Stories that Matter
Cathy West
Breathe!!
| 6 Comments
Meet Author Yvonne Lehman!
Meet Nicole O'Dell!
| 4 Comments
Random Fact Finding Session
| 14 Comments
Today's Featured Author is JoAnn Durgin!
| 4 Comments
Here We Go Again…(aka Can We Just Skip This?)
| 9 Comments
That's All She Wrote…
| 12 Comments
Meet Romance Author, Cara Putman!
| 1 Comment
Dare To Be Different…A Lesson In Teacups.
| 9 Comments
Listen To The Music…
| 8 Comments
It took a couple hours to get through the cobwebs to find this page. It’s been a little over a year since I wrote my last blog post. I figured it was a waste of time, and I had better things to do. Better things to spend my time on. Time was precious.And now there…
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The one sure thing about life, the one thing you can pretty much count on, is that it won’t always be easy. You know this. You’ve already been through some tough stuff. And you’ve survived. Maybe even triumphed. But then it all comes back for a second round. Or a third. Maybe you’re getting hit…
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I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m fine. Maybe you’re familiar with the mantra? It’s easy to say. Easy to repeat. And easy to convince yourself of. Because if you say something enough times, eventually you begin to believe it. Even if it’s not true. So last week I wrote about change, and how I was going…
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“You gain strength,courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” — Eleanor Roosevelt. So we…
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Thanks so much to everyone who followed and participated in our Favorite Christmassy Things Giveaway! I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas! Here are the winners! AND, the winner of my giveaway is – DIANNA GARDENHOUR!! CONGRATULATIONS to everyone!! And thanks again for participating! Wishing you all the best for a very happy 2019!
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I hope you’ve all been enjoying this fun giveaway, and enjoyed learning about all our favorite Christmassy things! Today, as we wrap up our twelve days, it’s my turn. And I’m delighted to tell you about my favorite Christmas gift! Actually, I have two, but they kind of tie together, as you’ll see.…
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Can you believe how fast the weeks are flying? It’s hard to believe, but Christmas is just around the corner. To celebrate my favorite season, I’ve asked some of my favorite authors to join me in sharing “Our Favorite Christmassy Things!” I’m excited to see what my friends have to share over the next twelve…
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How did it get to be July already? And I haven’t blogged since my book came out in May! Well. To be honest, I’m still on the fence with the blog, as it doesn’t seem to be the best way to connect anymore. But anyway, here we are, so until I decide to close it…
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So Where Hope Begins is now out in the big wide world. Godspeed, my lovely. And yesterday was a little nuts. The nerves. The onslaught of notifications. The well wishes and fun comments, and feedback. All wonderful and totally mind blowing, not to mention a tad overwhelming. Oh and did I mention a Facebook LIVE…
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Okay, I’m back!! After plunging into edits on my latest novel over the past two weeks, I am finished! So ready for a break! Good thing summer is almost here, right?
First things first – I have to announce TWO WINNERS! The winner of Nicole O’Dell’s The Embittered Ruby, is Elaine Stock. Elaine, let me know how to get in touch with you!
And the winner of my novel, Yesterday’s Tomorrow, is Caleb Rocke! Ditto Caleb.
So as you can imagine, it’s been a challenging time for me, trying to whittle down words and re-write scenes, all the while wondering why in the world I wanted to be a writer in the first place. 🙂 It’s easy to get discouraged when you feel overwhelmed, isn’t it? I have to admit, I plunged in feet first and then had a major freak-out attack midway through. Suddenly the whole thing sucked. Fortunately for me, I have no problem having a good whine on Facebook, as you do, haha, and soon I had many friends and authors sending me oodles of encouragement. My agent told me to CHILL OUT. And I needed to.
I took a few days off. Sat in the sun. Went swimming. Walked. Played with the dog. All the while my brain was still processing what I had to do, but in a calm, logical manner. I began to believe what everyone said. I COULD DO THIS. When I went back to work on that book Monday morning, I had a plan and I put it into action. And I think I succeeded.
What do you do when you feel snowed under? Do you have a particular place to go to get away from it all? I love to look at the ocean and that’s usually where I spend my time complaining talking to God. He’s a pretty good listener, even though I’m sure He has that eye-roll down pat. One of the big things I got out of my time of angst the past couple weeks was a big reminder of Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. God breathed life into me some almost 47 years ago – He had a plan for me then. He has a plan for me now. He wants me to succeed. Isn’t that amazing? No matter how bad things get, no matter how out-of-control or overwhelmed I may feel, I know God’s got this. And He’ll help me get through.
All I have to do is breathe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfQktHzNccE