Hello Everyone!
I hope everyone is having a fabulous summer. Karl and I are still traveling across, over and up and down the US. We're having the time of our lives, well except for the little mishap that sent our RV sliding into the side of a mountain.

Always trust your instincts no matter what. We tried to be prepared when we left Texas by buying a nice GPS that would tell us where you can fill up with water etc but most of all, it wouldn't take us down any unsafe roads. Yeah, right!

The paved road changed to gravel and there was absolutely no way we could turn around. Trusting the GPS we forged onward until we came to a 180 degree corner that we couldn't make. Because of the loose gravel, the RV slid into the side of the mountain. By this time we were already pretty much terrified. The bad thing was, we still had to get around the corner on a steep upgrade. We barely managed to make the rest of the journey up the mountain and make it to the campground. The host and hostess told us they'd been begging the county to put up a warning for RVers because it happens all the time. One unfortunate soul went backwards down the side of the mountain the year before when he couldn't navigate the sharp corner.

We ended up spending 6 weeks in Chattanooga, Tenn getting all the repairs done--like removing the limb from our bedroom wall (I still think it would've made a great hanger for hats), replacing the steps, the awning and the roof and the crushed storage area. 

After everything was fixed we headed for Dover, Tenn for 2 days. The next place was only 30 min away so we drove over without the RV to Bumpus Mills, Tenn to check it out and sure enough the GPS AND OnStar would have led us down an equally treacherous road. Sheesh! The device that took us a safe route was MapQuest and Google maps. We talked to a truck driver while at Bumpus who said he only uses MapQuest and Google maps. So, no matter what you do in life trust your instincts!

On a better note, we got to see a lot of Tenn. It's an absolutely beautiful state. We're in Kentucky right now and loved staying at Land Between the Lakes although we didn't catch any fish. Tomorrow we're off to Illinois. Maybe we'll have better fishing luck there?

 I did get more work done and the third book in my Nerak series is now available for download. Yea! Here's a little more about it:

Undercover cop, Sam Jones, is ready for his vacation, but his plans never included taking an uppity female alien to his cabin deep in the piney woods of Texas. Sure, he fell a little in love when her sister showed him the hologram of Lara, but he didn’t know a Healer would act so damned superior or look so damned hot. He wants to kill her one minute and seduce her the next.

Planet Nerak is perfect, but when earthlings are accidently transported to Lara’s planet one of them infects an Elder. As a Healer, Lara must test earth plants to find a cure, but Sam doesn’t seem pleased by her presence. He should, for she is from a much superior race.

Healers are set above everyone but the royals. A Healer must meditate to keep her mind one with the universe. It is not permitted to touch a Healer less they disturb her aura. Sam does not seem to know these rules, and worse, he doesn’t seem to care.  She only hopes she can find a cure soon because Sam is affecting her aura in an odd, but rather pleasurable way. 

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I hope you enjoy the third book in the Nerak series.
Karen Kelley
www.authorkarenkelley.com

Writing on the Road

And so the Journey Begins

One of the most difficult things I’ve found to do on the road is write. Karl and I have not traveled that much outside of Texas so we’re finding new experiences around each corner and spending time writing was not top on my list. Before we left, it was a different story. We were in a mad rush to get everything done, including putting the house on the market, before we left. I think I’m finally taking a deep breath, enjoying life away from the 7am-7pm routine of nursing and I’m finding my love of writing once again.

If you’re keeping up with my blog then you know I write romance. My first book was published by Kensington way back in 2000. Most writers do not get rich off their writing. I’m no exception. I’m lucky to have taken retirement at 62 and writing does supplement that, occasionally. Karl and I did discover we could live with a little more freedom buying a fifth wheel RV. Someone once said they envied me. I explained to them that anyone could enjoy this kind of lifestyle. You only need to put all that you value into two shoeboxes, then give away, sell or store what’s left. We did a little of all three.

We’re finally on the road! So far it has been fantastic. The first night we stayed in Choudrant, LA in a roadside park. Cost: free. We couldn’t let the sides out but that was okay. It was a pretty little area. Since we have solar panels, we ran two small bedside fans since it was a little warm, plus it blocked any noise from the big rigs pulling in.

We stayed the next two nights at an Escapee Club, Bushnell in Alabama) which is so worth the membership price which is less than $40 a year. We boondocked (used no hookups) while we were there at a cost of $7.50 a night. The park was absolutely beautiful and the hosts were great! The spaces were very tight but since there were only one other RVer boondocking we had plenty of space. We were a little disappointed in the beaches. They cost $5 for 4 hours. The white sand was really pretty, though.

From there we boondocked one night at another Escapee Club, Rainbow Plantation in Florida, again at $7.50 a night. Not as many amenities and the park wasn’t as pretty but the trade-off was being close to a lot of attractions.

We spent 7 days at Fort Wilderness at Disney World. The spaces were really, really tight and we had to back our fifth wheel past the paved pad so we would fit. Next time we go we’ll probably spend less days, but we will definitely go again.

Savannah, GA was breathtaking! We did the daytime trolley tour which was about $20 each but you can get on/off at any time. We saw the Mercer house that was used in the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, the bench that Forrest Gump sat on, and the restaurant that Julia Roberts caught in when he was with another woman from the movie Something to Talk About. They tell you a lot of history on the tours like the fact Spanish Moss isn’t really a Spanish or moss, it’s some kind of air plant. Very cool to see it draping the trees. We stayed at and RV park which was our splurge at $40 a night but it did come with full hookups, although no amenities. 

Now we’re in the Great Smokey Mountains. Wow! I found my inspiration for the next book in my series here. Because we’re staying 11 days I have plenty of downtime to write and still enjoy the views, hiking, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and the small, but wonderful, town of Cherokee. I’ll be posting lots of pics to my website when we get somewhere that we can have internet. I have been posting quite a few on my Facebook page. There is no phone service, no internet etc at our campground, Smokemont. The space was a little tricky because they haven’t opened the RV side yet.  I think May 16^th is when it opens. The price is great, though at $7.50 night with a Sr Pass card, $17.00 without. Toilets, no showers, but there is potable water and a dump station. BTW, if you’re 62 or over you can get a Sr Pass for a one-time fee of $10 and get into any National park for free and camping is half price.

That’s it for this time. If you stumbled on to the blog, please check out my website at www.authorkarenkelley.com I’ve posted some videos and pics on Facebook and you can get to them from there.

Best Wishes and Happy Reading,

Karen Kelley