A Flower Guessing Game for a Chance to Win a Book

Flower 1

Flower 2                                                                                  Flower 3

The Innocent is Ready for Readers

The Innocent is going out to readers. The internet sites are shipping the paper copy of the book already. It's about three weeks before the official release date, but if the book is out there, that date doesn't mean much. I haven't seen it on a store shelf but where I live, don't many stores have bookshelves. Just our local WalMart Store, but they don't always carry my books. Local connections don't mean much in the corporate world. 


First Review Spotted

But I did just see the first review of The Innocent online and I was happy to see that the reviewer highlighted the spiritual thread in the story. Here's a bit of the review from Jeanette's Thoughts "Keep praying. When you feel like giving up...keep praying. When you are hopeless and scared...keep praying. This book had such a powerful message. Keep praying." 

Pray Anyway

My character, Carlyn, did find out that no matter the circumstances in her life, prayer could help. Perhaps I zeroed in on that theme in this book because I was writing it during those last hard months of caretaking for my mother who suffered from dementia before she passed away. Prayer got us through some tough days. Not only my prayers, but many of you and also my Facebook friends lifted Mom and me up in prayer then and also later when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Now I have a niece going through cancer treatment and she has prayer warriors making her difficult path of treatments easier. Prayer is powerful.

So it was good seeing that the reviewer appreciated the prayers or need for prayers through my new Shaker story.

Yellow Flower Contest - Maybe Win a Book

I did finally figure out a contest to use my yellow flower pictures. For those of you who don't join the conversation on my Facebook Page, let me explain. For thirty days in May I spotted and posted a different yellow flower every day. Then the thirty-first day came and I hunted but couldn't find a new yellow flower. Since then a few more yellow flowers have popped up for me to spot. The game is to guess which photo of the three above is a new yellow flower that wasn't posted on my FB page. Flower 1, flower 2 or flower 3.

Every guess gets an entry, but if you guess the correct new flower (the one that wasn't posted on my FB page during the thirty day run), you'll get two entries. One winner, chosen by random drawing, will win his or her choice of one of my books. That includes the new one, The Innocent, if that's the one the winner wants. Your comments have to be on here by 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 17 when I'll draw and post the winner on my next blog post. Then I'll put up a new set of flower pictures to play again with the winner posted on the next Sunday. Two winners this week and two winners next. Open to all readers over eighteen. 

So I hope some of you will play my flower guessing game. Thanks for reading.

What's in a name?

Maggie Monroe

Callie

Thank you, everyone, who suggested a name for the calico cat who is going to make an appearance in my third Hidden Springs mystery, my work in progress. I have so many great names now that I can name a few hundred cats, and I love them all.



I not only got name suggestions I got pictures to spur my imagination about what my fictional cat is going to look like and perhaps hints about her personality. 

But back to the names. Callie/Kali/Cally was by far the most popular suggestions followed by Patches. Some of you said that Callie was the only name. Others of you said name the cat anything but Callie. Some suggestions were for Calico something, like Calico Zoe, Calico Liz, Calico Jo or Kelly the Calico. I had actually considered Calico Jane. 

Hissy Fit

Kate Tippi Toes

Stormy

A few of the more interesting suggestions were Hissy Fit. That cat's picture is here and her owner says the Vet says of course her cat has attitude. It's a calico. Kate Tippi Toes might fit in that category too. She was named after Kate Hepburn who never lacked for attitude. We had Coquelicot (French for poppy); Miss Priss; Pumpkin; Izzi; Stinkerbelle, Rainbow; Calicat; Rags; Puzzle; Kitty Boo; Cosie; Cali Lily; Crazy Quilt; Blotchy; Butters; Sassy; Sunny; Calliope; Sparkle; Queenie; Butterscotch; Moon Doggie, and many more.

I liked J.C. for Just Cat, Heinz 57 for all the colors, Marmalade for the orange, Muslin and Cotton for Calico cloth, Maple, Pandora for all the colors let out of the box on the cat, Stormy because of the clouds of black perhaps, and Perfect because every cat thinks she's perfect. 

Stella

One of the cats pictured is Maggie Monroe. I think her beauty mark tells you how she got her name. Then there were the regular people names because cats know they are people just like you names like Stella, Lucy, Wilma, Angie and Martha. 






