Saturday, April 30, 2016

Leap of Faith Day

The ninth novella in the series is here...

Welcome back to Holiday, USA, small town America, where nothing happens, except holidays... and a little romance, if the hero and heroine trust God.

Her life a mess, EMT Belle Carlisle wants a fresh start. She's lived in Holiday a few years and likes it well enough. She's happy, mostly. 'Be Bold' is her personal aphorism, but it was never intended to include asking a man on a date.

Born and raised in Holiday, Vince Timmons is certain the prettiest EMT on the planet could never be interested in a younger man. Besides, his life is a mess. Not to mention the woman he pursued for over a year humiliated him in public. The last thing he needs is to fall for another woman who doesn't want him.

Man looks on the outward appearance and judges accordingly. God looks on the heart...


Available in eformat through Kindle Direct
http://www.amazon.com/Leap-Faith-Day-Holiday-Book-ebook/dp/B01EX4Y2IO

Or in paperback in the Holiday USA Anthology 2016 edition available in 2017.

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Almost ready...

Leap of Faith Day is almost ready. This time, I'd like to share here the Dedication and Acknowledgments page. I don't think most people see it, as Kindle usually pops the book in on Chapter One.

Dedication
To God the Great Provider, including angels on earth. Thank you to all those who see the child in need and provide. My gratitude to my Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, for being both peace giver and warrior, for not caring about the muck and the mire in His effort to rescue His lost sheep.


Acknowledgements
Thank you to Provident Films, the makers of War Room, and Rik Swartzwelder and Team Old Fashioned for kindly giving me permission to reference their wonderful movies in my Holiday, USA series. I pray my storytelling honors theirs. I'm grateful for their courage and inspiration.

Thank you to John McDougall, Chaplain, U.S. Army, for giving me permission to mention his book, Jesus Was an Airborne Ranger. It inspired and strengthened me in my battle to follow my Commander, the Warrior Jesus.

May God continue to bless them in their efforts.

 

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Final stages...

Only a little more work to go and Leap of Faith Day will be ready for publishing. GodTube encouraged sharing this, and I appreciate the reminder:

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Links to share Saturday

Beth Trissel shares intriguing herb lore (note the pounded frogs) :
https://bethtrissel.wordpress.com/2016/04/19/to-be-taken-with-a-mixture-of-pounded-frogs-herbal-lore-2/

I thoroughly enjoyed Allison Maruska's post, "Writers, Prepare to be Wrong," over at A Writer's Path:
https://ryanlanz.com/2016/04/21/writers-prepare-to-be-wrong/

God bless.

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Desert Breeze Publishing

Donna Keevers Driver's debut book is one of the new releases. She's the creative soul who made several memes for me with quotes from me and my books.
This last one is a picture Donna snapped. Amazing. Best wishes to Donna on her debut.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Posts About Me 9

This is the nineth in a series of posts about me. I hope these help you decide my books are worth the read. I also hope they help save time for those who have no interest in my books. I know there's nothing more disappointing than expecting one kind of book and discovering what I'm reading isn't something I'm interested in reading. Not all books in a single genre are the same. Authors in the same genre are as different as football players on the same team and cupcake bakers. A lot of similarities but no two are alike.

My love my cover artists: Carol Fiorillo and Ruth Mower.

Carol is my cover artist for Desert Breeze Publishing. She's done all my DBP covers, except for the free novella Impossibilities. The cover was matched to other authors' free novellas.

Ruth is my cover artist for my Holiday, USA series. She's a professional photographer and uses her own pictures to create the covers.

I decided to create anthologies of my Holiday, USA novellas so I could have actual copies of my covers. Virtual is nice, but computers crash. In my case, lightning struck close to home and blew up the processor inside my computer. Melted the motherboard. Messy.

Since I loved Carol's covers for my novels, it only made sense to ask if she'd do my anthology covers, incorporating the novella covers.

I endeavor to not visualize in too much detail what I want the cover to look like. A general idea is given to my artists. They have their own ideas. They've both managed to marry my ideas with what works into gorgeous covers I'm proud to call my own. Thank you!


