Category Archives: Guest Blogger

My Amazing Connection to Author Jan Pierce: What I Wish all Parents Knew

05 Tuesday May 2015

Posted by in Books, Christianity, Guest Author, Guest Blogger, Inspiration

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Alone in a foreign country, with my husband in a third world ICU suffering multiple organ failure, God summoned his angels. They are the Pierces: Jan and Roger.

Homegrown Readers coverToday, Jan Pierce is a guest on my blog. She will share her secrets about inspiring children to love to read. Jan is a retired teacher and freelance writer who specializes in writing about education, parenting and family life topics. She is the author of the newly-released book, Homegrown Readers: Simple Ways to Help Your Child Learn to Read

Last November, when my husband contracted dengue fever from a mosquito bite, I’d only known Jan vaguely as an author friend on Facebook. During our crisis in India, my only means of communication was via a hospital computer. I got on Facebook and asked for prayers.

Jan Pierce saw my message. Her husband Roger was in India, in Bengaluru, where we were. Deciphering my sporadic messages, the couple discovered our location.

A few days later, Roger stepped into the hospital room. With happy tears upon seeing my husband alive and well, he told us that God had prompted him to pray with fervency. He’d spent countless hours interceding before the Lord for us. Roger had never met us before, but we all held hands and prayed in that hospital room, so far from home. We were all overwhelmed at this amazing connection…

Because of God…

Because of prayers…

Because of…yes, Facebook…

…my husband recovered and I am able to introduce Jan Pierce to you, a wonderful talented compassionate author with a heart for India and a heart for helping kids learn to read.

I’m handing over my blog to Jan. And what’s really cool about her post today is that today March 5th, is UNESCO’s World Book Day. A celebration that encourages children to read. To celebrate, Here’s JAN!!!!!

Thanks, Holly. God is amazing and I am grateful for your husband’s recovery and for your welcoming me here today to talk about What I Wish All Parents Knew…

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Today’s busy families are hard pressed to give their children everything they need. Schedules are packed. Kids join soccer and T-ball teams. Families enjoy the outdoors together camping and hiking. Parents take time to teach their children basic kindness and manners, but they often wait to get into that book learning, the reading and writing stuff, until their children enter school.

But here’s the thing. Reading is really important. Virtually all learning takes place through the written word. Children who haven’t been read to, who haven’t listened to fairy tales, poems, tales of curious monkeys and books about real animals, kids who aren’t familiar with books and what’s inside them–these kids are at a disadvantage when they go to school.

The solution is simple. Read to your children. Even if you had unhappy experiences in your own learning to read years, the price of entering school without lots of experience with books is too high. Kids soon learn that the other children know what’s going on. They don’t. They’ve just begun their school career and already feel like a failure.

Reading aloud to children is, ideally, a wonderful thing. It can be the ritual before naps and bedtimes. It can be what the family does on Saturday mornings while they eat their pancakes. Sharing favorite stories should be a positive experience for the whole family. If that isn’t the case, something needs to change. If reading isn’t enjoyable to you as the parent, suck it up and do it anyway. (You’ll change your mind.)

Regular read aloud times should be part of the family schedule. Let children choose some of the titles. Read a variety of fiction and non-fiction books and don’t forget that maps, comic books, the Sunday comic strips and even instruction manuals are all reading materials. It’s never too late to start because it’s just that important to success in school.

When your children enter kindergarten let them be the kids who have heard at least five hundred stories. Let them be the ones who understand that stories have characters and settings and plots. Let them know which way is up on a page and that writing goes from left to right. Teach them to love books and reading. Your reward? A happy, successful reader.

Holly: Thanks for that message Jan, could you share a little more about your background.

Sure, I’m a wife, mother and grandma to three terrific grandsons. I retired eight years ago from a long career in education. I taught all grades from kindergarten through fourth grade, but mainly taught first and second grade, so I had ample time to teach children to read. I earned a reading endorsement when I got my Master’s degree because I wanted to understand more about the nuts and bolts of reading. I spent the last two years of my career as a reading specialist.

When I retired, I determined to stay active and soon realized I had two new “jobs.” One involves Teams India, the NGO my husband and I founded to do missions work in India. The second is I became a freelance writer. I’d never published a thing before 2007, but soon found that I love the challenge and everything related to the writer’s life.

And getting involved in the writing life is what brought Jan and I together on Facebook. Isn’t this an amazing connection? And my blog is all about connections.

Holly: Before you go, Jan. I really want to stress the benefits a parent will get from reading your book? Can you tell us how it will help parents and their children?

Sure. Any parent who wants their child to gain reading skills in English will benefit from the information in this book. It’s important that parents understand English is not a highly phonetic language and because of that children need more than phonics to read well. They need to use thinking strategies to find the meaning in a text. If they read the words perfectly, but don’t understand the meaning, they haven’t really read. All the strategies they need to solve reading problems are found in Homegrown Readers.Homegrown Readers cover

And below are links to Jan’s site and to purchase her book: Homegrown Readers: Simple Ways to Help Your Child Learn to Read

CONNECT WITH JAN: Website: www.janpierce.net and www.onehandfulofrice.org / Facebook author page / Jan’s Amazon author page / Linked In / Pinterest

Amazon.com to buy Jan’s Book /  To purchase Jan’s Book from Barnes and Noble

Beautiful beach and seaHolly: If you’d like to hear more about our drama-filled visit to Tsunami-devastated Nagapattinam in our “then and now” book, Tsunami 2004 – Still Wading Through Waves of Hope, click here. The nonfiction book takes a look back at our visit ten years ago and our return trip this last November and the challenges and surprises we encountered. It also chronicles the lives of several orphans.

But, first, I urge you, parents, teachers, aunts, uncles grab Jan’s book from the links above. It’s a must for any one who cares about helping a child they love learn to read!

Guest Post: The Newtown Tragedy, Two Weeks Later and Questions

27 Thursday Dec 2012

Posted by in Christianity, Guest Blogger

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Today, two weeks after the Newtown Tragedy, I welcome Pastor T.E. Hanna as a guest blogger to reflect on the Sandy Hook shootings and to tackle a few tough faith related questions.

