Words Spoken True Touring the Net

This is the header of one of the blogs, The Owl Bookmark Blog, that just posted a review of my new release, Words Spoken True. I thought it was such a great picture that I wanted to share it with you. I'm hoping Siobian won't mind since I'm giving her credit. But look at the fun exploding out of the open books there. Isn't that neat? That's exactly what a book can do for a reader - launch him or her into an adventure or take the reader off for a ride into a different world or life. 

I really appreciate book reviewers. Of course, I want them to give my book lots of stars or ribbons or owls or whatever, but whether they do or not, I still appreciate them reading my books and sharing their opinions with friends and readers. Right now I'm seeing a lot of those opinions. You see, while I'm sitting at home here at my desk trying to dig out words for a new story, Adriane and Blake, my main characters in Words Spoken True are running around all over the internet, stopping in at first one blog and then another. I have to confess, they're not at all bothered by anything the reviewers say, and I try to have the same attitude. They had their story to live, and I had their story to tell. I told it the best I could and now I can only hope readers will want to share the adventure. 


It's interesting reading all the different reviews. One person will like one thing about the story. Another will mention something totally different. In this story, most of the reviewers mention the romance. Words Spoken True is a very romantic story. That's one of the things about the story I've been talking about on some of the blogs that I've actually been going along to visit with Adriane and Blake. I've got a few more coming up in the next few weeks and I'll be giving away a book at most of them to one of the people who comments. The next one up is a guest post on Lyn Cote's Strong Women, Brave Stories on Tuesday. I was originally scheduled to be on Karen Lange's Write Now blog tomorrow, but that has been delayed a week or so. That's one of the neat things about touring the internet. It's so fluid. You can visit anytime and your book can take off for a visit without you.

I appreciate the reviewers who invited my book over this week and then spent time getting to know my characters. I thank all of you for reading my blog too. It's so good to have reading friends. Don't forget about the giveaways you can sign up for. One from my website and another from Fresh Fiction's Contest Page.

Now back to the new story. 

Butterflies and Blog Tours

Butterflies and Blog Tours.
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Sort of an odd combination, but then in another way it fits. First let's talk butterflies. There seem to be more of them out here on the farm this year. Maybe all the nice rain and warm, very warm temperatures have been good for the butterfly population. Don't you feel as if the Lord has sent down a blessing to you every time you see one of these beautiful creatures? I just got back from a walk where I saw dozens of them in all sizes and colors. I didn't have my camera with me so this beautiful butterfly shot was from a free photo site and credited to pdphoto.org. I've taken a lot of butterfly pictures, but none of them were loaded on this computer. I think one of my butterfly shots is over on my webpage. But butterflies are spirit lifters. Plus they flit about first here and there. And as I said, each species has its unique color scheme and size.
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You know what? So do bloggers. They can be spirit lifters. They, the subjects, can flit first here and there. And each blogger has a unique outlook on life that colors his or her words. I signed up for that Google alert thing where it lets me know when something new is posted on the web about one of my books. So this last week I've been getting quite a few alerts about my book, The Seeker. My book has been on a blog tour, traveling all over while I sit at home and read about what bloggers think about it. If you are one of those people who review books on a blog, you probably can't imagine how hesitant a writer might be to click on your review and see what you said. We care what you say. At least I do. I've met writers who don't read reviews, but I usually do. If it's good, I'm glad. If it's not so good, I just shrug my shoulders and say maybe they'll like one of my other books.


