Time Ticks On!

Hello everyone. It's been a while since I have posted on my blog...sorry. A lot has happened this past week. The good thing is, no matter how bad or sad it may be, I know God will get me through it all. And in some of it, I hope He uses me to share the hope in Him.

By now, I'm sure all of you know my husband Scott who is a survivor of lung cancer -- caused by Agent Orange that he was affected by when marching and aiding soldiers in Viet Nam. He was a medic. Anyway, some of the same symptoms he had felt before, started coming back on him. When they took his last chest x-ray, his lung doctor and his oncologist saw something and they said it could be the cancer coming back. He was set up for a CT Scan to determine what it was. Before that appointment could happen he got an horrific case of pneumonia that put him in the hospital for a week. The doctor who treated him for his pneumonia also saw what the others doctors had seen and she too thought it might be the cancer back. When he came home from the hospital, his body was bone tired and of course all the information given him while in the hospital didn't help his emotional state. His CT Scan was done yesterday. He is feeling stronger each day although he is still coughing and coughing up some blood. Sunday during church he felt something in his chest. I asked him if he was alright and he nodded. Then yesterday, Monday, he told me he believed God healed his lung Sunday in church. Praise the Lord!

The week my husband was in the hospital, a friend of mine's husband (he too was a friend) got sick and God took him home to be with Him. Sad to say, we don't understand how God decides these things. Erick's body was sick and maybe God took him home so he wouldn't have to suffer things that would come later. We wonder as believers, why didn't God just heal Erick. I know his kids and wife would have loved to have him hear longer. It's sad, so sad...for his family, for his friends. We feel the loss so strongly, but we have to know God did what was best. Rena, we love you. We miss Erick too.

We also have a sad situation in my family, that I won't share in print...but know this too will pass. God will never leave nor forsake us...so we just continue to walk in faith in Him and know that our later will be greater than our past. So this sad situation we all shall put behind us and be here for the family member who needs us. Greater days are ahead!!

To put a smile back on your face -- we've been watching the growth of my new grandson, Elijah, mature in my daughter Molly's belly. Eli is giving her fits!! He is making his way to join the world soon. In fact his due date is July 21 - Paw-pa's birthday. We're not sure he's going to wait that long.

As a writer, I want to update you on my latest. The third book in The Samantha Cain series went in to my publisher, Oak Tara Publishing. My editor read The Truth Revealed and loved it. So its in the stages of being made ready for release. I don't have a date yet, but as soon as I do I will let you know. In the mean time, I'm working on a romance. Hopefully it will be ready for release before the end of the year. We'll see.

For you writers I have two things I'd like to share with you. Berries, Bridges, & Books Conference is coming up July 13th. I'll attach a copy of the registration for those who live in the area and wish to attend. Their conferences are always informative as well as fun. Sorry, it won't let me attach here. Email me at deblynne8@gmail.com and I will email a copy to you. That I've done, so I know it works.

Another thing for you fellow writers, I just went through an on-line class that Sylvia Rochester gave in RWA called take out the trash. I took notes cause I thought she did such an awesome job and all of us need help editing our manuscripts, taking out the things that shouldn't be there. I thought I'd share my notes with you. Her teaching was fantastic, just like her books. Go check her out at http://www.sylviarochester.com/. This is her website. She is a writer and a painter -- great in both!!

my notes:

Clean-up Manuscript

Words that clutter:

so	very	that	although	yet
rather	just	nearly	even	sort of
almost	in spite of	perhaps	quite	for a moment
then	suddenly

More often, the sentence would read better without the above words. TRY REMOVING IT.

Words that are redundant:

back - He turned back… He turned…
She eased back into her chair, letting out a sigh that hissed exasperation.

up (when the direction is obvious) - He jumped up onto the porch. Better: He jumped onto the porch.

down (when the direction is obvious) - He looked down at this feet. Better: He looked at his feet.  …no grass trampled down. Better: no trampled grass.

Redundancy in Punctuation:

“Help!” she screamed. Omit she screamed. The exclamation mark indicates the word was said with ferocity.

I won’t go into grammatical mistakes except to touch on the misuse of the comma. I find the rules change at the discretion of the editors. My advice? Give them the correct punctuation. Let them decided to accept it or not.