TE HANNAT.E. Hanna is currently completing his final term as a Masters of Divinity student at Asbury Theological Seminary. In addition to his studies, he serves the church in two roles: as Senior Pastor at one location and as Director of Student Ministries at another. Follow his blog at OfDustAndKings.com or connect with him on Google+.

The God Who Wasn’t There: Answering The Newtown Tragedy by T.E. Hanna

Since December 14, when the unimaginable horror of the Sandy Hook shootings first reverberated throughout the news media worldwide, people have gathered to mourn, to cry, to rage, and to question. The very attempt to make sense of such an insensible atrocity seems an effort in futility, yet the following days would be marked by a news media consumed with just that. Sometimes, the answers just aren’t there.

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As much as we wish to know why, for many of us the questions run even deeper. After all, we serve a God who is all-knowing, all-powerful, and good. Surely, if God is all-knowing, then He knew this tragedy was about to take place. Surely, if God is all-powerful, then He had the capacity to stop it from happening. Surely, if God is good, then He must have felt compelled to stop that man from walking into an elementary school with an arsenal, and systematically executing innocent children. So then, why did this take place? Somehow, in light of the suffering born that day, the standard response that “He has a plan” seems to fall short and rings hollow.

I don’t pretend to know why this happened. Some things are too big for mere mortals to grasp. However, as I slowly recover from the shock, I find solace (and, perhaps, a few answers) from remembering the following truths about our world, our God, and who we are called to be:

  • We live in a broken world. This is at the heart of our faith. In the beginning, when God created all things, He created them and declared them to be “good.” It was in the garden where this created order became usurped, as the archetypal couple chose to know not just good, but evil as well. Thus, evil was invited into creation, and brokenness marred our world. The first result was murder – fratricide, even – as Cain chose to execute his own brother. Evil is a part of our world. Sandy Hook was an expression of evil.
  • We worship a broken Lord. The God we serve does not separate Himself from our suffering. Rather, He entered fully into it. The moment of our redemption came not in spite of evil, but because of it. Jesus was betrayed, abandoned, illegally arrested, secretly tried, grotesquely tortured, and then executed in agonizing fashion despite being declared innocent. It was evil that put Him on that cross. Jesus suffered at the hands of evil. We, who experience evil now, do not suffer alone.
  • Brokenness brings redemption. It is a marvelous thing that this man who raised the dead, gave sight to the blind, cleansed the lepers, made lame men walk, cast out demons, and healed women with chronic blood issues, also rose from the dead Himself. This was more than an animated corpse – this was a complete transformation into a glorified body. And yet, in spite of this glorious transformation, He still bore the scars of His crucifixion. It is these very scars we now look at and see as beautiful, for it is “by His stripes we are healed.” The same principle holds true in our own lives. Our ability to act as healers in a broken world most often flows out of our own ragged scars.
  • Brokenness is temporary. Pain is not the final picture. Just as evil was never an intended part of the created order, neither is it permanent. The time will come when this dualism will be divided and judged, when brokenness will be made whole, and when evil and pain will be replaced with laughter and peace. This may provide little comfort in the immediate, but what it means is this: we live with a glorious hope.

So where was God in Newtown? I believe God was there in the midst of it. I believe He was with the teachers, who embodied the fullest picture of love as they sacrificed themselves for their children. I believe He was with the children, cradling them in His arms as they faced the darkest moment of their lives and, for many of them, welcoming them Home. I believe He was with the parents, the survivors, and all the victims who now face a long road ahead of them. I believe He is still with them, seen or unseen, offering comfort in the midst of grief.

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And, I believe He is with you and me, walking with us as we struggle to make sense of the insensible, calling us to give life to our scars, and inviting us to become agents of healing in a world that is so evidently broken.

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Want to read more of T.E. Hanna’s theological insights? Check out his blog at OfDustAndKings.com: reflections on God, His Kingdom, and what it means to be human or connect with him on Google+.

A Higher Level: Guest Blog by Dana Yost

01 Thursday Nov 2012

Posted by in Guest Blogger, Inspiration

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Today begins NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month) thirty days to write 50,000 words. I’m diving into a new project, so my blog posts will be sparse until December.

But, I’m thrilled to announce that today, November 1st, is also the release date of A Higher Level: Learning the Big Picture from a Small-College Tennis Team by Dana Yost. Today, Dana has offered this wonderful guest blog about his new book. Back to writing for me. The blog podium is yours, Dana!

In April 2000, when I was the editor of the daily newspaper in Marshall, Minnesota, I took a photo of three long-time, successful coaches at Southwest Minnesota State University. Their names were Mike Sterner, Carmen DeKoster and Hugh Curtler. I had them pose outside of the physical education building on campus, in front of a replica wood-spoked covered wagon with the words “Go Mustangs,” painted in gold on the sideboard.

The school’s athletic teams are called the Mustangs, and SMSU is located on rural Midwest prairie, on ground once broken by nineteenth-century pioneers. And the three coaches were pioneers, a century later, in their own important ways. So the covered wagon was a natural back drop for the photo: All three were being inducted that spring into the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Hall of Fame — Sterner for wrestling, DeKoster for women’s basketball and Curtler for women’s tennis.

Little did I know that slightly more than a decade later, I’d write a book in which all three coaches were quoted and one of them, Hugh Curtler, was the central character.

But it has come to pass: My new book, A Higher Level: Learning the Big Picture from a Small-College Tennis Team, launched today by Ellis Press.

The book is a combination of three genres, if you will: local and regional history, sports and cultural history, and a sort of how-to-build-a-winning-organization guide with insights that should apply not only to college sports teams but business, education, government, churches, and other organizations looking for team-building, leadership and management methods that have proved to work.

And hopefully, it is not a dry type of any of those three genres! The book is the story of the Southwest State women’s team from 1979 to 1992, the fourteen seasons that Curtler was its head coach. It’s a very interesting team with a dramatic, almost Hoosiers-like arc, wrapped around many compelling, memorable personal stories about Curtler and his players.

