Cheryl Grey Bostrom's Blog, page 8

New Year, New Book!

How good to be back with you, friends! I just spent some intense weeks putting the finishing touches on my new novel —a Sugar Birds SEQUEL. About 370 pages flew from my computer to my Tyndale House editor’s inbox on December 30.

I’ll tell you more about the book in weeks and months ahead, but I like friends who subscribe to my Saturday emails to hear everything first. Therefore, I’ll only include a pic of the finished manuscript for now—and a partial peek at artist Emma VandeVoort’s fabulous map for the frontispiece.

Would you like to subscribe to those Saturday letters? Send me your email address and I’ll take you with me through the writing process of each new novel, from conception and ongoing word counts, through submission to my publisher and the book’s arrival in your hands. You’ll hear my musings, hopes, and frustrations as I write, too—along with practical things that may help you if you’re writing your own book.

These letters don’t show up online. They’re old school, just between us, and if you respond, I’ll always write back. This is also the route through which you can enter my frequent giveaways of books I talk about in this blog.

Interested? Drop me a note HERE.

https://cherylbostrom.com/contact/

I just unloaded weeks of pics from my Nikon, too, so I’ll be back with more nature pics next week.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I’m really glad you’re here.

Warmly,

Cheryl

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks

Plunging.

I’ll be watching the windows on the day they arrive. When I see my husband’s truck pull up, returned from the airport full of people I cherish, I’ll run outside, scoop the smaller ones into my arms and spin. In the ensuing days, we’ll eat and laugh, work puzzles and talk. Roam the fields and woods. Over turkey and spuds, salads and pie, I’ll pour them Love from my deepest pitcher.

The next week they’ll fly away again.

Then, gradually, our time together—the memories that I’ve stowed into every room, every square inch of attic and crawlspace, every garage and barn in my heart—will revise or dim or shrink in life’s frothy contrail.

Like all memories do. Good and bad. Yours. Mine.

While we soar toward someday’s wonder, which lasts a whole lot longer.

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“In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” —Psalm 16:11

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“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man,

and He will dwell with them.

They will be His people,

and God Himself will be with them as their God.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,

and there will be no more death

or mourning or crying or pain,

for the former things have passed away.” —Revelation 21:3-4

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With family visiting and my new book’s manuscript due at the publisher on January 2, I’ll be away from this blog and most of social media for awhile, plunging into story edits, playing dominoes and making pies with favorite people. Meet me back here early January?

Blessings and love to each of you. So glad you’re here.

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Until then, pics!

Trumpeters.

“When you come together, each one has a hymn . . .”

—1 Corinthians 14:26

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How to let go.

“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”

—Isaiah 26:3

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Ginger.

And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid . . .”
—Matthew 10:30-31

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Unveiled.

“For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.”

—1 Corinthians 2:10

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And some throwbacks for you:

Blackberry, sugar-dipped.

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Unsettled.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

—John 14:27

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Tithe Weir.

“Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”

—Malachi 3:10

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Like Hannibal.

(Sunrise has officially crossed Mt. Baker)

“. . . my God turns my darkness into light.”

—Psalm 18:28b

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Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks

Four-leggeds.

Lots of four-leggeds and I crossed paths this past week or so, all with their own paces, their own lessons. I walked and stood and sat with them—asking, learning. Reflecting on the One who made them.

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you . . . In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.”

—Job 12:7, 10

And . . .

I drew winners for this week’s GIVEAWAY of six books: Linda MacKillop’s The Forgotten Life of Eva Gordon and my book Sugar Birds! If you’d like to be included in these regular giveaways, just drop me a note HERE, and I’ll subscribe you. Each Saturday, I write a short, personal letter, announce any giveaway winners, and attach links to this blog so you can see the week’s pics.

It’s old school correspondence, in letters not found anywhere online. You can reply to them, and I’ll always write back.

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I’d love to hear what YOU ask . . . or learn . . . or remember as you look at these:

Wooly.

“Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.”

—1 Peter 2:25

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At our campsite, day and night—doing stuff.

“For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.”

—1 Thessalonians 5:2

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Gleaners.

“‘And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.’ And it was so.”

—Genesis 1:30

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Winter wheat and Daisy.

“You prepare their grain, for thus You prepare the earth.
You water its furrows abundantly,
You settle its ridges,
You soften it with showers,
You bless its growth.”
—Psalm 65:9-10

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Out for breakfast?

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Thanks for stopping by, friends. So glad you’re here.

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks

A Hey, Pics, and Book Giveaways

Thanks for stopping by, friends. As always, I’m so glad you’re here. I have pics for you this week—and more GIVEAWAYS.

Back in March, I told you about a book you could preorder: The Forgotten Life of Eva Gordon, by Linda MacKillop. The novel’s now been out in the world for a few months, to great reviews. I bring it up again, because I have a GIVEAWAY COPY for you!

I’m also giving away FIVE copies of my novel Sugar Birds!

To enter, contact me HERE or drop me a note at Cheryl@CherylBostrom.com. You’ll get my Saturday emails, and will learn the winners in my letter next week (NOT here in my blog). You’ll then automatically be entered in future giveaways.

Here’s what I wrote about the MacKillop’s wonderful book back then:

Remember Elizabeth Strout’s Pulitzer Prize winner Olive Kitteridge? Well, Linda MacKillop’s The Forgotten Life of Eva Gordon brought Olive to mind by the time I’d turned twenty pages. It’s that good—and more: where Olive gives pause, Eva Gordon captures. She and the rest of MacKillop’s characters landed in my bones, guts, heart—and took up residence. This book is a memorable, utterly beautiful story of perspective and hope.

Here’s the cover copy:

“Eva wants to run away from her life–if only she could remember how.

Failing memory has forced Eva Gordon to move in with her granddaughter, Breezy. But Eva hates the bustle of Boston. All she wants to do is move back to her quiet, cozy Cape Cod home and be left alone.

“Then Breezy announces she’s getting married, and they’ll be moving to her new husband’s rundown family farm, where he lives with an elderly uncle. They’ll be one big family—but only Breezy and Brent think it’ll be a happy one.

It’s all too much for Eva. Too much change, too much togetherness, too much of an over-crowded life she never wanted. But as her desire for privacy collides with her worsening memory, Eva may find herself in a pickle she can’t get out of. Can an unlikely cast of misfit characters step in to woo Eva from her self-imposed isolation?

Fans of A Man Called Ove will appreciate Eva’s predicament, and enjoy the poignant, hilarious, and intergenerational rescue effort to save her from herself.”

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

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And now for those pics:

Half a state away, we heard it blow.

Finally visited Mt St. Helens.

Where were you that day? Hear it? Get any ash? (Not born yet?)

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Splash walk.

“He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven.”

—Acts 14:17

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And a few throwbacks for you who are new here and for you who want to remember:

Chandelier.

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Focal Point.

“I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.”

—Psalm 32:8b

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Down to bones.

“Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt . . . And you forgave me!”

—Psalm 32:5

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See you next week! Until then, write me anytime. I’d love to hear from you—and will write back.

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks.

On Camera—in God and Nature Magazine

Each quarter for a couple of years now, I’ve contributed photo essays to God and Nature Magazine, and I’ve shared them with you here. A number of you have followed the links and discovered for yourselves the breadth and depth of this fascinating, thought-provoking publication.

If you’re new to this blog and hearing about God and Nature Magazine for the first time, I encourage you to visit the magazine’s site, linked above. You’ll find that this is “a publication of the American Scientific Affiliation (ASA), founded in 1941 as an international network of Christians in the sciences. With its counterpart to the north, the Canadian Scientific and Christian Affiliation (CSCA) and its friends across the pond, Christians in Science (CiS), ASA members are dedicated to promoting rigorous and open-minded research and dialogue on science and theology.”

