We've shared our stories and connected with one another through the power of words. Now thanks to the Oswego Arise, we will get the chance to met one another in person!

Celebrating the kick off of Developmental Disability Awareness Month, every partcipant who submitted a story to Sometimes The Wind Blows Sideways: Our Lives with a Special Needs Child will be invited to a special get to know you session at the Oswego Arise Office in March.  The families will enjoy a casual dinner while socializing with one another. It will be a wonderful opportunity for both the kids and adults to make new friends!

Having a child with a disability, whether physical or mental, is a daily challenge.  Arise is a non profit organization that advocates for the individual and their families.  The following is their mission statement:

ARISE’s mission is to work with  people of all abilities to create a fair and
just community in which everyone  can fully participate.

We  embrace the guiding principles of independent living – that individuals
with  disabilities have a right to dignity, personal responsibility, and 
self-determination. ARISE offers advocacy and support services to people of all 
ages with all types of disabilities.

I am very excited to be teaming up with Arise to extend this offer to all of the people who shared a part of their lives with the world via my book. The feedback that I have got from my readers have been overwheleming. Over and over I have been told that Sometimes The Wind Blows Sideways: Our Lives with a Special Needs Child has brought inspiration, laughter, tears, and joy to many people's lives. This night will be a way to say thank you and to connect everyone involved. 

Did you or someone you know get a new Kindle or iPad for Christmas?  If so, soon you will have the option to download Sometimes The Wind Blows Sideways: Our Lives with a Special Needs Child.

With schools being closed for Christmas vacation, I have finally found the time to format my book to enter the digital world. This version will contain everything that the paperback book offers and even includes a bonus story!

I am super excited to be bringing this title so many readers, and hope to expand my audience outside of New York state.  While all of the stories were written from Upstate New York, if I choose to do a sequel (which I have had many requests for) I would like to offer the opportunity for individuals to participate from all over the United States.  The Kindle version will allow easy access for others to see what the stories are all about as well as information on how they can partake in the second book.

My goal is to have this up and running by the time I return back to work, as long as I don't hit any major obstacles along the way...in other words if my computer will cooperate.  I'll be sure to keep everyone posted on the progress via the blog and facebook. (Facebook.com/WindingRoadBook)

The last few days have flown by like a whirlwind.  I have to admit I was a little nervous about completing everything in time to send it off to the publisher by Monday and meeting my deadline.  By 9:30 pm I was still receiving submissions, which was exciting. I stayed up late deciding the order of each story and formatting the Table of Contents.  It was going to get done before I went to bed if I had to stay up all night. Did I manage to accomplish this?  I'm am happy to announce that I DID !! (And still managed to get a few hours of shut eye before getting up for work the next morning)

This morning a proof book was ordered and will be in my hand this Thursday.  (Yoo Hoo!!!!)  After I receive it I will be debuting the cover design and then combing over the interior to ensure that it is sales ready.  As soon as I give the okay to the publisher it will be available for sales online.  I will then be working on my distributation channels to have it displayed at book stores and retail outlets, as well as launching a book release party.

For those who like to visit craft shows (esepcially around the upcoming holidays), I plan on sitting at a booth selling the book in person as well.  I am especially looking forward to meeting everyone so make sure you stop by and say hello.  The dates and locations will be announcing via my blog and facebook.

I would like to once again thank all of the families who submitted stories for the book.  Without you this venture would not have been possible.  You will read stories from parents, grandparents, even a service dog on how a special person has influence and shaped their lives.  Meet all of these wonderful authors in my new book Sometimes The Wind Blows Sideways: Our Lives with a Special Needs Child.

Where has the time gone?  It was just over the summer when I bought a Chicken Soup for the soul book to read while I was sitting at the beach did I come up with the idea to produce an anthology about special needs kids in Upstate New York.  I brainstormed how to facilitate the project and embarked on a journey that has been incrediable.  Now I am finding myself just one day shy of the deadline and I am working furiously to meet my own deadline.

There is alot more to creating a book than just writing words.  I have taken on the job as compiler, editor, page designer and cover creater.  None of these which were easy tasks when you have a computer that seems to hate you.  Trying to correctly formate the interior pages when they seem to have a mind of their own is frankly making me start to go bonkers.  Why the pages will not cooperate is beyond me, but I am bound and determined to keep plugging away until the pages are perfectly aligned. If you want to say a small prayer for me now that I can accomplish that that would be great!!

Two more stories were inserted last night and still there are a few more that people have assured me are on their way.  What the final number of stories will be is yet to be determined, but I can tell you now that each one will make you laugh, cry, and nod your head in a "been there, done that" mode.  I am so proud of all these terrific writers who have bared their hearts and soul to share stories with the entire world.

By late tomorrow night, I will have upload all of the files to the publisher.  A preview book will have been ordered, and a product description for Amazon.Com will have been created.  My job between now and the time I receive my proof book will be to contact book stores, retail markets, and anywhere else that I can think of to arrange to have Sometimes The Wind Blows Sideways: Our Lives with a Special Needs Child on store shelves.  And Kindle lovers, no worries, an electronic version of the book is also on it's way!
 
In the meantime, here's a picture of the tree that was instrumental in creating my book, both inside and out.  Stay tuned to find out more.....