Road Trip from Maryland to Florida

I have honestly been meaning to write this post long ago. Today I find myself with some spare time as I enjoy the Miami sunshine. So, here it is. Starting at exit 21 on the Baltimore Beltway (695) it took a total of 20 hours for us to reach Miami. The trip could have been much shorter had we not stopped to shop a couple times. These shopping stops were our walk around stops. Let me elaborate. Long periods of sitting such as our trip from Maryland to Florida or long plane rides slows down the blood flow in your legs leaving you predisposed to deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary thrombosis. Although, the trip can be made in a shorter period of time it's best to be health wise and safe.

Below I have outline the exits by state and added tips.

Maryland

*109 exits

*Speed limits range from 55-65

*Gas prices are reasonable $2.13-2.35 per gallon 

Virginia

*177 exits

*Speed limits up 70 miles per hour (mph)

*Gas prices are at a premium at the top of Virginia. I make sure I have enough gas to get me at least to the lower part of Virginia where prices are reasonable.

*Speed traps are usually up and running around the Spotsylvania and Ashland areas.

North Carolina

*181 exits

*Speed limits up 70 miles mph

*Reasonable gas prices

*Look out for the signs counting down to South of the Border. They are cleaver and keep you informed as to how many miles you are from South Carolina. If you want a real treat, plan to reach South of the Border at night when it's all lit up.

South Carolina

*183 exits

*South of the Border. Be sure to stop and take a look around.

*Gas prices at South of the Border come at a premium. If you need gas, get it before you reach South of the Border.

*Speeding through work zones in South Carolina can get you a $200 fine and 30 days in prison.

*The left lane is used as a passing lane.

Georgia

*111exits

*Gas is usually priced higher at the top of Georgia.

*Speed traps are aggressive. There have been times when I have spotted a police at each authorized vehicle lane which connects the north bound and south bound traffic. They park in the grassy areas that separate north and south traffic and behind trees and shrubs. With all that being said, my advice is do the speed limit in Georgia.

*The left lane is used as a passing lane.

Florida

*380 exits. The longest of the states. The 380 exits are only the exits off I-95. It does not include the Keys. Florida is a long legged state.

*Florida has a new sign to welcome you. There's one just like this that sits on the road as you drive over the line from Georgia into Florida. I like it. 

*Gas is priced higher at the top of Florida as you skirt the beaches. Farther down the prices come down until you reach Miami; then they shoot up.

*St. Augustine is the oldest city in the USA and is home to my favorite shopping outlet at exit 318. It was founded on September 8, 1565, by Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, Florida's first governor. It is known for its Spanish colonial architecture as well as the Atlantic beaches. I plan to vacation there in a beach home one day.

* If you love pulled pork and ribs, you will want to stop at Daytona Pig Stand just off exit 273. I love the tractor trailer that sits on the lot. And it is right there with Harley Davidson if you want to check out a motorcycle.

*Make a stop at Daytona Beach. You can drive right up on the sand, park and have lunch and enjoy the Atlantic. It will cost you $10. The beach is accessible and free for pedestrians and bicyclists 24 hours a day, depending on tides and weather conditions. Driving and parking on the beach is open to vehicles from sunrise to sunset from November 1 through April 30 and from 8:00 am to 7:00 pm from May 1 through October 31. Take a look at these beach tips.

To get to the beach From St. Augustine take I-95 South, exit 261A and head east on U.S. 92 toward Daytona Beach. Have fun.

GUILTY (A Marston Series Book 1)

By  Brigitta Moon

A not guilty verdict. A kidnapping. A midnight trial. Six sitting in judgement and one empty chair. Revenge- is it sweet or just a bitter seed? Coach Terrence Jackson is the man who has divided the town of Marston. There are those who believe in the coach and his innocence and then there are the victims who despise him, his smile and his crime. He has a dark past- a previous life no one knew about until the not guilty verdict.

It's Summer!

Audible Books

Audible books are books you can listen to and become part of the story. The book is no longer just words you read to yourself on a page. It becomes movie like. The scenes are read by the characters, thereby giving them shape and form and voice. A Secret Love is a short Audible story, 1.5 hours long. The good news is it is on sale for $1.99 on Audible and Amazon. 

