2016. You are excited for it. You are nervous about it. You strive to do better during the next year. You will finally be able to keep your resolution. You will be empowered by your resolution. You will be able to help others because of your resolution. And you believe that your chance for success will....

Wait. I WASN'T DONE YET! ERMA, GET THE INSPIRATIONAL MUSIC PLAYING AGAIN! ERMA!

Don't listen to those guys. There was some technical difficulty, and some person named Erma wanted to add a little inspiration to my blog, but she can't because she doesn't know how to post a blog to my site.

Sorry, guys.

Today is Wednesday, and we all know what that means. Not necessarily the fact that it is Wednesday. Really, any day can be Wednesday. But today is a special Wednesday. You know why? Because it is December 30th. A lot of you might be wondering what is so special about December 30th.

Well, let me tell you.

Reason 1: It is December 30th.
Reason 2: It is December 30th.
Reason 3: It is December 30th.
Reason 4: It is still December 30th.
Reason 5: All-you-can-eat Chinese buffet special for $4.99.

Just kidding.

December 30th is basically considered New Year's Eve Eve. What is so special about New Year's Eve Eve, you might ask? Well, I'm going to tell you....you might ask.

Five more months until my fourth novels from each series will be published!
It's New Year's Eve Eve.
You have at least a little more time to come up with a New Year's Resolution before you break it.
Today is not a day when I post a random haiku.
The list goes on and on and on and on about New Year's Eve Eve.

Enjoy it while it lasts.

You Know Who wrote this. NOT Erma, or whatever in the sam hill her name is.

Three days post Christmas.
Three days before New Year's Eve.
Bye, twenty-fifteen.

Taco, yeah, taco.
Taco in the wee morning.
Taco before lunch.

Hi, Rockybado.
Would you like a taco now?
Or after dinner?

Hi, my friend, Dacston.
Would you like some baklava?
Or chicken pita?

Marty's a foodie.
Oh hi, Marty. What is up?
Chicken pastrami.

Merry Christmas, friends! To those of you who don't celebrate, hope you're having a great day!

As promised, here is yet one more blog post for this week. And here's the surprise. Do you remember how I talked about how each family in each series celebrate Thanksgiving? Well, today I'm going to talk about how each family celebrates Christmas, so here we go!

The Ingram's (Rockybado): Dawson, Brett, David, Brody, and Toby Ingram come from a very small family. They have some family fifteen minutes east of them, as well as both sets of grandparents. After the immediate family opens presents, they invite their extended family over to spend the day with them. Normally, the Ingram's are the hosts. However, sometimes hosting alternates between households. For lunch, the family likes to do fried chicken and a few other sides. Then, they spend the afternoon relaxing at the house. Then, for dinner, the family likes to get Chinese food and look at some Christmas lights around Merrillville and Crown Point. When they have dinner, they like to watch a non-Christmas movie. Mostly comedy or sci-fi.

The Grzedek's (The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs): Andrew, Caleb, Adam, Cameron, and Alyssa Grzedek come from a large family. They have a lot of family all over Northwest Indiana and the Chicagoland area. Starting December 23rd, the family visits their extended family members. Sometimes, they will go to their relatives' houses. And other times, they will have relatives come over to their house. On Christmas Day, the immediate family starts the day by opening presents and then going to their paternal grandparents' house for a Polish feast. They have turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and bread rolls. But everything else consists of Polish dishes. At least most of the Grzedek side of the family come together on Christmas Day to celebrate. Until the end of the day, the family spends time with their relatives, and they have another Polish feast for dinner.

The Baranovsky's/Cranston's (The Magic Video Game): Louise and Elizabeth Baranovsky, and Victoria, Olivia, Levi, and Evelyn Maeve Cranston come from a medium-sized family. They have family from Northwest Indiana and Rhode Island. The family does celebrate Hanukkah, but they do not go all out for it. However, on December 23rd, Levi spends Christmas with his girlfriend's family. On December 24th, the whole family celebrates Christmas with both sets of grandparents and second oldest half-sister, Elizabeth, and her husband, Paul Weiner. On December 25th, the family starts the day by opening presents. In the afternoon, the oldest half-sister, Louise, and her family come over to the Cranston's house, and they have a "cook-out," where they have a picnic-style Christmas lunch; they do not believe in traditional in the slightest. Everyone relaxes throughout the day. Then, they all go to look at Christmas lights and afterwards get Chinese food. After eating dinner, they all play many random games.

