Healthy–er!

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Yeah, I know that’s not how you spell healthier but I wanted to get your attention. So mostly this blog is about books–mine and others as well. I’ve decided to add a new feature, HEALTHY-ER. I change things up here from time to time by trying new things to see what interests people and I’m doing it again.

So you may or may not know that I was diagnosed with brain tumors in 2012. Thankfully, they were benign meaning not cancerous but they weren’t benign meaning harmless. Someone asked me yesterday how I was doing. My response was that I would never be quite as healthy as I was before the tumors but I was doing the best I could under the circumstances.

Doing the best I can means working on getting healthy-er. Get it? I won’t ever be completely healthy but I can work on getting healthy-er. Thus the title of this blog post.

I know I’m not alone. Just in my own family, there are so many of us who have some type of chronic health condition that affects us on a daily basis. Not to mention getting older brings its own set of problems as well-even if you don’t have any specific health problems.

It seems to me there are two choices: do nothing or do something!

I really believe in the philosophy of the more you do the more you can do; the less you do the less you can do. So…I keep on exercising in the hopes that it will improve my ability to “do more” in my everyday life.

I have to say I’m a lot healthier than I was last year at this time when I finally finished the treatments for my brain tumors for the foreseeable future, but I’m still frustrated that I can’t do more physically, like shopping and sightseeing. You know–all the fun things!

Anyway, I want to share some of my health struggles with you and what I do about them to encourage others to keep trying. I also plan to bring you some useful tips from time to time that I come across as I keep trying to get healthy-er.

YOUR TURN: How about you? Do you agree with the philosophy of the more you do, the more you can do? If not, what’s your philosophy regarding your health issues?

GOD BLESS & GOOD READING

 

And the winner….

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And the winner of Renee Blare’s book, Through The Raging Waters is…Pamela!  Congratulations!RagingWaterscopy(683x1024)

Thanks to all who entered…maybe you’ll be the winner next time!

 

God Bless & Good Reading!

Friday Friend–Renee Blare

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AND A GIVEAWAY!

KEEP READING FOR INFORMATION ON THE GIVEAWAY.

Renee Blare is my Friday Friend. She’ stopped by to talk about her very new book that’s releasing today, Through The Raging Waters. She was raised in Louisiana and Wyoming and started writing poetry in junior high school. After having her son, a desire to attend pharmacy school sent her small family to the University of Wyoming in Laramie, and she’s been counting pills ever since.

While writing’s her first love, well, after the Lord and husband, she also likes to fish and hunt as well as pick away on her classical guitar. Nestled in the foothills of the Wind River Mountains with her husband, crazy dogs and ornery cat, she continues to serve her community as a pharmacist while penning her Christian stories any chance she can get. She loves to interact with readers and invites you check out her website, blog, and social media.

Website: http://www.reneeblare.com/

Blog: http://reneeblare.blogspot.com/

Group Blog: http://diamondsinfiction.blogspot.com/

 

Book Two of her Snowy Range Chronicles launches today, July 8, Through The Raging Waters.  Suspense takes on new meaning in this book as the small town of Timber Springs faces the storm of the century during the peak of spring runoff. Paul Fitzgerald and Melissa Hampton must fight the battle of their lives as thunder and lightning reveal more than just rain.

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Back Cover Blurb:

If Mother Nature has her way, Timber Springs will never be the same…

A warm spring and early rainstorms melt the snowpack. Spring runoff compounded by the storm of the century sends Timber Springs into a tailspin.
Tossed into the role of rescuer, local pharmacist Paul Fitzgerald must face his past before the whole world falls apart. While he fights to contain the beast around him, he finds his steadfast control slipping through his fingers. And life…everyone’s life…hangs by a thread once again.
She isn’t a hero. Melissa Hampton has her own demons to battle. After she learns of her mysterious beginnings amidst her mother’s keepsakes, she faces more than just the river rushing outside her door. Now, she must discern friend from foe…but as waters rise and tension climbs within Timber Springs, she needs to rise to the challenge or lose the only man she’s ever loved.

Can two people find each other through raging waters?

 

Sounds like a great book, Renee. If you think so and would like an opportunity to win an e-copy of the book, leave a comment. Winners will be chosen on July 14th. Don’t know what to say? Answer this question–Do you read more in the summer or the winter and why?

Thanks to Renee for being my Friday Friend and giving away an e=copy of her new book, Through Raging Waters.

 

Until next time God Bless & Good Reading!

 

Flash Fiction Friday!

