Ruth L. Snyder's Blog, page 20

My God Love Story

“Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God’s love encompasses us completely. … He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken.”

-Dieter F. Uchtdorf

I’m enjoying another Proverbs 31 online Bible study. This one is based on Lysa TerKeurst’s book, Am I Messing Up My Kids? … and Other Questions Every Mom Asks. This week we’ve been studying the section titled, This is All I Have to Give. For our blog hop this week we were given three topics to choose from:

My God Love Story
Favorite Ways to Relax and Refill
This is All I Have to Give

I would have found it easy to write about topic 2, but God told me I needed to share my God love story with you. So here goes . . .

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to feel weak, or flawed, or broken. In contrast, God’s Word says:

“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” I Corinthians 1:27

For the past year, God has been taking me through dark places, allowing things to happen to me and my family that I would never choose. I haven’t been happy with God. These dark places hurt. They’ve shown me things about myself I didn’t want to see. These places have left me weak, flawed, and broken, utterly dependent on God. Most people have no idea of what I’ve been going through, because I haven’t been at liberty to share. I’ve had to trust God. And, surprise! He’s been faithful (actually, that’s not such a surprise, is it?!)

In June I attended the Write Canada conference in Ontario. I thought I was going to learn more about writing and to spread the word about InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship. God had other plans. He wanted to demonstrate His love to me through complete strangers who love Him.

The first “hug” came through two ladies from Alberta who shared a hotel room with someone they’d only talked to on Facebook. Instead of having to pay the full cost of a hotel room, I only had to pay 1/3. Not only that, but these ladies shared from their hearts about the dark places God has lead them through. It was as if God was saying, “You’re going to make it. Hang in there.”

The second “hug” came through a pastor from British Columbia who prayed over me for no reason other than that God placed it on his heart to do so. He had no idea what I was going through, only that I was burdened.

The third “hug” came through a lady from Ontario. She has the same first name as me, grew up as a missionary kid like I did (but in a different part of the world), and has just finished going through the exact same deep dark place God is taking me through. We had never met before the conference. I went to encourage her after she asked a question during a session, and she started sharing with me about this deep dark place God had led her through. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. She understood, because she’s walked the same rocky path I’m on. God used her to tell me, “There’s hope. You’re going to make it through to the other side. Trust God. He has a good plan for you.”

My way is still dark, but I’ve been reminded that God loves me, because His followers have been faithful and obedient. He cares, and He will bring me through. In fact, I think He’s carrying me right now. I can almost see Him smiling down at me saying, “We’re almost there. Just a little bit further. You won’t believe what I have in store for you!”

I don’t know what you’re going through today, but God does. Let’s trust Him together. He really does love us, and sometimes He uses other people to remind us of His love.

New Paperback and July 30 Book Signing

The author team of “The San Francisco Wedding Planner” will be releasing the “Complete Series” ebook & paperback this Thursday evening!

Who is on the author team? Jen Cudmore,Patti J. Smith, Mishael Austin Witty, Sheila Seiler Lagrand,and Ruth L. Snyder!

Heather Donovan has no time for her own romance—she’s busy making wedding dreams come true for other people and trying to reel her lonely and lovesick widowed mom Gloria back from beyond the brink of good taste. Her receptionist, Raul, is as interested in his hair style as he is in the clients. Indigo, the wedding photographer, never goes anywhere without his beret—or his attitude. Toss in Skye, the mommy-track best friend who wants to breathe organic air, Mario, the talented, hotheaded caterer with an eye for the ladies, and a tall, dark, and handsome stranger visiting the office on the eve of the busiest weekend ever, and you have a recipe for disaster. Or love. Or maybe both? Along the way discover how duck-hunter ice sculptures end up as rehearsal dinner décor at an upscale hotel, why the young doctor has a broken heart, and whose will prevails when the photographer challenges a young couple’s vision of the perfect wedding.

On July 30th I’ll be at Heaven Sent in St. Paul from noon to 4 pm to meet you and sign copies of the books to which I’ve contributed. Copies of Rise, The Kathi Macias 12 Days of Christmas, and The San Francisco Wedding Planner will be available for purchase at special prices. I look forward to seeing you there!

