January has been a great month for me and “Teeth in a Pickle Jar.” It was great for me because I spent it in my home in Bradenton FL: Unless you are an avid skier or a masochist (I am neither), what could be better than spending the coldest month of the winter in warm weather? Okay, okay, you don’t have to answer that.

While in Bradenton I gave Creative Writing courses to a very nice and talented group of beginning writers. It was my first teaching experience. I am still waiting to get my apples!

I also gave a total of six talks about Teeth. The venues were in Venice, Sarasota, Tampa Bay area and central Florida. In Bradenton I was invited to speak at a meeting of Lions Club. What a wonderful group of people they are, and doing so much good for the community. I was honored to be their guest. Another memorable book talk was at the Lake Hamilton Women’s Club in Lake Hamilton FL. On the way back to Bradenton, on I-4 heading west toward Tampa, dark clouds started to gather. I wondered how a bright and sunny sky could so quickly morph into a mass of blackness. It was raining hard by the time I got to Bradenton, but it wasn’t until that night that a devastating tornado had swept central Florida. I was really anxious to hear that the wonderful group of people I had just spoken to was safe and sound, and that the town was not destroyed. It wasn’t until several days later that I had the good news: they were all fine, and the worst damage was 50 miles away. (more…)