Angela Benson's Blog, page 5

Two more book covers to review

Here are the proposed covers for Abiding Hope. I know what I think but let me know what you think.  I can also use some help with Awakening Mercy.

Need help with book cover

My first Christian fiction title, Awakening Mercy, will have a new cover soon. Let me know what you think of these two choices.  Changes can still be made so all comments are appreciated.  I can also use some help with Abiding Hope.

Trouble Down the Road by Bettye Griffin

Bettye Griffin is one of my favorite authors. I'm honored to host her today as she talks about her new book, Trouble Down the Road.  Read and enjoy!

Question: Can you give a brief overview of what Trouble Down The Road is about?

Bettye Griffin: Let's see…secrets being found out, lies being exposed, marriages in trouble, misguided loyalties…does that whet your appetite for a good book to devour? Publisher's Weekly calls it a "tart and torrid tempest" and says that "Those who crave their drama...

N@50: The Marriage Penalty

Insurance and taxes. Yes, I'm going there.

In a lot of ways, marriage is not a financial winner. In terms of insurance and taxes, I think, you lose more than you gain.

In our case, our combined health insurance premiums have gone from about $210/month to $360/month. We now pay the family rate, which is the same rate that a couple with children (any number of children) would pay. I don't really complain about this because I understand that with insurance risk is shared so some families...

N@50: A Million Blessings

Yes, this is a Newlywed at 50 post and yes, the title of my latest book is A Million Blessings, an anthology with three novellas. So what's the connection? My novella, Showers of Blessings, is about an assistant pastor with a gambling addiction. This post is about the gambling habits of me and my new hubby.

Before y'all start praying and laying hands on stuff, I confess that neither one of us are gambling addicts. We have a casino about 40 miles from us that we visit occasionally. In...

N@50: We Like to Cruise

We like to cruise. Does that mean we're an "old" 50? Sometimes I think we are.

Regardless, we just booked our annual Carnival cruise. Telling you that it's a Carnival cruise tells you what kind of cruisers we are.

We cruise during that low season, between the week after Labor Day and the week before Christmas. We have a strict budget. Our limit is $200/day, including tips. So for a 5-day cruise, the most we're going to pay is $1000 for the two of us. That's for a stateroom with a...

New Release: A Million Blessings

What happens after all your dreams come true? In these uplifting tales of faith and fortune, delve into the lives of three people whose hearts–and wallets–are on the line when an unexpected windfall tests them like never before. . .

Showers of Blessings by Angela Benson

Assistant pastor Ronnie has a shameful secret: he's a compulsive gambler. And just when it seems he's run out of luck, he finds salvation in a miraculous win. But nothing can keep Ronnie from recklessly betting his family's...

N@50: Love and Money

Before my hubby was my hubby, we had the "money" discussion. It wasn't a difficult discussion to have, but it was a difficult one to schedule. We both knew we needed to do it, but we kept putting it off.

In preparation for this talk, we agreed that we would each pull our credit report and share it with the other person. Talk about feeling naked! When you start looking at your life in terms of those 20+ pages from Equifax it's a bit unsettling. Once the credit reports were printed, we...

N@50: It's Still High School

It's been a while since I've posted one of my Newlywed at 50 posts. I admit that I haven't posted because I was a bit embarrassed by the incident that I needed to share. Well, today I take the leap and tell the story.

Confession: I'm a 50-year old married woman but sometimes I act like a high school teenager.

There I've said it. Guess what caused this bit of insight?

Recently George went on a 10-day out-of-town trip, our first separation since our marriage. Guess what I learned from that...

Two Realities

I'm not much of a reality show watcher but two caught my eye this season: The Jackson Family Dynasty and One Big Happy Family. Now that they've ended their seasons, I'm left feeling sad for one family and inspired by the other.

Sad. The Jackson Family Dynasty left me feeling sad for the brothers. Their lack of maturity and self-awareness was stunning. They're all older than me (I'm 50) but their words and actions reflected a much younger, and less-developed, mindset. While several...