Sunday, May 29, 2011

Gratitude/ Blog Tour De Troops


Hello! I hope you’re enjoying the blog tour de troops. You were probably just on Judy Gaine’s blog Writing After Dark where you learned about her fast-paced thriller Perfect Copy. After you’re done please visit author of young adult lit, Jeremy Rodden, at his site, Toonopolis.

Both of their books look great, and personally I can't wait to read them!

Today if you comment on my post you will automatically win a free electronic copy of Starring in the Movie of My Life. Read a review of it on Susie Kline’s wonderful motherhood blog, here: motherhoot.com
She is also rewarding anyone who comments on her review today a free copy of my novel, so tell all your friends! 

I am very proud of this book; it was recently honored in the International Book Awards for two categories: Women’s Fiction and Young Adult Literature. It was also honored in the Indie Excellence Book Awards in the category of Chick Lit. That means a lot to me, because I know just how many FANTASTIC indie authors there are out there, so I’m sure the competition was fierce. I’m also very grateful to be working with the wonderful indie authors who are also involved in the tour de troops this weekend.

Gratitude is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. Last weekend our neighborhood in North Minneapolis experienced a tornado. It happened at around the same time as the one in Joplin, but luckily here there was only one fatality. However, people’s homes were destroyed and streets were literally ravaged. 

The above picture doesn't really do the storm justice. Trees were down everywhere, and pavement was torn up. Lots of people are now homeless. It's very sad.

I was at the library with my six-year-old, Eli, when the tornado struck.

We were told to go into a windowless meeting room to wait out the storm. After about half an hour it was safe to leave. We checked out our books, and I held Eli’s hand in the parking lot to make sure he wouldn’t run in front of a car. On our drive home we talked about ice cream and the books we checked out. Emergency vehicles sped by us, but I still had no idea just how lucky I was to be driving home with my son, safe and happy.

Our house is fine, and my husband Rich and our baby Pauline are also okay.


Of course I’m grateful, because had we lived half a mile down from where we do, or had one of us been stuck outside or in our car when the storm hit, it might be a different story. Life is so random, and part of the unique joy of living is in the knowledge that at any moment our luck can change on a dime.

This weekend I focus my thoughts on the people who are struggling from the aftermath of the storm. I donated to the Red Cross relief effort, which is an excellent cause, and if you’re interested in helping the victims in Joplin or here in North Minneapolis you can find out more on their website.

Of course, another great cause is supporting our troops! For more information on how to help go here:blogtourdetroops.com 

Please comment, and LEAVE YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS so I can send you the code for the free e-book. Then continue on with the tour, or even go back to the beginning at Amber Scott's site so as many troops as possible can receive e-books and kindles. Each time you comment you are entering to win a free kindle for yourself, and you're also winning another e-book for another troop! Stay safe, and count your blessings!

90 comments:

  1. This is such a wonderful cause and I'm so glad I can play a small part in it. Thank you so much!
    leanne_gag[at]hotmail[dot]com

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  2. I'm so glad that you all survived the tornado and thank you for helping the troops.

    Email:

    fdhelp AT gmail DOT com

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  3. There are absolutely so many reasons to be grateful and a narrow miss from a potential disaster is definitely up there on the list. Thanks for sharing, Laurel.

    -Jeremy Rodden
    jeremyrodden@hotmail.com

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  4. Thanks so much for supporting our troops! And I am looking forward to reading your book.

    pringpringles@yahoo.com

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  5. So happy you survived, and so happy we are all part of this noble event this weekend! Meeting new authors, enjoying great books and giving support to courage and integrity is a great way to celebrate!
    my e-mail: forestlove at abv dot bg
    Best wishes,
    M.

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  6. Counting my blessings!

    The weather over the past month or so has been crazy. My family lost a close dear friend to the flooding back in Arkansas. His truck was overcome with fast moving water, begun taking on water and he got out to search for higher ground. He called home before exiting the truck to ask for dry clothes to be ready. He never made it home.

    Thank you for being part of this blog tour, and thank you our Troops, that we are free to do it in the first place.

    Stephanie
    ladybug07999@yahoodotcom

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  7. Congrats on being honored for your book. I am glad your family was alright after the storm. Praying for the rest of the families. Thank you for supporting our troops.
    Sue B
    katsrus@gmail.com

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  8. hi Laurel! first, thank God that you and your family are safe. second, thank you for your support of the troops and for being gracious. since i don't know any, please choose randomly a soldier for me. God bless you! c",)

    aobibliophile(at)gmail(dot)com

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  9. Thank you for supporting our troops and thank goodness you and your family are alright. This is an awesome thing you and the other authors are doing for our troops. God Bless

    Anita
    ams06189@yahoo.com

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  10. Thanks for supporting the troops and glad everyone is ok after the strange weather this past week - it was a scary time to be in the midwest!

