I’ll be 36 on April 14th. I know, many of you (including my older siblings) are rolling your eyes and saying you’d love to be that age again. Fine, but what about when you WERE that age? I bet it didn’t sound so great then. But it’s not really the age. It’s the way time is flying by, and there is no better evidence than the rapid growth of my daughter.

Grace is 7 going on 17, and I swear, it seems like she was born yesterday. I remember holding her tiny little body and praying I didn’t drop her or squeeze too tight. I remember her first time on our annual family vacation in Minnesota. She had just learned to crawl and took great joy in racing across the cabin, cackling at the top of her lungs.

Until last year, I spent every vacation week worrying about her following the big kids down to the lake and getting in trouble. Now she is a big kid and since she’s a competitive swimmer, I don’t really need to worry.

Instead of needing a diaper change and a nap, she’s telling me school gossip in between math problems. She is growing so fast, and I just hate it. I want her to stay little forever. I don’t want her to find out there is no Santa Claus, or Easter Bunny, or Tooth Fairy. I don’t want her to have her first heartbreak, and I sure as hell don’t want her to get her driver’s permit.

But I can’t stop time, so instead I try to cherish every moment. With the whirlwind that is being an author, it’s very easy to get caught up in my work and commitments. Every time that happens, I have to take a step back and remember how fast time goes and how much she changes.

She is the most important thing in my life, and that’s why I dedicated TIN GOD to her. In the book, the heroine is desperate to find the daughter she was coerced into giving up for adoption–an adoption that turned out to be illegal. Betrayal and murder soon follow.

And no one is more proud of her mom than Grace is. She has print copies of both books and tells everyone her mom is an author.

That’s the best birthday present I could ask for.

Down with the mushy gushy! To celebrate 29 plus 7, I’ve teamed up with some great authors. We’re chatting about birthdays all weekend, and at the bottom of this post, you can enter to win an $80 Visa Gift card.  Many of our books are on sale, so please check those out!

Stop by these great blogs to hear their stories and check out their books.

Tamara Ward
Tamara’s new release, Hidden Betrayal, is featured at $3.99.
Birthday Cake Fiasco
http://www.authortamaraward.blogspot.com/

Patricia Sands
Patricia is featuring her new release, The Promise of Provence
Is home exchange in the south of France a remedy for heartbreak? ~ $3.99
Here Comes Another One!
http://www.patriciasands.wordpress.com

Kassandra Lamb
An Unsaintly Season in St. Augustine — on sale for $.99
Of Brothers, Birthdays, and Books!
http://misteriopress.com/2013/04/of-brothers-birthdays-books/

Catie Rhodes
Catie’s featuring her debut novel, Forever Road, starring Peri Jean who owes a ghost a favor and must solve a murder to pay it off ~ $3.99
Time’s Ticking Away 
http://catierhodes.com/blog/

Melinda VanLone
Melinda’s debut urban fantasy, Stronger Than Magic, is just 2.99. Tarian Xannon fights demons, like the rest of us. This time, just happens to be real
Birthdays: Looking Back? Or Looking Forward?
 http://www.melindavan.com/birthdays-looking-back-or-looking-forward

Julie Day
‘Don’t Get Mad’ is now available for $1.99. Book 4 of Geraldine’s Gems romance series
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/julieday40
Don’t Get Mad: Sandra is sad about her failure of her marriage to control-freak husband, Jim. Until her aunt Geraldine arrives and tells her ‘Don’t Get Mad, Get Even’. So Sandra joins the local gym and meets hunk Troy, and gets fitter and healthier and falls in love. She also gets more confident, and finally stands up to Jim in pubic, and wins.
An Aspergirl and Birthday Celebrations, or not at www.julieaday.blogspot.com

Gregory Carrico
Children of the Plague: Can teenage Lanni save her brother, and what’s left of mankind from plague infected mutants in post-apocalyptic Manhattan? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BUZ3EKW $3.99
Missing Child in Gator Infested Swamp. sort of. 

Anna Erishkigal
‘Sword of the Gods:  The Chosen One’ is available for FREE for all e-readers. At the dawn of time, two ancient adversaries battled for control of Earth.  One man rose to stand at humanity’s side.  A soldier whose name we still remember today.
Happy Taxirthday – A list of Anna’s FREE download links