Shelley Shepard Gray's Blog, page 24

Race for the Cure

Last Saturday, my husband and I were out of the house before 5 am to drive down to Lexington to participate in the Lexington, KY Susan G Komen Race for the Cure. We met our daughter at her dorm then took a little walk over to her sorority house. Her sorority was one of many groups helping to put on the event.

It was so fun to visit Lesley's sorority house and meet her new girlfriends!

Finally, at 8, we walked to the start of the Race in downtown Lexington and were soon on our way. We sure didn't race, we walked-but my husband and I had such a fun time participating in this event. There were thousands of people and the morning was chilly and sunny. A perfect day to walk a 5K for a very good cause!

Best part of all? Hours spent with our daughter, catching up on all her latest news.

Ready to begin!

A Word About The Survivor

The inspiration for Mattie Lapp, a reoccurring character in the Families of Honor series, came directly from a conversation with my Amish friend. During one of my visits she was telling me expensive it can be to pay for the driver to take patients or family members of patients back and forth to the hospital.

That led to a conversation about being Amish and being in the hospital, which  somehow got me asking about what happens if an Amish woman discovers she has breast cancer.

I was curious about chemotherapy. Would an Amish woman agree to such treatments? She told me it depended on the woman-but yes, most would do anything they could to survive the disease.

When I went home, I did a little more research and discovered that mammograms are not a common practice among Amish women, but cancer can strike them just like women of any other group. But because of some women don't discover the cancer through early detection, when they are diagnosed the cancerous mass can be too big for a lumpectomy.

All these questions and answers inspired me to write about a young Amish woman battling this disease.

Further research led me to a blog written by a twenty-two year old woman who was posting a journal about her experiences. Her entries were heart-wrenching and honest.

And I used much of her pain and humor to write Mattie's story. Like Lilly Allen in the Sugarcreek books, I truly became invested in Mattie's character. I strived to make her journey through chemotherapy real and emotional, and I loved her support system-especially her best friend Graham. Finally giving Mattie her happy ending at the end of The Survivor was a very happy day at my computer.

These days, it seems everyone knows of a friend, neighbor, work associate, or family member who's been stricken by breast cancer. After writing about Mattie, I feel more strongly than ever to help promote awareness in any way I can.

Very soon, please look for a special contest we'll be running on Facebook! I'll be giving a beautiful container containing all kinds of wonderful things-from fluffy pink towels and a beautiful homemade 'pink ribbon' bracelet and matching earring set to a $20 Target gift card, to a signed set of the complete Families of Honor Series.

Thanks for letting Mattie and her story into your hearts. And, if you happen to know of a woman who's currently battling this disease, maybe you could open your heart to her as well. I'm sure your prayers would be greatly appreciated.

God bless,

shelley

Meet Rudy!

8:00 am, Friday morning: My husband announces we have no plans for the weekend. What are we going to do? I'm So Happy about no plans! All I want to do is sit, maybe take a walk. Read a book that I haven't written. I go back to finishing my revisions.

2:00 pm, Friday afternoon: Revisions done. I'm out and about, running errands. Cell phone rings. It's my son. He tells me he's found a puppy just north of here. I'm not at all on board with his puppy idea, but tell him to go talk to his dad. Forget about phone call. Head to bookstore to buy a book for lazy weekend.

4:00 pm, Friday. I get home, husband is grinning, tells me Arthur has left Tuscaloosa and will be here tonight. On Saturday the two of them are going to go pick up the pup. I text my daughter in KY. She calls her brother.

5:00 pm. Daughter calls. Arthur has agreed to take a detour and pick her up! Now two kids are coming home!

Midnight: Two kids home! I make sandwiches for hungry kids. Take two bags of laundry out of their hands. Go to bed.

Saturday, 9:00 am. Kids ask if I want to drive with them to Akron to pick up puppy. I say no, I'll make them dinner and do their laundry. I get shopping lists from kids, and a request for chicken pie and chocolate cake. Off to Walmart I go.

Saturday, 1:30.  I'm making pie crust. Kids call. Their dad is in a terrible mood. They're lost in Amish country! Turns out they're actually going to Millersburg, which is right next to Sugarcreek!

