Scroll to the bottom to read about the crazy goal I had set for myself in 2017

and what ultimately happened. I will #DoItAgain2018

(all Gift Books are full color, have pages in the front to personalize with your own message

and have a cute poem in the back based on the title of the book)

Book #1: Marilyn & the Martians' Paradise

                    Released: 6/4/13, Available at Amazon & other online retailers

                    Format(s): Softcover book, E-Book

                    Series: Book #2 The Puppy Princess Series

                    Genre: Children's

Book #2 The Puppy Princess

                    Released: 12/2/14, Available at Amazon & other online retailers

                    Format(s): Softcover book, E-Book

                    Series: Book #1 The Puppy Princess Series

                    Genre: Children's

Book #3 Sprinkles Bedtime Express

                   Released: 5/16/15, Available at Amazon

                   Format(s): Softcover book, Special Pop-Up E-Book

                    Book #1 Sprinkles Series

                    Genre: Children's (Young, Bedtime Story)

Book #4 Bunnycakes: The Bunny with Big Dreams

                   Released: 3/25/16, Available at Amazon

                   Format(s): Softcover book, Special Pop-Up E-Book

                   Series: Book #1 The Bunny Dream Series

                   Genre: Children's, Dreamers (For all Ages)

                   (Includes Dream Pledge in the back plus lessons)

Book #5 Nurses are like Purses

                  Released: 7/7/2016, Available at Amazon

                  Format(s): Softcover book, E-Book

                  Series: Book #1 Gift Book Series

                  Genre: Gratitude/Career Gift Book to give to Nurses or

                  those interested in Nursing

Book #6 Dear Bundle of Joy

                 Released: 1/31/2017, Available at Amazon

                 Format(s): Softcover book, E-Book

                 Series: Book #2 Gift Book Series

                 Genre: Baby Shower Gift Book - for new babies/mothers, unique gift

Book #7 The Giving Butterfly

                 Released: 2/28/2017, Available at Amazon.com

                 Format(s): Softcover book, (the e-book is coming soon)

                  Series: Book #1 The Butterfly Series

                  Genre: Children's, those battling a disease, those caring for someone with a disease, and 

                  can be sued as a fundraising tool

                  (For all ages)

Book #8 Teachers are Magnificent

                    Released: 3/14/2017, Available at Amazon

                    Format(s): Softcover book, E-Book

                    Series: Book #3 Gift Book Series

                    Genre: Gratitude/Career Gift Book to recognize Teachers or for those that aspire to be a                          Teacher

Book #9 Doctors are like Helicopters

                    Released: 4/28/2017, Available at Amazon

                     Format(s): Softcover book, E-Book

                    Series: Book #4 Gift Book Series

                    Genre: Gratitude/Career Gift Book to recognize Doctors of all

                     types and for those interested in becoming a Doctor

Book #10 You are a Star (available with a blue cover or a pink cover)

                  Released: 05/12/2017, Available at Amazon

                  Format(s): Softcover book, E-Book

                   Series: Book #5 Gift Book Series

                   Genre: Gratitude/Gift Book

                                                    Gratitude/Gift Book to recognize anyone who excels at what they do or who have done a job well-done...perfect for

teachers to give to students, employers to give to

employees, to appreciate a friend, or for a parent to

show their son/daughter (or other family member) that

that are doing great...it is a book for those that excel.

For any age.

Book #11 A Blast of Birthday Wishes

              Released: 06/03/2017, Available at Amazon

              Format(s): Softcover book, E-Book

              Series: Book #6 Gift Book Series

              Genre: Holidays/Celebrations/Birthday

Book #12 Happily Ever After (A Gift Book for Weddings & Anniversaries)

             Released: 8/30/17, Available at Amazon

             Format(s): E-Book, Softcover book coming soon

             Series: Book #7 Gift Book Series

             Genre: Wedding Gift Book

Book #13 Amazing Friends (A Gift Book for Friends)

             Released: 9/27/17, Available at Amazon

             Format(s): E-Book, Softcover book coming soon

             Series: Book #8 Gift Book Series

             Genre: Friendship Gift Book

Book #14 You Did it, Graduate!

             Released: 10/31/17, Available at Amazon

             Format(s): E-Book, Softcover book coming soon

             Series: Book #9 Gift Book Series

             Genre: Graduation Gift Book

Book #15 Moms Make Life Sweet

             Released: 01/30/2018, Available at Amazon as E-Book

             Format(s): E-Book available, Softcover book coming soon

             Series: Book #1 So Sweet Series (for gift giving)

             Genre: Mothers Gift Book

Book #16 Dads Make Life Sweet

             Released: 02/28/2018, Available at Amazon as E-Book

             Format(s): E-Book available, Softcover book coming soon

             Series: Book #2 So Sweet Series (for gift giving)

             Genre: Fathers Gift Book

Book #17 Daughters Make Life Sweet

             Released: 03/29/2018, Available at Amazon as E-Book

             Format(s): E-Book available, Softcover book coming soon

             Series: Book #3 So Sweet Series (for gift giving)

             Genre: Daughters Gift Book

Book #18 Sons Make Life Sweet

            Released: 04/06/2018, Available at Amazon as E-Book

            Format(s): E-Book available, Softcover book coming soon

            Series: Book #4 So Sweet Series (for gift giving)

            Genre: Sons Gift Book

2018 got off to a rocky start for me and as it got closer to the end of February I feared I was already going to fail at my goal. I put my determination hat on and got my book out just in time with a release date for the E-Book of 2/28/18. I am already working on my upcoming releases for this year as of 3/3/18 and feel like things are coming together. I always have to remember that it is not life that gets in the way of my goals but my inflexibility and my resilience to bounce back when unexpected things happen. Too many things at once is always a sure way to throw me off track, but I pick up the pieces that remain scattered about and push forward the best I can with what I have. At the end of day I am thankful that I least I have some pieces to pick up. Like little breadcrumbs leading me to my path in the future. No matter what happens, no matter what discouragement comes your way, I know that you can follow your dreams, too.

I always pictured following dreams as this perfect path that leads to the future with everything falling neatly into place. But in reality, from my experience nothing is ever perfect and you just have to go with it. I believe that we never give ourselves enough credit, and cannot always see how far we have come. Some of the early YouTube videos my family and I posted online share these imperfections. But I think those imperfections is what makes a journey a journey. You can see some of the old videos at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZAQNft-dE4y4IbHT9XUoPQ

Now my mother shines at taking pictures. In fact, did you know that she is the photographer behind my Father's recent promo pics to promote National Pig Day and his first book that he published at the age of 73? My parents are so used to me filming every little thing, that now when I pop over to do something book related (i.e. Dress the Puppy Princess...her pink and white bloomers are too big), my mom pauses and waits for me to turn on the video recording to record the moment. It used to be comments like, "Why are you filming this?" and of course, grunts and growls and other comments that I won't share here. My response is always the same, "To let other dreamers know that things don't have to be perfect in order to push forward."

My goal has always been to simply inspire others. I once used to think that I had to have all the pieces of the puzzle sitting neatly waiting to be put together to form the perfect picture of what I wanted my future to be. In fact, I have learned that there is no perfect science to dream chasing. I think you just make it up as you go along, or at least that is what we do.

If you have something to share with the world, I encourage you to do it. I encourage you to start today, with what you have, and to push forward. I have realized nothing in life will ever be perfect and there will always be bumps in the road and boulders on your path. You just have to learn how to hurdle over them!

Best Wishes to you and your family from ours,

Carey Ann Kramer, my family, and of course all of my animal friends!

Read below for the history of my book publishing and my mishaps from last year, 2017.