    Chrisa dot Hickey at Gmail dot com

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  11. Hello! Congrats on being in the tour.

    Barb
    barb@barbriley.com

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  12. Thank you for supporting our troops!! I think this is an awesome event! It gets new genres into the hands of book lovers and the troops get free reading material!! Thanks again!

    scrugglenamp AT aol DOT com

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  13. Congrats on your participation in this wonderful tour de troops and on your writing success.
    pam_lash at yahoo dot com

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  14. This is a great tour. Supporting our military by giving back even just a little bit makes me feel great. I have read your book and liked it. I am glad that someone in our military gets a chance to read it.
    photographsmile@gmail.com

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  15. Oh my gosh, I'm so glad your family made it through the tornado safely! I'm hearing so many horrific stories that it's nice to hear the good ones.

    My email is enabled through my gmail profile for this event, so you can pick it up there. :)

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  16. So happy you guys made it through the storm! Thank you for also being a part of the tour, the support is awesome!

    miranda_lynn2001(at)live(dot)com

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  17. With uncles who served in World War II and a cousin that died in Vietnam, I know how important it is to let the Troops know we are thinking of them. Providing them something to enjoy along the way is great.

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  18. The blog tour de troops is a great idea.

    James R
    jamesemr(at)gmail(dot)com

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  19. I'm so grateful for this effort. The blog tour de troops is a wonderful idea. I'm so glad that I can help in some small way. Thank you for supporting the troops!

    rudd(dot)am@gmail(dot)com

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  20. First of all my prayers are with those affected in your area with the tornados. I'm so grateful that I found this cause this morning while browsing around. I'm proud to help give back to those who sacrifice so much! I can't wait to read your book!

    Melissa
    asnow4sure@yahoo.com

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  21. Glad you and your family came through your tornado safely. I'm still breathing a sigh of relief that a friend's sister is safe after Joplin's tornado.

    Thank you for participating in this tour!

    buriednwords AT gmail DOT com

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  22. Glad your family is safe and you're able to offer your story to those who put themselves in harm's way.

    Siobhan
    nevadfoxATgmailDOTcom

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  23. Thanks for all the lovely thoughts. It's incredible how people have been affected lately by storms. Stephanie, I'm so sorry about your friend who didn't make it.

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  24. Thanks for participating in the blog tour to support our troops. I can't wait to read your book Glad your family is safe.

    jessicaanne@adventureswiththreegirls.com

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  25. You were very lucky. I have been clued to the weather channel, cannot believe what is going on with these storms.

    Thanks for being a part of this tour honoring our service personnel. Looking forward to reading your book.

    Judy
    magnolias_1[at]msn[dot]com

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  26. Thanks for supporting our troops!

    Roxs
    roxburysnoopy-blogtourdeforce@yahoo.com

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  27. As a disabled vet, I would like to thank you for providing books for the men and women of the armed forces. A good book comes in handy on those lonely nights.

    john [@] johnpoindexter [dot] com

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  28. Thank you for your participation in this tour!

    (mariebwolf(at)laposte(dot)net)

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  29. Congrats on the Indie Excellence Book Awards honor! Great Job!

    Thanks for doing this blog tour. I'm so impressed by the generosity of all the amazing authors. My Kindle is getting filled up with some really great books!

    JC
    livedreamwritejc@gmail.com

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  30. You are indeed blessed that your family came out o.k. thank you for participating in this cause.
    lvs2dv@gmail.com

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  31. Laurel, so thankful that you and your family are okay! We all have a lot to be thankful for!

    elena(at)elenagray(dot)com

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  32. I am a military brat that married into another military family. I have and will always support our troops! Thank you for giving me another way to help them! I think this is the coolest thing! I look forward to reading your book.
    I am so glad to here that y'all are OK after such a scary experience. My heart goes out to all those affected by tornados and flooding.

    Katie
    redneckinn2006@gmail.com

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  33. Congratulations on the success of the book and on participating in this very exciting blog tour. Good luck with it.

    Stacy

    stacy at stacyjuba.com

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  34. So glad you are all safe! Thanks for being on the blog tour. :)

    reikibirth at gmail dot com

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  35. Hi Laurel!

