So these few from my cousin's wedding shower I attended last week will have to suffice!
My favorite is the punch bowl.
This post lacks my usual quantity of images, but between working and preparing for the INCH Homeschool conference I am attending this weekend, I did not have much time for getting photos ;)
So these few from my cousin's wedding shower I attended last week will have to suffice! My favorite is the punch bowl.
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A few weeks ago, we had a large estate come in to the auction and there were tons, I mean tons, of baskets. There was every shape, color and size you could imagine. I like baskets in general, but I don't really have a lot of room for them, nor can I come up with a lot of really useful, creative ways to use them. Baskets don't usually sell well, so we used a lot of them as box lot boxes to hold assortments of product. But we still had a zillion left over (that may be a slight exaggeration :) and most of them were small, not big enough to be used to hold product. Some of them I grouped together in a large lot, which will probably only bring the minimum bid of three dollars. So I took all the one that were around 8-10 inches in diameter home. I love baskets of flowers, but I am hopeless with keeping house plants alive, so I couldn't line them with plastic and use them that way. (If you have a green thumb with house plants, these make great country pots!) So I came up with another idea... I took this cute, rustic basket and cut the bottom out of it. It was hard work with regular scissors, pruners would probably have worked better. This is what I ended up with. I just threw the bottom away as I couldn't think of anything to use it for. If one of you comes up with an idea, let me know :) And this was the final product!! We have lots of daffodils growing at our new house. I simply gathered the stems and blossoms together and slid the basket over them. Now it looks like I have a basket of flowers in my garden!
I have quite a stock of baskets now. Some of them will end up the garden and I will probably find other uses for the rest. You can find nice baskets at Goodwill and thrift stores for little of nothing. Have an idea for another use for those unwanted baskets? I'd love to hear it! The words are flowing so fast you can hardly keep up. Your fingers are flying over the keyboard. You are so excited! The scene is coming together, you know exactly where this character is going to end up and how they are going to get there. The whole next chapter is already written out in your head. It seems that the words won't stop coming. And then…the river dries up. Your fingers hover over the keyboard, waiting for the next sentence and it doesn't come. You sit back in your chair and stare blankly at the screen in front of you. Ten seconds ago you had the rest of that half filled page all planned, and the words just left you. I'm sure any of my fellow writers can identify with the moment when that brilliantly planned out scene just disappears and you can't think of a single word. I hate those moments. It is so frustrating to have your train of thought leave like that. Sometimes it stops because of a distraction such as someone calling your name, slamming a door or the pots and pans clanking together in the next room. Sometimes, there is no explanation. So what do you do when you really want/need to continue writing and your brain refuses to cooperate? Here are a few things I have found to be helpful.
Which one(s) of these things has worked for you? Is there anything I didn't mention that you have found to be helpful in battling writer's block?
I highly doubt anyone will get through today's post without saying "awww...." at least once! (If you did get through the post without succumbing to the cuteness, please leave me a comment!)
Last night, after I got home from working at the auction hall, I realized Friday was the next day and I had no pictures! Armed with my camera, I went to see what I could find...thinking I would take a *few* to get by. A few turned into nearly 900 by the time I finished, about an hour later. After another two hours of sorting, lightening, darkening etc.., I had narrowed 900 down to 45. Ten minutes later I had painfully eliminated 25 of those to come up with my 20 for the post. Then I had to apply my logo and upload. Quite a process, but I had fun and I'm really happy with some of the shots I got. I have several to add to my favorites folder. So though it was difficult to choose just one favorite, there was no resisting the cute little guy who has won the #1 spot this week. Isn't he cute!? He was sound asleep and had no idea I was there until my camera clicked several times. #2 was really hard to choose as well, but I was so pleased with the quality of the flying bird. I was attempting to get some shots of the baby geese and their parents when this beautiful bright blue bird flew into view. There were two of them and this one repeatedly dove into the water, catching fish or insects I'm supposing. It was fascinating to watch and I was fortunate to get such a clear shot...it was extremely fast! #3 is the empty robin egg shell. I used to collect these when I was younger :) I also like the ones of the geese and the last picture of Chayton makes me laugh :) What are your favorites? Have you seen any baby animals out yet? The weather is finally starting to actually feel like spring and it is nice to be able to walk outside without grabbing a jacket first. :) We are all enjoying the change of pace. Last year, we moved a quarter mile down the road from the farmhouse we had lived in for seventeen years. The house we moved to was the house my great-grandparents built as their retirement home. All of us love the house and though it can be a bit inconvenient to walk a quarter mile to do animal chores, we like it here. We are surrounded on three sides by a beautiful cedar swamp. It's quite a change to be living in the woods! At our old house, we had shade trees, but other than that we were surrounded by fields and buildings. Dad has big plans for grooming the woods into a park like atmosphere. He and the boys got a start on that a few evenings ago, with Lydia's help, while Mom tried out her new grill on the deck(my personal favorite part of the house) and we enjoyed supper outside. I was behind the camera :) I wanted to share a few pictures of the evening. I know it's not photo Friday, but I do have a favorite...I just love the first picture :) Levi hard at work burning brush and Seth perched in the tree trimming branches. Dad raking leaves and burning brush Mom trying her new grill. Maple is waiting for handouts, which she usually gets! I've always been a steak lovin' girl and these were amazing! My favorite part of the new house! The patio table and chairs are a new addition. Lydia watching the fire They really got a good fire going Trying to pull down the branch Seth chain sawed. Seth filling the fire pit Do you have a favorite part of spring? A special memory? A favorite spring activity?
I am excited to have author Rebekah A. Morris joining us today! I have mentioned Rebekah before and shared a few of her books, several of which are on my Recommended Books page. I have read five of Rebekah's books and I have one or two more waiting in my Kindle :) The Triple Creek Ranch series was the first of Rebekah's books I read. A lovely series for all ages. My favorite of her works so far has been Gift From the Storm. I highly recommend this book.
Welcome to Heritage Literature, Rebekah! Tell us a little about yourself. Hi Lauren, Thanks for inviting me over. I’m a homeschool graduate, an aunt to six energetic, fun-loving nieces and nephews, an author of ten books and counting, a writing teacher, a hand quilter and an extremely outgoing person. I’m the youngest in my family with a married older brother and an older sister. My home is in the southwest corner of the Show-Me state where I’ve lived nearly all my life. One of my favorite pastimes is reading. If I had a chance, I’d read new books every week. And I dream of traveling to every state in the country someday. How did you get started into writing? Well, that’s a question I’ve often wondered about myself. It was not when I was young. In fact, I hated writing assignments during school! (Though I did enjoy making up stories to tell to my best friends or acting out.) I suppose what really got me interested in writing was after my graduation when some younger friends and I started writing “pretend” letters to each other like we lived during the early days of America. I’ve always loved history so that was fun. It wasn’t until I had written with several girls (each during a different era) that I realized just how much fun writing could be. But it wasn’t until almost four years after my graduation that my mom encouraged me to try writing a book. And it wasn’t until 6 years later that my first book “Home Fires of the Great War” was published. I’ll never forget that day. From that time on, I’ve been hooked. I can’t get enough stories written. J What inspired the Triple Creek series? This is a hard question to answer. I’m not exactly sure what inspired it. Perhaps it was my love of western life (I’m a city girl who dreams of living on a ranch some day.), my interest in three characters I created for an assignment, or perhaps it was something else. Whatever it was, I did not plan on writing a series when I started. I was only going to write one book. But it was too long, so it was going to be two. Then a friend asked, “Are you going to write three books since it is the Triple Creek Ranch?” Now I’m writing Book 5 with thoughts of Book 6 teasing my brain. What is the question you get asked the most in regards to being an author? The most often asked question is, “When is the next book coming out?” J But another common one is “How and where do you get your ideas for so many books?” My answer? Everywhere. Sometimes they just come to me. Other times I’ll have a thought about something and then I start playing the “what if” game and an entirely new situation appears. My readers have been a great help in my series with giving me any ideas they have, suggestions, things they want to know about different characters or just telling me things that they have done. It’s been a lot of fun. There have even been times when I woke up in the mornings and realized that the dream I just had would make an interesting idea. And what is even more fun is when a real life situation comes across your path and you just know you have to put it in your book. (I have found, however, that some people tend to think the real life stories are “too unreal” to have happen in a story.) What advice do you have for aspiring writers? There are several things I would tell a new or aspiring author. •Always remember that your writing is to glorify God. Never write anything even if you don’t plan to publish it, that you would be ashamed to let your family or Jesus Christ read. •Write about what you know. I’ve seen so many young writers jump into writing with some great ideas, only they really don’t know anything about them. Start with things you know! If you don’t know about what you want to write about, research! You have to be willing to work. •Make sure the ones who edit your work aren’t going to just say, “Oh, this is so wonderful!” You are going to need constructive criticism. Be open to take it. But that doesn’t mean you have to try to please everyone. J •And finally, enjoy what you do. Yes, sometimes writing is hard work, but if you don’t have a passion for what you do, your stories will be missing a vital part. Also, don’t expect it to all be easy. There is a quote on my blog which I like because it is so true, only I didn’t realize just how true until I had published a few books and was really writing. “Only amateurs say that they write for their own amusement. Writing is not an amusing occupation. It is a combination of ditch-digging, mountain-climbing, treadmill and childbirth. Writing may be interesting, absorbing, exhilarating, racking, relieving. But amusing? Never!” ~Edna Ferber What type of marketing/advertising have you done that you felt was the most successful for you? When it comes to marketing/advertising my books, I’m not so good. I would much rather spend my time writing a new story than promoting myself and my works. But, I have learned some things which have been helpful. Since I am self-published, I can set my prices and I have found that using the FREE promotion or even the count-down promotion for my kindle books has been a help. Also word of mouth is invaluable. But I have to keep reminding myself that it takes time. Most people have to see something over and over before they really think about buying it. That is true with books too. What other books have you written? It’s funny that you should ask me that right now. I can’t believe how many books I actually have published! Maybe I’m making up for not writing stories when I was young. J •Home Fires of the Great War (A story about home life during WWI) •The Unexpected Request (A western) •Pirates of Rocky Crag Bay and Other Stories (Short stories for children) •Lower Lights and Other Stories (Short stories for teens and up) •Triple Creek Ranch books 1-4 •The Graham Quartet and the Mysterious Strangers (Mystery book for any age) •Gift from the Storm (My newest book) Do you have any works in progress you'd like to share with us? Currently I am working on writing Triple Creek Ranch – 5. Right now it has no title other than book five, but I hope it will be published by fall of this year. And who knows when I’ll start a new story. J I always like having more than one story going on at once. Perhaps it will be Triple Creek Ranch book 6, or another Graham Quartet book or something completely new and different. Stay tuned. Where can people connect with you online? They can visit my blog at www.rsreadingroom.blogspot.com . I’m always happy to have a new reader come by. I update my blog every Friday morning, so stop by and take a look. They can also find me on Goodreads. Thanks for letting me come and share with you and your readers, Lauren. I’ve enjoyed it. Thank you for joining us, Rebekah! I enjoyed reading your answers to my questions and the helpful advice you shared.