If a sentence has two independent clauses (i.e. each clause has a subject and verb) and is separated by a conjunction, put a comma before the conjunction. Example: Mary hit Sam, and Sam cried all the way home.

If a sentence has one independent clause and one dependent clause (no subject), do not use a comma. Example: Mary hit Sam and ran away all the way home.

Define indefinite words:

it they some many few Name the object. Who are they? Quantify some, many and few. If you mention an animal, don’t refer to the creature as a cat, dog, horse, etc. Give the specific breed, sex, color, etc. If you mention a car, give the make, model, color, etc. If you mention time, define the duration--ten minutes or whatever. Check your adjectives? (Are they bland? Why? Choose adjectives that will play on the senses and add sparkle to the text.) Cold – How cold? Icy, bone-chilling, numbing, frosty, artic. Hot – How hot? Blistering, broiling, sizzling, scalding. Rough – sandpaper, loose gravel, beard stubble Odor or fragrance – Again, give me some examples. (fresh flowers – even name the flowers; stench of garbage; freshly baked bread) Sometimes the use of a metaphor will give the reader an even better sense of description. (Like a belch from the briny deep, the sun’s rays scorched the garden’s tender sprouts.) Show don’t tell: What a character is experiencing—You can do that by giving the reader a vibrant description about a particular instance. Substitute robust, concrete adjectives, throw in a few metaphors, and the reader becomes an active participant in that particular scene--feeling, seeing, tasting, smelling what the character is experiencing. Don’t worry if what you’re trying to show happened in the past. Indicate a scene break. Present the scene you wish to recall as though it’s happening now. When you finish, return the reader to the present by indicating another scene break. The reader will follow with no problem. You will not only show not tell, you’ll have kept the text active. Choose your verbs wisely: Do you tend to use the same words over and over? BORING! If I may use a cliche, variety is the spice of life. Check for those words that occur frequently throughout the manuscript and substitute another similar word. Walked – try strode, ambled, sauntered, strolled, shuffled, staggered, etc. Ran – jogged, scurried, scampered, hurried, dashed, rushed, loped, etc. Cry – whimpered, sobbed, sniveled, bawled, wailed, blubbered, howled, etc. Smile – beam, grin, smirk, leer Did I hear someone say adverb? (modifier of verb or adjective) I look at adverbs this way—too many rocks sink a boat. I prefer to throw my rock overboard in lieu of better cargo. Tightening the manuscript further: Check for words such as felt, knew, figured, and heard. Omit these words by explaining how the character felt and what he heard or saw. You don’t need to indicate a character looked at someone before speaking. That’s assumed. However, if the character looked away, this might indicate the character’s receptiveness. Search for these words: began, started, knew, realized seemed, appeared. You don’t need these words to introduce an action. She knew John lied. Better to say: John lied. POV tells us she knew. She started to cross the room. Better to say: She crossed the room She knew he hated her. Better to say: He hated her.  Are you using the correct word? Spell check only checks for spelling, not usage. Here are a few examples. When in doubt, check the dictionary. Then vs. Than – Then refers to time. Than means rather. Affect vs. Effect – Affect is a verb. Effect is a noun. Its vs. It’s – Its refers to an entity. It’s is the contraction of it and is. Stationary vs. stationery – Stationary means immobile. Stationery is writing material. Diner vs. dinner – Diner is a restaurant or a person who eats. Dinner is a meal. Further vs. farther – Further means to a greater extent. Farther means actual distance. Altar vs. alter – Altar refers to a raised structure in a church. Alter means to change. Passive voice: Eliminate passive voice whenever possible. Do a search for any form of the verb to be. If the subject is acted upon, the sentence is passive. One way to remedy the situation is to let the object do the action. Remember, the use of was or were does not always make a sentence passive. Examples: Joe was hit by the ball. (Passive-the subject received the action.)  The ball hit Joe. (Active-the subject did the action.) Joe was hitting the ball. (Active-the subject (Joe) did the action…was hitting is the verb. What Else To Look For White space – make sure you don’t have lengthy segments of narrative. Dialog helps to keep up the pacing. Perhaps you give more description than is needed. Do your chapters end with a hook? What about the opening line(s). Did you have a smooth transition? Did the scene(s) move the story forward? Don’t divulge everything about a character, only what is necessary. Is the dialog natural? Too many tags? Not enough? Search for said. See if you can eliminate the tag. Vary your sentence structure. Are you consistent with the characters’ physical descriptions. Blue eyes can’t turn brown in a later scene. Do the stakes increase as the story progresses? Make sure your twists and surprises are plausible. You have to have a reason to drop a dead body from the ceiling, and the character better be someone pertinent to the story. I enjoyed talking to you again. Remember, no matter how tough life gets, you can get through it all leaning on The Lord! He will never leave you nor forsake you...and that's a great thing to know.

Catching Up!

Hi everyone.

Sorry I haven't blogged in over a month. Last month I was finishing up book 3 of the Samantha Cain Series. By the first week of April it was off to my publisher. I'm waiting to hear back from her now. The Truth Revealed was a touching tale. I hope you all enjoy it when it's released. I'll keep you posted.

Shortly after my last blog, I spoke to a group of 4th graders. They were a joy for me. Not only did they listen well, but they asked interesting questions. I hope after our talk, they found learning to write well will help them in so many ways in their life. A few already had dreams of becoming a writer. That was exciting to me. I didn't know I wanted to write until I was 33 years old. The school I spoke at teaches the arts in a big way to the students. Their gifts range all over the spectrum and it was a pleasure to see they want to follow their passions. A few days before we left on vacation I received a large manila envelope filled with thank you notes. Some had included drawings. It was a privilege and an honor to receive such heart felt notes. Thank you kids, for taking time to write to me.

view of the sunrise from the portico:

Speaking of vacation. We took a week and few down to Porta Plata. It's in the Dominican Republic. The resort we stayed out was fantastic. A 2 story, 3 room villa, included our own private pool. Of course being on an island, we didn't swim there except in the late evening and night time. In the day time we made a point of sunning on the beautiful beaches.

The resort I believe had 7 or more different beaches, but we were spoiled on Serenity Beach and on NV Beach. I managed to go the full week without burning. 30 block helped me to only tan. My husband and son both burned, but already Scott's has turned to tan. I hope Chris was as lucky. Rosie (my daughter-in-law) kept herself covered in sunscreen as well. And Jerry, well he kept a t-shirt on so as far as I know he didn't burn as well. When you sun near the equator you have to be careful. Also with the breeze off the water, it never felt hot even though it was in the 80's everyday. LifeStyles has entertainment nightly in the different areas of the resort, so we never had a dull moment. I have to say, my favorite was the day we spent on a 32' Catamaran. The skipper of Tip Top took us out in the water, set the sails, and we were skimming across the ocean. We anchored twice to go snorkeling and once to eat. Yes, they had a motor boat come out to us and served hot food. There was music and dancing after lunch. That calypso beat makes you want to tap your feet...even at my age. What a blast we had. Papo, the excursion director, kept everyone laughing. The last night there, they held a BBQ at our villa for us. There were only five of us, but there was enough food cooked to feed an army.

The least favorite part of the vacation was the last flight from Miami to New Orleans. I got food poisoning I do believe. It hit me at about 30000 feet in the air. What a miserable time I had, but the flight attendant let me stay near the back, instead of running up and down the aisle. What a blessing. And when we got home, I slept for almost 24 hours. We've been home 5 days and today is the first day I actually have energy to get up and move around. So I cleaned house. Boy did it need it.

Tomorrow I will be back to writing. I've had a few of my readers ask when I'll write another romance, so that's what I'll be working on. I'd started it over a year ago and set it aside. It's back to being priority, so I hope to have it ready for my publisher in 3 to 4 months. The working title is 'After You're Gone' -- but I'm thinking that doesn't sound very romantic. I'll keep you posted on that as well.

I hope you all have a wonderful summer. It is around the corner. Kids will be out of school soon, so be careful and watch out for them. God bless you all!

Reached out around the world--

Hello everyone.