So many names and great looking calico cats that I may have to write a dozen stories starring calico cats. But whether I do that or not, I have enjoyed all the names and meeting some of your cats. Thanks so much for sharing their pictures and names. 

Zita

Meanwhile, my cat still goes unnamed. I'm juggling all the suggestions and wobbling first one way and another with a name. But I do have many great ideas now. I just need to show them all to my elderly character, Miss Fonda, who is actually going to be the one to pick a name. 

So what's in a name? Do you have a favorite among these names I've mentioned here? 


And I am going to get that flower contest organized and give away some books Sunday. At least that's my plan, but you know what they say about "best laid plans." 



  

What Would You Name a Calico Cat?

"I don't want her to have a cat because she'll end up talking baby talk to the cat. That's the way it is, and how can a P.I. do that? (Sue Grafton talking about her character in her alphabet mystery series)

I can understand Sue Grafton's point of view. Every character is different and some need a pet and some don't. As much as I love dogs, I don't always let my characters have one. 

The Dogs in my Books

But then, when I think back I do have dogs sprinkled through my stories. Trouble, Lorena's dog in Small Town Girl. He did get his name changed eventually. Poe, Graham's dog in both Angel Sister and Small Town Girl added to the story and then Chaucer in Love Comes Home. Aristotle made an important appearance in The Believer. And of course, Jocie had the dog hunger in Scent of Lilacs, the first book in the Heart of Hollyhill series, and talked her father into letting her keep a dog she found in the woods. She named him Zebedee, shortened usually to Zeb. 

My new Shaker book, The Innocent, has a dog named Asher who plays a big part in the story. He's a great four-footed character. When I was trying to come up with the perfect name for Asher, I asked my internet friends for suggestions. I got so many great dog names, but Asher, the eighth son of Jacob in the Bible, seemed to work best even though only one person suggested that name. Thanks, Amy. 

My Cozy Mystery Cats

My work in progress is a series of cozy mysteries that have cats. The first three cat characters already have names. There's Two Bits in the first book, Murder at the Courthouse. I also have a gray and white cat named Grimalkin who makes another appearance in the second book which has yet to have an official title. There's an attitude cat named Sandy too who makes a cameo appearance. 

Now I'm working on book three and have invited a new cat character into the story. This is a calico cat, so a female since most calico cats are female cats. She is an independent cat who lives by her own rules. She simply showed up on the doorstep of an elderly character one day and that character gave the cat a name and told her she could stay if she wanted to. 

So What Would You Name Cat Character Four?

I've already tried out three or four names but nothing seems quite right. So what would you name a calico female cat named by a woman around eighty. It makes a difference - the person doing the naming. That's why Poe was the perfect name for Graham's coon dog in my Rosey Corner books. That's why Two Bits is the perfect name for a barber's cat. 

So what do you think? What's my independent calico cat's name? 

And come back Wednesday. I'm going to do some kind of flower game to let some of you win a book or two. Just got to figure out how to make it work. Until then, I'm ready for your cat names.  

The Hunt for One More Yellow Flower

Yellow Flower #30

Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul. (Luther Burbank)

If you follow the conversation on my Facebook page, you know I've been posting yellow flowers. I started around the first of May when I spotted a pretty little mystery yellow flower. A mystery because I didn't know the flower's name. So I posted its picture and several chimed in to name it. Trouble is, some named it one thing and some another. But it was fun anyway. 

So when the next day I spotted another little unnamed yellow flower on my walk, I posted it. And I asked if anybody wanted to guess how many days straight I could find a different yellow flower. I thought if I made it a dozen days, that would be good. But the 12th day came and I stumbled across a new flower. And again on the 13th, 14th and on until I got to 30. Most were wild flowers, but some were in my flower beds and one in my sister's. A couple were at greenhouses. One was spotted at church. A few showed up in North and South Carolina when I traveled down that way. But most were spotted in our hay fields and pastures. Some I found in my flower books or on the internet and named. Some I didn't. Some my Facebook friends named for me. Some remained a mystery. 



And then came today and I went in search of elusive yellow flower #31. I went across fields of daisies and grass up past my knees. No new yellow flowers.

I went into the woods and braved the poison ivy and blackberry vines and spider webs. Tried not to think about snakes. Everything lush and green, but no yellow flowers. 

