LeBlog--The Blog about life…writing, raising kids, chasing dogs, handling life and all its bit parts.

March 29, 2011

 

The Tower!






Cue the music! Can you hear the bugles heralding your arrival? Welcome to the Tower of London.

This was our first stop in London on our first full day, because you simply have to visit this castle. So much history here! So much intrigue! It was at first a cloudy day but then the sun came out. We had a wonderful beefeater, who explained what a sought after position he held. Apparently, beefeaters must have served honorably in the armed forces, and this beefeater served in Afghanistan. He had quite a sense of humor and really enjoyed relating the procedure of drawing and quartering. So pleasant.

We visited the chapel where pictures aren't allowed to be taken, and hats must be removed. In this location, they discovered 1500 bodies buried beneath the floor. Only nine were identified through journals and writings. One was Anne Boleyn, because her head was placed beneath her left arm and she was wearing a green dress. Lovely.

You can see here a picture of The Tower Green where many a maiden (and Lord) lost their heads. Do you think Anne Boleyn regretted marrying Henry? The building at the back was built in her honor but it wasn't finished until after her death, so it was renamed and given to the caretaker of the Tower.

And here's a picture of King Henry VIII's armor. Go ahead and giggle. We did.

My mind was racing the whole time we were here. So many stories to tell about this place. It really feeds the imagination. If you get a chance to go to London, you simply have to go to the Tower. The views are amazing, but the history within these walls is the main draw.

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March 28, 2011

 

Peter Pan



One of my favorite stories is Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie, and so our first day in London we headed to Hyde Park where there is a statue of this wonderful character. It was quite cold that day, and we had to wear jackets to ward off the cold wind. It even decided to spit rain on us, but we were not deterred in the least.

By the way, a little added piece, a friend on FB gave me this link today about replicas of this statue around the world! Think we should go on a scavenger hunt for Peter Pan? Check this out: http://www.publicartaroundtheworld.com/Peter_Pan_Statue.html

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I'm back!


We had a fabulous time in London, where we not only saw so many things in and around London, like the Imperial War Museum, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Tower of London, Victoria and Albert Museum, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's where we took part in the Eucharist on St. Patrick's Day, Les Miserables and Billy Elliot, National History Museum, British Museum where we saw the rosetta stone, and British Library where we saw the Magna Carta, but also we traveled to Oxford and Stonehenge and Edinburgh. It was a fabulous trip. My favorite things were: seeing Les Mis again, this time with one of my favorite performers: Simon Bowman, who was fabulous as Jean Valjean, going to Stonehenge where we missed all the crowds, and seeing the British Library and Jane Austen's writing desk. We came back last Monday and I was sick. I had gotten sick with a cold or virus or some such and it turned into pneumonia. So I've spent the last week trying to recover, taking care of my son who also got the crud, and also working on line edits for Forsaken. Today, I get back to work on Forbidden, book #2 of the Plain Fear Series. I'm very excited about this book and getting really excited about the launch of book #1, Forsaken, which comes out in August.

Here's a picture of hubby and me in London. We could hear Big Ben chiming 6 o'clock.

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March 8, 2011

 

Cheerio!

Tomorrow I'll be taking the giant leap over the 'pond' to England. This will be my third trip but my children's first. The first time I went was way back in 1992. What a grand time that was. Not only did I see so many things that London has to offer but I also was able to do one of my all time favorite things, which is going to musicals. The second time I went to England was on my honeymoon. My husband had gone to school for a semester in college and loved England as much as I did. We drove from England up to Scotland and back. What an adventure! This time, we'll be showing the sights to our children, who are very excited to be going to England. It has always been one of our dreams to be able to take the children abroad as part of their education to show them where so much of that history they've been learning took place, to visit other cultures, to learn how others live. When I get back, I'll share pictures of our adventures here and on my Facebook page. Don't worry about the Hilo Monster while we're gone. We have a very special guest coming to stay with her, who will care for all of our pets and keep Hilo under control. Or so we hope!

Cheerio!

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March 7, 2011

 

Unforgettable Author Trish Perry



A little about Unforgettable:

Rachel Stanhope tries to see the good in everyone. But even her good graces are challenged when she meets Josh Reegan outside her Arlington, Virginia dance studio on a brisk fall morning in 1951. Admittedly, he’s attractive, but she finds his cynicism and cockiness hard to tolerate.

A hard-news journalist and former World War II Air Force pilot, Josh considers distractions like ballroom dancing frivolous wastes of time. He has yet to shed his wartime drive to defend good against evil whenever he can. Yes, Rachel’s confident nature is a refreshing challenge, but he wouldn’t tangle with her if his newspaper hadn’t roped him into covering one of her studio’s competitions in New York City.

Between Arlington and New York, between the melodrama of ballroom antics and the real drama of political corruption, between family involvement and romantic entanglement, Rachel and Josh have their hands full. The last thing either of them expects is mutual need and support. But once they stop dancing around the truth, the results are unforgettable.


A little about Trish:

Award-winning novelist Trish Perry has written eight inspirational romances for Harvest House Publishers, Summerside Press, and Barbour Publishing, as well as two devotionals for Summerside Press. She has served as a columnist and as a newsletter editor over the years, as well as a 1980s stockbroker and a board member of the Capital Christian Writers organization in Washington, D.C. She holds a degree in Psychology.

Trish’s latest novel, Unforgettable, releases in March, and Tea for Two releases in April. She invites you to visit her at www.TrishPerry.com

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March 4, 2011

 

Happy Birthday, Miracle!






