Happy Thanksgiving!!

Most people are conscious of the blessings in their lives during this time of year. Thanksgiving followed by Christmas make us very aware of how fortunate we are. But what I’d like to do is encourage each and every one of you to make gratitude a part of your daily life.

Gratitude is a choice, just like faith and believing is a choice and sometimes it behooves us to meditate on the blessings in our lives every day! Even when things seem to be at their absolute worst, there is always something to be grateful for.

One of the things I’m grateful for in my life is this talent, this gift from God to write. Whether it be through novels, short stories, articles, poems/devotionals or blog posts, I do my best to show my gratitude and to share with you my faith and His goodness.

Here’s a little poem I wrote which encapsulates my feelings about the holiday season:

As we journey through this special time of year
We give Thanks, share Joy, and spread lots of Cheer
Let us keep in mind that life is a gift and offer God praise
And always remember to keep the holidays, Holy Days.

So as you approach this Thanksgiving Day remember to be grateful for every blessing, whether small or large…because God will not give you something else to complain about!


Pamela S Thibodeaux
“Inspirational with an Edge!” ™

How to have a Very Happy Birthday!

1.Send kids off to school, husband off to work and go back to bed. Watch TV and surf the internet in peace and comfort.

2.Only get out of bed and get dressed because your mother calls and asks you out to lunch.

3.Ask your husband to make dinner. (Which means take-out!)

4.Gather your family to watch one of your favorite shows because your husband got you the DVD set!

5.Forget the cake! Buy yourself a decadent dessert like Raspberry Cream Cheese Pie (or whatever you like.)

6.Don’t worry about your age. You can’t avoid or skip birthdays so relax and enjoy them.

7.Laugh a lot.

8.Count your blessings.

9.Think about great things to come in the future.

10.Throw yourself a birthday blog party!

My birthday blog party was a great idea because:
1.I got to party in my pajamas.
2.My dear friends said lots of nice things about me.
3.I can print out the things they said and keep them forever.
4.Don’t have to worry about photos that can be used against me later.
5.The party didn’t cost me a thing!

Well, except the cost of the gift basket, but that was optional on my part. I wish I had a gift basket to send to everyone who posted. All of you helped make this the best birthday ever! Cora should be posting the gift basket winner any minute now!

Kara

Happy Birthday to Me - The Big 4-O

Hi Everyone,
Tomorrow is that landmark birthday for me - forty years old. A few people have asked me if I'm depressed about this or shared how depressing they found turning forty.

I admit to being a little depressed last year when I turned 39. The big 4-O seemed to be looming on the horizon, waiting to crush me. I've thought about it on and off during the year and was sometimes a little blue, but on the whole, I think I'm over it.

After all, what do I have to be depressed about? I have an absolutely great family. I have wonderful friends. I enjoy my job as library director to a small, rural library. I love my home. And I have my writing.

I feel honored to have been published by the Wild Rose Press. As a white rose author I have become very rich. Okay, I'm not talking about royalty checks here. I have become rich with friends and experiences.

I've always wanted to be a writer, from the time I learned to read. One of my oldest memories is of writing comic books with my brother - who is also a writer. The Wild Rose Press made my dream come true. I've been very fortunate to have been able to write and share the stories of my heart, to share my faith within those stories, and to have met my beautiful, amazing friends who are all part of The White Roses in Bloom.

I've spent the last year writing the Orchard Hill Romance series. I am so blessed to have an editor who believed in me enough to take on this project on the basis of one and an half finished stories and a proposal. Orchard Hill belongs to her as much as it does to me. I am also blessed by my family and friends who have encouraged and supported me all year.

This entry was meant to be about birthdays, but I guess it's more about Thanksgiving. Luckily that's later this week, so it fits. Anyway, all these blessings are the reason I'm not depressed about turning forty. Why would I want anything else than the life I already have? (Okay, there are times when I might think otherwise, but down deep, I know I am exactly where I want to be. And more importantly, I think I am where God wants me to be.)

