At last, the day has come!

I'm bubbling over with excitement! UPS delivered the box of my ten copies of Chicken Soup for the Soul What I Learned from the Cat yesterday evening. It's now available in book stores everywhere. Look for my story, Romeow and JuliCat, on page 301. The cat on the cover bears a strong resemblance to my Feathers. I wonder if she's been modeling on the side? Instead of spending yesterday evening writing, I labored over making a T-shirt with the book cover, the title of my story, and a photograph of Sebastian (Mr. Romeow himself) on the front. I'm wearing it today, with a blouse over it. (Can't be in a law office wearing a white iron-on T-shirt!) I found the Avery iron-on kit at Office Depot on my way home from the FWA meeting on Saturday. Then stopped at Walgreen's where they have T-shirts 5/$10. I didn't know my HP printer has a mirror image selection to print everything backward so it comes out frontward when you iron it onto the shirt (or hat, or tote bag, or...). Cool...but a bit scary. Two people at my office have read my story so far. I hope it prompts them to buy a copy for themselves. One co-worker said he'll buy several for Christmas gifts. Great idea! I've already posted a review on Barnes & Noble. Check it out, too! http://my.barnesandnoble.com/communityportal/Review.aspx?page=Review&reviewid=1217061 If my friends buy copies of the book and want me to have a book signing, I'll host a special Book Signing Tea at my house one Saturday afternoon. Date & Time TBA. Or maybe on Monday, 9-28-09, since my office is closed that day for Yom Kippur. If that would be more convenient, let me know!

Fearless by Max Lucado Released Today!

The by-line of this title is: Imagine Your Life Without Fear. I never imagined my life without fear because fear has been my constant companion. I cling to my fears, phobias, and frets because they are, after all, legitimate. Or so I thought until reading FEARLESS by Max Lucado. Some fear, Lucado points out, is good. Not stepping in front of an oncoming truck for fear of being run over is acceptable. But our uninvited Loch Ness monsters are not.

Fears, like vampires, can't live in the light. When we expose them to our trust in Christ, they scamper away, seeking their dark hiding places.

Max explains that there's a difference between prudence and paranoia. Prudence being caution, but paranoia being the obsessive side of our fear. Example: Prudence washes with soap. Paranoia avoids all human contact. Christ warned that things will get worse, but admonished us not to be alarmed. We can trust in Him to carry us through any calamity.

To my delight, there is a Discussion Guide in the back of the book. This makes a great tool for the Professional Women's Bible Study that I attend every Friday morning before work. I'll certainly recommend it to Grace, our study leader.

FEARLESS by Max Lucado gets five big stars in my review of this excellent reminder to put our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and kick our "hell-hatched, joy-stealing" anxieties to the curb!

Book Review - "Rick & Bubba's Guide" Published by Thomas Nelson

Wondering what to give that special couple for a wedding gift? Or anniversary gift? Traditionally, the appropriate gift for the first wedding anniversary is paper. What better use of paper than Rick & Bubba's Guide to the Almost Nearly Perfect Marriage? This book, co-written by Martha Bolton (former comedy writer for Bob Hope), isn't your typical, dry lecture on how to have a happy marriage. I always thought a study in Proverbs 31 and/or Ephesians 5 was good enough. But Rick & Bubba's Guide incorporate these two Biblical references into life applications with amusing stories of their own experiences. And for Rick and Sherry to give us an insight into the horror of losing a child is, in my opinion, worth the price of the book. Theirs might be the only marriage I know of that has survived that tragic loss. I pray their faith in Christ will continue to carry them forward. I highly recommend this guide, although their wives Sherry and Betty should be held accountable for allowing the secretive Book of Blame to fall under Rick & Bubba's curious eyes. :-) (See the Bonus Chapter.)

Hearts Crossing - A Work in Progress

Just a quick note to let my friends know I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. I've been busy, busy, busy furiously writing my new novella, Hearts Crossing, for the White Rose Publishing contest.

Travis Clark asks his best friend, "Am I the only career criminal who has never broken the law?" Faced with a student's accusations, he must contend with a past indiscretion that has come to haunt him.

Bailey St. John thought she'd finally found the man of her dreams. But her image of Travis is dashed as her best friend, watching the news report, asks, "Bailey, is your new beau a perv?"

More to come! B-)

New Adventures on the Horizon!

