Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Another Day!

Hello everyone.

Today is beautiful...isn't it? I hope you are as blessed with such gorgeous weather as we are. We have beautiful blue skies and a crisp breeze blowing gently through the air. The past two days have been dreary but today is a new day.

Today after our morning coffee, my husband and I set out to go buy his Christmas gift this year. We had decided on a new flat screen TV...like the one he bought me last year. After a disastrous day yesterday, we found his 60" Samsung with all the specs he wanted. Me, I don't know the difference in the LED and the plasma. His, like mine, is the LED but a little bigger. It works for me. And don't you know, now that everyone is getting 55", 60", 70" screen TVs, kids watch movies on their iPhone, or iPad, or Kindle Fire. Shrink that down to 5", 10", or 13" if they are lucky. What a world? We never seem to be satisfied. I know my old eyes love the big screen. When my friends send me an email or text on my phone that you download and watch...I wait until I can pull it up on my lap top. Oh to be 16 again. Not really. I am so happy to be where I am, the age I am, and the life I live. God has blessed me in so many ways.

I hope you had a glorious Thanksgiving. Did you eat the traditional turkey? Or did you go for the ham? Either way, I'm sure you filled up. Aren't we blessed. America...what a nation!!

Christmas is around the corner and then before you know it, it will be 2013. Time flies.  Have you bought the gifts you want to give, as God gave us Christ? If money is tight this year, give extra love to a friend or family member. By love, I mean give of your time. Do something special for them or make something for them. Or if you have a big family, instead of buying for each and every one, draw names for the adults of the family. For the kids, look around. You'll find something that fits into your budget. Just remember what Christmas is all about. Not about what you get or what you give...but that you give. Mostly, give of yourself -- meaning your time and energy.

Our lights are up on the outside, tree on the inside. I love the feeling of Christmas. Christmas gives us hope for eternity. Take time to enjoy the season. Don't get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the world. We've all been given the gift of God's Son. If you haven't taken the opportunity to accept your gift, do so now. God is waiting. He loves you.  

Although I'm not doing anything in the month of December (such as signings and talks and interviews), I will be back in January of 2013. I want to give everyone a chance to buy my two new books...Testimony of Innocence & Crime in The Big Easy. Barnes & Noble in Baton Rouge will be doing a signing for me for my latest book -- Crime in The Big Easy. If by January 5th you haven't purchased it yet, be sure and come on down. I'd love to see you.

For those who read the eBook form and have a Kindle, Testimony of Innocence and Crime in The Big Easy are available. I posted it on Facebook and on my website. www.author-deborahlynne.com. I know several of you asked when they would be available in eBook.

As most of you know, I'm a member of ACFW and have been for many years. If you write Inspirational fiction or nonfiction and are not a member, you need to sign up. They give so much help year round, through the magazine, the courses taught on-line, and contests. All are great ways to improve your art of writing. I was blessed to judge the Genesis Contest earlier this year and am now judging in the First Impressions Contest. What an honor! I'm loving it! Entering contests are a great way to grow your craft.

This past month has been a busy blur, but for the next few weeks I'm devoted to working on book 3 of my Samantha Cain Mysteries and my stand alone for 2013. Also I was intrigued by my grandson, Scotty. I'd been out and about with both boys (Koby & Scotty), and on the ride home a bright spot light waved back and forth in the sky. Well my oldest grandson saw it and with a few words spoken, he had me thinking on a plot for a young adult fiction. This will be new to me, but I'm so intrigued. In fact, the idea was for one story, but thoughts of it becoming a series churned in my head. I love when that happens. Needless to say the first couple of chapters have now been written followed with notes on the rest of the novel, but it had to be set aside. First I must finish, The Truth Revealed, and After You're Gone (wip) for my stand alone if OakTara picks it up too.

Have a merry Christmas. Take care and God bless you all!


Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Going Full Speed Ahead

Hello everyone. My life has been moving forward in the plan God has for me. I know He has great plans for me and my life, and things have been happening all around. Isn't He a great God!!