And it is inspirational: When Curtler became coach in 1979, the team had existed for three seasons, going through three coaches and playing only partial schedules. He inherited facilities that opponents openly mocked and sometimes tried to boycott. There was no funding for scholarships or recruiting, and the team had bake sales to raise money for travel. By the end of his fourteen seasons, the team had become one of the best small-college women’s tennis programs in the country — winning nine consecutive Northern Sun Conference titles, regularly finishing among the top teams at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national tournament, producing several All-Americans, and two winners of perhaps college’s tennis most prestigious honor, the Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership and Scholarship. Curtler himself was named the NAIA national coach of the year in 1990.

Not satisfied with dominating on the small-college level, this little team from a remote part of the Midwest prairie began to regularly compete against — and sometimes defeat — teams from NCAA Division I universities. Major colleges: The University of Minnesota, University of Iowa, Iowa State University, Creighton University, Wichita State University.

Remarkable stuff, and the fact that it was accomplished in the conditions and circumstances in which it was — a home outdoor court with an asphalt surface, open to harsh and cold Minnesota spring winds, downwind from the stinky emissions from one of the country’s largest corn-processing plants, and indoor “courts” that really were nothing more than a pair of courts whose borders were marked out by plastic tape on top of a slick hardwood basketball floor — makes it even more remarkable.

I knew some of that before I started working on A Higher Level. For much of the 1980s, I was the sports editor of the Marshall paper and often covered Curtler and his team. But as I interviewed former players, researched old records and stories, and had many conversations with Curtler, I began to see that that there was even more to the tennis team’s story than all of its victories and trophies.

These young women have much to tell us about the virtues of hard work; of believing in yourself and one another — despite what others may say; about overcoming serious injury; and about learning to thrive in a atmosphere of people with diverse ideas and backgrounds. Over the latter half of Curtler’s run as coach, he recruited many international players, especially from Colombia and Northern Europe. They became, in effect, metaphor for both nineteenth-century immigrants and today’s new immigrants, and they quickly bonded with a bunch of Minnesota small-town and farm girls to form a powerhouse tennis team: The 1989 Southwest State team had five players — five of the six starters — who either were or would become All-Americans: — two from Colombia, one from The Netherlands, and two from Minnesota.

And did I mention they won all those years by doing things the right way?

They didn’t cheat, they were stars in the classroom as much as they were on the tennis court.

The second of those is an important piece of the tennis team’s story, because it is a vital link between Curtler and his players. The coach was not your traditional college athletic coach. The direct descendant of a Revolutionary War hero (Gen. Hugh Mercer), Curtler was an academic of national renown before he ever coached a women’s tennis match. He remained so after he started coaching: He earned his PhD in philosophy at Northwestern University, founded and directed Southwest State’s Honors Program, chaired its philosophy department, authored twelve books and served on national boards and organizations that focused on education, philosophy and ethics. He had high standards as a scholar and expected his players to have the same: Many Southwest State players were members of the Honors Program, reserved for the school’s top students. Several became academic All-Americans or won other national and regional academic awards. Many became teachers and coaches themselves, or business leaders.

“We, in the Honors Program, with Hugh — it was a necessity that we had to be good students,” former player Katy Pivec Hansen, an academic All-American, said.

The players and Curtler are proud of what they attained and how they did it. They believe they stand in stark contrast to some of the crazed incidents that have plagued Division I sports in recent years. And they believe that the way they pulled together, winning, setting new standards at a minor sport in a small college in an out-of-the-way town, is something for the ages, a legacy worthy of a protecting and sharing. They were in the sort of sport at the sort of place no one normally would need to care about. But their success, their courage, their spirit of adventure give us reason to care.

When she was inducted into the SMSU athletic Hall of Honor in February 2011, Carolina Gomez, a two-time All-American, said: “They told me I could have five to ten minutes to talk today. I could spend five to ten hours just sharing with you all the wonderful times I had here playing tennis and being part of this program. … Everyone at SSU was so enthusiastic, and so supportive of our team and our success. I never met so many people who had a genuine desire to see us succeed as I met in Marshall.”

These young women did what we so often think America has lost the capacity to do — they built something from nothing, their only resources being their hearts and intellect, and one another. And what great hearts they had. And what a great bond they often still have. As the book began coming together, I’d mention to one player or another what someone else had said. Soon enough, some of the former players began saying it was time to have a reunion of the tennis program. One of them said she’d prefer a tennis reunion over a high school reunion. Another, who still lives in Marshall, offered to host it. Another who also lives in Marshall offered to coordinate it.

That’s loyalty. That’s friendship. That’s paying tribute to a program that changed your life in ways that still affect you, twenty-five to thirty years later.

The story of the Southwest State women’s tennis team from 1979 to 1992 is about many things, I suppose. Ultimately it is about this: a celebration of the human spirit, something former player Jamie Horswell Kidder captured when she told me:

“It was sweet, memorable, and an amazing and rare opportunity we all grew from.

Thank you SSU, thank you Coach, thank you team.”

The book is available online through my publisher’s web site, http://www.ellispress.com/, and will be available on Amazon after Christmas. For those who want the e-book version, it already is available for Kindle on Amazon.

What Do You Really Want?

25 Thursday Oct 2012

Posted by in Best Web Sites for Writers, Family, Guest Blogger, Writing

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What Do You Really Want? Author and critque partner, Don McCandless, posted this question and some great advice on Internet Writing Workshop (IWW) after some grumbling posts about trimming words.

I know what I want. I want to write a lot of books. I want to keep my agent busy selling my novels. I want to continue mastering the craft of writing.

To make this happen, I depend on IWW and excellent critque buddies like Don McCandless. IWW is like writer’s boot camp. We work out, tearing apart each other’s chapters, toning our grammar, paring down our prose, trimming our beloved darlings, and wiping out those sagging clichés.

Below is Don’s post from IWW. It’s great advice, not only for writers, but for anyone. Thanks Don!

What is it that you really want? Why do you write?

Once upon a time, when I was an aspiring athlete, I worked out hours and hours every day. I sacrificed many things most people take for granted. This isn’t something you can hide from anyone. Everyone who  knows you, is related to you, works with you, knows you’re paying a price they’d never consider. And yet, many of these same people would ask, we have this league, this team, this event, this company picnic. Come and play with us.

To a trained athlete, there is no situation more dangerous than being in close quarters with a recreational athlete. They don’t know what they’re doing, and you’ve reduced what they see as exceptional, to trained reflex.

So what does this have to do with writing and word counts, you ask. The answer is, simple logic.

Literary agents make their living by representing writers the general public support by purchasing their product. If this is your goal, to be one of these writers, then one must learn the rules of the game, perform the required exercises, build yourself up to  completion level, and compete. One must be lean and mean. No fat. None. Zero. Nada.

Traditional publishing is a game. If you don’t play by the rules, you automatically lose. If the game isn’t for you, there’s always the co-ed recreational league that meets at the Salvation Army Hall on Tuesday nights. Sign up, and have fun. It’s easy. Anybody can play. But no one will ever read about you in the paper. So what is it that you really want? What price are you willing to pay?

Do you really need every one of those 100,000 words? Or could you work off ten or fifteen thousand. No pain, no gain.

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Thanks Don!

My first novel, Crooked Lines, landed on my agent’s desk at a hefty 126,000 words. She insisted I trim it to under 100,000 words. It wasn’t easy, but I did. Hoping for a sale soon.

I’m spending this week finishing my second novel, “I’ll Be Seeing You,” and hope to have it to my agent by November 1 to begin NANOWRIMO, National Novel Writing Month. NANOWRIMO is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel-writing. Participants begin writing on November 1. The goal is to write a 50,000 word, (approximately 175 page) novel by 11:59:59, November 30.

I probably won’t be blogging much during November. No Pain. No Gain.

Sitting on my butt writing, I won’t gain muscles (like my athlete boys, above) but I do hope to gain a new novel by November 30!  Write on!

Guest Blogger Edith Parzefall from Germany shares about Rio on International Day of Peace!

21 Friday Sep 2012

Posted by in Books, Guest Blogger

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In honor of International Day of Peace, I’m so thrilled to introduce one of my favorite authors: From Nuremberg, Germany, Edith Parzefall! Her latest novel STRAYS OF RIO is released today. Today, Edith is here to guest blog about her time in Rio de Janeiro, the setting of her latest release, STRAYS OF RIO! Welcome Edith!

Today, on the International Day of Peace, my novel Strays of Rio is published. The thriller genre I chose for Strays of Rio made it difficult to show much of the kind, fun-loving, life-embracing and caring nature of Brazilians.

Now I want to thank the wonderful people, who watched out and cared for me and my companion. A stall owner on the beach ran after us when I accidentally paid double the price for our food and walked away. A man on the street made sure we got on the right bus. A boy chased us down when my friend forgot her shoes in the sand of a beach restaurant. He didn’t even wait long enough for us to give him some money.

When I booked a Rio city tour in advance, the lady who organized it asked where to pick us up. I gave her the name and address of the hostel. A few days later she sent me an e-mail telling me she’d taken a detour on her way to work to check out the place, but the hostel looked abandoned. I tried to call them to no avail. My e-mails went unanswered.

Just in time, we were able to book a lovely quaint hotel in Bairro Peixoto. If this lady hadn’t cared so much, we’d have ended up hauling our suitcases through Rio de Janeiro in search of accommodation. This might have provided some interesting experiences for the novel, but one shouldn’t be too greedy. Come to think of it, Cariocas would likely have immediately taken the two lost gringas under their protective wings.

People never tried to rip us off, quite the contrary. They cared for our well-being and safety. At the hotel, my friend lost fifty Reais in the lounge area of the small lobby. Five minutes after we’d retreated to our room, the concierge called because he’d found the bills on the sofa where we’d been sitting.

As it turned out, the most striking experience for me was how amazingly helpful Brazilians are and how happy to talk to interested strangers, particularly our guide, who took us through favela Rocinha, with the approval of the local drug gang. He showed us the community school and introduced us to the headmistress and an American living and teaching English in the favela. Thank you all!

I hope the International Day of Peace will not only bring me joy over the
release of Strays of Rio, but create cease-fires all over the world and foster
sustainable peace on many levels. My heart and mind are in Rio de Janeiro
today, where the war over drugs and power still rages.

US link to purchase STRAYS OF RIO

http://www.edith-parzefall.de

blog: edith-parzefall.de
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/edith.parzefall

Twitter: EParzefall
Co-author of Wind Over Troubled Waters * http://tinyurl.com/co347j9
Author of Strays of Rio * http://tinyurl.com/7sokbu9

Virtual Hugs and Marketing Strategies Found Here Today!

25 Wednesday Jul 2012

Posted by in Books, Guest Blogger, Inspiration, Writing

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Inspirational Author Paulette Harper Johnson: Completely Whole Blog Tour

Today, I’m so pleased to introduce Paulette Harper Johnson, an award winning author, writing coach, and speaker and her book, Completely Whole. For inspirational writers, readers, and anyone who is marketing their books, check out what Paulette has to say. It’s really good stuff! Don’t miss her author interview below. You’ll be so inspired! You’ll feel like you’ve experienced a virtual hug and you’ll learn some things, too.

Paulette Harper Johnson seeks to inspire women from all walks of life. As an inspirational and motivational speaker, Paulette’s desire is to empower, influence and cultivate women to move forward while dealing with issues that hinder women from becoming all they are created to be. Her topics are biblically sound and pertinent to the needs of today’s women.

Paulette is a wife, mother, grandmother, Bible teacher, radio host, writer and the owner of WNL Virtual Blog Tours. Her years of marketing her own self-published books have created a special talent in her—her ability to sell a product well. Not only does she specialize in marketing strategies, but also serves as the publicist for P.F.L. Publishing.

She has been mentoring and teaching women for years though seminars, workshops and conferences. Paulette Harper Johnson serves in ministry as an Elder with her husband Sr. Pastor Tony E. Johnson at Word of Faith Worship Center in Bradenton and North Port FL.

Ministry Book website: www.pauletteharper.com

Now, About the Book:

Completely Whole is resource-filled guide full of practical and Biblically-based principles, real-life application strategies and prayers to give the readers a holistic approach to living a life of wholeness through Jesus Christ. This book is inspiring, optimistic, hopeful and encouraging while providing a clear-cut, scriptural blueprint for each reader to follow as they allow the Word and the power of God to transform their pain and restore their lives on their road to becoming Completely Whole.

Harper plainly states that “words have the power and ability to create” which can place you in a position to be completely whole. The purpose of her book, Completely Whole, is to “bring the reader to the place of wholeness—spirit, soul and body.”  She provides a biblical foundation, personal experiences, prayer and a confession in each chapter to give a voice of reason to the women who cry out to learn more about who they are, where they are to go and why it is so important to know God’s word.  Her personal walk is the example within the text. Jewell Williams

Author Interview

Why the title Completely Whole?

Actually, in the middle of completing my first book, this book came to mind. I had gone through a bad ordeal, which left me broken and scared.  In order for me to write about becoming whole, I had to experience it myself.  There were areas in my own life that I needed to confront and deal with. Those areas that hindered me from moving forward needed to be addressed. Once God began to point out those areas and I accepted where I was spiritually, the healing and restoration began.  The process of becoming Completely Whole is continual for any believer desiring to live, walks, and pursue a life on purpose.

Why did you feel this book needed to be written?

I believe every reader might have something in their lives that continues to either be a reoccurring issue or an area in their lives that they are lacking or feel they have not conquered.  To be whole according to Webster is to be “free from injury or wound; to be healed and to be physically sound and healthy.”  Because we live in a world in which we experience the ups and downs of life, we deal with heartache and pain; sometimes these experiences leave residue that we have not been able to deal with.

What is your main message in Completely Whole?

Completely Whole is one of those books that will challenge the reader to do a self-examination of where they are as it relates to their own spirituality. This life-changing book will help readers to transform their spirit, soul, and body through Jesus Christ, so they can live a life of peace, joy, and fulfillment. In Completely Whole, I offer keys to help those who are searching for answers that can lead to a life of complete wholeness: Spirit, Soul and Body. My focus in writing is to enrich the lives of my readers. I had a reader make this comment about Completely Whole “It speaks” and that’s what I want it to do. I want readers to come away knowing that they have the ability to live a full enriched life.

What has the reaction been like to your book?  

The reviews have been great. Those that have read Completely Whole find it to be a book which speaks to the heart.

How can this book contribute to transforming someone’s life?

A person is transformed when they chose to apply the spiritual principles that are outlined in Completely Whole. Once a person identifies those self-destructive mind-sets then they are able to deal with those issues that have kept them from walking in victory.

How do you prepare yourself when writing a book? Is there a process you follow?

Before doing anything, I make sure I’m in a quiet area, free from distractions. When I’m ready to write, I sit at my laptop and begin writing. Depending on the chapter I’m working on, that determines the direction I’ll go. I am able to write as long as there is a constant flow

Were there any challenges you faced in the writing process?

I think with all authors there are some types of challenges when trying to finish a book. I’m no exception. There are many distractions that will continue to pull for my attention be it, home, ministry, family and/or job. I try to bring balance in my life so I can prioritize those things that are important. I must set deadlines for myself and stick with those deadlines.

What can someone take away from this book?

Becoming Completely Whole is an internal inventory and focuses on making necessary changes of the heart. I write non-fiction, inspirational books; so this means my books should have a lasting effect on a person’s spirit, inspiring and encouraging them to pursue passionately a more fulfilled life. I want my writings to give strength and encouragement in the time of need. As they read Completely Whole, I want my writings to engage, stimulate, and edify them spiritually.

Any words of wisdom for young writers or writers who want to pursue a career in writing?

Promote, promote and promote some more.  Learn how to brand and market yourself so that you are known in the industry.  Don’t think someone else is going to promote you better than yourself.  Create a marketing plan that will expand your territory in reaching readers.

Purchase book: Amazon

Paperback: http://tinyurl.com/425euh7

Kindle:   http://tinyurl.com/3novrjg

Connect with Paulette on these social networks

Facebook author page:     http://www.facebook.com/PauletteHarperAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/pauletteharper

Blog: http://pauletteharper.blogspot.com

Ministry website: http://pauletteharper.com

Write Now Virtual Blog Tours Business website:  http://writenowlit.blogspot.com

Books that Shape a Child’s Life

08 Sunday Jul 2012

Posted by in Books, Guest Blogger

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Yoohoo! Moms & Dads with children of all ages, Grandmas & Grandpas, Aunts & Uncles, expecting parents & children who can read! Hey EVERYBODY! Lon Hetrick is here! And he’s talking about:

“Books that Shape a Child’s Life”

Don’t know Lon Hetrick? Oh my, then today is your lucky day! C’mon. Pull up a chair. Lon, and his wife, Dawn, blog over at Average Us.

Their blog’s about: an average Christian couple whose thoughts on spiritual life and emotional health reflect our belief that God is great, even when life isn’t.

They claim to be an average Christian couple, but their blog is anything but average. You’ll see what I mean. So…with great honor, zeal, and mucho gusto, I present Lon:

 “When you read a book as a child it becomes part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your life does.”  — Kathleen Kelly, played by Meg Ryan in the 1998 film, You’ve Got Mail

Anyone who read a book as a child, or was read to as a child, knows this is true. Childhood books shape our imagination and inspire our dreams of who we want to be: adventurous, noble, wise, kind, brave, strong, or funny.

It’s because of this that my wife and I made it a point to read to each of our three children during their early years. As Christian parents, we wanted to shape their lives with a love for God, people, life, family and learning.

