I had the most amazing night all alone in Mexico City last night! I am such a geek.
Fist , I made a list of Goals for 2008... refusing to call them "resolutions" because that would be way too conforming to societal norms (Yes, I'm in denial).
One of them was to actually READ more. I love reading, and book club, and socialing with books club members- doesn't every avid reader? Though I'm not sure I would actually qualify as "avid" quite yet- something to aim for in 2008. Life just gets so busy sometimes and I don't make the time. But since I have now completed my MA, I am determined to return to reading for enjoyment. How I love it! So....while in Mexico City (also known as DF), I decided to actually search for the book I had stowed away in my bag, and actually begin to peruse the pages. I carried the book with me, walked outside my hotel in the Reforma, and searched for a perfect restaurant to read in. As I meandered through the streets, I ran across a local Feria, crowded with families, carousels, magicians, music and street vendors. What a lovely sight it was, but not a great place to settle in to read, so I continued my search. I finally ran across the perfect place- a cute, trendy, restaurant in the middle of the Reforma! I walked in and was immediately greeted by sweet, kind, professional locals. I decided to take a seat at the bar, even though I was the only one seated there. I ordered some traditional cuisine, tacos de pollo that came with beans and guacamole, along with a local cerveza. Then I proceeded with the book, which was given to me a few months ago, called Eat, Pray, Love. In a nutshell, it is an amusing, comical, yet deep book about a woman's self discovery through travel. Turns out it was quite fitting for an American currently in Mexico City. So here I was in Mexico City, alone, reading a great book, enjoying some local food, all while watching the city night lights of the cars along the Reforma- all to say, a totally blissful night for me! How I love the ambience! The only thing that could have made it any better is if I had met a sweet, older couple and shared some conversation about their lovely city. But there is still time for that, so no worries.

Written by co-author of Princess Bubble
Kimberly Webb
www.princessbubble.com

Thinking About Writing a Book??

My name is Susan Johnston and Kimberly Webb and I have written and self published a modern day fairy tale, Princess Bubble.

Since so many people contact us about wanting to write a book, I thought I would put some information down on paper.

Kim Webb and I do not consider ourselves great writers just people with a message we wanted to share. We felt called to spread the true meaning of “happily ever after” and have always felt God equips the called. He does not call the equipped.

Having said all that; here is my advice for what it is worth.

Are you willing to put a million of hours and lots of money into this project?

If you answered “No” stop reading and go get an agent.

You may ask, “Why didn’t you get an agent?” I had an agent years ago and they wanted to change the entire book. I am open to finding an agent now. But, I now feel I can prove that our message is marketable having been on The Today show and many other smaller shows.

If you are passionate about the topic, characters, title…think about what or how much you would be willing to change to get a publishing deal. If you are not willing to give up creative control you need to consider self publishing.

If you want an agent/publisher then you need to seek advice from someone else. I just do not know enough.

If you have decided to look into self publishing ask yourself:

Is there another book like this?
If so –what makes yours different?
How did they market the similar book?

What is your target audience?

What do you want to name the book?
Is that website available? (If not I suggest you change the name.)

I also suggest buying similar names we own
www.PrincessBubble.com
www.PrincessBubbles.com
www.BubbleGumPress.com
www.FindYourPrince.com
www.FindThePrince.com
www.RoyalHeirLine.com

Here is a check list of some of the things to start researching.

Library of Congress
ISBN
Bar Codes
Number of pages?
Who will edit the book?
Who will layout the book?
Hard or soft cover?
Print on demand or placing an order with a printer?
Out sourcing or printing domestically?
What quality of paper?
Will you sell to specialty stores or only bookstores?
Who will call on the stores?
Who will ship to the stores?
Will you get a distributor?
Which distributors have similar books?
What price will you wholesale and retail the book for?
Can you afford to sell the book for less than wholesale to Amazon?
If you have a sales representative what cut will you give him?
Will you sell books on your site?
Will you take credit cards?
Are you going to apply for a business license?
How will you get the book reviewed?
Will you do your own promoting of the book?
Will you be willing to travel to do book signings?
Are you comfortable doing interviews?
Is there anything controversial you can use in your press releases?
Will this be a series?


