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May 2023

Happy Spring! Are you looking forward to saying hello to summer or sad to say goodbye to winter?

I'm sad to say goodbye to the cooler and less humid Florida winter weather. Yet I'm looking forward to things we have planned this summer.

One plan is to take a road trip through Canada. From PA, we will rent a car and head north of Toronto so I can meet "in real life" an online writing friend then head west across Canada to enjoy gorgeous Banff National Park, Lake Louise, and Jasper National Park. We plan to reenter the US at Glacier National Park for a visit, then see the Grand Tetons, and ??? We'll begin to plan our three week adventure in earnest in a few weeks.

But first, we're headed to Ireland for ten days! We leave on Monday, May 8, and I plan to blog our trip. You can find our Travel Blog here. Gregg usually shares our trips via Facebook. I hope you join us vicariously.

The travel blog has a new five-part series about our first long road trip in an EV - ALL ELECTRIC VEHICLE.

When we were car shopping, each dealership would say, "This would be a great car to drive around town." Well, if you know us, you know we put a lot of "out of town" miles on our vehicles. No problem, they said. Google will help you find charging stations and you should be good to go again in about 20 minutes. Is that true?

If you are curious about traveling in an "EV," follow our trip from Jacksonville, FL to Auburn, AL to Huntsville, AL, and back home to Jax. I recorded all the details about the car - how long the battery charge lasted, how long it took to charge, how much it cost to charge, and other experiences we had on this new way to travel.

The EV trip was so that my sisters, Bryn and Mardi, and I could take a 3-day trip to the Biltmore. It was a late celebration of Bryn's 60th birthday. Our time was better than words can express! It was relaxing, fun, bonding, beautiful, and full of laughter. Read about our Biltmore trip here.​

On another note, my first podcast interview dropped yesterday!

Taryn Nergaard (a Canadian) runs a reputable "boutique" for authors. Typewriter Creative Co. will provide as much or as little help as a writer needs on their self-publishing journey - from website development to editing, to publishing, and even marketing. They have begun a YouTube podcast for self-publishing so we chatted about my experience. Enjoy listening in!​

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In between doing some book signings, readings, having a family launch party this weekend, and "life," I am working on another Aunt Kitten book. The plan is to feature Tree Frog who made several quiet appearances in There's Only One You.

I've long thought about the well-intentioned mantra, "You can do ANYTHING you want." It is meant as encouragement. But is it really true? I don't think so.

And I don't think that is what Paul meant in Philippians 4:13. The context of his statement was in relation to enjoying having much as well as enduring having few to none of the necessities of life. I like the Contemporary English Version:

11 I am not complaining about having too little. I have learned to be satisfied with whatever I have. 12 I know what it is to be poor or to have plenty, and I have lived under all kinds of conditions. I know what it means to be full or to be hungry, to have too much or too little. 13 Christ gives me the strength to face anything.

14 It was good of you to help me when I was having such a hard time. - Philippians 4:11-14 CEV

With this in mind, the working theme of my next book is to encourage the reader - even though they aren't able to do ANYTHING, there IS SOMETHING that they can do, and do it better than they EVER IMAGINED.

My first WIP (work in progress) title was, What Colors are on YOUR Paint Pallet? My story ideas aren't quite lining up with that, so it may change.

Right now I see creating (watercolor painting) a new cast of characters (except for Aunt Kitten and Tree Frog), using the colors of the rainbow, and maybe using animal footprints. For example, Rabbit's footprints are Red. Exactly how that might tie in with my working theme is still unclear.

The joy of starting a new project! Prayers appreciated - for creativity, or for clarity that this is something that "I can't do" but I can be content to do something else that will be even better.

If you have thoughts, suggestions, ideas, and comments, feel free to hit reply and share with me.

Until next time, keep eating ice cream!

Kristin Emily Friend, aka Aunt Kitten ​

​www.KristinEmilyF​riend.com​

There's Only One You with Aunt Kitten Available here on Amazon

"We're all unique! God made each of us new. I'm glad you're here 'cause there's only one you!"

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Feel free to forward this email to others who might be interested. Thank you!