tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73874562840130033672024-03-05T18:36:05.336-06:00Tatum's Thoughts 4 Todaytatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387456284013003367.post-8115739288407040062023-02-01T01:00:00.027-06:002023-02-01T01:00:00.165-06:00Meet J. Carol Nemeth and her new book Battlefield of Deceit<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix038vq1AbECdOl7nLhghJQi8tjxf9bwPdRZqL77NTPH0bAS2lTx1S7rm5JmiCQlpr0yW7WBRCJFUgt_USavKtvBkm_MWawDkMakQhdenAgxoQ52cRbxYZOHHib6qKkVJPghIO1ouCdNqkmeQWSlRgRsbYEhGgHgeW8urLcMeBmE7Qq4cSwHHUXySgZg/s2500/Battlefield%20of%20Deceit%20copy.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2500" data-original-width="1800" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix038vq1AbECdOl7nLhghJQi8tjxf9bwPdRZqL77NTPH0bAS2lTx1S7rm5JmiCQlpr0yW7WBRCJFUgt_USavKtvBkm_MWawDkMakQhdenAgxoQ52cRbxYZOHHib6qKkVJPghIO1ouCdNqkmeQWSlRgRsbYEhGgHgeW8urLcMeBmE7Qq4cSwHHUXySgZg/w258-h359/Battlefield%20of%20Deceit%20copy.jpg" width="258" /></a></div> <a name="_Hlk120257304" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">A
diary on loan to the museum.</span></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk120257304;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">An old Civil War house on the edge of the
battlefield.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk120257304;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Could these two things be connected?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk120257304;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Gettysburg National Military Park
historian, Chloe Rogers, begins her research into both: to prepare for a donor
event and to discover if it can be restored for public viewing. Chloe and her
fellow historian, Clifford Weston, discover a virtual Pandora’s box in the
cellar beneath the house revealing more questions than</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> answers. Park policeman,
Blake Hunter, becomes embroiled in the old house mystery but gives Chloe cause
for concern when her widowed heart responds to his attentions. She’s simply not
ready to move on. Is she? When unwelcome things begin to occur, they realize
they have to discover who’s behind them and soon. Will Chloe find the answers
in a packet of old letters discovered in the cellar? Then there are the
unexplained footsteps….</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk120257304;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Get Battlefield of Deceit <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Battlefield-Deceit-Faith-Parks-Book-ebook/dp/B0B2VVFLVK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=VB6A0GJSJGTW&keywords=Battlefield+of+Deceit&qid=1674667924&sprefix=battlefield+of+deceit%2Caps%2C112&sr=8-1">here</a>!</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">I asked Carol, </span><b style="text-align: left;">"<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">What made you have to write this particular book?"</span></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-HpfMq8RWi7ZoXB8n7COhoVv1Caie6UWIvQJqYXUpmUN5TONwHAsA3MysueyRi05QJV6dFhuxihWDlr-Uln2QnZINeRKzYwP9fjrccXaKOhJyrX4ZqqCG0rsOfURwuBjE0Ju-AqxooCC2BQocve9Ri02ksQeUjwVL-fLUOwR_L2OTqV-vykV70HSng/s3228/IMG_1240%20-1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3117" data-original-width="3228" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-HpfMq8RWi7ZoXB8n7COhoVv1Caie6UWIvQJqYXUpmUN5TONwHAsA3MysueyRi05QJV6dFhuxihWDlr-Uln2QnZINeRKzYwP9fjrccXaKOhJyrX4ZqqCG0rsOfURwuBjE0Ju-AqxooCC2BQocve9Ri02ksQeUjwVL-fLUOwR_L2OTqV-vykV70HSng/w241-h233/IMG_1240%20-1.jpg" width="241" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"> This is the fifth and final book in my Faith in the Parks series, a series that takes place in National Parks here in the US. This book is set at Gettysburg National Military Park in Gettysburg, PA. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;">I've visited this park on many occasions and now live only an hour and a half from it. I've always been interested in it and particularly the stories of the people involved in this terrible battle. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;">When the opportunity presented itself to add a book to my romantic suspense series set at this park, I didn't hesitate. It makes a great finale to the series, especially the ending (no spoilers here).</span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>tatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387456284013003367.post-80560881877012414282022-09-23T05:21:00.000-05:002022-09-23T05:21:02.714-05:00Ken's book: Devotions with a Friend<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMgFdSt0giltdEchafHrc26nkTvEweU8GXga7RzOa_TQtWtcfEKrV36C_yOZi3CIbCQt-JaVR8Mm-sFttJHPcXC7b0k3rs0x-qPmHf9fqe01ZKeziz9v-Kf9MqNrSAp_XkzZi0sx8Sb-q5gBvy2o0RjM5oj8LYZYqsc0fnwOugoqgTwHkxI6eQJDnfuQ/s4032/Devotionsjpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMgFdSt0giltdEchafHrc26nkTvEweU8GXga7RzOa_TQtWtcfEKrV36C_yOZi3CIbCQt-JaVR8Mm-sFttJHPcXC7b0k3rs0x-qPmHf9fqe01ZKeziz9v-Kf9MqNrSAp_XkzZi0sx8Sb-q5gBvy2o0RjM5oj8LYZYqsc0fnwOugoqgTwHkxI6eQJDnfuQ/s320/Devotionsjpg.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My husband, Ken Tatum, is an aerospace engineer retiree. He began working on a book of devotions when he was off work for 6 weeks in 2019 during the pandemic. One of his retirement projects has come to fruition as witnessed by this box of books. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Devotions-Friend-Kenneth-Tatum/dp/B0BBQB5WLP/ref=sr_1_9?crid=35X3OKGLLTMCN&keywords=devotions+with+a+friend&qid=1663882962&s=books&sprefix=Devotions+with+a+%2Cstripbooks%2C99&sr=1-9" target="_blank">Devotions with a Friend</a>, available on Amazon using the hyperlink, came about after 43 years of teaching Bible Study with adults. The idea of the book is to sit down with your Bible and a cup of coffee to meet God using one of the devotions. Two people on the cover suggests that sitting together with a friend can be an enjoyable time of sharing that coffee and God's insights with another.</span></div><br /><p></p>tatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387456284013003367.post-35296717667452526642021-06-19T06:52:00.000-05:002021-06-19T06:52:20.251-05:00Bonita Y. McCoy's Family Twist<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXBQXtAQtGtxrC2BPYJ8UTWBl1rJANg57pZyrVv0uI5dppjZvJgcVxI_ZUs79pvZoFzEsz5qs9J6tWkWOY6QTtCfZRtNtRO2BSR_zwyOvyJp4278CIecGV-lbQgB-fnDEe53e8SeR1xI4p/" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1475" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXBQXtAQtGtxrC2BPYJ8UTWBl1rJANg57pZyrVv0uI5dppjZvJgcVxI_ZUs79pvZoFzEsz5qs9J6tWkWOY6QTtCfZRtNtRO2BSR_zwyOvyJp4278CIecGV-lbQgB-fnDEe53e8SeR1xI4p/w289-h400/image.png" width="289" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Amy Kate Anderson is Southern trouble in high heels.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">A skeleton—<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The town legend in a coma—<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">A gun pointed at her—<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">She never dreamed a family reunion could be so dangerous!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Book shop owner and amateur detective, Amy Kate Anderson, agrees to help her best friend with the upcoming Jacobs’ family reunion, but once a skeleton is discovered on the edge of Cyrus Jacob’s property, the family reunion takes a dark turn, putting Amy Kate in the center of a thirty-year-old murder and on the hunt for a stack of missing letters that might hold the key to it all.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Can Amy Kate find the killer and prove Cyrus’s innocence before someone else gets hurt? Or will her blooming relationship with the handsome Lieutenant Gabe Cooper be the stumbling block to her pursuit of the truth?<o:p></o:p></p><p>In this delightful whodunnit the people of Pine Lake, Alabama will welcome you with open arms to their small town, but be careful, mystery, murder, and Amy Kate’s trouble magnet lurk around each corner. </p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Family-Twist-Bonita-Y-McCoy/dp/1952661250/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Family+Twist+by+bonita+mccoy&qid=1624102874&sr=8-1">Find it here on Amazon!</a></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipmjU38H32ck4V9VHd52PTqWxBoENIwLwgU52sPkgZkRiLerT00Nzli3dxWlESEPOjlUhCGfYKLy5qc-H6auV__5jHGJh9NbfMIC78d8dw9jl3I7dlOBKhMfZ2YeEPEuAg69L88wKjjyEQ/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="395" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipmjU38H32ck4V9VHd52PTqWxBoENIwLwgU52sPkgZkRiLerT00Nzli3dxWlESEPOjlUhCGfYKLy5qc-H6auV__5jHGJh9NbfMIC78d8dw9jl3I7dlOBKhMfZ2YeEPEuAg69L88wKjjyEQ/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b>Meet Bonita!</b><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 14pt;">Bonita
Y. McCoy hails from the Great State of Alabama where she lives on a five-acre
farm with three dogs, two cows, two cats, and one husband who she’s had for
over thirty years.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 14pt;">She
is a mother to three grown sons and a beautiful daughter-in-law, who joined the
family from Japan.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #444444; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 14pt;">She
loves God, and she loves to write. Her articles, devotions, and novels are an
expression of both these passions.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 14pt;">On
any given day, you can find her photographing flowers, reading a sweet romance or
a cozy mystery, or chilling on her front porch swing.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 14pt;">She
is an active member of both American Christian Fiction Writers and Word Weavers
International. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 14pt;">Drop
her a line at bonitaymccoy@yahoo.com or sign up for her newsletter at www.bonitaymccoy.com. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>tatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387456284013003367.post-17003416291073385622021-05-10T09:07:00.000-05:002021-05-10T09:07:50.650-05:00Deborah Maxey's new book: The Endling<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Endling-Deborah-Maxey/dp/1645262642/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=The+Endling&qid=1620654211&sr=8-4" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN3BAHY1FKK3rNJSp8SUM251jQspDe1kc4_Oc7GFiXVv6eBh5zTCiFE2Y37Cvv8E1MIv0T9uTWh1V0gP-QMKO5uwLZypw3IZ60Myww3Xxmv74baZaN8mW1sdJvAVjThZRcivSm5QNTw8OY/" width="160" /><br /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Endling-Deborah-Maxey/dp/1645262642/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=The+Endling&qid=1620654211&sr=8-4">The Endling</a></i> begins in Emerson Grace’s Blue Ridge
Mountains, involves her dear relationships with her neighbors, her deceased
grandfather’s influence, the mob, and a hit man. As an Endling, she is the last
of her tribe and people. After her grandfather’s death, she is alone in her
grandfather’s cabin when she discovers that a mob boss has put out a contract
on her for something she never saw. How will she survive and protect her small
community of mountain people and artists?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8B4C_vg9FHQnRqlaNoXDi8qfs2o7MWrexxP-g3v1SKZiNkK1-G3A4hrGYb0QtEsl-k3zsRNuDMyROrO5K1zcn9bMOkbfvBv39PnIy_CxWd05HPiWS6bKtkYPceIKHOpmSYS46oyspZKsO/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="408" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8B4C_vg9FHQnRqlaNoXDi8qfs2o7MWrexxP-g3v1SKZiNkK1-G3A4hrGYb0QtEsl-k3zsRNuDMyROrO5K1zcn9bMOkbfvBv39PnIy_CxWd05HPiWS6bKtkYPceIKHOpmSYS46oyspZKsO/" width="160" /></a>Deborah paints an exquisite picture of Emerson Grace, the mountains, as well as the characters that people the artist colony below Emerson’s mountain. The stirrings of the spiritual arise in nature just as her grandfather taught her to hear God and teaches the reader as well. Finding God among all the chaos is not so difficult after all.</div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> Available May 13, 2021!</p><p class="MsoNormal">I was given an advanced reading copy of <i>The Endling</i>.</p>tatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387456284013003367.post-68162654456305809672020-01-01T10:50:00.000-06:002020-01-01T10:50:29.216-06:00Welcome Fellow Author!
