Ruth O'Neil's Blog, page 23

Flashback Friday Contest

Trouble Making Contest

Today's Flashback Friday is a little different. You often hear about my life, now I want to hear about YOU! My next book is going to be about cousins who are best friends and cause a little trouble together from time to time. This is where you come in. I want to hear all about trouble you have gotten (or still get) into with your best friend. The age when you got in trouble doesn't matter. You may have been a small child or an adult.

For the contest you will need to submit your trouble-causing story (please, keep it clean and preferably funny - at least it's funny now!). If it is short you can submit it in the comments. If it is a longer story you may send it to me by email at oneilruth@gmail.com.

I will write a blog post with some of the best stories and announce the winner.

Now you may be wondering what the winner gets. The winning story will be included (maybe with minor changes) to my new book. The winner will also receive a free digital copy of the book when it is completed. Keep in mind - there may be more than one winner depending on the good stories I get. I know whatever you can send me will be better than any stories I can make up!

Feel free to share this with your friends using the convenient buttons below. You will have until the end of the year to submit your stories. You may submit as many as you like, there is no limit. Over the next few months I may share a few of the times where I got in trouble with a best friend.

I am looking forward to seeing what kind of trouble you and your best friend have caused!

15 Day Blogger Challenge - Day 12

How Do You Fight Blogger Fatigue?
I’m not sure I’ve had issues with blogger fatigue. In fact, it’s usually the opposite for me. I have plenty of ides, but implementing those ideas consistently is the issue. Fatigue implies burnout. One can hardly get burned out when there is a lack of regularity.
As with any writing, most fatigue comes from a lack of ideas. How can anyone run out of ideas when there is so much going on in the world around us? Fatigue in writing can be solved by a change of scenery, a change of people to hang around with, or a change of whatever tires you out.  I usually have a running list of ideas and notebooks filled with scenes and characters for new books.
No, I don’t recall ever having blogger or any other type of writing fatigue.
Do you?

15 Day Blogger Challenge - Day 11

Show off Your Best 5 Blog Posts   This one is just funny and an example of a typical day in our household. April 30, 2013 - http://ruths-real-life.blogspot.com/2013/04/putting-fun-back-in-writing.html I like this one because it shows how much readers have enjoyed my book. That makes me smile!March 14, 2013 - http://ruths-real-life.blogspot.com/2013/03/reviews-of-come-eat-at-my-table.html I liked this one because I was able to give everyone a sneak peek. February 27, 2013 - http://ruths-real-life.blogspot.com/2013/02/and-nowthe-first-chapter.html I love my family and like to embarrass them from time to time. December 2, 2012 - http://ruths-real-life.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-dreaded-family-photo.html This is just a sweet story and I hope that all my kids can remain color blind. September 10, 2012 - http://ruths-real-life.blogspot.com/2012/09/colorblind.html 

Impromptu Blog Post – Love is in the Air

On January 15, 1992 my mother walked into the Wednesday night church service, grinning from ear to ear, with a big announcement to make. She was waiting for the perfect moment to make that announcement.  She waited through announcements. She waited through the singing, feeling as if she was going to burst. She waited while one of her friends sang special music. That was all it took. My mother burst out in tears.

Now, before you get too upset, you must realize these were happy tears. The woman who sang special music that evening was a mother of four little boys. The song she sang held a lot of meaning for her. The song was written from the perspective of a mother who was praying for some unknown little girl. You see, that girl would one day capture her son’s heart and he would marry her. B and her Grandma DonerThe reason my mother was crying? It was the day her very first grandchild was born; a little girl.I was blessed to realize right from day one how important it is to pray for our children and the ones they will marry. And I have done so. I have had my own opinions over the years of who I think would be good options, but I have kept those opinions mostly to myself. Today that little girl of mine has made her choice and I think she has chosen well. I had always promised that I would not force my opinions on her about her wedding, when the day should come. It will be her wedding and it is her special day with her groom.  However, I will make one request. This song WILL be sung as a testament to God’s faithfulness in providing for my precious little girl. My mom won’t be able to be at her granddaughter’s wedding or any of her other grandchildren's weddings. She passed away when B was barely a year old. However her memory will be there along with the memory of my daughter’s birth and the memory of songs sung. For all you parents listen to the words of the song - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah_uGgDDT-c You will be challenged to pray for your kids and their future spouses.
Congratulations BB and EB

15 Day Blogger Challenge - Day 10

How Do You Choose What Book to Read Next?    Sometimes this is literally a game of eeny-meeny-miny-mo. There is a box of books next to me bed where I keep the “next batch.” Sometimes I just have to close my eyes and pick.
Obviously, if I have to read a book for a review it gets moved to the top of the pile/list. I try not to read stories with similar plots/setting one right after the other.
If I just completed a book that was deep, serious, and maybe even a little difficult to read or thought-provoking, the next book will be a much lighter read.
How do you choose what books you’re going to read?

15 Day Blogger Challenge - Day 9

Why Do You Blog About Books?


First of all, because I love books. In what other activity can you learn new things, meet new people, “see” new places, and escape the world? Hopefully by blogging about books I can inspire someone else to read, or someone to read more.
There are so many good books out there that people may never find out about, except for reading it on my blog.

