Ellen and Brad has a "master plan" to take the Canadian tour by storm. Instead of the usual one-day event at a Barnes & Noble, we decided that we would try to do a signing at as many local bookstores as possible over a five-day period in each city. That way, Brad and I could additionally enjoy the cities as we traveled and sold copies of my book thru Canada.

First stop:  Vancouver! Vancouver, British Columbia, was a city I had always wanted to visit anyway. Heralded as a culinary mecca, I had already informed Brad that he would be taking me to both the high and low places in the way of eateries in the city. By day I would sell books, and by nite we would eat and drink our way thru Vancouver.

On Day-1, we did do our usual at Barnes & Noble. However, the bookstore scene was much more welcoming at the independents. MacLeod's was by far my favourite. It had an interesting atmosphere with not only books on the shelf, but also mountains of books on the floor. Stacked as high as my head in some places, this was a bookstore unlike Brad and I had ever seen. Day-2 was spent at Chapters, day-3 at The Paper Hound, day-4 at The Library Store and day-5 at Albion Books.

I managed to make an appearance and get a few copies on the shelf at Golden Age Collectibles, Criterion, UBC Bookstore and International Books & Novelties. All in, we made it to nine bookstores in downtown Vancouver.

By nite, we were carnivores. I remembered watching a show on the Travel Channel one time that touted the best restaurant in Vancouver as Vij's. It was an Indian spot; and not particularly a typical cuisine in Vancouver, but it was still touted as the best restaurant by far in Vancouver. As Brad and I dined, our taste buds danced like the people on Broadway. I had never reached what I thought was Umami until eating at Vij's. Eating his fare and complimenting the spicy dishes with wines like Reislings from the Alsace Lorraine region of was just phenomenal...over the top. We additionally paired our dinner plates with Sauvignon Blanc and at the end of our dinner, Sauternes. It was perhaps the best meal I had ever had in my life.

Not terrible in their own right was The Absinthe Bistro, Bishop's, the Blue Water Cafe & Raw Bar, Meat & Bread, Minami, Five Sails and Tuc Craft restaurant. It was in total the best dining experience of my life; and I was able to share it with someone that I loved.

Fortunately and unfortunately, I received a call when Brad and I were at Vij's. The good news was that we had eclipsed the 1,000,000 copy mark; he bad news was that Dad had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. He would begin chemotherapy the following week.

Knowing this, I cancelled the rest of the Canadian tour. While I would have liked to have continued on to the other four cities, Dad was a priority. He might not make it to ninety-eight, as the outlook looked rather bleak. After Vancouver, I boarded a plane. I would spend the next eight weeks with my father.

This meant missing most of the summer at Casa Amor and out the book on hold, but I knew in my heart that i was the only right thing to do. Brad understood when I told him that I would be with my father; mostly alone, until his passing. I wanted that time with him to be special.

Dad had always been a private person, but he explained when I entered the house for the first time since his diagnosis that he wanted me to be there till the end. While he did not know it, that had already been decided. Brad visited about every two weeks. He and my father developed a small bond, as I hoped they would and he asked my father if he could have my hand. At the age of seventy-eight, I had been proposed to.

Not surprisingly, the proposal was overshadowed much by my father's ailing condition. The chemotherapy was weighing on his every last bit of strength; both physically and mentally. He told me stories about the war, about his college days as an athlete, about the fun times that he and mother had and his favourite memories from my childhood and of he and the grandchildren; Liam and Isabella. His memory; despite his age, had stayed relatively intact.

Liam and Isabella flew in a few weeks later. They both could stay only a week, but I could see my father's face lite up when the grandchildren arrived. Isabella immediately started crying when she saw her grandfather. They had been close over the years, but she could see the frailty in his eyes and body. Liam was much more resilient, but I could also see the stress in his face.

What helped us all was knowing that he would be joining my mother in heaven. Undoubtedly, they had each been strong in their faith and had passed on those lessons to myself and the children years ago. My father even recalled the baptism of Liam and Isabella as he spoke with them. He requested time with the three of us individually each day.

