It’s Christmas, the
season when nature wraps itself in beauty like a shiny, glittering package to
the world. We gather our family and friends a little closer and focus on making
good memories and good food.
Among all the hustle
and bustle of our preparations and parties, the most important thing we focus
on is the reason for the season. The Nativity, the appearance of a new Star, Angelic
choirs, a manger in a stable and Three wise men – just to name a few.
The Greatest Gift of
All, though, is that the tiny child born so long ago is our Lord and Savior and
He’s coming back. We celebrate the gift of His birth and the promise of His
return.
My wish to all of you
is that you have a Merry and Blessed Christmas this year celebrating God’s
perfect gift, as well as a Happy and Hopeful New Year as we look forward to His
coming.
Grace Winston yearns for one last family Christmas before she leaves forEngland, but first she has to convince her
brothers and sisters it's worth their while to come home. While her parents are happy that she's been accepted at
Oxford University, they are pining for their family to gather together for the
holidays. Grace talks her older brothers and sister into coming home, but then
they must convince their other siblings: a brother
who attacked their father to get money to feed his
drug habit, and a sister who recently gave up alcohol and is raising her
four young children alone.While Grace manages to bring them all together,she is soon wondering if this was really worth
all the trouble she's gone through,especially when no one acknowledges her efforts to
make this a Christmas to remember--until she
receives an early gift that leaves her certain that
everything will turn out all right.
EXCERPT:
Grace Winston had celebrated her eighteenth birthday a mere
three weeks ago, the same day as Thanksgiving. There were no thanks in her
house, no special foods prepared to celebrate her becoming an adult, nothing to
mark the day as unique.
Her parents hadn't said "Happy Birthday" until it
was time to go to bed. Even then, the acknowledgement had sounded more like
"goodnight."
It's not Mama and
Papa's fault. They can't help how sad they are. My brothers and sisters should
have come like they said they would. They're not even making false promises
anymore. All of them claim that they have other plans for Christmas, and we need
to get over our selfish desire to have the family together.
For as far back as she could remember, that day has been
one where her whole family showed up, until her oldest brother, Adam, decided
that he had too much work to spend a week at his childhood home. Mark begged
off the next year, claiming his wife's job required him to appear at the White
House. The others never bothered to make an excuse the year after that.
Playlist for
Grace:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
KC Sprayberry started writing
young, first as a diarist, and later throughan
interest in English and creative writing.
Her first experience with publication came when she placed third in The Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge contest while
in the Air Force, but her dedication to writing came after she had her
youngest child, now in his senior year of high school.
Her family lives in Northwest
Georgia where she spends her days creating stories about life in the south, and
far beyond. More than a dozen of her short stories have appeared in several
magazines. Five anthologies feature other short stories. She has three books
that are Amazon best sellers: Softly Say
Goodbye, Who Am I?, and Mama's Advice.
Her other novels available are: Take
Chances, Where U @, The Wrong One, The Ghost Catcher, Family Curse … Times Two,
and Secret From The Flames.
Happy Monday, everyone. The countdown to Christmas is speeding by faster than I could have imagined. Are you ready or are you doing a little last minute shopping?
I'll admit, I'm one of those that starts shopping in July. By the time Black Friday rolls around, I'm usually done. That doesn't always keep me from doing just a little extra shopping for the fun of it. So whether you're still looking for last minute gifts or if you're shopping just for fun, don't forget that books make a fantastic gift for men and women of ALL ages.
I've reviewed a lot of fantastic new books this year, I hope some of them gave you ideas for gifts. In fact, I hope you take the time to check out the posts again for ideas.
Recently I toured Starflower, the fourth book in the Tales of the Goldstone wood Series by Anne Elisabeth Stengl for the CFBA. Now it's the CSFF's turn to tour the novel.
Never Become Involved in the Affairs of Mortals
When a cursed dragon-witch kidnaps lovely Lady Gleamdren, Bard Eanrin sets boldly forth on a rescue mission . . . and a race against his rival for Gleamdren's favor. Intent upon his quest, the last thing the immortal Faerie needs is to become mixed up with the troubles of an insignificant mortal.
But when he stumbles upon a maiden trapped in an enchanted sleep, he cannot leave her alone in the dangerous Wood Between. One waking kiss later, Eanrin finds his path entangled with that of young Starflower. A strange link exists between this mortal girl and the dragon-witch. Will Starflower prove the key to Lady Gleamdren's rescue? Or will the dark power from which she flees destroy both her and her poet rescuer?
Since I've already posted my review HERE, I won't repeat myself, but visit the other tour members links to read their thoughts on this fantastic novel. Maybe you'll find it's the perfect gift for someone you love (including yourself!)
Song Stuck on the Brain: A Thousand Years by Christina Perri
Hey guys, Author KC Sprayberry just shared some awesome new with me:
"If you haven’t picked up your copy of Softly Say Goodbye yet, now might be a good time. I’m participating in a “Give Back” program on my publishers new imprint. We give 10% of all sales from November 11 through December 20, 2012. What I collect will go to the Salvation Army.
Christmas is just around the corner, and this is a very inexpensive gift. Also, the Salvation Army gives 90% of every dollar collected to their causes, which is why I’m supporting them. This is the PDF version, which can be emailed to the recipient!" - KC Sprayberry
How awesome is that? Christmas gift the book to yourself or buy it and email it as a gift to someone you love - and help out those struggling at the same time. Can't get better than that.
