Another One For My Nephew

I'm writing from a beach in North Carolina (here to celebrate my parents' 80th birthdays). My adorable nephew Jake is here too. He's now 4 and is full of spunk and life and we all couldn't be happier. (The photo to the left of Jake and his mom and dad, Susan and Jim Ralston, was taken of a couple of days ago.)

As thanks for their son's recovery and to help other families who are faced with a childhood cancer, Susan and Jim have started their own non-profit called Pediatric Proton Foundation. The foundation's mission is to provide education and assistance to parents of children with cancer who are interested in pursuing proton therapy, the effective but relatively unknown treatment that helped Jake beat his bone cancer. The goal is to raise enough money to give grants to families so that they can afford the treatment.

Please visit their website and learn more about the foundation and proton therapy. If you know someone who has cancer (God forbid), especially a child with cancer (doubly God forbid), please refer them to the website.

Remember How It Works

If you've got to buy things, why not make each dollar go farther and help the Pediatric Proton Foundation and kids like my nephew in the process? If you buy your Amazon products through my website, you can be doing good when so many people are in need (and donations are down for many non-profits.) On my home page, click on "Buy the Book," which will take you to Amazon.

Once you're at Amazon, either buy my book (smile! thanks!) or find another product to buy. Amazon will return a commission on any item purchased to the Seed Campaign. EASY!
I've decided to change beneficiaries every three months instead of each month. So until the end of September, a percentage of your purchases will go to the Pediatric Proton Foundation.

Thanks for Your Support in June

One of the highlights of my appearances at the Blanco Lavender Festival (which was a blast, by the way) was meeting Andree Brunk, the grandmother of Samantha--the darling girl in Miami who was the inspiration for June's Seed Campaign. If you remember, her mother Michelle Coffey-Garcia had started Samantha's Purpose to help children with cerebral palsy.

I'm happy to report that through the Seed Campaign we are able to donate $226 to Samantha's Purpose.

Thank you so much for your help.

My Lavender Life in Mexico--You Can Help

As many of you know, I've been working as a consultant for a lavender farm in Mexico. It's a community co-op, in which all the people in the pueblo of Rancho La Colorada are pitching in to grow lavender as a cash crop. The co-op's goal is to become self-sufficient through lavender so that many of the men who go to the States every year for work can stay home.

The lavender co-op is at a point where they need money to expand their acreage, their irrigation system, their soapmaking capacity and to invest in beehives for lavender honey. To raise these funds, I'm helping plan a big benefit for The Lavender Project on August 6th in San Miguel de Allende.

You can help in two ways. One: go to the website for the lavender project and make an easy, on-line donation, if you are so moved.

Two: I am looking for people with vacation homes who can donate a week's stay to the silent auction at the beneft. If you have a place at the beach or mountains or a pied-a-terre in Manhattan, say, please be so kind as to donate a week's stay. You will get a tax write-off (the donation will actually be made to a non-profit out of Albuquerque, St. Anthony's Alliance, that started the lavender co-op in Mexico) and you will know that instead of sitting empty, your vacation home will be helping people who are working really, really hard to help themselves.

Please let me know if you can make such a contribution (or any other type of donation--your art work, say--for the silent auction or as a door prize).

An Honor From A Wonderful Hotel

I recently got a call from a new JW Marriott resort that will soon open up just north of San Antonio. The hotel wanted to send out copies of my book to give travel writers and potential customers a sense of what makes the Hill Country so special. I was very honored that they felt my book would convey that essence; the package they sent out with my book included Hill Country Lavender products. Very nice.

Two weeks ago, Robb and I had the opportunity to tour the resort and were amazed at the vision and the details. It will have 2 PGA golf courses, a tequila bar, stunning views and, most importantly as a mom, a mini-water park that will qualify as kid heaven I'm sure.

Thanks to the Marriott for really "getting" and supporting my book.

All best wishes and many thanks for continuing to support my book AND the Seed Campaign--Jeannie

From Nicaragua to Atlanta

Hello:

We're all probably painfully aware that purchasing power isn't what it used to be, but I want to remind you that through my Seed Campaign, you can make every dollar mean more!

Last month through the Seed Campaign, we raised money for a mission helping orphans in Nicaragua; this month Seed Campaign funds will go to a cause closer to home--one that truly embraces the meaning and power of "home."

Books for Orphans

I'm happy to report that in January, we raised $234 for Abrazando Cristo, the mission based in Lake Charles, LA, that has devoted itself to helping educate children at the San Cristobal (Nicaragua) Orphanage.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to meet the woman who suggested that I give to Abrazando Cristo through the Seed Campaign. Her name is Laurie Cormier and she has traveled frequently to Nicaragua to work with the children.