Being his only daughter, I had been quite a special gift in his life. He adored Brady and was beginning to like Brad. After all, he had given him his blessing to marry me. A bride at nearly eighty I would be. Why God had waited so long after Brady to bring me Brad, I could nary understand; but I had never doubted his purpose for my life.

Isabella shared with me that my father had spoken with her mostly about being a dedicated mother and wife. After all, she was slated to be married as well and would soon want children of her own. While Ryan and she wanted some time to themselves initially, they each were in unison in the decision to have children. My father talked about the wife and mother that my mother was to me. He explained to Isabella that the learning curve to becoming a successful wife and mother could sometimes be a tough climb. However, he reassured her along the way that she had more than enough skills to make the transition from career woman to mother and wife seamless.

Liam got a similar discussion, but it was geared each day toward becoming the leader of his household. He was to become a provider; but that of a different kind of the average man. My father explained to Liam that the average man only thinks of his profession. He shared additionally that a job is not the "be-all-end-all" to providing for your family. To be effective, one must be a leader from the standpoint of having a leadership style based on Biblical principles. My father reinforced this with examples from his own life for seven days. By the time Liam and Belle had to leave, they were well versed in their respective areas. They had their marching orders, and were expected to carry them out.

The week went by too quickly for both of them and back to their respective places they went. Fortunately, Liam and Isabella were able to see each other that summer. Liam was an intern at the National Institute of Health and of course Belle was still in Atlanta. Since the flights from D.C. to Atlanta were cheap, Belle would fly up to D.C., which was only a thirty minute drive from where Liam was stationed for the summer.

I continued to be there for Dad along the way and Brad came every two weeks. To get my mind off the seriousness of the situation, we talked about his novel and the wedding plans. At this point, Brad was almost seventy, which was still quite young in my eyes. Have been through that decade, I was beginning to see myself as a lot closer to the end like my father than at the beginning of the "home stretch" that Brad was in. Hopefully he would still have a good twenty to twenty-five years; and I fifteen to eighteen if I were lucky.

Brad was good about being patient and spending long hours at the hospital. There were a few times that I allowed myself to leave Dad's side, but they were few and far between. Life was too precious to meet any of the final moments.

Dad passed away on a Sunday. He had "fought the good fight" for seven weeks. He went quietly in his sleep early that Sunday morning. I called Isabella first, then Liam and finally Brad. My father had made his own arrangements years before so there was nothing much to take care of. We would simply follow the requests of his last will and testimony.

Not many showed up for Dad's funeral, but who has many friends at ninety-seven. At that age, most of your friends have gone before you, and it is your younger neighbors and siblings perhaps that will attend. I, being the lone daughter; and two grandchildren were they main characters in this play at the end of Dad's life. He had lived well; and outside of the time with my mother, he had shared with me in his final days how proud he was of me and the book. He had followed the numbers even from the hospital, as he made me look them up each day before he went to sleep.

Despite the small number, we laid Dad to rest in great fashion. Brad and I thought the brevity and the privacy of the situation played out exactly as my father might have wanted. We decided to all get together as a family for dinner in Asheville at Table. Table had been a staple for Dad and Mom once a month. Pricey, but always well worth the money.

As we talked, Liam shared with the group that he had good news. He had been accepted to Yale Medical School. Middlebury, the University of Minnesota and now Yale would be added to his curriculum vitae.  Isabella and Ryan were as excited as I. Brad, too, thought that not only was it the next logical step for Liam, but he felt that Yale would be more than an appropriate place for his studies.

I was excited for Liam. I had never been to New Haven, Connecticut; not even when I had traveled thru the north during the fall with Brad to look at the leaves in bloom.  On a few occasions, Brady and I also had traveled the northeast in the fall. Fall was my favourite season until I started spending my summers at Casa Amor. Without question, it was soon time to have a serious discussion with Silvio.

My one more month went by quickly. I had sold 2,000,000 copies of my book by the end of September when Silvio and his wife returned from Tuscany. I told Silvio that I would be staying over a few days in San Diego and wanted to have a discussion with him. He agreed, and we decided we would eat together in La Jolla.