Saturday, April 16, 2016

Links to share Saturday

Marketing FAIL by Bill Taysom (C-suite: CEO, CPO, etc.):
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/marketing-fail-bill-taysom

Sara Wolf, over on "A Writer's Path," shared The Average Earnings of Authors:
https://ryanlanz.com/2016/04/14/the-average-earnings-of-authors-2/

"The Writer's Refuge" shared How to Give Your Writing Routine a Creative Boost:
https://thewritersrefuge.wordpress.com/2016/04/10/how-to-give-your-writing-routine-a-creative-boost/

Looking for a cozy mystery? katiescottagebooks recommends "To Helvetica and Back," by Paige Shelton:
https://katiescottagebooks.wordpress.com/2016/04/15/to-helvetica-and-back-by-paige-shelton/

Genesis 5020 shared God's Presence In Our Lives:
https://5020genesis.wordpress.com/2016/04/15/gods-presence-in-our-lives/

God bless.

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Posts About Me 8

This is the eighth in a series of posts about me. I hope these help you decide my books are worth the read. I also hope they help save time for those who have no interest in my books. I know there's nothing more disappointing than expecting one kind of book and discovering what I'm reading isn't something I'm interested in reading. Not all books in a single genre are the same. Authors in the same genre are as different as football players on the same team and cupcake bakers. A lot of similarities but no two are alike.

The Holiday, USA series was intended to be a series of novellas, one a month. HA! Live and learn.

I've mentioned before that I struggle with dyslexia. I prefer short stories to long. I prefer longer Regency stories and shorter contemporary. All these contemporary characters crowded my head. I also love the holidays. I always dreamed of decorating my house for each holiday. Someday. Holiday, USA gave me the opportunity combine several ideas. I love ongoing series where previous characters make an appearance.

I also came to the realization that I may never have a place of my own, so I created one.

Holiday, USA is a town of 7,000 to 10,000 people. I wanted it big enough so everyone didn't actually know everyone but small enough that most people were connected. In one of the stories I mentioned that the Six Degrees to Kevin Bacon was excessive. It's small enough to have a centralized downtown and big enough to have their own hospital to serve the town.

The Holiday, USA series gives me the opportunity to spotlight a single couple with a common landscape for all the couples, though Carson McDonald and Terra Connor (Christmas Present) were an exception.

It all started with Happy New Year? The following link will take you to the page on this site that shares the blurbs and covers with each book:

http://laurelhawkes.blogspot.com/p/holiday-usa.html


The next novella is Leap of Faith Day. Edits are in the works. Add a book cover and it will be added to the other novellas available on Kindle. For those who prefer paperback, the four novellas published during the year are gathered into one anthology available through CreateSpace and Amazon.

The next About Me post will tell you about my cover artists.

Saturday, April 9, 2016

Saterday Link Sharing

I think this is useful information for anyone. I adapt it to the business side of my writing. Marketing with Bill Taysom:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/common-marketing-failure-mindsets-bill-taysom

Donna Hatch writes in defense of Ballroom Regencies:
http://donnahatch.com/intertwining-fantasy-and-history/

Many bloggers are participating in the A to Z Challenge, one of them is Plucking Of My Heartstrings. I was fascinated by "B," which was for Bat Conservation:
http://pluckingofmyheartstrings.com/2016/04/02/b-is-for-bat-conservation-international-atozchallenge/

Always good to see friends succeed, Patricia Johns and her Open Faucet:
http://patriciajohnsromance.com/2016/04/08/open-faucet/

God bless.

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Breathe...

Yesterday, I participated in Writers In The Storm's writing event. This is their third. I enjoy them.

Having said that, my brain is fried. However, the good news is I added 4707 words to Leap of Faith Day. Finished! And sent it to my editor.

As my reward, I'm reading Diane Gaston's latest Regency romance Bound by One Scandalous Night, which I have been patiently saving until I finished the novella. Diane has been a wonderful encourager in my writing.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Celebrating...

Sometimes, it's important to have a fun party and rejoice. Other times, one needs to take a moment to reflect and thank God for a life.

Twenty-seven years ago, around this date, a black ball of fur was born. The vet, rather than euthanizing the newborns, had made an agreement with the local pet store to sell unwanted puppies. Weeks later, when they were old enough, the pups were put on display at the pet store.

At this same time, I'd decided to take on the responsibility of owning a dog, for several reasons:

*I wanted to be a wife and mother, but I had no patience with babies. A crying baby triggered rage in less than a minute. I wanted to be a good mother, so I needed to learn to control my anger with a creature I couldn't control but loved. A dog was my solution, a baby step, so to speak.

*I wanted a walking companion.

*I've always wanted a dog.

I had no idea the innumerable lessons God had in store for me.

At the pet store, one evening, one particular puppy followed me as I walked around the enclosure. I dreamed about her and even named her in the dream. However, I was determined to make sure I found the exact right dog for me. I was going to visit the pound and the Humane Society. Besides, it had been a couple of days, so maybe the puppy was already adopted. I decided to check, just in case. I'd visit the pet store and then the other places. You can probably guess what happened.

The puppy was still there. I took her out and placed her on the ground. She came to me. I picked her up, set her on the ground a few feet away, and she came to me. I did it a third time. She came to me. I cuddled her, and yes, she snuggled up and stole my heart.

She taught me that anger frightened her. She would freeze, unwilling to move or respond in any way. I had to control my anger. As she grew older, she would hide when I was angry. I discovered the power of anger. I also discovered it could serve a purpose. I kept a number of unfriendly stray dogs away by directing that anger.

She also taught me about sulking and letting go. It was an unexpected lesson and took me a while to learn what she was trying to teach me. I would be angry over her disobedience. She would wait and then bring me a string bone to play tug-o-war. I discovered she also became mad at me. I would wait a little, and then offer her the string bone to play tug-o-war. Playing tug-o-war was our way of saying that everything was okay. It was okay to be mad, but we never waited too long to offer to play the game. She would also notice when someone else made me mad. Offering to play the game was her way of wanting to make sure everything was all right between us. Sort of a "you're not mad at me, are you?" No, my darling, I wasn't.

She taught me the value of caring for a pet as she aged. I washed soiled sheets at three in the morning and learned to use warm water to wash her off. I loved her all the more for caring for her through those final years.

She taught me about silliness.

She taught me the wonder of calming simply by stroking her soft ears, running my fingers through her thick fur.

She taught me about gentle touch.

She taught me the importance of being the pack leader, no mushiness, no wishy-washiness. The importance to her that I be in charge.

She taught me of her pricelessness in simply being herself.

My counselor once teased me that I shouldn't trust her so much because a piece of meat would distract her. I assured him that protecting me wasn't her job. He gaped. Her job was to be my early warning system. She'd let me know when anyone came home. She let me know if someone was at the door, as I often didn't hear the doorbell. She let me know if someone was walking down the hall. She let me know if someone was coming up behind us when we were out for a walk. It was her job to warn me and my job to protect both of us. I did my best.

She taught me to stop accepting belittling. I had no trouble correcting anyone if they insulted her or called her an unkind name.

She taught me about eating healthy. I was willing to take care of her while I neglected myself. I wasn't good at translating the care from her to me, but I understood I needed to learn to do it.

She was scary smart.

She made me laugh.

In a few months, it's been ten years since I sent her home. Not a choice I ever wanted to make. Seventeen was remarkably old for a dog her size. I'm grateful, every day, God allowed her to stay with me as long as she did.

I could have done better. Wish I'd done better. I was better at the end than I was at the beginning.

I still miss her desperately.

Sometimes, I pray to God and ask Him to tell her I love her and miss her and to throw a ball to her for me. She was mine, and I was hers. She was my daily living reminder that God loved me, my precious angel sent from God for me.


Saturday, April 2, 2016

Links to Share Saturday...

Someone on one of my FB group pages shared this beautiful blog post:
http://alizanaomi.com/on-the-day-that-i-saw-jesus/

Donna Hatch shares a clean free short story on her blog, worth the read:
http://donnahatch.com/when-ship-bells-ring-short-story-by-donna-hatch/

Marketing specialist Bill Taysom offers advice on "Purpose Driven Brands" (I adapt it to me as a writer):
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/purpose-driven-brands-bill-taysom

The Writer's Refuge shared "Finding Inspiration in Your Own Words."
https://thewritersrefuge.wordpress.com/2016/03/30/finding-inspiration-in-your-own-words/

God bless.