friday2(!) for May 20, 2016

1. LIFE & STUFF

Welcome to the Friday2...hey, it's better than nothing. This is the life of a freelancer. You think you'll have time to get everything done, and then work comes along and says, "Nope!" But I can't send you into the long weekend with nothing, so Friday2 it is! 

I can't believe we've almost been home from vacation for a whole week. It went by in a blink, and so did the trip, which is why I'm seeing May 20th on my calendar and scratching my head with great confusion. Is it really the "May 24" weekend already? We had a great time exploring all that New Brunswick and PEI have to offer a family with two small children in May. Great weather, fantastic food, and we just won't mention the flight. Actually, the kids were good overall. Once we were up in the air, they were both happy. But take-off was less than kind to Baby H, who may or may not have been convinced we were torturing him. 

I won't get into the details of our trip, because who needs that, but I will share this pic of E at the Anne of Green Gables house. I have to say, it was great to watch the kids run around Green Gables--they had a blast--but as a writer, who enjoyed Anne as a child, it was a lot of fun for me too. I even brought home a cute, smooth, little stone (shh don't tell) from the haunted woods, which I'm going to keep as a good luck writing charm on my desk. It's my small little connection to a great Canadian author, LM Montgomery :)

2. BOOKS & PUBLISHING NEWS...4. TRAILER WORTH WATCHING

Back next week cause I don't have time today! 

5. NOTEWORTHY NEW YA: THE PROBLEM WITH FOREVER by Jennifer L. Armentrout

For some people, silence is a weapon. For Mallory "Mouse" Dodge, it's a shield. Growing up, she learned that the best way to survive was to say nothing. And even though it's been four years since her nightmare ended, she's beginning to worry that the fear that holds her back will last a lifetime. 
Now, after years of homeschooling with loving adoptive parents, Mallory must face a new milestone--spending her senior year at public high school. But of all the terrifying and exhilarating scenarios she's imagined, there's one she never dreamed of--that she'd run into Rider Stark, the friend and protector she hasn't seen since childhood, on her very first day. 
It doesn't take long for Mallory to realize that the connection she shared with Rider never really faded. Yet the deeper their bond grows, the more it becomes apparent that she's not the only one grappling with lingering scars from the past. And as she watches Rider's life spiral out of control, Mallory must make a choice between staying silent and speaking out--for the people she loves, the life she wants and the truths that need to be heard.

-Courtesy of Indiebound

That's it for me this week! Sorry for the Friday2, but I need to get packing cause we're off to the cottage in a few short hours...

Happy LONG Weekend (if you're in Canada)!