Monday, October 26, 2015

Who Would You Want with You?


One week until Pub Date!
I’m so excited for you to read The Short & Sincere Life of Ellory James.
Over the course of the next few weeks I’m going to be asking you TEN bucket list questions.

Curious what your answers are!
Here are the first two…



Feel free to share these to help me stir up interest in my soon-to-release novella!

Monday, October 19, 2015

Bucket List It {Giveaway}


I already know you’re going to love it, but now I’m asking you to list it. From now until December 2nd I want to see social media covered with pictures capturing bucket list experiences.

I’ll choose a winner at random to win the ultimate prize bucket of goods…all related to my novella, THE SHORT & SINCERE LIFE OF ELLORY JAMES, releasing November 2nd.

So, here’s how it works.

Whether you’ve already completed the item on your bucket list or now is the perfect time to do so, get out there and make memories. Post a picture from your life-changing experience on social media + tag me in it, mentioning the upcoming release of Ellory James and you can consider yourself entered.

Post.
Tag.
Mention Ellory.

Simple as that.

While I know there are dozens of wonderful sites to show off your photos, I’m focusing this giveaway via Facebook and Pinterest.

It’s time to BUCKET LIST IT!


More details about uber cool items in giveaway bucket to come! So much to look forward to!


*thanks Emily M. (for you know what).
**If you're not the bucket list type, feel free to share the giveaway details by using the graphic above.

Monday, October 12, 2015

Fall in Love with These Ten Books--Giveaway


I’m ecstatic to announce I’ve joined up with nine talented authors for a not-to-be-missed fall giveaway!


TEN Women’s Fiction titles will be delivered to one lucky winner’s e-reader. Click on the graphic to take you to the entry form. Contest ends October 22! And for all my Canadian and overseas friends – you are invited since this is an electronic giveaway.

Here’s the complete list. Please stop by each author’s website to learn more about us. I know we all appreciate finding new followers for our Facebook and other social media pages, so please join us there as well.

FALL WOMEN’S FICTION GIVEAWAY

The Short & Sincere Life of Ellory James (ebook) – Wendy Paine Miller
Before I Go (ebook) – Colleen Oakley
A Peach of a Pair (ebook) – Kim Boykin
Those Secrets We Keep (ebook) – Emily Liebert
The Good Neighbor (print) – Amy Sue Nathan
Finding Emma (ebook) – Steena Holmes
A Fall of Marigolds (ebook) – Susan Meissner
Rose House (ebook) – Tina Ann Forkner
The Virtues of Oxygen (ebook) – Susan Schoenberger
A Flying Affair (ebook) – Carla Stewart

Ready to enter? Click on the graphic above or here. Best of Luck!

Monday, October 5, 2015

Reflections on Love


For years, my blog bio has stated that I’m trying to “figure out this thing called life and the best way I
know how to do that is to write and to love.” I’ve shared a decent amount about writing over the past 800+ posts.

But what of love?

Every day I learn more about how love can’t be packaged as a feeling. It’s rooted in surrender, service, sacrifice, and supplication. For me, it’s anything but simple.
Here are a few glimpses of how love manifests itself in my life…

Forcing myself to stay awake to chat with my oldest daughter because even though I’m a morning bird, my night owl gets her second wind at 10pm, right when I’m desperate to crawl under the covers and sleep.

Apologizing first.

Letting go.

Committing to the hard path of parenting when it’s tempting to choose the easy route.

Seeking to understand.

Listening when I want to talk.

Driving my kids to activities, taking out the trash, risking intimacy, walking the dog . . .

Noticing—truly noticing and appreciating the season I’m in.

Grasping a vision and affection for all things deemed unlovable or discarded.

Delighting in nature.

Laughing hard.

Experiencing gratitude so deeply it ultimately serves as a motivator.

Responding when a response is called for.

Remaining silent.

Encouraging.

Praying.

Sometimes I do a bang up job when it comes to loving people. Other times, I whiff big time. As with all things, I hope to be forever improving, forever learning.

I’m largely who I am because of how I’ve been loved. My memory is long for those for those who’ve chosen to pour into me. And my life is full.


~ Love quotes that are speaking to me right now ~
“Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.” ~ Zora Neale Hurston

“If a thing loves, it is infinite.” ~ William Blake


“Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person’s ultimate good as far as it can be obtained.” ~ C. S. Lewis

Taking Time

college applications                 homecoming                            flag football                basketball             SATs   ...