Saturday, 2:00pm. My family buys Rudy, a half bull dog/half beagle pup from a 14 yr. Amish boy. Rudy's price has been dropped because he was the runt of the litter.  They're calling from the Amish barn. I'm so jealous! I can't believe my son now has an Amish puppy!

Saturday, 7:00pm. Rudy is here! We eat chicken pie, play with puppy all night.

Sunday, 10:00. Kids leave with baskets of clean laundry, boxes of food, a bag of puppy chow, and one tiny puppy.

Sunday, noon.  Finally ready to relax, but wouldn't have missed the craziness for the world!

Here's a few pictures! With blessings to you, Shelley

Zondervan Blog

Amy Clipston, Vannetta Chapman, and I were interviewed for today's Zondervan Blog. It was fun! The interview is below.

http://zondervan.typepad.com/zondervan/

This morning, I finished my revisions for MISSING and sent it off to my editor. I'll take a big sigh of relief when I hear what she thinks, but for now, I'm very happy to spend a few hours out of my office. I'm off to run errands-getting mums, pumpkins, and cornstalks are on the agenda.

I hope y'all have a nice Friday afternoon, too!

with blessings,

Shelley

Coming up for Air

Last night, when my husband and I went out to dinner, we asked the hostess to sit us outside. Here in the Cincinnati area, the weather has been exceptionally nice. It's in the fifties and sixties in the evening, and that crisp, fall scent is in the air. Tom and I were so tired and grateful to be out of the house, we just sat back in our chairs and breathed deep.

Over the last few weeks, things have gotten really busy for me. I've had revisions for one book, line edits to read for another, promotion for other books, and another novel to finish. I'm still in the midst of it, and I don't expect things to settle down for another few weeks.

This is the kind of thing I thrive on. I love to write, and I love being busy. Oh, I'm definitely am busy!

However, when I was sitting outside in the cool evening air, I was reminded to take time to relax and enjoy the moment. For me, it was one of those perfect times when I feel as if God was reminding me about what was important.

Tonight, Tom and I are planning to take the dog for a long walk and maybe go get some ice cream. Sounds like a perfect evening to me! (just hope that ice cream won't bother my temporary crown-yes, I spent most of Tuesday in a dentist's chair.)

I hope you all, too, are finding moments to relax, breathe deep and to enjoy the fall.

with blessings,

Shelley

Coffee, a Crown, and another Cartrip

Happy Friday!

I woke up this morning to discover we had No Coffee. This was not good! I can easily drink a whole pot of coffee by myself, and knowing that coffee is on its way is what usually gets me out of bed in the morning. We buy our coffee in bulk from Costco, and I had been sure we had at least one more package stashed in there. Nope. I'm embarrassed to say I kept opening the freezer, sure a one pound bag was going to suddenly show up. It didn't. So I had instant Starbucks this morning. Blech.

After putting off a cleaning a little too long, I finally visited the dentist yesterday. I'll spare y'all the details, but I got the news I hate hear. I need another crown. Next week! I pouted about it all day yesterday.

Luckily this weekend's weather is sure to be absolutely beautiful. It's brisk and sunny and supposed to stay in the 50′s.  I'm looking forward to taking a nice long walk tomorrow on our bike trail.

And this fall weather means it will be a perfect day to go for a drive! This Sunday at 2:00 pm, I'll be giving an Author Talk in Westlake, OH at the Porter Public Library. I'm looking forward to driving north and talking about books for a few hours. If you live in the Cleveland area, I hope you'll consider joining me! You can find more information about it at www.westlakelibrary.org

This has been such a busy week, it's hard to believe my husband and I spent most of Monday afternoon and evening walking around San Francisco. Here's a photo of one of the statues at the Embarcadero near the bay. It's a water sculpture and in person, it looks amazing!

Thanks for stopping by,

Shelley

Back Home

We arrived back home from our trip to California last night. No matter how much I enjoy getting away, I'm always anxious to come back home!

Our trip was really busy. After seeing my mom for two days in Santa Barbara, we drove up the coast to Monterey, then were in San Francisco for two days. We saw lots of sites, but I have to say one of our favorite stops was the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We didn't have a lot of time to be there-less than two hours-so my husband and I dashed around. My two favorite things?