Take a moment and visit Rebekah's blog. I enjoy reading the weekly installments she posts of some of her stories.
I was very excited to come home from work yesterday to find that my first copies of Hidden Treasure and Wedding Bells had arrived! Words can't describe the feeling of seeing books 1 and 2 of the series together! I couldn't wait to share this with you all, so I didn't follow my usual posting schedule :)
To celebrate the publication of TCCAS #2 I am giving away one copy of TCCAS #1-Rustlers and the Texas Trail and one copy of TCCAS #2-Hidden Treasure and Wedding Bells! One winner will receive both these books!!
How to enter: Using the form below, you have six tasks you can complete to get your name entered more than once. There is one free entry as well. If you already follow me on Google+, Goodreads and Pinterest, still enter your usernames. The same goes for my email followers. The giveaway will be open until May 24th. I will announce the winner on May 25th. Have fun!! My post is a little late this week. I usually have it ready a day or so ahead of time, but here I am at ten pm Friday evening putting everything together!
We were in Ohio last weekend attending a rabbit show where Levi and Lydia showed their rabbits. There were 1,000 rabbits there and even with so much competition, their rabbits did really well. The rabbit show was on Saturday, but we stayed in the motor home and visited one of the Dunkard Brethren churches on Sunday. We ended up having lunch with some friends and they took us on a tour of their beautifully landscaped property. I enjoyed their dogs and horses :) All of these pictures came from their home. Choosing a favorite this week was extremely difficult! But, the bleeding heart has to be #1. I have never taken a photo of a bleeding heart before, so I was excited to find one in bloom. I also like the pictures of the horse and Lydia and the very energetic black lab who stole Lydia's flipflop! And the last photo makes me laugh!! What are your favorites this week?
It has been quite awhile since I posted any music :) So for lack of anything else to post today, here is a beautiful Celtic song!
I usually have a bunch of posts planned ahead, but the posts I have ready cannot be posted yet for various reasons :) Enjoy! I am so excited to be revealing the cover and announcing the publication of TCCAS #2-Hidden Treasure and Wedding Bells!! TCCAS #2 was published on April 24th, approx. 56,000 words and 290 pages long! I'm thrilled to now have books 1 and 2 of The Christian Cowgirl Adventure Series available!! TCCAS #2 is available as a paperback and an eBook. Click the button below to view on Amazon Synopsis:
Amy Kentworthy is ready to settle back into normal ranch life on the Bar Double Diamond after a six month long cattle drive to Texas. However, her father, Clint, invites a sweet Christian lady named Jessica, who they met on the cattle drive, to visit the ranch. Amy senses she may be getting a new mother and three new siblings in the near future and struggles with her emotions. In the meantime, Amy's great uncle passes away, leaving his large estate to her. They are informed of a hidden treasure and are in a race against time and some unscrupulous men to locate it. Will Amy and her friends be able to figure out the clues Uncle Nathan cleverly created and thwart the thieves plans? What are Clint's intentions toward Jessica and what will her arrival mean for the future of Amy and the ranch? Join Amy and her friends as they embark on this new adventure! I can't wait to receive my first hard copies! I have something special planned for you all when they arrive! I want to thank my illustrator, Debbie, my editors, Alicia and Faith and my 3D cover designer Perry Elisabeth! You were all so helpful and encouraging! It was so easy for me to choose a favorite this week. I absolutely love the first picture of the herb tray. The second picture is next and then the silly ones of Maple :)
I am so happy to be able to photograph lovely blossoms again! I can't wait for the apple trees to bloom. Today I went to a small craft show at a church near us. Every year this church hosts a spring fling with a banquet and a bake sale, but this year they added crafters.
