Tamera Alexander's Blog, page 24
February 14, 2013
Making your heart go pitter-pat
Check out the following link for the Huffington Post today. I asked nine of my author buddies to join me in this article, and we each share romantic ideas for this special romantic day.Here's a peek...
"Are you looking for something special to do for your Valentine this year? Something other than the clichéd box of heart-shaped chocolates or dinner at an over-priced restaurant? Check out these tips from bestselling romance authors that will spice up your Valentines Day. And maybe your night!"
Read more here...
February 12, 2013
What a difference a day makes
A couple of weeks ago while taking Jack for a walk, I took this pic with my iPhone...
Then a day later (trying to remember exactly where I'd stood to take the picture above), I snapped this one…
What a difference a day makes! The same view––one dark and stormy, the other brilliant sunshine. Isn't that a pretty fair analogy for life and our oftentimes
skewed perspective on things? When I look at these pictures, I think of what Paul
said in I Corinthians 13:11-13…
"Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then
we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now
knows me completely."
I look at the first picture and I'm reminded that this world is, as C.S. Lewis stated
so aptly, theshadowlands. And when I look at the second, I think of what it will be
like to someday have all the shadows of this world removed. To some day stand
before the Lord Jesus and truly see him. With perfect clarity. In all his glory. And
to spend all eternity getting to know the Father, the Son, and the Spirit better, exploring the infinite facets of their union, and the wonders of the new heaven
and new earth. Talk about a changed perspective!
On those days when life seems especially challenging, or maybe when my spirit
feels especially heavy, I head to God's Word and read about what our forever
home is going to be like. I think of heaven quite often, more so as the years go
by. Do you? What's something you look forward to about heaven? And do you
think we'll "banquet" there together? I do. I'm so looking forward to kitchen time
with my mom again, and with some of you gals too! Imagine what peach cobbler
will taste like there...
So glad we're in this together, forever,
Tammy
Then a day later (trying to remember exactly where I'd stood to take the picture above), I snapped this one…
What a difference a day makes! The same view––one dark and stormy, the other brilliant sunshine. Isn't that a pretty fair analogy for life and our oftentimes
skewed perspective on things? When I look at these pictures, I think of what Paul
said in I Corinthians 13:11-13…
"Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then
we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now
knows me completely."
I look at the first picture and I'm reminded that this world is, as C.S. Lewis stated
so aptly, theshadowlands. And when I look at the second, I think of what it will be
like to someday have all the shadows of this world removed. To some day stand
before the Lord Jesus and truly see him. With perfect clarity. In all his glory. And
to spend all eternity getting to know the Father, the Son, and the Spirit better, exploring the infinite facets of their union, and the wonders of the new heaven
and new earth. Talk about a changed perspective!
On those days when life seems especially challenging, or maybe when my spirit
feels especially heavy, I head to God's Word and read about what our forever
home is going to be like. I think of heaven quite often, more so as the years go
by. Do you? What's something you look forward to about heaven? And do you
think we'll "banquet" there together? I do. I'm so looking forward to kitchen time
with my mom again, and with some of you gals too! Imagine what peach cobbler
will taste like there...
So glad we're in this together, forever,
Tammy
February 5, 2013
Beauty Tips...from the 1870s
(I recently posted this on Writes of Passage, where I post every Tuesday. But thought I'd share it here too, in case you missed it!)In researching the history behind the book I'm currently writing (Belmont Book 2, title forthcoming), I came across the most delicious book about beauty. It's entitled Personal Beauty and was originally published in 1870, and written by D. G. Brinton, M.D. and G.H. Napheys, M.D.
As the cover claims, it's a "truly ageless Beauty Guide" with everything from (and I quote) "Arsenic-Eating (not recommended) to Wrinkles & How to Prevent Them."
Without further adieu, strap on your corset, and let's get to reading...
THE EYE
Pure and pearly? Are you kidding me? Ah...sorry, no. Minute red veins? Check! Guess I've been "given to excess" to Diet Dr. Pepper. Either that or to "violent fits of passion." Come to think of it, the latter sounds like much more fun. Let's go with that instead.