I’m delighted that my photos and comments will now appear as a regular column in G & N. We decided the title this week: “On Camera: Scripture in Creation.”

I hope you enjoy this Fall 2022 entry.

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On Camera: Scripture in Creation

Goodbyes

By Cheryl Grey Bostrom

Light wanes. The season shifts.
We cloister, reflect, bid adieu.
Then hope,
And wait for hello.

​Emptied.

“The creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.”
—Romans 8:21

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​Bygones.
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“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.”
—2 Cor 4:16

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Bunkered.

“And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.”
—Ephesians 4:23

Cheryl Grey Bostrom is a Pacific Northwest native, naturalist, photographer, and author of  SUGAR BIRDS, winner of multiple literary awards, including Christianity Today’s 2022 fiction Award of Merit. A former teacher and columnist, she lives with her husband and three irrepressible Gordon setters in rural Washington State. 

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This week we took those irrepressible setters into the Palouse—remote wheat country in southeast Washington State, where my husband and I visited lifelong friends, attended the country church we called home when we were newlyweds, and roamed ravines and hills for hours.

I firmed up research for my forthcoming novel, too.

Here’s a peek at our meanderings that I posted on SM earlier this week:

Guess where we are! (Daisy’s first visit … The old dogs helped her read the lay of the land. Literally.)

The setting of my next novel.

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Snake, bested by heaven.

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Taken as we drove down the Almota grade to the Snake River. Can’t imagine driving a wheat truck down here.

(I’ve had heart-pounding dreams about this road—and included a couple of scenes about it in my new book. )

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35 degrees and sleeting in the Palouse yesterday. Windstorms in the Snake canyon last night. Reminded me of this post from three years ago:

Storm geese.

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”

—Psalm 91:1

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Also from a few years back, these:

Page, turning.

(Before last weekend’s storm.)

“I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.”

—Psalm 143:5b

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Green gift on a gray day. Roadside moss.

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Thanks for stopping by, friends. So glad you’re here.

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks.

GIVEAWAY: Sandra Byrd’s new novel HEIRLOOMS

Back in July, Sandra Byrd‘s rich new novel Heirlooms released into the world. I told you about it in this blog, but due to my flurry of summer pics in that same post, some of you missed it.

This tender story has a permanent spot on my bookshelf, and I’d like to mail you a copy for yours! To enter this week’s GIVEAWAY, drop me a note through the contact page link above, or HERE. I’ll announce the winner in next Saturday’s letter to you.

Here’s what I wrote.

If you’re looking for more PNW summer, Sandra Byrd’s new novel Heirlooms will take you to Whidbey Island (also in Washington State)—and another country farm. In its pages you’ll enter a story of intergenerational and cross-cultural friendships as lovely as any I’ve read.

Here’s the gist:

Two Navy widows—one of Korean lineage—find solace in each other after their husbands’ deaths. Estranged from their mothers, the two become family-of-heart. Those women have passed when their granddaughters follow attic clues to sleuth the details of their shared histories—and honor the legacies of their remarkable grandmothers.

I hope you enjoy it. This story is so rich and warm-hearted, you’ll be weeping by its conclusion.
I was.

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Thin Moment -TB 2019

“Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down!”

—Psalm 144:5a

First thing.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet, a light on my path.”

—Psalm 119:105

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Ever been here? See any CRAYFISH?

Introduced into Crater Lake to feed fish (also introduced) in the early 1900s, crayfish have multiplied like . . . well . . . crayfish, and are displacing the native salamander.

Wizard Island in the Crater Lake caldera.

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Pluots.

On our Crater Lake trip, THESE . . . along the Columbia River, in orchard full of this plum/apricot cross. Sweet, sweet, sweet.

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

—Galatians 5:22-23

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Thanks for stopping by, friends. So glad you’re here.

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks.

The Unhiding of Elijah Campbell: Review & Giveaway!

