Robin E. Mason's Blog: Robin's Book Shelf, page 188

BLOGWORD – 9 January 2017 – NEW WEEK NEW FACE – DAVID ALDERMAN

BLOGWORD – 9 January 2017 – NEW WEEK NEW FACE – DAVID ALDERMAN

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NEW WEEK NEW FACE – DAVID ALDERMAN

 

New Beginnings

There’s something about winter that calms me, refreshes my spirit, rejuvenates my will. It’s probably the cold weather, something I am particular towards. It’s probably the fact that winter is the fourth month, marking the end of another year – and the subsequent start of a new one. During the winter, I tend to wind down, take stock of the year prior and get ready for the year ahead. It’s usually a season of rest and preparation.

 

For many, 2016 seemed to be a year of frustration and fear. Between the volatile political atmosphere, the number of celebrity deaths, and the horrific international terrorism, it was a year many of us would like to forget.

 

For me though, 2016 was challenging on a different level, as it brought a lot of life adjustments for me in the form of my wife’s new job, my son starting Kindergarten, and the publishing business ramping up. I came to the end of 2016 a bit out of breath. Not defeated, but tired and worn.

 

And so we’re here in winter, and I have already felt the calmness that comes with the Christmas season and a fresh, brand new year full of opportunity and hope.

 

But I don’t just sense calm or rejuvenation this season. I sense newness. Beginning. A reset, if you will.

 

We all need a reset from time to time. Something – or someone – to shake our branches and wake us from our slumbering and complacency. On our way to greatness, we inevitably fall upon detours that take us to places we never meant to go. We get comfortable in the dead-end job, we continually flirt with the toxic relationship, we constantly refuse to push ourselves to the next level because we’re comfortable where we’re at.

 

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We create resolutions to help counter this, thinking that if we add another task to accomplish in the New Year that we’ll feel better about the New Year. But the source of our issue isn’t task accomplishment.

 

No – we must recognize that at some point, we settled for less.

 

Settling isn’t always bad. What really matters is how long you settle. Are you settling to take a break, or are you settling because you don’t want to move to the next step? Did you settle years ago, or are you just taking a breather before the next big climb?

 

We all need something to shake us from our settlements every now and then. Sometimes it can come in the form of a person who speaks truth into our life. Sometimes, it can come in the form of a circumstance or situation that pushes us so hard that we have no choice but to move or change. Other times, God pushes us out of our nest and calls us to fly – even though the flying may be what we fear the most.

 

Sometimes it can come in the form of a New Year, a new beginning.

 

When a computer’s operating system is stuck – when the programming gets hung up on something – we restart the computer. Most times that solves the problem. And I think it’s the same in life. We all need a reset, a new beginning.

 

New beginnings should not be confused with starting over completely. New beginnings are simply new chapters, new seasons, the start of something new, something fresh, something fulfilling. [rem: I really like this.]

 

But also something challenging, something tough, something rewarding. Some of those things tend to scare us away from moving forward, but we shouldn’t let them. They are proof we are making progress, moving forward, stepping out.

 

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2017 is here. I am glad for this. This New Year is a new beginning. A fresh restart, a recalibration of the path I am called to journey upon. The publishing company is ramping up with a slew of new projects. My writing pen has been seeking new stories for years now. And I sense 2017 has some great things in store for all of us.

 

Let’s embrace the new beginnings together. Let’s make 2017 the best we can!

 

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DAVID N. ALDERMAN is the founder of The Crossover Alliance. He is author of more than a half dozen books, and participates in National Novel Writing Month each year. When he’s not writing or spending time with family, you can find David racking up his achievement score on his Xbox One or killing opponents in a game of Half Life 2: Deathmatch on Steam.

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://davidnalderman.com/

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https://twitter.com/davidnalderman

www.thecrossoveralliance.com

Link to Black Earth: End of the Innocence – www.thecrossoveralliance.com/black-earth-end-of-the-innocence

 

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#Blogwords, New Week New Fact, #NWNF, Guest Post, David Alderman, New Beginnings, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Black Earth, Endangered Memories, Lost Birth, Of Dreams and Faith

 

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BLOGWORDS – Sunday 8 January 2017 – FRONT PORCH FELLOWSHIP – LINE UPON LINE & BRICK UPON BRICK – WHEN WISDOM CHANGES THE GAME PLAN

BLOGWORDS – Sunday 8 January 2017 – FRONT PORCH FELLOWSHIP – LINE UPON LINE & BRICK UPON BRICK – WHEN WISDOM CHANGES THE GAME PLAN
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FRONT PORCH FELLOWSHIP – LINE UPON LINE & BRICK UPON BRICK – WHEN WISDOM CHANGES THE GAME PLAN and OTHER DIAGNOSES

 

His ways are higher than ours – Isaiah 55:8-9. Never before has this rung (rang??) so true with me as it does right now. I’ve spent three years building my blog—and that’s not going to change.

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It is, however, on semi-hiatus. I have progressively felt more and more sluggish for a while now. And there’s a couple of reasons—I am pre-diabetic AND vitamin D deficient. Happens to millions of people, not the worst news in the world, and not unmanageable.

 

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The vitamin D part is easy enough, just increase my daily intake, i.e. supplements. and CHECK.

 

But, after being HPYO-glycemic for 45 years, the blood sugar part is a complete reversal for me. I am modifying my diet, and getting back to walking like I used to—building up to it anyway.

 

I say all this to say, with my energy level so spare and precious, I will devote the majority of my time to my writing. You know, the stories I write? Right?  #seewhatIdidthere  The blog isn’t going anywhere but if a day or days go by with no new posts, that’s why.

 

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Father tells us to take care of our bodies and I spent too many years not. I’m listening now. Do I believe He sent this to me to punish me or teach me a lesson? Absolutely NOT! If anything, I did this to myself by not listening and not using wisdom. BUT, Father IS using this to teach me and correct me, and give me a better quality of life. Do I believe He can / will heal me? Absolutely YES!!! But I have to do my part. He will not / does not come in and override when I am neglecting my own body and health.

 

I’ll do my best to maintain my little nest, but there will be days—indeed, there have already been days—when I just ain’t got it in me.

 

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Ya’ll still love me right?  Ya’ll want my books, right??? [correct answer, YES]

 

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#Blogwords, Front Porch Fellowship, #FPF, Sunday Devotion, Line Upon Line, Brick Upon Brick, When Wisdom Changes the Game Plan, Other Diagnoses, Isaiah 55:8-9, #amwriting

BLOGWORDS – Saturday’s in 2017 – WHAT’S COOKIN’ IN YOUR KITCHEN – RANDOM RECIPES –

BLOGWORDS – Saturday’s in 2017 – WHAT’S COOKIN’ IN YOUR KITCHEN – RANDOM RECIPES –
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WHAT’S COOKIN’ IN YOUR KITCHEN – RANDOM RECIPES –

 

I like to cook. And I like to invent my own recipes. And I like to try other people’s recipes. And now I’m going to share them with you.

 

If you’ve a recipe you’d like to share leave a comment below or email me at robinemason212@gmail.com

 

NOTE: All recipes must be used with permission.

 

#Blogwords, What’s Cookin’ in Your Kitchen, #RandomRecipes, #AuthorsEat #AuthorsCook

BLOGWORDS – Friday 6 JANUARY 2017 – FIRST LINE FRIDAY – THE GLASS LAKE by MAEVE BINCHY

BLOGWORDS – Friday 6 JANUARY 2017 – FIRST LINE FRIDAY – THE GLASS LAKE by MAEVE BINCHY
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FIRST LINE FRIDAY – THE GLASS LAKE by MAEVE BINCHY

 

 

Reading is My SuperPower

Bookworm Mama

Singing Librarian

Faithfully Bookish

Radiant Light

Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen

 

 

THE BLURB:    

An incandescent novel of love, obsession, and the secrets that take root in the human heart, by the author of The Copper Beech and Circle Of Friends. Lough Glass is at the heart and soul of the namesake town clinging to its shore. They say that if you go out on St. Agnes’ Eve and look into the lake at sunset you can see your future. But beneath its serene surface, the lake harbors secrets as dark and unfathomable as the beautiful woman who night after night walks beside its waters. Lough Glass is home to Kit McMahon, in a way it will never be to her lovely mother, Helen, who does not fit in with the ways of the people of Lough Glass, and who found an unlikely mate in the genial pharmacist Martin McMahon. Kit adores her mother, but can’t escape the picture of her, alone at the kitchen table, tears streaming down her face… or walking alone by the glass lake. Then one terrible night Martin’s boat is found drifting upside down in the lake. The night Helen is lost. The night Kit discovers a letter on Martin’s pillow and burns it, unopened, in the grate. The night everything changes forever.

