HOVER awarded GOLD medal by Military Writers Society of America

I received some great news from the Military Writers Society of America. HOVER was awarded a GOLD medal in the literary fiction category for 2016! What a nice end-of-the-year treat!

PEO Book Club

I met with the PEO Book Club today in Scottsdale. Great discussion and a yummy lunch as a bonus! Thank you so much!

Muses Fall Carnival Blog Hop Winner!

Congratulations to Rhi who is the winner of my individual giveaway for the 2016 Fall Carnival Blog Hop! Rhi wins a Kindle version of CLEAR TO LIFT!

To see the grand prize winner of the $80 Amazon gift card, please visit the Desert Muses website.

Thanks to all of you who participated!

Assumption Book Club

We had an amazing book club meeting with the women of the Assumption Book Club last night. We discussed CLEAR TO LIFT, and enjoyed a full spread of fruits, desserts, and coffee, and even several glasses of Prosecco! Can't beat that!

Thank you so much, ladies! Awesome night!

Muses Fall Carnival Blog Hop!

Welcome, Fall Carnival Blog Hoppers!

The Desert Muses are giving away an $80 Amazon gift card to one lucky hopper. If you sign up for my newsletter, you'll gain another entry for this random drawing, which will increase your chances to win!

Also, when you sign up for my newsletter, you'll have the chance to win a Kindle copy of my new novel, CLEAR TO LIFT.

(You can find the sign-up block for my newsletter on the sidebar to the right. Please note, it's not the first sign-up bar. Please scroll a little lower to where it says "newsletter.")

Contest runs from Oct 17th to 24th. Winners for the grand prize and for all individual giveaways will be announced on October 29th. So, please return to the Muses blog to see if you’ve won.


***Be sure to visit each individual author's site to increase your number of entries for the grand prize!

Next stop on the Blog Hop is Shanyn Hosier! She's got two brand new releases and she's offering a chance to win free Kindle copies of both!

Thanks for stopping by!

Fall break in the Eastern Sierra

For those of you who have read CLEAR TO LIFT, you know that much of it is set in the Sierra Nevada. My husband and I have been fortunate enough to "play" in the Eastern Sierra for most of our lives. For fall break, we took the kids once again, and visited many of the sites you read about in the book. Here are some photos. Enjoy!






<< Schat's Bakkery in Bishop is the star of the show in chapter 4. Truly an awesome place to eat if you ever get the chance.

Basin Mountain (on the left) is the setting for a winter storm, overnight bivouac and rescue in the book. >>

The drive between Bishop and Mammoth was peppered with scenes like these. So nice to view the leaves changing, since we don't really get that where we live in Phoenix.
<<

The first chapter of CLEAR TO LIFT opens on Mount Morrison on the Death Couloir. That's that black strip in the middle of the face.  >>

More beautiful fall colors at Rock Creek near Mammoth Lakes. The aspen were out of control.
<<

The Sierra Nevada is known for an interesting weather phenomenon called the Sierra Wave. It's a dazzling sight. >>

I did do some rock climbing with my husband and kids while there. This is Iris Slab near Rock Creek, which is very roughly near Mammoth.
<<

Triathlete Magazine

Triathlete Magazine ran a lovely feature article about me and my books in their November issue.

For those of you who are not aware, when I'm not writing, I'm coaching triathletes! This has been a full-time job for my husband and me for almost 14 years now.

I specialize in teaching swim technique and was also a competitive swimmer growing up.

Anyhow, it's a huge honor to be featured in such a prestigious magazine.

Thank you, Triathlete!

American Association of University Women (AAUW) - neat photo collage!

After my presentation to the American Association of University Women - Danville-Alamo-Walnut Creek Branch - at their annual membership luncheon on September 24th, they surprised me with a neat collage of candid photos taken during my presentation. Pretty cool!

American Association of University Women (AAUW) - Danville, Alamo, Walnut Creek branch

I spoke to over 120 members of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Danville, Alamo, Walnut Creek branch at their annual membership brunch this morning.

We met at Round Hill Country Club in Alamo, CA, and enjoyed an amazing brunch.

I learned all about what the organization is doing for young women and it was just phenomenal. They brought up middle school girls who they'd sponsored to go to tech camp and they reported on their experiences. So great.

Thank you, Soni, for the invitation to speak with you. What an engaging and intelligent group of women!

Presentation at Coronado Public Library - San Diego, CA

I had the privilege of speaking at the Coronado Public Library in San Diego tonight. What an amazing venue!

I forgot to take my phone out until the end, but I had several Naval Academy classmates attend. Marco Medved is pictured here. We were in the same major at the Academy - ocean engineering.

Thank you, Eileen Hauser, and Bay Books, and everyone who came out! Awesome night all the way around!

CLEAR TO LIFT a 2016 Fall Adventure Must-Read from Campfire Chic

Campfire Chic has named CLEAR TO LIFT a 2016 fall outdoor adventure must-read! You can read about it here!

AZ Humanities Author + Nights

I was so honored to speak at Author + Nights for AZ Humanities in the historic Ellis - Shackelford House in central Phoenix. What a treat and what a great audience! Thank you, AZ Humanities for inviting me!

 Got to do a book reading, too! Lots of fun!------------>

Dog Days of Summer Sweepstakes from Tor/Forge

My publisher, Tor/Forge, is running an end-of-summer sweepstakes where you can enter to win NINE titles!
Just sign up for their newsletter and you'll be entered.

