I’ve been quite lax, not posting anything for well over a year.
The last time I blogged was in August of last year when I was visiting good friends in North Carolina. I wrote about our visit to Lake Lure and posted it on August 1, 2023. It was a highlight of my visit to Carol and Aurora.
Since that time, of course, Hurricane Helene hit, and it destroyed the Lake Lure Flowering Bridge and also did a fair amount of damage to Carol and Aurora’s house. Go back to my last blog post to see how lovely the bridge was. Today, it is completely gone.
I completed my six-month-and-one-day roam around the US in late September. I’d even managed a brief foray into New Brunswick and Québec, Canada. I traveled in what I refer to as my mini RV, my Toyota RAV converted into a camper.
When I returned home, I was used up. Shot. I became quite lazy. But somewhere in those months of laziness, I managed to finish up and publish two more children’s books.
My first book, Luisa the Green Sea Turtle/Luisa la Tortuga Verde Marina, came out about five years ago. It and the others are bilingual, English and Spanish. At the end of the book, Luisa laid a nest of eggs.
My second book came out this spring and is a follow-up to the first. It’s called Luisa’s Babies/Los Bebés de Luisa. In it, Luisa’s eggs hatch, and the babies make their way to the beach and head out to sea. H
Now I’ve begun a new series, a travel series for kids.
I need to speak of something else for a moment to explain the backstory for this book.
I live just outside of Bisbee, Arizona. Bisbee is a former mining town, turned hippie town, turned arts and tourist town, turned retirement and tourist town. I will let you guess where I came in.
Bisbee is a wonderful place of about 5000 people that manages to sustain two coffee roasters, two breweries, a community radio station, a year-round weekly farmers market, and an absolutely fabulous patisserie. People who have visited France say the pastries here are as good as or even better than those found in Paris. This little town even has a five star restaurant.
We have murals all over town, music every night of the week, and three to four out of five weekends there is some sort of festival or a special event. A few of the events include a mariachi festival, a rolling art car parade, and a vulture celebration. We draw many tourists from all over the US, and even some from around the world.
With that backstory, I’ll tell you about my new book. It’s called Gramma Takes Me to Bisbee/Nana Me Lleva a Bisbee.
This book tells the story of a little girl named Sofia whose grandmother takes her to visit Bisbee. In it there are a lot of pictures of the Bisbee area, painted by a wonderful local artist named Beca Reyes. Because it’s set in Bisbee, and because there are a lot of grandmothers here, it has been selling quite well.
This book begins a series with Gramma taking Sofia to all kinds of wonderful places. And the “hardship” is I will have to visit these places to write about them. It’s going to be such a hardship that I am chomping at the bit to start traveling!
So now you’re caught up with my life. I’d love it if you catch up with my books, too. They’re available on Amazon in paper format as well as e-book versions, and of course I have them for sale also.
On Amazon, just search for Emilie Vardaman and my three books will come up.
Emilie Vardaman 
Hi Emilie, earlier today (12/1/24), I was having an anxiety attack, disguised as a coldness attack. I can’t describe it any other way. This year (2024) I feel like it’s been a lengthy process to get a basal cell removed from my nose, then recovery (ongoing but better) of a bruised coccyx, aka tailbone. I feel like I missed summer. At least you can bookmark your times. I should be doing that. Best, Chris
Anxiety attacks are rugged. Sorry you had to deal with that, and the basal cell. And tailbones! I still remember when I hurt mine—over sixty years ago. I still remember how it hurt.
Take care.
Can’t wait to see your next book. I have a granddaughter named Sophia. My brother lives in the Asheville area. He cries whenever he talks about the loss. He works behind the counter at Habitat and people share their grief with him. So sad.
Asheville.
I was in the area last year. I followed the drama day by day, texting with my friend Carole. The first tree took out most of her front deck and came to the living room wall. And it also took out part of the roof. The second tree came down by their back door and blocked them in the house while taking up both of their cars. They were trapped in the house until neighbors could cut away chunks of the trees so they could open their doors.
I was terrified for her!
The next book about Sofia and her grandmother will take them down to Bahía Kino, where they look at the beach where Luisa laid her eggs.
Congratulations on the publication of your new children’s books. You have been busy. Time to put your feet up? 😀
My Dear Friend! I absolutely applaud and shout “yes” regarding your plan to continue the travels of Gramma (wonder who that might be in real life) and Sofia on their continuing magical mystery tour.
For not only do we, your readers and friends get to learn about these new and fascinating places and people you choose to teach us about and experience from various points of view (not only Grandma’s and Sofia’s), but you have brilliantly figured out how to hit the road again with that creative wind at your back, fulfilling and sharing even more of your heartfelt insight and poetry!
Then along with many others, I so look forward to your travels and ramblings, wherever and whenever your generous heart decides to take us all for the ride!