Hi, everyone.

So....it turns out that 2016 is already over. What?! Where did the time go?! Seriously. I remember my first day at my new job. Felt like yesterday when I first started, and it has been seven EXTREMELY fast months. Can't believe it. Felt like yesterday that I just graduated from college and moved back to my hometown for the time being. And THAT was a year ago.

Now, I just recently published my latest novel, The Somewhat Perilous Plot of the Patriotic Mosquitoes, on December 23rd and they are currently free on Amazon Kindle until Saturday December 31st. And then the novel will be free again from Friday January 6th until Sunday January 8th.

So you've got some time to look at my most recent novel!

Also, I may have told you this before, but this is a very significant novel as well. Reason being, not only is it pretty great, but I decided that this is going to be the last novel I write for about a year or two.

Instead of focusing my time and energy on writing yet another novel, I decided that now I need to focus my time and energy on marketing what I've written. I have self-published fourteen sci-if and comedy novels that I want to show the world, and now I need to show the world that I have self-published these novels.

Don't worry, friends.

Just because I am not going to write another novel for a short while, that does not mean my blogging will go away. I will keep up with the Haiku Mondays because they are fun. Every now and then I will try to squeeze in a Poem Time just because they're fun as well. But on Wednesdays or Thursdays I will take a short part of one of my chapters from any novel and explain what it means to me. And, on the weekend, I'll write about what's going on in someone's life right now.

So I will still be busy on my site.

Well, to that, enjoy your New Year's Eve, however you choose to celebrate. And I wish you all a VERY happy start to 2017.

Cheers,

You Know Who

I am going to another country.

Apple is my favorite fruit.
Marshmallow creme.

Greek food is amazing.
Olives on my pizza.
I am livid.
No anchovies on my pizza.
Greek food is better than pizza.

There is a way
Onions in my Greek salad.

Great minds think alike.
Every day I think great.
Rosemary margaritas
Must be pretty good.
Although I have never tried one.
Now my best friend has told me it's pretty great.
You are amazing.

It's the twenty-sixth.
Also known as Boxing Day.
But in Canada.

Last book is live now.
Right now, just in ebook form.
Hardcopy later.

Twenty-seventeen.
Will be very much better.
I'll make sure of that.

Reading all my books.
Is therapy for the soul.
Reading all my books.

Chinese food is boss.
That's what I'm having for lunch.
Beef lo mein noodles.

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

Happy
As Always.
Pizza for dinner.
Pizza pie for dessert.
You and I are happy.

Happy
Olives on my pizza.
Lemonade is my drink.
I added some cherry syrup.
Do I now have a cherry lemonade in my hand?
Absolutely.
You and I are happy.
​Stay over for a while, and let's play some video games.

A drawing party.
Drawing pictures, hearing songs.
Oh, it was a night.

It will never end.
Because we don't want it to.
Oh, it was a night.

It is Tuesday night.
Five more days til it's Christmas.
Oh wow. What a joy.

This coming Friday,
Latest book will be published.
I can't wait for that!

I will let you know,
When it's finally online.
​Happy Tuesday, guys.

Decked are the houses and halls
Eloquently decorated with projector lights.
Can you see the lights tonight?
Every house with lights is beautiful.
More and more excited about the holidays.
But I have a special announcement.
Excited about my newest project?
Right on!

The Somewhat Perilous Plot of the Patriotic Mosquitoes.
Will that be the name of my project?
Every day, I say, "Absolutely."
Now my dream is becoming a reality.
That is a fact.
You are all successful people.

The Somewhat Perilous Plot of the Patriotic Mosquitoes.
Here is the scoop.
It is an ebook for now.
Right now, but then it will be a hardcopy.
Do stay tuned for tomorrow, as it is Haiku Monday!

​There is a way
I do not know
Mic's on, brother.
Everyone is staring at you while you shake with nervousness.

F on my paper.
On to revising it and getting an A+.
Right on, I'm too darn motivated.

You are silly.
Oh yeah you are.
Unlike no one else, since everyone is silly.

Tomato
Onion

Gee whiz.
Everyone is happy.
This is the Holidays.

And I am over here.

Watching people getting coffee.
And I am over here, writing this blog.
Today is a great day.
Could say tomorrow will be great as well.
Happy Hannukkah. to those who celebrate.

Moon is made of cheese.
Gouda cheese, I think it is.
The absolute best.

Clouds made out of cream.
Marshmallow cream, exactly.
They're delicious clouds.

Sun is just fire
To roast my marshmallows on.
Some marshmallow cream.

And those graham crackers.
What are graham crackers made of?
They're just graham crackers.

Fall back into fall,
When the bonfires were sweet.
And drinks were sweeter.

And that lemonade.
More lethal than jungle juice.
Without alcohol.

Very addicting
Is that sweet old lemonade.
Five cents for a cup.

Hi everyone! It is Sunday evening in Valparaiso, Indiana. And I can't believe the weekend is over. The weekend ALWAYS seems to go by really quickly. In two weeks, we will be finishing up on Christmas Day and getting ready to go to Germany to see my brother, so that is exciting!

He is doing an internship through his current university and he will be there until next August.

So, tonight, since I have a bunch of creative juices in action right now, I am going to give you a few facts about Mackenzie Burbanks, who is Levi Cranston's girlfriend of over eleven years, and her three older brothers, so here we go!

Brent Burbanks
1. Brent Ryan Burbanks was born on April 6, 1982.
2. He is married to his wife, Andrea Burbanks, of four years, and they have a boy, Connor James.
3. Brent and his little family live in Bloomingdale, Illinois.
4. Brent studied healthcare administration in college.
5. Brent did not do sports in high school, but he was very involved in band. He played the bass clarinet.

Jesse Burbanks
1. Jesse Timothy Burbanks was born on August 27, 1987.
2. He is an avid runner, but he did not do sports in high school.
3. Jesse lives in Valparaiso, Indiana, by the high school with his younger brother, Andrew.
4. Jesse studied marketing in college.
5. Jesse was engaged for about six months, and then his ex-fiancée spontaneously called off the wedding.

Andrew Burbanks
1. Andrew David Michael Burbanks was born on October 31, 1990.
2. He had his tonsils taken out when he was four years old.
3. Andrew started learning how to play guitar when he was six years old, and he and Jesse are part of a garage band. Jesse plays keyboard, and Andrew plays electric bass.
4. Andrew played tennis in high school for a season and a half but had to sit out for the rest of the second season due to a knee injury.
5. Andrew is the quiet one of the four kids.

Mackenzie Burbanks
1. Mackenzie Cori Burbanks was born on November 22, 1991.
2. She had her appendix taken out when she was eight years old.
3. Mackenzie had her belly button pierced when she and Levi were twenty-one. Levi held her hand to make her feel more comfortable.
4. Mackenzie and Levi like to joke about how they think they had started dating on accident, when Levi had his tonsils taken out and had asked her to be his girlfriend when he was completely out of it.
5. Mackenzie played golf in high school.

Well, here are some little known facts about Mackenzie Burbanks and her three older brothers!

Have a great evening!

​B. Levi