Church Tales: Being a Mom is Tough

I don’t know what your Sunday mornings are like, but mine are rarely the peaceful, worshipful times I would like them to be. They usually start off well, especially when I get up to have a bath and spend a few quiet minutes reading my Bible and praying while everyone else is still fast asleep. However, once I rouse the rest of the household we start down the slippery Sunday slope.

First there’s a mad rush to get dressed. One son can’t find matching socks (even though I put ten pairs in his drawer a few days ago). My youngest daughter complains she’s still tired and hides under the covers. Another son has his dirty clothes on from yesterday, even though not five minutes ago I told him to put on CLEAN clothes.

Then, there’s the breakfast fiasco. Children squirm and fidget when my husband asks what we read about yesterday in our family devotions. No one remembers. He expresses his frustration, and everyone quiets down. Then, five minutes after we start eating, our youngest daughter has to “go pee,” something that seems to happen at every meal. One of our sons reaches for something and tips over his full cup of milk. Another son is refusing to eat because he doesn’t like what’s on the table this morning.

Next comes the ride to church. We all sit in the van, waiting for our sixteen-year-old daughter. She gets in and glares because she wasn’t allowed to drive this morning. It takes a few minutes for everyone to get their seat belts on and then we’re off. Two minutes later, one son is crying because his brother walloped him across the face. When I ask “Why’d you hit him?” he shrugs his shoulders. “Hands to yourselves, everyone,” I plead. A couple minutes later our younger daughter starts whining that she’s thirsty. There are no water bottles in sight. Fortunately the drive to town only lasts ten minutes.

We’ve finally made it to church. While I’m catching up with my friends, one of my sons is running laps. I catch him and remind him to walk. We resume our conversation, only to be interrupted again. Another son is using the bathroom and forgot to close the door. When we enter the sanctuary, I focus on quieting my heart and mind. That lasts a couple of seconds—until my kids start fighting over who gets to sit beside me. We get the seating arrangement sorted out. Then my youngest son suddenly needs to go to the bathroom. Of course he’s sitting the farthest from the aisle, and he trips over someone’s foot on the way out. Now his nose is bleeding. I rush him to the bathroom, holding his nose with my hands as we walk. When we make it to the bathroom, I discover my son has splatters of blood all the way down his brand new shirt. We clean up the best we can and return to the sanctuary.

Again, I try to calm my heart and mind and focus on what God wants to teach me. Sometimes I actually grasp most of the Pastor’s message. Many times I don’t. But I’ve come to love and accept Sunday mornings with my imperfect kids and my even more imperfect parenting. After all, God doesn’t love me because I’m perfect; He loves me because He chooses to love me.

I’ve discovered that some of life’s greatest lessons are taught not by what happens, but by how I respond in messy situations. (Click to Tweet) I’ve also found peace in the midst of the turbulence of raising five challenging children, because God’s strength is made perfect in my weakness. Here are some choices that help me cope:

Celebrate the “gifts” I receive every day, no matter how small or insignificant. (e.g. My washing machine works, I’m alive, The sunset is beautiful)
Acknowledge that I cannot successfully do anything without God
Spend time reading the Bible and praying
Practice God’s presence – remind myself that He is always with me and talk to Him about my joys and frustrations throughout the day
Share my journey with other women who will be brutally honest with me—I still struggle with this, but Facebook helps

What about you? Can you relate to my Sunday morning mishaps? What helps you cope?

Introducing Heather Donovan from the San Francisco Wedding Planner Series

On July 2nd Shadows and Sunshine, volume 6 in the San Francisco Wedding planner Series was released on Amazon. Today I’d like to introduce you to Heather Donovan, the main character in the series.

What is your name?  Heather Marie Donovan

What one word best describes you?  Some people call me creative, talented, stubborn. I would use the word persistent.

How did you first become involved in the story?  Since I’m the main character, this is my story, but I’ve built a team around me that helps me succeed.

What worries you? Several things, actually—I’m a bit of a worry wart I worry about my business failing, about losing people close to me (I lost my dad when I was a teenager), and about being single the rest of my life.