I walked past the thistles but spotted no yellow on their pesky blooms. Not even a Goldfinch that might have posed for a touch of yellow on the thistle blooms that make the seed the little birds love so well. 

Oscar waited patiently while I searched. But although I saw hundreds, perhaps thousands of yellow blooms in the hop clover and daisies and various other yellow flowers that I had already counted and posted in my 30 flower days, I found no new yellow flower. But that's okay. All good things must come to an end and the Black-eyed Susan up top made a great #30 to end the string of yellow flowers. 

Tune in next week to see how I'm going to try to somehow make a giveaway contest out of my collection of yellow flower pictures. Meanwhile, thanks for going on my yellow flower hunt with me. Hope it made you smile. 

What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable. (Joseph Addison)

And the Winners Are

I picked the winners by random number for my Honor Mom Contest Giveaway. I do so appreciate all of you who joined in with my giveaway fun. I enjoyed hearing from you and loved all your Mom stories. Sometimes I wonder what Mom stories my own children might someday tell about me. Not sure I want to hear them!!

I can't share all the wonderful stories I received, but I did read each and every one. Some made me smile. Some made me wipe away a tear. Thank you for sharing about your mothers and about yourselves as mothers. 

I think it's kind of neat that I started the contest on Mother's Day and now I'm ending it on my mother-in-law's birthday. She was such a sweet lady and always ready to smile. She loved her family so much. She's been gone on for over ten years now, but when my husband and his brothers and sister get together they tell Mama stories that make them smile and remember just the way you all have told me in the last couple of weeks. 

Yellow Roses

So let's see some of those stories. First from Judy who always wanted to do things to make her mother happy. 

Money was always tight growing up & still is. There were so many things I would have liked to have done for my mom. Whenever I would do something for her, she would tell me to save my money. I shouldn't spend it on her; I might need it. Yellow roses were her favorite & were a luxury for her. I would try to send them to her not only for Mother's Day but for her birthday when I could. Throughout the years I would try to send little surprises to her just to let her know I was thinking of her. I used to save the books I had read and mail them to her so she could enjoy them as well.

Mama's Hands

And now Diana tells about all the things her mother did to keep her childhood safe and happy. We do have to always appreciate Mama's hands.

Growing up as a kid I don't think you see everything that goes on in a family to keep it going. Now looking back as an adult and a mother myself I see life so much different. My mom worked from the time she got up by the rooster crow till she went to bed at night to the sound of the crickets. She did everything from cleaning to cooking and keeping our clothes clean by washing them by the old ringer washer and her dryer was the great outdoors even in the winter. That wasn't her only job. She would leave early and go work for a cleaners and put in 8 hours a day there working in a hot box doing laundry for hospitals and businesses. She'd come home and then prepare the dinner for the evening and clean up after 6 kids. Read the Bible to us before bed. She was a hard worker. I look at her today and she is getting where she can't get around now. I look at her hands getting crippled up. The hands that loved us and the hands that corrected us. Her hands did a lot in raising us. I am very thankful for my mother. God's gift is a wonderful mother and I got one.

And Then the Lilac Bush Bloomed

Here's a beautiful story from Jennifer. The Lord sometimes give us special gifts simply because He loves us.

My Mom passed away on a day in June after more than 14 years of battling Multiple Myeloma (bone marrow cancer). She was a  Principal in an elementary school. My Mom stated just days before her death that all she wanted to do was help people and she hoped that she had done so. For me - I am not sure that I have a favorite Mother's Day as my Mom tried to make everyday special even when she was struggling with her disease. What is interesting is that my Mom loved to garden and we had lilac bushes in our yard that had never bloomed - we have lived in this house for more than thirty years - yet when my Mom came home for hospice the lilac bushes all suddenly bloomed. This fact made my Mom incredibly happy.  

Making a Mama Smile

Rhonda shares this smile with us about her Mother's Day. 

Last night my 21 year old son took me to dinner and paid...lol. Love that he is independent now.

Drum Roll Please - The Winners Are...