There are a million more things you have to do but this just gives you a little touch of how many hours you will need to devote to your book if you want to do this yourself.

Princess Bubble has been very rewarding and one of the best experiences of my life. But it did not just happen. It took tons of prayers and hard work.

These are things I wish someone had told me!

Please don’t be discouraged or intimidated by the amount of work this will take. Be encouraged that if two flight attendants did this and so can YOU!

I wish you much success and if this was a help to you buy our book! Or at least tell others about us. We need all the help we can get getting the word out.

Susan Johnston
www.PrincessBubble.com

-Single on New Years?

I think New Year's Eve is overrated. I always have. And I do not believe it is because I am 41 and single. It is like when you hear a movie is the greatest movie ever made and your expectations are so high that when you see the movie you think, “Well, it was alright.” Same with New Year's Eve. If you go into to New Years not expecting much you will probably have a great night.

My plans are to hang out with my almost 2 and 6 years old nephews. You are probably thinking that will end at 7 p.m. Nope. These kids are on some crazy rock and roll schedule with their night owl parents and the kids will probably put me to bed.

This will probably be a great New Year's because I know I can expect lots of tickles, hugs, kisses, rounds of hide and seek and diaper changes. These type expectations probably won’t let me down.

Whatever happened so great on New Years anyway originally that set the standard so high? Is it like Fat Tuesday? Everyone knows they plan on dieting as soon as the New Year rolls around so this is the last chance to eat up?

The worst New Year's Eve I ever spent was on the millennium! I was a flight attendant at the time and laid over in I thought, “Well, at least I can go have a glass of wine or dinner with the crew.” The crew turned out to be a PDA gay couple and me. No one wants to hang out with a PDA couple gay or straight! And the hotel was having a narcotics and AA convention that night and had closed the bar. Not to mention, if you want to know how to age very quickly-- do a lot of drugs. These people looked BAD!

I hoped that this was not a sign of the year to come!

I can’t even remember 2000 so it must not have been too bad. Not like 2007. 2007 has been horrible for me personally because I lost my dad/best friend suddenly from dental surgery. One of my college roommate’s melanoma returned and other friends have lost their dad or are currently fighting for their dad’s life.

But I did have great things happen too in 2007-appearing on The TODAY Show and other shows promoting Princess Bubble. Taking a new job and seeing how deeply my friends loved me during my tragedy and recently receiving a MacBook from my sister and brother-in-law. The jackpot of Christmas gifts!

My advice to you this New Year's Eve with or without sweetheart-expect nothing! Think of it as a regular Monday night before a Tuesday you don’t have to work and you will have a great time. Even if you end up soaking in the tub with tabloids and a glass of wine. (My favorite thing to do-next to sitting on the beach.)

Happily Ever After and Happy New Years from us at www.PrincessBubble.com
New Release, Princess Bubble, Strikes Chord with ’s 51% SINGLE WOMEN WHO, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY, OUTNUMBER MARRIED WOMEN
, December 28, 2007—This New Years almost 90 million Americans will celebrate the romantic holiday single. Two successful prince-less princesses show the world that being a stuffy Old Maid does not have to be "in the cards" for single woman today! Susan Johnston and Kimberly Webb offer girls of all ages updated version of the traditional fairy tale. No longer a "Damsel in Distress," this princess travels the world, helps others, and finds "happily ever after" even before she finds her Prince!

With wisdom gleaned from their careers as single, globe-trotting flight attendants, first-time authors Susan Johnston and Kimberly Webb have crafted a modern-day book that celebrates singleness. A contemporary fairy tale for all ages, Princess Bubble was written to reduce the overwhelming sense of failure, self-doubt, and despair that some single women face.

"Knowing how low self-esteem and depression plague many single females, we wanted to spread the message that ‘happily ever after’ can occur even before Prince Charming arrives. . . or even if he never does," said Webb.