My aunt, Patty, suggested I try it, so I signed up. I took both my books and my pictures. It was a lot of fun! There were supposed to be 12 vendors, but only 7 showed up. In spite of that, we had a good crowd. I sold several books and two pictures! I'm excited to be heading to the annual INCH homeschool conference May 15th-16th. This show as good practice! TCCAS #2 has been sent back to the publisher for a few changes, but we should see progress by the first of next week. This is Adah, the main character for my latest book project! I wrote the first 6,000 words in one sitting, quite a feat for me. I normally only write in a couple hundred word spurts. The only other time I have written so much in one sitting was with Whisper, and even that light bulb moment was only 5,000 words long. I kept track of how many words I wrote per day. I started this book on April 5th, so it's only been two weeks since the first lines were written and I'm already at 18,000 words! I don't usually keep track of my word count per writing session, but I decided to keep my spirits up with some stats this time around :) The river of words has slowed somewhat, but I am taking a break from working on it right now for two reasons. Number one, I am proofreading TCCAS #2 and hopefully it will be in production by the end of this week or the beginning of next. Number two, I thought my finger injury from Rio only involved soft tissue damage, but as time went on, it was not improving and there was an odd lump that swelled when I over used my finger. I did some research and found out that I had crushed the tendon. For that kind of injury, the finger must be kept immobile for at least six weeks. Soooo....I am wearing a finger splint and that makes typing a bit difficult! So I am attempting to type with one finger :) I'm trying to figure out how to type with my splint, but for now I'll have to take a break. Anyway, here is a synopsis for Adah's Quest :) Synopsis: Adah is living the perfect life. She has a good job, her own apartment, a comfortable lifestyle and a loving fiancé. She is going to marry her fiancé, David, in three weeks and plans to live happily ever after with the man of her dreams. At twenty-four years old, she has everything to look forward too. But when her fiancé is killed in a tragic car accident, Adah is devastated and finds it impossible to move on with her life. In an attempt to drown her grief, she goes out partying with her friends and her family is beginning to wonder if she truly loved David. Adah needs to deal with her grief in her own way, but she feels misunderstood and is frustrated at the lack of support her family is showing. Feeling there is a puzzle piece missing from her life, she is desperate to figure out what it is. In desperation, she goes to her uncle's secluded hunting cabin, hoping that a few days away from the noise and commotion of the city will help her find the missing piece and heal her broken heart. She is on an emotional rollercoaster and finds her emotions swinging from one extreme to the other. In a fit of anger, she leaves the cabin and goes back to the city, but within one day, she is back, determined to stay until she finds some answers. When a half frozen, injured brother and sister appear on the cabin porch during a late spring blizzard, Adah uses her limited medical knowledge to care for their injuries. The man, whose name she learns is Ethan, is badly injured, but Adah is able to keep him comfortable. Stuck in the cabin with Ethan and his sister, Erica, while the storm rages outside, Adah talks to them. She senses that there is something different about this brother and sister, and she finds herself longing for what they have. When she finally works up the courage to ask Ethan and Erica what makes them different, they are only too glad to share their secret--which she finds is no secret at all What do you think? Any ideas for the plot? Any thoughts on the title, Adah's Quest?
When I got to about 3,000 words, I realized that this story does not have a horse in it!! I never thought I would write a book without a horse somewhere in the story, but it seems I am doing just that! I have never even started a story without a horse in it. I almost decided to write one in, just because, but then it doesn't really fit the story anywhere. What do you all think? :) I'm really excited about writing Adah's story. Trying to pick a favorite this week was nearly impossible! I loved so many of the photos.
