WORDLESS WEDNESDAY WINNER

Please note: WORDLESS WEDNESDAY will be closed until August 17 due to summer vaycay!
See you again then!

Have a wonderful summer, everyone!

Congratulations to the last WORDLESS WEDNESDAY 

winner: Linda!

I liked her answer entitled:


Image courtesy of [lekkyjustdoit] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

KEEP YOUR HEART SAFE

To view, go here.

FUN FACTS ABOUT CHASING FIREFLIES

CHASING FIREFLIES will be released in just a few days! July 1, 2016! Yay!!!

Pre-order on AMAZON and grab your copy!

If you've been following along with all of my posts, then you know I've been sharing fun facts about China that I incorporated into my novel. I hope they've made you excited to read CHASING FIREFLIES!

To see last week's post go HERE.

CHASING FIREFLIES is based upon some of my daughter's experiences while teaching English in China. It takes place during the Fall semester. During this time the Chinese celebrate the Mid Autumn Festival. They hang red lanterns everywhere.

(To my regular followers, sorry this has been posted before.)

(

Below is one of the pictures my daughter took.

In Chinese culture, a huge full moon represents completeness. They associate the meaning of the full moon with reuniting family members together. It is one of the biggest holidays in China, even bigger than Christmas in America.

My daughter said the red lanterns hanging everywhere were beautiful.

Traditionally, Mid Autumn Festival is celebrated while eating moon cakes.

In the middle is a hard boiled egg yolk.

They don't appeal to me, but my daughter said she LOVED them. The other teachers in her group didn't care for them, so when they were offered in the cafeteria they always gave them to her. She said she had a stock pile of them in her apartment.

Another little tidbit my daughter told me is that the Chinese consider wasting food to be very rude.

While there, they were each given a tupperware container by their Chinese Native Coordinators (the Chinese teachers assigned to help them throughout their stay) to use whenever they ate at the school cafeteria. If they did not want to finish their food, they were told to put the leftovers in the tupperware container and take it back to their room. Once in their room, they were allowed to throw it away. They just had to do it in private where no one was watching. (She said she had Hello Kitty tupperware!)

I loved adding all these things into my novel and I'm so thankful for my daughter who acted as my subject matter expert! Special thanks to her for letting me share a few of her stories in my novel. It lended the air of authenticity that I needed!

Thanks for following along and sharing in all of these fun facts about China and CHASING FIREFLIES!

Enjoy reading CHASING FIREFLIES!

FRIDAY FAVORITES

                   

Friday Favorites include my favorite images on reading or writing!

(taken from Facebook)

Enjoy!

                     

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY WITH WINNER

Please note: WORDLESS WEDNESDAY will be closed until August 17 due to summer vaycay!

See you again then!

(Winner will still be announced next week.)

I've made the decision to give WORDLESS WEDNESDAY a makeover. It's getting harder and harder to find fresh "heart" images. I don't want to keep repeating the same themes . . . so I've come up with a new idea, THE ART OF CONVERSATION.

The image will be a picture of a man and a woman.
The challenge will be to give the image a caption. Your answer can be silly, serious, or romantic. I think it will be a lot of fun!

We'll give it a try and see how it goes.
What do you think?
Would you like to try something new or do you prefer to keep WW as it is?
I'd love your feedback. Thanks!

*****

Congratulations to the last WORDLESS WEDNESDAY 

winner: BN!

I liked her answer entitled:



Image courtesy of [Iamnee] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

HEADED HOME TO HEAL

To view, go here.

Wordless Wednesday is actually filled with words--the words, thoughts, and feelings that pictures or images evoke within each of us without uttering a single word!

Image courtesy of [lekkyjustdoit] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What WORD/WORDS does this picture evoke within you?

Or, in other words, "TITLE THIS IMAGE."

I'll start: "Open your heart to love."

My favorite answer wins a $5.00 dollar Amazon gift card.

Don't forget to leave your email or I will be unable to name you as winner!

You may leave multiple answers to increase your chances of winning.

Contest is closed by Thursday at midnight and the winner will be contacted. Winner will be announced the following Wordless Wednesday.

Open only to those who can legally enter. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be emailed. If email is incorrect, a new winner will be chosen. Giveaway is sponsored by Taylor Dean Books. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

FUN FACTS ABOUT CHASING FIREFLIES

For those of you who follow my blog on a regular basis, you've already seen this post. But as the release date for Chasing Fireflies approaches, I want to post it once again for all the new people following along.

