Trouble Seems to Follow Her ...

UPDATE: Unlikely Merger is NOW available! We will offer

the book FREE on Kindle July 1-July 5, 2015!

Today, we welcome Fay Lamb, who is a vital part of our organization. She's our Executive Editor in the fiction department for both WIP and PNP, and she's our Managing Editor for Imaginate Magazine. We couldn't have grown without her! On a personal level, I'm also honored to call her friend. (And that's the only reason I can get away with this blog's title!)

My Favorite Road Trip

by Fay Lamb 

My favorite road trip started out miserably but ended in a place that, to this day, holds my heart. We left our home on the east coast intent on exploring some of the state over vacation. Our first stop had been Busch Gardens in Tampa, and then across the state to St. Augustine. Our children were about eight and six at the time. You know the age: “Don’t touch me! He’s touching me! He’s touching my pillow! Get off of me!” That age.

When we left the attraction, we had no particular destination in mind. We traveled up Highway 19 on the west coast. That’s when we saw the sign: Cedar Key, 24 miles. We made the left turn and headed twenty-four miles out into the Gulf of Mexico to find the most beautiful and rustic fishing island we’d ever seen.

With no plans to stay, we reluctantly left and traveled back across the state to St. Augustine, usually a favorite city of mine, but I normally visit it in the fall. The oldest city in America is not the place to be during the Dog Days of Summer, and we realized that very quickly.

The next morning, my husband asked what we wanted to do.

Recovering from a scathing migraine suffered in the sweltering heat of the antiquated streets, I had only two words, “Cedar Key.”

My husband smiled and back across the state we traveled with “Don’t touch me! He’s touching me! He’s touching my pillow! Get off of me!” ringing in our ears.

Upon our return to Cedar Key, we were lucky to find someone to rent us a small home that sat on one of the bayous of the key.

Then we started to explore. You could walk the island in thirty minutes, but the boys weren’t for that. No, we had to rent a golf cart, but it turned out to be a fun way to explore.

Upon our return from our exploration, though, we noted that our car had a big dent in it, and it had been moved—sideways. We learned that Cedar Key had two police officers, and they really did know everyone. One of the officers arrived. He smiled, held up his hand, and went to the home across the street. “Ms. Annie wants to talk to you,” he said upon his return.

Ms. Annie was a dear older woman who had made it a habit of accidentally backing into every car that parked in front of the house we’d rented. She been too embarrassed to come to us, but she was terribly sorry about what she’d done.

Characters like Ms. Annie are why I love that place. My husband and I went back every year for several years. Ms. Annie has passed away, and a restaurant fittingly named after her resided in her home.

I never got to tell her that her “accident” solved our “Don’t touch me! He’s touching me! He’s touching my pillow! Get off of me!” problem. Instead of fixing the car, we bought a van and dared either boy to sit in the same row on any future trips to Cedar Key or elsewhere.

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Fay Lamb is an editor, writing coach, and author, whose emotionally charged stories remind the reader that God is always in the details. Fay has contracted three series. Stalking Willow and Better than Revenge, Books 1 and 2 in the Amazing Grace romantic suspense series are currently available for purchase. Charisse and Libby are the first two books in The Ties That Bind contemporary romance series. Fay has also collaborated on four romance novellas:The Christmas Tree Treasure Hunt, A Ruby Christmas, A Dozen Apologies, and the newest, The Love Boat Bachelor. Her adventurous spirit has taken her into the realm of non-fiction with The Art of Characterization: How to Use the Elements of Storytelling to Connect Readers to an Unforgettable Cast.

Future releases from Fay are: Everybody’s Broken and Frozen Notes, Books 3 and 4 of Amazing Grace and Hope and Delilah, Books 3 and 4 from The Ties that Bind. Also, look for Book 1 in Fay’s Serenity Key series entitled Storms in Serenity.

Fay loves to meet readers, and you can find her on her personal Facebook page, her Facebook Author page, and at The Tactical Editor on Facebook. She’s also active on Twitter. Then there are her blogs: On the Ledge, Inner Source, and the Tactical Editor. And, yes, there’s one more: Goodreads.

More for the Journey:

Thursday, June 25

Jennifer Hallmark: Traveling with Others by Phee Paradise

Fay Lamb: Who Wrote Whom: Meet the Authors of Unlikely Merger: Marji Laine

Tuesday, June 23

Write Integrity Press: Marji Laine's What’s a Boom-Hunt Road Trip?

Jennifer Hallmark: Why I Keep Saying Yes to The Proposal by Julie Arduini

Marie Wells Coutu: The Ultimate Bucket List

Deborah Dee Harper: DeeTrails ~ To Love a Weed

Monday, June 22

Write Integrity Press: Let the Road Trips Begin
Deborah Dee Harper: The Only Thing We Have to Fear ... Getting it All Wrong

Friday, June 19

Write Integrity Press: Unlikely Merger Chapter Eleven

Marji Laine: A Horse of a Different Color

Julie Arduini: Our Business Influences Part 5

Fay Lamb: Meet the Heroes of Unlikely Merger: Daniel Knight

Carole Towriss: Daniel’s Design Horse Capital of the World

Thursday, June 18

Write Integrity Press: Unlikely Merger Chapter Ten

Marji Laine: Shake It Up

Julie Arduini: Our Business Influences Part 4

Jennifer Hallmark: Your Comfort Zone by Raelee May Carpenter

Fay Lamb: Meet the Heroes of Unlikely Merger: Reuben Miller

Carole Towriss: Reuben’s Home Samo

Wednesday, June 17

Write Integrity Press: Unlikely Merger Chapter Nine

Marji Laine:  No Joy in Mudville

Julie Arduini: Our Business Influences Part 3

Fay Lamb: Meet the Heroes of Unlikely Merger: Steve Leclerc

Carole Towriss: Steve’s Home Great Barrington