Due Date: 7-14-11

No, Bethany is not seven months pregnant. She's not pregnant at all actually. But she is going to be a mommy again sometime around the middle of July when we adopt our little angel from China, Tian Tian (Tiana). Last night my bride was feeling overwhelmed by the amount of things we have to finish before bringing our daughter home such as painting her bedroom, buying a new bed, buying clothes, applying for our travel visas, buying intercontinental plane tickets, etc. She was down on herself for what she called "being moody" lately. But while trying to tie up all these loose ends, she is also holding down a full time job, is busy being a mother to two young boys, and being a supportive wife to a first-time author/head case. I told her that she was entitled to feel moody or however she felt because just like any expectant mother who is in her third trimester, she has a lot on her mind right now. However, unlike most pregnant mothers, she only deals with the logistics of bringing home a child, she doesn't get to enjoy the feeling of carrying a new life inside of her. She doesn't get to feel her baby kick when she eats spicy foods. She doesn't get to see her baby's heart beat on a sonogram. She won't get those tiny diapers and adorable clothes for a newborn at a baby shower. She doesn't have people coming up to her to feel her pregnant belly or asking her if it's going to be a boy or a girl. People don't approach her and say, "You're positively glowing today--are you pregnant?" (Although our friends and family have been very supportive and have shown great interest in our adoption journey. Thank you!)

I told Bethany that she needs to start thinking of herself as being seven months pregnant. She asked, "So it's okay that I'm all emotional and crazy lately?" I said of course it is: All pregnant women are crazy and emotional. Whether adopting or giving birth, all expectant mothers get a free pass on that. I think that made her feel a little better. Now is the time for her to start enjoying "being pregnant" and to daydream about having a daughter with whom she can have tea parties and go shopping. It's time to have some fun! Although she has no "due date," the date for her to begin to think like a mommy-to-be is long overdue.

I just want to proclaim for all the world to read: I love Bethany Naughton, the mother of my children. Honey, you're positively glowing today--are you pregnant?

BREAKING BOOK NEWS!

Ladies and gentlemen, the moment you have all been waiting for has finally arrived. My first book, Naked Snow Angels is now available to purchase in paperback form! I used two different self-publishing websites so that the book would be available in multiple outlets. The first site createspace.com is a subsidiary of amazon.com. Here is the link to NSA on that site: Naked Snow Angels. The second site is lulu.com and will feature a special collector's hardcover edition as well as a paperback. Here's the link: Naked Snow Angels/lulu. Don't forget, you can buy an eBook version for Kindle here: Naked Snow Angels/Kindle. Both paperback versions are priced at $15.99 and the Kindle version is $5.99. The hardcover will be $25.99 once I receive the proof and approve it for sale.

These two sites are of the "print-on-demand" variety. This means that they don't hold multiple copies of books in inventory. Rather, they print a copy when it is purchased. This lowers the risk to the printer and to the author who may be required to purchase a large quantity of books that may or may not ever sell. When you order your copy of NSA, allow a week or so for printing and delivery. It will be worth your wait, I promise.

Finally, I chose not to include an acknowledgements page in my book. I didn't want anyone to feel left out, so I left everyone out. That being said, I want to thank my cousin Larry Barr for working feverishly on setting up my new website www.travisnaughton.com and for his early editing efforts and feedback he gave me. Also, thanks go out to my brother Blake for properly formatting my manuscript so that the finished product looks like a million bucks. It's a real book folks! Now go out and buy it, and tell your friends!

Naked Snow Angels available on Kindle

It's official: my book has been unleashed upon the unsuspecting public. If you own a Kindle eBook device, then you can follow this link and buy my book today! If you don't have a Kindle, you can wait for the printed versions to be released next week or you can download a free Kindle reader app for other devices. Click on "Free Reading Apps: Your purchase will be sent automatically to your iPhone, PC, Mac, iPad, or BlackBerry device. Don't have a free Kindle Reading App? Download one here." on my book's page.