 

THE FIRST LINE :    

Kit always thought the Pope had been at her mother and father’s wedding.

 

MY THOUGHTS:    

There’s an eensy bit of personal history with this book. Without too much history, I had suffered chronic clinical depression for many years. In 1995 I faced that head on, and at some point in ’96, I was at the store and did what all good authors and readers do—I saw a book and bought it. That book was The Glass Lake. It was just shy of 700 pages and I read it in a week, something that had been impossible with depression.

 

The story was riveting to me, the storytelling captivating, and Ms. Binchy instantly became a new favourite author. (and now I’ll have to read it again, don’tcha know?)

 

 

STARS:        
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Five stars, definitely five stars.

 

#FirstLineFridays, #Blogwords, First Line Friday, #FLF, The Glass Lake, Maeve Binchy

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Wednesday Wisdom – RENEW

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. —Romans 12:2 (NKJV) I was once a…

Source: Wednesday Wisdom – RENEW

BLOGWORDS – Wednesday 4 January 2017 – WREADING WEDNESDAY – FEATURED BOOK – THE GLASS LAKE

BLOGWORDS – Wednesday 4 January 2017 – WREADING WEDNESDAY – FEATURED BOOK – THE GLASS LAKE
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WREADING WEDNESDAY – FEATURED BOOK

 

 

[image error]An incandescent novel of love, obsession, and the secrets that take root in the human heart, by the author of The Copper Beech and Circle Of Friends. Lough Glass is at the heart and soul of the namesake town clinging to its shore. They say that if you go out on St. Agnes’ Eve and look into the lake at sunset you can see your future. But beneath its serene surface, the lake harbors secrets as dark and unfathomable as the beautiful woman who night after night walks beside its waters. Lough Glass is home to Kit McMahon, in a way it will never be to her lovely mother, Helen, who does not fit in with the ways of the people of Lough Glass, and who found an unlikely mate in the genial pharmacist Martin McMahon. Kit adores her mother, but can’t escape the picture of her, alone at the kitchen table, tears streaming down her face… or walking alone by the glass lake. Then one terrible night Martin’s boat is found drifting upside down in the lake. The night Helen is lost. The night Kit discovers a letter on Martin’s pillow and burns it, unopened, in the grate. The night everything changes forever.

 

 

 

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Maeve Binchy is the author of numerous best-selling books, including Nights of Rain and Stars, Quentins, Scarlet Feather, Circle of Friends, and Tara Road, which was an Oprah’s Book Club selection. She has written for Gourmet; O, The Oprah Magazine; Modern Maturity; and Good Housekeeping, among other publications. She and her husband, Gordon Snell, live in Dalkey, Ireland, and London.

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Maeve-Binchy/e/B000APV5ZE/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

 

#Blogwords, Wreading Wednesday, Featured Book, The Glass Lake, Maeve Binchy

BLOGWORDS – Sunday 1 January 2017 – FRONT PORCH FELLOWSHIP – NEW BEGINNINGS and EXPECTATIONS

BLOGWORDS – Sunday 1 January 2017 – FRONT PORCH FELLOWSHIP – NEW BEGINNINGS and EXPECTATIONS
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FRONT PORCH FELLOWSHIP – NEW BEGINNINGS and EXPECTATIONS

 

I’ve never been big on resolutions. Oh, I thought about them, tried to come up with something I might actually manage. Even when I did write down—or think of—a good one, it never got past the elusive good intention.

 

Two years ago, I saw somebody post on FB about their word for the year—Andi that might have been you.

A Little Birdie Told Me Newsletter – Edition II

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31 December 2016
Edition II

 

A Little Birdie Told Me

Hullo and WELCOME!  I’ve embarked on (yet another) new feature, my newsletter, to go along with my new web page and all my other regular blog features.  (I’m rather in the dark on some of (most of) the technical bits and pieces.  I’ve built computers and I’m aces on the user end.  But the middle ground techie stuff – HELP ME!)  Look for my newsletter quarterly, with seasonal tidbits, and event updates. NOTE: As of the writing of this, I am trying [in vain] to figure out how to set up a mailing list, so bear with me!!

