It's December!

 Happy Wednesday & Happy December!

I hope December 2021 finds all of you well. I can't believe we're already nearing the end of 2021. It feels like the year just started yesterday or something.

Who participated in NaNoWriMo2021? I didn't. I don't really do NaNo, but I fully support those who do. If you did participate, I wish you a great word count!

If NaNoWriMo something that works for you as an author and/or you enjoy it, then I say go for it! I know people who do Camp NaNoWriMo or other NaNo-like events and they say they actually help them with their writing. Every author is different, so you have to find a process/technique that works for you.

I'm working on getting into the Christmas spirit. We're in the process of putting up the tree (have to fix something on the lights so the ornaments aren't on there, yet). I've been playing Christmas Carols and I've almost completed my Christmas shopping. My biggest concern with the cooler weather isn't the cooler weather itself (I like wrapping myself up cozily in blankets or something warm). It's the possibility of another Snowmeggeddon. After all the craziness of February with the pipes bursting, etc., I'm really praying that it doesn't happen again. As long as we don't lose power and water, the outside can be cold, that's fine, I just don't want to lose power, water, and have pipe issues again.

I continue to work on the mss that I'm hoping to query soon. I've got more notes from my freelance editor, so I'll be working on that. We're over halfway through the novel, so I've started another round of edits of the pages we've already worked through. I've got to finish polishing the synopsis, but the query letter is done. #PitMad is tomorrow, but I won't be participating this go around.

Packages of Christmas presents that I've ordered have started to arrive, as well as presents from relatives that I needed to wrap for my Offspring. I've gotten a good portion of those done (although not all of them, yet). I've got other presents I've ordered coming in and packages to get to UPS for mailing.

The Author Encounter has one event for December--a Behind The Page. There is a guest already lined up and we'll be revealing that person soon. I'm very excited about it (well, I'm always excited about who we get for our events because we get some really awesome people) but this one is rather person to me from my writing journey, so it's especially exciting. Be sure to watch the website and various social media for the guest reveal!

Meanwhile, I hope you have a blessed and Merry December whatever holiday you're celebrating. I'll try to check in again later in the month, but for now once a month is working for me.

Take care!

Have a Wonderfully Whimsical Wednesday!

Welcome To November...

 Happy Friday & Happy November!

We're clocking in the first week of November if you can believe it! 2021 kinda started slow for me when we had "Snowmeggeddon" in February. Now, it feels like it's going by fast!

My editor has sent some of the chapters for my manuscript, and I'm just waiting on the rest. My query letter is written, I figured out a tag line (which I will probably look over again) and I'm working on any polishing that's needed on my synopsis.

I've got some other manuscripts in various stages of having started but not finished with the first full draft. I've also got other ideas that play in my head from time to time, so we'll see what happens with all of those.

The Author Encounter's Indie Author Day is happening next week (Friday and Saturday, Nov. 12 & 13). Click here for more information on the lineup and tickets. (They're free!)

I've started Christmas shopping (I always like to start early so I'm not completely scrambling in December). The tree won't go up until after Thanksgiving, but a parody of "12 Days Of Christmas" was sung by yours truly much to Eldest's chagrin ("It's NOT Christmas!" was yelled at me).

Thursday saw some more Fall weather for my part of Texas as the temperature was in the 50s. The house was a bit chilly, but not ready to start the heater, yet!

My arm continues to heal with help from physical therapy, a heating pad, and a cold pack/Biofreeze. It looks like I might be able to start driving again next week.

I'm enjoying seeing some red and orange leaves on the tree in my backyard. I like Fall colors. Halloween was a bit of a quiet affair for me, with most of my family going to a Halloween parade while I nursed the tail-end of a headache. I needed the quiet--not just because of the headache, but in general. It was nice. 

I don't do NaNoWriMo, but I do cheer others on. So, if you're doing NaNo, I wish you the best with getting in the daily word count! I hope the experience is great! :-)

Here's wishing all of you an awesome Fall and November--I don't know if I'll get around to writing another blog post before December, so if I don't, I hope your November is wonderful!

Have A Fabulously Fantastic Friday!

Arm Update, Writing Updates, & More...

 Happy Happy Friday!