Last Saturday we went hiking with our friends, Myles and Marilyn Willard, my aunt, Patty, and a family from the Grand Rapids area. It was a beautiful day for a hike and we had the unexpected pleasure of spotting a Golden Eagle! We were also privileged to see snow Trilliums in bloom. They were so beautiful and delicate. We saw many varieties of ducks, a turtle, pileated wood peckers and a variety of Hawks. My camera was working overtime! I believe I took around 830 pictures. If I really had to pick a favorite, it would have to be the white rock surrounded by the blue river water. What are your favorites this week? I'm enjoying seeing the signs of springs! I have struggled to find something that would work for my finicky hair for years. I used a lot of natural shampoos and conditioners, but each brand would only work for a couple months, and then I would have to change to something else. I was very excited when I found Burt's Bees Gud Shampoo and Conditioners. There are several different scents and though they all work equally on my hair, I prefer the vanilla. I have been using Gud for around a year and a half and it works so well! But, though it is a natural hair product, I wanted to really get down to the basics. As I said, my hair is extremely finicky. I even have to be careful how I dry it, as using the wrong process with cause all sorts of problems and tons of split ends. Keeping my hair happy and healthy has been a real challenge, so when I found the Gud hair products, I didn't want to ever use anything else as long as they were still working. However, I recently came across an article that encouraged me to branch out and try something different. The first thing I did was use honey as a conditioner. I thought, seriously, how am I supposed to get it out of my hair?? But I bravely decided to try it anyway. I mixed the honey half and half with my regular conditioner. I used about two tablespoons of each and that proved to be about twice the amount I needed. It does store well, so you can mix up a larger batch. After washing my hair, I applied the honey/conditioner mix to it. I usually only use conditioner bottom part of my hair, but this time I used it all the way through. The post I read said it is more effective if you leave it in over night and wear a shower cap or something, but I just left it in for about fifteen minutes. When I went to rinse it out, I kept rinsing and rinsing because my hair was so soft and smooth, I thought the honey was still in it! You can feel the difference even when it is wet (and the smell is amazing!!) After about two hours, my hair was dry enough to brush and I could really tell a big difference. Once my hair dried all the way, the results were even better. My hair was smooth and shiny and the ends did not frizz. It will take awhile to really get my ends healthy, but the honey definitely helped a lot. This probably wouldn't be something I would do every time I wash my hair...many once a week or so as maintenance, but it really works! Another thing I tried was washing my hair with baking soda and vinegar. I had heard of this method before, but I just couldn't quite see washing my hair in something like that! But I was in a experimenting mood, so I gave it a try. I mixed two tablespoons baking soda with about half a cup of water and in a separate cup, I mixed two tablespoons vinegar with approx. half a cup of water and two-three drops lavender essential oil. You can use the baking soda mixture on wet or dry hair, according to what I read online, but I wet my hair first, then rubbed the mixture in thoroughly. It feels strange at first, but you get used to the sensation. The article I read said not to wash your ends with it because it will dry them out and since most of the oils in your hair are on the top of your head, the ends do not actually need washed as much. I scrubbed it into my hair well, then rinsed it out. Then I used the vinegar mixture. I really did not like this part. #1 Vinegar smells and even with the lavender oil, I didn't like it. #2 I could not get it out of my hair. It took forever to rinse out, even though I rinsed it with cold water like the article said too. I tried it with warm water as well, and it still wouldn't come out. It took a long time and lots of water before I was satisfied it was all out. I did love the results of the baking soda though, so I think in the future, I will forgo the vinegar and use the honey/conditioner instead. I remember reading about the Indians using some plant/herb to wash their hair with, so I want to do more research on natural hair products. Perhaps that will result in more hair care posts :) Do you have any natural hair products you use or hair care tips to share? Today I am excited to join authors Emily Chapman and Emily Ann Putzke and other bloggers in the cover reveal for Ain't We Got Fun. Generally I do not promote books which I haven't read, but having read Emily Ann Putzke's book, It Took A War, I feel I can safely join them for the cover reveal. The cover and synopsis have peaked my interest and I will be back with a review once it is published on May 25th! So without further ado, here is their beautiful cover and a synopsis! 1935: It was never much of an issue for Bess: living contentedly on her family's farm, despite the Depression which loomed around them. But when her older sister Georgiana takes off to New York City to make a fortune and help Papa out, feelings of adventure and wanderlust strike Bess at home. Through their lively letter correspondence, the sisters recount to one another their adventures, surprises, and heartaches, leaving little room for depression. For in a world of such wonder, ain't we got fun? The Authors: EMILY CHAPMAN, also known as Bess Rowland, is a young hobbit living in the dear old South, and she is entirely bonkers. She's a dreamer, an optimistic pessimist, and an introverted people person. Blue skies, dancing, Disney, and whipped cream make her happy, and she swears she's been to Narnia. She's been a reader all her life, became a writer because of that, and published her first novel, Cry of Hope, in March of 2014. But without her Savior, all of this would mean nothing. It is in Him that she puts her hope. “And hope does not disappoint us, for God has poured out His love into hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.” – Romans 5: 5 EMILY ANN PUTZKE and Gi Rowland have two big things in common – their love for God and coffee. Besides writing historical fiction, Emily enjoys being an aunty, photography, Irish dancing, spending time with family, attempting to play the guitar, reenacting, and reading. She loves polka dots, war movies, and all things vintage. Her first novella, It Took a War, was published in December of 2014.
Due to a fun two days with my best friend, Kristina and two of her sisters last week, I totally forgot to post Photo Friday!! So these pictures were supposed to be last week's post :) Now that spring is coming and the green is starting to come back, I should have some better pictures on the way.