Updated 12/27/2017 - So somewhere along the line in 2016 I decided that in 2017 I would publish a book a month, that would be my personal goal. Being an Author is my childhood dream and after purchasing 3 self-publishing packages in 2007 as a map to mark my way at a crossroads in my life...here is what happened. I published my first book in June 2013 (actually Book #2 of The Puppy Princess Series, Marilyn & the Martians' Paradise - a whole learning lesson here on why I published Book #2 of the series and why it took another year to get Book #1 of The Puppy Princess Series out), my second book (which was Book #1 of The Puppy Princess Series, The Puppy Princess) in December 2014, and then I published another book in March 2015 (Sprinkles Bedtime Express, Sprinkles Series Book #1), and then Bunnycakes: The Bunny with Big Dreams in March 2016. In July 2016, I published (the second book for that year) my first Gift Book, Nurses are like Purses in July 2016. The Gift Book Series is a way to show appreciation, let someone know they are special, a thank you in a full-color book that has room for you to personalize it. Later Gift books will also have a special area in the back for the recipient of the Gift Book to add in their own information like dreams and goals. Between the years 2007 - 2012, a period of 5 years I contemplated about publishing a book. I suppose I was scared at where it could lead...why we are scared to pursue our heart's desire and what is considered our strengths is unbeknownst to me, but Bunnycakes in his story The Bunny with Big Dreams gives a little insight into that subject (a book for everyone, not just little bunnies and comes complete with your very own Dream Pledge in the back; I have My Dream Pledge posted on a nearby filing cabinet by my writing desk as a reminder of my own goals). So, for 5 years I "sat" on my publishing packages. (To this day I still have one of my original three packages still unpublished.)

My personal goal in 2017 was to publish a book a month and all was going well for the first 6 months of the year. I did successfully publish a book a month from January to June 2017 (Jan 2017 - Dear Bundle of Joy, A Baby Shower Gift Book; Feb 2017 - The Giving Butterfly, Book #1 The Butterfly Series, a special book to be used by multiple organizations for fundraising; March 2017 - Teachers are Magnificent, A Gift Book for Teachers; April 2017 - Doctors are like Helicopters, A Gift Book for Doctors; May 2017 - You are a Star Gift Book available with a blue or pink cover, for anyone you want to let know they are doing a great job i.e. parent to child, teacher to student, boss to employee; June 2017 - A Blast of Birthday Wishes, A Gift Book for Birthdays) for a total of 6 books published in 6 months which is more than I had published over the last 5 years.

Then comes July and the problems arise...I was getting ready for the East Texas Book Bash in Tyler, TX in August 2017, go here to see the event info for 2018 (I will be in attendance for 2018 as well, it was so much fun!) https://easttexasbookbash.weebly.com/  and we probably uploaded (we is for my husband and I - I often enlist my family for help along the way on my writing and character journey; I will have to post a listing of my family and their unofficial job duties (unofficial because they may not be aware that this is actually their official job duties for my book ventures) so we probably uploaded about 100 copies of the manuscript and finally thought we had a good copy for print. I checked it, my honey checked it, and my mom checked it. We all agreed it was good and would be just in time for the East Texas Book Bash. The characters, Dovey and Lacey of The Love Frog were equally excited. We released the book just in the nick of time at the end of July, rechecked the book once more and then ordered copies to take with us to the Book Festival and then you will never guess what happened! Something was wrong with the interior layout, a technical issue and we tried and tried to fix it, and to this day are still stuck. (We will resolve it, because the book will be rereleasing in February 2018.) We pulled the books from the online retailer(s), and only brought 1 copy as a sample to the Book Festival with us. Dovey and Lacey were disappointed, I think more so than I was. I told them that there was a delay and that they would have to wait for their debut appearance. So my book a month goal for 2017 now had a snag in it with The Love Frog. You can still see the cover on Amazon, here is my link to my Amazon Author page https://www.amazon.com/Carey-Ann-Kramer/e/B00I8BKCV0 