Talk about a blast, a feeling so exhilarating that I can't even describe it. As you know, I've been telling you all about the interview that was set for 2/28. Cynthia Brian on StarStyle, Be The Star You Are planned to interview me. When I first received her email asking if I'd like to be interviewed, I was shocked...but then I remembered I'd been declaring big blessings in my life while reading Joel Osteen's book. Not only did I read one declaration a day and what he had written, but the next day I read the new one plus the old ones, from the day or days prior...until I reached day 31. I also found Scripture to back up the declarations, because not only does God tell us to call things that aren't as though they were, He tells us to back our prayers with His Word, strengthening the prayer. I thought,  why not do it with the declarations. The power of the Word!! Wow. And then their email came to me.

Thank You, Lord. Of course I still prayed about it before accepting. And then, the human in me, as the day and the hour approached, started getting nervous. I mean, their talk show reaches 219 countries and over 4 million listeners. Little ol' Deborah Lynne from Baton Rouge. When it was only one hour to interview, my best friend forever (BFF) called me and asked if I wanted her to pray with me. She knew I was letting flesh override truth of resting on The Lord and I was becoming a nervous wreck. Well honey, she prayed and I agreed with her prayer and those little nerve issues started falling away. After thanking her, I still had 45 minutes to kill, so I sat down and decided to watch another day of Jeremy Pearsons and his wife Sarah who had been on Kenneth Copeland's talk show. I record it daily and watch at different times. Anyway -- only God could have me watch this day on the subject they shared. Backing it with Scripture (which is my favorite thing people can do, cause if the Word says it, it's the truth), they showed when we start getting all nervous and stuff, its because we're relying on ourselves. We're worried we'll mess up or something. Anyway, it was the last bit of encouraging word I needed to have me totally relaxed knowing God was over my interview in a few short minutes. He was!!

Well today -- those of you who missed it, CAN HEAR IT NOW! My IT lady just put it on my web site for your enjoyment. It was 20 minutes long, so its a two part player. I couldn't get it to play at first, but I was single clicking. Double click on the track and it works every time. Anyway, I hope you will take time to go to my website www.author-deborahlynne.com and listen in. She made it easy. You can click on the WorldTalkRadio icon or click media page...then an arrow points you to the tracks. Double click on the first one, and when it is through, double click the second one.

I actually received several emails after the show was live. Enjoyed reading all of them. People are so kind. I hope those of you who are listening to it now, take a moment to respond. I'd love to hear from you. Email me at deblynne8@gmail.com.

More news! This Monday, I'll be talking to fourth graders. I thought it was going to be my little great niece's class, but found out last night it's all the 4th grade classes, and that means about 50 children. I am so excited. The school really encourages children to be creative in the arts...singing, playing instruments, painting, writing.... I am so honored to get to talk to them. Of course, when my niece told me the number my mind freaked, but then I knew this too was part of God blessing me and growing me. And I know what He sends me to do, He will go with me and help me do it right. No fear or worry here. ISN'T THIS EXCITING!!

I also want to remind all of you in the Baton Rouge area and surrounding towns, I have another signing coming up on 3/23. Check out my website for details on the event page. Come have some coffee with me. It's a cute coffee house and I'm looking forward to the face-to-face contact with my readers that I so love.

The Power of Love

Today is celebrated as the day of love, so happy Valentine's day to you!!

Love is a source of power. According to the Word, Love is the greatest gift of all. Those of us who love others, even the people who give you a hard time and may even put you down...love them any way. You read that and think, "Yeah Debbie. How do you love people who don't deserve your love and you come out better for it?" Truth be told..I try but sometimes fail.

It takes more energy to hate. It takes focus off of what is important in life if you take time not to love. When you love others, you forgive them what they do even though they don't deserve it. This way, you're not focused on the bad they did to you, because I guarantee they aren't.

A believer sometimes wonders why God isn't working in their lives or answering their prayers. If that's you, stop and think...Am I loving others? The Word tells us faith works by love...and without faith its impossible to please God. And God tells us to love. Jesus says its the most important command of all, first to love God with all your heart and all your soul and then to love others. Sounds like love is the answer.

So many of us go to church and are active. We are so busy doing at the church, serving God--but are we serving people? Loving people? As believers we are to imitate Jesus...and He served and loved others. Take a moment and look around at the hurting. Sure we can't help everyone. We don't have the money to fix every ones problems. But sometimes taking time to give some one a smile, or a word of encouragement, using love as the base of what you say or do, can make that persons day. It may not always work -- but its better to try. Love is free...give it to others around you.

Just yesterday we stopped at a place of business to pick up tickets to go see The Harlem Globe Trotters. There was a lady behind the wall at the ticket center that had the biggest frown on her face. I was determined to show her love. I smiled and said good morning. Tried to be pleasant to her with small talk. She merely stared at me and continued to frown. Okay. So that didn't work. I then tried to make sure I was pleasant in the transaction of our business hoping to make her day more pleasant. In the end when all was said and done, she managed to help me lose my smile, my joy, with her actions in fact. And in the end as I was walking away I can't remember what I said but I was grumbling. My husband told me to let it go. Then he reminded me we never know what that other person is going through that makes them act so unkind. He was right. Why did I lose my love? I gave her the power of killing the joy in me and it took several minutes of silent prayer and asking forgiveness to get joy back into my heart. I failed. But who knows if I hadn't lost it at the end I might would have planted a seed of love. I pray next time I don't fail, but in the meantime, whatever was wrong with her, I prayed for her. God's love is greater than any love I could try to share. But I won't give up. I hope you don't either.

What it boils down to is it's better to love...to give love, to walk in love, and of course receive love. So enjoy your day. Keep the love of Christ alive in you by giving it to others.

Happy LOVE day!!

Interview from Town Favorites Magazine

Hey everybody.. click the link below and read the article in Town Favorites Magazine, where I was interviewed about my latest novel, Crime in The Big Easy


Literary Louisiana

Revelation!!'

Good morning everyone. I was reading my devotion and felt lead to take a few minutes and share with you in my blog (after I finished my devotion). Every morning I try to sit down and spend time with God. I usually start with the devotion I follow and have been since Christmas 2006. It's Faith to Faith, A Daily Guide to Victory by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland. And then I pull out whatever Bible Study I'm doing at the time, and of course, I read my Bible during both, to whatever Scriptures either send me to. And the last week of December 2012, I started Joel Olsteen's 31 Days of Declarations. By the time I finished it, reading it one day at a time and adding a new declaration to speak boldly out loud over myself, my morning time has grown from an hour or so to more. I love it. Praise God for allowing me to be retired (and writing full time). I remember the last couple of years before retirement my time with God before going to work went from 15 minutes to 30 or 45, but I had to have it before I went to work. On the days I slept late and didn't spend my time with God, boy I knew it. Nothing went right on those days...or maybe some things went right but so much went wrong it messed up my whole day.

Well anyway, today a had a revelation. And I have to say, as long as I've been reading this devotion daily, you'd think I'd have every page memorized...but it's like God speaks to me differently at different times. And today it was -OH WOW!!

Today the title was HIT HIM WITH A ROCK. Of course, that's taken from David and Goliath. And the Scripture for us to meditate on after was Psalms 23. Anyone who's been a Believer or a listener at church or funerals should be familiar with that passage. In fact, at my grandson, Koby's, basketball game a couple of weeks ago, the man who spoke before the games started used this passage. Now me, when I hear Psalms 23 I think death. I think (or thought) The Lord is trying to give peace to someone who is suffering in their life of a slow death, letting them know I (He) will get them through. And then the preacher at the funeral uses that passage to ease the mind of the loved ones left behind, letting them know God stilled the troubled waters around their beloved and helped them face death peacefully.

Well let me tell you, it's not just for the dying. That passage is for the living. Most of us have heard of David, the one who slew the giant. He is cometimes referred to or called "the man after God's own heart." I don't know about you, but when I hear that, I want God to think of me that way. In fact over six years ago we did a Bible Study by Beth Moore called Believing God, and I cried out to God asking him to "help me to love You like she loves you."She is a woman on fire for God. And if you've ever done any of her Bible Studies you know this. Well, we are redoing it now. We're on the 8th week. It overwhelms me how much God has grown me in the last six years. I have friends whom I love a lot, that tell me they wish they had faith like mine. Sounds kind of familiar. I tell them, I was where you are six years ago. If you want it, it's yours for the taking. Praise God!