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiybaK2VM5u3mnEJ-S9sAOlhnzrNU4eE7KpWcT9b75v6J_tUxDqrNS8mGgwiHw_gqVrMNyVMFge8Sied9Nl3KIp7hV6eI7VSVF60-yxFlckQ5ni02nrsVhszY-M6VNOd2QtCvx3iUoINoV/s1600/JCarolNemeth1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1129" data-original-width="753" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiybaK2VM5u3mnEJ-S9sAOlhnzrNU4eE7KpWcT9b75v6J_tUxDqrNS8mGgwiHw_gqVrMNyVMFge8Sied9Nl3KIp7hV6eI7VSVF60-yxFlckQ5ni02nrsVhszY-M6VNOd2QtCvx3iUoINoV/s320/JCarolNemeth1.png" width="213" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ligatures: none;">Welcome to the blog, J. Carol Nemeth, fellow Forget Me Not Romance author!</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ligatures: none;">A native North Carolinian, Carol always loved reading since
childhood and making up stories since junior high school. She worked in the
National Park Service and served in the US Army where she was stationed in
Italy. While there, she met the love of her life, Mark Nemeth, also an Army
veteran. After they married, they lived in various locations including North
Yorkshire, England. They now live in West Virginia, where in their spare time,
Mark and Carol enjoy RVing and sightseeing. They are active in our church and
enjoy their<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>grown son, daughter, son-in-law
and three grandchildren. Carol’s latest release is </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Peaceful-Valley-Wounded-Soldiers-Anthology-ebook/dp/B07Y26G84H/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+peaceful+valley+wounded+soldiers+anthology+j.+carol+nemeth&qid=1574030834&sr=8-1"><span style="mso-ligatures: none;"><span style="mso-arabic-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-currency-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-default-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-greek-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-latin-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
Peaceful Valley Wounded Soldiers Anthology</span></span></a></span><span style="mso-arabic-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-currency-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-default-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-greek-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-latin-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 118%; mso-ligatures: none;">Welcome to Peaceful Valley Rehab Center where wounded
soldiers come to rehabilitate. Dr. Alex Hunter, a disabled veteran himself,
returns home after years away serving in the military. Turning his family
inheritance into a rehabilitation center, he gives these war-weary men and
women the help they need to heal. Along the way, not only does Alex find love,
but love comes calling for others too. This faith-filled short story series will
keep you turning pages to find out what happens next. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0dhYV_sOH5KiMcDpUUVFtOR_BUDUYTT5gk5KeKcTv5bg_k1_Shv-5TjR0oY4eIPu81wZIDiWCpZOXt6dSEw_LMSIM1woz7tBEQsRYQ31M3DtVcqoEPth9YRj0Ir5HVZlrHvH8lkRa_0Up/s1600/JCarolNemeth2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1153" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0dhYV_sOH5KiMcDpUUVFtOR_BUDUYTT5gk5KeKcTv5bg_k1_Shv-5TjR0oY4eIPu81wZIDiWCpZOXt6dSEw_LMSIM1woz7tBEQsRYQ31M3DtVcqoEPth9YRj0Ir5HVZlrHvH8lkRa_0Up/s320/JCarolNemeth2.png" width="230" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-arabic-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-currency-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-default-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-greek-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-latin-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 118%; mso-ligatures: none;"></span>Check out J. Carol Nemeth at</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 118%;"><a href="https://www.jcarolnemeth.com/"></a></span><a href="https://www.jcarolnemeth.com/"><span style="mso-ligatures: none;"><span style="mso-arabic-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-currency-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-default-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-greek-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-latin-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Times New Roman";">https://www.jcarolnemeth.com/</span></span></a><span style="mso-arabic-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-currency-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-default-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-greek-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-latin-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 118%; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></span></div>
<span style="mso-arabic-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-armenian-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-currency-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-cyrillic-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-default-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-greek-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hebrew-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-latin-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-latinext-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<span style="height: 563px; left: 468px; mso-ignore: vglayout; position: absolute; top: 79px; width: 474px; z-index: 3;"></span>tatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387456284013003367.post-9248639492072067142019-11-18T08:52:00.000-06:002019-11-18T08:52:00.412-06:00Oxford Fairy Tale in boxed set Romancing the Billionaire!<br />
That's right.<br />
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Oxford Fairy Tale is part of a special edition boxed set <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Romancing-Billionaire-5-Rich-Romances-ebook/dp/B081D9XGB9/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=romancing+the+billionaire+anne+greene&qid=1573740640&s=digital-text&sr=1-2" target="_blank">Romancing the Billionaire</a>! It's also available at a special price until Christmas. With five books to read, including Oxford Fairy Tale, it's more romantic fun reads altogether. Like any <a href="http://wingedpublications.com/" target="_blank">Winged Publication</a> books, all are clean, sweet, romantic reads.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUpVlwYMVDOQpMevwnr0q7tsxBwk1SsNP1Shq1M_YmdEoGDfuQwvCyPzkBlMrKvKzfUot9nHeAUaz5uJsGVAVbo3veA0ceubDbAi8hSPKzLLhyphenhyphenMV-tiMH5_2sh9JY2T_o5PtZyy2JHo3Ah/s1600/Romancing+the+Billionaire+set.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUpVlwYMVDOQpMevwnr0q7tsxBwk1SsNP1Shq1M_YmdEoGDfuQwvCyPzkBlMrKvKzfUot9nHeAUaz5uJsGVAVbo3veA0ceubDbAi8hSPKzLLhyphenhyphenMV-tiMH5_2sh9JY2T_o5PtZyy2JHo3Ah/s320/Romancing+the+Billionaire+set.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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You can still purchase <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Fairy-Tale-Diane-Tatum-ebook/dp/B07YN4WH85/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3OVP248HOTYLH&keywords=oxford+fairy+tale+by+diane+e+tatum&qid=1574088480&sprefix=Oxford+Fairy%2Caps%2C162&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Oxford Fairy Tale</a> from me or Amazon.</div>
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tatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387456284013003367.post-47181767548827038062019-10-03T05:18:00.001-05:002019-10-03T08:59:05.678-05:00What's hiding in the kudzu?<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudzu_in_the_United_States" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudzu_in_the_United_States" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1280" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi19nXq5_ztN8ARp4Wj4Yjs_DI_vmxIyX35n5ozLMAa91jdfHg9EC7iFzTix0WCU7CFt0_v2U4UmQ3MJ5Y6AKfZ0rDW-0UTLHQ9QboCmk4jHonCzedChc8Q8jRfzPMgLqwZljehTu27c39d/s200/tatum-HR-16.jpg" width="160" /></a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudzu_in_the_United_States" target="_blank">Kudzu</a> is rampant in the South. It's a lush green vine that covers other vegetation. In doing so, it creates a fantastical landscape, mimicking giraffes, elephants, water falls, etc. But under the kudzu, everything else is dead. It cuts the sun and water from what it overtakes. Killing it is practically impossible.<br />
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<i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Kudzu-Sculptures-Diane-Tatum-ebook/dp/B07SNTXGH5/ref=sr_1_1?crid=U6CBCTUTER56&keywords=kudzu+sculptures&qid=1570110673&sprefix=kudzu+sc%2Caps%2C158&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Kudzu Sculptures</a></i> is a Main Street Mystery with Winged Publications. Dorie Hudson is a new journalist for the small town local newspaper <i>Daelin Gazette</i>. Her first assignment is to find out about why the kudzu has not been removed from an old stand of loblolly pine. Ross MacAvoy, the owner of a nursery, normally receives a contract to take care of the kudzu. This year the mayor will not allow it. What's hiding in the kudzu and why? Who is he protecting?<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1bCY4-HNl4sORtsPICmebc4ScV3RziquiaxjCE7yywUPodqkD-195cODv9zP3MgjoSSRNhOHko4W9la3ysQrzIqliK8PSByoDoA-5oBuavnOxds06_OpTCZ-p5Pg9XiGgDpyKGcwtsAB/s1600/Kudzu+Sculptures.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: #0066cc; float: left; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-right: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1153" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1bCY4-HNl4sORtsPICmebc4ScV3RziquiaxjCE7yywUPodqkD-195cODv9zP3MgjoSSRNhOHko4W9la3ysQrzIqliK8PSByoDoA-5oBuavnOxds06_OpTCZ-p5Pg9XiGgDpyKGcwtsAB/s200/Kudzu+Sculptures.jpg" width="143" /></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
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The people in Daelin, Georgia, are like the kudzu sculptures. All sweetness and light on the outside but dead bones underneath. Along the way, Ross and Dorie fall in love, but he can't stay in Daelin due to something he finds in his grandfather's truck that he's allowed the kudzu to overtake. Will it's discovery destroy his relationship with Dorie?<br />
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I didn't expect this book to be a murder mystery. It just turned into one! It's a crazy feeling when your book surprises you!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBNwo3woSKCR-Do5XOV5a-8PzJFJnxRXVbd2cr6sEx6rIO-TfXUEQq8YPCNADj-sx_l26rcXUxu4EIskPlKbTlzwbd2wbDLjMpzXZw6aOn7gqPBYV02LkAhMgFx-p5v_lK6DBM-Sawfw4w/s1600/Oxford+Fairy+Tale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1153" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBNwo3woSKCR-Do5XOV5a-8PzJFJnxRXVbd2cr6sEx6rIO-TfXUEQq8YPCNADj-sx_l26rcXUxu4EIskPlKbTlzwbd2wbDLjMpzXZw6aOn7gqPBYV02LkAhMgFx-p5v_lK6DBM-Sawfw4w/s200/Oxford+Fairy+Tale.jpg" width="143" /></a>I just submitted my latest manuscript to Winged Publications! It's going to be part of a boxed set of billionaire romances. Though Eddie is an heir to an ancient lordship and its fortune, he'd rather work in the basement of the British Museum uncovering the past as an anthropologist/archeologist. Caroline is a Rhodes Scholar and middle school teacher who is in Oxford to complete a masters level project about the lore and legends of England. Along the way she meets the charming Eddie. Look for <i>Oxford Fairy Tale</i>, coming soon!tatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387456284013003367.post-22541930264609080532019-03-09T10:13:00.000-06:002019-03-09T10:13:13.147-06:00New Books have arrived!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNlr9DQghMnxDDyEPupgrx-la1DSBO_ldmnSRgg5rNqsSjvzNpIykVb-10DFH3B73oUlbP_04A0DBkhkoGpT77BC8zyMbdIgPA-kYl6-gGGd-SWsjEierrKw9oUw8Hc6bCjoaJa0gquDQW/s1600/53016177_10210584482686682_3139565507909255168_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNlr9DQghMnxDDyEPupgrx-la1DSBO_ldmnSRgg5rNqsSjvzNpIykVb-10DFH3B73oUlbP_04A0DBkhkoGpT77BC8zyMbdIgPA-kYl6-gGGd-SWsjEierrKw9oUw8Hc6bCjoaJa0gquDQW/s320/53016177_10210584482686682_3139565507909255168_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I have 36 copies of my fourth book, A Time to Love. I also have 10 copies each of my other 3 books with the new covers.<br />