We chose classic books, average books, and books we just plain liked from our own childhood. It didn’t matter much if a book was really on their level or not; they simply enjoyed the read-n-cuddle time with Dad or Mom, and learned a lot as we explained concepts, vocabulary, and story lines. (I think our oldest was only four when I read Peter Pan to him.)

Books We Read to Our Kids

Here’s a selection of the books that shaped my kids (not in any particular order, nor in proper bibliographic form), and I recommend them to any parent.

  • Anything by Dr. Seuss — no one does silly-talk funner or betterer 😉
  • The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis — My kids loved these allegorical tales and they provide lots of opportunities for God-centered conversation.
  • Out of the Silent Plant, Lewis
  • Perelandra, Lewis – Believe it or not, this sci-fi take on the nature of evil provided a fascinating opportunity to discuss human sinfulness with my kids.
  • The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Beverly Cleary — my childhood favorite
  • The Trumpet of the Swan, E.B. White
  • The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
  • The Call of the Wild, Jack London
  • The Westminster Shorter Catechism in Modern English — I scheduled regular time to read and teach this wonderful summary of the Christian faith. No regrets.
  • The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien — another childhood favorite
  • A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula Le Guin
  • Dinotopia series — James Gurney. These are beautifully illustrated.
  • The King Without A Shadow — Christian allegory by R.C. Sproul
  • The Priest With Dirty Clothes — same as above, a wonderful explanation of the biblical teaching on the atonement Christ accomplished.
  • Plus these well-known titles: The Swiss Family Robinson, Robinson Crusoe, Stewart Little, Charlotte’s Web, Robin Hood, Pilgrim’s Progress (child’s version), Peter Pan

Books Our Kids Read to Us

In later years, our kids took to reading to the family during road trips. A good book makes the drive between Minneapolis and Atlanta go a lot faster! Here are a few that we enjoyed as a family.

  • The Gideon Trilogy, Linda Buckley Archer — British kids time travel to the past and meet up with bad guys  (cool!)
  • The Percy Jackson series, Rick Riordan
  • The Hunger Games series, Suzanne Collins — yes, we read them before we knew there would be a movie 😉
  • The Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling

Books We Want Our Kids to Read

I also give each of our kids a few books as High School graduation gifts (two down, one to go!). These books are gifts from my heart and represent my fatherly hopes for how they might understand the world and their place in it, how they might live life well, and find God ever-present and faithful in it.

  • Behind a Frowning Providence, John Murray — a short pamphlet dealing with suffering and God’s providential guidance of His world. Everyone suffers sooner or later, and I wanted my kids to know how to trust God’s fatherly care when the time comes.
  • Science and Evolution, Chuck Colson — an enlightening investigation of the Creation/Evolution debate.
  • The Life of a God-made Man, Dan Doriani — for my son, on a Biblical view of manhood.
  • Desiring God, John Piper — the most influential modern book of my life. It’s a treatise for a biblical worldview on this theme: “God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him.”
  • Knowing God, J. I. Packer — also 10 out of 10.
  • The Mark of a Man, Elisabeth Elliot. For my son and daughters.
  • Let Me Be a Woman, Elliot. For my daughters.

Books to Shape A Child’s Life

What should reading to a child be, after all, other than an investment of love and wisdom in a young heart and mind? Of the many ways to shape a child’s life, and build a relationship with them, the selection and reading of good books is surely among the best.

I hope some of these books will enrich the children in your life as they have ours.

What are one or two books you can recommend for shaping a child’s life?

Now, you just gotta check out Lon’s BLOG: http://averageus.com (Average Us), TWITTER: @averageus, FB: http://www.facebook.com/AverageUs

Don’t Give Up! Don’t Quit! by Guest Blogger, Author Lynn Dove

28 Thursday Jun 2012

Posted by in Best Web Sites for Writers, Books, Christianity, Guest Blogger

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Parents, teachers, teens, pastors, youth leaders, librarians, and grandparents: Today’s guest blog by Award Winning Author Lynn Dove is a must read. The topic is bullying. Lynn’s books are powerful and poignant! They are also resources on the world’s largest anti-bullying website. Please check her books out at the bottom of the post. Her novels should be in every library: school, church, home and read by all, especially those affected in any way by bullying or teenage issues. Very honored to have Lynn here today. It’s all yours Lynn!

Someone asked me the other day what motivated me to write the “Wounded Trilogy”.  Easy answer:  I wanted to make sure that every young person and adult that read my books would know that God loves them, He cares for them and no matter what circumstance in life they may find themselves, they are not alone.

This is why my books are listed as resources on one of the world’s largest anti-bullying websites in the world: www.bullying.org  My books deal frankly with the subject of bullying and I want to get the message out that bullying of any kind MUST STOP.

I have three very unique, very different children. I am constantly amazed by them! Certainly there have been times that I (and they) have questioned my sanity…or lack thereof…in trying to parent these children but for the most part I wouldn’t trade a minute of it!

My daughter Laurelle is now a grown, married woman, a wonderful mother to my grandson, Jaxon. She is a phenomenal young woman with a passion for teaching. I had no idea when we signed her up in kindergarten french immersion way back when, that one day she would be teaching french immersion kindergarten! How did that happen? God had a plan and a purpose for her for today but the journey started the day she was born. Who knew? God did.

I remember that little girl learning to ride a bike. She fell off that thing more than she stayed on. At one point, after crashing once again to the pavement, she picked herself up and in tears kicked the seat with all her might announcing to her father that she would never learn to ride a bike! It’s hard for a parent to watch their children struggle, but it’s also a time to instill a value, “Don’t give up! Don’t quit!” her Dad said, and taking her by the hand, straightened her helmet, and plunked her back on the bike. “You can do it!” he said and with a push, he sent her on her way again. Yes, she wobbled and yes she even fell off a few more times but eventually her perseverance paid off and she mastered bike riding. It was hard but she didn’t quit.

In grade seven, Laurelle became the victim of bullying. It was the worst time of our lives. She had become the primary target of some malicious girls at her school who took great pleasure in undermining everything about her.