This week is a combination of goat baby cuteness and *Scream* snakes! For a quick update on the babies, Chayton and Chaska, we unfortunately lost Chaska a week ago Wednesday. He went steadily downhill since his birth on Monday night and when we wen to check on him on Wednesday, he was already gone. We think it was either a heart defect, or lack of oxygen at birth, which caused internal problems. Sad as it is, such is the way of farm life. Chayton however, is a little Dennis the Menace. He never sits still unless he is sleeping and he even had the audacity to head-butt our dog, Shep, not once, but twice! Shep actually ran away from him! He is quite the stinker and isn't afraid of anything. He is unusually brave for a goat his age. He even butted our cat, Lilly...and if you've been in the barn for any length of time, you would know that that isn't a smart thing to do. But even she seemed cowed by his relentless energy. He is going to be quite the handful when he gets a little bigger. I have a feeling it will take his mama, me and his two auntie goats to keep track of him :) Somehow I always end up with those kinds of goats...much to my mother's chagrin. So my favorite photo this week is of that little tiny snake that is almost cute! (according to Lydia, he is a very scary snake, as demonstrated by the last photo) Though the top photo is my favorite in terms of quality, I laugh heartily every time I look at the last photo. I tried to get a picture of her holding it, but she would have none of it!! Any favorites this week? Thunder is progressing slowly, but surely. I am at 5,500 words right now, so approx. 30,000 more to go! I am attempting to be a bit more regular in my writing habits, setting goals and deadlines for myself, so hopefully that will improve my production. I submitted my files for TCCAS #2 to my publisher on Monday, so I should be seeing some progress very soon! I have another very exciting project that I am working on and so far it is going super well. Even better than Whisper and I didn't think I would ever beat that! I am keeping the details under wraps for now...but hopefully I will be able to share it with you soon. For now, here is a short excerpt from Thunder. Isn't he just beautiful!? This is one of my favorite pictures of him, but I have so many favorites that doesn't say much! This was taken nearly two years ago. I went out to spend some time with the horses and ended up laying on the ground just enjoying the beautiful weather. Bannie came to visit and just hang out. :) He's such a loving horse. He is one of the most emotional horses I've ever seen....his facial expressions and his overall personality is so human its scary sometimes! But I love that about him. Two hours later, Rachel came in. "What are you still doing up?"
I shrugged. "I couldn't sleep." "Was it because of what happened earlier?" I nodded. "Rachel, what happened with Thunder today just confirmed everything I believe about horses. They are dangerous and unpredictable. I will not have anything more to do with them and you can't make me." "You're right." I had looked back down at my book, but at Rachel's words, I jerked my head up and looked at her curiously. "What did you just say?" Rachel sat down on the only chair in the room. "I said, you're right. I can't force you to have anything to do with horse and even though you are so adamant about your point, I can't and I won't believe that you will never work with horses again. They are too much a part of you. And no matter what you say, you were drawn to Thunder." "Maybe I was, but I can't risk getting hurt again." I interrupted her to say. "There is no way I'm going get near another horse if I can help it. Especially Thunder. He's unpredictable." "Okay, so you don't want to get near Thunder because you think he's unpredictable. That doesn't explain why you won't have anything to do with Star. She's never hurt you so why won't you even go visit her?" I shrugged. "All horses are capable of hurting people. Star could hurt me, even if she doesn't mean too." "Ugh." Rachel threw up her hands. "I hope eventually you will see how selfish you are being. Do you really think you can just walk away from horses, from Star, and not cause issues? You should see Star. She's depressed! She hardly eats and just mopes around in her stall all day. Just like you, actually. She misses you! And no matter what you say, I know you miss her too. She was too important for you to just walk away. Even if you don't want to work with horses anymore, you should at least consider the fact that you are making Star unhappy. Doesn't it make you the least bit sad to know how Star is taking it?" I shook my head. "No, I'm past feeling. My mind is numb and I can't feel. I like it that way. I let myself feel something with Thunder and that was a mistake. It's safer not to feel." Rachel stared at me for a moment before silently getting up and walking out of the room. From now until April 11th, the eBook version of Whisper is on sale! It will be $.99 until this evening, then it will jump to $1.99. It will continue to rise in price until the 11th, when it will return to its normal price of $3.99 so get your copy now! Click here to view this promotion. Here's a short excerpt!