Bad Things Happen to Good People

In this wide world that we live in, the possibility of something unforeseen happening to a neighbor, a friend, a family member, a stranger, or even yourself is bound to cross your path. Not knowing the

person or people who have had a bad thing happen doesn't preclude you from feeling it or having the event affect your life and emotions. Have I lost you? Think about this- 911. You may have been in states away or even a country away, but you felt the raw emotion of it all. The event remolded lives and activity. Now think on a smaller scale- a heinous act that boils your blood. You may not know the people who were affected by the crime per se, but as you hear or read the details, the what-ifs creep up. What if it had happened to my child? What if I had been there? We feel empathy toward the victims. We want to do something. Anything to make it better.

GUILTY is the latest novel in the BMB Books collection. It's a novel that portrays the victim's view of events. How can a family and friends come together after such a heinous event? The rape of a teen by a role model. And as if things weren't unbelievable enough, he gets off. Not guilty. Doesn't that just boil you over?

After your introduction to the characters, GUILTY has twists and turns you would not expect. A reader summed the book up saying, "There are two running themes- injustice and unity. Honestly, I had not thought of the novel in those terms. But, he had a definite point.

So, when bad things happen, how do you handle them? Close your eyes and ears? Clamp your mouth? Unite? Plan? The young women of Marston are strong. They love life. Here's a poem that Linsey shares with anyone who needs the words. The words of this poem were written by a young lady in the GUILTY novel who was taken down to her lowest and today- she lives.

      I am a girl, who will one day be a woman. I am your sister, your mother, your daughter, your aunt, your friend. I was raped. But it does not define me. Because I won’t let it. I take long walks along the path lined with colorful flowers. I stop to examine and appreciate each one. I sniff their fresh, outdoorsy fragrances. I take a moment to smile at each one. This I do because I can. It reminds me that I live yet another day. I won’t let the incident rob me of that. It had robbed me of many things in the beginning. Now I refuse to let it rule my being. I refuse to be enchained by this vicious act. I am comfortable in my clothes. I wear them for me. I am comfortable in my skin. We are friends. I am strong. Today I remove my chains. I am taking back my life. Today I live.

GUILTY is now available in ebook and paperback. 

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Coming to iBooks as an Audiobook

GUILTY (A Marston Series Book 1)

A not guilty verdict. A kidnapping. A midnight trial. Six sitting in judgment and one empty chair. Revenge- is it sweet or just a bitter seed? Coach Terrence Jackson is the man who has divided the town of Marston. There are those who believe in the coach and his innocence and then there are the victims who despise him, his smile and his crime. He has a dark past- a previous life 

no one knew about until the not guilty verdict.

Get GUILTY Now

Meet the Characters of GUILTY

Meet Rose Canter

Rose Canter is the third character introduction of the novel GUILTY. She's smart and full of life. She has a big goal- Medical school. Her father has been saving for it. She's a cheerleader for the football team; the team that Terrence Jackson coaches. She has a boyfriend, the coach's son. Now she's a victim and life is no longer going as planned.

Meet Terrence Jackson

  

He's the villain that has given the town of Marston a bipolar nature. There are those that believe in him and his innocence and then there are the ones that despise him, his smile and his crime. Coach Jackson's signature smile is an integral accessory of his wardrobe. In fact, he doesn't leave home without it. 

He has one son-Jonas, a dead wife, and a young blonde bombshell by his side. He has money and status which he earned on the football field. Now he's giving back to the community by helping high school students afford a college education.  Trusting the coach will changes lives.

Beware

Meet Gabellah Shaw

She's feisty and gorgeous. Gabellah is the talk show hostess that everyone loves to watch. If she has a special guest on the show, you'd better believe the town will be watching. The show is called GAB, the first three letters of her name. And then there is her ability to talk about any and everything- her gift of gab. Gabellah says, "it's all about the 3 Ws- who did what, who's doing who and why." She makes her guest feel at home- a little chit-chat and something to drink; just like at mom's. But, if you're a guest on GAB, never forget you're not at your mother's. You're at GAB's sitting in the shark tank.

GUILTY is now live and available at your favorite store.

GUILTY (A Marston Series Book 1)

A not guilty verdict. A kidnapping. A midnight trial. Six sitting in judgment and one empty chair. Revenge- is it sweet or just a bitter seed? Coach Terrence Jackson is the man who has divided the town of Marston. There are those who believe in the coach and his innocence and then there are the victims who despise him, his smile and his crime. He has a dark past- a previous life no one knew about until the not guilty verdict.

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Heart stopping forgetfulness

I'm guessing you've noticed my blog's name change. I think it's time to make a change, especially with change of season. Let me treat you to a short chuckle of a story. And it's true.