Friends! I ‘m delighted to share Dr. Kelly Flanagan‘s powerful new novel with you! A pitch-perfect page-turner of a story, The Unhiding of Elijah Campbell is not only beautifully written, but nails truths our hearts long to hear.

Think Tuesdays with Morrie meets The Shack as Flanagan’s Elijah collides with his past and both dismantles and reconstructs his inner and outer lives. Authentic, heart-rending, absorbing, and wise, this book hits the bulls-eye of psychological and spiritual relevance. I closed the cover with new clarity, new conviction and, I hope, new capability to forgive and love.  

Congratulations, Kelly. You have a winner here, packed with God’s love, truth, and grace, and told with humor, courage and a beautiful voice, I trust it will change lives wherever the Lord lands it.  

Here’s the gist:

Elijah Campbell is on the verge of losing his writing career, his faith, and his marriage when a recurring childhood nightmare drives him back to his hometown, Bradford’s Ferry. There, his encounters with loved ones both past and present shed light on the reason his wife left him―and the meaning of his nightmare. However, beyond the light he begins to glimpse something even more terrifying―a decision he must make either to continue hiding the secrets of his past or unhide the only thing that can save his marriage: himself.

In psychologist Kelly Flanagan’s non-fiction works (Loveable, True Companions), he drew from clinical insight to explore the spiritual depths of identity and relationships. Now, in this debut novel, he weaves a page-turning and plot-twisting tale that brings new life to those insights, along with fresh revelations about personal growth, spiritual transformation, and the dynamics of interpersonal relationships.

This visit to Bradford’s Ferry will linger long after the final page has been turned, and a guide for group discussion invites further conversation about the story’s themes of healing, grace, faith, forgiveness, and freedom.

GIVEAWAY!

WIN A COPY of The Unhiding of Elijah Campell! Enter this week’s drawing HERE or in the contact link above. I’ll send the winner to your email in my short weekly letter next Saturday, and you’ll automatically be entered in future giveaways. I’d love to drop your name in the hat.

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Jellyfish.
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“The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
—1 Samuel 16:7

Your turn, friends! Leave a caption for this one in the comments!

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When your bestie bikes you to Stonehenge.

(Stonehenge Memorial, Maryhill, WA, Sept 22)

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And for you new subscribers, a few throwbacks . . .

Last Cutting.

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Word bubble.

“I tell you,” He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.”

—Luke 19:40

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Good morning, Gorgeous.

“Greet one another with a holy kiss.”

—2 Corinthians 13:12

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Fifteen months ago, Sugar Birds launched—& entered its awards season. There’s one left: The Christy.

Learned this week that Sugar Birds is a FINALIST in debut fiction. So grateful to God and a truckload of friends who helped and encouraged in countless ways.

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Thanks for stopping by, friends. So glad you’re here.

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks.

Where the Blue Sky Begins: Review and Giveaway

Author Katie Powner‘s latest book—Where the Blue Sky Begins— releases this coming Tuesday, October 11—and it’s another big-hearted winner from this master story-teller. You’ve heard about this author from me before, and how I enjoyed her earlier books: The Sowing Season and A Flicker of Light. I had the privilege of reading an advance copy of this new one, and can enthusiastically say that Katie plumbs depths of life and heart in small-town Montana as naturally as breathing—with irresistible characters, surprising twists and laugh-out-loud humor. 

Here’s the gist:

Sometimes the hardest road of all is the road home.

When confident and handsome Eric Larson is sent to a rural Montana town to work in the local branch of his uncle’s financial company, he’s determined to exceed everyone’s expectations, earn a promotion, and be back in Seattle by the end of summer. Yet nothing could prepare him for the lessons this small town has in store.

At forty-six years old, eccentric and outspoken Eunice Parker has come to accept her terminal illness and has given herself one final goal: seek forgiveness from everyone on her bucket list before her time runs out. But it will take more courage than she can muster on her own.