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This is an exciting delivery. For the hours expended in writing them. For the joy of seeing then in complete package. For the privilege of sharing with the readers of my other books.<br />
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Back Blurb:<br />
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Colonial Dream: A
Time to Love (Book 2)</div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;">Michael
Browning, a child of the American Revolution, becomes surrogate father for his four
siblings after the early death of his parents. His Uncle Ben has also died,
leaving the pulpit empty in the church he started after the war. Bitterness has
overcome Michael as each of his siblings finds love with only his youngest
sister, Louisa, remaining at home. When the new pastor and his daughter,
Susannah, take over the rectory adjacent to the Browning home, he cannot accept
Reverend Hawthorne as a substitute for his Uncle Ben. When Louisa falls in love
with Susannah’s cousin Theo, Susannah encourages Louisa to elope and offers to
serve Michael in her stead. Susannah enjoys matchmaking and sets out to find a
match for Michael.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;">When Michael’s
brother Isaiah is taken by the British Navy, Michael must leave his bride
before the wedding to find and save his brother as the country begins a new war
with Britain.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "ar decode"; margin: 0px;"> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;">Can the beauty tame the beast and
his bitterness to create a new relationship based on trust and love?</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;">How will a second war for
Independence from Britain affect their love?</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>tatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387456284013003367.post-6313435283877794832018-11-28T16:34:00.000-06:002018-11-28T16:34:32.192-06:00New Covers on Amazon!<br />
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">I am so excited to share with
you all the new cover for <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KY2B21B/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1543444195&sr=8-2&keywords=A+TIme+to+Fight+by+Diane+E+Tatum" target="_blank">A Time to Fight, Book 1</a> of the series Colonial Dream.
This cover was so important to me. I bought the rights to this photo from the
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation for only $30!! </span><br />
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">If you've read the book, you
know that Amanda, her twin brother Ben, and her blacksmith husband are like the
Three Musketeers growing up. Should go live on Amazon today or tomorrow!</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">In addition to this cover, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gold-Earrings-Diane-Tatum-ebook/dp/B07KX33RY7/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1543444356&sr=8-2&keywords=Gold+Earrings+by+Diane+E.+Tatum" target="_blank">Gold Earrings</a> is
also new with a </span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">new cover created by my publisher, Winged Publications: Forget-Me-Not
Romances.</span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">What do you think? </span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">I'd love to hear from you.
If you have read any of my previously published books, consider leaving a
review on Amazon . I'm not sure the reviews will transfer to the new covers.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">I am so excited. I hope you share that<u><span style="color: #000120;"> </span></u>excitement with me!</span></div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>tatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387456284013003367.post-36570105053637638382018-09-01T08:49:00.001-05:002019-10-03T10:19:05.390-05:00The Importance of StoryIf you'd like to laugh at the writing profession, check out this blog by Mitch Teemly.<br />
https://mitchteemley.com/2016/08/20/7-views-on-writing/<br />
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Meanwhile, I've been pondering the importance of story.<br />
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Story is what causes grown adults to close themselves up with the TV and binge watch a season of <i>This is Us</i> or<i> iZombie</i><u>.</u> It's why we spend an exorbitant amount on movie tickets, DVR the series so we don't miss an episode of <i>Dr. Who</i>, and curl up with a book on a rainy afternoon. Story compels us to come away from our ordinary lives to a world of someone else, like jumping into the chalk drawings in Mary Poppins.<br />
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We share anecdotes with one another about the time our children did something extraordinary or about time spent in the DMV (groan!). We share the story of our lives with others using those anecdotes.<br />
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Diaries from the Civil War tell the stories of those who lived in a different time with different social norms and ideas. What did they wear, how did they speak, who did they love. what did they believe?<br />
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Writers struggle with the meaning of story everyday they write. If the story isn't compelling, how can we make it so? What does each character bring to the story? How does the setting contribute to the story?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh43HNvXyU3riPisLCfn2X5uFYwmoQNGvjz2C0HiFL9jbgA8gy6M3OKs1AvMJwe5PcL87NpTYlrbGtGoj16SLcI1tqU3nq48D5JyFStBs49taP6CgDdL3SUSpCLVt0q6xYwa_8QOWH2415R/s1600/Colonial_Dream_Cover_for_Kindle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh43HNvXyU3riPisLCfn2X5uFYwmoQNGvjz2C0HiFL9jbgA8gy6M3OKs1AvMJwe5PcL87NpTYlrbGtGoj16SLcI1tqU3nq48D5JyFStBs49taP6CgDdL3SUSpCLVt0q6xYwa_8QOWH2415R/s320/Colonial_Dream_Cover_for_Kindle.jpg" width="213" /></a>In February 2018, I published the first book in a historical series, <i>Colonial Dream: A Time to Fight</i>.. The series is the story of a family whose dream is to emigrate to the American colonies and the struggles they experience throughout the American experiment. In Book 1, Colin Browning, a blacksmith, and his sweetheart Amanda and her twin <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Ben aspire to be colonists in America. When Colin is forced into the British Army, he gets to come to America on the eve of the American Revolution.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">In Book 2, <i>A Time to Heal</i>, Colin and Amanda's son Michael Browning struggles with the hardship of raising his siblings and opening himself up to his own love story. Just as he lets Susannah into his heart, he is faced with the uncertainties of a second war with Britain. Almost done with this one!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">In Book 3, <i>A Time to Choose, </i>Colin's great grandson Andrew is the body guard in the White House for Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. As a Virginian, he is asked to choose where his loyalties lie. Abolitionist and journalist Maggie reports on the happenings in the White House as she waits for her chance to present a petition to the President. Andrew and Maggie fall in love while the country struggles for important freedoms.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The final book in this series (so far) is Book 4, <i>A Time to Create</i>. Lincoln Browning, Andrew's son, sees blacksmithing as a dying profession and breaks from the family to pursue a career as an inventor.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Join me as I tell a story about a family who loves and fights for what they believe in.</span>tatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387456284013003367.post-73189179134004034142018-03-23T19:12:00.000-05:002018-03-23T19:24:14.369-05:00Beneath the Blackberry Moon: The Red Feather by April W. Gardner<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; padding-bottom: 0px; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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Check out this new book from my author friend April Gardner!<span style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG1QTfdT4sf1GIr-xn0utfax6XYIRf_8H1DJSj_c-jhF-bNtmDz2XW8-MbmfixQ6qNR-VgZ2pCQ90tsWozNyi7qMWPh45iUfUMTzVz-GXZDfBv1AFOL7ecuPQ_QAiC6lAxaG92yy8o-EGW/s1600/TRF+700X455.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-left: 16px; margin-right: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<i>Beneath the Blackberry Moon: the Red Feather </i>by April W Gardner</div>
<div style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; font-family: "arial",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; position: static; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs_F7a4Q1lvkcd52Ata1bX7UPB19oE1uxRBevlUsHDaaLtOPt-En9zVYok1xJlPhH0LpYa8tz29dE94RyS2dK6HjyF52DERFHoglf0avkrowMDblDAxZ135S7nsrLDsbADG7uI3q825l4T/s1600/1+The+Red+Feather+ad+KU+and+99cents.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>Book 1 of the Creek Country Saga</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG1QTfdT4sf1GIr-xn0utfax6XYIRf_8H1DJSj_c-jhF-bNtmDz2XW8-MbmfixQ6qNR-VgZ2pCQ90tsWozNyi7qMWPh45iUfUMTzVz-GXZDfBv1AFOL7ecuPQ_QAiC6lAxaG92yy8o-EGW/s1600/TRF+700X455.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br style="direction: ltr; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; position: static;" /></div>
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On a moonless night in 1813, Adela McGirth encounters a set of wolves and the steely eyed warrior who slays them, searing himself on her heart. When he returns, it's with a brand of a different sort--the flaming arrow that destroys her life. </div>
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<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">In the copper-haired captive, Totka Lawe finds the other half of his spirit. He vows he would die ten deaths to protect her, and he would kill any who tried to steal her away. With bluecoat soldiers pursuing him, a jealous cousin pursuing </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial",sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">her</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">, and the woman herself pursuing home, that vow stands a serious chance of being called into action.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br /></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; direction: ltr; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Amazon Link: </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.amazon.com/Beneath-Blackberry-Moon-Part-Feather-ebook/dp/B01AU3C3L0/&source=gmail&ust=1521935836230000&usg=AFQjCNF67H8QQUBWLP7HhNIcVU5TCr5rbw" href="https://www.amazon.com/Beneath-Blackberry-Moon-Part-Feather-ebook/dp/B01AU3C3L0/" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/<wbr style="display: inline-block;"></wbr>Beneath-Blackberry-Moon-Part-<wbr style="display: inline-block;"></wbr>Feather-ebook/dp/B01AU3C3L0/</a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
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tatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387456284013003367.post-24994048727652235982017-12-20T13:36:00.000-06:002017-12-20T13:36:17.361-06:00Angels at the birth of Christ<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"> My
pastor was expounding the truths of the birth of Christ Sunday; and in the
middle of his sermon, he said, “We keep tripping over angels in this story.” He
went on with his point. My mind went off with the angels!</span><br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0px; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<a href="https://tse3.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.d6dce4OUmtJlG4_ulMatXAHaFL&w=286&h=196&c=7&qlt=90&o=4&dpr=1.25&pid=1.7" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for angel clipart free download" border="0" class="mimg" height="196" src="https://tse3.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.d6dce4OUmtJlG4_ulMatXAHaFL&w=286&h=196&c=7&qlt=90&o=4&dpr=1.25&pid=1.7" style="color: #666666;" width="286" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Many
angels surrounded the events of the birth of Christ. First, the angel Gabriel
announced to Zachariah that he would have a son (Luke 1:11-20). Elizabeth became
pregnant with John the Baptist at an unnatural age (Luke 1:23) She accepted a
visit from her relative Mary (Luke 1:39-45). Mary has an incredible story to
tell. The angel Gabriel had also visited her and announced that she would be
pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth’s child acknowledges Him <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">from within the womb</b>. Have you ever
thought about that? These two in utero infants recognize one another! (An
interesting view into when life begins if ever there was one!) If Mary wasn’t
quite sure about the angel and the visitation, she must have been once Elizabeth
confirmed that the child was holy by another supernatural child.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Meanwhile,
Joseph was struggling with the fact that his fiancée was pregnant, and he knew
he could not be the father. Another angel came to him in a dream to reassure
him that Mary’s pregnancy was truly a special event like none other (Matthew
1:11-18). Maybe he remembered the scripture Isaiah 7:14: a virgin would be with
child, called Immanuel. A fantastical claim in the Old Testament had come to
fruition in the New Testament.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Then
the birth takes place in Bethlehem at the height of tax season and no room at
the inns. Motel 6 would have had the light on for them, y’know. Mary and Joseph
must have wondered why it seemed God had abandoned them when the time for his
son to be born arrived. However, more angels appear out in the fields to tired,
restless shepherds, the unclean, underclass ones (Luke 2:8-15).<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Not just one, a multitude of the heavenly
host filling the night sky! Can you even imagine this? They find Mary, Joseph,
and Jesus and tell their story. Luke says Mary treasured all these things in
her heart. God hadn’t abandoned them; after all, the child was His Son (Luke 2:15-20).</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0px; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Skip
ahead maybe two years. Magi from the East arrive (read strange looking men
arrive at the door), telling the story about a new star in the sky that
appeared on Jesus’ birth (Matthew 2:1-18). They give them treasures of gold,
frankincense, and myrrh, costly, valuable gifts fit for a king. Unfortunately,
they had the same explanation for Herod. Warned in a dream (probably another
angel), the magi did not to go back to Herod (Matthew 2:12). Another angel warned
Joseph to flee to escape Herod’s wrath (Matthew 2:1-13-17). Did the valuable
gifts provide for Joseph’s family while they were in Egypt awaiting Herod’s
death (Isaiah 60:6-7)? How did Joseph find out about Herod’s death? <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Another angel came to help Joseph know when it
was time to return home (Matthew 2:19-23). God took care of everything, except for
maybe that hotel room in Bethlehem.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Angels.
Created beings. Heavenly servants. Warriors for God (I think of the Elven army
in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Lord of the Rings</i>!). Messengers
for Almighty Yahweh. These events are not the only ones where angels show up to
tell, protect, encourage God’s people. Each time they confront people as
messengers, they have the same words: do not be afraid! I don’t know because it’s
never happened to me, but the sight of a heavenly being in my bedroom would
certainly feel like a good time to be afraid.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0px; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Not
too many people report a glorious, winged creature appearing to them these
days. BUT people do report incidents when they were saved from disaster by
someone who just disappears when the police, EMT, or firetruck arrives. Or they
merge into traffic and barely miss being run over by a semi. People then talk
about guardian angels. I’m skeptical that God has assigned an angel to take
care of each of us. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It’s a Wonderful Life</i>
probably perpetuated that notion.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0px; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<a href="http://www.dazzlejunction.com/graphics-holiday/christmas-religious/merrychristmas.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">What
I do know is that the Holy Spirit resides inside me. He helps me make decisions
and sometimes gives me a glimpse of how He connects us all. After all, He’s not
the Spirit cut into pieces, doled out in chunks at our salvation! The Holy Spirit
is spirit. He recognizes Himself when I meet other Christians. He prompts me to
pray when I don’t even know why, but find out that He had awakened me to pray
at a critical moment in another Christian’s life. He guides me to change my
plans to help someone else.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0px; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Christians
are charged to be messengers and on-the-spot ministers to the world. We should
take the baby Jesus to the world and share with others the gift He gave to us
on the cross. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0px; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">Perhaps
that’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>tatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387456284013003367.post-87442306510506654692017-03-16T10:06:00.000-05:002017-03-16T10:08:12.408-05:00Mission Mesquite is available!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNWet-rsUnI11oo58lgECmSGO_v6QKDTkOQIcObNilQzeDFrRsJv276Y3QHwckoVkNyTUBR-wHv1Wyl134stCzOmdvmDG4u3VkunufUDHWiB5GBk0EpWtCuUb_voSxylf7uWCUauvmscHT/s1600/513HTFCpn-L._SX331_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNWet-rsUnI11oo58lgECmSGO_v6QKDTkOQIcObNilQzeDFrRsJv276Y3QHwckoVkNyTUBR-wHv1Wyl134stCzOmdvmDG4u3VkunufUDHWiB5GBk0EpWtCuUb_voSxylf7uWCUauvmscHT/s320/513HTFCpn-L._SX331_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">My latest novel!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;">While Kate Lawrence 's parents served in Cote d'Ivoire as career missionaries. Kate's education came in a French boarding school and American University in Paris and Georgetown. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Now a Foreign Service Officer for the US State Department, she wants nothing to do with the missionary lifestyle. When she finally agrees to visit their new mission post Mission Mesquite, the rodeo church at the Mesquite Arena in Dallas, Kate meets Tyler Hawkins, attractive All American Cowboy who has since been crippled by a bull trampling. They have an instant connection, but Kate doesn't know that Tyler has just completed seminary and mission training and is poised to take over Mission Mesquite once her parents retire. How can Kate resolve the conflict between her and God and her heart? Will Tyler's past as a free-wheeling cowboy cut short his ministry? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mission Mesquite</i> is a contemporary Christian romance.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span>
Get your copy of my new novel from <a href="mailto:tatumlight@gmail.com" target="_blank">me</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mission-Mesquite-Diane-E-Tatum-ebook/dp/B01MTA4ODC/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1489672263&sr=1-1&keywords=mission+mesquite" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, or <a href="https://www.createspace.com/6877540" target="_blank">CreateSpace</a>! And because you read to the end of the blog, here's a $5 discount code when purchasing your copy on createspace: 7R3THBJT<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>tatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387456284013003367.post-53439042447618680872016-07-27T09:54:00.003-05:002016-07-27T09:56:22.445-05:00Back Surgery 'Metaphors in the Christian Life" Part 3<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">After coming home from the hospital after surgery, I
felt good. I did things I never thought I’d be able to do after major surgery.
When the stitches were removed, I felt great! However, the next morning I woke
in a bloody pool of ooze from the wound, which had not healed. This emanation
put me back in the hospital and diagnosed with a MRSA infection. A PICC line
was inserted to get IV antibiotics while the wound continued to weep for six
more weeks. Plus I had excruciating pain in my right leg!</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Complications. My picture should be in the dictionary
next to this word. Everyone who has any surgical procedure has signed the page
that lists all the possible complications that may arise as a result of surgery,
including death. Dwelling on all the complications is ridiculous at this point
because you still need the surgery, otherwise you wouldn’t be there! Weeping
wound and PICC line followed by over-sewing the wound were the highlights of
this trip to the hospital. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I was sent home with IV
antibiotics to be administered at home – the strongest available on the planet.
Another MRI was required to see if the wound needed to be re-opened to
cauterize something in the surgical area.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">My third hospitalization took place over the 4<sup>th</sup>
of July weekend. Diagnosis: Acute kidney failure. This trip included an EEG to
see if I’d had a brain emergency. I went home barely able to stand, get out of
bed, walk, take care of basic functions. Not what I signed up for.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Then there was the day we called 911 twice: once
because I was in and out of consciousness, later because my blood pressure was
220/110. The ambulance ride to the ER was a new experience!</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">So it’s two plus months from surgery. The problems I had
prior to surgery appear to have been resolved. The wound has finally healed. I
can be left alone during the day, so Ken can go to work. Tyler, our Jack
Russell terrier, works hard at guarding me and inspecting the home health care
workers and my friends who come to help. We even survived the appliance
repairman’s visit and the plumber’s arrival last week.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">So what biblical truth can apply to all this mayhem? Ken
feels like Job, but we have good friends who have brought food, took me to
doctor’s appointments, sat with me, and encouraged us. All have prayed for us,
including online friends as well.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">God knows where this journey will lead.
First, I canceled my registration for ACFW conference. No way I could do the
walking required in August. Second, I released my three classes I was to teach
this fall for the community college of which I am an adjunct professor. Both
these are of high importance, but practically I was not going to be physically
able to do them, and that grieves me. However, my fall calendar has opened up. I
wonder what God might have in store. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">So I’ll claim Jeremiah:29:11, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“For I know the plans I have for you,”
declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you
hope and a future.” [NIV]</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>tatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387456284013003367.post-73440694177703131322016-06-07T01:37:00.001-05:002016-06-07T01:37:22.958-05:00Back Surgery Metaphors for the Christian Life, Part 2
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">My neurosurgeon, Dr Seyed. Emadian, is one of the best
in the nation, but he practices medicine in my small rural town. He also prays
with his patients. My Holy Physician is also dependable and reliable and can
guide my surgeon’s hands and mind.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">This surgery, 2 <span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjTi9_apZXNAhXGMyYKHaXiBXAQFggrMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spine-health.com%2Ftreatment%2Fspinal-fusion%2Fposterior-lumbar-interbody-fusion-plif-surgery&usg=AFQjCNHLVQwLYHz-ezLQjVmWFOCSwiEnuA&sig2=MtU6NzL48duYs0lK20_Dig" target="_blank">PLIF</a></span></span>s to fuse the L3/4 and the L4/5, is pretty
gruesome, but after seeing the MRI results (Yea!), it was obvious something
needed to happen. It looked like the L-4 had been bombed. leaving an inky blot behind.
The vertebrae were shifting on top of the extruding disc into the spinal cord
area, creating the look of a bone spur,</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Wait is a 4-letter word. Wait, wait, wait! I had 2
surgery dates: May 25 or May 31. Once again I was waiting for insurance
approval. That approval came in time to do surgery on May 25. Praise the Lord.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">However, time slowed as the pain marked the minutes.
Yet as the time grew near to surgery, part of my brain began to scream NO! Three
months in a back brace?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rescheduling all
the summer appointments? No trip to Maryland to care for two grandsons? Summer disappeared
into a black hole. Everything done to diagnose the problem … led to three
months reconnecting the fibers, nerves, muscles, and bones. Only God could heal
my back.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">On the morning of surgery, fear invaded. What if
something went wrong? I trusted God and Dr. Emadian implicitly. What if the
pain after surgery was worse than before? My spine could not stay the way it
was. So I walked to the registration desk (all that pre-surgery testing done
yesterday) and said, “I’m here to volunteer for back surgery.” The nurse looked
at me as though I’d lost my mind and said, “Good. We don’t get enough
volunteers for that.” </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Did I mention I live in Tennessee? I truly volunteered
because it was time to surrender all my fears and pain to the miraculous work
only He could do.</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>tatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387456284013003367.post-53467461177570645522016-06-01T05:01:00.002-05:002016-06-01T05:08:16.764-05:00Back Surgery Metaphors of the Christian Life<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">My journey toward reconstructive back surgery began
years before 2016. Cortisone shots in my lower back reduced the pain and
inflammation, but they were temporary measures, never fixing the big picture. After
air travel alone in January and again in February, after slinging computer bags
into the overhead bins and pulling bags from the baggage carousel, it was clear
that something was wrong.</span></div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1fqsWsYb9r912GRdsgMZaAUXK8djfDJifijdwciJ6x4lreFko9GSE4OwHtZBLYmzFgocHvEau_g49KWDOH0SMuE2_-gmrtyR-pL8mfziG1BZ1b5HBGCaTY9TvYhos7xEt2pWHMGWOOGxf/s1600/spine+description.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1fqsWsYb9r912GRdsgMZaAUXK8djfDJifijdwciJ6x4lreFko9GSE4OwHtZBLYmzFgocHvEau_g49KWDOH0SMuE2_-gmrtyR-pL8mfziG1BZ1b5HBGCaTY9TvYhos7xEt2pWHMGWOOGxf/s320/spine+description.jpg" width="215" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">http://www.teachpe.com/anatomy/the_spine.php</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">As a fibromyalgia sufferer, it’s sometimes hard to
know if pain is more than just a spike in ‘regular’ pain. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For a while I dismissed the pain in my hips,
lower back, buttocks. My right quad would go numb when standing for too long. Tingles
would cascade down my legs. When I woke on March 9 with a massive muscle spasm
from my lower back to behind my knee, my husband said, “Now will you go to the
doctor?” </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">So I did, finally. After yet another cortisone shot in
my left lower back and an x-ray showing a ‘bone spur’ on the L4 vertebra in the lumbar region, the
physician’s assistant requested an MRI from the insurance company. If you
follow me on Blasting News, you’ve read that <a href="http://us.blastingnews.com/opinion/2016/04/who-really-directs-healthcare-in-america-00884877.html" target="_blank">story</a>.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">How is all of this a metaphor for the Christian Life? </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">First, you can’t go about changing a problem until you
realize you have a problem. As non-Christians, we all must come to the
conclusion that something is wrong in our lives. All the Tylenol Extra Strength
doses would never fix the cause of my pain. Once I knew that the pain had a
specific cause, I knew I had to fix it. Sin in our lives, yes even Christians
sin, can never be repaired without the Holy Physician’s help. Only He can
remove our sin as far as the east is from the west. Until He excises my sin problem,
my constant missteps without Him, I continue to stumble and fail to live a life
focused on Him instead of dwelling on myself.</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>tatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387456284013003367.post-19783700002875424382016-03-18T02:59:00.000-05:002016-03-18T02:59:43.449-05:00Guest Author Ken Tatum!<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Who Is My Enemy?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“You have heard that it
was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray
for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in
heaven. Matthew 5:43-45a (NIV).<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZbMtwxRLnQobVmgWUOxIUJkqLekPiikXcYEMzORVCueU1sIaGE5wk3oWI3syHcgQrxQgFqKP56v0EjfOj4PfKrFewwjxVpexE7A9Z9sWHJZIjKIMeE0WdyzkZjsDxu71D6FYEiU9KGHl5/s1600/2009+007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZbMtwxRLnQobVmgWUOxIUJkqLekPiikXcYEMzORVCueU1sIaGE5wk3oWI3syHcgQrxQgFqKP56v0EjfOj4PfKrFewwjxVpexE7A9Z9sWHJZIjKIMeE0WdyzkZjsDxu71D6FYEiU9KGHl5/s320/2009+007.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In what we
usually call the Sermon on the Mount Jesus frequently upended traditional
thoughts on moral actions, thoughts and perspectives. In the passage just quoted He went to an
extreme of which I doubt anyone in His audience would have even dreamed. Many, if not most, in His Jewish audience
would have known of the Old Testament command found in Leviticus (19:18) to “love
your neighbor”. And I suspect many would
have just assumed that the “hate your enemy” part of this “traditional”
statement was also Biblical. We now know,
of course, that it is not a quote from Scripture, but rather simply the natural
human extrapolation to what we might want the Old Testament command to be. So we modern Christians breathe a sigh of
relief and say “Of course we are to love our neighbors and of course we should
love our enemies.” But do we ever go the
next step in our thought processes and ask the hard question: who does Jesus
really mean by these categories of neighbor and enemy?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One expert
in the Mosaic Law did ask the first half of this question. In Luke 10 we read about an encounter with
Jesus where he asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. In addition to the command to love the Lord
your God with all your being Jesus also quoted the Leviticus passage of loving
your neighbor. The man then asked Jesus the
obvious question, “Who is my neighbor?”
In response Jesus shared the famous parable of the Good Samaritan,
presumably to show the man who his neighbor was.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As He
finished His story Jesus asked the law expert a reverse question. Obviously Jesus wanted to find out if the man
had truly understood and ‘gotten’ the point!
So He asked the man if he now knew who his neighbor was. Correct?
No, Jesus’ question was not worded in the expected form. Instead He asked who “acted as” a neighbor,
and not “who is” your neighbor. Why
would Jesus not answer the man in a simple and straightforward manner?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I believe He
was trying to change the man’s thought process from defining everyone else as a
specific type of person to determining what type of person he himself was. Which matters more? Who some individual is to me, or who I am to
that individual? What category I place a
person in, or how I treat the person? I
cannot change that other individual, but I can change my attitudes and actions
toward that person. So, for me, the
important point is how I live and act.
Am I a neighbor?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But that is
only half of the pertinent question.
Just as Jesus said to love your neighbor, He also said to love your
enemy. So is it not also important to
ask who is my enemy? How might Jesus
answer that question? I won’t presume to
guess what parable He might tell to illustrate His meaning, but I can guess how
He might word His question back to us at the end of the story. Would He ask “Who then was the enemy of the
main character?” Or would He ask “Who
acted as an enemy to others?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The first
question would fit within our natural human impulses to put people into nice,
neat categories. But if Jesus
discouraged us from placing people into a neighbor category, would He not do
the same regarding enemies? I believe,
more likely, that He would want us to ask ourselves “Toward whom are we acting
as an enemy?” “Who are we an enemy to?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As with the
neighbor question the important detail is not the status of someone else, but
rather the status of our own thoughts and actions. How am I treating another individual? Am I loving them, being compassionate for
their hurts, and caring for their deep concerns? Or am I actively hating them? Disparaging them? Saying all manner of evil against them? Pushing them into ghettos and slums of their
native lands?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These days we
hear a lot of talk from people who claim the name of Christ about the United
States having many enemies. They name specific
nations, people groups, or individuals.
I will not speculate on whether any of these really are enemies. But Jesus said that if we really are children
of God the Father, we are to love them anyway.
And if love is actually a verb rather than a noun, then our love needs
to be active. Calling them derogatory
names and telling them to stay away is the opposite of love. In fact, Jesus directly addressed such things
earlier in the Sermon, relating the command to not murder to anger and
name-calling (Matt. 5:21-22).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In short, the
question to ask ourselves is “Do we truly want to be children of the Father?” If so, we must love. Actively.
Everyone. Is there a risk to
doing this? Absolutely! But I believe Jesus himself took the ultimate
risk when He died for us. Dare we, His
children, not imitate our Lord?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
tatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387456284013003367.post-80355307617792544262016-02-04T05:36:00.003-06:002016-02-04T05:39:35.316-06:00Terri Wangard's Friends and Enemies<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU26c-OizFZm2ipWfWMBKbfktc45v20KDTxYBIXWWM4gjWLrivwYlBZKL_ZZtrl7sc51OMJ3nrMQt9r_WDzlG3HMFm0Q0slFRgvXP-McYlACYS_qPV8ZnS7oDPkbZUuyb_pVFDzpdrXdaz/s1600/Friends+and+Enemies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU26c-OizFZm2ipWfWMBKbfktc45v20KDTxYBIXWWM4gjWLrivwYlBZKL_ZZtrl7sc51OMJ3nrMQt9r_WDzlG3HMFm0Q0slFRgvXP-McYlACYS_qPV8ZnS7oDPkbZUuyb_pVFDzpdrXdaz/s320/Friends+and+Enemies.jpg" width="206" /></a><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Terri Wangard’s </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Friends
and Enemies</span></i><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> is about how ‘real’ people experienced WWII, including
civilians in Germany. Her characters experience their own ‘teacup tragedies’
and triumphs in a world full of rationing, fear, love, and loss. A book in two
parts, Wangard introduces a cast in Part 1, then follows them through their
journey during the war in Part 2. The reader has no difficulty caring about
these ordinary characters affected by a world on fire.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQENtVugn-U3_C-wioai3TAc-mUbqRJK98wy587dR8SEffhS9HCMYLcn8rFivirYZmVTLETtZtj3CDF8faEwkpoFzl0rMVqjq7fUPkXIsXPYcgjF8Cz5MGHSTx6NEwNpRDERHBKfYzOTY9/s1600/Terri+Wangard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQENtVugn-U3_C-wioai3TAc-mUbqRJK98wy587dR8SEffhS9HCMYLcn8rFivirYZmVTLETtZtj3CDF8faEwkpoFzl0rMVqjq7fUPkXIsXPYcgjF8Cz5MGHSTx6NEwNpRDERHBKfYzOTY9/s200/Terri+Wangard.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQENtVugn-U3_C-wioai3TAc-mUbqRJK98wy587dR8SEffhS9HCMYLcn8rFivirYZmVTLETtZtj3CDF8faEwkpoFzl0rMVqjq7fUPkXIsXPYcgjF8Cz5MGHSTx6NEwNpRDERHBKfYzOTY9/s1600/Terri+Wangard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Friends and Enemies</span></i><span style="font-family: "calibri";">
is an enjoyable read. As a member of Wangard’s ACFW (American Christian Fiction
Writer) Scribes group, I have had the privilege to read and comment on her
work. She never disappoints. Her stories are intriguing woven tapestries drawn
together with historic detail and the ordinary within. Each of her characters
and his/her situations add the pattern and color to the sweeping drama of
history. In addition, the characters share their faith with those who struggle
without it.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I was provided a final copy of this copy in exchange for a
review; however, I had already experienced this story as a critiquer. It is my
pleasure to recommend </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Friends and Enemies</span></i><span style="font-family: "calibri";">
to both those who have an interest in WWII stories, but also to those who enjoy
curling up with a good book.</span></div>
<br />
<br />tatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387456284013003367.post-69044158829732058842016-01-29T04:50:00.000-06:002016-01-29T04:50:21.009-06:00Deanna Nowadnick's Signs in Life: Finding Direction in Our Travels with God
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOq4j9Lgo0cvf44EM6nMumHjizqAby-UOKqnYB1bhSKy5UcPQQmXga0n-9IhPrjuvPwk_bnyksLHbQJKiXL2wFhftS2hJ2GogWQBhwjW37nSxVr_fCyMyL7VMOFY4hhJ0bUiIB11QipzpS/s1600/41lmVJp8x%252BL._SX320_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOq4j9Lgo0cvf44EM6nMumHjizqAby-UOKqnYB1bhSKy5UcPQQmXga0n-9IhPrjuvPwk_bnyksLHbQJKiXL2wFhftS2hJ2GogWQBhwjW37nSxVr_fCyMyL7VMOFY4hhJ0bUiIB11QipzpS/s320/41lmVJp8x%252BL._SX320_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="206" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Deanna Nowadnick’s second book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Signs in Life</i>: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Finding
Direction in Our Travels with God</i> is an introspective look at the ways God
makes himself known in her life. Using traffic signs as chapter titles, the
reader can relate to the experiences Nowadnick has had. Each chapter also has
five questions at the end to lead the reader to apply the lessons learned in
his/her life.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As with her previous work <i><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Fruit of My Spirit, Signs in Life</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> is Nowadnick's testimony of her day by day walk with Christ. While
experiencing God, life gets messy sometimes, especially when we blow right
through the traffic signs. Anyone who has tried to walk with Christ can relate
to the unfortunate consequences of speeding, missing a sign, or choosing to
ignore a sign.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Two particular passages
struck me. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjayEPNbeS2JYd3mHIM7uiS2SiM9jzQykqcMDrdmy5J02z6H1rYObrWJUmkDMd8aHIFegLuqIE8t4smJQOaPLPWGlYPtovZp7QhhFWPWDi52TzkydKyyfCem2gaHRkPLvhdMYxxSogovl3W/s1600/51naqg-c%252B0L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjayEPNbeS2JYd3mHIM7uiS2SiM9jzQykqcMDrdmy5J02z6H1rYObrWJUmkDMd8aHIFegLuqIE8t4smJQOaPLPWGlYPtovZp7QhhFWPWDi52TzkydKyyfCem2gaHRkPLvhdMYxxSogovl3W/s320/51naqg-c%252B0L.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Chapter 5, No U-Turn” was
one such passage. In discussing her difficulty in relying on God in some
situations, particularly one that seemed hazardous, she realizes that ‘letting
go and letting God’ is more than bumper sticker theology. She states, “[I]f we
want to experience God’s glory, be it thunder, a beautiful vista, or a new
opportunity in life, we have to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">let go</i>
of the past and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">let God</i> show us the
future. In life there are no U-turns.” In this same vein, she quotes a plaque
she purchased during the experience in this chapter. It says: ‘You can’t start
the next chapter of your life if you keep reading the last one’ (49).</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Chapter 8, Road Narrows”
was another such passage. Nowadnick had rebellious relationship with her dad
with her mom running interference. When her mom died, Nowadnick claimed Anne
Lamott’s advice of either being right or being kind. She chose to spend her
father’s two-year good-bye a time being kind. “With God’s help, I was able to
practice being kind. …[K]indness became tolerance, and tolerance became
understanding. Understanding became acceptance, and acceptance became love, a
messy, imperfect love encased in my own messier version of grace. …that narrow
lane of life’s six-lane interstate, that lane in which we travel at the speed
of love” (80).</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Nowadnick’s transparency
throughout is fresh and encouraging.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> Her application of
lessons learned is natural, humorous, and not forced. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Signs in Life</i> is a challenge to how you see God and His lessons for
your life. Take the challenge and read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Signs
in Life</i>. Find it in<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Signs-Life-Finding-Direction-Travels/dp/0983589755/ref=pd_rhf_se_p_img_2" target="_blank"> Amazon</a>, and <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/signs-in-life-deanna-jean-nowadnick/1121991883?ean=9780983589754" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a>.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I was provided a free copy for an honest review.</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>tatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387456284013003367.post-34628494992815959222015-11-18T08:10:00.002-06:002015-11-18T08:10:23.273-06:00WARNING: NaNoWriMo In Process<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="navbar-brand" href="https://nanowrimo.org/" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="NaNoWriMo" src="https://d3bhawflmd1fic.cloudfront.net/assets/crest-05e1a637392425b4d5225780797e5a76.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NaNoWriMo Coat of Arms</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://nanowrimo.org/sign_in" target="_blank">NaNoWriM</a>o. If you travel in writing circuits, you know what that means. If not, this blog is for you!<br />
<br />
National (Na) Novel (No) Writing (Wri) Month (Mo) occurs in November each year. Every writer who signs up hope, plans, dreams of writing 50,000 words during the month of November. That's a big goal. One of my writing buddies has written 25,000 already!<br />
<br />
To write 50,000 words in November averages out to 1,667 words a day.<br />
<br />
I sign up with the goal of writing more, making time for writing, and being farther on the novel I'm writing than I wouldn't have been without the little push through emails, writing buddies' posts on social media, and regional partners.<span id="goog_1339503217"></span><span id="goog_1339503218"></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<br />
I have worked on my 2nd in the series historical fiction, <i>Transforming Bitterness Into Joy</i> in previous NaNoWriMos. This year I'm working on a contemporary romantic novel called <i>Mission Mesquite</i>. BTW: I have <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/tatumlight/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> Boards for each on my novels, complete and incomplete. Check out the resources I've posted there.<br />
<br />
The NaNoWriMo folks also sponsor writing months called Camps in April and August.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8r90Iu7c9DOYetXYu_z439Zt0yaY5gC_b_iYfU4HKvaBHFZARx8707b5ZTq-U9s-c_j5HNVb6WEuHdgDS1tJfDsZl2cLN1rR1NswhOeaiPIc8APYIXNu2xGJEMsAn7grV5zbq7iJfTYKu/s1600/2015-05-29+11.05.40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8r90Iu7c9DOYetXYu_z439Zt0yaY5gC_b_iYfU4HKvaBHFZARx8707b5ZTq-U9s-c_j5HNVb6WEuHdgDS1tJfDsZl2cLN1rR1NswhOeaiPIc8APYIXNu2xGJEMsAn7grV5zbq7iJfTYKu/s200/2015-05-29+11.05.40.jpg" width="200" /></a>So if your writer friend has dropped off the scene, he/she may be hunkered over his/her laptop comforted and inspired by yet another cup of coffee, printing out reams of paper hoping to edit this stream of consciousness mess in December so they can hopefully publish in January (see the coat of arms!).<br />
<br />
Pray for us. Buy us coffee. Care for our families. We'll be back in time for Christmas! We all want to be as successful as J.K. Rowling.tatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387456284013003367.post-44613463818227989792015-10-01T11:28:00.000-05:002015-10-01T11:35:12.444-05:00Focus surprise on a old book projectBack in the summer of 1998, my family visited my brother in Dallas. As part of that trip we attended the Mesquite Rodeo. In that same spring, we had a mission focus on rodeo missions. Inspired by these two seemingly coincidental events (that place where God works, dwells, and whispers to me!), I began a contemporary romance called <i>Mission Mesquite</i>. <br />
<br />
Then I started teaching middle school.<br />
<br />
In 2009, after several family emergencies requiring my presence and focus in St. Louis, Ken said to me, "Come home and write your stories." Yes, what a sweetheart my Kenny is!<br />
<br />
My first focus was to publish <i>Gold Earrings, </i>a<i></i> historical romance. I'd written the short story in high school. Long story short I published it with Tate Publishing in 2011.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, I worked on an American historical/romantic fiction series. Year after year of conferences, I've been told that colonial fiction doesn't sell. This year I had 3 appointments at ACFW Dallas, 2015, that resulted in requests for manuscripts. <br />
<br />
One of those editors requested <i>Mission Mesquite. </i>So this week I am pulling together the manuscript I worked on 17 years ago and falling in love with my characters and story all over again. Check out my Pinterest Board for<i> </i><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/tatumlight/mission-mesquite/" target="_blank"><i>Mission Mesquite</i></a>!<br />
<br />
Coincidence, coincidence, the Tennessee mission focus this summer included cowboy church! Like I said, no coincidences in my experience.<br />
<br />
Sneak peek: Kate Lawrence is a missionary kid who has had enough missions to last a lifetime and has rebelled against her parents and God. She's working for the state department in Washington DC as an interpreter and low level diplomat. She has the Georgetown townhome, the BMW, and the job of a lifetime. <br />
<br />
When she travels to Dallas for a long delayed visit to her parents and their new mission opportunity, she meets Tyler Hawkins, a former All-Around Cowboy winner who has since been injured in the ring by a bull. On a horse he's graceful and capable as the rodeo 'pickup guy,' rescuing cowboys after their rides. Off a horse he has a lurching gait courtesy of the injuries he sustained. Though Kate is attracted to Tyler, the white knight of the rodeo, she finds out that he is working with her parents at Mission Mesquite, a cowboy church, as the assistant pastor and preparing to take over from her parents as the mission pastor upon their retirement.<br />