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It’s been a while since I wrote a flash fiction piece so here it is. In case you don’t know what flash fiction is…it’s a very, very short story but still has a beginning, a middle and an end. Usually the word count hovers below 1000 words but can be even shorter. A few creative people have even managed to write a complete story in a sentence or two. Not being quite that creative, it took me a few more sentences but here it is…

 

 

LIFE PRECIOUS

Lillian Duncan

 

 

Life. A precious thing.

Most of us live our lives the best we can and then we die. We merrily dance our way through childhood, suffer through adolescence, then create the life we want or simply follow the path of least resistance.

Either way, we experience love and heartbreak, laughter and tears, victories and tragedies and, of course, life and death along the way.

But a few forego normality so that others can have it.

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, unsure what to write next. As she reread the words, she wondered if she was talking about the deceased or herself.

This obituary changed everything. This death changed everything. This man changed everything. She wiped away the tears, determined to finish what she’d started.

Her fingers moved back to the keyboard.

Life. A precious thing but an honorable death is just as precious.

She nodded. Good. Very good. He would have liked her words or at least she wanted to believe that was the case. Truth be told, he probably wouldn’t have. Never one to be the center of attention, he liked staying in the background. Staying in the background is what allowed him to be so very good at his job.

But this was his day and she would celebrate his life and mourn his death.

Taking a deep breath, she hit enter. Then slowly she stood up and walked out of the room, knowing she would never return.

Time to stop following the path of least resistance.

With a smile, she walked out of the room and into a new life.

the end!

YOUR TURN: I hope a lot more questions popped up as you read it. Who was the man? What was his connection to her? Why did he die? Why did it affect her so? What’s she going to go do now? Answer any or all the  questions or even a different one that the story brought to your mind and then share it with us.

GOD BLESS & GOOD READING!

Got Foot Pain?

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This is going to be one of my stranger blog posts but… I feel compelled to share this. In case it could help someone else.  I want to share something that changed my life. Yes, I said changed my life! If you don’t have foot problems or foot pain, then there’s no way to explain that statement to you that will make sense.

On the other hand if you foot problems or foot pain, then there’s no explanation needed. You understand. I’ve had foot problems and foot pain for most of my life. The earliest I can remember it I was about 19 and now I’m 61. That’s a long time and a lot of foot pain.

I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis and had surgery for it on both my feet. And it did nothing! Except have even more foot pain during the recovery from the surgery. It was something I learned to live with as best I could.

Shopping? Not much fun after about the first ten to fifteen minutes. Zoos? Museums? Same thing. Because of my brain tumors, I developed severe balance problems. So now I had foot pain and balance problems. Not a good combination!

Anyway one day as I was praying, I told God that if He’d only take my foot pain away I thought a lot of my mobility problems would improve.

He gave me my miracle! And I’m still praising HIM for that.

My miracle came in the form of THREE little words that my brother told me and he was told by his daughter-in-law. Yes I said THREE words. I started doing those THREE little words and almost immediately my foot pain started going away.

A miracle? It is for me. Most days I have NO foot pain. On days when I’m on my feet a lot more like when I shop I may have some pain but nothing like before.

Want to know what those THREE little words are?

Before I tell you, I must throw in a disclaimer. I’m NOT giving medical advice because I’m NOT a doctor. And, of course, you should talk to your doctor before trying it. I’m simply telling you what I started doing that seemed to make most of my foot pain disappear.

Once I tell you the THREE little words, you’re going to say NO WAY. That’s exactly what I said–it seemed too easy not to mention strange! But I gave it a try anyway! I’m going to tell you those THREE little words in just a minute. And it won’t cost you a penny but…if you want to give me thank you gift, feel free to buy one (or more) of my books on Amazon.

Like I said at the beginning, this is one of the stranger posts I’ve written. Maybe the strangest! In fact, probably the strangest. Anyway, I want to hear what you have to say about these THREE little words. Are you ready?

Here they are:  wiggle your toes! Every morning before I get out of a bed I take about a minute to wiggle my toes. That’s it. I’ve been doing it for about four or five months now and like I said almost all of my foot pain has disappeared.

Let me know what happens!

GOD BLESS & GOOD READING!

One Sentence Plot Game!

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One of the things a writer should be able to do is give what’s called an elevator pitch for their novel. In other words if you had only 30 seconds to describe the plot of your story, what would you say?

A few examples;

A young girl is stuck in a far away land and doesn’t know how to get home. What’s the book?

OR

In a war-ravaged world, a young woman fights to save her childhood home. Whats the book?

OR

A very ordinary boy discovers he’s not ordinary at all on his 11th birthday and life will never be the same. What’s the book?

