Thoughts from the Heart: Writings from the Gulf Coast of Alabama

Book by Valerie J. Steimle

Back of the book blurb:
The Gulf Coast of Alabama has had its share of trials and triumphs. As a Gulf Coast Newspaper Columnist, Valerie J. Steimle has seen it all: hurricanes, the BP oil spill, Supper on the Beach, festivals, concerts and beach life. Living on Alabama’s gulf coast has been an interesting life journey. “Thoughts from the Heart” was a column especially written for the gulf coast of Alabama with inspirational stories, small town politics and federal government antics. Read one hundred of the best of “Thoughts from the Heart,” an insightful collection of honest, humorous and heart-felt writing.


Why Thoughts from the Heart Makes the Perfect Christmas Gift?

Thoughts from the Heart was written to inspire and uplift. Originally written as articles for an opinion page in a local paper, these writings discuss the importance of family, supporting local communities, the antics of federal government, the importance of holidays and more. In a time of uncertainty for the future, we need encouraging words to rally us together as a positive force. Thoughts from the Heart will awaken such emotion and inspire readers to never surrender to the outside forces trying to destroy our nation and families.


Can be purchased through Amazon.com

You can follow Valerie on her website http://www.strengthenyourhome.com
or visit her views on strengthening the American Family
on her blog: http://valeriesteimle.blogspot.com/

Who Knew?

The reality check is that the specialist knew and warned me. What was it that she said?

"I'm going to prescribe this to you, but you will have to remain at home, safe from everything that can compromise your immune system."

This is not something that I wanted to hear, but the pain was severe enough that I smiled politely with an "Okay, doctor. Whatever you say."

"Take as directed and call me in the morning." Actually she said call me "next week."

So, like a good girl which I was trying to be with Christmas right around the corner (I can always use a few extra points in the homestretch,) I did as instructed and called her the following week. I don't get to talk to her, instead I talk with the assistant. The conversation is a rerun of the conversation with the specialist until…

"I'm very impressed with your commitment," he said.

"Why?" I asked innocently.

He gives me the spiel that I must have tuned out the first time around. "…And that means you will not only have to forego any holiday shopping, but pretty much the whole holiday."

My brain stutters…I can hear the DJ drag the needle across the phonograph record…okay, no big Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends.

"For how long?" I feel my whole body shaking with dread. I really don't want to hear an answer to my question.

"At least until the procedures are completed…Your last appointment is mid January, right?"

I pull my chair closer to the couch. I need to lay down. In all honesty I had planned to cancel the January appointments due to a shortage of funds.

"Uhh…" I'm laying down now. My jaw is almost to the floor. I slap it back where it belongs. "My family isn't going to like this."

"Just remember," his soothing tone did nothing to put me at ease. "Next year you will feel all the better. Your family will thank you for taking care of this now."

Yeah, well he doesn't have my family to explain this to. This will mean a rather lean Christmas with Dad (my hubby) doing the shopping. He isn't a good shopper and I know there will be more than one gift card under the tree. Oh yeah, what tree? I won't be able to go with the family to cut a tree and my hubby, the wonderfully considerate man that he is, won't go without me.



…to be continued…when the vision clears…

Talking w/ Anna del C. Dye

http://www.amazon.com/Princess-Silent-Warrior-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B001KVZOV8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354147241&sr=1-1&keywords=anna+del+c.+dye

What inspired you to start writing?
More than anything it was my husband who got me started, after many promptings... this time he said, "DO IT!" when I finished telling him the story of "The Elf and the Princess."

Where do you draw your inspiration from?
Tolkien characters... they are awesome. There are so many and so much to tell about them that the master didn't... I just have to help him. :) That is why my series is called The Elf Series. I love elfs.

Do you have a favorite character? If so, why is he/she your favorite?
I do, too many in some of my books. Mostly because they are in many ways living my life experiences. This makes them very close to my heart.

For example:

Adren lost everything when her kingdom was destroyed and her only hope was the young elf and his race.

I left my country and everything there to start a new life by the side of a wonderful young man. I know what is to be with strangers, their culture and to have not only to trust them, but become one of them. This has taught me to trust and depend on this handsome young man, which in turn has made my love for him, as deep as Adren's.

That is awesome. I know I draw on my personal experiences in my writting as well. What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
--Never give up!!! I echo that.
--Join a writer's chapter close to you right now, and learn from them. Ditto.
--Start sending small stories and articles to magazines, both on line and traditional. Also to newspapers, even if they are from a University or whatever.
(Keep all the copies of any publication in a file/folder.) I didn't do this but I can see how it could prove invaluable. My next guest has done just that and her new release is proof of the value of this advice.
--Join critic groups and let them help you with ideas to make your work better. Don't let anyone change your work... I said to MAKE it better. This can be a tough one. Listen to the suggestions, take what works for you and thank the critiquers that took the time to voice their opinion even if you don't agree. This will also help you develop a thick skin when it comes to the loud individual telling you your work is crap. It isn't crap, it may need a little fine tuning, but remember that you can't satisfy all the readers all the time.
--Start blogging with the name you will use as an author so people get familiar with it. This will help you sell more books when your book is published. (Two blogs a week, but not too long--up to 15 lines.) Okay, I could have used this advice last year...
--Start promoting your book at least nine months before is published. Wise counsel, that means once the contract is signed with a publisher, or when you schedule your e-book self pub, begin. Don't wait.