Laurie tells me that the money we raised will go to buying books for the orphans. How appropriate is that? "You just can't imagine the wonder and joy on these kids' faces when they see books," she tells me. "They have such respect for them; they don't have many at all."

Let's hope that this money can buy lots and lots of wonder and joy!

There's No Place Like Home

This month, money we can raise through the Seed Campaign will go to a clever, innovative cause in Atlanta called The Ruby Slipper Project.

The project grants interior design makeovers to families dealing with trauma, including teens aging out of foster care, evacuees from Hurricane Katrina and others going through transitions. Such as a high-school senior battling cancer, who just got a brighter, cooler bedroom where she can recover, thanks to the project.

The project believes that when someone is dealing with sickness and other problems they need the haven and security of home to keep going.

Click here to find out more about The Ruby Slipper Project's wonderful work.

A "Lavender Queen" Tour of the Texas Hill Country

I want to announce a special event I'm working on: I'm putting together a tour of many of the beautiful and meaningful locations mentioned in my book.

I'm planning to offer this 2-day tour just before the Blanco Lavender Festival, which is the weekend of June 13-15. We could visit Rose-Hill Manor, the Welfare Cafe, the Blanco Bowling Club, Krause Springs and--I hope!--our old stone barn where the story takes place.

Let me know if you have any interest in this excursion. I'll keep you posted on what's being planned and what the cost will be. Should be a blast!

Keep It Coming

Hope you'll continue to support the Seed Campaign by buying your Amazon products (and any more of my books you may need!) via my website.

Remember to click on "Buy the Book" on the home page of my website and after you get to The Lavender Queen book page on Amazon, you can do other shopping from there.

Thanks so much for all your help and enthusiasm--

Jeannie

The Big Texas To-Do and Other Fun

I'm all bleary-eyed this morning after 12 days on the road, promoting The Unlikely Lavender Queen. An author's work is never done...that's my new motto. I'm exhausted but very happy.

My trip started in Skaneateles, New York, a suburb of Syracuse. I was told to pronounce it "Skinny Atlas," like a very thin volume of maps. It is a gorgeous spot on one of the Finger Lakes and I got there just in time to see the fall colors--something I've sorely missed for the past 17 years living in Texas and Mexico.

I was the keynote speaker at a fundraiser for the Carol Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund. Baldwin is a cancer survivor and most famously, the mother of Alec and the rest of the Baldwin brothers. After hearing the mom speak, you can tell where the sons get their sense of humor. The event--which was put on by a friend Laura Ponticello--raised $2,235 for breast cancer research. I was thrilled to be part of the effort.

There is more good financial news. (Isn't it nice to get good financial news for a change?) Through my Seed Campaign (buy a book via my website and the commission from Amazon goes to support a worthy cause), I raised $1,023 for the John Dau Sudan Foundation. John Dau is one of the Lost Boys of Sudan and the subject of the movie God Grew Tired of Us. I was thrilled to present checks to his representatives. The second photo above (the one without any crowns involved) is of me with the movie poster and some of the supporters I got to meet up in the Syracuse area (John goes to Syracuse University).

While up in the chilly north, I got to speak at the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. The Newhouse School is a very famous journalism school and I loved meeting the students. Most of them wondered what kind of opportunities they might have when they graduate. I hated that at a time like this, I could think of only one word of advice: Blog.

After New York, I was back in Texas for a couple of radio interviews and two great events--one was a woman's event at a new work-life balance center called Soma Vida, on Austin's east side.

Then this past weekend came the Big Daddy--the Texas Book Festival. What an amazing event. How fabulous to be included and to meet so many other authors that I've admired, such as Alexandra Fuller (Let's Not Go To the Dogs Tonight), Sarah Bird (How Perfect Is That), Terry Thompson Anderson (The Hill Country). I also got to see my old friend Marion Winik (Glen Rock Book of the Dead) and I served on a panel on memoirs with three great writers, Stephanie Klein (Moose), Robert Leleux (The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy) and Stephanie Elizondo Greist (Mexican Enough).

One of my favorite new author-friends is Kathy Patrick, who started a salon/bookstore in East Texas called Beauty and the Book. She also started the Pulpwood Queens Book Club and now there are 200 chapters across the country. She's the author of The Pulpwood Queen's Tiara-Wearing Book-Sharing Guide to Life.

That's a picture of me with Kathy at the very top of the blog. Next time I meet I've got to get my tiara on! And that next time will be in January when I take part in her Book Club Convention/Girlfriend Weekend. Should be a hoot. Find out more about the book-and-fun-lovers weekend here.

More news: My Seed Campaign effort in November will benefit Literacy Texas, a non-profit advocacy group that aims to get everybody in Texas reading. Buy a book via my website this month and the commission from Amazon will go to create more readers. And one thing writers like is more readers!!