THE HAIR
Ablution. Don't you love that word? And washing the hair no more than once a week. Can you say "ew?" I'll stick with my every day.
NECK GOITRES
A goitre "an advantage?" Quite essential to beauty? Seriously? And just think, all these years I've tried to avoid those.
PIMPLES
Fatty secretions, dirty and black, grubs!? Major TMI! And "the portion of it at the aperture?" Love how they phrased things. And don't forget that glycerine!
And last, but certainly not least...
"WELL-FORMED" BREASTS
Firm and elastic, huh? True "hemispheres?" And what is this about distance? Where IS my tape measure?!! Come to think of it, there are some measurements that shouldn't be shared. Or even taken after a certain age. (Do I hear any "Amens!?")
If you're looking for an amusing but also insightful book into how physical beauty was perceived by some in the 1870s, and in how they attempted to achieve it, this is a great book. I found my reproduced copy on Amazon and what a treasure it is. Especially because the book I'm writing touches on––you guessed it––the myth and truth of beauty.
So what's your favorite beauty tip, old or new (as long as it doesn't call for a tape measure)? Do you have a tip that your mother or grandmother passed down to you?
Off to grab some Visine for those unexpected violent fits of passion,Tammy
February 3, 2013
Join me on Southern Writers Radio
Join me on
Southern Writers Radio
as Susan Reichert of Southern Writers Magazine and I have a fabulous time chatting about life, writing, and leading men.
You can almost heard Susan blushing when I tell her who I was imagining as I wrote about the hero, Ridley Cooper, in TO WHISPER HER NAME, the first Belle Meade Plantation novel. Such a fun conversation with her!
You can almost heard Susan blushing when I tell her who I was imagining as I wrote about the hero, Ridley Cooper, in TO WHISPER HER NAME, the first Belle Meade Plantation novel. Such a fun conversation with her!
January 17, 2013
Coming full circle
Photo of Adolphus Heiman courtesy of Belmont MansionYou won't believe this but I'm sitting here researching tonight (well, okay, that you'll believe), but as I'm reading about Adolphus Heiman, a leading German architect in Nashville in the 1860s and the man who designed the Belmont Mansion (setting of A Lasting Impression), I read that he was from Potsdam, Germany. And I pause, thinking, "Wait a minute…"
Potsdam, Germany is where missionaries from our church live, and where there's a bookstore where my books are, and where A Lasting Impression (that just released this month in Germany) is being sent! So the book about the Belmont Mansion that Adolphus Heiman designed some 160 years ago is now for sale in *his* hometown.
Don't you just love how God works. Coming full circle... So cool.
Okay, just had to share that. Back to researching!
January 14, 2013
Life is Messy
"Without oxen a stable stays clean, but you need a strong ox for a large harvest." Proverbs 14:4
When I first read this proverb earlier this morning, I smiled a little, pondered it, then moved on. But I keep coming back to it, wondering at its deeper meaning. And what I've finally concluded is this:
Life is messy.
It's messy with relationships, with endless to do lists, with jobs, with all the "maintenance" of the day-to-day routine. It's messy with the stuff of life. But without the mess, without the struggle––if I had no ox and my stable were clean––I'd also have no life. No way to plow. And therefore no harvest.
None of this would be worth anything without all the relationships, that yes, sometimes cause us enormous pain. And without the seemingly endless tasks, many of which God himself has set before us for our own betterment and to glorify his name. And without our jobs and the other day-in-day-out routines that provide for our needs and those of our families, even when the tasks sometimes feel so monotonous we'll scream.
If you could see my office now (hang on, I'm taking a picture) it's messy.
Sticky notes and paper everywhere. Books stacked. A basket below me piled with historical research and tidbits I'm working into this next novel. Writing a novel is messy. But novels are about life, so that makes sense. And so will all of this "mess" one day. It'll make sense. Through the eyes of eternity with our Lord Jesus.
Meanwhile, I'm getting my ox in gear, so to speak, grateful to have a messy stable, and am anticipating what harvest God will bring from it all.
Is YOUR life messy too? I hope so, because that means it's full, and that––in Christ––a harvest is coming!
"Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest EVERLASTING LIFE from the Spirit." Galatians 6:8
LOVE THAT! Blessings on your day!
January 8, 2013
Special Mansion Tours for Readers
This is such fun! Both the Belmont Mansion and Belle Meade Plantation are offering special tours for readers of my novels. Belmont Mansion offers the A Lasting Impression tour, and Belle Meade Plantation offers the
Belmont MansionNashville, TNhttp://belmontmansion.com/A Lasting Impression TourKate Wilson (Director of Operations)kate.wilson@belmont.edu615-460-5459
Belle Meade PlantationNashville, TNhttp://bellemeadeplantation.com/I'm so honored the mansions are doing this! Are you planning to visit anytime soon?
January 7, 2013
Giveaway Winners and New Contest!
Check out the five winners of the December giveaway (for From a Distance) on my website...
And also the new giveaway for Within My Heart, a novel close to *my* heart. With extra chances to win!
I was writing Within My Heart when Mom was first diagnosed with gallbladder cancer in February 2009, and completed it after she passed in August of that same year. So many of our final "together moments" made it onto the pages of that book, and our conversations too. Very special to me. Have you read it? If not, enter to win!
Hope you enjoy it, and good luck!
And also the new giveaway for Within My Heart, a novel close to *my* heart. With extra chances to win!
I was writing Within My Heart when Mom was first diagnosed with gallbladder cancer in February 2009, and completed it after she passed in August of that same year. So many of our final "together moments" made it onto the pages of that book, and our conversations too. Very special to me. Have you read it? If not, enter to win!
Hope you enjoy it, and good luck!
WSMV-TV and The Gettysburg Address
I had the pleasure of meeting with Terry Bulger, a reporter with WSMV-TV (Channel 4 News, Nashville) on Friday afternoon. What a great guy. So down to earth, easy to be with. He and a cameraman came to the house and we chatted for an hour about writing and Tennessee history. The show will air sometime soon. I'll post a link when it does. (View some of Terry's previous interviews.)
As they were leaving, I grabbed a copy of
From a Distance
and
A Lasting Impression
(both of which have Tennessee history in them). And when I mentioned that From a Distance has the Gettysburg Address in it, lo and behold, Terry launched off and quoted it. The entire address! From memory! Pretty impressive.
In case you haven't read the Gettysburg Address recently (the speech Abraham Lincoln delivered on November 19, 1863 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania reminding a war-weary public "why the Union had to fight, and win, the Civil War"), here it is:
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
What a humble leader, and what an incredible example of leadership for a nation coming apart at the seams in 1863. The challenge Lincoln delivered that day has as much meaning for us today––perhaps even more––as it did then.
David Bachrach, a Mathew Brady photographer, captured one of the only known images of Abraham Lincoln at the November 1863 dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery. (Photo Credit: Library of Congress )
View more pictures from Gettysburg and Mathew Brady.
As they were leaving, I grabbed a copy of
From a Distance
and
A Lasting Impression
(both of which have Tennessee history in them). And when I mentioned that From a Distance has the Gettysburg Address in it, lo and behold, Terry launched off and quoted it. The entire address! From memory! Pretty impressive.In case you haven't read the Gettysburg Address recently (the speech Abraham Lincoln delivered on November 19, 1863 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania reminding a war-weary public "why the Union had to fight, and win, the Civil War"), here it is:
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
What a humble leader, and what an incredible example of leadership for a nation coming apart at the seams in 1863. The challenge Lincoln delivered that day has as much meaning for us today––perhaps even more––as it did then.
David Bachrach, a Mathew Brady photographer, captured one of the only known images of Abraham Lincoln at the November 1863 dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery. (Photo Credit: Library of Congress )
View more pictures from Gettysburg and Mathew Brady.
December 31, 2012
Happy New Year!
Blessings in this New Year, friends! I'm praying that 2013 is the best yet. Thank you for your friendship and for the companionship we share. So glad we're on this journey together.
"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:13-14Great words to start a new year by, and to put the one that's passed to rest.
Blessings in 2013,Tammy