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Just for fun, I'll show you a few of the nicest comments.
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From the Harrison Family Blog: "The plot moved at a good pace and the characters were great! I also loved how the romance came about - very creative. A thoroughly enjoyable read." (I think it's neat how they have a family blog.)
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From Carlybird's Home: "I picked up this book and I was completely enchanted by Charlotte's story. This book had everything I was hoping it would have." (Carly's my new best friend. ;-))
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From Jean on A Slice of the Epic: "I thought the history lesson throughout this book is what made it shine. Especially about the Shaker community and their beliefs." (Hope that doesn't make me sound like a history teacher!!)
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From Kristie on Moments: "You will be quickly drawn into the story and you will not want to stop until you finish the book!" (That's always a writer's favorite comment. "I didn't want to put your book down.")
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There were lots of other comments and reviews. So many that with what's been going on with Mom this week and the edits due for the next Shaker book, The Blessed, I haven't had a chance to read them all or to thank the bloggers/reviewers. But I do appreciate everyone who reads my books. I really do and then I think it's neat when some of the readers take the time to write some comments. Most have been favorable and kind. I once offered a potential book buyer a list of excerpts from reviews about my first Hollyhill book, The Scent of Lilacs. With a smile, she just handed it back without looking at it and said, "You wouldn't put any but the good ones on there." And of course she was right. Not many of us want to shout out the bad remarks about us. We let them worm their way down inside of us where they can gouge and poke us and make us uncomfortable. No, I don't do that either. I just get back to work on that next book. That's what I need to be doing right now. So to the edits and then to stay with Mom.
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Thanks for reading and may a beautiful butterfly float in front of you sometime on your journey today.

August 11 - A Great Day to Be Born

My grandbaby twins are about to enter the world with a little help from the doctor. They are to be born tomorrow, Monday. They had said Tuesday, but now we're going a little earlier. Their Mama can't wait. And their daddy is eager too, not to mention the three big sisters or grandma and pa. I'll fill you in on how cute they are next week. One thing about grandmas. They always think their grandbabies are cute. I put a Bible verse in the bulletin today from Proverbs 17:6. Children's children are a crown to the aged. That's the NIV version. See, grandbabies back when and forever have been treasured and enjoyed. Now I didn't put that verse in the bulletin because of my babies. We were having baby dedication day for a couple of new boys in our own church. We think babies should be celebrated and parents supported at our church and most churches I've visited seem to feel the same way.

The Olympics are going on this week. I love watching, but I've been so busy that I've not gotten to see much. I have been recording some of it. I'm probably dreaming that I'll ever take the time to sit down and watch, but maybe I will. I think I've just gotten out of the habit of t.v. My husband and I have very different tastes in programming and he really enjoys flipping between shows which drives me up a wall. So I'm better off reading somewhere out of channel flipping range. He'll lay off the remote when I'm in the room - sometimes. But I can see his thumb fidgeting. It's hard on him. You see, I don't mind watching commercials. Some of the commercials are more entertaining than the programs. But he hates them.

I almost made my self-imposed deadline for my current book. I hoped to have it finished before I went to WV. I worked yesterday far into the night, and I did almost, just almost, get to the end. All I need to do is let the characters ride off in the sunset or some other wrap it up scene, something that will satisfy the readers and ME. I'm the one who has to be satisfied first. Maybe a few days away from the computer will help me make that scene even better.

I've been hearing from a few readers about The Outsider. Most have been kind. Of course when some person you know says she liked your book, you, the writer, sometimes have to wonder, is she just being polite. I mean we always say a baby is cute no matter what we're really thinking. (Time out here. I really do think all babies are cute. Really. Even if they aren't the baby contest winner type cute.) Anyway a writer's book is his or her baby and people, by and large, are polite. Of course those strangers out there who write reviews for the joy of it are usually more apt to be honest and tell you what they really think about your baby. I'm hoping most of them will like my story okay.

I do appreciate book reviewers. I wrote a couple of reviews for Amazon. It's not all that easy to do. You want to tell a little about the book and why you liked or didn't like it. (I liked the ones I wrote about. I wouldn't do one for a book I didn't like. I probably wouldn't finish reading a book I didn't like. Too many books out there I want to read to spend my limited reading time on one that I'm not enjoying. Do you always finish every book you start? I used to, but no more.) But you can't give away the story and ruin it for other readers. And all in a couple of paragraphs. So reviewers have my admiration.

I've picked the date for my Lawrenceburg book launch for The Outsider. I'm going to be talking about writing my Shaker book at the Anderson County Library on Sunday, Sept. 7 at 2 p.m. If you're in the area come on down. I'll be giving away some books and we'll have a good time.

Hope you have a great week.