After an accident pushes Eric and Eunice together, the unlikely pair is forced to spend more time with each other than either would like, which challenges their deepest prejudices and beliefs. As summer draws to a close, neither Eric nor Eunice is where they thought they would be, but they both wrestle with the same important question: What matters most when the end is near?

WIN A COPY OF THIS BOOK! Drop your email address HERE or at Cheryl@CherylBostrom.com to be entered with other subscribers. I’ll announce the winner next week.

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And now, some recent photo highlights for you:

Breakthrough.

“I will turn the darkness before them into light . . .”
—Isaiah 42:16

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See yours:)?
“From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace.”
—John 1:16

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Ready for bed, old maple?
“In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O LORD, will keep me safe.”
—Psalm 4:8

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Because healing takes time.

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will do it.

—Psalm 37:5

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Finally, a few throwbacks—from three and four years ago:

Toupee blues.

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

—Romans 12:2 NLT

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Cud to chew on.

“So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. . . . Teach them to your children . . .so that as long as the sky remains above the earth, you and your children may flourish in the land.”

—Deuteronomy 11: 18-21

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Barks when a fish strikes.

(Port Renfrew, B.C.)

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Thanks for stopping by, friends. So glad you’re here!

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks.

Mentors

Like magnets, these eagles come, to the sounds and smells and sights of summer haying, where meals wait beneath the crop. Earlier this summer, I snapped a few pics of them for the summer edition of God and Nature Magazine.

Enjoy!

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Mentors

By Cheryl Grey Bostrom

​While rain delayed the hay cutting, voles proliferated and eaglets grew. Then, when baling cleared
the field, parent birds brought their youngsters, who watched and imitated their elder mentors.
​Ten baldies in all, hunting rodents—the younger ones panting from the day’s heat and effort.

​​“They neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them.”
—Luke 12:24

​​“Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
—Philippians 4:9

​“Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you

and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.”
—Hebrews 13:7

Cheryl Grey Bostrom is a Pacific Northwest native, naturalist, photographer, and author of  SUGAR BIRDS, fiction Award of Merit winner in Christianity Today’s 2022 Book Awards. A former teacher and columnist, she lives with her husband and two irrepressible Gordon setters in rural Washington State.  

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After the better part of a summer away, it’s good to be back with you, friends. Thanks for stopping by!

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks.

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P.S. At a campsite in Oregon, I got news of THIS:

for my debut novel Sugar Birds.

Soli Deo gloria.

A Sprint, A Break, and Pics

If a Leisurely Sprint is a thing, Blake and I are planning one. For most of the next seven weeks, we’ll be traveling, hiking, and spending good days with friends and family.

And six days out of seven, I’ll be writing—with eyes on the January 2 deadline for my new novel.

So . . . I’ll be scarce for awhile. Really scarce. I’ll check in from time to time, but am mostly unplugging until the end of September.

Meet me here on October 1?

Until then, can you linger a bit?

Below: a few photos and captions for your eyes and mind, heart and soul.

Adrift.
.
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.”
—Psalm 139:23

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Now I wake and see the light.

‘Tis God that kept me through the night.

Now I lift my voice to pray

That God will keep me through the day.

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Incandescent.
.
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
—Psalm 119:105

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And remembering these from 2019:

Infusion.

“I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.” —Isaiah 44:3

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Light-eater.

“Why spend money on what is not bread,

and your labor on what does not satisfy?

Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,

and you will delight in the richest of fare.”

—Isaiah 55:2

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Thanks for stopping by, friends. Hope the rest of your summer is life-giving. I’ll see you when I return in October.

Watching Nature, Seeing Life: Through His Creation, God Speaks.

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P.S. Excited to have Sugar Birds featured in the new $9.99 collection of audiobooks in APPLE BOOKS Recent and Trending Bestseller’s promotion. To have a listen, click the cover photo below OR this link: RECENT AND TRENDING BESTSELLERS PROMOTION.