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Tag: Just Between Sam and Me

What a Year Can Make, or Not, From Books by Rose

Oh that, 2020! Right?

Last February, a group of author friends and I got together and created some fun posts for last February since it was Leap Year. Little did we know what was ahead of us.

I chose to write about trends for the year 2020. Sounded fun at the time, but then the next month, the whole world shut down.

Here’s the article from that here: ► We’re Leaping and Hopping for Leap Year 2020

Trends in 2020

Let’s break it down.

Fashion and Home Decor Colors

The big color for 2020 was suppose to be classic blue.

Classic Blue
Classic Blue

Friends, how would we know if this color for decor came true? None of us visited anyone’s homes. Even if we did, we had other more important things on our mind, like whether or not the stores would have toilet paper. Hmm, do they still sell blue toilet paper? I remember it coming in different colors. Maybe that’s why we never saw it on the shelves. It all makes sense now. 😂

 Bell Bottoms

Someone mentioned last year that Bell Bottoms were going to make a comeback from the 1970’s

Bellbottoms
Bell Bottoms

Again, how would we know if that happened?

So many times I read that people were not even getting dressed on any given day. Many start working at home, so PJ’s were the biggest clothing trends. I wonder if the sales went up for that apparel? 💲

Personally, I dressed each day and did my daily ritual. I haven’t been as rushed to do so, since we seldom left the house. I have cut down on doing the whole hair and make-up to the extent I was, unless there was a ZOOM call, of course. 💻

Sports

I don’t think I have to tell you about this subject. So many sports were canceled. Little League Baseball continued, which was a saving grace for us. We got to see our family and friends and have face to face conversations with people. What a treat! 💕⚾️ 💕

Friends and Family
Baseball

Now, if you wanted to attend a big league baseball game, you could pay to have a cardboard cutout of yourself in the stands. We opted out, we were saving our money incase a toilet paper shortage were to happen again. 🧻

Food

Awe, food. Now here’s a big one!

Pop Up Restaurants
Pop Up Restaurants

Pop Up Restaurants were suppose to be all the rage.

Eating out in 2020 didn’t happened for several months. Sadly, some of the small hometown restaurants didn’t make it. The one good thing, is businesses upped their game and created wonderful curbside deliveries. I don’t know about you, but we found some great restaurants and made sure we gave them our support to keep them going strong. 💪

Personal Growth and Self Care

Self Care
Personal Growth and Self Care

Many people were having trouble with this one, including me.

Not going bowling, not getting out going here and there made a big difference on just not moving enough. I’ve heard others say 2020 slowed them down and they were stress eating, or just plain eating more because they were home everyday.

I went through this some, so when I had my numbers checked at the end of the year, everything was “mildly elevated.” I did not like that, so I started moving more. I started watching what grams of fats and sugars I were taking in and it has really made a difference.

Audio Books

Audio Books
Audio Books

Audio books were projected to be on the rise.

With the libraries closed, with curbside services, I really missed going into the libraries browsing the shelves for those. Don’t worry, I kept them busy enough. I even told them they should keep a index card by the phone with the make of my car, because I would be there weekly. So, reading has not changed much at all for me this last year. 📚

Another hint: If you can’t find an Audio Book at your library, don’t forget to check Youtube. I have found some great ones on there. 😊

Art

Art
Painting

Here’s another big one that has been going strong and thrived through 2020. I can’t believe all the awesome classes out there I’ve seen this past year.

If you follow my pages, you know art has been a huge outlet for me. When I don’t create something, from being too busy with other things, I truly miss it. It’s been a 100% lifesaver for me. 🎨

TV

Streaming TV shows has been highly popular these past years.

Watching TV has not changed for me. We watch our shows at night, but for me, it’s writing, reading and art during the day. Oh, that and conversing with family, friends and neighbors, which leaves me with…

Connections!!

Connections
Connections

I have visited with more people this last year than ever. Friends from long ago, neighbors that we barely saw, and family members to check in on. Even though, many of us can’t connect in person, it’s has been great catching up and staying in touch. 💞

Time Capsule

Last year at this time, our grandson and I buried this rock and a Time Capsule in our back yard with this list in it.

List for Time Capsule
Time Capsule

I really wanted you to see a video of us digging this up, but our ground is frozen and the cold snowy days have prevented us from doing this. We hope to soon.

Now For All The Good Things in 2020!

Outside of finally getting to visit and hug our kids and grandkids on Mother’s Day, Cat Michaels and I were busy, busy, finishing up and releasing our Middle Grade book, “Just Between Sam and Me.” It was released on December 02, 2020 and we couldn’t have been more pleased how everything turned out.

We were featured on many blogs, interviews and podcasts. In case you missed it, you can see them here.

“Reading with Your Kids”

Click on the image below to listen:

Reading with Your Kids
Reading With Your Kids Podcast

“The TufFish Show”

Click on the image below to listen;

The TufFish Show
The TufFish Show

“Adventures in Reading”

Here are some great authors featured here, but if you would like to listen to part of our chapter 17, from “Just Between Sam and Me,” I’m reading a few pages of our new book at, (17:32-21:42.)