"We’re definitely not anti-Prince," said (whose college nickname was "Bubble"). "We’re not anti-family or anti-marriage, if anything we’re anti-‘Damsel in Distress.’ Our message—the single life can also be a fairy tale. The End!"

Princess Bubble stars a princess who is confused by the traditional fairy tale messages that say she must find her "prince" before she can live "happily ever after." Princess Bubble dons her "thinking crown" to research traditional fairy tales, interviews married girlfriends, and even takes counsel from her mother, who advises her to sign up at FindYourPrince.com. With a little help from her fairy godmother (this is still a fairy tale after all), Ms. Bubble discovers that "living happily ever after" is not about finding a prince. "True happiness," the book reveals, "is found by loving God, being kind to others, and being comfortable with who you are already!"


check out www.PrincessBubble.com

Review of Princess BubbleAuthor: Susan Johnston and Kimberly Webb PrincessBubble.comReview by D. Prince

H ow do we raise confident girls is the question most parents face today with all the mixed messages from the media and society in general about beauty, attaining happiness and success? If you take to heart the messages from the media and all of the fairytales, the way to true happiness is to be rescued by a prince and live happily ever after. Many little girls buy into that from the time they're old enough to read. After all, it's a fairytale. But wait, there are alternatives, the new message being that you can have a successful life and live happily ever after all on your own.

The authors of a new book, Princess Bubble, who as single women, realized that they already had a great life and didn't need to be rescued. Like Princess Bubble, the southern authors Susan Johnston and Kimberly Webb are flight attendants who travel the world and have had many life experiences that lead to finding an alternative to "happily ever after." Princess Bubble in her desperation to find the right man and live happily ever after even joins Find Your Prince.com...but realized she was not trapped or had wicked stepsisters, but that she lead a pretty good life all on her own. The message really is to embrace all that you are and maybe realize that you can have that happily ever in your own way, that it is reachable for all of us...sans prince. If you find a prince, that's alright, but there's nothing wrong with being alone and happy.

I read a review where a father had concerns, "I wonder how you'd feel if the reverse idea were in this book: that boys don't need girls, that a man doesn't need a woman, that a man should find ways to be happy without a woman and forget about the opposite sex. I might be wrong, but, to me, this book is scary. I wonder about its motivation. It appears anti-male and propagandistic." Surely, he's reading way too much into the book, and missing the healthy message being sent out to young girls - that you should embrace the life you have and do all the things that bring you passion and joy, even if it's without a prince...it's by no means anti-men or anti-marriage, but an alternative message that lets young girls know it's okay to be self-sufficient and not be trapped in the linear expectations of the fairytales.

Princess Bubble is a 35-page, cute, illustrated book that can be read in a few minutes. It comes with adorable drawing from children around the world. I recommend this book to all girls old enough to read and retain the message that love and happiness comes from the inside; that strength and confidence comes from loving and being who you are and not chasing after some ideal. Of course, we older girls, sometimes, also need to be reminded of this message. "Our message is not anti-Prince," says Johnston on a segment of NBC's Today's Woman."..it's anti-'Damsel in Distress. We want every girl to know that they're a princess, that they're beautiful, they're valuable, that, they can have fulfilling lives..."