Shortly after the great book signing at Barnes & Noble in Mandeville and then typing my blog on October 25th, Around Town, a local talk show, had me in for live taping. This appeared on Channel 9, WAFB TV the following Sunday -- October 27, 2012. I was in awe at how awesome the taping of the show flowed. Everyone there moved in such grace...and the timing. WOW. I can't even explain how great it was. The people made me feel so special...and I'm telling you when you watch Around Town, you as a viewer feel satisfied, informed, lifted, and so much more. The studio for Around Town was a wonderful place to be and I'm proud I was part of one of their shows. I've ordered a copy of the show, but in the mean time you can see the five minute segment I was on. click here to view, then click on Media page. This clip is 2nd on the page. The full show will be available soon to me so I can share it with you. One of the guests (besides me) was Percy Sledge. How cool is that?

On October 27 the State of Louisiana, along with Barnes and Noble, held the Louisiana Book Festival downtown. I was a part of it again this year. The weather was cool and brisk. The wind blew most of the morning. It was a gorgeous day. We couldn't have asked for better weather. The crowd that gathered downtown was not disappointed in any way. There was great music, fantastic food, various things to see and participate in, as well as a lot of authors with every genre of book you could possibly want. No one went home empty handed. I hope you made it to the festival...if you didn't, you missed a great day. I loved it. There were several camera men & women filming for news shows, future adds for LA BK FST, as well as other reasons. I was blessed by being taped by a few of them. One sent me a clip of three authors interviewed in one clip. I was one of the 3. Teena L Myers did a fantastic job on this clip. I can't wait to see the rest. In the meantime, I copied mine on to my website.                          Click here to view the clip. Once you click, go to my media page. It's the top video.

October 31st our church, HeartsEase Family Life Church, had the Annual Fall Festival. So many children came out for the fun. My husband and I over-saw the Milk the Cow booth. What a treat!! Kids competed, seeing who could fill the pale with milk (water was used) first. I'm telling you, it was so much fun watching them try hard to get the cow to comply. It was a full sized wooden cow (made by Pastor P himself). With 30 seconds the time aloted to milk the cow, over a two hour span, the most was 325 ML. The normal was 50 - 150 ML. This little boy was fast...or was it a girl? I can't remember. There were two who kept coming back trying to beat the best score. Scott and I were worn out by the end of the night (and felt it still the next day), but we wouldn't trade the time we spent with those kids for anything in the world.

My sister-in-law had surgery on her other eye on November 1st. It too went well. Even her doctor was amazed at how Sarah no longer needs to wear reading glasses. New lenses in both eyes now. She may be 62, but she's seeing like a young woman of 25.

On November 3rd, I was a part of the Holiday Bazaar at the library in Denham Springs. It too had a good turn out. I love talking to readers and hearing feed back on my stories...as well as finding new authors to read. Next year the city (I believe) will be putting this on so it should be even bigger. Kathy Mayeaux of the Denham Springs/Walker Library has had this for three or four years that I've known her and has done a great job. She loves helping writers grow. I was blessed and still am, of being a part of the Writer's group there.

This coming Saturday, 11/10/12, I will be attending Fall in Love with Romance Luncheon, being put on by Heartla, a chapter of RWA. The luncheon is being held at Juban's Creole Restaurant from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. I don't know if there are tickets left this late in the game, but check with Heartla if interested. There will be a number of authors attending...as well as avid readers. This is for the readers...gives them a chance to spend time and meet the authors they love face-to-face...as well as another opportunity for writers to hear from other authors on things happening in the writing world today. I look forward to it and am blessed to be a part of the authors offering their books to be available at the end of the luncheon. It should be another fun day.

You see, I told you I've been busy. But can I tell you -- I love it!! I am so blessed this is what God chose for me to do. Thank You, Lord.

I hope to see you all one day, face-to-face. In the meantime, keep reading. And you writers...keep writing. My latest books - Crime in The Big Easy & Testimony of Innocence, book 2 of The Samantha Cain Mysteries are selling fast. I'm so pleased.

Oh...I almost forgot. The Barnes & Noble in our town have set a signing for me. I'll keep you posted on the event page of my website...so stay tuned.

Just a reminder: