Another photography credit for me, another chance for the unabashed soap opera lovers among us to pick up a nifty photobook! Once again, Katrina Rasbold, my fearless leader at All My Writers for the last, oh, almost decade, has released a Yearbook of this year's General Hospital Fan Club Weekend. She writes the reports; I take the photos.

[

This 180-page book is jam-packed with full-color photos of General Hospital's past and present-day stars from 4 days of events. There's plenty of behind-the-scenes gossip to boot. What'll you learn about in the Yearbook? As Katrina writes,

New couples, new babies, famous spouses, Hollywood royalty, a bit of a smack-down from Executive Producer, Frank Valentini, a “Blast From the Past” actor with some very unconventional claims and advice to fans, two Rabbis, plenty of selfies, a double-helping of Michael Corinthos, a male heart-throb who broke all of our hearts on screen, a current GH couple who ditched us, graphic novels straight from ComiCon, impossible schedules, careers made and broken, dogs and cats living together... this year had it all!

Our print copies of](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1500857513/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1500857513&linkCode=as2&tag=media0477-20&linkId=Q32JNQ4HQ3PKZXZK) last year's yearbook sold out as soon as the doors to the main cast event opened, so you know these are beautiful keepsakes for the GH fans among us. Both full-color and black and white paperback versions are available from Amazon.

Color:                      Black and White:

I couldn't leave you without sharing my favorite photos from the event, could I? I was so delighted to see Scott Clifton at the Past Cast Event. Him and Michael Sutton appearing made my weekend.

I hope you enjoy the 2014 Yearbook!

Just a quick reminder that you can now check out the responses of the three writers I tagged in my post last week on my writing processes. The three lovely authors who agreed to be next in my chain are as follows:

• Krysten Lindsay Hager, a new YA romance author with Astraea Press. Read her responses here.
• Margaret S. McGraw, a fantasy and science fiction writer with a great YA fantasy novel nearing the end of edits. Margaret's post is going up late tonight, so check here later on or tomorrow for it.
• And Katrina Rasbold, a writer of fantasy, romance, and many nonfiction books on spirituality. You can read her answers here.

Thanks, ladies, for participating, and I'm diving in to read what you've said now!

A few months ago, I got to add a second item to my list of professional photography credits for this amazing book for lovers of General Hospital, but somehow, I forgot to announce it here!

The book is written by Katrina Rasbold, my talented boss over at All My Writers, and I can guarantee she'll crack you up with her Southern dame prose. As the description reads,

A must have for all fans of the iconic soap opera, General Hospital! This book provides one-of-a-kind photos and stories from behind the scenes of the premier GH event of the year.... [Katrina] gives you smart tips on how to navigate this complex and intense fan event to get the most bang for your buck and for your time....Who crashed the party at the 2013 Main Cast Luncheon? What GH beauty from the past arrived at the Main Cast Luncheon to announce that she is now on the current cast? Who was the breakout star of the weekend who had hearts throbbing on Sunday?...She shares insider stories from her years working the event, plus includes over 450 photographs from her own personal collection, more than 300 of which are from the most recent 2013 General Hospital Fan Club Weekend!

You can purchase this tome through Amazon as an e-book or through CreateSpace as a print book in either black and white or color. It would make a great Christmas gift for fans of the show, which I can say because I've been one since the womb! The book definitely prepares folks to attend the fan club weekend, but it's chock-full of insider stories that any GH viewer would love to hear.

Here are what readers have to say so far:

"It's a delightful book, quite helpful to the person who is off to such a fan weekend. I am sure that much of the travel and packing advice is applicable to any such event in a hot climate. Written by a woman who has been there, done that, I would listen to her words and follow them in order to best enjoy the event. Best of all, you can add this book to your Kindle and carry it with you for a handy reference! As far as I'm concerned, it's a must-have for anyone who plans on going to any fan event."

"I remember watching General Hospital when it was in black and white (at least at my house) and featured stories about Steve and Audrey Hardy and the nurses at GH. I've never been to a GH event (wrong side of a very big country) but after reading this book, I feel as though I've been there. Insider tidbits about the participating actors, sure, but also the very necessary information about packing, hotels, where to go, when to go there, and the protocol for any GH event. A fun read even if you never make it to an event, and an indispensable one if you do plan to attend this yearly event."