And now my winners. Terri R. and Kim R. Must have been a lucky day for R names. I've sent e-mails but haven't heard back from either winner yet. Also, I picked a couple of "just because" winners. Debbie V who recently lost her house to fire and Nancy V (now it's the V names!). I drew for a winner just from those of you who commented here on my blog. I do so appreciate each and every one of you who read my blog and make comments. But Nancy Vance, you didn't leave a way to contact you. So, if you'll send me a message at annhgabhart(at)yahoo(dot)com, I'll get in touch. Or you can leave your e-mail here.

Thanks again, everyone, for joining in my giveaway fun. My new book, The Innocent, is about to hit the stores. So we'll do some more celebrating with giveaways soon. Stay tuned.

3 Days Left to Enter My Honor Mom Giveaway

Only a few more days until I draw the two winners of my Honor Mom Giveaway. Contest is open to USA and Canada and entrants must be over 18. You can enter by sending an e-mail to annhgabhart(at)yahoo(dot)com or leaving a comment here on this post with a way to contact you. 

Two winners will be picked by random drawing and one winner will get a beautiful NKJ Study Bible and one of my books and the other winner will get a complete set of my Rosey Corner books: Angel Sister, Small Town Girl, and Love Comes Home. The last book, Love Comes Home, just won the Selah Book of the Year Award. I'm still floating a little off the ground about that. :) Then today I had a guy friend tell me he'd read Love Comes Home and then went back and read Small Town Girl. I told him he might as well go on and read Angel Sister too even if he did go backwards through the books. I was pleased that he said he was right in the story and it didn't hurt that he hadn't read them in order.

Many of you have sent in heart-warming stories about your mothers with your entries. That wasn't a requirement to enter, but it's always fun when you share your stories. You had so many great stories that I won't be able to share them all, but I think you will enjoy these I am sharing today.

Corsages for Mother's Day

First here's one from Bonnie with a memory of how it used to be at churches on Mother's Day as she also shares how her mother is on the dementia path now. One I know too well after walking it with my mother. Bonnie says:

"I can't recall a specific Mother's Day that stands out from the rest - however, one memory is of my mother and I always having a corsage to wear to church on Mother's Day, when I was young. A practice that doesn't seem as popular anymore. As my mother is now in the early stages of Alzheimer's, I'm even more aware of the fact that I might not have her much longer, mentally or physically, and the need to take advantage of the time I do. She has always been an optimistic person, and remains so, even in the face of her disease - confident of God's plan for her life." 

May the Lord bless both you and your mother as you treasure good moments together, Bonnie.

Just an Old Wives' Tale

Now here's a story from Anne about her mother who didn't mind telling the doctor she was an "old wife."

Hi--my favorite "mother" story took place when I was less than a week away from giving birth to my daughter in 1987. My mother had come to stay with me and be with me for the birth. On Monday of that week (my daughter was born on Thursday) Mom went with me to my doctor's appointment. She asked him about the possibility of the baby coming on the day of the full moon that week. He said "Oh, that's just an old wives' tale." To which she responded "Well, I'm an old wife." Sure enough, the full moon was Thursday.

Mom has been gone now for 22 years, but I've made sure our family doesn't forget her or this story.

Thanks, Anne, for sharing your story with us. Sometimes those old wives knew.

A Lesson Learned on Mother's Day

Last we hear this extra sweet story from Felicia on a day she got a wake-up call about Mother's Day when her daughters gave her gifts from the heart.

"I'll share my favorite Mother's Day story although it's one I learned a lesson in. I was pregnant with my 5th child and we didn't have a lot of money. Only my husband was working. I was hot and miserable because we lived in Florida and my due date was July 16th. I had a hard time sleeping mostly because we had a water bed!!! I had to have my husband turn the heat off on it; I was just too hot. And we can't afford air conditioning, cable or even a phone! So I am sleeping in and my two oldest daughters are banging on my door. They are excited and I am grumpy. And I yelled at them for waking me up!! But it's Mother's Day so I get my grumpy self out of bed and go out into the living room and see what they want.

They had bought me gifts. They had saved their allowance and then went to yard sales our neighbors had and bought me presents for Mother's Day. They even made me cards! I was humbled after that. In awe of their creativeness and felt really terrible for having snapped at them. For wallowing in self pity when I couldn't see I had the greatest life of all!

