Denise went into making a book trailer with the same enthusiasm and single-mindedness with which she does everything. The result is below. Quite good I think.

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We have unofficially been calling ourselves TwitterSisters for quite some time, and if you search twitter for #twittersis you will find some of the conversations we have had. Of course, there are a few others who have used the tag from time to time. But primarily it is ours. So today it becomes official – the TwitterSisters are launched. I see us a little like the Rat Pack of old, only we’re women, we’re writers, and we hang out online together instead of in clubs. We will push each other to excellence. So who are the TwitterSisters?

Angie Kate (@GypsyAngieKate)
The Ingenue
Genre: Young Adult fiction
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Angie Kate is her sweetness. She embodies her role as ingenue by the questioning wonder with which she looks at the world, and her innocence of heart. Extremely dedicated to her work, she will seemingly disappear for chunks of time while doing battle with her manuscript. Whenever I need a lift, she is the bubbles in my day.

Denise Grover Swank (@DeniseMSwank)
The Granite Goddess (aka The Rock)
Genre: Adult Paranormal Suspense and exploring others
Denise is a fantastic combination of so many things, I am in awe of all she has accomplished and all she has been through in her life. She handles it all with vivacious humor. Despite doing a hundred other things, she always has the time to make you feel special. With each new idea that occurs, Denise embraces it, puts together a battle plan, and charges full steam ahead.

Eisley Jacobs (@EisleyJacobs)
The Moral Compass
Genre: Christian NonFiction & YA Fantasy & New Adult/Religious Fiction
A bundle of energy, wired on coffee, who flits from one thing to the next, who always has time to encourage, succor, and share a laugh, Eisley is a dear, warm-hearted woman. Her moniker is very fitting when a few of us tend to stray *ahem* into murky waters, she quietly points us in the right direction.

LK Gardner-Griffie (@lkgg)<--That's me
Official P.I.A. (Pain In the Ass) and this title was conferred with love.
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
My role in this group is a little like that of a court jester. I like making jokes; I tease everyone, and do my best to be there when needed as a friend, a critic, and a cheerleader. Oh, and I write YA because I’m not mature enough to write for adults yet. I’m the flighty one of the bunch.

Monica Enderle Pierce (@ThePreyers)
The Dominatrix
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy/Historical & Erotica
Fiercely independent, extremely driven, Monica raises the bar for us all. I was drawn to her first as one of the finest writers I have had the pleasure of experiencing. This woman can write anything and make it shine and I am honored to call her friend. She keeps us focused on the goal of excellence in writing and takes no prisoners in her assessments.

Trisha Huntsman (@TrishaLeighKC)
The Troubadour
Genre: Young Adult & Historical Fiction
Sweet with a surprisingly wicked sense of humor, Trisha has a love of history and her dogs – although she gripes about them from time to time to hide her devotion. Dedicated to honing her craft, she is open to critique and hands out as good as she gets. Watch for this one to soar. Oh, and she can be bribed with Hershey Kisses – just sayin’.

So, there you have it – the crew, the group, the cyberbuddies, or whatever else you want to call us. All I can tell you is I am sure each and every one of these ladies is going places. They have the vision and drive to accomplish their goals. Befriend them and you won’t be sorry you did. Get to know them now, because together they may just conquer the world.

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In my last weight loss post, I talked about some of my challenges. I think this time it’s a good thing to talk about some of the successes. If you have never struggled with weight, some of these may seem a bit silly, but for me they are huge.

1. Most days I can walk without wheezing. Okay, there are still those days when I still have difficulty, but it is due to my respiratory issues and not due to the weight. Even if I were a twig, I’d still have those days, so I am thrilled with not wheezing for the majority. Before, I wheezed with minimal exertion.
2. I can cross my legs, and that means without struggling to do it to. It was one of those things that I didn’t think about, but one day during a business meeting I crossed my legs and then realized what I had done and the shock of it made me want to get up and run around the room fist pumping the air. I didn’t.
3. I can put on my shoes and tie them without sweating or having to take a break. And I no longer have to haul my leg up by a pant leg to do it.
4. I know I’ve mentioned this one before, but it is still very much a success. NO MORE blood pressure medication as it is no longer required.
5. I can climb multiple flights of stairs with no problem. My knees still bother me on occasion, but as with the wheezing the cause is other than weight.
6. I have to use belts to keep my pants up, and this is for the smallest size I own. Belts will suffice for now as I will buy clothing very sparingly until I reach my goal.



7. I am comfortable in normal sized chairs.
8. I no longer have to leave as much room on the driver side of the car when parking, because I don’t have to swing the door as wide for me to get out of the car.
9. My complexion has improved dramatically.
10. And for the last one that I’ll list, and one that is currently giving me a spring in my step, is that the pink outfit in the picture is something I bought several years ago (5-6) because I loved the color. I knew it was too small at the time because the top was a large and at the time I was fitting in 3X or sometimes a large 2X. This outfit symbolizes my determination to lose the weight, because I wanted it so much and I wanted to wear it. (Okay – I have very simple tastes in clothing and comfort is a prime concern and vibrancy of color is a close second.) So, when I picked it up off the rack, I vowed someday I would wear it. Today is that day. I’m not straining to get into it. I’m not stretching the fabric. I waited and now IT FITS!!!

Really, this list could go on and on because the simple things in freedom of movement alone could take a page and a half, but you get the idea. I am really pleased with my decision and the results.

While I am thrilled with how far I’ve come, I have had a little bit of a setback within the past two months. In January I had a flare up of gastritis, which I am prone to and was one of the reasons, I selected the lap band procedure over the gastric bypass. When the gastritis was diagnosed, my doctor sent me to have my band deflated, which is a scary thing for a lap band patient. But deflating the band allowed the gastritis to heal. I went this past week to have the band re-filled and the surgeon was very pleased that I hadn’t gained, as that is the norm when the band is deflated. I was hoping for continued loss, but will be content with lack of gain. We did run into a glitch when attempting to refill the band. The needle wouldn’t go into the port, so I am still flying without the help of my tool at the moment. The doctor sent me for X-rays as she suspects the port has flipped and is backwards. Apparently this is a very rare possibility, but one she think is highly likely because she was unable to get the heavy duty industrial strength needle in but has no problem in locating the port itself. If that is the case, it will require a minor surgery to correct. And I was hoping 2010 could be a surgery-free year. Oh well, I will continue on.

I have added the extra picture to his post to give a better Before picture. I found this when cleaning out my desk during a recent office move and thought it provided an excellent visual of how far I have come. Oh, and the guy I’m with is hubs.

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I bought Misfit McCabe for my 12 year old daughter to read. I was lucky enough to read it first.

Misfit McCabe is the story of 14 year old Katie McCabe. Katie’s mother died when she was very young and her father has his hands full with her mischievous behavior. After Katie and her best friend Timmy burn down a shed, her father sends her to live with his brother Charlie and his family. To make matters worse, Katie’s father is ill and is going to the hospital for tests.

Katie does not want to be with Uncle Charlie, his two sons Matt and Mark, and Charlie’s niece Sarah. She feels like an outsider in a house full of rules and she plots to make them send her back to her father. To make matters worse, she makes an enemy in record time– Harvey, Jr. Harvey, Jr.’s father owns the bank and most to the town. Harvey, Jr. wastes no time in throwing this in Katie’s face and insulting Katie’s family. Katie, not one to back down from a challenge, punches Harvey Jr. in the park– right in front of 3 football players.

Just as Katie begins to settle into her new home and get a new boyfriend, Tom- one of the football players, she finds out that her father died. With her entire world ripped out from underneath her, Katie struggles to find her place in her new life while struggling to deal with her grief.

I loved this book. Misfit McCabe portrays a 14 year old in accurate light. As the mother of multiple teens, I am qualified to say this. What I loved about this book is that it was a wonderful story. Although Katie does have a love interest, it is not the entire premise of the book, unlike several book series my 12 year old reads. The true test was whether or not my 12 year old enjoyed the book. She loved it too. She couldn’t wait to read book 2 of the series, Nowhere Feels Like Home. My 12 year old cried several times when reading Misfit McCabe, which surprised her. She didn’t think a book could affect her that way. It brought up some interesting conversations about being truthful and losing a parent, an experience my daughter could relate to. My daughter has told several of her friends about this book and I have purchased a copy to donate to her school’s library.

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Sixteen is a pivotal age, stranded between childhood and adulthood. At sixteen life ranges from ecstasy to despair and the cause of the emotion can be trivial or momentous. I remember wanting to be taken seriously, to be treated more as an adult than a child. To be free to make my own decisions for the course of my life. But of course, along with the freedom of decision, comes responsibility and consequences for those choices.

In Katherine Marple’s novel, Okay, the sixteen-year-old unnamed female protagonist makes choices which swiftly alter the course of her life, and takes her best friend, and protector, London with her. After setting up the pair as best friends, living in the same neighborhood, in the same style homes, the differences are revealed. London has a loving, supportive family to come home to, while the protagonist fears her alcoholic, abusive father. Coming home late from a graduation party with London, the protagonist attempts to sneak into the house avoiding her father’s wrath, unsuccessfully. When he has beaten and choked her, and threatened her with more abuse and potential rape, the protagonist runs to her best friend to enlist his help.

“Please,” I begged. “Let’s go now.”
He solemnly nodded his head, stroked my hair, and whispered, “Okay.”

Having convinced London to abandon his loving home, his college career, and essentially his future to run away with her, the protagonist wastes no time in making bad decision after bad decision along the way. Drugs, alcohol, and sex with relative strangers, and all the while London is there to pick up the pieces. The protagonist is on a roller coaster of emotion from the freedom of living a life she has never known before to the despair over some of the choices she has made.

Marple presents a strong, clear point of view with her unnamed protagonist, and while I found the pacing to be a little quick, lacking in emotional depth with the heavy topics the book covers, the voice is unwavering and draws the reader along. For the bulk of the book, the lack of a name for the main character was not an issue, but a few times felt a bit gimmicky. The narrator herself explains the lack of name.

My name isn’t important. What is important is helping someone hope for a better view, at the end of his pain. That is the purpose of my story; to help someone heal.

Originally reviewed for the LL Book Review

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