 

The unsavory heritage series has come to an end

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My debut novel, Tessa, set me on a journey three years ago I couldn’t have imagined! I couldn’t begin to tell you how many words I had written at the time, but once I got busy writing, it was just a matter of a few months til the story was done. With the help of a friend, I got her uploaded to Kindle, and added the print version later in the year (October 2014).

When peeps started asking if there was a sequel, I looked and realized I had, in fact, set up not only a sequel, but two more stories.

And for two years, I lived in the world of my unsavory heritage characters, 150 years, and seven generations. It is a bittersweet and fond farewell I bid to these women and their families.

They are available on my Amazon page,

http://www.amazon.com/Robin-E.-Mason/e/B00MR5IQ9S

Series Number Two Hath Begun

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The southern town of Saisons lies at the crossroads between North and South, progressive and genteel antebellum life. Between East and West, between history and heritage, and new frontiers.

In a world where slavery is dying and women’s rights are rising, four young girls share a bond—and experience a tragedy.

Seasons is the telling of their stories, and Mercedes Renaldi’s story is first in The Long Shadows of Summer.

 

Mercedes Renaldi’s friend comes to her and she must now keep Simone’s secret. But Mercedes knows things, too, and she has to uncover the evidence before it falls into the wrong hands.

Coming in July. Leave a comment or email me at robinemason212@gmail.com for a sample chapter.

 

Stories by Design, the Web Page

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IS NOW LIVE on a browser near you!   Please bear with me as I wade through all I want for my webpage—I spend most of my time with the blog and with my stories! You do love my stories, don’t you?

 

NaNoWriMo

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It’s been a full month! Did you NaNo?  To be honest, I hadn’t thought much about it, til late October, and I realized I was on target. So I jumped in and I’m so glad I did!  I made it to the 50K mark with a few words to spare, not counting the 3K I already had written.

 

Coming in 2017

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On the table for this year are not only Long Shadows, but Book Two as well, The Tilting Leaves of Autumn, in the new series. The series is one overall story, told by four main characters. Each has their own twist, their own dilemma. The saving grace for me is the research is all the same, the setting and characters are the same, with minor variations. Leaves releases in October.

Leave a comment with your email for a copy of the first chapter. If you don’t want your email public, send it to me privately at robinemason212@gmail.com.

 

I’ve gotten more organized with the blog, and will have a feature for each day of the week once I launch the recipe feature on Saturdays—not sure yet how soon that’ll be. I have yet to [be able to] attend ACFW conference—thus far I’ve attended only one (Weekend With the Writer, 2015) and loved it! This is The Year, and I’ll be in Grapevine, TX in September! My Jingle Bell Authors was a big hit, and I will be repeating it again in December. It is set for Wednesday the 13th!

Got questions? Email me at robinemason212@gmail.com.

 

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Friday Feature and First Friday Feature is taking a back seat, at least for a season. In its place, I’m excited to join with seven other bloggers to bring you First Line Fridays.

 

This Just In

I am opening my influencer team / street team / tribe for new members. We are Robin’s Little Flock, and “brain picking, question answering, beta reading, grammar editing, launch team… my writing support system…” I am putting together new guidelines and will have those ready by the end of January. Email me at robinemason212@gmail.com if you’re interested.

 

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Family-wise, there’s a wedding in March—my nephew—another’n (also a nephew) later in the year—and a third (nephew #3) not far behind!! The blog focus for March will be weddings.

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Christmas is behind us for another year, and tomorrow begins a new year. What plans and goals do you have for 2017? Notice I did not use the word ‘resolution?’ Goals are ongoing, perpetual, and ever-adapting. Methinks ‘resolution’ has gotten a bad rap! Ha!

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Spiritual-wise, 2017 is wide open, Father has taught me much, and raised me out of so much darkness and torment. He has elevated me, and I’m free to walk in promises made long ago, and receive from His hand in ways I never before fathomed. Bring it, 2017, let’s DO this!!