HOVER is included, along with titles from Hank Phillippi Ryan, Renee Patrick, Rachel Howzell Hall, and Katie Schickel. Here's the link!

The contest runs until Aug 29th.

CLEAR TO LIFT on BUZZFEED!

CLEAR TO LIFT is on BuzzFeed! Say Goodbye to Summer with 5 Romantic Beach Reads!

"You can feel it. The sun is starting to go down just a little bit earlier.The air is starting to chill. The newest fall trends are starting to show up in stores. Summer is almost over. But if you’re not quite ready to say “See ya!” to summer, read these five women’s fiction books as you soak up those last rays of sunshine."

Society of Women Engineers/American Helicopter Society Book Club

I had the best time with the Society of Women Engineers (SWE)/American Helicopter Society (AHS) Book Club as we discussed HOVER. What a kick to have Boeing and Honeywell engineers asking questions about the novel!

Thank you all for such a great evening!

Thank you, as well, for this awesome plaque!

Author Interview with Book Briefs

I sat down with Book Briefs for this fun interview. They're even having a giveaway! You can enter to win one of two copies of CLEAR TO LIFT. Giveaway ends on August 20th!

BookSparks 2016 Summer Reading Challenge

August is here and it's the final month of the BookSparks 2016 Summer Reading Challenge! Four incredible books are on tap and there's one bonus book . . . wait for it . . . CLEAR TO LIFT! Pretty cool to be grouped with these amazing authors!

A blog day with Jungle Red Writers

It's always great fun to hang out with the crowd at Jungle Red Writers. Here's the article I wrote for their blog:  Lost in the Outdoors? 15 Tips to Help Search and Rescue Teams Find You.

Thank you, Reds!

BookSparks Summer Reading Challenge - There's still time for the July reads!

WHAT an amazing group of July reads for the BookSparks Summer Reading Challenge! I know these are all on my list! For more info, check here!

BOOK CARNIVAL - Orange, CA!

Thank you to Anne and the folks at Book Carnival for having me out for a talk about CLEAR TO LIFT. What a great group and a wonderful book club, too! It was a thrill to answer all of your awesome questions. I hope you enjoy your new books!

CLEAR TO LIFT book signing at Warwick's

Okay, so this was an AMAZING evening at Warwick's Bookstore in La Jolla, CA.

Naval Academy classmates, HC-11 squadron mates, a Greek family horde from Arizona, and friends and family made the trek to La Jolla to support the release of CLEAR TO LIFT.

So great to see everyone. I was just blown away by the support.

Thank you all!

Hometown Greek support!

Naval Academy classmates
Mike Reyes, Jeff Tomlin, and Bill Wilson

   

Helicopter pilots all from HC-1! Thank you
Dave Barton, John Barron, Mike McCallum,
Tracy Conroy, and Pete Sciabarra!

My boys were there, too, of course! Taller than Mom in
heels. Yikes!

Book signing at BOOKWORKS in Albuquerque, NM

This was my first time to Bookworks in Albuquerque, NM, and they had quite the greeting for me!

How cool is this?

Thank you, Bookworks!

CLEAR TO LIFT book signing at Barnes and Noble Scottsdale

What a wonderful crowd at Barnes and Noble in Scottsdale to celebrate the release of CLEAR TO LIFT. It made my night when my publicist and her crew arrived! Thank you, Crystal Patriarche, President and CEO of BookSparks, along with Chrisi Jacir, and Korina Garcia. Quite honored that you took the time out to come see me!




Fellow Fountain Hills author, Pascal Marco, was there to show his support as well as a host of other friends and family. Thank you all for an amazing night!

CLEAR TO LIFT makes PARADE MAGAZINE and YOUR TANGO Summer Reads Lists

Great news on two fronts for CLEAR TO LIFT. You can now find it on two more summer reads lists!

Parade Magazine - "10 of the Best Beach Reads to Indulge in This Summer"

Your Tango -  "19 Books That Should Be On EVERY Woman's Summer Reading List"

Amazing official book launch for CLEAR TO LIFT at the Poisoned Pen

What an amazing night! Thanks to all of you who attended the official book launch for my second novel, CLEAR TO LIFT. You made it such a memorable evening.

I've included some pictures below.

As you walked in the front door of the Poisoned Pen.

My sisters provided a great spread!













I chatted with Barbara Peters, the owner of the Poisoned Pen.

My first "dramatic" reading! Ha!













My 5th grade teacher surprised me by attending the signing! What an incredibly nice thing to do!

My fellow Fountain Hills author and dear friend, Shona Patel, and me.

My mom, dad, sisters, and brother were there to support as always.













And here's my husband and my boys. Yes, I made them wear ties. :)

Latest review for CLEAR TO LIFT - from Strupag.com

So excited to bring you this review of CLEAR TO LIFT from Strupag.com.

Here's a peek:  "If anything I loved Clear to Lift even more than Hover, and I genuinely cannot wait to see what Wilson brings us next. My wee emotions are in tatters, but in the best possible way!"

Inside a Beautiful Mind - Author Interview

I had a wonderful interview with author, Kade Cook, on her blog, Inside a Beautiful Mind. You can find it here. Thank you, Kade!

CLEAR TO LIFT is the Poisoned Pen's HOT BOOK OF THE WEEK!

What a wonderful surprise! Thank you, Poisoned Pen!