I knew exactly what I had to do. I had to offer Silvio a price he could not refuse. Brad agreed to go in on the purchase of the home. He would put up fifty-percent of the offer and I the other fifty. We were to be married after all, so what was the difference. The total amount of royalties brought in from the sales of my books now was over $5M. I knew I would have to offer Silvio at least $3.5M, so that would mean coming up with $1.75M.

Ellen wondered if Brad and I would be willing to do a Canadian tour?

She said she would be able to book Vancouver and Ontario for certain, but thought there were some other places that we would be welcome. I explained that Brad and I would discuss it and get back o her. The goal of coming to Casa Amor for the summer was to work on my novel and relax; however, we may have to do some thinking.

Brad thought that the Canadian tour idea seemed reasonable. From the west coast, we could easily get to Vancouver. From the east; after a quick flight to New York, we could drive into Canada and do the larger cities in the eastern half. We still took a week to "noodle" on it, and promised Ellen an answer in a week.

After mulling it over, we committed to five cities in Canada. Vancouver, British Columbia, Ontario, Montreal, Quebec and Toronto. In doing so, Ellen figured that we would be able to reach a minimum of 100,000 readers and perhaps sell 250,000 additional copies of my book.

Having had the "warm fuzzy" honeymoon feeling with the first book, I was beginning to focus on the mechanics and process to getting the second book written and into the hands of readers. Ellen had already committed to an advance and the amount was yet to be determined; but we knew it might be double or even triple that of the first.

I continued to talk with Dad and perhaps he went thru a small "spell", as he was being less like a grumpy-old man and more like the healthy father of a published author. He was still keeping track of my numbers, and we projected that by the end of the Canadian tour, that we may even crack the 1,000,000 copies sold mark.

I was excited to hit that number; and while I truly believed I would, I wondered how it would feel.

Silvio was ecstatic when Brad and I returned to Casa Amor.

This year he had done something special that I immediately noticed. We exchanged a few words; and then as usual, he was off to the airport and I into the house to unpack. But back to my point...this year, there were flowers in every room. Silvio had filled the house with fresh flowers which would become not only a hobby for the summer, but something beautiful to appreciate as we enjoyed the house.

While I would be touring some that summer, it was going to be at a much slower pace. I intended to have Liam and Isabella take the reigns a bit and focus on marketing and selling the book from online channels. Each of them had done their respective parts, and I was rewarding them fro time to time as the royalty checks came in.

It was my goal to finish my new novel by Thanksgiving and have it on the shelves for the Christmas and New Year's holiday season. I figured that most of the writing could be done over the summer and I could dedicate what time I needed to in the fall to bring it to completion.

While I was excited to be spending the first summer at Casa Amor alone with Brad, I was also growing concerned for my Father and his health. Little by little as we talked, I could see his mind failing a bit. Additionally, he had become quite the complainer with respect to his physical health as well. He had been banged up quite a bit between high school and college sports, and the military. Despite all this, he was a "tough old bird", and I knew he would not give up without a fight.

Ellen called a few weeks after we settled into Casa Amor. She had a new angle for us to explore.

Spending time in Anguilla made me long for Casa Amor.

I phoned Silvio and booked another summer. By this time, we had become friends. He was happy to hear my voice on the other end of the line and delighted that I wanted to return to Casa Amor. Even he had adopted the nickname for his residence.

It was already spring and summer would soon be here. I had booked for a little longer this year, as Silvio wanted to spend a little more time in Tuscany, which gave me the option to stay longer in California. It really worked out.

I envisioned the second book pushing me over the edge and into the mainstream. Could it possibly be enough that I could purchase Casa Amor? Would Silvio sell? Cash would always do the talking and if I made good money with the second book, I just might have the proverbial "leg to stand on" with Silvio.

The next six weeks on the road flew by. I had just finished my thirty-fifth book signing when June 1 came around. On June 2, I boarded a plane along with Brad for the summer; and one month longer, to Casa Amor. I decided I would sleep the entire flight. While it would have been a good time to write, I had found at this point that I was most productive early in the morning. Brad and I shared this trait, and so we would write each morning along with our coffee in our respective work spaces and then meet each other on the covered patio for a lite breakfast.