 

And with that, here ends the Premier Edition (Take Two) of

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Thank you for subscribing!

 

 

 

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A Little Birdie Told Me, #newsletter, Stories by Design, #NaNoWriMo2016, New Series, The Long Shadows of Summer, Coming in 2017, Friday Feature, First Line Fridays

 

BLOGWORDS – Friday 30 December 2016 – FIRST LINE FRIDAY – ONE ENCHANTED EVE by MELISSA TAGG

BLOGWORDS – Friday 30 December 2016 – FIRST LINE FRIDAY – ONE ENCHANTED EVE by MELISSA TAGG
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FIRST LINE FRIDAY – ONE ENCHANTED EVE by MELISSA TAGG

 

/First%20Line%20Fridayhttp://bookwormmama14.blogspot.com/search/label/First%20Line%20Fridayshttp://englishmysteriesblog.blogspot.com/search/label//www.singinglibrarianbooks.com/adults/category/first-line-fridays

 

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THE BLURB:  

A delightful Christmas romance about finding the perfect recipe for love.

After years of mistakes and regret, Colin Renwycke finally has a plan: Hone his baking talent at the Denver Culinary Institute and embark on a new career as a pastry chef. If he’s lucky, he might even manage to earn back his family’s respect. But despite his skills in the kitchen, Colin’s a mess in the classroom and his ongoing disasters are proving too much for his prickly instructor. If he loses his spot at the school, he’s out of backup plans.

Culinary school instructor Rylan Jefferson has the chance to reclaim her dream of running her own bakery. But she only has until Christmas Eve to come up with the perfect recipe to impress an eccentric investor. She has no time for holiday parties or family plans . . . and especially not for the unruly student baker who couldn’t follow a recipe if his life depended on it.

But Colin has the one ingredient Rylan needs most—talent. Lots of it. And when he makes a proposal that just might solve both their problems, Rylan can’t say no—even if it does mean traveling all the way to Iowa. It just might be that the snow-covered plains and a charming small town full of postcard Christmas cheer are exactly what her hungry heart needs . . . along with a man who is much more than he seems.

 

THE FIRST LINE:  

If Rylan Jefferson was lucky, after tonight she’d never have to see Colin Renwycke again.

 

MY THOUGHTS:  

Love it. Hands down. Ms. Tagg has become my new favorite author—well, she’s in good company anyway. She had a skill with words that supersedes most I’v read, and she crafts a well-told story.

 

STARS:  

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Five stars, definitely five stars.

 

#Blogwords, First Line Friday, #FLF, One Enchanted Eve, Melissa Tagg

BLOGWORDS – WREADING WEDNESDAY – 28 December 2016 – FREEFALL by KRISTEN HEITZMANN

BLOGWORDS – WREADING WEDNESDAY – 28 December 2016 – FREEFALL by KRISTEN HEITZMANN
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FREEFALL by KRISTEN HEITZMANN

 

[image error]When a young woman stumbles out of the Hanalei Mountains on the island of Kauai with no memory of who she is or how she got there, Cameron Pierce reluctantly agrees to investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding her arrival. As pieces begin to fall into place, he suspects her injuries were no accident, but he’s far from convinced she’s an innocent victim. And there’s that nagging feeling he’s seen her somewhere before….

Now known as Jade, the woman begins to recall fragments of what led her to this place, and she realizes the danger isn’t over. Jade and the cynical Hawaiian investigator attempt to reconstruct the threads of her identity, but the stakes are far higher than either expected.

 

 

Kristen Heitzmann is the bestselling author of contemporary romantic suspense, [image error]psychological suspense, and historical novels, including Colorado Book Award finalist The Still of Night, Christy Award finalists Indivisible and The Tender Vine, and Christy Award winners Secrets and The Breath of Dawn that won both a Christy Award and Inspirational Readers Choice Award and was a finalist for a people’s choice award in the Netherlands. She is a fiction track and workshop teacher at writers conferences. An artist and musician, she’ll also be found hiking the Colorado Rocky Mountain trails near her home where she lives with her husband, pets, extended family, and wildlife.

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Freefall-Kristen-Heitzmann-ebook/dp/B00AFWM1CS/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

 

Wreading Wednesday, Freefall, Kristen Heitzmann