    So glad everyone is okay! My heart is aching for those in Joplin and I hope everyone whose homes were destroyed have all the help they need.

    Thanks for the oppurtunity here to get a copy of your book myself and to get one for the troops!

    shiderly77@yahoo.com

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  36. I'm so proud that everyone in the writing community is pulling together for this. I come from a military family so I understand how important it is to let them know that we appreciate all they are doing for us. God bless our troops!

    nonieh96 at yahoo dot com

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  37. Thank you for your offer and for supporting our troops! I look forward to reading your book on my kindle.

    carolewooten at sbcglobal dot net

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  38. Thank you soooo much for supporting our troops! This is an awesome idea!


    jgrissum@att.blackberry.net

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  39. Hi Laurel, My husband spent 24 years active in the USN, 5 1/2 years reserve-- almost thirty total. Our oldest son has been in the Air Force, going on 14 years. I also served as Ombudsman for two years back in the 80's at S.I.M.A. Charleston. The military has been part of most of my life-- as I married the man who made it a career. We owe a lot to our military members, those who are on the front lines, and those who are the support team. They all have their purpose and it is equally as important as they are protecting our freedom to do things like "blog." God Bless our Troops, and God Bless the USA! And while I’m at it, we mustn’t forget our Author’s, while we all come from different walks of life, and we may write in different genres, we all have something in common…the love of words!

    ~Virginia

    virginia (at) virginiawright (dot) com

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  40. First Thank You for supporting our troops!! They will certainly appreciate the books! Second glad to hear that you and yours are safe from the storms, but sorry for those who weren't so lucky.

    Thanks again
    iarvd@yahoo.com

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  41. Thank you so much for participating in the blog Tour de Troops and your overwhelming generosity. I also thank you for allowing me to participate by proxy with your giving to them.

    Be safe, be well, you are wonderful to share this with us readers!

    dz59001[at]gmail[dot]com

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  42. I'm grateful as my spirit sister made out safe and sound from the joplin twister...but my heart goes out to everyone affected with the recent rash of storms.
    thanks for supporting our troops:)
    earthsbooknook at gmail dot com

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  43. Thanks for supporting our troops! Freedom is not free. Thanks for the free book.
    sundevil007@hotmail.com

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  44. Thank God you and your family are safe! You have a beautiful family! Thanks for participating in this blog tour. I really look forward to reading your book.
    rachelcccr at gmail.com

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  45. I'm so glad you and your family are safe. Thank you for participating in this blog hop and supporting our troops. Please choose a soldier randomly to receive a copy of your novel.

    ReneeRearden(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  46. I'm so glad you and your family are OK. Our little county in PA had a weak tornado touch down on Thursday, about 12 miles from me. The damage was nowhere near comparing with Joplin, MO, but it does put a scare into folks. Thank you for taking part in this effort for our troops. Your book looks very enticing! My email is: talesfromshrimps@hotmail.com

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  47. Thanks for supporting in whatever way you can. So much is going on in the US right now dealing with the spring weather that its hard to choose a single focus. Glad you and your family are safe!

    m_kitaki@hotmail.com

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  48. Thank you for taking part in this wonderful event. It's great when everyone can come together and support important causes :)

    JaidisShaw at yahoo dot com

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  49. The county I live in was devastated by the tornadoes that occurred on April 27. I cried on the way to work the next day when I saw all the damage. We had 9 fatalities that day.

    Thank you for supporting our troops by being involved in this blog tour. I've really enjoyed reading all the posts. And I look forward to reading your book.

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  50. This is a great idea to give back to our troops.
    rebeccapoindexter @gmail.com

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  51. Thank you for being a part of this blog tour. I know the books mean a lot to the men and women serving our country and the support is priceless.

    I'm glad your family all came through the tornado unscathed.

    I'm looking forward to reading your book.My email address is rivawriter@yahoo.com

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  52. Im so glad your family is safe ! I have alot to be grateful for also..

    thanks for this wonderful blog hop..and thanks to ALL the troops and their families !!

    kym
    krykym(at)fullchannel.net

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  53. Thank you for participating and supporting our troops! I look forward to reading your book.

    ashleypbarry at gmail dot com

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  54. Looking forward to reading your book. Thanks for supporting all the troops.

    Alan

    wd9irv@aol.com

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  55. I'm glad you and your family are safe. Thanks for supporting the troops.

    beckerjo at verizon dot net

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  56. Thanks for supporting the troops.

