By Linda Wood Rondeau There’s a reason I don’t garden and writing is my main ambition. Historically, I kill anything I try to grow. That’s why, when our VBS director gave me a pot of flowers, I asked my church friends to pray for the plant. Many years ago, when I was still young and thought I might have inherited my mother’s skill with flowers, I planted zinnias in front of my trailer. I dreamed of enjoying their beauty as I looked out the window while washing dishes. I dutifully tended the project, going out several times a week to…
Tag: humor
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Getting Skunked
Getting skunked means to be overwhelmingly defeated in a competition, such as “We got skunked, 72-10 in the basketball game.” And then there’s the literal meaning. I had been prayerwalking for many years in my small town in the Sierra Valley that cold morning I headed out my front door and down Main Street—bundled up in gloves, coat, and hat that pre-dawn morning. I had forgotten my flashlight but wasn’t concerned when two doors down I heard rustling in the bushes to my right. Just birds. But soon I learned the rustling was not birds, but a skunk defending itself from an…
Finding a Balance That’s Just Right
Goldilocks had the right idea: neither extreme worked for her—she chose the one that was just right. The same is true of social and civic commitments. Too many commitments cause us anxiety and stress and result in poor performance in one or more areas of our lives. Often, that’s the area that affects our family. We might wish we could be a superwoman and do it all, but we can’t. Something will suffer—our health or our family’s well-being, a relationship with a friend, or maybe even our position at work. Saying yes too frequently can lead to anger and resentment,…
First Impressions
It was my first book to be published, and I was excited about flying to Colorado Springs to meet my publishers at their headquarters. Coming from Florida and having been warned of the possibility of a late spring snowstorm in Colorado, I carefully picked out my clothes for the trip to make the best impression, strategic about packing a separate suitcase for cold weather and snow. But the next day when the plane arrived in Colorado, my suitcase with my cold weather gear was missing. I awoke the next morning to find a blanket of freshly fallen snow outside my hotel…
The Write to Expire
The first day of the writer’s conference, my daughters and I crowded onto the elevator with several other conferees making their way to the morning keynote session. Fifteen-year-old Holly and 17-year-old Leilani were the only teen attendees that year. “I just love to see expiring new writers,” spoke up an elderly lady. She nodded and smiled at my daughters. Of course, she meant to say aspiring. Not expiring. I think. Quick-witted Holly didn’t miss a beat. “You must mean my mom.” During the process of writing 29 of my own books and many titles for clients in addition to countless…
What’s In A Name?
I’m fascinated with names. Maybe all of us writers are. I like creative names and creative spellings. I’m intrigued with old-fashioned names that come back in style, and I like unique names I’ve never heard of. I’ve chuckled at names, like one of my college friends, whose first name was “Holly” and she married a gentleman with the surname “Wood.” She said she had trouble cashing checks with the signature “Holly Wood,” so she eventually stuck her maiden-name initial between the two words. My brother had a friend named William Williams, but at least he went by the name “Bill.”…
Reviews of Jeanette Levellie’s, “Hello Beautiful! Finally Love Yourself the Way You Are”
“Reading Hello, Beautiful!: Finally Love Yourself The Way You Are, is like taking a breath of fresh air in a world that imposes ever increasing, unobtainable standards of beauty. Veteran author, Jeanette Levellie and her co-author, take a tag team approach with their starkly, personal true stories, that astutely correspond with lessons in inner beauty. Their writing voices complement each other seamlessly, like a musical duet, but each stands out in their own way, so even though the stories are not consecutive, you get an intuitive feel for which author you are reading. This book has all the bells and…
Friday Funny…
Do not shampoo in the shower. Stop that habit right now! I just noticed what it states on my shampoo bottle: Adds Volume and Fullness. With all those suds cascading down as we rinse our heads, no wonder Americans can’t lose weight! Julie Cosgrove Romantic suspense, cozy mysteries, digital ministry www.juliebcosgrove.com
A Starry-eyed Kid
One day, my friend, Kim, was teaching her toddler about the American flag. She pointed to the stars on the flag, and told the little girl that each star was for one of the 50 states in our nation—like Arizona, Texas,California, Ohio, Wisconsin, and so on, until she listed all of the states. When Kim finished, her little girl looked up and with wide-eyed innocence said, “Which star is for Baby Jesus?” Thank you, Jackie M. Johnson, for sending us this and sharing it with us! Jackie M. Johnson is an author and blogger. Her books include Power Prayers for Women, the breakup recovery resource When Love Ends…
How (NOT) to pick an editor
“Nutty with a Dash of Meat” Jeanette Levellie here with a crazy story of how God saved me from my ditzy method of picking an editor to pitch my book idea to… At my first writers conference since deciding to author a book, I was thrilled for the opportunity to meet with real live editors. I had already worn out the brochure detailing each one’s credentials and what they needed. Not a researcher by nature, I patted myself on the back for all the time I’d taken to pick the editors I knew would fall in love with my book…
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