15 Day Blogger Challenge - Day 8

Write 15 things That Appeal to you    on Blogs   These are in no particular order; they are just how they came to mind.
1.       Good writing
2.       Interesting writing
3.       Hominess
4.       Family stories
5.       Book reviews
6.       Recipes
7.       Money saving tips
8.       Craft projects
9.       Godly articles
10.   Details
11.   Help/how to’s
12.   Comments from readers
13.   Real life stories/articles
14.   Friends
15.   Pictures

15 Day Blogger Challenge - Day 7

Talk About Your Blogging Quirks    The first, and probably most obvious, is that I’m not regular with my blog postings – although I’m working on that. I write a lot about my family because my family is important to me and let’s face it, my own life is fairly uneventful and boring.I do write everything out before typing it into the computer. I know a lot of people skip the pen and paper part, but to me it's therapeutic, helps me organize my thoughts, and allows me to think to make sure I haven't forgotten anything. This applies to all my writing, not just my blogging.Even when I’m working on a piece of fiction, a lot of it is drawn from real life. I’m not that creative that I can come up with all completely imagined scenes for stories. Besides, we all know that real life is truly better than fiction anyways, right?

A Giveaway Featuring Unclaimed Legacy by Deborah Heal

Here and now are the perfect place and time to get your copy of Unclaimed Legacy.


Now? Because it's only 99 cents for Kindle (for the month of September only). Here? Because buying it enters you in a giveaway of the complete Time and Again trilogy (personally signed by the author) AND a pretty mug for your morning coffee. Hint: You might want to keep the mug and Kindle book for yourself and give the signed copies of the trilogy as a gift.

The Rafflecopter giveaway entry form is below, but first let me tell you about Unclaimed Legacy.


Those who have read Time and Again know that Abby Thomas is a college student on a summer service project with 11-year-old Merri. And they know that the summer is not going the way Abby had expected—but in a good way. For one thing, she meets a very nice guy named John Roberts. And for another, she discovers a strange computer program called Beautiful House that lets her fast-forward and rewind life. Not her own, of course, but those of the people who lived in Merri’s old house.

And now Beautiful House comes in handy when Abby, John, and Merri agree to help the "Old Dears" next door with their family tree. Except Abby and John learn more about one of the ladies’ ancestors than they ever wanted to know. Convicted in 1871 of murder and arson, Reuben Buchanan is a blight on the family’s reputation. But was he really guilty? Abby and John must get inside the mind of a murderer to find out.

And while they’re rummaging around in the Old Dears’ family history, they also find Nathan Buchanan, a heroic relative connected to the Lewis and Clark Expedition—and a legacy waiting to be reclaimed. But the most important discovery they make is that God’s promise to bless a thousand generations is true.

 "In this sequel to Time and Again Deborah Heal has taken pieces of real life history and woven them [into] a fantastic story geared to keep the reader entertained and on the edge of their seat… I adored every single bit of this. It has the perfect blend of history and action-packed suspense to keep young adults glued to the pages… I think she has mastered a home run here. This one easily rates a 5 out of 5 stars for me…and I hope it will work its way to the top of the best seller lists for young adults."

                                                                                   --Pirate2240 "Kat" Amazon Reviewer

  Connect with Deborah

 Website: http://www.deborahheal.com
Facebook Author Page: http://www.deborahheal.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DeborahHeal



The Clue of the Unclaimed Legacy
by Deborah Heal

The blurb above doesn’t say a lot about it, but Unclaimed Legacy features my heroes Lewis and Clark. I’ve always been fascinated by them, partly because I knew the explorers spent the winter of 1803 at Hartford, Illinois, near where I grew up in Woodburn.

They chose that site for the camp they called Camp River Dubois, because it was near the mouth of the Missouri River, which they would ascend the next spring. The captains spent the winter laying in supplies and training their men. I decided it would be fun to let Abby "time-surf" back to see Camp River Dubois. . .


Continue reading HERE to get more clues about Unclaimed Legacy.

 As the blurb says, sometimes when Abby and John are "time-surfing" they learn more than they want to know about people from the past--like Bertram White a violent husband. Read my companion article about him HERE.

Read a free chapter of Unclaimed Legacy HERE)

 
 Now, enter the contest to get your Kindle copy of Unclaimed Legacy for 99 cents and a chance to win the complete trilogy in paperback, personally signed by the author. Oh, and a mug.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

15 Day Blogger Challenge - Day 6

Describe How You Shop for Books  
I’m a creature of habit. If I find something I like or a method of doing something that works for me, I continue with that. I’m cheap, so the less expensive a book is the better. I’m also busy, so I like easy. Those things affect how I shop for books.One company I shop from sends me emails occasionally with bargain books and free shipping. That’s two of my favorite words in one email: bargain and free. When I receive this email I always browse through what’s available and usually purchase at least one book.My most common method of shopping is through word of mouth. If someone, whose opinion on books I trust, tells me about a title, it normally makes it to my list of books to read.I don’t think books can get any better advertisement than one reader’s glowing reviews. If you’ve read a book that you enjoy, particularly if it was self-published or published by a small press, write a review and post it, I promise you the author will greatly appreciate it. You will probably make their day!Do you have an interesting way of shopping for books? I’d like to hear about it.