You once told me that English is your second language. What sort of challenges did you meet in trying to write your books, if any?
Not many really. I write and my editor has to figure what I am trying to say. (If I can't figure how a word goes in English, I put it in Spanish...he speaks Spanish very well.) We have a lot of fun when we edit the books which we always do together.
So I just write and he adds the "ed" or takes them out when I put them in and so on. It works beautifully because he is awesome and knows me so well.

You are lucky to have an editor like this and luck he is a he. My prefered editor had to bow out just recently do to the arrival of a precious little one. I can't blame her. Who would you say is your targeted audience?
Teens and the young at heart.

What would you say is the most challenging part about being an author?
Spending hours promoting my book when I would like to be writing another.

Promoting can take hours out of any day. If you could give your book to only one person, who would it be and why?
A teenager in trouble...
In the hope that he/she could discover the power they have deep inside to change and become better. I want them to see that nothing is impossible if we put our minds to it.

A note from me: Don't give your book or e-book to everyone that wants one. If you do, you won't see any royalties...

You can find all Anna's books at her website, http://www.annadelc.com
and at Amazon http://ning.it/TtStY5

Thanks so much for the chance to visit your blog,

French Christmas and cats

Thank you, Shaunna, for having me on your blog to kick off the holiday season. It’s my favorite time of the year. You can find out more about me and my books on my website at: http://www.vijayaschartz.com You can find my paperbacks and eBooks on AMAZON – B&N – ARe – and all the major retailers, including the Apple Store.

I was born and raised in France, where the holidays are even bigger than in the US (at least the way I remember them). The traditions are different, and so is the food. The French do not celebrate Thanksgiving, so they have turkey for Christmas, and they stuff it with chestnuts (boiled then sautéed in butter with caramelized onions). The first time I tasted sweet potatoes (that was in India and the French still don’t know what they taste like), I thought they were chunks of chestnuts. The taste is very similar.

Raw oysters and seafood are also a big part of the French holiday menu. And the traditional dessert is the Christmas log, which my mother used to make herself with chocolate or coffee butter cream. Yum. Lots of calories.

I remember with fondness the holidays of my late teens and early twenties, no school, parties every night from Christmas Eve to the New Year. Of course it helped that my birthday fell right between the two holidays.

We did not take down the tree or the nativity scene until January 6, the twelfth day of Christmas, when we celebrated the arrival of the wise men, the Magi, that we called kings. There is even a special “galette des rois” stuffed with almond paste for that particular day. Whoever finds the hard bean (or ceramic bit) hidden in the galette becomes king or queen for a day. And he/she chooses a consort by dropping the hard bean into the chosen’s glass while they aren’t looking. The king and queen wear golden paper crowns (provided by the bakery with the galette). And not just the children wear the crown all day. Adults join in the fun, too.

And all that time, I wished I had a cat. I had an uncanny obsession with cats, and several times brought strays home on my way from school. Unfortunately, my father wouldn’t hear of keeping animals. In his view, animals belonged in a farm, not in an apartment, period.

Now that I do have cats, however, and since I’m a writer, I include cats in my novels. As you can tell from my covers, cats, big and small, take an important part in most of my stories. My new release coming out today in paperback (the eBook has been out for a while) is RED LEOPARD, Book Two in the Chronicles of Kassouk series. The feline in this story, Rascal, won an award for the best animal character in a book for 2010.

Book One, White Tiger is already in paperback, the other books in the series, already in eBook format, will follow in paperback in 2013, with the prequel coming last. Book Three, Black Jaguar, is scheduled for February 1st.

THE CHRONICLES OF KASSOUK:

In this futuristic series, set on an alien planet where a human spaceship crashed centuries ago, a small human community, having lost its technology, struggles to survive, battling the domination of a more advanced galactic race. Each book is a separate love story, as well as an action adventure, so you do not need to read the books in the right order, but if you are like me, you’ll want to start at the beginning.

RED LEOPARD
Chronicles of Kassouk Book Two
by Vijaya Schartz
From Desert Breeze Publishing
In paperback Dec. 1st at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

In charge of the fortress of Kassouk in the King's absence, what is Terek to do when a Goddian spacecraft lands in his medieval backyard, and the striking woman leading the galactic party insists on colonization?

Galya, the Goddian Princess commanding the geological vessel, is bent on finding a crystal with unusual hyper conductor properties. And the futile resistance of the local population isn’t going to stop her. Not even that defiant tribal chief nicknamed Red Leopard, like the infernal feline that follows him everywhere.

Terek and his band of swordsmen and felines must defend their people’s freedom, no matter the cost. But with this unexpected arrival, an old prophecy surfaces, taking new meaning and carrying a new threat... When political intrigues, greed, murder and betrayal tip the scales, who can Galya really trust? Her fellow Goddians? the Mutants bred to serve her race? or her primitive Human enemy?

"...action packed, fast paced story... I can't wait to read the next book in the
Chronicles of Kassouk series." 5 angels - Fallen Angel Reviews

"This book was so good. I was completely lost in the world Vijaya created and loving every second of it." - 5 stars - Goodreads.com

“Packed with action and adventure. Galya ... a tough warrior... a sweetness about her that makes her easy to like... I loved how Rascal was Terek's faithful companion and defender throughout nearly the entire story... I really liked Red Leopard." - The Hope Chest Reviews

Enter a comment for a chance to win a paperback copy of RED LEOPARD.

Good luck.

Vijaya Schartz
Blasters, Swords, Romance with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com