August is the end of summer. Our last hurrah before school starts and the leaves begin to turn colors. What will you be doing?

Will you be getting the kids ready to go back to school or will you be getting ready to go back to school or work?

We have a wonderful Q&A with award winning author and sports writer, Jerald Hoover about two of his books for middle school kids. I’ll also be reviewing these books for the August issue.

Linda Cahill will have more delicious recipes courtesy of Te Pampered Chef and Tanya Bashor will have some exciting events coming up at Gypsy Artistry.

We’ll have some tips for making summer last and getting ready for the big Labor Day celebration. I haven’t decided on the quiz yet.

We’ll also be talking about family. Do you know your family genealogy or are you a proud “mutt” like me?

After I wrote Dancing in the Rain, my friend Carole Munné who is originally from the Dominican Republic approached me about collaborating on a book about women and immigration. We interviewed some fascinating women, but work on the book stalled because of family health issues. Carole was forced to make several trips to The Dominican Republic and I spent several weeks sleeping on a fold out bed at Children’s hospital.

The book has haunted us and Carole and I agreed to begin publishing some of the stories in This Awful Awesome Life. August will feature our first interview. It’s a timely issue and I’m proud of our collaborative efforts.

See you next month.

Fran

Answers to the July 2019 Six Degrees of Separation by Movie Title Quiz

 Harry Connick Jr. Is in Memphis Belle with David Strathairn who is in L.A. Confidential with Russell Crowe who is in 3:10 to Yuma with Gretchen Mol

 Leonardo DiCaprio is in Gangs of New York with Brendan Gleeson who is in The Tailor of Panama with Jamie Lee Curtis who is the daughter of Tony Curtis who is in The Bad News Bears Go to Japan with Jackie Earle Haley

 Keanu Reeves is in My Own Private Idaho with River Phoenix the brother of Joaquin Phoenix who is in Hotel Rwanda with Don Cheadle

 Sean Connery is in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade with Harrison Ford who is in Hollywood Nights with Josh Harnett who is in Pearl Harbor with Kate Beckinsale who is in Laurel Canyon with Frances McDormand

 Kerry Washington is in The Last King of Scotland with Forest Whitaker who is in Good Morning Vietnam with Robin Williams who was in Moscow on the Hudson with Maria Conchita Alonso

 Sandra Bullock is in The Prince of Egypt with Helen Mirren who is in Berlin I Love You with Mickey Rourke who is in Once Upon a Time in Mexico with Johnny Depp who is in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas with Benicio Del Toro

 Antonio Banderas is in Philadelphia with Tom Hanks who is in Sleepless in Seattle with Carey Lowell who was married to Richard Gere who is in Nights in Rodanthe with Viola Davis

 Sean Connery is in The Russia House with Michelle Pfeiffer who is in The Prince of Egypt with Ralph Fiennes who is in In Bruges with Colin Farrell who is in Miami Vice with Jamie Foxx

 Reese Witherspoon is in Sweet Home Alabama with Dakota Fanning who is in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood with Brad Pitt who is in Seven Years in Tibet with Davis Thewlis

 Chris Farley was in Beverly Hills Ninja with Chris Rock who is in Madagascar with Jada Pinket Smith who is married to Will Smith who is in Six Degrees of Separation which is not a movie with a location in the title, but a fun ending for our July 2019 Six Degrees of Separation by Movie Title Quiz.