    Bhitwr at gmail dot com

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  57. Thanks so much for supporting our troops in this way!

    mrsthanosthemad AT gmail DOT com

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  58. Stopping by to support the troops and Blog Tour de Troops. Thanks for being a part of the tour!

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  59. I really liked getting to read about your book and also your experiences with your son during the tornado alert. I lived through something similar as a child in Hawaii during a hurricane.

    Also as the daughter of a retired serviceman and a writer, I appreciate your efforts supporting our troops through writing.

    Shannon Muir
    shanemuir@aol.com

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  60. I'm so glad to hear your were safe from the storm. We have family that live in Lindstrom, and go to school in Chisago City. They saw some funnels, but they didn't touch down thankfully.

    Thank you for being part of this event. What a fun way to support our troops. I can't wait to find out how many books are going to be sent to troops from this event!!

    missyebookmail at mediacombb dot net

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  61. Thank you for supporting our troops. The brave men and women serving our country will appreciate the ebooks.

    todd at orting dot com

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  62. Thanks for participating in the tour and for the book.

    kolists a\t gmail dt com

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  63. Hi and thank you so much for participating in this program. What a great way for all of us to help the troops.

    Dale (bdmayer2002@gmail.com)

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  64. Thank you for doing your part in supporting our troops by giving them a little time in a world far away from the one they are in.
    christygibbon at juno dot com

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  65. Thanks for doing this and reminding us how many things there are to be grateful for.

    mandaj07 at gmail dot com

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  66. Thanks to all you wonderful authors who are participating in this. My dad and hubby are both retired Marine Corps Veterans. Semper Fi! And thanks!

    kathleen_howard2003@yahoo.com

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  67. So glad you and your family were safe from the tornado! I'm looking forward to reading your book; I love reading YA (and writing it).

    Thank you for your generous giveaway.

    cheryl (at) cherylrainfield (dot) com

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  68. I'm so grateful to all our troops and thanks to the participating authors, too. I'm looking forward to reading your book. Thanks! ljszab at yahoo dot com

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  69. What a great cause! Thanks for your support of it.

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  70. Thank you so much!

    lucetlady (at) gmail (dot) com

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  71. Thank you for supporting our troops!
    t_manfredi@hotmail.com

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  72. Looking forward to reading your book. Thanks for participating and thank you hero soldiers and sailors for serving.
    marce_hall at yahoo dot com

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  73. Thanks so much for doing this for the troops.
    Karen in Breezy Point
    kmartin at uslink dot net

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  74. Thank you for supporting our troops. So glad you and your family are all right after that tornado. Looking forward to reading your book.
    scarlet_kira(at)live.com

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  75. I'm very glad that you and your son were able to make your way home safely. This crazy weather that we've been having lately has left a lot of destruction, causing many to rebuild from all that they've lost.

    Being able to live another day is a blessing and we should always be thankful. Thank you for all that you've done in supporting the troops.



    LizzieBeth1095@sbcglobal.net

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  76. Thank you for participating in the tour which brings a little light into the life of our troops.

    nwilson at sportsfive dot net

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  77. Thank you for your participation in this project.
    Leslie
    lesliebandura at verizon dot net

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  78. I'm glad you were safe! I've lived in Tornado Alley my entire life, and it's made me blase about the storms. The recent devastation has shown me how dumb that thinking is.

    FatesTwists AT yahoo DOT com

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  79. Thanks for supporting our troups! What a great idea. Freedom is definately not "FREE". I am so thankful to those and thier family that serve in out miliary.
    forettarose@yahoo.com

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  80. Thanks for supporting our troops! I look forward to reading your work.
    amberlinaann@gmail.com

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  81. Thanks for supporting our troops

    janitsakis.....maoreo@hotmail.com

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  82. Thank you for supporting the troops.
    lordreblik(at)gmail(dot)com

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  83. Thanks for supporting our troops!

    smaccall at comcast.net

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  84. Thanks to all the Indie authors supporting our troops. Please send my ebook to ackleybj at verizon dot net

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  85. Hi Laurel,

    Thank you for doing this. Looking forward to your book. It looks very interesting.

    sidonie.wa@netzero.net

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  86. thanks for participating. can't wait to read your book.

    sarah.bernzott@gmail.com

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  87. Just wondering if the books have been sent yet because I haven't received one?

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  88. this is such an incredible thing that all you authors have done for the troops! i love to be a part of anything that gives back to them

    meghanguarnieri@yahoo.com

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