I'm going to tell you how we get strong like David and become a man after His heart and become a woman of faith like Beth Moore. We except God for who He is!! He is "our shepherd." Like David watched out for his lambs being their shepherd...like how he stood in the face of death for his sheep... like how he found cool still waters for his herd...like how when one was lost, he'd venture out to find it and bring it back to the herd...like how David sang and talked to the sheep--David realized God is his shepherd. And guess what believers, He is ours too. And non believers, He wants to be yours too. He's patiently waiting. Anyway, back to the revelation.

God watches out for us. He has big plans for us and if we stay in His will we get to live out those big plans. God sent His Son...Jesus. And Jesus died for us so that we might live eternally in Heaven. I wouldn't die for anyone but my kids and grand kids and now my kids-in-law...maybe for a friend or two...but for a stranger?? I don't think so. Soldiers do. I was never a soldier, never even thought about becoming one. Don't get me wrong. I'd do almost anything for anyone, but I don't think I would die for just anyone. But the old saying, never say never, comes to mind as I type this. So....God leads us into peaceful times if we'd only listen, obey, and do as He tells us. When I was lost, He found me at the age of 10 and has been working on me--showing me the right paths to take (and sometimes I followed). When I did, talk about wonderfully blessed days--but when I didn't, the seas were rocking my boat big time. And know, God is right there with you, where you are in your life (the boat rocking times and the peaceful waters times), and He wants to lift your heart in song, hold you in His arms, help you feel better and stronger and bring you through what ever is causing turmoil in your life.

Give it to God. Rest in His arms. You don't have to die to find peace. He wants us to have it here on this earth. God bless you all. I hope you find these words a blessing. God just filled my heart with the revelation that He is with me always, everywhere, wanting to fill me with peace, joy, goodness, and so much love. He is my Shepherd--AND He wants to be and do the same for you. I felt Him wanting me to share this with you all. I hope you take it in love. Now I need to get back to my devotion time with God. I started to say get back with God, but guess what? He's been here the whole time with us.

Have a blessed and wonderful day. I love you all (even if I don't think I'll die for you...but who knows?) I would have posted a smiley face there if I had that option on my blog, but I don't see it. Of course tears are sliding down my cheeks as I type, so I really can't see much of anything.

Bye now. I will do a regular blog in a couple of weeks...and I'll let you know how Scott does Tuesday with his surgery. I know it will go well and all cancer will be gone!!! God is my Shepherd and He is Scott's too.

God bless you!

New Year...Think of The Possibilities

Hello everyone.

I know we are 4 weeks into the new year. Sorry I haven't written. I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas. I touched base at the end of the year, so I probably already told you that. Oh well...I'm saying it again. NOW, I say -- Happy New Year!!

I had a book signing at Barnes & Noble right after the first of the year. It was great. People were coming in and buying books at a steady pace. It was so cool. Although the first one wasn't there until 10 after 2, the starting hour, it never stopped until 10 after 4. 2-4 or should I say 2:10-4:10 was the best two hours I'd had in weeks. Non-stop chatter of readers of Deborah Lynne novels excited about the newest release, to new people who had never heard of me and purchased a copy and stated they would check out my others if they liked this one, Crime in The Big Easy. It was a great signing...fun and busy. The best kind. And I got to talk to everyone, even if it was only a few minutes. Wait. I say that, and then I remember someone who knows one of my daughters, texted her, and told her she saw my in the store but every time people were around my table so she never came over. Sorry to hear that. I did sign the few that were left...so if you're looking for a great read, go to Barnes & Noble at Citiplace and you can pick up an autographed copy.

Now for 2013--how many of you made new years resolutions? Not me. I did, however, make goals of things I'd like to accomplish in the year.