So I won't be shedding any tears over this birthday. Instead, I'm going to celebrate all I can. Stop by my blog today or tomorrow and wish me a happy birthday. If you do, you'll be entered in a drawing for an Orchard Hill gift basket. Please be sure to leave your contact information, so I can notify you if you win.

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me...

Kara

Finding Joy Available Tomorrow

Hello Everyone,
This is Cora here in Orchard Hill. Thanksgiving is coming up fast. Before the leftovers are gone we'll be swept up in Christmas preparations - sending cards, buying gifts, the annual quilter's circle Christmas Tea and so on. Before all the activity starts, it would be smart to enjoy the quiet with a good book or two.

Finding Joy, the final story in the Orchard Hill Romance series will be released from The Wild Rose Press tomorrow. Kara sent me a blurb and excerpt to post for you -

Shy, timid Joy Harper, the organist for Orchard Hill Community Church has long been overlooked by Pastor Isaac. Then Pansy Parker announces she’s retiring and Joy is asked to fill in as secretary. With an unusually large number of weddings coming up and the Christmas holidays looming, Joy and Isaac put in a lot of hours together and he discovers a beautiful and caring woman beneath Joy’s reserved façade. Can he convince her that the only gift he wants for Christmas is her heart?

Excerpt (Isaac goes to Joy's house to ask about her filling in for Pansy)

“May I speak with Joy?”

“Certainly.” The woman led him to a room that reminded him of a Victorian parlor. “She’s filling the bird feeders, but I’ll call her in.”

The large window at one end of the room drew Isaac. It had a view of the back yard. There seemed to be plenty of bird feeders to fill. And they must need to be filled often he guessed. It was one busy bird restaurant out there. A broad lawn sloped down and away from the house. There were beds that must have flowers during summer and walks flanked by concrete planters. The lawn was also dotted with mature trees and shrubs, which no doubt, attracted the birds.

Then he saw her. Joy was standing completely still, the sunshine turning her hair to gold. A chickadee flew down to her outstretched hand and took some of the seed she offered. When the tiny ball of fluff took flight, another eagerly took his place.

Joy’s face was alight with happiness, and she looked more like an angel than ever, standing there with birds fluttering all around her. A brilliant red cardinal rested briefly on her shoulder and then flew away again. She laughed, and Isaac’s heart skipped a beat. What was he doing here?

Thanks for reading!
Cora
Posted by Kara Lynn Russe

WANTED: BOYFRIEND FOR CHRISTMAS

Christmas is on the horizon, and what a better way to spend it than looking for a boyfriend, right? That's what Heather will have to do if she doesn't want her mother picking one for her.

WANTED: BOYFRIEND FOR CHRISTMAS just released in electronic form (print Feb.) from the Wild Rose Press.

Here is a blurb:
Due to a childhood tragedy, Heather has a hard time dating and keeping a boyfriend. With her thirtieth birthday looming in the near future, her mother is determined to play matchmaker over the Christmas holiday. Not wanting her dating life to fall in the hands of the one who bore her, Heather is determined to find Mr. Right via the Classified ads. Time is short and the race is on. But if she'd slow down and open her heart, she might discover that love has been there all along.

To find out more go HERE.

CONTEST: Purchase WANTED: BOYFRIEND FOR CHRISTMAS and be entered to win a free copy of A GIRL NAMED CHRISTMAS,also from Kimberlee. Just go to her website and list the name of one of the yahoos Heather dated, and you'll be entered to win. Winners announced December 23.

Strike while the Iron is HOT!

Hey Friends,

Just wanted to remind you that The Wild Rose Press is giving away a Sony E-Reader and WRIB author Victoria Pitts Caine and myself are two of the participating authors!

It's easy to enter the contest: once you purchase a book or short story from any of the participating authors email your order number to sonyreader@thewildrosepress.com

That's it.

TWRP will verify your order and enter you into the drawing. If you purchase more than one tiitle, you can enter more than one time.

