Dec 19, 2014 |
Merry Christmas! How exciting that it’s less than a week away.
Are you ready? I’m so ready, I’m getting ready for next year already! Okay, not really. But almost really. I’ve definitely got plans. I may even venture into the world of day-after-Christmas shopping to find some amazing pack-it-away-for-eleven-months deals.
But that’s next year, and that’s a little ahead of the game.
This year, I have a few more gifts to give . . . to you!

The Unemployment Cookbook, Second Edition
On Sunday, December 21, the Kindle edition of The Unemployment Cookbook will be available for just 99 cents – that’s well over $2.00 savings!
And on December 24 and 25, both The Penny Parable and A Study on the Ten Commandments will be available to download for free.
So if you’re gifting a Kindle to someone, or looking to add to your own, please enjoy these books, from me to you.

Merry Christmas from Bedford Manor
And Frankly, My Dear . . . that’s all she wrote!
You may also enjoy reading:
Meeting Charles Dickens
Bedford Manor on a Budget: People Feeder
BETTER: Thanksgiving
My Amazon Author’s Page
Mar 25, 2014 |
Amazon is synonymous with sales, especially books. The great part is, Amazon makes it easy for authors of all sorts to share their stories. In particular, I’m in love with their Author’s Pages. A person can share as little or as much as they like, and link to their most important social media networks.
Publishing eBooks for Kindle download is just as easy. Once you have the finished draft, a quick upload is all it takes to get started.
You can check out my Amazon Author’s Page here. It contains all the aforementioned goodies, and more.
Now that I’m back in the swing of writing and blogging, I thought this would be a good time to promote my Kindle eBooks. You’ve read my posts as I started these writings, and you celebrated with me as I published.
It’s time to be rewarded for your cheerleading.
THE PENNY PARABLE will be free Wednesday and Thursday of this week.

The Penny Parable
A STUDY ON THE TEN COMMANDMENTS will be price-reduced as well.

A Study on the Ten Commandments
It’s my way of giving back and saying thanks. Thanks for reading, thanks for cheering.
Just . . . thanks.
And Frankly, My Dear . . . that’s all she wrote!
You may also enjoy reading:
“Life is Rough. I’m still a diamond.”
2014: BETTER.
The Friday Five – STORIES
Mar 18, 2013 |
On the successful heels of my Cookbook Project Campaign via Kickstarter, I’ve already begun another. Kickstarter is turning into a wonderful avenue for my readers to pre-order their own copy of my newest project.
A Study on the Ten Commandments began with my own personal notes as I chose to take just one Commandment each day and break it down to answer some basic questions I had:
- Why was this important for God to be specific about?
- What was His target audience?
- Is it still applicable today?
- How can I apply this to my daily life?
- How can I use the writing gifts God gave me to share these lessons with others?
The Book (or rather, booklet, as it’s only 36 pages including daily notes sections), thus evolved over two years of proofing, rewrites, and much prayer. I’d tucked it away for quite some time not sure what to do. When I formed New Inklings Press last year, that still small voice let me know this would be one of my publications. And I believe its time has come.
I invite you to take a look at my simple Kickstarter campaign by clicking on the cover sketch below. I ask you to pray for my family and this project’s success. I believe God has called me to write for Him. I hold fast to His promises to provide for me and my family when things look bleak. I have faith that I am doing the Right Thing and I am confident His Word will reach many. I’m humbly honored to be just one instrument in an orchestra of millions.
I’m just an ordinary woman getting through an ordinary life with an extraordinary God. These are just some of the lessons I’ve learned.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Mar 11, 2013 |
The last few weeks have been as busy as ever. Never could I have imagined the bulk of my work for the Cookbook would come after the success of the Kickstarter campaign! But here it is, and I’m filling hours with orders for merchandise, approving final edits, managing mail lists… what a great, exhausting time this is!
Are you ready for a surprise? Until just about ten days ago, I assumed the cover for the Second Edition would be the same. That is, until I received this flavorful photo.

Hot Dog Casserole
And then I got to thinking… and talking with my Designer. Who put two and two together and came up with a new cover. I can’t possibly tell you how incredibly impressed I am with his talents. Especially when they gift me with something like this.

The Unemployment Cookbook, Second Edition
Speaking of talents, Dot put her heart and soul into sketching the cover for my next project, ‘A Study on the Ten Commandments’. This is what her sketch looks like.

Ten Commandments Stone
And this is what it looks like with the title.

Ten Commandments Cover
I can’t begin to tell you how utterly amazed I am at how fast this new project is coming about. And just this weekend I realized how I can accomplish my next project. But that’s a surprise for now… for most of you!
My work here is done, at least for tonight.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Oct 7, 2012 |
I recently had the opportunity to combine both my love of writing with my love for people. I shared a rough draft of my Study on the Ten Commandments with a dear friend who later told me Day Three really spoke to him.
After an introduction to the Study and to the Ten Commandments as a whole, Day Three introduces the reader to the First Commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me.” (NIV, Exodus 20:2). What my friend gleamed onto was a short message encouraging the reader to let go of all that distracts us from God.
God asks us to just be still. “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10, 11). The context here is God saving us from ourselves. He is all we truly need. We just need to turn down the other noise to hear Him completely.
I’m not advocating giving up your day job in order to spend hours meditating. I believe God gives us the ability to care for ourselves and those around us, and it’s our honor to do so in His name.
But there comes a time when we allow distractions to keep us busy, to stop us from facing those things we want to avoid. We often feel if we’re not exhausted at the end of each day, we’ve accomplished nothing worth noting.
Shhhh. I have a secret.
Are you listening?
It’s okay to take a breather.
In. Out. Deep in. Hold. Deep out. Relax.
It’s okay.
Sometimes it’s necessary to unplug and regroup. It’s important to just enjoy the quiet world around us and make our own Retreat. That quiet morning coffee? Bliss. After the kids go to bed? Nirvana. A quiet walk around the yard. A book in bed. Whatever you need to do to be still, do it.
Give yourself time to wind down from life’s busyness. Take a moment to prioritize your To-Do List. Just enjoy.
God is whispering to you. Are you listening above the noise?
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!

[A Study on the Ten Commandments will be available in early 2013 through New Inklings Press.]
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
You may also enjoy reading:
More or Less: 29 Words
What I Learned on Women’s Retreat [The Big Whammy!]