Good morning,

First off, I would like to thank everyone who sent me cards and birthdays wishes while I was gone. I had my most interesting, and perhaps my best birthday of all time. It only took 75 years for it to happen. (grin) We spent last week in the Turks and Cacaos Islands and it was very lovely. The color of the ocean in the Caribbean is so amazing. One day we went on a tour of the island and we were taken to the highest spot on the island. (by the way, the islands are very flat!) From that advantage point I was able to see where the Caribbean and the Atlantic oceans meet at the barrier reef one side was turquoise and the other was navy blue, really cool if you’ve never seen it.

Dinner on my birthday was set in a beachside gazebo. As we ate we watched the sun color the clouds and sky in shades of gold, pink and pale purples as it sank into the Caribbean. The trade winds off the ocean and setting sun made for the perfect ambiance. Dinner wasn’t bad either, all and all it made for a perfect birthday.

For those who are interested, Turks and Cacaos Islands got their names from various sources. Some claim that the name Turks was named after the Turk's cap cactus. Another source says that from the 15th through the 17th century, the Mediterranean was bothered by pirates and those pirates were called Turks because of their ethnic background. As piracy spread across the Caribbean, the men were continued to be called Turks regardless of their background, and the island these pirates used as a base was known as Turks Island. Cacaos comes from the Lucayan term caya hico, meaning 'string of islands'. Lucayan were the indigenous people of islands. So, I guess one translation for Turks and Cacaos could be pirates string of islands. I vote for the pirates, sounds a bit more colorful than cactus string of islands.

As somebody once said, “now you know the rest of the story”.

Houseboat, second edition is very close. I have in back from formatting and this week I’ll be submitting it for a proof copy. Providing that goes well, the book will be ready for release. The story it basically the same, but it got tamed down a bit in the hanky panky area.

As always, thanks for your interest in my books. I am working on the sixth and hope to have it out by the end of summer.

Warm regards to all …

Paul