My Books

 This past year, i have been busy writing!  All of my books are available on Amazon.com.

CHILDREN'S BOOKS

The Ellie & Percival Series

The Ellie & Percival books tell the story of our four-year-old beagle and her relationship with the Box turtle which lives on our property.  In the books, Percival teaches Ellie life lessons through her experiences with other animals in their neighborhood.  Ellie has interactions with Percival, a very unusual cat named Jack, and Callie, the cat whom Ellie has called "the mean cat" for a long time.  Max the cat makes an appearance, and so does Ellie's real-life best friend, Sally.

As of this writing, the series has three books:

   

Greens For Percival

 This first book in the series introduces us to Ellie and Percival.  It describes the event that led Ellie to call the yellow cat next door "the mean cat".  Ellie meets a honeybee and is disappointed she can't fly. Percival helps her deal with her disappointment, helps her to discover her purpose in life and teaches her how to deal with difficult circumstances.

Finally Friends!

The second book in the series is a continuation of the first story, but can also be a stand-alone book. In "Finally Friends!" Percival teaches Ellie how she should think and act toward Callie, the "mean cat".  Ellie learns that things aren't always how they seem.  She finds she can do something she never thought possible, and she learns to help someone with a very difficult problem.

Ellie's First Snow

In this third book in the series, we see Percival having to say goodbye to Ellie for the winter.  While he is gone, Ellie and her best friend, Sally, have a great adventure praying for something that seems - almost- impossible.

All the animals Ellie encounters in these books are real. 

Percival is a Box turtle who lives on our property.  Ellie first found him about two years ago.  Since then, Ellie has looked for him every day.

Jack the cat, Callie, and Max are all cats in our neighborhood.  The description of Jack meeting Ellie for the first time is exactly as it was described, only without the animal's conversation, of course.

Sally is our daughter's dog, and we babysit her several days a week while our daughter works.  Ellie and Sally play together, eat together, and take long naps together.

BOOKS FOR NURSES

One-To-One: A Report on Your New Career

Advice from someone who has been there.

From honing your skills, to how to deal with physicians, all new nurses need a little help in the beginning. These short, common sense tips, with real-life illustrations, can help you to be the best nurse you can be.

This book is much like a one-to-one shift report, with one retired nurse giving the new nurse the pertinent information on the patient. Except "the patient" is your new career. You will need to tend it, care for it, and enable it to thrive just as you do your patients.

Great for new nurses or students about to graduate from a nursing program, these tips can help make the transition from student to nurse easier.

Jot-A-Note: A Journal for Nurses

Many nurses like to track things they have done during their careers.  This can vary from specialty to specialty, but nurses can use this 3-year journal to track how many admissions or discharges they have done, how many patients they have cared for, and how many IVs they have started. Or, in my specialty, Labor & Delivery, how many deliveries they have done. 

OTHER JOURNALS

THINGS I LIKED ABOUT TODAY

Finding joy and contentment every day trains our eyes and ears to realize even more joy and contentment. Whether monumental or mundane, jot down things you liked about your day. Perhaps it was a cool breeze, a warm bed, a hot cup of coffee, or the face of a puppy. Whatever brought a smile to your face or a sense of joy to your heart, write it down. As we acknowledge those things around us, our contentment and gratitude will grow with each new day. Looking back over a year of contentment can cause us to realize how very blessed we are.