It's been a little while since I updated, and there is plenty to say. :-)

1. I'm free of the sling! Yes, you read that right. No more wearing the sling for my non-displaced shoulder fracture. On Wednesday, Oct. 20th, I had an ortho appointment and the doc said that I didn't have to wear it anymore. I'm working on some physical therapy, which is going okay. My poor arm is stiff! More good news is that I can use my left hand to type, so I'm back to typing with both hands, which is awesome!

2. My mss (manuscript, i.e. story/novel) is with my freelance editor. The editor has my mss. She'd sent some edits back some time ago, which I finally worked on. So, now just waiting for the rest of her notes.

3. My query letter is all ready! It's been critiqued and revised and is now ready to be sent off when everything else is ready to go.

4. My synopsis is almost ready. I've got it out with a proofreader and have already had critique done on it.

5. I've started work on other projects. I've got at least 2 mss a little mapped out--one already started writing and the other I plan to work on--the 2nd idea I've been playing with for a while now and hopefully this time it'll work. I had another idea a long while back that I was working on and I might go back to it.

As to other things?

I had a birthday on October 15th. A lot of people left me really nice birthday messages on social media and texting. I had a little family party with my parents, husband, offspring, and 2 of my sisters (one was in from out-of-town), which was fun. We had Tex-Mex for dinner and Nothing Bundt Cake Bundtinis for dessert. Awesome way to start a new age!

The Author Encounter is gearing up for Indie Author Day, which is happening on November 12 and 13. If you watch TAE's social media (especially Twitter and LinkedIN) information about tickets will be listed there, soon.

Anyway, I hope your October is going well. I love Fall and we've had some nice weather in my part of Texas, so that's been a plus. :-)

Have A Fabulously Fantastic Friday!

Where I've Been...

 Hi Everyone!

I've been out of commission/not blogging because I was busy with family and then I had a bit of an accident.

In August, I had a slip and fall in one of the rooms in my house. I ended up with a non-displaced fracture in my left shoulder. The important thing is I'm fine. I'm getting better, but I've been in a sling and I've been seeing orthopedic people who are helping me. Right now I only have use of one hand. In fact, I wrote this whole blog post by dictating an email to myself and copying and pasting it onto my blog.

So most of my writing and editing has been put on hold for the moment except for some edits that I can do on my own or with help from my husband.

I have been able to participate in different things that The Author Encounter is doing, including in September we had Traditional Publishing Day, which was lots of fun. There was a workshop on query letters, we had a couple of indie bookstores do a panel talking about what they sell and how to get your books into their shops, and we had a Traditionally Published Author Panel. I did a workshop on resources for authors. 

I'm looking forward to Indie Author Day on November 12th and 13th. We might do a Behind The Page for October, but we'll see.

But other than not being able to use my left arm and type with my left hand at the moment, I'm okay. I just keep busy with what I can do while my arm heals.

I hope your fall is going well and happy October!

Have a Marvelously Merry Monday!

Discoveries, and...

 Happy Thursday!

I didn't know I'd do another blog post for July. I wasn't sure I had anything to say, but you know, things happen and suddenly I've got some fun stuff for a blog post!

Okay, since I list it first, let me talk discoveries:  I have discovered the existence of UK Actress, singer, author, vlogger, Carrie Hope Fletcher. So, this was completely by accident. She's got a new book release dropping in August (I don't know when it's supposed to be available in the States) that looks interesting. Rather prolific given in a short period of time she has published around 5 books (maybe 6?) and has a new one coming out. Anyway, she has an amazing voice, which gives me chills--hence the reason I wanted to tell you, darling readers, about her voice. I haven't read her work, since I only just learned of her existence, but her upcoming release sounds interesting.

In terms of writing, I continue to edit my current WIP (Work In Progress).

In any case, I'm staying busy and on the mend from a sinus infection--yes, I've been on antibiotics and I'm doing much better.

Have A Thrillingly Tantizling Thursday!

Special Edition of Write By Bethany Blog: Are You A Re-Reader?

Hey All!

Hope everyone is doing well. I was wondering something...

Do you re-read book series and which ones?

Lately, I've been re-reading Shanna Swendson's Enchanted Inc. series, which I absolutely love. There's something so fun about the way she wrote them (in a genre that used to be called Chick-Lit but is now more like contemporary). So many great characters and fun scenes. It's been a while since I read it, so it's nice to pick it back up. I own all the books.