"Katrina captures the experience of the General Hospital Fan Club Weekend with unabridged honesty, humorous, truthful tales of unbelievable and unforgettable moments that positively and lovingly spotlights both the graciousness of the actors and the enthusiasm of the fans. The collection of personal anecdotes, hundreds of photos, and insider information about how to prepare" to attend this four-day extravaganza is a MUST HAVE for not only those fans who wish to attend, but also ANY fan who has loved this 50 year young daytime icon!"

I can't leave you without a picture of me at the event, now can I? Enjoy!

Me with John J. York.

I've been wanting to promote some friends with new books and blogs out for a while now...so long of a while that I'm not sure I can classify them as new! Two of these friends are from All My Writers, the entertainment website where I write columns on General Hospital, Glee, and currently, trying out the slate of Fall TV show premieres.

Let's start with Katrina Rasbold, webmistress of All My Writers and writer of many new books she's published to Amazon this summer. One of them is a guide to the General Hospital Fan Club Weekend featuring photography by me, but I'll post a separate entry promoting that. The rest of Katrina's books range from instructions on making candles with a spiritual intent--

--to discussing the principles of Energy Magic for those of you attracted to that practice--

--to a memoir about her life growing up in Kentucky that's on my must-read list.

She's adding Arthurian romance to her collection soon. I've read Katrina's blog posts for about a decade, and her style of writing is always entertaining and full of a woman who's determined to live life to its fullest, whatever that may mean at that time. You can buy all of her work here.

Carolyn Ridder Aspenson is another writer from All My Writers, and I've read her scathing, hilarious commentary on soap operas for years as well. Carolyn jumped into the waters of chick lit last year by publishing _Unfinished Business: An Angela Panther Nove_l about a woman who sees her mother's ghost and then can't stop seeing ghosts everywhere.

Carolyn's been in a whirlwind of writing since that publication, and she has a Chrismas novella also available at Amazon called Santa's Gift and a diet guide, which anyone who's ever known Carolyn can vouch for -- the woman knows her fitness.

Additionally, Carolyn is participating in _Merry Chick Lit: Celebrating the Season with Six Sassy Short_s, which is a collection of holiday-themed novellas that will beneft Rocking the Road for a Cure, a breast cancer charity this holiday season.

You can contact Carolyn directly at craspen at comcast dot net to pre-order that treat. The rest of Carolyn's work is available for purchase here.

Finally, it's time for me to brag about Samantha Rosasco and her new blogs. Sam is one of my best college friends, and I've lived her with her for a year and a summer, spent a year living next door to her, and spent a year practically living with her when she shared an apartment in Santa Cruz with another of my best college friends. So I know what I'm talking about when I say that Sam is one of the most talented cooks, crafters, and exercisers I know.  She now has a separate blog for all three areas of interest, and I'm impressed with what I've read! She describes her craft blog, Clearing Out My Craft Closet, thusly:

Every crafter has a box, cabinet, or closet filled with the dreaded unfinished objects, UFOs, projects that you meant to get to, might have started, but just never quite finished.  In an attempt to complete my projects, I've started this blog to get me over the hump and try to finish all those pesky projects that keep hanging around the house or finally start projects that I intended to make.

Samantha Experiments With Food is

A tasty experiment. Modify, create or replicate recipes to enjoy.  As with all experiments, good notes help to make sure the results are repeatable in the future and in turn will help to fine tune the flavorful results.

And 30 Days to Improve is an exercise and fitness blog about

Taking action to improve 30 days at a time.  I am just one woman trying to improve myself 30 days at a time.

And because I can't do anything without including a picture, here I am with Sam and my friend Devon at Capitola Beach a few years back.

Whew! That was a lot of bragging! I can't complain about having such amazing friends to brag about. Before you ask, yes, I hope to do bragging posts to promote my speculative fiction author friends as well, but they are publishing so much so often, I'm not sure when I'll get to it! But don't hesitate to send me info on your books, and I'll be happy to send a tweet out at the very least.