As you can see, each family is different in celebrating Christmas/Hanukkah. And, no matter how you are celebrating today, I hope the rest of your day is nothing short of amazing!

Happy Holidays.

You Know Who

Hello, and Happy Christmas Eve!

This has been quite a crazy week for us. With this being Holiday Week, it's always crazy. However, things, in general, have not gone as expected or hoped, but at least our spirits are still high. As much as I am not the biggest fan of Christmas, I'm glad that we'll be able to celebrate it by driving around town and looking at lights, as well as getting Chinese food, a way of reliving one of our most favorite Christmas movies (which I'd still watch, even if it's not the Holidays).

I'm going to get you up to speed as to where I am with my writing. I am two chapters away from being done with The Magic Video Game 4. I completely finished Rockybado 4. And I have 13 chapters (I believe) that I need to finish for The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs 4 by April 30th. This day is the day that I would like to publish the fourth novels of each series. And then I'll be working on my second novel for The Amazing Sci-Fi Compilation. (The Crazy Chicken Escapade is getting a little lonely with it being just one book in that one series, hahaha). That will be my project for next summer.

Oh, and by the way, texting some paragraphs to yourself really works and can get the job done much faster. For those of you trying to write a book, please, for the love of the Good Man, please please take my advice. You will save yourself a lot of time, and you can do much more things with your time that you otherwise wouldn't have if you took an hour in your day to just write. I guarantee it.

Today, since I have a Christmas Special blog post that I am planning for tomorrow, I will talk about Mrs. Ingram (Rockybado), Dawson's, Brett's, David's, Brody's, and Toby's mother. Here are ten fast facts about her.

1. Marsha Dawn Wickes was born on November 22, 1960 in Chicago Heights, Illinois.
2. She has one brother, Alan, who lives in Hobart/Merrillville with his family.
3. Marsha has four nieces: Jennie, Annie, Maggie, and Kellie.
4. She believes that her family has English, German, Greek, Polish, and Irish descent.
5. Marsha is an independent beauty consultant and is very good friends with Lisa LeVole Cranston (The Magic Video Game).
6. Marsha loves to crochet and is part of a crocheting club.
7. Her brother, Alan, is really into sports, while she is not.
8. Marsha has always tried to get her family more involved in church and is supportive of her son, David's, interest in being more involved. Dawson is a little more involved in church as well, but Mr. Ingram, Brett, Brody, and Toby are not involved at all.
9. Marsha did not actually go to college. Instead, she went to beauty school and has a certificate from there.
10. Marsha loves scarves and has over fifty scarves.

Ladies and gentlemen, here is Mrs. Ingram for you.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas Eve, and I will most definitely see you tomorrow! Be on the lookout for my blog post.

Peace,

You Know Who

It's Haiku Monday.
And it's also Christmas Break,
For lots of people.

However, not me.
Back in Valpo forever,
Reestablishing.

It's Holiday Week.
We made some good baklava,
Last Saturday night.

It is really good.
We made tons of baklava.
Well, no. Not really.

Hey friends,

I have great news for you! I am happy to announce that The Magic Video Game and The Magic Video Game 2: Time for Tennis are both FREE on Amazon for Kindle on Friday December 18th and Saturday December 19th! Please check them out by reading the summaries below!

The Magic Video Game: "Summer of 2006 begins in Valparaiso, Indiana, and two siblings acquire a video game that lets them go to the island of Wakahakai to meet a cool polar bear and his friends, including a forensics science fanatic, an athletic walrus, a crazy penguin, a distinguished snowman, a simplistic Eskimo pig, and a beautiful princess. Together, they must keep Darveda, Nelson, and Hilda from taking part of Winderplassic Estate."

The Magic Video Game 2: Time for Tennis: "It is summer of 2006 in Valparaiso, Indiana, and Levi and his friends have to prepare for the upcoming tennis season as freshmen in high school. With two new boys who join Levi's group of friends, a date gone wrong with his girlfriend, a renovation of his family's garage, and the beginning of many tennis practices, this summer proves to be very eventful."