I've read C.S. Lewis' Narnia books multiple times. I've also read some of Lynn Kurland's MacLeod/de Piaget family books a few times.

What is it about a series that makes you want to go back and read it again and again?

For me, it's like seeing old friends. If enough time has passed, I'm getting reacquainted with them, or just enjoying them. I'm remembering how much I enjoyed certain scenes.

I've read other books that weren't series more than once, too. Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice is one such book--I've read it at least 3 times (I have family members who have read it more than that!) I've read other books more than once.

When I was in high school, I used to say that "Books are the best friends. They'll never betray you and they're always there when you need them." At least, the ones you love the most.

So what about you? Do you re-read series and/or non-series books? Why?

Have A Fabulously Fantastic Friday! 

It's July ALREADY...?

 Happy Wednesday All,

I can barely believe it's July already! Hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July American Independence Day. We didn't do very much for it, which was okay. There were plenty of people around us shooting off fireworks for 2 days (late into the night, too).

After Texas "Snowmeggeddon" displaced us from our house from February 15th to late June, we're back in our house and things are fixed. We're unpacking boxes from things we had to box up while the contractors were here putting our house back together. We had 2 pipes burst--one in the kitchen, the other around the garage. My kitchen looks so different, but I love how it turned out. We were glad that insurance covered so much of it.

While our house was getting help, we lived at my parents' house. We were lucky they're still living in the two-story I spent a lot of my growing-up years in. Except, my old room is now my dad's office so there is no sign of the pink walls anymore. Although, the memories are there. Sometimes nostalgia hit so hard I was surprised. I did enjoy sharing old photographs with my eldest who enjoys hearing stories about when I was growing up and seeing photos.

I haven't done a whole lot of writing and editing. I started working on a new story that I can't decide what I'll do with, I just know I need to get it out. I've got a ton of editing to do--the Immortal Dreams series is getting a sort-of "facelift"--I'm not changing the story, but I'm doing some re-edits and new covers (Divine Love already has had its new cover, which I revealed a while back). My business partner and co-founder/co-owner of The Author Encounter, Nan, wants to help me with the relaunch.

This one story I finished is in the editing process. I was surprised and flattered (complimented) when a freelance editor asked me if she could edit it for me. We worked out a deal and she's already seen the first 3 chapters and liked them! We've struck up a friendship of sorts, being that we're both Dan Navarro fans, and she's listened to me talk about how this story feels different to me. Sure, it's got my usual fare of magical beings and fairy-tale, but it's different. In some ways, it's a bit intimidating, but the editor says that it's good that I've gotten a bit out of my comfort zone, in a manner of speaking. She's struck at the heart of my fears and obstacles...encouraging me in spite of them. People like that are the type of people every author should have. And they're not always easy to find--someone who feel you can trust with something you created.

Having the right people and resources as an author is one of the reasons why I worked with Nan to found and now, to own, The Author Encounter. There are plenty of author groups, sure, but it works a little differently. It's a cross between a publicist and a community. The Author Encounter is not designed to teach one how to write (or what to write or any writing technique) it's designed with the author's career in mind. Working with The Author Encounter is how I found the freelance editor. It's how I've formed some networking relationships with agents, and some other writers and people I never thought I'd ever even end up in the same room with (like Shay Baby of The Brown Book Series, who interviewed me and my narrator, Chris J. Hudson for her show!) I'm excited to be helping authors, especially with some of the events we have coming up in August, September, and in November. Of course, every other month I sit down and interview someone in the industry for The Author Encounter's Behind The Page. The next one is in August (I need to work out who my guest is going to be, yikes...this decision came upon me faster than I expected--not because I haven't been working on it, I truly have, but it's not settled and I usually have these things already figured out). So, August, then October, and December, which means there are 3 more Behind The Page events for 2021.

Anyway, I hope your summer is going well. I hope I'll work out a blogging schedule, but so far I haven't come up with one, yet. You'll just have to stay tuned!

Have A Wonderfully Witty Wednesday!

The Author Encounter Scavenger Hunt INFO!