What’s your favourite song?  What a feeling by Irene Cara

What’s your favourite food?  You mean besides chocolate and comfort food? Lol  I enjoy all kinds of food, but Mario’s Cotoletta Alla Milanese is my absolute favorite. (If you want to prepare your own, check out the video below.)

What do you think of the other characters?

Skye is my BFF, so of course I think she’s wonderful. We are opposites in many ways. She’s an absolute health nut who insists on organic food with lots of fruit and vegetables. You already know what I like to eat.
Gloria is my mother. She and I have a love/hate relationship. Her choices frustrate me. I mean come on, she’s supposed to be the mature adult leading the way. Unfortunately, when my father died suddenly my mother seemed to lose her moorings. Now she works as a real estate agent, which has been helpful for me lately. However, her flirtatious behavior is annoying and embarrassing, especially when she hits on MY dates.
Raul is my diva admin. assistant who answers the phones and keeps us all organized. (He also likes to dish out advice on fashion, which I usually ignore.) Although he can be very annoying sometimes, he actually is very responsible. In fact, he’s helped me out of a scrape or two.
Bryan is an orthopedic surgeon and Raul’s older half-brother—the tall, dark, and handsome one. He knows how to make me feel special and can be very funny, but sometimes I wonder if he’s ready for a serious relationship. Baggage from his past relationships seems to come between us fairly often.
Indigo is one of the best photographers in San Francisco. I count it a privilege to have him on my team, but he also causes me the most trouble. You see, I have to handle his ego with kid gloves. He often complains no one understands his art.
Mario is a chef extraordinaire, and has been a great addition to my team. He also tends to be a bit of a lady’s man, but a recent love interest is taming him. Mario is one of those people who is everyone’s friend. I don’t think he knows what the word enemy means.

What do you think should happen?  I think me and my team should provide the best event experience for everyone in San Francisco. The Pendergast event is a wonderful opportunity for us to showcase our skills. If we can pull this off, the sky’s the limit.

I also think that Bryan and I belong together, but I despair that will ever happen. We’re both extremely busy and he seems to have a lot of baggage from past relationships.

Are you happy right now?  Most days, yes. But sometimes I dream about what my life will be like when (I guess I should say IF?) I marry Bryan.

What do you hope to do with your life?  I hope I will be successful in my business and be surrounded with good friends

DRAW for free e-book:  Leave a comment below and your name will be entered to win a copy of volume one of the San Francisco Wedding Planner Series

Rafflecopter contest: For your chance to win a copy of the whole San Francisco Wedding Planner series, enter at the right.

Want to read more about Heather? My novella, Life Lessons, is scheduled to be released on Thursday, July 24th. Stay tuned for more details. In the mean time, check out some other suggestions for your summer reading list by following the Summer Reading Blog Tour:

Monday, July 14 – Ruth L. Snyder  http://ruthlsnyder.com
Tuesday, July 15 Cindy Noonan http://CindyNoonan.com
Wednesday, July 16 Mishael Witty  http://bluebrownbooks.com/
Thursday, July 17 – Michele Huey http://christianwriterspage.blogspot.com/
Friday, July 18 – Patti J. Smith  http://gridirongrannyfootballfanatic.blogspot.com/
Saturday, July 19 – Amber Schamel  http://amberschamel.blogspot.com/
Sunday, July 20 – Mark Carver   http://www.markcarverbooks.com
Monday, July 21 – Marian Baay  http://marianbaay.blogspot.nl/
Tuesday, July 22 – Jen Cudmore  www.jencudmore.com
Wednesday, July 23 – Tracy Krauss  http://www.tracykraussexpressionexpress.com/
Thursday, July 24 – Marcia Laycock http://marcialeelaycock.com/thespur/
Friday, July 25 – Joy Davis  www.joyrossdavis.com
Saturday, July 26 – Travis Perry http://travissbigidea.blogspot.com/
Sunday, July 27 – Mark Venturini  http://markventurinijourney.blogspot.ca/
Monday, July 28 – Iola Kirkwood http://iokirkwood.com/
Tuesday, July 29 – Marsha Hubler http://marshahubler.wordpress.com

 

News Release: Ruth L. Snyder, Canadian Author, hits #1 on Amazon.ca’s hot new release list

Ruth L. Snyder, an author from Glendon, Alberta, hit #1 on Amazon.ca’s Hot New Release list in the Christian romance category with her second novella, Shadows and Sunshine, which was released on July 2, 2014. The story is the entertaining conclusion to the San Francisco Wedding Planner Series. This series takes readers on many interesting twists and turns, since five authors collaborate on a single plot throughout the six volumes. All the volumes are available from Amazon.