<br />
Plan to share more soon!! All prayers appreciated.<br />
<br />tatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387456284013003367.post-32812119147507993822015-05-11T00:00:00.000-05:002015-05-11T07:19:07.457-05:00Win Wait for Me, the new book by Jo Huddleston!<span style="font-size: large;">My author friend Jo Huddleston has a new book available! I asked her to send me a character interview for my blog on her blog tour today. Comment on the blog to enter to win a digital copy of <em><strong>Wait for Me.</strong></em></span><br />
<strong><em></em></strong><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrJ9FLyqqhesFFlSvoDpdqE91re-rqh8aunhLfffe_-NGDxZ_xIfd_QR_4QRs2CqRwZUx0TINB7Bw6M7xtOs4SAgCyA95BrNluxSgldD0_TpB6YnlPHzpBjyVbDnrAa3MKoiKEtHNInEjd/s1600/WAIT+FOR+ME+final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrJ9FLyqqhesFFlSvoDpdqE91re-rqh8aunhLfffe_-NGDxZ_xIfd_QR_4QRs2CqRwZUx0TINB7Bw6M7xtOs4SAgCyA95BrNluxSgldD0_TpB6YnlPHzpBjyVbDnrAa3MKoiKEtHNInEjd/s1600/WAIT+FOR+ME+final.jpg" width="230" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><strong>CHARACTER
INTERVIEW </strong></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><strong>with Roberto Montagna</strong></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">I’m in Coaltown, West Virginia talking with some of
the residents. Today, I’m talking with Roberto Montagna.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Hello,
Roberto. How long have you lived here in Coaltown?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">You can call me Robby. Just my family calls me
Roberto—we’re all Italian. I’ve lived in Coaltown for several years. But I’ve
lived in coal mine communities all my life. We’ve moved from mine to mine.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Why
do your folks move from mine to mine?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">I think they move when they hear of better pay at
another mine.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Why
is that? Is your daddy a coal miner?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Yes, ma’am, he is. My grandfather came to America in
the late 1800s to find work in the coal mines in this area. When my papá got
old enough, he also went to work as a coal miner. I’ll follow my papá into the
mine when I graduate from high school. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Will
you graduate this year?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Yes, I will.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">And
you’ll begin to work in the mine here in Coaltown?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">I guess I will.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Robby,
you sound a little doubtful about that.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Well, I guess I am. My girlfriend doesn’t want me to
work in the coal mine. She says it’s honest work but it’s dangerous and she wants
me to think about making something else out of myself.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Your
girlfriend might be right. Are you thinking about it?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Well, we haven’t told anybody but we’re trying to find
a way for the two of us to get out of this coal community. You see, we can’t
spend any time alone here in the community. We want to leave so we can spend
our lives together.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">What’s
your girlfriend’s name?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Julie. Her daddy owns the coal mine here.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Why
can’t you and Julie spend any time alone here?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Because of her mother. She forbids Julie to socialize with
the miners’ children and we can’t let anybody see us together or they might
tell Julie’s mother. Then Julie would really be in trouble.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">How
does Julie live here and go to school without socializing a little with the
miners’ children?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">That’s just it—she can’t. She goes to school with us.
But outside of school we have to slip around so her mother won’t find out we
see each other.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Coaltown
is a very small community. How do you manage to spend time with Julie without
her mother knowing it?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Well, we meet after dark. Julie tells her folks she’s
going to Betty Jean’s to study but she meets me. I wait for her every night
below her house. Sometimes she can get out her house and some nights she can’t.
I wait for her until eight o’clock and if she’s not there by then, I go on
home.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Can
you and Julie not go somewhere outside of the community to spend time together?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">No, ma’am, we can’t. I don’t have a car. We can’t go
anywhere. We just have to meet after dark. We can’t spend more than an hour
together each night.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Robby,
sounds like you and Julie have a difficult situation.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Yes, ma’am, we do. That’s why we’re trying to come up
with a plan to get us both out of this community. If we could ever leave here,
we could be together forever. We want to spend our lives together. We’re still
working on it. We’ll figure it out somehow, we really will. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdpcymh6ra76FleeD0qiwKKLHWMFM-lOPgkv8varBY-tLSlaeqcmd3pyK1OSgH2LjW1XXvFq8I66EmXz5nnbVxQ993j5Bmy1TvgbQ_8oYtML8FnPQyJLnihfrKp1Jfpipd_BO0SazXZAQI/s1600/JO+Huddleston+PK+full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdpcymh6ra76FleeD0qiwKKLHWMFM-lOPgkv8varBY-tLSlaeqcmd3pyK1OSgH2LjW1XXvFq8I66EmXz5nnbVxQ993j5Bmy1TvgbQ_8oYtML8FnPQyJLnihfrKp1Jfpipd_BO0SazXZAQI/s1600/JO+Huddleston+PK+full.jpg" width="200" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">SHORT AUTHOR BIO –</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"> Jo Huddleston:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jo Huddleston is a
multi-published author of books, articles, and short stories. Her debut novels
in the Caney Creek Series and her latest book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wait for Me</i> are sweet Southern romances. She is a member of ACFW,
the Literary Hall of Fame at Lincoln Memorial University (TN), and holds a
M.Ed. degree from Mississippi State University. Jo lives in the U.S. Southeast
with her husband, near their two grown children and four grandchildren. Visit
Jo at </span><a href="http://www.johuddleston.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.johuddleston.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">BACK COVER BLURB for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wait for Me</i>:<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Can
Julie, an only child raised with privilege and groomed for high society, and
Robby, a coal miner’s son, escape the binds of their socioeconomic backgrounds?
Set in a coal mining community in West Virginia in the 1950s, can their love
survive their cultural boundaries?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">This
is a tragically beautiful love story of a simple yet deep love between two soul
mates, Robby and Julie.<i> </i>The American South’s rigid caste system and her
mother demand that Julie chooses to marry an ambitious young man from a
prominent and suitable family. Julie counters her mother’s stringent social
rules with deception and secrets in order to keep Robby in her life. Can the
couple break the shackles of polite society and spend their lives together?
Will Julie’s mother ever accept Robby?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">LINKS:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p>Y</o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">ou
can find Jo at:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Website
</span><a href="http://www.johuddleston.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.johuddleston.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Blog
</span><a href="http://www.johuddleston.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">http://www.johuddleston.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Blog
</span><a href="http://lifelinesnow.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">http://lifelinesnow.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Facebook
</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joshuddleston"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">https://www.facebook.com/joshuddleston</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Goodreads
</span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1615694.Jo_Huddleston"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1615694.Jo_Huddleston</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">You can purchase
eBook for Kindle and print copies of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wait
for Me </i>at: </span><a href="http://tiny.cc/xndfwx"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">http://tiny.cc/xndfwx</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
tatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387456284013003367.post-49332042668798303032015-03-10T01:00:00.000-05:002015-03-10T01:00:01.120-05:00CrossReads Book Blast!<pre><div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="417Q7AkU6AL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_" class="aligncenter wp-image-7403" src="http://crossreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/417Q7AkU6AL._SY344_BO1204203200_.jpg" height="374" width="243" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Sarah Anne's Expedient Marriage</span></strong>
<em>By Cathy Lynn Bryant & Jessica M. Dorman</em></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sarah-Expedient-Marriage-Unshakable-Series-ebook/dp/B00OSLIA8Q"><img alt="Amazon Buy Button" class="aligncenter wp-image-6600 size-full" src="http://crossreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Amazon-Buy-Button.jpg" height="28" width="176" /></a></div>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<span class="ez-shadow-dark" style="color: blue; font-family: georgia, palatino; font-size: 14pt;">About the Book:</span></h4>
<span class="ez-dc-yellow ez-dc-green">K</span>nowing he was about to die, Sarah Anne’s beloved father had arranged for her to marry Alexander Swyndhurst II. Alexander, a recent widower, had no intention of taking another wife; but after learning the young woman’s situation—that she had been the object of at least one man’s unwanted attentions, and that she would soon be left alone and unprotected—he had agreed to the marriage. He had one stipulation, however: He and Sarah Anne would live separately—he in Bristol, England, and she in Amesbury, Massachusetts Bay Colony. Sarah Anne had agreed wholeheartedly with this arrangement.
Will Alexander have a change of heart? What of the dangerous man from her past? What will happen while her husband is away—leaving her alone with only the servants? Even though there are connections, each novel in the series may be read as a stand-alone.
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="ez-shadow-dark" style="color: blue; font-family: georgia, palatino; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sarah-Expedient-Marriage-Unshakable-Series-ebook/dp/B00OSLIA8Q" target="_blank">LINK to KINDLE</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Expedient-Marriage-Unshakable-Series-Volume/dp/0692291563/" target="_blank">LINK to PAPERBACK</a></span></div>
<strong><img alt="cathy" class="alignleft wp-image-7404" src="http://crossreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/cathy-300x225.jpg" height="222" width="296" />Cathy Lynn Bryant & Jessica M. Dorman</strong>
Inspired by interesting characters and events uncovered while doing genealogical research,mother and daughter writing team, Cathy Lynn Bryant and Jessica Marie Dorman, who live in beautiful New England, have masterfully woven the stories of real people and fictional characters from the 17th and 18th centuries to develop inspirational, romantic, works of historical fiction. The Unshakable Faith series includes the following titles: Book 1 Lost Love and Shipwrecked--Madeline Pike Finds Hope in the New Land; Book 2 Grandmother's Namesake; Book 3 Sarah Anne's Expedient Marriage.
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="ez-shadow-dark" style="color: blue; font-family: georgia, palatino; font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Follow Cathy Lynn Bryant & Jessica M. Dorman</strong></span>
<a href="http://shop.bryantdormanbooks.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Authorsbryantanddorman?fref=nf" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/cathy73280175" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div>
<h3>
Enter to Win a $50 Amazon Gift Card!</h3>
Enter below to enter a $50 Amazon gift card, sponsored by author Cathy Lynn Bryant & Jessica M. Dorman!