 The Author Encounter is doing a Blog Hop / Scavenger Hunt! The information is all available right here:

 Military appreciation month officially recognized by Congress in May 1999, incorporates many holidays celebrating our women and men in the Armed Forces. Join us for a literary approach to celebrating the soldiers and families that proudly serve and protect our country.

Crafting military fiction whether it’s romance, fantasy, mystery, or any other genre mix isn’t easy. Each story has unique challenges. However, creating believable, relatable characters, scenes and plot lines is a goal all authors aspire to no matter how they write. That is why so many authors use tropes to get their creative juices flowing in familiar ways to encourage their readers to fall in love with their stories. What is a trope? Or more specifically what is a military trope? A military trope is a commonplace, recognizable plot element, theme, or visual cue that conveys something about the military.

Tropes can help make an alien situation or fictional scene feel familiar especially for those of us with no military experiences. So, using tropes in the right way can make your reader love your story that much more. Many readers across genres love military elements added to story lines. A great place to find ideas for military tropes is from other authors. Get inspired by other authors' use of tropes readers love, such as the veteran finding new adventures, the special forces soldier, the unknowing hero, or teaching kids about the American Flag. Whether you use tropes in a Tom Clancy style or old school like our favorite WWII vets: this blog hop will be an advantage. Click the links and match the authors to the tropes to win!

 

 

Deb Ewing	https://www.debnation.com/2020/11/the-bronze-star-posthumous-award-to.html
Doc Sheldon	https://docsheldon.com/
Stacy Juba	https://stacyjuba.com/blog/book/teddy-bear-town-childrens-bundle/
D.C. Gomez	https://www.amazon.com/D-C-Gomez/e/B078T2RBN8?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1621826453&sr=8-1
Christina Francine	https://www.christinafrancine.org/
Bethany Averie	https://writebybethany.blogspot.com/2021/05/remembering-grandpa.html

Remembering Grandpa...

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Near the end of this month is Memorial Day, and in honor of it The Author Encounter is having a May We Remember Blog/Website scavenger hunt. In talking with my business partner (we're Co-Founders/Co-Owners of The Author Encounter) I got to talking about my grandfather who served in World War II.

He was my dad's father, and he was a tall man who went by the nickname "Mickey" (no, I didn't call him that, I just called him Grandpa). My dad doesn't even know why his nickname was Mickey, nothing in his name suggested it (does the name Owen sound like Mickey?) But that's what he was called (apparently, my Grandmother even called him that--but I didn't know her, she died a year before I was born). Anyway, he was an MP (among many other jobs while in the army) and he went all over the place, including Italy. I've often wanted to go to Italy (not during a war, obviously, but on a visit--who knows when or if that will ever happen, but hey it seems like a beautiful country).

Grandpa died in 2013, not during the war and not from any pandemic--just other health issues. At his internment (he was cremated) a couple of those in the military (who I think had known him) came out to pay respects in uniform. They were delighted when my younger brother was there with his bagpipes (in a kilt when it was September and chilly up in Michigan!) and played Amazing Grace.

Grandpa was a man of few words. He called me "Bethie" because that's what my dad called me (or maybe my dad called me that because he did? I don't remember) and when I was studying World War II in high school, he answered all my questions. He didn't volunteer information about serving in the war, but he answered the questions I asked--I guess enough time had passed that he could talk about it. I know it was hard on him to do so when he first got back.

He was a blue-collared worker, who never shied away from hard work or from family. He built a house out on a lake (that's STILL owned by family members to this day). He was a lifetime Master of the card game, Bridge. I never learned, but my dad knows how to play. We had a computer game of it years ago, and when he came to visit he learned how to bring it up on the computer and would play it. I didn't know he had been a Lifetime Master until recently.

Anyway, I believe a lot of those who have died who served our country were hard workers like my grandfather. Men and women who wanted to serve their country in the military and some who laid down their lives for it. I hope this Memorial Day family of military both living and passed on will remember the sacrifices and be grateful, just as I was to my grandfather for his sense of service, family, and country. Not everyone is cut out for that kind of service, but I salute those who have and are and say 'thank you' to them. God bless you.

Hope everyone has a Totally Terrific Tuesday!

It's May Already...

 Happy Wednesday All,

I can't believe it's already May! April got away from me and I didn't get to post any other blog posts besides the initial April one. Yikes, I'm sorry!

