| Greetings to everyone in our hive. We wish you a holiday season filled with sweetness and blessings. Whether it be Hanukkah, Pancha Ganapati, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, or???? We are grateful to have you with us. Thank you for your warm reception of Bee-Coming Strong. Jazianzza is thrilled to tell you she is flying around the world. Two people from Japan wrote beautiful reviews on Amazon. We look forward to having Jazi’s story translated into many languages so that children worldwide can benefit from Jazi, MamaQB, and Tree as they encounter life and bee-come strong as well. Many thanks to those of you who have ordered copies of Bee-Coming Strong from Amazon and written reviews. The reviews are very helpful for folks considering the book. Positive reviews also influence the algorithm (whatever that is!) Amazon uses to direct people to particular books. If you haven’t written a review and feel inclined to do so, we would be very grateful. Jazi is delighted that so many children and adults alike are finding her story entertaining and helpful. If you want to buy another copy, we encourage you to consider buying it from an independent bookstore if there is one near you. We greatly value small booksellers. A big thank you to Answer Bookstore in Costa Mesa, CA which held a book-signing event this week. Cathy, Toby, and Thursa surprised us with a joyful, festive event including special cookies with Jazianzza’s picture on the icing! They tasted so good that Jazi was sure they were made with honey. |
| While Jazi has been flying around the world, I’ve been a busy bee in my way by starting to do podcasts. The first one was with a lovely Canadian named Fred Rutman, whose book The Summer I Died Twenty Times chronicles his life and death experiences. He is a beautiful and gentle soul. I was blessed to be able to have him as the first podcast host to work with. If you’re interested, here you go… |
The holidays can be a challenging time for many, especially these days with political strife, wars, and lingering Covid challenges. I was watching a Hallmark movie with a friend the other day and there was one line that was repeated a couple of times that speaks to this journey Jazianzza and I are on… “Even the smallest stone makes a ripple in the water.” I love that! Even the smallest bee, or our smallest acts of kindness and support can have long-term, far-reaching effects. I think we can all remember a time when a stranger’s smile helped uplift our entire day.
Kindness and guilelessness are Jazi’s superpowers. They come from strength, rather than weakness. If we help our children understand this from a young age, the world could be so different. This is another reason I am hopeful that Jazi will be able to spread her wings worldwide.
I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples.
— Mother Teresa