"Good things come to those who believe, better things come to those who wait, and the best things come to those who don't give up."
This is Riggs, my son-in-law and daughter's dog. They picked him as a pup because he seemed to be the quietest and listened the best. He must have been on his best behavior that day because he's rarely been quiet or still since. Here he's watching me waiting for me to throw a stick for him to fetch. See his paw up - ready, set, go.
But you know, I think we can learn a few things from Riggs. First, he's always ready for a good time. Second, he can have fun with whatever stick he might find, whether it's no more than a twig or a branch he has to break down to size. Third, he keeps his focus. He'll stand like that and watch the stick he brought you or the ball he wants you to throw for long minutes until you know what? You pick it up and throw it. Then he's gone like a flash to bring it back to you and start the whole cycle over again. He never seems to get bored at doing what he does best - fetching.
It's time for me to be ready, set, go on a new story. I've found the stick (got the idea). Now all I need is the belief that the stick (the story) is worth pursuing and the focus to keep my eye on that story. I need to keep trying to do what I do best and that is tell a story.
Meanwhile, thank you all so much for leaving comments this week and entering my drawing for a copy of Christmas at Harmony Hill. I used Random.org to choose my winner. And the winner is -- Central East 2. (I'll be sending you an e-mail, Central East 2, to get your mailing address and then will send your book.) And because I had so many wonderful entries and because nearly all of you said you liked Christmas novels, I got in the Christmas spirit in August and picked a second winner. Linda McFarland, you're my extra winner this time. (Sending you an e-mail too, Linda.)
I also have copies of Small Town Girl to send out to the winners over on Seekerville. Had a great time talking to everybody over there about books and writing.
Now you can read about my experience of having my first child on Lyn Cote's Blog. And guess what? You can leave a comment there to have another chance to win Christmas at Harmony Hill. It's such fun to give away books and I'll enjoy hearing what you have to say about my post on Lyn's site.
Thanks for reading. Oh, and if you want a smile about Riggs, go to my Facebook page and see his video. :)
When the delivery guys bring me a carton and I open it to see a new book spill out, I feel like a winner. So I'm giving away a copy of the just arrived Christmas at Harmony Hill to share that winning feeling. Keep reading to see how to enter your name in a drawing.
As a fiction writer, I spend day after day with my fingers on a keyboard and my mind in a world that doesn't even exist, putting words into the mouths of imaginary people. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever get the story told.
But then that great day comes when the new book lands on my doorstep, all dressed up in its beautiful "meet the world" clothes.
Yesterday I got to experience that fun day with my Shaker Christmas book, Christmas at Harmony Hill. The official release date is September 15, a birthday present for me, but it could be the book is going to sneak into stores a few days or weeks early. I personally am not going to admit to being a year older until the actual day, so the birthday is not coming early. Just the book. LOL.
I've never written a Christmas novella before. I've had Christmas scenes in my books. One in Orchard of Hope, the second book in the Heart of Hollyhill series. That reissue will be out in another month. I love having books come out, but this year it's kept me hopping. I also wrote a Christmas scene in the Rosey Corner book I just finished. All kinds of interesting things can happen around a Christmas tree or in the case of the Shakers, in a Shaker village.
The Shakers didn't do elaborate Christmas celebrating back in the 1800's. They generally had a worship service where they received imaginary gifts - thing like robes of love or baskets of blessings. But before Christmas they had a day sometimes called Sacrifice Day and other times called a Day of Atonement. On this day they were to seek out and ask forgiveness from any person they had wronged in the past year. They were also obligated to forgive and forget the wrongs done to them. I used that in my story as both of my characters, Sister Sophrena and Heather, had people in their lives they needed to forgive.
I do hope readers will enjoy going back to Civil War times for my Christmas story. One of you can get an early copy to read since to celebrate these books showing up on my doorstep, I'm giving a copy to one of you who comments on this blog. I'll draw for a winner on Sunday. That will make two Sundays in a row I'm giving something away. Last week my mystery picture winner was Ann M. who said she wanted either Words Spoken True or Small Town Girl. I'm having trouble deciding which one to send her. Decisions. Decisions. Anyway, this week maybe you'll be the lucky winner. I won't have to decide which one to send you. You'll get Christmas at Harmony Hill. :)
Just leave a comment. You can tell me if you've ever read a Christmas book. I'll be guessing that you haven't read a Christmas Shaker book - yet!
I'll also be giving away a book to someone who comes over to my guest post on Seekerville on Friday, August 23, and leaves a comment there. I'll be giving away Small Town Girl. That's a lively site with lots of comments, so I'm looking forward to talking to the readers there.
I always look forward to talking to you here. Thanks for reading.
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How about some fun with a few mystery photos? You guys are so good at this that I'm sure I won't be able to stump you, but we can still have fun. And to make it more interesting, I'll give the winner (drawn from all the entries) his or her choice of one of my books. (USA or Canada only for a print book and an e-book if an international entry wins. You must be 18 to enter.) You can enter by making a guess on the mystery pictures. Be sure to number your guesses. That will get you one entry. You'll get an additional entry for every right guess. And if you guess all three correctly you'll get a bonus entry. I'll draw for the winner next Sunday. So start guessing. But it's no fair reading everybody else's guesses before you make your own. Besides, they could be wrong! So no peeking at the other comments until you've sent in your comment with your guess. And be sure to leave a way for me to contact you in case you do win. If you'd rather send me a message instead of leaving your guesses here, here's my e-mail. annhgabhart(at)yahoo(dot)com. That's how you can include your address if you want to keep the robots from seeing it.
I've been out on the net doing some guest posts and every time I responded to a comment, I had to prove I wasn't a robot. A couple of times, I wasn't so sure I wasn't. Some of those smashed up and crowded letters are hard to read. LOL. But I managed. I was at Mary Vee's Let's Talk this week talking about how I got started on my writing journey and the perseverance I needed to keep writing all these years. Thanks to all of you who went over to read my post and leave a comment. Guess you proved you weren't a robot either.
Then I was interviewed by DJ Deb on her blog, Next Page. DJ Deb asked questions about some books I haven't talked about for a while like Angels at the Crossroads, so you might enjoy reading that interview. Just click on the link underlined above. On August 23rd, I'll be visiting Seekerville. That will be great fun because they have a lot of interaction with readers on their blog posts. You all know how I love to talk to anybody who will stand still long enough to listen or send me comments. LOL. I'll be in blog heaven. On August 19, I'll be doing an interview on Juanita Nobles' blog. Leave a comment on that one for a chance to win a copy of Small Town Girl. You'll also have a chance to win Small Town Girl by commenting at Seekerville.
So lots of giveaways up and coming. Very soon I'll be sending out a newsletter with a Christmas at Harmony Hill Celebration Giveaway. I've got to decide what to give away first! The book is available for pre-sale already and release day is just about a month away. Where has the summer gone? Also Angel Sister is still available at a reduced e-book price for a little longer.
But first let's see who wins the mystery picture giveaway. And remember, it won't be as much fun if you don't guess first and read everybody else's guesses second. Besides, you guys always figure out my mystery pictures without help.
Thanks for reading. And may the best guesser win!