<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="39a768ca75" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/39a768ca75/" id="rcwidget_82owuvmo" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
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<em>This book blast is hosted by <a href="http://crossreads.com/">Crossreads</a>.</em>
<em>We would like to send out a special THANK YOU to all of the CrossReads <a href="http://crossreads.com/book-blast-bloggers/">book blast bloggers</a>!</em></pre>
tatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387456284013003367.post-50223552113104647392015-03-03T09:09:00.000-06:002015-03-03T09:14:28.711-06:00Out of the Dust: Story of an Unlikely Missionary
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://dwtr67e3ikfml.cloudfront.net/avatars/b62dbe67AvisGoodhart" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="left-column-image" src="https://dwtr67e3ikfml.cloudfront.net/avatars/b62dbe67AvisGoodhart" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Avis Goodhart</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Out of the Dust: Story
of an Unlikely Missionary</i> is a testimony to the way God uses broken things
and impossible circumstances to show His power in our world. Avis Goodhart, the
unlikely missionary of the title, started and maintained a missionary presence
in Peru through her Go Ye Ministries. With my dear friend Marti Pieper, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Out of the Dust</i> tells Avis’s story about how she came to serve God
through missions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=17&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0EP4yMBBQAVgC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fcontacts%2Fu%2F0%2F%23contact%2F54545fb40d2eafaa&ei=Us31VOGYMIOVyQSmkILACw&usg=AFQjCNG7vG4zvZxizdRyzKxIxG6dHlBVdg&sig2=ihtAezFMh5D0d3rmOj6YxQ&bvm=bv.87269000,d.aWw" onclickstat_11dc79c="SERP_CL_GR" original_target="https://www.google.com/contacts/u/0/#contact/54545fb40d2eafaa" saprocessedanchor="true" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LdaCmx-pYhQ/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAAAAA/YmYFjmkWHbU/s128-c-k/photo.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marti Pieper</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At the end of each chapter is the testimony of someone who
went to Peru and shared the ministry with Avis. Some came for a week’s mission
trip. Some came and stayed. Some led women’s Bible study and craft classes,
empowering women who felt alone and discarded like the trash in the landfill on
which their cardboard homes sit. Some adopted orphans from the orphanage. Some
taught at the Go Ye Ministries School. Avis’s life may not have seemed
extraordinary, especially her childhood, but her life and God’s use of her
reinforces the idea that God’s power is even more evident when His servants are
ones who has little to no power, education, wealth, or status.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Missionary prayer groups and women’s groups will find this
book about the work Goodhart began in Peru a good study book. Bible study
groups may find this book challenging to put feet to their knowledge of the
Bible. Churches may find <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Out of the Dust </i>an
impetus to go forth from the comfort of the pew to those who need their help
and compassion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Read this book. Available in paperback & Kindle at
Amazon <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Out-Dust-Story-Unlikely-Missionary-ebook/dp/B00NB51F5K/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425393492&sr=1-3&keywords=out+of+the+dust"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.amazon.com/Out-Dust-Story-Unlikely-Missionary-ebook/dp/B00NB51F5K/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425393492&sr=1-3&keywords=out+of+the+dust</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Watch the YouTube videos from their experience </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDXzVH-zXik"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDXzVH-zXik</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">and interviews on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">100
Huntley Street</i> </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ydA3wudgQY"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ydA3wudgQY</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
& </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LnIW-Du6Ec"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LnIW-Du6Ec</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Pray and act on what God is calling you to do out of the
dust of your ordinary life. God will make your service to Him extraordinary, as
He has done with Avis Goodhart and her multitude of helpers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The publisher has provided a review copy in exchange for my
review.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
tatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7387456284013003367.post-85655466875075488132014-10-03T10:09:00.000-05:002014-10-03T10:09:19.337-05:00Spotlight on Author Ane Mulligan<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHo2c_kwQpbReuR3fqFe-vfuoHP_1O-J5CtrW18wi686lKNADjfdt6WQJEHTHvqmlPwZWsQWWZ-ZmMj5eaXRR8bPL9cj08vXlSM2Kpao00LmwRV5mrreRXIawBpMO8YVcSrbb4ix87bVX7/s1600/Ane-PR.headshot+copy.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHo2c_kwQpbReuR3fqFe-vfuoHP_1O-J5CtrW18wi686lKNADjfdt6WQJEHTHvqmlPwZWsQWWZ-ZmMj5eaXRR8bPL9cj08vXlSM2Kpao00LmwRV5mrreRXIawBpMO8YVcSrbb4ix87bVX7/s1600/Ane-PR.headshot+copy.jpeg" height="320" width="251" /></a>
Author Ane Mulligan is my friend. We've met through American Christian Fiction Writers. She is fun and an little quirky. Her first published book came out in September 2014. I asked her to answer a few questions about her journey as a writer.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Where do you find your ideas for your writing?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">From life. For Chapel Springs Revival, the
story perked for a few years. A</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;"> young women at church told me when she married,
she didn't know she should have prayed for the husband God had picked out for
her, so she was going to get a divorce and go look for that other man. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;">I
talked her out of it, but it stuck with me. If one woman thought that, there
had to be others. So I decided to explore what would happen if a woman in her
forties who had been married for a long time, just learned about it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCTcyXQCx-PsxIfIKWHaM4O3xm9-bYyOZv8-sOtcTUWaeIh8Th1E26M7KpgrQ7vmDoXDKdTGocUILCBXxCAFHIt0L4YqnPjDq06EQnp5krA5l-ENXfj2A033Jhe0wWl6sKhjazt-m2V_M/s1600/A+corner+of+the+bedroom.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCTcyXQCx-PsxIfIKWHaM4O3xm9-bYyOZv8-sOtcTUWaeIh8Th1E26M7KpgrQ7vmDoXDKdTGocUILCBXxCAFHIt0L4YqnPjDq06EQnp5krA5l-ENXfj2A033Jhe0wWl6sKhjazt-m2V_M/s1600/A+corner+of+the+bedroom.jpeg" height="150" width="200" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Describe the space where you most often write.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">For years, I wrote in a corner of the master
bedroom, with a lovely window to look out. However, the space was small. Just a
few months ago, Hubs and I did the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Big
Office Move</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLLcpwmx2MfTjNeQkXXr3ZBqUps8qrnPjnQQmE_ov9-NOAd5qVZ7dLRgFgNOVZOikAKNO_db_5Vq5rqEQm3Tux0QhHQn4JOgek08akDGAxnmFskP5l03B2JIHB2Yev5UU1SdIMcAJMubsP/s1600/AneMulliganOfficeSpace.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLLcpwmx2MfTjNeQkXXr3ZBqUps8qrnPjnQQmE_ov9-NOAd5qVZ7dLRgFgNOVZOikAKNO_db_5Vq5rqEQm3Tux0QhHQn4JOgek08akDGAxnmFskP5l03B2JIHB2Yev5UU1SdIMcAJMubsP/s1600/AneMulliganOfficeSpace.jpeg" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">We moved him out of a front room and into
the never-used-dining room, after we sold the furniture. I moved into his old
office, with a beautiful new-to-me desk. I have a fantastic huge bookcase and
an ergonomic writing chair. There's lots of natural light from the large
window.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Tell about your road to your first writing contract.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;">On
my word, that's one long journey. I started my first novel on Jan 1<sup>st</sup>
in 2003. You can do the math, but in between were a lot of ups and downs. I
started going to committee as early as 2005, but always got rejected for one
reason or another. By 2007, the reasons weren't the writing but the other ones:
it didn't quite fit this house, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Then
I began to get past editorial committee and to pub board. Again, strange things
happened. One house had their slate full, so they held me over for the next
quarter. Only the editor retired and her hard drive got wiped clean. I was cast
off into cyber oblivion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;">I
saw a pattern and what I realized was God was saying, "Not yet. Not
there." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;">I
whined. He said, "Trust me."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP6-2J-sHCbdNCzHe1Bi6-lqWceMb3tlVgSyigiqdNikblogEC2fNsKCJTsR9HQ_LzhqINgO5v8oy_HR1MXW-CGG58tjeuUz5UFhDpiMxDBYxF9ADJl3TSIA0Gy5d9ZdpEX2-JAYs_1eFS/s1600/CSR+COVER+copy+2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP6-2J-sHCbdNCzHe1Bi6-lqWceMb3tlVgSyigiqdNikblogEC2fNsKCJTsR9HQ_LzhqINgO5v8oy_HR1MXW-CGG58tjeuUz5UFhDpiMxDBYxF9ADJl3TSIA0Gy5d9ZdpEX2-JAYs_1eFS/s1600/CSR+COVER+copy+2.jpeg" height="320" width="215" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;">He
didn't give me any other option, so I chose to trust Him. I write and leave the
rest to Him and my agent. So when she called with the offer, I knew it was the
right place and the right time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;">The
right time and place was so important to me. You see, I believe people let down
their guard when they think they're being entertained. Then when they least
expect it, our words can reach out, touch heart, and change lives. And isn't
that why we write?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Why is it important to you to be a dues-paying-member of
writing organizations like ACFW? To what other writing organizations
do you belong?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">I owe so much to ACFW. Besides the
life-long friends of like minds, and the wonderful networking contacts, I've
learned so much from the conferences and online courses. I also belong to my
local ACFW Chapter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">And the ACFW email loop! It saved my bacon
when I wrote myself into a corner in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Chapel
Springs Revival</i>. I suddenly had to find a geologist. Do you know how rare
those are? Fortunately, an ACFW member's hubby is a geo-geek and was able to
answer my questions, plus he put me in contact with a professional.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Who is your favorite character in your book? What makes him/her
special to you?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">I have to say my protagonist, Claire.
She's so much fun. She's fiercely loyal to her friends and family, but she
tends to speak her mind without filters. She also moves without thinking, which
gets her into a lot of trouble. I've written several books, but she's still my
favorite.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">What else should the blog reading public know about you?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Wow, let's see...I have two English
mastiffs that are like having two-year-old twins. Fortunately, I also have a
chef-son. He has his own company that does corporate catering, and he tries out
new things at home. Sorry, ladies, he's mine. My husband is an artist and did
the artwork my publisher used for my book cover. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Where do you go to 'get away'? Do you write when you get away?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Get
away? What's that? Unfortunately, we don't much. Our dogs make that difficult.
We once bought a motorhome, so they could go with us, but that was a fiasco,
and another story for another day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;">If
I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">did</i> get away, it would be to the
mountains, preferably at a lake. I probably wouldn't write on my books, but I
would write articles and journal the experience <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">for</i> a story. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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tatumlighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17485205761822450146noreply@blogger.com8