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April 2016

In This Issue

Welcome and thank you for sharing your time with me. To those who signed up for my newsletter since last time, thank you for subscribing!

 

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Thanks to all who have been reading my blogs and thanks to those who leave a comment.

 

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If you are a book club leader and interested in your book club reading one of my books, please contact me, telling me a bit about your group. I'll send you a free copy of the book you choose.

 

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Clicking any of the tabs above will take you to my website pages. Click the Contact tab above to send me a note. I'll personally respond to each message.

    

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You will receive issues of this newsletter quarterly. Important news between newsletter issues will reach you in a timely announcement email. 

 

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You can take a look at earlier newsletters here. Always remember: I value your presence here and the time you share with me.

 

 

 

Quality Quote
Quality
 
"Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Do not 
bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. 
Try to be better than yourself."
 
-William Faulkner
 
 
Book Buzzings
Book

This month I highlight A Side of Love by Krista Phillips and Voice in the Wilderness by H.L. Wegley. Below is information about these books. (Disclaimer: I may not have read these releases yet; just letting you know about them.)  
 












Title: A Side of Love, A Sandwich Romance Novella, Book 4 
Author: Krista Phillips
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Independently Published  
Release Date: February 2016  
Krista on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KristaPhillips
Book available at: Amazon

A Christian Romantic Comedy with a heavy helping of LOVE on the Side! How do you pretend to like someone you're actually in love with? Beth Jamison has become one with her singleness, living vicariously through the love stories of others. She's the first to know about them, too, as the owner of one of Sandwich, IL's premier florist shops.


   
Title: Voice in the Wilderness (Against All Enemies Book 1) 
Author: H.L. Wegley
Genre: Political Thriller 
Publisher: Trinity International Press  
Release date: February 2016 
H.L.'s website: http://www.hlwegley.com 
Book available at: Amazon

What if your blog could save the nation, but posting to it might cost your life? Two Extraordinary people 
born for a time such as this. A story about two people who must decide if they're willing to sacrifice their lives to prevent the USA from becoming the Dystopian States of America.
 
 


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FREE Kindle eBook copy of my book,
 AMEN AND GOOD MORNING, GOD: 
 A Book of Morning Prayers.

Kindle eBook copy always free: http://tiny.cc/xjwavx 
Other eBook formats always free: http://tiny.cc/7qwavx 
 
Book description:
The prayers deal with down-to-earth concerns such as forgiveness, sorrow, faithfulness, and stress. These morning prayers can encourage you to release the concerns of the day into God's loving care.
 
Amazon 5-Star Review:
"This book has been a real blessing to me. I open the book at random every day, and no matter what prayer I read, there is something in it to inspire, help, or encourage me." --Rebecca Willman Gernon
 

 
 

Book 1, Book 2 and Book 3 in my
West Virginia Mountains Series
are now available in
eBook and paperback
______________________________________________________  


Book 1Book 2, and Book 3
 in my  
Caney Creek Series 
now available 
in eBook & paperback 

  
Guest Gab
Guest
Split!    
by Lillian Duncan     
 
 
Our guest this issue is Lillian Duncan: stories of faith mingled with murder & mayhem! Lillian writes the types of books she loves to read-- fast-paced suspense with a touch of romance that demonstrates God's love for all of us. Books by Lillian include Redemption; Betrayed; Deadly Communications; and The Christmas Stalking.

Whether as an educator, a writer, or a speech pathologist, she believes in the power of words to transform lives especially God's Word. To learn more about Lillian and her books, you may visit her at www.lillianduncan.net or www.lillian-duncan.com.


Welcome, Lillian. What fun or unique things can you tell us about yourself?
I'm really short, 4'8". That means I'm usually the shortest person in the room except for children and even most of them are taller.
Please describe yourself with three words.
Content. Optimistic. Happy.
What can readers who enjoy your book do to help make it successful?
First and most important, tell their friends! And that includes any social media that they're a member of. Word of mouth is still the best way to sell books.
What is your favorite Bible verse?
Philippians 4:13   "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
I was diagnosed with bilateral brain tumors in 2012. As I went through the treatments and the side effects, I would say this verse over and over to encourage myself.
What do you enjoy most about writing?
All of it! Really! I love creating stories and characters, but I also love revising and editing to make the story the best it can be.
What can readers expect from you next?
In September, Game On, a political thriller, will be released. Remember the saying, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean someone isn't out to get you? That's the basis of the story. You can also see the book trailer at https://youtu.be/t6MK2UGB1P0.
Even though the book won't be released until September, you can preorder it now.
Please tell us a little about your novel, Split!
Sometimes life is full of strikes; and sometimes all we get is a split--no matter how well we throw the ball.
 
After seventeen-year-old Macy Minton's parents died, she's had only one goal--to keep her family together. Along with the family bowling center, she inherited the responsibility of caring for her two younger siblings.
 
Now seven years later everything is falling apart, especially her family.
 
Macy thinks life can't get any worse, but she's wrong.
 
As she struggles to keep the bowling alley from closing forever, one tragedy after another threatens to split her family permanently. Convinced someone is intent on destroying her family, she's determined to stop them.
 
But first she has to find out who's responsible.
 
Where can readers find you online?
To learn more about Lillian and her books, you may visit her at www.lillianduncan.net or www.lillian-duncan.com. She also has a devotional blog at www.powerupwithGod.com
Where can readers purchase your novel, Split!?
Lillian, thanks for visiting with my readers and me.

