Self-publishing a book has been very challenging and fulfilling, but writing it is only the first step. The next step is telling people about it. This weekend, I’ll be holding my first book event. It’s part of, what I’m calling, my Books & Bikes Birthday. Since the book is about my brother, it’s appropriate that my first book launch is with my family.

I turn 50 this November, and in the tradition of my wonderful mother, I’m celebrating at a time when everyone can get together, instead of the actual day. My Mom and Dad spent their winters in Texas, so we usually celebrated Christmas before they left, in autumn. Being a creative woman who loved to travel, Mom arranged “Christmas” celebrations in downtown New York, an island lodge on the northern tip of Minnesota, Las Vegas, and other places. Mom and Dad are gone now, but it’ll be fun to continue some of their lifestyle by getting together when we can for my Books and Bikes Birthday.

As you’d probably guess from the name of my birthday party, I love cycling. If you’d like to see some stories and pictures about my cycling adventures, and mis-adventures, you can read my cycling blog. It’s at ” http://touringonthatbike.com “. I have told my family not to bring gifts to the birthday party. I only want them to bring a bike, so we can share a ride on the Lake Wobegone Trail. That trail is still one of my favorites, after cycling for 100s of miles in the US,  UK, and EU.

I’m also making other efforts to tell people about the book. I’ve been improving the website for the book, adding it to Amazon, and creating a page for it at GoodReads. Since the book includes some fun moments with sports for the blind, I’ve also been contacting organizations that offer a range of sporting events for disabled folks. If you’d like to learn more about their great work, click here. Another effort I’ll be using to promote the book is to write an update here about once a week. One of my upcoming posts will be about beep baseball and downhill ski races for the blind.