Tracy Krauss, Canadian author, artist, and playwright says, “Author Ruth Snyder does a wonderful job of ‘wrapping it up’ in this installment to the series. There were lots of loose ends and they come together naturally and with the right amount of believability. It was romantic without being over the top.” Snyder likes a good clean love story and aims to give her readers an enjoyable read. Snyder says, “There’s a lot of negativity about love and marriage these days. I hope my writing gives people a realistic and positive picture of true love.”

In Shadows and Sunshine, Heather and her crew are determined to pull off the wedding of the year for their high profile client. The stakes have never been higher—this single event could make or break the business. The venue is set, decorations are ordered, and the menu is one-of-a kind. Two days before the event, one thing after another goes wrong. Mario knew he should have made back-up plans, but he didn’t. Bryan thought his past was behind him, but it reappears at the worst possible moment. Heather is forced to deal with personal issues while responding to the challenges of running a business. Does the wedding planner team have the resources and creativity to bounce back and pull off the perfect event?

Ruth L. Snyder has had articles published in Testimony, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and FellowScript magazine. This is her second novella. She is working on a Twitter manual for writers and her first full-length novel, Olga’s Discovery. Ruth is a member of The Word Guild and The Christian PEN. She is currently serving as President of InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship.

Differences in marriage: wedges or building blocks?

My grandfather used to say, “If you marry the right person, there’s nothing like it; and if you marry the wrong person, there’s nothing like it.”

Here are some other quotes I found on marriage:

“A successful marriage requires falling in love many times with the same person.” Mignon McLaughlin

“It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.” Friedrich Nietzsche

“Let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave.” Martin Luther

“Marriage is neither heaven nor hell; it is simply purgatory.” Abraham Lincoln

The quote by Abraham Lincoln makes us smile and chuckle, and perhaps wince. Why is it that some marriages are so happy while other couples seem to hang on for dear life, simply enduring the ride? All couples have differences, all couples struggle at times, and all couples make choices. How we respond to our differences and struggles can literally make or break our relationship.

Here are some of the differences between my husband and I:

night owl/early bird
spontaneous/planner
caramel/chocolate
talker/listener
realist/dreamer
relaxes by snowmobiling or motorbiking/relaxes by reading or going for a walk

We can allow our differences to drive wedges between us or we can choose to celebrate our differences and use our differences as building blocks. If I focus on trying to make my spouse the same as me, things don’t go very well. In fact, the harder I try to make my husband like me, the farther apart we grow. Marriage works better when there’s give and take. We are very different from each other and we need to accept those differences. There’s a reason opposites attract. My husband has strengths and weaknesses and so do I. We need to learn to allow each other’s strengths to offset our weaknesses. When we do this, we are stronger as a team than we are individually.

Michael Hyatt says, “Think about it. If you married someone just like you, then you wouldn’t have to grow, you wouldn’t have to get out of your comfort zone, and you wouldn’t have to enter into someone else’s world.”

Gary and Barbara Rosberg encourage us to ask these questions:

Where do I need to show some grace, real grace, to the person I married? Where do I need to let go and let God do His thing with my spouse?
Who needs my words of affirmation more than anyone in my life? Is it easier for me to affirm my kids and my friends than it is for me to affirm my spouse?
What are we doing to build safety into our marriage so we can take the risks to love unconditionally?
When was the last time we took time to go deeper with each other? Are we making time to connect with each other daily?
Am I studying my spouse? Do I know his or her strengths as well as his or her weaknesses? Am I helping to build on the former and strengthen the latter so that I can best become one with my mate?