1) Sea Otter Pups! Oh, they were so, so cute. When we were up close, they were snuggled together sleeping, so I didn't get a good photo. Later on, though, they were floating on their backs eating a snack. I could have stood there with all the kids and watched those otters all day.

2) Puffins! I had seen otters before, but never Puffins. They, too, were super-cute. My husband was very patient with me as I watched them wander around and be birds.  I did get a photo of a Puffin.

It's chilly here today-perfect day for soup, I think.

Thanks for stopping by~

Shelley

Shhh…it's a secret!

We're heading off to California tomorrow to see my mother, spend a day at the Monterrey Aquarium, and then head up the coast to San Francisco. I can't wait! I'm anxious to see the ocean and enjoy a few days with my husband.

But that's not the secret.

The secret is I found the best gift to give my editor: A book!  Last year, I found a lovely old book by Louisa May Alcott for her. This year? It's a lovely old book called 'Guide to Motherhood' from 1890! Inside the front cover are inscriptions from one woman to the next~over the years, this book was read and read again. Some of the 'words of wisdom' are still true today. Others? Well, let's just say that things are a little different now than in 1890. : )

My editor is a new mom so I thought she'd get a kick out of it. And, well, I've never met an editor who doesn't love books.

In short, I'm very proud to give it to her. For her, it's a perfect gift.

The best 'gift' I ever gave wasn't really a present at all. When my husband turned 40, I presented him with 40 days of celebration. I contacted all kinds of people from his past-high school friends, college fraternity brothers, old neighbors, aunts and uncles…and gave them each a day. Their job was to give him a call, stop by our house, or write him a note on their assigned day. I still can't believe the number of people who took time from their busy lives and picked up the phone! He absolutely loved hearing from everyone.

Preparing 'gifts' like that makes the verse from Acts so true-It really is better to give than receive! 

Do you have a gift you're particularly proud of giving? I'd love to hear about it…as long as it's not too much of a secret!

with blessings,

Shelley

Visiting Crittenden County

Thought I'd share a few photos today of beautiful Crittenden County and Marion, KY. One thing that is kind of neat about the Amish in this community is that many of their homes and businesses are on a 30 mile loop right outside the town! There were so many really tall trees-much of the roads on the loop were covered by 'tree bridges'-tree limbs connecting overhead. It made me so happy I set the upcoming series there!

An Amish home and farm

 

Along the 30 mile 'Amish' loop. So pretty!

The Spur-of-the Moment Cartrip

10:00 am yesterday:  I was pouring myself yet another cup of coffee and telling my husband that I really needed to get to Crittenden County soon. 

10:10: Tom looked at me and said that most of his conference calls for the day had been cancelled. We could go right then.

10:12:  Hold on, now. Um…Crittenden County is easily 5 hours away from our house. 5+5+at least 2 hours to look

around = a very long day. Plus it was raining. That's a miserable drive. And then there's the dog…and I hadn't gotten organized. I hadn't even showered.

10:30: Tom says, "Shelley, do you want to go or not?"

11:00:  We're on our way, Suzy the wiener dog in tow.

11:30: It's raining. Construction on I71S. Suzy is whining.  Suddenly the  great adventure seems like Our. Worst. Idea. Ever. Desperate, I open up my Kindle and buy a book to read to Tom. It's The Killing Floor, Lee Child's first Jack Reacher book.  Lee Child is a great writer, and his fast paced scenes make for awesome read aloud books.  My reading puts the dog asleep. 

 Things are looking up.

12:30:  Getting close to Louisville. Tom asks me to get out the Garmin and plug it in. I say that I thought he'd taken care of that. With a sigh, I pull out a map. We're now traveling 'old school'. And me navigating with only a map is never a good idea.

4:00: We get to Marion, KY! It's awesome! The sun is out! We celebrate by walking a few blocks to the McDonalds, sharing a couple of cheeseburgers and giving Suzy a couple of fries.

Next on the agenda? The Visitors Bureau, an impromptu interview by the local paper, and the 30 mile trek into Crittenden County's Amish Country. I'll write about that tomorrow! 

It's cramped in the car! Suzy chewing on bone next to my feet