CHASING FIREFLIES is

available for pre-order on AMAZON now.


To see last week's post go HERE.

Over the past few weeks, I've been telling you interesting China facts that I incorporated into my novel.

However, I couldn't include everything my daughter told me about her China trip. Some things just didn't fit into the parameters of the novel.

Like a movie entitled Secret.

When my daughter arrived home from China, she was really, really excited for us to watch this movie she had seen and purchased while there.

I have to admit, I wasn't very excited about watching it. But, I kept trying to be enthusiastic for my daughter's sake.

Finally, one evening my daughter very excitedly told us we were all going to sit down and watch this Chinese movie she kept going on and on about.

We all agreed and prepared ourselves to be bored out of our minds.

I think we really didn't know what to expect.

Boy, were we surprised!

I had no idea that I would LOVE it! Everyone else felt the same. We were GLUED!

The piano playing was nothing short of AMAZING!

When my daughter went to China in 2007, this was the BIG movie in China. It was as popular as Titanic was in America.

It takes a few minutes for me to get used to watching a movie with subtitles. But, once I'm into it, I forget I'm reading and become absorbed.

I highly recommend this movie. You need to watch it! It is an AMAZING movie. The ending has a twist you will NEVER  expect! And it's a sweet romance!

Enjoy!

To see the next post about CHASING FIREFLIES, go HERE.

FRIDAY FAVORITES

Friday Favorites include my favorite images on reading or writing!

(taken from Facebook)

Enjoy!

Haha! Too many selfies drive me crazy!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY WITH WINNER

Congratulations to the last WORDLESS WEDNESDAY 

winner: Rita!

I liked her answer entitled:


Image courtesy of [lekkyjustdoit] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I SHIELD MY HEART FROM HURT

To view, go here.

Wordless Wednesday is actually filled with words--the words, thoughts, and feelings that pictures or images evoke within each of us without uttering a single word!

Image courtesy of [Iamnee] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What WORD/WORDS does this picture evoke within you?

Or, in other words, "TITLE THIS IMAGE."

I'll start: "Broken dreams."

My favorite answer wins a $5.00 dollar Amazon gift card.

Don't forget to leave your email or I will be unable to name you as winner!

You may leave multiple answers to increase your chances of winning.

Contest is closed by Thursday at midnight and the winner will be contacted. Winner will be announced the following Wordless Wednesday.

Open only to those who can legally enter. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be emailed. If email is incorrect, a new winner will be chosen. Giveaway is sponsored by Taylor Dean Books. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

FUN FACTS ABOUT CHASING FIREFLIES

Time for another fun fact about CHASING FIREFLIES!

To see last week's post, go HERE.

Now available on AMAZON for pre-order.

CHASING FIREFLIES takes place in China.

It is based off of some of my daughter's experiences while she spent a semester there teaching English.

Here's an interesting little tidbit about China--one that I incorporated into my novel.

(I've posted this once before, but now that the release date is getting closer, and readers are following along with these posts, I'm posting it again!)

The number four to China is just like the number thirteen is to America.

Evidently, the Chinese name for four is similar to the name for death, hence it is considered unlucky. 

Image courtesy of [Stuart Miles] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

My daughter was housed in a very nice apartment building across the street from the school where she taught. 

The floors were labeled: 1, 2, 3, 3B, 5, etc.

The Americans, of course, were housed on Floor 3B!!!

It's so interesting to learn about life in another culture.
I'm so thankful to my daughter for letting me share some of her stories in my new book, CHASING FIREFLIES.

Read CHASING FIREFLIES for more fun facts about China!

Of course, in the end, this book is not specifically about China. Above all, it’s a love story.

My sisters think I’m crazy.

But, I’ve never forgotten the mysterious woman from my childhood who told me Paul is the name of my one true love.

She told me to search far and wide for him.

I haven’t stopped looking ever since.

When I stumble across an article about a successful American entrepreneur named Paul who lives and works in China, I’m intrigued. When the opportunity to teach English in China presents itself on the same day, I know it’s not a coincidence.

It’s destiny.

My sisters say I’m chasing a dream.