Startled, Star leapt forward and headed home, Bethany clinging to the saddle horn for the second time that day. I started to turn Jasmine, but Ralph was too fast and, before I could even get her to take a step, he had the reins in his hand. "Oh no, Rachel," he said, with a grim smile. "This time you will stay and talk to me, like it or not." I shuddered. Ralph was not a man I wanted to be left alone with. I hoped Bethany would have the sense to ride straight to the farm and get Dad or Ben. Ralph flashed his sickeningly bright smile. "Well, Rachel. I get the feeling you aren't exactly happy to see me." I bit my lip and said nothing. "Not talking to me?" Ralph grinned provokingly. "Please let go of the reins," I said stiffly. Ralph laughed. "Now why would I do that? You have cost me a whole lot of time and money, Rachel, and I'm not too happy about it." I shrugged. "You should have known better than to try to steal a horse in the first place. My dad warned you not to bother us again and he's not going to be happy to find you here with me." Ralph gave the reins a tug and chuckled maliciously. "I think I can handle your dad." I had been afraid before, but now I was angry. "Let go of my horse," I demanded. Ralph shook his head. "No." The look in his eyes made me tremble inside, but I tried to look confident. "Please leave me alone." Ralph started toward me and I pulled back. I couldn't pretend not to be afraid any longer. He still had his hands on the reins so there was no way I could ride off. I knew I was no match for him on foot, but that seemed to be my only option. I was just about to jump off when a hand grabbed Ralph's shoulder and yanked him away from me. The Book...1861 - Sixteen year old Joe Roberts leads a mundane life as far as he’s concerned. His world spins in the same circle each day: working at his family’s store, taking his sisters on boyish escapades and bickering with his rogue of a cousin, Lucas. Joe can’t understand why his mother allows Lucas to live and work with them after all the pain he caused their family. When war is declared, Joe is quick to join up and become a soldier with the 11th Pennsylvania Volunteers, but war is nothing like he imagined. To make matters worse, he must endure having Lucas in the same regiment. Can Joe put the pain of the past behind him? Forgiveness is easier said than done. The Author...Welcome to Heritage Literature, Emily! Tell us a little about yourself. Thanks for hosting me, Lauren! I'm Emily Ann Putzke, the author of It Took a War. I'm a 19 year old Christian, homeschool graduate, and history lover. Besides writing historical fiction I enjoy photography (especially photographing my nieces and nephews), spending time with family, polka dots, all things vintage, war movies, (weird, right?) reading, and coffee. How did you get started into writing? I’ve been interested in writing since I was about seven or eight. I’ve always loved creating stories and knew from a young age that I wanted to be an author. I was homeschooled, so that played a big part in my love of literature. I was surrounded by good books and allowed time to pursue my passion. What inspired It Took a War? A family trip to Gettysburg in 2012 inspired It Took a War. The battlefields and history there inspired me to learn more about the Civil War. I left there with story ideas brewing! What is the question you get asked the most in regards to being an author? I’m asked how long it took me to write It Took a War, and also how I got it published. I started It Took a War in 2012, then put it away for nearly two years. I pulled it out in January, 2014, re-wrote it and got it ready for publication. I self-published using Createspace, and I have my own publishing imprint called, The White Rose Press. What advice do you have for aspiring writers? If writing is your passion and God-given gift, pursue it with all your heart. Don’t hide your talents. Share them! What type of marketing/advertising have you done that you felt was the most successful for you? I organized a blog tour/giveaway which helped immensely in promoting my book. I was hosted on 10 blogs during the book’s release week. My giveaway consisted of a signed copy of my book, a Gettysburg mug, hot chocolate, an old fashioned journal, and peppermint sticks. To enter the giveaway, people were required to follow me on different social media sites for a certain amount of entries. I gained a larger following from both the blog posts and the giveaway. Have you published any other books? My friend, Emily Chapman, and I are in the process of publishing a book we wrote together. It’s title, Ain’t We Got Fun, is written in letter form between two sisters during the Great Depression. That will be released this summer. Do you have any works in progress you'd like to share with us? I’m currently writing a full length novel based on the true story of Hans and Sophie Scholl, a brother and sister who wrote and distributed anti-Nazi leaflets in Germany during WWII. It is titled, Resist, and I’m praying about pursuing traditional publishing with this one. Where can people connect with you online? I blog frequntly at www.authoremilyannputzke.com. I’m also on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. You can purchase my book in paperback, kindle, or audiobook on Amazon. Thanks for being with us today, Emily! My review of It Took a War: I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. In my experience, a lot of war related books are filled with blood and violence. I was pleasantly surprised!
The focus was on the characters and their struggles, rather than on the war. The war was real enough that you knew it was there and felt the pain and the suffering, but it did not overpower the rest of the story and the lesson that the author skillfully wove in. At the beginning of the book, I did not like Lucas at all! And there were times I wanted to reach into the book and give Joe and Coralie a good shaking! But the author did a great job of helping these two resolve their problems and the ending was spectacular! There were times the story moved a bit too quickly for me to grasp exactly what was going on, but overall, Emily did a wonderful job and I really enjoyed this book. See this review on Amazon I was over at my grandma's house visiting, when Seth came tearing on his four wheeler to announce that I had a baby in the barn. I thought he was joking. Mom had checked Sabriyah this morning and she showed no signs of being ready to birth, but he assured me he was serious!