Life continues to be crazy on my end. Our house is much closer to being ready (we have a great contractor!) and we have hopes of being back in our home not next week, but the week after. We'll see. Our contractor is industrious and efficient. He keeps us in the loop and gets things moving. We've been grateful to have someone reliable after the water remission people weren't the most communicative (which is a big reason why it's taking us so long to get back into our house).

This weekend is my and my husband's anniversary (I don't give out details on how long we've been married--my husband likes a lot of privacy, so other than a few pictures on here and Facebook, you won't hear a whole lot about him). We've been together for over 10 years, though, and I feel a sense of accomplishment saying that. So, while I'm not as young as I once was (or as thin!) and growing older brings about female stuff that sucks bananas, I'm grateful he's stuck by my side and still thinks I'm sexy, desirable, shares my faith and most of my beliefs/views, and thinks I'm funny, too. A girl can't ask for a lot more than that in my experience.  I thank God for him. (Of course, I also love him--that's a given!)

Editing my new manuscript (that's all written, just being edited so I can query) is sl-o-o-o-w going given my current living circumstances and life. But, I'm working on it and a Supporter Member of The Author Encounter (one of the Freelance Editors) wants to work on it with me (she offered!) so we put together a deal and will start making a schedule soon, I believe.

The Author Encounter has a special blog hop/scavenger hunt even this month, so be sure to get over to the website to check that out. June will bring back Behind The Page. A new Ex Libris will go out July 1st, so members of The Author Encounter should watch for that--and if you aren't a member, you should join! There are 3 different types of membership (Author membership is ONLY for published authors--and there are some genres that The Author Encounter doesn't work with quite yet due to being only a year old and needing to have departments for those). But we're growing and developing and there are some exciting things coming down the line.

I'm supposed to be reviewing Katie McGarry's upcoming release soon--I've had some trouble with getting to sit down and read it (health issues) so hopefully, I'll get it done, soon. My allergies have been AWFUL this season (not Covid-19, definitely allergies--I can pinpoint exactly when they began flaring and why and what things set them off again). It seems like an interesting switch from her normal work, so we'll see how that all goes. I've been a fan ever since she entered the Northwest Houston RWA Lone Star Contest all those years ago (I was YA Category chair at the time). I've read almost all her work (there are about 2-3 books I haven't gotten to, yet). I've also had the pleasure of talking with her on the phone and meeting her in person (back in 2013, so pre-Covid). She's super sweet and extremely talented in the writing and publishing world.

Other than that, I keep on being a wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, niece, etc. I hope all of you are doing well.

Have A Wonderfully Whimsical Wednesday!

It's April!

 Happy Wednesday!

It's April 2021, if you can believe it! I went on a sort of hiatus from blogging because of Texas's "Snowmeggeden" in February. Our house suffered 2 broken pipes and is currently unlivable while we undergo demolition (of moldy/totaled out/drenched) wall, appliances, etc. in our kitchen (one pipe burst in our garage and the other in our kitchen). We also need to replace the carpeting in 2 rooms because of water damage. So we're living at my parents' house while all this is going on and hoping that it finishes, soon.

Meanwhile, I continue to conduct The Author Encounter business with my business partner, Nan, and there are many things happening with that. Nan has done a ton of work on the website and continues to work on ways of making the website better and more user-friendly. We filed our LLC after having a "soft-opening" for a year in 2020. You check out everything on the website.

My publisher added an addendum (per my request) to Perfect Love's contract after the contract on Immortal Love had expired and all rights have been reverted back to me. My next step is to re-edit all the books (I need to finish the fresh edits on Divine Love) and to issue the 2nd edition with new covers at some point in the near future. I don't have dates, yet. There are a ton of details to iron out. But as of last week, the rights to all 4 books have reverted back to me. Divine Love is still available on audio, which I will continue to make available. I hope to put new cover art on the audio version, soon, too.

I've got to finish editing a manuscript I finished writing (and started editing last year). That's a process, but I made a little progress. I plan to query that one.

Recently, I started working on another new fantasy YA romance. I can't go into many details at this point, but we'll see what happens with it.

Anyway, I just thought I'd post a little update to let you know what's going on. You can find me most often on Twitter at @WriteByBethany.

Have A Whimiscally Wonderful Wednesday!

Postponing & Other News...

 Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

Hope you're having a great holiday (if you're off, enjoy your break, if not, hope work is going well). I'm doing okay, busy as always! Being Co-Owner of The Author Encounter means I don't take a lot of time off at the moment, but I have taken some time off for Christmas, so that was nice. New Years' was pretty uneventful (other than lots of fireworks going off in my neighborhood) which is fine with me.

So, what's being postponed? Two things, actually:

1. The Author Encounter decided to postpone the January 15th event to March 20th for our new theme (more of that will be announced at another time).

2. The release of 2nd edition of Divine Love is currently postponed. Nothing bad, just realized I needed to postpone it. When I have a release date, I'll announce it here and on my social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are the primary places you can find me. Facebook under Bethany Averie, Instagram is @bethany.averie and Twitter is @WriteByBethany).

In other News:

I finished writing my WIP (Work In Progress) on December 31, 2020 at 2:26 a.m. my time. So that's now in the editing process and I've already got a beta reader giving me some awesome notes, so that's really good. I've got a list of agents that I wish to query with this story and we'll see what happens when I get to that point.

I'll be doing another online live Behind The Page for The Author Encounter on February 19, 2021. This one will be with singer/musician/songwriter, Dan Navarro. For years, he and Eric Lowen had a band called Lowen & Navarro and toured, as well as writing songs for such entities as The Bangles. Pat Benetar made their song We Belong famous in the 1980s. I'm excited to sit down with him because when I was in high school (many moons ago!) I interviewed Dan and Eric for my school paper. Dan said something like "The agony of the blank page" which has stuck with me all these years later. So, this interview feels like everything has come full circle. Eric Lowen died in 2012 of ALS, which is sad, but he is definitely NOT forgotten. He was a talented musician, songwriter, and singer. Pre-Covid Dan was still touring, and perhaps if things work out with the vaccine, etc, he'll go back to touring soon.

I'm also working on other novels--writing one of my WIPs that's not finished with the written draft, yet, and I have one other to work on as well. We'll see what happens with these two stories.

As for my family life, today is my husband's birthday and I'm thankful that not only did he take the day off to celebrate, but that he's in good health and I have him in my life. We've been together for more than 10 years and I look to many more years of us being together as well.

Anyway, Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day again!

Have A Marvelousy Meritorious Monday! 

Happy New Year 2021 And More...

 Happy New Year Everybody!

I hope you're having a wonderful 2021 thus far and that it's full of blessings, health, and happy moments to make it a special year.

On New Year's Eve at 2:26 a.m. Central Time, I finished the WIP (Work In Progress) I'd been working on most of the year. I had wanted to finish it a month or so BEFORE December 31st, but life happens. So now it's written! The next step is to edit and then I'll query it out to agents.

The Author Encounter has many events planned for 2021 and starting off great with D.C. Gomez's "New Year, New Mindset". While this workshop is mostly professional development for authors, you do not have to be an author to attend it. We're going to get into the harder parts of being an author: Imposter Syndrome, Rejection, Professional Jealousy, and More. It'll be about working through these feelings to a positive end. I've been impressed with what I've learned about D.C. in the time I've gotten to know her and I think she'll make this a great event. Registration is now available to the public if you click here you'll be taken straight to the workshop part of the site. You don't have to be a member to attend, but we do recommend becoming one because members automatically get the quarterly newsletter (which talks about the events for the next 3 months), advanced registration to events (including very popular ones), discounts on paid events, and more. We have 3 types of membership which are: Author (you have to be published with valid ISBN numbers to gain this membership), Reader/Fan (readers, reviewers, fans of books/publishing that are NOT agents, editors, booksellers, etc.), and Supporters/Vendors (booksellers, librarians, agents, editors, publishers, screenwriters, songwriters, voice actors, etc.). The Membership fee is good for an entire YEAR. You can find out more at The Author Encounter website.

So, what's on my list for 2021 at this point?

1. To edit my WIP
2. Edit Divine Love (2nd edition) to get it ready to be reissued
3. Finish 2 WIPs that I have in my unfinished work
4. Who knows what else...we'll see what happens!

May you have a wonderful 2021. And because I'm Catholic, I'll say God bless you (you're free to take that as a compliment/gift or ignore it).

Have A Fabulously Fantastic Friday!