An early-morning adventure…

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Why do Mollie, my daughter, and I look so happy?

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Because we got up super early and drove down to the bay here in San Diego. We watched the sun come up.

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And we brought my boat. Yes, Mollie dyed her hair pink and purple… and yes, she is wearing my sweat shirt in that picture.

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Oh yeah, pumped up and ready to go.

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Mission Bay, where we launched the boat… yes, I am not only a Scottish Lord… (absolutely true)… but a Captain as well.

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We had a delightful time, paddling around among the palm tress and seagulls.

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We were almost alone out on the water.

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Keep your balance while taking nautical selfies.

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And I have even more pictures!

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My daughter Mollie… and I am only going to give the back story on this once, so read the first post…. part 10…

More random pictures of our trip two years ago…

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I was going to post photos of something cool we did this morning…

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But I already had these lined up…
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Us and our cousins, on the Thames, the day after seeing Le Miz… Mis?

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Mollie… at the mall… although that isn’t what mall means in London…

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Hugging Mollie on the London Eye.

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Is she laughing at me trying to sleep on a train?

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Paris.

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Where the English royalty liked to imprison or execute people, back in the day.

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An off-color Tardis… Now wait for the post about this morning.

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The Princess War… or maybe: The Princess Rebellion…

Okay, so I have to change the title of my new novel from ‘The Seven Kingdoms’, and so far, the two in the title of this post are the top contenders. Here is the blurb I came up with, to add to my letters to literary agents. I will still self-publish the novel if I don’t get a real publisher to pick it up before I finish editing. Please give me some feedback.

Also, I hope you have enjoyed helping me with the book. Designing the cover is an ongoing progress, and we will get back to that. And feel free to come up with new title ideas after reading what I wrote below.

 

The Princess War

 

A young princess flees an unwanted marriage, but only after delivering a painful and very personal injury to her betrothed prince, when he makes unwanted advances. She soon discovers that her former fiancé’s father is bent on ruling all the seven kingdoms. Princess Hildread Halfmoon and her growing band of loyal friends barely manage to stay one step ahead of the growing Skull empire.

The Skulls are using new weapons never before seen in the ritualized and mostly-bloodless warfare of earlier times. They have also mobilized their entire population towards this dream of conquest. Soon, only one kingdom, ruled by a strange but sly old queen, still stands free, and the growing resistance army must hold the kingdom long enough to make and learn to use the new weapons, as well as creating some new weapons of their own. A handful of young princesses, a new-made boy king, and an outnumbered army of barely-trained men, must battle the full might of the Skull empire, and turn the tide of war, to take the fight to the enemy and free all the kingdoms. And the three youngest princesses, triplets from the kingdom of Flame, have a unique gift that might just hold the key to victory.

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Well that sucks…

It turns out that the name of my new novel: The Seven Kingdoms… is already a trilogy of books about the Game Of Thrones world. So we need to come up with a new name. Off the top of my head, here are a few we could use. Tell me if one sounds good.

The Princess War

The Princess Of Halfmoon

The Princess Rebellion

Hot Teenage Princesses Take On An Evil Empire And Kick Their Ass… (that is not a real suggestion, just seeing if you are paying attention)

Princesses Gone Wild, Spring Revolt Edition… (same)

 

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I stopped the radiation leak… it’s safe to follow my blog now…

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My daughter Mollie… and I am only going to give the back story on this once, so read the first post…. part 10…

Okay, we are almost done with these photos of my daughter, Mollie, who, until recently was not old enough for my wife to let me show on the blog…

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So I am sharing photos from our trip two years ago… because I can. Mollie, having a snack at Versailles.

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The thing is… (Hey, thing!)… Mollie is going away to college in just a few short months.

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Crepes by Notre Dame.

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That looks like Paris, but I don’t know where.

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Tea and scones at our cousin Dot’s house in a small town in England… doesn’t get much more English than that.

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I’m going to miss having Mollie around.

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She is sweet and kind and strong and beautiful and artistic.

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She is a delight to travel with, and fun to be around.

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And she’s still my little girl… sniff…

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We went to visit the twins today…

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There is nothing like holding a new baby.

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Sleepy baby!

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Olivia doesn’t seem too upset not to be the center of attention for a while. Of course, she was playing with me.

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Babies don’t really do much when they are ten-days-old.

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When they are a few months older, you will see me and my baby magic at work.

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I will get to spend more time with Olivia… not as an underpaid babysitter, but as a friend helping out.

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Because mommy and daddy won’t be getting much sleep. The babies sleep… for a few minutes… then need to eat again.

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It is going to be crazy around there.

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Joey, holding… uh… one of his two new sons.

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But I have the other one. HA!

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My daughter Mollie… and I am only going to give the back story on this once, so read the first post…. part 9…

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What is better than exploring the world with your kids?

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I found one more picture of her after her first taste of beer ever. She didn’t want a second taste.

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Me, Mollie, and my mom, in Paris.

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Say: ‘me, Mollie and my mom’ five times fast.

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Mollie, reading an English paper in an English house… our cousin, Dot’s… in a small English town. You never know a country until you have:

Visited small towns

Walked in the woods

Petted a dog and a horse

Made friends with a baby

Eaten the local food

Seen the art

Made friends

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A castle in Germany… she looks like she should live in a castle.

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Picture yourself on a boat on a river…

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Fancy French food… at Versailles… you know, like you do.

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Mollie is a good sport. She put on the paper Napoleon hat I got at a museum.

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My daughter Mollie… and I am only going to give the back story on this once, so read the first post…. part 8…

***Special ‘My mom and Mollie’ edition***

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My mom and my daughter, at a train station… somewhere in England. I’m sorry if you are getting sick of these posts, but I am reliving our European adventure of two summers ago, and enjoying seeing the wonder on Mollie’s face as she sees Europe for the first time.

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My mom and Mollie, on a horse-pulled carriage to see a castle. Mollie is always that happy… my mom is almost 94-years-old… so… uh…

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Neuschwanstein castle.

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Our old family burial plot in a small church in the English countryside. There is cousin Dot! I have done posts about her. We stayed at her house for a week, She also came and visited us is San Diego… seriously… have you not read my whole blog yet?

Historical note: Our family back in the UK did not have the ‘e’ on the end of our last name. That was a clerical error when we moved to the US. It makes us sound fancy, so we kept it.

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Cousin Dot and her house… seriously, go back and read old post about our trip to Europe… or their visit here… or any old posts, for that matter.

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My mom does like her liquor.

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Mollie’s very first sip of beer ever. I showed a picture of the face she made after this in an earlier post in this series. It is hilarious. She did not enjoy it… and look at my mom. HA! Also, this is that same beer hall in Munich that Hitler used to hang out in with the fledgling Nazi party.

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My mom and Mollie, on a boat… on the Seine river.

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Whoops… my mom is not in that one.

 

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I am just trying to ensnare you in my interwebs…

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