For questions on this contest, please contact Rhonda Penders at rpenders@thewildrosepress.com Please put the words SONY eReader contest in the subject line.

You may also enter the contest by mailing a postcard to The Wild Rose Press, P.O. Box 708, Adams Basin, NY 14410. Write down the titles of three books or short stories by three different participating authors and we will put your postcard in the general drawing.

Winners will be announced on December 16 in TWRP's weekly chat, and their web site the next morning.

Find out who the other participating authors are here.

If you have purchased a book from The Wild Rose Press, THANK YOU!

If not, now is a GREAT time to do so!

Good luck and God Bless!

Pamela S Thibodeaux

"Inspirational with an Edge!"

Losing Patience Released Today

Losing Patience, the eighth story in my Orchard Hill Romance Series was released today from the Wild Rose Press.

Blurb:
Shaun Thiesen’s jealous nature and quick temper drove his wife Patience away. Since then he’s been through counseling with Pastor Isaac and gotten involved with the church. Now he’s just waiting for his second chance. When he learns Patience is visiting her parents for Thanksgiving, he thinks this may be it. In only a few precious days he has to win back his wife, and suddenly the stakes are raised when Patience tells him he’s going to be a father. Can Shaun show convince her they deserve a second chance?

Excerpt - Shaun and Patience's first meeting after their separation

He couldn’t believe how beautiful she was, with her long blonde hair hanging loose and that sweet smile lighting up her face as she walked towards him. She couldn’t be here to tell him she wanted a divorce if she smiled at him like that, could she?

Then his gaze dropped and... He tried to comprehend what he was seeing. Patience, his wife was...going to have a baby. His baby. He was going to be a father. And she hadn’t told him.

A wave of confusion, hurt, betrayal, fear broke over him. A slow burning sensation he knew well surged, pulsing in his temples—anger.

Patience stopped, and her eyes filled with tears. The look on her face made him hesitate. He’d driven her away with his ungovernable temper. If he lost it now, she’d run again. He knew he didn’t want that. But he knew he couldn’t contain his anger either. If he stayed, he would explode. So he turned around and left.

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to stop by my Orchard Hill Blog and find out about my contest this month. Enter to win a gift basket.
Kara

Advent

Does that seem like a funny title for a blog in November? Well, the first Sunday of Advent is November 30th!

Although my book, Through The Eyes Of Love, isn't a traditional Christmas book it is set during the holiday season and one of the character's misses their family Advent celebrations.

Have you ever thought about doing a family activity each Sunday of the Advent season? Something relaxing with your family that lets you focus on the REAL reason of the Christmas holiday verses the hustle, bustle and commericialism? You could use any of the activities my characters family did (you'll have to read the book to find out what they were) or come up with your own. You could keep to the theme that each candle represents, Hope, Love, Peace or Joy or just go back to simplier activities like stringing popcorn or a day spent at the ice skating rink.

Please feel free to share any thoughts you have on this topic with me!

Wishing you a holiday season filled with Thanksgiving and Love,

Rose Ross Zediker

November News

Can you believe it's November already? This is a great time of year. I love the cool, crisp feel to the air, the spicy cranberry and pumpkin scents and flavors and the family gathering for Thanksgiving. November is also my birthday month. This year I find myself looking forward to that day with less enthusiasm than usual. Looming ahead is the dreaded Milestone Birthday. One of those that end with a (shudder) zero.

I've looked at this problem from every angle and decided there's no way I can avoid this event. So I might as well celebrate. One of the best things about birthdays is presents. Since I don't think everyone out in cyberspace is going to send me a birthday present, I've decided to give one instead.

In honor of my Orchard Hill Romance series, which will soon be drawing to a close, I created a gift basket. Stop by my Orchard Hill Highlights blog November 24th or 25th to wish me a happy birthday, and you'll be entered in a drawing for my gift basket. Don't forget to leave an email address where I can contact you if you win.

What's in the basket? Stay tuned for more information. Cora will post a picture and a description on the blog next week.

Kara