See you all this weekend!

You Know Who

P.S. I just changed the name of the sequel to Time for Tennis. I decided that I did not like the previous title.

It is Finals Week.
Holy crap. I can't believe,
I'm graduating.

Coffee. Yes. Coffee.
Only thing keeping us sane.
Worst week, semester.

Well, it's really not.
Gotta think positively,
Break for two whole weeks.

Well, that's not for me.
Right now, I want a taco.
​Yes. Lovely taco.

Good morning, and Happy Saturday!

Well, this is a very awkward time of the year for me. I like the idea that this is the holiday season. However, this year is quite different. I am graduating in less than a week. My last day of school is Thursday December 17th. At least I have the holidays to look forward to.

I had a great night out with some friends last night. And again tonight, when we go to Chicago to see our favorite basketball team. This weekend has already been pretty great. So, basically, a great ending to my undergraduate career.

This morning, I will talk to you about Toby Ingram (Rockybado), the youngest boy of the Ingram family. So, here are ten fun facts about him.

1. Toby likes to consider himself a groupie for The Hawaiian Geeks.
2. He knows English and French.
3. Toby's favorite foods to cook are spaghetti and lasagna.
4. He is originally from Luxembourg, Luxembourg.
5. Toby's first name was originally Tobias, but the Ingram's preferred the name Toby.
6. Unlike David and Brody, and like Dawson and Brett, Toby is not into sports.
7. Toby likes to skateboard.
8. Toby has a pair of water show speakers in his room.
9. His favorite music genres are rock and pop. He also likes some dance music.
10. Toby has taken some guitar lessons from Brett before.

So, on a very unrelated note, The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs and The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs 2: The Sound of a B Flat are both FREE on Amazon for Kindle on Friday December 11th and Saturday December 12th! Please check them out by reading the summaries below!

The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs: "It is June 2006 in St. John, a town in Northwest Indiana, and five siblings find out about the existence of dinosaurs through their neighbors who actually visited them. At a swimming party, the neighbors give the three younger siblings a book with a T-Rex's number on it. When all five kids visit Galavanti Island, they help Dacston, a T-Rex, Valpatic, a velociraptor, Jokie, a brachiosaurus, and Sammy, a stegosaurus, locate a case of saxophones that Selfish Arnie, Dacston's cousin, has taken from all of the citizens of Galavanti Island."

The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs 2: The Sound of a B Flat: "Summer of 2006 commences in St. John, a town in Northwest Indiana, and Caleb Grzedek's band is starting to get known. Andrew, his older brother, starts his first tennis season in high school. He also spends time with his girlfriend and best friends, and Caleb finally comes up with the band's name with his best friends. And, coming from a big family, the Grzedek's are often visiting their relatives, and the five kids are always learning new things. Therefore, summer is off to a good start."

Have a great rest of the weekend!

You Know Who

Hey friends,

Guess what's happening this weekend, meaning Friday and Saturday? The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs and The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs 2: The Sound of a B Flat are both FREE on Amazon for Kindle on Friday December 11th and Saturday December 12th! Please check them out by reading the summaries below!

The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs: "It is June 2006 in St. John, a town in Northwest Indiana, and five siblings find out about the existence of dinosaurs through their neighbors who actually visited them. At a swimming party, the neighbors give the three younger siblings a book with a T-Rex's number on it. When all five kids visit Galavanti Island, they help Dacston, a T-Rex, Valpatic, a velociraptor, Jokie, a brachiosaurus, and Sammy, a stegosaurus, locate a case of saxophones that Selfish Arnie, Dacston's cousin, has taken from all of the citizens of Galavanti Island."

The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs 2: The Sound of a B Flat: "Summer of 2006 commences in St. John, a town in Northwest Indiana, and Caleb Grzedek's band is starting to get known. Andrew, his older brother, starts his first tennis season in high school. He also spends time with his girlfriend and best friends, and Caleb finally comes up with the band's name with his best friends. And, coming from a big family, the Grzedek's are often visiting their relatives, and the five kids are always learning new things. Therefore, summer is off to a good start."

See youse all this weekend!

​You Know Who