I have more fun events coming up in December--all in the Austin area. More details on my website.

Dec. 5th: Book Signing at Beekman Books in Fredericksburg
Dec. 6th: Lake Austin Spa
Dec. 7th: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin

Also: links to some recent publicity.

Dana Roc website
Daryn Kagan website
Growing Concerns on KUT radio Austin

I Love It When Someone Really Gets It

I am so lucky to have been found by Dana Roc, who runs a beautiful website and newsletter devoted to helping people live fuller lives. She featured an interview with me this week in her Inspiring People series, and I have to say that I think she's the inspiring one.

Please check it out. Our talk really got to some of the key themes of the book that I have wanted to make sure people understood. The main one is about control. How we're not in control so much of what happens to us, but we are in control of our attitude toward what happens to us. Such a big lesson in life.

Read the whole interview.

I also want to tell you that we've made great progress collecting funds for October's beneficiary of the Seed Campaign, the John Dau Foundation. One of my readers issues a challenge to everyone who had already bought my book to donate $100 to the foundation and many of you have responded.

We're also trying to track down a used ambulance that can be donated to Dau's clinic in Sudan AND a way to get the ambulance delivered there. So we're working.

I tell you, I thought writing a book was rewarding. But I've decided that finding a way to help people is the most rewarding thing of all. Thanks for your help.

Sharing the Luck and the Love

Wow! What a difference some dedicated readers can make. I launched The Seed Campaign only four weeks ago, and so much has come from it already. As you remember, if you buy a copy of The Unlikely Lavender Queen via my website, www.jeannieralston.com, dear Amazon will give back a commission to The Seed Campaign. Every month I'll be donating these funds to a different cause.

I'm happy to report that through your efforts, I'll be able to give about $300 to St. Anthony's Alliance, which started and still supports the lavender co-op here in Mexico. $300 will go a long way in Mexico toward helping the lavender growers and soap makers in the pueblo expand their business and marketing. Thank you so much for your support of my book and this effort. What's more, by promoting The Seed Campaign, the lavender co-op has gotten more exposure. Several national media outlets are considering stories on the lavender co-op. Let's cross our fingers for that to happen. Also, several of you have written me with ideas on how to do even more with the lavender co-op. One very nice university professor has talked about having a class of hers plan a lavender festival here in the San Miguel area. I'll keep you posted on all of this.

Now that we're in October, The Seed Campaign will be moving on to another amazing organization doing wonderful work--this time in a very different part of the world. I'm sure many of you have heard of The Lost Boys of Sudan. These boys--from ages 5 to 14--walked 1,000 miles to find refuge after civil war broke out in Sudan in the 90s.

One of the Lost Boys is named John Bul Dau; he has written a memoir himself called God Grew Tired of Us and he's the subject of one of the most moving documentaries I've ever seen--also called God Grew Tired of Us. Robb and I watched the movie with the boys the other evening and I swear if everyone--especially children--in the U.S. saw that film I think we would have a different country. You just can't believe what the young men in the film have lived through and how they've come out of it with their spirits intact. John Dau and the other Lost Boys in the film have such gratitude for what they DO have and such commitment to give back to others who haven't been as "lucky." The movie truly blew me away.

I have the great honor of donating to the John Dau Sudan Foundation this month. I got hooked up with John and his work through a new dear friend named Laura Ponticello, who has arranged all kinds of events for me at the end of October in the Syracuse, New York, area. The funds earned through sales of my book via my website will go to a health clinic John has founded in Sudan. I've said before that I think the most important message of my book is making the most of the twists and turns life takes, and John Dau has done that in a way far beyond what I could ever dream of. Please visit the website, www.johndaufoundation.org to learn more about his truly inspiring cause. You can also see the attached video about the Seed Campaign effort.

I do hope you will tell your friends about this month's effort. My goal is to donate even more money from The Seed Campaign this month. If you've already bought my book, I thank you so much. If you haven't, please consider buying my book this month along with the film God Grew Tired of Us. Or just buy the film itself. But make sure you first go to my website and click on buy the book (you can go anywhere on Amazon from my book's home page). The Seed Campaign does not get a commission from Amazon unless you start the process on my website.

I also want to tell you about some upcoming events (details are on my website).

Oct. 10th--San Miguel de Allende; author's sala reading.
Oct. 23rd--Skaneateles, NY; keynote speaker at a cancer research fundraiser
Oct. 24th--Syracuse, NY; speaking at S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
Oct. 29th--Austin, TX; evening of rejuvenation at Soma Vida
Nov. 1 & 2--Austin, TX; Texas Book Festival, where I'll introduce November's effort to benefit Literacy Texas.
Jan. 15-17--East Texas; speaker, Pulpwood Queen Book Club Convention

Hope to see some of you along the way. Thank you.