They called her degrading names; called her stupid, and maligned her every chance they could. They tripped her, pushed her into her locker and laughed at her. Her marks plummeted; she started to look sickly and pale. She started to dress in sombre colours and she rarely smiled. She had few friends and at one point she wanted to die. Her father and I tried to question her about school but she was tight-lipped and was a good enough actress at home to make us believe that everything was okay. We had no idea how serious the bullying situation had become until her piano teacher, who was also a close personal friend, called me and said that Laurelle had confided to her in the middle of her piano lesson that she was thinking thoughts of suicide. In horror and in panic, I ransacked her room looking for anything that she might use to hurt herself, instead I found her diary.

As a parent, you make split second decisions some times. In this case to save her life was much more important than respecting her privacy. I didn’t hesitate. Page after page of heart wrenching pain was written in her handwriting. I wept with grief over what my child was going through at school, things she had never shared with us. When I confronted her later about it, she was horrified I had read her most private thoughts. I had betrayed her trust. I didn’t apologize for that. I wished I had done it sooner.

For a day or two, Laurelle was angrier with me than she was at the bullies at school. I was okay with that. Now that I knew what was really going on in her life I could come alongside her and help, even though she rejected that at first. We immediately contacted the school, set up meetings with the school counsellor, her teachers, and the principal and we elicited prayer support from our church family. Over the next several weeks, everywhere Laurelle turned she heard, “Don’t give up! Don’t quit!” God placed people in her life that supported her, encouraged her, and loved her. Bullying had caused her to lose hope. She felt alone and afraid. Now she was surrounded by people who wanted to help her. She wasn’t alone and it gave her hope.

Laurelle’s school counsellor, a precious young woman, told Laurelle to journal her thoughts and her pain to God and to trust Him to help her. Although I had said much the same thing previously to her, she wasn’t ready to listen to me yet because she was still mad I had invaded her privacy, so I praised God when He used another person to speak to her. It was truly a “God thing” because in this particular public school, teachers and counsellors did not give spiritual advice to their students, they were discouraged from doing so in fact, but I believe God gave this woman boldness to speak to Laurelle about embracing her faith in God and it impacted Laurelle at a critical time in her life. She also gave Laurelle some very practical ways to “stand up” to the bullies at school.

  • Hold your head up. Act confidently. Do not retaliate or get angry. (Bullies are intimidated by those who do not fear them.)
  • Respond evenly and firmly to them or say nothing and walk away.
  • Develop other friendships and stick up for each other.
  • If bullying continues, tell someone, preferably a trusted adult. Tell your parents, a trusted teacher, counsellor, or principal.

Within several weeks, after rededicating her life back to God and then utilizing the strategies her counsellor had given her to combat the bullies, Laurelle’s confidence came back. She developed new friendships and her once tiny circle of friends grew. Eventually her group of friends was much larger than the “bully group” and as such the “safety in numbers” factor cut in. The bullies lost interest in tormenting her, and on occasion if they tried to intimidate her, she was no longer afraid of telling on them. She got her “no quit” attitude back and it propelled her through the rest of the year and has remained with her ever since.

A while back I was on Facebook and noticed that one of Laurelle’s Facebook “friends” was one of the girls who had bullied her that fateful year in middle school. I must admit I was quite surprised to see that Laurelle was actually corresponding back and forth with her quite regularly. I marveled how God had helped her come to a place in her life where she could forgive and forget so completely. When I commented about it to her, she just smiled.

Laurelle has had opportunity through the years to share her testimony regarding that bullying experience. God has given her great sensitivity and compassion towards those young people who are victims of bullying. She shares how angry she was at me for reading in her diary, but how glad she is that I did. She shares how God brought people in to her life to help her, to encourage her and to love her at a time when she thought she was all alone. And lastly she tells them’ “Don’t give up! Don’t quit!”

It’s the responsibility of every parent, teacher, grandparent, youth leader and Pastor to learn the tell-tale signs of bullying. If you see the warning signs it is time to act immediately.  Kids are being bullied to death…they either take their own lives or they take the lives of others. It’s an epidemic that must stop.

For more information about bullying and ways to stand up to bullying, please go to www.bullying.org  or go to my website: www.shootthewounded.org where you can learn more about my books.  You can also connect with me on Facebook and Twitter @LynnIDove or my blogs: Journey Thoughts and Word Salt.

“The Wounded Trilogy digs deep into the lives of youth…I feel every parent and teenager should sit down and read these books together.”
-Readers Favorite

SHOOT THE WOUNDED, the first book in the “Wounded Trilogy“ is written for youth and young adults, addresses how lies and gossip destroy a person’s spirit. It speaks to the heart of relevant themes such as bullying, teen pregnancy and family violence all the while pointing the characters and ultimately the reader, to hope in Jesus Christ.

HEAL THE WOUNDED is the much-anticipated sequel to Shoot the Wounded. It delves deep into the real world of teenagers trying to live out their faith in the midst of upset and struggle. Will these youth find God’s healing and hope in the middle of hurt and heartache? Brilliantly written, poignantly told, readers will not be disappointed with the powerful message.

 LOVE THE WOUNDED is the dramatic conclusion to the Wounded Trilogy. For readers who have come to know and love, Jake, Leigh, Mike, Tim and Dylan, their poignant story concludes with each character fighting to hold onto his faith while trying to answer the age-old question: “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Will LOVE prevail?

“My command is this, love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one other than this: that he lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus, quoted -John 15:12-13

Lynn is a Christ-follower, a wife, a mom, grandmother, a teacher and a writer (in that order). In 2007, she earned a Masters of Religious Education degree from the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary, in Cochrane, AB. Lynn’s books are available on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and on Lynn’s website. Readers may also connect with Lynn on Twitter, Facebook, and on her blogs:Journey Thoughts, Word Salt, and on her website Shoot the Wounded.

Thank you Lynn, for coming on over today!

Guest Author Sherry Gloag: This “Pantster” Discovers Gems in Side Journeys

21 Thursday Jun 2012

Posted by in Books, Guest Blogger, Photography, Writing

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I’m honored to have multi-published author Sherry Gloag as a guest on my blog today. Sherry is a transplanted Scot now living in the beautiful coastal countryside of Norfolk, England.