When the plane landed, a smile came immediately to my face. Brad and I would pick up our bags, grab a taxi to Casa Amor and "check in" for the summer...plus one month

It was hard not to notice our destination when we arrived at the gate. We were going to Anguilla!

By now I was almost in tears. Brad had scheduled a week in Anguilla. The weather would be similar to that in San Diego and I missed Casa Amor deeply. Somehow he just knew this destination would be appealing to me.

The flight was short relatively, as I slept most of the way. Part of me wanted to keep my eyes open so as not to miss anything, but the other half knew that I needed the rest.

We arrived down on the tarmac in Anguilla about 6:00 PM. A Jeep with an open top and an escort was there to pick us and our luggage up to ferry us to the hotel. I could simply not believe my eyes when we arrived. Not only had Brad booked the most luxurious hotel on the island, but he also booked us a roof-top villa. The Viceroy Anguilla would be our home for the next seven nights

I could nary believe it! I never wanted to leave!

There were plenty of things to do at the hotel. Restaurants, bars, a spa; you name it, it was available to us at either our fingertips or a concierge phone call away. This was living!

Each morning I got up early and spent time walking the beach and then writing. I was now working on my second novel with the Amish theme. It was challenging; even more so than my first, but day-by-day, I whittled away at the manuscript; page-by-page, chapter-by-chapter.

Would I someday have two credits to my name?

By the time we finished our tour northward thru North Dakota, it was time for a break. To date, we had sold over 371,000 copies, and I was more than profitable at this point.

Brad and I decided we would go south for a few weeks and rest. He had just the place in mind, and made the reservations. It would be a surprise for me, and the only thing I had to worry about was getting my things together.

Being on tour was amazingly fun and exhilarating, but I was ready for a break. We would drive from North Dakota to our destination. I was still calling my Dad each day, and he was still keeping me abreast of the numbers; especially those that he could look up online. He was excited for me and how the book uplifted me both personally and professionally. Brad was also proud. He had been in my shoes before, but there is nothing like the first time.

As we drove, I fell into almost a meditative state. Looking out the window in a clam car with Brad at the helm was soothing. We would stop occasionally, but mostly I just peered out the window in deep thought.

I missed Brady! I missed Mom! And I missed how proud each of them would have been for me and of me. Dad was a stronghold thru this process and Brad a partner. We had literally (no pun intended) become "two peas in a pod." As we went further and further south, I wondered where we might be going. As we entered Miami, I saw Brad get off the exit to go toward Miami International Airport.

Not only were we going south, we were going south of the border. I began to get extremely excited. Where on earth could we be going?

From Texas; and more specifically Austin, we headed north on the book tour.

After San Antonio and Dallas, it was Colorado Springs, Denver and Aspen in Colorado. Following behind was Salt Lake City and Ogden, Utah. Then Cheyenne, Wyoming. We headed east to Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska, then north again to Sioux Falls and Rapid City, South Dakota; east to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and then north again to Bismark and Fargo, North Dakota. Thankfully it was spring, so we were not completely freezing off our "tushes" at any given moment.

By the time we reached Fargo, we were just over 212,000 copies. I just knew we were going to hit our next milestone and surpass it. Could I do 500,000 or even 1 million? Only time would tell. At this point, online sales to personal sales at my book signings were outpacing me by a margin of 12-1. That was certainly not a problem, as the word was getting out and the efforts of my children were not going unnoticed. In fact, I kind of figured that when we reached 250,000 copies in sales, that the question concerning a raise might come up. Not surprising, as their work was strictly gratis to this point.

Brad and I attempted to find both the "holes-in-the-wall" and also the finer restaurants in our travels. Since this was not his first cross country tour, he was able to show me some things that I might have never found on my own. Some I had heard of, and others were completely new to me. My daughter was my history and finance buff, and Liam was no slouch himself.

Without fail, we always found good company everywhere we would go. The people were nice in almost every place we visited. Some blessing could be found in each and every day, it was not as if we had to look for it. It seemed to find us.