Watch for future announcements regarding the release of both the hardcover and the paperback versions and the launch of my new website travisnaughton.com. And thanks for your support!

Updates

First and foremost, here's the latest on our adoption process. We have received approvals for Tiana to immigrate and to apply for a visa. We are waiting on the go-ahead to apply for our visas and to have everything certified at the Chinese consulate in Chicago. Then we will receive our actual travel dates--our agency estimates that we will fly to Beijing on July 14. We hope it won't be later than that so that we can have some home time with our little girl to bond with her (and to teach a little English to her) before school starts in the fall. As always, check the blog for further updates.

Secondly, I think I have my book formatted correctly on a couple self-publishing websites. I should get the proofs in the mail next week. I still need to tweak one paperback version that will be offered on Amazon.com, but on another site I should have another paperback and a hard cover version available to purchase sometime next week. I also uploaded an e-version to Kindle and once they look it over and give me the green light, it will be offered for sale, too. In an effort to market my book to the fullest, my cousin Larry Barr is developing the website travisnaughton.com. The site will include links to all the different outlets for buying my book, a calendar for book tour dates and other public appearances, a fan message board, photos, etc. I know with Larry at the helm, it will be great. So stay tuned for the site launch and get ready to experience the phenomenon that is Naked Snow Angels.

Hope

Osama Bin Laden is dead. Immediately, the world is a better place. I hope that the families of the victims of 9/11 can begin to finally heal their broken hearts and find happiness in this world. I hope that we as a nation can come together and remember that despite our political affilations, religious views, or ethnic backgrounds we will recall that we are all brothers & sisters united in a common belief that ours is the greatest country on the face of the earth. Over the ten years since 9/11 occurred, our solidarity has been tested. The deaths of our countrymen in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C. on that day and the deaths and horrific injuries of our citizen-soldiers on the battlefield every day since have weighed heavily on all of us. We have at times turned against one another as our frustrations with the way the War on Terror has been conducted have mounted. Political discourse has degenerated into counterproductive rhetoric in the form of Bush-Bashing and The Birther (Bowel) Movement. The undeniable sense of unity Americans felt nearly ten years ago had all but disappeared--until today--hopefully.

Hopefully, we will remember that we're all in this fight for justice and the American way together. Hopefully, we will come together as Americans and not politicize this moral and military victory. Hopefully, we will begin to turn our attention once again to making America a better place for our children instead of living in fear and with revenge in our hearts. Hopefully, George Bush will be given credit for resolving to track down Bin Laden. Hopefully, Barack Obama will be given credit for remaining committed to that end. Hopefully the special ops forces who bravely took down the world's most wanted mass murderer will be treated as the true heroes that they are. Hopefully, they will receive a tickertape parade in New York City. Hopefully, they will be awarded the $25 million reward for the killing or capture of America's #1 enemy. Hopefully, we can bring home the rest of our brave men and women in uniform soon. Hopefully, we can focus on domestic issues that have been neglected since our attention has been rightly focused overseas. Hopefully, a new era of peace and prosperity has begun.

Hope. I don't want to live in a world without hope. Today, to honor the memory of all those who were lost on 9/11 and in the War on Terror, I hope we will all make the committment to come together and remember how lucky we are to be Americans. I hope that we will all tone down the rhetoric and remember that United We Stand, Divided We Fall. Today, I am not a Democrat. I am not a Republican. I am an American. And I am damn proud of that. And I hope that Osama Bin Laden rots in Hell. But as my friend Roger eloquently put it, "I pray for the soul of this man. I pray he comes to understand the horrors he unleashed in this life and is remorseful." That being said, I hope that Osama spends all of eternity in Hell and that he fully feels and appreciates the pain he has inflicted upon the innocents of this world. In this one case, if rejoicing in the death and suffering of another human being is wrong, then I don't care to be right. I hope I can be forgiven for that.