She considers the surrounding countryside as extension of her own garden, to which she escapes when she needs “thinking time” and solitude to work out the plots for her next novel. She says while out walking she enjoys talking to her characters, as long as there are no other walkers close by.

Apart from writing, Sherry enjoys gardening, walking, reading and cheerfully admits her books tend to take over most of the shelf and floor space in her workroom-cum-office. She also finds crystal craft work therapeutic.

Sherry is also a pantster (one who “flies by the seat of their pants” when they write versus a plotter who well, plots out every bit of their work.) She’s here to share about her “pantstering” and FAITH. Heeeerrrrreeeee’s Sherry:

or a ‘panster’ writer like myself, creating characters is never straightforward. It almost amounts to ‘plotting’! rofl. So how do I ‘get’ my characters when I start writing? Well, strange as it may seem, they come to me. Usually when I’m at the kitchen sink. I’ve still not worked out how or why it happens that way, but it does. Sometime they give me a name, sometimes I’m given a full scene. Then it’s up to me to work out where in the story that scene’s got to be placed. Many’s the time I’ve assumed I’ve been offered an opening scene only to discover it belongs somewhere else in the book.

nother thing about being a ‘panster’ is the capacity for me to write myself into a corner and then spend ages trying to work out how to get out of it. I can hear so may people asking why I don’t get myself better organized and plot my way through the story instead and thus save myself getting sidetracked. It just doesn’t work for me, and there are many times when those side journey’s unveil an unexpected gem of a twist in the plot. Does that also entail re-writing vast tracks of story? Quite often. Does it bother me, sometimes, but not always.

nstead I concentrate on the bonus of the unexpected, that twist that often lifts the story to another level. In From Now Until Forever, the first of my four books Gasquet Princes series, published by Astraea Press in December, Melanie, the heroine’s use of a dust/garbage truck as an escape vehicle had me chuckling all the while I wrote the scene. When I began I assumed they’d use some fast flashy make of car, but no, up trundled a dust/garbage truck!

he arrival of His Chosen Bride the second book was a great surprise to me when Henri, Liam’s eldest brother of the hero in From Now Until Forever demanded I write his story about a week after the first book was published. As for Monica, the heroine in this book, she turned up before I realized she was destined to be Henri’s Bride. She is also a completely different kind of heroine from Melanie. Where Melanie is an ‘in your face, get things done’ heroine, Monica is quieter, more introvert and yet she has qualities that compliment Henri and makes her his perfect choice.

enri and Liam have two more brothers, twins Sacha and Simeon. Writing their stories is creating several problems because they keep walking in and out of each others’ stories, and this makes keeping my plot lines straight quite a headache. 🙂

For this ‘panster,’ FAITH is a big part of my writing. Faith in my characters, faith that the plotline will evolve in a ways that makes sense and faith in my writing as with each new book comes a new challenge that having faith in the unknown will prevail.

For Now And Forever Blurb: For Prince Liam, families meant bad news, unwanted commitments, and the loss of his personal freedom. Love spawned white picket fences, slippers at the hearth with a wife and kids making demands, so why did those images disappear when he met Melanie Babcot? Melanie Babcot fought hard to escape the horrors of her youth and vowed to remain single and free, so when paid to protect Prince Liam from insurgents why did her personal pledge fly out the window?

Purchase: Amazon.com   AmazonUK  Barnes&Noble.com    AstraeaPress.com


His Chosen Bride: Prince Henri Gasquet is happy to let his father, the king, choose his bride for him until he meets Monica Latimer. Monica Latimer is not prepared to risk letting any man close enough to learn about her Gift. A gift that normally has men running for the hills when they find out about it. Purchase through Astraea Press or Amazon.

To contact Sherry:  SherryGloag.com    Twitter    Facebook   LinkedIn   

The Heart of Romance.blog

Amazon Author Page

Monday Connections: Guest Author G.E. Johnson Gets Authors Connected to Readers

18 Monday Jun 2012

Posted by in Best Web Sites for Writers, Book Marketing, Guest Blogger, Monday's Connections, Writing

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Welcome to my blog, G.E. Johnson.  She’s got some great stuff to share regarding connections!

As a self-published author, I have been solely responsible for the marketing and advertising of my books and what a journey it has been! I started out not knowing the first thing about how or where to get my book noticed. I used the universal strategy of contacting friends and family first, but as anyone who has published a book can tell you, this pool of potential buyers dries up very quickly. Now, I must tell you that before I became an author, I had logged 16 years in the Business Finance arena and had taken part in multiple business start-ups so starting from scratch was not a new task to me.

However, marketing books was new to me and I wondered if the same rules for selling applied in the literary world as in other industries. Well, I found out over time that they do! Selling books is all about creating a product that has value and getting that product in front of the people who will buy into the value that you have created. Therein lies the purpose of this directory. “Get Connected: 101 Places to Promote Your Book” was designed with the author in mind, as an all-in-one resource for getting started on navigating the many avenues for promoting your book.

You’ll notice right away that this directory places a heavy emphasis on promotion outlets that are connected to Facebook and Twitter. Why is that? Well, let’s face it – social media is THE fastest, most efficient way to reach hundreds, and even thousands, of potential readers all at once and all in the same place. In “Get Connected: 101 Places to Promote Your Book”, I have listed 101 social media resources that are specifically designed to connect you with potential readers. The owners of these websites, Facebook pages, Facebook groups, etc. are all dedicated to promoting your books and helping you expand your readership!

I’ve already done the work of creating a starter list for you so now all you have to do is browse through and start getting connected! Are you a newly published author looking for places to start promoting? Are you an established author looking for new avenues of exposure? Are you an international author looking to expand your readership into other countries? There’s literally something in the directory for every author and for less than $0.10 per lead, the value far exceeds the investment. Get started today!

Author G.E. Johnson
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G.E. is offering a 50% sale for a few days for authors on a shoestring budget!  Thanks G.E. I’m getting started right now!