Having a story accepted by Chicken Soup for the Soul has pumped up my writing energy! Look for my piece, Romeow & Julie Cat, in Chicken Soup for the Soul - Lessons Learned From the Cat, which will be available September 22, 2009. It's a true account of when my tuxedo cat, Sebastian, fell in love with the femme feline next door.

I've set aside my current novel, "Obedient Heart," to enter White Rose Publishing's writing contest. It's a 25,000 word paint-by-number novel, and the cover here says it all. White Rose has set the parameters of the story: it's set in contemporary times, the characters must look like the couple on the cover, he's an English teacher, and she's a landscape architect. He's one of eight children, and she's an only child. He's lost his faith, and she's beginning to doubt hers. White Rose allows some creative freedom; like naming the characters, choosing what grade the man teaches, and the reason for their diminished faith. Oh, and the man has a deep, dark secret! OooEEEooo. The prize is a publishing contract with White Rose. B-)

I've written five chapters and am already emotionally attached to the two main characters.

So...watch for the adventures of Travis Clark and Bailey St. John as they meet, fall in love, have a spat, break up, and reconcile, all while fighting a yet-to-be-named foe.

Jack and Jennifer, of "Obedient Heart," have agreed to take a break from my constant editing of their story, to give new life to Travis and Bailey. No, I don't have imaginary friends. But one of the many things I've learned as a writer is that our characters come to life and seem to develop their own personalities. I found that to be true with characters in plays, too, way back when I performed in the theatre.

Keep me in your prayers as I move forward with a new story and--dare I say it?--hope for a publishing contract?

HEZEKIAH'S PRAYER

Hezekiah prayed before the LORD and said, "O LORD, the God of Israel, who are enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.

“Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God.

"Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men's hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them.

"Now, O LORD our God, I pray, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O LORD, are God."

— 2 Kings 19:15-19

We read in 2 Kings about the city of Lachish being desimated by the army of Sennacherib. God allowed this because of their unimaginable immorality. What is unimaginable immorality? They worshipped idols, like we do (ref. the recent funeral of pop musician and child predator Michael Jackson, the TV program "American Idol,"). They shed innocent blood, like we do (ref. Roe v. Wade). They engaged in sexual promiscuity, like we do (ref. sitcoms, movies, music, and the divorce rate). They denied the existence of God Almighty, like we do (ref. myths of global warming, Darwin's theory taught as truth, increase of cults, and anything the ACLU undertakes).

We should be praying this prayer for our nation with the same fervency as Hezekiah did, if we want to be delivered from God's wrath. God allowed the faithful believers to suffer the atrocities alongside the paganists. Do we want to suffer the coming destruction, or do our part in bringing our nation back to its roots of worshipping God, our creator. Yes, He loves us. Yes, He is long-suffering. But how long will He abide us?

Please send this prayer to your representatives, senators (local & federal), and to the president, as well!

Higher Hope - Robert Whitlow

This novel, set in Savannah, didn't have the hook I expected. Perhaps it's because this is Book Two in The Tides of Truth series. If I'd read Book One, Deeper Water, the characters might have grabbed my interest. I think I found myself somewhat invested in the story by Chapter Eight. The overuse of the word "was" annoyed me like a pesky fly buzzing around my head. And here's another published author who uses verbs as speaker attributes. When I'm not selling real estate, I work for a law firm. I found it hard to believe that this Christian girl, Tami, could find two Christian men (two SINGLE Christian men) working for the same firm. Most of the story seemed unrealistic to me, and the resolution in the end left me hanging in a fog of vagueness. I had no idea which of the two young men she chose, and really didn't care. Being a glass-is-half-full person, I always look for the sunshine that follows the rain. The one redeeming feature of Higher Hope is toward the end of the book when Sister Dabney explains what higher hope means: "It's hope that can't be destroyed by what happens on earth. Circumstances of life will challenge it, voices will deny it, but its walls can't be breached unless we open the gate." Absolutely true and an encouragement to me, personally. The realistic elements of the book are the subtle ways God intervenes for His purposes. God worked through the elderly lady with whom Tami lives and works as caregiver to show Tami He wants us to fellowship with Him, no matter our age or circumstances. He can heal us, as Tami saw when she visited a family friend in her home town. And He will defend His workers when we are persecuted, but it will always be in His time and His M.O. I would give this book two and a half stars. Others might enjoy it, but it didn't float my boat.