So I hopped on the back of the four wheeler and I must admit, I let out a few yelps as we rounded curves. Yes, I was in a hurry but I did want to get there in one piece. I calmly, okay, maybe not very calmly, informed Seth of that fact! One baby was on the ground and just seconds after I got there, she started pushing again. It was a good thing I was there for the second baby, because he was not presenting correctly and it took effort on both her and my parts to get him out. But we did and both little boys are doing well! Sabriyah is a super good first time mom! I was hoping for a girl, but these little guys are cute too. I chose Sioux Native American names for them as I couldn't find any Arabic names I liked, so they don't match their mom, but that's ok! The one on the right in the above picture is Chaska, which means firstborn (appropriately!) in Sioux and the one on the left is Chayton, which means falcon. We were hoping she would deliver today because Dad so kindly insisted I stay home so I wouldn't further injure my finger. He knew I planned on being there when Sabriyah kidded, so it was nice she went today and I don't have to skip another day of work! TCCAS #2-Hidden Treasure and Wedding Bells has seen considerable progress in the last few weeks and I was very excited to receive the color cover illustrations as well as the pen and ink drawings for the interior from my illustrator, Debbie, in the mail last Thursday! It is now going through some last minute revisions and I hope to be able to submit it to the publisher within a week or so. I am attending the homeschool INCH conference in Lansing, Michigan in mid May as a vendor and I am determined to have TCCAS #2 published in time for that if at all possible. I have decided to take a break from writing for awhile to let my brain rest :) I want to concentrate on getting some books read that I simply have not had time for before this, or rereading some of my old favorites. It was been really nice to keep my laptop closed in the evenings and just read! Just a few days after I had decided to take this break from writing, Rio was having a fit because I took his two adopted mama's, Smoke and Abby, away, both at the same time. When I got back, Rio was throwing himself into the metal gate so hard he was bending the latch. There was no way to get in without him getting out, so I caught him and locked him into our hay barn until I could get the girls put away. Then I went to let him out, but as I was trying to unhook the chain, he slammed into it again...and my hand was caught between the pipe of the gate and the chain. Ouch. My first finger took the brunt of the force and it swelled up really fast so I grabbed an icicle and headed for the house. Yesterday it was still really swollen and it was spreading down into my hand. We thought it was broken, but my aunt, who used to do sports medicine for football players, says its just soft tissue damage and should heal on its own. It's pretty stiff, but I can just manage to type :) So I'll stick to reading until the swelling goes down some. Now, here is a just released book from a friend of mine and it's on sale for one week only! Rebekah Morris is to be our author of the month for May, but I wanted to do a quick post to let you all know about her latest book, Gift from the Storm, which just came out this past week.
I read it in two days and really enjoyed it. I had read excerpts from it on the author's blog, but it was nice to read the whole thing from start to finish. And I just love her cover! There was enough suspense to keep me turning pages, but it was a nice, quiet read as well. Amy is a sweet character and her plight pulls at your heart strings. Justin, Adam, Sara and the others were very amusing and I had some good laughs and some teary moments as well as Amy struggled to accept her new life. The ending is really good. All together, a good book appropriate for all ages. From now until Saturday, the eBook is on sale for $.99 so jump in there and get a copy! I noticed that some wild turkeys were 'courting' out in a neighbors field, so I dragged myself out of bed a little earlier than usual yesterday morning and headed out to see what kind of shots I could get.
Just as I was creeping up behind a bush, trying to figure out how to get closer without spooking them, a car went by and scared them. They started for the woods, so I ran out into the open field and managed to get about forty shots in before they were out of sight. Because they were fleeing, I didn't get many front shots, but here are a few off the best. I liked the top one and the second one....I have all my ducks, err, turkeys, in a row! At the bottom of the post are two random pictures...don't let Mr. Possum scare you! He was wandering around in our backyard a few days ago :) And sweet Ashwin :)
Levi and I started doing cattle sorting competitions in the fall, but it got so cold and we were extremely busy so we didn't go for several months. Smoke also wasn't acting like herself, so I didn't want to work her until I figured out what was wrong.
I never did figure out what was ailing her and she has snapped out of whatever it was and is as healthy as ever. Neither Abby nor Lena are able to be ridden quite yet, so Levi is without a mount for the time being, but I was able to take Smoke last Wednesday and have some fun! They were doing a new pen set up that was really tricky, the cattle were not cooperating and most of the teams were getting multiple DQ's. On my last run, which is the last shot in this video, my team and I got one of two clean runs of the night!!! This video is to show a little of what we do and how much fun it is for horse and rider :)
Here are a few pictures as well. The lighting in the sorting barn is not very good so they are slightly blurry. My favorite is the first one.
In the survey, quite a few of you asked for DIY posts so I decided to start off with a simple, county décor piece that can also be elegant! I love candles! I'm not usually fond of the normal floral scents that you find with the Yankee candles and such, but I love simple, fruity, natural scents. I also love creative candle holders. I saw something similar to this on Pinterest the other day and since then have found a lot more ideas on how to use canning jars to decorate your home. So, here's what I did with just three items to create centerpieces for our table. My supplies: Two quart canning jars with rings, but no lids... Two candles... And coffee beans. I placed the two candles in the jars and centered them, then poured the coffee beans in around them, evening them out with my finger. The smell was delicious even without the candles lit! I had to go get a cup of coffee after making these!
There are lots of ways to take this same idea and put your own creative twist on it. I thought about using pea stone instead of coffee beans, but I like the aroma. If any of you use this same idea or added your own twist to it, I'd love to hear what you did! Or if you have other DIY projects you have done, I'd love to hear about those as well! You can send me a note here. |
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