On April 25, I'll draw a winner from current subscribers to receive an eBook copy of Split!, which Lillian has graciously offered.
 
 
 
 

 
 
What Am I Reading?
What

 
I recently read Starlight in Her Eyes by JoAnn Durgin. Starlight in Her Eyes is a love story that begins with false assumptions between British Colin Young, the new TV co-host, and Serena Monroe, the assistant trying to make his move easier. Will she accept Colin's invitation to spend Christmas with him in Starlight, Iowa and dare to expect a miracle? Colin and Serena, and her young daughter, are endearing characters. I immensely enjoyed their story--such a pleasurable reading experience! Super characterizations and beautiful descriptions. Although Christmas occurs in the story, I'm certain readers will enjoy this book all year! A good read.

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       Read FREE the first chapter of each of my novels on my website 
 
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I keep a list of my 5 all-time favorite novels. Occasionally, the list will change, but not very often. Once a title is on my list, it's difficult to push off. As we begin 2016, there's a new member on my current list:

The Familiar Stranger by Christina Berry 
Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell 
Hearts That Survive by Yvonne Lehman 
Rooms by James L. Rubart 
Same Sweet Girls by Cassandra King

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The February 2016 newsletter winner of a copy of Postmark from the Past by Vickie Phelps is Wanda S. Congratulations!



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On April 25, 2016 I'll draw a winner from current subscribers on that date to receive a copy of Split! by Lillian Duncan. 
 
 


Note: To select winners in my book drawings from active subscribers of this newsletter, I use Random.org. If you're a winner, the rules are simple: I'll email winners and get the book to them. For print copies, U.S. mailing addresses only. (See 
Disclaimers for complete details.)    
 

 
Clean Chuckle
Clean

(a little lengthy but will give you a smile)

A lawyer and a blonde are sitting next to each other on a long flight from LA to NY. The lawyer leans over to her and asks if she would like to play a fun game. The blonde just wants to take a nap, so she politely declines and rolls over to the window to catch a few winks.

The lawyer persists and explains that the game is really easy and a lot of fun. He explains. "I ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, you pay me $5, and vice-versa." Again, she politely declines and tries to get some sleep.

The lawyer, now somewhat agitated, says, "Okay, if you don't know the answer you pay me $5, and if I don't know the answer, I will pay you $500," figuring that since she is a blonde that he will easily win the match. This catches the blonde's attention and, figuring that there will be no end to this torment unless she plays, agrees to the game.

The lawyer asks the first question. "What's the distance from the earth to the moon?" The blonde doesn't say a word, reaches into her purse, pulls out a five dollar bill and hands it to the lawyer. Now, it's the blonde's turn.

She asks the lawyer: "What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes down with four?" The lawyer looks at her with a puzzled look. He takes out his laptop computer and searches all his references. He taps into the Air phone with his modem and searches the Net and the Library of Congress.

Frustrated, he sends E-mails to all his coworkers and friends he knows. After over an hour, he wakes the blonde and hands her $500. The blonde politely takes the $500 and turns away to get back to sleep.

The lawyer, who is more than a little miffed, wakes the blonde and asks, "Well, so what IS the answer!?" Without a word, the blonde reaches into her purse, hands the lawyer $5, and goes back to sleep!
 
  
 
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Inspirational Insight
Inspirational

Below is a recent post from my inspirational blog, Lifelines. I hope you'll visit me there. While there you can sign up to receive each new post in your email inbox.



Excuses or Reasons?
 
"It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one."
--George Washington, 1st president of the U.S.


What would call for an excuse? That would depend on the person and the activity involved. Promising to complete a task and not doing so would call for an excuse to explain why you didn't fulfill your promise. Conversely, an excuse would be needed if you did something you shouldn't have and you were asked why you did that.

What would constitute a bad excuse? You know, I think a bad excuse for one's behavior would be to place the blame for your actions on something or someone else: "It's not my fault." "I didn't do it."

Some people refer to this kind of excuse as the blame game. I've heard discussion on this blame game, going back to the Garden of Eden: When asked why she ate the fruit, Eve blamed it on the serpent. Adam blamed his tasting the fruit on the woman God gave him.

U.S. President Harry S. Truman said "The buck stops here." That referred to the fact that the President has to make the decisions and accept the ultimate responsibility for those decisions. Partisan politics aside, Mr. Truman faced his responsibility without trying to blame others or assign blame where it didn't belong.
Former U.S. President Harry S. Truman
Placing blame on another brings about discussion of accountability-people's accountability for their own actions. It seems so easy nowadays for individuals to shun personal responsibility for their behavior. Many times they do so by offering bad excuses-weak and far-fetched excuses. 

Maybe if we stopped using the word excuse and instead used the word reason, playing the blame game would be eliminated. A problem could be better approached if we would give good and plausible reasons instead of bad, lame excuses.

As long as we play the blame game and have no accountability, we'll have weak links in the chain of our lives. In Western stories, telling someone to own up to their responsibilities and commitments is said by cowboy up. It's time for all of us to cowboy up and stop offering bad excuses for our conduct.


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Each Monday I post my thoughts on my inspirational blog, Lifelines. I hope you'll visit me there. While there you can sign up to receive each new post in your email inbox.
 
 
 
  
 

� 2009-2016 Jo Huddleston. All rights reserved.


P.O. Box 1801    Auburn, AL 36831-1801