For me it was the best Mother's Day because I realized at that point that I wasn't being the best Mother I could be. Not just Mother but person. And after seeing the thoughtfulness of my daughters and how much time and preparation went into it, I was just so appreciative. And grateful for the wake up call that Mother's Day.I remind myself of this day whenever I have a bad one. I learned a valuable lesson from my 2 daughters who were 7 & 9 years old!

Love your story, Felicia. All us moms understand your grumpiness. Pregnant and suffering in the heat! We'd be grumpy too. Then our hearts, like yours, are melted by the sweetness of your daughters. Thanks for sharing with us. 

Hope you all enjoyed the stories tonight. I'll let you know who wins on Sunday or maybe early Monday morning. A former pastor is coming to visit this weekend. So time for blogging may be limited.

As always, thanks for reading.

A Flabbergasted Winner

Flabbergasted, Surprised and Astonished

Have you ever been totally astonished? Even flabbergasted? (That's one of those words that just sounds exactly like what it means. Love those kinds of words.) But back to being flabbergasted. I was last Wednesday when my book, Love Comes Home, won the Selah Book of the Year Award. 

My books have been in the running for prizes before. The Believer was a finalist for the Carol Awards given out by the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) group. The Outsider was a finalist for the ECPA Fiction Book of the Year and Angel Sister was up for RT Book Review Magazine's Inspirational Book of the Year once. Sort of one of those always a bridesmaid and never a bride situations. And so when I found out my book, Love Comes Home, was a finalist for a Selah Award in the Historical Romance Category, I was excited because it's great to even be a finalist, but I didn't expect to win. Not at all. 

However, I did decide to attend the banquet because the place where it was being held, Ridgecrest, North Carolina in the Blue Ridge Mountains looked like such a peaceful and beautiful place when I checked it out on the internet. And it was. A plus was that it's not all that far from my daughter's house in South Carolina. So going to the awards banquet in order to have a couple of days to unwind at Ridgecrest and then a visit with my daughter seemed a good idea. Not only would I have an excuse to dress up, I would enjoy seeing some writing friends I knew would be there. I could sit at my table and clap and be happy for the winners. 

I Won!!

Then amazingly enough Love Comes Home won the Selah Award for the Christian Historical Romance. That was a wow right there. But when they announced the Book of the Year and Love Comes Home won that too, that's when the wow went straight to flabbergasted. I couldn't believe it. But Eva Marie Everson, who was presenting the awards, had a plaque with my name engraved on it. And she gave it to me! I was smiling, with a few tears mixed in, all night. Felt just like I was at the Oscars or something. Well, maybe not exactly like that. But it was exciting and fun to have my book win. Oh, and Darrell and I also had a relaxing day enjoying the scenery and peace and quiet at Ridgecrest too.

Don't Forget About the Mother's Day Contest

One more week to get your entry in for my contest celebrating mothers. You can check out the prizes and details on my website Events Page. Some of you have been sending in stories about your mothers or special Mothers' Day stories. I appreciate all of you who enter and doubly appreciate you sharing a story. 

First here's one from Kim that made me smile.

My story about my mom isn’t from Mother’s Day, but rather my wedding day a few years ago. It’s my favorite mom story (and that says something because I have a lot!). My sisters and I helped mom pick out a new outfit for the wedding, she got her hair done at the same time I did, and I even gifted her with jewelry for the occasion. At the wedding and reception so many people told her that she looked great (and she did!), that she stopped me at one point and asked, “How bad do I normally look?” My mom has been gone nearly four years, but that story and many others make me smile when I want to cry.

Love that story, Kim. And here's one from Cam that seemed to fit Memorial Day weekend and did make me remember Mom. 

Your newsletter brought to mind my own mother’s battle with dementia...she passed away 5 years ago at the age of 95 no longer knowing her children. It was sad...she was a bright, up front, outgoing woman...who graduated from college at a time when women didn’t even consider going to college. She spent her life working as a teacher, and a secretary and, after retirement, volunteered so much that she won an award. She was a mother to be very proud of, and as I get older I realize that fact more and more. A dear uncle of mine told me once that after he lost his parents (my grandparents), never a day went by that he didn’t think of them.  And, oh, he was so right!

So...cherish the memories, remember the good days and always acknowledge that it’s ok to shed a few tears!

Thanks for the great advice, Cam. We do need to cherish the memories of our loved ones. And if your mother is still down here on earth with you, hug her and tell her how much you love her.