Looking back through 2012, I had a great year of growth. I hope you did too. Two new novels, Testimony of Innocence and Crime in The Big Easy, were released through Oak Tara Publishing. In fact, at the beginning of the year I met my publisher and found out what a fantastic publishing house I was working with. The part that thrilled me the most was the level of faith Ramona Tucker had. She is my editor as well as the co-founder and owner of Oak Tara Publisher. God blessed me when He connected me with them. I started work on book 3 of The Samantha Cain Mysteries -- The Truth Revealed, as well as started a romance. The present title of that is -- After You're Gone. Also an idea for a young adult fiction was given to me. I've set two of them aside and have turned my focus on The Truth Revealed, book 3 of the Samantha Cain Series. By the end of January I hope to have it with my critique partners for review. Also, if you haven't checked my website lately, you should check it now. All six of my books that are available have a book trailer (it's like a movie trailer) on my web site. click here. Another thing I got to do in 2012 was judge in writing contests. Two different ones, connected with American Christian Fiction Writers, ACFW. I've been with them for several years now, and this year I was asked to judge. It was a joy to read the entries and also to give feed back to the aspiring writer. I also rejoined RWA (Romance Writer's of America) this year. When I first joined many years ago, my number was in the 3 digits. When I rejoined it now has 6 digits in my member number. Talk about growth...wow. I'm glad to be a part of the local chapter as well - Heartla, Heart of Louisiana. When this chapter was first formed I was part of the founding group. When I gave up writing for a year, I walked away from it all. I'm so glad it didn't last. I knew in my heart it was what I was supposed to be doing, I'd just gotten off track on the how to. As most of you know, my books are inspirational, and they are meant to honor God and share His love with the reader. When I came back to my passion of writing and listened to His direction, the wheels started turning and now six books released in the last 5 years.

We're in the new year...2013. I'm looking forward to so many things this year. First thing I did that I've never done before--I entered a contest. (possibly because I judged in those two in 2012). Never before had I done that. I know it's good to enter writing contests. Through them you get feedback on your writing as well as, when you win, you get to add that to your bio. I entered Crime in The Big Easy in a contest. We'll see. The winner, to be announced, is many, many months away, but I look forward to seeing what the judges say. I know it's my favorite - of my books--even though I love them all. As I mentioned earlier, I have two books I'll be sending to my publisher this year. Hopefully they'll be released five or six months apart. We'll see. When both are ready, I'll work more steadily on my YA novel. Maybe in September when I attend the ACFW conference, I'll have one to pitch to a publisher who is looking for YA fiction...or maybe my publisher now, Oak Tara, would want it. We'll see.

In my personal life, I was blessed with my daughter, Rachael, who lives in California, to fly over and spend two weeks with us while she recovered from her surgery in 2012. It's been fun having her here, but I have to admit, I haven't written daily like I was doing before she arrived. I'll get back to it, and work for double the hours until I catch up to where I should be. Another blessing in 2013, I'm going to be a grandmother again. Molly (who you all prayed for when she miscarried a couple of times last year) is due July 21st. This is my husbands birthday. Talk about a great birthday present. It's one we are all so looking forward to. Yay. This year, my husband and I are taking a vacation to some islands. We've always dreamed of it, but never was able. Although Scott can't do many things, he can sit around and relax on a beach just as easy as he does on his recliner. Instead of a TV, he'll be seeing the beautiful blue waters rolling in and out. I can't wait.

God has been so good to us in the past and by His Word "my latter will be greater than my past" so what does that tell you. I so look forward to every day of my life, and I count the many blessings that come my way. In fact, I look forward, knowing how good my God is, to each and every day. Don't get me wrong...it's not about what I have or can have...it's more about the peace, the joy, the love--I guess all the fruits of the Spirit that overflow in my life.

Even in the midst of trials, we know that God is watching over us. Today we received a call from the VA. My husband had tests run almost 2 weeks ago. They said if its cancer we should hear back in a week. No news is good news. Of course, we expected no news and sure enough we didn't get any. Then today, as we were going to apply for our passports, we got a call. Now our phone calls in the car come over the car speaker. When she said it was the VA, we both kind of glanced at each other, but then he returned his gaze onto the road. Then the lady said, sorry.... Well, we could have gotten defeated and stopped what we were doing, but after the call ended, and the two tears that trickled down my face (that I hid from my husband), we talked about it. Both of us believe strongly the Lord is in control, and He will take care of this as well. This time there will be surgery to remove the small amount of cancer and we know it will all be removed without any problems, never to return. Funny how Satan doesn't want to give up---but my God is greater than he that is in the world and I am so thankful for that fact!!!

I hope you all find your hope in God and trust He knows what is best for you. No matter what comes at you, God will bring you through it and better off after, as long as you put your trust in Him. I know we are. Take care and God bless you all. See you soon.