Click on the image below to listen:

Adventures in Reading
Adventures in Reading

So, how have you all been holding up these past months. What big changes have you encountered? I hope you’ll leave us a note and tell us how you are doing and any new projects you have been working on.

Speaking of projects, I will have a new Picture Book for young readers coming out this year. All I can tell you is, I just finished page 13 out of 32 pages. I’m almost halfway finished and I’m having a blast with this one. 😊

As always, stay safe and stay well and…

Happy Reading! 💖

Rosie

If you would like to get a copy of our new book, or any copies of my books, click on the icons below.

Amazon
Barnes and Noble

PS. A fun “Valentine’s/Kindness/Pay it Forward” post is coming soon. Keep Watching! 💖

Valentine’s Day Giveaway Coming Soon!
GR8Blogs
GR8Blogs

Travel to the Town in “Just Between Sam and Me”

Are you ready to travel to Spring Hope, MO?

Yes, that’s the fictitious setting in our story, “Just Between Sam and Me.”

My co-writer, Cat Michaels and I have been having more fun thinking of ways for us to introduce the different aspects of our new book for you, the reader.

First, let’s take a visit to, Cat’s page so you can see more on how we came up with the setting for our story.

Behind the Scenes
Behind the Scenes

Yeah! You’re back!

Tap the picture below as we give you another taste of our story from Chapter 17.

Now for the Reading!

Chapter 17 Winter Break
Chapter 17 Winter Break

More Great News to Share!

Author Mari Barnes has a super fun event for reader in December.

Don’t forget to watch for, Flying Turtle Publishing Presents Adventures in Reading with Bessie Boxturtle as The Pilot. ” Coming December 05, 2020

We’re not done yet!

In case you missed it, click below to download the first chapter to, Just Between Sam and Me.

Chapter 1 “Just Between Sam and Me”

What setting do you wish to visit in a book you’ve read?

Leave a comment in the section below. We’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Happy Reading,

Rosie

GR8Blogs
GR8Blogs

Part III Interview With Carol Baldwin About Our New Book

Part III Interview

If you have been following along, Carol Baldwin has been interviewing, Cat Michaels and I the last few months for our new book coming out, December 02, 2020.

Click here to see ► Part I and ► Part II.

Carol’s blog explains more about our book here, as we dive into why “National Bullying Prevention Month” is so important to discuss.

Watch this important video. Click on the image below.

Excerpt: Just Between Sam and Me, by Cat Michaels and Rosie Russell
“Just Between Sam and Me”

Chance to Win a Free ARC

Read our ► Part III Interview with Carol Baldwin. Leave a comment on her blog for a chance to win a ***FREE*** Advanced Reader Copy of, “Just Between Sam and Me.”

(The winner will be drawn on October 16.)

"Just Between Sam and Me"
Just Between Sam and Me

We thank you and please let us know if you have any questions.

Happy Reading!

Rosie

Rosie Russell – www.booksbyrose.com

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Past articles from Books by Rose:

First of a Four Part Series with Author Carol Baldwin

Co-Writing Roles, Bumps in the Road, and Self-Publishing

October 2020 Brings Us Closer To Sharing Our Book

“Just Between Sam and Me” Cover Reveal and More…

“Just Between Sam and Me” Cover Reveal and More…

Cat Michaels and I have been working on our story, Just Between Sam and Me, for the last year and an half and we are getting so close to getting it released!

By now, hopefully, you have visited Cat Michaels from North Carolina to see her page first, to see how this cover came about? Cat had to drive a long way on a hot humid day to meet up with the artist, Irene Jahns, for our cover to be finished.

If you haven’t been over to her page yet, check it out here or click on the image below!

Cat Corner Blog Post.

Cat’s Corner

Welcome Back

Oh good, you’re back in Missouri! The Midwest weather here today is delightful!

Missouri

I don’t have Country Fried Steak to serve you like Cat suggested. (Hee, hee.)

You’ll have to come back on Monday, October 26, 2020 for that. We’ll have a fun post to share about that delicious meal, a recipe, and a sneak peek of a clip from our book.

However, I do have some yummy Apple Cider from the Martin’s Apple Orchard, though. (Yes, another little tidbit about from our tale.)

Apple Cider and Cookies
Image Credit: Pixabay

Kick back and relax. Enjoy this video of our cover release. Don’t forget to turn up your sound and watch it on the full screen. You will enjoy it much more that way.

Click on the image below.

Cover Reveal for “Just Between Sam and Me”

What did you think?

Did you see our release date, too? Yes! December 02, 2020!

Also, we have a bunch of fun interviews coming up these next few months to reveal more about us and our story. Stay tuned!

Cat Michaels and I are so excited to share our new book with you.

We’d appreciate if you would share our posts to help us get the word out.

Thanks for stopping by, today.

Make sure to click on the names below to read these other GR8Blogs.

GR8Blogs
GR8Blogs

Sandra Bennett Children’s Author How To Do A Cover with Impact

Julie Gorges 7 Bizarre Lessons from The Brady Bunch

Auden Johnson Design Idea: Make A Unique Animated Book Cover

Julie Schooler Finding Time to Write – Podcast with Authors Who Lead

Happy Reading!

Rosie

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