's ladies Christmas gathering, contacted the preschool director, called staff writers of local newspapers to suggest a feature article and visited Barnes and Noble at least once a week to be sure the book was properly placed. All this resulted in close to 150 book sales! YAY Annmarie !!! To all those debut authors out there....I hope you have a friend like her ! Many thanks also to Annmarie's husband, Frank, for patiently adding book orders on Amazon - and then trusting he will be paid! I'm adding an angel to this photo of Annmarie and me....

Thanks to Varner's Christmas Tree Farm

Many thanks to Varner's Christmas Tree Farm, a family-owned farm and forever preserved for agricultural purposes. Varner's is down the road from our house and stocked Tonight You Are My Baby in their lovely gift shop. A great place to visit at Halloween and Christmas. Treat the family to a horse-drawn wagon ride! Thanks to Varner's for supporting a local author.....

Sacred Heart School - Christmas spirit shines !

Wow, wow, wow! Sacred Heart School generously donated $220.00 to At Least Kids from the sale of Tonight You Are My Baby. I am very thankful to this little school with the big heart. Sacred Heart was my last school visit before Christmas and it was a fantastic way to end. Many thanks also for the lovely sign outside school, announcing my visit. I had hoped to take a photo, but on visit day it was sleeting, raining and snowing. A crazy mix of weather that day, and we were fearful that the schools would be postponed/cancelled. The perils of scheduling author visits here in the Northeast. Many thanks also to Terri McKendry, V.P. of the PTO, who organized the event. Fantastic job!

Messiah Community Preschool

Messiah Church/Preschool has been so gracious. I was invited to speak earlier this month at the ladies cookie exchange/afternoon. I also read to the preschool kids - a great group. Messiah Preschool generously donated $75.00 to At Least Kids from the sale of Tonight You Are My Baby. Thanks Messiah for your true Christmas spirit and to Pam Cohan for coordinating the visit!

Fairview Christian Preschool

I was fortunate enough to be part of the annual Christmas sing-a-long at Fairview Christian Preschool. A lovely event for students and parents! The little ones looked adorable in their Nativity costumes. I loved this book-reading angel that the Preschool arranged next to my table for the book signing. Many thanks to Marcia Hartman, Preschool Director, for the lovely morning.

Coventry Christian School

When I arrived at Coventry Christian, the students were practicing for their Christmas concert. Wow! I could feel the energy and the spirit in the room as the teachers led the singing and the kids sang at the top of their voices. There was no doubt that this is a happy, happy school. I presented to grades K-4, a very large group, and those kids were terrific! Everyone was very attentive and asked great questions. I predict several future bestselling authors among the group. My preschool friends came in later for a reading, and they were excellent listeners as well. One interesting note - outside each classroom, each teacher had their photo and fact sheet about themselves. I thought that was a great idea. Many thanks to Mrs. Myers (Gr. 2) for coordinating the event!