For more helpful tips, check out: Happy to be Stuck with You.

What have you learned about changing differences from wedges into building blocks? Please share

 

What does a wedding planner do?

Last week my story, Shadows and Sunshine (Volume 6 of the San Francisco Wedding Planner series 1) launched. It is currently available for Kindle on Amazon.ca and Amazon.com. Later this month the whole series will be available as a single Kindle or paperback book.

Have you ever wondered what wedding planners actually do? Here’s an overview:

Initial Consultation

Discussion about what type of event the client wants (wedding only, rehearsal dinner and wedding, wedding and gift opening, etc.)
Clarification of expectations (Defining what the client is doing and what the wedding planner is expected to provide)
Presentation of available packages and pricing (e.g. Full Service Planning vs. Day of Coordination)
Walking client through signing the contract and paying a deposit

Full Service Planning

Before the wedding:

Set a budget for the wedding
Research and obtain venue(s)
Share information about current trends for weddings and events
Create and review photographer/videographer contract(s)
Create and review florist contract
Create and review catering contract
Review and select menu(s)
Prepare  and/or deliver wedding invitations
Give advice on attire, flowers, cake and other details
Design table, lighting, and other visual details
Coordinate vendor arrivals and deliveries
Prepare a detailed timeline of the wedding day for all those involved
Remind bride, groom, and other participants of obligations, appointments, etc.

On the wedding day:

Act as liaison between the bride and groom and everyone else involved
Distribute flowers
Make sure everyone is where they need to be at the right time
Arrange for efficient seating of guests
Deal with any emergencies which arise (including wedding crashers)
Ensure music is cued
Facilitate a smooth transition from the wedding venue to the reception venue
Oversee reception details
Ensure the bride and groom’s personal property is taken care of after the reception
Oversee the return of rentals and borrowed items
Arrange for wedding gifts to be delivered to the appropriate location
Ensure venues are left clean so that clients receive deposits back
Other details as required

Note: If a client chooses to hire a wedding planner only for wedding day coordination, your job will be to ensure the “before the wedding” details are in place and then provide the services listed under “on the wedding day.”

Interested in becoming a wedding planner?  Check out the following resources:

Wedding Planner’s Handbook: A step-by-step guide to becoming a wedding planner.

Certified Wedding Specialist Course

Certified Wedding Planner Course

Wedding and Event Planning

Guest Post – Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July by Joseph M. Lewis

Imagine how the signers of The Declaration of Independence feel while looking down from heaven and listening to their critics. The thought never occurred to me until my publisher asked me to write a fictional short story relating how John Hancock experienced the 4th of July. Before starting, I read Herbert S. Allan’s even-handed biography of Hancock. Yes, the Founders were all human – Hancock was vain and a clothes horse, for example. But when you study the founding of America from the perspective of a Founder, the greatness of these men staggers you.

“But they didn’t free the slaves and women and blacks couldn’t vote!”

Guess what? No one could meaningfully vote and everyone, everywhere, was in some form of bondage. The English themselves were “subjects.” Except for royalty and a small number of men in a handful of tiny Greek city states, no one had ever controlled their destiny.

Writing in the first person forces you to see things through the eyes of the character or historic figure, to imagine what they felt, wanted and thought. The Founders were operating in uncharted waters, laying the foundation to free all mankind and making things up as they went. They were doing it while at war with the most powerful Empire on the face of the planet. On January 1, 1776, George Washington discovered he had only 8,000 enlistments instead of the 20,000 planned. Georgia and South Carolina announced they would not sign if slavery were denounced, let alone outlawed.

As I imagine Hancock saying, “The hard truth is we will not free the Negro slaves . . . not because we don’t want to, but because we can’t. The southerners would revolt . . . freeing the black man will require a war and the forces of liberty are barely able to fight one war, let alone two.”

On July 4, 1776, the Founders were almost to a man well educated, affluent and doing quite well as subjects of Britain. In the 18th century, traitors were hung from a gibbet with their hands tied behind their back. Rather than breaking their necks, the traitor took about ten minutes to strangle to death. Traitors’ property was forfeit, so their families were left impoverished. While the Founders were signing their own death warrant, Benedict Arnold was trying to keep his army from disintegrating as he retreated from the disastrous Canadian campaign. “I have often thought how much happier I would have been,” said Washington, “if, instead of accepting a command under such circumstances, I had taken up musket on my shoulder and entered the ranks.”

