On tour with Prism Book Tours.

You can't always play it safe

With four sons dependent on her, Janie Everett needs to keep her life uncomplicated. Now famous scientist Aidan Hollings is disrupting her orderly world, starting with the rescue of a...bumblebee.

Aidan is only passing through her Alaska wilderness town, and wasn't planning to bond with her two older boys. Or become so attracted to the widowed journalist. His globe-trotting days may be be over if he's able to show Janie that they can share the adventure of a lifetime--together.

Yellow jacket/party crasher/watermelon stealer

There are certain critters that in spite of their diminutive stature, never fail to strike fear in the hearts of even the bravest among us - snakes, spiders, rats, bats. I’ve even seen people get the

The grumpy bald-faced hornet, otherwise known as “my nemesis.”

I’ve seen big, strong, completely rational men run screaming like babies. I’ve seen graceful, composed women gyrate around like the worst So You Think You Can Dance audition imaginable. Brave Aunt Betty uses her corn on the cob to whack at the bee with one hand while wielding her paper plate like a shield. Uncle Stan abandons both Aunt Betty and his potato salad and sprints toward the house. Chairs are overturned, drinks are spilled, plates of cherished dessert are sacrificed.  My stepdaughter will literally drop whatever is in her hands—phone, food, purse, expensive glassware, whatever, it doesn’t matter, and disappear like Speedy Gonzales. The

The lovely and graceful, ever-busy, honeybee

Now I know what you’re all thinking. Bee stings hurt. They do. I know this. I’ve had too many to count. As a child I was blackberry picking with my best friend’s family and fell over a fallen log right into a nest of bald-faced hornets. In case any of you aren’t familiar with this type of wasp, it’s particularly aggressive and lightning fast. I’ll never forget my terror—or the pain. Luckily, my friend’s dad was picking nearby and knew immediately (by my screams no doubt) what had happened. He scooped me up and sprinted down the hill like an Olympic hurdler, scaling downed logs and pulling

Sweet, determined, diligent bumblebee

I have a newfound respect for these industrious creatures after writing If Not for a Bee, especially the hardworking honey and the noble bumble.  In this book, scientist Aidan Hollings is in