Heart stopping forgetfulness :)
I had to work 4 hours on my birthday. I drove to the train station and caught the subway downtown. My daughter called me close to quitting time with an offer to pick me up and spend some time. My shero! After scooping me up from work we picked up my younger daughter and the three of us went off to lunch for good food and chatting. After lunch we gassed up and headed home where we spent time sharing life events- wedding plans and videos and book launch strategies. Well, my daughter was packing up to head home. She had a test to study for. I parted the curtains to check the weather. I froze. Actually, I couldn't breathe or move or speak. And to top it off I felt light headed. My parking pad was vacant :O My car had been stolen. I was finally able to make the announcement- my car is gone. It took us a little time, but we got it all sorted out. The darn thing was still at the train station :)

Have you heard? 

GUILTY is now live and available at your favorite store.

GUILTY (A Marston Series Book 1)

By  Brigitta Moon

A not guilty verdict. A kidnapping. A midnight trial. Six sitting in judgement and one empty chair. Revenge- is it sweet or just a bitter seed? Coach Terrence Jackson is the man who has divided the town of Marston. There are those who believe in the coach and his innocence and then there are the victims who despise him, his smile and his crime. He has a dark past- a previous life no one knew about until the not guilty verdict.

Amazon US

Amazon UK

iBooks

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

More stores

Weekly Savings #50

Oh my. It's week number 50 already. The year has slipped right past me. Last I remember we were inside week 40 something. Let's see what's in our account.  Back in week 45 We added a total of $1,035 to our growing nest of money. Now in week number 50 we should have added $250 to our account. Here's the break down: Week 46-$46 + week 47-$47 + week 48-$48 + week 49-$49 +week 50-$50 We've just added a total of $240 to our growing nest with a previous balance of $1035 and now- $1,275.  It's looking good and at the end of the year- just two weeks away- an extra $1,378 will be much appreciated. Oops, lets back up. This year has 53 weeks. How awesome is that. Now our nest egg will have an extra week of deposit. Christmas! Yep! New Years party? What will you do with your $1,378? That's incorrect. This year with week 53 we will have a total nest egg of $1,4312. Have you decided what to do with that big chunk of dollars? Pay off a bill? Roll it over and pile on more cash for the next year? Invest in a stock? Take a vacation? Buy gifts? Just a little something to ponder again.

On a different note, I've finally decided to release the novel GUILTY by adding it to the KindleScout Program. This is the newest novel to join BMB Books. It is not published yet, but you can have access to the first 5,000 words at KindleScout. So surf on over to GUILTY and take a look around. If you like what you see...press nominate me and do share with your shares. I appreciate every page view and every nomination.

https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/3E8GV09AD1N3Z

Weekly Savings Plan #45

Welcome back new and previous savers! It's been a while. We are into week 45. I'm just checking in again to keep you on point with

your weekly savings plan. It's been a few months since our last check point at week 32. At that point we had a total of $528 in our growing nest egg account. Now we're on week 45. Here's the breakdown. You should have added $507 to the $528. Week 33-$33 + week 34-$34 + week 35-$35 + week 36-$36 +week 37-$37 + week 38-$38 + week 39-$39 + week 40-$40 + week 41-41+ week 42-$42 + week 43-$43 + week 44-$44 + week 45-$45.  Bamdiggitty! We've just added a total of $1,035 to our growing nest of money. It's looking good and at the end of the year- just 7 weeks away- an extra $1,378 will be much appreciated. Christmas! Yep! New Years party? What will you do with your $1,378? Roll it over and pile on more cash for the next year? Invest in a stock? Take a vacation? Buy gifts? Just a little something to ponder again. 

Ashes of Old lovers

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Printing a Book In Color vs Black and White

Adding pictures to the header of each episode was an idea that hit me out of the blue. I wanted to have a picture that would kind of speak to what the episode was about to share with the reader. This was an awesome thought, but an expensive one. To decrease the pages and the price of the book, I printed it in a 12 point font instead of the 14 point I usually use. This brought the book down to 202 pages, but it didn't bring down the price for color.

Her's my dilemma. If I print in color and use all the selling outlets, the cost for the 202 page book would be a whopping $30. If I only sold it on Amazon and my store, the cost would be in the ballpark of $15 as a base. For black and white the cost would be $3.27 as a base. Those prices don't include any markup for profit.

I thought I would share this with you just in case you were wondering about the cost of color printing.

Visit my author page for a look at the new Ashes Series

Take a look at the impact of color vs black and white.

Black and white Episode picture

Color Episode picture

Visit my author page for a look at the new Ashes Series