Recently my editor asked for photos of me with my books showing how excited and pleased I was [am] with the finished product. She suggested a number of ideas that could work but the idea was that they did not look staged.
There were two problems. Unstaged I cannot do as I am extremely embarrassed in front of a camera. I blame my maternal grandmother for this as she would always hide her face whenever a camera came out. She passed away over thirty years ago and I have very few photos of her facing the camera. I don't understand as she was a wonderful person, always dressed beautifully and looked younger than her age.
The other problem was that the books arrived several months ago. That is, the second book in the series arrived sometime back in February or March. The first book is much older than that.
It took two different attempts (if you look closely you'll notice that the footwear and the jewellery differ - the necklace was deliberate but the other wasn't) but eventually we found some that weren't super cringe-worthy. They're bad ... but [perhaps] not that bad.
My grandmother taught me a lesson by avoiding the camera. I am trying to learn to allow myself to be photographed even when I feel that I don't look my best ... even when I think I look old in photos ... even when my weight is not where I want it to be ... because I hope that one day my grandchildren will remember me with as much love and fondness as I do my grandmother, and I don't want them only to have a collection of photos where I'm hiding my face.
However, if this is the best that they end up with, they might prefer to keep them hidden from view!
By the way, apparently my older granddaughters enjoyed my latest books but think it's weird that Nana writes romance. Awkward.
When This Day Comes is now available for free download as an eBook. Go here to grab your first copy. It's only available until June 5, so hurry.
For those who are waiting for the second book in A Day For You series, it will be available next week.
Please share the link with family and friends. If anyone would love to leave a review, I'd really appreciate it. But there is no obligation. I simply want readers who enjoy my books to have access to them and, hopefully, to spread the word.
Over the next two weeks I will be offering the two eBooks in A Day For You series as free downloads on Amazon. Download one or both - entirely up to you. If you missed the first one, now is your chance to grab it and start reading this new faith-filled series.
When This Day Comes (Book #1) will be available June 1 to June 5, and From This Day Hence (Book #2) will be available June 8 to June 12. Both will become free to download at midnight, Pacific Time in the US (PDT). For those in New Zealand and Australia the books will be available at approximately 7:00 pm New Zealand time on those dates. All other areas, check your time zone against PDT.
I will share the links closer to the time. Please feel free to share this post and the links with as many of your friends, family, and contacts as possible.
In When This Day Comes, Lily is asked her opinion on the Christmas Day service she attended with her Aunt Emily, and her aunt's friend, Hannah. ...
“If that was special, then I would hate to experience the usual,” Lily blurted without thinking.
“Then you were not impressed with our service today?”
They were back to this again. Lily had been congratulating herself on not having to say anything more on the topic of church, and here she was the one to steer the conversation back to it! Across the table she could not read her aunt’s face. Did she want Lily to be honest or diplomatic? As before, Lily chose honesty.
“Well, no. The preacher did not say one word about the reason for Christmas and the great marvel it is that God sent His only Son to this world to reconcile us to Himself. We were in need of a Saviour, and He loved us so much that He sent Jesus. The babe in the manger was not just any babe, but the Son of God! And the preacher didn’t even touch on that today. He didn’t even mention the wonder of God in human form or the fact that He came to save us all from our sins.”
“Isn’t that more an Easter message?”
Lily noticed Aunt Emily lower her head. Was she praying? Embarrassed? Alarmed? Offended? After all, they were guests in Hannah’s house. It wouldn’t be right for them to repay her hospitality with criticism.
“I don’t believe it is. I don’t believe we can celebrate Christmas without remembering Easter or why He came. I believe the reason Jesus came and the great gift He freely gave us should never be forgotten in all the stories we tell about the first Christmas. But the preacher didn’t even talk about those events. Instead, he spoke about gift-giving and how we should give gratefully and unstintingly.”
“And so we should.”
“Yes, but it’s not what Christmas is truly about.”
Lily had been horrified by the number of small children who had obviously been allowed to take newly acquired gifts to church to fidget with and fight over. There had been one family in front of her where the youngest daughter had dissolved into tears after her sister had rudely grabbed her doll. The child had snatched it back and then used it to hit her sibling on the head. To Lily’s horror, the parents had seized the doll off the younger child and thrown it on the floor, before slapping the legs of both girls.
Behind them in the congregation, some boys had obviously received marbles, which they noisily sent down the aisles and then furiously scrambled after to locate. She had been startled when a small body had suddenly materialised from under her seat, arrogantly pushed her feet apart to get at a marble that had lodged in the floorboards beneath her heel, and then forcibly pinched her on the ankle as he turned around and crawled back from whence he had come.
“Regardless of what you think of the sermon, you must realise that the choir sang magnificently.”
“Yes, they did.” Lily agreed. She had enjoyed listening to the familiar songs and carols, even if during the singing a number of adults were squirming, obviously wanting to get home to their Christmas food and gift-giving. She thought she could offer something positive to Hannah. “The elder who prayed at the end – his prayer was very touching.”
“Oh, him!” Hannah dismissed him with a wave of her hand and then helped herself to a second serving of chicken from the platter in the centre of the table. “He’s the town drunkard and everyone knows he has broken every single one of his marriage vows on top of that.”
Lily turned to her Aunt Emily, grateful to see that her eyes mirrored her own shock.
“Oh.” Not knowing what to do, she picked up the gravy boat and passed it to her aunt who took it and held on to it but obviously had no more idea than Lily as to what to say or do. Beth began taking away the used dishes, thus rescuing both Aunt Emily and Lily from any further awkwardness. Much to Lily’s relief, the conversation soon drifted into neutral topics and discussion over how to spend the remainder of the day.
As wonderful as the Christmas story is - the birth of Jesus our Saviour - God with us - God in human form - and just take a moment to think how amazing, how incredible that is - what is even more amazing is His love for us and the sacrifice He paid on our behalf. The cross and the resurrection - how incredible that God Himself paid the price for my sins.
This Christmas, let's not forget the reason He came.
I'm excited to announce that When This Day Comes is now available as an eBook on Amazon.
Thursday, 17 November 2022
Lily's parents had left everything that was loved and familiar to travel to a distant land ... could she do the same?
Lily has inherited her father's strength and courage and her mother's impulsiveness, but when she determines to leave home and family and live independently, she learns that faith is not inherited. As she struggles with a romance she didn't seek and a friend who refuses to listen to advice, she is forced to look beyond her own understanding. Will she succeed at making a life in this unfamiliar land or will she return home in disgrace?
It's finally here! And yes, The Most Charming Grandson#3 won the race by a few days ...but we would have declared him the winner anyway.
When This Day Comes is the first book in a new trilogy, A Day For You. For those readers who loved the Distant Land series, When This Day Comes introduces new characters along with those previously loved. However, no prior introduction to the well-loved characters of the first series is necessary to enjoy the book.
When This Day Comes will appeal to teens and teens-at-heart and anyone who enjoys a good Christian novel. Purchase here.
As we impatiently await the news of the arrival of our latest grandchild, another less important but still somewhat exciting development is underway.
I'm referring to this:
When This Day Comes, the first in a new trilogy, A Day For You series, has had an extremely long gestation period. (I am so thankful that our grandbabies, even those who take their time, do not delay as long as this book has!)
Now at the printers, I'm wondering what will be first: a birth announcement (I certainly hope so) or a shipment of books?
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