Princess Bubble Tips her Tiara to All who Serve us During the Holidays.
I, Susan Johnston, am no longer a flight attendant; but I flew for 18 years. I know there are many, many professions that require workers to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day or other holidays. Nurses, doctors, firemen, police officers, wait staff, hotel employees, all airport personnel…. work holidays.
As a flight attendant, when I was flying we received no holiday pay. That has changed at Delta; but the pay cuts the flight attendants have taken over the past few years have been extremely hard for many to handle. The cost of living has risen while their salaries have crashed. In addition to less money there is more stress! Since 9-11, the public has had to deal with much more in security that many times they (the passengers) tend to be ticking time bombs themselves which seem to be set to blow up once in flight.
As a passenger, you may think, "Well, I have had some less than perfect flight attendants." You may very well have had this bad experience. But, please remember many times your first flight is the crew’s 4th or 5th flight, many times the crew has been rerouted unexpectedly and not made it to a child’s event or have slept a few quick hours in an airport chair somewhere and not eaten in hours.
Please remember as you travel or use the services of the people working this holiday to wish the workers a "Merry Christmas." Thank these people for being at work to serve you so you can celebrate.
Christmas is the birthday of Christ. Christ humbled himself to be a lowly baby in the manger to serve the world. He showed us the greatest leader is a servant. The best gift we can give this Christmas is our time, kindness and consideration to our family and all those around us.
Princess Bubble learns in her fairy tale that true happiness comes from, "Loving God, helping others and liking who you are already." Turns out the path to your own "happily ever after" will make others around you happy too!
Have a wonderful Christmas and thank you every holiday worker! I am not working this holiday and I am so excited! But, this is our first Christmas without my father and I know that will be hard for my family. If you are missing someone in your family this season or missing being with your family because you are working-please know our heart and prayers go out to you!
Merry Christmas and thank you to all!!
Susan and Kim (Princess Bubble authors)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBknm-_7IBI

What I have Learned about God from being an Aunt.

I have two precious nephews. They always teach me so much and have really made me realize more the way God sees us. I am sure that every day as a parent you experience these feelings; but I do not have children to compare that experience to.

As an aunt, I search the internet for things I think the boys will want that they have not even thought about wanting. I think about God knowing all the wonderful things He wants to give me that I have not even thought to ask for.

I pray for my boys (ages 22 months and almost 6 years) everyday and pray about trials I know they will face that they have no idea the future will hold. (Like rejection, heart brake, waiting to hear if they got in the college of their choice…Auburn-of course!) God knows the future and knows what we will face and probably cringes when He sees “This is where she goofs up again.”

Recently, I hosted Thanksgiving and had picked up a few toys for the boys. The eldest boy was disappointed that he did not get whatever toy he had in his mind I was going to give him. He acted like a spoiled baby. It was Thanksgiving! A time to be thankful for what we have! Christmas and his birthday are in December. I am planning on giving him many more things for both of those events. This reminded me of the way I feel God should give me things and answer my prayers on my timing schedule.
I love these sweetie pies so deeply and would do anything for them. I am so thrilled when I ask, “Who loves you? “and they both answer quickly, “SuSu!” I know the Lord is also touched when we love him and recognize how much He adores us!

I know there are many more lessons to learn and I am so blessed to be the aunt of the cutest boys in the world (my little princes) and hope you too have a niece or nephew half as precious to you!

Susan Johnston co-author of Princess Bubble

Happy Thanksgiving!
We at Princess Bubble have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!
We have had so many friends work tirelessly to help us spread our message- "True happiness is found by loving God, being kind to others, and being comfortable with who you are already!"
Kim and I have made so many memories and have been touched so deeply by all the mothers (both single and married), single girls, and petite princesses who have supported us and helped us tell the world about Princess Bubble!
Little girls have told us, "I made my bed and helped my mother and that made me happy." Married women have said, "My marriage improved when I remembered I can not expect my husband to be everything to me. I have to find that from within and then share it with him." And of course the single girls all tell us they are Princess Bubble. These comments means so much to us and fuel our fire to keep plugging away!
We have also experienced loss this year which has crippled us but we have made it through. I, Susan, lost my father and best friend suddenly after dental surgery and Princess Bubble lost two of our favorite little princesses Caroline Kirk and Shelby Fulton.
I know many of you two have lost favorite people you will miss this holiday and everyday. We are also thankful to the service men and women who have given their lives and time to defend us.
As I refelect back on how much I have and how much I miss, I am reminded that happiness is not a destination but the journey. Please take a moment this holiday to count your blessing and tell those you love how thankful you are for them and what they mean to you.
We are so thankful to all of you who have supported us and loved Princess Bubble. Have a safe and bubbly holiday and as always we wish you all "Happily Ever After"
Gobble! Gobble!
Susan and Kim (two turkeys)