Just like the fireflies we tried to catch on the warm summer evenings of our youth, the dream seems beyond my grasp.   Will my quest for the elusive Paul always be just short of fulfillment?

My sisters tell me it’s a fool’s errand.

Until I remind them of the day we saw the Red Bird.

The memory silences them.

The Red Bird Incident remains inarguable—and proves my search for Paul is not a silly fantasy.

I will find Paul . . . I will.

GOODREADS

To see the next post about
CHASING FIREFLIES, go HERE.

FRIDAY FAVORITES

Friday Favorites include my favorite images on reading or writing!

(taken from Facebook)

Enjoy!

Happy summer!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY WITH WINNER

Congratulations to the last WORDLESS WEDNESDAY 

winner: Natalie!

I liked her answer entitled:


Image courtesy of [Sira Anamwong] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I'LL ALWAYS BE HERE TO CATCH YOU IF YOU FALL

To view, go here.

Wordless Wednesday is actually filled with words--the words, thoughts, and feelings that pictures or images evoke within each of us without uttering a single word!

Image courtesy of [lekkyjustdoit] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What WORD/WORDS does this picture evoke within you?

Or, in other words, "TITLE THIS IMAGE."

I'll start: "Love will keep you safe."

My favorite answer wins a $5.00 dollar Amazon gift card.

Don't forget to leave your email or I will be unable to name you as winner!

You may leave multiple answers to increase your chances of winning.

Contest is closed by Thursday at midnight and the winner will be contacted. Winner will be announced the following Wordless Wednesday.

Open only to those who can legally enter. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be emailed. If email is incorrect, a new winner will be chosen. Giveaway is sponsored by Taylor Dean Books. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

FUN FACTS ABOUT CHASING FIREFLIES

Time for another fun fact about CHASING FIREFLIES!

To see last week's post, go HERE.

Available on AMAZON for pre-order.

CHASING FIREFLIES takes place in China.

It is based off of some of my daughter's experiences while she spent a semester there teaching English.

However, it also includes a few personal touches from my life also.

Like the time I was voted Most Shy in high school during the Senior Most competition.

When we took the yearbook pictures, it was awful.

(Yep, here they come, actual photos from my yearbook!)

One of the Class Clowns is standing on her head.

The Most Spirited are hanging in a tree.

The Most Active are, well, being Most Active.

Then there was me and the Most Shy boy in the school, standing there looking awkward.

Being shy and introverted has been my personality all my life.

So, I decided to write about a shy and introverted character.

I found it to be challenging. How do you write about a shy introvert and still make her seem interesting?

By definition introverts are:

Someone who is drained by social encounters and energized by solitary, often creative pursuits. Their disposition is frequently misconstrued as shyness, social phobia or even avoidant personality disorder, but many introverts socialize easily; they just strongly prefer not to.

I quickly realized I made the same mistake the world makes when seeing a shy or introverted person.

Label them as boring.

Which is simply not the case.

While being shy and being an introvert are actually not the same thing, I have both qualities, so I gave my character both as well. 

I had to delve into my own mind and ask, "What would I do in this situation?"

I realized there is so much more to a person than what meets the eye.

When choosing the cover for CHASING FIREFLIES, I loved the image we went with because her hair is covering her eyes, speaking to her shyness and desire to not be noticed.

I learned that being shy and/or introverted is not a fault, it's simply part of your character.

Embrace it!

My sisters think I’m crazy.

But, I’ve never forgotten the mysterious woman from my childhood who told me Paul is the name of my one true love.

She told me to search far and wide for him.

I haven’t stopped looking ever since.

When I stumble across an article about a successful American entrepreneur named Paul who lives and works in China, I’m intrigued. When the opportunity to teach English in China presents itself on the same day, I know it’s not a coincidence.

It’s destiny.

My sisters say I’m chasing a dream.

Just like the fireflies we tried to catch on the warm summer evenings of our youth, the dream seems beyond my grasp.   Will my quest for the elusive Paul always be just short of fulfillment?

My sisters tell me it’s a fool’s errand.

Until I remind them of the day we saw the Red Bird.

The memory silences them.

The Red Bird Incident remains inarguable—and proves my search for Paul is not a silly fantasy.

I will find Paul . . . I will.

GOODREADS


To read more fun facts about CHASING FIRELIES, go HERE.