A Beaded Post

Today, as I am still editing England Adventure (I am taking a long time, I know, but it’s got a lot of words and I’m evaluating every one of them—or at least it feels like it), this post is going to be like a bracelet made up of little beads of information ….

England Adventure should be ready to publish in January. I don’t have my cover yet, but once it’s here, there shouldn’t be anything holding me back! I would appreciate prayers, if you think of it, for this whole process. Thank you! I’m really excited to introduce my new characters to you, and hopefully take you to England with me ….

On Word Painters, I published an article on formatting a book … you can tell what I was working on the week that I wrote it! :)

Next Tuesday, I plan to post my top-15 list of books that impacted me most this year. It’s fun but kind of hard to narrow down to 15 … stay tuned for that, and do be thinking of your favorite books from what you read this year, because I’d like to see their intriguing titles in the comments next week.

Hanukkah’s last night is tonight! I’ve had a blessed time reflecting on our Savior and how we can let our lights shine like He did.

Scott - wikimedia commons

Friendship and Folly, which is the novel I’m reading right now, is proving to be a delight. It’s a Jane Austen-type book about two young ladies set in 1805 England. Cleverness and authenticity drip from the pen of the author, Meredith Allady; she comes the closest to the spirit of Jane Austen of anyone I’ve read so far, yet her style is distinct and all her own. (If possible, she’s even wittier than the one who started it all, I think, which is rare to find in a Regency novel.) I look forward to reviewing it on my blog when I’m done.

On a humorous note, I leave you with this picture of these gingerbread ninjas that I got from my martial arts instructor … I almost had a hard time eating them. :) I wish my flying side kicks looked that good!

Have a wonderful week!

Sales, a Link, and Birthdays

Whew. It seems like I have a lot to spread on the table in this post … sort of like a Thanksgiving dinner. And, like said dinner, I’m having trouble deciding where to start ….

How about business, first? I will be participating in two online book sales this weekend: One spans Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and includes a bunch of Indie authors. The print version of my book will be on sale on Friday; check here on Friday to see who else is participating and maybe find something really nice! The other is a smaller, exclusively Cyber Monday sale in which some of the Word Painters will be marking their eBooks down to $2.99 each. So stop by on Monday for more info!

Speaking of Word Painters, you may be interested in a post I wrote there recently: Encouraging Verses for the Writer.

And now for the birthdays. The birthdays, to be precise, of some of my favorite authors. It turns out the end of November is chock full of them! Each of these authors has written at least one book that is on my list of absolute favorites:

George Eliot—Nov 22, 1819­–Dec 22, 1880. Her 1876 novel Daniel Deronda, about a young man seeking his identity and befriending some remarkable European Jews, is high on my list.

John Bunyan—Nov 28, 1628–Aug 31, 1688. Author of The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678). What more can I say?

Louisa May Alcott—Nov 29, 1832–Mar 6, 1888. I enjoy all her novels, but high up on my list are Little Women (1868) and An Old-Fashioned Girl (1869).

C. S. Lewis—Nov 29, 1898–Nov 22, 1963. The Chronicles of Narnia have been a part of my life since I was I don’t know how young!

Mark Twain—Nov 30, 1835–Apr 21, 1910. Twain’s skill with words always leaves me in awe. My favorites by him are Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc (1896), quite high on my list, and The Innocents Abroad (1869), a hilarious travel memoir.

L. M. Montgomery—Nov 30, 1874–Apr 24, 1942. Montgomery is my favorite of these November authors. I love every page her lyrical words are printed on, but the ones I love best belong to her Anne of Green Gables novels, 1–6.

Which of these authors are your favorite(s)?

To wrap up this post, I want to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving. I’m thankful for these birthday-authors, I’m thankful for each of you who read my blog, and I’m thankful to God for everything … everything. I don’t want to sound trite, but He has blessed me so much, and I can see that even the bad things always, somehow, work out for good, especially when they are just to make me depend more on my Lord.

Have a blessed and meaningful holiday! 

Monet, wikimedia commons

 

Update, Plus Another Article

I hope you’re all doing well! Last week I was on a family vacation (it was actually rather fun to go on a trip so soon after my other one—I felt like a seasoned traveler), so that’s why this blog sat empty then. I had hoped to have a proper post for you today, but I am trying to put the finishing details into my novel England Adventure, and as I have to concentrate, I can’t give much thought to my other writing that isn’t completely necessary.

So that’s an update on my next book! The end is near! If you would like to read a recent article of mine, I was invited to become a regular writer for Word Painters, a blog that inspires, encourages, and informs writers. Speaking of the end, my post is entitled “Persevering to the End.” I’m so honored to be a part of this blog that I’ve enjoyed since its genesis!