It’s Day 15 of the 21 Days of Gratitude Challenge. Today, I am grateful for a friend I never met in person, but who has helped me laugh my way through some difficult times. Every Friday morning, I read Carol’s blog posts and laugh out loud. What a great way to begin my day.

Carol Wyer’s author description on her blog says this: “Award winning author and blogger. Taking a humorous look at getting older and encouraging others to age disgracefully.”

I don’t even remember how I found her blog initially, but I was quite impressed that she responded to my comment so quickly, even sending an email to invite me to participate in her upcoming book launch. She has responded to every email I have sent, even offering writing advice. Like everyone else I have written a note of gratitude to, she even took time to comment on one of my blog posts.

Her novels are hilarious. They are linked below, followed by my review. I think the second might be my favorite, but it’s hard to say. I loved them all!

Mini Skirts and Laughter Lines: Like some of the other reviewers, I found out about this book by reading some of the author’s blog posts, and her follow up emails. Mini Skirts and Laughter Lines exceeded my expectations. Carol is a great story teller, her characters are so human, and so like people in my own family that I could easily relate to them. After a bit, I felt like I really knew them, and couldn’t wait to find out what happened next in their lives. I also loved how she weaved in lessons about love and building relationships. I just bought the next one so I can follow Amanda and Phil on their travels.

Surfing in Stilettos: Surfing in Stilettos is the sequel to Mini Skirts and Laughter lines, and  the perfect mix of humor and suspense. At first, I was bothered by the fact that the author kept switching point of view, but later I realized that there was no other way for me to completely understand Richard and Bibi without their back stories. The story could not have been nearly as suspenseful and enjoyable had she not done that. Brave move on her part. I almost skipped dinner when I was getting close to the end. There were so many things were going on at that point, and I was totally involved with the characters. My husband doesn’t read novels, ever. (He does, however, like to follow stocks LOL!) I was trying to tell him what was going on. So, so much was happening it was nearly impossible to explain quickly. What a fun read!

Just Add Spice: Carol Wyer has to be the funniest, most creative writer I know. I love how she had her fictional character create another fictional character. The secondary characters are great too. This was a relaxing, fun read with just the right mix of humor and suspense.

Her blog, Facing 50 With Humor,  is well worth reading too, not only for the jokes on Friday, but the book reviews are really helpful too. Whatever she posts is well worth reading.