So snafu one hits in 2017, the July book had been pulled. I continued on thinking we would have a fix for it soon. In August 2017, I published Happily Ever After, A Gift Book for Weddings and Anniversaries, and in September 2017 published Amazing Friends, A Gift Book for Amazing Friends (dedicated to my special friend, Sandra A. who happily listens to all my publishing and book related woes from dressing a dragon to pulling my hair out over technical layout issues, to a run in with my elephant, Eli, and my Dad). In October, I published, You Did it, Graduate! A Gift Book for Graduates (from high school to college to vocational/technical school and anything in between, for all ages). I heard endless talk on why I published a graduation book in October from my family, okay point taken, maybe I could have timed that a little better, but I myself did graduate from college in December so had initially thought it was a good idea. Graduating, from anything, is a huge deal, and I thought the sooner the better for this book, plus when May came around it would be already published and it would give me time to work on the distribution side of things (if anyone reading this is a book distributor, retailer, or publisher, or literary agent, I do need assistance so please contact me via Meet the Author page or on Social Media Facebook or Twitter. So with the previous 6 books I published in 2017 from January to June plus the additional 3 from August to October, I had published a total of 9 books for the year 2017. Then came NanoWriMo.org  month, national novel writing month and I had high hopes of writing my 50k words in the month plus publishing an additional book for my 2017 goal. And it was in November, that things came crashing down. I struggled to hang on, to meet my goals even after lots of personal issues swirled around me from the ending part of October forward. I was still steadfast that I would do both the Nano 50k words for one of my longer projects to come out next year and also publish my book a month. The days of November passed, and then without warning I was struck down by a personal injury, and well, that was all she wrote. I was out of the running for everything. First went, the Nano 50K project, and then I had to come to terms that my book a month was not going to happen. I use the word struck down in describing my situation because I realized how much I took everyday for granted. I wake up, I bounce around the house, go about my day, speak French to my dog and sing silly made up songs to my cats. I work a day job (yes, still...I realized long ago that ideas attract themselves like magnets when I leave the house, otherwise I become a zombie who may only see the light of the day for the ten seconds it takes to run to the mailbox in to get the mail.) Then came December...and I realized with the holidays and still babying an injury, I had failed. For someone who is ambitious failing at a personal goal can feel devastating, coupled with everything else going on. But my amazing husband and my wonderful friend reminded me that I had not failed 3 times (missed 3 books for the year) but that I had succeeded the other 9 times. Okay, I get it. Change my viewpoint and it turns my failures into a success story...well, of sorts. In the end, my goal was to publish a book a month, and ultimately I was not able to meet that goal. I am fully recovered over my personal injury mishap from November and am looking forward to trying my personal goal of publishing a book a month in 2018. I'll just call it, #DoItAgain2018

So if there is something that you have failed at, maybe you just need a change of perspective to see your successes. Or maybe you want to give it another shot. If so, voice it with #DoItAgain2018

I have learned lots of lessons in 2017 from how to find a Chef outfit for a big 6 foot blue bunny (Bunnycakes) to how to pick yourself back up after a failure and push forward. I am just so glad, everyday, that I have my family close by to assist. We have plenty to do in 2018 as we prepare for a stage show with all of our characters (lots more than what is listed on the website!) and if you want to join in - our current dinner conversation at family get togethers is, "Do you think paisley, polka dots, or stripes for the Dragon's dress?" What do you think? If you want to weigh in on dressing the dragon, our newest character with a book coming out soon, then drop a line on Twitter or Facebook @CareyAnnKramer and include #DressaDragon

Best Wishes and remember to never, never give up! Did you know my father, Robert Kramer, published his 1st book at the age of 73? At 75, he is contemplating a second book. Find his book on Amazon or Barnes at Noble. https://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Cowboy-Bob-Mr-Hogg-ebook/dp/B017YHSF5S 

Just remember, wherever there is failure, there is always a success. You just may have to look to find it.

Keep dreaming and follow your heart.

Have a Great 2018!

Best Wishes,

Carey

P.S. - For dreamers (of any age) be sure to check out Bunnycakes: The Bunny with Big Dreams it comes complete with your very own Dream Pledge!