Now, it’s your turn to play! Give us the story plot in 1 or 2 sentences and see if we can figure it out.

GOD BLESS & GOOD READING!

THAT’S A LIE!

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OK, maybe lie is too strong of a word. Misconception–Misguided idea–Incorrect idea. Those sound nicer, don’t you think?

What’s the lie? It’s a lie that so many of us tell ourselves–I’M NOT CREATIVE! Usually followed by I WISH I WERE BUT I’M JUST NOT.

Not true! Not true! Not true!

How do I know that it’s not true? Because we were all created in God’s image and God is the ultra-creator, right. So…if we’re created in his image then that means we must be creative as well!

I used to say those very same words! And now if you check my Amazon page, you’ll see lots of books with my name on them. If you walk around my house or family’s houses there’s several paintings with my name on them.

So you see, I was wrong and so are you if you say those words. We often limit our idea of creativity to the “arts,” meaning music, literature or art. But that’s also a lie! There’s all sorts of ways to be creative.

YOUR TURN: Please share some ways you’re creative with my readers. Thanks!

GOD BLESS & GOOD READING!

 

What I Write…and

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WHAT DO YOU WRITE?

My tagline says I write stories of faith mingled with murder & mayhem! In short, that means I write Christian suspense. Some may doubt that suspense/mystery novels can actually be Christian fiction but…there’s a lot of Christian suspense writers out there who would disagree.

Christian fiction has changed so much over the last few decades and continues to change all the time. If you love to read but think Christian fiction isn’t right for you, you’re wrong. So today, I’m inviting other writers to leave a comment telling who they are, what they write, and can even include their website address so you can  check out some new writers.

So writers this is your chance to get some new readers, go for it!

UNTIL NEXT TIME…GOD BLESS & GOOD READING!

The Battle For Easter

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Easter– the most holy and most precious of our Christian holidays. Without Easter, there would be no Christianity. Easter is the cornerstone of our faith.

We all love Christmas, the celebration surrounding the birth of the baby Jesus. We love that He was born in a manger on a star-filled night. We love that the angels announced the Good News of his birth first to the humble shepherds that kept watch over their flocks. We love that the magi came bearing gifts for the newborn king.

But Jesus was born a man. Just as God gives each of us free will to choose or not to choose Him, Jesus had that same right. He didn’t have to go to the cross for us. At any time he could have said no. He could have called 10,000 angels.

He didn’t.

Instead, He made the ultimate sacrifice. For us. He chose love.

Have you ever wondered what happened during those three long days between Jesus’s crucifixion on the cross and His resurrection, the first Easter?

I have.

And the result is my first-ever short story–THE BATTLE FOR EASTER.

battle

It’s available now on Amazon.  CLICK HERE: Amazon Link

When I say short story, I mean short so if you buy it don’t be shocked. It’s around 4000 words. A short story. It is, of course, a complete work of fiction since we have no idea what happened during those three days Jesus lay in a tomb.

If you buy it and you like it, please leave a review on Amazon as well as a comment here. THANKS and…

UNTIL NEXT TIME…GOD BLESS & GOOD READING!

 

 

My Friday Friend–Ginger Solomon

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Ginger Solomon is a Christian, a wife, a mother to seven, and a writer — in that order (mostly). When not homeschooling her youngest four, doing laundry or fixing dinner, she writes or reads romance of any genre, some sci-fi/fantasy, and some suspense. She’s a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, president of her local writing group, and writes regularly for two blogs. In addition to all that, she loves animals, likes to do needlework (knitting, crocheting, and sometimes cross-stitch), and is a fan of Once Upon a Time and Dr. Who.

You can learn more about her at Inspy Romance Blog or connect with her at Facebook Author Page. In honor of Valentine’s Day, she’s releasing her new book, BROKEN VALENTINE.  It’s a novella so it’s the perfect choice for your weekend reading!

BrokenValentinecover

AMAZON LINK

Broken Valentine blurb:

Being stood up on Valentine’s Day is not how Sarah Sawyer wanted the evening to go. It only gets worse when she discovers her boyfriend’s betrayal. Accepting a ride home from her attractive waiter goes against everything she’s been taught, but her choices are limited.

Michael Richmond can’t let his beautiful, yet heart-broken customer walk home, no matter how tired he is after working fourteen hour days all week.

It might be either the best decision of his life or the worst. Only time will tell if their broken hearts can become one, or if they will tear each other apart.

Broken Valentine is the second book in the Broken Holidays Series, but can be read as a stand-alone.

 

Sound great, Ginger! Thanks for being my Friday Friend!

UNTIL NEXT TIME… GOD BLESS & GOOD READING!