They were great men, yet consider the petulance with which they are treated. While reviewing “The Price they Paid” email about the Founders, the left wing site “Snopes” called it part true, part false. Why? Here’s an example: “Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.” Snopes – “yeah, well . . . she was already sick.” Seriously. I paraphrase, so check it out for yourselves. Part of the disdain appears to be petty racism, sexism and anti-Christianity – the Founders were white male Christians – but there may be something deeper. Writing about an attack on the Framers, Professor Walter Williams wrote, “If I believed in conspiracies, I’d say (Time’s) article is part of a leftist agenda to undermine respect for the founding values of our nation.”

Hancock might have said, “No doubt, those who hate liberty and embrace hate amongst the races will use this against us not only now, but far into the future. We can only trust this and future generations will be wise enough to detect the charlatan, understand his aim and reject his deception. That battle is for another time, and will be fought by other men. We must fight the one in front of us now.”

This is a column of opinion and satire. The author knows of no undisclosed facts. Contact Lewis, the author of John Hancock, in Remington Colt’s Revolutionary War Series, visit him at josephmaxlewis.com and click on Rimersburg Rules. © Joseph M. Lewis

 

The Amazon Kindle link to “John Hancock” is: http://www.amazon.com/Remington-Colts-Revolutionary-War-Independence-ebook/dp/B00KND49O2/ref=la_B008ZHHUBW_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404224548&sr=1-5

 

To link to listen in on the blogtalk radio show with Joseph Max Lewis discussing “The Declaration of Independence”: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/gelatisscoop/2014/07/03/joseph-max-lewis-discusses-the-declaration-of-independence

 

To stop by Mr. Lewis’ website and connect with him: www.josephmaxlewis.com

5 Steps to Crafting a Personal Vision Statement

Last week in our study of Limitless Life by Derwin L. Gray, we discussed work and were challenged to write our own vision statement. If you’ve never written a personal vision statement, try the process outlined below. If nothing else, you’ll learn more about yourself and what motivates you. Hopefully you’ll also come up with a statement that inspires and motivates you to be the very best you can be.

Step 1: Answer these questions

How do you want to be seen in ten years?
What do you want to be known for in ten years?
What do you want your family to be like?
What makes your heart sing?
Who in your life will tell you the truth about yourself?

Step 2: Select key words

Go through what you’ve written and select words you’ve repeated or that are important to you.

Step 3: Read Other vision statements

Here are some sites you may want to visit:

30 Example Vision Statements from Non-profits
Best Examples of a Vision Statement
Sample Mission, Vision, Values Statements

Step 4: Write your vision statement

Jot ideas down and combine them in different ways. Play with different words. Try to capture the key themes you selected in step two. You may find one statement that you know fits, or perhaps you’ll end up with a few to choose from. Can you condense the ideas? Once you’ve written your vision statement, let it sit for a few days and then go back to it and see if it still resonates with you.

Step 5: Share your vision statement

Do you have people in your life who will give you honest feedback? People who know you really well and care about you? Those are the people you should share your vision statement with. Ask them if you’ve captured who you they see you as. If not, ask them for suggestions on how to tweak your statement so that it really fits you.

Check out this post: Mission and Vision Statements for more helpful information.

 

Need some inspiration? Here’s one of my favourite songs:

Here’s my vision statement:

“Wholeheartedly seeking God, then serving others with excellence through music, writing, and speaking.”

My life verse is:

“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” (Philippians 3:10 NASB)

I’d love to hear if this process helped you, and what your vision statement is.

Question 1: How do you want to be seen in ten years? Question 2: What do you want to be known for in ten years? Question 3: What do you want your family to be like? Question 4: What makes your heart sing? Question 5: Who in your life will tell you the truth about yourself? – See more at: http://proverbs31.org/online-bible-st...
Question 1: How do you want to be seen in ten years? Question 2: What do you want to be known for in ten years? Question 3: What do you want your family to be like? Question 4: What makes your heart sing? Question 5: Who in your life will tell you the truth about yourself? – See more at: http://proverbs31.org/online-bible-st...