Erin Sellers, an eighteen-year-old high school senior, hates teen drinking. She and her three friends – Bill, her guy, Shari and Jake – decide to use Twitter to stop a group, the Kewl Krew, from using their high school as the local bar. But the members of this group are just as determined to stop anyone from messing up their fun. Despite veiled threats to her safety, Erin continues her crusade.
To make matters worse for her, the stress of school and extra curricular work mounts and suddenly, shockingly, booze-fuelled tragedy strikes. Erin is now under greater pressure as she spends all hours to produce a mural and other work to commemorate the death of a teen friend. Bill, Jake and Shari support her in all this…
But more tragedy lurks nearby… until it’s time to softly say goodbye.
The countdown has long begun and I've been busily planning the holiday and baking up a storm, but I had to share one of my new favorite Christmas recordings by Barlow Girl. They give me goosebumps! Enjoy!
How did I miss these books growing up? I read all the great classics from the original Nancy Drew to Mary Poppins. Little House on the Prairie to Pippi Longstockings. I devoured the entire young adult and middle grade reader section in my town's library. I'm glad that I was given a second chance to meet Emily. Maud Hart Lovelace was a great writer. I enjoy her style and characters. It's not just a modern author's look at history. It's a fun peek into the past with authenticity that can't be created from our day and age's research. So much fun. I look forward to reading more.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Often cited as Maud Hart Lovelace’s (of Betsy-Tacy fame) best novel, Emily of Deep Valley is now back in print, with a new foreword by acclaimed young adult author Mitali Perkins and new archival material about the characters’ real lives.
Emily Webster, an orphan living with her grandfather, is not like the other girls her age in Deep Valley, Minnesota. The gulf between Emily and her classmates widens even more when they graduate from Deep Valley High School in 1912. Emily longs to go off to college with everyone else, but she can’t leave her grandfather. Emily resigns herself to facing a “lost winter,” but soon decides to stop feeling sorry for herself. And with a new program of study, a growing interest in the Syrian community, and a handsome new teacher at the high school to fill her days, Emily gains more than she ever dreamed...
In addition to her beloved Betsy-Tacy books, Maud Hart Lovelace wrote three more stories set in the fictional town of Deep Valley: Winona’s Pony Cart, Carney’s House Party and Emily of Deep Valley. Longtime fans and new readers alike will be delighted to find the Deep Valley books available again for the first time in many years.
A word from Mitali: Who In The World Is Mitali Perkins?
That's a good question. I've been trying to figure it out myself, spending most of my life crossing borders.
I was born Mitali Bose in Kolkata (Calcutta), India, and always tried to live up to my name—which means “friendly” in the Bangla language. I had to! Because my family moved so much, it was the only way I could make new friends.
By the time I was 11, I'd lived in Ghana, Cameroon, London, New York and Mexico before settling in California just in time for middle school. Yep, I was the new kid again, in seventh grade, the year everybody barely makes it through.
My biggest lifeline during those early years was story. Books were my rock, my stability, my safe place as I navigated the border between California suburbia and the Bengali culture of my traditional home.
After studying political science at Stanford and public policy at U.C. Berkeley, I taught in middle school, high school and college. When I began to write fiction, my protagonists were often—not surprisingly—strong female characters trying to bridge different cultures.
Mitali Perkins is the author of several books for young people, including SECRET KEEPER (Random House), MONSOON SUMMER (Random House), RICKSHAW GIRL (Charlesbridge), and the FIRST DAUGHTER books (Dutton).
Maud Hart Lovelace was born on April 25, 1892 in Mankato, Minnesota. She was the middle of three children born to Thomas and Stella (Palmer) Hart. Her sister Kathleen was three years older, and her sister Helen was six years younger. “That dear family�? was the model for the fictional Ray family.
Maud’s birthplace was a small house on a hilly residential street several blocks above Mankato’s center business district. The street, Center Street, dead-ended at one of the town’s many hills. When Maud was a few months old the Hart family moved two blocks up the street to 333 Center. Shortly before Maud’s fifth birthday a “large merry Irish family�? moved into the house directly across the street. Among its many children was a girl Maud’s age, Frances, nicknamed Bick, who was to be Maud’s best friend and the model for Tacy Kelly. Tib’s character was based on another playmate, Marjorie (Midge) Gerlach, who lived nearby in a large house designed by her architect father. Maud, Bick, and Midge became lifelong friends. Maud once stated that the three couldn’t have been closer if they’d been sisters.
I don't care if I've already listed O Holy Night. Nsync is an amazing vocal band and I love their version. Very talented guys. I wish they'd make a come back special...
One of my all time favorite Christmas songs. I love the haunting melody. There are several great versions. Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Rachel Lampa. This one by Sara Groves is great and I really like the dancers. Very moving.
This song has been done by so many different vocalists, and they all sound amazing. But I still love to hear Mark sing it. Maybe because he wrote the song and it comes straight from the heart. It gives me goosebumps.
SheDaisy has a fantastic sound. I always wanted to sound like them. We only made it to 2 in our group. Don't think we ever sounded near as good. But what a sound to aspire to. Love their remake.
We're counting down to Christmas rather quickly now. I've been watching all my fav Christmas movies and watching my favorite music videos. This is one of my favs. Remember when I was 4 I wanted to marry Kenny Rogers. When you see him in uniform, can you blame me?
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