Eight years ago, we rescued a sweet, chocolate and white cat. She had been hit by a car and was lying in the middle of the highway. We tried to find her a home because both my husband and I are allergic to cats, but because one of her legs was badly injured we couldn't find her a home. While she was at the vet, she had a kitten. It was ten days early and did not survive. The vet hoped she would be able to hold onto her other kittens for a few more days. But that night, she gave birth to two more kittens, which I had to deliver by hand. They were so small. They had no hair and couldn't keep their own body warmth. We were so scared they wouldn't make it. Momma cat had suffered a concussion as well as a leg injury and did not do the things Momma cats are supposed to do. She had no milk to offer, so we had to feed them by droppers. I remember my then three year old daughter praying for those tiny kittens. One only survived three days. But the other thrived. And she is still with us today. The momma cat lived with us for five years until she passed away. She was the sweetest cat ever. We named her Hershey because she looked like she had a smudge of chocolate on her upper lip. The baby kitten that survived we named Miracle, because it was a miracle that she survived and also that my husband and I aren't allergic to her. Today we celebrate her birthday, the amazing story of her birth that we had the privilege to be a part of, and the joy that she brings to our lives. Thank you God for giving us the opportunity to love her.

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March 3, 2011

 

Prayers

Do you believe in the power of prayer? I certainly do. Prayers can really carry you through difficult times, especially when you can't seem to pray for yourself and others are lifting you up. God does answer prayers, not always the way we want, but He listens, He hears, and He is moved. Sometimes we think there are certain things we shouldn't say to God, but honestly God already knows. He simply wants us to share with him how we're feeling. It's okay if you're angry. He gets angry too. The amazing thing about prayer is that laying our burdens at His feet can really give us a peace that cannot be explained any other way.

A few years ago, my husband and I had been praying about his job. He was very unhappy at work. It was a toxic environment. We'd also been praying for our little dog Muffet, because she was getting very old. She was blind and deaf. We knew her time was short. Frankly, I was worried that I'd have to make a decision about her life, and I really didn't want to do that. But even more than that, my kids were fairly young and I didn't know how I would explain that to them. Death is hard enough but telling your five year old you had to put your beloved pet to sleep permanently just seemed like a huge mountain. At the same time, I was praying for my book Elvis Takes a Back Seat because it was at a publisher's being reviewed for possible publication. Well, two weeks before Christmas, we received an avalanche of answered prayer. My husband was laid off work, and he came home early and found that our sweet dog had died in her sleep, and sitting in the mailbox was a rejection of my book. WHAM! All in one day. Talk about painful. It really was. But every one of those was answered prayer. I won't lie and say it wasn't scary when my husband was out of work, but his eventual consulting led to new opportunities that have been such a blessing. I don't think he ever would have pursued that if he hadn't been forced to. My sweet Muffet passed away peacefully, and even though we missed her so much it helped knowing I didn't have to make that awful decision or attempt to explain it to my kids. Also, that rejection helped God lead me to the inspirational market. It was a journey I never would have anticipated.

Prayer, I've learned, is also more listening than us blathering on about our problems. Over the past few years, I've lost a few people in my life and it has been a painful parting. It's been amazing to me how God has whispered in my spirit words of comfort and peace, and I have clung to those words and His hand during those times.

It's also a great privilege to be able to pray for others and lift them up in prayer when they are burdened. So I would encourage you if you haven't prayed lately, go ahead and give it a go. If you need prayer, don't hesitate to ask someone to pray for you. You will bless them with that opportunity and you also will be blessed. If you are a prayer warrior, I ask that you lift fellow writer, Diann Hunt up as she is again battling cancer.

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March 1, 2011

 

Dorothy Love




Way back in 1991, I went to my very first writing class. A woman sat next to me, and we introduced ourselves. She had been a principal and teacher; I had been a teacher. We'd both 'retired' and decided to write books. And that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. We took two classes together and not long after that my friend moved far, far away. Back in those days, long before the internet or email or even Facebook, we wrote each other letters and once in a while we'd treat ourselves to a long phone call. We cheered for each other when we'd get our word count written for the day or a manuscript requested from an editor or we'd commiserate if something didn't go well and we received a rejection. I still remember when Dorothy called to tell me her first book had sold! Back then, she wrote children's chapter books. When I sold my first book, she was the first person I called. And so it's been down through the years as we've celebrated books and babies and puppies, and cried together over the loss of our fathers and dogs and experienced painful trials. Friends. Twenty years of friendship. It is a sweet and precious gift.

For many years, Dorothy has been an award-winning author of children's chapter books and young adult novels. But finally last year, she decided to write a historical novel for the adult market and Thomas Nelson bought the trilogy. The first book is coming out soon and the buzz is building. I cannot wait to read it! She's already garnered some amazing endorsements. So today I'm delighted to introduce you to my dear friend, Dorothy Love, who is launching her new website this week. I hope you will go take a look and also participate in her contest. You will definitely want to check that out!

www.dorothylovebooks.com

By the way, the pictures above are of Dorothy's beautiful cover, Dorothy and me at ACFW this past September (the first time in 20 years that we were actually at the same writer's conference!), and Dorothy getting a big, slobbery kiss from the Hilo Monster! I just have to say that Dorothy knows how to handle a big dog as she has 2 beautiful Golden Retrievers. When she came to my house this past September, she taught Hilo (and me and the kids) a few tricks on how to train a dog. I'm thinking Hilo should go visit Dorothy for a few more training sessions.

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Gargantuan Contest


My friend Jennifer Archer has a new book coming out: Through Her Eyes. It's her first young adult novel. I've already got my book pre-ordered! Jennifer is an amazing author. I first met her in 1995 when we were both up for Golden Heart Awards and we sat next to each other during the award ceremony in Hawaii. She's a terrific writer, and I am always eager for a new Jennifer Archer book to read! So as you go pre-order your book, check out her new contest, which has some exciting prizes! http://www.jenniferarcher.net/news_events.html

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