Shadows and Sunshine – Release date July 3, 2014

It’s almost here! Shadows and Sunshine, Volume 6 of the San Francisco Wedding Planner series is scheduled to be released on Amazon Kindle on Thursday, July 3rd.

Here’s a teaser from chapter 5:

“Heather, call on line one. Some top brass from the city office. Claims he needs to speak to you A.S.A.P.”

“Thanks, Raul.”

She punched line one. “Good morning, Donovan Wedding Service. This is Heather. How may I help you?”

“Good Morning. My name is Alberto Cordozo from the City of San Francisco planning department. I’m afraid I have bad news for you.”

“Oh?”

“Your building happens to be zoned for housing only. I understand you are running a wedding planning business there?”

“Yes I am. But hold on. When I purchased the property the realtor assured me there was no issue with having a business here. I buy my license at the city office every year and no one has ever expressed any concern.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say. We are doing our five-year audit of buildings and making sure they adhere to the local zoning bylaws. You’re going to have to find another place to operate your business.”

Heather tapped her pen against her desk. “Isn’t that convenient.” She forced herself to stay calm. “I’m assuming I have some options?”

“Well, your options are basically either to move within a month’s time or be forcibly evicted. I’m assuming you’d rather stay in business, so I’m advising you to put your current residence up for sale and find a building that is zoned appropriately. We’ll give you a month to sort everything out.”

“That’s so kind of you.” The retort slipped out before she could stop herself.

“I understand your frustration, Madam. We do try to be as supportive as possible. According to law, we could evict you tomorrow. Instead we’re giving you a month of grace. We realize businesses have many logistics they need to work out and those all take time. I’m assuming you have my phone number in case you have questions during the process of your move?”

“Yes, I have your number. Good day, Mr. Cordozo.” She slammed the receiver down and shoved herself away from her desk. One back wheel caught on the throw rug and her chair tipped over backwards. She found herself stuck in her chair with her feet jutting straight up in the air. She rubbed her head where it had struck the floor.

“Brilliant, Heather. Just brilliant.”

“Oh girlfriend,” Raul called from around the corner. “Someone tall and handsome is here to see you.”

She looked up to see Raul and Bryan sauntering through the door. Yikes, just what she didn’t need. At least she had pants on.

Raul came running around her desk. “You okay, girlfriend?”

“I’m fine. Really. No problems in my life whatsoever. And of course, I always do business with my feet in the air and my head on the floor. No need to worry boys.”

Bryan offered her a hand up. She ignored him and tried to get out of the chair, but it didn’t work. She was stuck upside down in the chair.

Raul glanced back and forth between them with a puzzled expression on his face. He extended his hand to her and she grabbed it. He pulled her up and set her on her feet.

“Yup. No problems at all. I just have the most important event of my career happening tomorrow and there’s no fresh organic produce in sight. Malfunction of a cooler, apparently. Also, that top brass from the city you put through on line one? He phoned to inform me this building is legally zoned as a house and only a house. I can no longer run my business here. Oh, but he’s going to be nice about it and give me a month to relocate to a building that is zoned for business.”

“Is there something else I need to know about?” Raul looked at his brother and then turned his attention back to Heather.

“Oh no. Things between your brother and me are just honky dory. Yup. Couldn’t be better.”

“Come on, stop playing games with me, Heather.” He turned to his brother. “What’s going on?”

“Jocelyn is in town.”

“What? You’re kidding, right? Not the Jocelyn who broke your heart. Couldn’t be.”

Bryan hung his head. “That’s the one.” It came out as a whisper.

“Well tell her to get lost. You’ve moved on, right? I mean give your head a shake, Bro. You can have Jocelyn or your can have Heather, not both. Hands down I know who I’d pick, and her name does not begin with J.” He jabbed Bryan’s chest in the shape of the letter J. “I’m leaving now so you can sort this out with Heather. Don’t mess this up, or you’ll have to answer to me.”